AN
As always, I'm so so sorry for taking so long to update! I won't make you wait any longer! Fair warning: this chapter is long (27 pages) I really should split it in two, but I don't want to. So grab a snack and get comfy.
Chapter 12- Better than Revenge
Maya was less than eager to leave the dinner at the end of her shift on Sunday night. She put it off as long as possible, moving slowly as she wiped down the tables and chairs. It was nearing ten o'clock, but she made herself busy by reorganizing the condiments on the lower shelves behind the counter. A large box of jumbled sugar and jelly packets was the perfect way to keep her mind distracted, although she snorted at the irony. She could sort through the disarray of mismatched packets and place them in neat orderly stacks, but she couldn't sort through her own damn feelings.
The kitchen door swung open and Chubby's grisly voice filled the empty room, "Geez Hart! I thought you left hours ago. What are you still doing here?"
"Sorry Chubby, I-"
Chubby cut her off before she could finish. "I don't wanna hear it. Get outta here kid, it's a school night. I'm not about to let you get behind in school 'cause you were mopping up this dump." He held out his large hand and helped her up from her crouched position on the floor behind the counter. He nodded his head toward the kitchen, "I've got some leftover patty-melts. Take them home for you and your mom."
Maya closed her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. "Thanks Chubby."
She slipped off her apron and hung it on a hook before ducking into the kitchen and grabbing the stack of styrofoam take-out boxes. As she left the dinner, she felt grateful Mrs. Matthews let her use Riley's car while she's grounded. At least she wouldn't have to walk home in the dark. She started the car and began her drive across town. She turned the radio up loud enough to drown out her thoughts as she drove past the old trailer park she lived in as a child, eventually arriving at a small white brick house on the farthest edge of town. She parked in the grass next to the front porch and made her way to the front door. She rolled her eyes as she pulled open the broken screen door. Boyfriend number 12 said he would fix that, but he didn't last very long. She jiggled her keys in the lock and kicked the door twice, a trick she learned in the few years of living at the ratty brick house. The door creaked as it opened. Maya stepped into the dark living room and flicked the light switch. Much to her relief, the lights turned on. She spotted a yellow note on the fridge from across the room. She plucked the note down and opened the fridge to put away the patty-melts.
Maya,
Dirk and I are going into the city for a few days. He has a business deal I'm helping with. Go to the Matthews's if you need anything.
Mom
Maya crumpled the note and threw it on the floor. Dirk? Who the hell was that? She thought his name was Dug. She slammed the refrigerator door shut, turned off the lights and walked to her bedroom. She absentmindedly moved across the room, avoiding her various stages of "works in progress" artwork scattered across the floor, and threw herself onto her bed. Her mother's note taunted her. Go to the Matthews's if you need anything. She let out a sarcastic laugh. She wanted more than anything to drive to the Matthews's house, climb the ivy-covered trellis to Riley's bay window, sneak across the hall and curl into Josh's bed. He would welcome her with open arms. He always did.
Maya glanced around the room. Her eyes fell on Riley's car keys. Her fingers twitched, her heart screamed at her to run. Her mind was seconds away from shutting off and turning straight into heat seeking mode, blindly guiding her to the warmth she so desperately craved, but a tiny fragment of control remained.
Her phone buzzed on the bed, Zay's grinning face flashed on the screen.
Maya let the phone ring for a minute, before snatching it up and pressing ignore. She threw the phone across the room. It bounced off of her dresser and knocked the car keys to the floor. The light overhead flickered, before shutting off on it's own. Maya fell back against her bed and closed her eyes. It was a game she invented as a child, if close your eyes long enough, you can't see the darkness anymore.
Monday couldn't come fast enough for the Matthews family. Luckily, for Josh and Riley, Topanga went easy on them for leaving the house on Saturday. She claimed, if their father was dumb enough to fall for Josh's dim-witted scheme, it was just as much his fault as it was theirs. Riley spent all of Sunday preparing for the musical auditions, while Josh locked himself away in the garage letting out his frustrations on the heavy bag.
Riley was dying to know what happened between Josh and Maya at the diner. She tried spying on them from the car, but her view was blocked by the flickering neon open sign. She was surprised when Josh violently threw the door open and stormed to the car. The entire vehicle shook as he slammed the door shut. He didn't speak to anyone for the rest of the day. Riley's first instinct was immediately to call Maya, but her phone was still confiscated. She tried to convince her dad to order take-out from the diner on Sunday, but having learned his lesson, he wasn't falling for her measly attempt to see Maya. It wasn't until late Sunday night when Josh momentarily stopped brooding and attempted to be a social human being again.
Riley was sitting crossed legged in her bay window, with a book open on her lap. As much as she loved Harry Potter, the wizarding world wasn't capturing her attention as it usually did. Every few minutes her eyes would flick to the open window, checking to see if Maya's mischievous smirk would appear in the darkness. Or maybe she'd see Lucas perched outside of her window to steal a quick goodnight kiss. A girl can dream can't she?
A soft knock on her door broke her gaze from the window, the distinct tapping pattern indicated it was Josh.
"Come in."
He slid into her room, Riley would guess straight from the garage. His hair was matted down with sweat, his hands were red and raw. He looked at the ground as he spoke, "How did I get home?"
Riley gave him a confused look. "What?" Her brain was still in Rileytown.
"The party. How did I get home from the party?"
"Oh, um I thought you knew. Maya and Zay brought you home."
Josh scoffed sarcastically, "of course they did."
He turned to leave the room, but Riley's voice stopped him. "Josh wait!"
He froze in the doorway.
"What happened at the diner?"
"Nothing."
He shut the door without looking at her, preventing her from questioning him any further.
Riley was relieved to escape from her brother's angst fest on Monday. While sitting next to him in the back seat of her father's car, she felt like they were two convicts being escorted from one prison to the next...school. She used the time to form a plan, she needed to talk to Maya. However, Maya was never one to be underestimated, she must have known Riley was determined to get to the bottom of the situation, she was nowhere to be found in the school that morning.
Riley pouted as she stood in front of her open locker. She moved to place her ukulele safely inside, but it was snatched out of her hands.
"You won't be needing this anymore Smiley." Missy's voice was venomous.
Riley's body went rigid. Keep calm. Breathe. It's just Missy.
"Give it back you crazy b-" She turned to face Missy, but came face to face with the chest of a large letterman jacket. Her voice was gone. She tried to finish her sentence, but it came out as a pathetic squeak. He was supposed to be expelled. What was he doing back? Her chest heaved. She tried to breathe, but her throat felt like it was closing up with every breath. Her vision went fuzzy and she fell back against the metal lockers. Her body trembled uncontrollably as she tried to maintain her breathing.
Peter Roark stood before her, toying with the neck of her ukulele between his massive hands. Known around the school as Roark the Rock, Peter was the star of the wrestling team. Maya liked to joke people called him Roark the Rock, because he was dumb as a rock. His huge body slightly reminded Riley of Hagrid the half-giant in Harry Potter, if Hagrid didn't have a beard and liked to pick on underclassmen. Peter was one of Missy's go-to goons when she needed more muscle than her minion cheerleaders could provide. Rumors around the school suggested Missy would battle Josh's reign over the jocks by rewarding the ones who did her dirty bidding with sexual favors. Riley recoiled at the thought.
Riley cleared her throat and tried to buy herself enough time to think of a plan. Her voice quivered, "Wh-What did you mean I won't need it anymore?"
Missy inspected her nails as if she were bored, but her voice dripped with ridicule as she spoke, "Aw Smiley, you don't look very happy to see Peter again? I wonder why? In the meantime…" She was interrupted by a low sharp voice.
"Is there a problem here?"
Riley turned to to identify the voice she didn't recognize and was taken aback when she saw Lucas.
His face was stone and his eyes narrowed. He pushed his way between Peter and Riley, making sure to tuck her safely behind him.
"Lucas…" Missy purred.
"I'll deal with you later." He snapped and took a threatening step toward Peter. "Right now, I'm talking to him." Even though Peter had a good few inches on Lucas, he stepped back.
Peter glanced at Missy and smirked, "I'm the Rock. I'm pretty sure I could take you."
Lucas balled his hands into fists. The veins in his arms twitched as his muscles tensed. "I don't want to cause trouble. So, you're gonna give that back and walk away. If you don't..." His voice was even lower and colder than before, "...well I don't really want to talk about what will happen..."
Riley shivered against the metal lockers.
Lucas's eyes flashed with anger as he cocked his head at Peter.
Peter hesitantly handed him the instrument. Without looking, Lucas shoved it into Riley's locker.
His gaze turned to Missy, "Can't you give this up already? You're never going to win."
Missy gave him a seductive smile, "I'm not?"
Lucas was fuming. It took every ounce of control in his body to keep himself from throwing Peter to the ground and beating him senseless. He couldn't lose control. Rage threatened to overtake him. Lethal fog was forming in his mind. He had to stay focused. He thought about Riley standing behind him. The fog cleared a little and an idea struck him.
Without thinking he turned around, pulled Riley into his arms and kissed her.
Her body felt rigid. Something wasn't right. Crushing weight of realization sunk into Lucas's chest. She was scared. She didn't want this. He felt terrible and attempted to pull away. His movement must have sparked something inside of her. She threw her arms around his neck moved her lips against his.
Riley was overwhelmed. She had just gone from mid panic attack to kissing Lucas. She knew this was a mistake. Missy would only turn this into more fuel for her fire. She knew Lucas must be able to feel her awkwardness. She felt him hesitate and she took that moment to ground herself and focus of the feeling of his lips on hers. Her memory had been cruel to her since the last time they had kissed. His lips felt so much better than she remembered.
Lucas lost himself in her as she deepened the kiss. As he feared, Texas Lucas couldn't get enough. He slipped her lips apart with his and pressed her back against the lockers.
He more he kissed her, the faster the fog in his mind disappeared. He lost track of time as he cupped her cheek with his hand. His other hand gripped at her hip, pushing up the soft fabric of her shirt with his thumb. He didn't know if Missy was still standing there or not and he didn't care.
The sound of a voice clearing their throat caused him to pull away.
"I think that's enough of that."
Lucas pulled away to glare at the voice who dared to interrupt them. Riley quickly squirmed away from him, her cheeks were flushed and her chest heaved.
"I'm so sorry Mr. Cater, um, we'll get to class now."
Lucas looked at the short, chubby teacher in front of them. Mr. Carter? Didn't Riley say that was the drama teacher?
"Riley Matthews?" Mr. Carter pushed his tiny round framed glasses up on his nose, "I never expected to find you partaking in such public displays of affection. Don't let it happen again, or I'll have to write you up and I don't think your father will take too well to that."
Riley nodded her head.
Mr. Carter turned to Lucas, "I don't believe I recognize you, forgive me, I don't make it out of the drama department that often."
"Uh, that's okay Sir. I'm Lucas Friar…" Lucas stuck out his hand, which Mr. Carter shook enthusiastically.
"Ah, Lucas Friar, the new quarterback. Welcome to Abigail Adams High, I give you the same warning I gave Miss Matthews…"
Lucas nodded, "I understand Sir, it won't happen again."
"Good." Mr. Carter turned back to Riley, "Since you're here Riley, I wanted to let you know there will be a mandatory meeting after school about the musical. I expect to see you there."
Riley's face broke into a wide grin, "Are you finally announcing the musical selection?"
Mr. Carter looked conflicted as he thought about his next words, "Not exactly. We'll discuss everything after school. Get to class, both of you."
Lucas rubbed the back of his neck as Mr. Carter walked away. "Riley, I'm so so sorry. I shouldn't have just kissed you like that. Are you okay?"
Riley bit her lip and closed her locker. "Um, it's okay." She turned to face him, her cheeks were still pink. "I kinda liked it."
Lucas knew she was distracting him on purpose. He knew she was avoiding the question. He wanted to point out that she didn't answer him, but his ego wouldn't let him. Instead, he smirked and raised his eyebrows at her. "Oh yeah?" He placed his hands on her hips and let his forehead rest against hers.
The bell rang and Riley jumped away. "Come on, we have to get to class."
Lucas trailed after her, but made a mental note to ask her about that guy later.
Josh's arms were sore and weak from his weekend spent working his heavy bag, but that didn't stop him from continuing to let out his aggression during weights class. He avoided any conversation with Zay and Lucas by shoving his headphones in his ears.
Near the end of the class period, he found himself at the free weight rack across from the leg press. Even with his back to the machine, he could easily see Zay and Lucas in the mirror. Lucas was using the leg press while Zay casually leaned against it. They seemed to be deep in conversation. Unable to help himself, Josh paused his music. Their voices were easy to make out, even with the headphones in his ears.
"So you were dancing?" Lucas asked.
"Yeah, and not like middle school jumping around dancing, like full on grinding."
Josh gripped the weights tighter. Why was he even listening to this?
"Nice, but I thought you said the night was a total fail?"
Zay nodded, "It was a fail. Everything was going great. And then he had to screw it all up."
Josh's ears perked up.
Lucas continued to work the leg press. "What do you mean? I thought he went upstairs with that girl."
Josh racked his brain. He took a girl upstairs? Is that what Riley was talking about? He didn't remember hooking up with anyone...Unless they weren't talking about him. Maybe they were talking about Nate, Jake's brother?
Zay groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. "That's what I thought too. I thought maybe with him out of the picture I might actually have a shot with her, you know?"
"But you didn't?"
"Of course I didn't. I turn my back for one fucking minute and what happens? Josh swoops in and ruins it. I left to get another drink and when I came back Josh was all over her, like some kind of soft-core porn or something."
The weight in Josh's hand slipped and fell to the ground with a loud crash. "Shit." He quickly swiped it from the ground and continued to lift, as if the couldn't hear Zay and Lucas. Josh's heart pounded in his chest as his mind unraveled. The hickey. He was wrong. All this time he thought the hickey was from Zay, but it wasn't. It was his. That still didn't explain Maya's attitude at the diner.
He shook his head. He was getting ahead of himself. She was probably upset with him for ruining her night with Zay.
Lucas's voice caught his attention again. "But you said he was wasted. Wouldn't Maya be pissed at him for being all over her like that when he was drunk?"
"That's what kills man. You'd think she be upset, but it's fucking Josh. It looked like she was enjoying it just as much as he was."
"So what did you do?"
Zay shrugged his shoulders. "I did what any dumbass good friend would do. I helped her take him home. And then at the house, we kinda had a moment."
"A moment?"
"Don't judge me, Mr. 'My moment will be my moment.' We were in the Matthews's living room and I kinda thought she wanted me to kiss her."
Josh's knuckles turned white as he gripped the weight.
"Did you?"
Zay shook his head and Josh's body relaxed.
"No I couldn't do it. Not after seeing her with Josh. It felt too much like I'd be getting his sloppy seconds"
Lucas nodded in understanding.
Zay groaned. "Now I don't know what to do. I keep calling her, but she's screening my calls. I haven't seen her since."
Lucas stood from the machine, "Maybe you should try talking to Riley. Her and Maya are inseparable, maybe she knows what you should do?"
Josh laughed to himself and shook his head. Talk to Riley? Yeah right. He knew where her loyalties lay. Even if she knew anything, she wouldn't tell a soul. It went against their dumb ring power thing. No, the only person who could know what Maya felt, was Maya.
Josh never thought he would ever have to share Maya with anyone, excluding Riley of course, but what if that's not what Maya wanted. What if her attraction to him was fading? What if she wanted Zay more than him?
Josh shivered at the thought.
He didn't want to risk losing her by saying the wrong thing. He needed a sign from her, just the slightest indication that she felt something for him, and their relationship wasn't purely physical to her...
Coach Thompson's shrill whistle interrupted his thought. "Finish up your last sets and get cleaned up!"
Riley was hell-bent on talking to Maya. She couldn't stand the suspense any longer. She needed to know what happened. She entered the art room with fiery determination, but froze when her eyes found Maya.
Maya was sitting in front of a large easel, paintbrush in hand and headphones on her head. Her face was tense with concentration as her brush danced across the canvas. A haunting image of blues and grays stood out against the crisp white fabric.
Riley knew better than to interrupt Maya in the middle of such intense concentration. So, instead, she quietly took her seat and gathered together her favorite purple paints.
Riley didn't pay much attention to the lesson or even the newest addition to her purple cat collection. Instead, she watched Maya work out the corner of her eye. The swirling blues and grays turned into large ominous waves. The waves thrashed and ebbed off of the edges of the canvas. Their depth was so captivating, Riley could swear they looked three dimensional.
The bell rang, signaling the end of class, but Maya didn't budge. Riley watched her brush move frantically against the waves. The room emptied as the rest of the class left for lunch, eventually leaving them alone. Finally, Maya's brush stilled. Riley's eyes trailed from the painting to Maya. She was slightly panting and her eyes brimmed with tears threatening to fall.
Riley reached out and placed her hand on Maya's arm. "Peaches?"
Maya flung her headphones off and threw her paintbrush to the ground as loud sobs escaped her lips.
Lucas didn't know why he glanced around the cafeteria looking for Riley. He knew she wasn't there. There was no way in hell she would miss valuable time with Maya while she was grounded. He thought about the exchange with Missy that morning. Something about it was different. He still felt guilty for kissing her when she was in such a vulnerable state. He could tell when Riley felt anxious, but this morning she looked down right terrified. He hadn't seen this Rock guy in the school before, but he knew who he needed ask to get his story.
Lucas turned to Zay, who was animatedly talking to the other members of the football team at their table. "Zay, Who's that guy who calls himself the rock?"
Zay furrowed his brow at him, "Peter?"
Lucas nodded. "Yeah.…"
Zay's body went rigid and his demeanor changed. "Who told you about him." His tone was demanding and unfamiliar to Lucas.
Lucas narrowed his eyes at Zay, "No one. I met him this morning. He was cornering Riley with Mis…" Before Lucas could finish his sentence Zay slammed his hands against the table.
"Josh!" Zay called out to Josh, who had been silently sitting as far away from him as possible at the table.
Josh's head snapped up at Zay's sudden outburst. "What?" He hadn't been paying attention to the team's pointless conversation. He was too busy trying to put together the pieces from the past few days, and figure out why the girls at the volleyball table kept giggling at him.
"Roark is back."
Josh rolled his eyes. "Is this some kind of fucking joke?"
Zay shook his head, "does it look like I'm joking?"
Lucas watched, confused, as Josh immediately lept up from the table and stormed out of the cafeteria. "Okay, is somebody going to tell me what the hell is going on here?"
Zay let out a long sigh and put his hand on Lucas's shoulder to keep him in his chair. "Not here. Not now."
Lucas's jaw clenched. "Zay, what did he do to her?"
"I can't tell you."
Lucas shoved Zay's arm off and followed Josh's path out of the cafeteria. He knew why Zay was being so elusive. He was trying to prevent Texas Lucas from taking over. That act alone was practically enough to set him off right then and there. Lucas rolled his head from side to side in an attempt to remain in control. He slammed the cafeteria door open with so much force it loudly crashed against the wall of the hallway. He knew he shouldn't have done it, but he couldn't help it.
His eyes darkened when he found himself face to face with none other than Peter Roark. His vision blurred and the next thing he knew, he was slamming Peter's body against the wall.
"If you ever so much as look at her, I will beat the shit out of you so bad, you'll never be able to speak 'the rock' or any other words ever again."
Peter smirked at him, "I have no idea who you're talking about. You'll have to be more specific."
Lucas moved to slam Peter's body against the wall, but before he could a pair of large arms tore him away.
"Roark, get back to the ISS room. Don't make me get Coach Melton." Coach Thompson's voice was stern as he threatened to involve the wrestling coach.
Peter, still smirking, silently nodded and turned the opposite direction down the hall.
Lucas thrashed his arms to free himself from Coach Thompson's grasp, but his hold was firm.
"Come with me Friar."
Coach Thompson lead Lucas back to his office in the locker room and shut the door behind them. Lucas kicked the side of the desk before throwing himself into one of the arm chairs and buried his head in his hands.
Coach Thompson leaned against his desk, arms crossed, patiently waiting for Lucas to calm down enough to speak.
"That son of a bitch." Lucas mumbled into his hands.
Coach Thompson shook his head. "You need to calm yourself. I really don't want to get the principal involved in this."
Lucas said nothing as he tried to calm down. Think about Riley. Think about that night at the canyon. He tried to picture how breathtaking Riley looked in the silvery moonlight.
"So, Riley Matthews huh?" Coach Thompson lightly attempted to distract Lucas from his anger.
Lucas let out a shaky breath and looked up.
"It's been about her this whole time, hasn't it? The fights between you and Josh?"
"Yeah, kind of." Lucas rubbed the back of his neck.
Coach Thompson laughed to himself, "I should have known."
Lucas dropped his head to his hands again. "Coach he did something to her. He fucking hurt…" he slammed his fists against the arms of the chair. He couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence.
Coach Thompson uncrossed his arms and crouched down in front of Lucas.
"Lucas, you need to listen to me. Do not let this get to you. You're on your last chance here. You can't make the same mistake you did last time."
Lucas pursed his lips together and closed his eyes. "You didn't deny it."
Coach Thompson sighed. It was a particularly painful memory for nearly all of the school staff members. It pained him to know someone could ever hurt such an innocent person. Sure, Riley Matthews got on his last nerve when she would disrupt practice by distracting the boys on the field with her various antics, but Coach Thompson couldn't deny it, a part of him was amused by her eccentric personality. He should have predicted she would be the one to capture Lucas's attention.
Coach Thompson stood up, and moved to sit behind his desk. "Look. I can't keep you from making bad decisions, but I can warn you. Make good choices. Do the right thing, if you don't, you'll lose her and your entire future."
Lucas buried his face in his hands again. What was he going to do? Josh's words echoed in his mind, she's very sensitive to violence... It made sense now. Clearly Riley was hurt by Missy and Peter. That's what she kept avoiding. For whatever reason, she didn't want to tell him. As much as Lucas wanted to put Peter in his place and rip him limb from limb, he knew he couldn't. Not if he wanted a remote chance in hell with Riley.
Lucas groaned.
Once she found out about his past in Texas, she would know the truth. He wasn't any better than Peter. He was a monster. She would want nothing to do with him ever again. He would lose her before she was even his. He should have listened to his instincts and never kissed her, but it way was too late now. He was already addicted to her.
Coach Thompson cleared his throat, "I'll write you a note for your next class. Who's your teacher?"
"Mr. Matthews." Lucas answered without looking up from his hands.
"Of course he is." Coach Thompson sighed as he scribbled out a note. "Take as much time as you need to calm down okay? I know what you want to do to him, trust me, but you have to stay in control. Clear your head until practice okay? Can you do that?"
Lucas leaned back in the chair and nodded. "Yes sir. Thank you."
Josh blindly stormed through the halls from the cafeteria. He didn't even have to think about where he was going. He knew his sister almost better than anyone, even Maya. That's exactly how he knew to check the art room first. Riley was dying to know what happened between him and Maya at the diner, she wouldn't pass up the opportunity to get the story from Maya during their lunch period.
As he reached the art room, he immediately sensed something was wrong. The door to the room was closed. Maya always left the door open when she was working, she didn't like the trapped feeling when it was shut. He placed his hand on the handle to open the door, but hesitated. On a whim, he decided to glance through the narrow window first.
His heart sank to his feet. His chest tightened as if he were breathing in stinging cold air.
His eyes were met with a sight he never expected to see, Maya wrapped in his sister's arms, crying into her shoulder.
He wanted to throw the door open and pull Maya into his arms. He couldn't stand to see her in pain, especially like this.
His hand hovered over the door handle, and his eyes made contact with Riley's through the glass. She gently shook her head at him, telling him not to come in. As, much as he wanted to comfort Maya, he knew it wasn't what she needed. She needed Riley and all of their ring power thunder lightning unicorns and rainbow bullshit. He was worried about Riley, now that Peter was back, but she seemed to be okay.
He turned back down the hall and marched straight into his father's classroom.
By the end of the day, Riley was completely exhausted. Today was, by far, one of the worst Monday's of her life. After Maya broke down in the art room, the two of them decided to do something Riley had never done before, and skipped the rest of their classes. Riley rarely played the, 'my dad is a teacher' card, but she knew today he would understand. Between, Peter's return and Maya's emotional breakdown, her father was more than willing to excuse their absences for the afternoon. He didn't even bring up the fact that she was supposed to be grounded.
Riley and Maya spent the rest of their day in one of their most sacred hiding spots in the school, the costume attic above the theater. They lounged across from each other in fluffy oversized beanbag chairs, while Maya finally explained what happened over the weekend.
"...and then I tried to get him back into his bed and he…" Maya's voice shook.
Riley reached out and grabbed Maya's hand. She let out a deep breathe as she spoke, "What happened Peaches? He didn't...you know...uh force himself on you did he?"
Maya laughed softly and shook her head, "No. He would never do that…." she paused for a moment, afraid to finally say the words out loud, "...he told me he loved me."
Riley gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "What did you do?"
Maya laughed louder this time. "I did what any normal, damaged dysfunctional person would do, I ran."
"Oh Peaches, why would you do that?"
"He didn't mean it Riles."
"You don't know that." Riley pointed out.
"He was drunk!" Maya snapped. "He doesn't even remember saying it."
Riley winced at Maya's outburst. "That doesn't mean it isn't true."
Maya rolled her eyes. "Regardless, it doesn't change the circumstances."
Riley's next words were soft as she spoke, "But what about you? Do you love him?"
"How can I love him if I wanted to kiss Zay?"
"You said yourself you only wanted to kiss Zay to get back at Josh for Victoria."
Maya closed her eyes in frustration. "That's my point. This whole thing is fucked up. As soon as feelings get involved, people end up getting hurt. If I don't acknowledge my feelings, I won't get hurt."
Riley bit her lip. "Maybe, but you also might miss out on experiencing one of the greatest feelings of our lifetime."
Maya scoffed, "Oh yeah? Like what?"
"True love."
Maya's voice was harsh and cold. Words tumbled from her mouth before she could stop them. "Uh huh. Like you even know what that feels like, you barely know the truth about huckleberry, and you think that's love?"
Riley's body shrank back into the beanbag chair at the harshness of Maya's words.
"Riles, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that…"
Riley shook her head, "I know, it's okay. You're just upset. But I wasn't talking about me and Lucas. I was talking about my parents."
Maya rolled her eyes again. "They don't count. They're not like us."
Riley sat back up again. "No, you're wrong Maya. They were once exactly like us. Young and in love and scared, but that never stopped them. My mom tried to push my dad away, she almost called off their wedding, but my dad wouldn't let her. He fought for them, because he knew what they had was special. He knew their love was strong enough to handle anything and it's proven itself time and time again. You have to give love a chance Maya. Don't give up on it. Don't give up on yourself."
Maya was quiet for a few moments before responding, "I don't even…"
Riley cut her off, "Don't. Don't say that. You know what love is. If you don't, our entire friendship has been a lie."
Rustling sounds echoed below them as students made their way into the auditorium for the mandatory musical meeting.
Riley glanced towards the dusty wooden staircase that lead to the stage and then turned back to Maya. "I'm not saying you have to make a decision right now. Take as much time as you need, just don't hide your feelings."
Maya smiled at her best friend before standing up from the squishy confines of the beanbag chair. "Come on, I believe you have a meeting to attend." She stuck out her hand and pulled Riley from the chair.
"Come with me?" Riley asked.
Maya let out a dramatic sigh, "Oh I suppose so. It's only a matter of time before you rope me into the musical anyway."
Riley grinned and led Maya to the stairs, but paused before taking a step and turned back to Maya. "Are you gonna be okay?"
Maya nodded, "Yeah. I'm the tough one. Remember? Now go!" She playfully nudged Riley down the stairs.
"Ladies!" Farkle eagerly greeted the two of them. Riley and Maya sat down next to Farkle as Mr. Carter sauntered onto the stage.
"Good afternoon everyone!" He greeted.
Mr. Carter was hands down Riley's favorite teacher. He was a short, slightly stumpy round man, with a thinning gray comb-over to match his bushy silver mustache. His eyes twinkled behind his thin round glasses and his smile was always wide and toothy. Today however, his eyes were dim and his face was sullen.
"Thank you for coming, I promise I'll make this meeting quick. I'm sure most of you were hoping I'd be announcing the school musical today, and believe me I was more than excited to, but unfortunately, I am officially announcing the musical has been canceled."
Riley gasped. It's official, this day is the worst day of my life. Farkle's hand immediately clutched her arm.
The room filled with the protests of the other students.
"Oh no." Maya placed her arm around Riley's shoulders.
Riley remained silent, her mouth still hung open as Mr. Carter continued.
"I know you're upset, trust me, I understand. It pains me to say this, but along with the musical, the entire drama season has been cancelled. There will be no shows this year."
Riley was crushed. She spent a year looking forward to performing and now it was gone. Just like that.
Farkle's voice rose above the distressed grumblings, "Mr. Carter that's not fair! You can't just take the shows away!"
"You're right Farkle. It's absolutely unfair, but I'm not the one taking the shows away. It seems there was an issue with the school's budget and well...our funding has be relocated to the athletic department."
Riley remained silent, but Maya sure as hell wasn't. "That's a bunch of bullshit. Why would they just give our money away. Doesn't the athletic department get enough?"
Mr. Carter looked around uncomfortably. "Language Maya. It was made aware to me this morning one of the major donors to the athletics program pulled their donation, a hefty donation the school was relying on."
Maya rolled her eyes, "So what? Make cuts to them not us!"
Mr. Carter looked around uncomfortably again. "We were the only department who hadn't spent our budget yet and apparently there was an incident with the cheerleading team, which forced them to order new uniforms."
Maya's jaw dropped. "You have got to be fucking kidding me. That psycho bitch." She murmured under her breath.
She turned to Riley, who was still frozen in shock. "Riley?"
Mr. Carter cleared his throat to address the group again. "I'm very sorry, I know how disappointed everyone is. I promise to keep you updated if the situation changes. Until then, you're all dismissed."
Students rose from their seats and slowly filed out of the theater. Mr. Carter climbed down from the stage and stood in front of Riley. "Riley, I am so sorry about this. I know how important the musical was to you."
Riley nodded softly, "It's okay. I know this isn't your fault. Um...is there anything we can do?"
Mr. Carter shook his head. "Not unless you can come up with a couple thousand dollars, but don't worry about this okay? I can still work with you and we can find some local shows for you to audition for. In the meantime, I know it doesn't help, but there was a small portion of the budget I was able to spend before we lost it. It will be here tomorrow."
"Thanks Mr. Carter." Riley's voice was soft and broken.
Mr. Carter gave Maya a knowing look before leaving the theater.
Josh didn't expect to see his sister still at the school after football practice. Hell, he didn't expect to see her there at all, he thought his dad let her ditch for the day, but sure enough there she was, curled up against the wall outside of the locker room. Her knees were tucked into her chest and her head was resting on Maya's shoulder, opposite from what he saw earlier in the artroom.
He dropped his bags to the ground with the intent of rushing to her side, but for the first time in his life, a body pushed past him and beat him to it.
Lucas dropped to his knees and slid across the floor next to Riley. "Riley? What's wrong? What happened?" His voice was frantic.
Riley didn't answer, instead she remained silent, her eyes glazed over as she stared straight ahead. Josh knew that look, and it wasn't good. He moved towards them and knelt on the ground in front of Riley.
"What's the damage? Are we talking Pluto again?" Josh tried to catch Maya's eye, but she wouldn't look at him. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Worse." Maya finally answered, "The musical just got canceled."
"Shit." Josh muttered under his breath.
"What? Why?" Lucas asked.
"Missy. That's why." Maya sneered. "I bet anything she convinced her dad to pull his donation and then forced her minions to ruin their uniforms so they could order new ones. This is all my fault. That bitch is just getting back at me for dumping a milkshake on her. The school took the drama budget and gave it to the cheerleaders."
"Riley, I'm so sorry." Lucas's voice soothed. He gently brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face, letting his fingers graze her cheek. His action finally sparked a reaction from Riley. She leaned her head into his hand and turned to look at him. His hand cupped her cheek and he leaned his forehead against hers.
Josh rolled his eyes and stood from the ground. "I guess I'm not needed anymore."
"Guess not." Maya's voice snapped.
Josh's eyes snapped to Maya. He raised his eyebrows at her and offered his hand to help her up. Maya brushed his hand off and stood up without his help.
She glanced back down at Riley, "Riles?"
Riley pulled away from Lucas and nodded her head at her best friend. "I understand. Go."
Maya brushed past Josh, skillfully avoiding his touch as she walked away from him. Something was not adding up with her and he about had enough of it. His patience was running thin.
"Riley, come on, Dad's waiting on us."
Lucas gave Josh a warning look. "Dude, don't be a dick. She's upset."
Josh balled his hands into fists. Today was not the day to test him. "Yeah well, she's also grounded so…" He bent down and easily pulled Riley from the ground and threw her over his shoulder.
"Hey!" Lucas lept to his feet. "Put her down!"
Josh ignored him and threw his bags, along with Riley's messenger bag, over his other shoulder.
"It's okay Lucas. He does this all the time." Riley softly called from Josh's shoulder as he walked towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow okay?"
Lucas trailed after them, jogging slightly until he caught up. "I'll see you tomorrow beautiful." he gave Riley a wink. Her face was almost even with his from her position over Josh's shoulder. Lucas took advantage of the height and quickly kissed her.
"Arrgh!" Josh made a sound of disgust and picked up his pace.
Lucas watched Josh carry her all the way to their father's waiting car before heading to his truck. The demon of his inner voice reminded him, he still never got to talk to Riley about Peter.
Maya let the hot water of the shower soothe her tense muscles. For once, she was somewhat grateful to be home alone. Her mom was still in New York, but she hadn't heard a word from her. Not even a text to say she was okay. After the day she had, she didn't even care. Maya stood under the hot water until it turned cold. Reluctantly, she turned off the water and slipped out of the shower. She took her time drying off before sliding into her favorite oversized t-shirt pajamas. She towel dried her hair the best she could, but the blonde mane was already drying into messy curls. Instead of fighting it, she simply ran some smoothing mouse over the mess and gingerly pulled it up into a sloppy bun.
Maya hummed to herself as she opened her bedroom door and didn't bother trying to turn on the light.
"Geez that took you long enough."
Maya screamed and jumped at the voice coming from her bed. "What the hell are you doing here?"
The bright moonlight shined through the window just enough to light the room. Maya could easily make out Josh's figure lounging on her bed in a pair of baggy athletic shorts and a cutoff shirt.
He stood from the bed and met her in the middle of the room. "I wanted to see you."
His hands reached out for her hips, but she slipped past him and rolled her eyes.
"So you're here for me to suck your dick?"
Josh turned to face her with his eyebrows raised. "Are you offering?"
"Nope." Maya popped her lips together as she spoke.
"Well, now that we have that out of the way." Josh moved towards her again, "You've been avoiding me."
"I thought you were grounded."
"I am, I told everyone I was going for a run. Don't change the subject." He took another step towards her.
"I'm not avoiding you." Maya forced herself not to look at him.
Josh shook his head. "Yeah I don't think so." He reached out for her again and finally put his hands on her hips. He pulled her hips into his and brought his head down to hers. He hissed at the feeling of her body against his. How long had it been? A month? A week? Oh yeah. Two days. He nudged her nose with his.
His voice dropped to a raspy whisper as he spoke, "What happened Maya? What happened at the party?"
Maya swallowed loudly before she spoke, even though the house was empty, her voice was barely audible. "Nothing."
"You're lying."
His lips barely grazed against hers as he moved his face to the crook of her neck. Even in the dark he knew exactly where to kiss her. He gently kissed the faded hickey. "I don't call this nothing." He whispered against her skin.
Maya's voice quivered, "You don't?"
He shook his head and gently nipped at the spot on her neck before facing her again. "Is that why you're avoiding me?"
Maya didn't answer him.
Josh sighed and took a few steps away from her. "Do you want me to leave?"
She shook her head. "It's not why I'm avoiding you."
Josh rubbed his face with his hands, "Then what is it?" his voice raised with frustration, "I've been racking my brain for what I did and I can't figure it out! I saw you today. I fucking saw you crying in the art room. What happened Maya?"
Maya looked away from him.
Josh groaned and stormed across the room again. He gently cupped her cheeks with his hands and brought his head against hers again. "Talk to me. Kitten please talk to me. If you...if you don't want this...if you want him..."
Maya closed her eyes. "I don't know what I want. Okay? I just need time to think. I need time to process."
Josh wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "Please don't take too long."
Maya nodded into his chest. Her hands gripped the front of his shirt in her tiny fists. Warmth surround her and filled her chest with electrifying tingles. She felt his chin rest on the top of her head as his hand threaded into hair. Maya knew she had to pull away before she got too wrapped up in the warmth. As much as her body resisted, she eased herself away from his arms.
"I should probably go." Josh mumbled. He reached out to graze his fingers along her arm. His fingertips brushed against the soft material of her shirt. He looked closer at it and felt himself smirk.
"That's my shirt."
Maya pursed her lips together and looked down at the front of her favorite pajama shirt. "Is it?"
Josh laughed lightly. "I've been looking for that shirt for like a year."
Maya raised her eyebrows at him, a mischievous grin played on her face. "Here. Take it back."
Without a second thought, Maya slipped the shirt over her head and tossed it at Josh's face. He stood dumbstruck for a moment with the shirt covering his head, until he quickly realized what he glimpsed before the shirt blocked his vision.
In one swift motion, Josh flung the shirt off of his head and leapt towards Maya. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his chest. His lips crashed against hers. The softness of her bare chest brushed against his front. Josh backed them up until his legs hit the bed. Without breaking their kiss, he sat on the bed and pulled her down to straddle his lap. Maya pulled away long enough to push his shirt over his head, before rejoining their lips again.
Sooo what do you think?
I wanted to address why my update took so long. As you all know, my dad was very ill and in need of vital transplants. Well, by some kind of miracle, a few weeks ago we got the call and my dad received his transplants! The surgery went well and he is recovering just fine! I cannot explain how grateful I am to everyone who kept my family in their thoughts and prayers during this stressful year. A million times thank you!
Now back to business, OMG things are heating up! Thoughts? Concerns? Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Your reviews keep me going! I've been dying to get this update out, and can't wait for you all to see what I have in store for your next! *Evil laughter*
As always, read, review, like, follow, favorite, do all the things!
Lilly.