CHAPTER 1

"I don't understand why he would break up with me!" Riley cried out in frustration, putting both hands on her face. She looked over at the blonde sitting on her dorm room bed. "Why, Maya? Why would he do this?"

The blonde bit her lip and scratched her head. She could think of a few reasons that Riley would not appreciate, but she figured it wasn't a good time to break the brunette's heart anymore. She was already devastated over her recent break up.

"Well, what did he say when he broke up with you?" Maya asked, raising her eyebrows.

"The vaguest thing a stupid boy says when he breaks up with you: it's not working out between us," Riley explained. "And when I asked him why he thinks it isn't working out between us, all he said is that he just 'isn't feeling it' anymore. Ugh!" She groaned and buried her head in her pillow.

Maya really, really wanted to help her best friend deal with the situation, it was just that she felt any advice that she gave would be biased. Why? Oh, just because she happened to be the reason they broke up— well, she was pretty sure she was the reason. It didn't make sense any other way. And she felt horrible about what she did, but she couldn't stop herself. The one thing she never wanted to in her life was hurt Riley Matthews, but that was exactly what she ended up doing. She feared how devastated Riley would be if she found out the truth about her break up.

"Maya," the brunette whined, "you usually help me with these situations, but I'm feeling oddly lonely even though you're here."

She swallowed hard. There was a burning pain inside of her when she looked over at Riley. Damn it, she looked so upset while laying there on the bed. A knot grew in her stomach knowing that she was probably the reason that her best friend was in all this pain.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I just, I don't know."

"But you always know what to say," Riley said sadly.

"Well, this time, I don't know anything," Maya told her. "I think I should go. I have a paper to write, and it's due in like, a week."

Riley's mouth opened to speak, but she couldn't think of anything to say. She was shocked that Maya wasn't willing to help her with her problem this time. She had helped her through countless problems, including all of her relationship issues! But Maya felt too guilty to help her with this one. The blonde left the dorm room, closing the door on her way out. She took a deep breath when she was out, and leaned against the door. Running a hand through her hair, she finally gained the courage to keep walking. There was something she needed to do.

"Huckleberry!" she yelled, knocking on his dorm room door furiously. "Huckleberry, you better open up!"

"Alright, alright!" she heard a muffled call coming from inside the room. A groggy-looking Lucas Friar opened the door up and raised his eyebrows. "What do you need, Maya? I was up really late last night working on one of my papers, and I needed the extra nap. Thanks for disrupting it."

When she looked at him, the knot only grew bigger. God damn, she caused this whole mess of a situation. Also, she realized that this was the first time she was talking to Lucas since it-that-shall-not-be-named happened.

"You broke up with Riley," she stated.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, I did," he confirmed, swallowing hard.

"I wasn't asking you, dummy," she rolled her eyes. "I was trying to tell you what an idiot you are!"

He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Can't you see that Riley loves you so much?" she asked, trying to stop herself from crying. She couldn't cry— not in front of Huckleberry. "Damn it, Lucas... why would you break up with her?"

"I know she loves me, okay?" he sighed again. "And I love her, too, of course, but it's just... not in the way she wants me to love her. I can't see her romantically anymore, even if I want to. She's always been like a sister to me. I love her as my friend— best friend. But it's not right for her to be my girlfriend."

"Oh, really?" she raised her eyebrows. "That's bullshit and you know it. This is about what happened. I told you not to break up with her, and you did it anyways."

"What happened factored into me realizing that I don't see her as a girlfriend anymore!" Lucas argued. "Don't be so conceited, Maya. This isn't all about you." He folded his arms. "It's my decision if I want to end the relationship I'm in. It shouldn't concern you. I don't have to not break up with her just because you told me not to."

Maya pressed her lips together for a moment, analyzing the boy that was much taller than her. His nostrils were flaring, so she knew she had already gotten under his skin. And God damn, it boiled her blood in the best way. She loved knowing that she pissed him off. It gave her this thrill, and she wanted to just.. ugh.

"But it does concern me. She's my best friend, and I don't want to see her hurting. Whether or not what happened is the main reason you broke up with her, it still is a part of the reason, so don't deny it. Don't you dare deny it," she warned, shaking her head. "It was a mistake, and I wish it didn't happen. God, everything would me so much less complicated if it didn't happen."

"Maybe you regret the consequences of what happened. You're sad about seeing Riley sad, and I get that. I didn't want to upset her, either, but that doesn't change the way I feel," he said, a hint of anger lingering in his voice. "So, don't you dare deny that you don't regret it. You don't regret what happened." He reached out and let his hand stroke her arm, sending chills down her spine. She wanted to push him back off and pull him closer all at the same time. "Maya," he whispered her name into her ear.

"Stop it," she said, shaking her head. "You're such an idiot. Stop it."

He laughed bitterly.

"Why don't you stop trying to pretend like you regret it, then?" he asked, continuing to stroke her arms. "I know you're thinking about it right now: the way I felt, the way I kissed you, the way you screamed my name—"

"Shut up," she snarled, finally pushing him off.

He laughed again, this time more lightheartedly.

"God, Maya," he breathed. "I can't freakin' get you out of my head."

"Well, isn't that too bad?" she smirked. "Because I can."

"Yeah, right," he rolled his eyes. "You're hilarious, you know that?"

He saw right through her, and she hated that. She thought she could pull off the 'I'm-better-than-you' front where it seemed like she didn't give a crap about what happened. She wanted to make him feel like it was one-sided. She wanted him to feel rejected. But all at the same time, she wanted him to do everything all over again.

"I'm leaving," she told him, shaking her head.

He walked up behind her. She stopped trying to walk away, and just stood there in place. His hands crawled up her backside, reaching her shoulders. He stood tall behind her, and she felt it so well, even though she couldn't see him. He leaned down, placing rough kisses on her neck, and she was deciding whether she should elbow him in the groin, or turn around and make another huge mistake. Stupidly falling for it again, she turned around in a mere second, put her hand on the back of his neck, and yanked him in. Their lips connected so gently, but that was the gentlest it was going to get. She kicked the door shut with her leg. After that, she shoved him onto his bed, jumping on top of him. He was laying flat on the bed, and she sat up, her bottom hovering over his crotch.

She took a small moment to push a strand of her blonde hair behind her ears, and bit her lip during the process as well. Then, she leaned down and re-connected their lips. She couldn't believe she was making the same mistake yet again.

A/N: I'm going to keep this T because none of the scenes are going to be explicit. Also, I know it's quite unrealistic for the group to all be in college together, but for the sake of the story, oh well! lmao. Hope you guys like it. I'll update whenever I can, but I do have dead week and finals coming up, so I might be a little stacked up for the next 2 weeks. But then I've got winter break!