The cafeteria line stretched for what seemed like miles. I tapped my foot impatiently, rolling my eyes back when the group of popular kids pushed their way through and butted in line.
Riley was part of that group now.
"Hey, are you okay?" Lucas tapped my shoulder from behind me.
I tore my eyes away from Riley to look at Lucas. "Just peachy. Why?" He analyzed me with worried eyes, like he was trying to read an alternate message.
"Stop that." I muttered.
His thick eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "Stop what?"
"I said I'm fine, stop trying to look for evidence that proves I'm not." I retaliated.
Lucas and I stepped forward in line when it was finally our turn to be served. The cafeteria lady splattered wet, lumpy mashed potatoes into my plate and shooed me away. "Next!" She called out, trying to be as quick as possible.
In my hurry to get away from the frightening lady and to find a table, I bumped into a familiar body. "Sorry." I said, keeping my head down and my voice low. I already knew who it was from where my head was compared to her body. Her neck used to be the perfect height for me to cuddle my head into.
"Can we talk?" Riley asked desperately, looking around. Her group of 'friends' had already walked away and sat down at a table. "Please" she begged.
How could you say no to someone you love?
"Okay." I nodded.
The brunette grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the cafeteria and down an empty hallway. The feeling of her hand against mine was enough to make my heart race.
When we were alone, she placed two fingers underneath my chin to lift my head up and make eye contact with me. "I've apologized a million times Maya. You won't answer my calls or texts and your mom always sends me away when I knock. It's been a month since we were last together. I miss you. I loved you, and I still do. Please don't break my heart like this."
Her confession was completely authentic. I've been in her exact position too many tines. Being real with someone else has always been my biggest challenge.
"Did you mean what you said? Not just the part where you accused me of murder. Did you mean it when you said you didn't want to be with me anymore?" I asked, my voice still low. I hated the fact that Riley could probably feel me shaking since she was tilting my chin up with her hand.
"No!" She replied. "Of course not. We all say stupid things when we're upset. I just happen to say stupid things all the time."
I shook my head in frustration, stepping back from Riley. "What are you doing?"
"What?"
"This isn't you, Riley. Why are you hanging out with Danielle and her posse all of a sudden?" I interrogated.
Riley and I haven't talked for weeks. Ever since the trouble surrounding her name died down, she decided to integrate herself into the bad crowd. Lucas broke up sigh Danielle for Riley's sake after finding out that Danielle was the snitch. Farkle hasn't been talking to anybody lately, he hasn't been able to handle seeing Riley around. It was too strong a reminder of what he had lost when his first love was killed.
Riley shoved me slightly "Back off, Maya. I'm allowed to hang out with who I want."
I raised an eyebrow at her. "Even the girl that called the cops and you?"
"She's changed, okay? At that time she thought that I killed Mason, but she knows now that I didn't." The brunette defended.
"Why are you lying to yourself, Riley?" I reached for her hand, and rubbed my thumb over her palm to soothe her. The girl in front of me visibly eased into my touch and softened.
I knew that it was wrong to play with Riley's emotions like this but it was the only way I could get her to listen to me. Being soft with Riley was the equivalent to hypnotizing her.
Using my other hand, I brushed a strand of her wavy, chestnut hair back and leaned closer to whisper softly in her ear. "You and I both know that she's just trying to gather more evidence on you. Her father is the detective in charge of your case. So tell me Riley, why are you doing this to yourself?"
Suddenly, as if something clicked it Riley's brain and she realized what I was trying to do, she pushed me away. "Why am I doing this to myself? I'm not doing anything to myself." She growled. "You abandoned me because I accidentally hurt your fragile little ego and wouldn't forgive me no matter how hard I tried."
"Why her? Of all people?" I begged the question.
Riley's voice began to rise exponentially. Anger boiled in her eyes when they turned a darker shade. "DANIELLE WAS THE ONLY PERSON THAT WAS THERE FOR ME, MAYA. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" She exclaimed.
I jumped back slightly. "I-I was broken, Riley. When you said that you didn't want me anymore, I felt the sharpest pain in my heart. I was already scared to love you because I didn't want to ruin you as well, and when you said it aloud, that just confirmed it for me."
"Do you think I'm not? You have no idea what it feels like to be in my shoes Maya. I thought that I was unloveable. But when I was with you... that's when I felt like maybe I did have a purpose in this universe. My purpose was to make you feel like you were everything to me. The same way you made me feel like that to you- until you left." She said, and a single tear rolled down her cheek.
Instinctively, my right hand grabbed her face gently and lightly wipes the tear away. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be that person for you." I said softly.
Riley snaked her arms around my waist and tugged me closer until our faces were centimetres a part. Her eyes glanced down to my lips quickly before staring back into my eyes. "I believe in second chances if you do. You don't have to be that person for me, Maya. Just support me through this nightmare of a life that I'm living right now and I promise I'll do the same for you." She whispered against my lips.
A shiver went down my spine when her hot breath tickled my lips as she spoke. Unable to find the right words to respond with, I rested a hand behind her neck and the other on her arm before I pulled her into a hard kiss.
The gasp that she let out was barely audible. It disappeared just as quickly as it arrived when she began to kiss me back. The taste of her lips were salty because she was crying, but I didn't care. Kissing her was the only thing that mattered to me right now. It was sloppy, and fast and full of heavy breathing but somehow perfect at the same time.
"Maya.." she groaned in between kisses.
"Shh" I whispered, increasing my grip on her body to pull her even closer. "We've been apart for too long honey, we can talk later."
Riley obeyed my orders for a couple more seconds before placing her hand on my chest to increase the distance between us. "We're still at school, peaches." She warned.
Immediately, redness overcame my cheeks when I glanced over her shoulder and saw Lucas standing there with a smirk on his lips. Thankfully, the rest of the student body was in the cafeteria since it was lunch so the hallways were basically empty besides our presence.
I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly and offered Riley a sheepish smile. "Sorry.." I grinned, loving how jumpy my heart gets when Riley is around.
"Hey you!" I called out in a jokingly aggressive tone. I pointed at Lucas who had been standing here for who knows how long and smirked. "She's mine, scram!"
The dirty blonde haired boy got the hint and scrambled off. I knew he would definitely be asking me for all of the details later though, so I wasn't quite free yet.
"I've missed you." Riley said softly with an adoring look on her face. She pulled me into a warm embrace and cuddled her nose into my neck. Laughing lovingly, I rubbed my hand up and down her spine.
"I did too." I assured her.