Chapter 35

Maya was laying in Josh's lap while he stroked her hair. They had made it home and they were enjoying the last 30 minutes of the night before he had to go. "I'm still confused as to why you didn't tell me about your past."

"Past is in the past." He muttered.

"It's made you into who you are. I love who you are and I want to know everything about you. I'm proud of what you did." Her blue eyes moved to look at him. "I'm proud that you stood up for someone who wasn't capable of doing it himself."

"I like my reasoning for doing it but I don't actually like what I did. If my goal is to protect people, why do I have to hurt the other person?"

The blonde smiled. "You don't have to. Just use defensive moves, and only use offensive when worse comes to worse."

"It's not that easy. It never is, I go blank and it's like I don't know what's happening." Katy popped her head out from the hallway.

"I'm sorry you two but, i'm going to have to pull you away Josh."

"BOO!" Maya mumbled.

"Yes m'am. I'll head on out." He leaned over and kissed his beautiful girlfriend. "Goodnight baby. Sweet dreams." The blue eyed girl escorted him to the door and kissed him again.

"I love you babe."

Josh smiled. "I love you too beautiful girl." Maya closed the door and carried her purse and overnight bag to her room, she moved quickly to unpack everything since she was tired. The blonde got ready for bed and snatched her phone out of her purse to scroll through while she laid in bed.

"Friend request. Harley. Accept." The blue eyed girl grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. "Pirates of the Carribean. Don't mind if I do." She didn't find it odd that she talked to herself, it was a nice way to give her mind a break.

Ding Ding

I'm home. Goodnight beautiful girl.

Maya yawned and closed her eyes, picturing her very sexy boyfriend boxing.

Ding Ding

"Josh I love you but geez." Her hand moved to find her phone.

Hey, thanks for accepting my friend request.

The blonde uncontrollably grinned. It wasn't Josh.

-No problem. To deny my boyfriend's best friend would be pretty rude.
I didn't wake you did I?
-No, Josh left about 30 minutes ago. I just laid down actually.
Me too. I boxed for awhile after you guys left, so i'm pretty beat.
-Why don't you get some sleep? I'll quit bugging you.
If I went to sleep then i'd have to quit talking to you. You aren't bugging me.

Maya's cheeks turned a soft pink.

-I'm going to overlook the blatantly flirtacious remark since you're tired.
Yeah, you should overlook that because I had no idea what you were talking about until I reread what I wrote.
-Get some sleep, seriously.
If I do, can I talk to you tomorrow?
-I don't see why not.
Goodnight Maya. Sweet dreams.
-Night Harley.

Maya stared at her ceiling, she wasn't flirting back but it felt, "wrong?" Her blinks got longer and she yawned, quickly she fell into a dream.

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Hey peaches. I fly home Wednesday.
Oh, thank the Lord. I miss your face.
No kidding, girls night?
Please and thank you. How's huckleberry?
LUCAS, is fine thank you for asking. We actually fell asleep by a tree last night.
That's pretty awesome. #jelly.
How are you and Josh?
Good. Met his 'ex' if you can even call her that and his best friend.
Harley?
Yeah, you knew him?
Oh yeah, I knew Harley. That's the guy I used to have a crush on. Remember?
Oh my goodness, I thought his name was Hayden.
Nope. He's such a sweet guy.
Yeah he is. Josh thinks he has a crush on me.
So what if he does, you're seeing someone else you aren't dead and you're gorgeous guys are going to hit on you.
I hate that he thinks his best friend likes me though.
Technically, Lucas is Josh's best friend now. Just saying and secondly you can't help the way someone feels. Harley may have a crush on you but that doesn't mean you have feelings for him. You love Josh and have for years. Are you two talking?
We messaged a bit on facebook last night but that's it.
Tell Josh so he knows you aren't hiding anything. That's my best piece of advice.
I'm not allowed to have guy friends?
Peaches, of course you are. To me if I had a guy friend that wasn't Farkle i'd fill Lucas in. You don't have to give him a play by play just make him aware. Josh won't mind.
You're right, as usual.
Love you peaches.
Love you Riles.

"Hey beautiful." Josh opened the door to her room and jumped on her bed.

"Hey, what're you doing here?" Maya's long arm draped over his abs and she laid on his chest.

"Just wanted to see you. That's okay right?"

"Of course it is. I love it when you're over here. I'd love it more if I looked halfway decent." The blue eyed girl joked.

"You look gorgeous so zip your lip." The blonde closed her eyes and smiled.

"Hey, I just wanted to let you know because Riley said I should tell you that I accepted Harley's friend request last night and we messaged back and forth a bit." He nodded his head and smiled.

"I appreciate you telling me babe. I don't mind, I know you love me."

Maya laughed. "I just have to keep those boyfriends lined up for when I get sick of ya'."

"Oh yeah, no. You can't be friends with him." They both laughed and she sat up.

"I'm going to go fix my face real quick."

"Maya! No!" She closed her bedroom door and Josh's big brown eyes rolled.

Ding Ding

Thought you might like this picture of you and Josh.

Josh smiled while he gazed across the picure. Maya was over his shoulder and they both had huge smiles on their faces.

-Hey man, it's me. Thank you, I love that picture. Send it to me? Saves me a few steps lol.
Oh hey Josh, I didn't realize you were over there. Sure, will do.

"Okay, so all I really managed to do was put my hair up in a bun and remove the leftover makeup but I feel like that was a success." Maya hopped on the bed beside him.

"Check out this picture Harley sent." The blue eyed girl moved the phone slightly closer.

"Awe. Love that picture. Did you tell him thanks?"

"Sure did. He's sending it to me right now." The blonde smirked and kissed Josh. "I really do appreciate you telling me, just shows you have nothing to hide."

"Of course not. I'm open about my other boyfriends." Josh rolled his eyes and threw her over his lap to spank her.

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Maya had her headphones in while she worked on a collage for Josh. There was glue, scissors, magazines and pictures laying everywhere. The kitchen table had turned into her art room, and it only took a matter of minutes.

Ding Ding

What are you up to?
-Art. Making a small something for Josh.
You know you told me that you drew but I never got to see anything. Mind sending me a few?
-Not at all. I'll send you my top 2 favorites. The first one I drew for my best friend Riley, the second one is something I drew for myself. Let me know which one you prefer.

Maya got back to work and peeled the dried glue off of her hands. "Not bad." She mumbled.

Ding Ding

I really love the one you drew just because. I'm partial to sceneries anyways. Maya, you're incredibly talented.
-Thank you. I didn't even take it seriously till an assignment for us to unplug ourselves from the world's modern technology 3 or 4 years ago. I can't remember.
Either way you found your calling. You can't let that go to waste, it'd be a shame.
-I want to be an art teacher or something along those lines. So hopefully it won't be wasted.
Hey, Josh isn't mad that i'm messaging you, is he?
-Of course not. I told him before you sent that picture. There's nothing to hide.
Good because my grandmother's birthday is coming up and I would really love it if you would draw something. I'd pay you obviously but i'm kind of into getting people sentimental gifts, not just stuff.
-You don't have to pay me, i'll do it for the experience. I just need to know what kind of drawing you want.
She loves the ocean, you mind doing a scene?
-I don't mind at all. Painting or drawing with colored pencils?
Um, I don't know surprise me.
-Lol okay, when do you need it by?
Her birthday is in 2 weeks. I'm hoping you can just bring it down next time you visit.
-No problem.

"Hey babe, i'm back with food." Josh closed the front door and smiled.

"GUESS WHAT! I'm getting my first like 'job'. Harley's grandmother's birthday is in 2 weeks and he wants me to draw a beach scene. He offered to pay but I turned it down."

Her boyfriend set the food and drinks down. "That's awesome baby!" His strong arms wrapped around her. "Now do you believe me when I say how talented you are?" His brown eyes moved for the kitchen table. "And extremely messy. What's going on right here?"

"Oh." She got off her tiptoes and released him from her grasp. "I was making something for you." Josh leaned over the table to get a better look. "It's a collage of things you love. Your parents, Cory, Topanga, boxing, Riley, physical fitness stuff-" She giggled at the broad generalization of 'fitness stuff', "and us. A few pictures we took together, I just thought it'd be something-" Josh's lips crashed onto hers, the blonde's toes started to curl. "That was some good kissing baby!"

"Come on." He clutched her hand and led her down the hallway.

"Where are we going?" The blue eyed girl questioned.

"Your room."

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"Mrs. Matthews when are they going to be here? I miss my peaches." Maya dropped onto the dining room bench.

"I guesstimate in about 10 minutes or less. I miss her too, trust me. I don't think i've ever gone this long without seeing my daughter." Topanga sat down at the table across from Maya.

"Is Shawn coming over for Thanksgiving?"

A wry smile crept to the mother's face. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. A little curiosity never hurt anyone." Mrs. Matthews knew exactly why.

"I heard that Katy went on a date this weekend. The same night Shawn was tied up and couldn't see Cory." The blue eyed girl grinned and was joined on the bench by her boyfriend. "Don't quote me on it, but that's my assumption."

"KNOCK KNOCK!" Riley entered the living room and dropped her purse. "PEACHES!" Maya threw herself off of the bench and jumped into her best friends arms.

"SELFIE TIME!" The blonde pulled out her phone and snapped a picture. "OH THAT'S A GOOD ONE!" The blue eyed girl hopped down, and was tackled by her father.

"Hi daddy!" Topanga began to hug her from the other side. "Hi mommy. I missed both of you." Lucas quietly snuck in and set her bags down.

"Post to instagram, send to facebook. Caption; 'reunited and it feels so good #reunited #bestfriend #sister #soulmate rileyannmatthews'. LUCAS!" The blonde pushed Josh away and hugged the quarterback. "Dare I say that I missed you too."

"I missed you too Maya."

"Hey Lucas." Topanga pulled away from Riley who felt like she was suffocating. "How are you?"

"I'm great, thanks to your daughter." He hugged her mother. "Thank you again for letting her tag along. I'm very grateful." The brunette smiled at her boyfriend.

"Hey Josh, will you put my phone in your pocket? We're about to go out to eat and I don't want to take my purse." The blue eyed girl passed him her phone.

"Actually, you 4 are going out to eat. Your father doesn't feel so well." The group of friends smiled and got ready to go.

"Sure baby." Josh's lips touched her forehead and before he could put the phone away it vibrated. Josh saw it was a facebook notification from Harley and clicked on it.

Beautiful. Tell Riles I said hi.

Riley's cousin didn't say anything till they got to Katy's diner and sat down. "So, Riley. Harley says hi." Lucas' eyes moved to Josh.

"Who's Harley?"

"That's my other boyfriend honey." The blonde started laughing at Riley's joke. "No he's not my boyfriend. He's Josh's best friend from back home and I used to have a huge crush on him." Josh's eyes widened and he slowly nodded his head.

"Oh really?" The brunette shook her head. "Do I have anything to worry about anymore?"

"Absolutely not!" Exclaimed Riley.

"He called them beautiful." Maya and Riley both smiled, seeing their boyfriends get jealous was pretty funny.

The blue eyed girl laughed. "You have nothing to worry about. Harley is really nice."

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I can't blame him for saying that. They both are beautiful, that's what we get for dating them!" The dancer leaned over and kissed her boyfriend.

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They were all walking around the square, like they did before everyone went out of town. "Hey baby?" Maya glanced up to her boyfriend. "Are you uncomfortable with Harley and I being friends?"

"I trust you baby. Don't think I don't, I just know he likes you so that makes me a little jealous."

"You have nothing to be jealous about." The blonde stopped in front of him and got on her tip toes. "Because you can kiss me anytime you want." Her lips touched his. "You can call me beautiful or baby and most of all we can-" Her eyebrows wiggled.

"You're positively dirty." He whispered and kissed her again.

"Isn't that what you love about me?"

He lightly laughed. "One of the many, many reasons."

Lucas clutched onto Riley's hand. "So this Harley guy." The brunette smiled and moved her eyes. "Should I be worried?"

"Eh, not to worried." He stopped spinning her and grinned. "Kidding, of course not baby. I liked him because of his eyes, they're more piercing than Maya's. But, I found the most gorgeous eyes in the whole world, and my boyfriend has them. It was just a middle school crush."

The quarterbacks eyes moved towards his friend. "Josh isn't super comfortable with him."

"He said he was, at least that's what Maya said." The jade eyed man shook his head in disagreement.

"Of course he's going to say he is, he doesn't want to be the controlling boyfriend and he trusts Maya. But, if I knew someone had a crush on you, which it's obvious Harley has one on Maya, than i'd be uncomfortable." Riley's brows furrowed.

"So should I talk to her?"

"You do whatever you feel is best. In the end it isn't our relationship and it isn't our decision what she chooses to do." The dancer stopped her boyfriend and kissed him.

"You, Lucas Friar are incredibly smart."

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"Hey peaches, can I talk to you about something?"

Maya raised her head from the magazine. "Sure, what's up? Everything okay?"

Riley sat down on the bed beside her. "It's pretty clear that Josh isn't comfortable with you talking to Harley."

"He said he was." The blonde rolled on her side to face her best friend.

"Lucas said he probably didn't want to come off as over bearing." The brunette played with her fingers.

"Granted it's not him telling me this but yeah, that's exactly what it's coming off like. We're friends, that's all. Josh is my boyfriend, Harley knows that and Josh even said he wouldn't do anything because he's a good guy." Maya snapped, getting defensive.

"Maya i'm not telling you this for you to get angry. I just don't want something to happen to your relationship that you've wanted for so long." The blue eyed girl stood up and started grabbing her things. "What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving. I can talk to whoever I want and I should be trusted enough to do so. I'll see you tomorrow."

"MAYA!" Her bedroom door shut and Riley's long arms went up in the air. "Well that escalated quickly." The dancer pulled her phone off the charger.

Baby?
Yes beautiful.
Maya's mad at me.
What happened?
I just told her that Josh wasn't entirely comfortable with Harley.
I'm sorry baby. She'll come around just give her some time. She can't stay mad at you, and she isn't going to take it out on Josh since he wasn't the one who said anything. You want me to come over?
It's 11 o'clock.
And?

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Maya stared at her phone, not fully understanding why she got so mad earlier. The blonde scrolled through her phone and landed on Peaches. She shook her head and moved towards Josh's name. She dropped the phone beside her and watched her ceiling fan move in circles.

Ding Ding

Hey, i'm bored wanna talk?
-It's nice to know i'm only useful when you're bored.
Absolutely not true. How was your day?
-Weird actually.
You can't say 'weird actually' and not elaborate.
-Lol, i'm getting the vibe that Josh doesn't like it that we're talking.
That's weird I wonder why?
-Let's be honest with each other.
Okay?
-Do you have feelings for me?
Wow, let's just throw that one straight out there. I do like you, yes.
-So Josh was right.
Josh knows? I thought he bought my lie.
-Lol no. Not at all.
I'm sorry Maya. I don't want to cause any problems.
-You aren't. I should be able to talk to whoever I want, whenever I want.
I don't really know how but when I first saw you I was at a total loss for words.

The blue eyed girl moved to reply but he beat her to it.

You're just so funny and beautiful and smart, and we went through the same things with one of our parents leaving. It's just nice to meet someone like that.

Maya bit her cheek, trying not to smile, or blush. Unfortunately it didn't work.

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