A/N: Hey again, everyone. Wow, it's been a while and I'm really sorry about that. But I promised both you guys and myself that I wouldn't post any half-assed chapters and for a long time I wasn't really happy with anything I've written. So, I decided to take a break because anything else wouldn't have been fair to you. It's done me a lot of good and lately I've started writing again. Those of you who follow me might have noticed that I started a new story. It's called "This Could be the Start of Something Knew" and is based on the TV show "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series". If you're familiar with the show, feel free to check it out. And even if you're not, I think you might still enjoy it if you like the way I write. Just thought I'd put that out there. Anyway, I started writing again, so eventually I thought I'd give "Mine" a shot and the words thankfully started flowing again. So finally, here comes chapter 7 and I'm really curious to see how you like it. Thank you to those of you who are still with me, I'm really sorry for the wait and I hope this chapter makes up for it a bit. As always, feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think – I love reading them :)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Girl Meets World characters.
Mine
Girl Meets Seattle
"You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
You are the best thing, that's ever been mine"
Maya Hunter and Joshua Matthews had spent a little while longer just sitting beside the pond. Neither of them had felt the need to talk much more, rather both of them were just content sitting next to each other and relaxing for a while.
Eventually, without having to say anything, Maya and Josh slowly stood up and gathered up their things. Josh gave Maya back her blanket and pulled his now slightly damp shirt back over his head. Maya then started taking off his sweater, but Josh quickly stopped her.
"It's okay, Maya," he insisted. "Keep it on."
"Don't you need it?" Maya inquired. "I don't want you to get cold."
"I'll be fine," he assured.
"Alright," Maya relented as she packed her still slightly dripping shirt into her bag. Secretly, she was relieved that he let her keep his sweater for a while longer instead of having to exchange it for a damp shirt. Maya had always been easily chilled and Josh's sweater was perfect: it was warm, comfy and smelled really nice. It smells of him, her inner voice reminded her and if inner voices had the ability to do facial expressions, Maya was certain that it was now smirking at her. Shut it, Maya told that voice. She was not ready to go there … at least not yet.
"You ready to go?" Josh asked, pulling Maya out of her inner monologue.
"I am." Maya nodded firmly. Josh held out his hand to her and for a moment Maya only blinked up at him, not quite knowing what he wanted. "Josh, um …?"
"The bag, Maya." Josh chuckled.
"Oh," was all Maya said. She got flustered upon realizing how packed she must have looked, carrying both her bag and canvas. After hesitating for a little while, she handed the bag to Josh while keeping a tight hold on her drawing. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." And with that, the two college students headed off in the direction of Maya's dorm.
They walked in silence for a little while until Josh broke it. "You know, that building you and Riley live in, I used to live there, too."
"Yeah?" Maya asked surprised. She hadn't heard that before.
"Yeah, my first semester," Josh explained.
"Why did you move out?" Maya inquired.
Josh laughed. "Didn't get along with my roommate. He was a strange kid. Said shnoop-a-loop at the end of every sentence."
Maya's eyes went wide. "You're kidding me?"
"Wish I was." Josh shook his head grinning.
"Wow, I know Farkle's roommate is a bit strange too. I think he's spent more time at our dorm than his own up till now," Maya said slowly. "God, I really did get lucky in the roommate department. Riley's great."
"I know, Farkle mentioned something. He knows I was in a similar situation back in the day, so he wanted to know how I did it," Josh explained. "And yeah, you and my niece both got really lucky."
"How did you do it then?" Maya wanted to know. "Deal with shnoop-a-loop?" The girl scrunched up her nose while trying to say the name.
Josh laughed. "Spent a lot of time trying to get to know him. He wasn't all bad, but I guess sometimes two people just don't click," I said. "So, we both ended up hanging out with our respective friend groups a lot during the day and mostly saw each other at night."
"And then you moved out after your first semester," Maya concluded.
"I did." Josh nodded. "My good friend Andrew found an apartment off-campus – not that far from Greenwich Hall actually – and asked if I could imagine moving in there with him. It isn't much but it's also not too expensive, so we took it."
"And you and Andrew still get along?" Maya inquired. "Even after living together for … two years?"
"We do." Josh smiled. "Drew's great. He actually just got together with another friend of ours. After the two of them had been dancing around each other for years."
Maya laughed. "Yeah, sounds familiar." At Josh's questioning look, she decided to elaborate. "My parents. They really took their time with starting to date. Almost our whole town had a bet going on how long it would take them and who'd be the first one to crack."
Josh burst out laughing. "Really?"
"Oh yeah." Maya giggled. "Perks of living in a small town. Everybody knows everybody's business."
Josh shook his head. "I can't really imagine that. I mean, Philly wasn't New York by a long shot, but we weren't that close with our neighbors either. Well, except for Mr. Feeny."
Maya's eyes got wide. "Your neighbor was Mr. Feeny? The Mr. Feeny?"
Josh chuckled. "Yeah. He still lives next-door to my parents."
"Well, makes sense seeing as you are Cory's little brother." She paused for a moment. "Sorry, I still have trouble wrapping my mind around all of this."
"Yeah, me too," Josh admitted. "Don't take this the wrong way, but it's still weird knowing you're Shawn's daughter. Not bad weird, just … unexpected weird."
"I get what you mean," Maya said. "I think it definitely will take some more getting used to. But I'm happy Dad and Cory are finally talking again."
"Me too," Josh agreed. "It wasn't the same without Shawn in our lives these last couple of years. It's really good to have him back."
Maya was just about to say something else, but then she saw they were already standing in front of Greenwich Hall. She opened the door and made her way towards her dorm room, Josh still following behind her.
"Thanks for walking me home, Josh," Maya said earnestly as they came to a halt in front of her and Riley's dorm room.
"Anytime, Maya," Josh told her.
"And thanks again for letting me talk your ear off before," Maya added. "It really helped."
"I repeat, anytime." He grinned. "Well, I probably should head home. I have an early class." He paused for a moment. "I heard your parents are coming to Cory and Topanga's for dinner tomorrow. Are you coming too?"
Maya nodded. "I am. So are Riley and Farkle and I think Jon is coming too. Mom and Dad want to tell everyone about the adoption at dinner." Maya paused. "I'm heading over to their place before. I think I should talk with them then … you know about what we talked about today."
"You sure you're ready?" Josh asked concerned.
"No," Maya admitted. "But I wanna do it anyway. No use delaying it further."
Josh nodded. "That's really brave of you. And you know if you need anyone to talk to …"
"I'll ask Riley where exactly that apartment of yours is," Maya teased, making Josh grin. "Thanks, Josh."
"Of course."
Maya thought for a moment. "That reminds me, I probably should Riley about the whole Jasper-thing tonight. I don't want her to feel ambushed tomorrow."
"Yeah, that might …" Josh broke off. "Wait, Riley doesn't know yet?"
Maya shook her head. "No."
"Then you talked to Zay about it already?" Josh asked, remembering that the guy was Maya's oldest friend.
But again, Maya shook her head. "No, Zay doesn't know about it either. I didn't really feel comfortable talking about it with anyone this whole week. I think I needed to wrap my head around it by myself first."
"But …" Josh broke off. "You told me."
"I did," was all Maya said. She looked up at the older boy and smiled shyly.
A big smile slowly spread across Josh's face as a warm feeling spread through his entire body. He felt so proud that Maya seemed to trust him enough to share something with him she hadn't shared with any of her other friends. He felt like he had gotten to know Maya a lot better today. She had started opening up to and confiding in him. And she had even allowed him to put his arm around her down by the pond. The big mystery that was Maya Hunter was starting to become a bit clearer to him. There were still a lot of things he suspected the blonde was hiding, but he was determined to be there for her until she felt comfortable enough to confide them in him.
Yes, he still held out hope that she might agree to go out with him someday. But where that first attempt of asking her out had been because he had found her nice, funny and beautiful with a quick mind to call her own, he now started to realize that he hadn't known her back then. Of course, he hadn't … not really … they had only just met then. And that's why he was willing to wait. Because now he felt like they were starting to form a real friendship, they were getting to know each other and Josh found out something new he liked about Maya every time they saw each other. And he was happy to say that he also felt like he was starting to gain her trust. He suspected that something had happened in her past that had played a part in her turning him down and maybe, eventually, she would tell him what that was, and they could move past it. But for now, he was happy just having her as a friend.
"I should probably go in," Maya pulled Josh out of his thoughts. "Riley's gonna worry if I'm not back soon."
"You do that, I'm gonna take off too," Josh said. He smiled at the blonde. "I had a good time tonight, it was really nice talking to you."
"Me too." Maya smiled. "Get home safe, Josh, okay?"
"I will," he promised. "Night Maya."
"Goodnight, Josh."
After saying goodbye to Josh, Maya had gone inside her dorm room to find Riley already waiting up for her. Without even having to say a word, the two college students headed towards the couch Katy had gifted them and took a seat beside each other and immediately started talking. The brunette had had a nice date with her boyfriend and told the blonde all about how she had beaten Farkle's butt at bowling only for him to challenge her to a round of billiard afterwards which he had ended up winning by a landslide. Riley though hadn't been too saddened by that since the winner's price had been a kiss. So, if you thought about it, there really was no winning or losing anyway.
Maya hadn't been able to stop herself from grinning whilst her new friend recounted her adventures of the day. She still had a hard time wrapping her head around how perfectly Riley and Farkle seemed to be matched. They weren't even twenty years old and were already so in sync as a couple as if they had been married with kids for fifty years. Their relationship wasn't overbearing or in-your-face in the slightest and neither of them were too into PDA that it would make their friends uncomfortable whilst hanging out with them. It was the little things: Farkle always pulling the chair out for Riley, opening doors for her and letting his hand rest on the small of her back when she was walking in front of him; Riley immediately reaching for Farkle's hand when they went somewhere together or sat at a table; both of them regularly throwing a glance towards the other one, even if they were engaged in a conversation with someone else, just making sure the other one was alright.
It was baffling to Maya, but also gave her another example of how love – even at such a young age – might really exist. Now of course there was no guarantee that Riley and Farkle would stay together forever, but in their particular case Maya wasn't as scared about that as she usually was. The relationship Riley and Farkle had went way deeper than just boyfriend/girlfriend. They had been close friends for years before they had started dating. Maya knew that neither of them would ever do something to intentionally hurt the other and was pretty sure that even if something were to occur that would make them break up, those two could manage to salvage their friendship.
After talking for a while about Riley's date, Maya eventually opened up to the brunette about the possibility of her parents adopting. Riley reacted just as her uncle had before her. She was supportive and understanding and encouraged Maya to voice her doubts to her parents. But like Josh, she also admitted that maybe a younger brother might not be the worst thing to happen to Maya and the blonde had to agree with that.
With that thought in mind, Maya was now heading over to her parents' place after her last class the following day. It was Friday and the whole Hunter family had been invited over to the Matthews' place for dinner that evening.
"Well, would you look at that! The prodigal daughter returns!" Maya teasingly called as she burst through the door and into the apartment.
Immediately she could her clattering from the kitchen, followed by her mother's excited voice: "Baby girl!" Katy Hunter rushed into the living room and towards her daughter to envelop her in a tight hug.
"Kiddo!" another voice could be heard coming from the bedroom. A second later Shawn Hunter also burst into the room and was next to greet his daughter with a hug.
"Does it make me a bad college student if I say I really missed you guys even though we just saw each other last weekend?" Maya asked sheepishly.
"It does." Shawn nodded, a serene expression on his face.
"And it also means that we failed as parents. Seems like we didn't manage to completely drive you away." Katy shrugged before turning to her husband with a brilliant smile on her face. "Yay us!" The two of them high-fived.
Maya just shook her head in amusement. "Crazy people," she muttered lovingly.
"Anyway," Katy said after. "What brings you here, prodigal daughter. I thought we were meeting at the Matthews' tonight."
"I just …," Maya started before trailing off for a moment. "There's something I wanted to talk to you guys about. Before tonight."
"Is everything alright?" Shawn asked, a worried expression slowly spreading over his face. He gestured towards the couch and the three Hunters took a seat.
Maya took a deep breath. She had to decide now if she really wanted to do this. She knew how excited her parents – especially her dad – were about the possibility of adopting Jasper and she really didn't want to ruin this for them. But in the end, Josh had been right. Something was bothering her and it would be best to just come right out and say it now before the process moved along even further. Her parents deserved to know how she felt and, knowing them, they probably knew exactly what to say to ease her mind. "Remember when you asked me how I'd feel about you guys adopting Jasper?"
"Yeah," Shawn said and Katy nodded in agreement. "You said you'd be okay with it. Did you change your mind, 'cause if you did that's totally …"
"I didn't," Maya immediately interrupted. And she hadn't, that was the truth. "I'm still okay with it, that hasn't changed."
"Then what has, baby girl?" Katy inquired softly while grabbing her daughter's hand in a comforting manner. "You know you can tell us if there's something bothering you."
"It's just …" Maya broke off, trying to sort her thoughts. "I had a lot of time this week to think about it and I'm still on board and looking forward to meeting Jasper," she assured. "I guess I'm just a little bit afraid."
Shawn and Katy were quiet for a moment, not sure what the right course of action here would be. "What are you afraid of, kiddo?" Shawn asked hesitantly.
"I'm …" Maya paused for a moment. "You know, I've been an only child my entire life and, sure, I used to dream what it would be like to have a sibling. But I never really felt like I was missing out on anything. And I'm excited at the possibility of becoming a big sister, but I'm also afraid I won't be any good at it. I have no idea what older sisters are supposed to do." Maya took a deep breath. "And I guess I'm also a bit scared that … with me being gone at NYU and you now having a new kid … that you might …" Maya trailed off, she felt bad even just implying that her parents might just forget about her and replace her with another kid. But the blonde couldn't help the way she felt.
"Maya?" Katy asked slowly. "Are you afraid that we might see Jasper as your replacement. That we might forget about you?"
Maya looked down at her lap, not daring to meet her parents' eyes. "Yeah," she admitted quietly. "I'm so sorry, Mom and Dad. I know I sound like a horrible daughter. You must hate me. You've always done everything for me, hell, you even moved to New York City with me. It's just …"
"Maya," Shawn interrupted her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You don't sound horrible. You're scared and insecure, that's something completely different."
"And we could never hate you," Katy immediately jumped in. "We love you too much for that."
"We hate that you feel this way," Shawn added, sounding like he was both mad and sad. "Believe me when I say that I know very well how you feel, I've felt like it a lot of times while I was growing up. I just hate that you have to go through it, too."
"Maya, honey," Katy said. "It's true, Shawn and I are really looking forward to the possibility of adopting Jasper. But I promise you, that doesn't mean that we will love you any less."
"It's true, Maya," Shawn told his daughter. "I can't promise you that adding another member to our family won't change anything, it will probably change a whole lot. But there's one thing that will never change." He paused for a moment. "And that's how much your mom and I love you." Tears started to well up in Maya's eyes. "You're our daughter. And you'll always be our little girl."
"Always," Katy agreed as she wiped her daughter's tears away with her thumb. "And we do hope that Jasper might agree to be our son sometime in the future. But he will never replace you, I promise. We won't suddenly have a son instead of a daughter. We just might have both a son and daughter."
"I'm so glad you told us, kiddo," Shawn said. "And I want you to know that you can always come to us if something is bothering you. And if you have any doubts about us moving forward with the adoption, we will discuss that. We don't want to do anything you're not completely comfortable with."
Maya nodded slowly, her tears starting to subside. "Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad," she said. "I needed to hear that."
"Anytime, kiddo," Shawn said.
"That's what we're here for," Katy added.
The three Hunters sat there, huddled together, for a little while longer before Shawn broke the silence. "While we're on the topic," he started. "Your mom and I did want to talk to you about something else." Maya nodded for him to go on. "I've been in contact with Logan and Jasper's social worker. And they both agreed with us that the possibility of adoption is not something we should discuss with Jasper over the phone. They mentioned that they've already hinted at something along the lines to Jasper, especially since it seems like there are some issues with his current foster parents, but nothing official yet. So, your mom and I are planning on flying out to Seattle next weekend." Shawn paused, giving Maya time to let this new piece of information sink in. "And we were wondering if maybe … you'd like to come along?"
"Me?" Maya asked, her eyes wide.
"Only if your classes allow it," Shawn immediately assured. "We know how busy you are and wouldn't want to give you more work than you already have."
"But we also want you to be as involved in the whole process as you'd like to be," Katy added. "So, we thought it might be nice for you to meet Jasper before anything becomes official."
Maya took a little while to think about this, keeping her parents in quite a lot of suspense in the process. Their words from before had comforted her, but it was this piece of information – that they immediately thought to include her in the adoption but weren't forcing anything on her – that really made the difference. Yeah, things would change should Jasper decide to move in with her parents. But even with everything her parents currently had going through their heads, she was not becoming an afterthought. A small smile spread across Maya's face as she finally nodded. "Yeah, I'd like to come along. Thanks for asking."
The Hunter family had spent the rest of their afternoon at home. Katy was in her and Shawn's bedroom, running lines for her next audition. Shawn and Maya could finally spend some quality father-daughter-time together, indulging in one of their favorite traditions: catching up on the newest Supernatural episodes they had missed while Shawn had been out of town. Shawn had been a loyal watcher of the show ever since it had started airing back in 2005 and eventually he had gotten a teenaged Maya hooked as well. Now the show was starting its fifteenth season and the two Hunters were still as emotionally involved in the goings-on as they had been for the past fourteen seasons.
Eventually it was time to get ready to head over to the Matthews. They were running a little late which of course had nothing at all to do with Maya and Shawn not being able to tear themselves away from the TV. No, sir. Both of them were adamant about that and Katy had decided not to waste her time and nerves arguing with them about it. She had too much fun seeing her daughter and husband interacting again to spoil it.
Anyway, that was how the Hunter family ended up being the last part of the dinner party to arrive at the Matthews' apartment. Katy, Shawn and Maya were greeted at the door by a widely grinning Cory. "Shawnie!" "Cory!" they usual greetings began as soon as the door was open. The two men barreled towards each other and tackled each other in a bear hug.
Topanga, who had been right behind her husband after hearing the doorbell ring, just shook her head in amusement along with Katy and Maya as she came to greet the rest of the Hunter family. "Katy, it's great to see you again!" she enveloped the older blonde in a big hug.
"Likewise, Topanga," Katy agreed. The two women had become fast friends in the little time they had known each other and Katy was now also a very frequent visitor at Topanga's. She often came over before or after work to chat up a bit with her new friend.
"And you of course, Maya." Topanga turned to the younger blonde next. "I'm so glad you could make it as well."
"Thanks for having me, Topanga." Maya smiled as she hugged the older woman.
"Oh, don't mention it." Topanga waved her off. "You're welcome here anytime, honey." Topanga turned around. "Auggie, Ava! Get your butts over here! There's some people I'd like you to meet."
Maya looked over to see two kids approaching their group. A young boy with curly brown hair and a girl about the same age with blonde hair. Maya smiled towards them. "Hi guys," she greeted as she turned to the little boy first. "You must be Auggie, Riley's little brother and Josh's favorite nephew. I've already heard so much about you."
Auggie grinned up at Maya widely. "That's me," he said. "And you're Maya!"
"That's me, it's really nice to finally meet you." Maya hugged the boy and smiled before turning to the little girl, a mischievous grin on her face. "And you must be Ava … the wife?"
Topanga groaned as Auggie and Ava burst out laughing. "That's right. It is me. Mrs. Auggie-Doggie Matthews." Ava giggled and Maya quickly joined in. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Hunter." The younger blonde did a cute little curtsy.
"The pleasure is all mine," Maya played along as she hugged the little girl as well.
The kids went over to say Hi to Katy and Topanga moved over to greet Shawn who had since been able to separate himself from Cory. Those three were now chatting animatedly and Maya was very happy to see it.
"Ah, I thought I heard my favorite Hunter arrive!" a voice beside Maya suddenly said and the girl turned to find her former teacher standing next to her with a big grin.
"Hey! I heard that!" Shawn called over. "I thought I was your favorite?!"
"Oh, go back to your boyfriend!" Jon dead-panned, causing everyone else to start laughing before returning to their conversations.
"Hey Jon," Maya greeted as she hugged the older man.
"How ya doin', kid?" the former teacher asked, looking at her with a worried expression on his face and Maya suddenly got the sneaking suspicion that her parents had already informed him of their newest plans.
"I'm good," she said honestly. "Really good."
A relieved look crossed Jon's face and he nodded. "I'm glad," he said. "And school? Your classes keeping you busy?"
"It's crazy." Maya grinned. "I'm learning so many new things every day, I don't know how I'll ever keep them all in my head. And it's so much work. I just finished this painting for one of my classes. Oh, that reminds me, would you like to see it next time you're over at Mom and Dad's."
"I'd love to see it." Jon smiled. "And yeah, crazy sounds about right," he agreed, remembering his own time at college. "But you still like it?"
"I love it," Maya corrected.
"And that's all that matters," Jon said as he pulled the girl into a side hug. "I'm proud of you, kid."
"Thanks, Jon." Maya grinned. "How about you? Are you happy." For a moment, a secretive look appeared in Jon's eyes, but it disappeared so quickly that had Maya not known the man for years, she'd definitely have missed it. "Jon, is there something you'd like to tell me?" she asked mischievously.
Jon laughed. "Well, let's just say your parents aren't the only ones with a bit of an announcement to make."
Maya's eyes went wide. "Oh my god, what is it? Tell me!" she begged.
"Ah ah ah." Jon shook his head grinning and Maya groaned. "Patience, young grasshopper. Let's let your parents go first and see how that goes."
"You could just tell me now," Maya begged, sporting her best puppy-dog eyes. "I promise, I won't tell."
Jon laughed again. "Good try, kid." Maya dropped her head in defeat. "I'm gonna say Hi to your parents."
"I'll be here," Maya said as he headed off. "Waiting somewhat impatiently!" she called after him. Jon acted like he hadn't heard her but his shoulders shaking from silent laughter were betraying him mercilessly.
Maya made her way over to where Riley, Farkle and Josh were already standing and said Hi to them, when Topanga suddenly clapped her hands together, calling everyone's attention to her. "Dinner's ready!"
An hour later, everybody was leaning back in their chairs, completely full and happy. Nobody had felt the need to talk much during dinner, they were all too busy enjoying the delicious food Topanga had provided them with.
"That was amazing, Topanga!" Shawn praised.
"It really was," Cory chimed in and everyone else nodded in agreement.
Topanga had a proud expression on his face as she smiled at them. "Thanks, guys."
And for another little while, a comfortable silence spread over the table. Eventually, Shawn raised his head and looked over to where his wife and daughter were sitting. They were already looking back at him and after gazing at each other for a moment, the three of them nodded almost simultaneously and Shawn proceeded to clear his throat. "So, I think now's as good a time as any," he started and looked around a bit nervously. "There's something Katy and I would like to tell all of you."
For a moment, nobody said anything, simply waiting for Shawn to continue. When he didn't, Cory quickly cleared his throat and tried to help his friend out. "We're all ears, Shawnie," he said. "It's nothing bad, is it?"
"No, it isn't," Katy quickly jumped in and relieved expressions spread over everyone's faces
"It really isn't," Shawn agreed. "It's actually something good … really good actually," he started rambling.
"Shawn, what is it?" Topanga exclaimed in mock-exasperation, causing everyone else to chuckle. "We're dying here!"
"Katy and I are thinking about adopting," Shawn finally blurted out.
"What?" "Oh my God!" "Really?" "This is brand new information!" were some of the reactions Maya was able to make out coming from all the people currently assembled in the Matthews apartment. However, something sounded … off about them.
"Wait a minute," Shawn suddenly said, looking a bit confused. He looked around the table, pointing to each person he now addressed. "You, I told already." That was Cory. "Which means you know as well."
"Katy actually told me," Topanga corrected sheepishly. "She wanted to know about the legal side of things."
Shawn nodded. "And of course, I told you." With that he meant Jon. "How do you kids know?"
"Ava told me!" Auggie exclaimed.
"Ava, who told you?" Katy inquired.
"Topanga!" Ava called, pointing to the older woman.
"No, I didn't," the woman in question immediately said.
"Well, maybe not directly," Ava admitted sheepishly. "I might have overheard you talking to Miss Katy."
"Ava!" Topanga exclaimed.
"What?" Ava raised her hands defensively. "It's not my fault there are no doors in your apartment." Well, that was something not even Topanga Lawrence-Matthews, attorney-in-law, could dispute.
"Anyway," Shawn moved on. "What about you? Cory-with-Topanga's-hair? Little Minkus?"
"Maya told me," Riley explained.
"And Riley told me," Farkle added.
"Of course." Shawn nodded. "And you, Little Matthews? Your niece as well?"
"Actually, Maya told me," Josh said.
"You told Josh?" Riley inquired and Maya nodded. "When?"
"Last night," Maya said, not quite understanding what the big deal was.
"Really?" Riley eyebrows shot up and a knowing smile slowly spread across her face. Farkle took a moment longer to connect the dots, but soon a similar expression appeared on his face. "Well, would you look at that."
"So let me get this straight," Shawn finally took over again. "Everyone already knew about the big news we wanted to share with you tonight?" Everyone nodded at that. "Katy, why were we so nervous about coming here again?"
Katy looked at her husband with raised eyebrows. "What do you mean we?" And once again, everyone started laughing before congratulating the Hunters and asking questions over questions about the adoption.
A little while later, someone else at the table with a piece of brand new information cleared his throat. "While we're doing the whole announcement thing, there's actually something I wanted to share with all of you as well," Jonathan said.
Maya perked up at that and looked over at her former teacher expectantly. "Finally," she muttered, causing Riley, who was seated on her left, and Josh, who was seated on her right, to simultaneously shove her lightly. "What the …!" Maya looked from her roommate to her roommate's uncle incredulously while those two merely giggled.
"Nice timing, Uncle Josh!" Riley praised as she held her hand out to him.
"Likewise, niece!" Josh quickly high-fived the brunette.
Maya looked over at Farkle helplessly. "Do they have a habit of conspiring against people?"
Farkle just chuckled while rolling his eyes. "Don't ask," he said. "You get used to it."
"Anyway," Jonathan interrupted the bickering teenagers. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted …" The four college students gave him sheepish glances and he smiled at them. "I'm seeing someone."
"What?!" "Who?" "Since when?" "Wow, that's great!" "Congratulations, Jon!" were only a few of the various exclamations that immediately came from all ends of the dining table, causing Jon to chuckle nervously while resembling a deer caught in headlights.
"If you'd let me get a word in …," Jon interrupted the animated chatter that was currently surrounding him. Immediately, everyone clamped their mouths shut and looked at the older man expectantly. "I would try and start answering all those questions." He took a deep breath. "Kat Tompkins," was everything he said. The four college students along with Katy, Ava and Auggie just looked at each other, confused as to whether they should be familiar with this particular name.
"Kat Tompkins," Shawn said slowly, trying the name out for himself. "Now why does this name sound familiar. I could swear I've heard it before."
"I know what you mean, Shwanie," Cory agreed. "It does ring a bell, but I can't seem to recall which one."
"Kat Tompkins," Topanga was next to mutter the name while still in deep thought. Suddenly her eyes lit up with recognition and a big grin made its way onto her face. "Not Kat Tompkins as in Miss Tompkins? As in our former teacher?"
"Ahhhh!" "No way!" Cory and Shawn exclaimed.
"The one and the same." Jon smiled at his former students.
"But how?" Topanga inquired. "I know you two used to date, but I didn't know you were still in touch."
"We weren't," Jon admitted. "After we broke up, we lost contact and then I had my accident. After, I sometimes thought about looking her up, see how she was doing, but I guess I was too much of a coward. For all I knew, she could've been married with three kids and a dog."
"The one that got away," Katy quietly added.
"Then how?" Maya repeated Topanga's question, starting to get really curious as well.
"Well, dear Maya." Jon gave his former student a sheepish grin. "It was because of you, actually."
"Me?" The girl's eyes went wide.
"In a way, yeah," Jon confirmed. "She's the principal of a school right here in New York. We ran into each other during my first week here when I made an appointment with said principal." Right, Jonathan was the new Superintendent of the New York Board of Education. "Imagine my surprise when I walked into the office and saw her sitting there, waiting for me."
"Oh, are you two working together again?" Shawn asked curiously. "I remember you two always working late … oh," he trailed off, remembering a certain episode from the time he'd lived with Jon back in high school.
"And you got the idea to come here to New York because of Maya," Katy concluded, giving her daughter a loving smile.
"Exactly." Jonathan nodded.
"So, she isn't married?" Riley inquired.
"She was," Jon corrected. "They divorced five years ago. She also has two kids, a boy and a girl."
"Wow." Shawn's eyes went wide. "Time really has gone by."
Jonathan nodded. "Anyway, we had our meeting and decided to grab coffee the next day to catch up a bit," he continued his story. "Well, and then one thing led to another, coffee turned into dinner and one kinda-date turned into many real ones." He shrugged. "I like her," he said simply, a lovestruck expression clearly evident on his face.
"Wow," Topanga said, a warm smile on her face. "That's one hell of a love story, Jon."
"Has the potential to rival ours, doesn't it?" Shawn turned to Katy with a wink and a teasing glint in his eyes. Katy merely giggled, shaking her head at her husband's statement.
"I beg to differ, Shawnie," Cory interrupted. "Everybody knows that 'The Story of Cory and Topanga' is one for the ages. However, your two cute little stories can share a nice second place." The whole table erupted in laughter at that. It was common knowledge after all.
"Why didn't you bring her today, Shawn?" Topanga asked curiously.
"I hadn't told any of you before and I didn't want to blindside you guys," Jon explained.
"Well, you have to bring her by next time," Cory immediately offered and everyone nodded their agreement. "We'd love to have her."
"I will, thank you, Matthews." Jon smiled before turning to look at Shawn, a slightly insecure expression suddenly crossing his face. "What do you say, Shawn?"
Shawn pretended like he needed a minute to think about it, making his former teacher sweat in the process. "Well, I've always liked her," Shawn said simply. And with that, everything had been said.
Maya caught Jonathan's eye and gave the older guy an encouraging smile. She was so happy for him. For as long as she'd known the man, he had never had a serious partner. Yeah, he had dated a bit but nothing had seemed to stick. Maya had never had the impression that Jon was missing something or that he was unhappy in any way, so neither her nor her parents had ever pushed. But now, seeing him talking about Kat Tompkins, telling stories about both the past and the present with a giddy smile on his face, she couldn't remember having ever seen him so at peace and happy.
It made her think. Yeah, love could hurt. But it could also do this. And if love had the ability to bring such happiness to a man, such happiness that could be recognized immediately, then it couldn't be all bad, could it? Without meaning to, Maya glanced over to where Josh was seated beside her. She thought back to their conversation by the pond yesterday and that one little word that had quickly become associated with him. Someday. Maybe, the girl thought. Who knows?
Almost exactly one week later, Maya stepped off a plane at the Seattle airport right behind her parents. She took a deep breath while taking a look at her surroundings. She followed the older Hunters to baggage claim and quickly grabbed hold of her suitcase. It wasn't overly big, they'd only planned on spending the weekend after all, but still heavy enough for Shawn to quickly take pity on the petite blond and grab hold of the item.
"Thanks, Dad." Maya smiled as she fell into step beside him and her mom.
"Anytime, kiddo," Shawn assured as they made their way outside.
The sunshine blinded the girl at first and her eyes had to adjust a bit before she could make out her surroundings. So, this was Seattle, she thought. Feeling both nervous and excited, she fell back a bit and opted to follow after her parents. Or rather her father, since he was walking in a certain direction, his steps sure and unwavering.
Peeking around him, Maya could see a man around her father's age waving them towards him. The man was tall with dark skin and hair. He wore jeans, a T-shirt and a light jacket over it. His face was clean-shaven, his hair short and there was a warm smile on his face. "Shawn!" he called over in greeting.
"Logan!" Shawn called back and immediately pulled the other guy into a tight hug as he reached him. "It's good to see you again, man."
"Likewise," Logan agreed. The two men separated and Logan looked at the two women curiously. "Hi, I'm Logan," he introduced himself before coming over to shake first her mother's hand and then hers. "You two must be Katy and Maya."
"How did you know?" Katy joked good-naturedly as she shook the guy's hand.
"Oh, Shawn here talked so much about the both of you on his last trip here, I feel like I know you already." Logan laughed warmly as he shook hands with Maya and the girl couldn't help but join in.
"Aw, Dad!" she teased her father. "You old softie!"
"Well, can you blame me?" Shawn walked over to stand in between both his girl's and through an arm around each of them. "I missed you girls!"
"We missed you too," Katy told him and Maya nodded her agreement as Shawn tightened his hold on both of them.
"Wow, you three are just adorable, aren't you?" Logan asked, a teasing glint in his eyes. "And you're so different from the old Shawn I knew, I already noticed last time you were here. Good different."
"I am." Shawn nodded. "And it's all down to those two beautiful ladies right here."
"You chose good, Shawn," Logan complimented.
"I know." Shawn grinned. "Took me long enough to find them."
The four of them stood together in a comfortable silence a little while longer before Maya's stomach made itself known – quite loudly. The three adults chuckled and the girl let out an embarrassed laugh. "Sorry, breakfast's been a while."
"Well, we do have some time before we have to be at school for class," Logan said, looking at his watch. "How about an early lunch?"
The three Hunters looked at each other conspiratorially. "Sounds perfect!"
After a big lunch at a nice Italian restaurant, the four of them made their way to Logan's school. It was Friday and his art class met during the afternoon. He had let his students know that there would be two guests – Maya and Shawn – joining them this weekend to help him out with the lesson.
Once at school, Katy quickly got settled in the teachers' lounge with a big cup of coffee. Before the other three had even left, the older blonde had already struck up a conversation with a female teacher who was on her free period and those two seemed to be having quite a good time. Glad that her mom was all set and not about to be bored out of her mind while they were in class, she followed after Shawn and Logan towards the classroom.
Suddenly Shawn's phone started ringing. He looked down and Maya assumed he would just turn it off, but he quickly got a torn expression on his face. Looking up at the other two people waiting for him, Shawn sighed. "I gotta take this," he said. "Is it okay if I join you guys a bit later?"
"Sure thing," Logan immediately assured before looking over at Maya. "You alright, Maya?"
Maya took a deep breath. Yeah, she wanted to be a teacher, but so far she hadn't had much of a chance to practice standing in front of a class, so when Logan asked Shawn if he'd like to come by his class again now that he was back in the city, they thought it was a nice opportunity for Maya to get in some practice as well. The original plan had been for Shawn to start off and, once she felt comfortable, for Maya to take over. Now it seemed like she'd have to both start and improvise a bit on how to do it. However, maybe this wouldn't be the worst thing, Maya thought. Sometimes you just had to jump. "Yeah," she assured both Logan and her father. "It'll be fine."
Giving a reassuring smile to his daughter, Shawn headed off to find a quieter spot to take the call. Maya took another calming breath just as Logan was opening the door for the both of them. "You ready?" he asked.
"Ready." Maya nodded and the two of them walked inside.
"Good morning, guys!" Logan called towards his class and Maya was taken a bit aback by how firm and solid his voice suddenly sounded. His posture was different as well, he stood up a bit straighter and it even appeared as if he suddenly were a few inches taller. He still had this cool, relaxed and laid-back air around him, but he also suddenly looked … like a real teacher. An authority figure, someone the students could look up to and respect. Wow, Maya thought. Yeah, Logan was still the same guy she had met earlier today, but somehow he seemed different at the same time, having changed in only a matter of seconds as he entered the classroom.
Maya suddenly felt a little insecure. Would she ever be this comfortable in front of a whole bunch of students? Right now, she was feeling pretty nervous and a bit doubtful whether she could pull this whole teacher things off.
"So, as promised I brought a guest with me this week," Logan continued to address his students while Maya was trying to calm her nerves. She looked through the rows of about 25 students and suddenly another thought hit her. Somewhere in this room her possible future foster brother was sitting. She didn't know what he looked like, though, so it was hard to guess who it could be. Before she had a chance to ponder more about that, Logan started talking again. "Guys, meet Maya. She's a student at NYU majoring in art. She's in Seattle over the weekend and agreed to come by and help out for today, right, Maya?"
"Yeah, that's right." Okay, that was it, Maya thought. She could do this. "Thanks for having me here. I'm really excited to get to know all of you a bit. Mr. Carter has already told me loads about how talented you are." Maya went on and talked a bit about her classes and what kind of art she herself did. Some students soon started raising their hands to ask her questions or contribute with their own opinions. And somehow, once she started talking to the students, things didn't seem so scary anymore. And the more she talked, the more comfortable Maya felt. Huh, maybe that was the trick. Not to think too much, but just … jump.
And after a while, she even got up enough courage to share something with them. She had spent a lot of time during the week thinking about what she wanted to do with the class when an idea had come to mind. She had been a bit doubtful because it was rather personal but standing here and talking to a room full of art-loving and curious teenagers, that doubt suddenly went away. "Actually, I brought a little something to show you guys if you'd like to see it."
"What is it?" a girl called Regina, one of the students who had participated rather actively during the lesson so far, immediately asked.
"It's an assignment I had to do for one of my classes," Maya explained as she walked over to where her bag was lying right beside Logan. Realizing what the blonde wanted, the older teacher handed the bag over to her, an encouraging smile on his face. Seeing how well Maya handled herself and the class, he had decided to stay in the background a bit. He was still there, ready to jump in if needed, but so far Maya managed to keep the students' attention trained on herself and he could see that the kids were enjoying listening to someone else beside him for a change.
"What was the assignment?" a boy called Theo inquired curiously.
A soft smile started playing on Maya's face as she put her bag down once more. She turned towards the blackboard, searched for a crayon and started writing: Paint your own haven. The students – and Logan himself – waited patiently for her to continue writing or to add something to the assignment verbally. But she didn't.
"That's it?" another girl, Emily, asked skeptically.
Maya chuckled. "It was," she confirmed.
"That's not very … specific," another boy, whose name she hadn't yet learned, said slowly, unsure if his critique was appropriate.
"I agree," Maya said. "And I think I had the exact same look on my face when the professor wrote that one little sentence on the blackboard. Only he topped that by rushing off without saying another word, leaving us students completely in the loop as to what we're supposed to do."
"What did you do then?" Theo asked.
"Honestly?" she asked and the whole class nodded their heads eagerly. "I started panicking." The whole room burst out laughing and Maya chuckled along with them. "I mean, this was the first big assignment I'd been given since starting college and I had no idea how to go about it."
"But you did something," the still unknown boy from before pointed out, gesturing to the bag still at her feet.
"I did," Maya agreed, picking up the item. "I spent forever just thinking about what I could possibly draw, ended up dragging my best friend along with me through the streets of New York in order to maybe find some sort of inspiration." The students giggled at that image. "But you see, I was going about this all wrong. A haven doesn't need to be a certain place, it doesn't even need to be something that really exists somewhere. It has to be something, some place that provides you with a sense of security, of belonging … somewhere you feel at home." Maya trailed off a little bit. "And I did find an inspiration, but I didn't end up painting an exact replica of that place. Instead, I came up with something else." And with that, Maya pulled out her painted canvas from her bag. It was the picture she had painted that day at the pond. Seeing it again always made Maya smile.
She gave the students some time to have a look at it before addressing them again. "If you want to take a closer look or have a question, you can just come up front," she said. "But there's actually something I'd like you to do for your class today." Upon seeing the room full of curious gazes, Maya quickly elaborated. "I'd like you to do this assignment." She pointed to the blackboard. "I know it's not easy and there's no rush. You don't need to finish it today. But I really would like you guys to give it a shot. I can only speak for myself but painting this really helped me a lot. You guys okay with the assignment?" Slowly, still a bit unsure, all of them started nodding. "Perfect! Like I said, if you have any questions Mr. Carter and I will be right here. And remember, there's no right or wrong in art. Just … paint what feels right to you."
Suddenly, Maya saw movement on her left. She turned around and saw that her father, obviously finished with his phone call, was standing by the door, watching her with a proud expression on his face. She smiled at him, realizing that she now felt completely at ease in front of the class, before addressing the students once more. "And would you look at that, Mr. Hunter has finally decided to graze us with his presence."
The students, who had already started sorting their painting or drawing equipment, quickly raised their heads and Maya could see recognition in most of their faces as they greeted her father. He talked to them for a little while, just catching up with the whole class, and Maya let her gaze wander the rows again. Most students looked at him with a friendly smile, but there was one student whose demeanor, upon seeing the older man, had changed completely. It was the boy who had addressed Maya a little earlier, whose name she hadn't known, had perked up in his seat and had his eyes now trained firmly on her dad. Finishing his greetings by sending the students off to get back to their assignment, Shawn let his gaze fall on said boy as well. He gave the teenager a smile and a nod and the boy's face lit up, a bright smile spreading across his face. Maya could also see something glimmer in his eyes, something she recognized right away. It was hope.
Letting the students work in silence for a little while, Maya went over to where Logan and Shawn were already standing. "Shawn, your daughter's a natural," Logan complimented in a low voice before addressing Maya herself. "Maya, I know you were nervous at first, but for your first time teaching a class, you did great!"
"Thanks, Logan," Maya said, her cheeks glowing at the praise. "It was a bit scary at first, but I had a lot of fun."
"Seems like the kids did too," Shawn pointed out, gesturing to where the students were eagerly working on their assignment, talking amongst themselves in low voices in order to brainstorm their ideas.
The first students started raising their hands and the three adults quickly spread out. Maya could see her father heading towards Jasper and decided to give those two some time to catch up. The two of them immediately started talking, smiles on both their faces, and Maya walked over to Regina to help the girl, also with a smile on her face.
A little while later, Shawn and Logan were both busy with students, Maya couldn't contain her curiosity any longer. Making sure that everyone else was set, she made her way to where Jasper was sitting. The boy was currently not working on his own assignment, but rather eyeing Maya's drawing, that was still displayed at the front of the class, with a curious gaze. The girl took a closer look at the boy. Even with him sitting down, Maya could tell that he was tall, taller than her (not that that was a hard thing to be) and, though not overly muscular, he seemed to be fit and athletic. He had dark blonde hair and greyish-green eyes.
"How do you like it?" Maya asked softly, a warm smile on her face.
Jasper startled, having obviously not expected the company. He looked up to where Maya was now standing beside him before clearing his throat. "I like it," he said simply. "The way you combined two rather different places, made them blend together to just … fit. It's an interesting idea and I like how you pulled it off."
"Thank you," Maya said earnestly. "And it's not just two places …" she trailed off, not quite sure why she had said that.
"Sorry?" Jasper asked.
"Oh, nothing." Maya hesitated. Shawn had said that Jasper had gone through some rough times himself, so maybe he would get it. She took a deep breath. "It's not just two places, it's two different points in life as well. Two different points in my life."
"Old and new?" Jasper asked, gesturing first to the left and then to the right.
"How do you figure?" Maya asked. He was right, of course, but she really wanted to know how he knew.
"The place on the right somehow seems more real … like I could reach out and touch it," Jasper explained slowly. "The one on the left seems like it's right out of a dream or a fairy tale. Too good to be true."
Maya was stunned. She hadn't even intended to paint it that way, but, of course, it made sense that she might have glorified the image of the pond of her childhood over the years. She had painted it from memory after all and in her mind it still was the fairy-tale-esque place her mother and her had always escaped to while she had been a little girl.
"Not bad," Maya complimented. "And you're right."
Jasper gave her a small grin before a shy expression crossed his face. "You're the Maya, aren't you? Shawn's daughter?"
"Yeah, I am." Maya gave the younger boy a smile. "And you must be Jasper. It's really nice to meet you."
"You too," Jasper replied. "You know, your dad talks about you a lot. He really loves you."
Maya smiled as she looked over to where Shawn was still busy talking to another student. "I love him too. He's the best dad I could ask for." She turned her gaze back on the teenager in front of her. "And he's talked about you quite a bit as well."
Jasper looked down for a moment before meeting her eyes again. "So, I take it you know about … you know?"
"My parents talking about being your new foster parents?" Jasper nodded. "Yeah, I do."
"And would you … be okay with that?" Jasper asked carefully. "You know, kinda … sharing them with … me?"
Maya's heart broke upon hearing the insecurity in his voice and suddenly she knew exactly what had made Shawn want to help this guy. He was an innocent kid who'd had bad things happen to him without any fault of his own, just like both Maya and Shawn. But unlike them he had no one in his life to help him. Well, until now. "Yeah, I'd be very okay with that," Maya said earnestly. And in that moment, she meant it one hundred percent. There was something about this kid. Something that made Maya feel like he would fit into their little family quite well.
"Yeah?" Jasper asked, his eyes slowly lighting up.
"You know, Jasper," Maya started. "I've always been an only child, so I don't really know anything about being a big sister … but I'd be willing to learn. You think you could help me with that?"
Jasper's eyes went wide. "Yeah," he immediately agreed. "Yeah, I could do that."
Maya and Jasper's first meeting couldn't really have gone any better and Shawn was so glad about that. He'd been thrilled when he'd seen the way the boy's face had lit up upon seeing him return. Shawn knew that Logan had told Jasper about their plans, but apparently he hadn't let himself believe in it too much. At least until he had seen Shawn live and in the flesh.
Meeting Katy had gone just as smooth. The older blonde just had a way about her that made people in her general vicinity feel comfortable immediately and Jasper was no exception. The Hunters, Jasper and Logan had spent some more time talking after school and had been joined by Jasper's social worker, Natalie, as well. There were still some legal things to figure out and, of course, Katy and Shawn would have to meet Jasper's current foster parents as well but, all in all, things seemed to be heading in the right direction.
Jasper and Natalie eventually went to Jasper's house to talk to his foster parents. Logan talked with the Hunters for a little while longer before heading home as well. Shawn, Katy and Maya then made their way to the hotel they were staying at for the weekend. There they got a phone call from Natalie, asking if they would be able to have dinner with the foster parents tonight. They agreed immediately, after making sure that Maya would be alright with staying at the hotel by herself.
Maya watched the two of them get ready with an amused smile on her face and a worn-out copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on her lap. The two elder Hunters were rushing around the apartment, getting ready in record time and Maya breathed a sigh of relief once they were both out the door. However, they simultaneously rushed back in and each placed a kiss on their daughter's forehead. Maya giggled before shoving them back out the door, wishing them Good Luck and asking them to bring her back a little brother please.
After reading for a little while, Maya's peace was suddenly disturbed by the sound of her phone starting to ring. Reaching over to the nightstand, she grabbed the item and, upon seeing who was facetiming her, Maya immediately smiled. "Riles!"
"Hey Maya!" the other girl called back. "How are you doing? You got yourself a little brother yet?"
Maya laughed at that. "Well, I told my parents to bring one back, so we'll see."
Riley's eyes went wide. "Come again?"
"They're out having dinner with Jasper's current foster parents and his social worker as we speak," Maya explained.
"Wow, things are moving fast," Riley said slowly. "How are you feeling about that, Maya?"
A genuine smile appeared on the blonde's face. "Good," she said simply. "Really good."
"Yay!" Riley exclaimed, grinning widely. "Oh, I'm so happy to hear that!"
"Me too, Riles," Maya assured. "I met Jasper today in class and … I saw what Dad saw in him. That boy deserved a good home and I really can't think of a better one than with my mom and dad. I really hope things go well tonight."
"Fingers crossed." Riley held up her hands at that. "I'm really excited to meet him."
"I think you'll get along just fine." Yeah, she'd only met the guy today, but she could already see him fitting in at home, with her and Riley … and Farkle and Josh. Speaking of which. "Hey, you alone?" Maya asked. It was Friday night after all. "Where are the guys?"
"They're out having a Guys' Night tonight," Riley revealed, giggling. "Though they promised to stop by later and hang with little old me since my roommate and best friend abandoned me."
Maya's heart welled up upon hearing Riley describe her as her best friend because she couldn't have agreed more. Meeting Riley had made Maya realize that something had been missing those last few years since Zay had left Possum Trot. "Love you, Riles." Maya grinned teasingly but meaning the sentiment one hundred percent.
"Well, I sure hope so," Riley replied. "Love you too, Maya!"
"Woah, Josh I think we just interrupted a very serious, emotional girls' talk," Maya could hear Farkle's voice coming from somewhere on Riley's side of the phone and she couldn't help but grin.
"I'll go get the ice cream, you go get the chick flicks," was everything Josh replied.
"Hey, no fair!" Maya complained. "Riley, could you turn the phone a bit?"
Riley chuckled. "Sure thing!"
"What's not fair, Hunter?" Josh asked, appearing in front of the camera and looking straight at her with a teasing expression.
"You talking about getting ice cream when I'm on the other side of the world!" Maya complained, completely aware that she was exaggerating and not caring a bit.
"You're on the other side of the country, not the world, Gorgeous!" he corrected good-naturedly.
"Huh, new nickname?" she asked, pretending to ponder. "And when it comes to ice cream, distance is relative!"
"Whatever you say." Josh laughed. "So, what do you say?"
"What do mean, what do I say?" Maya asked, exasperatedly. "Still no fair."
Josh rolled his eyes. "Not the ice cream. Aren't you staying at a hotel? With room service? I meant the nickname."
"Oh yeah." Maya's eyes lit up as she stood up, in search for the menu. "I can live with it."
"The room service?" Josh asked.
"The nickname, Matthews." Maya laughed.
Josh was silent for a moment. "Riles! Farkle! You better go get a shit-load of ice cream, 'cause I think the world's about to end!"
"You just keep on laughing, Handsome," Maya started, the nickname rolling off her lips effortlessly. "'Cause I just found the menu and there's a huge ice cream sundae on it that's calling my name very loudly right now. And you're not getting any of it!"
"Hey, no fair!" Josh exclaimed, copying Maya's earlier comment.
"You had it coming," Maya said simply.
"Oh man." Josh rolled his eyes. "You still wanna watch the chick flick with us?"
"You really doing that?" Maya asked, eyebrows raised.
"Riley and Farkle are picking out movies as we speak," Josh explained, looking to his left where the others probably were. "I think chances are it's gonna be 10 Things I Hate About You."
"I love that movie!" Maya gushed. "Okay, I'm in!"
"Perfect!" A big smile made its way onto Josh's face. "And really? Handsome?"
Dammit, Maya thought. He hadn't missed it. "Oh, shut up," she muttered causing Josh to burst out laughing once more. "Hey Josh?"
"Yeah?" he asked, sobering up upon seeing her serious expression.
"You know, I was never that good with talking to people about important things. Telling them when I felt uncomfortable and so on. I was always trying to be careful, I never wanted to cause any trouble," Maya revealed, referring to their conversation by the pond. "Thanks for making me do it."
"I did no such thing," Josh told her. "It was all you. I merely gave you a nudge in the right direction."
"Well then nudge away from now on, my friend." Maya giggled. "I think I might need it in the future."
"We'll make a rebel out of you yet," Josh teased.
"Whatever you say, Josh."