Maya smiled when Riley laughed. She was watching her best friend play with her little brother and couldn't help but smile watching them. The Matthews took her in and made her feel like family before she actually had her own family. She was incredibly thankful for them pushing Shawn Hunter toward her and her sometimes strange mother. It took a little while but the day she went from Maya Hart to Maya Hunter was by far one of her best memories. She was happy that her high school life was coming to an end but was incredibly nervous about starting university. She was attending NYU and was not looking forward to being apart from her best friend who was going to be pre-med at Columbia. The two girls had convinced their parents to let them share an apartment between both schools instead of each girl being in freshman dorms. It was the closest to together they were going to get with their separate choices in education.

The door to the Matthews apartment swung open and in walked Josh Matthews. Maya loved him. She loved him with her whole soul but he wasn't ready for that and she knew it. He continuously used their difference in age as the reason why but she knew that it was really because he wanted to enjoy his college experience without being tied down to a girl in high school.

"Family!" Josh shouted as Auggie jumped up to run to his uncle.

"Uncle Josh!"

"You keep getting bigger, stop." Josh stated as he gave the 8-year-old a hug.

"My brotha" Maya smiled when she saw Josh grin.

"My brotha." Cory's wife and Riley mom, Topanga, smiled at Josh and offered him a hug.

"Hey Josh, how's the new apartment? You guys settling in okay?" Maya watched the way the features on his face changed as he talked to his sister in law and his brother.

"Yeah, I mean I really don't miss the dorms but I could also do without having to pay rent every month." Topanga laughed when her husband responded before she could.

"Yeah, we just finished putting the deposit on the girls' apartment. We were hoping they would wait till the fall to move but they wanted fly from the nest as soon as humanly possible. Why?" He was staring directly at Riley. "Why you leave Da Da?" Riley stood up from her place on the couch and sighed.

"It's time dad, and it's not like were moving to the other side of the country. We're not even leaving Manhattan." Josh turned his head sharply to follow the voice that spoke next.

"Yeah, and we'll watch out for each other. Promise!" Maya's blue eyes were focused on Josh and he smiled brightly at her.

"Maya." She returned his smile.

"Boing." He laughed out loud at the nick name she gave him years ago. He walked over to her and asked the same question he always asked when they saw each other, whether a day had passed or 4 months, the question never changed.

"Long game?" Maya sighed and nodded.

"Long game." She stood up and walked passed him and toward Riley's room as she spoke. "Bay window, bay window right now!" Riley followed her out of the living room and into her bedroom.

"Peaches, what's wrong?" Maya looked at Riley and frowned.

"I love him; I don't want to play the stupid long game anymore. I'm 18, I'm starting college, I'm moving out on my own, so, why won't he be with me? Why won't he love me?" Riley's heart broke when she saw how distraught her best friend was.

"Oh, Peaches, have you told Josh any of this? Maybe he thinks you guys are on the same page?" Maya shook her head.

"I doubt it, every time we ever talk about it he says that the age thing still bothers him. On my birthday he said that he still wanted someday with me but that it wasn't our someday yet. I hate this Riley; I don't understand what the problem is? He makes me feel guilty every time I even consider dating someone. Do you remember Kyle? Kyle was cute! Kyle liked me! Kyle wasn't afraid of me!" Maya practically growled the next part of her speech. "Josh had to go and get all puppy dogged eyed on me when he found out about Kyle. He was all, its great that your dating this guy but your still my someday right? And then when I said yes, he was all well if I'm still your someday than what's up with this dude, he just practice? Who makes someone feel bad like that Riles! Who? I'll tell ya who, your uncle boing is who!" Riley wasn't quite sure how to respond at this point. She knew Maya was upset but she also knew that her and Josh were complicated.

"I think you should try and talk to Josh. I think if you sit and have a real conversation with him you could really figure some things out." Maya huffed.

"Conversations isn't our problem. When we're together we can talk about anything. Well, anything except our non-relationship. I'm not waiting anymore. If he won't be with me than I'll find someone who will." Riley let out a sigh.

"Peaches, do you really think that's a good idea." Maya nodded.

"Yeah, I do." Maya swung her legs out of the fire escaped and left the Matthews' residence the same way she normally came.

Riley watched her uncle and her best friend do this dance for years. She remembered when Maya first decided she liked Josh they were 13 years old and Josh was 16. Maya had lost all ability to think like a normal person every time he was in the room. For the longest time it seemed one sided until they took a school trip to the Ski Lodge and Josh went as a chaperone. It was a difficult time in their friendship because she believed that Maya liked the same boy as her. By the end of the trip Maya and Josh had come to and understanding that they couldn't be together at that point in their lives but that they would try for someday, that they would both play the long game. It wasn't a bad weekend for her either because it got her and Lucas together. She spent the next 2 years with Lucas before they broke up. He moved back to Texas and they couldn't make the long distance work. She would never regret Lucas though, he was her first date, her first kiss and the boy she lost her virginity too.

Riley remembered that night like it was yesterday. She also remembered talking to Maya about it for hours. Sex was one of the first and only things that Riley experienced before Maya. Riley had been more advanced when it came to boys because Maya was waiting around for Josh. Maybe her moving on was a good thing, the right thing. Riley stood up and walked back out into the living room.

"Hey sweetie, where did Maya go?" Riley looked up at her mom and gave her a halfhearted smile.

"She had to go, she was supposed to be meeting Shawn for dinner." Topanga nodded her head toward her Josh with a question on her face and Riley nodded.

"So niece, when do you and Maya move?" Riley's entire demeanor changed when questioned about her and Maya's new home.

"We move on the first of the month! You should see this place, it's amazing. It even has a bay window that screams best friends forever! I can't wait!" Josh smiled at the grin on Riley's face.

"Plans for after graduation?" Riley nodded at him.

"Yeah, Maya and I promised our parents that we would come back here after the ceremony and have game night. We move the day after so we didn't want to have a party or anything like that." Josh nodded his head in understanding.

"So, Columbia is an amazing school, you stoked?" She nodded.

"Yeah, so stoked I feel like I'm going to puke every day leading up to orientation. I'm not like Maya, she really excited about NYU. She's already picked out her courses and everything."

"Once you pick your classes and meet some people you won't feel so nervous. I promise." Riley smiled at her uncle.

"Thanks, it makes me feel a lot better knowing that you've already been through something similar and seem to have survived."