Girl Meets World drabbles, one-shots, & headcanons

The Words ~ Rilaya

~Set in tenth grade, Maya opted out of the triangle sometime in the ninth grade and Riley has been dating Lucas for the past 2 months~

If you asked Maya Hart to pinpoint the exact moment she fell in love with Riley Matthews, she wouldn't be able to tell you, because there hadn't been only one moment. She just knew that she was in love with her, and that she'd been in love her for so long that she couldn't remember what it felt like not to be in love with her.

What Maya Hart could tell you though, was the exact moment she'd realised she was in love with Riley Matthews. It had been a completely ordinary day, nothing special, nothing new. They'd been sitting in the bay window, just talking and laughing like they always did. And Maya was looking at Riley, really looking at her; maybe looking at her properly for the first time. She was looking at the way the light fell on Riley's face; how the light also seemed to becoming from Riley herself; how she smiled, with not just her mouth and eyes, but with everything; how beautiful she truly was; how kind; how smart. That was when Maya realised.

That was also when she realised that she had been right: hope was for suckers. Riley loved Lucas. Not Maya.

So when Maya climbed through the bay window after receiving a text from Riley that said, 'Bay window right now' and saw Riley's very-determined-to-get-the-truth face, she felt scared straight away.

"Hey Honey," she said carefully, as she sat down.

"Maya?"

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?" Riley asked, sounding concerned.

I'm not.

"I'm fine, Riles," Maya lied as convincingly as she could.

It wasn't convincing enough though.

"Maya, please, you've been acting strange for months, and I'm determined to get to the bottom of it. I just want the truth. I want to make it better." She sounded so concerned and so genuine, that it hurt Maya. It hurt because she knew that Riley really was concerned and genuine; she knew Riley loved her, just not in the same way. And that was why it hurt.

Maya looked down at her lap, mentally reminding herself not to let anything slip. She couldn't risk her friendship with Riley for anything.

There was no way Maya Hart could live without Riley Matthews.

She looked back up at Riley, her eyes darting to Riley's lips for a second. Then she smiled, "Really, Riley, I'm fine."

"If you don't want to tell me, Maya, that's okay. But I know you're not fine. I know you better than anyone. And this isn't you."

Maya didn't respond, her heart beating at an impossible speed. The words, she could feel them, wanting to burst out; to be shouted as Farkle had shouted Riley's.

Maya looked away from Riley. She wanted to look at Riley. She wanted to so bad, but these feelings, these unspoken words were eating her alive; they had been for months, and instead of going away, the words were just becoming more and more impatient.

Riley took Maya's chin in her hand and turned Maya to face her. Tears glistened in Maya's eyes, but she smiled anyway, and Riley smiled back at her friend, tilting her head. "Peaches," she said, lovingly.

Maya laughed, and wiped her eyes, "Yes, Honey?"

"You know your my favourite person in the world."

I'm not your favourite person like your mine.

Maya gulped, and she pushed Riley's hand away gently. New tears were making their way into her eyes.

They were eating her up, the words. They were going to kill her eventually if she didn't say them.

Say them. Just say them. They are only words.

Words with the power to change everything.

"Riles, I-," Maya took a deep breath.

'Say us!' the words seemed to cry, 'Just say us!'

"You're about to tell me, aren't you?" Riley asked.

Maya nodded, "Yeah," she managed to say.

No going back now.

Maya looked Riley directly in the eyes, those wonderfully happy eyes, except they weren't happy right now. They were full of concern for her favourite person in the world.

'SAY US!' the words were no lo,ger crying, they were screaming to get out; so Maya let them out.

"I love you," Maya said quickly, still staring straight at Riley. The words were out now, and Maya felt so much lighter, it was strange how heavy words could be. They were gone, after months of carrying them around. They were hanging in the air between Maya and Riley, pulsing with electricity. But they were out of Maya. She was no longer keeping her secret words trapped.

Riley smiled, and looked confused, "I love you too, Maya, you know that."

The words were back inside Maya.

But she couldn't do this again.

"No, Riley. I'm in love with you." She said it slower this time, and let the words out one at a time. They were free, and Riley had heard them for what they meant. Months of secret keeping and a lifetime of love; thousands of moments wrapped up in a couple of words; hope; defeat. And Riley understood it all.

"Oh," was all she managed to say, her heart beating in her chest as she processed the words. She understood them, everything they meant, but processing them was something else entirely.

Maya's heart was beating fast too. Had she made a mistake? Should she have kept the words to herself? "Riley, I don't want this to make it weird between us. Our friendship, it's- it's..." she was unable to finish, but Riley understood anyway.

"It's everything to me too, Maya." She said firmly, "I love you,"

"But differently." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. A sad, defeated, hope-crushing statement.

"You're my favourite person in the world, Maya," Riley repeated.

"And you're mine," Maya said, a hint of sadness in her voice. She held up her hand and Riley grasped it, entwining her fingers with Maya's. Their friendship rings gleamed in the sun.

"From the day we met." Riley whispered.

Maya put her head on Riley's shoulder, "Riley?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

After almost a minute, Maya finally replied, "You know," was all she said, because it was all that needed to be said.

Riley smiled and rested her head on Maya's; their hands still entwined.

She did know.

Except Maya didn't know.

Maya didn't know that maybe she was wrong.

Maybe Riley didn't love Maya differently.

The words were Riley's now. She just had to work what they meant before she could say them.

~For part two check out my book, The Words — A Rilaya fic~