Chapter Text
Josh Matthews had a love hate relationship with the subway. On one hand, it was convenient and a good way to beat the infamous New York traffic. When riding the subway you were almost always guaranteed something interesting to watch; whether it was a scandalous fight between a couple or simply a pretty girl. He enjoyed watching the variety of people who used the public transport. You had the grumpy businessmen who were always yelling at someone on their phone, the quiet reader, musicians performing on their guitars, the ones who slept on the seats, and friends excitedly babbling about whatever they were going to do. Just about all of them were drinking coffee. There was a feeling of separation and unity as Josh would watch what unfolded in the subway car as he listened to music. But, being on the subway meant that he had limited freedom. He missed driving in his admittedly shitty pick-up truck, going so fast that the lights were nothing but a blur, yelling along to the music because that was the only way he could hear himself over the volume. The feeling of freedom it gave him was indescribable. Josh hated the the fact that it sat in a spot in the parking garage of NYU that he overpaid for, only used when he drove out to Philadelphia.
Nevertheless, this was how he had to get to his brother’s apartment for an actual meal. Cory had called him while he was walking out of his awful psychology class; asking how his first month at NYU was going. Josh had said it was going fine and mentioned the fact that his body probably consisted of 76% insta-noodle broth at this point. Cory insisted that he came over to eat and see them, especially because they hadn’t seen each other in a long time.
The last time he visited, Riley and her friends had gone to Texas, so he saw his brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, but not his niece. The next opportunity to see them was Christmas and New Years, but he caught pneumonia and was ordered to bed rest by his mom. They couldn’t visit each other when both he and Riley graduated as it happened on the same day and they both threw parties. The last time Josh saw Cory and Topanga they helped him get settled into his dorm room, but that day was a mess. The whole day was doomed from the start really. His parents didn’t really approve the fact that he chose architecture as his major, throw that in with the usual emotions of a kid leaving the nest and you’ve got a lot of tension and crying. His mom kept sobbing and saying things like, “At least when Eric and Cory went to college they were close by” making Josh feel even more guilty. Josh’s dad on the other hand was not crying, but he was too old to lift anything; so his job was to try to comfort his wife. Cory had only helped for fifteen minutes before going off to find lunch for two hours. Topanga was the only one really helping out, but he didn’t want to make her do too much work; so in the end Josh did most of the work himself. Due to everyone being so busy, it was clear they would have a lot to catch up on.
The subway slowed to a stop and Josh walked out of the automatic doors. If he was anywhere else in the city, it would have been a hectic Friday evening, but since the Matthews’ lived in Manhattan, the walk over was relatively peaceful. He passed by Topanga’s, the cafe his sister-in-law started recently. It amazed him that Topanga could be a lawyer and manage a business at the same time, although he had heard that Maya’s mom Katy was helping out.
Maya Hart. Josh had been nervous to come to dinner tonight as Maya practically lived at his brother’s apartment. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Maya, it was the fact that she liked him. In a ‘I-want-to-be-your-girlfriend’ type of way; and he didn’t exactly reciprocate the feeling. At least he was pretty sure he didn’t. But it didn’t really matter how he felt anyway, Maya was three years younger than him. He was starting his freshman year in college and she was a freshman in highschool. Josh likes to think he’s somewhat mature, so being around her really shouldn’t have been a problem. But Maya made it difficult to forget she had a crush on him. She refused to call him by his name and almost exclusively referred to him as ‘Uncle Boing’, was always glued to his side flirting with him, and had even called him her husband once. Oh, and that one little time she ruined his first chance to meet people at NYU by sneaking out and confessing her feelings to him in front of strangers. He had walked them home and felt humiliated, but they made up, and he was now friends with the strangers. Josh knew that she had probably matured since they had seen each other last, but he was still anxious about what she might do. He had been briefly filled in by Topanga that Riley, Maya, and Lucas were in some weird love triangle together though; which hopefully distracted her from Josh, despite how strange the idea of Maya and Lucas together sounded.
He reached the brownstone and pressed the buzzer, telling Auggie he was here; and walked up the stairs after the boy let him up.
“My brotha!” He yelled as he opened the door, pointing to Cory who was sitting on the couch playing with Auggie.
“My brotha!” Cory returned the gesture, standing to give his younger brother a hug, “How are ya?”
“Good, college hasn’t killed me yet” Josh patted Cory’s back and pulled away.
“Joshie!” Auggie jumped off the couch and Josh lifted him up on his shoulders like he usually did. He often hung out with Auggie when he came over, helping Cory and Topanga take a little break from taking care of him. Josh also just liked hanging out with his nephew in general, as he was pretty entertaining.
“Still with that little firecracker?” Josh asked Auggie,referring to his ‘girlfriend’ and neighbor Ava; as the little boy picked at the fuzz on the signature navy beanie Josh wore on top of his head.
“We’re married now” Auggie replied simply.
“Wow, I really did miss a lot” Josh joked as he set Auggie on the floor.
“You have no idea” Topanga said half-jokingly but with a sigh, obviously overwhelmed and tired with whatever drama was occurring in their lives. She set down the wooden spoon she was using to stir the pasta she was cooking to pull him into a warm and comforting hug.
“I passed by the bakery on my way here. How’s that going?” Josh asked, helping her put together the salad so she’d have less work to do.
“It’s great! Riley and her friends like to hang out there a lot. A lot of NYU and Columbia kids also eat and study there” Topanga drained the pasta, “Thanks for helping me with dinner. You just may be my favorite Matthews’ brother” she said, glaring at Cory.
“Hey, I’m the one you’re married to!” Cory complained.
“You’re also the one who never helps out with dinner” Topanga pointed out, finishing him with her usual check-mate style and smug grin.
“She’s right you know” Auggie said while playing with his toy train.
“Traitor!” Cory yelled with his usual level of immaturity.
“Thank you Auggie… But that doesn’t mean I’m going to push back your bedtime” Topanga began to stir the homemade tomato sauce into the pasta while Auggie sulked back to his dad in disappointment.
“Oh, so now you wanna love me” Cory rolled his eyes but continued to play with his son.
“Where’s Riley and Maya?” Josh asked, noticing their absence.
“Maya is actually having dinner with her Mom and Shawn” Cory said, obviously happy that Katy and Shawn were dating. Well, it was good she wasn’t here right? He wouldn’t have to deal with the fact she liked him and was able to have a nice night with his family. But a tiny bit of Josh was disappointed that she wouldn’t be around to crack jokes with.
“So Shawn’s serious about her?” he asked, returning to reality and proceeding to set the bowl of salad on the table.
“Very. I haven’t seen him this happy since Angela. His eyes just… light up” Topanga gushed. Josh was glad that Shawn was finding his happiness. He was just as much his brother as Cory was other than the fact they had different DNA. He was also happy that Maya might be getting a father. He knew how hard her father’s abandonment is on her, and he knew that because Shawn dealt with abandonment himself, he would never let Maya feel that way.
Josh was about to ask where Riley was again since they hadn’t told him, but she walked into the kitchen before he could. She had gotten taller and looked more mature than the last time he had seen her. Her chestnut brown hair was shorter and she was wearing it in it’s natural slightly poofy state. She also looked visibly stressed and…. Sad? It was weird thinking that she could be anything but ‘Smiley Riley’, but she was definitely missing that spark she usually had.
“Hi Uncle Josh” Riley greeted him and gave him a hug, “It’s been awhile.”
“Hey Riley, how’s the high school life treating you?” They sat down on the bench at the dinner table.
“Alright, I have the worst history teacher though” Riley teased and took a sip of her lemon water.
“Does my own family even love me anymore?!” Cory cried out while he took his place at the head of the table.
Topanga took a pan of garlic bread out of the oven and placed it on the table with the rest of the food. She sat Auggie down and began to dish him up.
“What’s it like going to NYU?” Riley inquired as she piled pasta on her plate.
“It’s definitely different from Philadelphia and high school in general. I lucked out with getting Andrew as my roommate though, so I have a better room than most freshmen and I don’t have to deal with a creepy roommate.” Somehow Andrew had pulled some strings and got housing to let them share a room despite the fact that they were in different years.
“Did you join any fraternities?” Riley passed the bowl of pasta to him, her eyes lighting up at the thought of college greek life.
“No, frats are full of dou-” Josh realized Auggie was sitting across from him and tried to think of a non-inappropriate way of saying frat dudes were assholes, “-udes who make bad life decisions and aren’t… friend material” he let out a breath of relief. Cory and Topanga nodded in approval and continued eating.
“How do you like your classes? Is the women studies class any good?” Topanga questioned from the other side of the table. She had convinced him to sign up for women studies when he couldn’t decide on what classes to take.
“It’s actually pretty good. Although I’m pretty sure I’m one of the only guys in that class who isn’t taking it to get girls” Josh answered as he sprinkled some cheese on top of his spaghetti.
“Well I’m glad I raised you right” Topanga joked, but Josh had considered her a bit of a second mom; he had grown up with her and Cory taking care of him a lot of the time to prepare for kids of their own. When they did have Riley, the two would often play together at the Matthews’ house in Philly.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s statistically impossible to have you taking care of someone and them not becoming a feminist” Josh looked at Riley who smiled slightly before he continued, “Anyways, my photography class is pretty pretentious but fun; I’m fairly certain my psychology professor is a robot; and my architecture class is really interesting.”
“Ooooh! Mommy says I’m an architect too! I built a house with my legos” Auggie grinned, pronouncing the word as arch-e-tech-t, his face covered with tomato sauce. The four other Matthews’ let out a chorus of aw’s.
“Very impressive. You have to show me after dinner” Josh smiled and took a bite of the crunchy garlic bread.
“So Riley, how did you do on your Spanish test?” Topanga asked nervously. Josh knew that tone of voice, he’d heard it countless times from his own mom. Apparently Riley was not the best at Spanish.
“Well even though I studied all night and fell asleep in my cereal this morning, I only got a B-” Riley sighed with disappointment.
“That’s still good! I got F’s for 2 months straight in Spanish and I ended up getting A’s for the four years I took the class.” Josh reassured her.
“Don’t encourage her to fail Josh” Cory chastised, even though that wasn’t what Josh intended.
He was about to convey just that when Riley spoke, “It’s just that Maya is great at Spanish. She makes it on the fridge, and our teacher loves her. I bet she even knows how to conjugate the verb chewbacca in past and present tense” Riley nervously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
Okay, ignoring the fact that chewbacca was a character in Star Wars and definitely not a Spanish verb, it seemed Riley was jealous of Maya. From what he knew this wasn’t exactly a new thing. In middle school she often said she wanted to be just like her, a rebellious spirit who didn’t care about consequences. Someone who ‘doesn’t take nothing from no one’ as Riley had often described Maya. It didn’t seem like she was mad that Maya was doing well, but more like she wasn’t being helped out by Topanga or by Cory.
“I can always help you with Spanish if you want?” Josh offered.
“No, Maya already helps me” Riley pushed the food on her plate around. He was expecting her parents to comment on her odd mood, but they just continued on, asking Auggie how his day was and then discussing their own. Maybe it wasn’t that she wasn’t being helped but more like she wasn’t being acknowledged.
Josh thanked Topanga for the delicious dinner after it was done and went to play with Auggie in his room while Riley and Cory cleaned up the aftermath. He helped Auggie build some lego structures for the village he was creating.
“Ava is the president and I am her first lady” Auggie informed Josh.
“What am I?” He asked, still laughing at what Auggie had said.
“You are the ambassador of fun!” he announced.
“Did you just make that up right now?” Josh called him out playfully.
“Maybe” the boy shrugged and continued to play with his toys.
Ten minutes later Topanga called them out to play a round of cards. She obviously won, destroying everyone to the point where Cory almost flipped over the table in annoyance. Auggie joined in because he thought that’s what he was supposed to do, and Riley tried to mediate. Josh couldn’t help but laugh at the chaos in front of him.
Eventually they decided to stop before the apartment burned down and the parents announced it was time for Auggie to go to bed. Apparently their favorite show was on and it wasn’t exactly family friendly.
“Perfect! Josh you can hang out with me!” Riley exclaimed, practically dragging Josh out of the family room and into her bedroom. She sat down at her beloved bay window and looked at him expectantly.
Josh sat down hesitantly, “Am I in trouble?” He looked around, noticing that the bay window and her room in general had changed recently. It was more mature, and the wallpaper surrounding the window was torn down.
“No silly, we need to talk” Riley face him, her legs crossed.
“That doesn’t sound that much better you know”
“Talk as in catch up, talk about life” Riley elaborated.
“With me?” He noticed Riley frown so he quickly elaborated, “Not that I don’t want to it’s just… isn’t bay window talk more of a you and Maya thing?” Josh raised a brow in confusion.
“The bay window is for all my friends. And you’re my friend right?” Riley asked nervously.
“Of course” he answered.
“Well, sometimes I can’t talk about what I want to talk about with my school friends or with my parents. I need someone who isn’t involved to help me figure it out. I was hoping you could be that person” Riley asked.
This was weird. He was glad Riley wanted to spend more time with him but Riley had never felt like she couldn’t talk to her friends before. She and Maya talked about anything and everything together. If they were mad at each other, the two would be yelling in this window right now; and if it was too out of hand, Eric would be brought in like he was before. In fact, Maya should be here right now, trying to figure out why Riley seemed so sad. But at dinner Cory and Topanga didn’t seem to see anything wrong. Maybe Maya didn’t realize either?
Josh snapped out of his thoughts, “Talk away.”
“This is purely hypothetical okay?” Riley let out a deep sigh before talking.
“Gotcha” he said, knowing that this probably wasn’t hypothetical and had something to do with what was happening in her life.
“So this girl really likes this boy. And they are doing perfect. They make each other happy. But this girls’ friend starts liking him too. The girl wants both of them to be happy because she really cares about them. So she backs off but it starts killing her inside. And then their other friend tells everyone she still likes him. He doesn’t want to hurt them either but he can’t decide so he starts to date both of them. The girl’s friend doesn’t seem to notice how much it’s hurting the girl. What should the girl do?” Riley said anxiously, talking so fast that her words melted together. She stared at her fingers as if when she’d look up from them she died, and began fiddling with them.
“Does this have something to do with you, Maya, and Mr. Howdy?” Josh questioned.
Riley’s head snapped up and then she nodded sadly, “How’d you know?”
“Hypothetical situations are usually not hypothetical, especially when they’re so specific. Besides, Cory and Topanga briefly filled me in on it” Josh admitted.
“So what do you think should I do?” Riley stopped playing with her fingers.
“I honestly don’t know too much about the situation. Why don’t you talk me through from when Maya started to like Lucas?” Josh situated in order to get comfortable. This was going to take a while.
Riley nodded and began to explain that Lucas and Maya were voted best couple in the yearbook; and that Maya became Riley in order to bring her back from her ‘Morotia M. Black’ persona.
About a hour and a lot of questions later, Riley had finished explaining everything that happened in Texas. She let him have a moment to process everything, which was good because Josh was confused for several reasons. One, it was difficult to keep everyone’s feelings for one another straight, although emotions were never easy to understand. He couldn’t understand how Maya went from obsessing over him and then to liking his niece’s kind of boyfriend. Not that he had a huge ego, or was upset that she was moving on; because there wasn’t really anything to move on from.
“I don’t know if I ever want to go to Texas after this” Josh finally said, trying to cheer up Riley. She let out a soft laugh and a small smile at his joke. His niece was about to continue when Cory’s head popped in from the door.
“Hey, it’s 9:30, I’m sure you’ve talked Josh’s ear off long enough” Cory told Riley as he walked into her room. His daughter frowned, she hadn’t even gotten any advice.
“Actually, I’m having a nice time catching up. If it’s okay with you I was thinking of spending the night?” Josh asked.
Cory’s eyebrows widened in surprise, “Um, sure. If that’s what you want?” he gave a look as if Riley was forcing him to stay.
“Yup, couldn’t think of anything I’d rather do” Josh nodded, smiling at Riley.
“You’re a college student and it’s Friday night. Don’t you want to go to a party or sleep?!” Cory deadpanned.
“Dad!” Riley rose her voice in annoyance, “Josh says he wants to stay.”
“Alright, alright. I’ve got some pajama bottoms you can borrow” Cory faced Josh, noting that the t-shirt his brother currently wore would be fine for sleep; but his jeans would not.
“Thanks” Josh said as he followed him out of Riley’s room and into the room he and Topanga shared. The latter was not in the room, but he heard the shower running in the master bathroom. He watched Cory fish through his extremely disorganized drawers. His brother’s messy tendencies probably annoyed Topanga to insanity. Josh was currently deciding whether or not to say something about Riley’s behavior. On one hand, he wanted to help her; on the other, he didn’t want to come off as judgemental towards Cory and Topanga’s parenting. No, if he offended them they could get over it. The world needed a Riley and she wasn’t herself.
“Have you noticed that Riley’s acting different?” Josh finally said.
“What? No. Riley’s the same person she’s always been” Cory shook his head and continued to examine his clothes.
“Is she? Because to me she seems sad. Ignored” His brother dropped the sweatpants in his hands.
“Excuse me?” Cory stood up.
“She’s definitely not the same Smiley Riley I saw last time” Josh shook his head.
“People grow up, Josh. She has new friends and people in her life. It’s the secret of life. People change people” Cory wore both his teacher hat and his defensive armor at the same time.
“No, not like this. Riley has and always will be a positive person. But right now all those smiles aren’t real. They’re for show. Trust me, I would know” Josh stuffed his hands in his pockets, trying to repress the memories of his own rough years in high school.
“She’s fine. I would know, I’ve been with her everyday and she says she’s fine” Cory dismissed him and continued to find pants.
“Exactly. You haven’t been able to see that she’s changed because you’ve been with her everyday. This sort of stuff doesn’t just happen on the spot, especially to someone strong like Riley. It’s gradual. But to me, it’s almost a complete 180 since I saw her last.” Josh gulped as an awkward silence settled over them.
“What did you mean by ‘ignored’?” Cory finally broke the silence, hurt laced in his voice.
“Cory, she’s talking to me because she feels like she can’t talk to you or her friends. I think she feels like you’ll dismiss her problems”
“Kind of like I’m doing right now” Cory realized, and Josh gave a sullen nod.
“You should talk to her before it gets bad” He took the pants Cory was holding out for him.
“I’ll do it tomorrow. I think she needs to talk to you first. Besides, I have a lot to think about” Cory sighed.
“Cory, you’re still a great dad. That’s not why I brought it up” Josh said, noticing his defeated tone.
“Of course you weren’t… Just because we’re ‘Cory and Topanga, America’s sweethearts’ we aren’t perfect and we can be wrong. Riley and Auggie come first, before my own need to always be right” Cory stated.
“My brotha?” Josh asked.
“My brotha” Cory nodded and pulled him in for a hug. They held it for a few more moments before they broke apart and his brother spoke again, “I’m kinda surprised that you were the one who noticed though.”
Josh chuckled lightly, “Why do you say that?”
“I dunno… you’ve always been the oblivious one” Cory shrugged.
“Me? Please, I’m the one who who figures stuff out. Plus, I’m not the one who cared more about making out with my girlfriend when my brother was dying” Josh teased, reminding him of when Cory had been so obsessed with creating the perfect Valentine’s day when Josh was born.
“You need to stop bringing that up every time you’re mad at me! Besides, that’s not exactly how it went down” Cory crossed his arms, but he wasn’t actually angry.
“Why don’t we just agree that all of the Matthews’ boys are idiots?” Topanga said as she emerged from the bathroom in her pajamas. Josh hadn’t even noticed the shower turn off.
“I’m not an idiot, I’m a teacher!” Cory pouted.
“Oh please, you just relate whatever life lesson the kids need to be taught to a historical event. At least Feeny gave us homework and tests” Topanga poked fun at her husband.
Before Cory could fight back Josh interrupted, “I’m gonna go change. Goodnight you two.” The couple said goodnight to him and Josh headed to the bathroom in the hall to change, hearing them yelling at each other behind him.
He emerged from the bathroom a few moments later, still dressed in his Nirvana t-shirt, but was now wearing the green flannel pajama pants Cory gave him. He ran his hands through his slightly wavy hair, feeling a bit strange now that he wasn’t wearing his signature beanie. Josh walked down the hall to Riley’s room and with the hand not holding his jeans, he knocked on the wooden door.
“Hey, thought you disappeared on me” Riley smiled smally and stepped out of the way so Josh could come inside. She was dressed in a heathered purple t-shirt and bright blue pajama pants with a cat pattern. Her hair was also now in a messy ponytail instead of down.
“Yeah, sorry about that, we lost track of time. But I’m ready to talk some more… at least I think I am” Josh followed her into the room.
“Well I brought some snacks, so hopefully that will help” Riley gestured to the big bowl of popcorn, sour candy, and chocolate that was now laid out on her bed. He wasn’t sure how they could both consume that much, but then again they were both teenagers.
“How do you even have this much food?” Josh laughed and sat down on her bed after she patted the spot next to her.
“I like to be prepared. Besides, candy is an important factor to keeping Rileytown up and running” Riley smiled and tossed some popcorn in the air and attempted to catch it with her mouth; but, as expected, the kernels fell on her face and around the bed.
“Nice one” Josh chuckled and took a blue raspberry gummy worm and bit off the head.
“You just killed him!” Riley gasped, her face full of horror.
“Gummy worms aren’t people” Josh said and continued to eat the sour candy.
“Duh, they’re worms. And he had a whole life in front him! He never had the chance to find love” Riley said in a sad voice.
“You’re the one who gave me a bowl of gummy worms. How am I supposed to eat them?” Josh defended himself and tried to be serious, but his smile broke out. This adorable goofiness was a sign that the real Riley was still there.
“Eat everything but the head. Farkle told me that worms can regrow their bodies” Riley said very matter-of-factly, “And you’re the one in college” she scoffed playfully.
“Oh yeah, you’re a real pacifist” Josh rolled his eyes, “Now tell me more about this ‘triangle’ before we argue more about ethical ways to eat personified food.”
Riley took a deep sigh before continuing to recount the past year, when Farkle told everyone she still likes Lucas- Josh was kind of glad he wasn’t there for that drama, and graduation. He thought the ‘equal treatment’ thing was strange, especially because it was almost always Maya being ignored. If Lucas really liked both of them, he wouldn’t need to be reminded to give them attention; and both of them deserved to have someone who cares about them and only them. But then again, as Riley kept on telling Josh what had happened, it was more and more apparent that Lucas really only liked Riley, and didn’t want to hurt Maya’s feelings.
It was 11:30 by now and they were still talking, but she was telling him about their first day at highschool, so he would be all caught up soon.
“And then she said ‘I’m in the triangle with this?’ and-”
“What?” Josh interrupted.
“She said, ‘I’m in the triangle with this?’” Riley repeated.
“I heard you the first time it’s just… You guys are the best friends I’ve ever seen. Why would she say that?” Josh asked, readjusting his position.
“I dunno. She’s been saying little stuff like that a lot lately. I thought it was just Maya being Maya” Riley shrugged and let out a yawn while pulling the blankets over them closer.
“Is Maya really even Maya right now?” Josh wondered out loud.
“What do you mean?” Riley’s eyebrows shot up.
“To be honest, I’m not totally sure yet” Josh admitted.
What he did know was that Maya and Riley’s friendship was being hurt because of this stupid triangle, and their friendship was also the only reason it was still happening.
Riley continued to talk about how Lucas and her got into a fight, and the friends broke apart for a bit before making up.
“So we both still like him. What do I do?” Riley asked.
Josh thought for a minute and then replied, “This probably isn’t what you want to hear, but I don’t know how much you can do. I think Maya needs to figure out how she feels and Lucas needs to make up his mind. Even though I think he already has.”
“Oooh! Who’d he pick?!” Riley smiled.
Josh laughed, “I can’t say for sure. But you should talk to Maya about all of this. She needs to know that this is hurting you.”
“I can’t. The extent of our triangle talk is: ‘Do you still like him?’ ‘Yes, do you?’ ‘Yes’” Riley shook her head.
“Seriously? Listen, you guys are best friends. Some stupid western hero from Texas shouldn’t come between you two. Talk to her about it” Josh advised. Riley thought for a bit before speaking up again.
“Thanks for listening to me Uncle Josh, I really appreciate it” Riley smiled.
“Of course” he returned the gesture and she pulled him in for a quick hug.
“Now, is there anything you need to talk about?” Riley asked.
“I think I’ve reached my quota for advice and life talk for the day” Josh chuckled and shook his head.
“Okay well let’s just talk about whatever then” Riley suggested.
“Sure” Josh nodded.
The two talked for another hour before they both fell asleep talking about somehow both intersectional feminism and the pros and cons of bunny farming.
--------
Josh Matthews had gotten pretty used to being rudely awakened. The Matthews’ house was always pretty loud even with just Morgan, much to his parent’s chagrin. College wasn’t very peaceful either, he was usually woken up by Andrew getting ready or something crazy going on outside. That being said, Josh Matthews was not very used to talking all night long and having to figure out over a year’s worth of stuff, and then being rudely awakened. Especially not by a screaming girl who climbs in from a bay window.
“Riley Matthews why is there a boy in your bed?!” he heard the girl yell and buried his head face first into his pillow and groaned.
“Peaches what are you talking about?” Riley mumbled next to him.
“There is a boy in your bed!” the girl freaked out. Josh heard running footsteps and the bedroom door slam open.
“Boy?! BOY!” Cory yelled in horror. Josh heard footsteps approach him and felt the covers fly off his body. He twisted to face whoever did it and yell at them, and found him staring at bright blue eyes and golden hair.
“Why is Uncle Boing in your bed?” Maya asked Riley, though she kept her gaze on Josh.
“He stayed the night and we fell asleep talking” Riley stated, coming out from under the covers, dried drool all over her mouth.
“Maya, I know I just woke up and look super rough but you can stop staring at me” Josh sighed, running a hand through his messy bed head.
“That’s not why I was looking at you” Maya shook her head.
“Yeah why were you looking at him?” Cory said with a mischievous grin, and Josh and Maya both sent him a glare. “Yikes okay. I was coming in here anyways to tell you that breakfast is almost ready” Cory announced before turning and leaving the room.
“Maya what were you going to say?” Riley asked, now sitting cross legged on her bed.
“I… I was looking at you because I forgot you even existed! You’ve been gone for so long. Yeah that’s it” Maya nodded and looked away from him.
“Sure” Josh nodded and stretched in bed.
“C’mon Riles let’s go” Maya grabbed Riley’s hand and practically dragged her out of the room.
Josh took the opportunity to change back into his jeans and stuck his beanie in the back pocket before coming out to join them.
“Morning Joshie!” Auggie exclaimed happily from the dinner table. Everyone else had sat down already except for Topanga, who was finishing putting the breakfast on the table. The only open spot was next to Maya. Great. He looked at her again and noticed she was dressed an awful lot like Riley. Instead of her usual flannels, leather jackets, and graphic-tees; she was wearing the similar style of bohemian and florals that Riley often wore.
“Next time you sleepover you better not keep my daughter up that late” Topanga interrupted his thoughts in a half-joking tone as she set down the plate of pancakes and then took her seat next to Auggie.
“Sorry, we had a lot to catch up on” Josh apologized and poured himself some orange juice.
“Catch up on?” Maya raised her brows.
“Yeah, you said it yourself, I’ve been gone so long you forgot I existed, remember?” Josh answered, coming out more bitter than he intended. Maya didn’t respond, which was very out of character. A few minutes laters she started to chat to Riley about some tv show they watched while Cory and Topanga made plans for the day.
When the six finished breakfast, Topanga turned to Auggie, “Sweetie why don’t you go play with your toys in your room?” Auggie pouted a little but thanked them for breakfast and bounded off to his room. The rest of them watched him leave and heard his bedroom door shut.
“Riley we need to talk to you” Cory said, shooting Josh a look. They must want to talk about what Josh told him last night.
“Am I in trouble?” Riley asked nervously.
“No, but it’s important” Topanga took a long sip of her coffee, “But we were hoping it would be private” she looked at Josh and Maya. Josh nodded but Maya furrowed her brows in anger.
“Riley and I are practically the same person. I should be here to support her” Maya protested.
“Yeah, you can say whatever you were going to say to me in front of Maya” Riley smiled at her best friend and took her hand.
“You two can talk after” Topanga insisted in a way that even Maya knew she couldn’t fight back.
“Well what am I supposed to do with myself while you guys are talking?” Maya pouted.
“I actually have to talk to you” Josh spoke up.
Maya whipped around and raised her brows in surprise, “Wittle ol’ me?”
“Yes, you. Bay window time, or whatever you guys say” Josh got up from the bench.
“You’re not even trying” Maya rolled her eyes but followed him into Riley’s room anyways, closing the door behind them.
“Listen if you’re going to confess your love for me it’s a little too late Boing” Maya sat down in her usual spot.
“Is that right?” Josh turned his and furrowed his eyebrows skeptically.
“Wait are you actually confessing your love?” Maya checked, and and Josh shook his head no, “Good, because I like Huckleberry now.”
“Wait I thought you liked Lucas?” Josh blinked in confusion.
“That is Lucas. You’re not the only one with a nickname. In fact, I think I should call you Joshua Gabriel just to establish our new dynamic- just friends” Maya rambled.
“We were always just friends. But I do want to talk about Lucas” Josh prayed that he wouldn’t actually call him Joshua Gabriel.
“Don’t tell me you like him too?” Maya groaned.
“Maya stop joking” Josh said seriously, ruining the amusing atmosphere.
“Fine” Maya’s whole demeanor changed.
“Why do you like him?” Josh asked.
“I don’t know, I just do” Maya shrugged.
“If you liked him you would know”
“I…. I like that he’s adventurous and reckless, I like that he cares deeply for his friends. I like that he puts up with my jokes and names… With him I feel like I can go and just do things on impulse” Maya answered, staring at her shoes.
“Really? Because last time I saw him he said he wouldn’t even try calling his mom ‘Ma’” Josh pointed out.
“What are you trying to do here Josh?” she looked up from the ground to him.
“This triangle is hurting your friendship with Riley, and-”
“No, you’re wrong. We’re Riley and Maya. Honey and Peaches. Thunder, lightning, ring power, the whole shebang. A friendship like ours is forever” Maya shook her head passionately.
“It shouldn’t end and it won’t. But that doesn’t mean it can’t have troubles. This whole thing is hurting Riley, she feels like she can’t trust you as much anymore” Josh felt horrible for saying it. A part of him was screaming ‘this is stupid and wrong, abandon ship while you still can!’; but the other kept reminding him that this was important.
“You’re a liar. Riley trusts me. She would tell me if she was hurt” Maya’s eyes began to glisten with tears.
“Riley’s also the one who stepped back and called Lucas her brother for you. She lied about her feelings just to make you happy. Seeing you like this wouldn’t make her happy. It doesn’t make anyone happy Maya” Josh wanted to reach out and comfort her, but she would probably just slap his hand away.
“Then why the hell are you telling me this?” Maya rose her voice.
“I just… This triangle needs to end so everyone can be happier and I… I don’t think you really like Lucas” Josh sighed. No turning back now.
“What do you mean?”
Josh took a deep breath, “Maybe you felt rejected by a certain someone. Fuck it, maybe you felt rejected by me. You confessed your feelings and I didn’t- don’t reciprocate them. And Riley and Lucas were happy. He’s a great guy and he would never hurt you or anyone he cares about. Maybe you wanted something like that. Someone like that. You want someone who will love you and care about you and only you. You deserve that. But… I think you lost yourself trying to find it. You became Riley because she has so many people in her life who love and support her. You started dressing like her and Cory doesn’t even call me every week to yell about the trouble you cause in class anymore. But you should be loved because you’re you, and I don’t think you , the true Maya; likes Lucas that way.”
The room stayed silent for a minute, Josh was pretty sure his heart was about to explode because of how nervous he was.
Maya stood up suddenly, “You don’t get to just waltz back into my life and think you’ve got everything figured out because you don’t. I wouldn’t just like Lucas because-” Maya shook her head, “God you are such an egotistical ass! Just because I thought we could at least become good friends and then you just left doesn’t mean that- You’re not that important to me Josh, you don’t affect me that much.”
Josh forgot how to breathe for a second. Because yeah, he didn’t want to be in a relationship with her and he didn’t love her but… For her to say that he wasn’t important to her…
He looked up to see a quick flash of regret in her eyes before her angry blue eyes returned, reminding Josh of a relentless hurricane.
“Maya, that’s not what I meant” Josh stood up too.
“I don’t care what you meant. This is the real me now Josh. People change people. Riley and my friends changed me. You haven’t been around enough to change me the way you think you did, and you won’t ever be. Don’t talk to me again” Maya roughly rubbed away the tears rolling down her cheeks and escaped out of the bay window, leaving Josh to think to himself.
His thoughts consisted of ‘I just fucked everything up’ on a continuous loop.