Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Girl Meets World.

So I have to be honest; I didn't always ship Joshaya. In fact, I was a pretty diehard Lucaya fan and in some ways I still am. But after seeing the ski lodge episodes, I'm actually glad that Joshaya was made canon. I think Maya and Josh have great chemistry and I hope I can capture even a smidge of that in this story.

Happy reading!

Day One

Maya Hart had finally arrived at her destination, the Mount Sun Ski Lodge. She stepped off the bus and took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air. All around her were colossal pine trees. The sun shined through the leaves, creating glittering patches of light on the ground.

Finally some peace and quiet, she thought to herself as she adjusted the duffel bag hanging on her shoulder.

With one last glance at the invigorating view, Maya entered the lodge to check into her room. While she stood in line, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and typed a text message to her mom.

Maya: Just wanted to let you know that I got here safely. Call you tonight.

Just as she was about to put away her phone it vibrated, alerting her to a new message.

"That was fast," Maya muttered to herself.

To her dismay the name that appeared on the screen was none other than Riley's.

Riley: Hey, I've been trying to reach you all day. Are you okay? Where are you?

Maya stared hard at the message as her thumb hovered hesitantly over the keyboard. Before she could decide what to do, she heard the receptionist call, "Next!" She heaved a sigh of exasperation as she put her phone away and stepped up to the front desk. Replying to Riley's text would just have to wait.

After she had settled into her room, Maya spent the rest of the afternoon hiking along one of the designated trails. She deliberately chose to leave her phone behind and the text message to Riley was forgotten for the time being. With her sketchbook in hand, Maya made frequent stops on her hike to draw anything and everything that caught her eye. Pictures of a babbling brook and a sprightly red cardinal perched on a branch filled the pages of her sketchbook. As much as she enjoyed living in the big city, the tranquility and natural beauty of the forest helped to put her mind at ease.

The sun was beginning to set when Maya returned to the lodge. Soft shades of pink, orange and purple were splashed across the vast sky. The minute she entered her room her eyes immediately flew to her phone on the bed. She had avoided Riley's text long enough.

With a sigh of defeat, she picked up the device and typed out a message.

Maya: Don't worry, I'm fine. I just needed to get away for a bit. I'll fill you in when I get back.

Maya hit the "send" button before she could change her mind. She suspected that Riley wasn't going to be happy about her cryptic message but she just wasn't ready to open up. The whole point of this spontaneous trip was for her to get away and she was determined to do just that. All of a sudden, Maya's stomach began to grumble.

"Dinner time," she said as she stepped into the bathroom to wash up.

Afterwards Maya made her way downstairs to the dining hall. Just as she was reaching the bottom on the staircase her foot suddenly got caught on some loose carpeting. She squealed and felt herself stumbling forward. Maya braced herself, expecting to make impact with the floor.

But it never came.

"Are you okay?" she heard a familiar voice say.

Maya looked up to see a pair of brown eyes she knew all too well.

"Josh?" she said in disbelief.

"Maya?" said Josh, equally surprised.

She was suddenly acutely aware of Josh's arms wrapped around her small frame. A happy delirium overtook her senses as she pulled back and smiled at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, releasing her.

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?"

The euphoric feeling left as quickly as it came however when a girl with short wavy hair and piercing green eyes appeared beside him. Several piercings decorated her ears and she bore a small tattoo of a compass on her wrist.

"Thanks again for letting me borrow this, Josh," she said as she handed him his jacket.

Maya frowned and without pretense asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Tori," she replied, raising a curious eyebrow. "Who are you?"

"Maya," she said, narrowing her blue eyes in scrutiny.

The two girls turned their attention to Josh, who stood between them purposely avoiding their gazes.

"Well this is awkward," he joked as he shifted awkwardly in place.

"I'll say," Maya agreed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Just then they were approached by a group of two other boys and a girl, who Maya assumed to be Josh's friends.

"Alright, our rooms are ready," said the guy with black-framed glasses. "We should take our bags up and settle in before dinner."

"You guys go ahead," said Josh looking pointedly at Maya. "I'll catch up with you in a bit."

Josh's friends traded uncertain glances and eyed Maya curiously before heading up the stairs with their things.

"Long time no see, Boing," Maya said once his friends were out of earshot.

"How have you been?" he asked holding her gaze.

"Same old, same old," replied Maya with a knowing smile. "Still up to no good."

"Are you here with Riley?"

Maya slowly shook her head as her gaze fell to the floor. Josh frowned and shot her a quizzical look.

"Does Riley know you're here?" he asked. "Does anyone know you're here?"

He could see her hesitance to answer his question. She stood wordlessly before him, staring at her feet with her hands stuffed in her pockets.

"Maya?" he urged, his patience wearing thin. "What's going on?"

Finally she let out an exasperated sigh and blurted, "Look, my mom and Shawn know that I'm here. But the Matthews don't and I would really appreciate it if you don't say anything, especially to Riley."

"Okay, got it," Josh said, raising his hands up defensively. "But that still doesn't explain why you're here."

"A little mystery keeps the romance alive, Boing," she said flippantly.

Josh regarded her for what felt like long tense moment before shaking his head in defeat.

"Fine, you can tell me when you're ready," he conceded, earning him an appreciative smile from Maya.

"So," she quipped, hoping to shift the focus away from herself. "You're just letting strange girls borrow your jacket nowadays?"

Josh chuckled at Maya's insinuating observation.

"Tori's a friend," he explained. "We're all just here to hang out for the weekend. It's been a long week of exams."

"I see," said Maya, though she wasn't completely convinced.

She felt her stomach grumble again, reminding her of why she had come down in the first place.

"You know, I was actually about to grab some dinner if you and your friends want to join."

Josh's face seemed to light up at her suggestion.

"Yeah, sure," he said with a handsome smile. "Let me just put my stuff away and we'll catch up with you in the dining hall."

Maya watched as he ascended the staircase. It had been several months since she last saw him, and nearly four years since they were in this ski lodge together. Josh had always been the most collected and cool-headed of the Matthews siblings. But something about him now seemed more centered, focused and mature. The changes in his physical appearance didn't go unnoticed by Maya either.

His hair, which was much longer now, was pulled into a sleek bun and his body was visibly leaner and more muscular. Maya didn't always take kindly to changes but she had no qualms about the changes she saw in Josh Matthews.

As promised, Josh and his friends joined Maya for dinner in the lodge's spacious dining hall. Despite the obvious age difference, Josh's friends were surprisingly accepting of Maya's company and happily included her in their conversations. By the end of the evening, Maya had learned all of their names: Derek, Kurt, and Alice. And then there was Tori, who Maya still had some reservations about. She was brilliant, articulate, and edgy. After getting acquainted to her, Maya could see why she and Josh were friends.

Later that night, Maya was sitting in bed contemplating about her day when her text alert sounded. She glanced at her phone and was pleasantly surprised to see a text from Josh.

Josh: We're going rafting tomorrow. Want to come?

Maya smiled, happy that he thought to include her.

Maya: Sure, count me in.

Josh: Great. I'm glad I ran into you today. See you tomorrow.

She then gazed out at the night sky through her window and wondered what Riley was doing. A small part of her still felt guilty about keeping this trip a secret from her best friend. But major changes were coming, changes she wasn't ready to deal with. After some time, Maya reached into her backpack and pulled out a sealed envelope that was marked with the NYU seal. She stared at it for what felt like an eternity.

She knew she couldn't put this off any longer; she had been avoiding opening the letter all week. It was the moment of truth. She took a pen and slid it across the envelope to break the seal. With shaking hands, she unfolded the letter inside and with a deep breath skimmed it over.

Maya couldn't believe it. She read the letter again, perusing each word carefully. She felt a strange mix of emotions in the pit of her stomach as she groaned in frustration. Her future suddenly seemed vague, unclear, like the murky lake in her neighborhood park.

She fell back onto the soft pillows and gazed out at the sky once more, which was illuminated by the light of the waning moon.

So much for getting away this weekend, she thought, wishing she could be as far away as the moon. Away from all these changes and uncertainty and indecision. The future was coming with the speed of a bullet train. Whether she liked it or not, she knew she was going to have to make a hard decision. She could only hope it was the right one.

I'd love to hear your thoughts so please take a few minutes to write a review. Thanks a million!