Not so little anymore

Advice

Hey everyone! Thanks for reading and commenting on this story! I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
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"Yo Simon! Get in here, you're slower than Riley getting ready for prom!" Maya called out to him as she set her paint stuff up on the table in front of her. The big white canvas that the school provided out front.

"Coming!" Simon called out. They were in his dorm room getting ready to start on their projects. Maya was painting Simon first, him claiming that he didnt have a pose in mind for her yet. Maya rolled her eyes at him as she protested and told him that the pose didnt matter as much as the accuracy of the painting itself. But he was insistent.

"Well hurry up! The paint is starting to dry, and that's saying something!" Maya joked. The door of the closet opened and Simon walked out with his bath robe on. Maya didn't understand why he couldn't just go and change in the bathroom down the hall, but Simon insisted that the closet was big enough for him to change into. Even though it really wasn't. Maya looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "You're going to pose like that?" She asked him. Simon put a teasing smile on his face.

"Nope." He stated. He started to undo his robe, and Maya suddenly remembered.

"Whoa!" She called out as she turned her back to him, her face going red. "Are you insane?" She called out to him as she heard him laugh behind her.

"What? I told you the titanic pose is iconic!" Simon called out to her. Maya laughed and shook her head as she raised her hand up to her face.

"I'm not turning around until you put that robe back on." Maya laughed. Simon doubled over in laughter before he straightened back up and cleared his throat.

"Maya, turn around." He told her. Maya shook her head. Simon laughed again. "I'm serious, turn around." Maya slowly turned around with her hand still up to her face. She hesitantly peeked through her fingers and then cursed at him.

"You're horrible!" She yelled out as she through a paint brush at him which he dodged with ease. Simon was actually wearing a tank top and a pair of basketball shorts.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist." He told her. Maya laughed at him as he handed her paint brush back to her and sat on the stool that Farkle had at his "Science station." Which was actually just his desk.

"Just sit still and don't move until I say you can." Maya told him. Simon gave her a two finger solute.

"Yes mam!" He called out. Maya rolled her eyes as she started mixing paint and starting with base colors. "Make sure you put more details into my good side." Simon said sarcastically.

"Shut up." Maya laughed. There were a few minutes of quiet as Maya would glance over at Simon every few seconds and paint some more. Simon finally sighed not being able to take the silence.

"Is this how you really paint? Because I cant stand the quiet." He told her shaking his head.

"Stop moving." Maya scolded him. "Everyone paints differently. I like the peace and quiet that comes with it. It helps me focus." She told him as she kept her eyes on her painting.

"Well when I paint you, this room will be blasting with music. Or we'll be letting out our most deepest darkest secrets." He teased her. Maya chuckled as she continued to paint. "Speaking of secrets. There is a rumor going around that you got a visit from your dad." Maya didnt say anything, but her hand faltered for a moment before she continued to paint some more.

"What about it?" She asked him.

"Maya, I dont mean to pry. I just want to make sure you're okay." He told her. Maya dropped her paint brush a little and looked up to smile at him.

"I'm fine. Really, I am." Maya told him after she saw his face. Simon didnt let up, Maya sighed. "My dad has cancer. And he wanted me to know that, so he came all the way to New York from Miami to tell me because it apparently meant that much to him. I wasn't going to go but then his wife called me. Told me he's getting worse and that I should come and see him before he goes. They're moving him to New York in May." Maya explained to him.

"That's a lot." Simon said. "You going to see him?" Simon asked her. Maya nodded her head and bit her lip.

"Yeah. Josh is coming with me." Maya told him. Simon cleared his throat and nodded his head.

"Well them I'm sorry." He joked. Maya laughed and shook her head at him.

"Look I know that Josh isn't your favorite person in the world. But he's been helping me out a lot and if it weren't for him then I probably wouldn't be going." Maya admitted. Simon stared at her for a moment.

"Maya, I'm the first to admit that I'm not Josh's biggest fan. But, as long as your happy and he treats you right. Then I'm not going to protest against him." Simon told her. Maya shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess that doesn't really matter anymore. Considering he's leaving to go to California after he graduates." Maya answered as she kept her focus on the canvas.

"I thought that was what you wanted?" Simon told her as he narrowed his eyebrows for a moment, causing Maya to give him a dirty look.

"It is. FBI has always been his dream. I'm glad he's following it." Maya stated. Simon snorted.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure you're just jumping for joy on the inside." Simon said sarcastically. "Maya, if you don't want him to go then why don't you just tell him?" He asked her.

"Of course I want him to go. Josh shouldn't ever be held back from something like this." Maya stated. Simon gave her a look and Maya lightly chuckled. "I just mean that, when is he ever going to get a chance like this again? The FBI don't just offer you a job. He got offered. It's been what he's wanted ever since I can remember. What kind of person would I be if I were to hold him back from that?" Maya asked him.

"You wouldn't be holding him back, Maya. He chose to stay with you. Just like Riley's mom chose to stay with her dad from Yale." He told her. Maya narrowed her eyebrows at him.

"How do you know about that?" Maya asked him. Simon rolled his eyes.

"I've been rooming with Farkle for the whole year. You think he hasn't told me everything about you guys?" He asked her. Maya smiled at the thought. She could just see Farkle keeping Simon up at night with all the stories from them growing up. "Look, my point is you shouldn't be worried about Josh resenting you in the future." Maya stopped painting for a moment. She put the brush down and let herself look at Simon.

"I never said I was worried about Josh resenting me." Maya whispered. "I'm more worried about resenting myself." She gave Simon a weak smile, picked up her brush, and continued painting.
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