Chapter 2

It was the night after my restless night of weird dreams and my heart did not want to calm down. I knew the anxiety was over, Topanga had made her decision, they were staying. I didn't have to worry about Riley leaving. Yet, for some reason, my heart rate didn't want to go back to normal. I needed to relax. I was spending the night at Riley's, so it shouldn't have been hard to do, but it was.

"Maya, I recorded the pilot of the Red Planet Diaries prequel spin-off, do you wanna watch it?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, sure," I said, though my mind was pre-occupied with deep breathing exercises to try and control my racing heart. Then a thought came to mind. What if the reason my heart was going a mile a minute wasn't because I was nervous? What if it was for another reason? Then I remembered the dream I'd had the night before.

I looked over at Riley. She was entranced by the TV. I noticed that the reflection in her eyes was similar to the twinkle I'd seen in them before she'd kissed me in the dream. All I could think about was the way dream Riley had looked at me before kissing me, the way her lips had felt on mine. It all had felt so...real. My gaze was drawn to Riley's lips, I felt something in my chest, like a twitch. But it was more than a twitch. It was like my heart had beaten louder or something, just that one time when I looked at Riley's lips. My lips tingled at the thought of kissing Riley. I shook the thought from my mind. It was wrong and it was probably nothing.

I tried to focus on the show. I couldn't. I had no idea what was going on or who these new characters were. My mind wandered again. This time to the conversation that dream Riley and I'd had prior to the kiss. I tried to remember what we'd said. I remember something about Lucas and Josh. Maybe there was a connection that would help me figure it out. Well, Lucas was Riley's boyfriend, and Josh was my crush, there was a connection.

I focused on thinking about Lucas. Something stirred inside of me, it seemed like anger. The thought of Riley and Lucas dating angered me. That was the same feeling I'd felt just before the triangle had started. The feeling that made Riley think I liked Lucas. The feeling that I'd said was just the fear of Riley getting hurt. Then I realized it wasn't either of those things. The conversation from the dream came back. All of it.

"Hey Riles," I said.

"Hi, Peaches," Riley replied.

"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for a date with Ranger Rick?" I asked her.

"Actually, we broke up," she said.

"Really? Why?" I asked, surprised.

"It wasn't working," she said. "You know the saying opposites attract? Well, like forces repel, Lucas and I are too similar. We haven't even kissed since our first date two years ago."

"Oh," I said, unsure of what else to say. Something inside me changed, like a weight had been lifted off me or something.

"So are you and my uncle Josh a thing now?" she asked.

"No," I replied, a little confused as to why she was asking this. "I don't really like him anymore." Riley was silent for a few moments, as if she was pondering something.

"Well, there was another reason I broke up with Lucas," she said. "There's someone else."

"Who?" I asked. I felt a burning rage filling inside me. A feeling of jealousy. That was when it happened. That was when Riley kissed me and the jealousy melted away and was replaced by a feeling of security and happiness. That twinkle in her eyes as she leaned in, the spark as our lips touched, it felt real. It felt right.

Now all I could think about was kissing Riley. It was all I wanted. What I'd said about Josh in the dream was true. I didn't like him anymore. There was just her. Just Riley. I noticed the show had ended, the credits were rolling. I had absolutely no idea what had happened on screen.

"Wasn't that good?!" Riley asked, breaking the silence. I said nothing, I was lost in thought. "What part was your favourite? I liked it when they showed Blarg's brother for the first time!" Again, I said nothing. "Peaches, what's wrong?"

"Riles, I need to tell you something," I said, looking into her eyes.

"What is it, Maya?" she asked.

"I think I like you."