I Write Sins Not Tragedies
A Girl Meets World Fan Fiction Series
Chapter 48: Take me Home Tonight
Homecoming had been everything Maya had expected and hoped for it to be, and more.
Officially being Lucas's girlfriend again meant that he showed up at Riley's apartment with the other boys, ready to meet the girls. As soon as he saw her in the dress she'd picked out weeks prior, his jaw dropped and his ability to form a coherent sentence disappeared. Instead, he opted to make his way across the room and pull her in close, hands locked on her tiny waist as he caught her lips in a kiss that was far too passionate for the presence of their friends. Then, he fumbled to slide the corsage he had ordered for her and never canceled onto her wrist. And he hated himself for being so awkward as Maya confidently attached his boutonniere to the lapel of his suit.
At the dance, she spent the entire night with Lucas's arms around her as she danced with their friends. She took photo after photo with her boyfriend, broadcasting their crowns and the fact that they were back together again.
The highlight of the evening, however, was when they got home from the dance.
Lucas had looked at Maya during the last song of the night, a slow dance so that they were able to talk with a little more privacy on the crowded dancefloor. With his lips pressed up against her ear, he had asked her if she had her heart set on attending an after party, or if she wanted to head back to his place immediately following the dance. He had then awkwardly announced that his mother was in Texas, interviewing for a new head chef at her restaurant location there.
She had eagerly agreed to skip out on a drunken night out in order to make up for lost time with her boyfriend.
Especially with the way that Lucas had been eyeing her all night. Whenever Lucas gave her a look like that, she knew that she was in for an intense make out session. And now that they had taken things to the next level, she could only imagine what the sex would be like when he was clearly that turned on by her appearance.
And there was the fact that they still needed to have some post-fight, hot and heavy make-up sex after their brief interlude from a relationship. They were refusing to refer to what had happened as a break-up, as it had lasted a week and been the result of a drunken fight. They had compromised on the fact that they had both overreacted. They had gotten caught up in the intensity of their fight, but they hadn't actually wanted to terminate the relationship. They had just needed some space to figure out all of the issues that they had ignored in their eagerness to get together in the first place.
Now that Josh was completely out of Maya's heart and she was focused one hundred percent on Lucas, they could move forward.
Lucas no longer having to worry about Josh stepping in after any minor mistake that he made meant he had the room to be more comfortable in his relationship, rather than constantly looking over his shoulder and walking on eggshells.
So, as soon as the dance ended, they crawled into Lucas's truck and made their way back to his apartment. They hurried through the parking garage, into the lobby of the building and up the elevator to his floor. As soon as the elevator doors shut, Lucas had Maya up against the wall, kissing her with a ferocity that made Maya wonder if he'd be able to contain himself until they entered his apartment. The elevator beeped, announcing that it was on his floor and they broke apart. Seeing that they were still alone, Lucas picked Maya up, her legs wrapped around his torso as he kissed her, blindly and clumsily making his way towards his apartment. He fumbled with his keys as he pressed her up against the door to his apartment, unlocking the door as he kissed her neck. He pushed her inside, guiding her towards his room as he kicked the door shut behind him.
And then they were in his room and he was fumbling with the zipper on her dress, sliding it off of her and marveling at the sight of her. Maya smirked at him, falling back onto his bed and pulling him on top of her. She began to unbutton his shirt, her fingers moving at a speed he had never quite seen before.
It was hot and it was heavy.
It was different from the first time, as this time they had a better sense of what they each enjoyed. They knew what to expect. And they had been apart for so long that they longed for one another in a way that they never had before.
The first time had been loving and full of tenderness. It had been clear that they were trying to make love and move their relationship forward.
This time, it was the same fire and rain kind of energy that their classmates had always seen surrounding the blonde couple. It was everything that could ever be expected of Maya and Lucas, as the aggressive, Texan-brute-strength side of Lucas came out as he tossed Maya around, taking charge in a way that seemed to shift the power balance in their relationship. And Maya, who was always in control and who always dominated every situation in which she was a part of, allowed Lucas to take control. As soon as their clothes were off and they were in bed together, their entire relationship dynamic shifted, and they both secretly enjoyed having this knowledge that nobody else would ever know about them. It was the most ironic of inside jokes, and it made everything that much hotter to them.
Besides, Maya had always been attracted to the side of Lucas that bragged about being as strong as a horse without ever trying, and Lucas loved the effect that he had on her when he was in that state of mind. The fact that it only came out in the bedroom was the perfect compromise for them both, as Maya got what she wanted, and Lucas was able to keep his newfound ability to control his anger intact.
And as soon as they were finished, things immediately went back to normal between them.
Lucas would lay there with his arms wrapped around Maya, her head resting on his bare chest. She'd be clothed in only his tee-shirt, which fit her almost like a dress that was too short to ever leave the house in. He would play with her hair, and they would talk about everything and anything, the way that they always had. And Lucas would always ask the same question as soon as their conversation began.
"Was it, um…was it good for you?"
The awkward question always preceded anything that the pair might discuss after one of their intimate moments. And while it didn't match Lucas's typically bold and confident persona, it perfectly depicted the way that he always interacted with Maya when it came to his feelings or the early stages of anything in their relationship.
"Yes," Maya laughed, nuzzling herself closer to Lucas, even though it was impossible for them to become more intertwined.
"I didn't hurt you, right?" Lucas wondered, the voice soft and sleepy.
"No, Huckleberry. Why do you always ask me that? Are you afraid you're doing something wrong?" Maya giggled, trying to lighten the mood.
"Maya, you're a peanut. I'm a foot taller than you and I've got at least fifty pounds on you. Can you really blame me for being worried that my weight on top of you might hurt you?" he wondered.
"It's not like you're just lying on top of me, Ranger Rick. It's a different kind of thing. None of your weight is actually on me," she rolled her eyes, but a mischievous smile took over her face as an idea formed in her head. "But, if you're so worried about hurting me when you're on top, I suppose we could always switch things up a little," Maya teased with a smirk.
And then she was on top of Lucas, straddling him as she leaned in close to kiss him, before sitting back up and shaking out her curly mane. Lucas smirked up at her, wrapping his arms around her beck and pulling her back down to kiss him.
"Maybe that was the whole point of me asking that question," Lucas shrugged a singular shoulder before sliding his tee-shirt off of Maya. "Because it always leads us to here," he winked, placing his mouth over hers once again as he kissed her hungrily.
Lucas adored Maya and he had spent a week being unable to kiss her or touch her. He had been able to hold her in his arms. He'd been unable to hear his nicknames come from her beautiful voice. She hadn't been teasing him for seven days. He hadn't been allowed to tangle his hands in her curls or put his hands on her hips to pull her in close.
All that he wanted now that he had Maya back and had earned his place in her heart again, he was going to enjoy every second of it. He knew that he was never going to let her go again, but he couldn't allow himself to get too comfortable. He was going to continue to treat Maya as his queen, because he was going to do everything in his power in order to keep her close to him. He needed to protect his relationship with everything he had because the last week of his life had been the worst week of his life.
He'd thought it was bad when Maya had been pushing him into Riley's arms. He'd thought it was hard when Maya had started dating Josh. It had been difficult for him to feel as though he had lost Maya after New Year's Eve back in middle school when Riley had entered the Triangle once again and he had felt like he was losing Maya all over again. And he had thought it was the lowest point of his life when Maya had started to lose herself and take on more and more of Riley's traits.
But nothing would ever be as bad as the week he had spent without Maya in his life, after he had had a taste of Maya as his girlfriend. Having her in his life for just long enough to know how amazing she truly was in all her glory, without any Riley interruptions, made losing her that much harder.
And it truly had been the first time in his life that he and Maya hadn't actually spoken a word to one another since they had first met. Even when Maya had been angry with him for finally fighting back and referring to her as a short stack of pancakes, she had iced out Riley. She had refused to speak to her brunette best friend, but she had kept Lucas in her life. She had continued to talk to him and roast him and give him a hard time, and Lucas still wasn't totally sure why she had done that, just like how he still wasn't sure why she had always been so adamant about their little game.
He knew that he had always allowed her to tease him because he had held it close to his heart as flirtatious banter between the pair. He knew that he had allowed it because of the way her face lit up in a smile every time he was unable to contain a laugh. He did it because it made Maya happy and he would do anything to make her happy. But he still didn't know why it made her happy and a part of him still really wanted to know. He knew that it really didn't matter anymore, because he had her, but it didn't resolve the curiosity that filled his brain. So, he knew that at some point he was going to have to ask her and pry as much as he had to in order to get an answer.
And that was why when Maya flopped onto her back, lying beside Lucas and snuggling up against him when they had finished yet another round of sex, he allowed a different question to escape from his lips, breaking what had become their routine.
"Can I ask you something?"
"You're going to anyways," Maya rolled her eyes, a soft chuckle escaping from her lips as her melodic voice filled the darkened room.
"Maya, this is kind of serious," Lucas stated, his voice even but he was unable to keep the smile from spreading across his face because he was never able to resist when it came to Maya.
"What's going on?"
Maya was shifting away from his slightly, rolling onto her side so that she could prop herself up on his elbow, eyebrows furrowing in concern as she studied her boyfriend. Her pouty lips turned downwards into a frown as she tried to detect what could suddenly be changing his mood after all of the fun, they had been having all night.
"Why did you get mad at Riley when I called you a short little stack of pancakes?" he wondered, green eyes locked on her blue ones.
Maya stared at him, blinking three times slowly as she waited for something to follow. When nothing else came, she was unable to resist the urge to throw her head back and laugh. Full blown hysterics burst from her lips as her hair tumbled down her back and her eyes filled with tears from the belly aching laugh that was erupting from Lucas's comedic question after such an intense introduction.
"Why are you laughing? Maya…I'm being serious," Lucas frowned, the hurt evident on his beautifully symmetrical face.
"Are you serious?" Maya froze, jaw dropped as she looked at him, still waiting for the punchline. "Lucas, that was years ago," she rolled her eyes.
"I just need to know why," Lucas sighed, running a hand through his already disastrous hair. "I've been thinking about it for a long time, but I just need to know," he pleaded.
"If I tell you, will you be honest with me about something?" Maya sighed, flopping back down onto her back in a showing of how exasperated she was about the entire conversation Lucas was attempting to have with her at two in the morning.
They'd had less of a serious discussion over the issues that had led to their breakup. Getting back together had involved a less intense conversation between the pair. However, this seemed to be important to Lucas and Maya had her own unanswered questions from the past that she longed to get an answer to. If Lucas wanted to play this game, Maya was going to put her own hat into the ring.
"Of course," Lucas promised, reaching out to intertwine his fingers with hers. "But you have to go first," he teased, sticking his tongue out at her.
"Fine," Maya groaned, pretending that it was going to take an enormous amount of effort from her to meet his requests. "I was mad at Riley because I could never be mad at you. I know that you're the one that said it, but you were giving me exactly what I wanted. I always wanted to break you and I did. And I got mad at Riley because I took that as you picking her over me, once and for all," Maya explained, firing the words out of her mouth at a rapid speed as she worked to get it all out in as close to one singular breath as possible.
"I don't understand that logic," Lucas sighed, after a few seconds of silence to process her response. "I didn't even know you were an option at that time. I was constantly trying to pick you at that time, and you kept pushing me away. Maya, you broke me at that moment because I was convinced that I had finally lost you after you came back talking about Josh nonstop," Lucas reminded her.
"I thought that when I broke you, you'd go crazy. You'd tell everybody, including Riley, that you wanted to be with me. I know that I knew that you wanted to be with me and all, but you never once attempted to say that to Riley," Maya pointed out. "I kept trying to break you because I just wanted you to tell her that you wanted to be with me and that was final. I wanted you to grab my face and kiss me in the middle of the hallways when I got close to your face and screamed ha-hur!' Maya's emotions grew with every word that flew from her mouth and she hated herself for being so brutally honest.
The raw honesty was enough to make her tear up and she knew that she could trust Lucas, but a part of her still despised the fact that she was making herself appear so weak-so much like one of those girls-and she hated herself for it.
"Maya, you're so stupid sometimes," Lucas said, before bursting out into his own round of hysterical laughter that rivaled Maya's previous outburst.
"What?" Maya shrieked.
"Maya," Lucas sighed, reaching out to pull her close to him. "You broke me because I was jealous, not because of those stupid nicknames. And you breaking me was never going to result in me doing any of that bullshit you apparently wanted me to do, because you made it clear that I wasn't allowed to hurt Riley. If you were just playing hard to get, I would have kissed you the first time you pulled that stunt on me. Wait…. are you saying you were mad at Riley because you were jealous?" Lucas was unable to contain the smile that came as a result of the idea of Maya being jealous over the thought of somebody else having Lucas.
"I was," Maya sighed. "But it was more than that. If you and Riley were going to be together, I could learn to cope with that, because at least my best friend was happy, and you would be happy and get over me eventually. But, if she was going to date you and take your side all the time, it meant that you'd be expected to do the same and you would because that's the kind of guy you are and that would mean that I'd lose both of you and it would be my own fault and I hated the idea of that," she admitted.
"You do realize that I was never going to get over you?" Lucas pointed out.
"Well I know that now," Maya smirked. "Can I ask my question now?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Why did you let me make fun of you?"
"It was the closest thing to flirting I was ever going to get with you," Lucas shrugged, his answer as simple as that.
"You obviously know what my response to that ridiculous answer is going to be, right?" Maya asked, shooting him a look that terrified him, humbled him, humiliated him, and turned him on all at the same time.
"If I kiss you right now can I prevent the inev-"
"You are such a huckleberry," Maya rolled her eyes, placing a hand on his cheek as she leaned up to capture his lips with her own.
"I'm actually okay with being called that if it means you're going to kiss me," Lucas admitted.
"If you intentionally decide to act like a Huckleberry, it loses its appeal," Maya teased.
"Can we talk about one more thing?"
"Ranger Rick, I'm exhausted," Maya whined.
"One more, I promise," Lucas pleaded.
"What's up?" she sighed.
"Did you talk to Josh after your party?"
"Are we really going to do this right now?"
"So, you did?"
"He came over and he didn't seem to understand that I was upset because I ruined the best thing that had ever happened to me. He seemed to think I was only upset because I had hurt you, which is preposterous because while I hated that I had hurt you, I was heartbroken over losing you. So, I reminded him of that and- "
Lucas didn't let her finish.
He was kissing her again, holding her close as he grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling on it the way that he knew she loved. He nibbled at her bottom lip gently, teasing her in the way that always elicited a moan. His tongue danced with hers, working together in a way that only theirs could accomplish.
He had heard all that he needed to hear, after all.
He hadn't really cared if Maya and Lucas had talked. He had actually hoped that they had. He needed to know that it was no longer a choice. He needed to know that Josh was no longer a factor in the equation. He couldn't stand the thought of being the guy that Maya was with out of an obligation or because she felt the need to fix the damage she had created. He didn't want her to be settling for him.
Knowing that she told Josh the truth behind all of her pain-knowing that the truth of the matter was that she couldn't bear the thought of losing him-he was content.
He had Maya Penelope Hart, the most incredible girl in the entire world. The blonde beauty that made him laugh like nobody else. And nothing was going to change that.
They were invincible and they always had been.
Things weren't going to be easy. He knew that things wouldn't suddenly be smooth sailing for the pair just because they had worked through this particular issue. But it was a step in the right direction, and it was all that Lucas needed to have hope that they would be able to make it through absolutely anything.
As much as he longed for all of his friends to be happy in life, as he and Maya cuddled up together and he turned off the lamp besides his bed so that they were engulfed in the darkness of his bedroom, he couldn't help but pray that the next time drama came spiraling towards the six best friends that anybody could ever hope to have, it would be directed at somebody other than him or Maya.
Maybe it would do Farkle some good if the group had a reason to focus their attention on him, working on helping him rekindle his relationship with Smackle or create a new relationship with somebody that nobody had ever imagined him pairing off with. Or maybe Farkle just needed some attention because he seemed to get swept under the rug a lot as he focused his energy on fixing everybody else's problems.
Maybe it would be nice to focus on Smackle. Not for a romantic reason, because Smackle was more than her relationship status. But maybe the group could focus their attention on making sure she felt as loved as she truly was by everybody in the group.
Or Zay might have his eyes on a new girl. Or have some sort of issue that he might need to work through because Zay never seemed to really have any problems. When he did, it resulted in an outburst that was the result of holding it in for far too long. Maybe it was time that Zay started to focus on healthy alternatives for his emotions.
And if all else failed, Riley was always equipped to give the group some excitement because there always seemed to be something dramatic going on in her life.
Lucas really didn't care, as long as the focus wasn't on himself or his girl for once.
Maya and Lucas walked into Maya's apartment the next day in the early afternoon, after having sufficiently filled both of their stomachs with a delicious hang-over recovering breakfast. While neither of them had consumed any alcohol and had spent the night stone cold sober, they were in such a state of exhaustion from their busy night and had worked up such an appetite throughout the entire night that they had been in a similar state to their fellow classmates who had spent the night belligerently intoxicated.
As the pair laughed, Maya leaning up against Lucas with his strong arm wrapped around her waist, they were oblivious to the world around them. So oblivious, in fact, that they failed to notice Shawn Hunter sitting in the kitchen, staring down at a cup of coffee as he stared at it as though it held all of the answers to all of the problems he could ever have in the world. He was sitting at their island, on one of the raised stools, all alone. If they had been paying better attention, they would have known that he was waiting for them. However, they were so caught up in one another and the love that they shared with one another that they couldn't notice anything else in the world.
"Lucas," Shawn's voice broke them out of their fairytale daze. "Maya how was the dance?" he wondered as his head shot up and his eyes locked on the blonde-haired duo.
"Good," they answered, giggling at the way they had managed to respond in perfect unison without any planning on either of their parts.
"Lucas," Shawn said, eyes narrowing slightly as he focused on the boy. "Could I have a word with you?" he sighed.
"About what?" Maya wondered, stopping dead in her tracks as her eyes narrowed, a confused expression taking over the rest of her face despite the confusion written across her face. "Why do you need to talk to Lucas?"
"I just need to have a talk with him. Man-to-man," Shawn said, holding his hands up as if he were trying to show that he meant no harm.
"It's fine, Maya," Lucas said, flashing her that carefree grin that always managed to wash all of Maya's worries away. "I'll meet you in your room as soon as we're done, and we can have that Disney movie marathon you begged me for. I promise," he leaned in and placed a sloppy kiss on her cheek.
"Are you sure?" Maya frowned, certain that nothing good would come of a conversation between her stepfather and her boyfriend.
"I'm not going to hurt him, Maya," Shawn assured, that good natured smile on his face that made everybody feel so comfortable around him. "I just want to have a little talk with him about some things. Just a friendly conversation between two guys. No worries, Maya. I mean no harm," he promised her.
"Alright…"Maya sighed, allowing Lucas to release his hold on her as she disappeared into her room, shooting the pair one more concerned look before closing the door behind her, debating if it was worth it to try to eavesdrop on the conversation to come between the two most important men in her life.
Lucas sighed, allowing the brave face that he had put on in front of Maya to falter as he approached Shawn, sitting down on one of the stools besides him.
He was certain that Shawn was going to lecture him. It was either going to be because of a hunch that Shawn had that the pair were having sex, which was the better of the two options Lucas had swarming around in his mind, or it was going to be a conversation about Lucas having broken her heart. That would be the worst, because Lucas couldn't bear the thought of a conversation about how Lucas had made the worst mistake of his life and broken the heart of the most important person in his life.
"What's going on, Shawn?"
"You broke my daughter's heart," Shawn said, his voice assertive as he stared Lucas down, making the sixteen-year-old boy feel even worse about himself than he had since the breakup had occurred.
"I know," Lucas sighed, running a hand through his hair as he stared at the ground. "And I'll never forgive myself for that," he assured Shawn.
"You overreacted to something and refused to hear her side of the story. I'm not going to stand by and allow my daughter to be with somebody who doesn't listen to her, Lucas. Not if the response is a broken heart when he believes his version of the truth without having all of the facts," Shawn explained, his voice level.
"Shawn, I understand that I messed up. I'll never do anything to hurt Maya again. I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to her. I was wrong, and I should have listened to her-"
"I don't want you to apologize, Lucas," Shawn chuckled, holding up a hand as he cut the young boy off. "I want you to explain to me what was going through your head. No excuses-just the honest truth about what you were thinking," Shawn explained.
"I just…. if it had been any other guy in the world, I wouldn't have cared. Honestly, I wouldn't have. I would have asked her what was going on. God, when she kissed Farkle I was pissed because it sucked to see her kissing somebody else, but it was fine because Farkle's not a threat to me because I know how she feels about him. But Josh? She loved him. She obsessed over him for years and even after everything that happened, I was just so afraid that she would wake up one day and decide she didn't want to be with me anymore because she loved him so much more. Seeing him kissing her was like a sucker punch to the gut and I just…I lashed out because I figured it was better to leave her than the be left by her. And that was just so stupid because I know that Maya's biggest fear is being left and I was the one to do it to her," Lucas's head was hung with shame as the words came out, starting to blur together as his speed increased and his eyes began to well up with tears.
"Josh will always be a part of her life," Shawn stated.
"I know," Lucas sighed.
"Are you going to react like this? Is this going to be a reoccurring trend with Josh having a place in her life?" Shawn asked, his voice lacking emotion.
"No," Lucas shook his head. "Because when I talked to Maya about all of it, like I should have done since the beginning, I realized I was being an idiot. But, Shawn…I'm always going to be an idiot when it comes to her. I can't help but act like an idiot when I'm faced with the thought of losing her," Lucas admitted.
"That's okay," Shawn nodded. "If you weren't an idiot every time you were faced with your worst fear, your feelings for her wouldn't be what hers are for you."
"So….?"
"So, I'm going to let you continue to date my daughter. But if she ever cries over you again, I'm not going to be as understanding," Shawn stated.
"I understand," Lucas said.
"And I have one more rule," Shawn said.
"Whatever it is, I'll do it," Lucas promised.
"No more sleepovers, Lucas," Shawn stated, his voice firmer than it had been about any of the other conversations. "I don't want you sleeping over in her bed anymore. It wasn't appropriate before you guys were dating, but I let it happen because Maya needed it and I cared about giving her what she needed more than I cared about how appropriate it was. But now that I know you're…. now that I know you've been intimate with my daughter," Shawn sighed, the words visibly uncomfortable for him to get out. "I can't allow you to sleepover in her room anymore," Shawn stated.
"Sir, with all due respect, she won't be able to sleep if I'm not there," Lucas pointed out.
"Lucas," Shawn said. "You've had sex with my daughter and I'm not wringing your neck. And even beyond that, it isn't healthy for her to require you to be there to sleep. The codependency the two of you have isn't healthy. She can't spend all of her free time with you and forget about the rest of her friends. I need the sleepovers to end and I need her to start hanging out with the rest of her friends again, without it involving you. Those are my only rules to allow you to continue dating her."
"I understand," Lucas said, lowering his head.
"Go break the news to her," Shawn sighed.
"I can go in her room?" Lucas wondered; his voice cautious as he was sure Shawn was giving him some sort of a test.
"Keep the door open. But I'm allowing this much because I trust my daughter and I trust you. I know that you respect her. Tell her the new rules. And I will give you the weekend. Come Monday night, Maya is sleeping in her bed alone," Shawn stated.
"I understand," Lucas said, rising to his feet. He held his hand out, ready to shake Shawn's. "And thank you-thank you for trusting me. Thank you for giving me another chance. And thank you for not keeping us apart," Lucas said as the men shook hands.
"Lucas," Shawn chuckled, clapping him on the back. "If I tried to keep Maya away from you, I'd be dealing with a very angry, short little stack of pancakes."
And with that, the two men were laughing. The sound of said laughter was enough for Maya to throw open her bedroom door and burst back into the kitchen in a mess of confusion as she studied the scene taking place in her kitchen.
"What the hell is going on in here?"