Sex and Drugs and Maya Hart

Sex and Drugs and Maya Heart

Riley smiles and for once it's not because of Maya.

That's when it hits her.

It sinks in finally at the sight of Lucas one morning that no, Riley doesn't love her like she loves Riley.

Riley loves boys and Maya isn't one.

It hits her so hard that morning that she leaves school before it even starts and chooses, not to go home, but to go to Smackle's apartment because she graduated early and doesn't have school in the mornings.

When she gets there the shorter girl is barely dressed, and the entire loft space smells sour because Smackle's brother has a medicinal card and he tends to use it often.

She's invited into the home and into the world of high school delinquency or so to speak.

She stops caring about a lot of things.

School, getting home on time, her friends especially, but not Riley.

She's always been pretty aware of Riley, which is probably why she sobered up so quickly when Riley caught her at Smackle's house one morning, half dressed on the other brunette's bed, baked, and naming off as many examples as she could and placing them in the proper food groups.

Smackle saved her ass and told Riley it was because they were dating.

She said that the sour smell was just the smell of sex and stale air and then before Maya could think of any coherent response to add to the back story, Smackle kissed her right on the lips before walking out of the room to get dressed for her college classes.

Riley's smile completely left her face and then Riley completely left the complex, leaving Maya there by herself with Smackle's drug dealing brother.

She passed him a twenty in the living room and walked back up to Smackle's bed to get comfy before lighting up.

Smackle knew Maya was gay and had for quite a while, probably since that first day, almost a year ago now.

She knew that Maya loved Riley, and Riley loved Lucas, and she had a theory that Lucas liked Riley's Uncle Boing, which was a whole new reason Maya couldn't stand him.

Smackle goes to college with him and they talk about Lucas a lot, apparently.

Lucas and Josh have some fantasy football draft they're in that makes them spend almost every waking moment talking to each other.

They email, text, call, daily, almost hourly, like clockwork.

If Maya cared about anything she'd probably hate Lucas for even possibly hurting her Riley.

Her mind wandered to Smackle fairly quickly, thoughts of kissing her, of spending time with her outside of a stuffy room with smoke-filled air, or dating her, or liking her.

She couldn't really see it.

Smackle wasn't Riley so there wasn't a point of trying to like her in that way, at least to Maya there wasn't, and Smackle later agreed they wouldn't work out that way.

Riley stopped talking to Maya after she actually caught her and Smackle naked and tangled up together in a bed and no, they hadn't had sex but they were just about to at the time.

Maya didn't know if it was because she was gay or because it was Smackle, which probably wouldn't matter, so it was most likely the gay thing that set Riley off.

It's pretty much the reason Maya never told her.

Riley liked boys and Maya wasn't one.

It was ridiculous really, if anyone thought about it.

Maya was going to a quiet little visual arts school in New York, with a full scholarship, not that far away from Smackle's apartment complex in case she needs a break in the middle of her day, she can walk the distance and still be back before her classes start again.

Riley's going to California for an advanced teaching degree opportunity, she'll study in California for a year and then she'll come back to New York and start at NYU with most of her credits already tackled.

Best friends of how many years now going to schools on opposite sides of the country?

It's ridiculous.

Maya wasn't invited to see Riley off at the airport so she chose to visit Riley at her window one night four days before her flight.

Riley seemed almost disappointed when she saw Maya standing out in the rain in front of her window but she let the girl in anyway.

"Maya, it's been eight months. Why'd you come back?" Riley asked once the blonde was inside.

"I had to tell you something before you left." The shorter girl shrugged.

"About the drugs?" Riley asked slowly.

"Something like that." Maya nodded. "Something else.."

"What?" The brunette huffed, slightly impatient with her old friend.

"I love you, Riley.." She admitted blankly. "I've been in love with you for as long as I can remember. Everything I did, I did it because I knew we'd never work and it hurt.. I was so hurt but I don't blame you for that, it's my fault. I'm the one who went and ruined everything! Riley, I'm so sorry that I ruined everything.. I'm sorry.. I just needed you to know that before I never saw you again.."

There was a certain silence in the air that reminded Maya of the time before Riley, when she was always alone.

"What about Smackle?"

"We were never really together. She was just covering for the drugs. When you caught us together.. Like that.. We never went through with it." She explained. "We we're lonely.. We we're stupid.."

The silence came back for a few minutes after that.

"Are you high right now? Is that why you're saying all of this?" The brunette asked with sad eyes.

"No.. No, I've been sober for about eight months now. Losing the only person you really know how to love kind of.. Humbles you." Maya swallowed.

"So you really love me?"

"I always have, Riles.."