With A Snap Of His Fingers / Joshaya

Here For Permanent

Josh's POV.

They said goodbye and sat in the other edge of the shop.

Andrew and Brenda sat next to each other, their backs turned to the door. Josh sat alone facing them.

"That Lucas guy is hot" ,Brenda commented.

Andrew turned his face and frowned at her.

"What the hell, girl?! New York is bad for you!" ,he said.

Brenda and Josh laughed.

"I am kidding honey. Are you familiar with that term?",she asked.

Andrew cracked a smile.

"Very.", he stopped for a moment before adding: "The two girls were impressive. But I think I am in love with Farkle."

Josh burst out laughing. Dr. Turtle-neck had one secret admirer.

Brenda though didn't laugh.

"Remember that girl three years ago? A blonde? She was this one, right?", she asked.

Josh turned serious.

"Yes, that's her."

Brenda smiled at him.

"I bet you didn't notice but she couldn't take her eyes off you."

Josh hadn't notice. Maybe Brenda was mistaken. Or maybe Maya was looking at him because she found funny the snow on his head. Who cared?

He did, obviously. What he was feeling about Maya was a feeling he couldn't really put his finger on.

"I.. I don't know, I was looking at Riley.", he murmured.

Brenda shook her head and the I-know-better smile formed on her face. They ordered coffees and changed the subject.

At some point he felt cold air getting in the warm room. He raised his head and he saw Maya standing in front of the door. His eyes met hers and he spontaneously smiled. She smiled back and left the door.

He turned to look at the floor, trying to hide his smile, which had absolutely nothing to do with the joke Andrew was saying.

......

The trio walked to the hotel late. They had got lost. Josh knew the way but it was hilarious to see Andrew acting all confident that he knew the way when he didn't have a clue.

They had fun. The problem was that if they didn't hurry he would be late for an interview for a job. So he spent his noon in rush and when the time came he got in a taxi and left.

He had closed an interview in a new gallery. There were two types of jobs there. You could choose between temporary and permanent. Temporary job meant that you could leave whenever you wanted and also have more days off. Despite that, he was in it for a permanent one. The money were better and he needed to know that he was safe in his work if he wanted to stay in New York.

Fortunately he was there in time. He ran inside the big gallery. The applicants were all together: the ones that went for temporary and the ones that went for permanent jobs. He reached a corner and sat on a chair. He looked around.

The room was big enough and the applicants were a lot. Some of them Josh could already see losing. The ones that were dressed like clowns because that's what they thought art meant. Josh couldn't blame them. They were probably there for the money. They were all in for temporary jobs.

He saw some guys way to old for the job and some girls that had decided that the more skin they showed, the more odds were in their favour. His eyes caught a tall brunette that looked pretty normal. Close to her was a cute girl, blonde and...

The girl turned around and Josh's mouth immediately fell open. Maya.

She noticed him too and she raised her eyebrows. She looked hesitant before coming to talk to him.

"Are you stalking me, Matthews?" ,she asked playfully.

Still she seemed a bit nervous.

"Oh yeah, that's what I do all day, every day.", Josh replied.

He tried to sound cooler than he actually was. Maya smiled at him making it even harder for him to act normal.

"Do you mind if I sit?" , Maya gestured to the sit next to him.

"I think I will allow it." He smiled at her.

She sat carefully. Josh had a feeling that she didn't want to touch him. He respected that and didn't move closer to her.

"So what are you here for, Maya?" ,he asked.

"Temporary" ,she told him.

Josh was pleased. That way he didn't need to antagonize her.

"I'm here for permanent.", he said.

Maya frowned.

"How come?"

Josh almost slapped himself. He had planned on telling his family about his plan on staying in NYC only if/after he got the job.

"Okay, I need you to keep it between us.", he said.

"Of course. We can keep this a secret, you and I", she replied.

Josh felt a familiar twist when she said "you and I".

"This is a good job, Maya. I really want it. And if I decide to get a job, like I did, I want it to be permanent. I want it to be sure. If that means I'll be staying in New York for a while, so be it."

Maya flashed him a small smile.

"Hey Maya!"

Josh and Maya turned around. A boy, around Maya's age, was smiling at her. He was tall and fit. He had blonde hair and dark eyes. If he wasn't pretty, which he was, he was certainly impressive.

Maya jumped and walked to him. She hugged him.

"Travis! What are you doing here?" she asked.

Travis pulled away and looked at her.

"My uncle rans this place and I decided to help him with all this. I'm the guy calling the names." ,he said.

Maya laughed.

"Heey don't laugh at me. My job is very very serious"

But Maya didn't stop.

"Maya! Look it's you turn, okay? Go and be the great artist I know you are. And I'll tell the best things for you to my uncle. I promise."

Maya got serious and looked at her reflection in the closest mirror. Then she turned to Travis.

"Thanks, Travs. It means a lot.", she said.

She walked past him. Travis stayed there, staring at nothing and everything.

Josh watched all that carefully enough to understand that Travis was head over heels for Maya.
Josh looked at Maya again before she disappeared.
She had talked to Travis.
She had completely forgot about Josh.

He shouldn't mind. He kind of did a bit.

And as he watched her walking, he couldn't help but notice that she didn't even once looked back.