Peaches & Honey

We're All Broken, We're All Damaged

A/N: WARNING! This is a pretty anti-Lucas one shot.

Maya was fuming.

Actually, she was a level over fuming.

She watched as Lucas ran his fingers through Riley's soft brown locks. Riley ducked away from him, giggling uncomfortably. Zay was watching with his eyes narrowed, his mouth set into a firm, straight line. Smackle looked positively shocked, and Farkle was openly glaring at the Texan native. Lucas, however, was giving Riley what he thought was a charming smile. Riley smiled tightly back at him, her lips barely curling at the corners. Lucas leaned in again, reaching for Riley's pretty hair again, frowning when Riley smacked his hands away from her, shifting farther away from him, her eyes narrowing as the smile dropped off of her face completely. Lucas ignored the very obvious hints that Riley was dropping and scooted closer to her, his arm brushing against hers. Farkle's scowl deepened, and Zay's eyes narrowed even more. Lucas reached for Riley once more, and that's when Maya saw red.

Marching over to them, she slapped his hands away from her girlfriend, then sat in between them. Riley's face brightened, and she threw her arms around Maya. "Peaches!" She squealed, bringing a grin to Maya's face as she snuggled against Riley. Farkle, Zay, and Smackle all looked relieved at Maya's arrival. However, Lucas scowled at the interruption. Maya's smile quickly slipped off of her face as she met Lucas' eyes, a frown rapidly dimming the brightness of Maya's eyes. "What do you want, Hee Haw?" She all but snarled at the blond haired boy. Lucas' scowl deepened as he glared at the tiny blonde. Riley squeezed Maya's hand in warning, warning her girlfriend not to lose her temper, no matter what came out of Lucas' mouth next. However, she wasn't prepared for what actually came out of Lucas' mouth next.

"I don't know why Riley chose you over me," Lucas snapped. "Riley deserves someone who isn't so... broken." His friends jaws dropped at that. Riley froze, her eyes widening so much, it felt like they were going to pop straight out of her head. Maya's eyes bulged, her mouth dropping open. For a second, it seemed like time had stopped. Maya glanced around at her friends reactions to what Lucas said. Farkle's face was rapidly turning bright red. If he was a cartoon character, steam would be coming out of his ears. Zay had dropped his cup of coffee, the ceramic mug hit the floor and shattered, scattering into a million tiny pieces. Smackle looked like she'd stopped breathing, her face pale and shocked. Then, Maya turned her eyes onto Riley. Riley was squeezing Maya's hand so hard, Maya was sure that a bone or two was broken. Riley's face was practically purple with rage, her brown eyes darker than the pitch blackness of the night. Lucas looked smug, his too-handsome face etched with what he thought was righteous pride.

Maya's fingers itched. She wanted to break something. Preferably Lucas' nose. She wanted to scream and hit and cry, because Riley had built her up so much, and it'd taken one malicious comment from her supposed friend to send her crashing down all over again. Her bottom lip trembled, and her friends all flinched, waiting for Maya's explosive reply to Lucas' horrible comment. She stood up, releasing Riley's hand and stepped towards the green-eyed boy. For a fleeting moment, Lucas looked terrified. When Maya blinked, the terror was gone and his smug expression was back. As Maya stepped forward once more, she was shoved back by Lucas. She lost her footing and flew back, landing next to Zay's feet. As she hit the ground, Riley flew out of her seat, her fist flying towards Lucas' too-perfect face. A loud cracking sound rang out throughout the silent cafe.

Lucas shrieked as blood ran from his nose in rivulets. Zay reached down and helped Maya up, worriedly inspecting her for injuries. After all, she'd landed in a puddle of coffee and sharp ceramic pieces. A deep scowl took over his handsome features as he spotted several cuts along the backs of Maya's arms. Smackle and Farkle hurried towards them. Upon spotting Maya's injuries, Smackle changed her route and ran to the back of the cafe to get a first aid kit. When Maya waved him off, Farkle ran to Riley, who was screaming at Lucas, still wildly throwing punches and kicks at him. Lucas curled in on himself, trying to shield himself from Riley's fury.

"Riley!" Farkle shouted, wrapping his arms around her waist and tugging her away from their former friend. "RILEY!" He shouted even louder, dragging her flailing limbs away from Lucas. When Riley turned to face him, he didn't even recognize the girl in his arms. Her face was splotchy with tears of rage. Her face was bright red, and her knuckles were beginning to bruise. She snarled at him, her brown eyes still clouded with her fury. Farkle squeezed her tighter. "Maya needs you right now, Riley! Your Peaches needs you!" Farkle panted, tiring from struggling to detain Riley from going back and kicking Lucas' ass once again. Riley blinked once. Twice. Three times. She shook her head in a daze and scanned the cafe for her precious girlfriend. Lucas took this opportunity to scramble to his feet and race out of the cafe.

She spotted them at a table, with Smackle patching up the cuts on Maya's arms. She raced towards them, with Farkle following close behind. "Peaches!" Riley all but wailed, throwing her arms around Maya's shoulders, being careful not to disrupt Smackle's steady hands that were patching her girlfriend up. Maya nuzzled against Riley, sighing in relief as Riley pressed kisses all over her face. "Riles," Maya's voice was small. "Am I broken?" It was Riley's turn to sigh sadly. Just as she feared, Lucas' comment slipped through the cracks of Maya's walls.

"We're all a little broken, Peaches," Riley ran her fingers through Maya's curly blonde locks. "But what matters is who we choose to fill the cracks in. We're all a little broken, but the little parts of us that are broken is what makes us all fit together in the end."