Something Borrowed [ch. 3]
Pairing or Characters: Maya Hart, Lucas Friar, Riley Matthews, Topanga Matthews (minor), Katy Hart (minor)
Warnings: WIP, overuse of hyphens bc that’s my writing style get over it okay?!, aged-up fic, language
Notes: I don’t own GMW or BWM or anyone meets world.
Word Count: ~3,600
Summary: “Fine, but next year don’t expect the fix to work for you.” Riley furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t intimidating but she gave it her best attempt. She pointed a finger at Maya, “A Matthews never forgets.”
Lucas didn't chase after her in some grand romantic gesture - hell, Maya didn't know what happened to him. He could have gotten arrested and was in the process of being shipped off to some high-end military school in the middle of Death Valley. There was no apology, no yelling down the train platform about how he didn't mean to hurt her feelings. Of course she didn't want that. But she wanted something, she at least wanted him to feel bad.
She hopped on the southbound orange line, she did not want to go back to her house. Her mother would ask about Lucas, her grandmother would make eyes at her, and all those dumb papers Lucas had brought over would be scattered on her bed where he left them. At least they would make for good kindling if she ever needed to start a fire.
It wasn't long before she found herself at the Matthew's apartment in the Village. She had the option to ring the bell, get buzzed in, and have to talk to their horrendous doorman who always breathed way too heavily. She instead chose to climb the fire escape. Which required more upper body strength but less social grace.
Finding Riley's bay window, while the exact same as the other bay windows in the building, was second nature to Maya. She could do it in the middle of the night during a power outage, the atmosphere just changed around it. And yeah, maybe that was cheesy and something out of the pages of a teen romance novel, but she didn't care.
All three windows were open, they would stay that way for the next few weeks until the heat got to the point of sweltering and the Matthews would turn on their air conditioning. Those were the days Maya loved best in the summer. When she could escape the too hot days in the cool comfort of Riley's room where they would watch bad movies.
Riley wasn't in her room, the scent wafting through the open windows was a signal that they were about to have lunch. Maya wondered why Riley hadn't invited her over to eat with them - she probably thought that Maya was still fast asleep in her bed, and that's exactly where she would have been if not for Texas.
She climbed in through the open window and took a seat in her usual spot. A calm permeated her, like just being there in her safe space was enough to get her out of the funk that Lucas had managed to put her in. She wanted to talk to someone about it, to have them validate how she felt. Currently all her options - Riley, Katy, Farkle, Cory - were people she couldn't tell.
Riley wouldn't understand. Katy would just be sad. Farkle would be - well he'd be the most understanding, and probably offer to do something that was actually valliant and decent but it would get back to Riley and she couldn't have that. Cory would probably try to teach her something. So she sat there taking deep breaths, slowly releasing her anger into the universe.
Riley came in moments later, headphones in, singing along to some heavy bass pop song that Maya only knew part of the words to (and she only knew that many because of Riley). Her face lit up once she spotted Maya in the bay window. Riley always made you feel like you were the most important person in the room, which was one of the many reasons that Maya loved her.
"Maya! I'm so glad you're here!" She pulled her headphones out of her ears and tossed them, along with her phone, on to her bed. She practically skipped over to the window seat and sat there next to the blonde. "We have so much to talk about."
"Did something happen in my favorite soap: The Riley Matthew's Story?" She responded. Riley was beaming, and Maya was pretty sure that she was as well. She had a hard time being anything but happy around a happy, bubbly Riley - except when she was too happy and bubbly and then it was very easy to be unhappy.
"Of course it did. Lucas is staying here for the summer. This could finally be my moment." Riley said, clasping her hands together. Maya's bright smile faded into something resembling a grimace.
Fuck.
Maya knew that Riley wouldn't be on board with her dating Lucas even if it was all for show. Sure, she'd say something like 'if it had to be someone other than me, I'm glad it's you' but she would have been shattered. Maya hadn't, however, taken into consideration that she would be actively going after Lucas.
"And it's his brother's wedding at the end of the summer," She continued, giving Maya's leg a few pats, "Which means he'll need a date. I could be that date."
Maybe she could convince Lucas to take Riley - granted she didn't want to particularly convince Lucas of anything other than the fact that he was an asshole, but Riley was talking about this summer with the closest thing to heart eyes Maya had ever seen. She couldn't break her heart.
"Riley!" Topanga's voice echoed through the apartment. And Riley snapped her attention to the door, trying to peer out it without having to get up. That was impossible, Maya knew from multiple attempts at doing the same thing.
"Dad's at work, so mom is making us take a 'family lunch' and go see him," Riley had made sure to use air quotes around the words family and lunch. Maya wasn't sure why as they were probably going to actually have lunch as a family, but she let it slide. "My first day off and I have to go back to school. What a drag. You want to come?"
Topanga yelled again for Riley, this time much closer than the first and slightly more strained as well. That probably meant that she was fighting with Riley's brother, who had begun insisting that everyone call him by his full name August.
"Go to school on a day I don't have to?" Maya's question was laced with sarcasm that Riley immediately picked up on. It was apparent by her over the top pout and her bad attempts to hide a smile, "I'd love to, but I think I'm going to have to pass."
"Fine, but next year don't expect the fix to work for you." Riley furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes. She wasn't intimidating but she gave it her best attempt. She pointed a finger at Maya, "A Matthews never forgets."
"You forget everything," Maya responded, grabbing and wiggling Riley's finger. Riley, of course, was unable to hold back a laugh. That girl somehow managed to be all the sugar and none of the spice, and Maya was perfectly okay with that.
Topanga barged into the room, holding August by the hand. He was dressed in what could only be described as 'Hawaiian tourist casual' and looked curmudgeon about the whole situation. Riley and Maya both jumped a little at the sudden intrusion.
"Did you not hear me yelling for you? I kept saying 'Riley, Riley' and there was no answer," She said, using her free hand to emphasize what she was saying. Talking with their hands was a trait all the Matthews shared, made for an entertaining show.
"I was trying to talk Maya into going," Riley explained gesturing towards Maya who put her hands up in mock protest, "But she'd decided to decline preferring to do literally anything else."
Topanga gave her daughter a deadpan look, and Maya could tell that she was about to launch into a whole spiel about not using her friends to be passive-aggressive about their family activities. This was an argument they'd been prone to since friends started showing up at family game night in middle school.
"She'd right, Mrs. Matthews." Maya chimed in, hoping to stop the argument before it even began. "Those were my exact words actually. 'Literally anything else.'"
"Hey there, darling." Her mother was in the kitchen - which also meant she was in the living room - when she got home. Maya could smell the burning bacon from the hallway, but it was much more palpable inside the apartment. "Your cute friend with you? I'm making lunch."
"He had to go home." Maya responded, sidling up to her mother. Bacon grease popped at the two of them, singing the skin on Maya's forearm and dotting her clothes. BLTs were her mother's specialty.
"More for us then," Katy responded, adding the last few pieces of extra crispy bacon to the pile on the dinner plate next to her. She turned off the oven and poured the still hot grease down the sink - which was something Maya had learned not to do in Home Economics, but her mother was the professional here.
She waited at the table for her mom to assemble the sandwiches, she always felt like a little kid when someone brought the food to her. It seldom happened anymore, now that her mother was working ten hour shifts four nights a week and spent the other three at night school. But the few times it did, they were nice escapes from Maya having to grow up to fast.
"When does your class start?" Katy asked, placing a plate in front of her daughter. Maya's stomach fell - shit. She'd forgotten that she'd told her mom she had a scholarship for the art class. This morning she had been so sure that she would be enrolled, and now she was no closer to that class than she'd been last year.
"Not sure yet," She replied. She took a too large bite out of her sandwich in order to not have to talk for a few minutes. Katy was more than happy to fill the silence with tales from the dinner, which allowed Maya to focus on what was really important.
It was eight days until enrollment in the art class closed. The options were: tell her mom she lied about the scholarship, make the money, or get back with Lucas. None of them were actually viable options. It was either face her mother's disappointment, become a prostitute - because there was no other way she was going to make six hundred dollars that fast - or swallow her anger (and maybe her pride) and face Lucas.
It hadn't even been a full hour yet and she was already considering conceding to him. She didn't owe him an apology, in fact it was the exact opposite, but she really needed that class. And she really needed Lucas to talk to Riley. She also really needed a nap, but that would have to wait. She took two more oversized bites, swallowed with some difficulty and got up from the table.
"Put your plate in the sink, hun." Her mother said, taking time and care in eating her lunch. Maya knew that she would regret eating so quickly, but she didn't have time to savor her meal. She had more important things to do.
She picked her plate up, carried it the three feet to the sink and sat down with a loud thunk. Her mood, which was on the rise from her visit with Riley and a free lunch, had taken a nose dive. She stalked off towards her room.
Maya was fretting having to talk to Lucas, she couldn't flatout apologize because then she would lose all the power in the relationship and negotiations would never get off the ground. She needed to somehow trick him into being the one to apologize. She paused her walk to her room to pull out her phone and shoot off a single text.
We need to talk.
Those four words could scare anyone shitless - she knew from being on the receiving end of them. She was sure Lucas would be starting to sweat already. She chuckled to herself sliding her phone back into her pocket and rounding the door frame into her bedroom.
"Holy fuck!" She screamed. She was pretty sure that she'd managed to jump completely out of her skin and then back into it. Lucas was there. In her room once again.
"Is everything alright, Maya?" Her mother yelled down the relatively short hallway. Maya could hear her mom's chair scrape against the floor, signaling that she was going to come and check out whatever was happening. Maya didn't want her mom and Lucas in the same room again, that could be catastrophic.
"Everything is fine. Just a stray cat." She yelled back, sliding further into her room so she could shut her door. Her mom's next words were muddled but she was pretty sure it was acceptance of Maya's lie. She turned her attention back to Lucas and shouted at him just above a whisper, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I came to apologize," he said. He looked more than a little uncomfortable, like he didn't actually want to be there.
"Apology accepted," she said. Maya didn't want to actually have to sit through an apology from him. It would probably be long and boring, and might even contain words like 'ma'am' and 'ya'll' which would really push her over the edge.
"No, I actually want to do it," He responded, and his discomfort from before seemed to melt away. He was on a mission - and that mission was probably to annoy Maya. "I promise I'll make it short."
Maya's only response was to groan, which Lucas took to mean he could continue.
"I acted like I knew what was best for you and I don't. You know what's best for you," He said, keeping his focus on Maya. She was pretty sure he'd managed to transfer his original discomfort to her and was wishing she knew a way to give it back, "I was a jerk. I'm sorry."
"Are you done?" She asked and she raised an eyebrow at him. He furrowed his brow, trying to figure out if he'd left something out. "So I say again, apology accepted. We have more important things to talk about anyway."
"We do?" He had gone from being confused about one thing to being confused about another. What an idiot this boy was. "If this is about your class, I went ahead and signed you up."
He patted his pants pocket both front and back before reaching into the left front one and pulling out a folded up piece of paper. Maya was the one to close the six foot gap between them and snatch the paper out of his hands. Upon unfolding it, she realized that it was a confirmation of enrollment.
"What if I hadn't accepted your apology?" She asked, not taking her eyes off the paper. She wasn't sure that this was actually happening to her, and she felt a little like she was about to wake up from some weird dream.
"Then I would have to bribe you with something else." he said. The shadow of a smile played on his mouth.
"Wear something nice and meet me at Union Square at five" had been Lucas' parting words. That was over twenty four hours ago, and it had been radio silence from him ever since. He'd even taken his handy charts and pamphlets and entire biographies on his family members with him so she had nothing to study. Not that she would study, of course. But it would have been nice to have the option.
She wore her only dress: a simple black number that hit her just at the knees and had lace sleeves. It was mainly used for funerals. She'd worn silver shoes and a necklace to disguise the fact that it was her funeral dress, but she was sure you could still tell.
She had made sure to be on time, even a few minutes early, but Lucas hadn't been there when she arrived which was slightly worrying. If he had decided to cancel, he could have at least called so she wouldn't have to get dressed up. She'd slid her phone into her bra, and was about to pull it out to check the time when a decade old Toyota Corolla pulled up to the curb next to her.
The driver's side door open and Lucas popped out. He was wearing a black suit and he'd gotten his hair cut. Maya couldn't help but stare. She'd seen him in blazers for semi-formal, but never in a full-blown suit. He looked good - of course he did, everyone looks good in a suit.
"Come on," Lucas yelled to her, gesturing for her to come over. She sighed and moved towards the car, "We're late."
"No," Maya said, pulling open the passenger door, "You're late."
Lucas slid back into the driver's seat, and she definitely caught his eye roll. She wanted to roll her eyes in response, but held back. He probably wouldn't notice anyway. She did, however, take an extra-long time to put on her seatbelt just to spite him.
The moment her belt clicked into place, he took off. Maya was holding onto the overhead handle and middle compartment for dear life. She seldom rode in cars; her mother didn't own one and taxis were far too expensive - seriously who would pay four dollars to get driven a mile. She was raised on the subway so every time she was in a car she felt a little uncomfortable.
This was especially true right now. New York traffic always made her on edge. She constantly expected a wreck. It took her until they hit the Upper East Side to get comfortable. Lucas is a cautious driver, maybe even overly so, but she appreciated it.
"I hope your house isn't decked out in cow print," She said, breaking the silence in the car. Lucas' eyes were straight ahead, but a small smile spread across his lips, "I swear, if anyone is wearing spurs I'm not going to be able to resist the urge to make fun of them."
"If you see spurs I'll make fun of 'em with you." He said, double checking his blind spot before he changed lanes. She half expected him to turn onto the Kennedy and take her into Brooklyn. There was something about him that screamed I live in the rich part of Brooklyn, but when they passed under it she began to wonder.
"Do you live in East Manhattan?" She asked, her brow had begun to furrow as she tried to orient where they were. Lucas stayed quiet, focusing on the steadily increasing traffic around them. "I'd ask if you lived in The Bronx, but its pretty obvious that you don't. No offense."
They slowed down and she noticed the tolls. Where were there tolls on this street? She couldn't quite place it. The water was also a throw off. They'd just been driving past the Harlem River, right? This couldn't also be the Harlem - then it clicked.
"Why are we crossing the Hudson?" She asked, staring out the window into the Hudson River. Her stomach sank, "Oh no, you're not taking me into Jersey."
She tried to open the door, it was locked. Of course it was locked, they were going thirty miles an hour across the George Washington Bridge and Lucas was all about safety. She should have been paying more attention at the toll, which they didn't have to pay since they were entering New Jersey. No one would ever pay to enter Jersey.
"Why did I have to dress nice for Jersey? It's literally America's armpit." She groaned, once again trying to open her door. Lucas pressed the lock button again just to make sure that she wasn't actually going to be able to jump out.
"Maybe don't say those things at dinner." He said, focusing as much of his attention as he could on driving. The heavy traffic was probably stress inducing for him, but having to enter a state that was literally a pile of trash was stress inducing for her.
"Oh, so we're actually having dinner? You didn't bring me out here to kill a drifter?" She said. She'd resigned herself to being stuck in the car against her will. So she crossed her arms, huffed loudly and frowned.
"No, I'm saving that for the second date." He chuckled at his own joke, and Maya despite her best efforts cracked a smile. She, of course, wouldn't let him know that. He was too busy making sure they didn't die in New Jersey to pay attention to what she was doing. So she could get away with a smile at a lame joke without a problem.
He merged into the right lane and took the first exit. They were driving parallel to the Hudson, and she was pretty sure that she'd watched a Law and Order episode that started just like this. If she was going to get murdered by Lucas it sure as hell wasn't going to be in New Jersey.
"Where are we going?" She asked. She shifted her whole body to face Lucas so he knew that she meant business. The traffic was much thinner on the parkway so he didn't have to pay as much attention. There was a long pause, like Lucas was contemplating what to tell her.
"We're going to dinner, Maya," He finally said. He took the first exit off the Parkway, which lead them deep into suburban living.
"I swear to God Lucas. If you Hannibal Lector me I will come back and haunt your ass." She said. Her words sounded jovial, but the tone she delivered them in was completely serious.
"Okay, gross Maya." He said, turning once again down another boring suburban street. Maya was sure she was about to see a group of white women power-walking or someone dragging their child along on a leash. He slowed to a crawl in front of a white privacy fence.
"Please tell me you're not lost." She said, closing her eyes and shaking her head. Not only had he forced her to go to New Jersey he'd gotten her lost there.
"I'm not lost." He said. The car Sturned and she felt a slight bump. Oh god, they'd hit something! Her eyes flew open and she was ready to bolt, there was no way she was going to go to jail tonight. Lucas was calm, still driving only this time it was up a driveway.
"Holy fuck."
She gawked. A home the size of her entire apartment complex sat at the end of a large round driveway - maybe she was exaggerating slightly, but the house was larger than any house she'd seen before. Hell it was like a house ate another house. The only thing she could compare it to was one of those huge, Victorian houses in that Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice movie that Riley had made her watch.
"But, this is New Jersey."