Title: Sooner or Later
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World
Author: And The Moment's Gone
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T
Words: 3,849
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in High School, Josh is at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Summary: "It took a second before Josh stepped up. "I overheard them talking about Homecoming," he admitted. "And when Maya said she wasn't going, I kind of goaded her into telling everyone that she didn't have a dress or a hair appointment."

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Joshua Matthews and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Mat Kearney song Sooner or Later and I don't own that either.


"Aren't you supposed to be going with the head cheerleader or something anyway?"

It was at that specific moment that Josh realized two very important things. The first was that between his classes, internship, and his limited social life, he was spending a surprisingly large amount of time eating out of his brother's fridge. This realization didn't particularly bother him, after all, the less money he had to put onto his dining hall card the better - and sometimes Topanga had even been known to pack him a lunch/dinner for the days he was at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill too long.

The other thing that he noticed was apparently none of Riley's friends ever went home.

Which was why in the middle of a Monday afternoon, Josh got to be privy to Lucas, Riley, Maya and Farkle's plans for whatever school event was coming up next as they worked on homework in various positions around the Matthews' living room.

"No," Lucas said shortly. He tore another page out of his notebook and had to physically resist the urge to launch it across the room at the tiny blonde stretched out on the couch. "Because I'm really not in the mood for our entire class to think that I'm sleeping with Missy Bradford."

The fact that he couldn't have been sleeping with Missy, due in large part to the fact that he was still more or less in a friends-with-benefits situation with her, seemed to be more implied than he would have wanted. Riley peered over the edge of her reading glasses at the two, but otherwise stayed quiet.

Farkle just shook his head.

"You're a little late to that meeting, Sundance." Maya flicked her eraser at him before nudging Riley with her foot so she could be passed a new one. "They already think you've slept with Missy." When Lucas opened his mouth to argue with her, she flicked the newest pencil top eraser at him too. "She's cheer captain, you're the star quarterback, and it was kind of assumed after Missy's first house party."

There was only so much that Lucas could grunt and gesticulate that while there had definitely been some semi-drunken groping, he had most defiantly not slept with Missy.

Not that Maya was paying him a bit of attention as she stayed on her tangent. "But, like most high school seniors in America, with college acceptance letters looming, midterms, and senioritis," she took a breath and Riley just handed her another eraser. "They've already moved on." Breath released, Maya looked back down at her Intro to Calculus textbook and damn near growled. "There's also the overlooked fact that I'm not going to Homecoming," she let slip off-handedly, causing Riley's eyes to bug and physically set down her History workbook down onto the coffee table. "Ergo, I cannot attend said function with you."

Josh couldn't help it. Putting down his sandwich, he actually turned around to look at the teenagers. "You're not going to Homecoming?"

"Oh, sweet baby Jesus, not you too!" Maya slammed her textbook into her forehead a few times before dropping it back into her lap. "It's not really that big of a deal."

So apparently this had been an ongoing thing. Briefly, Josh wondered how long Maya had been trying to put off this conversation. "It's Homecoming," Josh told her shortly. "Your senior year of high school." It actually reminded him to call his mom and see if she could tell him when the Homecoming game at his own school was. He hadn't seen his friends in Philly in entirely too long. "It's kind of a big deal."

Riley pounced, metaphorically speaking of course. "It's a right of passage," she started.

"Don't give me that." Maya snapped her book closed, notebook still inside. "I went last year, remember?" And Riley tried very hard not to flinch. Smackle's grandmother had died the weekend before, so Riley had wound up going with Farkle while Maya had to find a new date. "The only right of passage that I got from that one was my date getting drunk before the dance and me kicking his ass when he decided to grope me in the hallway on my way to the bathroom." Christopher had been an idiot, apologetic after he sobered up, but still an idiot. She had more or less forgiven him; after all, he had volunteered himself for suspension the next morning when he had been told what he had done.

"So you're going to let one bad experience dictate your senior year?" Josh was standing now, and Riley's eyes cut to him quickly. "Are you that girl?"

And normally that would probably have sealed that she was going. To challenge Maya Hart's mettle was to lose, in most cases. But there was more than one entity at work here. "Even if I was that girl," she growled the last part of the sentence, shifting her eyes from friend to friend. She deliberately skipped over Josh, and when her eyes met his, he knew that her revenge would be agonizing. "The dance is in five days, and not only is there no hairdresser on the whole of the island that will be able to fit me in, but I have no dress."

"My mother's hair dresser cleared out her schedule for Smackle's hair on Saturday," Farkle offered helpfully. He palmed his cell phone and sent a quick text to his father. "I don't think she'll have a problem adding one more to her day."

"Hair's settled!" Riley squealed as calmly as possible. Her breathing got continually louder and she tried to hold it in. "Now we get to go shopping for a dress!"

Her eyes rolled, and she wanted to figure out whether or not she could kill Josh with her brain. "No," she growled at her best friend. "We don't." She took a deep breath before shaking her head. "There's not exactly enough money in the Hart family slush fund for that kind of thing."

And suddenly Josh realized why he was such an ass. "Maya –"

"It's fine," she snapped.

Riley's face fell as she turned her entire attention to her best friend. "I thought things were better?"

"They are." Her mom's acting career had finally jump started, and been going rather decently. She was appearing on Off-Broadway stages more often than naught, and she had been in two more television shows since her bit part on the pilot she filmed at the beginning of the school year. And both she and her mother appreciated the fact that Katy was bringing home a steady paycheck doing it. The hours were hell though, and she had recently received a tentative offer from the traveling Aquila Theatre Company with a part in their production of Wuthering Heights. There were times when Maya felt like they may have moved forward, but they had also gone backward as well. "But 'yay we can pay our bills' money isn't quiet the same as 'let's buy Maya a new Homecoming dress' money."

Maya was trying very hard not to remind her friends that the only reason she had three formal dresses in her closet were because Shawn hadn't stopped offering his credit card up for frivolities. Which is why when he was sent over to Rome on a freelance job last month and hadn't been back, she didn't hesitate to bury all thoughts of Homecoming. She was honestly just planning on asking Topanga if she could pick up an extra shift at the café while everyone else was out.

"I've got a few things you might fit in," Riley offered up helpfully, pulling herself to her feet.

"We haven't shared more than tops in years, Riley." Maya dropped her book on the coffee table so she could reach her hand out to her friend. "There is no way that my five foot two frame is gonna fit in anything in your closet." And as much as she hated to say it, it was true. Throughout her entire high school career, Maya had only been able to add two and a half inches to her frame, while Riley had shot up to nearly six feet.

"You're right," Riley didn't sit back down, though. Instead, she moved closer to the edge of the couch. She looked to her uncle, who had started this whole mess, before taking a deep breath. "I cannot fix this." Maya was reaching for her textbook again, about to commend her best friend for her admission, when Riley let out a garish squeal. "Mommy!"

Homework completely abandoned now, Maya cursed as she leaped over the arm of the couch to clamp her hand on Riley's mouth. "What the hell, Riles?" It seemed that she had gotten to her too late. The door to Topanga's office opened and closed, and Josh watched as understanding blossomed over Maya's face. "Fuck," the blonde murmured, taking her hand away from her best friend. She took a step back and shook her head. "Really?"

"What's going on out here?" Topanga got a good look around the room and folded her arms against her chest. Josh was sitting at the kitchen table, his Urban Society textbook flipped open and a half eaten sandwich sitting on top of it. Sharing the table, and she used that term loosely, was Farkle. He had somehow managed to strew the contents of his messenger bag across most of the table, iPad included. Lucas had taken the chair on the far side of the room, Steppenwolf hanging loosely from his fingers, and a highlighter between his teeth. It was pretty clear that Riley and Maya had been sharing the couch and coffee table, how exactly wasn't entirely clear, and both children were now standing in the open space between the couch and the table, Maya's hand still hanging in the air next to Riley's face. While it appeared to be a normal, it also meant there was no telling what could be wrong.

Riley looked from her mother to her best friend and then back again. "No," Maya growled at her best friend. "Please leave it alone."

Topanga looked around the room again. "Honey, what's wrong."

Another deep breath and Riley just broke. "Lucas just asked Maya to go to Homecoming with him, and at first she just said no. But he was persistent and kept asking. And when she finally said that she wasn't going to Homecoming because she didn't have a ticket; but Lucas has two so it's not an issue. And again today, Lucas asked again. Maya said she still wasn't going, and Josh asked why not. It took a little while, and a lot of nudging before Maya finally told us that it was because she wasn't able to get a new dress, and she doesn't have many other dresses. And I can't fix that." There was a pause before she took another breath and turned fully to her mother. "Can you please help me fix that Mommy?"

"And all in one breath, too." Maya announced, dropping her hand in defeat before turning back to the couch.

Taking a step away from Riley, Topanga shook her head. "Okay…" She let the word hang before turning back to the room. "Can someone who is not my daughter give me the abridged version?"

It took a second before Josh stepped up. "I overheard them talking about Homecoming," he admitted. "And when Maya said she wasn't going, I kind of goaded her into telling everyone that she didn't have a dress or a hair appointment."

"So I offered up my mom's stylist," Farkle cut in.

Lucas dropped the highlighter from his mouth, "and Riley offered to go shopping with her-"

"Which led to Maya trying so very hard not to admit that the reason she doesn't have a dress is because it wasn't in the budget." Maya was desperately trying to hide her face in her book now, and Josh moved closer to the living room and nodded in her direction.

Topanga nodded slowly, never taking her eyes off of the blonde on the couch. "I see." And she did. The Matthews family had been helping Maya battle this particular stigma for as long as they had been aware of it. It had included everything from lunch and field trip money, to purchasing an extra plane ticket, so Maya could summer in Philly with Riley. Maya'd started to pay more attention to it over the last few years, deliberately not telling them about opportunities that she had that may require financial backing. Not that that had stopped them. It had actually gotten easier since Shawn had officially moved to town, slipping extra cash into Maya's wallet, replenishing art supplies, and sometimes just handing Maya one of his credit cards for special occasions. "And you didn't want her to tell me because…"

"Because it's not a big deal." With a huff and a thud, Maya threw her book back onto the coffee table. She had officially given up on studying for the evening. Her homework for the day was finished – thank you Riley for asking her to walk her home after a Homecoming Committee meeting – and at this point she was sure she wasn't going to get anything else done anyway. "It's just a dance." She watched as Josh and Riley opened their mouths at the same time. "Don't you two even start."

Yeah, this was going to be more difficult than Topanga though. "Okay," she started, clapping her hands. "Here's how we're gonna solve this one." Everyone in the room held their breath while Maya rolled her eyes. First she turned to Josh. "What's your schedule like tomorrow afternoon?"

"My last class ends at four thirty, so I don't have to go to the office." He could already see the gears in his sister-in-law's head turning. "Whatcha need?"

"Auggie has Lego Club after school, do you think you could pick him up and bring him back here? Cor -"

Josh didn't even wait for her to finish her thought. "Definitely not a problem."

"What will you be doing Mommy?" Riley's eyes were wide.

"I will be taking Maya shopping." Topanga tone brooked no room for an argument.

It was a shame that the person they were talking about was still in the room. "No, you're not." Maya said quickly. "I'm supposed to be working tomorrow." She crossed her arms against her chest.

It was like she was arguing with Shawn, Topanga decided. She was officially arguing with 17-year-old Shawn Hunter all over again. The benefit of doing it at 36 was the added experience of already knowing the arguments that he had brooked over the years, and being able to preempt them.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, flipping through her contacts quickly before putting her phone to her ear. "Marcy? Hi! It's Topanga." She was looking directly at Maya now, daring her to say something. "Something's come up with Maya, and I was wondering if you would be okay taking her shift tomorrow?" Her lips quirked up, and she batted her eyes at the teen. "Oh, that is perfectly fine! You are more than welcome to bring Stewie. He can sit at the counter, and his afterschool snacks are on me. Thank you so much. Buh-Bye!"

Maya cursed again as Topanga clapped her phone between her hands. "Who needs a paycheck anyway?" She muttered to herself.

"Good." Tucking her phone back in her pocket, Topanga braced herself fro her daughter's hug. "I'll meet you at Topanga's at 4, and we'll go from there." Turning on her heel, before Maya could come up with another excuse as to why she was suddenly unavailable.

"Fine, I'm going to the damn dance!" Maya shoved her books into her bag and stood. "Are you losers happy?"

While Riley was practically vibrating with excitement – the look on Maya's face the only reason she probably hadn't started squealing already – the rest of the group suddenly seemed apprehensive to Josh. He watched Maya check her phone before hoisting her bag onto her shoulder.

"No," she took one step forward, just as Maya took one step back. "Maya, don't be like this?"

"Like what?" The blonde didn't bother with her jacket, slinging it over her arm as she headed to the door. "I just remembered that I have to finish that project for Jacobs tonight."

As she was the only one that took any form of art, she very well could have forgotten a project. That was, until someone saw the look on her face as she was leaving. Josh knew that he could definitely make it to her before she made it to the street. Whether to apologize, or just to make sure she was okay, he wasn't entirely sure. But he hopped off the step to the kitchen just as the front door shut, Maya on the other side and Riley crossed her arms against her chest protectively.

"Lucas!" She whined, and Josh knew tears were next.

The tall blonde was out of his seat before Riley finished his name, throwing his book and highlighter in the general direction of the couch and sprinting out the door. This time, it was left wide open.

"Shortstack!" Josh heard Lucas call down the hall, trying so very hard not to follow Riley to the door jam to eavesdrop. Farkle had promptly decided that with Lucas chasing Maya, he was now free to return to his homework.

She was faster than they thought, and Riley closed the front door just to race over to the bay window slam open the lower sash, leaning as far out as she thought propriety demanded of her. Curiosity getting the best of him, Josh grabbed his sandwich and followed her lead.

Down on the street, they stood toe to toe, almost. Lucas had successfully gotten Maya's bag from her shoulder and had wrapped it around his own torso in an attempt to keep her for fighting for it. Mayas arms were wrapped around herself, jacket still not on, and Josh couldn't figure out if it was to protect herself from the cold or Lucas.

While neither one of them could hear what Lucas said, Maya wasn't nearly as quiet. "She's always trying to help." She shouted from the street. "Even when I tell her not to." She paused, following the trajectory of a cab with her gaze. "Even when I beg her not to."

"And you love her for it."

Sometime over the course of her life, Riley had learned to read lips. Josh looked from the scene on the street to his niece and smiled when she laughed nervously. "Maya taught me," she whispered sheepishly.

"I don't love the way it makes me feel!" Maya's voice has risen again, and Lucas had to grab her arm to keep her on the sidewalk. "I'm tired of the fact that I'm always the effing charity case with you people! Just once, if I can't afford something, I'd like to be able to skip it."

"No." Lucas's hand shifted from her arm to cup her face, and Josh could see Maya's breath physically catch.

It wasn't romantic, not in the way that he had seen his brother and sister-in-law, or even Shawn and Katy before they had decided that distance made it too hard and friendship was easier. While his finger brushed the hair from her eyes, Lucas didn't make any other advancement. It was clear that any physical relationship they had had a time and a place, and neither of those were right here right now.

"You talk a good game, Maya, but it sucks just as much for you to stay home as it does for us." Maya rolled her eyes at that, and Lucas didn't seem to care. "And we don't do this because it's charity." When Maya's mouth opened, Lucas's thumb dropped down onto her lips. "We do it because spending time with you makes us happy, and we're okay paying for the privilege."

"I'm fairly certain that somewhere in that sentence you just compared me with a hooker."

Josh couldn't help the snort that came out of his nose, or that half a second later he coughed from trying not to gag on his sandwich. A quick glance to his niece said that she wasn't fairing much better, hovering somewhere between blind panic for hurting her best friends feelings, and glee at the fact that she was actually being open about said feelings.

"That's what you took from that?" Lucas was laughing below them, and Maya's lip quirked in her own attempt not to. "I'm telling you that we adore so you so much that we're all willing to empty our bank accounts so you can be included, and you're talking about hookers?"

"You left a twenty on my nightstand Thursday night." Maya reminded him. A quick look to Riley told Josh that she was already aware of that fact.

He deserved that one. The way Lucas dropped his chin told them that. "And a ticket to the football game." He reminded her.

"Okay," Maya locked eyes with him and tilted her head. "You left the equivalent of twenty-eight dollars on my nightstand Thursday night," She amended.

"And anytime you want to say 'thank you' for that," Lucas dropped his knees slightly, to be more at her level. "I am more than happy to hear it."

Maya's entire body deflated, and Josh noted that Lucas's gaze never shifted. "I'm being unreasonable, aren't I?"

"I wouldn't go that far." That had come from Riley, as Lucas's voice was apparently too low for him to hear. "You're allowed to be proud," he poked her on the nose, and Maya twitched. "Just stop being so stubborn about it."

Another beat and Maya bounced up on her tiptoes to kiss Lucas's cheek. "Thanks, Cowboy." She pulled her cell from her pocket to check the time. "Now hand over my bag. I'm still going home."

"You don't have to" Lucas said the same time Riley let out a whine that somehow also contained the word 'no.'

Maya nodded, and Lucas stooped again while she relieved him of her bag. "I do actually have to finish my art project, and my stuff's at Shawn's."

In an effort to calm herself, Riley had turned her body back to face the living room, and Josh wasn't sure he was relieved or not when Lucas kissed Maya's forehead. "You want some company later?"

It wasn't suggestive in any way shape or form, but Maya's entire body tensed again. "Only if 'company' includes explanations on multivariable, and falafel."

Lucas kissed her again and nodded. "I think I can manage that." He checked his watch before taking a step back. "Text Riley on your way home," he ordered. "I can reassure her all I'd like, but she won't calm down –"

"Until she hears from me," Maya finished. "Yes, sir."

Deciding that the crisis had been averted, Josh pulled himself from the window seat and headed back to the kitchen table. Riley still hadn't moved.

Lucas slipped through the front door quietly, retrieved his book, and dropped onto the couch where Maya had been sitting. "Since Maya's going shopping with your mom tomorrow," if Lucas had startled Riley, she didn't show it. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

Josh watched in rapt fascination as Riley's entire being seemed to come to life again. "Only if you don't mind."

From his place at the table, Farkle shook his head again.