Scream Me A Love Song
A Collection of Song Fictions
No. 1 Manhattan From the Sky

A/N: So, during my shorter spans of updates, I'll be working on a series of one-shots, all song-fics. I have a few ideas in mind and I'm more than willing to take requests. I'm focusing on LUCAYA, obviously, but I will write about other ships, if requested as long as I think I can give you the best work possible. LUCAYA, RIARKLE, JOSHAYA, ZAYA, or any sort of triangles are the ones that I'll write without question but a FAYA or a RUCAS story are most likely not going to be written by me, solely because I don't think I can ignore my biases on the subject. Anyways, this song is by Kate Voegele and was featured in the show ONE TREE HILL. This tells the story of LUCAYA from Lucas's point of view, from the moment they met, until the second they got together.

Lucas Friar could remember the first time he had met her.

He'd spotted her long before she had finally walked over to him. As a matter of fact, he had noticed the beautiful girl with her pretty best friend as soon as she had stepped onto the subway cart.

She appeared confident, full of a mysterious air that interested Lucas to no end. She was leading the leggy brunette, something that Lucas would soon realize happened on a daily basis, with the blonde beauty taking charge and leading the way at all times. She was the one who got the ball rolling and caused everything to happen.

If Maya Hart didn't push Riley Matthews into doing something, the brunette would never take a chance. Nothing interesting would ever happen to her, because she would allow her own fear to take over. She would allow her fear of consequences cause her to live playing an eternal game of "what if". That was why Riley needed Maya-she needed somebody to push her off of the edge and force her to take a chance.

But Lucas needed somebody like Maya in his life-somebody unafraid to come right up to him and keep him from holding onto his secrets.

He had known that it was going to be Maya for the rest of his life from the second the blonde had approached him, a mocking smile on her face with an adorable dimple digging into her cheek. Her blue eyes sparkled as her hair fell wildly around her beautiful, heart-shaped face with the full lips that Lucas was already fantasizing over kissing.

"Hi," the blonde chirped, her voice low and sultry.

She wrapped her tiny hands around the long, silver pole of the subway and twirled towards him, spinning around the pole in a way that would haunt Lucas's wild fantasies for the rest of his prepubescent years.

"I'm Maya," She explained, leaning her weight against the pole. "You're really cute," She

observed, giving him a quick once over, nodding slightly as though she approved of exactly what she saw.

He looked at her, trying to comprehend the girl standing there before him. She was tiny-probably just about five feet tall and definitely done growing. Despite her tiny stature, she had a presence that dominated any area that she was in. The entire subway cart seemed to be ruled by her. And every single set of eyes on that cart had glanced over at her at least once.

"We should hang out sometime!" She suggested, eyes lighting up at the idea. "You make me happy," She continued quickly, refusing to give him a second to answer her question.

He grinned, finally noticing the brunette standing before the blonde, her eyes locked

eagerly on the scene before her as she watched the pair with interest. Her intense, brown eyes were wide with wonder as she watched them, her full red lips parted slightly.

"You don't pay enough attention to me," the blonde pouted, demanding his full attention once again.

He panicked, looking at her with wide eyes, wondering if this incredible blonde thought

that the smile he had just released was because of the brunette, rather than the amusement of everything that the blonde was saying. He didn't want to ever upset her. He didn't want her to think that she was his second choice-because he was positive that it was always going to be this blonde beauty who called herself Maya.

"This isn't working," She explained, throwing her hands up in the air.

At some point during her speech, she had taken a seat besides him. Her close proximity

Caused him to be completely speechless. Their knees were touching and his fourteen-year-old self was excited by that much contact with a beautiful girl.

"It's you, not me," She declared, jumping to her feet. "We can still be friends," She told him turning around to head back towards her friend. "Not really," She made a face over her shoulder before officially walking away from him.

He had no idea what had just happened, but he didn't mind the interruption in his morning. He didn't care at all, because this girl was a mystery to him. And she was a mystery that he wanted to solve.

He wanted to learn all that there was to learn about her. He was more than willing to dedicate the rest of his life to figuring out all there was to learn about Maya Hart. He wanted to know what made her angry, what made her sad, what made her happy. And he wanted to learn how to keep her from feeling pain and what he had to do to bring joy to her life.

All he wanted to know was where she was heading that day. He wanted to know what she would be doing for the rest of her life and how he could become a part of it.

She confused him just as much as the world of sky scrapers he had just entered, but just like how he was determined to figure out his new home, he was going to make sure that one day, he knew Maya Hart better than anybody else did. He would understand her better than she knew herself-better than he was sure that brunette knew her.

It didn't matter how complicated Maya was to an outsider. He was going to figure her out if it was the last thing he did.

It was all he wanted-to be the one to conquer Maya Hart. Not in a sexual way, but in a mental way. He wanted to understand who she truly was. He wanted to be able to explain her to other people. He wanted to be able to comprehend her and know the hidden meaning behind everything she said and did. He could tell that she always had an ulterior motive to everything that she did and he wanted to be able to know what that motive was for her every action.

And eventually? He learned how to predict her. He learned who she was. He learned how to understand her. He became a master of all things Maya Hart.

It hadn't taken him very long, of course.

From the second he saw her give the brunette a slight shove, causing her to tumble into his lap, he had understood the way the girl's mind worked. From that moment, his first meeting with her, he had started to understand exactly what type of a girl Maya Hart was.

She was beautiful. She was loyal. She was loving and compassionate and kind. She was talented and generous and insecure, yet confident at the same time. She was mature and she was experienced. And that was why Maya felt like she owed Riley.

She didn't believe that she deserved a friend like Riley. She believed that she was broken and that Riley was this perfect girl who blessed Maya Hart with her friendship. Riley gave her an idea of what a family truly should be, sharing her parents with her. She shared her brother with her. She shared her entire family with her and everything that Riley had, also belonged to Maya.

In return, Maya gave Riley all that she felt she had to offer her. She gave her protection from the harsh realities of the world. She had created the Riley Committee to allow Riley to live in a world where everything was rainbows and butterflies. She made sure Riley was happy no matter what happened. She made sure that Riley always got her way. And she made sure that Riley was always prepared for what was to come her way. She taught her important life lessons, so that Riley was able to truly experience life and all that life had to offer her. Maya took the risks at first, to test the waters, and then she went Riley on her way.

She never tried to share the spotlight. She just allowed her best friend to have it. Because that was who Maya Hart was.

Maya had determined what position Lucas would play in her life.

Lucas knew that he would never be allowed to voice his own thoughts on what role he should have in Maya's life, because the blonde didn't really care about what it was that he wanted. The blonde didn't even care about what it was that she wanted. Because the first thing that Lucas learned about Maya Hart was that she was always going to put Riley Matthews first.

Whether it was Riley's happiness, her safety, her integrity, her purity-it didn't matter what part of Riley it was. Maya was always going to put Riley before herself, because Maya believed that she did not deserve to have anything in life if Riley did not have it for herself, and in a slightly better format.

He had known that about her since the day he had met her. It was part of the reason that he loved her so much. It was the first thing he had noticed about her and truly loved about her, so how could he fault her for it?

So, Maya and Lucas had become the best of friends.

They had their inside jokes.

Maya referred to him as "Huckleberry", "Ranger Rick", "Sundance," "Hop Along" and so many other ridiculous things. She got up close to his face and shouted HA-HURR as though that were the way that he actually talked.

Lucas played up his country twang and all of his southern mannerism. He told her about every stereotypical thing he had done back in Texas and all about his Pappy Joe, just so that she could snicker at the name. He lovingly referred to his mother as "Momma", because he knew that it would humor her.

She swore that she would break him, one day. He assured her that he couldn't wait for that day to arrive. She acted as though she couldn't stand him, putting up with him only because her other friends wanted him to be a part of their group. He pretended that hearing her say things like that didn't hurt her.

They had their relationship and it was perfectly established.

But, it wasn't perfect. No relationship was perfect, after all.

There were times when she slipped up. When she'd stare at him just a bit too long when they were all hanging out in a group. Moments when he would give her a compliment and she would look at him, unable to hide her smile and the way her cheeks tinted the slightest shade of pink. The moments when their hands or their knees would brush and neither one of them was able to ignore the sparks between the pair of them.

Every now and then, she would even allow a compliment to slip out. And while he always chose to ignore the kind words she said to him, knowing what would happen to him if he dared bring it up after it happened, those moments were the ones he lived for. He loved those kind words from her and every one was cherished and locked away, kept for only himself.

Yes, they had their set roles. They were the best of friends and they drove one another absolutely crazy, but they cared for one another all the same.

And somewhere along the development of their friendship, it was established that Riley and Lucas were a couple.

Actually, he knew exactly when that moment had happened. It had been decided as soon as Riley had fallen into his lap on the subway and everybody was supposed to believe it was an act of fate.

Of course, Maya knew the truth. She knew that she had been the spark that started the fire when she had pushed Riley right into his lap.

Riley knew, no matter how hard she tried to pretend that she didn't know. She was well aware of the fact that she hadn't fallen because it was what fate had wanted. Maya had pushed her, timing it perfectly and the universe had not been involved at all.

The girls didn't know it, but Lucas knew as well. He had seen what Maya had done and it had been the first on a long list of things that he loved about her. And he would never tell the girls that he knew, because telling them would mean that he had made a decision between the girls and he knew how they'd react to that.

Besides, it didn't matter what Lucas thought of Riley and every single time he tried to act outside of his designated role, he was reminded of what he was supposed to be doing. He was supposed to be Riley's boyfriend, because that was what the brunette wanted and that was what the blonde was going to ensure that she got.

It didn't matter what Maya knew the truth, that Riley only liked Lucas like she would like a brother. Because Riley wasn't aware that she felt that way, yet. Maya wasn't going to push Riley into taking on knowledge that she wasn't ready to hear, so she allowed Riley to live in a fantasy world.

Even though it was clear to everybody at this point that Maya loved Lucas, it didn't change anything. Riley had declared it for everybody to hear, that Maya had feelings for Lucas. She had decided that she would step back and she had been trying her damn best to do so. But, Maya wasn't going down without a fight.

Lucas had tried. He had tried everything he could imagine to change Maya's mind. He had tried to talk to her at that campfire, learning the truth and trying to figure out the best way to tell her the truth about his own feelings.

But, when he had taken her face in his hands and made a movement to kiss her, he had seen the fear in her eyes.

She was terrified of being with him. She was so worried about what could happen to the both of them if she acted on her feelings. She was scared that she would lose Riley. And she was afraid of Lucas leaving her, realizing that she wasn't what he wanted.

He knew that the last of her fears would never become a reality. He wanted to assure her that she had no reason to fear the two of them being together. But, he couldn't promise that Riley would stay with her forever and he would not risk Maya losing Riley. Because he wasn't sure what would happen to his blonde beauty if she lost the brunette.

So, it didn't really matter that Lucas wanted the blonde. It didn't matter what he would prefer, because he had been given a role and he had to play it.

He promised Maya that he would never hurt her, and it would destroy her to see Riley's happiness crushed. So, the solution was to do whatever it was that Maya asked him to do. And what she wanted was for Lucas to stay exactly where he was, continuing to play the role that was assigned to him.

That was what had been determined after the entire Texas-Scandal, when she had told him that all she wanted was for things to stop.

So, that's what he was doing, but he vowed that he was going to jump at the chance to be with her as soon as the next opportunity arose. As soon as Riley released him, he was going to race to wherever Maya was and declare his undying love for her.

She might not believe him, when he said that one day they'd be together, but she could choose to live in a fantasy. He meant every single word he said to her, especially the ones about how he felt about her. About the way that she made him feel. And she could just take his word for that.

One day.

One chance.

That was all that Lucas had asked for and that was all that Maya had ever given him. She had told him as much while it was happening-she had told him when she had agreed to the meeting in the first place. And she had told him again when their plans were over.

He had surprised her with tickets to a Broadway show for her birthday during their freshman year-a treat and an apology for the love triangle that she had been forced into.

For the love triangle that she had ended. He hadn't had the courage to end it and he had risked losing the girl that he loved forever by prolonging it. And Riley had been too terrified of it ending to ever do anything to make it end. She was terrified of what Lucas's choice would be, so she was content with Lucas refusing to decide.

Which was why Maya had ruined everything, when he had finally gotten the final bit of courage needed to push him over the edge.

"You make a decision about us yet?" Maya asked, grabbing onto his shirt and pulling him close to her, their noses brushing just a bit and their lips close enough for him to breathe in her peach-flavored lip gloss.

"I did," He smiled, his green eyes locked on hers.

He knew that she knew what that smile meant. He knew that she was fully aware that he was about to pick her. And he knew that it terrified her.

Which was why he knew, as soon as she released his shirt, pushing him away from her and her expression changed, that he wasn't going to like what she was about to say.

"Well, it doesn't matter," She rolled her eyes.

"Of course it matters!" Farkle exclaimed, eyes growing as wide as saucers as his jaw dropped nearly to the floor in shock.

"Come on, Maya! We've been waiting for almost two years," Zay whined, slamming his head back against Riley's wall.

"It doesn't matter," Maya snapped, glaring at the boys. "It doesn't matter," She said softly, flashing a smile towards her best friend. "Because he picked Riley," she whispered.

"What?" Riley's jaw dropped even wider than Farkle's own. And then she turned to look at Maya in confusion, a bit of hurt in her eyes.

"How do you know?" She asked, as though accusing Maya of something.

But, before anybody could answer or Lucas could take back control of the situation, Riley's excited smile was back in place and her arms were wound around Maya's waist, pining her arms to the side as she hugged her friend tightly, celebrating the news.

"YAY!" She shrieked. "I'm so sorry, Maya," She said, a bit of concern for her friend filling her eyes, but it disappeared as soon as she saw the content smile on Maya's face. "YAY!"

Lucas stared at her, trying to understand what she had just said.

"It doesn't matter who you picked, because either way, you picked Riley," Maya explained, squirming out of Riley's hold.

Her eyes were locked of Lucas's and it was clear that she was scolding him, ordering him to believe every word that was about to come out of her mouth. Because she was giving him a way out of this triangle-giving them both a way out. And she knew that it was only going to make Riley truly happy, but that was all that she cared about.

"If you picked Riley, you picked her," Maya explained. "But, if you picked me…well, you picked Riley, because that's how I've been acting recently," She shrugged.

"What do you want?" Lucas wondered, staring at her and praying that she would finally speak her mind.

"I need to figure out how I feel about you, acting like myself," Maya told him, flashing him a small smile that gave him just enough hope.

Which was why it didn't matter that he was dating Riley at the time-that Maya had told him that he was picking Riley, so he had agreed to picking Riley. He still wanted Maya and he was going to have a taste of having her if it killed him-which he was sure there was a fair chance of it doing, because she wasn't known to hold back when it came to Riley's potentially being hurt.

It had rained that day and they had gotten to the city early in the day, so that Maya could work on some art projects with a few different subjects than what she had access to closer to home.

They had been standing on the corner of Broadway and 48th street, after finally giving into the horrible rain that day and trying to hail a cab, when their moment finally happened. He had been offering all day, but she had refused because she didn't want him to spend that type of money and he had forced her to leave her wallet at home, vouching that the entire day was on him.

"Thank you," Maya blurted out suddenly, shocking him from the silence they'd been in since their hands had briefly brushed one another's when they had left Madison Square Garden about thirty minutes ago.

"What?"

He was grateful that she was talking to him-that she had finally broken the silence. Because he had no idea what to say to her. If he spoke, it was going to be about one of their many moments together, and that would just make everything worse. So, he had endured the excruciating silence.

What shocked him, though, was the fact that she had thanked him for something. And he had no idea what it was that she was thanking him from.

"Thank you for picking Riley-for staying with her. For doing what I asked," She whispered, lowering her head as her voice got softer with every word that she spoke.

"You know I'd do anything to make you happy," He told her, stuffing his hands in his pockets, staring at the ground.

"You always make me happy, Ranger Rick," she blushed, cheeks tinted that beautiful shade of pale pink they turned whenever he said something that she thought was inappropriate and drifted outside of their "just friends" boundaries.

"I don't get why you always put her first, you know," Lucas said, interrupting the small span of silence that passed between them, kicking at the ground below him and hating the concrete jungle he had been forced into.

The only thing that made him happy about being transported to New York was that he had met Maya Hart as a result.

"You just wouldn't understand," Maya rolled her eyes, reaching up to twist her hair up into a messy bun on the top of her head, trying to save it from the horrible rain that was falling around them, despite the umbrella Lucas had purchased for them.

"Try me," He challenged.

He knew that she wasn't going to say anything more. She would never try to explain it, because she knew that it wouldn't make any sense to anybody but herself. She knew that it didn't even make sense in her own mind.

But, she should know that he would try to understand. He would try to make it all make sense, because he wanted nothing more than to understand her and her every feeling. If he could figure out the way that her brain worked, especially in regards to this whole Riley mess, he might be able to get her to put herself first for once. He might be able to save the blonde beauty from herself.

"You're an amazing guy, Lucas," she said, using his first name which meant that their conversation was going to be serious. "Any girl would be lucky to have you," she said honestly.

"You could be that girl, Maya," he pointed out.

"I can't!" Maya insisted.

"Why?"

"Because you know that Riley's in love with you, Huckleberry and if you're going to act like the Huckleberry that I know you are, you're not going to just dump her for her best friend. You would never break either of our hearts, would you? So, one of us had to decide and Riley made it clear she was going to fight for you. She told me she would fight for you, and she never tells me that she's going to fight for anything. How could I, the person who taught her to fight for what she believes in, try to stop her from doing that? So, I stepped aside," Maya glared at him, arms crossed tightly over her chest as she spoke to him.

"What happens if, after a year, I can't bring myself to feel the same way for her as I feel about you?" Lucas asked, staring at her intently.

"Then you can break up with her. You can make up whatever excuse you need. And then you wait a little bit. You talk to her about everything and you make sure she's okay, and then we can give it a shot," she said, flashing him a small smile.

Lucas grinned, counting that as a success.

It was an invitation into a deeper part of her world.

"But, just remember that I'm not a Southern Belle, and I'm never going to be one. I'm a city girl, born and raised," she smirked.

"What's that got to do with you and me?"

"Are you sure you can handle that? We're polar opposites."

"Well, ma'am, I hate to disappoint you, but I could make a damn good city boy," he said,

tipping an imaginary cowboy hat towards her.

Because if the fact that they were polar opposites was the only thing that was keeping Maya from being with him, he would do whatever it took to become as similar to her as possible. If that's what it took for their relationship to blossom, he would do it.

"I know that you want to be with me," Lucas declared, storming into Maya's bedroom and slamming the door shut behind him. "So why are you continuing to lie to me and to yourself?"

"I'm not lying," Maya insisted, shaking out her hair so that the strands falling from her messy bun fell into her face, creating a shield between the two of them while she worked at her easel in the brightest corner of her room.

Ever since their conversation in the city, Maya had started to distance herself from him. Especially when he was going to be with Riley. And whenever she was forced to be around the couple, she was so far from being herself. It didn't take a genius to figure out that something was wrong with Maya and Lucas knew right away what the problem was.

She was heartbroken, watching her best friend with the boy that she loved. She was torn, forcing Lucas to be with Riley, because she knew that it was just making them all miserable in the long run.

"Don't act all shy and innocent. Don't try to pretend that you have no idea what you're doing," He demanded.

Maya continued to paint, ignoring Lucas's shouts.

Lucas hated when she did that. Whenever she started to act like this, he just got angry. It wouldn't make him hate her, of course, and that made it even worse. He knew that she was only doing it because she thought that the meaner she was to him-the more she ignored him-the closer he would come to hating her.

But that would never happen. He would never leave her and he would never hate her. He was never going to get over her. Even if he went his whole life never having a chance with her, she would forever remain in his heart. She was going to be the one that got away, unless he ended up with a chance with her. And if he did, he was never going to let her go. He was certain about that one.

"Ranger Rick, just knock it off. I've been busy, so I've been a little absent lately. It's not for any particular reason," she rolled her eyes, but kept her hair in her face, even though he knew that she despised the way her hair messed up her artwork, obstructing her view.

He didn't know why she seemed to ignore the fact that he knew her better than anybody else. It bothered him sometimes, the way she didn't even seem to notice all of the extra attention he had paid her since he met her. She was well aware of the fact that she knew him better than any of his other friends, including Zay, yet she was so naïve to the fact that he knew her better than anybody else could ever dream of knowing her.

"You don't have to be so strong around me. Take down those ridiculous walls you put up around you. This stupid false anxiety bullshit you're trying to give me isn't working," he rolled his eyes, dropping down onto her bed.

"You should be with your girlfriend right now. Do you give her this much attention?" Maya replied.

From the way her grip tightened around her paint brush, Lucas knew that Maya regretted her question. He could tell she held a bit of bitterness towards the brunette, because she had referred to her as his "girlfriend" rather than by her name. But, the whitening knuckles around the thin brush indicated that she knew the answer to his question and hadn't wanted him to confirm it.

So, he didn't.

He ignored the question, just like he was ignoring all the rest of her attempts to get him to change the subject.

"What do I have to do to make you mine? To make you realize how perfect we are together?" he wondered.

She threw her paint brush to the ground, the excess blue paint flying from the bristles and splattering the hard wood floor around her easel. She didn't pay it a second glance as she whirled around, pushing her hair from her face.

"I'm terrified, Lucas! Why can't you see that?" She blurted out.

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid of losing Riley. I know that if I tell you that I love you just as much as you love me, we're going to be together. And that's something that neither of us will ever end, because we're both terrified of losing one another. Of hurting the other one. But, I'm even more terrified of losing Riley and if you and I are together, I lose my best friend," Maya snapped.

"What kind of friend expects you to ignore your own happiness?"

"She doesn't! She has no idea that I love you, Lucas!"

"How is it possible that she doesn't know? I know, and Farkle knows and Isadora knows and even Zay knows! Everybody knows and she's supposed to know you better than you know yourself, so tell me how it's possible that she doesn't know!" Lucas snapped, his voice raising and he had to fight the urge to yell at her, because he had always sworn he would never yell at her.

"Because I won't tell her! She's asked me and I've lied to her about it!"

"How does she not know that you're lying?"

"Because…because…I don't know!"

"I'll tell you why! Because she doesn't want to know. So she's living in the same fantasy world that you're living in," Lucas accused.

"I don't want her to know, Lucas. Because if she knew that I loved you, rather than it just being the same silly crush that she has on you, this entire thing would be different. But I'm never going to tell her that, because she told me the other day that she's in love with you!" she yelled, not even bothering to control her volume.

"So what? Why do Riley's feelings mean more than yours?"

"Because my job is to protect her!"

"Being her best friend doesn't make you her guardian!"

"You should be trying to protect her, too! You're her boyfriend," Maya accused, the final word coming out like a harsh accusation, a nasty tinge of bitterness clinging to the two syllables as though it belonged there-as though it were a part of the word and its pronunciation and even its meaning.

"Because you told me that I had to be, Maya," Lucas snapped, jumping to his feet.

He couldn't sit there anymore and listen to the accusations. He had to do something. He had to end this nonsense once and for all. It didn't even matter to him if he lost both girls. It wouldn't change his current situation-secretly pining over Maya from a distance. In fact, it would make life easier on him because all of the guilt he felt for longing for his girlfriend's best friend would be gone.

He would be free to watch Maya and lust after her all that he wanted. To his heart's desire. He could fantasize about her and dream and imagine what it would be like. But, he wouldn't be picturing the blonde beauty rather than his brunette girlfriend, which would make him feel a lot better about himself.

"Lucas, I'm not just terrified of losing Riley," Maya said, staring at him. "Everybody leaves me eventually, you know that. I'm terrified of you and how strongly I feel about you. Because even though I know that you'll never leave me, I can't help but be afraid of losing you," she admitted.

"If fear were money, you'd be a god damn billionaire, you know that, right?" He snorted, unable to hide his bitter amusement at her admission. "But all that money? You'd still be alone, just like you are now, left in this big comfy chair by a fire place surrounded by all of this artwork that doesn't mean anything to you while you count your stacks of money," he was sure that his eyes were dark, as he said these hurtful words he didn't mean and could never take back.

"Maybe I'm just destined to be alone," Maya challenged.

That was when Lucas had finally had enough.

He crossed the room, reaching her in four quick steps. He grabbed her face in his hands, pulling her close to him and pressing his lips against her own, claiming her mouth in a kiss. It was her first kiss, he knew that to be true, and he didn't care that he had been gifted Riley's first kiss and was currently stealing away Maya's.

All that he could focus on were her soft lips, pressed against his own. Her beautiful mouth so close to his, finally silent from something that he had said.

Throughout their entire game, the challenge had been when she would break him. Nobody had ever expected that Lucas would be the one to break her-to leave her at a loss for words. Neither one of them would have predicted that moment.

Lucas didn't even care that he was cheating on his girlfriend. Riley was the furthest thing from his mind, because all he wanted to focus on was Maya, the beautiful blonde that he was kissing like he had never been kissed before.

That moment, he was sure of it, should have been his first kiss.

A part of him hated Riley for stealing that kiss from him. For grabbing his face and pulling him close and claiming his first kiss right on the subway for anybody to see. He hated that she had done that without any regard for what he may have wanted.

But, he knew that he couldn't be too bitter, because he had stolen Maya's in a similar fashion. Sure, there was nobody around to see the moment and he was sure that Maya would never broadcast this story proudly for all to hear, but it was happening. It was similar to the moment by the campfire, all those years ago, but it was different as well.

He could have taken her first kiss then. Ended all of this nonsense before it started. But, he didn't do that because he didn't want to take Maya's first kiss unless he was certain that was what she wanted.

If he had done it then, however, there would be no guilt. Riley had no claim over him and he wouldn't be a cheater. Maya wouldn't be a homewrecker.

But, now, Lucas just didn't care.

He no longer cared about Riley or her feelings or her claims over him. He didn't care that she was his girlfriend and that he was betraying her. He didn't even want to remember that the girl existed, because all she had done was prolonged this moment for him.

And he really didn't care about whether or not Maya was ready to act on her feelings for him, because he just couldn't wait any longer. She never had to kiss him again after this. She never had to speak to him again. This was his final attempt to make things work for the both of them, and if it failed, he would admit defeat.

But, until he knew for sure that he was going to have to do that, he was going to savor every last second of this kiss.

"I broke up with Riley."

The words were stated clearly and firmly. There wasn't a single ounce of regret in his voice as he told her.

"What?"

The beautiful blonde whirled around, the dark blue oil pastel she'd been using dropping to the ground as she turned her focus away from her easel. Her hair had been tossed up into a careless ponytail, telling Lucas that she had started her masterpiece as soon as the idea had struck her. By this point, so many pieces had fallen out of the ponytail that she was wipped in the face by her curls and the ponytail holder itself only held about five inches of her long, wild mane. Her face was smudged with various shades of blue marks, from where she had tried to fix her hair or rub at her eyes. And she was dressed in a pair of grey, plaid flannel pajama shorts with a navy blue, fitted racer back tank top that had ridden up just enough.

He had never seen her look better in his life, because this was the true Maya Hart. The girl that so few people got to truly know. But, he had studied long and hard in order to earn this right. To be allowed to stare at her in her natural state. To know the way that her mind worked.

"I broke up with Riley," he repeated, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he stared sheepishly at the ground.

He wasn't ashamed of himself for showing up at her house immediately after his breakup with her best friend. He wasn't feeling guilty for being the one to tell her, before Riley had a chance to inform her. And he didn't regret what he had done-not even a little bit.

The only reason his head was lowered was because he knew that Maya was going to be upset with him. He knew that she was going to immediately jump into panic mode and have no idea how to handle the situation. He knew that she would be a loss for how to process the information that she had just received.

"You can't be here," She blurted out, blue eyes filling with panic as she raced towards her closet, pulling open the door and cringing just a bit as it creaked.

"What?"

"You just broke up with my best friend. And that means that she's either going to show up at my door in ten minutes, or I'm going to get a phone call in thirty seconds to tell me about what happened. And when that happens, you can't be here," She said frantically, grabbing for a grey, pin-stripped, boyfriend blazer with a navy, sweatshirt material hood.

"Maya, calm down."

"I can't calm down, Huckleberry! You just broke up with Riley and she needs me and you can't be here for that. Don't you understand what you've done?" She stared at him with pleading eyes as she grabbed a pair of light denim shorts and swapped them out for her pajama shorts, disappearing into the closet to make the change.

"She's not going to call you," Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Are you stupid? I'm her best friend. Of course she's going to call me!" Maya hurried out of the closet, tripping over herself in her effort to slip on a pair of navy blue flip-flops.

"No, she isn't, because she's with Farkle," Lucas replied.

"What?" Maya froze, eyes growing wide.

"She's with Farkle," He explained.

"How long ago did this break up occur?" Maya asked, turning around to face him with an eyebrow raising in the air.

"About….an hour?" Lucas shrugged his shoulders, hands still in his pocket.

"An hour? She told Farkle before she told me…. what exactly did you say to her when this whole thing happened?" Maya crossed her arms over her chest.

"I…uh…. well, I told her that I couldn't pretend anymore, and she said that she was wondering how long it would take me to come clean about the entire situation. And then I asked her what she meant and she told me that she always knew I wanted to be with you, and she was glad that I was finally doing something about it. Then, she told me to go and get you. And she called Farkle while I was leaving," He explained, tints flushing a bit as he realized what he had done.

"You told Riley that you have feelings for me? You told your girlfriend that you had feelings for her best friend?" Maya gasped.

"I wasn't going to lie to her when I broke up with her," Lucas rolled his eyes.

"She's going to hate me!"

"She's not going to hate you. You didn't do anything, Maya."

"I can't be with you."

"Why?"

"Because she's my best friend!"

"She called Farkle because she loves him!"

"Well he's with Smackle!"

"Not if he can have Riley!"

"That's wrong! That's not how relationships work. People don't just get together because they can't have the person they really want. That's awful!" Maya snapped, yanking off the jacket and throwing it across the room.

"But it's what does happen, Maya," Lucas explained patiently.

"This is somehow all my fault, isn't it?" She wondered, lowering her head.

"Smackle and Farkle got together long before you pushed me to be with Riley," Lucas shook his head, refusing to let her feel guilty.

"Why me?" Maya asked, wrapping her arms around herself to hug herself for a little bit of support.

"Because it's always been you, Maya," Lucas whispered, taking a cautious step towards the beautiful blonde.

"Farkle said that he always loved the both of us equally and that he would never choose, because it meant he would lose one of us. He said that not picking was the best thing that he ever did. So…why are you picking?" Maya cocked an eyebrow, a bit of her usual attitude coming back.

"Because I have to choose, because Farkle's a genius and I'm an idiot with a face," He smirked.

"An idiot with a face? That's not really what I see you as," Maya said, making a face as she loosened up the tight grip she had on herself, resolving to just keep her arms crossed instead.

"Oh yeah? What do you see me as?" He took another step towards her, immediately drawn into the game that they were playing, even if he didn't know the rules.

"Hmmm…well, you're a bit of a Huckleberry," She said playfully, taking a small step towards him.

"That all?" He wondered, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Well, you're a Hop Along and a Sundance, too," She smirked, unhooking her arms as she took a few more steps towards him, stopping when she was right in front of him, her face only inches from his chest.

"That all you got?"

"A bit of a Ranger Rick," She observed, looking up at him thoughtfully.

"That the best that you got?" He wondered, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, one more thing," She said, as though the idea had just occurred to her.

"And what would that be?" He smirked.

She grinned, taking a deep breath and moving her face in closer to his, rising up to her tip-toes as she released the breath.

"HA-HURRRR!"

And then Lucas had her face in his hands, leaning down to capture her lips with is own, one hand slowly sliding down to her waist and resting there. Her arms shot up, locking around his neck as she held on tightly. He took a few steps closer to her, laughing against the kiss as she began to trip, trying to back up while he walked. He finally reached his destination, pushing her up against the wall.

He moved his hands, lying them flat against the wall behind her and pressed his forehead against hers as the pair tried to catch their breaths. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were sparkling in a way that he had never seen them before. And he could feel the intensity and fire radiating from his dark green eyes as he stared at her, wondering if this was to be his last chance with her, or if it was just the beginning.

"How did you know? All of this time?" She wondered, the words coming out hitched and breathless.

"You were a mystery to me, from the day that I met you," He told her. "You were as confusing to me as this new city I was tossed into. And I was sure that there was no way I was ever going to know all there was to know about you. But, I wanted to try," He explained.

"I don't understand," She frowned.

"On the outside…you appeared absolutely perfect. Like you were totally put together. And the more I got to know about you…the more complicated you became. The closer I got to you, the harder it seemed to figure you out," He sighed.

"You took the time to get to know me," Maya whispered.

"I did…and it was worth it. It was absolutely worth it," He promised her, flashing her that earnest grin that he had given her the first time she had seen him on the subway.

And then she was pulling his face down to hers again, kissing him hungrily, as though finally getting all of her feelings out in the open.

Yes, Maya Hart had always been his Manhattan from the sky-the girl who seemed so perfect, until you got a closer look and realized what a mess she was inside. But, if somebody took the time to really get to know her, they would realize that it was well worth all of the effort. And Lucas was so glad that he had taken that time, because this kiss-this amazing girl-was his reward.