whoa, i know
Sitting at the bay window, Maya couldn't stop fidgeting with her hands. She couldn't believe that Zay had done that after she specifically told him that she was straight. Not that there was anything wrong with being gay, but she wasn't .
“Okay, so we're just going to tell them that we’re not gay and withdraw our nomination,” Maya said.
“Or we could just roll with it.”
“Roll with it? Riley, they think we're lesbians. It's ridiculous.”
“But we're popular now, Peaches. Before that party, the only people who knew our names were our teachers, Farkle, and Geralyn, the lunch lady. This could work a lot better than my communism plan.”
“But we're not gay.”
“Everyone has a lesbian phase in college. We're just moving ours up.”
“But you want to date Lucas, don't you? He thinks we're a couple.”
“Straight guys love lesbians and last night, I think we really connected. I think he was flirting with me.”
“Really?”
“Why is that so hard to believe?”
“I guess I just don't think that he would flirt with someone who's a lesbian and taken. Seems kind of pointless.”
“I'm just that irresistible.”
“Okay, goofball, we gotta go to school.”
When Riley and Maya arrived at school (arms linked, as usual), they were met with applause and congratulations. They had gotten a lot of free food from people, commending the two girls for their bravery. The two girls had even been asked to do an interview with the school’s journalist, Isadora Smackle. Everyone was thrilled that Abigail Adams had their first out lesbian couple and that they were probably going to be homecoming royalty. Well everyone, except one person - Missy Bradford. She was supposed to be homecoming queen, she thought it was her rite of passage. So when she found out that Riley and Maya were elected as lesbian homecoming queens, she was furious. And furious was putting it lightly. Missy stormed into the school, heading straight towards Riley and Maya, looking like she was out for blood.
“Are you kidding me? You two think you’re going to be homecoming queens? This is ridiculous!” she started yelling. “I know we live in New York City and we’re all liberal and accepting but this is homecoming. Marriage might be between whatever genders, but homecoming belongs to one king and one queen.”
Before Riley and Maya could say anything, Zay came to their defense. “Leave them alone Missy.”
And in her typical Missy Bradford fashion, she stormed off, going to find her boyfriend, Billy Ross to complain about how bizarre it was that two lesbians are going to be running for homecoming queens.
“Do you know how huge this is? It's amazing. The first gay homecoming candidates. I'm so proud,” Zay said with a big grin on his face.
“The brunette is really cute,” Lucas said, with a sheepish smile.
“Classic hetero, pining after the lesbian,” Zay said, rolling his eyes.
“I'm just saying she's cute, I'm not gonna date her or anything.”
“You're Lucas Friar, you could get literally any girl you wanted.”
“True.”
Zay thought he was saying true, meaning he would find another girl, but Lucas took it as that he could get any girl he wanted, including Riley Matthews.
“Riles, come to the bathroom with me,” Maya whispered, but loud enough so that Riley could hear her in the noisy cafeteria.
Riley simply nodded and put Maya’s hand in hers, while they got up to go to the bathroom.
“What's up, Peaches?”
“I don't know if I can go through with this whole ‘pretending to be a lesbian thing’ anymore,” the blonde admitted.
“But it's the best thing that's ever happened to us!” Riley protested.
“No, it's the best thing that's ever happened to you,” Maya argued. “You got your popularity, you got the boy, and I got a big old pile of stinking nothing. I just wish we could go back to the way it was, Riles. When it was just us.”
“Maya...I...I don't want to go back.”
“Then good luck finding another girlfriend by the homecoming assembly,” Maya snapped, as she left, slamming the girls’ bathroom door behind her.
Maybe it was because of the slam or maybe it was just because Riley was in shock, but she wasn't able to hear Missy Bradford’s gasp.
Going back out to lunch, without each other was weird for the both of them. Even though it had only been minutes, they both felt out of place when they weren't walking side by side. Maya tried to rid the terrible feeling of not having Riley’s hand in hers and tried to rationalize her decision while also trying to look like she was fine. But she wasn't. She was hurt. Hurt that Riley would choose being popular and Lucas Friar over what Maya wanted. Hurt that Riley didn't care that she wasn't getting anything out of this. Hurt that she wasn't enough for Riley. Hurt that Riley wanted popularity more than she wanted friendship. Meanwhile, Riley was trying to rid herself of the same feeling. Trying to look like she was fine. Something she had become quite good at over the years. But she was still hurt that Maya didn't want to go along with her plan. Hurt that Maya walked out on her. Hurt that Maya didn't see how much this meant to her. Walking to the cafeteria, with nowhere to go because sitting Maya was obviously not an option anymore, was a terrible feeling. She then felt a light tap on her shoulder from none other than Lucas Friar.
“Where's your girlfriend?”
“Oh, uh, we broke up,” Riley said quickly.
“I'm sorry to hear that, do you wanna talk about it?” Lucas asked, leading Riley down to a table for them to sit at alone.
“Not really.”
“Okay.”
After some silence and picking at her food, Riley breaks the silence saying, “We’re just different people. We always have been. I think we've just been holding on to a relationship that we've both outgrown. I mean, it wasn't all bad. She's the only person I can watch Red Planet Diaries with because she only talks during the commercials and sings along perfectly to the theme song with me. She gets along great with my brother. And when my hamster died, she was the only one who could make me smile.”
Riley couldn't help but smile when she was talking about all the good times she had had with Maya. She's realizing that there's nothing more important than her friendship with Maya.
“Excuse me, I have to go.”
Riley runs around the school looking for Maya until she winds up on the roof, where she's having trouble breathing because of her acrophobia.
“Don't jump?” Riley offers, lightly.
“Don't flatter yourself,” Maya grumbled. “How did you find me?”
“I knew you would find the tallest place in this school to get away from me because I'm scared of heights but I'm facing my fear,” Riley said with a whimper of terror. “I'm facing my fear to apologize. You were right. I was being selfish with this whole gay thing. I dragged you into against your will.”
“Don't stop when it's getting good.”
“Maya, I'm not strong like you. I care what people think. And you have to stand out to fit in. And I'm so ordinary.”
“You may be a lot of things but ordinary isn't one of them.”
“Yeah right, being gay is the only reason people notice me. But if the price of popularity is losing my best friend, then I don't want it. It's not worth it. You're the Fey to Poehler, the Rihanna to my Katy Perry, the Lucy to my Ethel.”
Rolling her eyes and turning to face Riley, Maya said, “We both know I'm the Ethel. And if you want to stand, I'm gonna help make that happen.”
“Maya...are you saying what I think you're saying?” Riley asked, with a shit eating grin appearing on her face.
“Let's be lesbians.”
Riley let out her signature “YAAAAAY!!!” and hugged Maya.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best friend ever!”
Meanwhile, back in the gymnasium, Abigail Adams was having their homecoming assembly. The only other couple up against Riley and Maya were Billy Ross and Missy Bradford. Given by the light applause for Billy and Missy, it was obvious who was going to win. But that didn't stop Missy from her speech.
“I believe in tradition. I think tradition is one of the most important things we have today. Society is a patchwork of traditions that have been handed down from those before us and -”
“Like slavery!” Zay shouted from the crowd, drawing a few laughs and snaps.
“Not like slavery!” Missy snapped. “Like a gentleman holding the door open for a lady or not talking with your mouth full. So just remember, a vote for me and Billy is a vote for tradition.”
“Yeah!” Billy yelled, a little unconvincingly.
The principal clapped her hands slowly while taking the microphone to announce the next couple.
“Thank you Missy for that...interesting speech. And now we're going to hear from Abigail Adams first same-gender candidates for homecoming, Riley Matthews and Maya Hart!”
Cheers erupted for the audience of students. After some prompting, Missy and Billy unenthusiastically clapped along with them.
“Woooooo!” Zay practically screamed.
Riley and Maya walked in the gym from the double doors, hands clasped together, raising their hands together. Riley and Maya barely got to the center of the gym before Missy was grabbing the microphone.
“Missy, give me back the microphone,” the principal said.
“Not until you all hear this!” she yelled. “There's something you all should know. They're not really lesbians!”
Riley and Maya looked at each other with a face of sheer panic.
“Missy, please give me the microphone.”
“They're just pretending! So that you'll all like them! I heard them talking about it in the bathroom! They're mocking the gay rights movement!”
“Riley, Maya, is this true?” the principal asked.
“I...I can explain,” Riley said in a small voice.
But Maya, being the brace person that she is, yelled, “If we’re faking it, would I do this?”
She then grabbed Riley by the jaw and kissed her for what felt like forever. The cheers once again erupted but all Maya could feel were the butterflies in her stomach and ringing in her ears. Who knew Riley's lips would feel so soft and like they were meant to be on her lips?
As they pulled away, Riley uttered a “woah.”
“I know,” Maya said, her heart still pounding one hundred beats per minute.
“Way to sell it.”
Shit , Maya thought. Shit shit shit shit shit.