A friend showed me some gif they found with Josh and Lucas as a couple and my reaction was literally ∑((゜Д゜)))!
One simple request for anyone who is willing: Can you please, please, please, please write a Brokeback Mountain AU with Lucas as Ennis, Josh as Jack, Maya as Lureen, and Riley as Alma? It would work so well because the personalities fit! I would die so fast and love you forever!
A/N: This chapter was never actually supposed to be a chapter and took way too fucking long to write. And then I got lazy af... I slipped this in at the last moment because... well, for reasons. Urgh... I hate like 85% of this chapter... Anyway, enjoy this little change in tone :)
Headcanon: I can totally see Auggie growing up and becoming kind of a grumpy tween, exasperated by his bubbly, hyper older sister and her crazy antics with her friends.
Thanks for the really sweet reviews and commentary! I really appreciate them all! You guys are great! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own GMW, but Lucaya is bae.
Maya woke up on Friday feeling a little better than she had in a while. Her stomach hadn't flipped over that day yet, and she didn't feel like bursting into tears when she thought about the fact that her mother had all but disowned her. She actually felt like she wanted a distraction from her messed up life for a change. Make no mistake, she still wasn't interested in going to Homecoming at all, but she figured it might be nice to spend some time with her friends instead of sulking in the room. A little change of pace was something she felt she needed.
Maya stretched languidly and checked the clock. It was just about a quarter past two.
The junior versus senior powderpuff game had probably started by that point. She looked at the messages on her phone. Farkle had been sending her updates all day, hoping that she got over her severe stomach bug as soon as possible. He sent pictures of the game, namely Riley playing receiver for the senior team. Most of the pictures were of Riley missing catches or getting clobbered in the head by a football with that goofy grin she always wore, and Maya snickered under her breath.
Despite Riley having pretended like she wasn't bothered by it, Maya knew that deep down, her best friend wanted to participate in the pre-Homecoming festivities that Friday. The powderpuff football game, the schoolwide picnic/barbecue, and the pep rally. But in order to be allowed to participate, students were required to show up to school that day. It was the school's little way of forcing those particular seniors with extreme senioritis who regularly skipped school that if they wanted to have fun at school events with their friends that year, they had to show up at least once or twice.
Riley had been fidgeting all Thursday during dinner and chattering excitedly about all the cool memorabilia they would be getting during the pep rally for the football game on Saturday. So Maya had told her to go to school, telling her that she would be alright. Riley was reluctant to let Maya stay at home by herself, especially since she was still vomiting at least twice a day, but she had convinced her she would be fine and that Riley should enjoy the day. So Riley had gone that morning, promising to come back as soon as the festivities were over.
In the meantime, Maya got up from Riley's bed and stripped out of her pajamas. It was about time she pampered herself for the day. She was talking full-on prepping and cleansing, whole body shave, full-out makeup and nail polish, hair curled and coiffed to perfection until Lucas' socks were grenaded off. (Not that she was trying to impress him or anything. She was doing this all for herself, but seeing his wide eyed reaction definitely wouldn't hurt.) She had about five hours or so to finish getting ready, so she went to the bathroom to wash herself and exfoliate her pores before she layered the poison on it.
A while later, as she blow-dried her wet locks out to prepare for straightening, she received a text from Farkle.
Guess who was cheer captain of our Powderpuff Team. He says hi, by the way.
It was a picture of Lucas looking absolutely adorable in a glittery, sequined cowboy hat on his head and pompoms in his hand. He was cheering and doing a high kick with some of the other guys in their grade, obviously in the middle of a routine. The guys were all squeezed in the girls' cheerleading uniforms, barely fitting and tight against their skin. Maya had to physically bite her lower lip to stop from bursting out laughing and immediately saved the photo. It would definitely come in handy as blackmail material for the future. Or maybe she would hack his Facebook and make it his profile picture.
thanks farks. definitely made my day
Took a vid too. I'll send it later.
you're the best
I know :D
Maya continued with the arduous process of drying her hair and combing out the tangles and any knots that had formed while she had been taking a shampoo. It was a pain, but it would definitely be worth it in the end when her hair was finally untangled and looked like… well, hair. Maya rarely did anything with her hair and tended to just let it become a nappy cat on her head. But she would let it be extra special this time. She'd really give it her all to make it look as nice as possible.
Once detangled, she sprayed her heat protectant and twisted the hair into a loose bun on the top of her head before pulling out a small chunk from the back.
"Mommy's going to look like a princess." She mumbled, carefully taking the heated flat iron to it, "Are you excited, Jellybean?"
"Who's Jellybean?" Auggie asked, suddenly turning the corner and showing up in front of the door.
"Fuck!" Maya jumped, glancing at the short boy out of the corner of her eye. "Auggie, you scared me. I thought you were playing at Ava's this afternoon."
"I was. But Ava broke up with me."
Maya rolled her eyes, already used to Ava's sudden outbursts of irritation and breaking off of their relationship. She would forgive whatever Auggie did soon enough, and they'd be back together in no time.
"She'll get over it soon."
Auggie nodded, though he looked irritated and took another bite of the cookies he'd snatched from the kitchen. He watched as she tediously and meticulously did her hair, straightening it and then brushing out each little section carefully. Rinse, lather, repeat.
"So… I take it you're living with us now?" he asked curiously, "You haven't left Riley's room all week. And you didn't go to school this week."
"Yeah." She responded, a little uncomfortable with the question. She wasn't sure she wanted to answer what probably would come next.
"Why?"
She let out a little breath, "I, uh… Had a fight with my mom."
"Oh." He finished off the cookie and brushed the crumbs off on his pants. "Is this going to be a temporary thing? Or is it permanent?"
"For now? Kind of permanent."
"You're not getting my room, are you? Because I had it first."
She snorted, giving Auggie a reassuring smile, "No Auggie. Don't worry. I'm not going to try to take your room."
He let out a sigh of relief, "Oh good. Because I thought I was going to have to handcuff you to Riley's bedpost."
She gave him a dirty look, and Auggie laughed nervously, backing away from the door and then running down the hall to his room. She wondered how long it would be until Auggie figured out why her mother had kicked her out. She hadn't told him she was pregnant because she didn't deem it necessary yet, but she wouldn't be able to hide her pregnancy in the future and if she was still living at the Matthews' apartment by that point, she would have to tell him eventually. In fact, she'd have to figure out when to tell a lot of people. Farkle being one of them. Being pregnant came with a lot of baggage. She let out a sigh and went a little faster to try to get her hair finished and out of the way.
"You are a load of trouble, Bean…" she said, carefully making sure she didn't burn her ear.
About an hour later, she finally received a text from Riley.
Seniors beat the juniors! AND I SCORED A TOUCHDOWN MAYA. I mean, it was in the wrong endzone, but I still scored one. Gonna go pick up your dress from the cleaners. Be home soon.
Maya smiled. Her little pumpkin. She never failed to put a smile on her face.
"You're gonna love Riley, Beanie. She's goofy, but she's the best person I know…"
She continued to work on her hair, crooning softly to her abdomen all the while.
~.~.~
"Riley! Maya! You two look beautiful!" Topanga gushed, waving her hands for them to get closer, "Stand right there for a second. Let me take some pictures!"
They smiled stiffly, posing for Riley's mother as she took countless pictures. Maya felt like her face had layer after layer of frosting on it. Honestly, she really hoped this stupid dance would be worth it because she would be mad if she spent all this time preparing for something dreadful or boring.
Though, she wouldn't lie. She and Riley had really outdone themselves. Riley had gone with fashion fuchsia as her couleur du soir and was rocking the over-the-shoulder, pouf dress she'd chosen. She'd forgone the heels and worn fancy silver flats for the occasion, since she honestly didn't want to be much taller than her date. To her, it was already bad enough that she was already a couple inches taller. Maya had paired her own strapless empire emerald dress with some gold pumps she'd borrowed from Topanga. They were decked out in tasteful jewelry and their makeup was on point, highlighting their best features and framing their eyes nicely.
Simply put, they were fabulous.
"They look like grapes and a vine…" Auggie muttered crossly from his seat on the couch, upping the volume of the TV to try to drown out the sound of the tittering behind him.
"Auggie." Topanga scolded, "That's not nice, sweetie. Why are you so grouchy?"
Riley shook her head, "Ava broke up with him."
"Again?"
Riley nodded, and Topanga leaned over and pressed a soft kiss on her son's head, whispering to him that Ava would come to her senses soon enough.
The buzzer rang downstairs, and Cory pushed the button.
"Who's there?"
"It's Steven sir. I'm here to pick up Riley?"
Cory let him up, but then slumped against the wall. He sulked in the corner, glowering at the door.
"I don't like this. That boy is going to try to do things to my Riley."
Riley rolled her eyes, "Dad, Steven is a nice guy. He's not going to do anything to me. And I won't let him."
"I still don't like it." He turned to Maya. "And you. When is your date arriving?"
"Oh…I'm, uh… I'm going stag." She lied, preoccupying herself with the hem of her dress.
Cory had been sulking for the better part of the week, muttering things under his breath about idiot Texans who took his daughter's innocence. Maya had to refrain from telling him that she lost it a year ago when she'd had her first serious boyfriend, but the situation was already precarious enough, and quite honestly, she didn't want to add another boy to Cory's already growing list of people to castrate. So she and Riley kept it on the DL about Lucas taking her to Homecoming.
Cory frowned, "Well how are you getting to the dance?"
"A friend is giving me a ride." She said, starting to feel like she was being cornered. Riley's eyes shifted from left to right in worry, looking for a diversion.
Cory frowned and looked like he was about to further question her, but then there was a knock on the door. Everyone turned in that direction, attentions caught by the arrival of Riley's date.
"Oh look! There's my date!" Riley exclaimed, quickly changing the subject. Maya had never been more grateful for punctual dates, and Riley's uncanny ability to rapidly change subjects.
Riley rushed to open the door while Cory stalked closely behind her, ready to play the role of overprotective father and put the fear of God in the boy.
"I take it you're leaving from the window, Maya?"
Topanga turned back to Maya, tugging her gently forward and giving her a knowing smile.
"Uh, yeah."
"Mmhmm… Well when your friend arrives, make sure he knows to park around the corner, because Cory will be watching out for a truck."
Maya tried to refrain from smiling, "Got it."
She hugged Maya tightly, "You're very strong for going out tonight even with this week being so hard on you. I'm proud of you."
"Thank you." Maya said, feeling a genuine smile growing on her face.
"Have a good time tonight okay?" she ushered Maya toward the hallway, "I'll distract Cory so he won't realize you left."
"Thanks. I will."
Maya walked back to Riley's room, taking her phone out of her clutch and warning Lucas against leaving his car in a location where Cory could easily see it. She swore the man was clairvoyant. In Riley's room, Maya opened her closet and observed herself in the full-length mirror, trying to gather up her confidence. This was probably the last time she was going to look like this. And then it would be bloated, round Maya for the rest of the school year.
Her phone buzzed.
Hey, thanks for the heads up. I'm heading up the fire escape now. See you in a sec.
She suddenly got a lot more nervous for some reason, twiddling her thumbs and licking her red lips anxiously. What the hell was she so worried about? It was just Ranger Rick. There was no reason for her to be so apprehensive.
"Well, Jellybean. Here goes nothing."
Maya grabbed the white lilac boutonniere from Riley's desk and climbed onto the sill, being careful not to mess up her hair too badly. She yanked the window open and slowly crawled out. She waited beside the window, holding her breath as she heard Lucas' steps approach from underneath. Soon, she could see his outline as he took the steps two at a time.
And then he reached the landing and rounded the stairs.
His gaze landed on her and he froze, taking her in in shock as his mouth slowly dropped open. He was silent, just watching her like he'd just seen an angel. She tucked a lock of her coiled hair behind her ear, looking at the ground a little bit nervously and feeling kind of shy. She wasn't used to him looking at her like that.
She looked back up to tell him to get a grip, and then she stiffened. Not because he was looking so unbelievably fuckable in his dress clothes (even though he was).
But because he had that damn glittery cowboy hat from the powderpuff game on his head.
She swallowed her blush from his awed gaze and turned right around.
"I warned you Huckleberry." She said, starting to climb back inside the window, "You're on your own."
"Maya…" He said, completely ignoring her threat to leave, "You look beautiful."
She looked over shoulder, knowing her cheeks were starting to rouge. Damn it. She wasn't used to his compliments, and it was throwing her off balance.
"You don't have to exaggerate."
"I'm not." He smiled, walking over to her and gently taking her wrist, pulling her away from window so she was facing him once again. "Maya, I mean it. You're gorgeous."
She opened her mouth to respond, but no words could come to her. So instead, she just held his gaze, hoping he could not feel how fast her pulse was racing. He smelled amazing, and she was really tempted to lean forward and just inhale deeply.
When his unwavering warm, green gaze started to become too much to handle she cleared her throat and thrust the boutonniere at his chest, putting more space between them.
"Here." She said, taking a wide step back and trying to tamper down how flustered she was.
He caught it in surprise, looking at it for a second before giving Maya a shit-eating grin.
"Aren't you supposed to pin it on me?"
"Like hell I'm doing that when you're wearing a damn cowboy hat, Sundance." She stuck her hand out, "Where's the corsage? Let's just put the stupid things on and get going."
He laughed and handed her the corsage, an almost identical one to the boutonniere she had gotten him.
Maya slipped it on with a shake of her head, "I don't understand how we managed to match everything to a T. We never discussed this at all."
"Riley made sure everything I got coordinated with what she planned for you."
"Except for the hat…" she gave him a dry look, "Which ruined it."
"Actually, the hat's for you." He took it off his head, handing it to her. "You missed all the festivities today. I wanted you to have something to remember senior year homecoming by."
She stared at the hat in her hands for a few seconds, honestly surprised that he had thought of her. Maya looked up and smiled, tempted to give him a hug but forcing herself to stay still.
"You didn't have to do that for me." she said, putting it through the open window onto the bay window sill. She would find a proper place for it when she got back.
"It's really nothing." He replied, taking her hand and tugging her towards the stairs. "But we should get going soon. We're kind of running late, and we still have to pick up Farkle and his date."
She nodded, falling into step beside him as they hurried down the stairs. She tried not to think about how comfortable her hand felt in his.
~.~.~
"Alright, guys. Let's move on."
The clapping died down when the MC for the evening—some wisecracking freshman who Maya couldn't remember the name of—lifted his hand to quiet down the cheers as Missy Bradford walked away from center stage and went to stand next to the other two candidates for Homecoming Queen.
After about two hours of chatting, dancing, and partying, the students were all huddled and clumped in front of the stage in the gym, watching as the MC introduced all the king and queen candidates and the princes and princesses in the other classes. It was crowded and a little bit difficult to see past some of the taller girls' and guys' heads, but Maya could see if she craned her neck every once in a while. Though the air was a little stale from the mass of bodies with BO, and Maya knew she had to be careful not to inhale too sharply otherwise she had a feeling she'd be upchucking everything in her stomach.
Riley leaned down next to her, "You feeling okay, Maya? Your lips are puckered."
"I'll be fine, Riles. It's nothing."
The MC flipped the page in his little packet.
"Alright guys! So our final candidate for Homecoming King is someone I'm sure everyone here knows. If not everyone, I'm sure every damn girl in this school. He's our charming, southern country gentleman with absolutely ravishing hair. And guess what ladies? This guy is…wait for it… single! If you're wondering why this handsome devil is unattached… keep guessing. We're also wondering the same thing."
The crowd started laughing.
"Our candidate is captain of our football team, and he enjoys long walks in the countryside, fishing with his family, and taking care of the animals on his grandfather's farm. He aspires to be a vet in the future and when asked why, he said when he was young, he saw an injured cow in the road. It had apparently been hit by someone and left to die. He wants to be a vet in order to help relieve the suffering of animals because they feel pain like humans and if he can do anything to alleviate that pain, he will."
The crowd—mostly girls—awwed.
"I know right? Isn't he so dreamy?" the MC continued, sighing wistfully, "This candidate claims he's just a normal guy who loves hanging out and chilling with his friends, volunteering at the animal shelter, and playing football and baseball. But we all know that's not true. I mean, who the hell is that good-looking?"
The students laughed again, whooping at the comment.
"When asked what he is attracted to in a woman, he said confidence and fierce independence. Someone who is unwaveringly caring and compassionate about others. Someone who doesn't let her past or difficulties in life be an obstacle towards her goals. Someone who charges recklessly in headfirst and doesn't let failures get in her way."
"I could be the girl for him!" some girl hollered from the crowd.
People laughed and the MC rolled his eyes, expecting some kind of response of the sort.
"Now ladies, before you get in an excited frenzy thinking he's talking about any one of you, while he did mention that he is single, he also said he's working on changing that status with someone, though he didn't tell me who it was. You see, our esteemed candidate also mentioned that there's a girl he's into but it's been a difficult road, and he hasn't made much progress."
There was a resounding bunch of groans from a lot of the people in the crowd after that, and Maya rolled her eyes. People got so stupid about their crushes on Lucas. So what he was attractive? He was still a damn Huckleberry.
Riley nudged Maya, giving her alarmed raised brows.
"Hey, are you listening to any of this, Maya?"
"Not really… We all know it's Lucas. Does he have to talk for ages just to introduce the candidates?"
"Maya, apparently Lucas is trying to get someone to be his girlfriend. He hasn't told any of us this."
Maya's eyebrows furrowed. "Yes, I heard that part."
And she was trying very hard not to think about it.
"How come he hasn't told any of us about this girl he's into! Who is she?! Don't you want to know?"
Maya didn't. But there would obviously be a lot of problems involved if he tried to keep a steady girlfriend and raise Jellybean with Maya. Not to mention, he would eventually have to tell this girl that he had knocked Maya up in the first place.
Riley leaned forward and poked Farkle in the shoulder, "Hey, do you know who Lucas is trying to get with?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, it wouldn't be my secret to tell."
Riley scowled at him, "C'mon Farkle."
"No way. He told me in complete confidence. I'm not going to shatter his trust."
Riley pouted and straightened back up, crossing her arms over her chest.
The MC continued once a lot of the noise had died down.
"Upon asking several students of the school what the perfect end to a date with him would be, a vast, vast majority had responses that I can't read out loud, because I'll probably get suspended, but some of the more appropriate answers ranged from sharing a kiss at the top of Empire State to cuddling on the couch.
"This reformed bad boy is dangerous. Don't look directly into his gorgeous, sparkling emerald eyes because you might be in danger of falling in love, if you haven't already."
Then he tucked the paper into his jacket.
"It is my pleasure to introduce to you our final candidate for king this evening. He's tall, he's tanned, he's Mr. Perfect himself. The hottie cowboy from Texas, the one and only, Lucas Friar."
Lucas climbed the stairs of the stage on the right, waving as people cheered and clapped in the crowd. Maya would be lying if she said she didn't feel a fluttering in her stomach. Sure, she'd seen him all night, but standing on that stage, it wasn't hard to see why some girls were obsessed with him. He looked like a man. A tall, broad-shouldered, well-coiffed man with an incredibly sexy smile.
Unbelievably attractive.
He stood next to the other candidates for king, waiting for the procession to continue once all the people quieted down. Maya smirked. To anyone else, he looked like the model student he was, standing straight and tall. But Maya could tell he looked a little bored and kind of uncomfortable. She snickered to herself. Even when he was being Prince Charming, he was still such a Huckleberry. Or maybe she could just read him so well after years of knowing him. His eyes skimmed the crowd as people wolf-whistled the candidates and catcalled and said some pretty lewd things in general in the anonymity of the crowd of students.
And then his gaze landed on her, and she threw him the finger with a grin. She saw Lucas try to stifle his smile, shaking his head in amusement at her antics.
And then Riley gasped beside her.
Maya broke their gaze and looked at her best friend in alarm. "What's wrong?"
"I figured it out!"
"Figured what out?"
Riley shook her head, smiling widely and giggling excitedly to herself.
"Riley? You gonna be okay sweetheart?"
"What? Oh yeah. More than okay. This is perfect!"
Maya frowned in confusion at her sudden outburst and turned back to face the front as the MC had announced the winners of the vote.
Missy had won for queen. And Lucas had won for king.
Surprise, surprise.
They were crowned and sashed by the president of the student council, and then Lucas and Missy made their way off the stage and back to the dance floor to share the short king/queen dance. They honestly looked a little weirded out and awkward. It was pretty funny to Maya, who knew that neither of them were particularly fond of the other. But the crowd was definitely eating it up and throwing around inappropriate comments and just being typical annoying high schoolers in general.
Halfway through the king/queen dance, the chosen royalty were allowed to switch partners and finish the dance with whomever they wanted. Maya had been chatting with Riley, Steven, Farkle, and his date—some adorable girl who was in the robotics club—about possibly finding a 24 hour diner to stop by later. She was still pretty hungry and even though Lucas had given her half of his dinner, it hadn't sufficed. And then Riley gasped dramatically after facing the front, and Maya finally noticed that Lucas was walking over to them.
"What?" she said a little anxiously when he stopped in front of her with a smile.
"Dance with me."
"You serious Huckleberry?" she snarked, trying not to let her trepidation show on her face, "Of all the girls you could dance with, you decide to go with the one who will probably step on your toes for fun?"
"I'd rather have you."
And her mouth snapped shut in slight shock. Maybe it was the wording of the sentence, maybe it was the way he had said it all softly and intimately like those words had been meant for her ears and her ears alone, but Maya felt an uncomfortable fluttering in her stomach. She stared up at him, the nervous butterflies slowly increasing with each passing second that he held out his hand.
And she would have kept right on staring at him in shock had Riley not nonchalantly shoved her forward with a subtle push to her bum. Maya stumbled forward into Lucas' waiting arms and glared at Riley in alarm over her shoulder. Her traitor best friend just smiled and waved, innocently cuddling against Steven. Maya looked up at Lucas who was just watching her expectantly, and she finally sighed in defeat and let him walk her to the center of the floor where Missy and Billy were also sharing their dance. A resounding chorus of disappointed groans went through the air and Maya was tempted to turn around and leave. She hated being in the spotlight.
But when she glanced up at Lucas' face, he looked content and unbelievably happy, like he'd waited for so many years for a moment like this or something. He was watching her like she had hung the moon, and Maya's heart started to beat impossibly fast. Her hands were getting clammy.
She knew this feeling pretty well. It was the same one that always scared her so badly. The exact reason she tried to put distance between them in the first place after they slept together.
She took in a deep breath when his gaze turned affectionate, and he smiled at her, that sweet smile that always made her stomach flip violently. Kind of like it was doing now.
"What's on your mind?" he asked, interlocking his arms behind her lower back and holding her a little closer to him as they rocked side by side.
Maya opened her mouth, not entirely sure what she was about to say when a flash of heat suddenly washed over her. And with it, a wave of nausea. She stiffened, because her stomach was fluttering uncomfortably again. And then Maya finally realized what it was. It wasn't an 'oh-shit-I'm-really-attracted-to-him' fluttering, but an 'oh-shit-I'm-about-to-fucking-toss-my-cookies' fluttering. Sure enough, a few seconds later, her stomach lurched, and she stopped moving completely, sliding her hands down to his chest and pushing slightly away from him.
She needed to get out of his arms. And now.
"I'm gonna throw up…"
Lucas frowned momentarily, looking a little confused and loosening his grip for half a second before he rose a teasing brow.
"Because of me? Well I'm sorry I make you sick." He said sarcastically.
"No Lucas. I'm gonna hurl!"
And then she forcibly broke away from him and quickly covered her mouth, doubling over when her stomach heaved, and she felt the vomit rising in her throat. The people on the floor around them looked at the brewing turmoil in shock, and Maya spun on her heel, racing out of the gym and through the hallways toward the nearby locker room.
There was a couple heavily making out against the sinks, but Maya ran straight past them into a stall and threw her guts up into the toilet. She coughed and heaved some more, bits of mashed up shrimp visible among the bile. She breathed heavily for a couple seconds, gripping the bowl, and then she heard the clicking of heels hurrying behind her.
"Hey, get out of here!" Riley yelled at the people.
Maya looked over her shoulder as the couple left with confused and somewhat scared looks on their faces. Farkle and Lucas were behind Riley, eyebrows raised in concern. Riley rushed over to Maya, gathering her hair behind her and holding her up as she started another bout of retching into the toilet.
Maya groaned. This felt worse than anything she had ever experienced since she found out she was pregnant. Was this even morning sickness?
"Maya…" Lucas asked in concern, "Are you okay?"
She spit out something lodged in her throat and then took a few deep breaths, her eyes watering from the pain of emptying her stomach. "I don't think that shrimp from dinner agreed with me…"
Farkle frowned. "Why did you get shrimp? Seafood can make morning sickness during pregnancies infinitely worse."
Maya, Riley, and Lucas all snapped their heads to Farkle in shock, blinking at him in surprise.
"How did you…"
"Know you were pregnant?" Farkle shrugged. "I'm not oblivious Maya."
Riley helped her straighten once she no longer felt like hurling, and she moved to the sink to clean herself up. She caught a brief glance of herself in the mirror and realized she looked almost rabid with the vomit dripping from her mouth like that. She rinsed off her face and rinsed out her mouth, filling her mouth with water and spitting it out to get out the excess bits.
"What gave it away?" she asked, splashing her face with water.
"I had my suspicions a while ago when you would skip lunch and run straight to the bathroom and called it a stomach bug." He pointed out. "Then came Riley's never ending peppermints and your sudden obsession with ketchup on food and after that it wasn't rocket science to put two and two together."
Maya wiped her face with a paper towel, thanking Riley when she procured a peppermint from her clutch. She gratefully popped it in her mouth, sucking on it and loving the relief she felt from it.
He winced. "I think pretty much the whole school knows you're pregnant too. Especially after that little show."
Maya groaned. "That obvious?"
It wasn't that she particularly cared about the people at school finding out. It was just that she wasn't interested in having everyone know her business.
"The whole vomit at the sight of food thing gave you away, I think." Farkle nodded in Lucas' direction. "By deductive reasoning, I'm assuming you're the father, Lucas?"
They both glanced at each other and then blushed, looking at spots on the ground.
Lucas rubbed his neck uncomfortably, "Yeah."
Farkle smiled, raising a brow. "Well… That's intriguing."
"Why didn't you ask for confirmation when you found out?" Maya asked curiously.
"I figured you would tell me when the time was right for you."
"That's… sweet." She smiled, "Thanks for being supportive."
"You know I'll always support you Maya. You're my friend."
"Farkle, you're the best." She wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a tight hug. She felt like crying in relief. Knowing that her friends supported her even through all of her fuckups didn't make up for her mom abandoning her, but it sure as hell helped to heal some of that wound. She felt like crying.
Damn Bean… you're making me emotional as fuck…
"So I've been told multiple times." Farkle responded, faux arrogantly.
"You're a good friend." She said, looking him seriously in the eye. "Honestly, thank you."
"If you have a son, you should consider naming him Farkle." He chirped, "I think that suffices as compensation."
"I'll think about it…" Maya said, rolling her eyes good naturedly.
Riley gasped, affronted. "No way! I have naming rights to Jellybean. I'm the godmother!"
She and Farkle started debating who deserved to name the baby more, and Maya went over to Lucas, grimacing slightly when her stomach tugged uncomfortably with the motion.
"You want to go home?" he guessed when he saw her expression.
"Yeah. Sorry Sundance… I'm just not in it anymore."
"I don't mind." Lucas smiled. "I'll take you home."
"You coming too, Riles? Or nah?"
Maya turned around to face Riley and then frowned when she realized Farkle and Riley had stopped discussing the name issue and were watching the two of them with these little secretive smiles on their lips. It unnerved Maya to see them with that identical look on their faces. Why were they looking at them like that?
"You know what, you guys go on ahead." Riley said softly, "I'll catch a ride home with Steven later."
"You sure? Your dad will get pretty mad at you."
"He'll get over it." Riley gave Maya a tight hug, rubbing her back gently before holding her at arm's length. "Call me if you need me home. I'll come as soon as possible."
"Okay. I'll see you guys later."
She and Lucas left the bathroom and headed to the parking lot to his car. He took off his jacket and dropped it around her shoulders when a gust of cold air hit them and shivers wracked her body.
"Here."
Maya smiled up at him, still feeling a tad bit nervous for some reason. "Thanks."
He helped her get into his truck and then they went on their way back to the Matthews' apartment. Maya removed the pinchy heels with a low moan, massaging her aching toes. They didn't converse much, as Lucas was focusing on paying attention to the crazy roads, and Maya occupied the silences with twiddling the radio knob, randomly changing stations until she could find something that didn't make her want to yank out her eardrums. When they pulled up on Riley's street, he parked about five cars down from the complex and Maya frowned.
"You're cutting it a little close there Ranger Rick. If Cory sees you, you're screwed."
"It's fine." He smiled as he got out of the truck, "I don't think it'd be a good idea for you to try to climb the fire escape in your condition."
He walked around the front and opened the passenger door, taking her hand and helping her down carefully. She held Topanga's shoes in her other hand, and they walked down the sidewalk together, their gaits slow and relaxed. Lucas nonchalantly slipped his fingers in between hers. His hand was warm and his touch soothing. Her hand fit perfectly in his, and she couldn't help but smile.
"Thanks for this." Maya said, "It's been a pretty hectic week, but this kind of helped."
"I bet, what with the whole getting kicked out thing." He said, giving her hand a light squeeze, "I'm glad you came out tonight though."
"Have you told your mother yet? About the baby."
Lucas grimaced, "Not exactly yet…"
"I thought you said you were going to." she said quietly, a sick feeling growing in her stomach.
He ran his free hand through his hair, "I can't. My dad's been here this past week. And I don't want him to know."
Maya felt irritation suddenly hit, and she yanked her hand out of his, stopping and glaring at him.
"Why not?" she menaced, "Because you're ashamed of me? You're ashamed that you're having a kid?"
"What?" he said, completely confused by her sudden anger, "Maya, what the hell? You can't keep getting mad and jumping to conclusions whenever I say something."
"And why the hell not?! You keep saying shit that makes me think you want nothing to do with this at all!" She could feel tears prickling in the back of her eyes, and she mentally berated herself for getting so easily emotional all the time. Damn these fucking hormones.
"Maya listen."
Lucas tugged on her wrist and pulled her so she was facing him. He held her face in his hands, forcing her to keep his earnest gaze.
"How many times do I have to tell you we're in this together no matter what? That hasn't changed. That never will change, okay?"
She held his gaze, nodding slightly.
"The reason I don't want my dad to know is because he's an asshole. If he finds out you're pregnant, he'll want to meet you. And I don't want that."
"Why?" she whispered, a little disturbed by the anxious look in Lucas' eyes.
"Let's just say my dad's reaction to Jellybean probably would make your mom's look incredibly tame." He dropped his hands from her face and took her hand again, "Just trust me, okay. I'm not ashamed of you. And I will tell my mom. Just not until my dad's out of the way."
"Okay."
"We good?"
"Yeah."
They continued their labourious walk to the Matthews' complex, hands slightly swaying with each of their steps. She was happy that she had more confirmation that he was really in this all the way, but Maya couldn't help but still be a little conflicted by something. Namely, a certain girl Lucas was apparently trying to get with.
"So are you going to tell her about the baby too?"
Lucas glanced down at her in confusion, "Who?"
"You know. That girl the MC was telling us about." Maya tried to sound nonchalant, but she wasn't sure her voice hadn't come out with an edge. "The one you're trying to get with."
And then Lucas' lips curved into a small, secretive smile, and he let out a little snort.
"Not an issue." he said airily, the smile still not leaving his face.
"What?" Maya frowned, "Is she still even going to want to be with you when she finds out you have a baby on the way?"
"Well, first off, I don't even think she knows I like her." He said cryptically, "Nothing further is going to happen until she picks up on that."
"Then why don't you just tell her and get it out of the way?" Maya said crossly, not liking the way this conversation had turned.
They stopped in front of the complex, and Lucas turned to face her with a sigh. She looked up, and found he was watching her with an indecipherable look in his eyes. Her heart skipped a beat when he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and lightly traced her chin with his knuckle.
"Because I already told her. And she wasn't ready…"
Something in his expression told her that deep down, she knew exactly what he was talking about. She swallowed thickly, her nerves growing as he smiled softly.
"So I'll wait." he slowly lifted up her chin, "I'll wait for her to finally notice me."
Then he gently kissed her forehead, and Maya's breath caught and her neck erupted into goosebumps.
"Goodnight Shortstack." he whispered when he pulled away, the expression in his eyes warm and affectionate.
She opened her mouth to respond when suddenly, the complex door burst open and Cory hopped out, his eyes looking crazed. He had a whisk dripping with batter in his hand and was pointing it menacingly at Lucas.
"I knew it!" he shouted, "Get away from my daughter, you delinquent!"
Lucas gave her an apologetic smile before spinning around and running back down the sidewalk and away from the raging older man. Cory chased after him, yelling G rated profanities and threatening R rated things he would do to Lucas if he caught him around Maya again.
Maya bit her lip, trying to keep her smile from overtaking her face and headed inside the door to go back to the apartment. When she walked inside, Topanga was watching the chase through the window. She turned around to Maya with a smile.
"You're home early."
"I threw up in the middle of the dance so Lucas took me home."
Topanga winced, "Morning sickness again?"
"Bad shrimp, actually."
"You had shrimp? You're lucky you didn't throw up your intestines as well."
"Yeah. I think that's the last time I'll ever eat seafood for a while."
"Good call." Topanga walked over and gently placed her hand on her forehead, "Your face is really red. You okay?"
"Just a little tired." Maya lied, knowing she was still very flustered from the feel of Lucas' lips on her forehead. "I think I'm gonna go turn in early."
"Okay. Let me know if you need anything."
Maya headed into Riley's room and plopped on her bed, hugging Lucas' jacket around her. She was surrounded by his scent and her heart hammered in her chest as she inhaled deeply. If she closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift away, she could just pretend that he was spooning her, holding her gently in his warm embrace. Just like that morning after…
Crap. This isn't good…
And suddenly she knew.
She knew exactly why her pulse wouldn't stop racing and why she wanted to laugh into her pillow and cry every time she thought about him and why she couldn't get his stupid sexy smile and gorgeous eyes out of her mind.
She'd been pushing away those thought since the beginning of the school year, but whenever she was with him, it was getting harder to pretend those feelings didn't exist. Even after the whole screw up of their relationship. Even after all this crap they'd been through to become close friends again.
She rolled over onto her stomach and groaned into Riley's pillow.
She liked Lucas.
A lot.
An almost uncontrollable amount.
"Fuuuuuuuuuu…"