The fact that Lucas Friar was hanging out with Maya Hart seemed to be an interesting topic of conversation among the students of Robert E. Lee High School.

Every morning Lucas would sit by her desk at first period, and she would waltz in just before the final bell in some strange New York attire, and nod her head in his direction with a "Sup, Ranger Rick" before falling into the seat next to him.

They sat together in most of their class now, exchanging the occasional playful banter and inside jokes Lucas had not known they formed. Football season had passed, leaving his afternoons free, and though they never walked out of school together somehow they would end up traipsing across the opposite ends of the dirt road until one of them would turn to hop the Friar's fence and find a new spot to sit down on the open field. What had been comfortable silence turned into commentary on the day's events, on life, on anything that came to their mind, and Lucas found himself walking home underneath the stars with a grin so large it hurt and the linger of a laugh on his tongue.

It is Thanksgiving Day when Lucas found her in the Friar barn, petting the nose of his horse, Apple—a name he had given the beast back when he was seven—with a tenderness uncommon in her touch. Maya looked up at him as he entered, surprise on her features as she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Shouldn't I be the one to ask you that?" Lucas responded, sporting a grin. The sight of Maya, who still managed to wear shiny, impractical shoes and black leather jackets despite having lived in the western state for three months, in his barn managed to both look completely natural and totally out of place at the same time. "I mean, after all, this is my property."

"You can't tell me that Texas' most Huckeberry family isn't celebrating Thanksgiving," Maya said, her hand moving away from Apple's long nose to point accusing finger in his direction. "Which is why I get to ask, Ranger Rick, how did you manage to escape? Sneak away while the relatives where saying grace over the Turkey or manage to leave through the back door while everyone was distracted by football, that game you oh-so-secretly detest."

Lucas shook his head, but his smile remained. The whole Friar family was packed into their small little ranch house. With a hoard of relatives asking him about school, friends, and most annoyingly his relationship status, the green-eyed boy had ducked outside for a bit of fresh air. He had planned to hang out in the barn alone till nightfall knowing that his mom and dad would be too busy to go and look for him, but Maya's appearance was a pleasant surprise that tempted to make what would have been a moderately unpleasant day into something tolerable.

Recently, Maya seemed to make everything tolerable.

Lucas looked between the blonde girl and the horse, his eyes shifting back and forth. He clicked his tongue, and idea striking him.

"Have you ever ridden before?"

"Excuse me?" Maya asked, the disgusted look overcoming her face clearly insinuating that she had misunderstood him. "If that is some euphemism for fucking in a barn, then you can forget it, Sundance."

Lucas shook his head, raising his hands in defense, as he felt his throat tighten and he quickly pushed her statement out of his mind. "No! I meant have you ever ridden a horse before."

Maya blinked at him as if she did not quite understand the question, so Lucas continued.

"You haven't, have you?"

"Of course not," Maya said. "I don't know if you know this, but we don't really have room for stables on the streets of New York City."

"Ahhh," Lucas breathed. His smile had turned mischievous as he took a few steps forward so he was leaning over the small blonde. "Well lucky for you, Short Stack, this isn't New York City."