A/N: Last update for the next three days. I hope you guys will like it. And I wanted Josh and Sophie to be at Riley's NYE party for a reason. You'll see.

(Unedited).

Chapter 19: Before Midnight

"Here, put this on. I don't want you messing up your dress," Riley instructed as she tossed Maya an apron.

Maya caught the apron and put it on, securing it with a knot behind her. "Look at you looking out for me," she stated with a loving grin on her face.

Riley chuckled, rolling her eyes. "I'm only worried about your dress."

"If I was the one wearing that, I'd be cautious, too. It does look expensive," Isadora commented as she stepped in the kitchen to help the two cook the party's dinner. She grabbed the apron Riley handed her and shrugged it on.

"I have your entire closet cataloged in my brain, but I don't recall you owning that dress," Riley noted. "Is that new?"

Maya glanced at her white dress obstructed by the apron she had on. It was the dress that Josh gave her as his Christmas present. She'd never worn it since she'd gotten it, thinking that a dress like that could only be worn on a special occasion. But since they were about to ring in the new year, Maya knew it was the perfect time for the white dress to make its debut.

"It's just something I bought for the occasion," Maya lied, thinking that she shouldn't divulge the truth, considering how opinionated Riley gets when it came to her and Josh.

Riley nodded as she looked Maya up from head to toe. "It is a little different from what your other dresses look like, but I do love it."

"Yeah, it really suits you," Isadora supplied with a smile.

Just then, Isadora's phone blared from the dining table and she hurried to answer the call. "Hey, Farkle. Did you find it?" she queried.

Isadora paused, waiting for Farkle to finish his reply. She then turned to Maya and instructed her to keep an eye on the fondue while she was on the phone. "Farkle, I told you to get the one with the green packaging—yes, it would make a huge difference!" she stated as she stalked away from the kitchen and into the living room.

When Isadora's voice faded out, Maya tended to Isadora's fondue while Riley grabbed four more sticks of washed carrots from the colander in the sink and began peeling off their skins.

"So, I have a friend," Riley abruptly said as she worked on slicing the carrots into thin bite-sized sticks, perfect for dipping on the hummus she and Isadora prepared earlier.

Maya rolled her eyes. "What are you up to this time?" she queried, stirring the fondue continuously to prevent the bottom from sticking to the pot. "And I wanna know if it's good or bad."

"Okay, I know that you said you're not really up for this sort of thing at the moment, but his name is Evan Walters and he's a friend from work. He's also extremely nice and very, very single," Riley informed with a huge grin on her face.

"And?" Maya prodded.

"I invited him tonight."

"Of course, you did," Maya murmured with a sigh.

Riley squealed with excitement before she returned her attention to the other vegetables she'd been instructed to cut into different shapes and sizes. "I promise he won't be like Hunter. Guys like him are officially out of your list of potential lovers," she informed.

Hunter Rollins was the most recent guy Riley set Maya up with. Although the pair got along pretty well, their relationship was short-lived, mainly due to the fact that Hunter was too full of himself. He paraded Maya around like she was some trophy wife of his, and Maya didn't like that she was essentially treated as arm candy. Furthermore, Maya never felt like his affections for her were ever real. He'd always complimented her for her physical beauty, but never acknowledged any of the qualities that made Maya the way she was.

"So, will you please be nice to Evan?" Riley asked, bringing Maya out of her thoughts.

"Who's Evan?" Maya questioned. She'd already forgotten about the set up her best friend planned.

Riley's shoulders sagged. "The guy from my work I'm setting you up with!"

"Oh, sure," Maya responded half-heartedly. "I'll play nice."

Isadora strode back into the kitchen with Zay in tow. "I found help!" she announced.

Zay groaned. "Smackle, did you recruit me to become part of the kitchen crew?" he queried.

"Nope," Isadora answered as she grabbed the huge crate placed in the corner of the kitchen. "You're on decorations duty. And if you happen to stumble upon Lucas, who's suspiciously missing from the picture, tell him that I've assigned him to take care of the rooftop."

Zay saluted. "I'm on it, Smackle."

Isadora chuckled before she grabbed Zay's shoulders and drove him out of the kitchen. "Go, we've only got an hour and a half before the guests start piling in," she informed. Then, she turned to the two women in the kitchen and said, "Now, how are we doing on that fondue?"

Once all the guests had arrived, everyone gathered in Maya's kitchen for dinner. Since the dining table wasn't spacious enough to fit all ten of them, some of the guests filed in the living room after helping themselves with the food. Maya went back and forth between the kitchen and the living room, making sure she was entertaining each one of her friends.

Maya had just finished having a conversation with Andrew and Jasmine when Riley sidled up next to her, a roguish grin plastered on her face.

"Riley. I thought you set me up with someone, but I don't see an unfamiliar face socializing around in my apartment," Maya uttered as she accepted the flute of champagne Riley offered her.

"That's why I came to see you. I'm here to tell you that he's here," Riley responded just as someone knocked on the door. She told Maya to stay put while she opened the door for Evan.

A man with shaggy brown hair and clean-shaven face appeared on the doorway, a friendly smile plastered on his features and a bottle of wine in his hands. He walked across the threshold after Riley invited him in.

"I'm so glad you could make it," Riley declared, enclosing Evan in a brief embrace.

Evan chuckled. "I'm sorry I had to miss having dinner with everyone, but my family insisted that if I'm going to ring in the new year with some friends, I'd have to have dinner with them," he replied. "You know the Walters, family always comes first."

"Oh, for sure," Maya piped in all of a sudden, catching both Evan and Riley's attention.

Evan raised a brow at the sight of Maya, which Riley didn't neglect to notice.

"Evan, this is my best friend Maya Hart," Riley introduced. "And Maya, this is my friend-slash-colleague, Evan Walters. He teaches geography at Abigail Adams."

"Ah, it's finally nice to meet the woman Riley had been yapping nonstop about for weeks," Evan stated, extending his arm out. "I'd say I'm not entirely surprised. After all the great things Riley told me about you, I expected nothing less."

Maya accepted Evan's hand and shook it firmly. "Thank you—and it's nice to meet you, too, Evan," she uttered before she sent a quick glance at Riley, who was watching the interaction with gleeful eyes.

"I brought you some wine," Evan informed, raising the bottle he held in his hand. "Would you care to show me to the kitchen? This one's best served on room temperature."

Maya nodded, catching on what Evan was implying. "I'm certain my kitchen isn't hard to find in an apartment this small, but of course, I'll show you where it is," she taunted.

When Evan gestured for her to lead the way, Maya swiveled on her heels and trotted toward the kitchen. On her way there, she unintentionally caught Josh's gaze amongst the crowd and saw him watching her and Evan with a blank expression on his face.

"Okay, listen, this is how the game works," Maya declared as she and Riley stood in front of everyone. She held a dozen plastic spoons in her hands, while Riley held a bowl of dozen eggs. "We're going to split into two teams of five. However, since there are eleven of us in this room, one of us is gonna have to volunteer as the scorekeeper and the game's supervisor."

Maya and Riley looked at their friends expectantly, waiting for one of them to volunteer.

"I'll do it," Lucas announced with a raise of his hand. He strolled to the front after Maya beckoned him.

"All right," Maya stated. "Now that we have a scorekeeper, let's split into two teams."

"A while ago, we passed around a fedora hat and we had you pick out a slip of paper. That is to determine which team you'll fall into," Riley explained. "So, let's all unfurl it at the same time and once that's done, go ahead and meet with your team."

Maya unfurled her slip of paper and discovered that she belonged to Team 2. After asking around, she learned that she was on the same team as Andrew, Sophie, Evan, and Zay. The rest fell under Team 1, which consisted of Josh, Jasmine, Riley, Isadora, and Farkle.

Maya and Riley returned to the front of the room where Lucas held the plastic spoons and the bowl of dozen eggs in his arms. The rest of the group lined up as Riley had instructed.

"Now that the teams have been figured out, the game we're going to play is called 'Pass Me the Egg.' I know it's not the most creative name around, but we'll just have to deal with it," Maya said, which earned a few chuckles from the group. "So, each team member will get a plastic spoon, but there will only be one egg per team. You'll hold the spoon with the egg on it in your mouth, then you'll walk until you reach Lucas, turn around, walk back to your line, and carefully pass the egg to the next team member without using your hands."

Riley nodded along. "And if the egg falls—doesn't matter if it falls while you're passing it to your team member, you'll have to restart your turn," she added. "The first team that goes through all the members wins."

Andrew, Josh, and Farkle bounced on their feet, pumping themselves up for the game. At the same time, Maya, Lucas, and Riley handed out the plastic spoons to each team member. When Maya reached Farkle, she had a huge smile on her face while she passed him a plastic spoon.

"Good luck," Maya whispered as she chanced a quick look at Isadora, who stood behind Farkle, making her the last member of the team in line.

Farkle's grin widened as he wiggled his eyebrows.

In order to not look suspicious, Maya left Farkle's side and trudged back to where her team was lined up, making sure that she'd grabbed a plastic spoon for herself. She looked at the other team and saw that Riley had claimed the leader position as well, standing at the front of the line.

Lucas walked up to the two team leaders and handed each an egg.

"Are you guys ready?" Lucas questioned after he'd returned to the front of the room.

Everyone shouted their responses. "Ready!"

Maya placed her plastic spoon between her lips, then carefully dropped the egg on the oval head of the spoon. From the corner of her eye, Maya saw Riley tying the skirt of her maxi dress so that it rid higher up her legs, preventing herself from tripping on its hem during the game.

Lucas eyed the two players who were going to kick off the game. "Maya, Riley, are you two ready?"

Maya and Riley could only give Lucas a thumb-up in response.

"And . . . go!"

Maya and Riley moved as soon as Lucas gave them the signal.

With her eyes trained on the egg, Maya slowly padded her way to Lucas. Once she reached him, she turned around and walked back to her team.

Evan was next in line. Maya grabbed onto his shoulders to steady him as she cautiously slid the egg on his spoon. Once that was executed, Maya cheered for Evan before she made her way to the end of the line, where Zay gave her a high-five.

Riley reached her team, motioning Josh to squat down to her level. The same as Maya, Riley grabbed onto his shoulders as she passed the egg to his spoon. Straightening up, Josh began walking toward Lucas. His pace was a lot faster than Riley's, eager to catch up to Zay, who was already halfway to where Lucas stood.

Josh and Evan turned when they both reached Evan at the same time, their eyes trained on the eggs as they ambled back to their next team member in line.

The atmosphere in Maya's living room grew rambunctious as everyone cheered for their own team, screaming at the top of their lungs when a battle between two team members became too intense.

Josh passed the egg onto Jasmine's spoon the same time Evan transferred his to Sophie's.

"I'm tempted to cheer for my girlfriend, but you're on my team so, go Sophie! I believe in you—Team 2 believes in you!" Andrew cheered, stepping forward once Sophie had begun her walk toward Lucas.

Josh laughed from his side of the team, reaching over to give Andrew's shoulder a light shove. "Go cheer for my girlfriend, and I'll cheer for yours," he stated before he claimed his spot at the end of the line. "Yeah, go Jasmine!"

The battle between Sophie and Jasmine was neck-in-neck. Both women had the same pace as they dawdled back to their respective teams. Ultimately, Sophie reached her team first with Jasmine falling behind by only a couple inches.

"It's okay, baby! It's just a game!" Andrew reassured Jasmine while she worked on sliding the egg onto Farkle's spoon.

"Andrew, focus!" Sophie chided through gritted teeth as she still held her plastic spoon between her lips. After Andrew recomposed himself, Sophie carefully placed the egg on Andrew's spoon, wishing him good luck before she trudged to the end of the line.

Farkle had already begun walking toward Lucas, placing Team 1 on the lead. He eventually reached Lucas and, as cautious as he could muster, he turned and made his way back to his team. He made it to Isadora, the last member of Team 1 who hadn't gone yet, but Farkle dropped the egg just as he was transferring it onto her spoon.

"Farkle, no!" Isadora screamed, placing a hand on her forehead. "We were on the lead!"

"Rules are rules, Minkus! Start over!" Maya exclaimed as she ambled toward Isadora and Farkle.

Lucas appeared at Maya's side, already handing out an egg to replace the one Farkle dropped.

Farkle grabbed the egg from Lucas, and with a subtle wink at his two friends, he restarted his turn. Andrew had already passed Team 2's egg onto Zay's spoon when Farkle found himself walking back to his team.

"Come on, Farkle!" Isadora cheered from the front of the line.

Farkle reached Isadora in no time. However, for the second time around, he dropped the egg.

"Farkle, not again!"

With an alarmed expression on her face, Isadora looked down at the second fallen egg. Her look of panic was immediately replaced with one of confusion when she didn't find the second egg yolk on the living room floor. What she saw instead were a plastic egg broken in half and a glinting diamond ring.

Farkle retrieved the ring from the floor and knelt on one knee in front of Isadora.

"Farkle?" Isadora queried, heart racing.

"Oh, my God," Riley whispered from somewhere among the group that had gathered around the couple.

"Isadora Smackle," Farkle began as he kept his gaze on Isadora's widened eyes. "Remember the first time we met back in college? We didn't exactly get along in the beginning because I was too full of myself, and you were too ethical to put up with any of my shit."

"Leave it to Farkle to use the word 'shit' in his proposal speech," Zay whispered, which made Maya and Riley giggle.

"Eventually, thanks to Maya and Riley for befriending you, we started hanging out with the same group," Farkle continued, paying no attention to Zay's commentary. "Much to my luck, it happened around the time when everybody suddenly had their own businesses to tend to. Riley joined the student government, Maya took on that internship at the museum, and Zay and Lucas got involved with a fraternity. You and I were left alone, and that was when I had the chance to really get to know you. And you, Isadora, is the most remarkable woman I've ever met in my entire life. You're smart, resourceful, compassionate, and even though I know I still get on your nerves sometimes, you now put up with it. I wake up next to you every day and I just want you to know that I'll never tire of it, especially when I see nothing but love in your eyes every time you look at me."

When Farkle paused to take a breath, everyone in the group held their own as they waited for him to ask the most anticipated question.

"So . . . Isadora Smackle, will you do the honor of being my wife?"

"Yes!" Isadora exclaimed as tears of joy brimmed her eyes. "Yes, Farkle! I'd love to be your wife!"

Farkle slipped the diamond ring onto Isadora's finger, and everyone in the group let out the breath they'd been holding since Farkle asked for Isadora's hand in marriage.

As everyone gathered around the newly engaged couple to congratulate them, Josh sidled up next to Maya. He placed his lips near her ear and whispered, "Really? It was that easy?"

Maya patted Josh's cheek. "Don't worry, not everyone has it as easy as Farkle," she reassured.

"Hey—"

"I'm just saying."

After she found her moment to congratulate Farkle and Isadora on their engagement without the rest of the group milling around them, Maya excused herself to fetch another drink from the kitchen. Once she got there, she opened the refrigerator and snagged the last of the apple ales.

As she went to uncap her drink, Maya glimpsed Sophie taking a closer look at Isadora's engagement ring, eyes glinting as she admired the size of the stone. Josh stood next to the two women, downing his beer while he listened to his girlfriend talk wedding plans with Isadora. A smile broke out on Maya's face, thinking that Sophie didn't know what was coming for her in the near future.

Maya was about to rejoin her friends in the living room when she suddenly heard Zay and Riley's voice from the hallway that led to her bedroom. With furrowed brows, Maya inched closer until her two friends' voices were no longer faint. She pressed herself against the wall and listened in on the conversation.

"How's Katy holding up?" Riley queried.

Zay heaved an exasperated sigh. "She could've been here with us, you know?" he answered. "But even if she was well and capable of handling herself, Katy knows Maya still wouldn't want her to be anywhere near her."

Riley didn't say anything in response, thus Zay carried on.

"Maya's just being too stubborn about the whole situation. I haven't told Maya about it yet, but I've been visiting Katy at the center every day. I've been checking up on her, and also to let her know that her daughter's doing fine and that she shouldn't worry about her." Zay paused for a beat. "Riley, Katy is really trying. I just wish that Maya would see what I see. Katy was the one who realized her own mistakes. Katy was the one who asked me to admit her into the center because she wants to get better for Maya. Her hope and strength are still driven by her love for Maya."

Maya's heart raced as she continued to listen to Zay. His last statement repeated itself over and over in her head that she failed to hear Riley's response. She only regained her focus when Zay's voice rang in her ears once again.

"It's like the three of us are on the edge of a cliff, you know?" Zay uttered. "Katy's life is on the brink of toppling down to the rocky bottom and I'm holding onto one of her hands, trying to keep her from completely losing herself. But even so, I'm not strong enough to do that on my own. I've got my own personal problems to deal with, too—I've got my own family. I want Maya to realize that I need her help. I need her to grab Katy's other hand and help me pull her back to the ground—back to her true self."

Knowing that she couldn't handle hearing any more of the conversation, Maya left her hiding place and decided she needed to get some air. As she went to grab her coat from the rack, Isadora caught Maya by the elbow, stopping her before she could even shrug on her coat.

"Where are you going?" Isadora asked, eyebrows creasing together with worry.

"I just need to get some air," Maya answered.

"Are you okay?"

Maya nodded, forcing a smile to ease some of Isadora's worries. "I'm fine, don't worry about me. I'll just be up on the roof."

Isadora's grip on Maya's elbow loosened, allowing the latter to slip through the front door.

The frigid December breeze stung her skin the moment Maya stepped out of her apartment building's rooftop. Ignoring the beauty of the decorative lights that Lucas put up earlier, Maya strode toward the brick railing and gazed at the twinkling skyline of Manhattan.

All alone, Maya reflected on Zay and Riley's conversation she overheard a while ago. Tears brimmed in her eyes, but she fought to keep them from rolling down her cheeks.

Growing up, Maya never saw her mother without a smile on her face. Katy was the epitome of gaiety and was always enthusiastic about everything she set out to do. She had a great outlook on life, and not once did she ever forget to remind Maya to always see the positive side of every situation. To Maya, Katy's vivacity and optimism were what made her mother strong. And Maya admired her for it.

Then, her father's affair happened, and not long after followed the divorce. As much as Katy attempted to stay strong, Maya knew it devastated her mother. When she received the news that the court granted the divorce, Katy's shining personality dimmed. She was no longer the cheerful mother Maya grew up knowing. The sudden change terrified Maya because she grew up believing that her mother was immune to sadness, but now that her usual smiles and crinkling lines were gone, Maya wasn't sure what to do.

Allowing her tears to finally roll down her cheeks, Maya realized she was angry not with her mother but with herself. After her father left, Maya was Katy's first source of comfort, and she failed her. What she did instead was turn her back on Katy the first moment the latter refused her help, which set the path for Katy's drug addiction.

Gripping the brick railing so hard that her knuckles turned white, Maya screamed all her frustrations out. She'd built walls around everything she felt toward her mother, and when those walls crumbled down, her emotions consumed her like a hundred-foot tidal wave would a whole city. Her knees weakened, and Maya held onto the brick railing to keep herself upright.

It was after her tears subsided that Maya heard the sound of the rooftop door opening. She didn't bother to turn around, knowing well enough that it was Riley who came to see her. The latter had an intrinsic tendency to provide emotional support for friends who need it most, and Maya had always known that it was only gonna be a matter of time before Riley learned her whereabouts.

However, the person who stood beside her wasn't Riley. The familiar masculine scent that wafted up her nose was enough to indicate Josh's presence.

"You shouldn't be out here, it's cold," Maya said as she watched him lean on the brick railing.

"I could say the same to you," Josh replied, laughing.

Maya's hand reflexively shot up to her chest, where she felt her heartbeat quickening like it wanted to bust out of its cage. Her brows furrowed, finding the suddenness of her action bemusing. She liked to assume that her racing heart was caused by the emotional outburst she experienced a while ago, but a certain tugging feeling down her gut made her think otherwise.

"What are you doing out here anyway?" Josh asked, breaking the silence. "Was the party a little too much for you?"

"Kind of," Maya answered in a low voice. "You saw what it's like back there: two of my best friends got engaged to each other, and Riley set me up with someone that I'm not really interested in. I mean, I'm sure Evan's a great guy, but . . . I just don't see myself with him at all."

Josh's gaze fell at the mention of Evan's name. "He's wondering where you are, you know?"

Maya let out a half-hearted chuckle. "I bet," she responded. "Did Isadora tell him I'm up here?"

"She told him you're in the bathroom."

"You didn't believe her."

Josh shook his head. "I saw you leave the party, then I saw how concerned Isadora looked after you left, and . . . it didn't take me long to figure out that something's going on with you," he responded. "So, I followed you, thinking you might want some company."

Maya pursed her lips, passing Josh a quick glance. "I'm fine, Josh, I just . . . I just wanted to escape the party for a while," she told him.

As Maya's gaze focused on the Manhattan skyline, Josh kept his trained on her. It felt weird for him to see Maya without a smile on her face that he wanted nothing more than to bring it back. He nudged her on her side, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smile.

"Hey, I know I'm early, but I wanted to be the first," Josh said.

Maya's eyes snapped up to meet his. "The first to what?" she asked.

"To greet you a happy new year," Josh answered.

A small smile broke out on Maya's face, but she bit her lip when she felt it widening. She turned back to viewing the flickering city lights before she could find herself wavering under Josh's intense stare.

"Wait, no one's greeted you yet, right?" Josh questioned.

Maya shook her head. "No," she responded. "I think Riley wanted to be the first, but she's not actually around to tell me that."

A silence grew between the two of them, causing Maya's thoughts to drift back to Katy. She sucked in a deep breath, then let it out in a series of controlled exhalation. Zay taught her that calming method when Katy first lost it, and Maya had utilized it ever since.

Josh inched closer, noting that the effect of his attempt to bring the smile back on Maya's face didn't last long. He kept his gaze on her as he wondered how someone so doting and generous could hold so much brokenness in her kind blue eyes.

"I understand your need to escape," Josh blurted out, which caused Maya to turn her attention back to him. "We all need those once in a while."

Maya bit her lip in thought. She wanted to escape, but she wasn't doing it in a way that she wanted to. The rooftop proved a good setting for her to scream her frustrations out, but there was only one place where she knew she'd be able to truly clear her mind.

"What time is it?" Maya asked.

Josh glanced at his wristwatch. "It's 10:52. Why?"

"I won't take long," Maya replied as she began walking toward the door that led back inside the building. "I should be back before midnight, I promise."

Josh trailed after her, his eyebrows creasing together. "Where are you going?"

"To my studio," Maya answered. She hurried down the staircase, a hand on the railing to prevent herself from tripping over her own feet. "If Riley comes looking for me, tell her I'm worried I left something on at the Tan House offices and I just need to make sure the building isn't on fire."

They reached the elevator and Maya pressed the down arrow button. The elevator doors opened with a ding.

"I'll come with you," Josh suggested, stepping to follow Maya inside the elevator.

Maya placed a hand on his chest, stopping the elevator doors from closing and stopping him from walking any further. "Josh, no. Sophie will come looking for you. We already had that misunderstanding about why my scarf was at your apartment. I don't want her to start thinking that there really is something going on between us."

Josh exhaled in defeat as Maya drew her hand back to her side. He stepped away from the elevator, watching as the metallic doors closed on her.

Okay, I know Evan was "Riley's" in the show, but that's the reason why Riley's matchmaking will never work.

Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!