The whole day had passed and Maya had tried to avoid doing it but she knew she had to ask him eventually so she might as well get it over with.
She took a deep breath before walking up to James who was standing at his locker
"Hey" she says to get his attention
James turns around and smiles brightly seeing the blonde in front of him
"Hey, so I talked to my mom and we're all set for next weekend" he informs her
"Great' Maya tries to answer as enthusiastically as she can
"Everything okay?" he asks
"Yeah, I'm good it's just..." she says not knowing how to phrase it without the situation becoming awkward.
"Just what?" he asks
Maya sighs before speaking "James, why did you ask me to this art exhibit?" she asks
"Um because I thought you may enjoy it since you like art" he explains not fully understanding what she was getting at
"No, I mean...is this a date?" she finally decides to get to the point
"Is that what you are nervous about? you thought it was a date" he asks
Maya feels a little embarrassed now
"I didn't but, Riley did and then I wasn't sure" she explains
"Maya, I just thought it would be fun to check this exhibit out, as friends" he clarifies
"I am totally embarrassed now" she says with a nervous chuckle afraid she just made everything between them awkward
"no need to be" he reassures her "Well, i need to get to home but we're still on for the art exhibit, I hope you haven't changed your mind just because of this misunderstanding" he smiles hopeful
Maya can't believe how sweet this guy is
"definitely" she assures him
James smies "Great, well I'll talk to you soon" he says before smiling one more time at the blonde before heading toward the exit.
Maya watches him as he walks away
Meanwhile the guys were at football practice.
Once again Lucas and Zay were the last ones in the locker room finishing changing, Josh had texted them that he was running late.
"So how did the rehearsing go, Romeo?" Zay teases
Lucas chuckles "It went great, you were right all I needed to do was spend some time just me and her, I really felt like she was getting more comfortable around me" he says smiling brightly
"That's great man, so you think you gonna ask her out anytime soon?"
"I'm not sure yet, I want to, but I'm not sure how to do it" Lucas confesses
"Dude don't over think it, Just ask her out" Zay advises
"Ask who out?"
Both boys turn to see Josh
"Uh" Lucas hesitates looking at Zay for help but all he does is shrug "Might as well tell him"
"Tell me what?" Josh asks
Lucas sighs and realizes there's no way out
"Okay, um I know I should have told you sooner but I wasn't sure how you would react but...I...I Like Riley" he finally says and he kind of feels relieved once he finally let the words out
Josh tries to keep a straight face
"Riley as in my little sister"
Lucas nods "Yeah"
"So you like my sister?"
"Yes, look I know I should have told you but like I said I didn't want to freak you out."
Josh nods as he takes in what his friend was saying
"Look dude I understand if you wanna hit me or something, go ahead , but I really like her and I hope to ask her out someday"
"I'd hit him if I were you" Zay blurts
"Zay!" Lucas turns looking at his friend who he thought was on his side
"Sorry, I got caught up in the moment" Zay raises his hands in surrender
Lucas turns to Josh "So?" he asks
Josh walks forward and Lucas prepares himself for the worse
"Well, I guess all I have to say is...IT'S About Time" Josh laughs as he smacks him on back and then puts his arm around his friends shoulder who looks confused
"What?" Lucas asked surprised by his friends response
"Dude, I've known for a while"
Lucas turns to Zay "YOU TOLD HIM"
Zay shakes his head no
"Dude I figured it out on my own your not very good at hiding it"
"Well, why didn't you say anything before, I almost had a heart attack over telling you" Lucas demands
"More fun for me" Josh laughs as he let go of him and high five Zay who was also laughing
Lucas rolls his eyes "You guys are the worse"
Josh laughs "Sorry man"
"Whatever, well I'm just glad in the open, so are you okay with this?" he asks
"Well i'm not thrilled about my sister dating but she could do worse" Josh teases
Lucas chuckles "Thanks man"
They do a handshake
Josh quickly changes and the 3 guys head off to practice
"So it's not a date?" the brunette asks later that day when they are at Riley's house. They were currently laying on each end of the couch in the living room.
Maya shakes her head "Nope, so thanks for the most awkward moment of my life"
"Me? What did I do?" the brunette asks confused
"I didn't even think it was a date till you got into my head" she accuses
"Sorry, but I really thought it sounded like he was asking you out"
"Yeah well he didn't which is good because it would make Saturday very awkward" the blonde replies
Riley nods and pauses for a moment before asking the blonde a question
"If he had said it was a date, what would you have done?" she asks curiously
Maya was taken aback from that question she didn't see coming. She hadn't really thought about what she would had done if the situation had been different
Before she could say anything the door to the apartment opened and Josh arriving fro practice.
"Hey, guys" he greets as he drops his bag on the floor and heads to the kitchen to get something to drink
"Hey" Riley greets her brother
"What are you guys up to?" he asks as he opens the fridge
"Oh nothing just girl talk" his sister replies
Maya looks at the time
"I should get going, I'll talk to you later Riles" she says as she gets up and grabs her things
"Okay see you tomorrow, Hey! we should go shopping Friday, you can get something to wear on Saturday"
Maya nods "Okay, sounds good, call you later" she says as she heads out the door.
"Where you guys going Saturday?" Josh asks as he takes a seat on the couch with Riley
"Me nowhere, But Maya's going to an Art exhibit"
"Oh really thats cool, with Shawn?" he asks
"No actually, with James" she replies
At that moment she felt that she saw Josh's body goes tense.
He tries to compose himself before responding
"Her lab partner?" he tries to ask casually
"Yep, apparently his mom is on the committee and when he knew Maya liked art so he invited her"
"That was...nice of him" Josh replies looking down at the water bottle in his hands
"Yeah, I haven't really gotten to know him but from what I can tell he seems like a good guy"
Josh nods as he begins to play with the water bottle "So it's a date?" he asks curiously
Riley can't help but smile at her brothers behavior, it was obvious he was jealous. She wondered if she should lie? or should she just tell the truth.
"Well. I thought it was because it was so obvious he likes her" she comments
"And does she like him?" he asks
Riley shrugs "well she hasn't said anything,,,,,yet" she adds just to get a reaction out of him.
"Well I have homework" she says as she gets up and heads to her room.
Josh stays sitting there by himself confused as to what he was feeling.