Chapter Three
Maya bit her lip, her heart racing in fear. She waited a few moments, the short silence seeming to last hours, before peering out of the small crack between the door and the doorframe. A few people had glanced back but they were just turning forward again as her gaze found them.
She relaxed a bit when she heard Nathaniel say, "It must've been the wind."
After waiting a few moments, Maya hung up the keys before slipping back out, careful not to make the door creak again. She left it open before hurriedly crawling to the door and closing it silently behind her. She took a deep breath, getting to her feet.
"That was so sloppy," Castiel laughed, "I can't believe you actually did that."
"What?" Maya said, "But you said…!"
He shrugged, his laughter ongoing. "I just wanted to see if you'd do it," he said, "I would've never gone in there during a meeting."
"Well, I almost got caught, thanks to you," she muttered, "Let's just leave now."
Maya led the way outside, glancing back to an amused Castiel every so often. She pushed open the doors and sat at the end of the rough brick railing. The wind was stronger than it was a few moments ago, back on the rooftop. Castiel still had that sarcastic smile on his face as he leaned against the railing.
"Even if you got caught," he said, "That would've still been as hilarious as it was. And anyways, a little detention wouldn't kill anybody."
"I know," she said, shrugging, "But don't you think it's beneficial to stay on the student council president's good side? Detentions are a drag and I'd rather be outside, avoiding them."
"No," he said, "It's not worth being friends with him. Anyways, it's a little too late; he already hates me and I hate him."
"I know," she said, "I'm just saying. But didn't you say you were going somewhere?"
He shrugged. "I guess I can spare a few minutes," he said.
She smiled, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her knees, letting her gaze fall to her feet.
"What's with that look on your face?" he said.
"Nothing," she said, shaking her head, "It's just that it kind of feels a little good, knowing that the rebellious bad boy wants to hang out with me."
"Rebellious bad boy?" he chuckled, "Who am I rebelling against?"
She grinned, holding up a balled fist. "The man," she said overdramatically.
"The man?" he said, "You sound like a hippie."
"Oh, I was a hippie when I was a freshman," she said, "Took me a summer to change into an outcast. That's how I've been since my sophomore year." She smiled, reminiscing, "Every year there was a group of girls that didn't like me and tried their hardest to get rid of me."
Castiel breathed a sigh. "That's how the preps are about what you call the outcasts," he said, "Anyways, they were probably just jealous because you're cute."
"Wait, what?" she said, "Could you repeat that? I don't think I heard you clearly."
He looked away, his brow furrowing as he blushed. "Shut up," he muttered.
She giggled. "Aw, Castiel," she said, "You're the cute one."
He rolled his eyes. "So what, are you waiting for Nathaniel?" he said, changing the subject quickly. And to an odd one at that; talking about Nathaniel always seemed to make him angry.
"Yeah," she said, "You have plans and I don't want to go home."
"Oh," he said, "Well the meetings don't usually last long."
"How do you know?" she asked.
He chuckled. "You don't need to know," he said.
"But I want to know," she responded.
"But you don't need to," he said.
"But I want to," she said, "You don't have to keep everything to yourself, you know. I'm not one to tell secrets."
He stayed silent, thoughtfully gazing up at the sky, crossing his arms over his chest. The silence seemed to last a few moments before the door behind her. Maya turned, lifting her gaze to see Nathaniel. He smiled, opening his mouth to speak when his gaze found Castiel behind her, who was still gazing off into space.
Maya nudged Castiel. "Hey, Castiel," she said, "Are you in there?"
He slowly turned to face her, completely ignoring Nathaniel. "Oh yeah," he said, "I gotta go."
"Later," she said after him as he walked away. She hopped to the ground, careful not to land on her sprain, smiling up at Nathaniel. He had an uncomfortable look on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"I don't know…" he said slowly, "It's just… well… you were hanging out with him?"
She shrugged. "It wasn't planned," she said, "We ran into each other leaving and he wanted to show me something."
"I see," he said, "So what were you doing in the janitor's closet earlier?"
Her face flushed red. "Oh, gosh," she said, "I, um… you knew it was me?"
"Yeah," he said, "I could see your shoes since I was at the end. Nobody else saw you so I covered for you."
"Well that's kind of embarrassing," she mumbled.
"What were you doing?" he said, "If you'd have gotten caught, you would've gotten in trouble for sure. Those meetings aren't supposed to be heard or interrupted."
"I didn't get caught though," she said, defending herself, "And it was a dare."
His brow went up in surprise. "A dare?" he said, before laughing slightly, "You almost got suspended from school for a dare? Are you serious? I thought you were better than that."
"I was just trying to have some fun," she said, "And I didn't get caught anyway so there's nothing to yell at me about."
"Yes, there is," he said, "I want you to understand that just because Castiel says something would be good, it doesn't make it the good thing to do."
"I get it," she said, "You don't like Castiel. But Nathaniel, he doesn't try to be good; he tries to have fun."
"Having fun won't get you into college," he said, "It's not going to get you a job either."
"Nathaniel," she sighed, "Please don't talk to me like I'm stupid. Have you seen my grades? My grades are perfect. I qualify for scholarships at so many schools. You don't need to talk to me like I'm not going anywhere in my life, because I know I am."
Nathaniel met her gaze. What was that look in his eyes? Was he mad? He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he said, "You just had me worried, okay? I didn't want you to get caught."
"Thank you for worrying, but it's not necessary," she said slowly so that he wouldn't take her words offensively, "I can take care of myself, okay?"
He smiled. "Yeah," he said, "You're right."
She grinned. "Alright," she said, "I'm hungry. Do you want to go eat out somewhere?"
"Yeah, definitely," he said, "There's this café that I like that's downtown."
"Sounds great," she said. They walked side-by-side the entire half an hour walk to the café he'd mentioned. They had small talk conversations that had her laughing hysterically every few minutes. She enjoyed every minute of it.
After dinner, Nathaniel walked Maya home again and she hugged him tightly goodbye. She crept inside her home to find that it was chilled inside and empty; her parents must be out. She took her chance and rushed up the stairs on a limp. She changed into pajamas after locking her bedroom door and she laid down on her bed, elevating her sprain. The smile on her face just wouldn't fade. She knew she wasn't in love with Nathaniel, at least not yet; but she knew she had feelings for him. She wanted him to know her and she wanted to know him. She wanted to fall in love with him, although she wasn't sure how long that would take. She'd never actually fallen in love before; come to think of it, she didn't even have many crushes before and her past boyfriends were few and very selective. One of her lifelong fears was a broken heart, so in order to prevent it, she never fell in love. This was the first time she trusted a guy enough to want to love him; although they hadn't known each other long, she was sure she could trust him with her heart.
And there she slept, Nathaniel on her mind and her hand on her heart.
