Chapter 10, Lucas POV.
"That's it," I stated frankly after a few minutes of being in the rain, along with watching Maya shiver uncontrollably. I stood up and Maya looked up at me in surprise as I clutched her hand and yanked her up with me, "we're going inside, this is crazy Maya. What are you thinking sitting out here like this?" I started pulling her towards the entrance of my house, but she stood her ground, digging her feet into the ground and pulling back as I attempted to pull her forward.
"Come on Maya!" I begged, pulling at her arm, the umbrella held firmly in my other hand.
"I don't want to go inside!" She retaliated, pulling back harder, "come on, please stop it Lucas, my mums going to be here soon!"
"Okay fine, but if she's not here in the next five minutes we're going inside." I said with a sharp look plastered across my face.
"Fine. Did Riley tell you about me pranking Shawn the other week?" She asked, probably to change the subject to more of a chilled out one.
"No, what prank did you pull on him?" I asked curiously, umbrella forgotten as the two of us stood facing each other in the rain. An evil grin came to Maya's face as she recounted the story of the prank.
"And it was in front of Angela, that lady that he really likes," she added as she laughed along with me. I supported myself on the umbrella because I was laughing so hard.
"You are brilliant Maya! You're slightly psychotic, but brilliant nonetheless." I said, straightening up as the laughter dispersed from us slowly, fading into an awkward silence. I glanced towards the road once more, noticing that there wasn't a single car in sight. I turned to face Maya, and saw her shiver. I knew that she was stubborn, but I also knew that her stubbornness wasn't helping anybody. She was freezing, and needed a little bit of warmth.
"Oh, come here!" I exclaimed. I stepped forward, opening the umbrella as I grabbed one of Maya's arms and pulled her towards me, enclosing her in a tight embrace as I brought the umbrella over our heads.
Maya brusquely pushed my chest, showing that she wanted me to let go of her, but my one arm held her firmly in place.
"Do you want to freeze?" I asked her, as she tried to pull away again. "Your mum will probably be here soon, so just be sensible for once and stand under here with me please? I promise it'll be over before you know it."
Maya stopped trying to resist my hold, and she dropped her arms, relaxing into the embrace. The rain boomed onto the top of my umbrella, but I felt free from the rain as we stood tightly against each other beneath the small amount of shelter that we had available.
"Are you alright Maya?" I mumbled quietly over the loud falling of the rain around us. She had been quiet for a while with her head pressed up against my chest and her arms wrapped around my waist.
A quiet screech escaped her lips, indicating that she was all right, but I wasn't convinced. Her behaviour was still a clear sign that something was different between the two of us, and I realised that this was a good thing; the two of us were finally getting closer, we were becoming better friends, well at least that's what I told myself. I didn't want to think about having feelings for her; it was just too much to think about. 'I don't get it. She's acting really different and quiet. It's not about me though right? I mean, she didn't seem to care about our kiss, so it's probably something else...' I thought to myself. I decided to ask her once again, I wasn't convinced that she was okay.
"Are you alright Maya?" I asked once more.
"Oh my god Lucas I'm fine, how many times do you gotta ask?" She asked while pulling away from me, in conclusion the rain splattered her momentarily, though I quickly brought the umbrella over her head again.
"Maya!" I scolded her lightly for stepping into the rain again. She rolled her eyes at me, and looked at the street with an annoyed expression.
"Ugh where is she?! She's always so late." She stated while rolling her eyes. I suddenly had an urge to tell her about Riley and I. I knew that this was Riley's news to tell, but for some unknown reason I felt like I should be the one to tell Maya.
"I dunno, she'll be here soon I suppose. I need to talk to you about something," I replied.
"Okay, what?" She asked.
"Well Riley and I, we're kind of dating now."
"Oh okay," Maya nodded her head, I couldn't read her expression, but she looked neither happy or sad.
"Um I really like her, but I don't want you to feel weird about it, because I dunno, ever since the kiss..." The last bit of my sentence was covered by a loud honking of a car horn from across the street, and Maya pulled herself away from me as she turned around and looked for the basis of the noise. I saw Maya's mum's car, and realised that she was here to pick her up. Maya waved over at her to show that she was on her way, and then she turned back to me with expectant eyes.
"Sorry I didn't catch that," she stated hurriedly to me, and I shook my head at her.
"Your mum is here Maya, you better get going." I stepped back from her, however I kept the umbrella over her head. Maya looked at me, with hurt and betrayed eyes. Instead of saying anything she gave me a scornful look before turning around and running off towards the car through the rain.
"Maya, wait!" I shouted after her, but she ignored me and jerked open the door to the passenger side, getting in and slamming the door shut. I let the umbrella fall as I started to think about all of the girl dilemmas that were going on in my life. I felt so bad for hurting Maya's feelings. I could see the hurt on her face when I pretty much rejected her. I had wanted to confess that I did experience feelings from the kiss, but in the last instant I had chickened out; I just couldn't do it, especially since Riley and I had started dating.