rilaya // oneshots

~ Fireworks ~

Note: The gang are at Lucas, Farkle and Zay's shared apartment for their first college party.

Riley's POV

Attending this dumbass party was a huge mistake. My head was pounding and my feet were aching, I wanted so badly to run back home but I promised the guys I'd be here. So now I have to be here. It's sad that I have to keep reminding myself about that. In a lousy attempt to escape the piercing screams of whatever the hell was blasting out of those speakers, (it was quite literally shaking the entire apartment complex) I opted to walk over to one of the bedrooms. The hall was mostly dark, only dimly light by the battery operated fairy lights that cascaded down the walls. As much as I'd hate to admit it, it was really pretty.

Within seconds, I found myself sealing Farkle's bedroom door shut. His room was nothing like what he'd been used to but it never failed to impress me. The walls were painted black, dotted with random spots of silver, creating the illusion of a beautifully lit midnight sky, not the kind in the city though, somewhere more inviting.

No wonder he's so invested in whatever's beyond this planet.

I walked over to his bay window and smiled at the sheer fact that such a thing existed in Farkle Minkus' bedroom. Without thinking, I felt my fingers on the freezing glass, and in a second flat, the window was open and the blistering sting of December in New York kissed my face.

The street lights coating the sidewalks were beyond captivating and the mild breeze was pleasantly magnetic, more than enough to let me breathe after being trapped in a living room full of intoxicated teenagers. I sat on the fire escape and took a second to really look at my hometown. Overrated. From this high up, I could see everything, the roads were still drowning with cars, even at two in the morning. Though, it seemed as though everyone had been sucked in by the darkness somehow. Like the existence of all these apartment buildings, all these billboards, all these skyscrapers; towering way above who we were and who we could be... they didn't prove a thing. This place is depressing and now I believe it's always been.

I've always believed that our minds can be the scariest of places, I've always believed that secrets are what subtract us from others and I've always believed that sometimes, some things are meant to be kept hidden.

Anything slipping out in a city this big will only make you feel even smaller.

I thought about what I had and what I could have. Could there be more? Will I ever have a future beyond New York? Will I ever be happy? That last question struck me. It was unexpected, sure, but that's just how my mind works; it builds up an idea, a concept but I never realise it until it really hits me. This time it did.

Thoughts of the blonde goddess made their way back into my head, spiralling through my mind, gaining mindless reactions from the rest of my body. My hands began to shake, my heart began to race, that feeling in my stomach came back and a single tear rolled down my cheek. The questions changed too. It's as though I no longer cared about where I'd end up and if I'd be happy. Well, it was more like who I'd end up with and who would make me happy? Now they were worse... 

Would that person ever be Maya?

My thought process was interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice, the kind that made the angels sing... Of course, it belonged to Maya.

"Riley?" her voice was soft and sympathetic, she must have seen the tears, "Oh honey." I felt her warmth at my side as her arm wrapped tightly around my waist. Why the waist? Her touch sent shivers up and down my spine, like it had done for all these years. I couldn't bring myself to look at her, it would only send me downhill, I wanted to stay strong for her. After all, humiliation is taunting.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her free hand searching to find mine. I didn't say anything. I wanted to... but I couldn't. What was I supposed to say? 'Oh yeah, I was just thinking about you, I'm emotional right now so how about I tell you what's happening? I'm in love with you'? Once again, I was snapped out of my thoughts, this time from her gentle touch. Her fingers reached for my chin, she turned by head and forced me to look at her. Dead in the eyes. "Honey," she started, her face dangerously close to mine, "Are you okay?" she spoke slower this time, more sternly, but still significantly slower. I choked back the tears threatening to pour and used any strength I had left to swallow the painfully obvious lump in my throat.

"No" my voice was barely audible over the deafening sounds of the city. "No, I'm not" I repeated, breaking eye contact and shifting back ever so slightly. There was a moment of silence before I was pulled into a tight hug, the tightest I'd ever actually received. I could feel the moisture of Maya's hot tears on my neck, it shook my soul. Two minutes, thirty-two seconds and seven painful sobs later, I too was bawling my eyes out. Here we were, two teenage girls at our first freshman party, crying on the fire escape of our mutual best friend's bedroom window. What a night.

Once the hysterical weeping had died down, I felt Maya's breath against my neck, though I couldn't quite make out what she was saying. Her voice was barely above a whisper and her words were muffled by my skin. 

I thought I heard her say- No, there's no way, snap out of it, Riley! But maybe I heard her- No! But- Nope. She- shut up. Said- shut up. That- shut up. She. Loves. You. 

My eyes grew wide and my heart skipped a beat. "Riles?" she whispered, pulling her head away from my shoulder and proceeding to stare into my eyes for the second time that night. "I-" she cut herself off, refusing to break eye contact. "I think I'm-" she couldn't bring herself to say anything. 

"What is it, Peaches?" 

What happened next, shocked me.

Just like that, a soft pair of lips crashed into mine, moving slowly, yet passionately, in perfect sync with the song blasting through the apartment. I kissed back, with as much passion and force. The fireworks were very much there and so real, I could almost see them, hundreds of colours and patterns building up and flying around beneath my eyelids. We stayed like that for a while, her hands were quick to find the back of my neck as mine trailed down to her hips. Her lips were more addictive than I'd ever imagined and they tasted like the strawberry lip gloss she always let me borrow. After a few seconds, we broke it off, Maya being the one to pull away, her eyes still sealed shut by the time mine had open. "Is that what you were trying to tell me, Peaches?" I questioned, causing her eyes to fly open. She smiled and kissed me again, this one was shorter but full to the brim with the same amount of emotion as the last. "Lucas got drunk and sort of blurted it out... he said you liked me and I refused to believe you felt the same way. I mean, hope is for suckers, right?" I chuckled and smiled at her lovingly, "then I decided that if it was true, if you truly saw me how Lucas said you did, that's all you could think about tonight..." I nodded slightly, smiling like an idiot.

"I love you, Maya"

"I love you too, Riley"

And there they were again, the fireworks.