A/N: Long time no write. So here's the sitch: this story is hard af to write. Not as in "difficult" but as in tough. I take frequent breaks from it, and this has been one long break from this story. But I guess I'm back? [will revise this chapter later]

Also, this story is just T.

Thank you for the kind reviews! I appreciate it and the support you guys have given me! I hope this chapter is to your liking! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own GMW or A Walk To Remember.


"Do any of you know why Maya stayed home from school today too?" Lucas asked, approaching Farkle and Riley where they were gathering up their tutoring items.

The two glanced at each other for a few seconds, pausing midway in their cleaning procedures before they both turned back to Lucas, uneasy expressions in their eyes. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and wondering if Maya had put them up to it to make sure anything he asked went ignored. Lucas understood their loyalties to Maya, but couldn't they answer a simple innocent question?

"I'm worried about her, okay?" Lucas continued. "She missed school yesterday too, and I wanted to know if things are okay."

"She's tired." Riley blurted, though her voice squeaked a bit by the end of her statement. "And she's taking a few days off."

He didn't know Riley all that well, but he could definitely tell that the squeak voice was a clear sign she had lied to him. Or at the very least, she was definitely hiding something.

"Does she usually get tired a lot?"

Riley nodded.

"Just go visit her." Farkle muttered, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "She might be willing to talk to you."

"Not after what I did…"

"You don't know that." Riley stated. "She'll be happy you came to visit."

"Probably not." Farkle remarked, waiting for Riley to gather the rest of her books into her bag. "I mean, you did break her trust. Maya doesn't trust people easily, so you only get one chance. And you blew it."

"Farkle." Riley rose a brow. "You could be a little encouraging, you know?"

"We can't lie to him about how Maya might react," he replied as he checked his phone. "When she gets mad she's not afraid to squash toes or kick shins. I think it's better that he knows what he could be walking into, especially since she's not currently fond of him."

Lucas groaned, and Farkle shrugged somewhat apologetically.

"It's been a week. Maybe she's chilled out by now."

"I sure hope so…" Lucas grumbled.

He didn't know how much of this Maya silent treatment he could take anymore. He'd been trying—to no avail—to get her to open up to him again, but she was just not having it and still avoiding him with everything she had. He just wanted to talk to her again. He wanted to see her eyes light up the way they did when she was amused and the small smiles that would appear on her face when she got lost in thought. But what he missed especially was the belief she had always had in him that he was better than how he used to behave.

"Bye Lucas!" Riley waved before sliding her hand into Farkle's as the two began to head out of the ward.

Lucas gathered the rest of his own materials and shoved them in his bag before pulling it up on his shoulder and making his way to Nadia's room. He supposed he would visit her since Maya wasn't there.

As he approached Nadia's door, he heard loud, dry coughing. There was a doctor beside her bed, monitoring Nadia and jotting some notes on a clipboard. Nadia was a little pale and bunched up under her covers, clearly trying to keep warm. Lucas knocked lightly on the door, catching both of their attention.

"Prince Charming." Nadia smiled weakly, her voice a bit faint and eyes half lidded in fatigue.

"Excuse me." Her doctor said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Nadia is very fatigued today, and seems to have something of a cold. She's not feeling well, so I don't advise any visits this evening."

"Please, Dr. Ramirez?" Nadia pleaded, turning a puppy dog pout on the woman. "He's my friend."

"I promise this will be quick." Lucas said. "No more than five minutes."

Dr. Ramirez' brows furrowed, and she rubbed her temples in annoyance.

"Five minutes. That's all you have."

Lucas smiled and walked fully inside the room, heading over to the chair beside her bedside.

"Sorry I'm not in the best shape." Nadia yawned, turning a bit under her covers so she was looking at Lucas directly. "Some days I'm just so tired…"

"Hey," Lucas said. "It's okay. Don't push yourself."

"Maya didn't come in today?"

"Riley said she's tired too and that she's taking a day off."

Nadia nodded. "Sounds like Maya."

"But I get the feeling that she's also avoiding me and everywhere I go. She's kind of mad at me."

"I heard that too." Nadia giggled softly. "From Riley. She called it a lover's squirrel."

"…Squirrel?"

"You know? When a boyfriend and girlfriend fight?"

A lover's quarrel no doubt.

"I hurt Maya. I said something mean to her and broke her trust, and now she won't talk to me anymore." Lucas sighed. "I don't know what to do to make things better. I know I really messed up, but I can't think of how to regain her trust."

"She'll come around, Lucas. She just needs to see that you care about more people than yourself."

"I just wish I could think of a way to show that to her…" he muttered, glancing around the room nonchalantly. "I do care about other people. I just have terrible ways of showing it sometimes."

"What a coincidence. So does Maya." Nadia giggled.

Lucas chuckled. "Except with you and the others. She's always showing how much she…"

And then it hit Lucas.

Showing that he cared wasn't necessarily all about big gestures. And like Maya, he cared about these kids in the hospital. Seeing them continue to battle their illnesses and fight to have a chance at a normal childhood once they were better was an unbelievable privilege he was lucky to get to experience. These kids deserved the world and more, and even if Lucas couldn't give them the world, he could definitely help them experience more in life that they were missing due to their ailments.

And he had the perfect idea.

"Nadia, have you ever seen a live play?"

"Hmmm… No. I've seen puppet shows though. Why?"

"No reason." He smiled. "I was just curious."

And Lucas knew exactly what he had to do: he would put on a play for the kids in this hospital ward. But if he wanted to pull this off, he would need some help. Maya knew absolutely all of the kids. No doubt having her input would be perfect for coming up with the best play to intrigue and interest everyone in some small way. Plus he could ask the other tutors to participate in the play. It could be something like a gift from the tutors to the kids.

Nadia started coughing heavily into her elbow, jolting Lucas from his thoughts, each of her coughs punctuated by wheezes as she tried to catch her breath. Lucas fought the urge to wince. When she'd finally ridden out the wave of the cough, she closed her eyes, taking a few deep, long breaths.

"I think it's time for you to leave now." Her doctor stated, gesturing to the door. "Five minutes are up."

Lucas stood up and walked to the doorway, turning around and glancing at the little girl almost engulfed by her covers in that hospital bed.

"Sleep well, Nadia. I hope you feel better soon."

"Come visit me again, Prince Charming…" she murmured, her eyes still closed and voice drowsy.

Lucas left the room, a bit more confident about the Maya situation now that he had a plan. He hurried on his way out of the ward, excited to tell Maya his idea and hoping it would be enough for her to decide to actually talk to him.

~.~.~

Lucas lifted his hand to Maya's apartment door, taking a deep breath and preparing himself for a possible onslaught of brutal words as Maya was prone to do. He'd bought a rose from a vendor outside the hospital, hoping that maybe the flower would appease her anger in some way.

He knocked on the door, releasing the breath he'd been holding as he waited for someone to open it. All too soon, he heard footsteps approach.

Lucas swallowed hard when the door swung open, hoping Maya wouldn't try to slam it in his face the moment she saw him. He smiled as he looked down at Maya in fuzzy socks and some thick pajamas, her nose a bit pink from the apparent cold of her apartment. There were bags under her eyes, as if she hadn't been able to properly sleep.

She stared up at him, her expression going blank almost immediately.

"Why are you here? I thought I told you to never come back here again."

"I brought you a rose." Lucas said sheepishly, holding it up. "Thought you might want it."

Maya glowered at him, her gaze darkening.

"I hate roses. They're the most generic flower I've ever seen in my life. Get lost, Lucas. I don't want to talk to you."

She started to close the door, but Lucas stepped inside and stopped her from closing the door with his hand, placing it firmly in the middle and holding the door still.

"Let go of my door."

"Maya, I just want to talk to you." Lucas frowned. "I have an idea I want to run by you."

"Then tell Riley or Farkle, and they'll let me know."

Lucas turned and leaned his back against the door, crossing his arms in front of his chest and raising a brow. She pushed against him, grunting a bit as she tried to get him out of the way.

"Would you move?! You're letting in a draft!"

"I'm not leaving until you let me in."

"You…" Maya growled. "You are such a… such a fucking—"

"Who's at the door, Maya?"

Maya glanced over her shoulder at the voice in the kitchen, still trying to push Lucas out of the doorway and back into the hallway, but he wouldn't budge. He watched her, amused at her attempts.

"No one, Gammy. Just some kid selling girl scout cookies. She was just leaving."

"I thought I heard a male voice though."

"Nope."

But the oldest Hart came out of the kitchen despite Maya's aversion tactics, wiping her hands on a rag attached to her apron as she approached. Her eyes lit up when she saw Lucas.

"Well. Maya, why didn't you tell me your boyfriend came to visit you? Invite him in."

Maya's cheeks flushed, and she abruptly took her hands off of Lucas, taking a large step away from him.

"No Gammy." She said firmly. "He's not my boyfriend. He's not even my friend."

"You're that nice boy who helped carry my daughter inside that one time, aren't you?" Gammy continued, ignoring Maya completely. Lucas nodded. "What's your name?"

"Lucas Friar." He gave Gammy the roses. "I brought roses, but I guess Maya doesn't want them."

"Well Lucas. Any boy who helps my Katy is a friend of our family." Gammy said with a bright smile that Lucas had seen on Maya's face before. He could tell Maya really resembled her grandmother, especially the striking shade of blue of her eyes. "Come inside. You said you needed to talk to Maya, yes?"

"Gammy!" Maya said indignantly. "He's an asshole. Don't invite him in!"

"Maya, at least hear him out. He brought roses."

Maya growled under her breath, rolling her eyes in annoyance as she moved away from the door and towards the living room window. Lucas straightened and closed the door before walking further into the familiar room. It smelled of fresh baked cookies and that sweet, comforting scent he'd come to associate with Maya. There was an easel beside the window he hadn't really paid that much attention to the last time he'd been there. Maya sat on the faded blue stool, facing the easel, and picked her pencil back up so she could continue her sketch.

"Come sit down, Lucas. Would you like some tea? We only have jasmine though since it's Maya's favourite. Sorry we can't offer much."

"Uh, that's okay. My mom doesn't want me out very late so I'll be leaving soon."

He walked to the tattered couch and settled down on the cushion as Gammy Hart picked up a chipped porcelain vase on the centre of the coffee table. She set the roses in it before hobbling back into the kitchen towards the sink.

"You have great bone structure, Lucas." Gammy Hart stated with a laugh. "Can you marry Maya? Or better yet, can Maya bear your children so I can get some great-grandkids?"

"Gammy!" Maya spun around on her stool in alarm, her cheeks burning with a blush and eyes wide in embarrassment. "Please stop! I would never marry him!"

Gammy Hart snorted in amusement as she turned on the tap, and Lucas had to fold his lips in to keep from laughing. Maya's eyes met Lucas' briefly when she glanced up and she quickly looked away, her nose wrinkled in annoyance.

"Well? What do you want?" she asked sharply. "You got what you wanted, didn't you? So talk."

"You weren't at school today. And the kids at the hospital missed you."

"No shit, Sherlock." Maya crossed her arms in front of her chest. "If that's all you came to say, then you've wasted both mine and your time. I skip school at least once a week. So if you're done, the door is over there. You can see yourself out."

"Look. I know I wrecked our friendship and destroyed your trust in me. And I know getting it back is going to take everything I have, but I didn't come here to try to make amends tonight. At least not directly." Lucas said. "Maya, I came here because I want to put on a play for the kids in the hospital before Christmas. I was thinking we could ask Mr. Hearst if we could borrow some of the sets from the school play."

That seemed to get her attention. Maya's brows rose a bit in surprise, her arms unfolding and hands settling on her lap.

"A play?" she asked. "Which one?"

"Well, I was thinking we could do Rapunzel since it's Nadia's favourite. We'll write an abridged version of the play, cast the volunteers in some parts, and then perform it. It's just so that the children can see a play, especially since many of them are confined in the hospital."

And especially if some of them weren't going to make it into the next year, like Nadia.

Maya stared at Lucas curiously, slightly chewing on her lower lip as he waited for her response. She looked pleased, intrigued by the prospect. He could see the corners of her lips tugging up into a smile despite her obvious efforts to keep it at bay.

"I'm not praising you," Maya said, averting her gaze and looking at the cuckoo clock on the wall, "but I like this idea."

Lucas smiled. Stubborn as always.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the only background noise Gammy's soft humming from the kitchen and the rattling of their ancient heater. Lucas stared at the picture frame on the bookshelf of a very young Maya covered in mud and running away from Katy in her diapers. A younger Katy whose smile reached her eyes and seemed to have no care in the world. Lucas wondered what could have changed so drastically to turn that Katy into the one he had first met when she was emptying the contents of her stomach into a lobby plant. He wondered if it had to do with her husband leaving her years ago.

"What I want to know is…" Maya muttered, suddenly breaking the silence. "Why are you doing this?"

When Lucas brought his gaze back to Maya, she was watching him expectantly, no distaste in her eyes and none of the indifference that had been in her expression when she looked at him.

"Because I care about other people. I know right now I seem like I'm a selfish bastard—"

"That's not true." Maya interrupted.

He stared at her, his heart suddenly skipping a beat in his chest. "What?"

"You don't seem like a selfish bastard. You are one."

Lucas sighed. "I get it. You hate me and I suck and you'll never forgive me."

"I never said I hated you," she said simply, though her expression gave nothing away.

"…But?"

"But nothing. I said I don't hate you, Lucas. Believe it if you want to." She rubbed her arm, not quite looking at him. "I can't forgive you though. Not right now…"

"Then when?" he asked, feeling a little hopeful that maybe that meant he still had a chance.

That she might still let him into her life after all.

"I don't know, okay?" Maya frowned, her cheeks tinged with pink again. "Stop badgering me. I have some things I need to think about first. For now, just… I don't know. Shut up!"

"Alright. I understand." Lucas nodded, checking his watch. It was just about a quarter to ten. His mother would be angry if he came home late. Even though she was proud of his progress, he knew she was still wary that he would begin acting up again. He stood up with a sigh, deciding Maya wasn't going to budge on her stance any time soon. All he could do was hope for the best and do everything in his power to try to mend the relationship he'd broken because he was too stupid and too scared to break away from who he had been. "I'll head home. Sorry to bother you."

He made his way to the door, Maya rising from the stool and walking behind him to walk him out. When he had opened the door and left the apartment, he waved over his shoulder before shoving his hands into his pocket.

"Tell your grandma I said goodnight."

"Lucas."

He turned back around, surprised by the serious tone with which she said his name. It had been completely lacking the condescension she used to refer to him recently. Maya was fidgeting with the hem of her tattered sweater, the tips of her ears red as she stared at him.

"Yes Maya?"

"I'm looking forward to putting on this play with you…"

Was this her way of telling him he was on the way to being forgiven? He searched her eyes, realizing that for the first time in a while, she was finally looking at him normally again, without the harsh edge that had permeated her gaze since he'd made his mistake and hurt her.

"I'm looking forward to it too." Lucas smiled. "Goodnight Maya."

Maya smiled too, a genuine one that glowed, lighting up the storm in her eyes. His heart stared pounding hard in his chest. Her smile left him speechless, breathless, and Lucas couldn't help but stare at her, mesmerized by the warmth in her gaze. And he suddenly felt the unbelievable urge to lean down and kiss her.

"Goodnight."

She shut her door. Lucas stood in front of it in shock for a handful of seconds, knocked off guard by her radiant smile. He took a deep breath, wondering why he had reacted so strongly to Maya.

And with startling clarity, he realized he had a crush on her.

Lucas liked Maya.

A lot.

And the more he thought about it, the more he realized he'd probably liked her since the day he'd seen her beautiful million watt smile that first fateful day they'd conversed.

"Shit."