A/N: Hey everyone! So this is officially my second story and I'm really excited to see what you guys think of it! In this AU, Cory and Alan are brothers, Eric is not in this story, Cory and Josh also aren't brothers, and Amy and Topanga have a bit of a healthier relationship than what was portrayed in the show. Katy and Shawn are still together, and Josh is also the same age as Riley and Maya, and most everything else is the same. Zay, Lucas, Riley, Smackle, Farkle, and Maya are still in their tight little friend group. There may or may not be mentions of Missy Bradford and Kermit, I have yet to decide. Thank you so much for stopping by!


Chapter 1:

Josh's POV

I did not want to move. No matter how many times my mom tried to convince me that it'd be good for me, no matter how many times she tried to bribe me with the "freedom" of being able to take the subway by myself as an "independant 16 year old", and no matter how many times she told me I'd get to become closer with my cousins Riley and Auggie, I did NOT want to move. California was my home and New York could never replace it. So when it got to the day we were supposed to fly out to New York, you could imagine why I was a bit less than thrilled about it.

"JOSH! Come on we're gonna be late for our flight!" my mom screamed to me from downstairs.

"COMING MOM!" I shouted back. As I took a final look around my room and grabbed my backpack that would be providing entertainment for the long flight, I started to head down the stairs. I heard my parents downstairs talking, completely oblivious to the fact that I was within earshot of their conversation.

"Yes, I know you're trying to make him feel better Amy, but just keep his feelings in mind too. Moving is hard, especially after Josh has been here his whole life," my dad told my mother impatiently.

"I know Alan, but I just want him to be happy. He didn't take the news about your new job as well as I would have hoped, and I'm only trying to make him feel better. I mean, we're lucky Cory and Topanga are letting us stay with them or we'd have to-"

"Okay, I'm ready," I said nonchalantly, trying to act as if I hadn't heard a word of their previous conversation. Both my parents looked up in surprise, clearly not realizing I'd been heading downstairs while they were talking. My mom quickly recovered.

"Okay sweetheart. The movers just left with all our furniture, so just make sure you have your stuff with you that you're taking on the airplane and I'll meet you and your dad in the Uber. I just need to use to restroom real quick," she said before sharing a look with my dad and quickly leaving the room. Today was going to be an interesting day. A flight to New York and a family reunion. I just hoped everything would turn out alright.

Riley's POV

"I know Riles, of course I won't fall in love with him," an exasperated Maya told me, for what felt like the millionth time. I rolled my eyes.

"I know, I'm just sayin'. He is our age and he's pretty cute. Besides he's single. BUT, I will not have my best friend dating my cousin. Absolute no no. But he'll probably join our group for a bit, so play nice. And pass my message along to Zay, Lucas, Farkle, and Smackle."

"Of course, honey, whatever you'd like," she said to me as if it were obvious. "Okay I gotta go. My mom's working early at Topanga's today and Shawn and I wanted to surprise her with some muffins we baked last night. I'll see you tonight!" she told me cheerfully as she crawled out the window. I asked her to be here when Josh, Uncle Alan, and Aunt Amy's flight got in. I wanted to have at least someone new to introduce to him, but I figured our whole friend group might be a bit overwhelming. Maya would be a friendly face nonethless.

"Okay Peaches. Have fun, see you later!" I called out the window behind her. I decided to text Josh.

Me: Can't wait for you guys to come! Auggie has been ranting about seeing you nonstop this past week ;)

He replied within seconds.

Josh: Lol, yeah I'm excited to. We're about to board our flight here shortly, text you when we land in New York. Love you

Me: Okay! Have a safe flight. Love you too

After replying to a few texts from Lucas about having a study date sometime soon and watching a few YouTube videos, I decided to go eat some breakfast. That's the thing I love about Saturdays. You can just chill and hang out, whereas if it were a weekday, I'd be in my dad's class learning about some history lesson that completely ties in with our lives. Josh will really like his class. I hope he fits in well, which really shouldn't be hard, considering he's athletic, an amazing soccer player, pretty good looking, and incredibly smart. Girls will be swooning over him. I just hope Maya isn't one of them.

Josh's POV

The seven hour flight to New York mainly consisted of sleeping, listening to my favorite playlist, and scrolling through the in-flight entertainment system the airline provided. I was very particular about what I watched on TV, and it was rare that I enjoyed a movie that all my friends liked. I hate to admit it, but sometimes I secretly watch those sappy romantic comedies that Riley loves so much. I'd be dead if any of my friends found out though. I would never live it down. Anyway, after listening to my playlist about eight times, I realized I could not handle listening to Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons one more time. I swear the song lyrics were literally ringing in my ears.

Everybody waiting for the fall of man

Everybody praying for the end of times

Everybody hoping they could be the one

I was born to run, I was born for this

Whip, whip

Run me like a racehorse

Pull me like a ripcord

Break me down and build me up

I wanna be the slip, slip

World upon your lip, lip

Break me down and build me up

Whatever it takes

'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins

I do whatever it takes

'Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains

Whatever it takes

You take me to the top I'm ready for

Whatever it takes

'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins

I do what it takes

The last thing I remember is falling asleep to the blaring voice of Dan Reynolds, thinking about just how interesting my life would be from now on in New York.


I woke up to the startling voice of the pilot, telling us we'd be landing shortly. Finally! That flight felt way longer than I remember since last time we'd flown out to the Matthews for Thanksgiving. But then again, it's now January so it was pretty long ago and I don't remember much. Before I knew it, my mom was telling me to hurry up and get my backpack so we could exit the airplane. After more waiting at baggage claim, we headed out to find a cab so we could head to the Matthews.

Riley's POV

After desperately catching up on a few more chapters of Me Before You, I checked my phone to find three new messages. Over the weekend Lucas challenged me to a race to read Me Before You, with the promise that he'd take me to go see the movie afterwards. Gosh, he was such a hopeless romantic sometimes. Anyway, I checked my phone to be greeted by messages from both Maya and Josh.

Josh: Hey Riles. We just landed.

Josh: Heading over in a cab now. See you guys in a bit!

Peaches: I'm heading over now Riles!

I decided to reply to Josh first, since his texts were sent earlier than Maya's.

Me (To Josh): Okay awesome! Can't wait to see you guys :)

Me (To Maya): Sounds good Peaches! Josh and his family will probably be here in like twenty minutes ;)

I set my phone down to grab a quick snack. When I came back I see that Maya replied.

Peaches: Riles, how many times do I have to tell you?! I. Am. Not. Going. To. Fall. In. Love. With. Your. Cousin. There, happy now?

Me: Never :))


After Maya and I helped my mom finish cooking dinner, we heard a knock on our apartment door. My dad opened it to be greeted with open arms from my uncle.

"My brotha!" he exclaimed happily.

"My brotha!" my dad replied practically tackling him.

I noticed a short interaction between my best friend and my cousin as Josh poked his head in. I prepared to walk over and greet him. But then I saw Maya's eyes make contact with Josh's. After seeing the look on both of their faces, only two words came to my mind. I'm screwed.


Okay, so that's Chapter 1 everyone! We're starting to see a bit of juicy stuff between Josh and Maya goin' on… How will Riley react? Unfortunately, due to my busy schedule, I can't promise a definite time frame for my updates, but I can promise I will do my best to update as frequently as time will allow me! I hope y'all liked this chapter, and I'd really appreciate it if you could leave your thoughts in a review below. Thank you so, so much for reading, I appreciate each and every view!

Until next time,

Sophie :)