so this chapter is much longer and mainly lucas centric. idk i'm pretty insecure about this story and chapter since i'm not that good at writing yet. Hopefully you like this chapter so tell me what you think :)
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Lucas Friar always felt the urge to do something extraordinarily brave, it was a feeling that rested deep in his gut. He wanted to save the day, be the hero to all. He never knew why but there was always a pit inside of him that he knew would be filled once he was brave. So he always tried to find something bad that he could get rid of, an issue he could fix. When the war began it was his opportunity, he could be a soldier and save everyone in danger. The minute he was allowed he joined, and since then he was in war.
He made friends and watched them die, he learned out there to never be attached to a person or idea because it would always disappear. Like Joshua Matthews, he was his best friend in the war, they fought side by side and always had each other's back. Josh had Lucas' back so well he got shot through it, and Lucas saw his first friend die. Then it was Billy, they had just met and began their friendship when he died. Then it got worse, everyone he talked to, everyone he liked began to go out one by one. Yogi, Dave, the worst was Isaiah. They had a long time together, he trusted Zay with every secret he's ever kept. They were the best of friends, and Lucas honestly thought it would be him and Zay till the war was over. The day he died was the first time he truly cried during the war, the first time he sobbed over a friends body.
Crying, he soon found out was his mistake. He was crying and mourning his friend so much he forgot why he was there, what he was fighting for. So while he cried he got hit, he bled, and he woke up on a cot surrounded by nurses and beds with other soldiers.
There were two tending to him, but one left to tend to the man next to him. He tried to ask what had happened, but no words came out of his mouth. The noise he made sounded like an grunt, his mouth was too dry for him to speak. He tried a few more times, resulting in a few more grunts.
"Please sir, calm down." The nurse said, that was when he first noticed her. She was gorgeous; blonde hair put up in a bun, blue eyes that reminded him of the river back home. She was short and cute, but she was aggravated. He listened to her and he didn't try to speak again, he watched her and waited to see what happened.
She moved around checking up on him, he didn't even care for his injuries as he was mesmerized by her. He watched her every move, the sway of her hips as she moved around the bed, the pieces of hair she kept shoving behind her ear. He was never the type of man to notice these things in a woman he just met, and he never was one to believe in fate. Instead he believed in the fact that she was the first woman he had seen in a while, so of course he payed attention.
"You'll be here for a few weeks, maybe. You're in terrible shape" was all she said before joining the brunette on the man next to him. He wanted to speak, he wanted to ask her name, what was wrong with him, if he could get water. He felt so weak though, and his eyes began to droop, and he soon began to fall asleep looking at the back of her head.
Lucas woke up to the blonde beauty and the brunette looming over him, the brunette smiling as he woke. She whispered something to the blonde and handed her a cup before skipping to the man to his right. She handed him the cup and pulled up a seat, waiting for him to do something. He stayed in the same position making eye contact with the girl, wanting to make sure she wouldn't leave his side.
She eyed him, obviously annoyed "Are you going to drink it or not?" she asked and he looked down inside the cup. It was water, perfect for his dry mouth. He nodded, slowly moving the cup to his lips. It was then he felt the pain, every inch of his body was sore and it burned just to move his arms. The minute the water entered his mouth though he was filled with relief throughout his mouth and throat. It took away the internal burn he had due to his dehydration. He coughed, making sure he could speak once again.
"What's your name?" he asked, surprised by how raspy his voice was. He didn't know how long he had been there for, but the lack of speaking had taken a toll on his voice. She smiled as he did this, obviously glad he seemed fine. He was still yet to learn what had happened to him though, and he was not going to examine himself. He wanted to hear it from her, he felt that if it was bad news she would ease the pain.
"Maya" she smiled, crossing her legs "You need to rest though, not worry about what my name is." He found this stupid, if she was his nurse he should know her name. He listened to her though, he wasn't in the mood for an argument.
"What's wrong with me?" he asked, and he watched her face to see how bad it was. She remained still though, she had an amazing poker face. It didn't help him in the slightest, he wanted to know what was happening and how she was feeling.
Maya's smile was eerie as she spoke her next words "Wait until a real doctor gets here, he'll explain." He desperately wanted to understand what her smile meant, and why she couldn't just explain it. He wanted this to be done with, he wanted to heal and get away from the blonde temptress and back to fighting. He was getting bad ideas, he was breaking his rules. He could not think about going on a date with this girl, he could not think about going home and creating a life. If he thought about this it would just hurt more when something got in the way. So he turned his head the other way, he looked away from the blonde and to the man on his right laughing with the brunette nurse.
"Who's he?" Lucas asked, Maya and the brunette hovered near him a lot, he noticed. The man had scratches on his baby face, and he was scrawnier than most men in the field. He looked young, he looked happy, it was something one often didn't see in the war.
"Mister Farkle Minkus, that's who he is." Maya said with a sense of pride and superiority. Did she know this man well? He wondered then even more about this Farkle Minkus, the man with an odd name. "Talk to him, he'll make your stay here better"
"Why's that?" He wanted to know what made this Mister Farkle Minkus so good, and what made his nurse like him more. He had to admit he was jealous of the man to his right, he'd like to have Maya's attention (as much as he hated to admit it).
She smiled looking to her lap then back up at him "He's a good man, and he's funny. He'd be a good friend." Maya meant nothing from it, but Lucas was still jealous. "I'll actually leave you two to talk, me and Riley have other patients to tend to."
With that Maya and the brunette he learned was Riley left, and he had a better view of the man named Farkle. He sat up a bit more, wincing from the rush pain rippling throughout his body. He had a better view of the man, he had a smile planted on his face despite the bandages surrounding him. He looked around the room until he made eye contact with Lucas.
"Hi! I'm Farkle Minkus, who are you?" Lucas was surprised by his perkiness, he had obviously gone through the war yet it hadn't phased him as badly as most men. Maybe he had just joined and got injured within his first week, the ones like him always did.
"Lucas Friar, so how'd you win those girls over?" He knew it was rude to jump straight to the questions but he needed to know. Farkle laughed, and Lucas could tell it wasn't meant in a rude or malice way.
"Riley and Maya? Talk to them, flirt with them, have fun. That's what I did!" Farkle was ecstatic with each word, he loved to talk Lucas would soon learn.
This then led to them talking for hours and Lucas making another good friend he'd most likely lose to the war. He learned that Farkle had been here for a while, and once he was able to go home he wanted to take Riley on a date. He said he was in love with Riley, Lucas didn't know if he believed in love for men in the war but he wanted Farkle and Riley to work out. They were good people, and Lucas always wanted the best for good people.
He tried to do what Farkle did, but when he flirted with Maya she just scoffed and called him Soldier Boy. He liked it though, it became routine. He'd get a silly line from Farkle and recite it to Maya, she'd make fun of him and call him names (but he saw her smiling as she looked away). These little things took his mind off of the war and his desire to be brave, spending time with his people made him want a simple life. He knew if this was another life Farkle and Riley would be married and live in a nice house, and he would be with Maya and they'd live next door with a dog. He dreamed about this while he sleeper, and regretted it in the morning.
He forgot he was hurt sometimes, he felt like he just had a cold and was being taken care of. He sometimes forgot why he was doing this, why he was giving everything up. He was a good soldier, he was helping all the families back home, he had to remind himself that. He couldn't tell if being here was good or bad for him, he was making friends and falling for a girl. Isn't that supposed to be good? Isn't that the dream? It's too bad things can't be like that though, because the world they live in has soldiers fighting. Then they have young men like Riley's brother fighting, old enough to be drafted but too young to survive.
Being here he realized how bad it really was, being here was changing everything and that was not good. He saw how bad things were in this war, the boys too young to truly fight dying the minute they stepped on that field, the loss of families and life. Was he even brave, would people even care that he was doing all this, would they even know his name? He missed a nice bed, and he missed girls, and he missed his friends surviving, and he missed living a simple life.
He wasn't supposed to flirt with the pretty blonde nurse and dream of another life, he was never meant to do that, yet it's now happening and he likes it. He likes smiling with Maya and he likes it when she smiles at him, and he likes seeing her and Riley giggling and Farkle telling him they're talking about them. He likes his injury now, he likes what it's led to. When the doctor came and explained it to him he didn't care if he was going to be here for another week, this was a sweet escape from the mind the war created for him.
Lucas's favorite thing about being here was seeing Maya's cold exterior drift away. When she treated him she no longer looked agitated, and she'd laugh at him and smile and have conversations with him. She'd listen to him talk about the war and look like she cared, and he liked hearing about how Riley had become her best friend and about her mom's crazy antics. He liked hearing her talk, he liked seeing her smile, he liked her. It was crazy, but he also seemed to like the crazy.
"You're going back soon, soldier boy. Excited?" Maya asked as she sauntered over to him. He would've been excited before, but now he was tired of the fight and didn't want to leave the comfort of his new friends. He wasn't about to give up this war though, it was his duty, it was what he had to do.
Lucas wiggled to sit up, he no longer felt pain when he did this. "Not ready to leave your lovely company, Miss Maya." He sent her that charming smile he'd always use back home, it was nice to use it again. He wasn't ready to leave her though, that was true. He wasn't ready to leave any of them, and he wasn't ready to fight and when he got to sleep to have his dreams be of his time here. It was going to be hell.
"Well when you're done maybe you can find me, and Farkle, and Riley. We'll meet up and rejoice once this is all over." She said, she had that hopeful look that made him cringe. She believed they'd survive, he wanted to but it was unimaginable now. He didn't want to disagree though, he wanted to have the same hope as his favorite nurse.
So Lucas just smiled at her like he believed it too, "We must do that, and we'll actually spend time together when you two aren't working and me and Farkle aren't trapped in a bed." It was the dream, truly. To survive and come home looking forward to something, to survive with your friend and have a beautiful girl ready to take you out.
"I can't wait." Maya Hart said, looking at him in a way that stopped his heart. It was then he knew he was truly, one hundred percent, fucked. This girl was looking at him a way that radiated pure love me respect, but he still had no idea what she was thinking. He knew he was fucked then because he loved Maya Hart, and she might love him. He was fucked because he was leaving soon to a place where he might die, and she wanted him to live. Lucas Friar was in love with Maya Hart, and if this war was over he knew they'd be so happy and so in love. It wasn't that way though, and he fucking hated that.
Three days later he was going back to fight, and he had a new scar on his back to remind him of the time he had with his saviors. Farkle gave him his information, so if they were both to survive they'd be able to continue this friendship and support each other. Riley hugged him goodbye wishing him the best of lucky, now it was only Maya and him. She sashayed toward him with a bright smile, and once she was in arms reach he pulled her into a hug. He held her tight and closed his eyes, the smell of her hair was intoxicating and he never wanted to let her go.
She pulled away and looked up at him with those big blue eyes and smiled like nothing bad was going to happen. "Goodbye, Lucas," was all she said before turning around to return to her work. He refused to leave it like that though, a measly goodbye as if she was just a friend. Maybe she didn't like him in the way he thought she did, but he loved her and if he was going off to possibly die he wanted her to know.
"Maya Hart, I think I love you." was all Lucas said to get her to pause and turn around to him. He could never tell how she felt, and he began to feel crazy as she walked back to him with a look of shock on her face.
She stopped once they were close enough, only inches between them. Her look of shock changed to a smirk, he smiled at her hoping this would end well.
"You think so? With the way you've been looking at me I would've thought you were head over heels, one hundred percent in love with me" Maya continued to smirk, and Lucas chuckled at how obvious he must've been. He was going to miss talking with her like this, he was going to miss her. Now he needed to know how she felt, he needed it before he left.
"I am, but are you?" Lucas wasn't worried for her answer, he just wanted to hear anything fall out of her lips. She could love him or hate him and he wouldn't care, as long as he knew everything would be fine. Of course he was hoping she felt the same way, he was selfish that way.
He was waiting for am answer, so he was surprised when he felt her tiny hands pulling him down and her lips were on his. He was shocked, but that didn't stop him from wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her back before it was too late. This was his answer, this was all he needed to know before he went off to war. It also helped when she whispered "I love you" and walked away.
A week later Lucas Friar got hit again, multiple times. He was bleeding out, he was falling, he felt paralyzed, he was dying. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't call for help. His body was shaking, and all he could think about was his dream life. He could see it, two beautiful houses, one housing Farkle and Riley, the other housing him and Maya. He then thought of all his friends who died being there, alive with them. He wanted to rid himself from the pain, so he thought these happy thoughts. He was smiling, he soon realized, he was smiling as he thought of her blonde hair and blue eyes. He was smiling when he died.
A few years later and the war was over, Farkle was alive, Maya was alive, Riley was alive, Lucas was dead. The war was over and the three found each other once again, but the fourth member of their group was gone. They worried for him, they searched for him, and eventually Farkle asked to see the list of people who had died. He searched that list hoping he wouldn't read that name, but he did. The three mourned, and Maya cried. Riley and Farkle did marry, and Maya a simple man in Riley's town. They never forgot Lucas Friar though, for Maya's only child was named Lucas.
okay the ending was shit af sorry, tell me what you think though :)