Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Girl Meets World.

I am SO sorry for the delay. I know I've been keeping you all waiting on the edge of your seats for this new chapter. I hope I don't disappoint! Happy reading!

Day Four

Maya's eyes fluttered open to the sound of rushing water coming from the bathroom. The side of the bed where Josh had slept was still warm. She smiled and brought her fingers to her lips, recalling the sweet sensation of his kisses from last night. Beneath the blanket she was still fully clothed. Josh had been, as he always was, the perfect gentleman.

Maybe he feared Shawn's wrath or that his good conscience wouldn't let him take advantage of the situation – Maya liked to think it was a combination of both. Either way, Josh had made it clear that he had no intentions of sleeping with her. Maya, on her part, had no qualms about this. She was just happy to be with him. And so with sex off the table, Maya and Josh had fallen into a peaceful night's sleep wrapped in each other's arms.

Minutes later, Josh emerged from the bathroom to see Maya smiling radiantly at him from the bed.

"I hope I didn't wake you," he said as he crawled into bed beside her.

"It's okay," she said, snuggling close. "I have to be up to pack anyway. My bus comes at nine."

They laid in companionable silence for some time. Josh tucked one arm behind his head as he wrapped the other around Maya, who was tracing tiny circles on his chest with her finger.

"There's no way my friends are gonna let me live his down," said Josh with slight amusement in his voice.

With a furrowed brow Maya shifted slightly to look at Josh, resting her chin on his chest.

"What do you mean? It's not like anything happened."

"That's not gonna stop them from being assholes about it," he said jokingly.

"Do they think I'm too young for you?"

Maya cringed a little after hearing herself ask the question out loud; she hated to sound so insecure.

"Of course not," Josh reassured as he caressed her wavy hair. "They like you."

Maya narrowed her blue eyes questioningly at him. "Have you ever thought about calling quits on this game that we're playing?"

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged and replied, "I know we say we're in this for the long haul but sometimes I wonder how long is too long. How long before one of us just gives up?"

Josh fixed his brown eyes on her, unblinking.

"Are you thinking about giving up?" His voice was tentative, unsure.

"No," Maya replied. "Are you?"

"After last night, I'd be crazy to let you go."

In that instant, Maya felt Josh pull her towards him. Without pretense he covered her mouth with his in a passionate kiss, turning her so that she was laying beneath him pressed into the soft pillows.

"Don't think you can just kiss me every time you wanna shut me up," Maya murmured as Josh pulled away to nuzzle her neck.

After a brief pause, Josh let out an exasperated sigh and said, "Alright, I should probably go. If I'm lucky, I can sneak back into the room before the guys wake up."

"Okay," Maya conceded with a slight pout of her lips.

"I'll see you at breakfast in half an hour," he said, giving her one last kiss before getting out of bed.

Maya stayed in bed even after Josh left the room. She laid staring at the ceiling in blissful disbelief at the events that had unfolded. But shortly after the quiet stillness of the room settled around her, a disheartening thought pervaded her mind. If her relationship with Josh could change so vastly in the span of four days, she could only imagine what one whole year apart could do to them. Even with Josh's support and encouragement, Maya still felt unsettled about her decision to take a gap year. No to mention that she still had yet to discuss the matter with Riley. What would her best friend have to say about her missing out on their freshman year in college?

In spite of herself, these thoughts clouded Maya's mind all morning. Luckily breakfast with Josh and his friends provided her with a brief period of reprieve from the brooding. And as Josh had predicted, his friends – particularly Kurt and Derek – were quick to ask insinuating, albeit good-humored, questions about Maya and Josh's night together. Maya blushed bright red from their amiable teasing, while Josh deflected their speculations with casual ease.

Before they knew it, the time for Maya to leave the Mount Sun Lodge had arrived. The bus pulled up to the front of the lodge just as she was exchanging good-byes with Josh's friends in the main lobby. Afterwards Josh walked out with Maya and helped her carry her things to the bus. Each step to towards the vehicle was another step closer to the inevitable good-bye that she wasn't ready for.

Once her belongings were placed into the luggage compartment on the side of the bus, she and Josh turned to face each other. The thoughts and feelings that couldn't be said in words were expressed through the particular look that passed between them. At length, Maya reached into her pocket and pulled out the mood ring she found by the lake.

"Here," she said, holding the ring out to Josh. "I want you to have this."

Josh made no motion to take the ring and instead shot her a skeptical glance.

"You know I don't believe in that."

"I know," Maya said as her lips curled into a suggestive smile. "But the magical ring seems to think you're in love with me."

"The magical ring also thought that Kurt was anxious about something at breakfast this morning when it just turned out to be gas."

The two shared a laugh and the tension immediately lifted. As Josh took the ring from Maya, he grasped her hand and pulled her closer to him. He didn't seem to care that his friends could see them from inside the lobby.

"I don't know about love but I do care about you a lot," he murmured.

Maya smiled and nodded understandingly. "I care about you too. Which is why I wanna give you something to remember me by. To let you know that no matter where I am, I'm still in this game with you."

"Fair enough," Josh said with earnest smile. "I'll hold on to it for as long as you need me to."

"Good, you better."

She then went up on her tiptoes and pulled Josh into a sweet lingering kiss. The commotion around them momentarily seemed to dissolve as they became lost in their embrace. Only when the driver made a final announcement to board the bus for departure were they brought back to the present moment.

"I'll see you around," Josh said, leaving her with a gentle kiss on the forehead.

Against every fiber of her being, Maya pulled away from Josh and boarded the bus. As soon as she slid into her seat by the window, she glanced out and searched for him in the crowd. He was still standing at the same spot, waving at her. They exchanged smiles and their eyes remained locked onto to each other until the bus departed from Mount Sun Lodge.

The two and half hour ride back home was bittersweet. Though Maya was excited to go back home and see her family and friends, she found herself fiercely missing Josh. To pass the time and cope with her sadness, Maya pulled out her sketchbook and slipped on her headphones to listen to music. Using her colored pencils, her hand moved deftly across the page leaving a trail of abstract patterns in its wake. Only when she held the drawing at arm's length did she realize that she was sketching a silhouette profile of Josh.

Before she knew it, she finally arrived at the bus station where Shawn met her with open arms. They went back to the apartment where Katy had prepared a special lunch for her homecoming. As soon as she stepped through the threshold, Maya rushed to hug both her mother and two-year-old brother, Liam. Then as the family gathered around the table, Maya recounted for them the e vents that had transpired over the last four days. She deliberately left out details about the intimate moments she shared with Josh. When asked about her plans after graduation, Maya reassured her parents that she would tell them her final decision after speaking to Riley.

That afternoon, Maya climbed up the fire escape that led to Riley's window and was slightly surprised when she heard several voices coming from inside the room. Through the glass pane she spotted Riley and Lucas sitting by the bay window, looking through pictures on Riley's laptop. They had just scrolled onto a picture from when Maya and Riley were little girls, ice skating in Central Park for the first time. Maya smiled tenderly at the memory.

"Well speak of the devil," Lucas said as Maya crawled through the window.

Before Maya could straighten herself out, Riley pulled her into a fierce hug. "Peaches! Thank goodness you're back!"

She struggled to keep her balance and breathe as she squirmed against her best friend's overzealously tight embrace.

"She won't be around for very long if you keep hugging her like that," Lucas remarked from his seat by the bay window.

Upon hearing this Riley immediately released Maya who pulled away and gasped for air.

"Geez, have you been lifting weights while I've been gone?" Maya said as she tugged on her clothes.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, you know," Riley said, sternly placing her hands on her hips.

"I know," Maya agreed with an apologetic smile.

Lucas smiled at the two girls as he stood up from his seat. "Well I think that's my cue to leave."

Maya frowned. "Wait, don't you wanna hear this too, Ranger Rick?"

"I do," Lucas said as he stepped towards her. "But I think it's more important that you two get a chance to talk first. You can catch me up tomorrow over pancakes. My treat."

"Deal," Maya said as she reached out to give him a hug.

Lucas then turned to Riley and gave her a peck on the lips before leaving the room through the window. Afterwards Riley resumed her seat and glanced at Maya expectantly, patting the cushion beside her. With a knowing smile and a roll of her eyes, Maya plopped down next to Riley. This was it; the moment of truth. Once again Maya recounted the last four days at Mount Sun Lodge, only this time she divulged some of the details about what happened between her and Josh to Riley. Her friend listened with unabashed intrigue.

"So wait, you made out with my uncle?" Riley asked incredulously.

"Is that really the only thing you got out of everything I just told you?"

"On one hand, I'm thrilled to hear that you finally got to kiss the boy you've been crushing on for years," Riley continued, disregarding Maya's question. "And yet on the other, I'm kind of disturbed by the fact that you made out with my uncle!"

"Riley," Maya firmly said, cupping her friend's face in her hands. "Focus."

"Right, sorry," Riley said with a sheepish grin. "Well it sounds like you have your mind made up."

Maya frowned as she regarded Riley hesitantly. Sacrifices had solidified their friendship over the years, but Maya wondered if this particular sacrifice was going to test rather than strengthen them. Riley simply gazed back at her with an understanding smile, patiently waiting for Maya to give voice to her thoughts.

"You're not mad, are you?" Maya reluctantly asked. "I know it's not exactly what we had planned."

Riley shrugged and said, "Plans can change. Sometimes we have to learn to change with them."

"I swear the older you get, the more you sound like your dad," Maya joked.

Riley smiled as her gaze fell to the floor. "I had to do a lot of thinking myself these past few days."

"Oh yeah? About what?"

"Going to NYU."

Maya faltered, then shifted in her seat to face Riley fully. "Wait, this is news to me. Where else were you thinking about going?"

Riley pursed her lips before replying, "UT in Austin…with Lucas."

Maya's blue eyes widened in surprise. "You mean Lucas isn't going to NYU?"

Riley sadly shook her head. "Apparently upholding the family tradition of going to UT means a lot to him. And being close to my family and going to NYU means a lot to me."

Maya was at a loss for words as realization hit her with the force of a train. Up until now she had found comfort in the fact that at least Lucas would be Riley for the first year of college if she couldn't be. But all that changed in the blink of an eye.

"So then what?" Maya said, blinking disbelievingly. "Are you guys gonna try to have a long distance relationship?"

"Yup." Riley nodded her head slowly, making her brown bangs fall across her face. "We're gonna give it our best shot. If this is something Lucas feels like he needs to do, then I don't wanna hold him back."

Josh's words echoed in Maya's mind as Riley said this. Before she could respond she felt Riley place her hand over hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"And that goes for you too. If you really feel like this gap year is the right thing for you, then do it. Don't worry about me; I'm a big girl. I'll be right here when you get back."

The look in Riley's eyes indicated to Maya that there would be no winning this argument. Riley, like Josh, was giving her the green light. Slowly but surely, Maya's future was becoming less of a shapeless enigma that loomed over her with frightening urgency. Slowly but surely, her future was becoming more defined, clear, and achievable.

Maya stretched her arm across Riley's shoulders and said, "Sometimes I don't think I deserve you."

Riley just rolled her eyes as she leaned into her friend's embrace. "Shut up. You know you'd do the same for me. Can I just ask you one favor?"

"Sure, anything. Just name it."

"When you marry my Uncle Josh, please don't make me call you Aunt Maya."

But wait! There's more! No seriously lol. There will be an epilogue following this so please stay tuned! And don't forget to review!