Author's Note:

Hi, everyone! This is my first ever fanfic, and I truly hope you enjoy it. I felt drawn to the Maya and Josh relationship and when the show was cancelled I wanted to see where these two characters could go. This is chapter one of this series and I have a lot more ideas for the character developments along with some new characters. I'll try to update at least once a week, maybe more if I can. Let me know what you think!

Thanks again for stopping by!

Hope this quenches your Joshaya thirst!

Yours tuly,

SweetMiliTea

A light crisp air blows through the trees tousling leaves of red, orange, and brown into the sky and onto the ground. Fall is taking shape, bringing the end and making way for the new growth of spring.

Riley is officially in London. It had been a long year of negotiations between her mother and the firm. Ultimately the firm won and she along with her entire family packed their bags, got on a plane, and started their next adventure in a new country. Sadness creeps over Maya as she thinks about the new faces and memories her counterpart was making at that moment. She wished she was there with her laughing at their old jokes, eyeing cute boys, and facing the world hand in hand. Instead, she is here.

Three weeks into her junior year, and Maya is depressingly accustomed to anticipating, well, nothing. How could anything possibly happen when she is alone. Sure she has her other friends during the day, but as soon as school lets out she finds herself alone again, as the others disperse to their various clubs and after school activities. Today is no different.

As the bell rings its three pm chimes, Maya gathers her things, throwing them into her black Jansport backpack without a care, and slings the worn down strap over her right shoulder. Slowly she makes her way to Topanga's to grab some coffee, a snack, and to start her homework.

. . .

With music blaring into his ear buds, young Josh Matthews bobs his head to the beat making his way down the stairs and into the quaint café owned by his sister-in-law. He orders himself a coffee and rice crispy treat to-go ready to return back to his dorm to work on his studies. But, as he opens the door to leave, his eye catches a familiar face. He can barely contain a laugh at the sight. Scrunching her long golden locks in her hands an exasperated Maya starts to lightly pound her head into her pre-calculus book, softly repeating the word "stupid" each time.

"What's the matter, honey?" Josh says with a sad pouty lip, just as Maya had done when he had trouble adjusting to his first year in college.

Lifting her head ever so slightly and with her mouth open in surprise, Maya looks up to the see the one boy she always liked, but never truly had.

"Josh?" she says as a smile formed across her face.

The pair hadn't seen each other since the Matthews' going away party in June. Even though she and Josh said they were friends and would see one another, without the common thread of Riley, they did anything but that. Happy to see this blue eyed, brown hair young man's smirk at the sight of her, Maya gets up from her table and gives him a hug.

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"Just needed to grab some reinforcements. I got a long night of studying ahead. You?"

"Banging my head into this book here, in an attempt to knock the stupid out of me?" Maya says jokingly as she sits back down.

"Pre-calculus, huh?"

"Yeah, math has never been my strong suit. What about you?"

"I found it to be pretty easy, actually," he responds with a bigger smirk as he takes the seat next to her.

"Ha. Ha. I meant what are you studying?"

"Tonight? Cellular development and the wonderful world of titration," Josh says sarcastically.

With a blank stare as if he were speaking a foreign language, Maya replies, "Riggggghhhhhttt."

She had forgotten how smart he was. She had forgotten a lot. Still she is happy to be seeing him now; continuing to stare at him, making mental pictures of every inch of his body from his slightly curly brown hair peeping through his grey beanie down to his muscular forearm as he reaches to see the problem.. she.. was..

O no! He's looking at my homework. Crap. Fuck.

Maya's cheeks begin to burn with embarrassment as she realizes Josh has started to correct her work. Of all people, he is the one person she doesn't want to know how dumb she is.

"hmmm," he thinks aloud.

"I know. I know. It's wrong. I just can't seem to grasp this stuff. Three weeks in and I already want to chuck this book into fire, " Maya quickly states.

"No. Well, yes." Josh replies. "You started it off right, bu.." His arm crosses in front of Maya. She inhales deeply taking in that familiar scent. Once again she follows the veins along his forearm, noticing how much of a man he is growing into. She sees him point to a part of the problem she was working on. "You see, here," he continued, "you used the wrong formula. Try this." Josh grabs her pencil and neatly writes the correct formula as well as details explaining the reason behind it.

"Wow," she says in surprise, "I actually get it now. Thanks, Josh!"

Her big blue starry eyes meets his deep blue mysterious ones. They stare at each other, almost trapped in their gaze as old feelings begin to stir in the back of their hearts.

"You're welcome," Josh says softly, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. "Anything else you don't understand?"

"Actually," Maya says with a childish grin. Propping up the book with one hand and displaying it with another like Vana White, Maya grins even greater, "All of it."

Chuckling at the notion, Josh simply replies, "Well, then, let's get started."

He pulls his chair closer to hers and for the following two hours they work on her homework; every so often stealing glances and exchanging smiles. A new Matthews is entering her universe.

Life, she thinks, you sure know what you're doing.