ʀɪʟᴇʏ
Lucas.
He's the sweetest guy I've ever met. Well, besides Farkle, but we're just friends.
He makes me feel like the only person in the world, and I never thought that I could feel this way before. I told Maya that I was happy with him, but honestly, I wasn't 100% sure if I really was. I really think that our relationship could become something beautiful once we get used to each other. Things are sort of awkward, but I think it's because we don't know each other that well yet.
Except ever since I met him, Maya's been acting really weird. It's like she can't look at me anymore. Every smile seems so forced and I just want her to be genuinely happy. I decided to leave her alone for a few days, thinking that I'm the problem.
Not talking to her was awful. The whole time I was listening to Lucas's flirty comments that didn't affect me as much as I hoped they did. They were kind of getting on my nerves, to be honest. Maybe it was because Maya was stuck on my mind.
All I want right now is to see Maya. My best friend since she crawled through my window when we were literal fetuses. Last night when I sat next to her on the bench was strange. It felt different. I didn't hate it, but I didn't really know what it was.
But here I am, sitting through a shitty movie with Lucas.
As soon as the movie is over, I tell him that my mom wants me home. That was a complete lie, though. He nods and kisses my cheek. I smile and walk outside of the theater, making my way to Maya's house. She gave me a key a while ago so I could just slip in whenever I wanted.
I open the front door and see her lazily sitting on the couch, eating ice cream with a blanket over her.
She looks up with her mouth full of ice cream. "Riley?"
I grin and shut the door. "Hey."
I sit next to her and look into her weary, sleep-deprived eyes. "Have you slept?"
She slowly shakes her head and scoops up some ice cream. "Nope. Just eating TV and watching ice cream."
"Really? Maya, you gotta get sleep. That's not good for you!"
She stifles a laugh and I sigh. "I'm serious! Why are you laughing?"
"No reason," she coughs out. "Why are you here, Riley?"
I open my mouth to say something, but I literally don't know what I was even planning to say. She notices my confusion and smiles. "Okay..."
"Sorry, I don't know. Can we just hang out? I'm getting a little bored."
"Of what? Lucas?" she quickly asks.
"Yeah, it's been so long since we've genuinely hung out. Come on! Just like old times."
"It's been a week, Riles," she rolls her eyes and scrolls through Netflix.
"Really? It feels like forever," I frown and pull the blanket over me.
She laughs and finds a movie that we agree on. As she presses play, I lean my head against her shoulder. I always do that, but today it felt different. A better kind of different. I push the thought away and lightly stroke her hand.
"Riles?"
"Hm?"
"What are you doing?"
I immediately stop and my eyes widen. "Sorry."
"Wait, no," she quickly says. "Don't stop."
I furrow my eyebrows and continue caressing the back of her soft hands. Halfway into the movie, I lift my head and look into her eyes.
"Um...I should go," I say.
"What? We didn't even finish the movie yet!" she frowns and I stare at her lips.
I avert my eyes from her and quickly stand up. "Sorry, I just...had a thing today. Bye, Peaches, love you."
I walk out of the house and my eyes widen.
What the hell is happening?
I shake my head and walk home. I try to forget about whatever I'm feeling and open the front door.
"Hey, sweetheart!" Dad says from the kitchen table.
"Hi, Dad," I awkwardly wave, not expecting him to be home.
"Were you with Lucas?" he asks, raising his eyebrows.
"No, I was with Maya, relax," I roll my eyes.
"Oh, okay!" he smiles and returns to his bowl of soup.
I go up to my room and sit at the bay window.
I'm so confused about everything and everyone.
I like Lucas and he likes me. Why am I stressing about this so much then? I sigh and go take a shower, getting lost in thought.
Feelings are the worst thing to ever exist.
You think you feel something, but then shit happens and everything you've ever felt changes.
I don't even know if Maya and I are really friends anymore. Well, we aren't as close as we used to be. Everything between us feels wrong. I keep blowing her off for Lucas but I don't have a clue as to why. I like hanging out with her more than him, but for some reason, I always end up with him.
Whatever happened earlier with Maya keeps crossing my mind.
I didn't really have anything important to do today. I don't know why I left, I just got a little overwhelmed about whatever I was feeling.
I get out of the shower and throw on some pajamas. As I flop onto my bed, I grab my laptop and watch Netflix. After a few hours, I hear a knock on the window and my heart races. I know exactly who it is before I open it. Maya always comes through my window, no one else.
"Hey."
"Hi, Riles," she says as she slips inside. "Are you okay?"
"Sorry I left," I tell her. "I don't know why I left. I really wanted to spend more time with you, I just...I don't know. Sorry."
"It's okay," she softly laughs. "We can hang out right now if you want?"
I nod. "Yeah, that'd be great."
"Is Auggie home?"
"Yeah," I reply and she runs out of the door.
"Hey, what about me?" I shout, feeling a little hurt.
She walks back inside the room and grabs my hand with a smirk. I get dragged outside to the living room where Auggie is watching TV.
"Hey, Aug!"
He turns and his face lights up. "Maya!"
He runs up to her and attacks her with a hug.
"Let's play a game," she suggests and looks at me.
Auggie hauls us to his room and pulls a bunch of toys out from under his bed. "Let's be pirates!"
I raise my eyebrows and grab a sword. "Okay..."
I turn to Maya with a smirk. Her face goes blank and she slowly walks backward. "Riles..."
Before I can attack, Auggie throws a pirate hook at my leg. "Ow!"
Maya laughs and steals my sword. "Auggie, I'm on your side!"
"Get on the ship!" he shouts and jumps onto the bed.
"Wow, my best friend and brother team up against me?" I shake my head and search for a weapon. I bend down and grab a small sword from underneath his bed, but feel Maya wack my back.
I stab her with my sword, catching her off guard. She falls off the bed, and I wince as I hear her pound on the hard floor. "Oops."
"Auggs! Help!" she groans.
He throws a fake life buoy and pulls her onto the bed.
"Thanks, Auggie," she says and pats his head.
"Walk the plank!" he demands and her eyes widen.
"What?! What did I do?" she yells.
"You only call me Captain Auggie! Walk. The. Plank," he shouts.
I laugh and she glares at me. She walks to the end of the bed and dramatically leaps onto the pile of pillows on the ground.
She walks over to me and I feel her hot breath on my ear. My eyes widen and I gulp.
"Let's go against Auggie," she whispers, sending chills down my spine.
I simply nod, knowing I won't be able to form a proper sentence.
"Captain Auggie! I'm sorry! Can I come back now?" she shouts.
He thinks for a second, hand on his chin. "Fine."
She smirks and jumps onto the bed. As Auggie is about to say something, she smacks his legs with a sword and he falls onto the ground. I run up and attack him as well, trying not to laugh as he begs for us to stop.
"R-Riley! I'm your brother, h-how could you?!" he spits out.
I smirk and tickle his stomach, making him burst into laughter. After a few seconds, I let him breathe and look at Maya, who's smiling at me. She quickly looks away and her smile fades.
"Hey, I'm gonna head home now," she says and stands up.
"Oh, okay. See you at school?"
"Yeah," she smiles. "Bye, Riles."
She leaves and I look at Auggie, who's angrily cleaning up.
"How could you attack me?!"
"You're the one who went against me first!" I shout.
He shrugs. "Fair enough."
I laugh and ruffle his hair. "Go to sleep, Mom and Dad are gonna be mad if you're awake."
"Okay," he smiles and kisses my cheek. "Night, Riley."
"Night," I wave and shut his light.
I go to my room and lie on my bed, overthinking everything that ever happened to me.
Something's going on between me and Maya. I don't entirely know what it is, but I really want to figure it out before I go crazy.