A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long, I've been REALLY busy with school starting up and all. This is an extra long chapter to try and make it up to you guys, so I hope you enjoy it. For those who left comments, I really appreciate the support, and I'm so glad that you like reading my story! Please continue to follow it, because it's only just begun ;).


Maya stood in the doorway of the compartment, features frozen as the stranger inside stared at their trio. Riley, triumphant and accomplished, beaming at Maya as if she'd just won the lottery. Farkle, shocked but not quite stupefied, looking around awkwardly like he'd had when he first burst in on Riley and Maya only two hours ago. And her, with her hair still mussed up from the airplane ride that morning and her ripped jeans and dark t-shirt (she hadn't yet changed into her robes yet), and a look of absolute trepidation on her face.

"Um...hello?" The stranger's tentative greeting rang out in the air, and Maya snapped out of her stupor. Riley was also nudging her viciously now, and even Farkle had started giving her an expectant look.

Oh. Right.

This was supposed to be her cue to magically win over the boy's heart and show Riley how it was done. She shook her head. As nervous and unprepared as she was, Maya had to admit that a better opportunity would never present itself. Maya took a deep breath and sauntered over to the window seat across from the handsome, gorgeous, and totally out of her league human being who was now her partner in teaching. She ignored Riley's excited intake of breath and Farkle's eyebrow raise, and focused solely on the "task at hand".

"Hi, I'm Maya. You're really cute. We should hang out sometime. You make me happy." The boy's face changed from confusion into the familiar egotistical smile that Maya was all too used to seeing on the faces of the boys in her neighborhood.

Boys. Give them one compliment and they act as if they rule the world. This one pulled off the expression very well, though. Maya felt a slight tingle in her spine at the way his bright green eyes were glued on her, and forced it down.

He's Riley's.

She ignored the warmth surging through her veins and concentrated on what she was doing, almost smirking at the thought of his reaction at what she was going to say next. The fawning smile that she had not-so-forced onto her face began its transformation into a frown.

"You're not paying enough attention to me. This isn't working out." The look of confusion was back, this time ten-fold, and Maya tried to ignore Farkle's obnoxious laughing in the background. "It's you, not me. We can still be friends," The boy gave her a slow nod, but Maya just kept plowing through.

"Not really." She flipped her hair the way she saw the baristas at her mom's work place do when they spoke to guys, and walked back to her friends, triumph lighting up her face. Riley was staring at her with her mouth hanging open and her eyes shining with awe, and Farkle had an impressed, bug-eyed expression that really didn't work well with him, but that Maya appreciated anyways.

"Go ahead, Riles. It's your turn." Now that Maya's portion of the plan was done and over with, she wanted revenge on Riley for putting her on the spot like that. With no warning, the blonde latched onto the brunette's arm and swung her full force onto the stranger boy's lap. Riley squealed and landed right where Maya had aimed, and, like the gentleman he was supposed to be, the boy caught her. Maya squished away the small feeling of jealousy in the pit of her stomach at the sight.

Stop it, she told herself. Nice girls like Riley deserve gorgeous guys like this one, and gorgeous guys always fell for nice girls like Riley. It was the way the universe worked. Maya was the wingwoman, the best friend who supported the relationship and to whom Riley would come crying to when something didn't work out, and then would fix said something. And everybody knew that the best friend did not get the guy.

It would be better for Maya to think about him as Riley's boyfriend before anything got worse.

Maya reverted her attention back to Riley and "Riley's boyfriend". They were having a TV drama worthy performance of awkwardness and "love at first sight", and Maya knew that this was going to be a lasting relationship. She almost smiled at how great of a matchmaker she was.

"Lucas. I love it." Riley's bubbly giggle blew away the last remnants of Maya's bitterness, and she focused her attention on the still astounding fact that she was going to be attending a fancy boarding school, and a magical one no less, with actual friends by her side. Strange things did happen in the world...

Suddenly, Riley hopped off of the lap of the newly dubbed "Lucas" and ran to the compartment door. She gave Maya a blinding smile and said, "Let's go back to our compartment. The train will be arriving at Hogwarts pretty soon, and we need to get changed." Maya knew that the train wasn't due until at least an hour later, but decided to comply with Riley's request nonetheless. Maybe the brunette was just feeling nervous about spending too much time with her new love interest. It was a perfectly natural response, and Maya was eager to hear what Riley had to say about Lucas. Farkle, who was closer to the door than she was, managed to swing outside after Riley first, and Maya followed quickly, turning around to give one last contemplative look towards the boy were leaving behind.

However, just as she was about to step out of the doors, they swung shut in front of her. The lights overhead dimmed, and the consistent whirring of the train's engine quieted to a dull thrum. Maya blinked and looked around in confusion. The landscape outside the window was also slowing down dramatically, and she could already begin to make out the separate outlines of the pine trees they were passing. A chill began to settle over Maya, and she thought longingly of her worn leather jacket sitting within her own train compartment. Deeper within the compartment she was currently in, Lucas was also sporting a baffled expression (although he definitely made it look a lot cuter than Maya ever could).

"Do you know what's going on?" Lucas's voice filled the empty compartment. Maya's eyes flickered uneasily to the boy, who was staring at her with the same focused gaze he had had earlier when she was flirting with him. It was unnerving just how green his eyes were, and how intently he could train them on an object of interest (which, at the moment, was her). The blonde shook her head and sat down on the cushioned seat across from him. "I have no-"

"ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS!" A shrill, female voice boomed over what were probably invisible loud speakers overhead. Or it could have been magic, Maya didn't even know at that point. Lucas winced, covering his ears, but Maya easily shrugged off the noise. Things got hectic around her mom's work, and her ears was used to the constant screaming and hubbub that came with a diner. She waited patiently to hear what the voice was going to say next.

"I AM SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE, BUT OUR TRAIN IS- oh, am I really speaking that loudly? Excuse me. Anyways, we have just been notified that Hogwarts is experiencing some...rather appalling odor problems. The effects are said to be able to reach several hundred miles away from the source, so the train has had to be shut down until the source has been terminated and the air cleared. For now, all compartments doors and windows have been placed in lock down for your own safety, so please be patient until we have resolved the issue. Thank you, and enjoy your school year!" With a loud crackle, the voice faded away.

Maya frowned deeply at the news she had just heard. Odor problems? Several hundred miles away? If these kinds of things were what happened to students before they'd even reached the school, then what was she supposed to expect from Hogwarts itself? Deep in thought, she didn't even notice Lucas come to sit next to her until she felt something warm and soft drape over her shoulders. Looking up, she realized that he had placed what was probably a gray sweatshirt over her shoulders. She blinked at him in confusion.

"You were shivering, so I figured you were probably cold..." He shrugged sheepishly, and turned away from her. Now that he had brought it up, Maya realized that it was rather chilly in the compartment. Her hands felt a little numb, and she was glad for the new warmth of the sweatshirt around her shoulders. "Thanks."

The boy shrugged again. His rugged features made Maya wonder once again how in the world it was possible that she, out of all the people on the train, could be stuck, alone, next to him in an isolated train compartment for any number of hours. If she believed in cliché love stories, she would have thought that this would have been an excellent beginning for any couple.

It should be Riley here, not me...

"So, you're Maya right?" Lucas' voice broke the silence. Maya nodded absentmindedly. It was best not to interact with him too much, or else Riley might feel threatened that Maya was trying to steal him from her. But it would be rude if she just snubbed him... Besides, this was a perfect opportunity to get to know him a little better— see if he was actually good enough for her perfect little brunette friend. Maya decided to open with a joke to test the waters.

"And you're Ranger Roy, right?" The boy blinked at her.

"Excuse me, what?"

"I said, you're Ranger Rick, aren't you? God, you southerners really must be deaf or something, listening to all those cows bleating day in and day out." The boy, who Maya knew was named Lucas, kept staring at her. Finally, his face turned from confusion to annoyance.

"Look, just because Texas is known for it's ranches doesn't mean that everyone from there came from a ranch! And besides, my accent isn't even that strong." He frowned at her. So he's from Texas... Maya frowned back.

"Oh, I'm sorry. It must be Huckleberry, I forgot." She stretched her face into an obviously fake smile, and offered her hand to him. Lucas ignored it, and narrowed his eyes at her. Even his death glares look attractive... He stood up suddenly, and Maya couldn't help feeling tiny next to his larger frame. Without warning, he pulled his sweatshirt away from her and sat down on the seat across the aisle where he had previously been. Maya's arms instantly erupted into goosebumps, and she looked at him, startled and annoyed.

"Hey, give that back! It's not gentlemanly to take away an article of clothing from a lady!" She reached a hand out expectantly for the sweatshirt. Without it, Maya felt as if she would freeze to death. But Lucas simply smirked and shook his head.

"You're barely considered a lady. Plus, it's my sweatshirt in the first place. If you want it back, you're gonna have to apologize." Maya's head was already shaking.

"Not in a million years." Lucas gave another one of his "I-couldn't-care-less" shrugs and turned away from her. Maya stretched herself out on her side on her cushioned seat, and folded her bare arms around her torso to try to conserve heat. If he wanted to play that game, fine. Maya would play, and she would win. She was definitely telling Riley that she the brunette needed a new boy toy. This one was not going to cut it.

As the minutes passed by, however, Maya could feel the heat escaping slowly and steadily from her body. The shivers that had only just disappeared from her returned in full force, and she pulled herself into fetal position to try to keep herself warm. Lucas sat watching her, an amused look on his face. She glared at him. The Hogwarts robes he wore, although not the most attractive shade of black, looked infinitely warmer than the street clothes she had on, and she wished desperately that she had thought to change into her own uniform before she and Riley and Farkle had left their train car.

"All you have to do is apologize..." Lucas repeated his ultimatum, and Maya pursed her lips. As much as she hated to admit it, was her pride really worth catching a cold right before the school year began? Besides, it was just a few innocent nicknames. He was clearly the one being overly prickly about the whole thing. Apologizing would show that she was the bigger person. Just as Maya had decided that maybe apologizing would make her life easier, Lucas spoke again.

"Ok, fine, you won't apologize." Maya looked up at him sharply. Was he really giving up that easily? "But if you want the sweatshirt, you're gonna have to come and get it." He straightened to his full height and raised the article of clothing high above his head. His eyebrows raised in a challenge, and Maya stood up slowly, trying to ignore the way the cold washed over her now that she was no longer hunched up.

"You realize you're not that tall, right?" Lucas shrugged at her comment.

"You realize that you're pretty short, right?" Maya narrowed her eyes. With a running start, she leaped as high into the air as she could, arm outstretched for the sweatshirt she so desperately needed. Her fingertips just grazed it. Lucas smirked above her.

"See?"

Maya closed the space between them and grabbed his robe collar in her fist, pulling him down so that they were face to face. "Look here, Hopalong, you may have won this time, but this isn't over. One of these days, I will get to you." His bright green eyes bore into her own blue ones, and Maya felt another shiver run down her spine, this one having nothing to do with the unnaturally low temperature of her surroundings. She hadn't even realized they were flush up against each other, boot tip to boot tip, until she felt his breath merge with her own. Maya jumped back in reflex.

Too close. Far too close for comfort.

She turned back and sat down on her own side of the compartment, preparing herself for what was sure to be several more miserable hours. As she tucked her bitterly cold hands underneath her legs, she noticed Lucas rise out of his seat and lower himself onto hers. The gray sweatshirt fell across her shoulders again, bringing with it the warmth she desperately needed, only this time there was an arm draped on top of it. After several long moments of self-debate, Maya tentatively leaned into Lucas' side, head resting comfortably against his shoulder, and felt her eyes droop with the exhaustion of the day and the added warmth from Lucas' body.

Maybe he isn't so bad after all...