What If...

Chapter Six

Maya's POV

After the confusion of getting lunch I sat down with Haley at an empty table. Haley immediately starting talking about all the things that had already happened in her day and how she talked to so many people she had never even seen before. I sat silently and listened to her as she smiled like a baby would while playing peek-a-boo. She was such a bubbly and energetic person. I wanted to tell her about my day and all the amazing things that happened to me, but the only thing I could think of was the encounter with Lucas. I didn't talk to many people today; I was drawing in most of my classes. It turns out that Zoe, the girl that complimented my drawing in first period was also in my third period class and we talked for a little bit after she complimented another one of my drawings.

"Now that you heard all about my first half of the day, how was yours?" Haley's eyes shimmered as she stared at me waiting for a response.

"Well, I finally talked to Lucas, but I don't think we'll be talking again, and I think I made a new friend." Her happy smile grew and then shrunk and then returned to its original size as my sentenced progressed.

"For one, I'm happy for you for both parts of that sentence. I'm happy you made a new friend, and I'm happy that you can move on from Lucas. Don't get me wrong, I had faith that you could get him, I mean look at you, but now you can go after someone who really cares about you."

"Or I could go after no one and just be happy being single like I always have been. Yes, I liked him and wanted to be with him, but I was still content how I was, alone... with my friend." I don't think Haley has ever been single. I mean even from the beginning her mom always had Haley with Zach, her mom's friend's son. Then in second grade Haley was super close with this boy Mike. Boys just came and went in her life without her even realizing they were there.

"Yeah, but boys are fun to have around. Anyway, want to hear about the boy I think I might like?" I guess I forgot about that. She wasn't dating Farkle anymore because they both liked other people, but she never told me who that guy was.

"Oh, sure, of course I do." I was only half paying attention because I had this weird feeling. You know how you can just tell someone is watching you? Yeah, I had that feeling. So, instead of having my full attention on Haley, I was listening to her but looking around the lunch room to see who was looking back at me.

"Okay, so I don't think you know him. He was in a few of my classes last year, which I guess means you might know him because we had seven out of nine classes together. Anyway, his name is Zay. His last name starts with a B and his kind of long, but I'm pretty sure he is the only Zay that goes to our school so if you know a Zay, you know him. So we talked every once in a while last year and when we signed yearbooks on the last day of school he signed mine with 'Hope your summer is as great as you are. -Zay' and his number. I didn't want to lead him on because I was dating Farkle, but I decided to text him and at least be friends. We talked like every day and..." She kept talking on and on that I just zoned her out.

I was about to give up on the hunt to find my stalker until my eyes met his piercing green ones. He was only sitting two table away and I'm surprised I didn't see him sooner, but I definitely did now, and he sees me looking back at him. We awkwardly stared at each other for what felt like an hour until he broke it to stand up. I looked away and tuned back into what Haley was saying.

"So by the time I realized Farkle had feelings for Riley, I was pretty sure I had feelings for Zay, so I sat down with Farkle and we talked. You know how that story goes though so I don't need to re-explain that. So now I'm a single lady and I'm hoping to land a date with Zay, but I haven't seen him yet today and I don't think we have any classes together. Should I text him after school today and ask him to hang out, or should I play it cool and wait a few days?" Sometimes I wonder how many scenarios Haley makes up in her head before actually doing something.