Scream Me a Love Song
A Collection of GMW Song Fictions
No. 7: Christmases When You Were Mine

A/N: Just a quick little oneshot after viewing Girl Meets a Christmas Maya. Enjoy!

Lucas Friar walked downstairs on Christmas morning at his Pappy Joe's ranch and couldn't help but smile.

Pappy Joe and his Grandma Rose always made sure that every single Christmas was nothing less than perfect for him. The tree was over six feet tall and covered in sparkling white lights, with dozens of ornaments that had been passed down throughout generations of his mother's side of the family hanging from every branch. A few additions had been added, from artwork that he had made in his childhood as well as picture framed ornaments to show his progression from a newborn into the sixteen-year-old boy he currently was.

Garland and mistletoe covered almost every surface of the ranch and the piles of presents were sky high, all of them for Lucas, the sole grandson on his mother's side of the family who was spoiled by Pappy Joe and Grandma Rose.

And while it was usually all that Lucas had ever wanted when he was celebrating Christmas, he couldn't help but find himself wishing that every single speck of mistletoe was taken down and destroyed, because sweet, hidden kisses underneath the weeds were the last things that he wanted to think about that year. And that was because everything that he wanted was miles away in a city covered in snow that looked so picture perfect, he was sure it belonged in a snow globe.

His mother had spent most of his Christmas break in the kitchen, talking with his grandmother in hushed tones as they whispered their concerns for Lucas. His mother had been doing that since he had returned from the Ski Lodge and told her that he was officially dating Riley, if he was being honest. She had noticed the change in Lucas, as he started to turn back into the inclusive boy that he had been when he was living in Texas, without the aggressive streak.

He hadn't spoken to the reason for his downward spiral since he had gotten on the plane for Texas. He barely ever spoke to her anymore, if he was being honest. She had sent him a quick text early that morning, when she had woken up for her own Christmas festivities back in New York City, to wish him a Merry Christmas and let him know that she hoped all was well with him, but that was all that Maya Hart had spoken to him in days.

He wanted to tell her that he was alright, but he wasn't sure if she really even cared. Ever since he had picked Riley, after Maya had made it clear she wouldn't fight for him, he hadn't been able to tell if Maya was even his friend anymore. He knew that their friendship was different, but things were far more drastic than he ever would have imagined them becoming.

This wasn't supposed to be a lonely time of the year, though, and he knew that. Besides, he shouldn't be whining over Maya Hart, because he was dating Riley Matthews, her best friend. And he wasn't the type of guy to take his girlfriend for granted.

He wasn't the type of guy to hurt a girl, using her just so that he could try to get over the love of his life. That wasn't fear to Riley, and she really was a lovely girl and he really did care about her. He knew that he would eventually be able to come to love her, but it would never be the way that he cared for Maya. The blonde beauty was special to him and he knew it as well as anybody.

And while he may have never had a time when he and Maya were dating, he did have the factor that the previous year, he hadn't had to worry about Riley. Instead, Riley had stepped aside and told Lucas and Maya to give their romance a shot. The previous Christmas, he had believed that Maya was his, and that he was finally on his way to having the girl of his dreams. By New Year's Eve, however, reality came crashing in and he realized that a romance with him and Maya would never be possible, because it would bring in so many complications.

He really had been doing fine without Maya.

His life hadn't been that different, if he was being honest, because since his arrival in New York City, he had been pushed into Riley's arms. So, officially dating Riley and knowing that he couldn't have Maya didn't make his life any harder. He had honestly been doing completely fine without her.

But, once the nights started to get cold and he remembered those few weeks when Riley had stepped aside and let Lucas be with Maya, things had started to get hard for him.

And now, there he was, sitting in the living room of his grandfather's ranch-his favorite place in the world, with his family who thought of him as being their pride and joy, with stacks of presents to open, and he was nothing but miserable.

His grandparents had been together for years. They were like Cory and Topanga-meeting when they were children and becoming best friends. Falling in love and, after a few failed relationships with other people, realizing that they belonged with one another. Watching them together reminded Lucas of something that he would never get to have, because he was stuck with Riley and he couldn't have Maya.

Even his mother had managed to find love again, after the divorce with Lucas's asshole of a father. And while she was cuddling up on the couch with her new boyfriend, Lucas was sitting there alone, wishing that Maya Hart was sitting besides him. He would trade all of the presents underneath that tree for her.

No, while everybody else had somebody to hold, Lucas had to come to terms with the fact that Christmas was going to be a lonely time for him, because there would never be another Christmas when Maya was close to being his.

"Merry Christmas, everybody!" he said, forcing a smile on his face as he plopped down on the floor and pulled on the Santa hat that his mother always insisted on him wearing for Christmas morning.

He wasn't really in a cheerful mood, but he was going to do what he had to do.

"There's a little special something for you-that box wrapped in white with the drawings all over it? It came in the mail the other day and we thought you might want to open that up first," his mother smiled at him from the couch, her head resting on Trevor's shoulder.

Lucas frowned, eyebrows furrowing together as he tried to figure out who could have sent that gift. When he saw the perfectly wrapped box, though, with the carefully drawn sketches, he knew exactly who had sent the gift.

There was a large, oversized silver bow on the top with a card tucked beneath it. He started with that, because he knew that if she had added a card, there was something important inside of it.

Sure enough, he was right. Written in her girly, swirly handwriting, in green ink-his favorite color-was a note from the girl he hadn't been able to stop thinking about:

Dear Huckleberry,

It seems like it's been forever since I called you that. It seems like forever since we've really talked, actually. But, I got your name for Secret Santa and I wanted to make sure that you got your gift. Riley made us do this stupid thing where we had to explain why we got one another the gifts we got one another, because everybody got even worse gifts than usual. Even though I'm pretty sure this gift speaks for itself, I figured I'd spell it out for you. But, first, I just wanted to let you know that I miss you. And I wanted to thank you for last year, when you brought me to spend Christmas with you and your mom. It meant a lot to me-and to my mom. She really loves your mom-actually, speaking of that…let me guess-you got your mom another sweater for Christmas, didn't you? How was Christmas Eve with your dad? Your cousins show up late, again? Sorry I couldn't really help you decorate-I know you suck at getting the lights up straight. Listen…I know that this shouldn't be a lonely time of the year, but I miss you. I've been cutting you out ever since you and Riley started dating, because it sucks to see you guys together, but I want you to know that I miss you and I miss those Christmases, as few as they were, were we got to hang out together and be happy and comfortable and friends. I miss you, Ranger Rick, and I want you to know that last Christmas was my favorite Christmas, because that was as close as I'll ever come to you being mine.

-The Blonde Beauty

Lucas smiled to himself as he closed the card, setting it aside and started to unwrap the present, shocked by what was inside.

Every year, Maya asked Lucas what he wanted for Christmas or his birthday or any other special occasion. His answer was always the same and she always laughed at him, getting him some other than the one thing that he really wanted from her.

This time, though, she had done something a little bit different. She had finally given him what he had been asking for. Inside of the perfectly wrapped package were four canvases, each one decorated with a perfect piece of artwork created by Maya. Something from her heart-something that was meaningful and a part of her.

The first one he pulled out was a painting of himself, in Texas, wearing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, with Wrangler jeans and a flannel shirt. He was standing over another boy, with bruises covering his face and blood covering his own knuckles. Across the top, in that same hunter green color that he loved so much, it said "Who you used to be".

The next one was another painting of him, but this one was him sitting in a classroom with a crown on his head that read MORAL COMPASS. He was dressed in a pair of khakis with a button down shirt and his hair was perfectly styled. The top of that one said "Who everybody thinks you are".

Then there was one of him riding a bull, dressed exactly as he had when they had taken the trip together the year before. He had one hand in the air, clutching his hat with the bull looked as though it were attempting to throw him off. The top of that one said "Who you want to be".

And the final one was a picture of him, standing in front of the fire with Maya in front of him. He was cupping her face in his hands and staring down into her eyes. She was wearing that same outfit she had worn that night by the campfire, back in Texas and he was in the same outfit from that night. And the top of that one said "Who you are to me".

He smiled to himself as he stacked the canvases into a pile besides him. Maya was right-the gift did speak for itself. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to read the note that she had added to the card.

Huckleberry.

You used to be the type of guy who solved problems with his fists. You're not that guy anymore. But, you're also not the guy that I thought you were. The perfect moral compass who does everything by the book. You're definitely not Mr. Perfect, and it took me a while to realize that, but I know that it's true. I know that you want to be a hero, but that's not who you are either. You can't protect everybody and we all know that as well as you do. Instead, to me, you're some teenage boy who doesn't really know who he is yet. But, in the right place, with the right girl, you know exactly who you are and exactly who you want. So, while you try to remember the guy who you really are, I want you to know that I'll always be here, waiting to drive you crazy one more time in the firelight.

-A short stack of pancakes

He smiled to himself. He was going to hate himself for what he was going to have to do when he got back to the city, but he had to do what Maya told him to do. He had to find himself and he had to be the real him. He couldn't keep trying to change himself to fit the mold that other people tried to fit him in.

"What did she send you, sweetie?" his mom asked, trying to peer around him from her seat on the couch.

"Some paintings," he grinned.

"Really? Riley sent you paintings?" His mother frowned, leaning back into the couch.

"They're not from Riley….they're from Maya," he explained.

"From Maya? You mean that your girlfriend didn't send you anymore?" his mother asked curiously.

Lucas knew what she was doing. And for once, he was going to give her the answer that he knew she wanted to hear.

"I don't think Riley's going to be my girlfriend for that much longer," he shrugged, carefully folding up the wrapping paper from Maya's gift so that he could save it.

"Does that mean I'll be seeing more of Maya?" His mother asked with a small smile.

"That pretty little blonde who came with you and your friends to visit last year?" Grandma Rose asked eagerly.

"Yeah, well…I think I made the wrong decision when I picked Riley," Lucas confessed, reaching behind his back to scratch awkwardly at his neck. "And I think I gotta make things right when we get back to New York," he explained.

"You're breaking up with Riley?" his mother asked.

"You taught me to do the right thing, momma," Lucas shrugged. "So, that's what I gotta do. It's gonna suck and it's gonna be a big risk, but I gotta break up with Riley and tell Maya the truth," he said sheepishly.

"I did a good job with you," his mom smiled at him.

"What are you doing here?"

Maya slid open her bedroom window and stepped aside, allowing Lucas to slide into her room.

"I can't come thank my Secret Santa for the amazing present?" he asked her with a sheepish grin, raising an eyebrow at her playfully.

"I just find it kind of funny that you came here before you went to go see Riley," Maya rolled her eyes, heading back towards her bed which was piled high with what he assumed were the presents she had gotten for Christmas-although he didn't really understand why there was a broken clock in the pile.

"How do you know I didn't go there first?"

"Because you wouldn't be here right now. You'd still be there," Maya shrugged her shoulders, working on folding the clothes piled up on her bed.

"Not if Riley's not my girlfriend anymore," Lucas shrugged, rising to his feet from the window sill and stuffing his hands into his pockets, raising his shoulders up towards his ears as he stared sheepishly at the ground.

"She broke up with you for not telling her about going to Texas?" Maya scoffed.

"She didn't break up with me," Lucas said.

And then Maya froze.

"I broke up with her, because I made the wrong choice," He explained, taking a cautious step towards her.

"You need to leave. You can't be here right now," she insisted.

"Maya, Riley's okay with it. You stepped aside for her-twice," He reminded her.

"You're my best friend's ex-boyfriend. That means that I can't be with you. Lucas, you made up your mind at the the Ski Lodge and you didn't pick me. That means that you don't want to be with me. You want to be with Riley. So, don't do this to me again," Maya pleaded.

"Maya, I never meant to hurt you. I always told you that I could never hurt you and I meant that," Lucas insisted, walking towards her.

"But you did!" Maya snapped, throwing down the shirt she was working on folding and whirling around to face him. "You picked my best friend and you broke my heart and I had to send away my best friend because I couldn't bare to be around you knowing that you picked her over me!"

"You had Josh!" Lucas snapped. "You were all over him. You were in that stupid Triangle, but the second he showed up, you fell all over him. How do you think that made me feel?"

"You weren't jealous of Josh," Maya rolled her eyes. "You were jealous of Evan and we all know it. So don't give me some-"

"Maya,' Lucas sighed, taking a step towards her. "I never wanted to hurt you," he said, eyes softening as he reached out to place a reassuring hand on her arm.

"But you did," Maya rolled her eyes.

"I love you," Lucas blurted out.

"What?" Maya gasped.

"I love you, Maya. You told me that I can't keep pretending to be the guy that everybody else wants me to be? Well, the guy that I truly am is the guy that belongs with you. So, stop trying to make me fit a mold. Let me be-"

And then Maya cut him off, throwing her arms around his neck and jumping up into his arms, pressing her lips against his. She caught him off guard, so that he stumbled back just slightly, but once he realized what was happening, he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her from the ground, twirling her around.

"Is that a yes?" He smirked.

Maya laughed, shaking her head as she leaned in to kiss him again.