A/N: You guys don't have to hide your speculations if you don't want to! I enjoy reading them and seeing what you guys believe will occur! So feel free to put any and all of your predictions if you want :) Obviously, I won't validate or invalidate those speculations in my response lol, but I definitely do love to see how you guys interpret the occurrences and what you think is happening.
Urgh... the dialogue for this one was a little hard to write. Kind of gross. Maybe cheesy. I don't know if I like it. I had some difficulties to be honest. This chapter is also particularly slow.
I appreciate the reviews guys! Thank you for taking time out of your busy days to read this story and review. It means so much to me and I am sincerely glad that I am able to entertain you in some way! Thank you! :D
Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World, but… eh I got nothing…
Maya walked across JQA Elementary's lower field towards the bleachers where parents and family were resting, chatting with each other as they waited for their children's tryouts to begin. There were kids all over the field, stretching and talking and laughing and running around, and it brought a smile to Maya's lips. They were absolutely the cutest.
It was a little colder than Maya would have liked that afternoon and definitely one of those afternoons that she would have spent bundled up under her covers reading a magazine or catching up with whatever latest trashy romance novel Riley had devoured because Riley desperately wanted a companion to discuss the stories with.
But she'd told Anna she would be at the tryouts and Maya refused to break a promise, no matter how cold her fingers were. It stank that she had forgotten her gloves on the coffee table, but she supposed if she just kept her hands in her pockets, she wouldn't suffer too much.
"Hey Miss Hart!"
"Hi Miss Hart!"
"Hey Damion. Hey Tyler."
Maya smiled at the two boys who whizzed around her as they played tag. She laughed to herself, holding up the large boxes of cupcakes she had in her hands before one of the boys accidentally ran into them. Riley had helped her make them last night, but she'd gotten carried away and made way too many. Riley had eaten about half of them off and on throughout the evening, but the amount left was still a lot so Maya had boxed them up and was planning to just let it be a free for all for all the kids trying out that afternoon.
She made her way over to where Coach Morris was standing with his clipboard next to the refreshments on the bench, looking up every once in a while and marking things on his sheet of papier. The PTA was particularly involved in the process of the tryouts, and Maya was impressed. They'd definitely outdone themselves with all the snacks and drinks available for the kids once they were done.
"Justin." Maya said, walking over to him and holding up the boxes of cupcakes, "You think you've got room for one more treat for the kids? Made too many of these cupcakes."
He glanced down at the box in her hands.
"Actually, that's perfect." Coach Morris said with a smile, "I was thinking there wasn't anything sweet to balance out all this salt. But you just fixed that."
"That's good." Maya stooped and set them down on the bench carefully before straightening up. "Thank you for taking them."
"No, thank you, Maya."
Maya made her way over to the bleachers, rubbing her hands together to try to bring back some of the feeling in her hands. She was a little annoyed that despite it being late afternoon, the temperature was still closer to the low than the high.
Maya now understood why Riley had absolutely refused to leave the comfort of their apartment that afternoon citing that she refused to possibly get frostbite which would freeze her baby belly and then make it break off. It had been ridiculous, and Maya had had a good laugh at that, but she did understand where Riley was coming from with the cold weather. She had to make sure she stayed healthy and staying indoors was the best way to do that.
Maya waved in greeting at a few of her room parents before she took a seat on one of the bottom rungs of the bleachers that had been set up for parents and spectators. She yawned and then watched as the tufts of cold air materialized in front of her face. She fought her urge to check her cellphone with every ounce of her being, telling herself it wasn't worth it to look right now and disappoint herself.
Thankfully, she was saved from her temptations to reach inside her bag for her phone when Anna ran up to her, tugging behind her a cute little girl with an afro puff as they made their way over to her. Their noses were a bit red from the cold, and Anna's friend was sniffling, her nose a bit runny, but they had wide, excited grins on their faces.
"You came!" Anna exclaimed happily, "You came, Miss Hart!"
"I promised you I would, didn't I?" Maya said, "Are you ready?"
"Yeah! Are you going to cheer for me?"
"Of course. I'll be cheering for everyone, because I want you all to succeed."
"Thank you, Miss Hart!"
"Who's your friend?" Maya said, smiling at the adorable girl blowing into her hands and bouncing on her feet.
"This is Amber Ross! We're the only two girls who are trying out so we both have to make it."
"Oh yeah? Are you excited?"
"Yeah." Amber said, grinning cheerfully and revealing the two missing front teeth in her smile, "We're gonna beat those stupid boys and make the team!"
"Well good for you both. Go out there and show everyone that girls can play baseball just as well as boys."
"Yeah!"
"We will!"
Coach Morris blew his whistle then, signifying the start of the tryouts and calling over all the kids to gather around as he made his opening remarks and instructed them on what was to happen.
"Alright, head over to Coach Morris. Good luck out there girls."
Amber and Anna ran off hand in hand to group up with the other kids who were in front of Coach Morris, buzzing with energy and excitement and waiting for the tryouts to begin. Many of the parents also began to take their seats on various parts of the bench, all ready to watch the long process of deciding the little league teams for the school. Maya regretted not wearing even more layers under her coat because she had a feeling that sitting still in the cold like this would only make her feel more like she was slowly freezing and becoming a Popsicle.
As the thought crossed her mind, Lucas walked by holding a coat when their eyes met.
"Is this seat taken?" he asked with a small smile, referring to the place beside her.
"Uh no." She gestured to it, looking up at him in slight surprise. "Be my guest."
He settled next to her, letting out a long, tired sigh. He looked a little exhausted if Maya was perfectly honest, and she wondered just how much Anna tugged him around to her heart's content. Anna was fairly hyper. Maya had no doubt she was a handful.
"You look tired." She remarked casually, waving to Sammy on the field who grinned and waved back.
"Yeah, well… Anna's a never wants to sleep, early to rise kind of girl." Lucas shook his head in disbelief. "We spent all day at the park. I thought kids were supposed to stay asleep for longer periods of time. Five AM. The sun wasn't even up, and she was already jumping on me before I could even realize what was happening."
Maya laughed. "I guess Anna is an exception. She really is a bundle of energy."
"Yeah…" he said fondly, "She gets a little hard to handle sometimes. Even Mrs. Coleman has a bit of difficulty keeping up with her and she's apparently the best in the market."
"It'll probably mellow out a bit by the time elementary school is over. I'm sure you can manage three more years of that."
"Three years…" he muttered in a fake tone of despair, "No sleep for three years…"
Maya chuckled quietly, watching as the kids split up and went to their respective age groups for their tryouts and waving at another one of her students who spotted her.
"Your students really seem to like you." Lucas pointed out.
"What can I say?" Maya said playfully, "I guess I'm just a likeable person."
"Are you? I don't know…" he said, imitating her tone, "Do likeable people call other people assholes?"
Maya gave him a dry look. "Again: totally justified. You're never going to let that go, are you?"
"It was pretty shocking for me." Lucas responded, his lips curving up into a slight smirk, "I never expected to almost get cussed out by my child's teacher. For a second there, I thought you were going to try to strangle me."
Honestly, the thought had crossed her mind during their conversation.
"Maybe next time that'll teach you to not provoke a teacher on their methods."
He nodded. "Lesson definitely learned."
Maya snorted and they fell silent for a bit, watching the proceedings of the tryouts further on the field. It seemed like those in the 6-8 age group would be up for catching first. Anna waved at them and they waved back to her before she spun around and ran to the rest of the group.
Maya felt a chill settle on her fingers again, and she rubbed her hands rapidly together, blowing air into the space between her hands that she'd created to try to speed up the process of the warming.
"Your hands are cold?" Lucas asked, watching as she tried to bring some feeling back into her hands.
"Just a little bit. I forgot my gloves."
"Here." He pulled out a pair from the pocket of his coat. "Take mine."
"Oh. No. You'll probably need them."
"No, I'm fine, I swear. It's okay."
"…If you're sure."
He nodded, handing them to her, and Maya smiled gratefully in thanks as she slipped her hands into his gloves. She almost started laughing at how much space was in the gloves since they were fairly large considering how small her hands were, but they did shield her fingers from the cold, and Maya almost sighed in bliss from the warmth. They were comfortable.
"Thank you."
"No problem." Lucas smiled.
Their conversation tapered away and they quieted, watching as the tryouts proceeded on the field.
~.~.~
After Anna hugged Amber goodbye as the girl left with her mother, she walked over to Lucas and Maya, yawning, her nose and cheeks red and eyes blinking slowly. Several other tired kids were also heading over to their parents who were standing from the bleachers and preparing to head home. The sky was beginning to darken after the long afternoon. The temperature hadn't increased much during that time and she could see some of the kids were shivering now that they weren't moving around a lot anymore. Maya herself was trying to fight her own urge to shiver.
"Daddy, I'm tired." Anna whined, standing in front of them.
"Oh now you're tired. But when I'm trying to get you to go to bed, you want to play."
She rubbed her eyes, yawning again and Lucas got off the bench and bent down in front of her, taking her hands in turn and tugging her mittens on. He rearranged the beanie on her head so it was covering her ears and most of the unruly curls on her head before wiping smudges of dirt off of her cheeks and the side of her chin.
"Did I do good, Daddy?" She murmured tiredly as he helped her get her coat back on and zipped it up to her neck.
"Yeah Sugar Plum." Lucas brushed some errant curls out of the way before kissing her forehead. "You were awesome out there. I'm proud of you."
She grinned happily, her face lighting up despite her obvious fatigue. And Maya couldn't help but smile, her heart warming at the touching scene. She could tell it meant the world to Anna that her father was proud of her.
"Can I have a piggyback ride?"
"Of course. Anything for you, sweetheart."
Lucas turned around, and Anna climbed up on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. He hoisted her up and stood, supporting her under her legs to ensure she wouldn't fall. She rested her head on Lucas' shoulder, her eyes slowly drooping shut as she tried to fight her fatigue.
"Did I do as good as the boys, Miss Hart?" she mumbled drowsily, her breathing slowly deepening.
"Yes you did, Anna Banana." Maya said softly, standing up and walking up next to them, "You did a great job today."
Anna's face settled into a small smile, but she didn't respond, her breathing even and slow as she succumbed to her fatigue.
"If this is how much it takes to get her tired enough to go to sleep, then I'm screwed." Lucas said, watching his daughter sleep, "Looks like there'll be more sleepless nights for me."
Maya laughed, gathering her bag from the ground and hitching it up on her shoulder.
"Yeah, I think you are kind of screwed."
They strolled through the lower field to leave the school, passing the many other parents congratulating tired kids who just wanted to go home. The tryouts hadn't been too long—just about two hours—but each kid had given it their all, and Maya knew that all of that physical exertion must have been exhausting for them.
"But all the kids really did well in this tryout. I really enjoyed it." Maya said.
"Are you a general fan of baseball?"
"Yes and no. I'm a New Yorker. It kind of runs in my blood to like baseball." Maya shrugged. "But I went to games with my father when I was young. It's kind of the only thing we have that connects us, so I have mixed feelings."
Lucas' brows rose as if he understood exactly where she was getting at with her comment. Memories involving her father were always laced with bitterness and a deep resentment that never subsided, even when he tried to make amends years into her adolescence. And Maya had never quite forgiven him for leaving her and her mother in her youth. Even now, well into adulthood and slowly trickling her way to her thirties year by year, she still couldn't find it in herself to forgive him.
"I'm sorry." Lucas said quietly.
She glanced at him. He was giving her a sympathetic look, a kind of knowing pain in his eyes that told Maya maybe he was also holding on to some demons of his past and unable to forgive quite so easily regarding his family.
"About what?"
"…I didn't mean to bring up old scars."
"It's really no big deal. I've made peace with it for the most part."
They quieted, trudging the rest of the way through the parking lot of the school and heading towards the main sidewalk and the street. When they reached the sidewalk, Lucas turned to her.
"Where are you headed?"
"Just about a two block's walk away. I live nearby here."
"I'll walk you home."
Her brows furrowed. "You don't have to do that."
"No, it's fine." Lucas smiled. "I want to. It's the least I can do for all your support and help. Plus, it's getting kind of dark."
Maya wasn't sure how to respond to that so she just nodded, a little stupefied by his chivalry. It kind of made her laugh a bit, the difference between the him she was speaking with and the him when she had first met him when he'd confronted her.
"So where is this Prince Charming act coming from all of a sudden?" Maya asked playfully, turning around and continuing her walk down the sidewalk as Lucas walked alongside her. "And why didn't I get this treatment from our first confrontation?"
"I really do feel bad about that. I was in a bad mood. I shouldn't have taken it out on you." He looked a little sheepish, though he seemed amused. "I feel like I need to make it up to you."
"Well, I appreciate the gesture, but don't you have to get home yourself? You should go enjoy your life and the free time you have off of work."
"My life pretty much revolves around work or Anna. I'm not sure what single fathers do in their free time." He joked.
"What? No dates lining up around the corner, Huckleberry?" Maya said as they crossed the street.
And then she stiffened, realizing what had just slipped out of her mouth. The nickname had just come to her spur of the moment when she picked up on his slight accent again, and she'd just let it come out without thinking about it. Not only that but her comment—if taken a certain way—could imply that she found him attractive. She clammed up and mentally cursed her current lack of a filter, biting her lower lip and hoping he hadn't heard her verbal slip.
No such luck.
"Huckleberry? Never heard that one before." Lucas snorted, raising a brow in her direction, looking completely amused. Maya wanted to crawl under a rock, fighting her blush and averting her gaze momentarily. "But no. I don't really think I'd have the time to date. I don't know. I never really thought it as a necessity before. Though I have wondered if maybe Anna might need a mother figure in the future. There's only so much I can do for her before she grows up and we can't relate."
Maya remembered what Mrs. Coleman had told her a few weeks ago regarding a lack of a possible Mrs. Friar in their household.
"…How long has it been just the two of you? If you don't mind me asking."
"Since she was three. One year in Austin. Just about three years here in New York."
"That's a pretty long time…" Maya muttered, "Has she ever mentioned anything like wanting a mother figure? Or has she acted like she wants one? It might not be a necessity."
"I don't believe so. This whole paying attention thing is new to me though, so I'm not certain. I could be missing signs." Lucas glanced at her as they made their way across another crosswalk. "Can I ask for a favour again? I know I've been asking for a lot but…"
"It's okay. Really, it's fine." Maya chuckled and gave him a slightly exasperated look. "What's the favour?"
"Do you think maybe you could try to slip in some activity like an essay or maybe an arts and crafts project that could possibly help to determine if she wants a mother figure? It would really help me a lot."
"I suppose I can add a short essay topic on family to my list eventually. That's sweet that you really care about her desires."
"She's my everything, after all." Lucas smiled, turning his head and glancing at his sleeping daughter. "I owe her at least that much for being such a crap dad."
As they approached Maya's complex, she stopped, turning and facing him.
"Well, this is me. Thanks for walking me home."
"You're welcome, Maya." Lucas replied, "Can I call you Maya? I feel like we're at least acquaintances at this point as opposed to mortal enemies."
"Yeah, sure. I guess we are." Maya said with a slight chuckle, "Alright. I guess I'll head inside then. Make sure Anna studies for that English test coming soon."
She leaned up on her tiptoes and gently stroked Anna's cherub cheek.
"See you at school, Anna Banana." Maya murmured softly, "Sleep tight."
Anna's eyelashes fluttered the slightest bit, and she made a soft noise in her sleep, but otherwise didn't open her eyes.
As Maya pulled back, settling back on the heels of her feet, her eyes caught Lucas'. He was just watching her, no particular expression on his face, though there was some far off look in his eyes that caught Maya a bit off guard. She blinked up at him silently, a temporary fluttering in her stomach from his heady gaze.
But just as soon as she saw it, it was gone, and his eyes were focused on her once again.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" Lucas asked, a slight gleam in his eyes that made it difficult for her to tear her gaze away from his.
"Tomorrow?" Maya questioned in confusion, her brows slightly furrowed.
"When I pick Anna up from Art Club." Lucas clarified, his lips quirked up in an amused smile.
"Right. Tomorrow." Maya nodded, "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow at five."
"Tomorrow then. Bye, Maya."
"Goodnight, Lucas…"
He turned around with a smile, rucking up Anna higher on his back before heading back down the sidewalk on his way back home.
Maya let out a long breath she hadn't realized she had been holding through her mouth, feeling like she had temporarily fallen in some sort of trance. She watched as Lucas headed away, suddenly understanding why Riley had spazzed about the intensity of his gaze. She hadn't noticed it that much before, and especially not when she had been angry at him, but his eyes were a really stunning green—like a sea-foam green—and his direct gaze was especially profound.
She shook her head slightly with a frown, clearing her thoughts and spinning on her heel and heading inside her complex before the predicted evening wind picked up. As she headed up the stairs to her second floor apartment, Maya's phone rang in her bag. Her pulse immediately quickened and Maya reached in her bag, digging around and pulling her phone out rapidly. She saw the number and took a deep breath, answering the call, feeling entirely anxious.
"Hello? Is this Maya Hart?"
"Yes." Maya said quietly as she walked slowly down her floor hallway, "This is she."
"You had an inquiry on our resident named Christina this morning?"
"I did." Maya said softly, sweat trickling down her armpits as she waited for the response.
The sound of papers flipping could be heard.
"Her birthday is December 9th, Ms. Hart."
Maya's heart dropped, and she let out a dejected sigh, her fist clenching and shaking slightly.
"Understood. Thank you."
"Goodbye."
"Bye."
Maya slowly dropped her phone back in her bag after she hung up, her heart squeezing in her chest. She leaned her head against her apartment door and chewed on her trembling lower lip as she closed her eyes, forcing herself to remain calm and fighting her urge to cry despite the disappointment.
She would try again tomorrow.
There was always tomorrow.
She couldn't lose hope yet.
Maya took a deep breath and slapped her cheeks, wiping at her eyes and hoping they weren't red. She composed her face and steeled her expression before she unlocked her door and walked in her apartment with a smile. Her nose almost immediately wrinkled in disgust to the smell of something burnt lingering in the air.
"Riley? Did you burn something again?"
"It was an accident! I forgot I had stuff on the stove." Riley said from the window, fanning her face as she stared out at the night, enjoying the cool breeze and the reprieve from the disgusting stench, "But nevermind that. I saw something interesting when I was looking out this window."
"Oh yeah?" Maya asked absentmindedly, opening up their trashcan and seeing one of their pots.
The bottom was completely charred and there was a large hole in place of where the metal used to be. Maya rolled her eyes in exasperation. She had forgotten how many pots and pans Riley tended to mess up because of her pregnancy brain. Maya honestly could not wait until Aiden was born because it was starting to get rather worrisome and nervewracking every day, wondering if Riley was going to be okay by herself if Maya wasn't around to help her keep her head. She'd already heard from the other kindergarten teacher about how many times Riley had almost given her a heart attack during work because she wasn't thinking clearly.
"Mmhmm… I saw you and that very attractive specimen of hot dad walking together down the sidewalk. And then talking in front of our apartment complex. You looked like a couple with a child."
Her words were normal enough, but Riley's tone had a concerned edge to it, and Maya turned around to face her.
"I'm not in a relationship with him, Riley, if that's what you're thinking." Maya said, tossing her bag on one of their loveseats, "He just walked me home from the Little League tryouts. Nothing at all wrong with that."
"On the surface level, sure…" Riley said, standing up slowly with a slight grunt and waddling carefully over to the couch, cradling her belly as she moved. She plopped herself on the sofa with a sigh of relief, leaning forward and rubbing her aching feet. "Just be careful, Maya. I'm referring to the concept of favouritism. While I understand that you are close to your students, and I guess Anna in particular because you relate, just keep that in mind. If you get too close to him or his daughter, it's not going to look good to the other parents. They'll think you're playing favourites. And I've seen what her dad looks like. If you're not careful and get to know him for real, you're going to end up with some issues with attraction no doubt."
"Chill Riley. I know. There's nothing going on. It was a friendly coincidence. Won't happen again."
"Alright… because you know I read a lot of romance novels. And I'm just saying. You two looked like you were in a romance novel."
"How? Because we were walking? Because we had a conversation?" Maya rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I don't understand how your mind works."
Riley laid down on the couch with a soft groan, grimacing looking very stiff and uncomfortable as she tried to find a comfortable position for her back.
"Me neither to be honest…" she responded softly, "Hey… Do you think Aiden will take after his father?"
Maya paused on her way to her room and glanced at Riley. That was the first time in months that Riley had made any sort of mention of Aiden's father. Riley tended to avoid that certain topic of conversation like the plague because whenever she did talk about it, she would get a little melancholic.
"Why are you asking?" Maya asked suspiciously.
"No reason. It's just with my due date approaching, I can't help but wonder about things…"
Things like what it would have been like if he had stayed, no doubt.
Maya knew it was upsetting Riley, even if she still had her trademark smile on her face. Especially right now since she was currently without Charlie either. No doubt the reminder of her difficult first few months of her pregnancy after being deserted plus the fact that Charlie was currently not involved in her life had Riley's mood down. She wasn't even touching or poking her abdomen, which Maya knew meant she was preoccupied in her unhappy thoughts if her mind wasn't totally consumed by the current love of her life in her womb.
"Riley hold on. Let me change, okay? Then I'll give you a foot massage, and we can talk about how you're feeling."
"Mmmkay." Riley responded, turning onto her side and staring at the wall, "Thanks, Maya Papaya."
Maya made her way to her room to strip and put on her lounging around clothes, her favourite baggy sweater and a pair of leggings. As she took off Lucas' gloves from her hands, she realized she had accidentally held onto them. She had forgotten she had even been wearing them in the first place because they had been so comfortable.
"Oops…"
There was nothing she could do about it now though. She didn't have his number anyway. But right now, she had more pressing matters to take care of Riley.
She set them on her nightstand, setting a quick reminder to herself that she would return them to Lucas tomorrow before walking out of her room to go cheer up her sulking best friend over her two crumbled relationships.