Chapter Text
“Hi,” Lola said, her voice small. Maya was standing in front of her, looking pretty and smiling at Lola with her small, half-smirk that Lola loved.
“I’ve missed you,” Maya said.
Lola had been in rehab for the past couple of months.
“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Lola had said to Maya over the phone, a few days after the Friday night when everyone was looking for her. “I’m going back to the hospital. And I’m sorry... for worrying you, for everything.”
“It’s okay, Lola,” Maya had said. “I’m proud of you.”
That was the last time she had talked to Maya. Until now.
“Hey!” Jo yelled, throwing a dirty old tennis ball she found on the floor at Lola. “I didn’t invite you here to stand around and stare at each other. Let’s move it, people!”
Maya laughed, and Lola felt her pulse quicken. Lola had thought that maybe her feelings had faded. She was wrong. But she knew that it was different now, that months had passed and Maya had probably moved on.
“Well, shall we?” Maya asked, nodding her head towards Jo, Max, and Sekou, who were standing in front of abandoned train tracks.
Lola nodded, beginning to walk over to them.
“How are you? How was... it?” Maya asked as they started walking down the tracks, a few paces behind the rest of the group.
“Unless you don’t want to talk about it, of course,” she added quickly.
“No, I can talk about it,” Lola responded. “It was okay actually. I think I actively tried this time, unlike last time. It was different. Like, last time I felt... I don’t know... abandoned, maybe? As if my family just didn’t want to deal with me, so they sent me there. But I went voluntarily this time, and I know my family and everyone just wanted me to get better. So, yeah. It was okay.”
“I’m happy for you,“ Maya paused. “Happy that it helped and it wasn’t bad.” Her arm unconsciously reached out like she was going to grab Lola’s hand, but then she stopped and dropped it to her side. Lola didn’t notice.
They had entered a tunnel. It was dark and dusty, and Lola could barely see anything, even with her flashlight.
“Do you know where they went?” Lola asked, moving her flashlight around to try and make out any figures in the distance.
“No, not really,” Maya said. “Maybe they-“
“BOO!” Jo and Max screamed, coming out from behind some debris.
Maya yelled, dropping her flashlight, and Lola jumped, her heart racing.
“Ay, we got you!” Jo shrieked, cackling.
“It was her idea,” Max said, feigning innocence but laughing to himself nonetheless.
As Lola’s heart was calming down, she realized that she had jumped back towards Maya, and she was leaning against her chest. She could feel Maya’s breath against her neck and her arms had grabbed Lola’s waist reflexively, and now Lola’s heart rate was back up.
“I, um,” Lola said, turning to face Maya and stepping away from her. “Sorry.”
“No worries,” Maya said. Their flashlights were weak and dying, but Lola could swear Maya’s cheeks were a little flushed. Not that it mattered. They were friends now. Friends.
“Okay, are you guys done?” Sekou asked, his voice slightly exasperated.
“Yes, of course! Anything for Sekou, our great scholar and guide,” Jo said, dramatically bowing. “Tell us more about the history of these dirty train tracks.”
“I will!” Sekou said, smiling brightly. “Forty years ago...”
“Can you hold this for me?” Maya asked as Sekou continued talking, holding out her flashlight.
“Yeah, sure,” Lola said. She reached out to grab it, her fingers brushing against Maya’s.
“Thanks,” Maya said, taking off her backpack and getting out the map. “We probably should be using this more.”
Lola nodded absentmindedly, staring at the ground and thinking about how she was going to be able to be Maya’s friend if she could barely keep it together when Maya touched her.
They explored the train tracks for the next hour, looking at all of the old graffiti and carvings in the walls. When they finished, Jo wanted to go hang out at Maya’s apartment.
“Come on,” Jo said, pleading. “It‘ll be fun, promise!”
They were all standing next to the fence that they had just climbed under, the one that was blocking the tracks from the public. The sun was starting to set, and it painted their skin pink.
“Crazy how you can just invite everyone over to my place without even asking me,” Maya said, her eyebrows raised.
“Shhhh, we can pretend this was your idea,” Jo said smiling. Maya rolled her eyes, but reluctantly agreed.
“I think I’m just going to go back to my house, guys,” Lola said. Lola didn’t want to go back to Maya’s apartment just yet. It was full of memories, full of Maya. The last time Lola was there, she felt so happy. Now, she didn’t know how she would feel, and she didn’t want to find out just yet.
“No!” Jo whined.
“You have to come!” said Sekou. “We’ve missed having you around.”
“My dad’s waiting for me,” Lola lied, running her hand through her hair and looking away to avoid their expectant eyes.
“We don’t want to get her in trouble,” Maya said. They nodded, understandingly.
They exchanged goodbyes. While Lola was walking away, she wanted to turn around, to say that she could actually stay with them. She had missed spending time with them. But when she turned her head, she saw Maya watching her. When their eyes met, Lola felt a pang in her chest, and she remembered why she was leaving. Lola thought that maybe it would be best if she could avoid Maya, that her feelings would fade and she would be okay with just being friends.
“New plan,” Lola muttered to herself as she walked. “No Maya.”