Playing Pretend

Chapter Seven

Riley approached Maya's locker casually with a neutral smile. But Maya was not having it. Her brows shaped to a v as Riley stood in front of her friend. Noticing this, Riley tilted her head quizzically. "Anything.. Wrong?"

Placing her hands on her hips, Maya's eyes narrowed at her. "Where did you go yesterday?"

Riley paled, nervously inhaling through her nose as she attempted to stay casual. "I told you, Lucas and I had a date."

"If you and Lucas had a date, he wouldn't of looked at me as if we were on different planets when I asked him how it went yesterday." She pressed, shaking her head disappointedly. Riley suspiciously narrowed her eyes as well, playing along with Maya's interrogation.

"How come Lucas was at your house yesterday?"

"You would've known if you guys were on a date. He had something personal going on." Riley's face softened as she backed down, sighing in defeat. "Fair enough."

"Seriously, Riley. If you're still having issues with your ex-"

"I am not having issues with my ex."
Riley snapped, cutting her off. "I don't want to talk about him."

"Okay." Maya breathed. "Well the point is, you lied to me yesterday. Who were you meeting?"

Riley opened her mouth nervously, trying to utter her words, which turned into a stutter. "I.. I-"

"Ladies."

Riley stiffened as Maya glanced over to Farkle, who appeared behind Riley. He smiled strangely at the two's distraught expressions, and cocked his head slightly. "Are you guys okay?"

"Never better." Maya rolled her eyes. Riley awkwardly stood there, trying to back herself out of the tension that flooded the hallway.

"I've got to get to class. I can't afford to be late." Riley ran down the hallway, turning into the first class that wasn't even her first period. Just then, Lucas came down the hallway.

"Such an odd morning. What's up with you two?"

Maya rolled her eyes as Farkle explained. "I think I walked into a cat fight." 

"That's only because Riley didn't tell me where she went yesterday." Some teenagers strolled down the hall in fits of giggles as her irritation increased. "She lied to me. She said she was meeting Lucas."

Farkle cleared his throat and shrugged. "Odd."

"Yeah." Maya eyed him suspiciously. "Do you know anything about this?"

He scratched the side of his neck and shook his head. "No. Probably just her ex boyfriend or something. I wouldn't know. I was working on a science project." He chuckled, walking past the two in the hallway.

Maya arched both brows up as she stared ahead, folding her arms in annoyance. Lucas touched her shoulder to grab her attention. "Maya, what's wrong?"

"You know how I can tell he's lying?" She turned to him with a question.

"How?"

She inhaled through her nose and shook her head. "People scratch a part of their body when they lie."

Lucas's lips parted slightly, surprised that innocent Farkle Minkus had actually lied to the both of them. Whatever it had been about, it must've been sacredly important to him.

Was Riley important to him?

"Is the plan back on?" Lucas said, sounding hopeful for some odd reason. He must've really wanted Riley. Maya's eyes reverted back to his as she motioned a small nod before she could even register her actions fully.