The Preview II: Our Little Infinity

Chapter 2: A Little Less Than Normal

Maya's POV

The clock on my bedside table glowed a bright, unforgiving shade of neon blue as I tossed and turned in my bed- that is, my new bed. 2:24 A.M. Great. At this rate, I wasn't going to get any sleep at all.

I wasn't by any means uncomfortable in Josh's apartment. It became home to me a bit quicker than what was perhaps wise. Not that I cared. It was just the uncertainty of it all. The past few months with my mom had been absolutely miserable, to the point where I became sure I could only love her from a distance. That didn't mean I didn't miss her.

Homesickness to me was a dull ache, not left from the absence of a place, but of a certain period of time. Before my mom married Shawn, she started working extra shifts almost every night in hopes of saving enough for a honeymoon. She couldn't stand Shawn paying for everything, even though he could afford to.

She would come home to find me already asleep and pass out in bed next to me, too fatigued to make it the ten extra steps across the hall to her room. If I woke up in the middle of the night, she was right there, even though she'd be gone for work again before I had to get ready for school in the morning.

Now, my bed felt empty. It was cold and it made my stomach turn. I thought about Josh.

It was hard to say what Josh and I were. After his week of previews, he went back to school, and my life returned to normal. Well, normal until my friends all started to fade away. 

My friends... I thought about Riley. I should text Riley. No, nonsense. She's asleep by now. Farkle? No way. He's either asleep, or he'll get all philosophical with me, and I am NOT in the mood. 

Besides, what could they do? Make things with my mom okay again? Bring Shawn back to work from home? Tell Josh to stop being so awkward and just talk to me?

Oh, yeah. There was that.

Josh and I didn't talk all that much anymore. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he'd been afraid of me and how I made him feel since my freshman year. I was the girl he wasn't meant to like- the girl that was much too young. Now here I was, down the hall, three days shy of my eighteenth birthday, and he was still afraid to love me.

Sure, the preview was romantic and whimsical. Sure, he swept me off my feet for a week before vanishing from my life yet again. It didn't mean anything then. Back then, someday was lightyears away (so out of space, without a trace). Now, it sat right in front of us. He was scared. I was scared.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of movement in the bathroom next door. I quickly turned over, pretending to be asleep. The last thing I needed was for Josh to catch me moping in bed at 2 A.M. like the girl I tried so hard not to be.

Unfortunately, my mission failed. Josh quietly approached the half-open door, rapping his knuckles on the white painted wood.

"Maya...?" His voice was a groggy whisper, heavy from sleep. I hoped I hadn't woken him with my loud thoughts.

I didn't respond, holding my breath and praying he'd leave, like the monster that lived under my bed when I was six.

"Maya, I know you're awake, please talk to me..." His voice was pleading now.

I sighed and turned over to face him. Through the dim light, I could just make out his mussed, dark hair and the faint gleam of his chocolate brown eyes.

"Hi..." I whispered meekly.

Josh gave me a sad smile and strode over to me, sitting down on the edge of the bed. I quickly sat up and scooched up to the opposite end, closest to the pillows.

"Can't sleep?" He more so stated this than asked.

I nodded. He sighed, and I felt the bed dip as he moved a bit closer to me. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, and I all but fell into his chest, clinging to him like a koala to a eucalyptus tree. I felt him plant a kiss on the top of my head, and I couldn't help the tears that began to trickles down my cheeks.

We stayed like that for what felt like hours and seconds all at the same time. When my crying stopped, Josh cleared his throat and gently pulled away.

"I'll let you get some sleep. You should be able to rest better now that that's out of your system."

He slowly stood and made his way to the door, and my voice failed me. It wasn't until his hand was on the knob that I was able to croak out one word.

"Stay."

He froze in place, only moving to release the doorknob and nervously scratch the back of his head. I gazed at him pleadingly, praying he could see my desperation through the darkness.

Then, without another word, he made his way back to my bed, sliding in next to me. He offered his arms and I buried myself in his warmth.

After a couple of moments, he must have thought I was asleep, or else he wouldn't have muttered, "I love you, Maya," while his fingers ran soothingly through my hair.

So things were a little less than normal- I could get used to it.

A/N: Thank you all so much for the feedback on the first chapter! A lot of people were commenting on how sad it was. The reason for this is, I felt a need to add reality to the Girl Meets World story. I wanted their high school experience to have the normal ups and downs of any real-life teenage weirdo. That being said, I am a firm believer in happy endings, so of course, this story will have one! 

Love and kisses,

Julia Hoolia

P.S: Does anyone know how to change your Wattpad username? I've done it before, but somehow I'm struggling, lol.