Lucas ran into Farkle outside the Matthews' apartment building just as the smaller boy buzzed in. Soon enough they were outside the door with Mr. Matthews looking like a very sad clown.
"Wrong, wrong, wrong answer."
Once everyone was getting settled the Matthews meet in the kitchen for a rather loud discussion about how friends should not be invited to family game night. Cory was against it, but the other Matthews thought it was not that big of a deal.
Farkle, Lucas, Maya, and Auggie were chilling with their elbows resting on the coffee table. Farkle and Auggie were definitely not enjoying the debate. Lucas was worried about if he should stay or not while Maya stared at both Lucas and Josh, both of which were in her clear line of sight and a goofy smile slid on to her lips. That smile would not leave her for the remainder of the evening as her heart skipped a beat with the two most attractive boys in New York within twenty feet of her.
"Maybe we should just come back another time?" Lucas interrupted.
"Oh, yeah, we don't have walls." Cory cringed. "I told you we needed walls, Topanga."
It was clear that Cory was nowhere near the point of being calm about this situation and was becoming great entertainment to the blond. She always enjoyed when Cory freaked out. Maya stood on the couch behind Cory after Riley commented on how todays lesson on the revolution. That brought up a mental image of a very embarrassed Maya, who was dressed up as Ben Franklin, and the most attractive George Washington the girls had ever witnessed. Although Maya didn't say that out loud.
"You belong to me until you're eight-teen, it's the law."
"Whatever you say, king George." Riley frowned.
"Stop calling me that."
"What's the matter? Pops doesn't like Pop's lesson?" Maya questioned before grabbing the game from Cory and taking the perfect seat between Lucas and Josh.
"Listen guys, not everything I teach you in class related to our real lives!"
Lucas' expression was unreadable and Maya gave a soft smile as she tried to decipher what he was thinking.
"It does, every time sir."
Josh stood up with the proclamation of actually beginning the game. While Cory tried one last tactic to get them not to play.
"Do you guys even know how to play The Family Game?"
"Let me teach ya." Maya stood up, pushed Cory onto the couch and walked over to Topanga. "Because I'm always here and you can't get rid of me."
She pointed towards the matriarch then proceeded down the line, to Riley "always wins, always eats too much popcorn and says I'm never eating popcorn again."
Riley frowned with a mouth full of the salty aforementioned snack. "But it's so delicious."
"Would you be on my team Uncle Josh?" Aggie tugged on his young uncle's arm.
"Try to stop me." He smiled before Maya grabbed his other hand with the intention of stopping him and claiming that he was on her team.
"He's my Uncle!" Aggie tugged on Josh's hand.
"He's my Husband!"
Lucas' heart sunk into the pit of his stomach. He was so sure that she liked him back. Maya agreed to go out with him for Pete's sake! Now he really wanted to go home. The cowboy couldn't even pay attention to what anyone else was saying, well that was until she sat back down beside him.
Maya was a bit stunned by her admission about her claim on Josh. That was not her intention to say, but being around Josh tore whatever filter she had to shreds. It was like she was under some kind of spell and couldn't control herself at all. On the other hand, she really did like Lucas and it was more than him just being attractive. He played their game, he was sweet, and at the end of the day she knew he wouldn't leave her when things got a bit rough.
Soon enough Auggie's girlfriend was joining in on the action and Cory was finally having his freak out while still standing on the couch.
"Sure, Auggie, bring your woman in. Why don't we just invite everybody? We'll put up signs on the telephone poles next to the cats and the dogs: Matthews' family game night except not really! It's kind of everyone family game night! Isn't it? Hah! Isn't it!"
"There's the freak out!" Maya's face lite up. "Best show in town. You feel better buddy?"
"I do, thank you."
"Thank you." Maya dragged on, subconsciously leaning in to Lucas who was seated on her right. The Texas boy had a smile on his face from her elation at the eccentric Matthews patriarch, however it was still hard to get over the fact that Maya had a major crush on a guy that was not himself.
The night progressed with more flirting from Maya to Josh, who decided to be a gameshow host in order to stay away from the blond. Lucas wound up seated between the two debating Matthews, Cory and Riley, and skillfully crawled off the back of the couch when they began to fight, literally, on top of him.
"Well, it's been a lovely evening," Lucas drawled, "and now I need a hug from my Mama."
It was only seconds later that he regretted admitting that last part out loud. Especially with his blond tormenter seated only a few short feet away.
"Mama?" Her blue eyes were wide, she didn't know he was that much of a southerner.
"Yeah, what do you call your Mama?"
"Ma." Josh buzzed, since it was really a noise more than a word. "Try it out."
So he did than decided that he didn't want to get in trouble by his Mama and would never use the sound again. Maya on the other hand was enjoying the view, if only for a moment since she caught Riley giving her a warning glare. Of course that was because Riley didn't want her best friend to be her aunt, she had no idea that Maya held genuine feeling for the other handsome boy. Not that she could help her infatuation with Josh. That was infatuation and nothing more. It wasn't real.