Lucas and Maya finally figure out what they're feeling

DISCLAIMER: Haven't written in FOREVER! I was inspired so I decided to give it a shot. This is one of the few ways that I see to resolve this whole "Triangle" peacefully. Hope you like it!

Lucas walks into Topangas, letting out a deep sigh. Maya had asked him to meet her here after school to talk. He threw his backpack in the corner and retreated to their usual chairs in the middle of the cafe. As he set twitling his thumbs he wondered what Maya could possibly have to talk to him about. Talking just wasn't what they did. They were no good at it. Yelling, occasionally. Arguing, sometimes. Picking on each other, always. But talking...never and all of this made him nervous. Especially since everything has been so out of hand since Texas.

Another deep sigh as he looks to the door and then to his watch. "Where is she?" He wondered just as he felt a small shadow to his right. "

Hey, Huckleberry," she stated as she took her seat beside him. "Ready to talk? And by talk I mean I mostly speak, you mostly listen."

He give her a puzzled look... So this was talking between them? "Ok, yeah I guess so" he managed to let out.

Maya let out a deep sigh and then began her speech. "Ok, so, I've had some time over the past few months to think about my feelings. I know that they have been up, down, all over the place. Mr. Matthews was right about being torn apart by feelings you don't really understand. I'm just now seeing that there was more to that lesson. I'm just now seeing that you aren't the only one that your feelings can tear apart." Lucas gives her a puzzled look. She clears her throat and continues. "You know that I like you, but I'm not sure I really ever gave you a reason why."

"Yeah, I guess I don't know why you like me... Well other than because I'm a good guy and something about a fire and stars and faraway places" Lucas responds.

"Yeah, well... I suppose the best place to start is at the beginning. Riley is my best friend. She has liked you from day one. I talked to you on the train to show Riley how it was done. I spoke to you as if I knew what I was doing. It's clear now that I had no idea." She giggled. " Anyway, from that day forward you were just the guy my friend liked. Then, I watched you two become close, make a connection, learn to talk. I watched you put her on a white horse, look at her the way you do when she does something 'Riley', and ask her father's permission to date her. It was around then that you became the guy that liked my friend."

"Yeah." Lucas responded, much the way that Riley had whenever Maya shot off facts about the nature of her relationship to Lucas. He looked at her quizzically, wondering what she was getting at.

She continued. " I was happy for Riley then. Ever since we were kids, she was the one believing for a hero. I was the one who was smart enough to know that heroes don't really exist. I never hoped for someone to do the things for me that you did for Riley, until I met her uncle Josh. But with our age difference, once again life proved that hope is for suckers. Josh and I are 3 years apart and he just didn't like me in that way and that was life, or so I thought..."

"Uh huh" he nodded. "So?" He asked.

"So then last year things started changing. Hope was always for suckers. But then all of a sudden, there were these brief moments more and more where I found myself hoping. Just a little bit, I'd tell myself. And the more I hoped a little, the more good things started happening. Shawn came into my life. Then he started dating my mom. Then we saved the creative arts program as school. Then I finally learned that my dad's leaving wasn't on me. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I had started to believe in things. Good things. Riley had rubbed off on me and I was hoping more than I ever dreamed I would. I also realized that even though Josh wasn't around, that hope for someone to look at me the way you looked at Riley didn't go away when he did. And then somehow in the midst of all of these things I started seeing you as more than just the guy my friend liked, more than just the guy who liked my friend. We weren't just hanging around each other because of Riley or even because of your friendship with Farkle. Somewhere along the way you actually became an important part of our group. You helped me save the art program. You supported me when I confronted my dad. You're a good guy. That was different and I didn't know what to do with it. But I knew I had started to look at you differently. I just didn't know in how or what it meant. Before you, the only guy between me and Riley was Farkle. And he's Farkle, ya know. He's ours. Equally hers, equally mine. We shared his love equally for as long as I could remember and for some reason that has always made sense to me. He has always been our Farkle. But I didn't know what to do with you... You were new in both of our lives but things weren't quite as equal."

"Ok, that kinda makes sense but Maya what exactly are you trying to say?"

"Hold your horses Ranger Rick, I'm getting there... Anyway, in the middle of all of these questions the yearbook also came out. Boy, that stupid yearbook! That stupid best couple award! Those stupid ideas that made Riley not be herself and Farkle not be himself! They forced me to become Riley to try to fix us all. And while I was her, that's when the whole brother thing came up. My mom said that I'd find out something about Riley that she didn't even know while pretending to be her. I thought you two were so much alike, that you were like brother and sister and that Riley just hadn't realized it yet. Only we know now that I was wrong. Sorry about that." she looks down at her lap ashamed.

Lucas shakes his head. "Not your fault." He muttered.

"It is, because I didn't tell her and when she found out, that's what I meant about your feelings tearing other people apart. Maybe if I would have just told her what I thought in the beginning instead of keeping the secret... I don't know... But here we are. So, that yearbook totally made things more confusing and all of a sudden I stopped feeling bad about not fully knowing how you fit in and about wondering what you meant to me because then it seemed clear that other people confused too, even Riley. The next thing I know, somewhere in there was a blonde beauty comment and a rodeo and a bull and new brother/sister relationship for you and Riley... a campfire under a sky full of stars. That's when all the chips fell. Every thread I was trying to follow to make some sense of these feelings became unraveled and I just didn't know what to do."

"Can't disagree with you there. Things definitely fell apart, and fast!" Lucas states.

"Yeah, and I still feel bad that I was so caught up in trying to process my own emotions that I couldn't even see that Riley was lying to us both! I'm her best friend, I'm supposed to notice. We aren't supposed to keep secrets from each other. And now we were both guilty of that and it was my fault for starting the secrecy in the first place. I invited that into our relationship when I didn't share what I thought with her right away." Maya sighs looking at her lap and blinking away the ears threatening to form in her eyes.

Lucas places a hand on her shoulder. "Look Maya, none of us could have known we'd end up here. I don't think blaming ourselves is going to help solve this. We just have to figure out what it is that we feel."

It is then that Riley rounds the corner to Topangas and sees her best friend sitting in an all to familiar position with the boy they both like. The thoughts come rushing back of their date, in those chairs, the same night she'd gone out with Charlie and realized for sure that her feelings for Lucas ran deeper than she understood. But this time was different, it looks as if they were actually talking. Really talking, alone, without her. Something they were never able to do before was happening now right before her eyes. As her mind wondered what had changed to allow this sight, her vision blurred with warm, salty tears as she took a seat on the bench by the door.

Inside Topangas, Maya continues to explain herself. "Well I think I've figured out how I feel. So, that's why I asked you here today. You need to know. And you need to understand everything that goes behind it so that you don't hate me for what I'm about to say."

" Maya, I don't think I could hate you." He assures her.

"We will see. I feel this odd mix of clarity and sadness at the same time. I'm not sure how it will register for you but I can finally say now that I have figured out how you fit in and what you mean to me. You are Lucas. You are the guy my best friend likes and the guy that likes my best friend. You are hers and you are mine but not equally. You are her love. You are my friend. Riley isn't what connects us anymore. We have our own relationship and its great, but it's just different from what you and Riley have. I take you down a couple of notches. She builds you up. I more than anyone else in the world understand what that must mean to you. She loves us, and I don't know how she does it, but somehow her love makes us both better. We both love her for that. I think now we have just figured out that we also care about each other, and that's okay. Actually, I think that's a good thing. I can see what she sees in you, Huckleberry. And because I see it for myself, I think I'm okay trusting her with you. Isn't it kinda weird that we both get to understand one of the great wonders of the world...what it is to be loved by Riley Matthews." Both Maya and Lucas' eyes light up as they think of their friend! Until you came along, Farkle was the only other person who knew what that was like...but he always knew that she loved me the most!" she laughed as she playfully nudged his arm. "And now I'm telling you, she loves me the most! Got it, Hop-along? You may someday be the boyfriend but I'M the BEST friend!" She said leaning and pointing her finger in his face in her old playful, comfortable, and Lucas would admit slightly scary fashion.

"Haha! Understood!" He laughed as he leaned back shaking her finger before she took her hand back. "Hey, Maya?"

"Yeah?" She replied. "I think I'm going to like us being friends. I like that we can care about each other and that it's okay. But why did you think I'd be mad now that you figured out what we are?"

"Well because, my crazy, mixed up, confused feelings almost tore you apart too. It put me in between you and Riley, causing you both to lose valuable time with each other. And it put you in an impossible position. All for me to later figure out that it was all for nothing. That would make anyone upset. And I know your propensity to get upset... So I just assumed it might be a chance you'd hate me for it."

"Okay, now I guess it's my turn to make some confessions. I admit it was a nearly impossible situation. But I don't blame you for it. Especially seeing the progression of things in your mind. Honestly, I feel like I got to know you mostly because you were Riley's best friend. She loves you and I liked her. Plus, I saw with Farkle that it seemed as if the two of you came as a package deal. So, I bought in rather than missing out on getting to know her altogether. I admit that over time, each member of our group has had a role in changing me and making me a better person and it was easy to become close friends with Farkle as a result of that. But it threw me for a loop too when I realized that you and I had somewhere along the way become friends. And I care about my friends, as you know. I guess that might be around the time that you started to notice a difference in how I was acting toward you. We never really talked about our shift into friendship and I think I sorta assumed we had an understanding. Man, I gotta stop assuming. Only gets me into trouble!" Lucas laughed.

"So you always knew we were just friends?" Maya was now the quizzical one.

"Well, let's say mostly. There were definitely times where I was confused too. Like at the campfire. I have never felt so many feelings in one 5-minute span. My head was absolutely spinning. Riley had told me I was her brother and seemed like she actually meant it. And then there was this new information about feelings you had. So there I was trying to process it all and then there you were in my face with your huhurrs at the height of my frustration. Next thing I know I grabbed your head. That definitely confused me. But then the rest of the time, all I could think about was hurting either or both of you. So I just tried to tread carefully. I knew I cared about you both. I knew things were different. I knew my feelings about Riley hadn't changed and I guess it confused me when I wondered if my feelings about you had changed more than I thought. Honestly, I couldn't be mad at you because the confusion wasn't just your fault. I think that yearbook thing threw us all. I also couldn't be angry because I really do care about you and this wasn't for nothing. We needed to face these feelings to be able to see what was real. I'm glad we figured them out. Even if it took some time to get us there. I'm really lucky to have a friend like you!"

" I could say the same to you,Lucas." Maya responded in kind.

"Oh! Are you calling me Lucas for good now that we know who we are to each other?" Lucas asked, excitement filling his voice.

"Not on your life, Ranger Rick! But I may throw it in here and there." She responded with a shrug.

"I'll take it." Lucas laughed.

"Hey Lucas, I think we just had our first real conversation. What do ya know? Turns out it's easy to talk to one another when you know who you are."

"Ha! I guess so." Lucas stated rubbing his head.

"You and Riley have always been able to talk. I guess you've always known who you are?"

"Huh." Lucas exclaimed as he pondered her question. "Maybe not always, I think we are still learning more about who we are. And I think there are definitely moments when we doubt it. In the end, those moments help us to grow and doubt less. The more I get to know her, I become more sure about who I am and who I want to be. In fact, I think that goes for all of you on some level." Lucas said as a lightbulb came on in his head. "Huh?"

"What?" Maya questioned.

"People change people" Lucas smiled.

"Secret of life!" Maya finished the familiar statement. "Looks like Matthews actually taught us something!" She laughed.

"Thanks for being my friend, Maya. I'm glad I can just talk to you now that I know who you are."

"You're welcome. Let's agree to hold on to who we are, no matter what people throw at us."

"Deal! That's the only way we're gonna end up becoming who we are meant to be. Let's always push each other to be who we are meant to be."

"Deal!" she said, shaking his hand.

"Bring it in buddy!" He exclaimed, pulling her to his side and giving her a light nuggie.

"Ugh!" She exclaimed pushing him away. "Not the hair, Huckleberry!"

"HaHa! Sorry, I figured I was good for one after a million huhurrs." he chuckled.

"Well, it's better than grabbing my head and staring at my face real close." she joked. "But that's okay. Payback is coming when you least expect it! Also, I hope you meant what you said about pushing each other to be who we are meant to be, cause I think you could use a push now!" She said, shoving him lightly before heading toward the door.

"I'm outta here. Thanks for the talk!" She smiled and waved as she exited the cafe.

Little did he know she was preparing a plan to push him and Riley right back where they belonged. And this time she didn't need help from the subway to do it.