AN: To the guest reviewer, who is worried about the triangle dragging, it's only Tuesday! Even though we are 14 chapters in, it's been 2 days. I promise, I'm trying to end things in a believable way with the characters staying true to themselves. Things are subtly moving forward. Maybe this chapter will reveal more of where everyone's heads are at? It's only Tuesday, but I promise once we get to the weekend, you'll see where I'm going. I hope you can stick it out, if not I understand. If you want to talk more, pm me and I'll discuss it in depth. I just don't want to reveal any potentially spoiler-y information in an author's note.

Also, I am taking the weekend off because it's my birthday! I'll be at a Luke Bryan concert and then having some family time. If you're looking for some Rucas to hold you over, read some of my other fics! (Shameless plug, I know!)

Man, I'm rambling tonight! On with the show!

Tuesday, July 1st 3:00 p.m.

"Uh, no way! That's the start of a scary movie if I ever saw one, and you know the black guys always die in those things!"

"Zay! It's just an old abandoned lighthouse!"

Maya giggled at Zay's refusal to climb the stairs. She allowed him to lead her to the meadow away from the lighthouse, and even though the hand in hers was a friendly gesture, she couldn't help but feel something swelling inside her.

"Zay! Slow down!" Maya laughed, trying to keep up.

He stopped abruptly, so she ran into him. "Hop up, princess!"

He squatted down, gesturing to his back. Hesitating slightly, she jumped up on him. "I'm definitely not a princess, Sparky. I think you have me confused with my leggy, gorgeous, brunette friend."

Zay laughed, jiggling her on his back. "To me, sweetheart, you're the gorgeous one. And you may not be tall as Riley, but you've still got a great pair of legs on you. Don't sell yourself short."

Maya leaned forward, trying to get a look at her friend's face, trying to read him.

"So, princess," he said, emphasizing the word. "Are you feeling better than you were this morning?"

Maya nodded, and immediately felt silly, realizing Zay couldn't see her. At the edge of the meadow, she slid off his back, all the way down to the grass. When she landed, she pulled on his legs, making him fall to the ground, both of them a heap of tangled limbs.

Zay rolled off her, and they ended up on their backs, staring at the sky.

"Things seem to be getting back on track," Maya said, finally answering Zay's earlier question.

Zay shook his head. "You all seem so deadset on getting things back to what the used to be. Has it ever occurred to any of you that you can't go back? That everything has already changed? You can't just hit the reset button and start over. Otherwise, you'll wind up in the exact same place."

Maya propped her head up, on one hand, turning to the side to face him. "I just want to be Maya and Riley. What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, sugar, but I think Riley might want to be Riley and Lucas. Besides, there's nothing wrong with being just Maya."

Zay turned on his side to face her, not realizing how close they were to one another. Despite himself, he reached out to brush a piece of grass off her face.

"I think just Maya's pretty fabulous myself," he said softly.

It was a very rare occasion for Maya to be speechless. She always had a witty comeback, a snappy retort, a wisecrack, but staring into Zay's eyes, it felt like she was looking at him for the very first time.

Her mouth suddenly dry, she licked her lips, and Zay was drawn to the movement. Maya wasn't sure, but it felt like he was leaning in close to her, too close, impossibly close. Was she reading too much into the situation?

She had been in this position before... In Texas. With Lucas. She was so sure he was going to kiss her, so sure she wanted him to at the time. But now, months later, her memory of that night is hazy at best. Did she imagine all those feelings between them?

If that moment had been so undeniable, why hadn't they ever had any more? If Lucas really wanted to kiss her then, why didn't he? If she really wanted to kiss him, why didn't she? She had never hesitated before, so why did she then?

The only answer she could come up with was that deep down she knew kissing him was wrong. She knew he wasn't hers to kiss. But was Zay?

How could she be thinking about kissing Zay at a time like this? When everything was so up in the air? She was such a mess.

Not wanting to be pulled down that road with a friend again, Maya did the first thing that came to mind- she sprang at him, knocking him on his back and tickling his sides like she had seen Riley do to Lucas earlier.

Zay gave as good as he got, and they were soon rolling and laughing, battling for dominance. Somehow Maya had ended up on top, but Zay had her arms locked in his. Time seemed to freeze at that moment, neither one of them gaining ground against the other.

"Riley!"

They were both snapped out of their daze by the sound of Lucas shouting. Maya quickly disentangled herself and stood. She wiped the grass off her pants and straightened out her clothes.

Zay took note of her abrupt change in attitude. The minute she heard Lucas' voice she couldn't get away from him fast enough. Every time he thought they were getting closer, that she was finally seeing him, she pulled away. Because of Lucas.

Maya wasn't thinking about Lucas at all, though. She was thinking about the name he called. Frantically searching the meadow, she saw her sister running clumsily towards her. She held her arms out, but instead of running to her, Riley ran straight to Zay. Why did Riley keep turning to him?

Lucas was following behind her, and he, too, took note of whose arms Riley ran into. Just like this morning, she went to his best friend for comfort instead of him.

Earlier Riley accused him of having a relationship with Maya that she couldn't grasp, but somehow without him even noticing, she had developed a relationship with Zay that he couldn't even begin to touch.

He was jealous. Plain and simple. He had no right to be, but seeing Riley's mood immediately brighten, he couldn't help but wonder if this was how she felt when she saw him with Maya.

"Are you okay, Riles?" Maya asked softly as she shot Lucas a questioning glance.

Riley nodded, turning to her best friend. "I just remembered I promised Zay to show him the lighthouse!"

"Oh, honey, Zay doesn't want-"

"I'd love to, Sugar," Zay interrupted brightly, taking her hand and racing through the meadow.

They left Maya and Lucas standing there stunned. Lucas because he couldn't believe she was running from him yet again, and Maya because Zay happily agreed to go to the lighthouse with Riley and not her.

"So, what did you do this time, Huckleberry?" Maya asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. Why was she so annoyed that her time with Zay had been interrupted? Shouldn't she be happy to spend some time with Lucas?

She had barely seen him all week, and honestly, she didn't mind. Every day it became more obvious that she had been so wrong about her feelings for Lucas. She wanted to clear the air with him, but she was worried that Riley would misinterpret her actions again.

Lucas sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He did not want to get into this with Maya. He had promised Zay he wouldn't say anything, but he wanted more than anything to extract himself from this triangle once and for all.

He was worried if he lost his temper, he would tell Maya that Riley was his choice and Zay would never forgive him. Riley stepped back to give Maya the opportunity figure out her feelings and be happy. He wanted to be the kind of friend who would do the same for Zay.

Without responding to Maya, he set off in the direction of the lighthouse, determined to make Riley listen to him.

"Huckleberry?"

Lucas didn't respond, but he did pick up his pace.

"Ranger Rick?" she asked again, walking a little faster.

Lucas full out started sprinting, and Maya's little legs couldn't keep up.

"Lucas!" she screamed.

On the climb to the top of the lighthouse, Riley had filled Zay in on her conversation with Lucas, and now they were both sitting on the ground with their backs against the window, facing the ocean.

"So... Lucas keeps trying to kiss you, and that's a bad thing?" Zay was confused.

"He can't have me until he picks me, Zay!" she screeched out, and then mumbled. "If he picks me..."

Zay sighed, knowing he was a part of the reason she was hurting. "Lucas is going to pick you, sweetie."

"You don't know that."

Zay chewed on his lip, debating telling her the truth, or at least, some form of it. If Riley knew that Lucas was keeping quiet for him, she would surely understand. "Riley-"

"Lucas!"

When Riley heard Maya scream, she took off down the steps without thinking. Maya sounded scared, desperate even. Was Lucas hurt?

Running out the door, her question was answered when she ran right into Lucas' strong chest. He reacted immediately, reaching out to catch her before she had the chance to fall back.

Maya came up from behind Lucas, and Zay had just reached the bottom steps. Riley was still in Lucas' arms but jumped back when she noticed her friends.

"Riley, please. Can we just talk? I really need to talk to you."

Riley glanced over his shoulder to look into Maya's eyes. "Lucas, I just don't think right now is a good time."

Riley backed out of his arms, walking past him to link elbows with Maya to head down the path back to the van.

"Damnit, Riley! It's never a good time for us, is it?" Lucas shouted.

Maya paused, waiting to see what Riley wanted to do. Riley subtly shook her head, took a deep breath, and kept walking.

Lucas looked helplessly at Zay, who simply hit him upside the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for? She won't let me talk!"

"Well, maybe if you kept your lips to yourself and actually used them for talking instead of trying to kiss her every two seconds, she would listen!"

Lucas glared at him. "Well, maybe if I could just tell her she is my choice, the only choice, I would be able to do whatever I wanted with my lips! But I am trying to be a good friend to you!"

Zay groaned and put his arm around his friend. "Maybe we should go back to the drawing board because this plan isn't working for anyone."

Lucas nodded. "We need more than a plan. We need a genius plan."

Zay's forlorn expression turned into a wide grin. "Well, good thing we happen to be great friends with not one, but two geniuses."

Up ahead of them on the path, Maya quietly questioned Riley. "Are you okay, Riles? You want to tell me what happened?"

Riley gave her a side glance, chewing her lip. "I want to, but, for the sake of our freshly mended fences, I don't feel like I should."

Maya stopped walked and turned Riley to face her, grabbing both of her forearms. With a quick glance to make sure the boys were still a safe distance behind them, she said, "You should. You always should. I cherish our friendship, Riley. I will always put you and me above everything, even some guy."

Riley nodded, but she wouldn't meet Maya's eyes.

"So tell me. Whatever it is, I can take it. I will be alright."

"Maya, I love you, but Lucas isn't just some guy to me. I can't promise to always put you above him, but I can promise I won't ever put him above you. Can that be enough?"

Maya felt tears sting her eyes as she looked into Riley's earnest face. She brushed Riley's hair behind her ears, stopping to hold both of her cheeks. "Yes, honey. That can be enough. You are always enough for me."

Riley was crying freely now, causing Maya to finally release her own tears. "Peaches, I know what we have to do now. I know what I have to do. Just remember I love you, okay?"

Maya nodded and hugged her tightly. "I love you, too."

Riley started giggling, clumsily wiping Maya's tears off. Maya took her cue and started brushing the tears of Riley's cheeks.

"I leave you two alone for a couple hours, and now you're both sobbing messes! What did you do before I came into your lives?" Smackle called from down the path.

Both girls turned toward the sound to see the van rolling to a stop in the lot.

"We did nothing good!" Maya called, rushing toward their two friends.

"Yes, never leave us again!" Riley shouted, pulling Smackle and Farkle both in for a hug.

"Where are the boys?" Farkle asked.

"We killed them!" Maya giggled.

"Buried them in the meadow!" Riley joined in.

Smackle pointed down the trail, where Lucas and Zay were both slowly walking, heads down, hands in their own pockets.

"Ah!" Riley screeched. "Zombies!"

She ran to the van, dramatically flailing her arms.

"Sorry, Smacks," Maya said, jokingly shoving her into Farkle. "Run for your lives! Every woman for themselves!"

Smackle glanced between the girls to the boy and back to Farkle. "I think I liked it better when they were fighting. It was a lot easier to keep up."

Farkle put his arm around her. "No, you don't. Just go along with whatever crazy antics they come up with- that's what I do."

Smackle nodded as the two boys approached them. She mechanically pushed Farkle into them.

"Sorry, my love!" she called over her shoulder, awkwardly racing over to the girls. "I'm just taking your advice."

Zay and Lucas exchanged a raised eyebrow glance.

"What did we miss?" Lucas asked Farkle.

Farkle shook his head, chuckling to himself. "Maya and Riley are officially back on, and, I'm happy to say, they have accepted Smackle as one of their own."

Lucas clapped him on the shoulder. "That's great!"

Farkle nodded. "All three women that I love are best friends. My life is perfect."

Zay's eyes grew wide. "Oh, no."

"What?" Lucas asked.

"You know how Maya and Riley can be... Well, now there's three of them."

"Oh, no," Farkle said. "And I just told her to go along with all their crazy schemes!"

"Farkle!"

All three boys turned when they heard squealing and high-pitched giggles coming from the backseat of the van. In turn, they all exchanged terrified glances.

"Farkle," Lucas said, sounding scared. "I can't handle three of them."

Maya popped her head out of the van. "Are you guys coming or what?"

Behind her, Riley and Smackle had turned up the radio and were singing loudly and off key.

Zay, sounding very serious, as he crept slowly towards the van, said to Farkle, "What have you done?"

Farkle shook his head and pulled a reluctant Lucas into the van. Lucas shook his head frantically as the girls started screaming lyrics in his ears.

"I'm falling, so I'm taking my time on my riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide..."

AN: Riley has a plan... Fair warning, you probably won't like Riley's plan. But, Zay and Lucas are going to go to their intellectual superiors for a better plan. Also, I love Smilaya. I want more Smilaya in my life, so it will be in my fanfiction! Also, I'm a Joshaya shipper, but Zaya has been sneaking into my heart, mainly because I love Zay so, so much. Where is everyone else at in this? Zaya vs. Joshaya? (Do NOT say Lucaya. I respect you if you ship them, but in my world they aren't an option! LOL!)