Maya POV:
I woke up having no idea what day or time it was. -2:45 PM- Ahhh I slept through school! I found a note from Shawn. Josh gave us a rundown of what happened. You can stay home today. Me and Katy are going out for dinner. We'll be back around 11:00 tonight, unless we stay in a hotel (very likely). You'll have the house to yourself. Love ya- xShawn. Oh thank the heavens. I get into the shower and think about yesterday. My side stings as the water hits it, so I decide on a bath instead. Riley kept replaying in my mind. Why? What did I do to make my best friend hate me? Then I got a text.
Thank god! I could use the distraction. 11pm rolls around and Shawn sends me a note.
I start getting ready. This this was gonna be amazing, and my parents weren't here so I didn't have to sneak in or out of the house. I put on risqué outfit, some makeup, and called Josh to pick me up.
Josh- "Why am I driving you somewhere at 11:45 at night and where are the rest of your clothes, not that I'm complaining." At first I don't respond and instead text my friends to see who will be there. Everyone says yes. Hell yeah! "Maya?" Oh yeah I forgot about Josh. What does he need? "Why are you going to this party and why are you going by yourself, once again, dressed like that?"
Maya- "The real question is are you coming to this party?" Jeez, he gets a lot of girls for someone who can't hang. We pull up to the house and before I have to answer any questions, I get out of the car and thank him for the ride. I hope he's pulled away so he can't hear the reaction to when people recognize me.
Random Guys- "Maya!", "Hey long time no see!", "Where have u been May?", "Sup Maya.", "Hey go easy on my friend, he's new!", "12 shots is here!" I simply roll my eyes and walk inside. Right away I see Karmen and give her a huge hug.
Karmen- "Papaya! Where have you been hiding? I swear you never come out anymore!"
Maya- "Hey, first year of Highschool for me. I've been adjusting. And how's college treating you?"
Karmen- "The guys fall over when I walk into a room, including the teachers."
Maya- "Well no shit! Look at you!" She just smiles and gives me another hug. I remember why I used to go out with her all the time. She was like the older sister I always wanted.
Karmen- "I assume you're only here for the -"
Stephanie- "FREE BOOZE!!!" I can't help but laugh as Steph runs over with a beer for me and gives me a kiss on the cheek. "Papaya! We missed you! Our team was always short."
Maya- "Well I'm here now. Let's remind the boys how to play, shall we?" As soon as we step into the kitchen, everyone cheers. It's been so long since I went out, I forgot what it was like, but the people never forgot me. We start with beer pong and as usual, me , Karmen, and Steph crush these boys. Then I get challenged to a drink off. Poor guy! He must be the new kid Chris was talking about. He was dared to pick someone, and me being tiny, it seems like I can't handle my liquor very well. People stopped challenging me after the third guy passed out and had his stomach pumped. I'm about 12 shots in when I start to feel it, but I'll be fine. I have my nickname for a reason. The kid fell over and we decided to end with strip poker and beers in the backyard. I was in just my bralette and underwear when he walked in. Why? I didn't really want to explain myself to him but he had already seen me. At least I wasn't too drunk. Josh walked over and threw his shirt on over me. He then picked me and my clothes up, and walked out. "What the hell Josh?" He just kept walking. Chris noticed and stopped Josh at the door. Most people couldn't stop Josh, but Chris was a huge, built guy. He always acted like this with me and Karmen, that's probably why we're such good friends.
Chris- "Hey May, you good?"
Maya- "Yup he's fine, just going to scold me."
Chris- "Ok good luck!" At least some of my friends still care about me and my safety. We left the party and started walking to his car.
Josh- "Um do you want to start or should I?" As we got there, I pulled my pants on. "Ok I'll start. One, why did everyone seem to know you? Two, when did you become such a heavy drinker? Three, Why did you want to go out tonight? You haven't talked about any parties since the start of this year." May as well tell someone.
Maya- "They all either know me personally because I'm out here a lot or have heard about me. After you told me you would never have feelings for me is when it started, but it didn't get bad until I got with Gabe. We were on and off dating a lot, so I wasn't ever cheating on him, but it's why he was always jealous and super aggressive. I went out tonight because of what Riley said and I haven't been out for a long time because Riley was really changing me. I remembered why I used to go out all the time though. It might not seem like it, but I have good friends in there. Karmen, she's 19, and me got tattoos for her birthday, Steph, she's 17, and me go out and get our nails done on Mondays, and Chris, he's 20, comes to my house 3x a week to help me in math. Even when I'm not out partying with them, they check in on me and how I'm feeling. They really are my family at this point. They've helped me through a lot of shit and vice versa. And no, I'm not that drunk right now since I know you're wondering. It just felt right to tell someone." He smiled at me.
Josh- "Here's the real question, how can you not be passed out or at least drunk out of your mind right now? You're what, 5'2, and I saw you easily drink triple every guy in there." I didn't really know why but I've always metabolized alcohol and fast food very quickly. Wait he saw me? So he was at the party, watching me. Awww, that's so sweet. Oh shit! He heard people talking.
Maya- "So you were at the party... and you were watching me?" I hope he didn't hear all the guys and watch strip poker and dammit!
Josh- "Yeah along with every guy there. They all know how old you are?" I nod, when people found out I was going into Highschool and that I was on the older side, it only escalated. Before it was just ogling, but it quickly turned into shouting and grabbing. Thank god I had Chris. "I heard some stuff Maya. Was it true? Any of it?" All I can do is shake my head yes. "All of it ? Is all of it true?" I keep nodding. I was the girl who did every dare, made guys jealous during spin the bottle, and kissed anyone who was exceptionally hot, it didn't matter if they were available or not. I was like Missy Bradford x10. Now Josh knew. He was going to tell the Matthew's that I went out tonight and they were gonna hate me. They sent me to AA and I got better, but they told me that if I didn't get better, that they would tell Riley about it. Now they're going to tell Riley and she already hates me. Oh well. I couldn't keep it from her forever. Kids talked in the hallways and made jokes but she never payed attention to them. And Shawn. Once he found out, he would leave me and my mom. We would be alone again. A fat tear rolled down my cheek as I looked out the window. This night was supposed to be amazing.
Josh POV:
Is this where she went? Really? I see that her turn is coming up and she's almost naked. I put my shirt on her, grabbed her and her things, and left. I asked her to explain and she actually did. Then she started to cry. It wasn't much at first, just tears silently rolling down her face. I hate to see her cry, so we stop at Shake Shack. I give her my jacket to put on over her outfit but she points out that it's 2am. Is she not tired? Or planning on sleeping? Guess not because she asked me to go to a Starbucks drive thru. After her coffee, I ask if she's ready to go home
Maya- "No how about we head to your place." How did she know I had my own apartment? Ehh it doesn't matter, I agreed. What could go wrong? The girl whose had a crush on me since we were toddlers is drunk and going to stay the night at my place. It makes total sense. This was turning into an interesting Friday, now Saturday.
Maya POV:
As he unlocks his door, he looks back at me slightly concerned. I took some Advil, my secret pill for nights like these, and already had my 2 coffee's so I won't have to deal with the hangover. I know Josh still thinks I'm tipsy, but it only takes about 2 hrs for me to sober up completely. Like pass a sobriety test, go to school, and actually learn something sober. It was kind of sad that I knew that. Anyways, I just wasn't ready to be alone again. We sat on his couch and watched The Exorsist. Once it ended, I decided to go home. The sun was rising and I felt amazing. Hanging out with Josh made me feel way better that drinking and hooking up with random guys. I ask Josh if I can come back later, but he just looks away. "Josh?"
Josh- "Um Maya, I have a date coming over." Ohhhhh!
Maya- "That's fine. I'll stay in the guest room. Please?" I gave him my very best puppy dog eyes.
Josh- "Ok Maya. Here's a spare key." Yay! I can do my art without anyone trying to look at it. Hey, maybe I'll even sing.
Maya- "Hey Josh, quick question. Who are you having a date with?" I almost passed out when he said Jesica. She was the girl who sent everyone the video of me and this guy Marcus. His girlfriend showed up the next day to punch me. I was sick so she got away with it. Gabe also punched me, even though we weren't together, but that wasnt our of the ordinary. Like hell was I gonna let Josh date her. "What time is she coming over?" I asked as least suspiciously as I could.
Josh- "Around like 9, why?"
Maya- "I just think it would be better if I got here early, so I won't be interrupting."
Josh- "Oh ok that makes sense. See you tonight!"
Tonight// (Inspired by Josh Matthews 's Female Roomate-link: https://www.wattpad.com/184505484-josh-matthews%27s-female-roommate-chapter-nineteen )
Josh POV:
Maya walked in with her art supplies while I was in the shower. She was getting set up in the guest room as I finished. I walked by and stopped to see how she was doing. "Hey hows it going?" She refused to look at me. Then I realized that I was in just a towel. I smirked at her and left. I got ready just in time as the doorbell rang. "Hey Jess. Come on in," as she walked in, Maya decided to get a snack. She wasnt wearing shorts, from what I could tell, and one of my flannels with her hair in a bun. Damn she looked hot.
Jessica must have seen my staring and looked over. Maya just smiled and waved at her.
Maya- "Hi, you must be the girl he's tutoring. Nice to meet you. Hey babe? Is it ok if I get paint on your shirt? Thanks!" She put the bagel in her mouth and walked off. What just happened? Jessica looked over at me, clearly upset.
Jessica- "You never told me you had a girlfriend. I'll just let myself out." She was gone before I could protest. I barged into the guest room to find Maya painting with her back turned towards me. She doesn't seem to have my shirt on anymore, but instead some gray robe or something.
Maya- "I can't believe she didn't recognize me!" She laughed.
Josh- "Maya, what the hell was that?" She finally turned around and smiled.
Maya- "What was what?"
I stood there looking at her forever. She just laughed it off. Maya walked over and whispered in my ear, "take a picture. It'll last longer."
Josh- "You should come with a warning or something." I forgot what I was mad about as I chased after her.
*This was a long chapter. I got slightly overzealous and combined two sections together. Sorry?
Hey, thank you so much for reading my story. I hope it helps satisfy your joshaya heart a bit. I love reading your comments so feel free to say whatever's on your mind. If you like the chapter, please vote for it. I know it seems mundane but it helps me, the author, a lot to see what y'all like and don't like about the story. Enjoy!