typical | rilaya au

f o u r t e e n

"And then I- I stormed off to my room." I told Maya about the argument I just had with my dad, trying my best to speak through the tears. The first person I wanted to talk to after the argument was Maya. She always knows what to say.

"Love." Maya said through the phone, interrupting my rambling.

I blushed, then sat up on my bed with my knees crossed. "Yeah?" I replied softly.

"Don't be mad at your father, he doesn't know any better."

"Yes he does Maya, you've heard the things he's said about gay people." I swallowed. "What if he finds out about us?" I asked.

I matched her breathing through the phone. "You don't want him to know?" She answered, sadness overtaking her voice.

"Of course I do! It's just- I don't know how he would react. Can we just keep it between us for a little while?" I requested, referring to our relationship.

"Anything for you" she said, without missing a beat.

~

Monday mornings are the worst.

I was back at school and into my running routine. We had a race this Friday which meant two things; I get to see Maya again, and I get another opportunity to beat her.

Throughout the day, Maya made it a point to send me cute texts.

(Italics is Maya, bold is Riley)

Good morning beautiful <3

Hiiiii, it's so lovely outside Maya

How's your day been?

Good. Would be better if you were here

I miss you. :(

Me too peaches.

Hey, I have a spare next!!! There's this really cute cafe that just opened by your school- are you down to try it?

Math class starts in 3 minutes...

Pleaseeeee

Fine. Come pick me up.

I put my phone down and grabbed my stuff from my locker. I can't believe I'm ditching class to hang out with my girlfriend of two days. Granted, I have known her much longer- but it feels weird to say it aloud.

I sat on the steps in front of my school, waiting for Maya to come by. "Riley!!" She yelled, waving her hands frantically.

"Shhhh!" I warned "you're drawing attention to us." She took a quick survey of our area and ran over to me.

"Riley the rebel is your new nickname." Maya teased as she linked our arms together.

"It's only a couple of blocks down from here" she stated, releasing the link from our arms so that she could grab my hand instead.

~

Maya sat across from me, sipping on black coffee. She would offer me a closed mouth smile and nod after every remark I made. But she was awfully quiet compared to her usual personality.

"What are your thinking about?" I asked.

I watched her set her coffee on the table and run her hand through her hair. "Nothing. Don't worry about it." I contemplated pushing her to tell me but decided against it. Something was off about Maya today.

"Okay." I replied, eyeing the way her hands tapped on the table.

Maya quickly straightened up (Which is ironic because she's very gay) and put on a fake smile that I could see right through. "Tell me more about yourself."