Lucas and I had been getting closer and closer as the months went on. I was learning to trust him. Even if it was only a little. We were making progress as friends. We'd been talking a lot. Sometimes about little things, like how much we liked Mr Matthews as a teacher. And about art and music. I taught Lucas how to draw tribal designs and Lucas taught me some chords on the guitar. We'd also talk about sports, food, and our favourite comedians.

There were times where we'd talk about deeper things. I had learned a lot about Lucas and his past. And no matter what Lucas told me, it never really affected the way I felt about him. In fact, my feelings for Lucas were present as ever. Though I never wanted to admit it out loud. I had really started to like him a lot. Especially after he dropped the whole "Mr Perfect" facade.

We were both in the study lounge. We didn't have to wait too long until Riley and Farkle got out of their science exam. The guitar was in my hands, and his fingers were on the keys of the school piano. We tended to do this a lot when there wasn't anyone in the study lounge. We would make up songs as we went along, and for some reason, it just kinda worked. Nothing ever sounded out of place. Doing these kind of things with him really relaxed me. It was a nice break from the misery that sometimes would accompany me.

All of a sudden, Lucas stopped playing the piano. It was silent for a moment.

"Why'd you stop?" I asked. Lucas turned away from the piano and faced me. He just stared at me for a moment.

I gave him a weird look, but still smiled. "Dude are you okay?"

Lucas snapped out of his trance. "Y-eah, I'm fine," Lucas stuttered. "You've gotten better at guitar you know." I smiled, looked down, and then looked back at Lucas.

"I don't really hear a difference, but thanks," I said, smiling slightly. "How did you learn how to play guitar and piano?"

Lucas smiled and pursed his lips in thought. "I'm not really sure. I've been around music my whole life and I guess it all just rubbed off on me."

I smiled. "I started to learn Guitar when I was younger. My dad taught me but he left before I really got the hang of it." My smile suddenly disappeared as I looked directly at Lucas, "sorry that was lame." And with that, Lucas got up from his seat and sat next to me on the large white sofa. My icy blue eyes met a pair of hazel eyes that belonged to one of the only people that dared to connect with me on such a deep level.

"I know that he left, but why?" Lucas questioned. "Actually, you don't have to te-"

"I probably should," I cut him off. "You're my friend now...and I trust you. Farkle and Riley know, so why shouldn't you?" I was gonna do this. I took a deep breath as I started on my story, "my dad left me and my mum when I was five. One night, my dad decided to go out with some of his friends from his work. I think it was a week before my birthday," Lucas was listening intently, but I drew my eyes away from his. I looked straight ahead but could see that Lucas was still looking at me. "My dad never came back. At first we thought that something had happened to him, but it turns out that he had moved away. He left me and my mum without even telling us. All he did was message my mum saying that he needed to leave. I haven't seen him since," I felt the tears that were now forming in my eyes. I tried to hold them back. I didn't want to seem weak. "He has a new family now. I guess me and my mum weren't good enough." I looked back at Lucas.

He slowly cupped his left hand against my jaw line and used his thumb to wipe a salty tear. After the tear was gone, Lucas put his hand down and scooted closer to me. "You are good enough Maya. It's him who wasn't good enough. He didn't even have the guts to say he was leaving; that shows that he wasn't worth your time." When he was only a couple inches away, he wrapped his arms around me, and embraced me in a side hug. I laid my head on his shoulder. "It was just hard you know? When dad left, it felt like our whole life fell apart. Like I couldn't trust anyone. My mum protected him for so long; she made it seem like it was her fault, but it wasn't. It was his fault all along and it took me nine years to figure it out." I was still in his arms. He was now holding me from behind. His arms were around my waist and his hands rested on my stomach. His chin was resting in the crook of my neck. I was crying now. "But I just need to get over it."

"Maya, I'm really sorry," Lucas whispered into my ear. I broke away from Lucas to look back into his eyes.

"It's not your fault," I argued. Why should he be sorry for something that my dad did?

"I know that, but I still feel bad," Lucas said. We were just inches away from each other. He moved his hand to gently grasp my arm, but as soon as he touched me, I flinched away, and my eyes quickly retreated to where they had been for quite a while. Staring straight ahead. I still was a bit tense.

"Sometimes I feel kinda...worthless. I wonder if it was my fault that my dad left. Maybe mum and dad would be happily married if it wasn't for me." I spoke in a broken whisper. My now bloodshot eyes met his again.

"You're not worthless, Maya. You're awesome. And I really mean that. Don't say that, don't EVER say that it was your fault. I didn't know you back then, but I can already tell that it wasn't you or your mum's fault." Lucas said. After a moment of silence, a part of my broken-ness turned to trust. But all of a sudden, Riley and Farkle entered the room.

I quickly got up from the sofa and tried to clean up my smeared mascara.

"Maya, you okay?" Riley asked with a concerned tone. I looked back at her, hoping that she wasn't going to notice my upset appearance.

"Yeah I'm great," I said, forming a fake smile.

"Peaches have you been crying?" Riley asked softly. I shook my head.

Riley put her hands on her hips and tilted her head to the side. That was Riley's signature trademark for unveiling people's secrets. I hesitated a little.

"She hasn't been crying. She has hay fever, remember?" Lucas quickly interjected.

"Oh right! Of course!" Riley exclaimed with wide eyes.

She furrowed her eyebrows, looking worried. "We should really get you to the school nurse; your hay fever gets really bad."

I sighed. "Uh, I guess. I don't really like going to the school nurse though."

Riley laughed. "Yeah, well, no one likes going to the school nurse. I hate sleeping in the nurse's office. The bed is so gross."

"I know right?! I had to lay down there yesterday and the comforter stunk. I don't know when the last time was that they changed any of their linen," Farkle agreed. Riley and Farkle continued with their conversation. I turned to face Lucas and smiled gratefully. 'Thank you' I mouthed silently. Lucas smiled in response. We were getting so close. And I wasn't sure how that made me feel. It felt good, but it kind of felt scary too.