Lucaya AU one-shot song-fic. Little Maya Hart has had a hard life, with an alcoholic and abusive father, her life seems to be a dead end. Her friend Lucas Friar shines a little shred of hope, but hope breeds eternal misery. Lucaya, Rucas.

She walked to school with the lunch she packed

Nobody knows what she's holdin back

Wearing the dress she wore yesterday

She hides the bruises with the lined and lace.

Maya hurried down the street, clutching her brown paper bag. She was running late to school because of her father deciding her daily beating needed to happen right then and there.

" Maya!" voice yelled from behind her. She turned and saw her neighbor Lucas running up to catch up with the already late little girl.

" Hi Lucas!" she beamed. They started walking in sync.

" Did you do the math homework last night?"

Maya sighed. It's not as if she had forgotten, " No I forgot."

" You can just copy off mine."

" Thank you Lucas."

They reach John Adams Elementary school. Lucas looks at Maya, " Anytime Shortstack."

" Hey!" she yells as he starts running takes off after him.

The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask

It's hard to see the pain behind the mask.

Emily Collins had been a third grade teacher for 30 years. Kids had come and gone and she'd like to think she had made an impression on them all. This year was her last year before she was retiring and she was determined to make it count. Mrs. Collins was sitting behind her large desk, taking attendance when Lucas Friar came running into the classroom with Maya Hart at his heels. Even with little legs that girl sure could run. " Mr. Friar, Ms. Hart!"

" Sorry Mrs. Collins they simultaneously yelled, sliding into their seats.

Mrs. Collins tried not to be to hard on Maya or Lucas. Lucas's parents were currently in the middle of a nasty custody battle over him, but despite that he always had a smile on his face. Good kid. And Maya, Maya's mother had been found strangled and beaten, dumped in the woods, a couple months back. Her death was ruled a homicide, and Maya's dad was the number one suspect. But the police didn't have enough evidence to hold him, so he was a free man. And Maya was stuck living with him. Emily saw the bruises, and the cuts, and the burns. As awful as it was Emily didn't know what to do, so she turned her cheek.

As she stood to gether homework assignments, she saw scribbling down answers off of Lucas's homework, but she turned her cheek.

Bearing the burden of a secret storm

Sometimes she wishes she had never been born.

Kermit slapped his blonde daughter across the face, and then took a swig of whisky, " It's your fault you know!" he roared, " it's your fault that i got stuck living this life! I never wanted to be a father! I could have been somebody!" drunken fat tears rolled down his red face. " Go to your room bitch!" Maya stood up and scurried off to her room. She didn't know if her father had always been like this. There were pictures of him taking care of Maya when she was a baby and up until she was around four. From then on all Maya could remember was the screaming. Her mother's terrified screams, her father's angry ones. Her mother had always protected Maya, shielded her from her father's wrath. Then one night he snapped. Maya remembered the last words her mother ever said to her were, " Baby Girl, you'll be okay. Just keep your head up for me."

" Mama you'll be there right?"

Katy tucked a strand of long blonde hair behind your ear, " I'll always be with you." Then she sent Maya to bed and that was it. The next day police and social workers swarmed her house. They asked her dad questions. They asked Maya questions, that was a day Maya chose to block out.

As far as Maya knew, her parents were good together, before she came along. It was all her fault, her mother's death, her father's drinking, everything. Maybe everything would have been better if she'd never been born.

Through the wind and the rain

She stands hard as a stone

In her world where she can rise above

But her dreams give her wings and she flies to a place where she's loved

Concrete Angel.

Maya sat at an old wooden picnic table, sketching in the back of one of her notebooks. Lucas frowned when he spotted the blonde sitting alone. He looked at his friend Farkle, " Hey Farkle, know who's cool?"

Farkle attempted to strike a 'cool' pose, but instead he just looked like her had to number one, "Me?"

"No" Lucas pointed to Maya, "her."

" Maya Hart? Go talk to her!"m

Lucas smiled, " You know what, I will!"

Lucas ran as fast as his legs could carry him. " Hi Maya! What are you doing?"

Maya jumped, " Lucas! You scared me!"

Lucas sat down next to Maya, " Sorry Maya!"

" I'm working on a picture by the way."

" Can I see it?"

Maya slowly and shyly slid over her beat up notebook. Lucas looked over at it thoughtfully. "This is amazing!" he said.

The two talked the rest of recess. They covered the basic first date topics, favorite foods, favorite movies, etc.

" Guess What?" asked Lucas.

" What?"

" One day I'm going to marry you." Maya smiled, " I'd like to see you try" then she had to run away back to the classroom.

Lucas watched her run away, " You will."

Somebody cries in the middle of the night

The neighbors hear, but they turn out the lights

A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate

When morning comes it'll be too late.

Marney and Mark Friar sat in front of their son both with pity in their eyes. Marney reached over and grabbed son's hand, " how are you doing Lucas?"

Her little boy looked back at her with tears in his eyes, " I just don't understand. She was so happy and nice, she didn't act sad. Hey Mama, Papa guess what, you know what my favorite thing about Maya was?"

" What was it sport?" asked Mark.

" She drew really pretty pictures." He took a folded piece of notebook paper out of his pocket, " She drew this one for me!"

Marney unfolded the piece of notebook paper, on it was a beautiful drawing of two kids at a picnic table. The kids were faced so that the drawing only showed their backs. There was a small girl with long blonde hair, and a tall boy wearing a football jersey. Marney's eyes teared up when she read the note Maya had written for her son

Dear Lucas,

Thank you.

Xoxo,

Maya Hart.

She slowly handed the drawing back to Lucas, " She was really something special, huh Lucas?"

He grinned, " Yeah she was." he frowned at the word ws. " Mama? She's really gone?"

"I'm sorry Sweetie."

A statue stands in a shaded place

An angel girl with an upturned face

A name is written on a polished rock

A broken heart that the world forgot.

A twenty-seven year old Lucas Friar walked into The Burton Graveyard, clutching a bouquet of lilies. He found the gravestone he was looking for, "Hey Shortstack!" he said as he sat down in front of a grave that read,

Maya Penelope Hart

A Loving Child

May 17th 2000- March 18th 2008

" I've been meaning to visit for a while. Life is good. I married a girl named Riley. She's amazing. When most people talk about their elementary school crush's, they talk about how ridiculous their relationships were. You know how I describe my elementary relationship Unfinished." His eyes teared up. " Maya you were going to be amazing. You had so much to do and see. And that mad man took you away from us. Good news is that he's behind bars and will be for the rest of his life." He pulled the old crinkled and creased drawing from his wallet. " Last week my daughter was born, and honestly all I hope for her is to have half the kindness and talent that you had."

" Hey Lucas, are you ready? The Baby's getting cold." yelled a beautiful brunette, holding a small bundle wrapped in a pale pink blanket. Lucas looked down at the grave and laid down the lilies,

"Bye Shortstack, keep an eye out for my family won't you?" and in his heart he knew that his angel would. He walked back to his wife, " Can I hold her?' Riley smiled and carefully handed their baby girl over. She gave Lucas a kiss on the cheek,

" I'm going to get in the car."

" Thanks Baby." Lucas looked down at his beautiful daughter. " Hi Rosie Hart. You know your mommy let me pick your middle name. I picked Hart because I once knew a girl who was going to change the world who had the name Hart, and I just know that you Rosie are going to change to world."

Song by Martina McBride.