As Time Passed By (A Josh And Maya Fanfic)

As Time Passed By: Chapter Eight

Josh's POV

I couldn't handle it. I fled the scene. I found an empty hallway with chairs aligning one wall. I crash on one and just sat there.

For a while, I was alone, until a set of footsteps came from the direction I came from.

"Hey buddy." It was Shawn. I sit up straight as he comes into view.

"Shawn? What are you doing here?" I slouch once more as he sits down next to me.

"Hey. I know you need to be alone right now, but I gotta tell you something before you... I don't know, lose it." He takes a deep breath "You love her."

"Who?" I play dumb.

"Don't kid yourself. I know you love Maya. I'm not blind." He says.

"How'd you know that? How do I know I love her?" I turn my body towards him. "All I know is that when I'm around her... I feel as if... It's like... It's like everything's different. Everything's better." A silence falls between us

"Did Cory and Topanga ever tell you how I fell in love with Angela?" He changes the subject.

"Yeah," I chuckle remembering the first time they told me. I couldn't believe something that sounds like it walked out of a tv sitcom happened to Shawn. "It always seemed like a messed up Cinderella sorry to me."

"Well it was. And in a way I'm glad I fell in love with her that way. I got to know what she liked even before I knew who she really was. And when I thought I lost her. It hurt. Hurt like hell. It felt as though my heart was being ripped out of my chest. It felt as though life was being sucked out of me and it was kinda at that point I figured out that I couldn't live without her. Back then, I don't know how a person could feel so much pain.

"Sure I lived without ever knowing her when I was a kid unlike Cory and Topanga. But then I met her and damn. She walked into my life everything fell out of place, but I didn't mind because it felt good. I never felt so alive. And then she had to leave, but she never really left me. She stayed with me. All the memories. Good and bad. And I wouldn't have it any other way. To me, she was and is still a blessing but a lesson. A really good lesson I'll always hold on to."

"But you let her go in the end didn't you? I mean you never even spoke again." Was all I could say after his long speech.

"Yeah... Our love just wasn't enough... After all we made it go through." He says staring into nothing.

"Did you ever get it back? Your heart?" I ask him the question every fangirl want to know. I sound like a real girl right now.

"No. It's hers to keep and I don't think I'd have it any other way." He says. And I know that he's never said anything more truthful.

*****
It's been a week. They moved her to a private room now. I just came from the canteen when I notice Dr. Turtleneck walk into the room. I didn't make my presence known yet. I decided to listen in their conversation for a while.

The door wasn't completely shut so I could peer inside the room

"How's she doing?" He asks looking at Riley and taking a seat next to Lucas and Riley on the sofa by the window. It's strange how the two are worrying about Riles when Maya's still in coma.

"Shh... She just fell asleep. She was crying for hours before she finally got so tired and fell asleep." Lucas motions to the sleeping Riley on his right shoulder.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Farkle looks at Maya's still sleeping figure. Tubes were still running in and out of her body and there was a heart monitor that showed Maya's steady heartbeat.

"Yeah. Maya's a tough cookie. Nothing can bring her down." Lucas says. Moral Compass over there really is a ball of positive energy.

"I hope your right, Lucas. Lucas...
I don't know what I'll do if she... If she.." Farkle finally breaks down. These past few days, Riley hasn't left Maya's side. Lucas has been visiting during his lunch break and after school. Farkle... Farkle has really changed. He's become quiet over the past few days and he even skipped school. The only times he left was when his mother demanded him to go home, take a bath and have a proper meal.

"Farkle... It's gonna be alright." Lucas says putting his hand on Farkle's shoulder in a comforting manner.

I hope you're right, Lucas. I hope you're right.