Chemistry:

Noun (u) / ˈkɛmɪstri/

A bond too strong to be kept away from

Needless to say, we all left the party pretty quickly after that. Maya was pissed at me and probably Lucas. Lucas was mortified. Smackle was upset that she and Farkle wouldn't be going to the same university, as they planned. And I just wanted to get away from all of it. I felt bad for Zay, who had barely a clue what was going on, and sprinted to catch a cab with Lucas.

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if none of them show up tonight. But then again, no one's ever missed a Matthews' New Year's Eve party before. At that exact thought, my phone buzzes with a new message. It's from Maya. Finally. I'd left her too many voicemails and messages to count, and here she is. A single message, stating simply: I'll see you tonight. I'm a little pissed off at her for ignoring me and when she finally answers, answering as enigmatically as possible. I don't reply, instead I just take a deep breath of relief.


I've just finished putting the last decoration up when my father calls from the living room. I hurry in as he puts on his coat. "Riley, the first guests just buzzed, they'll be here any second." "Good, good. Speaking of being somewhere..." I push him towards the door, knowing he won't leave without a little shove. "Hey! I know it's your senior year and all that, but surely your old man can say Hi!"

"Cory..." my mother's voice wafts from down the hall as she waits for her husband. "We talked about this." I continue to push him towards the door as he babbles. "Okay, okay! Just remember to be responsible! Don't drink and drive! No boys in your room. If you need anything call us. Auggie is just down the hall with Mrs Morgenstern so – " I shut the door behind him and slide to the floor.

A few seconds later I'm spurred into motion by slightly panicked knocking. I open the door to reveal a tense Zay, fingers interlocked with a recognisable boy. Immediately behind the pair are a grinning Smackle and Farkle, seeming extremely amused by something. Zay rushes inside without greeting, while his companion smiles and offers his hand. "Hi, I'm Xavier. I'm Zay's - "

"Boyfriend. He's my boyfriend. No, that does not mean you may tell him embarrassing stories or show him my baby pictures!" Zay blurts, tugging off his scarf and coat. Xavier grins kindly, "He's a little on edge." "Long drive?" I look pointedly at the other couple in the room. They smile guiltily back at me. "We saw an opportunity and we took it." Farkle shrugs.


The party is bigger than normal this year. I invited the entire graduating class, minus a few who would only cause trouble. It's very festive, good music and food and tastefully drunk teens. But as funny as watching Smackle tell Xavier about Zay's 'butt, or lack thereof'; it's a bit hard to enjoy when two of your favourite people are nowhere to be found.

I head to my room, deciding to call him. Enough is enough. The room is dark when I walk in, but not too dark that I miss the entangled couple at my bay window. "Zay!" I reprimand, turning on the light. "You're tainting the bay window." "Sorry Riley." Xavier blushes, sheepishly sliding past me and out of the room. I catch Zay by the arm as he tries to follow.

"Have you heard from Lucas?" He shakes his head. "Riles you don't need to worry. He'll come around. He always does." Zay rubs his hand up my forearms, giving me his lesser-seen soft-hearted smile. "He usually does. What if this time it's different?" I sigh, "What if he doesn't? Then what are we supposed to do?" Zay's eyes are fixed on a point behind me. "Why don't you ask him that yourself?"

I turn around to see the topic of our discussion climbing in through the bay window. I wonder, when was the last time my friends used the door? "I'm sorry for the dramatic entrance," he begins, sitting himself down, "I just didn't want you to bring our shit out in front of all the guests." I sit down next to him as he sends me an attempt at a light smile. "I'm sorry Lucas."

"Don't apologise. You've done nothing wrong." He squeezes my hand lightly. "I'm sorry if it felt like I lead you on. I swear, when we were together my feelings for you were all real." "Good to know." He fixes his eyes on the carpet as we hit a patch of silence. "So, you and Maya huh?" I snap my head up to look at him. "How do you know about that?"

"She told me. Also, it's incredibly obvious." I stand up, "You've talked to Maya?" Confused by my abruptness, he clears his throat, "Um, yes. She's probably what convinced me to show up tonight." I shake my head, not quite believing it. She goes and talks to him but completely ignores me? He cuts short my pacing to stand in front of me. "Are you okay, Riley?"

"Yeah, I'm fine – um, can you excuse me for a moment?" He furrows his eyebrows in concern but nods, "Okay, just don't do anything stupid." I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him tight. "I'm glad we're alright." I pull away to hold him at arm's length. "Well, I wouldn't say that so quickly..." He teases, but his smile gives it away.

Without another word, I walk out of the room and back into the organized chaos of the party. I skirt around groups, making casual conversation as I head towards a fixed space: the door. When I reach it I quickly slip out into the hallway. I soon find my feet taking me towards the place I gravitate to every New Year's Eve.


The roof of my apartment building is a special place, especially this time of year. I breathe in the brisk air, watching my cloud of exhalation disappear into the night. I take comfort in the city lights, so many different shades of warmth. The streets are packed tonight and I can vaguely hear upbeat music. By all accounts it's a perfect place. Not so perfect when you don't have someone to share it with. "Great view, huh?"

I whirl my head around to find a well-known blonde coming to stand next to me. Maya. "You're here." I state the obvious, taking in her features like it's been a year as opposed to five days. "Well, I did say I would be." I huff slightly, turning away from her to face the view. I can't help it; I'm pissed at her for leaving before I could explain, and I'm pissed at her for ignoring me, and I'm pissed at her for talking to fucking Lucas before me.

"Riles. Honey, look at me." She puts her hand on my chin and turns my face towards her. "I talked to Lucas." "So he said." She frowns, not understanding my tone. A smirk then spreads across her face, "Riley, are you jealous?" I scoff. "Of course not. You're not even into guys." I look away and add an afterthought, "Right?"

This time it's Maya's turn to scoff. "Oh yes, I'm definitely planning on riding of into the sunset with Bucky-mick-boing-boing. His southern ways were just too much for me." She mock-swoons as I cross my arms. "Not funny." Her face softens as she takes both my hands in hers. "Come on. Can't you see how much I care about you? How much I want to make you smile? How much I want to hear your laugh, paint you when it's 5:30 and you turn gold?"

"Perhaps I've been short-sighted by your blatant ignoring of me." My lips quip into a small smile, not being able to resist her charms completely. "I'm sorry. I just saw you and Lucas and I didn't know what to do because, Riles you're one of the best people to walk into my life. I wouldn't be able to handle you being with Lucas, and I wouldn't be able to handle losing you either."

We share a long, meaningful look. I allow myself to fully feel the connection between us, the tug in my stomach and the tightening pull. "So, what I'm hearing is," I smirk down at her, "I'm your favourite?" She laughs and nods her head, "You'll always be my favourite no matter what you are."

I blush at her tooth-achingly sweet words, unclasping our hands so that I can bring them to cup her face. "Ready to go back to the celebration?" She shakes her head, her hands moving to grasp my collar. She pulls me into her and finds my lips in one swift motion.

I can practically hear the burst of fireworks, and when I pull away I discover it's because they've started setting them off. "It seems we've missed the count down." I smile. "Does that bother you?" She brings her lips down to my neck and hums. I struggle to stutter out a "N-not at all."

Her hot breath is against my skin and I can't wait to kiss that smirk off of her face. I bite my lip, intentionally riling her up, before leaning just close enough for her to close the gap. "Happy New Year." I mummer against her lips before my mouth becomes to occupied to talk.


AN:Yes I know I'm shitty

But I'm posting a day early so that makes up for it right...?

Kisses x