Loving Maya

Plans And A-Games

I finish sorting and organising my books and notes and fall on my bed. I close my eyes and take in a deep breath before releasing it.

"Are you okay?" Zoe asks from her bed.

"It's nothing." I sigh.

"It doesn't look like nothing."

"It's Mason." I frown. "I don't know if he's upset with me or something. You know, whenever I'm in the room, he finds an excuse to leave. He doesn't even talk to me."

"Maya," she shifts on her bed to face me and I turn my head, "of course he's going to act that way. He's not upset, he's probably just...hurt."

"Hurt?" I prompt myself up and rest my weight on my elbow.

"Yeah. His ex girlfriend and best friend are dating. That can't be easy at all."

I lay back on my bed and look up.

"Well, technically, Mason and I never dated."

"Doesn't mean you didn't have feelings for each other. Well, you still have feelings for him."

"Yeah and he doesn't. I'm working on..." I sigh. "I'm working on getting over him. I'm going to use my feelings for Max to help me."

"Use? You're not using Max are you?"

"What? No!" I quickly defend. "I have feelings for Max. I'll admit, Mason, he's still... I don't even know how to describe it. We have history, we've been through things together. I don't think I'll ever feel for Max what I feel for Mason but if I want to move on, I have to forget about all of that."

"Are you sure that'll work?" She asks and I nod. "I hope my love life is never as complicated as yours."

I throw one of my pillows at her and she laughs.

"I have a plan."

"What plan?"

"If I can become friends with Mason again, I think it might help me get over him."

"That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Zoe sits up on her bed and I do the same.

"No, listen. Maybe the reason I still feel this way about Mason is because, I'm still..." I wave my hands in the air. "I don't know how to put this but it's like I still don't know where he is. Perhaps him not being near me kept fueling my feelings for him and because now we've been keeping our distance, that...fire, is still growing. If I can be closer to him again, maybe it'll work."

"Or maybe it won't," Zoe replies, "and something tells me it won't. That stupid plan is...stupid."

"Zoe, I have to try and get over him. It's not fair for Max that I'm with him but I'm still thinking about Mason."

"Okay, okay. I don't think your stupid plan will work, I think it'll backfire badly but, I see where you're coming from."

"Yeah so from now on, we talk about Max. I need to focus more on my relationship with Max. Also, stop saying my plan is stupid."

"Okay." She nods and a smile appears on her face. "So, tell me, how was your first kiss with Max?"

Her smile turns into a grin and I giggle.

"It was great. I mean, it wasn't like with Mason but..." I notice that her facial expression falls and I stop explaining. "What's wrong?"

"That's not what I asked, Maya. I didn't ask you to compare it with your kiss with Mason."

I gulp nervously and look down at the floor.

"This is going to be harder than I thought." I sigh.