Chapter 2: Regret
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I appreciated every single one of them more than you will ever know. I am super excited for this story and I am so glad that people are enjoying it.
Riley woke up the next morning feeling more invigorated and purposeful than she had in a long time. She bounced out of bed, threw her window curtains open, took a deep breath of the fresh spring air, and turned on her radio before starting to get ready for the day. Most of the songs she that played were ones that she knew by heart, and she danced along, loud, proud, and off-key as she got dressed, put her hair up into a messy pun, and grabbed her freshly recharged phone.
She was still singing, as she pounded down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she found her mom and dad sitting at the island, halfway through cups of tea.
"Morning!" she said, pouring herself a cup of tea as well.
"Morning," her mother replied.
"We didn't think we would be seeing you this morning. What happened to staying over at Maya's?" Cory asked her.
Riley sighed, she had almost forgot about that part of her night. "Maya decided she wanted to go to a party. I decided that I didn't want to be there." Both parent's frowned, glancing sideways at each other.
"You could have called us," said her mom shutting the newspaper that was sitting in front of her. "We would've picked you up."
"I tried," said Riley, rolling her eyes, "but my phone died." She pulled the device from her pocket.
Her father frowned. "You didn't walk the whole way back, did you?"
"No," said Riley, hopping up to his on the counter. "I wanted to, but then I ran into this guy, Lucas – he just moved here from Texas and he'll be starting at Abraham Lincoln this semester – so we just got coffee and walked around the city." She grabbed the cereal box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and began snacking out of the box.
"You just met a random stranger and went with him? Riley, I thought we taught you all about the stranger danger code."
"He's not a stranger now. We got to know each other really well last night, and he drove me home afterwards. He wasn't a serial killer, dad," Riley told him rolling her eyes.
"You should still be careful," Cory told her. Cory was always worried for his daughter's wellbeing, but Riley would be the first to argue that he held onto that chain a little too tightly. What was living a little anyways? If she never did anything like stepping out her shell like she had the night before, her life would be endless cycles of watching the sun rise and set; nothing more.
"Yes, father," she mocked. "I always carry pepper spray remember?"
"Still a dead phone at night, in the middle of New York when you are alone is not safe. Where was Maya?"
"I don't know," she replied, exasperated, "Somewhere off meeting new people." Maya's betrayal still stung.
"You haven't talked to her since last night?" Topanga asked surprised.
"No. We had a bit of a fight," Riley explained.
"What about?"
"Oh you know, she's just different, it wasn't really a fight. More of an argument," Riley clarified.
"Did you ever think that maybe Maya changing his just part of her growing up? Everybody your age experiences stuff like that."
"I guess, I just liked how things were before."
"I know, but she'll come back, you'll see," Topanga promised. Just then, Riley's phone began buzzing in her pocket as she received a call. No surprise it was Maya.
"Speaking of the devil," Riley spoke out loud, earning smirks on both of her parent's faces, "I should take this."
"Hey," Riley answered as she walked to her room.
"Riley! Thank god you picked up. I was so worried you would just ignore the call after how I treated you last night."
"Yeah, I surprised myself too," Riley replied with an edge in her voice.
"You have to understand how sorry I am. You were right all along. The world was fine just you and me. I liked the world a lot better when we held our heads high and didn't care what anyone else was thinking."
"You really mean that?" Riley asked sceptically, still not believing it.
"I know I don't deserve it. I was awful to you under the circumstances. I don't know what was going through my mind. You've always been there for me," Maya ranted.
"It's good to have you back, peaches."
The line was silent for a brief second, and Riley felt like she could see the smile return to Maya's face. "Glad to be here, honey."
"So how was the party then, after I left?" Riley asked. There was a pause in the conversation as Riley waited for Maya continue and she realized that maybe she wasn't going to answer. "Maya?"
"You know how you saw me talking to Matt Brody last night at the party," Maya replied hesitantly.
"Maybe, was he the football player I thought I recognized?"
"Yah him. Well after you left, I may or may not have gotten a bit drunk and had sex with him in the guest bedroom at Billy's house."
"You did what?" Riley shouted into the phone, probably causing Maya to go deaf in her one ear.
"Hush Riley, not so loud, the Canadian's might hear you."
"You did what?" Riley whispered, taking a seat at her bay window, still trying to fathom how Maya was able to fly off the railings in just one night. She heard an audible sigh from the other end of the phone.
"I just snuck out of Billy's house before Matt woke up, and now I'm at a coffee shop trying to ditch this hangover. Do you think you can get your dad's car and come pick me up?" Maya asked her.
"Sure. I'll be there as fast as I can."
"Thanks Riley," Maya replied honestly. "You're the best."
Riley smiled to the phone. "You're welcome."
X
Twenty minutes later, with permission from her parents, Riley drove down Billy Ross's street looking for a coffee shop at the end of the road. She drove past Trip's Slam, on her way to Maya, and couldn't help but remember the feeling of sitting across from Lucas as they listened to each other talk about life and to the fantastic original poems. She wished so hard that last night wouldn't have ended, because even though it caused a riff her trust with Maya, she had never felt more like herself before.
Which brought her back to the issues she was having with Maya. Obviously Maya was still hung up on the idea of expanding her friendship circles; she wouldn't just lose that idea forever in one night. While it hurt that Maya might not need Riley, like Riley needed Maya anymore, maybe what they both needed was a little space.
Riley would even argue that she needed space from Maya as well. Lucas had shown her that. There were other people out there; other ones who could show her a different side of the world that she had never seen before.
It didn't take her long to spot Maya standing against the wall with her arms crossed across her chest in her brown trench coat looking aimlessly ahead of herself. Maya definitely looked out of place.
She slowed to a stop and rolled down her window directly in front of Maya.
"Hey stranger," Riley said.
Relief flashed over Maya's face when she saw that Riley had come through for her.
"You are my lifesaver," Maya hugged her tightly in appreciation. "Never let me get caught up in being something I'm not ever again."
"You're perfect just the way you are," Riley told her. Maya smiled at her friend, still astounded that she almost ditched her for good, but then a frown creased her lips when she remembered the events from the night before.
"Maybe not," Maya replied, "Can we make one more stop at the drug store? I can't remember if Matt and I used protection last night, so I want to get some morning after pills just to be safe."
Riley stiffened, "Of course," she replied. "I can't believe you lost your virginity."
"I know," Maya breathed.
The girls sat in a slightly uncomfortable silence as Riley drove through the city, searching for the closest drug store. Things were patched up between the two, but that still didn't stop either of them from wondering where life was headed.
"How was the rest of your night?" Maya asked. A grin slowly became of Riley's face, and Maya knew from that moment that Riley had her own exciting news. "You met a guy!" Maya cheered.
"Yeah, I did," Riley replied. "After I left you, I went to call my dad, but my phone was dead. So I'm standing outside the party, and I really don't want to go back in, and this guy – Lucas – comes up to me and we just start talking and before I know it, we are getting in his car and touring the city. We went to Trip's Slam, Madison Square Gardens, and the Empire State Building."
"Lucas? I heard some of the girls at the party talking about him last night. He just moved here?"
"From Texas," Riley finished, not thinking twice about what people were saying about him.
"So he's a cowboy?"
"Well not officially, but I guess technically," Riley thought out loud. Riley thought back to the perfect night she had with Lucas, and couldn't help the smile and blush from slipping onto her face.
"Riley, you're blushing," Maya laughed. "This cowboy must have really made an impression on you. I haven't seen that goofy smile on your face since you were dating Charlie." Riley drove into the parking lot of a small drug store, and found a parking space.
"Oh Maya, we had a really great night, and he's a really cool guy," Riley gushed. She wasn't sure what Maya was seeing, but Riley's world just seemed a little bit brighter now that she had met Lucas.
"I'm happy for you Riley, you deserve a guy who can make you smile and blush like that." Riley frowned. Lucas had a girlfriend. Both girl's opened up their doors, and Riley locked the car.
"It's not like that Maya. He has a girlfriend," Riley said. She hated to admit it out loud, but Riley was swooning inside.
"Well I guess you are just going to have to show him what he's missing," Maya replied after a moment.
"I don't want to be a homewreaker."
"It's not home wreaking when he moves across the country away from his girlfriend," Maya assured her. Inside the store, the girls began walking up and down the aisles, in search for the correct pills.
"No?" Riley asked.
"No. When are you going to see him again?"
"Well we didn't really set the date, but he promised that next time he would give me a tour of New York."
"What does a cowboy think he can show you? You've lived here your whole life."
"I don't know. But I'm interested to find out."
Maya's hand found a box of morning after pills and after carefully reading the instructions, she decided on which one she was going to buy. It wasn't even ten in the morning yet, so Maya figured she was still safe, if she hurried.
"Do you want to come over tonight, and binge some Netflix in preparation for our senior year of high school?" Riley asked as she looked through the candy while she waited for Maya to pay at the register.
"Sure, I think we are in desperate need of some binge watching."
"Great."
"You know, Riley, I have a gut feeling that this year is going to be better than we ever imagined it would be."
"Really?" Riley feigned shock. "I don't think I have ever seen you so optimistic at the start of a semester."
"Let's face it, my eyes have been opened, I know who to avoid and who invest my time in, might as well make the best of this year. We won't be seventeen forever."
(A/N: I decided to put a name to the poetry slam lounge… it is now called Trip's Slam. It could be a real place, but I have no knowledge of it actually being a place, so…. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it, and leave your thoughts in a review!)