"I'm going to head around town and get shots of local tourist spots and hotels," Josh told Maya, slinging his camera bag over his head and across his body, then securing it around his waist with a clip to make sure it stayed in place. He opened the bag where it now hung at his hip, and made sure all his gear was still safe in the right spot before zipping it closed and grabbing his phone off the dresser. He nodded to Riley, still in bed with her eyes closed. "Text me when you guys leave?"

It was 6:30am, and Josh was leaving now to get pictures in sunrise-light, although Riley was still asleep and Maya was still in her pajamas. Maya was sitting on the end of Josh's bed with her legs pulled up to her chest and her chin resting on her knees as she watched Josh get ready.

"I didn't know you had that much camera gear," she observed.

Josh glanced down at his bag, which held one camera body, three different lenses ranging from 12mm to 200mm, a lens cleaning kit, and extra lens caps, camera batteries, and SD chips. He shrugged. "A lot of what I capture I could get with an 18-55mm lens, but it helps to have extra alternatives. You never know when you'll need a new battery, or memory card, or to clean the lenses. Murphy's law."

"Anything that can go wrong, will," Maya agreed, nodding. She twisted a lock of her hair between her fingers, letting one leg slip down to hang off the end of the bed.

"You guys have a plan with Tyler, right?" Josh checked.

"He said there's a few Deaf events happening in the park and downtown," Maya said. "We were going to go check them out."

"Will you please text me every once in a while to check in?" Josh asked. "I want to make sure you guys don't get kidnapped or something."

"We won't get kidnapped," Maya laughed.

"You're going around town blindly with a complete stranger, Maya," Josh pointed out seriously. "If I told my brother about this, he would yell at me like I'm crazy. Hell, I might be."

"I think New York City is more dangerous than a small town like Rochester," Maya argued.

"Just," Josh sighed, moving forward a little to put a hand on her cheek, making heat rush to Maya's face, "just be careful please. Be cautious. Check in."

Maya nodded. "We'll meet back at the Mexican place again tonight for dinner around six."

Josh turned to pull on his jacket, and Maya stood up, tugging on his arm until he faced her again. She stood on her toes to press a soft kiss to his lips, making him grin as he turned to leave the hotel room.

Riley blinked, the light from the shades coming in to shine on her face. She turned over to see Maya's side of the bed empty, and she frowned. She turned back over and grabbed her phone, unplugging it to see that the time was 8:30am.

She sat up, rubbing a hand over her face before swinging her legs over and standing up. She moved over to the mirror, rummaging through her drawers to find jeans and a long sleeved shirt. The door to the bathroom was closed, and although Riley couldn't hear the water, she guessed Maya was taking a shower. She glanced around to see that Josh's camera bag was gone, and figured that that meant Josh was also gone. So, she changed next to the dresser and went back to the mirror to brush her hair.

Riley saw the bathroom door open behind her in the reflection, and Maya came out with a towel wrapped around her body and her hair dripping wet. She nodded to Riley, as she bent down to rummage in her duffle bag, and signed with one hand, 'Josh left around 6:30, he wanted to see the sunrise.'

'Okay,' Riley signed back.

Maya pulled clothes out of her bag and changed quickly, then came up next to Riley. 'Where/when are we meeting Tyler?'

'Nine,' Riley signed. 'The Mexican place.'

'Yeah, what was that place even called?' Maya signed, taking the brush from Riley to begin to comb through her own knots.

'I wasn't paying attention to the name of the restaurant,' Riley signed after a moment, giggling a little.

'We'll figure it out,' Maya dismissed. 'Do you want to take a shower?'

'I'll take one tonight, we're already running late,' Riley denied.

'Alright,' Maya agreed. 'Did you text Lucas?'

'Not yet, but I texted him goodnight before we went to bed.' Riley pulled out her makeup pouch and opened it.

'Ooh,' Maya wiggled her eyebrows. 'Goodnight texts.'

'Shut up,' Riley signed, blushing. 'It's only been a few weeks.'

'I've never seen you like that with anyone before,' Maya pointed out.

'Well I don't meet a lot of people,' Riley argued.

'He's gotten really good at signing,' Maya commented. 'He learns fast.'

'Practice makes perfect,' Riley agreed.

The two girls met eyes in the mirror and shared a smile, as Maya used Riley's mascara and Riley opened her lip gloss.

'You like him,' Maya signed.

'We covered that,' Riley laughed.

A/N: This is a filler chapter, so sorry if it's a little boring/repetitive. I can't figure out what Riley/Maya/Tyler will be doing and I have no idea how to move forward with Joshaya. (I want them to become closer quicker, but not overnight, you know?)

It's a little difficult to write Anecdoche and Nodus Tollens at the same time because I forget which one Riley signs in. I'll be writing Nodus Tollens and start using italics when Riley is speaking!

I'm deep into homework and midterms, so I don't know when I will update next. But I wanted to give you guys some content so you're not totally dry for the next few days/weeks (I have no idea which it will be). The good news is that when I get reviews/faves/follows, I get emails to remind me to keep writing. So if you want an update, please let me know!

Also, I could use some ideas for the plot lines, so if anyone has any, I'm all ears!

Kisses,

C