Maya's POV
The day of the dance had finally arrived. Everyone was overjoyed, talking to their friends excitedly and skipping around the halls. They were living life. They were using their time wisely by having fun. They were having fun with their best friends. They had best friends.
My pointless thoughts were interrupted by Isadora, who was rambling on about everyone's tomfoolery. I found myself still not listening, due to me thinking about something else. She was still on my mind, even after everything. She would keep succeeding at distracting me, even though she wasn't right there beside me.
Isadora eventually figured out that I was far from listening to her, and practically yelled at me. I quickly apologized before my attention landed on something else. Riley walked down the hall, her hair slightly brushing her face as she opened her locker. I bit my lip nervously, trying to refrain myself from going up to Riley and squeezing her tight.
We haven't talked in weeks, and it was slowly killing me inside. Before I met Riley, I couldn't deal with life. But now, I couldn't deal with life without her. At that point, I didn't care how much the girl hurt me. I just wanted to touch her, hug her, and kiss her again.
My heart was racing, my hands trembling. I just couldn't stop staring at her. I tried to keep my sanity, but I was too far from being sane again. Riley was always successful at making me insane for her. Isadora sighed impatiently, her arms crossed. "Sorry, Izzy, but
I'll be right back," I muttered before making my way toward Riley.
Isadora's face was in shock and disappointment at the same time. Riley noticed me coming toward her, and her expression changed. I stopped by her locker, where she was standing. I had no idea what to say at the moment. I didn't make a plan, nor did I think this through. I just wanted to have Riley's company once more.
Riley crossed her arms, her brown eyes burning through me. I nibbled on my lip as if it was my only source of food. "What do you want, Maya?" Riley inquired, looking down at the floor. My eyes briefly landed on Riley's lips, but she didn't notice my random action.
"I want to talk to you," I replied before pulling Riley into the empty student lounge. I noticed that my hand was in hers now, and that Riley didn't pull her hand away from mine. Riley's teeth latched onto her lip like a reflex, and she reluctantly pulled her hand away from mine. I looked down, trying to not show her the sadness in my eyes.
Riley walked toward a nearby window. "Why would you want to talk to me, Maya? You clearly said you were done with me for good, and now you want to talk to me? You're so bipolar, it's not even funny. I...I just can't deal with you and your games anymore. We're over. We've been over," she commented, completely facing the window now.
I had said that I was done fighting for Riley. That I was done being her friend, and wanted to stay away from her as far as possible. Back then, I really wanted to forget about Riley. I wanted to forget the day I met her and how she saved me from being randomly arrested. She saved me from all that, and I wanted to forget her. I was selfish. I didn't want to be selfish anymore. I wanted to make her happiness my number one priority again.
I strolled over to Riley, standing beside her. We looked out the window, where cars were passing the busy street and students were rushing to get inside the school building. I felt Riley's hand intertwine with mine. "I kissed a complete stranger the other day. I cheated on Lucas. I haven't spoken to Lucas for a good few days, and I feel really bad. But the problem is, I liked the kiss. And...And, I saw a figure of you standing next to me that night. You told me to kiss him, because I was that kind of person. I don't want to be that kind of person," Riley murmured after a long silence, a tear falling down her cheek.
I almost automatically wiped the tear away from her cheek with my other hand, and slowly put it back down. In a way, I was proud of Riley for being rebellious; for taking a risk. But, in another way, what she did was wrong. Lucas had feelings, too. He shouldn't get hurt, despite what he did to me.
I didn't want to criticize Riley, though. What she did was her choice. She chose to kiss this stranger. It hurt me, and I assumed it would hurt Lucas, too. If she even told him.
"Relationships need honesty. You need to tell Lucas what you did. If you love him, you'll let him know. I love you, Riley. I'll be here if you need me. And if you don't need me, I'll keep loving you. Through thick and thin. Like you said one day, we're in the stars. I'll be up there when you need me. I promise," I said, squeezing her hand. I could hear Riley sniffle a little.
She turned to face me. "You never left. Even when you did, you never left me. You were always with me. I love you, Maya. I forgive you. For everything. I just want everything to be the same again," Riley sobbed, a little bit of her hair falling on her face. I grabbed her other hand, a smile growing on my face. "Whatever you want." Riley engulfed me into a big hug, which I gladly returned.
This wasn't a happily ever after. After what the universe did to me, I knew something was going to happen. Something always happened. I reluctantly pulled away from Riley, grasping her hand. I didn't want to let go. Believe me, I didn't. But, we both knew this wouldn't last forever.
We weren't infinity like we thought we were.
Just as the bell rang, its shrill sound ringing through my ears, something happened. Something that would change everything. For good. We weren't the same people we were months ago. We found each other, and got too easily attached. And when you get emotionally attached to something, or someone, it's too hard to let go. It's too hard to get over it.
And when Riley's lips crashed onto mine, I realized she was emotionally attached. No matter how many guys she would date, she would never forget about me and everything that happened between the two of us.
Riley was the kind of person who wouldn't back down until she got what she wanted. No matter how many times I urged her to go to Lucas, deep in her heart, she wanted me.
The door handle started to turn, and I didn't have to strength to break away from Riley. I didn't want to, and I felt myself deepening the kiss when the door swung open, revealing someone who would find out that Riley was cheating on her beloved boyfriend.
To my surprise, it was the beloved boyfriend himself. Riley's arms wrapped around my waist, and I could feel her pulling me closer. I finally pulled away from her, and we gasped for breath. I felt a sudden desire to kiss her again. I knew I couldn't, though. This time, it was really over.
"R...Riley?" I removed Riley's arms away from my waist, and stood adjacent to her. My hand never left Riley's, and she never let go. I feigned interest in the tile floor, my face reflecting off it because of the light. Riley locked eyes with Lucas, her chocolate orbs filled with sadness.
I intertwined my fingers with Riley's reassuringly. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a second. "Lucas," she inhaled, removing her hand from mine. I folded my hands together, rocking on my heels.
Lucas stood there in front of us, his face still in the state of shock. I knew Riley was hurting right now. She never wanted to hurt anyone. It wasn't her fault. You can't control who you fall in love with.
"Lucas, I...." Lucas headed for the door before Riley could finish. "We're over, Riley. Don't even think of us as friends at this point," Lucas muttered coldly before closing the door behind me. Riley cried, her lips trembling and her hands shaking. I put my arm around her and held her close. She nuzzled up close to my neck and cried more.
I stroked her cheek. "It's okay, Riles. Lucas doesn't deserve you. You're perfect," I whispered in her ear, my nose touching her cheek. Riley's breaths were slowing down, and her tears stopped. When she was ready, we walked back outside to the main hallway, and hurried to History class. Riley didn't say a word for the whole time.
~ After school, an hour before the dance ~
I was at Kayla's house, taking a nap in the main room. I wasn't planning on going to the dance. It was completely unnecessary.
Until Riley texted me.
Sometimes, you have to do things you don't want to do to get out of situations. So, I found myself going to this unnecessary dance. For Riley's sake. Lately, it has always been for Riley's sake.
Kayla entered the house, a shopping bag in her hand and her backpack on her shoulder. "I heard you're going to this dance later. So, I got you a dress! Don't worry, it was only fifteen dollars," she said excitedly, dropping the shopping bag in front of me. I yawned, sitting up.
I tiredly looked inside the bag. I took out the dress and stared at it. It was a sleeveless, monochromatic red dress, with a diamond studded middle. It was beautiful. Someone like me didn't deserve to wear it.
I stood up and gave Kayla a hug. "Thank you so much," I muttered. Kayla hugged me back, whispering "You're welcome" in my ear.
I went up to my bedroom and sent Riley a picture of the dress. I didn't know for sure if we were on good terms. But, I at least wanted to let her see my dress. Riley texted me a few minutes later.
Super cute. Save me a dance at the dance? That sounded weird. 😅😅
I smiled at her text, a little surprised. I guess things were almost the same once again.
There was 30 minutes left before the dance, so I decided to get ready. Zay said he was going to pick me up, along with Isadora. He said he was coming in 10 minutes, which gave me limited time to get ready.
I put my dress on, struggling to zip up the zipper in the back. The soft fabric grazed against my legs as I walked to the bathroom. I straightened my hair the best I could and did my makeup. It didn't look professional, but it was good enough for me. And hopefully good enough for Riley.
I applied crimson red lipstick to my lips before exiting the bathroom. I pulled on my favorite black Converse, since I didn't want to wear heels, and rushed down the stairs. Zay was already in the main room, laying on the couch. Isadora was sitting in front of him. She was wearing a red glittery shirt tucked into a white, flowing skirt.
"Whoa. Did Beyoncé just summon us, Izzy?" Zay said in awe, a hand over his heart. I rolled my eyes, my arms crossed. Isadora rolled her eyes, too. She stood up and walked toward me, completely ignoring Zay's presence. "You look great, Maya. Now, can we go, Zay?" Isadora said, turning to Zay.
A few minutes later, we were in Zay's car, driving to the school.
...
Lights dancing around the room. Voices coming from every corner. Hands up in the air.
I made my way through the groups of people, trying to find Riley. I finally found her, sitting at a small table. I took a seat next to her, grasping her hand. She turned to face me, her chocolate eyes staring into my blue ones.
"You're beautiful, Maya. You're really beautiful," Riley muttered, intertwining our hands together. I gave her a small smile, resting my head on her shoulder. We were in that position for what felt like infinity. I never wanted to leave Riley. She was home.
"So....Can I get my dance now?" Riley whispered, her lips slightly brushing against my temple. I nodded, ignoring my heart beat that was speeding up. Riley led me to the dance floor, her hand never leaving mine. We danced to one of our favorite songs, Talk Me Down by Troye Sivan.
The dance was eventually over, and Zay dropped Riley and I at Kayla's house. We were sitting on the floor in my room, leaning against my bed. We were still in our dresses, too tired to get changed.
We've been talking for the last half hour. Well, Riley talking and me listening. She was talking about the Austin guy she kissed a few weeks ago. "I texted him two days ago and it was so awkward. I shouldn't have kissed him. Now, he's probably expecting me to go on a date with him or something," Riley explained to me, bringing her knees up to her chest.
I squeezed her hand assuringly, and she snuggled up against me. The moonlight coming from my window shined on our dark faces. I bit my lip unnecessarily, not sure what to do next.
Riley breathed heavily, her hair covering her face. She looked beautiful, nonetheless. I finally got changed in more comfortable clothes, and Riley borrowed some clothes of mine. We took off our makeup and I put my hair in a messy bun, ruining my straightened locks.
We climbed into my bed, our hands never leaving each other.
I never wanted this to end.
I wanted Riley and I to be infinity.
Maybe we could be.
............................................