dear peaches, | rilaya oneshots

illuminated by pluto

I was starting to lose every last bit of patience I had in left in my tiny 5 feet body. Riley was just so hopelessly oblivious of how I felt. On the other hand, I was just as afraid of rejection. I've never been good at chess, so it didn't help when I realized that the combination of these two emotions left me in a stalemate.

When the two of us were inevitably left alone together, sitting cross legged on Farkle's bed, I had no other choice. There was a wild party going on downstairs, filled with angsty, hormonal teens. But nothing compared to the way she made me feel when I looked at her. Though we escaped the mayhem, I silently decided that this situation was much worse.

Riley sat still, more motionless than a statue. A smile formed on my face as I watched her fiddling anxiously with a cuticle on her finger. Her brown hair was a messy masterpiece from all the dancing she had done.

I knew I was staring, that I was weak for my best friend. But I didn't seem to care anymore.  I had to force myself to look away when I swore I could feel the pain from my heart bursting at the seams.

My thoughts bounced back repeatedly between two things- Riley, and how in the world did I get into this mess?

10 minutes earlier

"-Maya, Maya what's going on with you?" Her angelic voice was barely enough to temporarily shake me out of my thoughts.

"Nothing Riles, I'm just tired." I sighed heavily, trying to imaginarily suppress my emotions.

"Of what?" Riley replied so quickly that I jumped slightly before replying. She has the ability to read me like a book. The way she glared at me, indicated that that's probably what she was doing right now.

"I don't know, I don't know." I took in a shallow breath and closed my eyes; wishing all of this would just go away.

"Maya.. please tell me." replied the brunette as she reached her hand over top of mine and held it tightly.

There was at least 30 other sweaty bodies in the room but Riley had this crazy superpower that made me feel like we were the only ones in the world, heck the universe. The two of us had somehow filtered out the blaring music and focused on listening to the other's heartbeat instead. I smiled at her contently, enjoying the contact despite a part of me saying that it was wrong.

A tall boy that must've been at least a year older than us walked over to me. I've seen him around the school before, he was a bigger fuckboy than Lucas. He was proudly showing off his curly brown hair that would've drove any other girl wild.

Except for me, I had eyes for only one brunette.

I winced as he tapped me on the shoulder and bent down to whisper in my ear. "Hey, you're really cute- do you wanna dance with me?" His raspy voice made me squirm in my seat, holding Riley's hand even tighter.

I shook my head, not finding the willpower to push him away when Riley was treating me like this.

I glanced to my side as I saw Riley becoming noticeably furious him getting in the way of our moment.

He reached a hand out and firmly rested it on my shoulder. "Are you sure? I'm the captain of the soccer team." He bragged. I almost gagged when he touched me, preferring Rileys soft touches much more than his large ragged hands.

Without hesitation, Riley stood up, still gripping onto my hand. "Hey buddy, back off. She doesn't want anything to do with you okay?" The butterflies in my stomach flew just a little bit quicker.

The boy was taken aback but immediately understood and nodded respectfully.

If this was any other day, I would've been a flustered mess after seeing Riley stand up for me like that. Luckily this wasn't a regular day. Not to mention, I think my heart has already reached its maximum beating rate without killing me. I'm not sure if it'll be able to handle what else is about to happen.

Swiftly, Riley pulled me up from the couch we were sitting on and up 14 flights of stairs. She pulled us into Farkle's dimly lit bedroom and shut the door. All in the blink of an eye.

Our best friend loved astronomy, his lights were off but the room remained illuminated by the glow of the solar system painted across his ceiling. However, nothing could compare to the brightness that Riley radiated at any moment in the day.

I could feel my breath hitch as Riley came and sat beside me on Farkle's bed. The taller girl gently placed three fingers under my chin and looked into my bright blue eyes.

"Hey, whatever it is that you're going through, I'll be here for you okay?" I nodded.

"You can tell me anything, I promise. And you don't even need to tell me about this Maya but I hate seeing you so hurt. It breaks my heart you know that?" I nodded again, fearful that if I spoke the fragile world we created would come tumbling down on us.

"Good." Riley flashed me a shy smile and rested her head in the crook of my neck.

After a couple silent minutes, Riley began to reach her right hand into my left hand and intertwine the two. It was a natural action for us but created obvious tension in the air. Something about the gentleness that she touched me with and atmosphere in the room made this something completely new for the both of us.

I listened her breathing successively become more shallow after the contact.  Riley slowly lifted up her head, moving with a grace similar to that of a ballerina. I could feel our hearts beating in sync as Riley turned to face me. Lowering her head slightly so that our eyes didn't meet, she whispered

"I think I um" *cough* "-like girls."

I couldn't believe my ears. I slow blinked- unsure of what to say, as if this was all some kind of weird, sick dream. "Huh?" was the only noise I could make out, but even then my voice cracked in the process.

I blushed and looked away from her.

Riley squeezed her grip on my hand and said "I know you do too, Farkle told me. It's okay." It was a soft assurance that made my heart throb even more as I silently noted to hurt Farkle later.

I didn't realize that I was digging my nails into the palms of her hands or that I was gritting my teeth until my best friend stopped me. "I'm here, you're here. We're together and everything will be okay. I promise."

I was still breathless- unsure of what to make of this situation. "You promise?" I asked like a child, looking at her wide eyed.

She nodded and somehow moved her body even closer to mine.

Part of me wanted to scream from the highest buildings in New York that the girl I loved, loved girls as well. But inevitably the broken part of me was the one that came out.

"You can't promise me that we'll be okay Riley. It's not right for girls to like other girls." I let out, finally accepting the reality of our lives.

"Why do other people get to decide what's right and wrong for us? If I want to fall in love with you then I'll fall in love with you." Riley said flatly, crossing her arms across her chest. I couldn't help but chuckle at how sassy she managed to be in such a solemn moment.

I lost my breath when I realized what she just said. "You love me?"

Riley didn't reply. Instead grazed her hand over my right cheek. Almost as if she was deciding she liked it, she placed it back on. She tugged me closer and leaned in.

I didn't move, I let her take control as her hot breath filled the tiny gap between our lips. I wanted to yell at her for teasing me but decided against it.

Riley pressed her soft lips against mine in a swift movement that made my vision go blurry, knees go weak and took my breath away. All in one kiss.

Everything she did to me felt so foreign yet comfortable at the same time. When she wrapped her left hand around my waist to pull me flat against her body and tangled the other hand in my blonde hair, I decided that we must have been soulmates in another life.

I just so happened to be lucky enough to encounter her again in this lifetime.

She pulled away, still resting her forehead on mine as she whispered "I don't know about you, but that felt pretty right to me."

I smirked and urged myself to mumble a shy "shut up" against her lips I pulled her by the collar to kiss me again.