The car has never been so quiet.

Maya takes the wheel first, turning on her music and giving Riley as much space as she needs. Even for all her resolve, she's clearing her throat an awful lot for someone who is completely unaffected.

Riley huddles close to the car door, legs pulled up on the seat and arms wrapped tightly around her knees. Although Maya is obviously giving her this time to cope, she tries her hardest to cry as silently as possible, wiping her cheeks with the heel of her palm.

Lucas is going to be a veterinarian. She just watched him take the first steps towards accomplishing that goal, and in that regard she doesn't think she's ever been more proud. All things considered, she should be happy. Just like Smackle, and Zay, and Farkle, Lucas is going off to create his own galaxy and stand on his own. And in a lot of ways, she should consider herself lucky considering he's probably the person she's most confident will create a place for her in his new world.

But that selfish part of her doesn't want to let him go. She felt it with each of these goodbyes, but this is the first time where she wants to go back. She wants to tell Maya to turn the van around and get back on that campus and pull Lucas back along with them for the rest of the journey. At least get in another goodbye. Hold him one more time.

But she knows if she did, she may not ever let go.

Once she's stopped crying, she switches off with Maya at the nearest rest stop. They don't say much. Maya puts her headphones in and forces herself to nap the moment they're back on the highway, leaving Riley alone with her thoughts.

She tries to ignore the imposing presence of the empty seats behind her.

When they stop to switch drivers again, Riley reaches into the glove compartment and pulls out the itinerary. It stings a little bit to see Lucas's neat scrawl, but she forces herself to look at the actual words on the page and comprehend what they're saying.

"Wow."

Maya wanders back to the van with a soda from the vending machine, hopping into the driver's seat just as Riley exclaims. "What?"

"I just didn't realize we were so close to our next stop," she says, holding up the notebook to show her. "We've already been driving for like five hours. I didn't even notice. Guess I wasn't paying attention."

"Reassuring, since you were driving," Maya teases, turning on the engine and adjusting the mirrors. "But change of plans."

"What? What do you mean?"

Maya shrugs, gesturing for Riley to buckle her seatbelt. "We've barely covered any ground, and I don't feel like stopping yet. I switched our reservations."

"Barely covered any ground? Maya, we've been driving for—,"

"Five hours. I know. Whatever." She brushes some hair from her face, taking a deep breath. "But we shouldn't waste a day turning in now when there's still daylight to burn and I've got places to go and energy left to drive."

Riley tries not to let the dismissal from her best friend get to her. She knows they're both a little sensitive at this point. "Okay. Where are we going?"

Maya avoids her eyes. "El Paso."

Riley scrambles to swap out the notebook for the map, unfolding it and finding the city. Panic rises in her chest as she absorbs the distance.

"Maya, we cannot go all this way. It's like eight hours away."

"I'm perfectly ready to drive it."

"We agreed we were stopping here," Riley says sharply, waiting impatiently for her to look her in the eyes. "That's the plan we agreed on. It's not—,"

"Look, if you don't want to drive, then don't!" Maya snaps, buckling her seatbelt and backing out of the parking space. Riley opens her mouth to speak but she bulldozes over her, keeping her eyes on the road in front of her as she navigates back towards the main highway. Her voice is shaking slightly. "You don't have to, but I'm fine driving so you can either help or not but that's where we're stopping. Unless you want to sleep in the van in the middle of the highway. Then I guess that's fine."

Riley wants to argue, but she can tell from the gleam in her best friend's eyes that it's not worth the effort. Maya's never been the greatest at dealing with her emotions, and her response to the loss of their friends is to distract herself as long as possible. It's stupid, and unreasonable, and a little dangerous, but Riley knows when she gets like this it's hard to change her mind. Emotion makes Maya a force to be reckoned with.

She's far more sensibility than sense. That much has always been true.

Riley swallows her reservations, bringing her knees up again and making herself as small as possible. "Fine. Just let me know when you want to switch off."

"Great. Thank you." Maya drives on without comment for a few more moments, before reaching forward and blasting her music again just to break the silence.

Riley stares out the window, lower lip trembling as she fights the urge to start crying all over again. She's always had a solid understanding of her own emotions as well as her friends', but for the first time it suddenly feels like too much. There's too much emotion all at once, and she doesn't know how to handle it. It's a black hole, tearing through her galaxy and consuming everything she's known and everything she wants to keep safe.

In just a few days, there isn't going to be anything left.

They arrive at their new hotel in El Paso just before midnight.

Riley has never felt more physically and emotionally exhausted. The drive was painful enough, she and Maya barely exchanging any words as they swapped seats. Both of them seem lost in their own heads, grappling with the reality of being the only two left and bracing themselves for the inevitable conclusion coming just around the bend. They've always been comfortable talking to each other about things that are bothering them, but this feels impossible to discuss.

Riley gets the keys and the two of them make their way down the hall to their room. When they drop their bags on the beds, Maya collapses onto hers and sighs dramatically.

"Can you believe we get our own beds for the rest of this shindig?" she asks, inhaling deeply and flopping her arms out on either side of her. "I didn't mention it at the time, but Farkle is a surprisingly twitchy sleeper. For every kick I got in I'm pretty sure he elbowed me at least twice."

Riley manages a laugh, going through her string bag to pull out her charger. Maya notices the strain in her tone, sitting up and giving her a look.

"What? What's up with you?"

"Nothing," she says tiredly, plugging in her phone and staring at it to avoid looking at Maya. "Just… a lot to deal with from today. You know, saying goodbye."

"Yeah, I know. But that's not why you're acting like this," Maya says knowingly, crossing her arms. "What's wrong? We don't have a lot of time left to clear the air, so let's not start new issues now."

Even though there's nothing she'd rather do than avoid confrontation, she knows in her heart that Maya is right. Just like Farkle and Lucas blowing up in Kentucky, if she holds in her feelings now she'll only be hurting them in the long run.

Riley sighs, turning to face her. "You shouldn't have changed the driving plan."

"Wait, are you seriously mad about that?" Maya gets to her feet, giving her an incredulous look. "We were fine, weren't we?"

"I am. I am mad," she says, standing her ground and locking eyes with her. "It wasn't fair of you to change the plans like that without at least asking me first. And it was dangerous. Driving more than ten hours isn't safe for either of us. There's only two of us. We can't do as much. We could've gotten hurt."

"Yeah, but we didn't."

"I understand why you did what you did," Riley assures her, clasping her hands together in front of her. "I know this is hard. I know how you get with change. But you can't do stuff like that. You just can't."

Maya holds her gaze, searching for some sort of defense. That's how her best friend is—her initial instinct is to put her walls up and play defense, but usually with some time to process she comes around. Evidently, she still needs that time..

She exhales sharply and swivels away from her, opening her suitcase and pulling out a change of clothes and her toiletries bag. "I'm gonna take a shower. I'm sorry you're upset. I didn't mean to make you upset."

"I know," Riley says softly.

"Sorry," Maya repeats brusquely, gathering her things in her arms and disappearing into the bathroom.

The moment the door shuts Riley drops onto the bed, rubbing her face and doing her best to keep it together. She is not going to spend the rest of this trip sobbing. She's not going to let it end that way.

Thankfully, her phone buzzing on the nightstand distracts her.

Uncle Joshie: Hope Lucas got to school okay. Where are you guys now?

Riley shoots him a text back, somewhat amused by his dumbstruck reaction.

Uncle Joshie: EL PASO? How the hell are you in El Paso?

Uncle Joshie: Where are you going to be tomorrow? How does this affect your travel plan?

Uncle Joshie: This is some Maya stunt isn't it?

Uncle Joshie: Please answer me and reassure me you're not going to run yourselves off the road.

Riley cracks a smile at his overprotective antics, letting him know they're fine and still heading towards Nevada tomorrow as planned. Once she's convinced him she's not going to be murdered by their own carelessness he says goodnight, leaving her alone with her emotions once more.

She hovers over her last conversation with Lucas, thinking about texting him but knowing she shouldn't. It's only been a day. She needs to give him a chance to settle in and get acquainted with his new surroundings. She doesn't want to be a distraction from that.

Still, she can't help but wonder if he's thinking about her, too.

Riley forces herself to shake off the insecurity, getting to her feet and opening her luggage to get ready for bed. She's confused by the new piece of clothing that's stuck neatly on top of the pile, but after a couple of moments recognition hits her like a freight train.

She delicately lifts the worn dark blue sweatshirt out of the suitcase, unfolding it to find the Brooklyn logo staring back at her. For a terrifying second she wonders if maybe Lucas forgot it, that maybe she should call him and let him know he left it behind, but a small piece of paper falls onto the bed as she unfolds it and catches her attention instead. Bundling the sweatshirt in her arm, she picks up the scrap and gets another glimpse of Lucas's familiar scrawl.

Stay warm in New York.

More emotion, but this time it's coming from a good place. Riley exhales a laugh in spite of herself and blinks back some tears, hugging the sweatshirt closer to her before pulling it on over her head. It's not cold in the hotel room, but the soft cotton and familiar scent of pine and clean linen makes her feel warm in an entirely different way. Suddenly, she's not so upset anymore.

He knew she would need it. He knew she would.

It's silly to worry about whether or not he's thinking of her when she knows in her heart he always is.

Maya emerges from the shower just as Riley is climbing into bed, tip-toeing around and getting into bed a few moments later. Normally when the two of them have sleepovers they talk for a while before falling asleep, but there's still an uncertain amount of turbulence between them keeping them silent. Riley reaches over to turn off the light.

She's startled by Maya's voice just as she's starting to drift into sleep. "Riles?"

"Yeah?"

There's a long pause. Riley can just barely make out the sniffling and the tremor in her voice when she speaks again. The drive and anger has faded and now Maya is facing the rest of it—the emotion she loves to run from. "You know… you know that I never liked Lucas like that, right?"

Considering everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours, this seems wildly out of left field to Riley. The triangle feels ancient, old news that only comes back to haunt them as a joke at best. Certainly not something to be crying over.

Riley starts to respond but Maya tumbles on without waiting for a reply.

"I just… I didn't. Not really. I mean, maybe I thought I did so in some ways I did, but never… I didn't like him like that." She takes a shaky breath, clearly attempting to keep her voice even. As if Riley wouldn't recognize her best friend's tears in an instant. "You guys are perfect for each other. I mean, really made for each other. I would never get in the way of that. I know I kind of did, for a couple years there in different ways. I'm sorry about that. It was such a mess and…"

Her voice cracks, causing her to stop for a few seconds and clear her throat. Riley debates whether or not to get out of bed and comfort her.

"I just need you to know that it wasn't like that. And I'm so happy for you. Really."

Riley stares at the ceiling, smiling lightly at the earnest nature of her words. Maya's always struggled with her emotions, but when she vocalizes them it's obvious she means them. That's one thing Riley loves most about her.

"I know."

Maya exhales, sniffling a little less subtly. There's another brief pause. "Good. Don't forget it."

When Riley wakes up the next morning, she's already in better spirits.

She allows Maya to sleep in for a while, taking a quick shower and pulling on some leggings and the Brooklyn sweatshirt before disappearing down to the lobby to grab some breakfast.

Her phone rings as she's buttering an English Muffin. She expects it to be her parents—part of her wishes it was Lucas—but the name that lights up her caller ID is a complete surprise. She takes a bite of her breakfast and accepts the call, lifting the phone to her ear.

"Farkle?"

"Ah, good, you answered," his matter-of-fact voice greets her from the other side of the line. Riley beams, imagining his happy expression. "I was hoping I wouldn't call when you were driving or something."

"No, no problem there. We made up a lot of road yesterday so we're taking it slow this morning. I'm just here eating breakfast."

"Wow. What do you mean by a lot of road?"

"Well, we got to El Paso, if that tells you anything."

"Oh my God!" he exclaims. There's a clamor as the phone slips from his hands, earning a giggle from Riley as he evidently scrambles to pick it back up. "El Paso? That's like, a day ahead of schedule. How the hell did that happen?"

Riley chews quickly. "You know how Maya gets when she gets emotional. It was some sort of weird coping mechanism, I think. I told her off about it, but I could tell it was just… a lot to handle."

"Huh." Farkle clicks his tongue thoughtfully. "Dropping off Lucas was harder on her than she thought it would be?"

"I guess so."

"Doesn't surprise me. With me, she knew it was going to hurt because she's always been openly fond of me. She's never been vague about how important I am to her. She spends a lot of time knocking Lucas down and downplaying his importance, or at least she used to, so it probably hit her hard to realize how important he actually is to her. And emotions are more difficult to deal with when they hit you without warning."

Although she figured all this out for herself, it's weirdly comforting to hear her genius friend reaffirm her understanding of the situation. "Oh, Farkle, what would we do without your great wisdom?"

"Well, it's been a few days, shouldn't you know by now?" He pauses to allow her a laugh. "How was A&M?"

"Huge."

"Everything's bigger in Texas."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking." Riley knows she could elaborate, but despite her improved mood talking about that goodbye still feels like a sensitive subject. She switches gears instead. "Okay, please tell me you called to tell me about school. You have to tell me about it, I'm dying. How is St. Louis?"

"Yeah, yeah," he says offhandedly, but she can tell from the slight tone in his voice that he's excited to tell her about it. "Oh, before we get into it, I've been texting Smackle and before I called she told me to tell you that she hopes your travels have been safe since Maryland and that she is already organizing the Skype call for the six of us."

Riley smiles, propping her chin on her hand. "Aw, good, ol' Smackle. Tell her thank you. And that I miss her."

Farkle agrees, before launching into a breathless explanation of his first couple of days on campus. The excitement in his voice makes it very obvious how happy he is, and it instills some anticipation in her towards her own first couple of weeks of college. She's been so preoccupied with getting her friends to their respective schools, she's barely given her own future any thought. She hopes she'll talk about it with the same amount of enthusiasm as Zay and Farkle have so far.

"So, yes, that's the bulk of it, I think." He takes a pause to catch his breath. "Maya awake yet?"

As if on cue, Maya emerges from the food area, carrying a plate and approaching Riley sheepishly. She smiles in spite of herself. "Yeah. It's almost like you summoned her."

"Special talent of mine. She awake enough to say hi?"

Riley holds out the phone as Maya slides into the seat across from her. "Farkle."

Maya's eyes light up. She takes the phone eagerly, lifting it to her ear as she stuffs blueberry muffin into her mouth. "Farkle! My boy! Light of my life! How was your first day?"

Riley finishes off her breakfast as Maya gets a similar description, fond of the affectionate smile on Maya's lips as she listens to Farkle ramble on and on. He's always claimed he loves them both equally, but she wonders if he realizes that they both love him equally as much. That it is one hundred percent mutual.

"Yeah, okay. Go be a genius or whatever. Do you want to talk to Riley again?" Maya watches her curiously as Farkle responds. Riley waves her off. "Okay then. Yes. Yes, we are going to Facetime as soon as I move in. Don't ghost on me. Okay. Bye, loser."

Maya hangs up and hands the phone back to Riley.

"Can't believe our little Farkle is all grown up."

"I know. It's wild."

They exchange tentative smiles, Riley averting her gaze down to her plate. She thinks about taking it to the trash when Maya speaks again. "Listen, I really am sorry about yesterday. You were right, I shouldn't have done all that. Especially without asking you."

Some of the tension dissipates. Riley is grateful Maya chose to address it rather than pretending nothing happened, like they did for so much of their friendship when they were younger. "It's okay."

"It's not. But I'm sorry, and it's not going to happen again." Maya sighs, blowing the air out through her lips and brushing some hair out of her face. "I think I just got so caught up in how weird it felt. You know? Just you and me left. When I was in seventh grade, all I wanted was the world to just be me and you."

Riley smiles lightly. "I remember the feeling."

"But then these weirdos come in and elbow their way into our lives and into my world and… it feels weird for them to suddenly be gone." She makes a face. "Even Huckleberry."

"But they're not gone." Riley gives Maya a reassuring smile, saying the words she's been telling herself over and over again since they left Smackle in Maryland. "Miles between us, centimeters apart. Remember? No one is really leaving anyone."

Maya smiles tightly, nudging her lightly under the table with her foot. "You've always got to come up with the right thing to say, don't you?"

"Since the day we met," Riley says proudly, kicking her back.

With the drama from yesterday behind them, the drive to Vegas is much more relaxed and full of conversation.

Riley can remember what is was like not to talk to Maya for a year between the ends of sophomore and junior year, and she never wants to experience it again. Although Lucas is the person she loves talking to about the important things, Maya is the person she can ramble on with about literally anything and never run out of silly things to talk about.

Even still, it doesn't take long for the conversation to take a more serious turn. They go from discussing the possible reboot of Red Planet Diaries to Hollywood, which only leads them towards the topic of Maya's new home in just a few days.

"Whatever," Maya says offhandedly, keeping her eyes on the road with a smirk. "Hollywood's a sucker for reboots if they think it'll make money. It's why like, every show our parents watched in the 90s are suddenly getting spin-offs. I think we have to wait a few more years before they seriously consider putting RPD back on air."

"Well, promise me that if and when it comes back, we'll watch it together."

"Always have, always will," Maya says confidently. "Even three-thousand miles won't change that. We'll just Skype while we watch. Granted our school Wi-Fi doesn't suck. But yes. Consider it a plan."

Riley glances out the window, tapping her fingers against her knees. "Who knows? Maybe when you're a famous artist, you'll meet some big influential producer at a cocktail party and convince him to pick up the show."

Maya laughs. "Right, sure. And you know what? In the next moment, I'll call over my spunky, cheery best friend and her stupid veterinarian boyfriend and introduce you guys. And it'll be you who ultimately convinces the guy."

"You're inviting Lucas?" she asks, raising her eyebrows. "How sweet of you."

"Well, I figure you two will be probably like, gross and engaged by then, so it'll be hard to shake him off. It's like when I named our group chat The OG Trio and That Cowboy We Can't Shake Off in seventh grade. Still here. Still can't shake him. Even though I'm trying."

She makes a show of twitching her left leg, mimicking kicking him off. Riley nudges her playfully. "Keep your foot on the gas. Your theatrics aren't worth death."

Maya shrugs, making a face that turns into a grin. She shoots Riley a smile before training her eyes back on the road in front of her.

"It's funny that we have these grand visions of the future. We can see it so clearly." Riley twiddles her thumbs, gazing at Maya before staring out the dashboard window. "It's like, you're going to be this amazing artist. Lucas is going to be a veterinarian."

"Yeah, so you've been telling me for the past however many years."

"And then there's me. The best friend." Riley smiles, covering a grimace.

"What?" Maya raises an eyebrow. "What's wrong with that? What's that supposed to mean?"

There's a moment where Riley hesitates, mouth parted open slightly. Then she decides better of it. The remainder of the trip is supposed to be about Maya—she's not going to bring it back down with her own negativity. "Nothing, nothing."

"Riley Erica Matthews, don't make me ring power you for like, the tenth time on this trip." Maya glances at her, concern coloring her features. "What are you saying?"

"I don't know," she says with a sigh, leaning her head back against the headrest. "It just feels like… everything is so clear for you guys. All of you have these beautiful, spectacular dreams and you're going to go accomplish them. I know you will. You're going to be an artist. Lucas a vet. Zay's a dancer, Smackle's an astro… whatever exactly it is. Farkle's a genius."

"A genius isn't a career," Maya comments.

"You all have these brilliant talents and you're going to change the world using them. You have purpose." Riley shrugs, brushing some hair behind her ear. "I don't know, I guess I just kind of feel like I don't have a reason."

"Reason for what?"

She hesitates, trying to phrase her sentence correctly. It's really not a huge deal, but she can tell the way she's wording it is making it seem larger than it is. "Existing. Not like, in a life or death way, but in a purpose sort of way. Like, what am I here for?"

It's a question that's haunted her since she was in middle school. Everyone around her seems to know exactly what they're doing. They have clear talents, clear goals, clear ambitions and interests and a pathway to get there. Riley has never had that sense of direction. She's got a million different interests and no obvious talents and definitely no sense of ambition.

She wants to be driven, but she feels like she can't until she knows which route she's taking. Until then, she's just idling and wasting another day.

Maya seems absolutely floored by this confession. "What are you here for? Are you seriously asking me that?"

"Forget it," Riley says quickly, reaching to turn up the music instead. "Don't worry about it."

Maya swats her hand away, holding her arm out to silence her. "I'm serious. Are you really asking me what purpose you serve? Why you're on this God forsaken Earth in the first place?"

"Maybe. I don't know. Like I said, it's nothing."

"It's not nothing." Maya processes this turn of events, biting her lip and shaking her head slightly. "Riley, you have no idea how important you are. You inspire people. You change people for the better. You help people not because you have to but because you want to. Most people aren't like that. I know I'm definitely not."

"Yeah, but—,"

"I can't believe… just look at us." Maya's genuinely dumbfounded, struggling to formulate her words coherently without emotion getting in the way. "Look at our friends. All of us are better people because of you. Because of the way you love us. You are… the gravity holding us all together. Without you, we wouldn't exist. None of this would be happening. Without you, we'd all just… drift away from each other."

Riley absorbs this, willing herself to believe it's true. The idea that these people she's so fond of need her just as sincerely as she needs them is a huge weight lifted off her shoulders.

"Don't ever question why you're here," Maya says fiercely, shaking her head again. She glances at Riley, locking eyes with her. "Because no matter what the actual, scientific reason is, all I know is you're here with me. And that's the most important thing in the world."

Riley feels tears prick at the corner of her eyes, wiping them away quickly. She smiles at her. "Noted."

"Wild. Thinking you don't matter. Just plain wrong." Maya takes a deep breath, gesturing to the speakers. "Okay. Now, music back on. Please pick something that isn't going to make me want to drive this car into a ditch."

Riley resumes the music, the two of them settling back into easy conversation after a brief period of small talk. Even after the topic has long past, her heart feels fuller at the perspective of her best friend on what her purpose is in this big world. She makes a promise to herself not to ever forget it.

When they stop for lunch in downtown Phoenix, Maya and Riley peruse some of the shops before taking a seat at some outdoor seats at a local café. Riley brings the itinerary with them, taking a purple pen to Lucas's neat dark blue and adjusting the travel plan accordingly.

"So we've got about four and half hours left until we get to—,"

"Vegas, baby!" Maya hoots, stuffing a forkful of pasta salad in her mouth. She holds up a finger as she chews. "We should get lit. Gamble some. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Time to get those funds to pay for college."

"Yeah, we're not old enough to do any of that legally."

Maya wiggles her eyebrows. "Who said anything about legally?"

Riley's phone buzzes at the same time as Maya's. They exchange intrigued looks, wondering who would be texting them both. "Who texted you?"

"Zayby," Maya says matter-of-factly, unlocking her phone and reading the message. "Aw, he's got his first dance academy crush!"

"What?" Riley leans over the table excitedly to get a look at the messages. "How can you tell?"

"Well, because he's telling me about his ass, Riles. That's how all great relationships start."

She rolls her eyes, checking her own phone. Her message is not from Zay, but from Josh.

Uncle Joshie: Where are you guys?

Riley types a reply, telling him about how their drive shook out and that they're in Phoenix. His response confuses her somewhat.

Uncle Joshie: Okay, but where in downtown Phoenix?

"Okay, I'm ready to bounce," Maya says with a dramatic clatter of her fork on her plate, drawing Riley's attention away from watching the typing bubble on the screen. "I'm refreshed, I'm renewed, I'm ready to get to California."

"Someone's excited," Riley says with a smile, getting to her feet.

Maya's right behind her, pulling her van keys out of her pocket as they start down the sidewalk. "That, and if I stop now I'm worried I may just melt right into the ground and never get up again. Fatigue is a fickle fiend."

"Fickle fiend?" Riley laughs, linking arms with her. "Where'd you learn that one?"

"Farkle said it one time. I don't actually know what it means. But it sure sounded good." Maya bumps her shoulder against Riley's. "Anything else you want to check out while we're here?"

The bookstore across the street catches Riley's attention, but before she can suggest it a car door slams behind them and a familiar voice calls out to them, startling them both. A voice that should be more than two thousand miles away.

"Riley!"

Maya whips around first, Riley spinning on her heel just as her Uncle Josh comes jogging down the sidewalk towards them. He looks ragged and exhausted, a travel bag slung over his back and his signature beanie stuck on his head. He doesn't seem any different than he did when they saw him in Philadelphia, but considering how far they've traveled since then it feels like they're all completely displaced. Like two worlds are suddenly colliding.

Josh comes to stand in front of them, fighting to catch his breath. Maya is speechless next to Riley, wildly unprepared for this turn of events as she takes in her panting uncle in front of them. Riley doesn't think she's ever seen her blue eyes so wide.

Considering the lack of preparation on Maya's part and the lack of oxygen on Josh's, Riley figures it's up to her to break the silence. "What are you doing here?"

Josh laughs harshly, rubbing his face. "In some ways, I'm asking myself the same question. Do you have any idea how hard it was to catch up to you guys? I get off the plane in Austin, I'm thinking it won't take me long to catch up. You're only a couple hours away. But no. You go all the way to El Paso."

"Austin?" Riley furrows her brow. "Why were you in Austin?"

He sighs, finally managing to catch his breath. Riley gestures them over to one of the open benches, Josh collapsing onto it with a groan. Riley sits between him and Maya, the latter still notably silent. Her eyes haven't left Josh since he climbed out of the car.

"Don't pop off, alright? But your dad sent me."

"What? Why?"

"He always wanted me to go after you, like from the moment you guys left. He and Shawn were all freaked about what was going to happen to you guys but I stuck up for you. So did Topanga, obviously. Katy sort of flip-flopped depending on whoever was making the best argument, which, fair."

Maya makes an indistinct noise, still out of words.

"So I said, alright, I'll meet up with them after they drop Lucas off. I think Cory was really stressed about you guys driving all the way to California alone, so I offered to come after you and help you finish the drive. Easier with three drivers rather than two. But then you guys go and change the plan, and so I had to hitchhike all the way here after you." He exhales dramatically, taking off his beanie and ruffling his hair. "You're very lucky I'm pretty. I don't know if strangers would've let me in their car otherwise."

Although she doesn't want to admit it out loud, she and her father share very similar concerns. Despite the surprise, she's more than willing to take Josh's help for the remainder of the drive. "Well, even though I have no idea what exactly is going on, I'm glad you're here. Welcome to the road trip, Uncle Josh."

"Thanks, niece," he says pointedly, slipping his beanie back on over his head. He clears his throat, leaning forward on his elbows and glancing in Maya's direction. "Hey."

Maya blinks at him, a thoughtful expression on her face. It becomes more prominent as the shock wears off. Riley can tell there are a million and one things running through her head and not all of them are good. But it's Josh, and so Maya can't help the small smile that ghosts over her lips. "Hey, Uncle Boing."

"I don't know what your afternoon plans were," Josh says diplomatically, "But if we're not in a rush, what are the odds that you and I could talk?"

Maya hesitates, tossing an uncertain look to Riley.

Riley doesn't know everything that happened between her best friend and her uncle in the last three years, but she knows they probably have lots to say. And with Maya staying behind in California and Josh coming back with her to New York, they're running out of time to say it.

"Oh, no rush," Riley assures him, getting to her feet and stepping out from between them. They both rise as well, watching her curiously. "I was just going to check out the bookstore across the street, but I think you could certainly chat for a while. That is, if Maya wants to."

Maya examines Josh for a long moment before turning her twinkling eyes on her, giving her a light smirk. She turns her smile on him, nodding lightly. "Yeah. I'd like that."

Riley steps back a bit as the two of them start down the sidewalk. Josh turns to face her, walking backwards and pointing in her direction. "You have your phone? It's on?"

"Sure is. Just text me when you're ready."

Josh salutes her, Maya tossing her one last timid smile over her shoulder before the two of them head off together. Riley watches them for a couple moments, Josh stuffing his hands in his pockets and Maya clasping hers together in front of her, a shy, vibrant energy shifting between the two of them. Josh is one of the only people Riley knows that can make Maya Hart bashful.

She remembers that feeling—she and Lucas spent all of middle school with that shy energy. And look at them now.

She smiles to herself, crossing the street and heading into the bookstore.

When Riley steps out into the Arizona sunlight almost an hour later, she drops down on the bench in front of the building and pulls out her phone. Part of her is itching to call Lucas, at least get their text conversation going again, but she knows she's overthinking it and needs to just let it lie for a little while. Instead, she pushes past his contact and scrolls down further, picking another number entirely and lifting the phone to her ear.

Topanga picks up on the second ring. "You're alive! Oh, thank God you're alive."

"Very funny," she says, smiling in spite of herself. "Dad there too?"

"Yes, but he's making a big show of acting like he couldn't care less. A revenge tactic of some sort. I wish you could see it, I'm sure it's much more impactful in person."

"If you explain it, you ruin it!" Cory snaps.

Riley giggles, bringing her leg up on the bench to pick at the sole of her shoe. "I got the present you sent me. The family escort is very much appreciated."

Cory hums. "I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not."

"I'm not. I was worried about the drive too. It's nice to have someone from home with us."

"How has the trip gone otherwise?" Topanga asks. "Everyone get to school on time? No outstanding injuries to report? Lucas get to A&M okay? I'm guessing we would've heard if he hadn't."

Riley wonders when the mention of leaving him behind is going to stop stinging. "Yep. Everyone is off to be successful, contributing members of society with higher education under their belts. And the trip has been really good. I'm really glad I came."

"We're glad you went, too," Topanga admits. Cory makes a small noise of agreement, but it sounds mildly displeased.

"That being said," Riley says pointedly, hoping to get her dad's attention. "I'm glad to be coming home soon. I miss you guys."

There's a pause. Cory's tone is much softer when he speaks again. "We miss you too."

"Just a couple more days left on the road, and then you'll be back."

Riley thinks on this fact for a couple seconds, equally as relieved as she is reluctant.

She talks to her parents for a few more minutes until she sees Josh and Maya approaching her again from the direction they left. Although they're disconnected by the time they're close by, Riley swears they were holding hands when they rounded the corner. "Okay, I better go. More road to cover."

"Drive safely! Don't forget to check your speed."

"Yes, mom."

"And Riley?" Cory says, his tone gentle once more. "Tell Maya how proud we are of her. And that we can't wait to see her again."

Topanga hums approval. "Hug her so, so tight for us."

"I will. I promise."

She hangs up just as Maya and Josh reach her.

Maya raises her eyebrows. "Who was that?"

"Mom and dad," Riley explains. She grins at Josh. "Had to thank them for the surprise."

"Oh, of course. Speaking of which, it's time for me to actually do my job." He claps his hands together, rubbing them mischievously. "Time to get back on the road. Take me to the van!"

Despite his enthusiasm, Maya and Riley convince Josh to rest after hitchhiking after them all day. He doesn't put up much of a fight, crashing in the back seat while Maya takes over driving again. It's evident to Riley that emotions are motivating her actions again, but this time it doesn't necessarily seem all that negative. There's something else coloring her features this time around.

Riley waits until she's sure Josh is dead asleep, his mouth hanging open slightly and beanie askew as his head bobs along with the road. Curiosity killing her, she turns the music down a bit and examines Maya interestedly. "So?"

"So."

"What did you guys talk about?" She tries to keep her cool but breaks slightly, bouncing in her seat. "What's going on with you two?"

Maya gives her a look, but she hasn't been able to stop smiling since Josh showed up hours ago. She rolls her eyes at Riley's pleading look. "Okay, okay. Puppy dog eyes aren't necessary, thanks."

"But they do their job." Riley bites her lip anxiously. "So?"

Maya nods slowly, putting her thoughts together. When she speaks again, her voice is barely louder than a whisper. "We're going to see what happens after first semester. See where we are at winter break. We sort of put everything out there but agreed that we didn't want to jump into anything when emotions were running so high. If we still feel the same way come December, then we'll give it a shot. A real shot."

"So the long game goes on."

Maya laughs, her eyes shining with that other emotion. Hope.

"Can I ask you something?"

"You know you can ask me anything. I don't know why you always ask."

Riley beams, hesitating before vocalizing her curiosity. "What did happen between you guys? I mean, you were definitely hiding from him when we started the trip. But last I remembered, you guys were in a pretty good place senior year. I actually thought you were going to be official before we even left. So what happened?"

"Nothing on his end. It was me," Maya says, staring out at the road to avoid eye contact. "It's taken me a while to grapple with the whole three-thousand miles away thing. Even when we started this trip, I was still trying to get a handle on it. That much distance… feels easier to fade away. I figured Josh… he would just get over me. He'd just forget. I'd be so easy to forget being so far away."

"He would never," Riley states, speaking for herself as well as her uncle. "Maya, we're not going to forget you no matter how far away you go."

Maya locks eyes with her momentarily, blue eyes glittering with sincerity. "I know. I know that now. After having driven all the way here, it doesn't feel nearly as huge. It's all just miles. Miles between us, centimeters apart, like you said. I get that now. I believe it."

Riley reaches out and squeezes Maya's arm. She smiles at her, eyes glossing over.

"Stop making me feel things, I'm trying to drive."

When they get to Vegas, Riley is simultaneously overwhelmed and underwhelmed all at once.

It's just as bright and fantastical as she imagined it would be, but it really is just one strip down the middle of the highway. For a few miles, there's this gigantic spectacle, and then the normal stretch of road goes on forever on either side of it. Just like those tiny pocket towns in the middle of the South, Vegas is another galaxy all its own. It's just much, much brighter.

Maya crashes the moment they get to their hotel room, the strain of two days of driving finally catching up to her. Josh and Riley debate hanging back with her but Riley is antsy, wired from the energy of the city around her and anxious to go explore. With a grumble of approval from Maya, Josh and Riley head out to navigate the huge casino resorts.

Although there's not a lot she can participate in and Josh doesn't seem all that interested regardless, just witnessing the beautiful architecture and crazy lights is fun in its own right. They walk through the interior of one casino decorated to feel like New York City, laughing at the camp aesthetics and feeling nostalgic towards the authentic New York Riley realizes she sorely misses. It'll be a relief to return home to the noise and the bustle and the familiarity of her hometown.

Josh stops them outside one of the larger casinos, watching as a fountain show begins complete with music and lights. He jumps up on a railing nearby and gestures for her to clamber up to join him, laughing as he has to reach forward and keep her from falling off. In all her years, she hasn't stopped being a little klutzy.

The two of them watch the light show in content silence, doing a little people watching all the while.

"So you enjoyed the trip?" Josh asks, shifting his gaze from the fountains to her.

"I did," she admits, dangling her legs idly back and forth. "It wasn't perfect, but I'm glad it happened. I'm honored my parents actually let me go, even with you as a caveat. It's just been weird sort of… facing the reality of it all. That we're all going to be in these different places."

"I bet. I remember that from when me and my friends all went to college. Happens to everyone." He examines the troubled expression on her face. "But you know what?"

"What?"

He crosses his ankles. "I made some pretty rad new friends. And I still see those original friends as often as I can. You saw it firsthand, in fact, before you ghosted me in Philly."

"Oh, yeah," she laughs. "Sorry about that."

"Look, my point is, college changes things. Sure. But it's not nearly as scary as you think it's going to be. Everyone survives it, and true friendships aren't just going to fade away because you've got some distance between you. And from what I've seen, your group is pretty true blue."

Riley smiles, thinking fondly on her little orbit of favorite people. "Yeah. We are."

They settle into silence for a while longer. Riley breaks the quiet next.

"So, you and Maya."

Josh makes a face, furrowing his brow and smiling. Riley giggles. "I don't know what she told you, but I'm going to take the safe route and not comment. Whatever she told you, I'm going with that."

"She said you're waiting until winter break to see where you stand. I think she's happy with that. She doesn't want to rush into things and ruin it."

"Yeah," Josh says softly, expression distant as he loses himself in thought. "Yeah, I know. I get that. I think it's going to work out for the best."

Riley nods.

"What about you and Lucas?"

"What about me and Lucas?" she says cheekily.

"Long distance, yeah?" Josh raises his eyebrows at her. "You feeling good about that?"

Even with the ache she's felt all day, and the urge to text him she's been warring with, her stance on this hasn't changed. She nods confidently, tossing some hair off her shoulders. "I am. It's not going to be perfect, but we care about each other. We both want it to work. So it will."

Josh smiles, nodding in agreement. "So it will."

When they get back to the room, Riley collapses on the bed next to Maya while Josh disappears to the bathroom.

"Sleeping," Maya groans in annoyance. "Bother me later."

"Oh, enjoy it while you can," Riley says teasingly, snuggling closer and hugging her best friend tightly. "You only get one more night of this before you get to sleep in your lonely, cold dorm bed all alone."

"Sure can't wait."

Riley rolls her eyes, kicking Maya lightly before rolling over to plug her phone in. Just as she does her phone buzzes, a shot of adrenaline rushing through her when she sees the contact name light up her screen.

Lucas Friar: Okay, I know it's so late but I didn't want to go to bed without texting you. Today was crazy busy, but good. Can't wait to tell you all about it. Hope the drive is going okay. Please be safe. I sort of hope you're already sleeping and you probably won't see this until you wake up and I should be sleeping too and now I'm just rambling so I'm going to stop here. Goodnight. Love you.

Instantly, she feels a million times lighter. All the stress she put into worrying about communicating with him was completely unnecessary—they're the same as they've always been. Their feelings for each other haven't changed.

All of them are going to be okay. No matter how far apart they are, no matter what their big purpose, no matter what new friends enter their orbit. Some things will change, but she knows these people and how much they mean to each other never will.

She reaches up to turn off the light as soon as Josh collapses into the other bed, willing herself to sleep and prepare for the final destination waiting just around the corner.