Complicated People, Complicated Love

Flashes

Lucas

       It's been two weeks of this madness and it's driving me crazy. Maya's not Maya, I mean she is, but she's not my Maya. She hardly looks at me, I miss her. I miss my Maya so much.

       "Have you guys heard about Zay's party tomorrow night?" Archie asks us as he sits down at our lunch table.

       "Yeah, but should we really go? You know, considering..." Farkle asks.
  
       "Who knows, it could be good for her, she's used to parties, right? It might help trigger the old her," Archie suggests. I hate it, but he might be right.

       "Yeah, you know what, lets do it," Riley says cheerfully. "I can't wait to get home and see her, I need to try and help," Riley looks down at her salad and pokes it around with her fork. Farkle puts his arm around her and she leans into him.
  
        My throat tightens and I look away. Knowing that I can't do that with Maya anymore kills me. "So my house after school?" I ask. Everyone nods.

       "I'll pick up Maya on the way," Riley confirms.

                                   . . .

Maya

         I'm walking with Riley down the street as she leads me to Lucas's house. When I see it it takes my breath away, I've never seen a house so big and beautiful.

       I walk up the stone steps, taking in every little detail. Lucas opens the door for us after Riley knocks and smiles. His teeth are so perfect, matching his face. It still feels weird to think about that kind of stuff, to find people so attractive and want to do something about it.

       I smile back. "Come in," he insists. I follow Riley and once I see the inside, I'm amazed. It's even more beautiful than the outside. The smell of slight citrus and cinnamon, the way the chandelier's light is just enough to fill the room.

      There's a sudden tug at my heart and I bring my hand to it. An image appears in my brain of the same chandelier, but at night, shining even brighter. The image fades fast. I must have looked confused because I feel I hand on my shoulder and a voice asking, "Are you okay?"

        I look up into Lucas's green eyes, his eyelashes, so long, almost touching his eyebrows.
   
        Another image appears. It's Lucas, he's looking at me, I feel his hand on my knee and it's holding my hand. He laughs, throwing his head back slightly, the sound makes me smile. He brings his head forward again. I lean my head towards his and our foreheads touch. His is warm and dry.

        The memory's gone. I'm left looking up at a worried Lucas. He has both of his hands on my shoulders. I cough, shaking my head, "I'm fine, thanks."

       He looks skeptical but he slowly lowers his hands. The doorbell rings. I give him a small smile and then go to my left into a big living room. Riley and Farkle are on the couch and I go to sit next to them. Lucas comes in after me and is followed by Archie. They both move to sit next to me and are surprised with one another. They look at each other for a few seconds before Lucas offers the seat to Archie. Archie thanks him and plops down next to me.

       Lucas turns around, hurt. I want to tell him to sit next to me, but I don't. He sits down on a big chair next to the couch and turns on the tv for background noise.

       There's a big grandfather clock in the corner of the room and just as I see it, it strikes 4 o'clock, setting off a chiming noise. Another memory is suddenly in my head. I'm on the couch, this couch, and the clock is going off. "Ugh, does this thing have to make noise like every hour?" I hear myself say. "That's kind of its job, Shortstack," I hear. I look over to the kitchen and Lucas is there, putting bacon on a plate. He takes the plate and walks over to the couch. He hands me the plate and sits next to me on the couch. "Thanks Huckleberry," I say. I put my legs on him and lean back on the arm of the couch. He looks at me and smiles, stroking my leg.

       "Maya?" I look up quickly. It's Riley. "Are you ok?" She asks me. Should I tell her what I'm seeing?

        "Yeah, I just, I think I'm having flashbacks?" Her face lights up.

      "Oh my god, really!? This is amazing!" I smile at her enthusiasm. "I guess that makes sense that it would be here," she says. I look at her, she knows something.

    "Why?" I ask. She freezes and looks at Lucas. I do to and he returns the stare.

      "Maybe we should give them a minute," Riley says and grabs Farkle's hand. She steps over my feet, dragging Farkle and Archie out of the room.

        Once the room is clear I look at Lucas who is looking at his hands. "Why am I remembering his house?"

         He looks up for a second and then back down. "You would come here a lot. You didn't like to be alone at your apartment so you would come here, to me."

       "Why to you? Why not Riley?" I didn't mean for it to sound harsh, I actually want to know. Lucas isn't responding. "Please," it looks like he's thinking about it. "Huckleberry," his head shoots up and he looks me in the eyes.

        "You remember?" He asks quietly, hopefully.

        "No, just snippets, of you, I called you Huckleberry and you called me Shortstack. That's mean by the way," he laughs a little. "Tell me why." I plead.

         "I didn't want to tell you before because I thought you were going through too much, I didn't want to add to your trouble," he pauses and turns towards me more. "You're remembering me because you loved me, and I loved you. Love," he corrects himself.

        "I don't understand," I whisper.

        "I was your boyfriend," he says. It makes sense now, I think.

       "Oh," I say, I can't really wrap my head around having a boyfriend. "Really?" I ask, not quite believing it.

       "Haha, yes," he says, seeming to cheer up a little. "Don't worry about it though, just focus on getting better. I'm here for you though, if you ever need me," I nod, still baffled. "Hey, you're first party tomorrow night, you excited?"  He says, changing the subject quickly.

        "Yeah, I think so. Will it be scary?" I ask.

        "You never thought so. But I'll be there, it'll be fine."