A/N: I know the story seems quick pace and I apologize. I one of those people who likes to fast forward the beginning of the movie. This is exactly the direction I am going for unintentionally. If I can, I would skip it all but unfortunately, it is necessary to build the plot. Enjoy!

Maya was the first to wake up. After the long night they had, she wasn't expecting her friends to be awake as early as her.

When the clock struck 0930, she was already out of the door. She had left a note for the others saying that she would be back before noon because she wanted to take a walk.

She had researched all night to find the lake that Pappy Joe had mentioned. It wouldn't have taken all night if wifi wasn't so bad in the middle of nowhere.

As soon as she got to her destination, the image of Pappy Joe's memory came to mind. She had imagined the scene before her as if she was in Pappy Joe's shoes. She could clearly see the smile on his wife's face.

Shaking off the image but making sure to remember and not wanting to miss a single detail, she had taken as much pictures as she can.

When she was finally satisfied, she sat on the bench taking in the beauty of it.

"So this is where you ran off to," the person behind her said.

Not bothering to turn around knowing exactly who it was, she patted on the empty space next to her as an invitation.

"Is m'lady asking a lowly Huckleberry to be in her presence?" Lucas asked sarcastically grinning.

"Or you can leave Ranger Rick, you make the call?" she said.

"I guess I will be staying," he replied not wanting to push his luck with more teasing.

"What brings you here anyways?" he asked as she sat down next to her.

"Your Pappy Joe said it was beautiful here. I guess I had a sudden urge to see for myself."

"And what do you think?"

"It truly is beautiful…"

"There's more places in Texas just as stunning as this place. How about I show you around sometime?" he offered.

"That would be really nice Lucas…. If we ever come back here again, I'm sure the others would love it too," she said quickly as she caught herself thinking that the offer was exclusively for her.

Lucas being oblivious didn't think much about it.

"Shall we head back now? The others are probably getting ready to go to that art exhibit you were looking forward on going to," he said.

Maya nodded in agreement not really wanting to go just yet. Even if was a moment longer, she wanted to stay with him like this.

The walk back wasn't so bad for Maya. They had caught up with their school life mainly talking about football and teasing Lucas on how a big shot he is since he is all over the news as a rising athlete.

"Where were you two?" Farkle asked.

"Nature walk," Lucas said while giving Maya a quick glance and a smile to which she returned.

"If everyone is ready, we should head out now," he said.

"I'm ready!" Riley said out of nowhere.

-Art Exhibit-

"This is amazing," Riley said in awe.

"I've always seen these online, but I never knew how gigantic some of these painting were," Farkle said.

"Is this what you learn about in Art Class," Lucas asked.

"Occasionally, but the class mainly focuses on techniques used in different eras. Renaissance is only one of many and during that era, the techniques that were used were Balance and Proportion, Foreshortening, Chiaroscuro, and Sfumato," Maya explained.

"Sfumato? What is that?! Sounds like a smurf character," Zay said.

Maya walked over to where the Mona Lisa was displayed.

"If you look at this one and compare it to other painting over there, the first thing you notice is how softer it is compared to the other. That's because Leonardo da Vinci was known for the Sfumato technique. He described it as "without lines or borders, in the manner of smoke or beyond the focus plane,". Instead of using lines and boarders, he opted to blend the colors in every transition. It gives that smooth illusion," she explained.

"Wow, I never noticed it until you mentioned it," Farkle said looking at the Mona Lisa then to the other.

"Not a lot us do. We only know it's different," Maya said.

After Maya's lecture, her friends were more enthusiastic than she was.

After an hour, she had given up on trying to keep up with them and opted to wait for her friends on the bench.

"Is Alice lost in wonderland again?" a familiar voice said from behind.

"Hello Ryan, I had a feeling I would see you here," Maya greeted.

"Wouldn't want to wait another 10 years to see this," he said.

"We both know you have no interest in Art, where's Gerald?"

"Ouch. You had to go straight for the truth didn't you. He ran off somewhere, I don't even know anymore," he replied.

"You here by yourself?"

"Nope, I'm here with my best friends. Please don't tell them what school we go to. Especially the brunette," Maya answered.

As if on cue, Maya saw Lucas and Farkle walking towards her.

"Hey we were looking all over for you," Lucas said when he reached her.

"Sorry, you guys dispersed all at once. I couldn't keep up," Maya said.

Lucas looked at Ryan finally noticing his presence. Farkle on the other hand noticed him in the very beginning.

"Lucas, Farkle, this is Ryan. We go to the same school," she introduced.

"Hi," Ryan said offering a hand to Farkle first.

"You're the quarterback for Abigail Adams High School aren't you?" Ryan asked when he got to Lucas.

"Yeah I am. Do you play?" Lucas asked.

"I do. We'll probably meet again during the playoffs," Ryan said.

"What school," Farkle asked.

"Haha I'm guessing you're the smart one in the group. Maya told me to keep my mouth shut. I better get going before I let anything else slip," Ryan said. "It was nice to meet you guys," and turned to walk away.

"Who was that?!" Riley asked coming up from behind.

"Yeah. He was quite the eye candy. Me saying that as a heterosexual man speaks volume. Not that there is anything wrong being attracted to the same sex…. Okay I'll stop talking now," Zay said and mumbled towards the end.

Zay wasn't far from the truth. Ryan was the most popular guy in school. He had an athletic physique, strong facial feathers, green eyes, dark hair, and tall. He literally looked like he belonged in the magazine (A/N: I based his looks off the model Stephen James aka the guy version of Ruby Rose). His personality almost matches hers. He was a bad boy and rough around the edges.

The only person who would ever compete with him in terms of looks was Lucas.

Who was Maya kidding, she was bias. Lucas was her No. 1. Just like da Vinci's paintings, Lucas was easy on the eyes. A masterpiece. He was also a gentleman and never tried to be anything else, but when provoked, he'll turn to a Hulk.

"So you two good friends," Lucas asked as he crossed his arms.

Maya could have sworn she heard jealousy in his tone but quickly disregarded it as a concern friend.

"Kinda, we don't talk as often, but yeah, he's okay," Maya shrugged.

Lucas seemed satisfied with the answer since he didn't press with more questions. Then again, he was never the type to press anything.

"Can we please eat now? I am a growing man here!" Zay said walking towards the exit.