skinny love- rilaya

the aftermath

For the remainder of the dance, I didn't see much of Lucas, which I was pretty happy about, because that meant Riley's full attention was all on me.

Whenever I tried to bring him up, Riley brushed it off like it was nothing and then changed the subject. It seemed like she was hiding something, but she wouldn't even let me dwell on it because of all the dancing we were doing.

Now Riley and I are walking into her house, heels in our hands, our feet aching, but our hearts happy. We're having a sleepover tonight, something we haven't done in a while, and I couldn't be more excited.

"How was the dance, little ones?" Cory asks as he enters the living room, Topanga following close behind.

I shrug, glancing over at Riley, since it's her parents and I'm sure they're much more interested in her side of the story than mine.

"It was okay.. Dancing, talking, food, the usual.." She replies casually, resulting in odd looks on her parents faces. Like me, they aren't used to Riley being this calm, especially since she always talked about this night being the most important of her entire adolescent life.

"Okay.. and Maya? How'd you enjoy the dance?" A skeptical Topanga asks, keeping her gaze on Riley because like me, she can tell something is up.

"I just can't wait to take this friggin' dress off." I laugh, and Riley and I trudge through the living room, on our way to her bedroom. Riley gives me a quiet laugh, almost inaudible, as she pushes open her bedroom door and tosses her heels in her closet.

I still haven't forgotten about Riley's face at the dance. Her eyes were filled with pain, and I can't seem to get the image out of my mind.

Letting out a sigh, I sit down at the foot of her bed, starting to massage my aching feet. They're literally throbbing from walking around in my heels, as I'm more accustomed to ones with thicker heels, or wedges. Stilettos, not really my thing.

"Pumpkin. I need a massage." I say as I face plant onto her bed, my head landing on her white pillow (which I'm sure I've now ruined with all my makeup). I can hear her rustling through her closet, most likely finding something for the both of us to wear. I always keep pajamas at her house just in case we're in the mood for am impromptu sleepover, like tonight.

I hear some more rustling, and then loud footsteps coming closer. All of a sudden I feel her jump onto my back, straddling my sides. She's now wearing a white tanktop and purple polka-dotted pj shorts. She sits at the arch of my back, right before my
bottom, and her small, gentle hands go to my shoulders, which she begins rubbing gingerly.

I giggle, turning my head to the side so that I'm no longer being smothered by the pillow, and can breathe. "Thank you sweets." I murmur in bliss, as her hands work their magic on my tense shoulders and back.

"Anything for you peaches." She sings, and for a moment it feels like she's back to her old happy-go-lucky self. To check if that's true, I decide to bring up Lucas again. Maybe now that some time had passed, she won't be as defensive about whatever happened.

"Hey, princess." I pipe up.

"Yes?" She asks quietly, seeming to be off in her own little world, as usual.

"You're gonna have to tell me about what happened at the dance sooner or later."

Her hands immediately stop moving, and she picks them up, climbing off of my back and then off of the bed. Sighing, I sit up and look over at her. There's a sad look on her face, and the pain has returned to her eyes. That usual sparkle has disappeared.

"It's nothing, Maya.. Lucas and I just had a bit of an argument." She whispers. I want to believe her, but based on her reaction, I know it's got to be something more.

"C'mere honey." I coo, gesturing for her to return to the bed. She slowly makes her way back, sitting beside me, our knees touching. I take both of her hands and intertwine our fingers, giving her a reassuring smile. "Listen, whatever happened between you two, whatever he said, I'm sure it'll all blow over by Monday. Nobody can stay mad at you." I grin, and thankfully that gets a small smile from her.

"You're probably right, Maya. Thanks." She lets go of my hands and instead wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me in for a long hug. I hold her close to me, just enjoying the moment and the fact that she's over whatever happened at the dance. I know that Lucas isn't worth her tears, but she's still trying to figure that out. She will eventually.

"Now, let's go to bed. Dad's making pancakes in the morning and if we don't wake up early enough, Auggie will eat them all and there will be none left for us." She explains, clearly concerned about the lack of pancakes in her household.

Shaking my head, I just laugh and rest my hand on her knee.
"Alright Riles, just let me get into my pajamas." I stand up and walk over to her dresser, where she has laid them out for me already.

Riley has seen me change about a billion times, but now that we've kissed and I could possibly have feelings for her, it's different, so I step into the closet and shut the door with my hip.

I struggle to unzip my dress by myself, but manage and slide it off my body, throwing on the old t-shirt and flannel pajama bottoms I've always left here. Opening up the closet again, the bedroom lights are now off, the only light coming from the moon outside Riley's window. I skip over to the bed, where she is already slipping underneath the covers.

Crawling in next to her, she turns to face me, her lips in a pout and her eyebrows furrowed.

"I've seen you naked before Peaches, no need to go in the closet." She tells me, her head resting on the pillow, her deep brown eyes illuminated by the moonlight.

I just smile, resting my hands underneath my head and staring back at her. "I didn't want to blind you with my pale skin." I joke, causing her to erupt in giggles.

"Whatever. Goodnight Maya." She happily slurs from exhaustion, letting her eyes flutter shut.

"Goodnight, Riley." I whisper back, savoring how beautifully innocent she looks in this light for a few more moments, before the drowsiness takes over and I can't keep my eyes open any longer.