What Are We Now?

(16) Peaches The Bully

"Peaches?" Riley said softly, a look of genuine concern on her face.
"W-why Riley? W-when did he get a g-g-gir-girl..." Maya wailed, completely unable to finish her sentence.
"I don't know Maya, I didn't know either. I'm so sorry. I didn't think he was coming today... I swear he said he was staying my grandparents." Riley says hugging her best friend.
"Riley? Bay window? Bay window right now." Maya pleaded.
"Of course..." Riley said to Maya; to Charlie, Farkle, Smackle, and Lucas, she said, " Thank you guys for coming and spending New Years with me but right now my best friend needs me. Good night and happy New Years!"
The gang said their good byes but Charlie trailed behind and Lucas stayed back watching him with curiosity.
"Good night princess and Maya I really hope you feel better." Charlie said and Lucas watched as Charlie kissed Riley's cheek. Lucas closed his eyes then made his way out of the apartment building.

Back in Riley's room Maya crumbled to pieces and Riley did her best to comfort her best friend. Finally after an hour Maya looked cried out and ready to talk.

"Riles?"
"Yes peaches?"
"I am soooooo sorry" Maya says with tears trapped in her voice.
"What could you possibly be apologizing for at a time like this Maya?"
"I pushed you towards Charlie, I made you pick him instead of Lucas, who you love.. Or loved. All because I'm selfish. How could I do that to you when I wasn't even sure of my feelings for him?" Maya said. She looked at her friendship ring and pulled it off laying it on the bed, next to where Riley was seated.
"Maya Penelope hart, what are you doing?" Riley said, in a mix of disbelief and hurt.
"What I did to you was selfish and I don't deserve to be your friend... I didn't step back, how could I have, when I didn't even know what I was stepping back from? I didn't even know how I felt about Lucas..." Maya said with hate filling her voice.
"I said stop." Riley said. Then she picked up Mayas ring got off her bed and dropped to one knee.
"Peaches the bully... Will you be my best friends forever and ever again?" Riley asked her best friend, a smile threatening to spill across her face.
Maya laughed, and then stopped herself, "That's not funny! I'm suppose to be miserable."
"No you're not. You know why? Because you have me and our friends and-and you have Lucas, who like you a ton."
"Lucas and I stopped seeing each other..."
"What?... When? You were just together not two hours ago!"
"Yeah and we decided, that we didn't like each other like that. I could see it Riley. He loves you." Maya told her best friend. Riley slipped Maya's friendship ring onto her finger before slowly getting up and turning away from Maya.
"That's not possible. He likes you. I've seen the chemistry."
"That's the thing kiddo he doesn't. Maybe you were imaging things... Because now you like Charlie...because maybe you want any excuse to not hurt Lucas."
"Yeah maybe..." Riley said looking to her left in confusion.
"What are you going to do?"
"About what?"
"Lucas!"
"There's nothing I can do. And let's stop talking about him. It's you I'm worried about..."
"I'm... Fine."
"Maya..."
"Ok... I mean...I will be fine." Maya said quietly. Riley gave her a look and then hugged her best friend.
"We'll be ok. I promise." Riley said.
"I know. Oh and by the way, I never even said yes to your proposal, what's this thing doing on my finger?" Maya say in dramatic disgust, as she shook her hand around as if she were trying to get the ring off of her without having to touch it.
"You know it was a stupid question. I knew you'd say yes. It was simply a formality, you know." Riley said with a shrug and a grin. Maya stopped furiously shaking her hand and looked a her kindest and most selfless friend.
"Of course it was stupid. We're friends forever, you weirdo."
"Always and forever." Riley said with a sigh.

***

"So that's her, huh?"
"Yeah"
"I can see why you like her, she's beautiful..."
"That's not the only reason I like her."
"I know. I could tell. She has this light around her. You can't help but to be near her..."
"Yup."
"Come on Josh, I know your hurting... Please let me help you."
"You think you can heal me Kayla? You think you can somehow make it better? I was stupid. I thought she was in it for the long game and I didn't even think twice about someone else seeing her. I mean actually seeing her. And what's even worse was that I didn't even consider her heart actually changing.... How could you ever fix that?"
"I can't and I never said I could Josh. I can only listen. And help you ease that pain." Kayla said quietly.
"I know, I'm sorry. It's just seeing her with that kid. I mean before he was just there. He had a crush on my niece and now what? He wants Maya too?" Josh said exasperatedly.
"It's ok Josh that's why I'm here to help. I even said I was your girlfriend and that'd only ever happen in your dreams!" Kayla says in fake disgust.
"I know huh." Josh says with a weak laugh.
"Oh and by the way that kid that you seem so nervous about... He didn't seem too keen on Maya. He looked pained not annoyed that you like his girl. And boy did you make it really obvious that you like his girl..."
"His girl." Josh said darkly.
"Oh come on Josh snap out of it! Don't focus on that! Can't you tell what I just said? He wasn't jealous, which means-"
"-which means?"
"It means he doesn't like Maya the same as you do! It means that maybe he cares for Maya but loves your niece" Kayla said.
"Yeah? Is that right? Then tell me, why was he about to kiss Maya when we walked in on them...?"
"That's not what it looked like to me Josh... I can't put my finger on it but they didn't look like a couple they look like something more than friends...like something else."
"Kayla, that's exactly what a couple is!" Josh said in annoyance.
"Not necessarily. Oh my god..."
"What?" Josh asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
"What if those two like each other like family? Like siblings? That would make them closer than friends, without them being a couple..."
"Yeah, but that is straight up wishful thinking. As in that would never happen."
"Oh? Fine then. When you fine out that I'm right you owe me a hundred bucks!"
"You're on Lieberman!"
"Let's shake on it, Mathews." Kayla said sticking out her tongue.

***

It seemed like Farkle had started a whirlwind of reactions. Things connecting and disconnecting. Everything was different; nothing stayed the same. The universe doing exactly what it does. It was the first day of the new year and it had almost begun without a single lie. Yet Riley hadn't let that happen. To keep Mayas happiness intact she sacrificed the boy she loved. Again. Even when Farkle had given her a free pass. Or at least he'd tried to...

"Morning! Who wants chocolate chip pancakes?" Topanga asked the two sleep-eyed, and messy-haired girls.
Riley raises her hand as if to say 'me' and Maya only nods. Both girls lacked energy to even speak, the events from the night before had taken everything out of them.
"What's wrong?" Topanga asked the girls. She'd set the pancakes on the table, when she noticed they looked exhausted. More so than they should have. Maya cleared her throat.
"I think, I've mastered my feelings..." She said.
"Oh? And what did you figure out Maya?" Topanga asked, concern lacing her voice.
"I found out that it's true. When you lose something, that's when you realize how much you actually loved it..."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that I like Josh but he really doesn't see me as anything else but a kid. He has a girlfriend now.... Why do feelings have to hurt?"
"Maya I'm so sorry, and since when does josh have a girlfriend?" Topanga said, then she goes around the table to hug her.
"What's going on here?" Cory says. He'd just walked into the apartment. He'd gone out to buy tater-tots because they were his favorite.
"Maya figured out her feelings." Topanga said.
"Oh. Oh?" Cory said, looking surprised.
"She likes uncle Josh." Auggie said from under the table.
"August Mathews! What are you doing down there." Topanga said in surprise.
"What? It's the best for snooping." Auggie said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Now pancake me mama!" He continued.
Topanga have him a look.
"Please?" He corrected. She puts a pancake on his plate.
"And that's why your better than your father." Topanga says, adding whipped cream to her sons breakfast.
"What! What I do?"
"You don't think twice sweetheart."
"Yeah, ok," Cory pauses and considers what Auggie had said.
"Maya, you like Josh now?" He asks her.
"I never stopped." Maya says with a sad smile.
"Oh." Cory and Topanga say together.
"But what about Lucas? Didn't you like him?" Auggie asks, innocence marinating the question. He didn't understand. Maya had liked Lucas but not enough. Her feelings for Lucas didn't even reach the amount and depth of feelings she had for Josh.
"He's just a friend, a brother, Auggs" Maya says kindly.
"What? You too! What am I? A chocolate chip on a pancake?" Auggie says before putting his face on his whipped cream covered pancakes. Then he looks up and smiles, licking whipped cream off the corner of his mouth.
"I love doing that." He says.
"I know you do." Riley says. She'd been quiet the whole time.
"Riley? Are you ok?" Cory asks his daughter.
"Me? Ok? Of course not. My best friend is in pain."
"What about you honey? How ya doing?" Topanga asks.
"I'm fine. Everything is ok with me."
Except that I'm with Charlie I instead of with Lucas. And now I'm feeling things for Charlie as well, but hey, everything is just fan-freaking-tastic Riley thought to herself.
"What about Lucas? If Maya likes uncle Josh and you like Charlie, then who likes Lucas?" Auggie asks confused, whipped cream and all over his face and hands.
"I don't know..." Riley said. She looked at Maya. Maya takes her hand and says, "You're ok. We'll be ok. We're ganna figure this out."

So yeaaaaaah sorry for the wait guys! I hope you like this. It's kinda boring to me but hey we got some Rilaya moments so that's cute huh.
As always thanks for reading🤗💜
And don't forget to ✨ star and comment💬
Btw I watch girl meets communism on Monday and it was adorable😍 "that was really loud." - Lucas

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6AslQODGS4Md05DSk5BVjV2RHM/view?pref=2&pli=1
That's where I watched it. Enjoy🤗