Meeting the world

Chapter 46

Lucas's pov

~

I ran towards Maya, Farkle right behind me.

"What did you do?!?" Shouted Farkle to Missy.

She was shaken up.

"I don't know...I didn't mean to do this..."

Maya was gasping for air. She was having some sort of panic attack.

"Maya shhhhhh. Calm down. Everything's okay." I said soothingly.

She wheezed.

I held her hand tightly.

"Focus on my voice. Whatever you see, it's not real. Maya, I'm real. Okay? And you're fine. You're okay. Just calm down.Take a deep breath. After me okay?"

I breathed in, and out.

She did the same. Slowly, she repeated it until she was finally able to breath again.

She took one last deep breath, and relaxed.

"I'm okay." She said quietly.

I helped her up.

"Maya-"

"I'm okay." She said a little louder.

"Let's go find Riley and get you home." Said Farkle.

Missy just stood there, shocked.

"Maya...what the hell was that? Are you okay?" She asked.

"Since when do you care?" Said Maya.

We left before Missy could answer.

***

It was 1:30 in the morning when I got a call from Maya.

"Hey Lucas."

"Hey." I replied.

"Sorry for calling so early in the morning, it's just...I need someone to talk to and-"

I stopped her.

"Maya, it's okay. I'm always here for you, no matter what. Even if it's at 1 in the morning."

I wanted to be there for her. I wanted to be able to make her feel better when she was sad, to make her smile when it seemed like there was nothing to smile about.

"Meet me at the Brew." I said. "We can talk there."

What I loved about the Brew was that it was opened 24/7.

When I saw Maya I smiled. She was so beautiful, even in her old hoodie and faded jeans.

"Hey." I said, sitting down in the booth next to her.

"Hey."

"So...are you okay?" I asked, a little concerned.

"I...How did you know what to do when I was having the panic attack?" She asked.

"My father used to get them."

She looked at me gratefully.

"Thank you for saving me...again." She said smiling.

"Anytime." I returned the smile.

"So if you don't mind me asking," I said, "what was Missy talking about when she said that it was your fault she was kicked out by her parents?"

Maya sighed. There was a moment of silence before she responded.

"2 years ago...I used to be friends with Missy, and one day, I went over to her house. I saw her brother doing drugs outside. I told her, and she said it was normal. She even offered me some. So obviously, I told her parents. I told them that her and her brother had drugs. Missy blames me for being a tattletale, but I wasn't about to let her keep consuming drugs. She could have died."

So that was the friend she told me about the night we kissed for the first time.

But the story sounded familiar...Farkle told me one just like it. Chuck and his friends were taking drugs outside...wait a second.

"Is Chuck Missy's brother?" I asked.

Maya nodded.

I was confused.

"But Chuck doesn't have the same last name..."

"He changed it after his parents kicked him out of the house." Replied Maya.

"Oh."

There was a moment of silence before I blurted out:

"What are we doing?"

Maya raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"What are we doing, pretending that there isn't something between us? Don't tell me you don't feel it. Because I feel it every day, every time I look at you."

I don't know why I decided to tell her this now, maybe it was too early for me and I wasn't thinking straight. Maybe it was because I was feeling courageous, or maybe I was just plain stupid. But she needed to know that I cared about her.

She looked taken aback, she opened her mouth then closed it.

There was silence, then she said:

"Lucas I...I don't know."

I shook my head.

"What don't you know? You don't feel it Maya?" I asked leaning in closer to her.

"I don't know what I feel..." Her voice trailed off.

I put a strand of her hair behind her ear, causing her to look at me.

"You deserve so much more. So much more than me. But...I want to be with you." I paused, gazing into her eyes.

"Don't you want to be with me?" I whispered.

I barely got a chance to finish my sentence when she pulled me towards her and kissed me.

I ran my hand down her back, feeling every inch of it. We fit into each other perfectly, like two pieces of a puzzle.

She pulled away, still holding onto me. We looked at each other, our noses touching.

"For a cowboy, you sure do kiss well." She said.

I smiled and brought my lips to hers. I felt like the luckiest cowboy in the whole Wild West.