The Long Game (Joshaya)

I Will Wait

Song of the Chapter: I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons (Acoustic Cover by Hannah Trigwell) and Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus

*Josh's POV *

I wake up to the sun shining in my eyes. I look around the room and remember that I'm still at Maya's place. She's curled up next to me, her head on my chest. I smile and place a light kiss the top of her head. I'm gonna miss her so much. She moves around and then looks up at me with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Boing," she says, yawning.

"Mornin'," I say, rubbing her back. She looks out the window and turns back to me with a frown on her face.

"What time are you going back?"

"Well, it's Sunday so maybe around the afternoon?" When she doesn't respond, I add,"We can still spend the morning together." We smile at each other, so I tell myself to remember this moment because I know for sure that nothing will ever be better than this. Maya begins to sit up, but I quickly wrap my arms around her to keep her next to me. "C'mon, 5 more minutes."

"Josh, my parents are probably wondering about us," she laughs, but doesn't try to break free. I wrap my arms tighter around her.

"Then they can just come in here."

"You know how much they'd flip out if they saw us right now?"

"Nah, they wouldn't," I reply, which makes her laugh more. I begin to embed every detail about her into my brain. Her laugh, her smile, the way she talks, her eyes, her voice. Everything. Everything about her is worth remembering. I want to spend as much time as possible with her before we go our separate ways. This may not happen again for a long time and it may not happen ever again.

"Josh, you okay?" Maya asks, snapping me out of my focus on her. Ironic, I know.

"Yeah...I'm good." She props herself up on an elbow so that she's looking down at me.

"What am I to you?" she asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Josh, c'mon. You can't be much more straightforward than that."

I carefully think of my words. What I say could affect everything that happens next. "Maya, to me...you're..." She continues to look at me, expecting an answer. "To me, you're someone I will always care and think about, no matter where you are. No matter what you're doing or who you're with. That's what you are to me."

She smiles and lies back down, looking at the ceiling. "To me, you're someone who cares about the people he loves, no matter who he thinks he is. You have kindness, something that not many people have anymore." I prop myself up on an elbow so that I was the one looking at her now. "That's what you are to me," she smiles. 

I glance down at her pale pink lips, then at her icy blue eyes. I draw them in my mind, so that I may never forget them. We keep our eyes locked on each other, never once glancing off to the side. I'll probably never see her again after today, so I decide to go for it. I place my lips on hers gently, as if she was Sleeping Beauty. She stays frozen for a bit, but then starts to respond. I put my hand behind her head and bring it closer to me, so she props herself up on both elbows. I hold her head with both of my hands, the sides of her face almost completely covered by them. I want to know all of her, but when my lips move to her jaw, she pulls away and places her forehead on mine.

"I don't wanna go too fast," she says, out of breath.

"I'll wait. As long as it takes," I reply, tucking her hair behind her ear. 

***

* Maya's POV *

Josh really caught me off guard with that kiss. One second we were just looking at each other, then he decided to kiss me.  Why though? I didn't know he felt that way now. Was 'someday' today? We stay in bed together, not talking about anything, but his presence was enough for me. Suddenly, there was a knock at my door.

"Maya, Josh, you guys hungry?" I hear Shawn ask.

My eyes grow wide. "How does he know you stayed?" I whisper to Josh. He shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head.

"Uh, you're mom left a note," Shawn replies. "I made pancakes. Well, tried to anyways." I hear Shawn walk away from the door and the smell of burnt pancakes hits my nose.

Josh and I look at each other and start to laugh. He still has his arms wrapped around me, so I begin to loosen myself from them.

"You can let go now," I chuckle.

"Someday," he replies.

A small smile forms on my face, but I know that 'someday' will probably never happen. We were going in such different directions, and now would be the worst possible time to start something. I've waited for him all these years and now he wants me when I'm ready to move on? Now when I look at him, all I can think is "Why?"

We get out off bed and join Shawn in the living room. He set up plates with slightly burnt pancakes on them and a bottle of syrup in the middle. He starts to eat as soon as we leave my room. When Josh and I join Shawn at the table, he puts his fork down and gives us a serious look. Oh, no.

"You guys didn't...do anything, did you?" Shawn asks.

Josh chokes on a piece of pancake, then swallows it down. "I assure you, sir, we didn't," he replies.

"Ok, just...making sure." Shawn says, looking at me. I place my head in my hands, my cheeks turning red. I feel Josh's hand on the small of my back, which sends chills through my body. I sit up instantly and start stuffing my face with pancakes. Josh and Shawn laugh, then start to talk about NYU. Even Shawn mentions that Josh hasn't been around in a while.

"I'm gonna take a shower," I say, standing up. I place my dishes in the sink and walk to my room. I pull out a white RVCA t-shirt and another pair of plain black leggings. I go to my sock drawer and pull out a pair of polka dot fuzzy socks for afterwards. I grab my clothes and towel and walk back outside, where Josh and Shawn are still catching up over pancakes.  They barely acknowledge me as I walk past them to the bathroom, so I roll my eyes. Men. I undress, tie my hair into a messy bun, and step into the shower. When I turn the water on, I start to sing. There was never a time when I didn't sing in the shower. I didn't consider it a shower unless I sang. I start to sing Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus and when I reach the 2nd round of the chorus, I hear a knock on the door.

"What?" I shout over the sound of running water.

"Josh said he's gonna leave soon," I hear Shawn say through the door.

"Ok," I reply. I thought Josh said he was gonna stay for the morning. I quickly finish my shower and continue my song outside the shower so that I can get dressed before Josh leaves. I pull on my clothes and when I open the door, Josh falls into the bathroom.

"Uh..." Josh says, looking up at me from where he's laying on the bathroom floor. 

"Are you okay?" I ask him, bending down to help him up.

"Yeah," he replies, sitting up. "That's some voice you have."

I feel my cheeks turn red. "Oh, that wasn't...I wasn't actually...um..." Why can't I say anything?

"Nice socks," he says, smiling at me. He always knows what to say.

"Thanks," I reply, my cheeks still red. I look up at him. "So you're leaving now?"

"Yeah, I forgot I had something at school today."

"On a Sunday?"

He scratches the back of his head. "Yeah, uh, we're...tutoring more freshmen and then grabbing a bite at Brooklyn Diner. Maybe you can join us?"

The thought of a high school senior eating with college students who will be seniors when I enter college scares me. They'd probably be all mean, if they weren't drunk first.

"Yeah, Maya. You should go out more. All you do is work. You need to take a break and enjoy high school before it's gone," Shaun shouts from the kitchen.

"I agree," Josh adds. "So whatdya say? I'll come back around 6?"

I bite my lip, then decide. What's the worst that could happen? "Ok."

Josh smiles and pulls me in for a hug. I take it all  in, everything about him. Before he let's go, he kisses the top of my head. "See you tonight."