breaking the silence

fourteen

Maya hadn't exchanged a single word with Lucas ever since the parking lot incident. It was hard to even look him in the eye these days. He didn't seem to be making any effort to talk and quite frankly, she was extremely relieved.

Though deep down, some part of her did want to acknowledge the situation and some part of her did want to know where she stood with Lucas.

But she couldn't. Maya hadn't even kissed him and she was still wracked with immense guilt. Her stomach churned everytime Riley glanced at her. She felt like a terrible friend.

Her gut instinct to be careful around Lucas had been there for a reason. But as always, she had ignored it and thrown any rational thought out of the window. She had gotten too comfortable in their relationship, and now they'd both crossed the line.

Not speaking to Lucas was a lot harder than she had imagined. She had went from hanging out with him everyday to avoiding him in the hallways. It did not help that she kept zoning out during classes, thinking about how close she had been to kissing Lucas. Way closer than before, when they were under the stars, flames dancing in their eyes.

But this was something Maya would rather have to endure than lose Riley's friendship. The absolute most important thing to her.

Maya spent her study block in the library. The usual table she sat at was crowded with sophomores who were there for a class, so she opted for the long table near the computers. She flipped her sketchbook open to a page she had previously marked by folding down the paper at the corner. It was a drawing of Riley, a practice for realistic portraits.

Her pencil made a soft scuffing sound against the paper as she shaded in an area. It seemed loud in contrast to the silence of the library. Shortly after, someone pulled up a chair two seats away across from her, the metal leg clanging against another chair.

Maya looked up briefly just to see who it was, then did a double take. They too glanced back at her.

"Smackle?"

Isadora's lips curved up into a small smile. "Hello, Maya."

"It's been a while."

"It has. I've been fairly occupied lately."

Maya nodded. "As Farkle says."

"Oh," Isadora averted her gaze, adjusting her black rimmed glasses. "He talks about me?"

Maya furrowed her brows. It was an odd response. "Um, yeah... don't you talk to him?"

Isadora shook her head. "No. Typically after a break up, people will require time and space from each other."

"Break up..." Maya muttered slowly. "Wait, you and Farkle broke up?"

"Yes, didn't he tell you guys?"

"He didn't."

Isadora sighed, staring blankly at her closed textbooks. Maya didn't know what else to say, and the topic at hand had clearly made her friend uneasy, so she decided to steer their conversation in a different direction.

"You going to Zay's birthday party this Saturday?" Maya picked up her pencil again, continuing on her drawing.

"Isn't his birthday next month?"

"Yeah, but this is the only time his parents are out of town."

Isadora nodded. "Parties are not really my scene."

"Right."

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