The walk to the cabin was silent. Too silent. If this was what the rest of the night would be like, then Maya figured she had better start thinking of a way out of it and fast. Maybe she could suggest that they go to Dave's after all.
"So," Farkle spoke up, breaking the ice, "What are you in the mood for tonight?"
The question caught Maya by surprise. For a moment she wasn't exactly sure what Farkle had asked her.
"What?" she questioned, looking up at him, her blue eyes searching for meaning in his.
"Movie?" he clarified as he unlocked the door to the cabin, "What do you want to watch?"
"Oh," she responded, feeling slightly embarrassed that her mind had wandered elsewhere, "anything is fine."
He rolled his eyes at her and smiled, ushering her into the warmth of his cabin. "That's what every girl says and never actually means it."
"Well, guess I'm not every girl," she replied simply, taking off her scarf and hanging it on the coat rack.
Farkle, who was now trying to light the fireplace, stopped and looked at her from across the room.
"No," he said with a smile, "no you're not."
Maya turned away, feeling slightly flushed, and busied herself with shedding her coat. She then made her way over to the couch as Farkle disappeared into the kitchen. Maya picked up the television remote and scrolled through the movie selection available. She stopped when she hit The Martian.
Farkle would like this, she thought, though she was sure he'd seen it already since it had been out for a few years. It had Matt Damon for her and a ton of science crap for Farkle. The aroma of freshly popped corn wafted from the kitchen to the TV room and brought a smile to Maya's face. The scent was shortly followed by Farkle himself carrying a tray with an enormous bowl of popcorn and two drinks.
"Farkle, that's enough popcorn to feed an entire movie theatre!" Maya exclaimed as he set the bowl in her lap.
"Oh, Maya Penelope Hart—You forget that you are no mystery to me. You and I both know that you could probably finish that bowl off before the movie even starts," he replied with an all-knowing smirk.
She grinned widely at him. It was true.
"Especially," he added, pulling a yellow box from his pocket and dangling it in front of her, "when you add these to the mix."
Maya's eyes brightened even further at the sight of the peanut M&M's. It was her absolute favorite way to enjoy her movie snacks. The buttery bites of salted popcorn melded with the sweet morsels of candied chocolate-covered peanuts was just perfection.
"Oh, Farkle Minkus! You really do know the way to a girl's heart," she said as she playfully batted her eyelashes with a laugh.
"Milady, shall I do the honors?" he asked with a slight bow.
"Pour away, good sir!" she commanded, holding the bowl out.
He finished emptying the contents of the box into the bowl and then mumbled something about changing out of his outerwear. She shivered without her coat. She hadn't bothered bundling up since she had spent all day by the fireplace in the lodge. But their cabins were slightly cooler than the lounge at the lodge. She was considering grabbing her coat, when Farkle returned from the room, having traded his heavy winter jacket for a plain white thermal undershirt, dark jeans and discarded his shoes for just socks. He tossed a cardinal red MIT hoodie her way as he hopped over the back of the couch and plopped down beside her, draping his arm across the back and tossing a throw blanket between them.
"Ah, The Martian. Good choice!" he said excitedly, "I actually haven't seen this one yet."
He was such a dork she thought with a fond smile as she pulled on the hoodie and zipped it up. She was now enveloped by his scent, a mix of pine and fresh soap, and found it comforted her.
"Does it even matter if you have or haven't seen it? Don't you know what's going to happen anyway?" Maya smirked, turning and giving him a pointed look.
Farkle chuckled, reaching over to grab a handful of popcorn. "Exactly, which is why Lucas and Zay wouldn't let me go with them to watch this one when it came out. Actually, I think you are the only one who will still watch a new movie with me."
This was true as well. She actually liked Farkle's clairvoyant quirk of guessing movie endings. She'd made a game of it, sometimes timing him on just how quick he really was. Now that she thought about it though, she and Farkle really did do this a lot. Zay and Lucas refused movie nights with him and his extrasensory perception had even turned Riley away after he ruined The Fault in Our Stars for her back in high school. Smackle on the other hand felt that movies were to the brain what sugar was to the teeth. Pfft…Whatever. So it came to be that Maya and Farkle had created their own unofficial movie night tradition, just the two of them. When they were still in New York, sometimes he'd come over to her house. Other times she'd go over to his place. Sometimes they'd meet at the movies and grab a bite at Topanga's afterward. Now with both of them school, occasionally, when their schedules allowed for it, they'd meet in Boston for movie nights as well. Their most recent outing had ended up with them snuggled up in his dorm after being banished from the theatre as he had her in a fit of giggles.
They had done this hundreds of times. But something felt different now. And as she looked over to her blue-eyed best friend, his hair casually swept away from his face as the glow of the fireplace lit up the freckles that peppered his face, she felt that double thump in her chest and knew exactly what had changed. She had let herself hope. She hoped for more with him and now she couldn't just turn it off.
"So, Farkle," she said, shaking her thoughts out of her head, "What's your call on this movie?"
"Okay, I'll play," he said, "So the premise is: guy gets stranded on Mars, is left for dead by his crew, and has to survive on Mars with limited resources until a rescue team can reach him in 4 years. What do you want to know?"
"Does he survive? Do they rescue him?" Maya asked.
"Pfft…Those are elementary questions, Maya. Of course they do," Farkle replied, "Have you ever seen Matt Damon movies? He never dies and he's always trapped in some remote location. But here is what's impressive, I am going to tell you exactly how they'll save him this time. Prepare for a mind-blowing experience!"
Maya raised her eyebrows at him as he began to tell her about the most detailed rescue mission ever. She wasn't sure how Farkle could possibly know this but the kid was a genius.
Two hours later, Maya sat stretched out on the couch, her legs resting on Farkle's lap, her jaw dropped. He did it. He actually did it! He guessed it correctly, every last detail. Every last detail, Maya thought again. She looked at Farkle again, a satisfied grin on his face at her amazement. Something just wasn't right, she thought. There was no way he could have predicted all that from the start of the movie. She turned to face him and narrowed her eyes at him. He noticed her gaze and his grin began to fade.
"Maya?" he said tentatively.
"You lying little weasel, Minkus!" Maya shouted, grabbing the pillow off the couch and swatting him with it.
"What?" he asked with a laugh.
"There's no way you could have known all that. And let me tell you something about cheaters, Minkus. You're not a good one!" she said with more emotion than she even knew she was feeling, "A good cheater knows to get some of the answers wrong on the test rather than getting a perfect score."
"But I always get perfect scores," he countered, "so by my performance standards, if I had missed a detail, then that should have been suspicious."
She sharpened her gaze on him further. Being played for a fool was not something Maya Hart appreciated. She swatted him with the pillow again demanding an answer.
"How did you know? Did you watch this movie!?" she shouted.
"No," he said with a laugh, "I swear to you, I didn't watch it."
She stared him down. There was an impish glint in his eyes and it upset her so she turned away from him and just stared into the fire, arms crossed over her chest.
"Maya?" he asked tentatively, sensing by her body language that all was not well anymore.
"Did you watch this movie?" she asked again, her tone stern.
"No," he said sincerely, "I read the book."
Her eyes widened in anger and Farkle recoiled, waiting for the inevitable. She slammed the pillow against his chest and made to get up.
"Maya!" he exclaimed, holding her legs on his lap so that she wouldn't be able to run, "What's wrong? Why are you upset?"
"You lied to me!" she shouted, her blue eyes piercing his. She turned her head away abruptly and continued staring into the fire, fighting the tears that were building up. Tears that she couldn't quite explain.
"Maya, it was just a joke," Farkle tried reasoning with her, not understanding where her anger was coming from.
"But friends don't lie to friends," she said shaking her head, throwing his own words right back at him.
"But Maya—"
"And you had never lied to me, Farkle. And I have never lied to you. Ever," she added quietly as she managed to wrangle herself from him and moved to stand by the window.
"I thought that had to count for something," she whispered more to herself but Farkle picked up on it.
She had left the blue-eyed boy speechless. He stood up and followed her to the window, turning her around to face him.
"Of course it does," he reassured her, his eyes softening at the hurt girl standing before him, "But Maya, I didn't mean any harm by it."
"No one ever does, do they? Mean harm by it? It always starts off harmless—'I've got midterms to study for'… 'I'm just running out to the store, I'll be back soon'. And pretty soon you find out that "studying for midterms" means screwing Missy Bradford," she cried out, her voice cracking, "and running to the store means never seeing your father again."
Farkle finally understood where it all stemmed from— the lies told to her by significant men in her life—and his heart was torn for her. Josh Matthews for toying with her heart last year and her father for breaking it so severely that it would take years to repair. But something about her statement just didn't sit right with Farkle. She was comparing him to them over something that truly was harmless.
"That's bull, Maya and you know it!" he blurted out passionately, his own emotions getting the best of him.
"Excuse me!?" she shouted back at him, outraged.
"Those were not harmless lies, Maya! They were done with the intent to deceive you!"
"And how is that any different than what you just did!?" she threw back at him, as tears now rolled freely down her cheeks.
"We were having a good time! We were playing a game! I didn't do it to break your heart, I did it because I love the amazed look on your face at the end of it and I always want to be the one to amaze you."
Maya felt a knot form in her throat. She wanted to run but her body felt like lead, grounding her in place.
"God, Maya," he added as he stepped closer to her, "You deserve that, you know? Someone who wants to amaze you every day, to make you happy! You know that, right?"
She didn't know that. She knew he could see it in her eyes that she didn't know or believe that she deserved that, even after all these years. Maya pressed her lips together to keep from sobbing and turned away from him, embarrassed that she was crying in front of him yet again. But Farkle pulled her back to face him. Other than Riley, he'd been the only other person that she'd ever let see her cry.
"Do you really think I could ever do something like that to anyone, let alone you, someone I love and have loved my whole life?" he asked, holding her gaze.
Maya's breath caught in her throat. Her heart nearly stopping at his words. He loved her? She shook off the thought. Of course he loved her. He loved Riley too. He had told them that a thousand times over. He had even told Lucas that not choosing between her and Riley meant he always got to have both in his life. It didn't mean he was in love with her though. How could he be? He had so much to offer the world, he was going places and she was just a broken porcelain doll with no real useful purpose in life. She was trying to make a career out of art but art was a hobby, it wouldn't pay her bills.
"Maya?" he called out, reeling her in from her thoughts, "I would never do that to you and you know it. And you'd be lying to yourself if that's what you think. You need a scapegoat? You need someone to take it out on because you're angry at them for what they did? Well go ahead and give me all you've got! I can take it and I'm not going anywhere. But what I won't take is you thinking even for a second that I'd do to you what they did. I am sorry that joke made you upset, but I won't ever apologize for making you smile," he finished with determination, cornering her against the window.
Their bodies were close now. So close that she was sure he was breathing in the air she breathed out. So close that she could count every single freckle on his face. So close that with a tilt of the head he could kiss her. Part of her wanted him to close that gap but another part of her was terrified of all that would happen if he did. Farkle was one of her best friends. Though Riley was like the sister she never had, there were things that Maya could never talk to Riley about because everything was sunshine and rainbows to Riley Matthews. And if it wasn't, Riley would be determined to fix it to make it sunshine and rainbows. Farkle however understood that the world wasn't always fair and that things couldn't always be fixed with a flick of the wrist or Riley's rose-colored glasses. He'd just listen without judgement. He had also witnessed things with her that she could never tell Riley. The whole Josh Matthews disaster being one…
It was a cold Friday in January, the day before her 18th birthday and it was supposed to be their date night but Josh had called Maya and cancelled, telling her he had midterm exams to study for and that he was way behind. Ever since Maya and Riley had started high school, the age gap between Maya and Josh seemed to have been reduced considerably in his eyes. She was now a senior and he was in his third year at NYU. Their three year age difference didn't seem like such a stretch anymore. They had been dating for 6 months and Maya had been happy as a clam. She knew Josh had been trying to keep his grades up to keep his scholarship to NYU so she tried to be on her best Riley-like behavior and let him study when he needed to.
That was why on this particular Friday night she decided to join her friends at a party being thrown by Do-Gooder Dave, their former classmate at JQA Middle. Dave had transferred across town for high school but still kept in touch with the JQA classmates. He had become known for throwing the craziest parties, his do-gooder days long gone, his name should really be Up-To-No-Good Dave now. She wasn't really into the scene of Dave's parties, there was a little too much debauchery even for her liking. It was also a rainy winter night and she just wanted to stay curled up on the couch but Zay and Lucas wanted to go, which in turn meant Riley and Farkle hopped on board, and so she felt obligated to come to keep her four friends out of serious trouble.
When they arrived at Dave's, Maya barely recognized anyone there. She'd seen a couple of former JQA students but most seemed to be from Dave's end of town. Riley had disappeared with Lucas to the dance floor and Zay was busy practicing pick-up lines on the entire cheerleading squad. She wasn't sure where Farkle had gone, he seemed to have vanished into the crowd of nameless faces.
Looking for a bathroom to dry off some of the cold winter rain, Maya made her way up the stairs and down the long hall, opening each door only to find couples groping each other behind them. She spotted Farkle closing a door behind him and coming down the hall towards her, his hands clenched into fists at his side. His eyebrows were knit together and the anger in his eyes were unlike anything Maya had ever seen before. Though he tried to soften his gaze upon spotting her, the usual pools of bright blue were dark, stormy. Something was seriously wrong.
"Farkle, what's wrong?" she asked, stopping in front of him, concern filling her eyes as she glanced back to the door Farkle had come from.
"Maya, we need to go. Now!" he commanded, tugging at her arm and pulling her with him.
"What? No. Farkle!" she shouted, releasing herself from his grip, concerned at this sudden transformation, "Not until you tell me what's going on!"
"Maya!" he pleaded with her.
"Oh come on, Farkle. Was there a couple on top of each other in there? Sweetie, we learned about this in Human Growth and Development—," she teased, trying to lift his spirits, as she reached for the door.
"Maya, don't!" he shouted as she reached for the door and pushed it open but it was too late.
She could hear her heart shatter into a million pieces at the scene before her. There was Josh, down to his boxers with a topless Missy Bradford, skirt hitched up to her waist, tending to a bloodied Josh. His nose starting to bruise from the impact. Maya looked back at Farkle, his hands still clutched into fists at his side, as he looked away from Maya. Her brain tried to process everything in front of her but it seemed to do so in slow motion. The sound around her faded to a dull pounding as though she had been submerged underwater. The discarded layers of clothing strewn across the bathroom, the condom wrapper tossed on the floor, her boyfriend's hands settled on the thighs of blonde sitting on the sink counter.
"Maya!" Josh cried out, spotting her in the mirror, "what are you doing here?"
Maya crossed her arms across her chest. "I got bored and went out with my friends. I could ask you the same thing but looks like you got bored as well," she replied, her voice ice cold as her eyes remained glued to his hand on the other girl's thigh.
"Maya, this isn't what it looks like," he replied, hastily removing his hands from Missy's legs, when he spotted Farkle behind her, "He doesn't know what he saw! He just came in and punched me. I was just about—" he cried out, pointing to Farkle but the slap that stung across his cheek silenced him immediately.
"Really!? That's what you're going to go with it? It isn't what it looks like!? Tell me Josh, what could this possibly look like? Because to me it looks like the only thing you were about to do was get dick-deep into Missy Bradford!" she tore into him, making him cringe at her choice of words but Maya could not care less, "It doesn't matter what Farkle saw because I saw it for myself. And even if I hadn't, I would have believed him. Because HE would NEVER lie to me!"
"Maya?" he called out desperately as she turned to leave, "Please don't tell Riley."
Maya paused and looked at him. Of course she wouldn't tell Riley. Not for his sake but for the brunette who deserved to believe that people were inherently good.
"Never speak to me again. If you ever see me, walk the other way!" she warned him, her voice cracking as she stormed off and out of the house, leaving her coat and everything behind, tears flooding her line of vision.
She walked aimlessly in the frigid rain, regretting that she had left her coat. She couldn't go home though, her mom and Shawn were having a date night and she didn't want to ruin it with her problems. The Matthews would know something was up and she could never lie to them. So instead she wandered into Central Park, sopping wet and shivering. Exhausted, she threw herself onto a bench and in the dark of the park began to cry. She was thankful that the rain fell steadily, concealing her tears with the large drops that dripped from her hair and down her cheeks. She felt cold, she felt numb and the only reason she knew she was still crying was because of the occasional salt she could taste on her lips from her tears. The air was crisp and cold but she struggled to breath as she felt her sobs rack her entire being.
"Maya?" she heard a voice call out from behind. She turned to see Farkle running across the patches of dead grass toward her.
"There you are!" his said breathlessly, "I've been looking all over for you."
Her lips just quivered as she wrapped her arms around herself to try and steady her shivering body.
"Just leave me alone, Farkle," she begged.
"Absolutely not! Come on Maya, you are soaking wet and sitting in 20-degree weather. We need to get you inside before you catch hypothermia!"
"No! I can't go home," she cried, "Not like this!"
"Then we won't," he said softly, pulling her up and wrapping his coat around her, "You can come to my house. My parents are traveling to London this week anyway and you won't have to answer any questions you don't want to."
Maya nodded and let Farkle guide her out of the park and to his Upper West Side condo that overlooked the city of New York.
When they reached his apartment, he pulled off his coat from Maya's shoulders and hung it to dry as he helped her out of her boots and extra layers of soaked clothing. She could see he was now shivering as much as she was but he was determined to make sure she was ok.
"F-F-Farkle," she managed to whisper, tugging at his scarf to let him know he needed to take care of himself too.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," he reassured her as he grabbed her hand and ushered her into his bathroom and turned on the hot water.
"Get in," he commanded, "I'll go get you some warm towels."
Maya stepped into the shower in jeans and shirt and all, letting the warmth of the water envelop her and thaw her frigid limbs. Farkle returned with towels to find her sitting in the shower, legs pulled up to her chest, still dressed in her clothes. Without a word, he climbed in and sat on the floor of the shower across from her. He pulled her into him, pressing her against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. They stayed like that, in silence, in each other's embrace. That was enough for her. They stayed until the hot water had started to run out.
As the water began to cool down, Farkle stood up, pulling Maya up with him. She kept her eyes locked on his. He was her beacon of hope, her guiding light telling her that it would all be ok. Though his eyes were still as dark as the night's ocean, she could see the glimmer of the haven they held. So when he tugged at the hem of her blouse, she simply raised her arms and let him pull it off of her, knowing there wasn't much more to be shed. Always a gentleman, his eyes never wavered from hers as he undid the button on her jeans and let the soaked denim slide down her legs.
He reached his hands up to cup her face and hold her gaze.
"He was never worthy of you," he whispered so ardently that Maya felt it in her own core. For the briefest moment she considered closing the gap between her body and his. For a split second she wondered what it would be like to kiss Farkle. But that wouldn't be fair to either of them. She knew it. He knew it too. Which was why he reached over and turned off the shower, pulled the towel off the rack, wrapping it around her before stepping out of the shower himself. He pulled off his soaked sweater and jeans and grabbed a towel for himself as he made his way out of the bathroom, still drenched in a pair of soaked boxers.
Maya had sat in the bathroom for another five minutes, dazed and confused. She was angry at Josh, she was hurt by him but she was also confused about what she had just felt with Farkle. She and Farkle had always been close but lately there had been a shift in their dynamic. If she were honest with herself, this wasn't the first time she had felt something turn inside her with regards to Farkle. Heat flooded her cheeks as she thought about how she had just let him undress her. Sure he had seen her in a swimsuit a countless number of times over the years but the act of undressing someone was such an intimate thing. She knew he had only done it to take care of her and that he'd never try to take advantage of a situation like that. Nonetheless the ease with which she let him strip her down shook her to the core.
When she had finally made her way back to Farkle's room he was nowhere to be seen. She heard music playing softly on his computer and saw a stack of clothes on his bed that he had laid out for her. In the pile was a pair of flannel plaid pajama pants and a black t-rex shirt that she hadn't seen him wear since the 7th grade. She discarded her wet undergarments and pulled on each of the items he had left out for her. They smelled of Farkle, pine and fresh soap, and it comforted her.
She wasn't sure where Farkle had gone but she looked at his bed, her eyes growing tired, swollen from her tears, and she pulled back the sheets and wrapped herself in them. She could hear Farkle's voice down the hall as he approached his room.
"Riley, Maya's fine, she just wasn't feeling well. I've got her staying with me."
There was a moment of silence as Riley spoke on her end and then Maya heard his response.
"It's ok, don't leave the party. She'll be asleep soon anyway. Don't worry, I'll take good care of her. Bye Riles."
Maya felt another single tear fall onto the pillow case as she breathed a sigh of relief. Of course he'd take care of her. He always did look out for his friends. And for that, Maya would be eternally grateful because right now she couldn't bear the thought of facing Riley.
When he walked back into his room, Maya could see that he had changed into a pair of Navy pajama pants and his red 'Think Like a Proton' t-shirt. He came in carrying a tray with tea and cookies. He set it down on his night stand, and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at her, the pain in her eyes clearly reflected in his own.
"I brought you some tea and your favorite oatmeal cookies that my mom makes," he said softly.
"I'm not hungry, Farkle," she said, her voice void of emotions, and she stared at the artwork that hung above his desk, it was the drawing she had given him years ago in the library.
"Maya, please, just eat a little. It will help you feel better," he pleaded with her.
"I doubt it," she mumbled.
But as she looked into his deep blue eyes she knew she couldn't deny him, not after everything he had done for her. So she nodded, sitting up in bed as he set the tray in her lap.
She took a bite of the cookie but it felt like sandpaper to her throat, so she opted for the tea instead. Farkle sat patiently, waiting for her to say something when she was ready. She wasn't sure what made her say it, whether it was relief or to prove to Farkle that she wasn't Missy Bradford…or both.
"I never slept with him," she confessed.
Farkle looked at her with a tilt of his head and a small smile, "I know," he admitted.
"How would you know?" she asked. They were close but they definitely never broached that subject with each other before. That was definitely Riley territory.
"Because I know you, Maya. And I also know that if he had ever been so lucky to have you, there was no way he'd ever have passed you up for Missy Bradford."
Maya nodded, that damn knot forming in her throat again, and turned back to her tea.
"I'm sorry, by the way," he said. She snapped her head up, confused.
"What? What are you sorry about?" she asked.
"Well, I'm definitely not sorry for breaking his nose," he said with a soft chuckle, which made her smile ever so slightly, "But I'm sorry you are going through this. He never apologized to you and I felt like you deserved an apology."
"Farkle…" she replied, tearing up as she reached for his hand, focusing on its warmth against her palm, "It's not your job to apologize for him. You did nothing wrong."
"And if you try to again, I'll slug you," she added with a sad smile, her eyes meeting his before shifting back down to the teacup in her hand.
"Maya?" Farkle called out after another long pause. She looked up to meet his eyes, "Josh Matthews is not the last guy you are ever going to love. I promise you."
And just like that Farkle Minkus had managed to break Maya Hart all over again. Her lips trembled and she lost her grip on the teacup in her hand but Farkle reached over, taking her hand in his, steadying it for her and helping her set it back down on the tray. Farkle stood and moved the tray off her lap and pulled her into a tight embrace. He held her that way until her sobs subsided. When he felt her breathing even out, he pulled back, holding her face in his hands using his thumb to wipe her tear-stained cheeks. They stared at one another for a long breath.
"I love you, Maya. So never let guys like Josh Matthews make you feel like you aren't loved. Because you are…and always will be. I'll never let you forget that," he declared as he planted a light kiss on the tip of her nose.
"Understood?" he asked and she simply nodded her head silently.
"Good," he said, "Now, try and get some sleep. I'll be right down the hall, just call me if you need anything." He turned off the lamp on his night stand, grabbing a pillow, he began to leave his room when he heard her call.
"Farkle," she called softly. He turned to meet her eyes.
"Stay?" she asked. He hesitated for a moment but the look in her eyes was the same as that time in Texas. It was that lost and hopeless look that was screaming for someone to fix her. He nodded silently, lifting the covers and sliding in beside her.
"Do you want me to put on a movie? Maybe it will help you sleep?" he offered.
She shook her head and turned into him, "I just need you," she replied as she closed her eyes and fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.
She had left that next morning before he woke. They never spoke of that night again. They had never told Riley or Lucas or anyone about it. As far as Riley was concerned, Maya and Josh had broken up because they weren't interested in the same things…which really wasn't a lie, she thought. He was into multiple girls at one time and Maya was more of the monogamist type.
But as she stared at the person who helped her through that whole ordeal, and hearing his declaration, Maya recalled the words of a song playing in his room that night…
…I'll use you as a focal point
So I don't lose sight of what I want…
…I found love where it wasn't supposed to be
Right in front of me
Talk some sense to me…
Maya was scared. This was all becoming too real. She didn't want to risk losing Farkle. She couldn't come back from that if things went wrong.
"Farkle, please stop. Stop talking" she pleaded with him now, and Maya Hart was not one to beg.
Just then the lodge door burst open and they heard the arrival of their friends.
"Oh, well excuse us, are we interrupting something?" they heard Zay's voice from across the room.
Farkle took a deep breath and turned to look at Zay, "Get out!" he shouted.
"Okay, Okay….no need to get feisty about it, I'm just going to get out of your way" Zay responded, making his way over to the kitchen stool to get a better view instead.
Just then Riley popped her head into the room, followed by Lucas.
"Maya? Farkle? What's going on here?" the doe-eyed brunette asked, clueless about what was taking place between her two best friends.
"Nothing, Riles," Maya responded, her voice hoarse as she tried to put some space between herself and Farkle.
Lucas was quick to pick up on the vibe in the room, knowing all too well the look on Maya's face. He had seen it on her face before back in Texas when Riley tried to push the two of them together. He looked over to Farkle, who had not yet looked away from Maya.
"Riley," he said, tugging at her arm, "I think we should give Farkle and Maya another minute."
"Oh, ok" Riley said, still not understanding but agreeing.
"That's not necessary Lucas," Maya called out, "I have to get going anyway, and Riley is here so she can help me back to our cabin."
"But Maya…" Farkle tried to stop her.
"Farkle, we should just leave well enough alone," she said turning on him as she grabbed her crutches and made her way to the door.
"Peaches, are you ok?" Riley asked, as her best friend pulled on her coat.
"I'm fine," she said as she stormed out the front door as fast as her crutches allowed her.
"Farkle?" Riley asked, hoping for some explanation. But Farkle just shook his head, raising his hands in the air and then dropping them at his side.
'Well, I think I'd better go and check on Maya," Riley said to Lucas, as she watched Farkle with worry, "Maybe you should check on him. Maya and Farkle don't ever really fight Lucas and this could be serious."
Lucas nodded giving Riley a kiss on the cheek as he bid her goodnight, shutting the door behind him and turned to face his best friend.
That night Farkle and Maya both stared blankly into the fireplace of their respective cabins, while their best friends grilled them about what had happened earlier that night.
"Riley, I don't want to talk about it!" Maya shouted, storming off into her room and slamming the door behind her.
"Lucas, not tonight, ok?" Farkle argued, attempting to make his way to his room. But Lucas wasn't letting it go.
"No, Farkle! This is Maya we're talking about, man! You never let any of us walk away from an argument with each other. I'm not letting you two do it now. What the hell happened?"
"I'll tell you what happened," Zay chimed in.
"Zay! If you don't stay out of it—" Farkle began, turning on his heel and heading toward Zay.
"Farkle's in love with Maya," Zay shouted as he dodged Farkle's advance. The words stopped Farkle in his tracks though and the room fell silent.
"Farkle? Is it true?" Lucas asked.
Farkle dropped onto the couch burying in face in his hands.
Lucas sat across from him, "I thought you said you could never choose between Riley and Maya?"
"Yeah, Lucas," Farkle shot back looking up, "…and that was 4 years ago and 4 years ago I also said I wanted to go to whatever school all my friends went to. But we all went our separate ways, we've all grown up. Things change. I'll always love both Riley and Maya. But now I know it's not in the same way. I love Riley like she's a sister but I'm in love with Maya."
"Wow, Farkle. I had no idea. How long have you felt this way about her?"
"I don't know. A while now," he said with a hopeless sigh.
"Why didn't you say anything to us?"
"Because Lucas! This is Maya we're talking about!" he repeated the Texan's own words back at him, "She's always loved me the way I am and that's hard to find. I'd rather have her as a friend than ruin it by having her confirm she will only ever see me as a friend. It was easier to pretend the feelings weren't there if nobody knew," he replied, casting Zay a dark glance as he stood up and went to his room.
He stood over at the window and stared out into the snow-covered night. He could see her cabin from his window. He could make out her form, sitting at the bay window of her room with her sketch pad. Farkle sighed and shook his head. He wasn't sure what had come over him tonight but he was tired of pretending like he didn't love her. She had to know. Someone had to tell her how much she was loved and deserved to be loved. He had been so sure she felt something too. Maybe he had been wrong.
(To Be Continued)
