If I'm Han Solo, You're Princess Leia

A tall guy with blond hair and green eyes sat in front of Maria at a restaurant. Olivia hadn't taken very long to find what she believed was the perfect match for Maria after asking her what she looked for in a guy. His name's Nick, he isn't much older than Maria and only has two tattoos which aren't visible and makes Maria quite happy. "Olivia told me you were pretty but I didn't think you'd be this pretty." He said as they waited for their food to be served. Maria smiled at him and thanked him sweetly, he was really cute and seemed very nice which was something that was always an important factor for Maria when choosing a partner.

"So, tell me about yourself." Nick said.

"Well... I was born here in San Diego but six years ago I moved with my dad to Manhattan. I love SD though but I feel like Manhattan is my home, it's where I really grew up and became who I am today."

"What were you like before going to Manhattan?"

Maria chuckled and averted her eyes down at the glass of water in front of her, "I don't really want to talk about it. Those weren't good times actually."

Nick nodded, "I understand. Six years ago wasn't a good time for me either, things really went downhill from there up until I went to college."

"So college was good for you than?"

"Yes, it made me be more confident in myself and the friends I made all made me feel like I belonged. How about you?"

"Same, actually. College was amazing, I was actually doing something I loved with people who were like minded and it was a lovely environment."

The waitress that had asked for their orders earlier came with their food and placed the plates down on the table. Nick and Maria thanked her before she left back into the kitchen to get more orders from other customers. Throughout the night the two got to know more about one another and they both really enjoyed each other's company so of course, it was no surprise that they arranged for a second date.

"I had a great time tonight and can't wait for next week." Nick smiled as he walked Maria to her front door after dropping her off home. "Me too, it was really nice meeting you." She grinned back at him and for a few seconds they just stood there in the cold, staring at one another until Nick slowly placed his finger under her chin and lifted her head so that she'd look up at him a little more and could have the perfect angle to kiss her. They parted away slowly and with another smile, Nick said goodbye; Maria watched him drive of, her teeth nipping at her bottom lip and just as she was about to turn around and open the door a familiar voice called out to her from the other side of the road.

"Tony?" Maria asked into the dark and her guess was proved when he ran across the street towards her. "What're you doing out so late by yourself?"

Tony chuckled, "I'm a big boy, Maria."

She rolled her eyes and slapped his arm playfully, she really liked him as a friend.

"How was your date?" Tony asked, hands in pockets and a curious look in his eyes.

"It was good," Maria grinned cheekily, "He's really sweet. I like him. Olivia really is a good match-maker."

"Yeah I know, I saw you two sucking face just a minute ago," He joked, "He seems like a good guy, congrats."

"Haha, thanks Tony," Maria said, "We have another date planned next week, I think things will go well with him."

"I hope so, you deserve it... If he does anything funny, tell me, okay?"

"Oh, my God, Tony. I'm a big girl I can take care of myself," She poked her tongue out at him, obviously joking and using his own words from earlier to mock him playfully, "Nah, but on a serious note, thank you, I appreciate that."

Tony smiled at her and then they ended up in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence or anything but it was obvious that that was the end of their conversation and they'd part ways, especially since it was late and both were quite tired. Maria was the first to say goodnight and hug Tony farewell, they parted ways and Maria walked inside her mom's house, to her surprise she smelled the aroma of baking and hurried into the kitchen where she saw her mom baking cookies and a cake.

"Hey, ma! What's all this for?" Maria asked excitedly and sat down at the table as she watched her mother decorate the cookies.

"Julie asked me to make a cake and cookies for Tony's younger sister's birthday."

"Tony has a younger sister?" Maria's brows creased, "He's never told me about her."

"Maybe he didn't remember to tell you."

"Yeah most likely, we haven't really talked about siblings at all."

"Exactly," Maria's mom smiled, "You'll meet her tomorrow though, we're all invited to the party."

"Aw really? That's sweet. I'm excited now, I've missed going to birthday parties like these."

Maria's mom laughed loudly and had to place the cookie in her hand back on the plate, she looked over at Maria who was staring at her as if she were crazy. She shook her head and took a deep breath, "Youhated those kinds of birthday parties six years ago, my God have you changed."

"I was stupid back then, I'm honestly so ashamed of my past." Maria laughed awkwardly.

The two women stopped laughing after a while and Anita turned to her daughter, "How was your date, sweetheart?"

"It was lovely. Nick's a really sweet guy and we have another date next week."

"Aw I'm glad, just make sure that he's not just playing the sweet card."

"I can tell he's not."

"Okay, well just to be sure," Her mom said, "You deserve the best."

Maria walked over to her mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Thanks ma, I'm going to sleep now, goodnight." Anita hugged her daughter back and let her go. Maria walked away, up the stairs and into her room, she quickly changed out of her clothes and into warm sweats. She slipped into her bed and laid there for a while just looking up at the ceiling before she remembered that Tony had a sister and decided to text him about why he had never mentioned her and if he knew that they were all going over to his house tomorrow.

'I forgot honestly and yeah, I know but I also forgot about that until you mentioned it just now hahaha.' - Tony.

'You forget about your sister and that we're invited but you don't forget about what happened between us 6 years ago? Tony you're weird.' - Maria.

A few minutes passed before he replied.

'What happened didn't just hurt you, it hurt me too but unlike you, I remember the things that hurt me, especially because it was you.' - Tony.

Maria read the text nearly eight times, she didn't quite understand what he meant or why he would of even been hurt by it but for some reason her heart felt like it was pounding so hard that it wanted to escape her chest.

'Call me.' - Maria.

Not even a minute later she heard her ringtone go off and saw the caller ID appear on her screen. She answered it quickly and sat up in her bed, her knees touching her chin and one arm wrapped around her legs. She asked Tony what he meant when he said it hurt him too and he didn't say anything for a while. Maria listened closely though, her heart was still in a frenzy even though all she could hear was his breathing on the other end of the line.

"Would it creep you out if I told you that I..." Tony paused, he wasn't sure if he should tell her exactly what he meant or felt back then but because he knew that Maria really wanted to know or else she wouldn't of asked he had a feeling that he should really tell her, "That I- I-"

"If it makes you feel any better, nothing you say will creep me out, okay Tone?" Maria cut him off and used his nickname to make him feel more relaxed. She heard him chuckle quietly and a small smile played on her lips.

"Okay. Good. Ahhhh! You know how you used to like me?"

"Yup."

"Well... I liked you too."

"You d- did? But I was younger than you, Tone and I was so... Horrible..."

"I know you were younger than me but you made me happy whenever we spent time together and no, you were not horrible at all so stop thinking that."

"But you told me that you tried to make me stop liking you-"

"Well yeah, like you said that day we were on the hill, it would of been illegal for us to be together back then and I didn't want you to waste your time on me when you could find someone your own age that you could be with and not face any problems with."

"So you put my happiness over yours?"

Silence.

"Yeah, I did and everything worked out as planned."

"What?"

Tony sighed, "Because of what I did, you left San Diego. You went to Manhattan, you changed your entire life and your mindset and now I can see you're so happy. I'm glad I did that but it also sucks."

"God, Tony..."

"Don't get all sad for me now, okay? I don't feel the same way anymore, it was a long time ago."

"But it still hurts you, doesn't it?"

"Of course it does, I'm not the type of person to get over things like they never meant anything."

"Tone... Whatever we had, that was enough. For both of us."

"I know but sometimes I wonder what if I hadn't cared about the age difference? What if I had just been honest with you and let things happen, you would've been eighteen in a few months anyways so it could've worked out..."

"It's for the best that nothing like that happened. We've both gotten so much amazing things out of that, if something had happened perhaps I'd still be that awkward teenager that never wore colour and you would have not been in your band."

Tony chuckled again and so did Maria, "You're right. Things are great now, I'm happy and so are you but yeah, I do still remember everything."

"It surprises me how two people can take pain in such different ways. I forgot it and you still carry it with you."

"No two people are the same."

"Yeah... I honestly just- I kind of wish that I still remembered so you wouldn't be alone."

"No, it's great that you don't remember. I can still see your face the last time you saw me and that girl I was with, it hurt so bad."

Silence again.

"Tony... You're the best. I'm really glad I met you again."

"I'm glad I met you again too. I promise this time I won't ever hurt you again."

"I believe you." Maria whispered into the phone.

At the same time Tony and Maria yawned and they laughed in unison after that. Tony suggested that they'd both go to sleep and Maria was more than up for it. They said goodnight to each other for the second time that night and both hung up at the same time. Maria locked her phone and placed it gently on her bedside table before she went back under the covers and laid on her side for a couple of minutes, she stared at the wall and thought about how lucky she was to be friends with Tony again, but this time, their friendship wasn't ever going to get ruined like it had in the past.

Notes

im feeling really shitty today and this story really helps me out. I hope you enjoy reading it! thank you so much, especially to the subscribers, I really appreciate you all.