Hey guys! New chapter! There were some really nice comments on the last chapter, and I saw that many people followed andfavourite-ed(?) this story. It means a so much!

"I apologized!" Riley screams.

"I don't care!"

"I apologized like fifty times!" The two of us stand at opposite sides of Riley's room, both on our feet and yelling. Farkle and Zay sit helplessly at the bay window.

"Girls! What is the matter with you two?" Mrs. Matthews (Topanga) stands in the doorway.

"She didn't stick up for me!" I accused.

"What Lucas said was true!" she yelled.

"In life, sometimes all someone needs is a friend who will stand with them, no matter what!" My voice shakes a little as I say quietly, "Someone who's actually there for me." In a few quick strides, I'm at the bay window, and I climb out. Tears
blur

my vision as I run down the fire escape stairwell. Suddenly I miss a step, and the world tilts as I fall down half a flight of stairs.

This is all my fault. If I hadn't called Maya a short little stack of pancakes, she would have never have fought with Riley. This is my fault. I press my forehead to the wall. I am halfway up the stairs of the fire escape that leads to the bay window.
/Zay texted me fifteen minutes ago that Riley and Maya were arguing in the bay window, and that the situation was getting worse. Maya would probably get even angrier if she saw me. Maybe I should just go home. Suddenly, I hear a scream, and the 'clang'
/of something hitting the metal rail of the stairs.

"Hello?" I shout, running quickly up the stairs. "Maya!" Maya lies on the ground. Tears were streaming down her face. She winces and sits up. I crouch beside her. "Are you okay?"

"I just fell down half a flight of stairs, Huckleberry. What do you think?" She wipes her tears quickly, trying to hide it from me. Trying to act tough.

"Maya... What happened?" I ask quietly. My hand had unconsciously landed near Maya's. We both realized it at the same time and moved away slightly. She looks away. Even though she was fighting with Riley, she would never do anything to hurt her.

"Riley and I... We started fighting real bad. And I..." Her face contorts for a moment, then she tries to smoothen it and play it cool. "Why were you here, Ranger Rick?"

"I was coming up to the bay window. Zay and Farkle texted me about what was going on. They told me to get down here quick." We are silent for a moment. Then I stand. "Come on. I'll walk you home." She pushes herself off the ground. The second she's on
/two feet she cries out in pain and falls. Alarmed, I grab her before she hits the ground. "What's wrong?"

"I think I sprained my ankle." She grimaced and sinks to the ground. We both realised at the same time that we were still holding onto each other and we let go. She grips tightly to her left ankle.

"Let me see." I pry her fingers away to see the ankle already starting to swell. "Let's go to Riley's place. Mrs. Matthews can-"

"No. No, I'm not going back there. I can make it home." She cuts in, trying to stand but failing. I sigh.

"Okay, then. Come on." I bend down. She hesitates for a moment, then climbs onto my back. I lock my arms with her legs so she doesn't fall, and she folds her arms around my neck.

"Giddy up, Huckleberry." Maya softly kicks me with her good ankle and laughs. My face pulls itself into a smile.

"Yes ma'am." I make my way down the stairs slowly, anxious that I might accidentally knock Maya's bad ankle against something, or shake the ankle up too bad. As we walk back towards Maya's house, looks are tossed at us by strangers we walk past. But we
/ignored them. All I was conscious about was how Maya's hands wrapped around my neck. I've never been...involved...with anyone else in New York besides Riley. I worried for a moment that what I was doing might make things worse for Riley and
/Maya, but then Maya turned her head and pressed a soft kiss against my cheek.

"You're not such a bad guy, Huckleberry." She says, leaning her head against me. My heart feels like it's just been on Tombstone the bull. There's a rush of adrenaline when she touches me now. I think there's something here that wasn't here before.