(Author's Note: Sorry this update took so long. I had to make sure I got this chapter right, because it reflects my theory on Maya's sexuality, supported by evidence from various episodes throughout the show. Enjoy!)

Riley's POV

The three of us climbed into my room through the fire escape. Maya and Lucas sat down in the bay window. I placed a chair in front of my door, under the doorknob to prevent any sudden parental ambushes. I turned to face Lucas.

"In class today, you made it sound like I've been secretly gay all along and when I went out with you, I was just using you as a cover or something. That's not true at all," I said.

"So what is true Riley? Did you ever even really like me?" Lucas asked. "Because you were pretty quick to put your feelings for me aside when you thought Maya liked me."

"Of course I really liked you, Lucas. Me having feelings for Maya now doesn't just invalidate any feelings I've ever had for a boy before," I explained.

"So you're not a lesbian?" Lucas asked.

"No." I affirmed.

"Are you sure?" Maya asked.

I looked at Maya. "Yes. My feelings for Lucas were just as genuine as my feelings for you are now."

"So you're bi?" Maya asked.

"Maybe I'm bi or maybe I'm pan. I'm honestly not even sure if I understand the difference. I'm 14, am I supposed to have this all figured out? Do you?" I asked her.

"Yeah, actually. I think I might." Maya answered.

Lucas turned to her. "Then please, enlighten me."

"I think I'm a lesbian," Maya said.

Wow. I can't believe what I'm hearing. She turned to Lucas.

"Lucas, I'm truly sorry. At the time I really thought that I might like you in a romantic way, but now I've realized, it wasn't you that I liked. It was never you. It was never even Josh."

Not even Josh? Did she just say she never really liked Josh?

She turned to me. "It's always been you, Riles."

Whoa. This runs a lot deeper for Maya than I thought.

"But we snuck out to go to that college party because you liked Josh," I said, trying to make sense of this.

"And you asked me if I could name one thing about Josh that I loved. Do you remember?" Maya said.

"Yeah. You said 'He's a part of your family, Riley. I love your family.' -Whoa." I suddenly started to understand. Maya nodded.

I walked over to the bay window and sat down between Maya and Lucas. I took Maya's hand in my own and looked into her eyes.

"Maya, how long have you felt this way?" I asked.

Maya's POV

This is a really scary thing for me to talk about. I know it's going to hurt Lucas and it will probably freak Riley out. But before all these feelings got in the way, Riley and Lucas were my friends first, and I should be able to be open and honest with my friends.

"I'm not sure exactly. I was terrified of my feelings. You know how I hate change. I didn't want our friendship to change. So instead of admitting to myself that I had feelings for you, I just projected them onto whatever guy was the next best thing." I explained.

I could tell by Riley's face that she was beginning to connect the dots. She said "You didn't really like Josh. He just reminded you of me."

I nodded.

"So you only thought you liked me because Riley and I are so much alike?" Lucas asked.

I nodded. "I didn't even realize I was doing it for a long time."

"When did you start to realize that it was me you really had feelings for?" Riley asked.

"Do you remember when your dad was teaching us about the horizon and how everyone used to think the world was flat?" I asked.

"Yeah, he made us all write down something we thought would be impossible, our own horizons." Riley remembered.

"You said you thought you would never be as good as your parents," I said.

"Farkle said he thought he could never be an athlete," Riley recalled.

"And I thought it would be impossible for me to coach Farkle into becoming an athlete," Lucas added.

He continued, "But Maya, you never told us what you wrote down."

"That's because I've never really said it to anyone, except recently to my mom," I admitted.

Riley looked at me. "So what is it Maya? What's your impossible thing?" she asked.

I suddenly felt like it was the night that I first kissed her. We were sitting in the bay window just like this and I could feel that same fear all over again. I looked back at Riley, and her sweet brown eyes were watching me intently, waiting patiently, and quietly encouraging me to reveal my deepest, most hidden truth. "I wrote down," I started. I took a deep breath. "Tell Riley…" I trailed off and let out a sigh.

Riley gently squeezed my hand. "Tell me what, Peaches?" she prodded.

I took another deep breath. Here goes. "Tell Riley I'm in love with her." I said it. I finally told her. I instantly felt lighter, as if a weight I had been carrying around on my chest suddenly just floated away like a balloon.

Riley smiled at me and took my face in her hands. She pulled me in for a kiss. But our kiss was interrupted.

"You knew back then that you were in love with her?!" Lucas exclaimed. I forgot he was here for a moment.

"Actually, I knew even before then," I explained.

I turned to Riley. "When we got the yearbooks and I became you, that's when I realized that Lucas was so much like you. Like two sunshiny people from the same sunshiny family. I thought up until that moment that I liked Lucas, but I kept it to myself because I knew you liked him. It was in that moment that I realized it might actually be you that I really liked. And then suddenly I couldn't be you anymore. It's like my mom says. When you have strong emotions for someone, it's like you're too close to see straight. It just hit me like a wave and I couldn't act like you anymore, so I took off my wig." I explained.

"That's why you said it's like he's my brother," Riley understood.

I nodded. "And it's why I kept insisting that you liked him as a brother. I guess I just wanted that to be the truth. I didn't want you to like him, because I wanted you to like me, because I wanted to have a chance with you, Riley," I confessed.

"Then why did you go out with me, Maya?!" Lucas was clearly aggravated.

"Because after your rodeo, Riley was so sure that I liked you. She pushed us together. And she knows me better than anyone, so I thought maybe she was right. I did think that I liked you before the yearbook, and it was certainly easier for me to accept liking you than to accept my feelings for her. I started thinking that I might have feelings for both of you. That's why when we were playing the couples game on New Year's Eve, and I drew the question 'Is it possible to love two people at the same time?' I ate the card," I explained.

"That's why you ate the card?" Riley asked.

"I thought you ate the card because you were afraid to hear my answer," Lucas said.

"No, Huckleberry. I was afraid of my own answer," I replied.

I continued, "That's why I was so confused. That's why I was such a mess. That's why I never seemed happy when I was with you."

"That's why you could hardly even talk to me," Lucas supposed.

I nodded. "Because my feelings for Riley were undeniable and unmatched by anything I have ever felt, or ever will feel for any guy, even a great guy like you, Lucas."

Lucas nodded, "Yeah, it kinda sounds like you are a lesbian."

"Yeah, I think so," I agreed. "I'm really sorry, Huckleberry. I hope you can forgive me someday."

"Of course, I forgive you Maya," he stood up and walked in front of me, opening his arms.

I stood up and gave him a hug. I'm really glad we could clear the air. The way he was looking at me earlier in class was unbearable. I didn't want there to be any hard feelings between us. "Friends?"

"Always," he said.

"Awww," Riley smiled. She joined in, wrapping her arms around both of us.