Maya Hart walked down the hallway of Abigail Adams High; her midriff length blonde hair bounced against her back as she turned the corner towards Riley Matthew's locker. It was the end of the day and she had news and news like this you did not share over the phone. She quickened her pace as she saw Riley standing with her boyfriend, Lucas Friar in their usual meeting spot.

"Riles! Huckleberry!" Maya called as soon as they were in earshot.

"Peaches!" Riley squealed, her signature toothy grin plastered on her face as Lucas tipped an imaginary hat, a smirk playing on his face.

"You won't believe what's happened!" Maya took a deep breath as Riley urged her to continue. "I got an invitation to go visit NYU and meet professors in the art program!"

"Peaches! Oh my gosh!" Riley cried, wrapping her arms around her best friend a little too tight.

"Babe, you're going to kill her!" Lucas stated, prying her off of the blonde and then proceeded to hug her himself. "I'm so proud of you, Maya!"

"Thanks, Howdy Doody!" She laughed, letting go of him.

"When are you going?" Riley asked.

"Next week. Since it will be Spring Break, I'm staying in one of their spare rooms and going to get to have some one-on-ones with a professor or two that will still be there. I'll be able to show them what I can do!"

"You know, you should call Josh! Dad told me that he was going to be staying there instead of going back to Philly. You should hang out with him some. I'm sure he'd love to show you around!" Her friend said, giving her a soft nudge on the shoulder; her grin grew bigger.

"I thought you didn't want Maya to be your aunt." Lucas raised his eyebrow at her.

"I didn't at first…but after what happened at the ski lodge, I've really warmed up to the idea." She said and then turned to Maya. "I mean, that was two years ago. You've both gotten closer and become more mature. Don't you think it might be time to see if 'someday' is now?"

"I don't know, Riles. We both agreed we didn't want to rush it. I don't want to start something when the timing's not right just to lose him completely." Maya frowned at the idea. Joshua Matthews was one of the only people that knew the real Maya and she most certainly did not want to jeopardize that just because she didn't want to wait.

"I'm not telling you to tell him you're in love with him." Riley stated and put her hand over Maya's mouth as she noticed she was about to interject. "I know you love him, Peaches. Don't deny it. Why else would you turn down all those nice guys?" Riley took her hand away from Maya's mouth.

"Because—"

"Because you're in love with Josh." Lucas stated confidently. Maya looked between the two and realized that there was no point in arguing; they were right.

"Fine. I do."

"Can you really stand just being friends with him? Doesn't it hurt?"

"I don't know!" Maya growled, throwing her hands into the air and then covering her face.

"I'm sorry, Peaches." Riley sighed, hugging her best friend. "I didn't mean to make you mad."

"It's okay, Honey." She sighed, a slight glare still occupied her face.

"Would tacos make it better?"

"Tacos." Maya nodded.

"Lucas, are you coming?"

"Tacos!" Lucas cried as he looked at Maya, who nodded in return. They each grabbed one of Riley's arms and pulled her down the hallway towards the main door.

"Children." She muttered as she allowed herself to be pulled by the two.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Josh Matthews turned the key to his dorm room in Greenwich Hall and pushed open the door. He threw his backpack down onto the ground right beside his desk and plopped down on his bed; laying back and closing his eyes. He needed a nap; school was catching up to him and wearing him out. He silently counted the minutes until his roommate, Schnoopaloop, came in and disrupted his peace once again.

"What's up, roomie?" Schnoopaloop asked loudly as he threw the dorm room door open. Josh groaned and kept his eyes closed tight; maybe if he didn't open them, he'd go away. "So I'm thinking of going to the gym in a bit…you know to check out all the hotties, schnoopaloop. You wanna come?"

Josh groaned again and sat up, opening his eyes. "No, thanks. I'm actually going to head out and see some friends." Josh lied and pushed himself off the bed, fixed his navy beanie and headed for the door. "See ya."

He didn't look back as he walked out the door and headed for the elevator. Once again Schnoopaloop had messed everything up. Where was he supposed to go? Andrew was still in class so he couldn't go hang out with him. He decided to take a walk down to the park and have a look around. For a fall day in the city it was rather warm, almost too warm for the beanie that he had on, he slipped it off and tucked it into his back pocket.

He walked down the road to the crosswalk and made his way across the street to the park. He spotted all of the food trucks that had set up camp in the square and checked the time. It was just after four and he realized that he hadn't eaten lunch earlier. He quickly scanned the trucks to see what he wanted and stopped in his tracks when he saw a blonde standing in line with her friends at the taco truck. It was his blonde. He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed her number; watching as a small smile appeared on her face when she saw his name on her phone. She quickly answered.

"Boing."

"Hey, Ferret." He smirked as he watched her face light up even more. "What are you doing?"

"Just grabbing a bite with Riles and Howdy. What about you?"

"Well, I'm staring at this girl." His heart skipped when he saw her face turn to a frown.

"Oh."

"Yeah, she's very beautiful. I think you know her…blonde hair, blue eyes, loves tacos?" Her face lit up again.

"Where are you?!" She asked, frantically looking around for him. He quickly dodged her sight and snuck up behind her.

"Right here." He whispered into her ear.

She shivered as she felt his warm breath against her ear. She turned to face him. "Hello, Boing."

"Maya." He smiled, grabbing her hand and pulling her in for a hug.

"Uncle Josh!" Riley exclaimed, happy to see him.

"Hey, Riles, Lucas!" Josh said, not letting go of Maya's hand while he hugged Riley.

"What are you doing here?" Maya asked, her cheeks continued to redden the longer he held her hand.

"Had to get away from the roommate." He said, looking down at Maya, who smiled back at him.

"Well, since you're here. Lucas and I wanted to go take a walk, so you can keep Maya company." Riley smiled, making no effort to hide her set up.

"Riles…" Maya scolded.

"No, I want to take a walk with my boyfriend and that is what I'm going to do." Riley huffed and pulled Lucas away.

Josh laughed, "How do you put up with her?"

"Not a clue." Maya smirked. She felt her pocket vibrate and she pulled out her phone.

Riley: Tell him!

Maya rolled her eyes, locked her phone and placed it back in her pocket.

"Are you excited for Spring Break?" Maya asked as she and Josh slowly made their way to the front of the line.

"I guess so, Schnoopaloop is leaving so I'll get the room to myself. It'll be nice to be able to relax. Andrew will be gone for the beginning of the break. How about you? Any big plans?"

"Well…actually I got—well I got invited to go meet with some professors at NYU so I can show them my work."
"Maya! That's incredible!" He said, picking her up and spinning her around, smiling at the sound of her giggling. He blushed as he received glares from the others in line and muttered a small "sorry."

"Yeah, I'm excited." She said quietly. Maya was not one to be humble except when it came to her art.

"As you should be! You're an incredible artist and you deserve this recognition!"

"Thank you, Josh." She smiled and gave his hand a small squeeze.

"Well, how about I buy you a taco to celebrate?"
'You don't have to do that!" She stated, waving her hands in front of her.

"Yes, I do. It's not everyday your girl gets to to show her work to some of the best art professors in the country!"

"Did-did you just call me 'your' girl?" She asked carefully.

"I think I did, Ferret." He said coyly rubbing the back of his neck.

She smiled and silently laughed. "Uh, we're up next." She said, moving forward.

"Can I show you around campus?" Josh asked hopeful.

Maya laughed, "Riley told me I should ask you."

"Well, she's a Matthews, what can I say? I have a smart niece." He smirked. "Well, what do you say?"

She nodded her head and said, "I'd love for you to show me around."

Josh's smile widened. "Great!"

"What can I get you two?" The woman in the taco truck asked.

"Four soft tacos?" Josh asked Maya and laughed at her shaking head. He turned to the woman and said, "six soft tacos."

"Thank you." Maya said, closing her eyes and smiling.

"Alright, that will be twelve fifty." The woman said and took the money from Josh. She handed him a brown paper bag and they said thank you.

"Where do you want to sit?" Maya asked, looking around.

"How about under that tree?" Josh suggested.

"Sure." She said and lead him to a secluded spot under a large oak tree.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Okay, what's going on with you?" Lucas asked as he walked hand in hand through the park with Riley.

"Why, I don't know what you're talking about!" Riley cooed, a small smile on her face.

"Riles. C'mon. The second you saw Josh, you left them alone as fast as you could. It was almost like you set it up…" Riley looked away. "Riley? Did you set them up?"

"No, I did not. I might have texted him and told him where we were going to be…and that if he wanted to come, that I was sure Maya would love to see him…" Riley said slowly.

"Riley Matthews! You can't do that! They both agreed that they would be together when the time was right; not when you wanted them to be."

"I'm not pushing, Lucas. I know you see Maya's face when she sees him and vice versa. They might need a push so why can't it be from someone who loves them both and wants them to be happy?"

"And what if you trying to put them together, pushes them away?"

"Well, then we'll have a problem…"

"You are going to be the death of me, woman." Lucas sighed pulling his girlfriend into a hug.

"But you love me!" She smiled against his chest.

"Yes, somehow I do." He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Promise no more meddling?"

"I promise." Riley said reluctantly.

"You know, I'm really just mad that you pulled me away before I could get a taco."

"Seriously?" She asked, annoyed.

"Yes. I wanted a taco." He pouted. "Can we go get one now?"

Riley laughed. "Of course we can, you big baby."

"Yay!" Lucas cried and pulled her back towards the trucks. "So, do you think Maya will tell Josh about NYU?"

"Of course she will! She's trying to play it cool and do this 'long game,'" Riley put air quotes around 'long game', "but I know she'd do anything to actually get to be around Josh."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Is that taco good?" Josh laughed as he watched Maya devour her second taco.

"Mhm." She mumbled, nodding her head.

"I'm glad." He smiled and took a bite of his third.

"So are things still bad with your roommate?"

"Worse." He said, sighing. "I can't ever get a moment of peace. Like today, I had a really stressful exam. I studied for two weeks straight and when I finished it, all I wanted was to take a nap. Well the second I got relaxed, he slams the door open and is as loud as he could possibly be. So that ruined that plan."

"I'm sorry." She said, rubbing his arm, he looked down at it and smiled. "So you decided to take a walk?"

He nodded, "ended up being a really good walk." He smiled as she began to blush.

"Good," She smiled, moving her hand away from his arm, not noticing the frown on his face.

"Riley might have also texted me letting me know you guys would be here…"

"Oh course she did!" She laughed. "You know, you could always go take naps at the Matthew's. Cory wouldn't mind; you know Auggie would love it."

"Hm, tempting. Is there anything in it for me besides a nap and my adorable nephew?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Topanga's cooking? Riley's optimism…"

He thought for a second. "Anything else?" He moved his hand in a circular motion signally for her to continue.

Maya smiled, "well, you would get to see me more."

"Ah, there we go!" Josh laughed. "I might just start doing that then."

Maya's stomach roared with butterflies at the thought of Josh going over there just to see her.

Calm down, Hart. She thought.

"I think you should." She said with her usual confidence.

"Is that so?" He smirked as she vigorously nodded her head.

"Tomorrow? Four o' clock?"

"It's a date." She said, he was the one blushing now.

"Ferret?"

"Yeah?"

"Is this a date? Right now, I mean."

"Oh, well…I don't know. What do you think?"

"Well, I bought you food…which is one qualification of a date."

"Do you want it to be a date?"

"I do, but I don't."

"Oh…" She frowned. Long game, she told herself, long game.

"No! Don't get me wrong. I'd love to go on a date with you; but this isn't what I've had in mind for our first date."

"So, you've thought about our first date?"

"Well, I mean, yeah. We've been playing the long game for two years now…I want it to be special."

Maya smiled her signature wide-eyed 'Josh' smile. "I see." She nodded, "well how about we call this a practice date?"

He laughed. "Practice date it is then!"

"Good." She smiled.

He looked up and saw Riley and Lucas walking over towards them. "Looks like our chaperones are heading this way…"

"Why?!" She groaned.

"Oh, Peaches!"

"What?" She growled, looking up at her best friend and shooting daggers at her. Her best friend definitely had terrible timing.

"It's five thirty and we have to be back at my place for dinner…although, I don't know how any of you are going to eat considering the amount of tacos you've consumed."

"I can always eat!" Lucas bragged, rubbing his stomach.

Riley rolled her eyes at him and turned back to Maya. "Farkle will be there in twenty minutes. Mom said you could come too, Josh."

"I'd come, but I'm meeting Andrew for dinner and then going to study. I'll be over tomorrow though." He said then turning to Maya and giving her a quick wink, she smiled back. Riley chose to ignore this, assuming that she would find out later.

"Should we clean up?" Josh asked Maya when he saw Riley and Lucas turn to each other to give them time to say 'goodbye'.

"Sure." She said and started helping him clean up the taco wrappers. Josh got up and extended a hand forward to help her get up. She happily accepted.

She looked around making sure they'd gotten everything when she saw a beanie on the ground.

"Josh," she said, bending down to pick up the navy piece of fabric. "Is this yours?"

He looked up and felt his back pocket; not finding his beanie. "Yeah, it is."

"Here." She said, offering it to him.

He took it and looked down at it. "You keep it." He said, walking towards her. He was just a little taller than her, but tall enough that he still had to look down at her.

"You, sure?" She asked, surprised.

"Of course." He smiled. "Don't girls like having articles of clothing from the guy they like?"

"No…" She lied.

"Yeah, like I believe that." He smirked, seeing right through her. He gently pulled the beanie down just above her eyebrows and fiddled with it until he was satisfied with its placement. "Plus, it looks way better on you than it does on me."

Maya blushed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "Thanks!"

"You're welcome." He smiled. "See you tomorrow." He hugged her and placed a small kiss onto her forehead. Giving her one last smile as he walked away; leaving a smirking Riley and Lucas and a smitten Maya.

"Maya!" Riley cried soft enough that Josh wouldn't hear.

"Not a word."

"But…"

"Not a word!" Maya laughed and reached up to touch the beanie. Riley and Lucas were definitely right—she loved Joshua Matthews.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Hey guys!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I grew up watching "Boy Meets World" and became obsessed with "Girl Meets World"! Please let me know what you think and favorite/follow.

Xoxo,

Little Rose Potter