A/N: 'Sup readers! I'm back with a pretty darn quick update (if I do say so myself, although I'm aware that a month is kinda a long time...). This chapter is also about twice as long as most of my other ones, so consider it a present for whatever situation you may have to celebrate at the moment!

Anyways, this chapter builds a little more on Maya's social insecurities, Lucas and Maya's relationship, and, as always, the plot itself. I know Maya's tendency to turn within herself has her seeming a little mean right now, but she's going to pop out of her shell soon, and when I get more into her background things will make a little more sense.

So, without further ado...


The first day of classes went by without a hitch (much to Maya's great surprise). Although most of her professors were eccentric (to say the least– she was sure a few of them weren't even human), Maya was positive that she could easily handle the workload that had been summarized for the rest of her school year. In fact, she was almost feeling a little excited about learning things like "101 Ways to Tame a Screaming Plant" and "Defense Against the Dark Arts for Beginners". And Maya Hart had never, ever been excited about school.

The only thing that had prevented her from having what could only be described as "the perfect first day" was the fact that she hadn't had anyone to share it with. Sure, Maya was hardly what could be described as "a gossipy teenager", but she'd discovered over the years that telling her happy experiences and emotions to someone else always made them feel that much more real. Always made them last that much longer. And god knew she needed more happiness in her life.

For the eleven years of life she'd lived so far, Maya's main confidante had been her mother, Katy Hart. Despite the elder Hart having to put work first, the two of them had always found time in the evenings or before school to discuss anything they needed to get off of their chests. After all, with all they'd gone through, trust between mother and daughter had been a necessary thing for their basic survival.

But talking to Katy now meant writing everything down on paper (which Maya never felt comfortable doing, since paper could be easily taken and read), sending said paper off to her mother via owl (the mailing system here was insane, not to mention Maya didn't even own an owl), and then waiting days or weeks or even months for her reply. And by then Maya would have forgotten what exactly it was she had needed so desperately to talk about.

She could already imagine what her mother would say to her, though. I'm not the person you should be going to for talks now, baby girl. You've got friends all around you. So use them.

And that right there was the problem. Friends. And the fact that, as of now, they didn't really exist... Sure, Maya had been thinking about Riley throughout the course of her entire day, but that was just thinking. And it wasn't really good thinking either. It seemed like whenever Maya had a spare moment, the brunette would just pop into her mind like an unexpected (and unwelcomed) guest, settling down to sprinkle rainbow and glitter everywhere. And then Maya would have to push her away repeatedly like she was some deranged whack-a-mole.

Because after the house sorting, and the rush to get settled into the dorms, and the day of classes, Maya wasn't really sure if the brief friendship she'd shared with Riley Matthews on the train was actually something to count on. And she didn't want to invest herself into a relationship that would end up breaking.

Look what happened last time you did that...

Maya hadn't seen Riley all day. In fact, the only whiff she'd even heard of her "supposed BFF" was during her Charms class. Which she shared with the one, the only...Farkle Minkus.

Maya had realized very early on that classes were not always split by Houses, as she had previously thought. Most of her lessons, in fact, composed of first years from two or more houses. She had potions with the Slytherins, Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, Charms with the Ravenclaws, etc. It was probably all part of the school's way to dissuade house rivalry from getting out of hand. After all, mixing typical teenage pranks with magical spells that actually have the potential to do a LOT of damage probably never ended well for anyone.

House mixing also provided another advantage for Maya, though (if you could even call it an advantage...). For one hour during every school day, she got to see Farkle. He wouldn't exactly be her first choice when it came to friends, but hey– beggars couldn't be choosers, and she wasn't about to go around taking his one familiar face for granted. Throughout the duration of the Charms class they'd had so far, Maya had realized that getting into Ravenclaw had, if it was even possible, heightened Farkle's nerd sense. As they'd practiced chanting encantations, he talked nonstop about the history of certain spells. When Professor Flitwick went from student to student and demonstrated the spell they were learning to perform, he listed in alphabetical order which famous wizards had preferred what form of magic. He had babbled on and on and on, and Maya had been astounded by just how much useless information could come spewing out of one eleven-year-old's mouth. To put it simply, it had been an exhausting class.

But sharing a class with Farkle meant that she had at least one connection to Riley. The nerd boy and the brunette had Potions together. Maya had been eager to hear about her best friend the moment Farkle had mentioned it. She'd wanted to know what times the two of them could meet up after classes, what schedule Riley had, how Riley was doing in Hufflepuff.

The information Farkle gave her couldn't have been more disappointing. Maya hadn't wanted to know that Riley had already met a gaggle of new friends. Was already becoming popular and well-known among the Hogwarts first years. Seemed to have already forgotten about the lonely blonde girl she'd met on the train just the day before.

Obviously those weren't the words that had directly came out of Farkle's mouth regarding Riley, but Maya had deduced that much from the way he offhandedly mentioned the names of kids she didn't know, the way he laughed at a joke Riley had made at his expense, the way he didn't talk about her and Riley at all.

Even though this was what she had been expecting, what she had known would happen the moment she met Riley and realized that the brunette was too special to not be accepted by people much better than her, but hearing the words spoken out loud hurt more than expected.

Good things come to those who break. That had been one of Katy Hart's favorite sayings, back when she and Maya were still trying to pick up the pieces after Kermit left.

But sometimes Maya felt as if being broken simply meant that you were undeserving of anything close to "good".

Snap out of it, Maya! Riley is so lovable, she could probably befriend a rock if she tried hard enough. It should be no surprise to you that she's already moved on from your one-day BFF-ship on the train.

After all, who would want to be best friends with a nobody, coldhearted girl like you when there are hundreds of sweet, pretty, and probably magically-gifted girls in this castle of a school?

So she told herself it didn't hurt as much as did. That it shouldn't even hurt at all. She'd known the moment that she'd met Riley that it was too good to be true, that friendship wasn't really a thing that was supposed to happen in her life. That in their beaten down, unfair universe, good girls like Riley didn't associate with people like her.

Sure, it had been fun while it lasted. A bright spot in the churning sea of darkness. But that was all it was. A bright spot. A fleeting moment. A memory.

Leave it behind, Maya. Leave her behind.

Besides, screw it, Maya didn't need friends. People who walked with her only ended up getting hurt, anyways. Her father had left her mother because Maya hadn't been good enough. Her mother had to work herself to the bone because Maya couldn't support herself.

Independence, Hart. It's safer this way.

So throughout the course of her day, in between tuning in and out of her professors' lectures, walking across the windblown school grounds, and eavesdropping on the conversations of her fellow classmates, Maya hardened her resolve against brunette girls and smiling faces and the laughter of newly formed friendships. She cooled her mind against letting people in only to be hurt by their inevitable disappearance, wrapped up the broken shards of her soul and sold them to a hundred different bidders so that no one could ever touch it again. She caved herself in and sat in the rubble, until all that was left was the shell of the girl she had been when she first read the elaborately written letter in emerald green ink that had changed her life.

Shells were safer. Nobody tried to look inside to see if there was anything worth taking.

By the end of the school day, Maya was certain that she had reformed her invincible barrier against the rest of human kind. Had prepared herself for a schoolyear dedicated to her studies and to becoming the best witch she could be. Was well-stocked in the emotional department to handle hours and hours of loneliness.

So it had been depressing, to say the least, when Lucas (of all people, really) approached her at her back table in the Gryffindor common room that evening, with his textbooks and homework balanced precariously in his arms. Maya wanted to slap fate in the face with her wand (although that would probably end up with her wand damaged, so maybe a book would work better…), because the day she turned her back on humanity was the one day that humanity decided to seek her out.

My life is a giant pool of irony that all who encounter will inevitably drown in. NONE ARE SAFE FROM THE DEPTHS OF MY DESPAIR!

Yeah, she would probably go insane by the end of the week.

As she watched Lucas approach, Maya was struck at how ignorant he was about the etiquette of teenage society. She had been sitting at the back table for the SOLE PURPOSE of avoiding people. That was why people EVEN SAT AT BACK TABLES IN THE FIRST PLACE. Her eleven-year-old mind, although young, had basically reached its limit of dealing with life for that day, what with Farkle's nerd ray of death, Riley's newly sprouted social life, and the fact that she had officially begun her career as a hermit. She was NOT in the mood to banter with Mr. Heehaw Goody-Two Shoes for the next hour and a half before curfew.

Alright, Maya. Maybe if you don't look at him, he will TAKE A HINT and move on!

From her peripheral vision, Lucas sat down in the single chair across from her.

Dammit.

He put down his books and papers.

Double dammit.

He started unpacking his quill and ink set.

Triple dammit.

He began to open his textbook.

Quadrup-

"Would you please stop saying "dammit"?! I can hear you, y'know!"

Oh. Maya hadn't realized she'd been swearing out loud. And, now that she thought about it, she really didn't care that much.

Perhaps he'll leave sooner…

She finally lifted her focus from her recently assigned Potions report to meet his gaze. At his raised eyebrow, she let out an exasperated huff.

"I'm sure that down in the good 'ole south it's all sunshines and rainbows, but here, when people say "bad words" like "dammit", it usually means they're unhappy about something." He continued to stare at her.

"And when people are unhappy, that usually means something happened that they didn't want to happen."

Seriously, how is he NOT getting it?

Maya was trying to think up ways to possibly make her already-extremely obvious intent even more obvious when she noticed that a grin, of all things, was creeping at the corners of Lucas' mouth. Which meant only one thing.

Here we go...

"So somebody's clearly in a bad mood today? Tough first day of school? Wanna talk about it?" The condescending tone in which he spoke his retort meant that he knew exactly what she had been talking about with "thing's people didn't want happening". He was just choosing to ignore it.

Fine. You wanna play that game? Prepare to lose.

Maya forced her features into a near perfect neutral expression– one she had picked up after years of waiting on less-than-polite customers during her shifts at the diner her mother worked at. She coolly returned Lucas' smirk. Leaned back in her chair.

"Actually, Ranger Rick, my first day of school went along just fine. How was yours?"

"Without a hitch, as expected."

"I'm oh so glad to hear it. Momma Heehaw and the hundreds of extended family members must all be sooooo proud of you back down in the depths of Texas, hmmm? Any letters of congratulations yet?" The amount of sarcasm dripping from her tone would have been enough to fill a bucket. Lucas, however, seemed unperterbed.

"No letters yet, I'm afraid. Although I sent one earlier. What about you, Miss I'm So Witty It Hurts? Any mail traffic going on?"

"Nah. I wouldn't want to send a letter bearing bad news."

"Ahh. So something did go wrong on the Princess' first day! Tell me, what was it– did the professors not pay enough attention to you? Or did you not have anyone to sit with at lunch?"

Okay. That was crossing the line. Maya hated to admit it, but his last remark hit way too close to home for comfort. She might be cutting of socialization, but she would not stand by and get made fun of for it. The cowboy was leaving now.

Maya's gaze narrowed into a glare, and she saw his playful expression falter for a moment at her newfound intensity. She let him take a second to process her new mood before continuing the conversation.

"My schoolday went along fine, just so you know. It was the evening of the first day that kind of made me upset, though."

"Oh? And why is that, Miss Hart?"

"Because some ding-dong hiddly-hop cowboy decided that his homework simply needed to be done at the very far back table in the Gryffindor common room that people only sit at when they want to be left alone."

There. She spelled it out for him. Now if he would just leave…

But instead of packing up his books and acknowledging the fact that she would prefer solitude, Lucas only raised his eyebrows at her before suddenly shifting his focus downwards. And, much to her dismay, he didn't reply to her statement. He began to copy notes from his Herbology textbook.

He was ignoring her. She stared at him.

Seriously? Is he so set on sitting with me that he's IGNORING me?

Maya decided that enough was enough.

"Look, Hee-Haw, as much as I appreciate your cunning wit and awe-inspiring sarcasm, I'm sure you have better things to do with your time. So why on earth are you actually sitting here?"

Lucas glanced up from his work. "Um…because I want to?"

Maya was taken aback for a second. Because he wanted to? Oh, please. That couldn't possibly be true. But even so, she had to push down the small tingling of hope that started to bloom in her chest at the idea that there could be a single person out there, even someone like him, who would want to sit with a girl like her. That someone might care, and-

Stop it, Hart! Remember, it's all part of the game you two play. He's here to get on your nerves and use you for entertainment. Get him to leave, so you can continue your quest for self-encasement.

She strengthened her resolve. Not getting hurt, not getting hurt again. "Let me rephrase Sundance- why do you want to sit here?"

The Texan boy put down his quill and gave her a look that clearly said "you're the idiot in this situation, not me". When Maya only blinked back at him, he let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"Maya, I thought we were friends. And friends sit with each other. Get it?"

No, I don't, because we were never friends, are not friends, and will never be friends. Also, since Riley's en-crushed with you, I can't be seen associating with you or else I'll make myself her Public Enemy Number One (even though we're probably not friends anymore, I'm not going to sit here and try to make her hate me). So...

I can't accept your friendship. I can't say "sure, it's all fine and dandy, let's go riding off into the sunset!". Not if Riley's still in the equation. And it's better for you anyways, if you don't talk to me. After all, anyone who ever does only ends up leaving.

She decided to try and break it to him as lightly as possible. "Look Ranger Rick– as much as I appreciate the company, I'm kinda…um…not in the mood to socialize right now…" Wow, Hart. Real smooth.

"We're not socializing. We're doing homework." He didn't miss a beat.

Maya resisted the urge to reach across the table and throttle him. You are NOT making this easy! "You know what I mean, Lucas! The point is, I want to be alone right now and you are not making that possible!"

She hadn't even realized that she'd been raising her voice until she noticed a few people around them were staring. Quickly, Maya took a deep breath and forced herself to relax.

Don't need to cause a scene, just need to get rid of the company.

However, she had forgotten to take into account the other half of the equation. Lucas, at this point, was actually looking upset. A twinge of guilt started to twist in Maya's stomach. Had she been too harsh?

But the boy sitting across from her didn't yell, or scream, or lose his temper in any way like she had. Instead, he simply gave her a sad smile, and started packing up his books, balancing them awkwardly once again into his arms. Maya watched him go, the satisfaction she should have felt at successfully getting rid of him mingling uncomfortably with the bitterness of remorse. Sure, she hadn't wanted to deal with him at the moment...but her goal hadn't been to hurt his feelings.

Just as she was considering maybe apologizing for her behavior, Lucas pushed in his chair and stood up straight, looking her dead in the eyes. "I hope one of these days you'll realize that pushing everyone away only makes things worse, Maya."

And with that, he was gone. Off to socialize with the other Gryffindors and leaving her just as she'd asked– alone.

"Damn, Maya." She jumped, turning to her right to find a boy, dark skinned and curly haired, watching after Lucas as he walked away. It was Zay, the boy from the Sorting last night. He was sitting at a table adjacent to hers. By the expression on his face, she knew that he had probably witnessed the entire encounter.

Of course. The last thing I need right now is the opinion of an audience.

Even though all she really wanted to do at that moment was curl up and sort out her current mess, Maya knew that she had to tackle the company first.

You can think when you're alone in your dorm tonight. She shoved all of her emotional baggage into a corner, and steeled herself for Zay's verdict. "What do you want, Zay?"

"What?" He turned to look at her. "Can't a guy enjoy the entertainment around here? It's not everyday something like that happens, y'know." He gave a low whistle, and Maya decided that he had officially ranked himself above even Lucas on the "Need to Throttle" list. Can you just LEAVE?!

"Look Zay, I know it's probably your business to get involved in every little piece of drama that goes on within a thirty mile radius, but this is an issue that has absolutely nothing to do with you. Leave it alone, because, as you can probably tell, I am seriously not in the mood to deal right now."

It's a miracle anyone can get any peace in this common room, she thought. Maya started to pack up her schoolwork from where it was scattered on her table. If people weren't going to give her her solitude, then she was going to go find it.

"Hey, hey! Sorry, Blondie, I didn't mean to make you upset." Her hands stilled, and she turned back to Zay. He was watching Lucas again, an almost knowing smile on his lips. She was about to ask him if something was going on when he spoke. "All I'm saying, Maya, is that Lucas ain't such a bad kid. It's not his goal to go around making you angry… you just gotta give him a chance sometimes, y'know?"

Really? Was this an advice column? She breathed out the two words. "A chance."

"Yeah." Zay swung a quarter circle in his chair until he was facing her full on, an elbow propping him up against the table. "A chance. One of those life-changing, miracle workin' thingies. You heard of 'em, right?"

Maya sighed. "It's not that easy, okay? I've gone through a lot when it comes to chances, and-and there are some…other factors involved with this situation, and-"

"If you're talkin' about Riley, then I know all about that too." Okay, that was seriously creepy. Maya was starting to think that Zay as not only a gossip hound, but a stalker as well.

When he saw the look on her face, he promtly explained. "I have her in my History of Magic class. Bubbly thing wouldn't stop ranting about Lucas, and love at first sight." Of course. Typical Riley. This news only further confirmed the merit in her decision to cut off ties with the Texan boy. Riley comes first, because the day I spent with her was one of the best of my life.

Losing herself in thoughts of the day before, Maya almost missed Zay's next words. "And, now that I think about it, she also wouldn't shut up about you."

Maya blinked. "Wait, Riley? She was talking about me? ...why would she talk about me?"

He gave her a look. "Uh, I dunno, 'cause you're BEST FRIENDS?"

Maya reeled back in shock. "B-but I thought…since we got in different houses…and I didn't see her at all today…"

Zay chuckled. "Nah, you're still BFFs, I know it. If Riley was that excited to talk about you, it'd be creepy if you weren't."

It took her couple seconds to find her voice again, and when she did, the only sound that could escape her lips was: "oh".

"Yeah," Zay was smiling now. "That's it. You still got a best friend, kiddo." Then his lips twisted down, as if a nasty thought just occurred to him. "Although, I can see now why being friends with Lucas might be problem for you."

Right. Lucas. The entire reason she was still talking with the kid sitting nearby.

But before Maya could say anything else, whether it be an explanation on the entire Riley-Lucas situation, a complaint about Lucas' behavior, or a question on Riley's well-being, Zay turned away from her.

"Y'know, I kinda feel sorry for you, Blondie. You are in some pretty deep doodoo right now."


A/N: Ahhh, Zay. Gotta love the guy, hmm?