Hey all sorry for taking so long to update (I have a feeling I'm going to say that a lot) but I do hope you stick with this story despite that. I have a thesis to do and work so I don't find much time to write. I am also sorry this chapter is so short but I don't want to force myself to write more just for a higher word count. I know that can be frustrating but it's how it's going to have to be. I know this story has been quite slow but from this point on it should start to move a bit faster now that we know a bit about where the characters are coming from. Time will probably start moving faster as well and I'm going to try to include more interactions with other characters as well as our two leads.
I have a rough idea of where I want this story to go, that being said I'm publishing as I'm writing so things might change. Thank you for all the support and I hope you enjoy the new chapter.
All my love
Sam
It was an incredible thing, sitting there listening to Maya speak without trying to dumb herself down or seem like she didn't care about school. She was so passionate and outspoken and wasn't afraid to tell him his opinion about the play was wrong, something he couldn't imagine the old Maya doing, at least not when it came to academics. He loved sitting there and feeling like maybe he hadn't ruined everything, sure it stung every time she said Lucas instead of Huckleberry or Ranger Rick but that would take time. She wasn't at all sullen and so who could blame Lucas for forgetting that she didn't want them to be friends. Lucas was following her out of class intent on keeping the conversation going when she stopped suddenly and turned to him her face devoid of emotion.
"What didn't you understand about us not being friends?" She said her voice harsh.
"Look I'm not going to cause a scene in class when a teacher pairs us up or jeopardize my grade by not doing the work but that doesn't mean I want anything to do with you outside of class." With that she spun around and walked away leaving Lucas to stand in the doorway feeling as though he'd just been slapped. He finally snapped out of it when somebody shoved past him and moved on to class. His last class of the day was History and when he got there Maya was there too at a desk with her name on it and exactly the same as in the previous class his desk was behind hers. If Lucas closed his eyes he could almost imagine Riley and Farkle in the desks next to theirs and pretend that it was Mr Matthews who was going to walk in and teach them some life lesson that vaguely connected to a historical event. That wasn't where he was though and instead of leaning on his desk as had been her habit in the past Maya sat with her back straight and every part of her as far away from his desk as was possible. Lucas took his seat and tried not to let the old memories cripple him.
He often still struggled with it, the way things were ruined by a triangle and him making the wrong decision. At first he'd been able to convince himself that he was always going to choose Riley and that he was happy with his decision, even if he'd been planning on choosing Maya that night she climbed through the Bay window covered in purple paint. He told himself that he had wanted the girl Maya had been pretending to be. The problem was that after the ski lodge Lucas realized all the bullshit about Maya turning into Riley was exactly that...bullshit. He started missing Maya even though they saw each other almost everyday, the thing was that it wasn't the same anymore. There was no more name calling or teasing, no more deep conversations or really any conversations at all. That was when the doubt started, it didn't help that his relationship with Riley hadn't changed from the awkward almost relationship they had developed over the years. So he went home for Christmas without telling Riley and didn't really talk to her while he was away and all he wanted to do while he was home for the holiday was talk to Maya and share everything with her. His Pappy Joe talked some sense into him that holiday and Lucas realized his mistake but it was already to late. When he got back from Texas, Maya spoke to him even less, even if the present she had gotten him for secret Santa was a painting of a bonfire on a beautiful clear night in Texas. She handed it to him without a word and instead of feeling elated Lucas had seen it for what it was, closure for Maya, she was giving him back one of the most important moments in their relationship. He still had it though, had brought it with him to Oakmont.
Lucas remained distracted throughout the class, his eyes focused on Maya as she scribbled down notes in a history class that was nothing like the one that Mr Matthews had taught. She ignored him completely, seeming oblivious to his very present except for the fact that she never leaned back in her chair and everything about her seemed tense. When the bell rang she was up and out of class before Lucas even closed his unused notebook, he was about to walk out when his Teacher called after him.
"Mr. Friar, a word please?" Lucas turned toward Miss Saunders seeing disappointment in her eyes.
"I understand you're here on a sport scholarship, Mr. Friar but I thought you cared about academics when I saw your marks from your previous school." Lucas cringed, his distraction hadn't gone unnoticed then.
"This school demands excellence from its students and staring at the back of another students head for the entirety of class is not how you achieve that excellence." Lucas resisted the urge to rub the back of his neck.
"I promise it won't happen again Miss Saunders." She nodded.
"I understand that you and Miss Hunter know each other from your previous school but I will not allow you to bring whatever unresolved issues you have into this classroom. Now I expect a full summary of what we did in class today on my desk tomorrow. You are dismissed."
His first day hadn't gone very well and he could only hope that practice would go better then history had. Lucas wasn't really sure what he had expected to happen when he saw Maya again but this hadn't been it. He headed down to the locker rooms to change and ran into Maya as he was exiting.
"For fucks sake, am I going to have to see you every time I turn a corner." Lucas just lifted his hands in a placating way and stepped back so she could get passed, he couldn't handle another confrontation. She huffed as if annoyed with him for giving in so easily and breezed passed. She had practice too then, he frowned as he followed her, he couldn't afford getting distracted in practice but he was curious to see how Maya would look on the field, how she would move. These were of course things he shouldn't have been thinking about before his first practice with a new team but he couldn't help it, he was intrigued by this Maya who was so much like the girl he had known and yet completely different. Still Lucas steeled himself, he had to focus, he wasn't going to get anywhere with Maya by staring at her while he was supposed to be practicing. Making progress with her would take time, Zay and Smackle had said as much, he needed to give her space and slowly break down her walls until she let him be a part of her life again. With that in mind Lucas walked onto the field intent on making his first practice a good one. It worked...mostly except for the few times he got distracted by seeing Maya laugh with her teammates and his heart almost stopped. Still the coach was happy with his performance and that was all Lucas could hope for on his first day on the team.
