It's Riley Matthews's senior year of high school, and she's not ready to let go of everything - her friends, her family. Plus, she, Maya, and Lucas are back in a triangle, but Maya has another secret crush that she won't even tell Riley. Her last ye...
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A few days later, after school, Riley, Lucas, Maya, Farkle, and Cammie met up outside the school, headed to Topanga's for some apology hot chocolates. As they prepared to leave, Lucas pulled Maya aside. "Do you think we could hang back for a bit?" Lucas asked, a frown on his face.
Maya nodded. "Sure, let me just let the others know."
Lucas watched as Maya walked back over to the group and tapped Riley's shoulder, then, presumably, told her that her and Lucas would catch up with the group. Riley turned to Lucas and waved goodbye. Lucas gave her a small smile, then looked down at the ground.
The group left, and Maya walked back over to Lucas. "So," she said, "what's going on?"
Lucas sighed. "I'm not really even sure how to say this."
Maya crossed her arms. "Say what? Lucas, is something wrong?"
"I apologized to Riley," Lucas said.
"So?" Maya frowned. "That's a good thing," she paused, "Right?"
Lucas shook his head. "I just... I hate seeing her sad. I can't stand it. I only apologized because of that."
Maya took a second to think, then spoke again, "So, wait. You didn't mean it? You don't forgive her?"
Lucas ran a hand through his hair. "How could I?" He asked, his voice heavy. "What she did was pretty much unforgivable. I trusted her, and I asked her not to share my secret. My secret."
Maya nodded. "I understand. But she thinks that you were okay with it. Are you?"
"No. Of course I'm not okay with it." Lucas scoffed.
"Then you should tell her. You should tell her everything you're telling me. It seems like you're letting your emotions cloud your judgment," Maya replied.
"I can't just say these things to her. I don't want to hurt her," Lucas said.
Maya sighed. "Lucas, you have to be honest with her. I get it, you hate seeing her sad. So do I. But sometimes, there's no avoiding that. If you don't tell her the truth..."
Lucas crossed his arms. "What's going to happen if I don't tell her the truth?"
Maya narrowed her eyes. "I'll tell her myself."
"You two just got out of a fight. Do you really want her to be mad at you again?" Lucas frowned.
"Why would she get mad at me?" Maya asked. "I'm not the one who's keeping this from her."
"Look, I don't really need to tell her this. I can hide this until the end of senior year, when we'll probably go our separate ways." Lucas shrugged.
"First of all," Maya started, "do you really think she would appreciate being lied to? Secondly, you can't just send her out into the world thinking it's okay to tell other people's secrets. I get it. She's Riley. If we're being honest, she's a bit naive. As her friends, it's our job to both protect her from the world and introduce her to the world. We have to teach her how the world outside of Rileytown works."
