Hey lovelies!

Is this **gasp** an actually on time chapter update?! You guys left so many reviews last chapter, and trust me, I will answer all your questions in the note on the next chapter. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, y'all are amazing [insert heart-eyes emoji]. There is still so much more to come, and I'd like to thank you all for sticking around even though the plot can be frustrating at times. This chapter may not be very satisfying, but in all honesty this was the first chapter I wrote for this story, so it feels crazy to post it! I've read it so many times since :p Again please feel free to private message me with questions, I love talking with you guys. Lastly, I'm going to have to ask for an extra week for the next chapter you guys, it's a reealllyyy long one for what I'm used to and I'd like to have time to write it carefully/edit so it's not absolute trash when I post it. I also have a Josh/Maya one-shot on the go right now, it will likely be a sequel to A Day In Six Weeks so I'm also super hyped about that at the moment as well!

Until next time you guys, love you!

- SleepingStarlight

It had been roughly a year and a half after he and Maya had decided on playing the long game, and in all honesty, Josh tried his very best not to overthink his situation with Maya. They both had their separate lives to live, and if it worked out for them someday, then well, they made it. Besides, this philosophy was nothing but healthy for him. To spend his university years debating the ethics of dating a girl who was off limits would slowly drive him insane. At least, that's how he liked to think of it. So when he was in the university library one night (working on his assignment), and there was a curly redhead sitting across the room ripping up page after page as time went by, he curbed his slight guilt and figured that he wasn't the only one having a rough night. So when he left within the hour for his bi-hourly coffee run to the shop on the third floor, he picked up an extra. After all, he could empathize with the helplessness associated with killer homework. From across the room, he could tell that she sat with her head resting on her arms, as though she was trying to sleep despite the mess that surrounded her. So when he walked over, gently setting the cup down on the desk space beside her, he spoke quietly , "I hope everything's alright, you just seemed like you could use one," and began to walk away once he realized it was unlikely that he would get a response.

He had just turned around when he heard the softest tone saying "Thank you," and she slowly raised her head up from the desk to reveal a pair of wide-set grey eyes, slightly puffy from lack of sleep. "Sorry. I'm just exhausted. You didn't have to do that by the way," she said as she seemed to reflexively reach for the coffee. She let out a weak moan when she felt the hot caffeine run down her throat.

"To be entirely honest, I think I did." Josh chuckled.

She narrowed her eyes, not appreciating the small dig. "What's your name?" she asked quietly, suddenly causing him to be nervous.

"Joshua Matthews at your service. But you can call me Josh, everyone does" he replied with a slight grin. He had a newfound appreciation for this easy give and take. He could flirt as he pleased without consequence, an idea he never found strange until he met and acknowledged his feelings for Maya. "And you?" he asked, suddenly curious to know more after his last revelation.

"Alina," she responded while flipping her curls to the other side. Her hair really was quite beautiful, Josh mused, there were different tones of red, and even blond, making it seem almost ethereal and fiery. There was something about the way she examined him that made him feel a tight coil winding in his stomach. This hadn't happened since… Fuck, he thought, this hasn't happened since Maya. Her next words snapped him back to reality, "and unfortunately for you, I'm not at your service. But if you'd let me... I wouldn't mind returning the favour sometime. Maybe we could go for coffee or something," she suggested, her tone shifting from snappy to shy surprisingly quickly as a blush crept onto her cheeks.

"I like that idea," Josh admitted, fiddling with his hands in his lap while forming his next sentence carefully, "But... What if we skipped the coffee and maybe instead you can tell me why you think it's okay to waste so much paper. These are trees you know," he said with a slight smirk as he lifted a handful of paper from the scrappy white pile sitting on one end of the desk.

That seemed to decide her and her eyes shifted up to meet his. She was obviously a troubled individual at the moment and Josh welcomed the distraction from his assignment sitting across the room with open arms. Noticing that she would likely take a few seconds to respond, he took the opportunity to observe her a little closer. Wide-set grey eyes were set into a pale heart-shaped face. Everything seemed to be subtle, as if she were made from soft hues of peach and cream. Everything, that is, excluding her fiery red hair which stood on it's own metaphorical platform as it clouded around her face in loose, shoulder-length curls, which were currently tossed haphazardly over to one side as she huffed in annoyance before responding to him.

"How about you take my original deal or fuck off," she said testily, toying with a smile on her lips.

He nearly laughed as he realized that her hair wasn't the only fiery thing about her. "How about you just tell me about you then?" he suggested hopefully.

"You're eager aren't you," she mused, amused by his persistence. But she had to admit, if she didn't have coffee flooding her system it would definitely be less so, despite the adorable grin he flashed at her. But yet, when she glanced at his eyes again, she felt safe. And when she took in the blue beanie sitting atop his head and the oversized NYU sweater, she couldn't help but smile. He really was cute, she thought before trying to reorganize her thoughts enough to continue. "You go first," was her ever so sure response. Was it a defence mechanism? Maybe... yes. Did she have to use it? Probably not. But it's always best to stay safe, she reasoned.

"Deal," Josh laughed, feeling both the coffee and excitement running through his system as he thought of what to say next. "Well, it's Josh Matthews as you know-"

"Wait," she interjected, "are we including middle names in this?"

Josh rolled his eyes playfully before turning back to her, "Joshua Gabriel Matthews. Happy?" he asked, something in him sincerely hoping the answer would be yes.

"Very," she grinned.

"But you know that you have to do it now too, right?" He teased.

"I've got nothing to hide," she smiled, rather proud. "Alina Lynn Perry, it's really not that bad. Not many people have two 'Y's in their name. It's quite the accomplishment" she said jokingly.

"What about Shanaynay?"

"Fuck you," she said, putting her head back on the desk, while Josh continued talking.

"I moved to NYU from Philadelphia about three years ago. I have two older brothers, the oldest is a senator here in New York, and the other is a history teacher nearby. I also have one older sister and she is probably the coolest person you will ever meet. She's a graphic designer."

Alina watched him as he spoke very carefully, taking in whatever she could (both auditory and visual wise). What she heard impressed her, I mean talk about a successful family, but what she saw struck an even stronger cord with her. She watched as his face lit up as soon as he brought up his family, and thought longingly of her own. It had been too long since she last saw them. Staying in your hometown for university was good for keeping in touch, but it required a certain amount of effort. Otherwise it would be no different from moving to Alaska. She had been slacking lately, but she could tell that he hadn't been. Not by a long-shot.

She heard about his niece and nephew, how he fell in love with writing in senior year of high school, and even saw pictures of his guitar, before she finally heard the words she was dreading… "Your turn."

Two weeks and five dates later, Josh could finally say that he knew the answer to his prompt. Her name was Alina, she was in her second year studying physics at NYU, she wrote poetry, played and composed on the piano, and he was absolutely head over heels for her. But there was more that he didn't learn all at once, but rather slowly. He learned over long days drinking coffee and futile attempts to compose their own music, short impromptu dates in Central Park, and even the well planned out ones (where they typically ignored their plans and just ended up talking about anything and everything). It was through those moments that Josh learned the important aspects of her: how she decided on NYU for physics when she had offers from MIT and Harvard, simply because her younger brother needed her nearby. How she worked for the first two years of college so that if her brother couldn't get scholarships someday (there was still a while until that happened) to fund his education, he could still go and try to make something of himself eventually. How she loved her parents so much for trying their best by her, even if their best wasn't very much. And finally how she was doing what she was doing to not only make everyone else proud of her, but also for herself. She needed to know that she was trying her best to change her life. And if there was one thing Josh knew, it was that she was.

A year later and she was just as familiar with him as he was with her, so when their leases finished as the school year came to a close, the answer seemed simple. That summer they searched for an apartment and moved in within the following two weeks. Life seemed to be coming together for them. And whenever Josh began to feel guilty about his deal with Maya, he would quickly reason with himself. He would remind himself that they each had their own lives to live and he was only following the rules. Someday would come if it was meant to be, the rest was up to fate. But in all honesty, he was happy with his life at the moment. In fact, he loved it. But, for whatever reason, some things are not as simple as we want them to be, and somedays are often even more complicated.