AN: Hi all, here's chapter 4! This chapter was a little difficult to write because it's kind of the climax of the story, so it took me a while. Wanted to make it perfect. There's going to be another chapter after this to wrap up the Joshaya meetup. It was all just too much to condense in this one. Hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving! Joshaya is feeling pretty thankful in this chapter as well haha. Enjoy :)

Chapter 4:

After his laughter finally subsided, Josh took a quick glance at the time: 4:30pm. He still had about a half hour before he had to get ready to go to Topanga's to meet Maya. Technically he could have used that time to finish his homework, but who was he kidding? There was no way he was getting any work done now. Before gathering his books and exiting the library, he quickly responded to Maya's text:

Josh: It's been a tough day for my poor ears. First they went deaf, and now it appears I only have one ear due to a very aggressive (and vocal) parrot. Nevertheless, I'll be there. See you soon :)

Maya responded almost immediately:

Maya: Sorry about your ear but Parrot Maya is very sensitive about her personal space ;) SQUAWKK!

Josh grinned, shaking his head slightly. She's going to be the death of me, he thought fondly.

Quickly grabbing his books, he exited the library and immediately dialed his favorite barber near NYU, praying that he was available. It was definitely time to get that haircut he had been putting off for a couple weeks now.

"Hello? Hello? Who this?"

"Hello Juan? Hola! It's me, Josh!"

"Eeeiii, Joshicito! Que pasa, hombre? Long time no see."

"Yeah I know, I've been pretty busy with school. Look Juan, you working now? Please, I need a haircut real fast. I got a place to be at 7."

"Si, si, si, Im here. But I don't know. Very busy today, you know? Lot of people going on date for Valentine. What's up with you muchacho, you got date too?"

Josh hesitated for a second before responding. "If I say yes, will I get that haircut now?"

"Si, si, por su puesto Joshicito! I want you to look good, hombre! Felicidades, eh! But what time you coming? My next guy coming in 10 minutes. You don't come before him you gon have to wait cos lot of people here now. But if you come before, I just tell him he is late, you know?" Juan laughed.

Josh grinned. "Yeah I hear you. Ok, I'm coming right now. I will be there in 5 minutes! Muchas Gracias Juan!"

"De nada Joshicito! See you soon! Can't wait to hear all about the lucky girl, hombre!"

Josh laughed and hung up. This is why he loved Juan. He was the kind of barber who would bend over backwards for him when it came to hair emergencies. He couldn't be more grateful for having found him a few months ago when he had been looking for an affordable and good barber near his school. It was a 20-minute walk to Juan's barbershop from campus, but he was going to do everything in his power to cut that down to 5. Stuffing his phone in his jacket pocket, he started running.

Two hours later, sporting his fresh, new haircut (which he quickly buried underneath his black beanie the minute he stepped outside into the chilly Wednesday evening) with his favorite plaid shirt, blue Levi's jeans, and hooded, black leather jacket, Josh started making the 25-minute walk to Topanga's cafe. He could have taken the subway, but he still had a half hour to get there and he wanted to clear his head (and his emotions) with some fresh air. The butterflies in his stomach that multiplied with every step that he took towards her…the growing anticipation and excitement at the mere thought of seeing her in just a few minutes…his racing heart which felt like it was about to burst from his chest whenever he thought about her…It was all overwhelming for him. The truth, if he was being honest with himself, was that he had never felt anything quite like this for any other girl in his 18 years of life thus far.

He thought about how he had felt when she first told him that she was hanging out with Zay that evening. He had been saddened and jealous. There was no point denying that to himself now. He had been filled with an uncomfortable emptiness and jealousy when the realization hit him that even though she knew he was free, she was going to spend her evening with someone else. He had forced himself to go through his day burying those negative emotions…to be mature about it all…to simply not care. But that ended up being impossible, because he did care- a lot. His reaction to her text message in the library showed him just how much he cared. That's when it hit him how much his feelings for her had grown significantly in their month-long span of playing the long game with every phone call, text message and in-person interaction they had shared.

He also couldn't ignore the fact that he was essentially treating his impending encounter with her as a date, even though he tried to tell himself that he wasn't doing that. He told himself that he went above and beyond to get that haircut because he really needed it, or that he bought her a small bouquet of roses from a street vendor because it was a nice thing for him to do for her on Valentine's day, or that this meetup with her would be no different than the last time he had seen her three weeks ago at the Matthews. But he knew better. Things were different- at least as far as his feelings were concerned.

He wasn't sure what all of this ultimately meant for their long game. What he hadn't really accounted for was the change in their emotions as the long game progressed. Was it possible to still be friends and maintain an appropriate distance the closer they grew emotionally? He felt very strongly that he shouldn't have been bothered by her wanting to spend time with Zay that evening for example—but he was. His growing feelings for her were something he feared he couldn't control, and that concerned him, because the last thing he wanted to do was to hurt her ultimately by holding her back from her life or getting in her way.

He saw her before she saw him. As he inched closer to the café, he glimpsed her through the glass window where the Topanga's sign was inscribed. She was leaning against the counter and looking at her phone, her wavy blonde hair perfectly shaping her heart-shaped face, and a small smile playing on her lips. Her red dress was a perfect match with the Valentine's themed decor of the cafe.

Josh stood there for a minute simply gazing at her through the glass. It had always been hard for him to take his eyes off her. She was gorgeous. She always had been.

Last two Christmases when she had bombarded him at the Matthews as a wide-eyed, mischievous 13 year old with a tight hug calling him "Uncle Josh," she had rendered him speechless as he gazed into her blue eyes. It took him a few seconds to find his voice, and when he did, only two phrases came out: "I'm not your uncle, Maya," and "You grew up gorgeous." He hadn't been blind to her beauty and charm as an awkward 16 year old then, and he certainly wasn't blind to her now. If anything, his attraction to her had only grown stronger the more he had gotten to know her over the past two years.

When he was finally able to look away from her for a second, he quickly realized that she was the only one inside the cafe- which Josh found odd- until he spotted the "CLOSED" sign that was hanging on the door. Ha, they closed early...I wonder why, he thought, surprised. Valentine's Day would have been a busy and profitable evening. A lot of young couples and friends would have probably stopped by. He wasn't sure why Topanga would choose to close early.

He turned his attention back to Maya who was still unaware of his presence outside the cafe as she continued to stare amusingly at her phone. Josh tried to see if he could somehow walk in quietly and sneak up on her, but the door was locked, so that idea was no good. Instead, he took out his phone and started typing:

Josh: You know, I'm freezing my bum off out here, and my one ear is not doing so good. Remember the REALLY violent parrot who attacked me for no good reason? I'm thinking about suing. Anyways, perhaps any time now, you could let me in? Wouldn't that be great?! :)

He immediately turned to look at her as soon as he clicked send, waiting for her to see it. Within a few seconds, he saw her chuckle and then lift her gaze from her phone to look towards Josh's direction. As soon as their eyes met, she gave him the biggest smile he had ever seen. Josh couldn't help but smile widely back as he pointed to his ear and then made a mock sad face. Maya started laughing when she saw that. She quickly ran to the door, flung it open and skipped over to where Josh was standing by the window.

"BOING! SURPRISE! Happy birthday!" She cried out excitedly as she stood barely an inch from him and bounced up and down with giddiness.

"Thanks Maya," Josh beamed fondly at her, his heart soaring when he saw how excited she was to see him.

She slowly spread out her arms wide, looked up at him with imploring eyes and murmured in a child-like voice: "Mr. Bo-yiiing, huggy time? Pweassse?"

Josh grinned, his heart racing, as he stood drowning in her piercing, ocean-blue gaze. Every fiber of his being itched to close the gap between them and wrap her in his arms. He couldn't resist messing with her a little though.

"Hmm...I don't know if huggy time is such a good idea for Mr. Boing. I mean, it's my ear going to be safe? Mr. Boing is scared, you see? He's been through a lot of trauma."

Maya grinned, shaking her head in amusement and her arms still spread wide waiting for her hug. "You're never going to let this ear thing go are you?" She inquired.

"No-pe," Josh quickly responded, shaking his head vigorously. "Mr. Boing not safe. He must avoid Parrot Maya. He has no idea why the heck he even came here," Josh intoned in a robotic voice.

Maya giggled at Josh's words, and then with a wide smile on her face and a gleam in her eyes, she slowly closed the gap between them, wrapping her arms around his waist and looking up at him adoringly. Josh stood still, transfixed by her gaze and her beauty, as he instinctively wrapped his arms around her as well bringing her closer to him.

"You came here because you couldn't stay away from the awesomeness of Parrot Maya, just as Parrot Maya could never stay away from the awesomeness of you," Maya said softly as she stared into his eyes. "I'm glad you're here Josh, and I'm really thankful that you're in my life. Happy birthday." She beamed at him.

Upon hearing her words and seeing the sincerity in her eyes as she spoke them, Josh was on cloud nine. His heart soared with an immense elation and peace that he couldn't even begin to describe. In that moment, everything else disappeared for him, and his whole world simply became her- her face, her eyes, her smile, her hair, her voice, her words...He was in deep and there was no going back, he suddenly realized. But in that moment, with Maya in his arms, he was more than okay with that. For the first time since they started playing the long game, Josh was filled with an overwhelming desire to kiss her- on the lips. But he held back. Instead, he brushed back a few locks of her hair tenderly tucking them behind her ear, then leaning in, he placed a gentle, caressing kiss on her forehead.

When he pulled back, Maya had a goofy smile on her face and her cheeks had turned crimson red. It was the most adorable thing Josh had ever seen.

"You know, you could go further down," Maya observed, pointing to her lips and making a kissing motion. "Not sure why you stopped, but you know you wanna."

Josh started laughing as he also began turning red.

"Thanks for spending your evening with me, Maya," he said to her softly after his laughter subsided. "And I'm also very thankful to have you in my life. Let's just say that you're pretty good at keeping things interesting," he said with a wink which made Maya laugh. "Oh, and speaking of being thankful, I have something for you," Josh said as he pulled out the bouquet of roses he had gotten for her and presented them. "Found these on my way here. Happy Valentine's day Maya."

"Hihihihi," Maya giggled with childish giddiness as she took the flowers and brought them to her nose to catch a whiff. "They're beautiful," she said smiling. "Thank you Josh." She quickly moved to embrace him again.

Josh secured his arms around her and rested his chin on her hair as he inhaled the sweet aroma of her shampoo. For a few minutes, they stood there in each other's embrace, neither one reluctant to let go of the other. It wasn't until Josh felt her shiver from the cold that he loosened the embrace.

"We should probably get inside first before you freeze to death, kiddo" He told her, pointing her attention to the fact that they were still standing by the window outside the cafe and she wasn't wearing a jacket.

"Nah, it's ok," Maya muttered as she wrapped her arms even tighter around him and buried her face in his chest. "It's pretty warm here. And it smells good too!" She said as Josh felt her sniffing his cologne. Oh Maya, he thought, shaking his head with amusement and chuckling.

"Ok I guess this means I'm going to have to pull off a classic cliche in every Romantic Comedy," Josh said with a heavy sigh. "Alas, it's inevitable. I hope there are no cameras to capture this super cheesy moment," he whispered pretending to look around for hidden cameras before taking off his jacket and putting it around her.

Maya's eyes shone as she happily secured the jacket around her small frame instantly enjoying the warmth that it provided, but mostly enjoying the fact that it came from Josh. "Yay! Can I get the beanie too?" She asked him shyly. Josh stared at her in disbelief.

"Seriously? You might as well take everything Ms. Hunter. This beanie is very important to me. I don't give it to anybody. Sorry, no can't do." He crossed his arms and shook his head vigorously.

Maya made a sad face, as she pouted and stared up at him with large, sad, quivering eyes. Oh God, Josh thought as he reluctantly removed his beanie and gently placed it on her head. Maya burst out laughing.

"Oh wow, that was very little resistance there Boing," she teased him.

"Well, when you look at me like that..." He trailed off smiling as he scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Awww thanks Boing. Ok we can go inside now," she said taking his hand.

We are so past friendship now, he thought to himself as he stared at their clasped hands. What would this all ultimately mean for their long game? It was something that they would have to figure out. In the meantime, Josh forced himself to not worry about it as they both crossed the threshold and entered into the warmth of the cafe.