typical | rilaya au

s e v e n

I was on the phone with Farkle, telling him about my 'date' with Maya.

"-she said something weird like 'you're worth more than I give you credit for.'" I shrugged.

I dropped my phone in shock when I hear a high pitched squeak from the other side. Farkle's voice dropped significantly after puberty but this noise was enough to shatter glass.

"YOU'RE SO INTO HER" he shouted.

"Shh Farkle!" I said into the phone, laughing.

"She was just-" I paused to think of an appropriate word. "being friendly."

"So what I'm hearing is, you're not denying the fact that you're into her?" he said.

My face heated up and I silent thanked the fact that Farkle couldn't see it and make fun of me.

"I.. um- got to go! Mom's calling." I lied and hung up the phone.

I checked my messages and saw Farkle had already texted me.

You can't hide from your feelings Riley!

I rolled my eyes and opened an Instagram direct message from Maya.

@maya_h: I had a lot of fun yesterday Riley, let's do it again soon?

I smiled to myself and replied.

@xo_riles: Yeah, me too. Heres my number 262-286-0833. Text me ;)

I expected the usual quick reply from her, but I didn't receive one.

Somewhat disappointed, I started to work on my homework.

~

My thoughts were interrupted when Maya called completely out of the blue. I briefly considered ignoring it to finish my homework but I missed her voice too much so I answered.

"Hi" I breathed out.

"Hey" she said, nervousness tinting her voice.

~

We had been talking for almost an hour now, not minding that it was 12am and we had school tomorrow.

If it was anyone else, I'm sure I would've hung up already. But with Maya, there's something different. Her presence is so addictive, I can't bring myself to leave it.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked gently.

"School, family, friends" I swallowed. "You."

I could practically hear her smile as she replied. "My dad called me today, to congratulate me on my win."

"That's great!" I assured.

"No Riley, he's been" she paused. "uh- gone for a while."

I stayed silent waiting for her to continue.

"He left my mom and I 2 years ago when he found out that I wasn't completely straight."

My heart broke as I heard her breathing become uneven. I rolled over to the left side of my bed.

"I'm so sorry Maya." I said wholeheartedly. "It's not your fault. Don't ever let anyone try to define you." I assured.

She sniffled slightly and replied with a chuckle "Yeah, well he was a complete jerk too, I'm glad he's gone."

"Screw him." I said smiling to myself. "Screw anyone that doesn't love you for who you are."

My heart warmed when Maya laughed softly in response. "Thanks Riles, I wish it was that easy."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Imagining my stress leaving my body, I exhaled all of my emotions as I prepared to talk to her.

"I don't-" I held my breath, trying to stop my hands from shaking.

"Hm?" She hummed calmly.

"I don't think I like" I said the last part as quietly as I could, afraid that if someone heard, It'd be the end of the world.

"Boys." I finished.

Silence

"That's alright." she said "You're still you right?"

I gulped, tears streaming down my face. "Yeah, I'm still me."

"Hey don't cry, it breaks my Hart." suggested Maya over the phone.

I stopped my crying momentarily to rethink the past 2 seconds.

Did she just?

"Get it?!" She shouted on the phone. "Hart? Like Maya Hart?"

I almost gagged at that stupid pun but I decided not to hang up on the person I just came out to.

"You're lucky I put up with this." I retorted.

"So you like girls?" She asked.

My breath hitched in my throat as I thought about how to reply. "To be honest, I don't know"

"No pressure, tell me when your ready." She promised.

I covered my face with a pillow and screamed, not knowing what to do with this feeling. "Thank you."

I heard her audibly laugh "Did you just scream into your pillow?" she interrogated.

"You heard that?" I replied embarrassed.

"Yeah." She breathed out. "It was cute."

I was thankful she didn't give me time to reply. She just continued speaking. "Usually I'll just drink or something when I'm upset."

I swallowed. "Alcohol?"

"What else Riles?" she chuckled.

"Oh, I don't know. I've never drank before, I wouldn't know." I admitted.

Maya sarcastically gasped as she answered me. "Huh! Oh you have to try it." she paused to think. "Or are you not about that?"

"I-" she cut me off again.

"It's okay if you aren't, I get it. I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place, sorry." Maya apologized.

"It's fine!" I assured her. "I just, haven't had an opportunity yet. I don't go out much. I'm usually at practice or keeping up with school. It's a lot of pressure sometimes."

Her voice raised exponentially when she replied. "There's a huge party this weekend. Come with me."

I thought about her offer, parties weren't really my thing.

"Please." She begged.

I couldn't say no to her, it felt wrong. "Okay."

"Hey I'll stop keeping you up, we both have school tomorrow." I said.
"Goodnight-"

"Wait." She interrupted. "Stay on the line? I like hearing your voice."

Again, something inside me kept me from saying no. So I agreed.

~

We kept talking for another 20 minutes when I could clearly hear Maya's voice drooping.

It was adorable, really.

"Goodnight Riles." She said.

I waited for the dial tone as the call ended. But I didn't hear it. Instead, I was met with the precious sound of #1 track star, Maya Hart snoring.

I laughed and ended the call, falling asleep right after.