*Outside of Topanga's * (A/N: This will be set the day before their first day of Freshman year)
"You can do this. Just breathe." I say to myself before entering my Mom's Cafe. Once inside, there are three faces that I recognize and three unfamiliar ones- two boys and a girl. I look to the counter to see my mother and Ms.Hart. Then I turn and say hello to the Six Musketeers.
"Hi, I'm Maxine- Max for short. I'm Riley's twin sister." I say to the group of people I don't know, waving slightly. I get a few different reactions. From Maya and Farkle, I get complete joy and happiness. From the three strangers, I get surprise and maybe shock. Then from Riley, I get disgust- which does not amaze me one bit.
"Hi, I'm Lucas. This is Smackle and Zay." He says while pointing at himself and the two others.
"Nice to meet you." I say smiling at the boy.
Riley scoffs, turns to our mother, and asks, "Why is she back?"
"Riley Mathews! That is no way to speak to your sister!"
"It's a valid question. I thought she was sent away for a reason."
"We will talk about this at home." My mom says sternly. Tears prick my eyes as I turn and walk right back out. I won't listen to this. To her.
*Lucas's POV*
After Max walks out I face Farkle and ask, "Riley has a twin sister?"
"Yeah, she was sent to live with her grandparents and her Uncle Josh."
"Why?" I ask him, confused. I had never heard of her before- Riley never talked about her.
"Why don't you ask her yourself." I nod and follow Max outside.
*Max's POV*
I sit on the stairs near the cafe and clench my hands and jaw to prevent myself from crying. This is why I left. Riley has always made those comments. She has always acted like I was this disease. Like I wasn't even her sister. Then I feel a presence next to me, making me turn my head.
"Hey, you ok?"
"Ha, no."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"Not really." I say, not meeting his greenish/ hazel orbs.
"That's ok. When you're ready, you're ready. I won't force you."
"Thank you, Lucas."
"Of course, Maxine." I go to correct him, but for some reason I don't.
"Where are you from?"
"Texas, Ma'm." He says with a tip of an imaginary hat- successfully making me blush.
"Nice." I say, the heat in my face subsiding.
"What about you?"
"I'm from here but I was sent to live with my Dad's family in 4th grade, so about six years ago."
"Can I ask why?"
"If I tell you that, I have to tell you why I walked out of the cafe."
"Oh, so tell me when you're ready then."
"I will. I promise." I say with utmost sincerity.
"This may be weird, but I'm happy I met you."
"It's not weird. I'm happy I met you too, Lucas." I say with a smile on my face.
Lucas and I talked all night. We got to know each other, we told each other the secrets we kept to ourselves, we shared our hopes and dreams, and maybe just maybe we began to fall in love- of course we didn't know it then, but it was defiantly a possibility.
(A/N: Here's the playlist- https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4KdVTGs8HzXKdMw3celp9V?si=yu6gHBRPRuiISwDZCbYMJg)