The school holidays had finished, and Maya had returned to school. She was trying to give her life some order, balancing work, school and her friends. Of course, thoughts of Joshua would inevitably creep up onto her, bringing upon a melancholy mood. To combat this, she had started trying to bury herself in studies and work, trying to keep constantly busy so that her mind wouldn't drift to such topics.

It was a Friday morning, and students were walking around the school like zombies, half-awake. It happened to be a free dress day today, so the school yard was an array of colours. For Maya, that had been a bit of a headache, because she was expecting to wear her normal uniform until she got a reminder text from Tia, and she put on some random clothes. Maya had barely even paid any attention to see if they looked good. Everyone was thankful that it was Friday, as the first week of school after the holidays always seemed unbearably long, and the weekend was like the light at the end of a tunnel. As Maya reached her classroom, she caught sight of Tia and Sica. This was her favourite class, maths, both because she loved the subject, and also because it was the only subject where she was together with her two best friends. She had English with Sica, and Biology with Tia, but it was only in maths that the trio of best friends could be together. Of course, she had friends in her other classes, but this class had her favourite people.

"Hey guys!" Maya greeted her friends and took a seat.

"Hey Maya!" Tia gave her a bright smile.

Sica, on the other hand, was scrutinising her appearance. She was taking in Maya's red skirt and purple top. "You're wearing red and purple. Together."

"Wow, thanks for judging Sica." Maya's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm not judging! You always look beautiful! I'm just saying that they're both nice pieces of clothing, but they don't really suit each other. And I mean, you've always had great fashion sense. But recently…maybe your mind has been elsewhere." Sica said kindly.

"Your mind has definitely been somewhere else." Tia gave Maya a pointed look.

"Yeah I guess so…" Maya couldn't deny it.

"Is this still about that Joshua kid?" Tia asked, and noted Maya's eyes widening. "I still don't really understand."

"Same. Maybe we would understand if you told us some details. Everything you've said is vague." Sica said.

"He's just not a good person, okay?" Maya said abruptly. That was basically as she had told her friends, that he was a bad person and she found out some horrible things about him. She couldn't really tell them any details. But of course, they were her friends, and they could tell that it impacted on her mood. And her fashion sense, evidently.

"Okay guys, today we're continuing the chapter on functions." Their maths teacher walking in with his booming voice, silencing all conversations across the room.

Maya let out a breath of relief. Saved by the bell.

When the school day finally finished in the afternoon, Maya had to go to work. Luckily, she had her shift at the same time as Tia, and they walked to 104 together, animatedly chatting.

"I am so swarmed with homework." Tia was saying. "I can't believe they gave us so much, even on the first week."

"I know. But at least it's mostly maths. My favourite." Maya smiled.

Tia laughed. "I don't understand how you can love maths. I tolerate it at best. You're taking advanced maths as well right? I pray for your soul."

"Extend your prayers to Sica as well. She's got so much Art homework. She's definitely very artistic and creative, but all those projects take up so much time!" Maya said.

When the two reached closer to 104, Tia's voice dropped a in volume.

"Okay, I just remembered, I was going to ask you something. What do you think about Brandon?"

Maya raised her eyebrows. "Brandon our co-worker? The one who works as a barista?"

A slightly dreamy look overcame Tia's eyes. "I think he's kinda cute. We've started talking a little. He seems really nice as well."

Maya broke out into a grin. "Oh my god. I actually approve. He is really nice. Is he in high school?"

"Yup, he goes to that high school near Molco. He's a year older than us though, so he's in his second last year."

Maya gave her a playful nudge. "Not bad…do you think he likes you?"

"I honestly have no idea. The thing is, he's been really friendly to me, but I'm not sure if there's anything more. But don't mention anything to him."

"Of course I wouldn't!" Maya reassured.

When they reached the café, they found out their responsibilities for the shift. Maya was to be a waitress today, while Tia was going to stay at the cashier. Closer to Brandon, who was at the side of the counter, making coffee.

"What a coincidence!" Maya winked at Tia. "Good luck."

Whilst taking out the orders and wiping down tables, Maya chanced a few glances in Tia's direction. She was met with the sight of Tia and Brandon laughing and playfully chucking some cloths at each other, as there were no customers currently at the counter. She grinned, there was definitely something there with those two.

Maya's shift finished at 6pm, and unfortunately she had to walk home. Today was kind of a day of abnormalities, as she always had the option of getting her parents to pick her up if it was the evening. However today, both of them were not at home. They were attending a function from her father's work, and would be back later in the night.

So, off she went, on her way home. The air was slightly chilly, and she pulled her jacket around her tightly. Her bag was hanging off one arm, the zips making a constant tinkling sound with each step she took. She was thankful that her house wasn't too far. She hated walking home late in the evening.

About halfway there, she heard a curious sound from of the side alleys. It sounded strangely like…a group of men, chuckling in their low voices. The stench of alcohol also seemed to waft out of there. Maya kept her eyes on the road and hurried forward.

"Hey, sweetheart, where are you going?" A drunken man emerged from that very alley.

Maya ignored him and continued onwards. She just needed to get home, or at least to a residential neighbourhood where petty men like him would not be able to do anything.

Another man emerged him, and jogged up towards her. "That's a nice bag you have there." With his voice slurring and his steps wobbly, he came closer to her. "Looks expensive. I wonder what else is in there. A phone perhaps? A wallet?"

Maya had tried to back away from him, but despite his drunk state, he grabbed her arm with a surprisingly strong force.

"Get off me!" She said, and tried to break free of his grasp.

The other man came up behind her. "It's okay, darling, we just want your money."

Maya shot him a venomous look. She was incredibly scared, but would not go down without a fight. She swiftly kneed one man in the balls, and he doubled over in pain. Then, she kicked other one in the stomach and quickly started running away. Unfortunately, they recovered fast.

"You're gonna pay for that, you little witch." One of the men said. He threw something at her, and only when it had sliced a deep cut across her forearm did she realise that it was a knife. She cried out from the searing pain but continued to run, knowing that she didn't have time to fuss over that injury right now.

Just then, everything behind Maya was hit by a blinding white glow. She heard the men groaning, and thumps signified them hitting the floor. She kept backing away, unsure about the source of this light. The glow faded away, and she could see clearly again. She saw the back of a boy, dressed in black jeans and a light grey shirt. Joshua.

He turned around. "Are you okay Maya?" Worry laced his tone, and his eyes frantically scanned over her, stopping to rest on her bleeding arm. He took a few quick paces to reach her.

"I'm okay." Maya said. "Thanks to you…I guess." Although over the time they hadn't seen each other, nothing had changed regarding her opinion about Joshua's position as Composer, she was still so relieved to see him. He had saved her. And his presence was so comforting to her after her encounter with the drunken thieves that she momentarily forget about his true identity, despite just seeing him in action. She threw her arms around his neck, and gave him a hug, seeking comfort.

Joshua froze. He had expected her to scream at him to go away, or give him a cold treatment, but here she was, hugging him. Joshua wound his arms around her slim waist and returned the hug. He decided not to think too much into it. It just happened to be that this time, she was more scared by the thieves than she was by him. He soothingly patting her back, and felt his fingers slip over her incredibly soft brown hair.

Soon, they drew back, and Joshua focused on her bleeding cut again. "Maya, your arm is bleeding. Let's get you home."

Maya was still too shaken to give a proper response, and simply nodded, letting him walk her home. When they reached the Suzuki house, she opened the door and stepped inside.

"Uh, thanks Josh, I mean- Joshua. I guess I'll just put a Band-Aid on my arm."

Joshua raised an eyebrow. "A Band-Aid? That's not going to fix it. That looks like a pretty deep cut, and it's going to need first aid. Get your parents to do it."

Maya shook her head. "They're not home. They're both at a function and won't come home for a few hours."

At that Joshua made up his mind. "Well, you certainly can't do first aid with one hand." He pushed past her into the house. "I'll do it."

Maya was about to protest, but then realised that it was the only solution that made sense. She silently closed the door and followed Joshua into the living area.

"Where's you first aid kit?" Joshua asked.

Maya went over to the kitchen and opened a drawer. She emerged holding a box with a big red plus sign. She gave it to Joshua who put it on the table in the living room and sat down on a couch, clearly expecting Maya to sit down next to him. She hesitated.

"Just sit down Maya, I'm not going to jump you." Joshua's voice drawled, all while he rummaged through the box, not even looking at her.

She sat down quickly, feeling heat rush to her cheeks. It didn't help when Joshua delicately took her hand, and started cleansing the cut. However, he kept his eyes on her arm, focusing on his work. Then he found a long cloth in the box and started wrapping in around her arm. The small couch didn't provide much space, and the two teenagers were sitting close together.

"How did you know I was in trouble?" Maya asked. She was entirely conscious of Joshua's leg pressed against hers, and tried to maintain normal breathing, so that he couldn't tell how much the lack of distance between them bothered her.

"I keep tabs on you. I can't help it." Joshua finally looked up to meet her eyes, and he gave her a sad smile.

Maya's breath was taken away. Being so close to his face, Maya could see the vivid violet colour of his eyes so well, like a tornado of mystery and beauty.

Joshua was staring at her too. He couldn't help but be transfixed on her face. Her milky skin and chocolate eyes were the most beautiful things he had seen in his life. The small circular shape of her face was so well framed by her long brown hair, spilling over her shoulders like a river. He also noticed a little speck of blood on her face, just below her left eye. He supposed that she must have accidently got it there from her arm, perhaps while brushing her hair away from her face.

"You've got a little bit of blood under your eye." He said.

Maya's gaze was not unlike someone had broken her free of a spell, back to reality. "Oh, really."

Joshua leaned across her to pick up another cloth from the table, and in the process, brushed up against Maya's body. He returned his attention to Maya's face, and wiped away the red splotch. Then he deposited the cloth back on the table, before wiping away any leftover residue with his fingers. Except there wasn't really anything there, he just wanted to touch her. His fingers touched her face fleetingly, before they touched her hair. He marvelled in the soft texture of it, and tucked it behind her ear.

Maya didn't draw away from him, instead just allowed herself to be enveloped in the sensation of Joshua's hands playing with her hair. Then she saw him leaning in, closer to her face. She saw the features on increasing in detail as he got closer. Then it hit her. He was going to kiss her.

Joshua's hand slipped from her hair to the back of her neck, bringing her closer to him. His eyes drifted down to her red lips, and was almost immediately overtaken by a force. He slowly inched closer to her face.

He was so close to her that she could feel his eyelashes on her skin when he blinked. And finally, he tilted his head-

Maya pulled back from Joshua. She looked away from his face before she could regret her decision, and faked a cough.

"Um, anyway, thanks for your help Joshua." Maya plastered on a smile.

Joshua seemed to be a little thrown off by the Maya's unexpected action. While he had been getting closer to her, he hadn't seen any sign of it. He had thought that she was going to let him kiss her. Maybe that had just been wishful thinking.

"Uh yeah, no problem."

Maya got up and put the first aid box away, and Joshua followed her to the door.

She opened the door, and looked at him. "Bye."

He gave her a small wave and exited the house, feeling a mix of feelings. He was happy that she had trusted him enough to let him help her, but he was disappointed that she had pulled away at the last minute.