Not so little anymore

Graduation

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There was a certain excitement and yet, gloom, the next morning when Maya woke up. She looked around her and Riley's dorm room and noticed the boxes that her best friend had thrown across the room. There was some stuff that were already packed in them, some stuff that was laying beside the boxes, clothes thrown everywhere.

Today was graduation day for the seniors, which meant that in one week, campus would be closing down for those who weren't taking summer classes and heading back home. Riley had already taken it upon herself to go ahead and start packing up hers and Maya things. They didnt have any more classes, all their final exams were over and done with. The only thing left for them to do was have meetings with their professors and start thinking about what classes they wanted to start taking in the fall.

As Maya crawled out of bed and started stumbling around her room for some clean clothes to put on, she tripped over one of Riley's heels and face planted the floor. She groaned as she picked up what looked like an old pair of Lucas underwear that had somehow found their way out from under Riley's bed.

"Gross!" Maya groaned as she threw them away from her with a disgusted look. She would need to be having a serious discussion with Riley about bringing future dates back to their dorm room when the time came around next fall.

As Maya pushed herself up onto her knees, a piece of paper caught her eye that was sitting just underneath the nightstand, slightly poking out from its hiding place. Maya grabbed it and noticed that it wasn't really a piece of paper at all, but a ragged old picture that looked like it had seen better days.

Maya felt her breath hitch and her heart drop a bit. It was an old picture for sure. One from when she was back in middle school with Riley, and they had all taken that trip upstate with Shawn... and Josh.

It was of Josh, Maya and Riley, all standing together checking out some of the taller buildings in the City. Shawn snuck a picture of them all together and gave a copy to Riley and one to Maya. Maya had thrown hers out a long time ago, back when she was in high school and still going through the pain of hearing that Josh had moved on. But it seemed as if Riley had decided to keep hers.

"Josh." Maya whispered as she stared at him. Today was the day. Today was his graduation, tonight his goodbye party and then tomorrow, he would be getting on a plane that would be taking him to the other side of the country.

Maya sighed. She ran her hands through her hair and thought back to her ride home with Josh from when he had taken her to go see his father. He didnt say anything, noting the way that Maya didnt really want to talk about what happened. Then as he pulled up and parked in the parking lot of campus, Maya thought back to what he told her right before they went their separate ways to their dorms.

"Maya, I know that this year hasn't been ideal, especially between us." Josh told her, right before they separated at the cross walk they had just stopped at. "But I want you to know, no matter what, I'm always going to be here for you. Even if I am in California. We were friends before we were anything else, and I'd like things to continue that way. So if you ever need me, for anything at all. I'm just a phone call away."

It was those words that had kept Maya up for most of the night, she hadn't been able to get them out of her head since he had said them. But, nevertheless, he had his problems, and she had hers.

"Maya!" Riley's voice snapped Maya out of her train of thought as she looked up at her best friend, who was already dressed in formal wear with the same pair of heels in her hand that Maya had just tripped over. "You better get dressed! Josh's graduation starts in an hour! We were supposed to meet up with the family half an hour ago." Riley told her. Maya sighed as she tucked the picture into her hoodie pocket and got up from the floor, starting an argument with Riley about where all her clean dresses had gone.
~

The graduation was being held outside. Riley and Maya got there about twenty minutes before it started, just enough time to head to the back of the stage and wish Josh a good luck before they took their seats in the stand.

"Maybe you should just go, this seems like a family thing. I can save us seats." Maya said right before her and Riley got to the back curtain where all the graduates were being hid. Riley looked over at her friend with a frown.

"Dont be ridiculous, Maya. You are family." Riley told her. Maya felt her heart warm at Riley's sentence. But she felt the huge weight on her shoulders a bit more.

"No really, Riley. I think I should really sit this one out." Maya told her. She couldn't explain it, but she felt like seeing Josh right now wouldn't do her any good. She felt like running away, back to her dorm and hiding out until that plane took off from the airport tomorrow.

"Maya," Riley stated as she came closer to Maya and looked her in the eyes. She dropped her voice down to a whisper in case there was anyone nearby that could hear them. "The only reason he's getting on that plane tomorrow is because you told him to." Riley said. "Trust me, there isn't anyone else he'd rather see right now."

Maya bit her lip, conflicted on what she wanted to do and knowing what she should do. But Riley didnt give her much of a choice as she grabbed Maya's hand and pulled her behind the curtain before she could even have time to process it was happening.

"Riley, Maya! I was beginning to think you two weren't going to show. The rest of the family has already been back here." Josh said as he turned around and noticed them coming through the curtain.

"We got a bit of a late start this morning." Riley told him. "We just wanted to be sure to see you before you walked across the stage." Riley said as she gripped Maya's hand tight.

"Well I'm glad you did. I was hoping you would, anyway." Maya lifted her head, and her eyes caught Josh's. He was already in his gown, his cap dangling lightly from his hand as he stared intensely at her.

Maya felt the intensity of that look go right through her. She could see it, in his eyes. The look that she was dreading to see, the one where she wished she wouldn't see, the one where she was hoping to avoid. Maya quickly averted her gaze back to the ground, trying to calm her heart back down to a healthy pace.

"Well, good luck, Uncle Josh. If you cant see us as you go to get your diploma, then use you're hearing. We'll be the ones cheering the loudest." Riley told him, quite proudly. Josh smiled and gave his niece a hug, staring at Maya over her shoulder.

"Good luck, Josh." Maya whispered, before she let Riley pull her back out from the curtain and into the stands where their family was sitting.

Shawn looked over at his step-daughter. He and Katy shared a look as Maya came to sit beside him on one of the chairs. He leaned over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"You just got to take it one day at a time." He whispered in her ear. He kissed her on the side of her temple and then leaned back against his seat. He kept his arm around her shoulders and squeezed slightly.

Maya smiled as she leaned into his touch, feeling the weight and heartache lesson slightly.
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Thank you for reading this 3 chapter update!! I hope you guys enjoyed!! See you soon!