whisper | rilaya

one

I've always hated change. The idea in and of itself was enough to make me feel sick to my stomach. The fact that my whole life could change based on something out of my control scared me. I would never admit it, but I was scared of change.

The rain came down against my window in a peaceful manner. New York was drastically different than California- I hated it.

Everything in this city made me feel out of place. The gloomy fall days along with a combination of car traffic and businesses at every corner overwhelmed me. I preferred the laid back lifestyle that my mom and I used to have in Anaheim compared to the busyness of the Big Apple.

Shawn knocked on my closed bedroom door. He tapped twice, letting me know it was him. "You forgot one of your boxes in the car."

I nodded in response, ignoring the fact that he couldn't see me from behind the door.

Taking my silence as a confirmation to enter, he came into my room and set the heavy box in front of my bed. His eyes wandered around my room before stopping at the drawing laid out in front of me.

"Maya, this is amazing. I never knew you liked art." He complimented the plain pencil drawing, clearly trying to find common ground with me.

My shoulders shrugged in response, looking down to finish shading a tree in the background. "I guess there's a lot of things you don't know about me." I responded bitterly.

Shawn winced at my comment. He took the hint and understood that his presence wasn't appreciated in my room.

"I'll be downstairs with your mother. If you want to know something about me, I'd be more than happy to tell you." He offered desperately and left me alone.

It wasn't his fault that I had to leave my life in California behind. We both knew that. But everything in life is easier to cope with when you blame it on someone else. So that's what I did.

When my father left me at age 5, it was only a matter of time before another man fell in love with my mom. She was young, intelligent and powerful just like me. Except she was broken. From the night my dad left until the night she met Shawn.

She fell for him. Hard.

In a matter of two months, I found myself saying goodbye to all of my friends and travelling to a new state. She insisted that we move to New York so that we could live with him, so that I could finally have a father figure.

As much as she tried, my mother could never understand me the same way I understood her. I despised the idea of moving, but I saw how happy it made my mom so I went along with it.

It seems like people believe that everything is replaceable nowadays. A father, a home, a set of friends can all come back in new forms just as quickly as they disappeared.

"Baby girl!" My mom called me from downstairs. "There's a couple of boys here who want to see you."

My eyebrows furrowed at the thought. I just moved in here a couple days ago and school doesn't start until next week. There's been no time for me to talk to anyone, yet alone make friends.

I got up from the cross-legged position that I'd been sitting in for the past couple hours. My hands brushed the eraser shavings off of me as I kicked my sketchbook to the side with my foot.

"Coming!" I replied as I ran down the stairs.

When I got to the bottom of the staircase, I was met with my mom. She stood leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

"They're waiting outside." She said with a warm smile and walked down to the kitchen to give me some privacy.

Truthfully, I really didn't know what to expect when I twisted the doorknob. I swung the door wide open without hesitation when my curiosity began to kick in.

Two teen boys around my age stood awkwardly in front of me. They were both tall and blonde, making them look unmistakably like fuckboys.

The slightly taller one of the two wore a permanent smirk on his face, even when his expression was grim. They both had bags living under their eyes. Their expressions were solemn, like they had been grieving over something.

They didn't look like normal boys. They looked like two kids who have suffered something far too terrible that forced them to grow up too quickly.

We continued to stare at each other, analyzing the features of the people/person in front of us.

Growing impatient, I spoke first. "Are you going to say something?"

The taller one was taken aback by my comment. He shook his head fiercely and blushed. "Sorry, you're just so beautiful." He complimented.

The boy beside him rolled his eyes at the comment and elbowed him in the side.

"Listen, I'm not down for a threesome if that's what you guys are here for. I'm gay." I responded confidently, with a hint of sass in my voice.

The same boy's eyes widened as he took a step back, clearly flustered. "No! That's not at all what I'm-" His voice raised two octaves in embarrassment, causing it to crack. He cleared his throat. "Thats not what we're here for."

"My name's Lucas." He introduced himself and held out a hand. I shook it cautiously, not knowing how people really are in New York.

I looked towards the other boy who has yet to say a word during this exchange. "I'm Farkle." He smiled politely as he lifted his hand for a slight wave.

Farkle stepped closer to me as he continued to speak. "We noticed you just moved in here. Just wanted to make you feel welcome, that's all. Here's my number if you need anything."

He seemed like a sweet boy, both of them did. Something was off about the two of them that I just couldn't put my finger on.

"Oh, okay." I nodded understandingly, feeling only slightly guilty for snapping at Lucas.

"Thank you." I whispered.

Lucas scratched the back of his neck, his face was still a little red from earlier. "Hopefully we'll see you around?" He asked.

I smiled at the two of them genuinely, wanting to know their story. "Hopefully." I reiterated and shut the door.

A/N: I know I said I'll start regular updates in late June but it's pride month and I couldn't help myself so I guess we're starting updates early !