Chapter 11

"Cory. You have to come out." Topanga's exasperated voice pleaded with her husband. After finding out Riley was missing, with a boy no less, he locked himself in his study and refused to come out. Hours had passed since Riley came home, but he remained hidden away.

"Nope. Not Gonna happen."

Topanga rolled her eyes and leaned her head against the wooden door. "Will you at least let me come in?"

The lock on the door clicked and she let herself into the room. "Cory, you have to help me out here."

Cory shrugged his shoulders and gave her a sheepish smile, "What is there to help with? I think you're handling everything just fine, honey."

Her eyes narrowed to daggers and Cory knew he was only digging himself deeper into a hole. Topanga's sharp and sarcastic tone sliced through the air, "Oh I don't know, how about the fact that your son's room reeks of tequila and bad decisions?"

Cory covered his eyes with his hands and rubbed his face. "Oh Josh…"

Topanga's face broke into a wicked, borderline insane, grin, "You want another one? I'll give you another one." Her volume grew as she spoke, "How about the fact that your daughter stayed out all night last night with a boy, and all you can do about it is lock yourself in here like a coward!"

Cory sighed and dropped his hands. "I'm so sorry Topanga." He reached out and pulled his wife into a hug, "What happened to us? I thought we were doing a good job? I thought we were raising good kids?"

"We are raising good kids. They're growing up, but that doesn't mean they won't make mistakes along the way."

"Do they have to grow up?"

Topanga rolled her eyes, "Well somebody has to."

He violently shook his head back and forth like a stubborn toddler, "Nope. Not today. I call for a time stop."

"Cory, you know that's not going to happen. I can't do this alone. I need some support here."

Cory nodded his head. "I know. I know. You're right."

"So how about you talk to her and I talk to him?"

Cory shook his head and made a sound of disgust, "Ack! No!"

"Okay, you talk to him and I talk to her."

He shook his head again. "Ack! No!"

Topanga closed her eyes in frustration, "Then what do you suggest we do?"

"How about you talk to them and I'll talk to the dog."

"We don't have a dog."

"Oh really? Maybe we should get one, I hear they're lovely." Cory gave her an encouraging smile and nodded his head to back up the suggestion.

Topanga shook her head at him. Her tone was a warning, "Cory..."

He let out an exaggerated sigh, "Okay fine. You take him. I'll take her."

Topanga made a pit-stop in the kitchen, before climbing up the stairs. She gingerly opened the door to Josh's room. The curtains were pulled shut in an attempt to block out any light. He was laying on his bed, with a pillow over his face.

"Joshua, it's time to wake up…" Her voice was sickeningly sweet. Topanga scrunched up her nose as a thick foul stench of alcohol hit her. She walked to the tightly closed curtains and violently whipped them open. Bright sunlight flooded the room.

"RISE AND SHINE!"

She repeatedly banged a wooden spoon against a metal pot from the kitchen.

Josh jerked from the bed with a loud grunt. "Ma? What the hell?" He covered his ears and winced as pain shot through his throbbing head.

"Good morning, my bright, wonderful, good decision making son."

Josh groaned and fell back against the bed. He was busted. So, so busted.

Topanga stopped banging the pot, "Oh I'm sorry. Is this noise bothering you?"

His voice was hoarse and cracked as he spoke, "Stop it."

She sat on the bed next to him and gave him her best baby voice, "aww, does somebody have a wittle headache?"

"Mooom…"

"I'll make you breakfast, or should I say lunch...How does a nice big glass of milk and, oh I don't know, a pungent fresh salmon bagel sound?"

Josh's stomach lurched. "Not. Funny."

"Joshua Gabriel Matthews, what on earth would possess you to get drunk like this? This isn't you."

"If you're looking for your perfect child, go across the hall."

Topanga's heart stopped for a moment and her tone softened, "Josh, listen to me. I don't expect you to be perfect. Neither one of you. Just tell me what happened last night."

Josh rubbed his face with his hands, "I don't know. I didn't plan on getting drunk."

Topanga raised her eyebrows at him, "How exactly did you plan your night to go? Why would you start drinking?"

How did he plan his night? A delusional image fluttered in his mind. An image of himself with Maya, nestled in a corner booth at a cafe, sipping on lattes and talking about her latest artistic inspiration. His arm was draped around her shoulders and his lips would tease hers with sporadic chaste kisses.

"I don't know."

"That's all you can say for yourself?"

Josh sighed, "Yeah, that and I'm sorry."

"What if you didn't have friends caring enough to get you home? What would you have done? Driven yourself?"

It was Josh's turn to roll his eyes. "No Mom. I'm stupid, but I'm not a moron."

Topanga wasn't buying it. She knew her son wasn't dumb enough to give into peer pressure. She knew he wouldn't act this way without a reason. She needed to know the truth. Where exactly could she count on finding the true inner workings of a teenager's mind?

She snatched his phone away from the night stand.

"Hey!" Josh protested, but Topanga gave him a warning look. He wasn't afraid of getting himself in trouble, he was afraid she would see the messages Maya and Lucas sent to Riley.

"You won't be needing this for the next two weeks."

Topanga looked at the phone. There were at least 50 messages from Maya. They all said the same thing.

Riley. Call me. ASAP.

Topanga should have known Riley would use Josh's phone after losing hers. She noticed Josh replied to a few of the messages, wanting to know what the emergency was, but Maya ignored him. There was also a message from Lucas,

Riley, I am so sorry for what happened. Keeping you out all night was never my intention. I'll see you at school, Beautiful.

She tapped the phone icon and narrowed her eyes at Josh's recent call list. He tried to call Maya, twice. The shortness of the each call duration told her that Maya didn't want to speak to him.

Topanga thought back to last night.

When she arrived home from her date with her husband, she expected to find her house quiet, with all of her kids in their beds, including Maya. Or maybe the kids would be up late watching a movie, she didn't mind. As long as they were home. She was not expecting to arrive to a dark house, filled with the sound of crying from her daughter's room.

She rushed up the stairs and gently opened the door.

"Riley? Honey?"

But it wasn't Riley. It was Maya. Riley was nowhere in sight. Topanga knew she saw her daughter's car parked in front of the house. So where was Riley?

"Maya? Sweetie what's wrong? Where's Riley?"

Topanga entered the room and sat down on the bed next to Maya. Maya sniffled and attempted to wipe the tears away, as if Topanga hadn't already seen them. "Um..it's nothing. Just stupid boys."

Topanga put her arm around Maya and pulled her into a mother's loving hug, "Boys are stupid honey. Trust me I know, I married one."

Maya laughed softly and leaned onto Topanga's shoulder. "Yeah they are."

"What happened? Maybe I can help?"

Maya shook her head. "I messed up..." hot tears began to fall again, "...I saw him with another girl tonight...and it hurt...and then he told me he loved me...and I don't know what to do now."

"Oh honey." Topanga rubbed her shoulder, "It sounds like you have feelings for this boy."

Maya shook her head, "I don't know."

"Maya, Cory and I have been together for a very long time…"

"I know. You two came out of the womb married or something."

Topanga's shoulders shook slightly with her laugh, "Pretty much, but we've been through a lot. So, can I give a little advice? Love is unique. It's different for everyone. You might not understand how you feel right now, and that's okay. The best thing you can do is be honest with yourself. You deserve to feel love and be loved just as much as anyone else. If you have feelings for this boy, tell him how you feel, make sure he knows, and if he still wants to chase after other girls, he's not worth your time. You are amazing Maya. You are strong and any boy would be lucky to have you."

Maya nodded as Topanga brought her hand up to wipe her tears away. "Thank you Mrs. Matthews."

Back in the present moment, puzzle pieces were starting to fit together in Topanga's mind.

"I'll give you the same sentence I gave your sister. Grounded for two weeks. No phone. No car. No friends over."

"But Ma…" Josh protested, "how am I supposed to get to practice or to training?"

Topanga shrugged her shoulders as she left the room, "You'll have to figure it out."

Riley tried to fall asleep, but she couldn't. Her mind had never felt more alive. She replayed her night with Lucas over and over again. Her lips still tingled from the memory of their first kiss. When it became apparent that sleeping wasn't an option, she picked up her ukulele and began to play. Riley knew the ukulele wasn't the most ideal instrument to prepare for the musical audition with, but she liked how compact and easy it was to play. While at the school, she would indulge in the wider selection of instruments, but while she was at home, her trusty purple bedazzled ukulele was enough for her.

She lost track of time as she sang along. It was still bright outside so it couldn't be too late, maybe noon at the latest. Her fingertips twinged with stinging pain from repeatedly strumming the chords and she finally decided to take a break.

Her mother poked her head in the room without knocking. "Concert over?"

"Yeah come in." Riley stretched and sat cross-legged on her bed.

"Your father wants to speak with you."

She gulped loudly, "Okay, I'll be right down."

Riley descended the stairs and stood hesitantly outside of her father's study. The solid dark wooden door taunted her.

"You know it's not going to open on its own." Her brother's voice teased as he strolled past her.

He's right. Might as well get it over with. Riley took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in"

She tentatively pushed the door open and stepped inside. Her father was leaning, arms crossed, against his large wooden desk. His face was sullen.

"Hi Daddy."

Her meek voice seemed to break him. His demeanor softened, but he remained silent.

Riley looked down at the ground. "Daddy I know you're upset…"

"I'm beyond upset. I'm whatever the next one is."

"Dad, nothing happened, I swear."

Cory was silent. Nothing happened? Please. Lucas was a teenage boy. If there was one thing Cory knew, it was that you could never trust a teenage boy with your daughter. Maybe he was overreacting, but she was his little girl. He wasn't ready to let her go.

"I know."

Her head snapped up. "Wait what?"

"You're a good kid Riley. If you say nothing happened, then I believe you."

"You do?"

"Of course I do."

"Then what's with all of this?" Riley motioned to the room around them. She knew she got her dramatic nature from her father, but she didn't understand why he locked himself away. What was the big deal?

Cory sighed, "You're growing up and I'm not sure I'm ready for that. After everything you've been through...I guess I'm not ready to accept that boys are a thing now. You'll be off in your own beautiful little fantasy world where only the two of you exist. And what will I be? Nutin."

"Seriously that's what you're worried about?" Riley wrapped her arms around him, "I'm always going to be your little girl. Nothing will ever change that."

Cory held his daughter tighter in his arms. "I know."

"Can I ask you something?" Riley pulled away slightly.

Cory nodded, "I suppose so."

"Would you react the same way if it were Josh who stayed out all night? And if he was with a girl?"

Cory's body went rigid. Riley had him on that one. She was completely right. He was holding a double standard and it wasn't okay. If he wasn't afraid of Josh growing up, he couldn't be afraid of Riley doing the same.

He shook his head, "You are definitely your mother's daughter. So Lucas Friar?"

"He's a good guy Dad. He's one of the good ones."

Cory sighed, "Riley…"

A sharp knock on the door broke them from their moment.

Josh's head poked into the room, "Hey Pop, is it alright if I borrow your car?"

"What do you need it for?"

"Uh, I need to run a couple of errands."

Riley snorted, "Since when do you have errands to run?"

Josh gave Riley a pointed look, "Since now."

Cory pulled his car keys from his pocket and tossed them to Josh. "Don't be gone long."

Josh caught them easily, "I won't be. Come on Riley. You're coming too."

"I am?"

Josh rolled his eyes and gave her another pointed look.

Riley suddenly understood, or at least hoped she did. "Oh! Right! I am. Let's go."

She followed Josh out of the room and quickly out of the house.

Topanga entered the study and looked around, "How did your talk with Riley go?"

Cory sat smugly at his desk, "Wonderful."

Topanga nodded her head and glanced around again. "Uh huh, and where exactly are the kids?"

"They had a few errands to run, I let them take my car."

Cory wasn't sure if it was possible, but Topanga's eyes flashed bright shining red.

"Cory. They. Are. Grounded." She growled through gritted teeth.

He nodded his head in agreement, "Right. They are."

Steam surged from her ears and her entire body shook as she yelled, "That means...YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO LET THEM LEAVE THE HOUSE!"

Cory's face fell, "Ohh…right."

"I can't believe you stayed out all night with Friar. Does that whole 'Beautiful' bit really work?"

Riley rolled her eyes from passenger seat of her father's Prius. "I can't believe you read my messages."

Josh shrugged his shoulders, "It's my phone."

He does have a point there. "Did they take yours too?"

"Yupp. So it looks like it's just you and me for the next two weeks." He nudged her shoulder and turned his attention back to the road.

"What happened to you last night?" Riley asked softly.

"I got drunk."

She rolled her eyes. "You know what I'm talking about. Since when have you been into Victoria? I saw you before I left."

"Who?"

"Seriously? Victoria? Captain of the Volleyball team? Tall? Dark hair? You were all over her."

Josh sighed. "I don't know what happened. I don't remember anything." He felt bad lying to her, but he couldn't face the truth. He was jealous. His mind was consumed by a green-eyed rageful monster. It had been creeping up on him like a poisonous vine ever since the beginning of school, and after he realized Zay had real feelings for Maya, it was starting to grow out of control. It's vice like grip practically strangled him when he saw Brett asking her out. What a dick. Josh knew Brett had to be missing a few brain cells from all of the chlorine in the pool, but didn't he know Maya was off limits? He thought he made that fact very clear to the guys in the locker room. He knew they would spread the word. The testosterone filled football players were talking about summer flings and hookups and the various girls they had their eyes on for the school year. They knew better than to bring up his little sister's name but, when a few of them mentioned Maya and how artists are supposed to be good in bed, Josh couldn't help the sarcastic grunt that came out of his mouth. They had no clue. Words were flowing out of his mouth before he could stop them. "You idiots don't have a chance in hell getting with Maya."

The guys erupted in a chorus of smug ohs and wolf whistles. Johnny, the linebacker who brought up Maya's name, challenged him, "Oh yeah? And you do?"

Josh smirked, "Guys I've already been there. Have been for a while." He immediately felt bad for saying it, but he couldn't stand the thought of anyone else being with her the way he had.

But that was just the beginning and the green-eyed monster wasn't done with him yet.

The last thing he could remember from the party was Maya hugging Jake's brother. A college guy? He couldn't compete with that. Sharp claws clutched into his mind. A crushing sensation of doubt weighed him down. He never felt that way before. He knew Maya didn't owe him anything. She never has. He thought that if he tried to distract himself with someone else, the feeling would go away and the monster would leave him alone. So, he found the first girl who would talk to him and chugged a beer.

He dreamt last night that Maya snuck into his room like she always did, but this was different. Instead of hooking up with her, he told her he loved her.

The dream terrified him.

Maya used to just be his little sister's friend, practically another annoying sister to him. She used to be tiny with an untamable mane of blonde curls, always flowing in every direction. She wore ratty overalls, covered in the aftermath of her arts and crafts projects. Her pant legs would bunch at her ankles, just barely allowing her blue converse to peak out from beneath. Their fridge became her first art gallery, constantly covered in cards and drawings, usually given to Riley as gifts. She was feistier than ever and would demand he join whatever new made up game she and Riley were playing. Her icy blue eyes would light up with delight when she was up to no good, something they still did.

The summer of Freshman year, Josh came home from football camp and everything changed. He was at the diner with the team, the bell dinged on the door and in strolled a petite blonde. Arm hooked with his little sister's, her smooth curls blew in the wind as she walked past him. Her smirk made the temperature in the room rise. Her tattered overalls were replaced by a short flannel dress, chunky heeled-boots and a form fitting black leather jacket. Her face was older and more mature. The team wolf whistled and catcalled the girls as they walked by. Maya looked at Josh and kinked an eyebrow at him, her eyes twinkled with mischief. The girl who was once his sister's goofy little friend was long gone. She looked dangerous. She looked...

"Wow Maya. You sure grew up gorgeous."

Maya winked at him, "Thanks Boing."

"Hellooooooo? Earth to Josh?" Riley waved a hand in front of his face.

He shook his head and tried to push the memory away. "Sorry I zoned out."

Riley scoffed at him. "Are you sure you didn't do anything else illegal last night, other than drinking?"

"Very funny." He deadpanned.

"This whole thing doesn't have anything to do with a certain blonde named Maya? Does it?"

Josh swiftly changed the subject. "Let's talk about you. What happened with you and Lucas? Do I need to kick his ass?"

"You will not kick anyone's ass. I was feeling really anxious at the party, so Lucas and I left. We were just talking and lost track of time." Riley decided to omit the whole kissing and falling asleep together part.

Josh glanced at her from the corner of his eye and gave her a knowing smirk, "Uh huh...just talking…"

Riley couldn't hide her smile even if she tried. "Shut up."

"I don't want to know the mushy details, you can save that for Maya, but I wanna make sure he treats you right. He didn't...you know...try anything on you did he?"

Riley rolled her eyes at her protective brother, "No. You have nothing to worry about. Lucas was a perfect gentleman, unlike you."

As if he didn't feel bad enough, guilt caused his stomach to feel even more nauseous than he already was.

The party. Riley.

He was so caught up in himself, he forgot he was supposed to be looking out for her.

"Oh shit. Riles," he groaned, "I'm so sorry. I completely abandoned you at the party."

Riley looked out of the window at the town square. "It's okay. I had Maya with me and then Lucas."

"No it's not okay. You're my baby sister, I'm supposed to look out for you. I know Missy was there. Did she give you any trouble after Maya's whole milkshake thing?"

Riley made a mental note to check for a bruise on her ribs later. "Not really. She mainly just glared at me. We had a little bit of a run in, but Lucas handled it."

Josh nodded. He would have to be on high alert for Missy's next strike. "So two weeks huh? How are you and Maya going to survive?"

"I have no idea."

He wondered if Riley realized she wouldn't be the only one suffering from the house ban on Maya.

"Where exactly are we going?" Riley questioned.

"I need to get my car from Jake's house, but first…" He turned the car down a familiar road and pulled into the parking lot of the shiny silver diner. "I thought we could make a little pit stop."

The bell on the door tinkled as Riley threw it open, "Peaches?"

Maya sprinted from behind the counter and threw her arms around Riley. "Riley! What are you doing here? I thought they grounded you?"

Riley squeezed her back, "They did but, Josh broke me out."

Just as she spoke the words, Josh walked through the door. "Hello Kitten."

Maya immediately retreated away from Riley and back behind the counter. "Riley do you want anything?"

"No, I'm okay." She answered and took a seat at the counter.

Josh took the seat next to Riley, "I could go for Chubby's classic hangover cure."

Maya turned her back to him and began fiddling with coffee maker. "Sorry. I'm kinda swamped right now."

Josh looked around the near empty diner and gave Maya's back a confused look, "there's like four people here."

Maya slammed the coffee pot onto the warmer and quickly turned to face Riley. "Bay window. Bay window right now."

"Maya we don't have a…" Before Riley could finish, Maya ducked under the counter and grabbed her hand.

"Chubby I'm taking my ten!" She called over her shoulder as she pulled Riley into the ladies' restroom.

The door swung shut and Maya collapsed onto a pink floral couch lining the wall.

"Maya? What's going on?"

Maya let out an audible sigh of relief. "Riley I am so so sorry!"

Riley took a seat next to her on the couch, "what do you need to be sorry for?"

"For telling your mom you were with Lucas. I'm so sorry I didn't mean to. Zay and I had to bring Josh home from the party, he was completely wasted. I tried to call you, but your phone was dead. So I waited for you to get home. Your parents came home first and I didn't have enough time to get out the window. Your mom found me. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay Peaches. Even if you got out, my mom would have already seen my car, and we both know nothing gets past her."

"I know but I still feel terrible. I left through the window the first chance I got." Maya didn't want to admit to Riley the real reason why she left. Being in the same house as Josh was just too painful. She needed to get out. She needed space to think.

Maya mentally scolded herself at the thought. Numb remember? You need to be n-Oh who am I kidding? "So what happened to you? Where did you and Huckleberry disappear to?"

Riley replayed every detail of her night with Lucas. Maya squealed with excitement. "So Hop-Along finally got his moment!"

Riley let out a dreamy sigh and leaned back against the lumpy pillows. "It was magical. Like when it's summer and then the breeze comes up and then it rains for like two seconds and then everything glows and there's a rainbow…"

Riley trailed off, but Maya finished her sentence for her, "And then the world feels at peace, and little sparks make you feel warm all over, and you feel alive for the first time…" Maya's heart twisted in her chest as she spoke.

"Yeah, just like that." Riley added softly.

They were both quiet for a minute before Riley spoke again, "You and Zay looked liked you were having a good time. Did anything happen between you?"

"Nope." Maya announced, popping the p sound for emphasis.

Something didn't feel right to Riley, but she decided to ignore it. "Did something happen between you and Josh? I know you saw him with Victoria…"

Maya repeated her same answer from before. "Nope."

"Peaches…"

Maya sighed again. "It's nothing Riles. Josh just got super drunk and it doesn't really matter."

Riley could hear the pain in her voice, "Maya…"

Maya's voice quivered, "Riley, I can't do this. Not right now. I need some time."

"As soon as you're ready, I'll be right here. Always...Thunder?" She held up her hand and waited for Maya to join her.

Maya laughed softly, "Lightning...forever. So grounded huh?"

Riley groaned. "Yes. Two weeks. I've never been grounded before in my life."

"Two weeks? What am I supposed to do for two weeks without you?"

Riley bit her lip in a cheeky grin. "Well….maybe you can figure out the whole lotta nothing going on between you, Zay and my brother…"

Maya perked up from the couch, "Oh what's that noise? I think Chubby's calling me, gotta go." She bolted towards the door.

"Very funny. You could at least try…" Riley's ears were met with the sound of the swinging door.

Riley shook her head and followed Maya back into the diner. She hopped onto the stool in front of the counter again.

"Here Riles, I'll make you a shake."

Riley grinned, "Chocolate?"

"Hey! What about my hangover cure?" Josh whined. Judging from the mess on the counter, he had been entertaining himself by building a pyramid out of little containers of grape jelly.

Maya ignored him and began making Riley's milkshake, "Yes chocolate and I'll even put whip cream and rainbow sprinkles on it."

Josh was quickly growing annoyed. Why was she ignoring him? "Make that to-go Maya, Riley and I have to get going."

Maya poured the thick drink into a styrofoam to-go cup and slid it across the counter to Riley, who happily placed a straw in and started drinking.

Oh so that she heard? Josh mentally growled. He shoved the car keys into Riley's hand and turned to her, "Go start the car. I'll be right there."

Riley nodded and waved goodbye to Maya as she walked through the glass front door. Maya quickly slid from behind the counter and began refilling the drinks of the few customers scattered around the room. She rolled her eyes when Josh didn't move from his spot.

"What do you want?" She groaned, refusing to face him, as she placed the water pitcher down on the counter. Josh reached out to grab her arm, but she slipped out of his grasp and back behind the counter. That didn't stop him, he stood from the stool and followed her.

Josh reached out for her again, his fingertips grazed her arm. "Kitten…"

For a second Maya wanted to give into his touch. She wanted to tangled herself in his arms and feel safe again, like last night never happened. But she couldn't. The memory of his lips on her neck burned. The mental image of him wrapped up with Victoria reminded her of their reality.

"You're not supposed to be back here."

"I don't care. I want to know why you're acting like this."

Maya turned her back to him, "You know, we don't serve tequila here. So you should probably leave."

Josh narrowed his eyes at her. This was about the party? "Maya…"

She whipped back around and shoved his chest. "You need to leave."

He didn't budge. He didn't know how he missed it before, it was so painfully obvious. His gut wrenched at the sight of a slightly faded hickey on the side of her neck. A hickey he knew he couldn't belong to him. Riley said he was with that Victoria girl all night.

Without another word, he turned and left the diner.

AN

Fun fact: Josh is a dummy.

Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews on the last chapter! I love reading them so much! Let me know what you thought of this chapter, I re-wrote it so many times. I had so many different scenarios for how this chapter could play out, but I think this was the best route. A note to any terribly upset joshaya shippers, the tags on my story don't lie.

Up next: School. Nothing interesting can ever happen there, right? *evil moonwalk out of frame*

As always, review, follow, favorite, do all of the things!

Lilly.