A/N: Happy 2016, lovelies~! Sorry for the late update. I can only type up a story when I feel like I can endure the excitement of posting xD Anyways, enjoy~

Chapter 10

Art class is more fun now that I can see more colors. I feel like I actually have something to share with the world now, especially with Lucas next to me, pointing out the different hues. I don't see them, but I don't care. We're getting somewhere, and Ms. Kossal understands my situation, so she doesn't mind if he and I work together.

"This," he says while holding up a paint brush, "is red."

I nod, trusting him to not lie to me. "Okay."

"See anything yet?" he asks, which is now a perfunctory question.

I shake my head in response. "No."

"That's okay," he reassures me. "One day you will."

I believe that now. I just wonder when.

After class, Lucas asks me if I want to go to his dorm for a change. We're not exclusive yet, but I have no doubt that will change when Billy and Zay see us. I don't mind; I just have to prepare myself for all of Lucas' fangirls.

"Sure," I reply.

When we get to his room, I realize I haven't seen Billy and Zay in a while. So when we walk inside, I'm not ready for the friendly but tense competition occurring. I'm certainly not prepared for the Foosball table in the middle of the room.

"Getting nervous yet, Babineaux?" Billy intimidates.

"No, but I can feel your sweat from here," Zay counters.

"Now you see why I wanted you to come," Lucas says.

"You know we could have gone somewhere else," I say.

He grins. "I know."

"So you wanted me to suffer with you."

"Maybe," he singsongs with a smirk.

"Look!" Zay says, drawing our attention away from each other. "Two more people! Join a team."

Billy takes Zay's distraction as an opportunity to score to which Zay mutters profanities. Billy does a happy dance, and Lucas asks me if I'm okay with joining.

"Yeah," I answer. "Sounds like fun."

He smiles. "Okay." Then he directs his attention back to his friends. "Fine," he tells them. "We'll play, bt Maya and I are on a team."

"What?!" Billy says indignantly. "That ruins the whole point of the game."

"How?"

"Because it's always been Billy against me, man," Zay complains. "I don't know how to be on the same team as this guy!"

Lucas crosses his arms. "Well maybe it's time you learned."

Billy and Zay notice Lucas' resolve for us to be on a team, so they acquiesce with a pout. Lucas and I get on our side of the table while Billy and Zay get on theirs. Billy starts the game. The ball rolls toward me, and I stop it, hitting it to Lucas who slams it to our goal, zipping right past Zay. Billy roars in outrage and starts to bully Zay, and I wonder out loud how they aren't kicked out of the dorm yet. Lucas laughs and says, "See? It's good to learn teamwork."

"No fair!" Zay says. "You and Maya have a special connection that allows you to cooperate so easily."

"Where did you get that idea from?" I ask. "Hee Haw and I always argue."

"It's not arguing; it's teasing," Billy defines. "And it's like a tennis games, effortless and graceful."

"Except tennis players grunt."

"They do, don't they?" Zay singsongs, and thought I am sure I'm blushing, I raise an eyebrow and say, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well-"

"Are we playing another round or what?" Lucas interrupts (thankfully).

"Let's do this, Friar," Billy challenges.

The next rounds last longer with a bigger electric aura, and I see what Billy and Zay mean. I think that I can read Lucas' mind, and he can read mine because there isn't even a second delay of our reactions. He moves, then I move; he moves, and I don't; I move, and he doesn't. I don't think even Riley and I were this in sync, which is a frightening and heartbreaking thought, so I just focus on the game.

We stop playing when Billy and Zay become sore losers. (The score was twenty-three to four.) Lucas is so delighted, though I don't understand why because he didn't even really want to play in the first place, that he picks me up and twirls me around. I laugh, and when he puts me down, I kiss him in congratulations.

"WHAT," Zay and Billy say in unison. "You guys are dating?"

Oh yeah. They didn't know. I forgot, obviously.

"Yep," Lucas says with a grin, intertwining his fingers with mine.

"About damn time!" Zay says, approaching Lucas to slap him on the arm.

"They just couldn't stand not admitting they have the hots for each other," Billy says, somehow recalling the conversation from when he had a hangover.

"Yeah, yeah," I say, not meeting anyone's eyes. Lucas presses his cheek to the top of my head.

"Well, I'm thirsty," Zay announces. "I'm getting a drink. You guys want anything?"

I shake my head while Lucas replies, "Nope."

"I do," Billy says. "But I'm coming with you. You never get what I want."

"That's not true!" Zay exclaims as they leave. "You never tell me what you want, so I..." The rest is lost when they close the door.

Lucas laughs and directs me toward the area where we can sit and stretch our legs without hitting the Foosball table.

"Your room is a safety hazard," I inform him.

"Blame my roommates," he says. "I warned them that it'd be bad if they get the table."

"Come on. Be honest. You had fun playing with it."

"I'll admit it if you do."

"Fine. That's the most fun I've had in years."

He grins, making my heart palpitate. "I'm glad."

He leans in to kiss me, and I happily accept, settling on his lap. We make out until we hear the door open. I reluctantly pull away and turn around to see Zay and Billy entering with an argument.

"I always get that for you!" Zay says to Billy.

"No you don't," says Billy. "You get Gatorade, but you get cherry flavored instead of grape."

"Well, who in their right mind picks grape over cherry?"

"People with good taste."

"I'll settle this debate for you guys," Lucas says. "They both suck."

They finally notice Lucas and me, Zay stopping in mid arm flail and Billy puckering his lips to drink his apparently grape Gatorade. They smirk at the sight of me on Lucas' lap. Billy asks, "We can leave if you want."

I shrug. "It's you room. I'm not going to tell you to do anything."

"I believe that's a yes."

I roll my eyes. "Don't twist my words."

Billy raises his hands in the air, surrendering. "Okay! Sorry."

"Hey, I know what we should do," says Zay. "Play Truth or Dare."

Lucas says, "Zay..."

"C'mon, buddy." The whine comes out intensely. It sounds like a whale.

"It never ends well. Someone gets butt hurt, or I have to save someone from hurting his butt. Namely yours."

"Ah, but you forget there's one difference: there's a lady present."

I snicker at being called a lady, and Lucas appears appalled too, but not for the same reason as me. He says, "You think I could forget the sexy, beautiful girl on my lap?"

I laugh out loud at that and slap his arm. "You idiot."

His hands slip around my waist with a smile. "Only for you."

"Are we playing Truth or Dare, or are we leaving you to finish what you started?" Zay says.

"Let's play," I reply, sliding off of Lucas' lap.

Lucas seems uneasy. "Are you sure, Maya? We really don't have to."

"I'm interested to see who will need Huckleberry for saving."

"One day, animals will," Billy points out.

"Oter than them."

"Well, I brought up this game, so I get to go first," says Zay. "Billy! Truth or Dare?"

"We just came back from outside, so Truth."

"You guys leave your room for dares? I ask incredulously.

"Yep," Zay says to me, then turn back to Billy. "Okay, would you rather have a serious relationship with Sarah or have a one night stand with Darby, knowing that Yogi will probably kill you?"

"We're not playing Would You Rather, Babineaux."

"Then I change the game," Zay says, and Lucas visibly relaxes. I guess Would You Rather doesn't end as badly as Truth or Dare. "Just answer the question, Bil-lay!"

Billy takes a moment to think. "One night stand with Darby."

I frown. "Do you not like Sarah that much?"

"No, it's not that. I just hardly know anything about her, and I think a serious relationship requires some knowledge about your partner."

"Like if your favorite color is blue," Lucas adds with a grin to which I roll my eyes but peck his cheek.

What Billy says is sweet and true, but I still say, "But Yogi is..." Huge. Puberty hit him hard. Always expect that with the small ones. Except me.

Billy shrugs. "Sex is a two part effort."

"Fair enough."

"Lucas," Billy says, turning to him. "Would you rather cheat on Maya or never know her at all?"

"Cheat on Maya," he answers easily.

I raise my eyebrow. "What?"

Lucas does the same. "Why would I ever choose to not know you?" he says, staring deep into my eyes. "To not know the way you bite your lips when you tease me, to not know your graceful movement as you paint, to not know the way your ocean blue eyes find the best of me? Yes, it would kill me to lose you, but I would never trade you for the world."

I'm breathless. He watches me so carefully, he watches me like I watch him, and I'm frightened. Frightened at how real this all is because it can be taken from me in an instant, leaving me with nothing. But I don't want to think about this now, so I turn away and see a mirror. I look the same-gray hair, white skin, black eyeliner-except for one thing: my eyes. I say to Lucas, "They really are an ocean blue."

I turn back to him to find him grinning. "Yeah," he says. "They are."

I nod then face Zay. "As Lucas' girlfriend"-at this, Lucas' smile splits his face-"I take his turn. Zay, would you rather do a dare or tell me the truth?"

I can hear his gulp. "Truth?" he squeaks out. "Okay, moving on, M-"

"Why are you so interested in other people's lives?"

"Yeah, I've been wondering that too," Billy says.

Zay's eyes flicker between Billy and me. "G-guys, this isn't Truth or Dare, remember?"

Lucas sighs. "Just answer the question, Zay."

The Best Friend Code is something you can't break, and it dictates honesty, so Zay says, "I just want to make sure you're all happy. I get frustrated sometimes with the distance between Vanessa and me, so I distract myself with you guys, my friends."

"Dude," Billy says. "That's the sweetest thing I ever heard."

"Really? You just heard Lucas declare his undying love for Maya, and you react to this?"

I blush and look at Lucas who isn't mortified at all. He simply stares in my eyes in deep thought and reaches out to cup my cheek. He rubs it absentmindedly, and I wonder what he's thinking about to make him this way.

"We'll just leave you guys..." I hear Billy say from somewhere far away, and when I hear the door close, I say, "Lucas, what's-"

His lips crash into mine, stealing my breath away. I gasp but kiss him back with equal intensity. My hands tangle into his hair, and he pulls me flush against him, and I don't know how we go here, but I like it. Then I remember that Lucas is distressed, so I pull away, biting his lower lip in the process.

"Lucas," I say with my face only an inch away from his. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry," he says softly. "I just started thinking about my life without you, and I thought about who I was, and how messed up I would have been without you."

Why does he have to say what I want to hear and mean it? "That couldn't have been me," I whisper, looking down. "I'm just me. I'm not as supportive as Riley; I'm not as honest as Farkle; I'm not as funny as Zay; and I'm not as kind as you."

"But you are the most caring," he says with conviction. How can a voice sound so endearing? How can someone believe in me so much? "I have never met anyone who always put other before themselves."

I shake my head. "I'm selfish. So selfish. I pushed people away just to protect myself. My best friend doesn't want to talk to me, and I don't even try to reach out to her." I'm on the verge of tears, but I continue. "I mean, I should be heartbroken, but instead I feel relieved."

"And why do you feel relieved?"

"Because..." I hesitate because I see where he's going with this. "Because I won't hurt her anymore."

He smiles softly. "See? You always put yourself after others." Then he gives me a chaste kiss on the lips. "But I think it's very hard for you to upset people. You should give yourself a little more credit than that."

I giggle with hiccups, sounds that have never come out of my mouth, much less together. I feel like a child. "You're just bias."

"Maybe," he says with a shrug. "Or maybe I became bias after knowing who you are."

"That doesn't even make sense," I say but smile anyway.

"No, but you just have to trust me on this."

"...I'll try."

He looks at me, unconvinced. "Do you want to talk to Riley?"

I blanch from fear. "I do, but not right now."

He nods. "I understand." Then he pulls me closer, and I lie against his chest. His heart beats confidently, and I try to syncopate mine to his. Then I sing quietly.

Standing on the outside
Made me realize
How beautiful life
Truly is.
I wanted to be inside,
But my web of lies
To hide my strife
Left me with
This feeling that I'd always be alone.
But now you're my home.

"I like your voice," Lucas murmurs into my hair. "What song is that?"

"I made it up."

"Just now?"

I nod, causing his shirt to wrinkle under my cheek.

"Wow. Are you sure that isn't a hobby?"

"I don't know. Does it count if it just relaxes me? I don't feel passionate about songwriting."

"It counts," he says, then sits up so that I can look at him. "See? I told you I'd help you find a hobby."

I scrunch up my nose. "I already had one apparently."

"Yes, but I helped you realize it was a hobby."

"Fair enough."

"Okay, I'd love to cherish this moment with you for the rest of my life, but I'm starving. Care to go to a greasy establishment with me, Ms. Hart?"

I laugh. "You sure know how to woo a woman, Huckleberry. But anywhere is fine as long as I am with you."

. . .

In-N-Out. I know it's crazy, but I haven't been here in forever. It just brings up too many bad memories, but I won't tell Lucas. He'll worry too much.

Lucas slips his arms around my waist, pulling me closer, while looking up at the menu. I already know what I want. I always make up my mind easily, even when I don't want to.

We walk up to the register to a boy with freckles. I'm not a big fan of freckles, but it works on this guy. He says, "Welcome to In-N-Out. What can I get for you today?"

"Hi," Lucas says with a charming smile. "Can I get a hamburger and a medium sized drink?"

"Sure. And what will you have, Miss?"

I'm not going to lie: I like being called miss. "I'll have a cheeseburger."

"Would you like a drink to go with that?"

"Yes, please."

"Okay," the guys says, tapping the screen. "That'll be nine eighty-nine."

I'm about to take my wallet out when Lucas puts his hand out to stop me. He laughs and says, "We're on a date, and you expect to pay for yourself?"

"You don't owe me anything, Lucas."

He grins and hands the guy the money. "I know."

The guy hands us our cups, and we head to the drink machine. I get myself a pink lemonade while Lucas gets Coca Cola. He's not very healthy for someone who was on the high school baseball team. But then again, this is just one meal.

We sit on the waiting seats. Lucas takes me hand for no reason, though I'm not complaining. I'll take any reassurance that he's really in my life. I'll keep his warm hand, keep the way his thumb rubs my knuckles absentmindedly. I'll watch him and remember very detail there is, so even if he leaves me, I'll always have a piece of him.

"Number forty-six?" a girl with a diamond shaped head calls out.

Lucas squeezes my hand and says, "That's us."

I get up with him, and we grab out tray and head to a tall table with revolving chairs. I look up at Lucas with a smile and say, "You know me so well."

He smirks. "Anything for my Shortstack." How I love being his.

I put my drink on the table and hop onto the seat while Lucas chuckles, sliding into his own. As we eat, he keeps glancing at me, like he has something to say. When we finish our burgers, I take a sip from my drink and ask, "What's on your mind?"

His face contorts into many different emotions before settling on sheepish. "I was just wondering what you're thinking of. I never know."

I think that's his way of asking if I'm okay without me receding into myself, but I guess we understand each other enough for me to tell the truth. "I was just thinking about how finite time is."

"What do you mean?"

"All my life, people have come and gone without an explanation. I always wish for them to stay, but they don't. I suppose it's to remind me that there's no such thing as forever, and if that's what it is, then what ever natural force there is in this world is doing its job right."

Lucas contemplates over my claim for a while. "But doesn't the limit to time make it more precious?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I think knowing that a person can leave at any moment makes me want to spend as much time with the person, whether it's laughing, talking, or even arguing. I just want to live with the person."

"Even if it hurts?" I ask.

"Even if it hurts," he confirms. "But," he says, staring into my eyes solemnly. "I promise to be with you for the rest of our lives."

I turn away, disbelieving. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Lucas."

"Hey, look at me." He puts his hand under my chin and lightly but firmly turns my face back to him. "You know what else is finite? Life. I really care about you, so I'm going to make sure that in this limited lifespan we have, we're going to spend it together."

I want to believe him, I really do. But I'm just me. I wasn't enough for anyone else before. What makes him different? Actually, that's a stupid 's kinder and more understanding than the average being. He has a dark past, but he's learning to become better, not that I think he's bad right now, and like Riley, he sees the best of people. But Riley is a good person too, and she left me.

"Maya?" Lucas says, searching for my eyes.

"I'm okay," I say with my best reassuring smile.

He purses his lips like he doesn't believe me. "If you're not, you can tell me."

"I am. There are moments when I'm not, but when I'm with you, I'm okay."

He studies my visage before saying, "Alright."

I place my hand over his. "I mean it. I'm happy with you."

He gives me a small smile. "And I promise I'll always stay to make sure of it."