Josh sat with his friend, Andrew, in their new apartment. He had had enough of Shoopaloop. He wondered why they didn't think of it before.
"So, how's Cory doing?" Andrew asked him.
"Good," he said.
"Topanga?"
"Good," Josh answered his best friend again, with a slight laugh.
"Auggie and Riley?"
"Good, he answered again, "why are you asking?"
"What about Maya?"
Josh put his hand over his eyes rubbing them in embarrassment, much like he did with the blonde almost a year ago.
"Of course," he said, shaking his head.
"Heard you talking on the phone last night," Andrew said. "It was like midnight, right?"
"Dude, not cool," Josh told his friend. "That's my business."
"Dude, you've talked about her since you met her," Andrew reminded the eighteen year old. "Yeah, you've had other crushes, but I know you've liked her for a while. You told me that after you went to the ski lodge. I'm surprised Topanga was even able to pull that off, you were seventeen." They both nodded in slight confusion. "The way you looked at her at the college get-together when she told you everything she knew about you, showed that you liked her then. And you proved her right about everything she said when you walked them home."
"We're just friends," Josh told him.
"Man, you're stupid if you think that you're just friends," he informed him. "You let her hold your hand at the lodge and admitted that she was the person you wanted there most at your brother's apartment when you were freaking out about college by helping her up and, again, holding her hand. And you've told me that you could see a future with her and that you want that. Just friends don't talk like that about each other. And just friends don't like each other more than that."
Josh's phone buzzed. He looked at it. Andrew smiled, knowing it was the blonde.
"Hey, Andy, would it be okay if we go to the movies tomorrow?"
"Sure," Andrew said with a smug smile. "Go and spend time with your future wife."
"Stop," Josh demanded. He grabbed his jacket and walked to the door. "And thanks."
Josh walked out of the apartment.
He showed up at Maya's apartment building, and she was already waiting for him.
She got in his car.
"Hey," he greeted her with a smile.
"Hey, Boing," she greeted back.
"So what do you want to do?" He questioned.
"Well, my classmate is having this sweet sixteen party at her house and invited me," she responded, "and she said we can bring a plus one. So wanna go?"
"Sure," Josh answered.
"Good, 'cause I already told my mom you were," Maya admitted. He gave her a look. "You're responsible, and she knows you'll keep me safe."
"So, which classmate?"
"Jade," Maya replied. "She doesn't really talk in class."
"So, when is it?" Josh inquired.
"In about thirty minutes," Maya informed him. "Here is the address."
She put a sticky note on his dash.
"So why'd you ask me to go?"
"Riley's not going, and my mom didn't want me to go alone," Maya told Josh.
"Why isn't Riley going?"
"Jade thinks she's annoying," she told him, shrugging.
"Can't totally disagree with that," Josh admitted. "She can be."
"True."
"So, you turn sixteen in January, right?" Josh questioned.
"Yep," she answered. "And before you ask, yes, you're invited to my party."
Josh let out a little laugh.
"And you to my nineteenth," Josh said. Maya looked at him, amused. "We both know my brother…and Topanga."
"True," Maya agreed. "Why didn't you have one for your eighteenth?"
"Got out of town before then," Josh laughed. "Went to my parents' house for that week."
"Should've taken me with you," Maya half-joked.
"I was tempted," Josh admitted.
"Oh, really?" Maya questioned, intrigued.
"Yeah," he told her, "but you would have been in school, and I'm pretty sure your parents wouldn't be okay with that."
"Yeah, my parents like me going to school," Maya joked.
Josh looked over at her with a smile.
"I think Cory would have been more concerned with that part than your parents," Josh suggested. "And you know what I meant."
"Like I said, my parents trust you, Josh," she reminded him. "And they know we're doing the long game. I'm pretty sure the school thing would be the only thing they would have cared about. I mean they know I'm your most favorite person in the universe, so of course you'd want me to celebrate your birthday."
He smiled with amusement.
"You're something else, Hunter," he laughed.
He stopped at a red light.
"Riley told me you were going to a movie with Andrew," Maya told him. "What happened with that? Did you break your plans for me, Boing?"
"We decided to go tomorrow night instead," he told her a half-truth.
"For me?"
He smiled.
"Yeah," he admitted to her.
He noticed the light was green and started driving again. Maya looked at Josh and saw a speeding car.
"Josh!"
The other car hit the front of his car and made the car to do a 360 spin.
"Douchebag!" Maya yelled out the window at the car driving away, shaking slightly. She looked back at Josh. He wasn't breathing right and wheezing. "Josh, are you okay?"
"Glo-glovebox," he told her. She opened it and saw an inhaler. She grabbed it and gave it to him. He opened it and took two puffs. After almost 30 seconds, he was able to breathe better. "Th-thanks," he said, "are you okay?"
"A little shaken up, but yeah," Maya answered him. "You just had an asthma attack. Are you okay?"
"Yeah," he said. "We need to get off the road to assess the damage."
He pulled into a gas station and turned off his car. They both got out of the car and looked at the front left side of his car. There was a huge dent, but nothing else.
Josh took a breath.
"That jerk drove off after he hit us," she said.
"At least there's not worse damage," he said. "I have a friend that can get the dent out. I'll talk to him about it tomorrow. I'm glad you're okay."
"You too," she told him.
"How much time until that party?" Josh questioned.
"We're a little late," she said.
"Sorry," he apologized.
"I should have called you earlier than I did," she told him. "It's not like we can't be fashionably late."
They looked at each other. Maya was wearing a hoodie and jeans with her hair in a messy and now, loose, ponytail. Josh was wearing an older t-shirt and jeans. They both started laughing.
"Or decently late," Josh joked.
"If we're underdressed, who gives a crap?" She questioned, rhetorically.
"Should we head to the party?" Josh asked her.
"Yep," she answered.
They both got into the car. He got back on the road, making sure to be extra cautious.
They got to Jade's house in Staten Island. It was on a wide property. They knocked on the door. Jade answered.
"Hey, Maya," she said. "And who's this?" Realization hit her face. "Oh yeah, you're Riley's uncle."
Josh nodded.
"Yeah, he's Josh," Maya told her.
"He's hot," she said.
Josh scratched the back of his neck. Maya could see that made him uncomfortable.
"Happy birthday, Jade," Maya said. She handed her a small, wrapped present.
"Well, come on in," Jade told him. "Thanks, Maya."
They walked in. There was "Sweet 16" written in balloons. There was at least twenty people in the living room.
"There's punch over there," Jade told them, pointing at a table at a side of the room, "and pizza in the kitchen."
"Thanks, Jade," Maya said. She looked around. "Where's your parents?"
"They're not here," she said.
Maya looked at Josh. Jade walked away.
"I'm not sure I like that," she admitted to Josh.
"Do want to leave?" He asked her.
"Maybe we could just eat a little bit of pizza, then leave?" She questioned him.
"You sure?" He asked.
"Yeah," she said. "I think it might be rude to just leave, ya know?"
"Okay," he agreed. "I'm staying by your side the whole time, then."
"I was about to ask you if you'd do that," she told him. "Let's go get punch."
He nodded and they got a couple of cups and went to grab some pizza. They sat at a table away from the crowd of people.
"There's a lot of people here," Maya said, uncomfortably. She finished her drink fast.
"You wanna go?" Josh asked her.
"I think I'll get one more cup of punch," she said. "I'm thirsty. Then we'll leave."
"Want me to go with you?"
"It's right over there," she assured him. "I'll be fine."
Maya walked over to the punch table, slightly stumbling. She shook her head and blinked her eyes a few times. She grabbed another cup of punch, took a drink, and started walking back to the table she and Josh were sitting at, attempting to get through the crowd. Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side of the crowd.
"Thanks, Josh-th, I couldn't get through the crowd," she said, with a slight slur. Then she saw it wasn't Josh. It was another guy she didn't recognize.
"Hey," the guy said.
"Um, hi," she said back. "I need to get back to my friend."
"I don't think that's necessary," the guy said. He pushed her against a wall. He saw the drink that she had in her hand, which barely full. "Aren't you gonna drink that?"
"Uh, no," she said, deciding that right then.
He grabbed it out of her hand and splashed it in her face.
Josh started to get worried. He stood up and started to feel dizzy. He grabbed the seat he had been sitting in until the feeling went away. He started working his way through the crowd. He heard Maya scream and moved through the crowd until he saw her. A guy had her pinned against the wall. Her face was wet. He grabbed the guy and shoved him to the ground.
"What happened?"
"He splashed my drink in my face," she told him, her words slightly slurring, holding her eyes. "My eyes are burning!"
Josh's eyes grew wide.
"Your eyes shouldn't be burning," he said, "it's punch."
He realized that the punch had to have been spiked with alcohol.
He softly took ahold of her arm and looked for the restroom. She kept losing her balance, but he held her up. When he finally found it, he had her put her head above the sink and he used water to rinse out her eyes the best he could.
He tried to hurry to the exit the best he could without them both falling.
Jade saw them.
"Where are you going?"
"If you don't already know, your punch is spiked," Josh informed her. "I suggest you shut down your party now."
"Are you serious?" Jade asked.
"Yes," Josh confirmed. "Happy Birthday."
They slowly walked out. He told Maya to hold onto his car hood, helping her to get to it, while he got into his car and grabbed the sticky note from before. They walked to the closest bus stop, Josh holding Maya up, realizing that she was more drunk because she drank it a lot faster then he drank his. He didn't even finish his.
They sat down. Josh took out his phone and called his older brother.
"Hey, Josh," Cory answered, "what's up?"
"We need a ride," Josh informed him.
"You and Maya?" Cory asked. "Shawn said you went with her to Jade's party."
"Yeah, us-th," Josh slurred out.
"Josh," Cory said, cautiously. "Are you drunk?"
Josh rubbed his head.
"What?" Topanga asked in disbelief.
"It's not what you, think, Cor," Josh said, trying to contain his speech. "We need a ride, please."
"Is Maya drunk too?" Cory asked.
Josh didn't answer.
"Josh," Cory said more sternly.
"Yes," he said. "Cor, just listen, please."
"I'm listening," Cory said.
"The punch was spiked," he said. "Please pick us up, we need help. I left my car there; I wasn't going to drive. We're at the bus stop on Richman Avenue."
"That's in Staten Island," Topanga said. Cory left their apartment, taking Riley with him. "I'm going to call the police. What's Jade's address?"
Josh looked at the sticky note extremely close and told her the address.
"Tope," Josh told her, "Maya's way worse off than me. She drank hers faster than I did. I didn't even finish mine. She can barely walk."
"Hey, Josh-th," Maya said, pulling on his shirt.
"Yeah?"
"I lo-th—," she started. Then, she just looked at his eyes.
She laid on his shoulder and fell asleep.
After a bit, Cory showed up at the bus stop and helped sleeping Maya into the car. Riley pulled up next to them in Josh's car.
"What did you do to your car?" She asked Josh.
"Ummm," Josh said, trying to remember. "Oh, some jerk hit us on the way to the party."
Josh got into Cory's car.
They let Maya and Josh sleep at their place; Josh on the couch, and Maya in Riley's room. They filled Katy and Shawn in the next morning, making sure they knew it was neither of their faults.
When Maya woke up at about noon, there was Tylenol and water waiting for her on a small table next to Riley's bed. They let her know what happened the night before. By that night she was started feeling better.
A few days later, Josh walked into his brother's apartment and Maya immediately asked him to talk. They went to the Bay Window.
"Thanks for protecting me at that party, Maya told him.
"I always will," he assured her.
"What happened with Jade?" Maya questioned. "She wasn't in school today."
"She got arrested along with others and is grounded for like two months," Josh informed her. "That's what Topanga said."
"Good," she said. "We should have just left right away."
"We didn't know," he reminded her. "And I'm pretty sure you were hungry, that why you wanted to stay a bit."
"I mean it was pizza, so..."
Josh smiled.
"Hey, Josh?" Maya questioned the brunette.
"Yeah?"
"I know you'll probably deny it," she said, "but I know we're more than friends, more than even that. You can tell me you don't…but I know that you do…but"
She took a breath.
"I love you," he said with her.
"Too," she finished.
"I want to be with you," he told her.
"It's the end of the long game?" She asked for confirmation.
"Yeah," he said with a smile.
They leaned and kissed softly.