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Hey guys, I'm back way sooner than I thought I'd be! I should be able to post on my usual schedule too, thanks to my awesome editor, so enjoy! ;) (Edited by Chereche!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Girl Meets World, just the story!

Chapter Twenty-Three: Who Likes Who? {Part One}

"What do you usually do for Christmas?" Maya asked, hanging a small ornament on the tree branch.

Lucas rifled through the box of mostly empty newspapers and other decoration wrappings.

"Well, since we got here, my mom and I don't really do much...you know cause family's so far out."

"How come you don't go visit them?" she asked. "Riley goes up to Philadelphia some years to visit her grandparents."

He sighed. "Well, for one, it's not exactly cheap to fly from New York to Texas. And then, my mom doesn't really get along with my Pappy Joe...he's my dad's father."

"Oh."

"Yah."

"Well," Maya continued as she strained to reach a higher branch, and just managed to reach it on her tip-toes. "What was it like back in Texas?"

"You really want to know?" Lucas asked in surprise.

"Yah, I'd love to hear all your Cowboy Christmas stories," she grinned.

"Because that makes me want to tell you." He rolled his eyes, but obliged. "Well, we didn't do much, but that's okay...usually we'd go out and chop down a real tree. It's kind of a tradition, and the guy who owns the lot always gave us a discount. And then, we'd lug it home, where my mama would be waiting with her homemade eggnog and hot chocolate. After that we'd decorate the tree, and watch "The Christmas Carol". I know it's kind of stereotypical."

"Yah, but I think it sounds nice," Maya confessed.

Lucas brightened at that. "It was. Oh, and on Christmas we'd go out to the big hill behind our house and sled down it. Though that was mostly when I was younger, and the hill was bigger."

She laughed, and adjusted a branch. "The closest I've gotten to sledding was sliding down some icy stairs. I actually broke my foot doing that, though."

"You've never sledded?" he asked in disbelief.

"Nope. Just never got around to it; the city's not exactly the best place for hills." Maya shrugged, and hung her favorite ornament; a small painter's palette. Her mother had gotten it for her when she had won her first art show.

"Well, we'll definitely have to remedy that." Lucas smirked, and grabbed the tree topper, something that didn't go unnoticed by the small girl.

"I'll do that one, thank you." Maya said haughtily, and set up the small stool before taking it from him.

He had to suppress his grin, as she climbed up in her wobbly heels, and strained to reach the top. She was close; he had to give her that, but there was no way she'd be able to reach it.

"Would you like some help, Shortstack?"

"No," she answered crossly, and reached her fingertips farther.

He shook his head, and gestured for her to get down.

"For heaven's sake, you're going to hurt yourself," Lucas grumbled as she reluctantly did. He moved the stool aside, while the stubborn girl muttered and crossed her arms.

"But, I want to do it," Maya whined.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, come here."

She looked at him curiously, but did. He lifted her up suddenly. Maya let out a yelp of surprise, and then luckily let her instincts take over; as she placed the star nicely on top. Lucas lowered her gently, and she looked up at him with both annoyance and satisfaction.

"I don't want to hear about it," Maya declared and pointed a finger at him, before she walked to the outlet so she could plug in the lights.

Lucas smiled, and did his hat tip. "If it makes you happy, ma'am."

Maya ignored him, and put the plug into the wall; immediately putting a hand in front of her face to hide the tree from view as she ran to the main light switch.

"I want to see the full effect," she explained, and turned off the lights.

Lucas just smiled, and enjoyed the child like nature she developed this time of year. She really liked Christmas, and it was kind of cute the things she did...it never got old.

Maya ran back to him, and then lifted her hand from her face; a little sigh escaping as she did. It was a magical looking tree, and the lights were beautifully illuminating each ornament; capturing the colors and shadows. It shone brightly in the darkness, and wrapped everything in a multi colored glow that was peaceful and calming.

"It looks good," Maya commented.

"It does. You picked a good one, Clutterbucket." Lucas grinned.

"Oh, yes. Handpicked and selected from Hart's Storage Closet," she leaned in to mock whisper. "It's spectacular."

Lucas laughed. "Okay, whatever. I'm glad you like the tree."

"Yes, I do." She looked at it one last time, before turning her gaze excitedly back to the boy. "Can I have a cookie, now?"

"No! Those are for later, Shortstack."

Maya gave him a mischievous smile, before bolting to the kitchen, a desperate Lucas behind her. They reached the counter, and she plucked a cookie off of the tray, and started to bring it to her mouth.

"Stop!" He snatched it out of her hands. "You can't eat them yet."

"But, I want one."

"You can't just get what you want by whining and begging," Lucas told her and raised an eyebrow.

Maya smirked, and grabbing a fistful of his shirt; brought his face down to hers. His eyes widened, as she practically touched noses with him and they breathed the same air.

"The first rule of winning is not to get distracted," she cried triumphantly, grabbing the cookie out of his fist, and jumping back quickly.

"Maya!" He growled and rubbed his forehead.

"These are pretty good." She nodded, nibbling on the food.

"Go sit down." Lucas pointed to the couch, and she obliged; still smirking.

He joined her, and they sat watching the tree; her feet tucked underneath her and the taste of sugar on her lips. Lucas deviously waited until Maya had one bite of cookie left, before taking it away, and popping it into his mouth. Her jaw dropped, and she narrowed her eyes.

"Hey, that was my cookie."

He licked his lips deliberately, smirking at her.

"You're going to regret that, Huckleberry," she growled.

Lucas raised his eyebrow tauntingly. "And how are you planning my demise this time?"

Maya leaned in just as close as she was before. This time, neither of them pulled apart as she uttered her threats and warnings.

"Slowly, and cautiously...watch your back, Ranger Rick. I'll be there when you least expect it."

Lucas looked into her baby blue eyes, and suddenly the air felt different. There was tension, thick tension, and neither knew what would have happened if her mother and Shawn hadn't come through the door.

"Hey, kid!" he called, as Maya quickly moved back. "Whatcha' up to?"

"Just finishing the tree," Lucas answered, noticing the small girl's odd blush.

What had just happened? Neither of them had a clue; neither of them had any idea why being so close felt so odd today. Instinctively, they knew that the best thing was to forget it; so they tried.

"It looks great, Baby Girl." Ms. Hart praised as leaned over the couch to give her daughter a hug. "How did the baking go?"

"Lucas won't let me have any." Her face returned to its normal color, and she rolled her eyes at said boy.

"And yet, you managed to eat one anyway!" he returned as he threw up his hands in disbelief.

Ms. Hart chuckled, and looped her arm through Shawn's.

"Okay, guys. We're heading out to pick up some last minute things, but we won't be gone too long. Will you be okay on your own?"

"Mom, I'm home alone all the time," she reminded her.

"Not with a boy," Shawn pointed out, narrowing his eyes at him. "In fact, maybe she should come with us."

"Shawn!" Her mother said and nudged him gently.

"Fine, but I'm watching him. Boys are idiots, and definitely can't be trusted."

They left, and Lucas shook his head at Shawn's retreating form.

"I swear he has it out for me."

"Probably." Maya agreed.

He sighed, and sank back into the couch, watching the girl beside him. She wasn't paying him any attention, and was staring down at her clasped hands; a contemplative look on her face.

"Hey, what's going on in your mind, Clutterbucket?"

She glanced up at him. "Nothing much."

"Hmm, and the award for worst actress goes to...Maya!" Lucas cried with a dramatic flourish.

"Shut up, Sundance."

"No, I think I'll keep talking," the boy grinned. "So, are you ready to discuss things now?"

"No."

"It's been 3 days."

"Congratulations, you can count," Maya said and clapped mockingly.

Lucas groaned. "I'm serious."

"So am I."

"Good, because we need to figure out where you are right now, what happened on Wednesday, and what's going to happen next."

"I was born, I lived, I died." Maya answered. "What more do you need to know?"

"You haven't died yet, Shortstack," Lucas reminded teasingly.

"Ugh. Why do you have to be so pushy?"

"It's what Huckleberries do...now, be quiet and listen. I'm going to be honest with you; after that event, you seem different. And this time, in a good way...I think that was your breaking point, and now that we've reached it, things can start to get better."

"I don't have breaking points." Maya straightened defensively.

"Stop."

His tone was firm, and she knew exactly what he was referring to, and she decided her best option was to oblige Ranger Rick for the time being. So, she stopped.

"What I don't know is what to do now."

"There's nothing to do," Maya shrugged. "Great, so I'm not going to vandalize the art museums anymore. Who cares?"

Lucas froze, and eventually thawed out into a shocked but hopeful expression.

"Wait, do you actually mean that?"

She scowled, and covered her face with her arms. Apparently breaking points came with the baggage of letting things slip...she'd have to be more careful about what she said.

"Maybe," her muffled voice admitted reluctantly.

The boy excitedly lifted her arms off, and stared down at her face.

"Maya, this is huge! This is amazing, I can't believe you're actually—"

She leaned up, and covered his mouth with her hand. "Be quiet now."

"No." He yanked it off, and smiled widely. "Maya, you're getting better."

"Yippee," she said sarcastically.

"Really, this is great!" Lucas couldn't contain his excitement.

"Wonderful."

He ignored her mutterings, and continued his persuasive talk. "Look, if you really stop this, you could get back to being Maya Hart again!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Okay, the thing is, the last couple of months you haven't been yourself...and we all wanted to help you, but we didn't know how. I still think something else was—or is—going on, but you're definitely headed in the right direction despite all the challenges."

"Why do you have to have such an optimistic view on everything?" Maya groaned, and rolled her eyes.

"Because I see hope in the world."

"That's unbelievably cheesy, Cowboy."

"The point is, I see hope for you too." He looked her straight in the eyes. "And if we can get you to feel better about yourself and your life, we can make everything better...Maya, we're all willing to help, and now that you're trying it'll be so much easier."

"Who says I'm trying?" she scoffed, trying not to seem anxious.

Lucas took a strand of her hair in between his fingertips, and glanced pointedly at her puzzled face.

"This does."

"Just because I took the dye out of my hair doesn't mean I'm doing anything different with my life, Huckleberry. Not that there was anything wrong with it in the first place." Maya leaned away from him.

"M-hmm, sure. Two things wrong with your statement; one, changing your hair is a big deal. Especially since it was a shock when you dyed it in the first place...and second, you know there are things going on in your life that are wrong. You've said it yourself."

"Have not."

"Okay, now you're just acting like a child," Lucas pointed out.

"Am not!" she exclaimed in disagreement.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Not another word. Just move on, please," the blonde girl glowered.

The tall boy smirked. "My pleasure. Now, I fully support your decision to stop vandalizing those museums...because if you keep doing it, it won't be bad just for you; it will land you in jail or worse."

"You did it with me!"

"I did it to—"

Maya covered his mouth again, and he rolled his eyes. "How many times are you going to do that?"

"As many as it takes to shut you up permanently, Sundance. So, I'd suggest that you take the hint now." She smiled sweetly.

"You're a piece of work, you know that?" he narrowed his eyes, and moved her hand away fully.

She cocked her head. "And yet, you still try to help me."

"Because you're worth fixing, Clutterbucket." Lucas rested his elbow on the arm of the couch. "And, I'm willing to try no matter how difficult it gets...the good news is that it seems to be getting a whole lot easier."

"Well, helpfulness is my middle name!" the small girl announced, lifting a hand in the air.

"No, it's not...at all."

"I thought I told you to shut your Huckleberry-pie-eating mouth."

"I have to keep it open to eat the pie, don't I?"

She scowled. "You're never going to play this right, are you?"

"Not as long as I can help it."

"I don't want to be here." Maya commented, trudging up to the door.

"She's your best friend; you guys just need to talk it out." Lucas said, his hands in his pockets.

"Easier said than done, Ranger Rick."

"Look, we're here for Christmas, so let's try to have a good time. Your mom is in a great mood, and so is Shawn and the rest of them...don't ruin it with your gloominess, please," he pleaded.

"I don't have gloominess."

Lucas cleared his throat.

"Fine, it's a volcano of annoyance and darkness clouding the surface of the happy world...and it's very close to erupting."

"I thought it already did."

Her face fell, but she maintained her small smile.

"Destroying my paintings was only a tiny piece of the true destruction I can inflict." Maya said light-heartedly. "It's no big deal."

"It is, Shortstack. And you know it," Lucas disagreed softly, looking at her with a little sympathy.

He knew she regretted doing what she did every day. It hurt her a lot more than it did the rest of them, because it was all gone; and she couldn't get it back. In the breaking; she had lost a big portion of herself although she potentially could get it back.

The door opened, and Ms. Hart ushered them inside, wiping her hands on her apron.

"I was wondering where you guys were." She tried not to touch anything else; her fingers covered with flour. "I thought you were just taking a walk."

"We were." Maya answered as if it was the dumbest question she had ever heard.

"A really long one." Mrs. Matthews spoke up, smiling from the counter. "I think that's what your mother was trying to say."

"Oh, well I guess we just got distracted talking and stuff." She shrugged, and walked over to the counter, shaking off snow.

The two mothers exchanged glances, but quickly went back to their food preparation. Lucas finished taking off his outer layers, and crossed over to Maya, sitting next to her at the table. The blonde girl started to sneak a small cookie, but her mother shrieked, and whirled around.

"No! Don't touch those!"

She sighed, and leaned back reluctantly. "What's with you guys, and not wanting to share cookies?"

"What's with you trying to steal the cookies?" Lucas smirked.

"They're good, and no one asked you, Hop a' long." Maya tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Mrs. Matthews smiled at the two, then turned to her husband, who had just entered the room.

"Cory, how is she?"

He rubbed his forehead. "She's your daughter."

"Hmm, how so?" she asked warningly.

"She won't talk to me!"

"And tell me how that makes her my daughter?"

Mr. Matthews sat down across from the two teenagers, looking fondly at a plate of tater tots. No one else would ever have them at a Christmas dinner, and he knew it was all just for him.

"Because, I want nothing to do with it," he decided, contemplating how sneaky he could be...those tots were calling his name.

"Hmm," she clucked disapprovingly, and turned back to her saucepan. "Oh, and Cory?"

He froze with his hand in mid-air.

"Yes?"

"Don't even think about it."

Mr. Matthews withdrew his hand, pouting, and crossed his arms.

"How does she always know?"

"I know everything," his wife reminded.

"She does," he admitted.

"Josh?"

He looked up, and raised an eyebrow.

"I need to talk to you." Lucas explained, a dangerous look on his face.

The older boy threw up his hands, and shook his head. "Unbelievable. I need to stop coming to these gatherings; every single time someone needs to "talk to me"."

"Great, well I'm one of them." He gestured for Josh to stand up, and then led him to the front door.

Riley's uncle reluctantly obliged, and they both exited; no one even noticing their absence. Lucas walked a little down the hallway, then stopped at a window; waiting for Josh to catch up.

"Okay, let's hear it Howdy."

He scowled at the name, but began his talk. "When were you hanging out with Maya?"

"Jealous much?" Josh chuckled.

"No. I need to know, because I heard all about your little pranking thing."

"That surprises me," he said, actually looked shocked. "She rarely opens up about anything, let alone something unimportant like that."

"It's not unimportant, because what you were doing was encouraging her to get worse than she already was—is. I'm not really sure anymore!"

"Yah, I know," Josh said.

Lucas blinked in surprise. "Wait, you actually agree with me?"

"Look, I know something's up with Maya...I was trying to help her feel better, and I knew that even if we were doing something like that, I would at least be there to protect her."

The younger boy nodded in understanding. "Yah, I get that. She sure hates it though."

They both chuckled; and just like that, the tension in the room fell and the boys developed a silent, mutual agreement. Josh studied Lucas, and leaned against the windowsill.

"So," he smirked. "How long have you liked her?"

"What?" His eyes widened, and the smile fell from his lips.

"Oh, come on. It's so obvious!"

"Uh, I'm not really sure what you're referring to," Lucas answered nervously.

Josh rolled his eyes. "You're jealous whenever I talk to her, you're always defending and protecting her, and I see the way you look at her...I'm not blind, Lucas."

"I don't like Maya like that," The younger boy denied.

"Just admit it. There's no one else out here."

"I don't!"

"I swear you are the most annoying person on the planet...besides her of course." Josh smiled a little. "I just need to hear you say it."

"Why?"

"Because I want to know...indulge me, please."

Lucas inwardly struggled with his options, and none of them looked good. What was he supposed to do in this kind of situation? No one had ever prepared him for these types of things...

"I don't even know you...you can't just butt your head into other people's business." Lucas folded his arms.

Josh disagreed. "I think I can...at least, I can't help it. It's a Matthews trait after all, and the gene was passed along to me as well."

The younger boy muttered something under his breath, and Josh leaned in; smirking a little.

"What was that?"

"IlikeMayabutitdoesn'tmatterbecauseit'snoneofyourbusinessandshewon'tlikemelikethatandI'mnotevensureifthat'showIreallyfeelbecausewe'reonlyinhighschoolsandallofthiscouldactuallybewrong." He blurted out; rambling for a good thirty seconds.

"Somewhere in there, I heard a confession," Josh smiled triumphantly.

Lucas looked down; suddenly very interested in his sneakers. Why was he so shy about this? He was acting like a complete wimp, and it was just him telling another guy who he liked. Who the heck cared? He did! Gosh, was he so stupid...it was Maya, after all, and he cared about her. Lucas wasn't sure how quite yet, but he knew he needed her to be in his life. Even if she never liked him, and nothing ever happened.

"Look, Friar. I know you may be in high school, but I know a good thing when I see it; and she's a darn good one...don't lose her."

"I have no intention of doing so," Lucas said solemnly.

"Good."

He sighed, and fiddled with a button on his shirt.

"I'm guessing you heard about the triangle?"

Josh raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of topic, but obliged the younger boy. "I did...at least a little bit."

"Well, we basically decided to dissolve the whole thing, and move on...I honestly don't know if I could have picked. But, now it's been over half a year, and I can't help my feelings. It's so stupid, and again, I don't know if they're sincere but I really do think I like her. I don't want to cause any problems though; especially in our friendships, and especially not in hers and Riley's. I couldn't live with myself if I was the cause of them fighting."

"Don't worry about it, Lucas. That's my advice." Josh clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Do what you think is best, but don't push...you'll know when and how to do what you want. But, don't try to get rid of your feelings, because you won't be able to do it. And everything will just get worse; trust me."

"You're saying I have to tell her?" Lucas raised a worried eyebrow.

"I would highly recommend it. Don't rush it though but don't take too long. When things stew for a while, they tend to come out all at once, and never with good results," Josh warned.

"Good to know," he sighed.

Oh, things were just too complicated right now…and it wasn't even 2017 yet.