Chasing Butterflies | a GMW fanfic

Girl Meets How to Apologize

Maya sat at her desk, and though it seemed she was paying attention, she wasn't. Thoughts clouded her mind, and she couldn't think about anything but what had happened with her friends. The secrets they had kept. She knew that she couldn't judge them for keeping secrets. She had plenty secrets of her own, none of which she had shared with any of her friends, not even with Riley.

Now, as she sat in class, she could feel her friends watching her. She felt their eyes on the back of her head, all waiting for her to explode. And, maybe she would. For now, though, all she focused on was keeping herself from thinking about what had gone wrong.

She turned her attention to what they were learning about. Per usual, it was off topic, and she knew it pertained to them. She glanced over at Riley, who sat with her chin in her hands, looking dismayed. Maya wanted to fix their friendship, but she didn't know how. She knew she was the only one who could apologize, since she had been the one to start this, but she just couldn't find the words. She had felt so jealous when she had seen Riley being friends with Cammie. It never occured to Maya that something like this could happen to them. She'd never considered what would happen if she and Riley couldn't fix their friendship. Now, maybe, she was seeing the consequences of an argument. But, they had always been able to repair their friendship. This time shouldn't be any different.

"When you know that you're in the wrong in an argument," Cory was saying, "sometimes it's just better to swallow your pride and apologize. Otherwise, you might lose a relationship. You might lose a friend that you never meant to let go of in the first place."

Maya lowered her head towards her paper, feeling tears well in her eyes. She risked a quick look at Riley, and saw that she was looking at Maya. Now, Maya felt a tear roll down her cheek. She tried to disguise it by looking back at her desk, but it was too late.

"Maya, do you need to step outside for a minutes?" Cory asked, looking concerned. He knew, by the look on Maya's face, that his lesson had worked.

Maya nodded, then quickly stood up and left the room. The hallway was empty, and Maya leaned against one of the white brick walls. She slid down the wall and sat, pulling her knees to her chest.

Inside the classroom, Cory was looking to Riley. "Go after her. She needs you." He gestured to the open door.

Riley hesitated. She knew Maya was angry at her, but she also knew that she was ready to apologize to Maya. She took a deep breath, then stood up and walked outside.

Maya was slouched against the wall, and Riley could hear her crying. "Maya," she said.

Maya looked up, quickly wiping the tears off her face. "I'm coming back inside. Don't worry. Just give me a few minutes."

Riley frowned. "I'm not here to tell you to come back inside."

Maya looked down at her hands. "Oh."

Riley walked over to Maya and stood next to where she sat. "Mind if I sit?" She asked.

Maya shook her head, and Riley sat down next to her. "I need to apologize," Riley said.

"So do I," Maya replied.

Riley shrugged. "Then I guess we both owe each other an apology."

"I guess we do," Maya tugged at a loose thread on her jeans.

"I'm sorry that I kept Lucas' secret from you. I want to give you an excuse for doing so, but it wouldn't help. So, I'm sorry. I should have told you." Riley crossed her arms. "And, I'm sorry that I wasn't a good friend to you."

Maya shook her head. "You're a great friend. You always have been. You always will be. Now that I've thought about it, I had no right to get mad at you. Lucas asked you to keep his secret. You were respecting him by doing so. I shouldn't have gotten angry at you for doing that." Maya paused. "You're allowed to have other friends, too. I was jealous when I saw you sitting with Cammie in Topanga's. You shouldn't have to apologize for that. If anything, I was the one who was being a bad friend."

Riley gave Maya a weak smile. "I forgive you, Maya."

Maya looked over at her best friend, returning the smile. "And I forgive you, Riley."

"You'll always be my best friend. No matter what." Riley leaned over and hugged Maya.

"No matter what," Maya repeated, grinning.

Riley let go of Maya, then stood up. "While it's nice to have my best friend back, I think there's some other people we have to apologize to."

"Probably so," Maya said, standing up.

"Well, it's not like we even have to go get them. They've been hovering by the doorway the whole time we've been talking." Riley let out a laugh when she heard the scrambling footsteps coming from the classroom, indicating that she had been right. "You've already been caught, you nosy eavesdroppers. Just come out here."

Lucas and Farkle came out of the classroom first, looking quite guilty. Cammie trailed after them, looking unsure as to whether she was welcome or not.

"First," Maya said, looking at Cammie. "I want to apologize to you."

"Me?" Cammie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, you." Maya sighed. "I'm sorry that I got mad at Riley for hanging out with you when I wasn't being her friend. I'm sure I didn't make you feel welcome. You should feel welcome here. You're our friend."

Cammie smiled shyly. "Thanks," she said.

"Lucas," Maya said. "I'm sorry that I blamed you for wanting to keep your secret. It's human nature to keep secrets. Plus, it wasn't any of my business."

Lucas nodded. "It's okay, Maya. But, it was your business. I should have told you all earlier."

"What about me?" Farkle interjected. "Do I get an apology?"

Maya gave him a quizzical look. "I was never mad at you," she said.

"But I feel really left out. You've given everyone an apology except me," Farkle frowned.

"But I'm not-" Maya took a deep breath. "Fine. Farkle, I'm sorry that you're an idiot."

While everyone else laughed, Farkle looked puzzled. "Not what I was expecting," he said, "but clever."

"So everything's good now?" Maya asked, looking around at her friends.

"Not quite." Riley said.

Riley walked over to where Lucas stood. "I need to talk to you," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him down the hallway.

When they were far enough away from the others, Riley let go of Lucas' arm. "I think I owe you an apology," she said.

"I owe you an apology, too." Lucas frowned.

"I'm sorry that I got mad at you for wanting me to keep your secret. And, I'm really sorry that I got mad and told everyone your secret. It wasn't fair for me to get mad at you when I told everyone your secret, either." Riley looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry I made you keep a secret that you didn't want to keep. I should have told everyone years ago." Lucas reached out and took her hand. He was surprised when, instead of yanking her hand away, she laced their fingers together and looked up at him, a smile on her face.

"Are we good now?" She asked. "I know that we're not perfect, but, we've made it through a lot."

Lucas let go of her hand and pulled her into a hug. "Yeah," he said. "We're good now."

[A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to update this! I've been super busy lately and haven't had much time to write! Also, sorry that this story is kinda all over the place! There will definitely be some drama in the next few chapters, so stay tuned!]