✓ | 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟 ( 𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘀. )

EIGHTEEN.

My lips unexpectedly parted. A strange noise came out from the back of my throat, and I tried to cover it up with a nonchalant cough. "It─It's okay. I'll admit, I hadn't even thought about it. Maybe I even deserved it," I muttered.

She shook her head. "Don't say that. I've been cheated on before and I would never want anyone to go through what I did. I'm sorry," she said. 

"Maya, it's okay. You're forgiven," I said, and she nodded at me, plastering a small smile on her face as she brought the cup back up to her lips again.

"Hey," I suddenly said, perking her interest. "If you were always into Missy, why would you ask me out?"

She paused thoughtfully, trying to choose her words carefully. "Remember in the fifth grade, when you dated Alice Scott? As far as dating went back in elementary school, anyway," she remarked, laughing under her breath. "I remember being so jealous of you two, and I used to think it was because I didn't want her to steal you away from me. I wanted us to be best friends forever, just you and I. But then our friendship kind of died and I knew that wasn't the reason I was jealous."

"Okay ... So?"

She sighed, continuing: "When we got older, I kept thinking back on it, because I needed to know why I was so jealous. And then I thought, maybe it was because I liked you? And the only way I could've tested that theory was if I got close to you again. But after dating you, I knew I was wrong. Turns out I was actually jealous because I─"

"because you liked Alice," I murmured to myself in sudden realization, unintentionally cutting Maya off.

"Yeah. I was so gay beyond my years," Maya remarked, chuckling. Her expression suddenly turned serious. "Look, you and Riley are so oblivious to the way you feel about each other. Somebody had to get you two kids together," she said.

I furrowed my brows in confusion. "And you did that by asking me out?" I questioned.

"Riley liked you, but she was always too scared to go after you. I needed to push her, and maybe I needed to push myself, too. To see if what I felt for Missy was real," she said.

I paused thoughtfully. "And was it?" I finally asked.

"When I was with you, all I could think about was her. But it doesn't even matter now. It's over," she muttered.

"How could you love someone and let it be over, just like that?"

She ran a hand through her blonde hair. "Missy wanted so much more from me, but I couldn't give it to her. I wasn't ready to out myself yet. I liked the sneaking around ─ I felt safe knowing that my relationship with her was a secret only we knew. But she kept pushing me, telling me that she hated having to hide us. She wanted everyone to know. I told her I didn't want to and so she thought all I cared about was my reputation. But that wasn't true. I wasn't scared of admitting myself to others, I was scared of admitting it to myself.

"And─ I don't know. I guess things got complicated. We argued for hours about it and realized that we were a lost cause. We both want different things from the relationship and can't compromise. So it's over. The funny thing is, she told me we brought out the worst in each other, but she actually brought out the best in me," she uttered.

I pondered for a moment. "So you're going to drop everything, just like that? If she brought out the best in you, and if you love her, shouldn't you fight for her? Maya, you deserve to be happy and she makes you happy. It doesn't matter that you two fought, or that right now you're finding it hard to compromise for each other. Love takes time. And I know you'll regret it if you do nothing. Trust me," I said.