accidentally meeting you [rilaya au]

08

   "so, why'd you hide from me?" riley asked as she continued to stare at the blonde on her screen.
   maya shrugged. her face showed how worried she was about riley knowing her identity. "i was scared."
   "of what?"
   the girl's sigh echoed through riley's ears as the brunette adjusted herself on her bed, waiting for maya to become more comfortable talking.
   she was confused herself. how could she not know? was she really that naive? or was she just blind? she looked back at all of the times she saw these people and saw the same thing. what was maya scared of anyways?
   maya cleared her throat before speaking. "first, how did you not piece two and two together?"
   riley rolled her eyes, scoffing at maya's comment. "because i'm stupid."
   maya laughed and that laughed rang in riley's ears. it was magical and made her feel so happy. that laugh was something she only ever heard through the phone. not once did she hear it in any classes or whenever she ran into her on the streets. maybe she made this miserable and hopeless girl happy, and that's all she could ask for.
   "well," maya finally spoke, breaking riley from her thoughts. "there's a lot going on both at home and at school. i know i'd get killed by someone if they found out i was interested in girls, and my home life would get so much worse. i was scared that maybe you'd be one of the people that didn't like who i was, and i didn't want to lose my chance with you so i covered up my identity so you could like my real personality, not my facade, before you liked my looks."
   riley sat there, puzzled. little did the girl know that riley had loved her for so long. she had loved her despite the hard ass persona she put on. she didn't know why. maya was never nice to her at school, but her entire personality flipped when they talked online. maybe that's who maya actually was. maybe she was just a sweetheart with a broken heart.
   the brunette inhaled before answering. "i've always had feelings for you, maya. i've always cared, despite you being such an asshole to me."
   an awkward chuckle escaped the pink lips that were so perfectly placed upon the pretty girl's face. "all because i don't know how to express myself. guess i adopted the stereotypical act of being an asshole to your crush."
   all riley could do was smile. despite the lies and coverups, riley couldn't see past the beauty and kindness that radiated from this girl's face. it was a dim light, a light that was covered up and sadly, no one had seemed to take the time to remove the covers to see what was underneath.
   "see you at school tomorrow?"
   "if i can make it out alive."
    the call hung up, leaving riley more confused than before. what did maya mean by that? why wouldn't she make it out alive?
—————
riley stood outside of the entrance to her english class, leaning against the faint yellow wall. she hoped that maybe maya would actually show up on time to talk to her, but she didn't expect it. maya never showed up to class on time, and if she did, it would look like she had been running for hours and hours. from the corner of her chocolate eyes, she spotted a girl running down the hall, her wavy hair bouncing behind her. there was just a few minutes before the bell rang, and it was just her and maya left in the hall as everyone else had already made it to their classes.
"you really want to be seen with me?" maya asked as she quickly inched closer.
riley smiled, closing the gap in between them. "of course i do. why wouldn't i?"
maya shrugged, giving a vague response that she didn't know why.
"if you're worried that i'm scared that my reputation will be damaged," riley began to reassure maya, a hand placed strategically on her shoulder. "it already has been."
using the hand that was upon maya's shoulder, she turned to her side, walking with maya under her arm. everyone stared blankly at the two girls as they walked in. riley's sexuality was already blasted around the school. everyone knew she was bisexual, but when it came to maya, they knew practically nothing. all of the stares caused riley to rip her arm away, slamming it against her side before scurrying to her seat. the blonde's happy expression slowly faded into a frown as she dragged herself to her chair. riley's actions seemed to upset maya, and that's the last thing she ever wanted to do. their eyes met just before maya took her seat as she apologetically stared at he as the girl just rolled her eyes, slumping down into her hard, plastic seat. the brunette sighed, releasing the tension that built upon from their shared eye contact.
after replaying their exchange in her head, riley had noticed something. maya seemed to be wearing makeup, and the girl never wore makeup. her eye was swollen, her top lip was busted open, and her nose seemed to look bruised. riley furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at her textbook that wasn't even open to the right page. her fingers traced each letter on the page as she thought to herself. she wondered if maya caused that to herself by getting into a fight, or, even worse, did someone hurt her for their own pleasure. just the thought alone was enough to make the girl's blood boil. she clenched her fists, trying her best not to explode right there in her seat.
—————
   riley was sitting alone at her usual lunch table that was tucked away in the corner of the busy cafeteria. she cuddled with the lunch that her mother packed for her, staring into the box she brought it in.
   a hand touched her shoulder as she felt someone's chin rest upon the other one. the brunette jumped at the sudden touch as she turned to look at who was behind her. of course it was maya.
   maya cooed, "hey there, cutie."
   riley's face became hot as the blood rushes to her cheeks, causing them to turn a soft pink. "hey, maya. what are you doing?"
   maya just giggled as she sat by the girl's side. she grabbed a bag of chips that was left unopened in riley's lunchbox. she tore open the bag, stuffing her face like she had never eaten before. "just here to eat your food. what else?"
   before the brunette could answer, two boys walked up to their table, smirking at each other. "maya, what the fuck are you doing hanging out with this lesbian? did we say you could?"
   riley looked over at maya, fear painted onto her face.
   "i was just fucking with her. what else, shit heads?"
   maya pushed her, and riley knew that she was trying her best to look like she didn't like her. riley plastered a sad expression on her face that slowly turned real as maya walked away with the two boys. she felt her heart shatter when she came to the realisation that maya cared more about her own reputation than her.