Maya is bullied and the result is that she loses all hope in a good future for herself. She tries to deal with it on her own, but her friends notice that something is wrong with her. Farkle makes it his personal goal to figure out exactly what is ha...
Farkle leaned against her locker, hoping that she would show up soon. She hadn't come back to homeroom and she'd missed second period. Farkle had a free period third, so he'd parked himself in front of her locker with the hopes that she would finish up with the principal that period.
"Hey genius," Farkle must've zoned out because he was surprised by Maya appearing at his side and leaning her arm on his shoulder. He glanced over at her and saw that she was smiling. A weight lifted off of him. At least her spirits seemed to be high, that was a really good sign. More as a reflex than anything else, Farkle put his arm around her shoulders and she dropped hers around his waist.
"Hey, yourself," He said, pulling her close. "What did the principal want?"
"He um...he got her side of the story. She denied everything of course. Then the principal talked to my art teacher to see if he'd seen or heard anything. He hadn't, but the principal was going to suspend her anyway since I had irrefutable proof. Plus, I don't think this is the first trouble she's caused."
"Wait...you said was. He was going to suspend her" Farkle noted, surprised by the sparkle in her eyes.
"You know how I told you that she was accepted to SVA?"
"Yes..." Farkle had no idea where this was going
"Well, when my art teacher heard what happened, he called the school to withdraw his recommendation for her. When he was talking to the dean, she said something odd. She said it was a shame since she was so good, she mentioned a painting of a door that she really liked." Maya looked at him like what she had just said was incredibly significant, but Farkle wasn't following.
"So, she's no longer going to SVA?"
"Nope, especially since her portfolio was comprised of my art."
"Wait, what?" Farkle said in shock.
"The door. It was a painting that I had redone from one I did in middle school. It was a door at the top of steps that was cracked slightly open and had bright light streaming out from behind it. My art teacher recognized the dean's description of it and when he asked her to describe the other pieces, they were all mine."
"That's why she was trying to bully you and tear you down...she saw you at the SVA booth and didn't want you to submit your portfolio because the school would figure out she lied." Farkle was practically shaking with anger. He stepped away from Maya and balled his hands into fists. "It wasn't because she didn't think you were good. It was because she knew she could never be as talented as you."
"Farkle..." Maya stepped closer to him. She took his hands and gently uncurled his fingers. "It's okay, it's over."
"How are you so cool about all of this?" He asked in amazement.
"Because, don't you realize what this means?" She grinned in excitement, but Farkle was still too angry to figure out what she was saying.
"That she's a bully and a cheat and I hope she got expelled."
"She did, but that's not what I'm talking about. Farkle, she got accepted into SVA...with my art."
"Yes, didn't we just cover this?" Farkle shook his head in frustration.
"For a genius, you sure are dumb."
"Hey!" Farkle protested. But all the anger and frustration faded away as she put her hands on either side of his face.
"She used my art to get into SVA," Maya said slowly, waiting for him to get it.
"Oh! That means that your art is good enough to get into SVA!" Farkle practically shouted once he got it. Maya laughed and her hands slipped down to wrap around his neck.
"Yes, and in lieu of what happened, the school said that there will be a place for me there when I graduate!" Maya bounced up and down in excitement.
"That's incredible." Farkle wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around. When he set her down, he kept her close. "I told you that your art was amazing. I said that it spoke to people and that you had a voice."
"Yeah, you did." Maya looked up at him tenderly. It was an expression that he was not used to seeing on her directed towards him.
"You've just gotta believe in yourself, Hart." He said.
"I know. It's something that I've struggled with for most of my life. You were the first person to really notice my art. You were the first person that I ever really showed it to, and you were the first person to convince me to show it to the world. Even if at first the world was only Matthew's classroom. It's because of you that I started to believe in my art and you've helped me to keep believing in it."
"And I will always be there, believing in you and believing in your art." Farkle said firmly, bringing his arms up to cup her face.
"I hope so," Maya said, and she tipped her face up and stood on her tiptoes, pressing their lips together. Farkle's world tilted again, but in the best possible way. The only thing that existed was the beautiful girl in his arms and the feel of her lips on his.
"Maya..." He whispered when they broke apart. He felt ridiculously out of breath. "Maya, I know I have been telling you that I loved you since we were little kids. And I know that those were just silly declarations of a boy who didn't really know what love was...but I'm not that boy anymore. I know what love is, and I know that I've been in love with you all of my life. Real love. Love based on friendship and admiration and connection." Farkle blushed slightly at his declaration, but he was glad that he'd finally gotten the words out. Maya looked up at him with shining eyes. He was horrified to see a tear slip down her cheek. He took a step back, dreading what she was going to say next.
"No, no, no. Farkle, these are happy tears." Maya said, closing the distance between them. "I just...I wasn't sure. I felt a shift between us and I knew that my feelings towards you had changed, but I didn't know how you felt. I was afraid that you didn't feel it. That-" Farkle cut her off by pressing his lips against hers.
"I do feel it" He said, smiling against her lips.
"I love you, Farkle Minkus." Maya breathed. Farkle kissed her again and again. He would've gladly gone on kissing her forever, but the bell rang, breaking them apart.
"I'm going to disconnect those bells." Farkle muttered.
"Come on," Maya took his hand with a smile. "Let's go tell our friends the good news.
"Yes! They'll be so excited to hear about SVA!" Farkle said enthusiastically.
"I was talking about us."
"Oh..." Farkle couldn't think of anything except how much he enjoyed hearing her say 'us'.
"Come on boy genius." Maya said with a laugh, pulling him through the hall. Farkle allowed himself to be dragged by the beautiful girl half his size. He knew that his life was going to consist of a lot more of that from now on, and he couldn't wait.
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