It was supposed to be the party of the year.

Missy Bradford's Annual Kickoff Party was the back-to-school event to attend. Every incoming sophomore was invited, and even a few of the upperclassmen said they were going. It was going to be a total rager, with no adults, and tons of alcohol. It was August 19th, two weeks before the school year was officially set to begin, and Riley Matthews and Maya Hunter (formerly Hart) had already received their invites via text message.

"Riles, I really don't wanna go," Maya whined, flopping down on her brunette friend's bed.

Maya wasn't really one for parties, especially those thrown by Missy Bradford. There were too many people, the booze wasn't usually that great, and the music scene sucked. There would be too many rowdy JV football players there trying to grab her ass and get her to dance with them, and she wasn't looking forward to it. Maya had been to a few parties over the summer, some of them even college frat parties, and she tired of them very quickly. They were too much of the same thing, and while she drank to enjoy herself, she hated the inevitable hangover.

But it the first time Riley had been invited to a real party. And Maya wasn't about to let her go without her. There were few things you could keep Riley from doing once she set her mind to something, and Maya desperately hoped she could talk her best friend out of attending a trashy house party. The Riley Committee wasn't as active as it used to be, being that Riley was now older and knew a lot more about the real world than previously, but Maya wasn't sure the brunette girl could handle such a scene. What would she do if a sleazy guy tried to dance with or worse, take her upstairs?

"But Maya, this is my first chance to see what a real party is like! I think I am ready!" Riley said excitedly, digging through her closet for something to wear.

The party began at eight. Maya had shown up at Riley's in a pair of ripped jeans and a band tee with some obscene wording on it. It was what she was comfortable in and she doubted the party was going to be anything more than casual. Riley had immediately jumped to do her hair and makeup and then spent the remaining thirty minutes going through all of her clothes deciding what "party" appropriate was.

So far, nothing.

"Ooh! What about this one?" she said, pulling out a red sequined top, modest as Riley usually was, and it matched perfectly with her newly acquired red lipstick.

The corners of Maya's mouth turned up. It was always so endearing to see Riley so excited about something. "I like that one, honey. Now pair it with those black high-waisted jeans we got at the mall last week."

It took some convincing to get Cory and Topanga to allow Riley to go to a party so late at night, but with the assurance that there would be no drinking and that Maya would be at her side the entire night, they reluctantly agreed. Katy had no problem letting Maya out, though Shawn set down some ground rules before she was allowed to leave the house. No drinking, no kissing boys, and stay with Riley. The girls were safe as long as they were together.

"Have fun, you two!" Topanga called out after them as they left the complex.

Thankfully, Missy's place wasn't too far from where Riley lived. Maya wasn't too keen on hiking anywhere with her heeled combat boots on. The music could be heard from down the block, but it was New York City, so no one could really complain about it being loud. As soon as they walked through the door, Maya was hit with the smell of sweat, beer, weed, and sex. It was a classic high school party.

There was beer pong set up in the dining room, a bunch of football players gathered around it. A group of stoners were gathered on the back patio, passing around a bong and some other paraphernalia. There was a DJ set up in the living room, and a ton of bottles in the kitchen. Missy had not held back with this particular gathering.

"Ohmigosh! Riley, Maya!" A tipsy Sarah made her way over to the pair, draping her arms around their shoulders. "Darby and I have been waiting for-evah!" she announced, pointing over to a sober Darby who was holding hands with Yogi on the couch.

Riley's eyes were wide with surprise as she took in her drunken classmate. Her glasses were crooked and her breath smelled like cheap beer. She looked to Maya, who only offered a look of "I told you so".

"Is this what all parties are like, Maya?" she whispered to her best friend once Sarah disappeared into the kitchen.

"Pretty much, at least the ones I've been to. It's not so bad when you're with friends though," Maya answered, a weary smile on her face as Sarah came back with two red solo cups in hand. Maya took them both, dumped the contents of one into the other, and handed the empty one to Riley.

Riley sighed. "I wish the others were able to come. Too bad Lucas and Zay are in Texas and Farkle and Smackle had that TED talk to attend tonight."

"Yeah, well hopefully they'll make it to the next party," Maya smiled, taking Riley's hand and leading them into the kitchen.

She pulled a Mike's Hard Lemonade out of the cooler and handed it to Riley, who looked at it like it was a bomb. "Maya, this is alcohol. My parents said no drinking.'

Maya just rolled her eyes and grabbed the bottle opener from the counter, popping the top of the drink off. "It's fine, it's one drink. This one doesn't even taste like alcohol. And if you're slow and just carry that around with you, no one will bother you about drinking and you won't get drunk," she explained, trying to coax her into taking a sip.

Hesitantly, she did. Her eyes widened, "It tastes like lemonade!" she sipped some more, and then eyed the red cup Maya was holding. "Hey, what did Sarah give you?"

Maya tentatively sniffed the rim of the cup. Vodka, definitely vodka mixed with what was some kind of dark juice. Cranberry or grape, she couldn't tell. "Something a little stronger," she replied, deciding it was probably going to be her only drink of the night.

The two walked around the party, chatting with some people they knew and making some new friends. Kenny Jones, a nice boy from Riley's debate class, was there and asked Riley to dance. She was reluctant, wanting to but not really wanting to leave Maya out by herself.

"Go on, you need some boy-action after your split with Lucas back in May," Maya said, trying to convince her friend to go.

Riley and Lucas had a rather amicable break-up at the end of their freshman year, after a solid five months of dating. They never really said why they broke up, all of their friends believing it was just a lack of chemistry between the two, which wasn't entirely untrue. What had really happened though, was that they wanted to move at slightly different speeds. Lucas was older, and he was experiencing different feelings, more hormone-driven feelings. And while Lucas was interested in pursuing a more physical relationship with Riley, she wasn't quite ready. Any time Lucas moved to kiss her for more than three seconds she freaked out and pushed him away. Lucas respected this, but Riley decided it would be best for both of them if they took some time apart.

So there she was, a single Pringle once again, as Maya had once said.

"Are you sure you'll be okay, Peaches? We're supposed to stick together," Riley argued, torn between dancing with a really cute boy and staying with her best friend. The answer seemed clear but Maya insisted Riley have her time with Kenny.

"I'll be fine, Riles. I've been to these things before, remember? No harm done," she winked, squeezing her best friend's hand before turning on her heel and leaving the two to their business. She'd check up on them again in half an hour.

Decidedly bored, Maya headed to the back patio where the stoners were gathered. It was really the only place she wouldn't want to take Riley. She didn't want Riley involved with any sort of drugs. There was a kid from her art class that she knew out here, David. He was nice enough, kind of quiet with a secret bad-boy edge. She kind of liked it.

"Whatcha doing out here, Hunter?" he asked, putting emphasis on her last name. Being one of her good friends, he knew about the change to her last name. He had a small joint shoved between his index and middle finger.

"Just getting some fresh air. You mind?" she motioned to the joint, which he offered up without hesitation. She took a long drag.

She didn't even notice the figure coming up to stand behind her. "And who do we have here, Davey?" a low voice asked from above her head.

She turned to look at him, taken aback by his handsomeness at first. He looked older, almost around Josh's age, and likely in college. His light brown hair was slicked back and the smell of his cologne stuck to his Ralph Lauren polo. A total frat boy, Maya almost snorted. He was attractive enough, but definitely not her type.

"I'm Maya," she sneered, looking him up and down to show she wasn't intimidated.

A sickening look passed over his features before he looked to her side at David. "I didn't know you had a girlfriend, Davey."

David scoffed. "She's not my girlfriend, just a friend in my art class."

The guy quirked an eyebrow. "Oh, in that case…" he turned back to Maya, a charming smile settling over his face. "My name's Charles. Charles Hollis." He took her hand and brought it up to his mouth, kissing the back of it softly.

Okay, he came off as a little sleazy, but he was cute and Maya was in need of some sort of company for the night, even if it was David and his friend Charles. "I'm Maya Hunter. You look a little old to be here," she commented.

His smirk only grew. "You don't look like the type that cares."

Maya smirked back. Charles didn't seem so bad.

Riley was having a grand ole time with Kenny Jones from debate. He was cute, funny, and attended a youth group every Friday night. He invited her to go with him to his next meeting, saying friends were always welcome. She was often paired with Kenny for debates, and he was really good at it, and like her, he always liked to see the brighter side of the world. It was refreshing, different from being the only person in her group who was an optimist.

She was so caught up in talking to Kenny and hanging out with him, that when she unlocked her phone to let Kenny put his contact information is, she noticed she'd spent over two hours with him and had not seen one sign of Maya. It was already nearing eleven o'clock and she and Maya were expected home in a half hour.

"Uh oh," she whispered, hurriedly looking around the house for any sign of her blonde best friend.

"Something wrong?" Kenny asked, noticing her worried expression.

Riley scanned the room they were in, and with no sign of Maya, began to move her search to the next room, the kitchen. "I can't find Maya. She told me she would check on me, but that was over two hours ago!" she rambled, bumping into random strangers in search for her friend.

"Shoot, I didn't know it had gotten so late. I should be getting home soon," Kenny replied, seemingly unconcerned about the whole Maya situation.

Riley sighed, exasperated. "Look, Kenny, I had a really great time with you tonight but if Maya and I aren't home in a half-hour, my parents will kill me," she told him.

"It's cool, I hope you find her. I gotta head out now though, so I hope to see you later?"

Riley nodded, distracted. "Yeah, uh, I'll text you or something," she accepted his kiss on her cheek before returning to her search, not even taking note of the fact that she had never actually gotten his number.

Darby and Sarah hadn't seen her since the beginning of the party, and Riley wasn't all too aware of who Maya hung out with outside of their group. It was mostly people from her electives, like art and choir. But she didn't know any of those people! Missy was wasted and Riley knew she wouldn't get an answer from her. She searched every room of the downstairs frantically, looking for anyone familiar who knew where Maya would be.

By the time she had checked every room, she was starting to get worried. It wasn't like Maya to not answer her phone or disappear on her, so where in the world would she be?

Then, Riley spotted a potential answer. David Carver was sitting on one of the counters in the kitchen, drinking something from a red cup like the one Maya had. Riley knew David because he sometimes sat with them at lunch because he normal crew didn't share the same lunch period as him. He was quiet, but nice. He never really had much to say and didn't talk unless spoken to, but he laughed at her jokes and sometimes got up to get Maya some pudding just because she asked. She suspected the boy had a crush on her best friend.

"David!" she ran up to him, pushing people aside as she waded through the mass.

He looked a little drunk, and a lot stoned, but definitely sober enough to tell her if he'd seen Maya. "Hey, Riley. What's up?"

"I can't find Maya anywhere, was she with you at any point? Please tell me you know where she is," she pleaded desperately.

David scowled, a facial expression Riley had yet to see on the boy. "She went off with my cousin, Charles. He's a dick, but Maya seemed to like him. We were all talking on the patio when he led her off,"

Warning bells went off in Riley's head. She didn't like to think of the implications of that statement. She knew for a fact that Maya was just as much of a virgin as she was, and there was no way she was the type to hook up with some random guy at a party.

"Probably went upstairs…" David slurred, expression sour, something behind Riley caught his eye and he glared in that general direction. "Oh, look, there's Charles now. That's my cousin."

Riley turned to see a rather attractive guy in an obnoxious green polo strutting down the stairs with two guys following behind him. He looked really smug, and Riley got an uneasy feeling in her stomach as the group of guys high-fived each other. They were older looking, around her uncle's age. Something about this whole situation just didn't seem right.

Without much thought, she stormed right up to Charles. "Where is Maya?" she demanded, eyes fierce.

Charles looked at her closely, trying to remember if he knew who she was talking about. "Blonde hair, blue eyes, kinda short?" she continued, cheeks flushing in anger.

Charles' green eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh! That's right," he said, mouth twisting up into a sickening grin, "The slut's upstairs."

Riley dashed up the stairs, afraid of what she might find. She checked every bedroom, most of which were locked and she was met with some loud expletives when she asked if Maya was in there. There was only one more room to check, the bathroom. Riley knocked tentatively on the bathroom door, hoping that Maya was in there and that she was okay.

"Peaches? Are you in there?" she asked, loud enough for whoever was on the other side to hear. She was only met with what sounded like whimpers and broken sobs.

Upon turning the doorknob, she discovered it was unlocked.

And she was met with the worst.

Maya was curled up in a ball inside the bathtub, pantless and sobbing. Mascara streaked down her cheek and her eyes were wide with fear as she took in the sight of her horrified best friend standing in the doorway. Her jeans were in a heap in the corner, and her panties a torn mess beside them. Maya was sporting bruises along her upper arms and wrists, and Riley was already sure she would find bruises dotting along her best friend's thighs.

It was her worst nightmare come true. Someone had hurt Maya.

"MAYA!" she screamed, slamming the door shut and locking it behind her. That vile, horrible, disgusting man!

She dropped to her knees inside of the tub next to Maya, and held her as the blonde sobbed into her chest. What could she do? What had happened?

"Oh my god, peaches, I'm so sorry! I should have never left you, oh my god!"

Horrified, and not having a clue of what to do, Riley pulled out her phone and dialed the number of the first person she could think of. Maya wasn't speaking, barely coherent as her sobs overtook her. She babbled what might have been words but Riley couldn't understand. There was so much. She was feeling so much, so much hurt, regret, and most of all, anger.

That son of a bitch would not get away with this.

The phone rang three times before it picked up, the familiar voice on the other line slightly comforting to Riley before the panic set in again.

"Uncle Shawn! I need you, I need you to get over here NOW!" she gasped into the phone, breathing heavy. "Maya's been… God, Uncle Shawn they—"she choked, not wanting to say the word out loud. It was as if her body was refusing to let her believe what had happened.

"Riley, Riley, you need to calm down. I'm on my way. What happened to Maya?" Shawn spoke firmly on the other end. She could hear his loud footsteps through the speaker. He was coming.

Tears streamed down Riley's face as she kept Maya close. She had to tell him. He needed to know. "H-He raped her," she whimpered.

There was a loud expletive on the other line, and then muffled voices. Riley could guess that Uncle Shawn wasn't alone when she called him. Katy and her parents were probably with him too. In that moment, she was glad her parents were around. More specifically, her mom. That bastard would be sitting his ass in jail if her mother had anything to say about it.

"Riley," she could hear Shawn's broken voice more clearly, "We're on our way. The Bradford's right?"

She whispered an affirmative into the phone, noting that it's been a while since Maya made a sound. After checking to see if she was still breathing, and she was, Riley concluded the blonde must be asleep.

"And Riley?" Shawn said, getting her attention once more. She could hear the wind in the background, and it sounded like he was running. "You tell me exactly which son of a bitch did this."

Riley gulped. "Bright green polo, white shoes, tall. You can't miss him," she said, not feeling an ounce of remorse for what was coming Charles's way.

Maya whimpered in her sleep, and Riley pulled her closer, wrapping both arms around her best friend and praying to God that she would somehow make it through this. Maya didn't deserve this, and in the worst way possible, Riley had let her best friend down. Her best friend who had always been there to protect her, and Riley couldn't protect her when she was needed most.

"Shhh, peaches, Shawn's on his way…" she tried to comfort the sleeping blonde. No doubt she was having an awful dream.

That was the day that Riley Matthews felt the world crumble away, and her eyes dulled just the slightest bit as she sat there in Missy Bradford's bathtub, trying to keep Maya from falling apart.