What? Two chapters in one day? Well, I wrote them together so yeah. Oh Ale you're the best. Jk guys, I'm feeling very inspired today, enjoy!
KING LUCAS
CHAPTER 23
The music seemed to quiet down, as he tried to think, his plan was set a week from now and he didn't want to screw it up again. Zay could help her, he was her friend too, Lucas couldn't get involved, he need it to break up with Jess first and meet Josh before he could jump back into their lives.
But Zay was smart, he wouldn't come to him unless it was utterly important. He clenched his jaw, whatever this was he had to fix it now.
"Lucas, c'mon! You have to stop this." Zay gained his attention back
"What happened?" He asked Zay, whom he hadn't spoken with since their fight in Lucas' apartment.
"She won the duel against Billy and challenged anyone else who dared, of course no one did, so she stole a bottle of rum and went crazy." Zay was explaining as they made way on the packed hallways, it felt like the apartment had reached its maximum capacity.
"Baby?" Jess grabbed his arm and he stopped. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, grab your coat, we're leaving." He said, offering no explanation.
"We're leaving now?" She asked.
"Yeah, I just have to take care of something first." Zay was urging him on, so he kissed her really quick and left again with his friend. "I'll meet you on the entrance."
"She also kissed someone." Zay said, it took Lucas a while to understand what he was saying.
"What? Maya?" He asked, she had fixed things with Josh and everything seemed perfect, Zay nodded. "Who?"
"I don't know, some dude on a Lone Ranger outfit." Lucas stopped for a second to think, but Zay pulled him forward, they were almost on the living room. It couldn't be a coincidence, he thought.
"Fuck." Lucas said when he entered the room.
He had already passed a vomiting Billy in the bathroom and didn't know what he would find when he saw Maya, he definitely didn't expect to see her dancing over the table with a bottle of rum on one hand and the other one tossing her hair around.
All the guys were surrounding the table, trying to get a look of what was under her skirt. Zay was trying to push them away to no avail, most of then were big guys and kept pushing him back.
"Lucas!" Someone called behind him, it was Jessica. "I want to go." She said, he frowned and looked at Maya one more time, she was chugging on the bottle of rum. Shit, he thought.
"Okay, get your coat, I have to take Maya down from there." He said, but she stopped him.
"I already have my coat, I want to go now." She replied, she was angry.
"I can't leave her there, look at these guys." He said, raising his voice.
"I don't care about her." Jessica was jealous, but he couldn't think of an scenario where they would all come out winning.
"I'm not leaving without her." He said, frowning, he couldn't believe that she would just leave her, the guys were waiting for her like hungry lions.
"If you don't, I am." She said, defiantly.
"Suit yourself." He replied, turning around and walking towards the table. He heard his girlfriend call him behind him, but he didn't look back.
He began pulling some freshmen away, when they turned to see who it was and the look on his face, they lifted their hands and walked back.
"Maya!" He called but she didn't listen. "Maya! Get down here!" He yelled louder.
"Huckleberry!" She said happily when she saw him. "Want a sip?" She offered him the bottle and he grabbed it, tossing it to Zay who was behind him. "Hey! That was mine!"
"Come down from there, I'll take you home." He said, offering a hand to help her.
"I don't want to go home." She tried pushing his hand away, instead he grabbed her wrist to hold her, but someone pulled him hard from behind and he had to let her go.
"She said she doesn't want to go with you." Stuart Fuller, from the football team, told him. He was dressed like Han Solo, which Lucas found amusing, fucking space pirate, he thought.
"Stay out this Fuller!" He said, yanking his arm free. Everyone was looking at them, even Maya.
"Shouldn't you be with your girlfriend, Friar?" He asked, but Lucas didn't reply. "She is not your property." He said, looking at Maya in a way that made Lucas feel sick.
"She's not yours either, so leave her alone." Lucas said, he didn't want to fight, he hadn't done that here and he didn't want that reputation again, but he was angry and he felt his hands tingle.
"Or what?" Stuart said, jumping forward, trying to scare Lucas. "You can have her after I'm done with her, though I don't think she'll be of much use."
That did it, fuck my reputation, fuck the extra week and fuck you, Fuller. He never saw the punch coming, he just felt the kiss of the floor and then his palms were covering his face, muffling the sounds of pain.
"You!" He said, pointing at Maya, the knuckles on his hand turning red, her mouth was wide open, staring at the boy on the floor. "Down, now!" Fortunately, she did, almost falling in the process.
He guided her out of the apartment, holding her from time to time when she stumbled around. He walked out with every eye on their back, but no one said a thing and no one followed them.
"What the fuck were you thinking?" He said when they were inside the elevator.
"Me?! You were the one that started that... that bar fight." She said, defensively, holding herself steady with the railing.
"That guy was being a dick, you're welcome." He told her, he helped her out of the elevator and out of the building. The streets were filled with people in costumes, most of them drunk. Some guys whistled as Maya was passing by.
"Oh, fuck you!" She yelled at them, showing them her middle finger. "See? I can take care of myself." She said, supporting herself on his shoulder.
"Clearly." He replied sarcastically. They were near his car when Maya pushed him aside and rushed to the nearest trash can.
She emptied her stomach, but at least she would begin feeling better after that. He patted her back and helped her sit on a staircase while he took his water bottle from his training bag and handed it to her.
He sat next to her until she drank the whole thing.
"C'mon, I'll take you home." He said, offering a hand she gladly took.
They shared a short and quiet ride, he had to park a block down, because everything was blocked. It seemed like it was going to rain, lightning began to illuminate the sky, accompanied by loud thunders. In a matter of minutes the streets had emptied, making it feel like a ghost town. The kids were at home, eating their candy, men were joining their dates on taxis to go to only one destination, bars were closing, the city was falling asleep.
"The elevator is broken, we'll have to use the stairs." He complained, when he looked down at her sitting on the first step she was shivering, he took off his jacket and gave it to her.
He liked this Maya, she never fought about everything he said. His blazer was too big for her, but she buried her body in it, trying to warm herself.
"It has never worked," she chuckled, closing her eyes. "I'll just stay here." She rested her head on the wall, but he grabbed her hands and tried to pull her up.
"It's just three flights of stairs, please?" Maya denied with her head and he sighed. Lucas leaned down and lifted her like a child, he carried her all the way to the third floor and then to her front door and then to her room.
The apartment was in the dark and he walked very carefully to avoid any pieces of furniture. He dropped what seemed like magazines on the floor, making too much noise.
"Shh! Gammy is sleeping!" She tried to say in a whisper but at the end it came out like shouting. She pointed at her door, which was painted a bright yellow.
He almost dropped her trying to open the door, but she managed to turn the handle so he could carry her to bed. But he just placed her carefully on the floor instead, she whimpered in complaint.
"I'm going to lock the front door, you change your clothes." She managed to walk to her bathroom and close the door.
Lucas traced his steps back and picked up his mess, but he hadn't dropped magazines, they were scripts for several plays. He put them back on the coffee table and he noticed that one of the corners was held by a tower of books. After locking the door, he grabbed a glass from the kitchen and filled it with water.
Back in Maya's room, he found her on bed still with her clothes and heels on, he rolled his eyes, he put the glass next to her on her nightstand and turned around to check her room for the first time. Outside, the rain had started to fall, from time to time lightning showered the room with light.
This was a unique opportunity, he didn't know how long it would be until she invited him here again. He had been at her firescape several times, but never inside.
Each wall was painted a different color, there was a whole in one of the walls which led to the hallway, but only the pipes that ran through it could be seen, every time thunder sounded, the pipes would clunk with each other softly. The room was small, but cozy, there was a desk on one corner, but it was filled with paints and brushes and color pencils.
Next to the desk rested some canvas, they were on their back, he walked to check them out, at least 7 of them were finished, most were landscapes of different parts of town, each more beautiful than the one before them.
"Don't touch my paintings." A drowsy voice warned him, she had been looking at him he suddenly realized.
"Let's get you to bed, yeah?" He asked, putting everything back on its place. "Where is Riley when you need her the most?" He asked, taking her heels off and placing them under the bed.
"She's with Farkle, she wanted her first kiss with him today." She replied, looking at him like he wasn't really there.
"Oh, well... good for them." He said pulling her cover over her, but she pushed his hands away and lifted one of her legs.
"You forgot the stockings." She said, with a smirk on her face. He held her leg with one hand as the other removed the white fabric slowly. Only after that did she let him cover her up.
"Okay, goodnight." He said, heading towards the window to make his escape, but a hand grabbed his wrist and stopped him.
"Can you sleep here tonight?" She asked, looking at him directly into his eyes, he only felt sadness on those eyes.
"I don't think it's a good idea." He said, but she squished his hand harder.
"Please, I hate thunderstorms." He clenched his jaw and eventually nodded.
He took off his shoes and his vest and placed them above a chair, on top he put his cowboy hat. He climbed next to her, leaving Maya between him and the wall.
"Only until you fall asleep." He told her and she nodded, resting her head on his chest, on top of his heart. He hair smell sweet, it kinda reminded him of cotton candy.
"Huckleberry?" She asked after some time.
"Yeah?" She was playing with a button of his shirt.
"The hat was just for me, wasn't it?" She laughed, she was still too drunk to remember any of this, it was a shame because this would definitely bring him back in the game, but he would find a way, right now exhaustion was creeping up on him and he closed his eyes.
"Yeah," he chuckled, but she was already asleep.