I Won't Love You Any Less
A Joshaya Fanfic
"Wanna go to a party?" Lucas asked leaning against the locker next to Maya's.
"Yes!" Maya instantly perked up hearing her boyfriend's voice.
She stood on her tippy toes to give him a kiss since he was so much taller than she was, even in her boots with heels. Lucas and Maya had been together for almost 3 months. Lucas had been dating Riley Matthews, Maya's best friend, but had ended that with her in the middle of sophomore year. Riley claimed that she never really liked him anyways, that she had just wanted a boy to kiss. Everyone seemed to believe that was the truth about Riley and Lucas so there was no problem when during junior year, Lucas asked Maya on a date. At first it was weird, them being together, since in middle school it seemed as though they totally hated each other. But 3 months later they were known as the couple that would always argue and fight in the hallways, but would skip the next period to make out in the janitor's closet.
"Well Zay told me that there is going to be a huge party at NYU tonight and we are going." Lucas stated proudly.
Zay was one of Lucas' closest friends. He was a bit of a troublemaker but it always worked out in the end so Lucas stuck with him.
"Alright cool." Maya said calmly.
"Alright cool? Aren't you excited?" Lucas seemed frustrated.
He always felt like he wasn't dangerous enough for Maya. He had always been seen as "Mr. Perfect" when he knew Maya was into the bad boy type. Lucas felt as though he needed to be edgier, take more risks, or Maya would lose interest. That's why he was so annoyed when Maya played off the party like it was no big deal. Because it was a huge deal to him, it was a party that they shouldn't even be going to.
"Yeah I guess… it sounds fun, what do you want me to say?"
"I don't know it just seems like you don't care that you're going to a college frat party."
"It's not like I haven't been to one before. Anyways, I have to go to English, see you after school." Maya closed her locker, blowing a kiss to her boyfriend as she walked away, leaving Lucas speechless.
"You're going where tonight?" Riley's eyes widened.
"An NYU party and you're coming too." Maya said while getting her notebook out of her bag.
"No I'm not, Maya it's a school night."
"Oh my God Riley. We aren't in middle school anymore. Live a little! You need some excitement in your life. Honestly, when was the last time you did something other than homework on a school night?"
"Well, last week me and you went to see Pitch Perfect 2 on a Monday night." Riley smiled like she had just won an award.
"Yeah… and it ended at 9:45 and you went home right after. The party will be fun, I promise. Lucas is going, even Farkle is going. If Farkle can do it, you can do it." Maya ended the conversation and the bell rang meaning class had begun.
Riley couldn't focus on the lesson, she was too anxious for tonight. A college party, with college students. Riley usually didn't mind that she was seen as a goodie two shoes. She just didn't like doing things that could get her in trouble, that's all. She wished she could be more rebellious, it just wasn't who she was. She had always been jealous of Maya's courage to try new things and take risks. And that's when she decided she wasn't going to just sit around being jealous of another one of Maya's qualities. She was going to that party tonight, and she wasn't going to be nervous.
"I want to go home." Riley said as soon as she walked through the doors to the party.
"I second that." Farkle raised his finger and looked at Riley.
"Nooooope, we are going to stay here and have some fun." Maya took Riley's hands and dragged them into the crowded room.
"Do you want me to get you a drink?" Lucas asked Maya trying to impress her with his actions.
"Yes please!" Maya smiled to her cute boyfriend.
And Lucas' plan had worked a little, Maya was impressed with how Lucas was acting. Although she played like she was too cool for Lucas' party invite, she was actually thrilled to be there. She was excited to see this side of Lucas, the confident, in charge, Lucas. Maya always felt like she needed to hide who she really was when she was with Lucas. She didn't think he would like the party girl inside of Maya since he was always so polite. She knew that wasn't healthy in a relationship, to hide who you are, but she figured it wasn't that big of a deal and besides, maybe Lucas was changing his "southern charm" ways.
"Seriously Riley, I want to go home." Farkle whispered to Riley so Maya couldn't hear. But she wouldn't have heard anyways, she was too busy dancing with Lucas.
"I know, me too. Let's just slowly sneak out. She won't even notice, she's been dancing for at least 20 minutes."
Riley and Farkle slowly sneaked out the door before realizing they didn't have a ride home. Lucas took all 4 of them in his car so they were stuck walking.
"Are you okay?" Farkle asked quietly.
"Yeah! I just wanted to leave the party that's all."
"I'm not talking about the party, Riley."
"Oh," Riley said looking up at Farkle, "Then what do you mean?"
"Okay, I know you still really like Lucas."
"What? What are you talking about? I am completely over Lucas. And besides, even if I was still into him, he's with Maya now so it wouldn't matter anyways. But I'm not so why would you say that?" Riley started nervously rambling.
"Riles, I know you better than anyone, maybe even better than Maya. I am not blind, I can see the way you look at him, you love him." Farkle looked into Riley's eyes.
"I know." Riley started to cry. She hated crying but she just had to at this point. She had bottled up how she felt about Maya and Lucas for so long that now it just had to come out.
"I HATE THAT LUCAS LIKES MAYA AND NOT ME AND I HATE THAT MAYA CAN'T SEE HOW BADLY IT'S HURTING ME!" Riley was full on sobbing now. Farke didn't know what to do except listen and try to give some decent advice.
"Maya always gets everything, she is more popular than me, she has kissed tons of boys, and now she has my ex-boyfriend who I wished wasn't an ex!"
"But Riley, you haven't ever told Maya you feel this way about Lucas. You have everyone convinced that you don't even care about Lucas."
"No, Maya can not know that this is how I feel. God, I'm the worst best friend in the world. I'm being so selfish. Maya deserves to be happy and I shouldn't be in the way of her and Lucas." Riley had somewhat stopped crying at this point.
"Riley, I hate seeing you like this. You shouldn't have to compromise your happiness for Maya." Farkle was shocked at how unhappy his best friend. He knew she was sad, but he didn't expect this.
"No. Maya needs Lucas in her life. I can't always be in the spotlight." Riley said, but did she really mean it?
She felt like Maya was the one that was always the center of attention. But she didn't want Farkle to hate her, she needed to keep him in her life, even if it meant keeping her feelings a secret.
Finally, they were at the door to Riley's apartment.
"Thanks for walking me home Farkle, it was really sweet. See you tomorrow." She gave Farkle a quick kiss on the cheek before stepping inside. She was lucky to have Farkle as a friend.
Farkle walked home on cloud nine. Riley Matthews had kissed him, Farkle Minkus. Farkle had been in love with Riley and Maya for years. But it was a different kind of love for each girl. He loved Maya as a sister, not as anything romantic. He thought of himself as an older brother for Maya and always wanted to protect her. But Maya was always tougher than Farkle, and it was usually her that protected him. He loved Riley more than anything in the world. She was the first thing he thought of when he woke up, and the last thing he thought about before he went to bed. He was in complete shock that Riley had kissed him. He decided that tonight was the night he was going to tell Riley how he felt, he just needed to prepare.
Maya loved being at parties. She loved the dark lighting, the loud music, and most of all, the exciting people. Lucas on the other hand, hated parties. He hated that he couldn't see very well in the dark lighting, he hated that the loud music gave him a headache, and most of all, he hated all the annoying people. He didn't need more boys paying attention to Maya, yes… he was the jealous type.
"Oh my God! I love this song!" Maya exclaimed while dancing with Lucas right by her side.
"Aren't you sick of dancing, Maya? Let's go do something else." Lucas complained. He was never much of a dancer.
Oh don't you dare look back,
Just keep your eyes on me
I said you're holding back
she said
"SHUT UP AND DANCE!" Maya yelled along with the song.
"And you should probably quit drinking, you've had 2 beers already, babe." Lucas warned Maya.
"Quit being such a lame ass." Maya said sticking her tongue out and moving her hips to the music.
"Yeah cowboy, quit being such a lame ass." Lucas heard behind him.
It was the voice of Joshua Matthews, Riley's uncle and the boy Maya had been practically in love with when she was younger.
"Excuse me?" Lucas turned around.
"C'mon.. it was a joke! How ya been?" Josh laughed and gave Lucas a pat on the back.
"Josh?" Maya quit dancing as soon as she recognized his voice.
"Maya!" Josh pushed Lucas out of the way to see a gorgeous blonde girl in black skinny and jeans and red crop top.
"I haven't seen you in forever." Maya said to the tall, dark haired, boy standing in front of her.
"I know right, last time I saw you, you were 5'0 and obsessed with me." Josh said giving her a smirk as he very obviously checked her out.
Maya instantly started blushing. Of course she was embarrassed, she used to go crazy for Josh, completely crazy. She was annoyed that he would even bring that up.
"Yeah… well times change." Maya stated while pushing her way to Lucas.
As soon as Maya got reach of Lucas she started dancing closer to him.
"Oh…." Josh said sarcastically, "Howdy's got the hots for Maya now?"
"It's appears that way doesn't it?" Lucas remarked back.
"Well… So do I." Josh smiled and started dancing next to Maya.
Maya was annoyed by their back and forth banter, but also a little impressed. She had never had 2 guys fight for her attention before. Maya danced in between both boys but made sure she was always a little bit closer to Lucas.
"Let's go get you a drink, Maya." Josh put his arm around Maya's waist and led her to the table of drinks.
Maya kept looking back at Lucas but didn't say anything. He was being a party pooper and she was there to have fun! She didn't need Lucas to babysit her. She looked back at Lucas one more time, but he was gone.
"He probably just went to the bathroom or something." Maya thought to herself and gave her attention back to Josh.
Lucas pushed his way into the crowd until he found Zay.
"I need to up my game." Lucas told him.
"What are you talking about?" Zay started laughing. He was obviously drunk.
"With Maya… I think she's getting bored of me. She's with Josh right now." Lucas' tone was serious. He couldn't lose Maya, especially not to a guy like Joshua Matthews.
"Alright then, here take this and go buy some more beers." Zay told Lucas handing him a fake ID.
"Where did you get this?" Lucas asked.
There was a picture of him and apparently now he was a 22 year old guy named Scott Humphries.
"A friend of a friend made it. It doesn't matter. Wanna impress Maya? Go buy some more beers." Zay stated to Lucas before going back to partying with his college friends.
Okay. This was it, Lucas was going to buy beers with a fake ID and Maya would love it, at least that's what he kept telling himself.
"Let's play a little game." Josh tells Maya.
"A game?" Okay… What kind of game?" Maya questioned curiously.
This was a college party… What kind of games could they be into? Maya always thought that party games were stupid, especially the middle school games like Spin The Bottle and Truth or Dare.
"Beer Pong!" Josh was excited.
He was great at beer pong and he was just happy to be with Maya. Secretly, he missed when Maya had a huge crush on him.
"Okay yeah, let's do it." Maya said confidently.
She actually had never played beer pong but she was always up for a challenge. Josh set up 12 cups into 2 triangles and filled them equally with a little bit of beer. Maya found the ping pong ball in a drawer and handed it to Josh.
"Ladies first." Josh handed it back to her.
"Alright…" Maya took the ping pong ball and thought back to all the TV shows and movies that had Beer Pong in them. It couldn't be that hard, right? Wrong. She completely missed all the cups.
"Never played before?" Josh smiled.
"I'm just warming up, that's all." Maya said quietly.
Josh picked up the ball from the floor, bounced it on the table, and… plop. Right into Maya's cup.
"Drink up." Josh smirked and folded his arms across his chest.
"God, he's so cute." Maya thought to herself, "Wait! NO! I did not jus think that!"
Maya blamed her thinking on the alcohol and drank from the cup.
"Okay, my turn." She said throwing away the empty cup.
She tried again and it got into one of his cups.
"Hah!" She bragged as he took a drink.
"What do you say we make this interesting?" Josh asked.
"How?"
"If I win, you kiss me."
"And If I win, you will leave me and Lucas alone for the rest of the night."
"Deal." and they shook on it?
15 minutes later
"I win!" Josh gloated in Maya's face.
"No way, I was just getting the hang of it. Let's play again, you can even change the bet." Maya begged.
She hated losing, she was almost as competitive as Riley's mom, Topanga.
"Fine… now when I win, I get a kiss and your number." Josh said to Maya while setting up a new game.
Maya crossed her arms, "You do realize that Lucas is my boyfriend right?"
"Yeah.. I know that I do, but I'm in it for the long game." Josh winked.
Ugh, Maya groaned. Of course he would remember the stupid things she said as a silly middle schooler.
"Whatever." Maya rolled her eyes and pulled her long blonde hair into a ponytail so she could focus on winning.
Since Josh had won, he started the game. The ball landed perfectly in a cup.
"Game on." Josh said while raising his eyebrows.
Maya bit her lip in concentration and gave herself a mental pep talk.
"You're cute when you're nervous." Josh joked at Maya's side.
"Thanks." She mumbled and bounced the ball.
"Drink up." She smiled as the ball shot into his cup.
"Not bad, Hart." Josh laughed while drinking from the cup.
But once again, Josh won the game.
"C'mon, let's go upstairs." Josh said taking Maya's hand.
Maya couldn't describe what she was feeling. At first, she was nervous. She didn't want to betray Lucas. But, Josh had won fair and square and it was just one little kiss. At the same time, Maya was a little excited, Josh was really hot, she couldn't deny it. There was something about his cockiness that always turned her on.
Finally, they reached an empty bedroom.
"Why couldn't we just kiss down there?" Maya asked following Josh into the room.
"It wasn't personal enough." He said closing the door behind him.
"Personal? It's not like it's a real kiss, Josh. It's just a dumb bet."
Josh's face sunk and he let go of Maya's hand.
"You're right." he said.
"Huh?"
"It's not a real kiss, this is stupid. Let's just go back to the party."
"Deal is off?" Maya asked.
"Yeah, whatever. Deal's off." Josh said leaving the room.
"What the hell was that?" Maya thought to herself.
He seemed so upset, like a kiss would actually mean something to him. Maya thought back to the first and only time Josh had ever kissed her. She was just an 8th grader at the time.
It was New Year's Eve and Maya was spending the night at Riley's house. Riley, Maya, Farkle, and Lucas were sitting on the couch waiting for the ball to drop on TV.
"Hey Ranger Rick, pass the popcorn." Maya called to Lucas who was sitting next to Riley.
"Okay everyone, it's 11:58, the countdown is going to start soon!" Farkle yelled even though he could've whispered and they would have still heard him.
"Oh Maya! Go grab my polaroid camera from my room! I want to take a picture of us exactly at midnight!" Riley exclaimed.
Riley got excited so easily, it was one of Maya's favorite things about her.
Maya stood up and made her way into Riley's room trying to find her camera.
"What are you doing in here?" Josh peeked his head in and asked.
Josh was staying the week at the Matthew's house because his parents were on their anniversary trip.
"Oh… Josh. I didn't see you there. You are looking extremely handsome tonight." Maya hopelessly flirted.
Josh took another step into the room smiling as Maya twirled her hair with her finger.
"It's almost midnight, why aren't you with your friends?" Josh asked.
"I'm just grabbing Riley''s camera." Maya said while picking up the pink polaroid camera from Riley's dresser.
"Hurry Maya, it's starting!" Riley yelled from the living room.
"Anyways, see ya Josh!" Maya giggled and started to leave the room.
"Wait." Josh stepped forward and grabbed Maya's hand.
"10, 9, 8, 7" could be heard in the background.
Josh put his hands gently on to Maya's face. Her heart was beating out of her chest.
"6, 5, 4" the numbers got louder. Josh kept looking into her eyes.
"3, 2, 1… HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
But Maya couldn't hear her friends anymore. All she knew was that her lips were on Josh's lips and nothing else mattered.
Maya remembered that New Years like it was yesterday. But she needed to focus on what just happened. Josh kissed girls all the time, why had he changed his mind about Maya? And why was he being such a pouter? Just because Maya didn't act like she was dying to kiss him, he left Maya all alone in a bedroom.
"Did you hear about that high school girl and Josh?" Lucas heard some random kids talking as he stepped back inside the party.
"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked them.
"Josh Matthews and some blonde chick are getting it on upstairs." The college kid laughed like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard.
Lucas pushed through the crowd and ran up the stairs until he say Maya in a bedroom watching TV.
"Where is he?" Lucas asked.
"What? Lucas where the hell have you been? You've been gone for almost an hour!"
"Where is Josh? Is he in the bathroom?"
Lucas checked around furiously. Maya had never seen him so angry before.
"No! Josh isn't in here? What's going on?"
"Everyone downstairs told me that you and Josh went up here 20 minutes ago, and I want to know what's going on behind my back!"
"Lucas, nothing is going on, trust me babe." Maya said taking his hands and sitting him down on the bed.
"Josh took me up here because I lost a bet. But I swear, nothing happened. Besides, why did you leave? You're the one who wanted to come to this party." Maya stared at Lucas, waiting for his answer.
"Because I thought this party would be fun for you."
"Lucas it was fun until you left me, you idiot!" She said laughing. Then she got serious again, "But for real, where did you go?"
"I went to get some more beer." He stated proudly, hoping to surprise Maya.
She wasn't surprised, she just threw her head back in laughter.
"Since when does a Huckleberry like you drink beer?"
"Since tonight." He pouted. But her laugh made him smile.
"And why are you calling me Huckleberry again? You haven't called me that in months!"
"Once a Huckleberry, always a Huckleberry." Maya teased and took a swig of Lucas' beer.
"Can I kiss you" Lucas asked.
Lucas was such a gentlemen, but sometimes it drove Maya crazy. Why did he have to ask to kiss her, they had been dating for such a long time now. Why couldn't he just be spontaneous and kiss her like Josh did on New Year's? Maya didn't answer his question with words. She answered by straddling her legs on him and colliding her lips into his. Maya got a lot flirtier after she's had a few drinks, and Lucas wasn't going to complain.
Josh left the party after Maya made him realize how much of an asshole he was being. Maya wasn't that 14 year old obsessed little girl that she was 3 years ago. Even though Josh was dying to kiss Maya ever since New Year's, he knew it wouldn't be right. Maya had a boyfriend now and since she was drunk, he would be taking advantage of her.
On his walk home, Josh stopped at a gas station. Being drunk made him starving. As he was walking around the store, he saw a bag of Sour Skittles.
"Gross." he thought to himself.
But then he remembered a time Maya was eating those nasty candies. It was back when Maya was a 7th grader, and still head over heels for Josh.
They were watching a movie at Riley's house. It was Riley's favorite movie, 13 Going on 30. Suddenly, Riley paused the movie.
"Okay, I know this is the best party but I really have to pee." Riley whined.
"Riles, you think every part is the best part." Maya teased her best friend.
"Just hurry back." Josh instructed.
Riley got up in a rush, leaving an awkward silence between Josh and Maya. The only sound you could hear was Maya chomping away on Sour Skittles.
"How can you eat those? They look so nasty." Josh looked disgusted.
"No way! They are so good! Just try one!"
"Yeah, not gonna happen." Josh said scooting further away from Maya.
But, she slided closer anyways.
"Are ya scared?" she whispered.
"No." Josh laughed at how childish she was being. But what else should he expect from a middle schooler?
"Because… If I didn't know any better, I would think little Joshie was scared of a piece of candy." She said in a baby talk voice.
"Okay, don't call me Joshie."
She slowly held a green sour skittle in front of his face.
"You know you wanna…"
In attempt to get her to leave him alone, he decided he would just eat the dumb thing. Josh leaned forward to get it over with, and just as he was about to take a bite, Maya snatched the candy and popped it into her mouth with a grin.
"Gotcha." She smiled a huge smile.
That was the first time Josh realized that was his favorite thing about her, her smile. Especially when it was genuine, like right then. He didn't want it go away so he grabbed her side and playfully through her down so her head was on his lap. She was laughing until she looked up at Josh. His face was just inches apart from hers. He wanted to kiss her, but he knew he shouldn't. She was a 7th grader and he was a Sophomore, it could lead to nothing good. But, there was so much chemistry between them, a kiss would only feel right. So he leaned in ever so slightly, and and she slowly closed her eyes, and…
"What are you doing?"
Of course. It was Riley coming back from the bathroom.
"Nothing! Just play the movie!" Maya exclaimed and quickly sat up to her original spot on the couch.
That was the first time Josh had ever seen Maya embarrassed, and he couldn't think of anything cuter.
Josh rushed out of the gas station without grabbing anything, his hunger didn't matter anymore. He just wanted to tell Maya how he was feeling. She was a junior in high school now, the age difference couldn't matter that much, right? And as for the cowboy, he wouldn't be that hard to get rid of.
Josh ran back to the party as fast as he could to make sure that Maya was still there and that hopefully, Lucas wasn't. He stumbled into the party, exhausted from running for so long.
"Where is Maya?" Josh asked Zay.
"I don't know, man. I thought she was hooking up with you…" Zay laughed and gave Josh a punch on the arm.
Josh just rolled his eyes and kept walking until he got to the bedroom he brought Maya to. The door was closed but he knew Maya had to be in there.
"Maya, there is something I really need to tell you - Oh.." Josh had walked in on Maya and Lucas in the middle of a serious make out session.
"My bad." He turned about embarrassed as soon as he made awkward eye contact with Maya.
She stood up and followed him out.
"Wait! Josh! Maya ran down the stairs after him leaving Lucas alone and confused.
Maya didn't know what had came over her. She just knew that she needed to hear what Josh had to say. Josh was someone that Maya would always want, even if she didn't want to admit it. She followed him clear until they were standing in the street outside the party.
"Josh! Please just wait." Maya called after him.
"What?" Josh turned around, he looked like he was about to cry.
"What did you have to tell me?"
"Nothing, it's not important."
"Yes it is!"
Josh ran his fingers through his hair, "I love you! Ok? There Maya, I love you."
Maya couldn't move. She always thought this would be the best moment of her life. Joshua Matthews, loved her back. Isn't that what she always wanted? But, she wasn't filled with joy. She was just overwhelmed.
"Josh, you don't even know me." She said.
It was true, last time they saw each other, they were completely different people.
"What?"
"You don't know me, and you don't love me." Maya's heart was racing.
"Okay Maya, I think I know what I'm feeling." Josh looked down embarrassed.
"Why do you love me?"
"God, because you're you! I love your personality, you always speak your mind, even if it gets you in trouble. You're loyal, so loyal. I know you would move mountains for the people you love. And you're funny. You always make me laugh." Josh started rambling to Maya.
Maya was confused. Since when did he start feeling like this?
"Why are you saying this now? Did you just suddenly fall in love with me tonight?" Maya questioned.
"No. I've always felt this way."
"Always? You've always felt this way? You felt this way every single time that you turned me down?"
"Didn't you ever notice I always said I was too old for you, I never said I wasn't into you." Josh pointed out stepping closer to Maya.
Maya didn't know what to do. Did he really mean all these things he was saying to her?
"I love you." Josh said quietly, almost a whisper.
"You're drunk."
"Yeah, and when I wake up, and I'm not drunk, I will still love you."
Josh felt the weight of the world lift off his shoulders. He had finally told Maya the things he had kept to himself all these years.
"But Josh, I have a boyfriend now, I can't just dump him if this isn't going to work out between us." Maya said.
"I can't promise it's going to work, Maya. But sometimes you just have to take risks, that's what life is all about. Your move."
Maya considered her options. She could stick with Lucas, her boyfriend that she really liked. They were good together. But Maya remembered how she felt like she had to change around him. Or, she could pick Josh. The boy that was always in the back of her mind. She knew she loved Josh, she always had. But, did he really love her? Or was he just intoxicated by the alcohol?
"Maya, whatever you choose, whoever you choose, I won't love you any less." Josh stared into Maya's eyes before giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead.
"Can you just, like, give me a call or whatever when you decide-" Josh was cut off by Maya's lips pressed to his.
The kiss was magical to Maya. She had kissed lots of guys, but those were nothing compared to this. They just seemed so right for eachother. Josh held Maya's waist while her arms wrapped around his neck. Their lips tasted like alcohol and Maya's vanilla chapstick.
"I love you too." Maya said inbetween kisses.
"What the hell?" Lucas said walking towards them.
Maya could see the anger in his eyes as he walked closed on the dark street. She knew what was going to happen couldn't be good. Everyone was drunk and they wouldn't be thinking straight.
"Lucas!" Maya called to him. She needed him to calm down.
"Were you just kissing that asshole?" Lucas looked past Maya and nodded in Josh's direction.
"Yes! But it was nothing! It didn't mean anything. Let's just go home babe." Maya lied.
It was the biggest lie she had ever told. That kiss didn't mean nothing to her, it meant everything to her. But she had to get Lucas away from Josh before he did something he couldn't take back.
"It mean nothing to you?" Josh stepped forward to Maya, "How could you tell me you loved me and then just say that?"
"You told him, you loved him?" Lucas' words grew louder.
"Yes, but… Lucas DON'T!"
But it was too late. Lucas punched Josh to the ground.
"Lucas! Stop!" Maya cried out as Lucas kicked Josh in the gut.
"What's wrong with you?" Maya tried with all her strength to get Lucas off of Josh.
Josh didn't fight back. He never saw a point in fighting. Besides, he didn't think he had anything to fight for. Maya didn't love him.
Riley sat alone in her window wishing she had her best friend by her side. She felt terrible for saying those things about Maya to Farkle. Maya was the most loyal person she had ever met, she could never know how Riley sometimes felt. She played with the best friends ring on her finger, they got them on Maya's 14th birthday. Riley sent a quick text to Maya apologizing for leaving the party so soon.
Riley: hey maya, i'm really sorry i left the party so early, hope you're not mad. see you tomorrow at school! ily 3
Riley knew Maya probably wouldn't see her text until she got home, but she still felt better after texting her BFF.
"Riley! Farkle's here." Cory Matthews, Riley's dad, called from the kitchen.
It was almost midnight, what was Farkle doing so late? He was usually in bed at this time.
"Hey Riles." Farkle walked into her room.
"Why didn't you just climb through the window like you used to?"
"Because this was too important for stuff I used to do in middle school." He said as he took a seat beside her.
"What's too important?"
"This."
Farkle leaned in to kiss Riley.
"What are you doing?" Riley quickly stood up.
"Well, I was going to kiss you." Farkle's face was bright red.
"Kiss me?!" Riley looked down to where Farkle was sitting, "We are just friends."
"I don't want to be just friends anymore, Riley!" Farkle stood up, suddenly gaining some confidence.
"Lucas doesn't deserve you. He never has. You are the most amazing, talented, sweet girl I've ever met. And I'm sick of you not realizing that. Don't you know that I would do anything for you? ANYTHING! My life has practically revolved around you since I can remember. I love you, Riley Matthews."
Riley was speechless. She knew Farkle loved her, but she didn't know he was in love with her. Did Riley love Farkle back? He was the one person she could trust any secret with. And she did think about him all the time, especially when she needed someone to be there for her.
"Riley please say something."
"I just- I just don't know what to say."
"Say anything." Farkle looked so nervous as he looked into Riley's eyes.
As their eyes met, Riley felt butterflies all throughout her stomach.
"Farkle, I… I think that-" Riley started to talk but her phone ringing her interrupted her.
"Hold on Farkle, It's Maya."
"Can't it wait?"
"No. She only calls if it's important." she said while answering her phone.
"Maya?"
"Riley," Maya was crying, "I need you to come get me."
"Where are you?" Riley filled with panic. She knew frat parties could end badly, that's exactly why she didn't want to go.
"I'm outside the party. Please hurry." Maya hung up.
"Get in the car." Riley instructed Farkle while grabbing her keys from her purse.
"Where are we going? What happened?" Farkle asked as Riley started the car.
"I don't know, Maya needs us. She's at the party still." Riley's voice was full of fear, and a few tears streamed down her face.
"It's going to be okay, Riley." Farkle tried to comfort her.
Maya sat on the steps waiting for Riley to pick her up. She decided to sent her a text.
Maya: hey how close are you?
But her phone died before she could hit sent. Great. Her head was killing her from crying, she was freezing, and now her phone was dead.
Finally, she saw Riley's car pull up to the curb. Riley got out of the car and ran to give Maya a hug.
"Are you okay?" Riley asked holding her tighter.
"Yes, I'm fine. Can we please just get out of here?" She started crying again.
Riley opened the door for Maya and got back to the driver's seat. Farkle turned around in the passenger's seat to look at Maya.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Lucas beat up Josh. Josh ran away and I haven't seen him since. Me and Lucas are over and my mom is going to kill me when I get home." Maya didn't feel like going into details about the horrid night.
"Wait, Josh, as in my uncle, Josh?" Riley clarified.
"Yes."
"Why?" Farkle looked just as shocked as Riley.
"Because we kissed."
"What?!" Riley and Farkle said in unision.
Maya didn't say anything, just looked down at her shoes. After a few minutes of silence, Riley asked another question, "Lucas didn't hurt you did he?"
"No. But, I've never been more scared in my life." Maya admitted.
"Do you know-" Farkle started but was interrupted by Maya.
"I'm sorry but I don't want to talk about it anymore."
They rode in silence until they reached Maya's apartment building.
"Thanks for coming and getting me. I love you guys." Maya said getting out of the car.
"I'm so confused." Farkle said as Riley drove away.
"Same."
"What were you going to tell me, ya know, before Maya called."
"I love you too Farkle." she smiled.
"Really?"
"Yes, really. I just never knew until tonight."
Maya tip-toed into the house, shutting the door as quietly as she could. Thankfully, her mom was asleep. That wasn't a surprise to Maya, she probably hadn't even noticed she was gone. Maya walked into her room and sat down on her bed. It was only 12:47 but it felt like 3 AM. She plugged in her phone and heard a ding.
Mom: Whenever you decide to come home, don't wake me up. I've had a hard day at work.
"Of course." Maya sighed before falling asleep hoping this whole night was just an awful dream.
"We met at the wrong time. That's what I kept telling myself anyway. Maybe one day, years from now, we'll meet in a coffee shop in a far away city somewhere and we could give it another shot."
-Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3 years later
"Maya! Get up!" Maya woke up to her best friend Riley leaning over her bed, "It's your first day of work! Can't be late."
"Okay, calm down." Maya sat up and rubbed her eyes.
Riley and Maya shared an apartment together and attended NYU. Riley majored in Elementary Education, and Maya was studying Art.
"I made you breakfast!" Riley cheered. She was definitely the same, old, happy Riley she was as a teenager.
"Thanks Riles." Maya ate her breakfast in a hurry, so she could start getting ready for the day. She put on her make-up and quickly curled her hair so it looked perfectly messy.
"So what are you up to today?" Maya asked Riley as she got dressed in her work uniform.
"Farkle and I are going shopping for Christmas decorations today!" Riley exclaimed.
It was Riley's favorite time of the year, making her exceptionally happy. Riley and Farkle were still going strong, they were engaged in fact. Maya was still a loner. She had sort of swore of boyfriends the beginning of her senior year of high school.
"Sounds fun! Pick me up an ugly Christmas sweater!" Maya joked while grabbing her bag and heading out the door.
It was Maya's first day working at a coffee shop just off campus. She had been needing a job for months, but this was the only place that had called her back.
"What can I get ya?" Maya asked grabbing a cup from under the counter.
"Maya?"
She looked up.
"Josh?"
Her stomach dropped. What were the odds she would see Josh again? New York was such a big city.
"Hi." he smiled.
"I haven't seen you since…" Maya couldn't finish her sentence.
The last time she saw Josh she ruined everything.
"Yeah…" Josh said awkwardly.
"Uh, Anyways," Maya shook her head, "What can I get you?"
"Just a grande coffee with sugar." Josh held out his debit card.
"Josh, I go on break in like 10 minutes, could you maybe, wait?" Maya asked writing his name on his cup.
She wanted to explain herself. She needed to tell Josh that she lied that night. He probably hated her.
"Yeah," Josh said checking the clock, "Yeah, I could wait."
"So, how's life treatin ya?" Maya asked nervously, taking a seat next to Josh.
"Pretty good. I graduated. I'm working at this publishing place now, I'm trying to get my books published."
"Oh, you write?"
"Yeah, I started last year." He proudly smiled, "How are you?"
"I'm good too! I go to NYU now, an art student, and obviously working here." she said looking around.
"Cool, cool."
"Okay, enough small talk. I just need to apologize."
"Maya, you don't have to…" Josh started.
"Yes, I do," Maya interrupted, "I lied to you. That kiss meant so much to me. I did mean it when I said I loved you. I just wanted Lucas to calm down. I am so sorry Josh." Maya could feel herself starting to tear up.
"What I'm trying to say is," Maya paused, "Can we just start over? Give it another shot?"
There was silence between them for a moment.
"Hi. I'm Joshua Matthews." he smiled and stuck his hand out.
Maya shook his and smiled back, "I'm Maya Hart. It's nice to meet you, Joshua Matthews."
THE END