Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Maya:

Hope was for suckers.

Nothing in this world gave her hope for the future, for herself, for her family. The only spark of hope she had, the only semblance of happiness she had was the Matthews. They were her rock, her safe place. When everything felt like it was crashing down, she still had them. It checked out that Topanga and Cory Matthews would show up to her art exhibition before her mother even considered it.

But that’s how things worked for them. Her mum went on her auditions, chased down her dad, worked herself to the bone at the diner and Maya just did what she did. And she did what she wanted. Right now, she passed through the cold threshold of the small apartment her and her mother lived in, and she let out a disappointed sigh. She really shouldn’t have expected anything different, but sometimes she wished she’d walk in one night and find her mother just waiting for her, ready to ask her how her day was and help her with her homework.

But what did she really expect would happen?

Why did she expect anything different?

Hope was for suckers.

And she’d keep on repeating that in her mind until the day she died. If you never hope for things you can never be disappointed. Nothing in this world could convince Maya otherwise because she didn’t live in the fantasy land that her friends did. When she walked home, she’d have to keep her keys between her knuckles and hope the neighbours she had befriended looked out for her, she had to tune out the sound of gun shots and sirens in the dead of night, and she would always lock her window when she was done wishing on starts that things could be different.

Why did she need to hope when she already knew how the world worked?

The art show that night had been the happiest moment of her life, a brief glimmer of a future brighter than she ever expected. But as soon as tomorrow came, the excitement vibrating through her body would disappear and she’d go back to being nothing more than a future minimart employee.

It was a dangerous thought, but maybe one day she could be something more. The future was a mystery, and yes, life would always be better if you didn’t get your hopes up, but she always had her art and she always had Riley. Having that ball of hope in her life made her feel safe. That’s all she would ever need. Reaching out, Maya closed the door behind her and slowly made her way into her bedroom, reaching out and greeting her ferret before she leaned out of her window, glancing up at the stars.

A sad smile tugged at her lips as she gazed up at the night sky, not a star in sight, not from where she stood in New York. Sometimes she wished she could just escape the city for a night and just lay in a field of flowers and gaze at the stars and count the shooting stars. As soon as she could, she’d take a road trip and that would be one of the first things she’d do.

“I wish I could go back in time; I wish I had a dad and a family…” she trailed off, biting back the tears stinging at her eyes. Slipping back inside of her bedroom, she reached up slamming her window shut and flopping onto her bed. “Hope is for suckers,” she bitterly muttered, reaching out and grabbing her headphones, placing them on and slipping into a slumber, the soft hum of her music ringing into her ears.

Riley:

In her mind it was so simple. Boy likes girl. Girl liked boy. Relationship. Even the thought of it made her feel all mushy and gooey inside. The thought of Lucas riding on a white unicorn, trotting up to her with his hand held out, ready to sweep her off her feet, and whisk her away to some magical land where they could get married and love each other forever and ever.

Corey and Topanga the party poopers they were didn’t seem to share the same dream for the beautiful little girl. When she had asked her mum and dad if Lucas could stay a little longer after dinner she was met with a wall of fury.

“You can’t have a boy stay past 9:30,” Topanga firmly stated with her lips tugging into a scowl.

“Why? What do you mean? Auggie has Ava stay after 9:30, she even gets to stay overnight,” Riley exclaimed.

“That’s different Riley,” Topanga argued.

“How is it any different? Or is it because he’s your favourite?” Riley asked with a scathing glare sent in Topanga’s direction, behind her Corey let out a little yelp at the look on Riley’s face, he hadn’t seen that look on Riley’s face since she was 5 and her bumblebee plush was taken off of her.

“Riley, we’ve discussed this so many times, we want you to take on the world and explore, but some things we don’t think you are ready to, no boys get to stay over, especially not when its just you two,” Corey backed Topanga up.

“But you’d let Farkle stay over late.” Riley argued.

“He’s Farkle, of course he’s always welcome,” Corey exclaimed.

“No he’s not, no boys.” Topanga crossed her arms. “We’re not budging from this Riley, now you need to go to bed, you’ve got school tomorrow.” She ordered, and with a huff, she knew there was no arguing with Topanga. Once she decided on something, she wouldn’t budge. Sometimes Riley admired that about her mum, but times like this made her want to scream and throw her arms around. Slamming the door behind her, she marched towards her pay window, looking up at the sky with a sigh.

“I wish I knew what my parents were doing when they were my age, I wish I had parents that were okay with me seeing boys, especially boys who like horses and play baseball and are beautiful,” Riley let out a gooey sigh, batting her eyelashes at the sky. She stayed up, staring at the sky for a long time, imagining a magical fairyland where her parents would let her be with Lucas, let her hang out with him, they’d go to his Pappy’s ranch, ride horses. It was a dream. And she kept on wishing on it.

Farkle:

Farkle was proud of Maya, he was proud for her showing up to the art show, for overcoming her anxieties and for enjoying herself. There was a lot of potential in Maya, her talents were like nothing he’d ever seen in his life before. One of the greats, that’s what he would always believe she would become one day. And he hoped she believed it too.

They really were his best friends in the world, despite the proclamations of love he expressed daily, he would rather have them as friends then nothing at all and he hoped with all his heart they knew that too. There was so much love in his heart and he wanted to give it to his favourite people in the world. He wished they knew how much he truly loved them.

He wished Maya lived in a world where she could experience love and hope and happiness, he wished she had a family. Despite how much he loved his family, he loved his mum and he loved his dad, he wished he saw more of them. Even though life seemed easy, he’d always felt lonely. Coming home to a large, empty home. He had everything he ever wanted. Except his parents.

Walking out towards his telescope, he peered through it looking up at the stars, analysing them, how each looked, how everything was placed, he committed it to memory. His mother believed in zodiacs and the placements of the earth, and he’d always found scientific ways to understand.

Tonight he took a chance.

“I wish Maya and Riley got everything they ever wanted, I wish I had a family that wants to spend every night with me.” Farkle let out a breath, a wave of fatigue washing over him as he marched over to his bed, falling asleep.

Chapter Text

As far as the three of them could see, none of this made sense. They were stuck in the 90s, they already had identities and were in the system. Their families decided, their lives in separate neighbourhoods. They didn’t belong here, and yet they already had their lives there, and Foster Parents that all seemed genuinely nice. But despite it all, Riley was determined not to change anything that had happen in the past, or maybe it was her present? It was something. Either way, she was determined not to change the timeline. She knew Farkle would try his best not to change it, but Maya on the other hand, the blonde girl had always been unpredictable.

All of that aside, it was their first day at Jefferson Elementary School, and since they’d already completed their sixth grade, it wouldn’t be anything they didn’t already know. Or so Riley hoped, it just meant Maya may have a chance to do well for once. Riley hoped Maya would put more effort into school, if there was no way to go home (which couldn’t be true, there had to be a way, there was no way she would be staying here forever) at least they could try and build a life without it. None of it seemed real, though.

In all honesty, Maya couldn’t believe she was going to school in Philadelphia of all places, weirdly, that was the only thing she had a problem comprehending. It just felt so, so wrong. She wondered whether Riley and Farkle had the same issues with it, knowing them they’d probably have very different issues with this. Riley looked up at the school, already dreading what would come, she couldn’t believe she was going to school with her mum and dad. An anxious smile spread to Farkle’s face as he looked between Maya and Riley, bewildered at how they got stuck in the nineties to begin with. Out of all the people he could have gotten stuck in the past with, he was glad it was them.

“Nope, no way.” Riley shook her head, still in denial. “Maya you need to pinch me again, this can’t be happening.” She continued, still in denial. Maya smiled slightly, glancing over to her before sighing and reaching over, pinching Riley who let out a slight yelp. “Ouch,” she rubbed her arm.

“Sorry, Riles,” Maya quickly apologised, wrapping her arm around Riley in an attempt to comfort her and ease her nerves. None of them were okay with this.

“I’m not ready for this,” Riley whimpered, her eyes growing wider and wider by the second. None of them were ready for this either. Glancing up at her lanky best friend, Maya scrunched up her face, perplexed at the growing smile on Riley’s face, contrasting with the fear in her eyes.

“Then why are you smiling?” Maya asked, confused, furrowing her eyebrows.

“I’m not smiling Maya; this is my upset face.” Riley squeaked out, the smile growing, causing Maya to lean her head back slightly.

“Do I even wanna know what your happy face looks like?” Maya sarcastically asked, lightening the mood.

“I think you look very cute, Riley.” Farkle flirtatiously spoke, flashing a toothy grin.

“Thank you, Farkle,” Riley said, laughing lightly before she looked away, taking a deep breath, trying to prepare her mind for this.

“So what? Are we just gonna stand here all day or are we gonna go in?” Maya brashly asked, throwing her hands up in the air, gesturing to the large elementary school. Casting a quick glance between them, she saw that neither were prepared to see their parents in elementary school. Hell, she’d probably be more freaked out if she was in their place, but she wasn’t. She only knew Cory and Topanga, she’d met Shawn once as well, but that was it. Even if she did feel uneasy about all of this, it wasn’t like they had any other choice.

“Maya are you sure we should be doing this?” Riley asked, turning to Maya, gripping her arm.

“Do we have any other choice?” Maya breathlessly asked, begging for Riley to give her an answer, anything really.

“Maya’s right, Riley,” Farkle agreed with the short blonde, nodding. “We don’t know how we got here or why, but we have Foster Parents now and they say we have to go to school. We need to fit in and go along with everything until we can find our way back to the future.” Farkle let out a sharp, ear-piercing, honk of laughter causing Maya to wince. “Get it?” Farkle asked, laughing.

“Yeah, you’re a real comedian.” Maya dryly replied.

“Oh, you’re too sweet,” Farkle dreamily said.

“I just wanna go home.” Riley whimpered.

“Don’t worry peaches, we’ll be you back into the arms of Huckleberry in no time.” Maya commented, smiling to herself. She would miss making fun of the cowboy. It dawned on her that she needed to find another victim.

“I still don’t think this is a good idea, I mean wouldn’t we be messing up the timeline or something? I mean I live next to my dad, guys.” Riley exclaimed, shouting into Maya’s ear and jumping around, her eyes somehow growing wider as she looked at the sea of kids making their way into school. “What if my parents don’t get together, what if Farkle becomes my dad?” Riley squeaked out; Maya’s face scrunched up in disgust, glancing over at Farkle.

“Riley, you know you and Maya are the only girls for me,” Farkle purred, dramatically stepped forward and wiggling his eyebrows. Maya scrunched up her face, looking away from him and to Riley.

“Okay, first, your mum will never be that desperate,” Maya commented, before glancing over to Farkle. “Second, we’re too much for you.” She stated, looking to Farkle who began buzzing, his smile growing.

“You do amazing things to me, woman.” Farkle exclaimed, whipping his head from side to side.

“Maya, please don’t let Farkle become my dad,” Riley pleaded, looking to Maya who nodded, slightly disturbed by the thought of Farkle ever becoming Riley’s dad.

“Riles, I promise I will do my best to make sure your mum doesn’t have any little Minkai babies.” Maya assured her, reaching out and stroking Riley’s hair softly before her hands firmly grasped Riley’s bony shoulders. She tried to gently guide Riley into the school, shouting to the students around them to make way for them and Farkle trailed behind them, watching them in admiration. They were then told to wait outside of the Principal’s office, they sat there as the bell rang for their classes, the Principal stepped out of his office, ushering them inside, they walked in and sat down in front of him.

“Miss Hart, Miss Matthews, Mr Abernathy,” He spoke, looking down at the list, all of them were relieved that Farkle’s last name had changed, if it had stayed the same, they were all sure someone would suspect something. Farkle was a little sad his last name had changed though. “I am deeply sorry about the circumstances of you all being here, but at Jefferson High we welcome you and hope to make your stay as good as possible, here are your schedules and I trust you will all be excellent students.” He formally said, going through the motions as a smile grew on Maya’s lips.

“Don’t do it,” Riley said, her eyes wide.

“Excuse me, Miss Matthews?” he asked, confused.

“You knew this was gonna happen,” Maya said under her breath, leaning forward and placing her hands on the table, mischievously grinning. “I’m gonna be excellent alright, wanna make a bet on how many detentions I can get in a year?” Maya proudly asked.

“I would hope none, Miss Hart.” He stiffly replied, frowning. This caused Maya to burst out laughing.

“That’s so cute, he doesn’t know what he’s gotten into.” Maya jovially called out, jutting her hand out, gesturing to the principal. Riley reached out, grabbing Maya’s hand, bringing it down.

“She’s joking.” Riley quickly said.

“I’m really not.” Maya laughed. He drew in a deep breath, already dreading the year before them, Shawn Hunter and Maya Hart, two teens on his watchlist, it would be a busy year for him. And more importantly, Mr Feeny, when in doubt, he gave Mr Feeny all the kids on his watchlist, that man knew how to handle troubled children. Once they had met with the Principal and gotten their schedule’s they were brought to their first class with Mr Feeny which had Riley freaking out. Being taught by the legendary Mr Feeny and going to school with your parents did that, though. The anxiety was burning its way through her flesh and bones.

“Mr Feeny, we have our new students ready and waiting,” the Principal stiffly informed Mr Feeny who shifted his gaze to the three new students. Maya stood proudly in front of them with a wicked gleam in her eyes, the class glanced behind them, their eyes settling on the new students. Cory groaned, already dreading having to go to school with his weird neighbour.

“Ah, wonderful, more children, that’s just what I needed today of all days.” Mr Feeny sarcastically said as the three made their way to the front of the class. “If you would come and introduce yourself, Miss Matthews, you can go first,” Mr Feeny sighed, intently watching them, trying to figure out if they’d be trouble or not. Maya smiled mischievously; he wasn’t going to know what hit him. She was here, she might as well go along with everything. Riley’s eyes were wide as she scanned the classroom, her eyes settling on Cory and Topanga sitting near each other.

“Wait, your last name is Matthews?” Cory let out a slightly shrill scream, reaching out and gripping the edges of his desk. His eyes somehow bulged from its sockets as Maya fought back all laughter that threatened to escape her lips as she glanced over to Riley whose cheeks were growing redder by the second.

“Pfft, no,” Riley laughed, shaking her head, trying not to seem suspicious. She was failing.

“That’s what is says on the roll, Miss Matthews,” Mr Feeny stated, glancing down at the role again.

“Maya,” Riley cried, turning to her short, blonde friend.

“I think what she means to say is, her last name is Matthews, but no relation to you.” Maya quickly cut in, stepping forward and flashing a toothy grin in the direction of Cory who looked between them, weireded out.

“Right, yes, exactly,” Riley furiously nodded.

“Great, now that we’ve established that you are indeed Miss Matthews, please spare us the suspense and introduce yourself,” Mr Feeny sassed, sighing already knowing he was in for a long year. He was another random burst out from giving up with introductions as a whole.

“I’m Riley Matthews and I’m completely normal, ain’t nothing weird or unusual about me,” Riley shouted, a distressed smile made its way onto her face. Cory and Shawn scrunched up their faces, not convinced, Cory turned to Shawn.

“I really hope we’re not related.” Cory commented, scrunching his face up.

“You’d be lucky to be related to Riles, boy attached to chia pet.” Maya sassed, cocking her head to the side at the burning red embarrassment that slowly made its way onto Cory’s face.

“Miss Hart, if you would,” Mr Feeny said over Shawn’s chuckle.

“I’m Maya Hart, you don’t look me in the eyes.” Maya brazenly stepped forward, flashing a proud, toothy grin, peering out into the classroom in a bid to assert her dominance. They had all agreed to go undetected but that didn’t mean Maya was going to be a push over. Since they were in the 90s and would eventually be getting home, she didn’t see why she would have to take school seriously at all.

“She’s joking,” Riley nervously laughed, grabbing Maya, roughly pulling her back. Maya stumbled back slightly, glancing up at Riley before looking back at the class, noticing the amused look on Shawn’s face.

“What happens if we do?” Shawn asked, smirking, setting something off inside of Maya. A toothy and ill-meaning grin lit up Maya’s face as she looked over at him.

“Trust me, you don’t wanna know.” Maya warned him with humorous malice.

“Great, another one,” Mr Feeny huffed, as he was about to say Farkle’s name, Farkle stepped forward, throwing his arms up in the air, grinning. Riley groaned, she had no idea how she was going to manage trying to keep both Farkle and Maya from screwing up the timeline.

“My name is Farkle,” he dramatically introduced himself.

“Who would do that to you?” Cory exclaimed, squinting his eyes as Farkle continued as if he hadn’t heard the remark.

“I am the smartest human to ever exist and soon you will all be bowing to me when I take over the world. Thank you, I am Farkle.” Farkle bowed for them as Maya bit her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing.

“What the hell is a Farkle?” Shawn muttered, confused.

“Thank you for that, Mr,” Mr Feeny paused, looking over the class list again before sighing and glancing back to Farkle. “Abernathy. Take a seat,” he gestured out to the class. Farkle rushed to the only front seat left, sitting beside his dad, Stuart. Anxiously looking to Maya, she just shrugged, with a nonchalant smile before slipping into a seat in the back, opposite Shawn. Riley took a seat behind Stuart Minkus and in front of Maya.

“Great, now I’m stuck with my weird neighbour.” Cory groaned, glancing over to Riley who turned to him, grinning and waving. Cory and Shawn awkwardly waved back at her.

“You live next to her?” Shawn asked, contorting his face as he cast another careful glance in Riley’s direction.

“You got a problem with her cousin itt?” Maya asked, leaning back in her seat, smirking to herself at Shawn’s gaping mouth.

“Maya, calm down,” Riley nervously laughed.

“Itt? Please, I’m totally Gomez,” Shawn argued with her, Maya gave him a once over, looking at him unimpressed.

“I love when you’re like this,” Farkle breathed out causing Maya to scrunch up her face, briefly casting him a disturbed look before returning to look at Shawn.

“Unless we’re interrupting you,” Mr Feeny cut in from the front, picking up some pieces of paper.

“Always,” Maya muttered under her breath causing Riley to whip around, her eyes wide in fear while Shawn glanced over to her, lightly chuckling.

“I’d like to get back to class,” Mr Feeny continued, not hearing Maya’s remark. “I have graded your book reports from last Friday and after I pass them out, we’ll discuss them.” Mr Feeny finished. Maya glanced around, biting back her laughter as she saw Cory place a clown nose on him, and began making faces, Riley was filled with dread as Maya just watched on, amused. “Ah, Mr Matthews, shall I express my usual disappointment or just ask you to guide my sleigh tonight?” Mr Feeny sassily asked as Cory slowly turned to face him. Cory slowly removed the clown nose from him.

“Uh, wrong holiday Mr Feeny,” Cory slowly replied. “See, Halloween’s coming up and I was just test driving my clown nose.” He leaned back in his seat, inspecting the clown nose in his hand.

“Then I insist you stay in the driver’s seat. Put the nose back on…” Mr Feeny ordered, Riley’s eyes were wide in shock, she couldn’t believe her dad was like this during school. “For the rest of the morning.” The whole class broke out into fits of laughter. “Mr Minkus, excellent work as usual, I particularly enjoyed your haiku on captain Ahab’s obsession.” Mr Feeny raised Farkle’s dad, Farkle tried to stop himself from jumping up and down, proclaiming to the whole class that he could do it better, he knew they couldn’t get too involved with the timeline.

“The calm blue ocean. Sun lights up the monster’s eye. He sees me…whale food.” Stuart spoke out, as Maya attempted to stifle her laughter, leaning forward and shaking her head. Shawn glanced over at her, smirking lightly.

“It works on so many levels.” Mr Feeny said.

“I could have done better,” Farkle bitterly muttered, unable to control himself anymore, Riley looked over to him in horror as Maya’s laughed broke free of its constraints.

“Then I look forward to the next book report we have.” Mr Feeny said, before turning away. He silently dreaded and loved the thought of two Minkus’s.

“Brown-noser.” Shawn said under his breath.

“Troglodyte.” Stuart bit back. Maya furrowed her brows leaning forwards.

“Troglodyte?” Maya mouthed to Riley who shrugged her shoulders.

“It means caveman, Maya.” Farkle informed her, Maya nodded, glancing over to Shawn.

“I can see it,” she shrugged, satisfaction building inside of her at the look of amusement in Shawn’s eyes.

“Mr. Matthews, not one of your better efforts.” Mr Feeny said, placing the report paper down on Cory’s desk. “Mr Hunter,” Mr Feeny didn’t bother saying anything as he placed the paper down on Shawn’s desk.

“Hey, this isn’t fair. Rick and I both got Cs. How come you tell him he did good work, and you tell me it wasn’t one of my better efforts?” Cory asked, outraged.

“Would Bozo please come to the centre ring?” Cory sighed, standing up and walking over to him.

“Hey, Riles,” Maya said in a hushed tone, leaning forward before she felt a set of eyes intently gazing on her.

“Hey, peaches,” Riley turned to her, grinning. From the corner of her eye she spotted Shawn slumped in his seat, glancing at Maya. Noticing Riley’s focus was drawn to something behind her, Maya slowly turned around, her eyes settling on Shawn.

“Do you mind?” Maya asked.

“Nope,” Shawn replied, shaking his head, a smirking at the annoyance radiating from Maya.

“Keep looking at me like that and I will break you.” Maya threatened him, causing Shawn to scoff.

“Like you could, you’re a girl.” Shawn bit back, Maya clenched her jaw, standing up and balling her fist around Shawn’s collar, dragging him up from his seat.

“You really wanna test me, string-bean?” Maya asked with a wide smile.

“Yeah, let’s see what you got.” Shawn provoked her.

“Maya,” Riley nervously called out.

“She’s amazing,” Farkle breathed out causing Maya to turn around, not once letting go of Shawn before she leaned forward, gagging in Farkle’s direction.

“Maya, you’ll get in trouble,” Riley warned her.

“Riles, who are you talking to?” Maya asked, grinning down at Riley.

“Maya Penelope Hart,” Riley exclaimed, causing Maya’s eyes to grow wide.

“Penelope?” Shawn asked, stifling his laughter.

“You really must have a death wish,” Maya flashed a mean smile up at Shawn.

“Yeah, I’m not afraid of a little girl whose middle name is Penelope.” Shawn retorted.

“Miss Hart, Mr Hunter, do you have a problem other than the obvious?” Mr Feeny asked, exasperated. He just reminded himself to hang on until retirement.

“Of course not, Mr Feeny,” Riley quickly answered for Maya who frowned, pushing Shawn away from her and folding her arms.

“Hey, I was just an innocent bystander, Mr Feeny.” Shawn quickly spoke up, shrugging his shoulders while Maya snorted, shaking her head.

“You? Innocent? That’s a humorous thought, Mr Hunter.” Mr Feeny replied, shaking his head. “It’s a detention for you two.” Mr Feeny replied causing Maya to sit down, smiling over at Shawn.

“You’re welcome.” Maya cheekily glanced over at Shawn who stared at her in awe, Maya then turned away from him, leaning in closer to Riley. “What’s up Riles?” she asked.

“I thought we agreed we wouldn’t get involved, what if you just changed everything and my dad turns out to be that guy?” Riley squeaked out, gesturing to the red headed kid picking his nose. Maya scrunched up her face, quickly shaking her head.

“Riley, it’s just a detention, it’s not like he doesn’t already get a bunch of them anyway.” Maya shrugged her shoulders. “Besides, your mum and dad are perfect for each other, there is no way they’re not ending up together.” Maya comforted Riley, once again assuring her that nothing could get in the way of Cory and Topanga. The blaring sound of the bell rung through the class and the time traveling trio walked out of the classroom and into the hallway, looking down at their schedules. 

“What do you guys have?” Riley asked, looking up and between Farkle and Maya.

“I got art,” Maya shrugged, trying to play it off as if she didn’t care that she was about to have her favourite subject.

“Same,” Farkle breathed out, stepping closer to Maya, wiggling his eyebrows. “Milady,” Farkle tried causing Maya to roll her eyes and grab Farkle’s face, shoving him away from her.

“No.” She quickly said. “What do you have?” Maya asked Riley.

“Music,” Riley said, her lips tugging into a frown. She loved music, but there she wouldn’t be with her friends, and that scared her more than anything else.

“What’s the matter honey?” Maya said in a Texan accent, the three instantly reminded of Lucas which caused Riley to giggle like the schoolgirl she was and Farkle to swell with a slight tinge of jealousy and sadness.

“Why did I have to be the one with a different class?” Riley whined, Maya stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Riley, stroking her hair.

“It’s only one class, we’ll see each other again in 45 minutes.” Farkle assured her, flashing a toothy smile. “It’ll be fine Riley; I know you’ll make friends.” He said.

“Thanks, Farkle,” Riley smiled

“Later,” Maya said, walking off with Farkle to their art class, journeying on their first school adventure without Riley. When they made their way into the art class Farkle had disappeared from Maya’s sight after setting up his station, she didn’t think much about it.

Chapter Text

Any chance to get away from Farkle’s near-constant and creepy flirting was welcomed, but all thoughts of relief were gone as soon as the door burst open and Farkle appeared, throwing off the bath towel, revealing himself in an old bathing suit. Maya’s eyes bulged from her head.

“Gross,” Shawn said from behind her, Maya whipped her head around, looking up at Shawn’s disgusted face as he stepped closer to her.

“That’s just Farkle being Farkle.” Maya chuckled, shrugging it off.

“You’ve probably known him a while, huh?” Shawn asked.

“Yeah, what gave it away?” Maya sarcastically asked.

“Ah, you know, you two seem close. You’re a cute couple by the way.” Shawn teased her, sitting down beside her and lazily placing the paint brush on the little table beside his canvas.

“Call us a couple again and you’ll be looking like a smurf by the end of the class.” Maya threatened Shawn who glanced over at her, smirking as Farkle was dragged out of the classroom by the teacher.

“I’d like to see you try,” Shawn scoffed, standing up and walking behind Maya who let out a bout of laughter at the challenge.

“You don’t wanna try me, string-bean.” Maya stood up, turning around and facing him, as she did, she let out a gasp as Shawn squirted bright red paint all over the front of her clothes, she gaped up at him, completely in shock. A slow grin then began to make its way onto her face. “What the hell? You’re gonna get it.” She growled.

“You’re welcome,” he teased her, repeating what she had said to him. Maya was impressed, but there was no way in hell she was going to let him get away with it.

“And you’re dead.” She threatened him, turning around and reaching for the bucket of bright pink paint, she grabbed a paint brush and stood in the middle of the room, hitting the brush on the paint, the clank drawing in the class’s attention. “Paint fight, paint fight,” she chanted, soon it began to catch on as everyone else began chanting with her, her eyes then locked on Shawn’s and she threw the pink paint onto his front. He stood there in shock for a moment.

“You’re dead,” he grumbled.

“And you’re welcome,” Maya flashed a sassy smile as he charged after her, holding a bucket of green paint. Maya laughed, turning away from him, he caught up to her, throwing the green paint onto her, she then turned, tackling him to the ground and straddling him, pinning him to the ground. “You couldn’t beat me on your best day, Hunter.” She teased him.

“Hey, I’m pretty good down here,” Shawn shrugged causing comical anger to make its way onto Maya’s face as she reached up, wiping the green off of her clothes and smearing it all over his face.

“Stop,” their teacher screamed at the top of her lungs and everyone looked up in shock, Farkle’s eyes went wide and he ducked out of the way as paint was thrown onto the teacher. “I really don’t want to do this, but the whole class has detention after school today, you’ll all be cleaning up the mess you made.” She screamed at them. Maya got up and off of Shawn, smiling up at him as she stood up.

“Not bad, Hunter,” Maya admitted.

“Right back at you.” Shawn replied as the two began to help clean up. When the end of the day came, Riley walked out of her class, waiting at her locker when she saw Farkle making his way down the hall, splatters of paint on his clothes.

“Oh no, what did Maya do?” Riley asked, already dreading the answer as Farkle stopped by her.

“Maya got the whole class except me a detention, which is good, I wouldn’t want a detention on my permanent record.” Farkle shared with a smile as bright as ever.

“How did Maya get a detention in art? I thought that was the class she liked.” Riley exclaimed, bewildered.

“Hey, that’s our Maya.” Farkle shrugged his shoulders. “Are you going to take the bus home or are you waiting for Maya?” he asked. Riley would have felt guilty if she didn’t at least wait for Maya and see what had really happened.

“I think I’m going to wait for Maya.” Riley answered.

“That’s our Riley,” Farkle tenderly said, pulling Riley into a hug before walking away. As they were walking out of detention, Shawn called out Maya’s last name and she turned around, looking over at him.

“Oh, it’s you,” Maya muttered, giving him another once over, admiring her handy work.

“Like what you see?” Shawn asked.

“Just admiring my work,” Maya shrugged her shoulders, acting aloof. “It’s a huge improvement.” She replied.

“Can’t improve perfection, babe,” Shawn grinned, running his hands through his now crusty painted green and pink hair. “Also, you’re welcome,” Shawn nudged her lightly.

“For what?” Maya asked, squinting up at him.

“The detention, I was just returning the favour,” Shawn shared, laughing.

“Right, that’s what that was, you’re so generous.” Maya sarcastically commented.

“I know,” he bashfully responded.

“I’ll destroy you,” she warned him.

“I’d like to see you try,” Shawn scoffed, glad the paint hid the way his cheeks heated up.

“Maya,” Riley called out and Maya looked away from Shawn, quickly leaving him and walking straight into Riley’s warm embrace. “How did you get detention on the first day?” she asked, concerned. Even before they’d travelled back in time, she’d felt like Maya was on a downwards spiral.

“I have my ways, Riles.” Maya proudly proclaimed before turning and walking off with Riley.

“That’s not good enough, Maya, you know we all agreed not to get too involved in anything until we can figure a way home.” Riley voiced her concerns.

“It was an accident, you seriously think me, Maya Hart, would actively try and get detention? I’m completely innocent in all of this.” Maya proclaimed, and Riley knew she was lying but decided to smile through it, going along with what Maya wanted. Like she usually did.

“Okay Maya,” Riley relented. “Come on, you can come to my place and clean up, I’ll help you with the homework.” The two linked arms, strutting off to Riley’s home. As they finally got there, Maya looked around at the place in awe, once again feeling as though she always got the short end of the deal. She didn’t know what Farkle’s place looked like, but Riley had an actual family, two little sisters and two parents. Even when they were stranded in the 90s, it was just more of the same, Riley and Farkle had everything and Maya got nothing.

“Riley, is that you?” Joanne, Riley’s foster mum, called out, her heels clanking against the mahogany floorboards and stepping into view, a bright smile set on her painted lips.

“Hi, Jo, this is my friend Maya, can she take a shower here?” Riley brightly asked.

“Of course, of course, it’s really nice to meet you, Maya,” Joanne’s smile grew somehow as she stepped forward, taking Riley and Maya’s bags from them. “I have some cookies baking in the oven, you go up and take a shower and you can borrow some of Riley’s clothes, I’ll wash yours for you.” She offered with a Stopford smile that Maya didn’t trust.

“Honey, the minions are home,” Daniel, Riley’s foster father, called out as the sound of little girls squealing erupted from them.

“Yeah, I’m out,” Maya said, turning on her heel, grabbing Riley’s hand and dragging her upstairs with her, Riley got her a towel and some clothes to change into, Maya quickly undressed, handing the paint coloured clothes to Riley before stepping into the shower. Riley made her way downstairs to Joanne, handing her the clothes.

“Thank you, Riley,” Joanne smiled. “Maya is your friend from before they found you, isn’t she?” Joanne asked softly and Riley nodded.

“Yeah, she is, she’s my best friend in the world.” Riley proclaimed with a weak and nervous smile.

“It’s good you’re still friends, do you know who she got placed with? I think if you’re close with her we should be able to have contact with her Foster Parents.” Joanne thought out loud, placing the clothes in the washing machine, putting them on wash before she returned to the kitchen when Daniel walked in, pressing a chaste kiss on Joanne’s lips.

“What’s going on?” Daniel asked.

“Riley’s friend that they found her with,” Joanne explained to him. “I think it’d be a good idea to be in touch with her foster parents.”

“That’s a great idea, Jo,” Daniel praised her before turning to look at Riley.

“I don’t actually know anything about her foster parents,” it dawned on Riley that Maya hadn’t told her anything about them.

“Everyone opens up at different rates, she’ll talk to you eventually.” Daniel shrugged.

“Do you think she wants to stay for dinner?” Joanne asked.

“I’ll ask her when she gets out.” Riley answered, smiling at the way Joanne’s face lit up, she clapped her hands together and began making dinner for all of them. Daniel sighed, jumping up and onto the island table near Riley.

“How was your first day at school?” Daniel asked, taking a sip of the beer Joanne had placed beside him.

“It was okay,” Riley answered, sighing.

“Come on sunshine, spare me none of the grewsome detail, you know I went to elementary school, it was like a thousand years ago, but I went.” Daniel shared, shrugging slightly as a smile made his way onto his lips at the way Riley laughed.

“Well, Maya got two detentions- “Riley was cut off.

“I asked about you, not Maya.” Daniel stated.

“It was great, my teachers all seem really cool, it’s different from the school I went to before, but I think it’s going to be a good year.” Riley nodded, smiling up at him. “I’m just worried about how Maya will go.”

“Yeah, there’s always that one friend.” Daniel nodded.

“Did you have a friend like that?” Riley asked.

“Oh, no, I didn’t have friends, there were just people that didn’t make fun of me.” Daniel shrugged his shoulders. “But I will say this, find out what you like before High School, that way you can find the right crowd to fall into.” He advised her.

“Did you figure out what you liked before High School?” Riley asked.

“Oh yeah, model UN, it did not get easier for me.” Daniel nodded as Maya began to walk towards them, the two turned and looked at Maya who had a sour expression on her face as Riley’s baggy clothes on her.

“You look amazing,” Riley exclaimed.

“I look like I got swallowed by your closet.” Maya dryly remarked.

“It could always be worse,” Daniel offered.

“How?” Maya asked.

“You’re a ball of fun, aren’t you?” Daniel asked, amused with the small, blonde girl that seemed like the polar opposite to Riley.

“Yeah, I am.” Maya nodded.

“Did you want to stay for dinner, Maya? We got pot roast.” Riley grinned, trying to excite Maya into staying. She felt like they had barely seen each other since they found themselves in the 90s.

“Can’t, I got plans.” Maya answered, walking towards her.

“I’ll tell Jo, have fun children.” Daniel called out over his shoulder, walking away and into the kitchen. Riley walked over to Maya, grabbing her hand and trudging up to her bedroom, sitting themselves at the window, which peered into the front yard of the Matthews home. Maya laughed, looking over to see Shawn walking into the house with Cory, covered in paint.

“What’s up, Riley?” Maya asked.

“What do you think of my new parents?” Riley asked.

“I think they’re really nice, why?” Maya asked, confused as to where Riley was going with this.

“It’s just, you know about my new parents, how come I don’t know anything about yours?” Riley asked and it dawned on Maya what her friend was doing.

“Riley, these new parents aren’t important, they’re not our real parents, and when we get back home, we’ll have our real parents back and everything will go back to how it was before.” Maya tried not to sound disappointed with the prospect of that happening, the damage had already been done to her, but still.

“I know we will, but what happens if we can’t figure out how to get home? What happens if we get stuck here forever?” Riley asked. “I don’t want to stay here forever; I miss my family.” She admitted.

“We will be going home, Farkle will figure out the science of all of it, he won’t let us down. We can always count on Farkle,” Maya reached out, taking Riley’s hand, the girl smiled, pulling Maya into a hug. Once her clothes were done, Maya changed into them and made her way downstairs and she began walking home. There was the slightest stain of paint on her clothes, but overall the paint was mostly faded from sight, she wished she could say the same for her hair which had an orange tinge to it. She would definitely need to wash it tonight.

Chapter Text

Stepping out of Riley’s new home, something stirred inside of her, Maya left it down to the dozens of brownies she’d devoured before leaving but she knew this feeling. It wasn’t so different from the feeling she’d get as a kid seeing Riley and her family together. Nothing ever seemed fair back then. It still didn’t in a way. The sound of a door slamming and a familiar chuckle brought Maya out of her daze and she glanced over seeing Shawn Hunter leaving the Matthews house. He looked up, feeling her gaze on him and his smirk grew upon seeing her staring at him. Maya scowled, turning away from him and continue walking down the street to Rino’s apartment.

After fifteen minutes of walking in the same direction with Shawn, attempting to stay eight paces behind her the awkwardness came to a boiling point inside of Maya as she quickly turned around, abruptly stopping in her tracks, her eyes narrowing over at Shawn Hunter who stopped in his tracks, nervously laughing at the irritated expression donned on Maya’s face as she tapped her foot on the ground.

“This is getting weird, Hunter, just walk with me or cross the street.” Maya demandingly grumbled, throwing her hand out to the side, Shawn smirked, walking closer to her.

“Whatever makes you happy babe.” Shawn smirked over at her, satisfaction overcoming him as Maya’s eyebrow twitched.

“Do not call me babe,” Maya growled.

“Why? Someone got a little crush on me?” Shawn tauntingly asked, leaning in and waving his finger in front of Maya’s face. She narrowed her baby blue eyes at him, slapping his hand away and balling her fist around his crusty, paint coated shirt, tugging him forward.

“There are so many people I’d sooner crush on than you,” Maya bit back.

“Sure, you would,” Shawn said, not convinced by Maya’s façade. Even when Adult Shawn had met her, he hadn’t been fooled by who she pretended to be. It was so weird to her, comparing the two, she could only imagine how Riley and Farkle were feeling, though, Maya guessed Farkle enjoyed having someone to compete against with grades. This was Cory’s her, but he didn’t feel like her. They felt so different, but also so similar. It was weird, time travel in general was weird to her.

“You know, I did an awesome job, you should make this your new look,” Maya quipped, glancing over the pink and green pain smeared across his body, Shawn let out a dry bark of unamused laughter.

“Maybe I should, I mean if you like it so much, Hart, I’d make it my new look. Just. For. You.” Shawn drawled out, leaning in close, getting in Maya’s personal space. Reaching out, her hand was pressed firmly against his crusty shirt, shoving him away from her and gagging at his comment.

“You hear me?” Maya asked, gagging again, making vomit sounds for added effect. “That’s how I feel about you.” Maya them gagged again earning a snort of laughter from Shawn. Even if she didn’t want to admit it, she liked hanging around Shawn, back in the future, there wasn’t anyone Maya could be like this with.

“Whatever works for you best,” Shawn shrugged, finding it more amusing than anything else. “What are you doing walking down this way? Shouldn’t you be off in some nice house?” Shawn bitterly asked, waving his hands around. Maya’s eyebrows furrowed, wondering if that was what Shawn really thought of her, thinking she was someone that had ever had nice things.

“You seriously think I live in a nice place?” Maya asked, raising an eyebrow. She was more shocked than anything else.

“Most people do,” Shawn shrugged. “Besides you got like fancy clothes.” Shawn commented, gesturing to her outfit.

“They’re not fancy, they’re just carefully chosen.” Maya replied, rolling her eyes. “Unlike some people,” she drawled out, glancing over Shawn’s clothes.

“You’re really mean for such a little person.” Shawn observed, giving her a once over.

“That’s the idea, string-bean.” Maya grinned.

“I like it,” Shawn admitted causing Maya’s face to scrunch up. “If you ever need me to hold your hand cause you’re scared, babe, just let me know.” He playfully said causing Maya to look up at him, vexed by how playful he’d been with her.

“No.” She flatly said.

“You’re missing out, Hart,” Shawn smirked. She doubted she was missing out on anything. “So, you live down here?” he curiously asked.

“Well, since you’re just so interested, string-bean, my dad lives down this way, you?” Maya sassily asked, skipping over the personal fact that she was really from the future and lived in New York before this and that Rino wasn’t her dad, he was her foster parent. There were just too many complications.

“Trailer park,” a moment of silence had overcome them before Shawn even spoke, and when he did, he seemed so full of shame. She wouldn’t try and make him feel better about it now. She knew how annoying it was when people pitied her situation, but it was ironic that years down the track, he’d be the one telling her where she lived didn’t matter.

“Lucky us, right?” Maya attempted to lighten the mood, nudging him lightly.

“Yeah, lucky us,” he let out a soft laugh, she was glad it worked somewhat.

“Yeah,” Maya said.

“So, where’d you move from? I happen to know you haven’t lived here your whole life.” Shawn quickly asked, once again voicing his curiosity in an annoying way.

“How do you know that?” Maya asked, raising a challenging eyebrow. “You been stalking me?” she jokingly asked.

“I got better things to do with my time.” Shawn scoffed, still smirking down at her.

“Like getting detention, right?” Maya asked.

“Hey, I’m trying to break a personal record.” Shawn defended himself, that was when one of the greatest ideas Maya believed she’d ever had popped into her head. She turned to him, reaching out and grabbing his arm to stop him from moving forward.

“Wanna make it a little more interesting?” Maya drawled out, smirking up at Shawn.

“What do you have in mind?” Shawn asked.

“I bet you $30 that I can get more detentions than you by the end of the year.” Maya challenged him, watching as a smile grew on Shawn’s face.

“Oh, you’re on,” Shawn called out, holding out his hand and the two shook on it. “I like how you think.”

“I like how I think too,” Maya proudly proclaimed, holding her head high and grinning to herself.  Stopping in her tracks again, she looked over to the small apartment complex and sighed, home sweet home, she guessed. “I’ll see you tomorrow Hunter, and you’re on.” Maya smirked, parting ways with Shawn.

“Be ready to lose,” he called out, crossing the road making his way over to the trailer park. Making her way up the steps, Maya was already used to the colourful characters crowding her home from back when she lived with her mum, but there was something different about this. Maybe because she hoped Rino would be there when she got home from school, that he cared enough about her to stick around. That maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t abandon her.

As she walked into the apartment, she knew she shouldn’t have given up her hope so freely, in the end, Riley really was the only one who had never let her down. Maybe she should have stayed with Riley’s new family instead of being welcomed to an empty apartment, hoping to find anything other than loneliness and disappointment. Hope was for suckers and sometimes she couldn’t help but be a sucker. She wanted a father and she got one, so what if he was barely there, right?

Her body froze, on edge as she heard footsteps loudly trudging down the hallway, a wall separating them, looking over she saw Rino standing there, large bags under his eyes as he tiredly made his way towards her with a bashful and awkward smile. He’d been like this since her first night here, she wondered if he knew how to actually raise a kid sometimes.

“I’m glad you came home, I ordered some Chinese food, I didn’t know what you liked so I got a bunch of different things.” He nervously informed her, walking into the kitchen. Maybe she should be hopeful with him, he really did seem like he was trying.

“Thanks,” Maya said.

“Uh, you probably want something to drink, do you want something to drink?” he spluttered, fishing around for a glass and she couldn’t bring herself to say no.

“Sure, what do we have?” Maya asked, finding saying ‘we’ wasn’t as difficult as she thought. Hope swelled inside of her and she wanted nothing more than to crush it.

“We got lukewarm water and chilled water.” Rino awkwardly informed her, sending her an apologetic smile.

“Chilled water? I didn’t know you were so fancy,” Maya joked, a grin spreading to her lips as she watched his cheeks burn bright red.

“Only cause you’re here,” he jovially retorted.

“Surprise me,” Maya smiled, walking over to him, leaning on the fragile island table as he filled her glass with chilled (refrigerated) water and he turned around, placing the glass in front of her before reaching out and grabbing a beer, opening it and taking a sip. It wasn’t much, but she’d never needed much in the first place.

They had migrated four steps to the side, to the couch and sat side by side, watching the sports channel and thirty minutes had quickly passed, and the Chinese food had arrives, he splayed it out on the coffee table, rarely tearing his gaze away from the TV as the two dug into their food. During one of the breaks Rino had decided to speak up.

“How was your first day at school?” Rino asked, glancing over at her.

“It was good, I got a detention in art, actually.” Maya informed him, testing him, watching to see his reaction. He didn’t react how she expected him to.

“Yeah, I was the same when I was in school,” Rino shared, shovelling some food into his mouth.

“You’re not mad?” Maya asked, confused.

“I’m not going to ask for too much from you, you just do your best and graduate with the best grades you can and it’s good enough.” Rino offered with a small smile, making Maya feel better about all of this.

“Thanks,” she softly smiles, unable to believe that she had him.

The days went by quickly and interestingly, the day they did their IQ test, Maya also found herself in detention again, meaning she couldn’t go to the library with Farkle and Riley to research how they ended up there. Farkle was in an academic frenzy, and when Riley walked into the library, she smiled upon finding sitting in an aisle of the library, surrounded by books on conspiracy theories, phases of the moon, mysteries of the universe and all books that had time travel in them.

Walking towards him she quickly slipped beside him, sitting own and reaching out for one of the dusty books and she smiled, being reminded of when Lucas, Maya, Farkle and her went to a library when they tried to connect without phones. A smile spread to her lips when she thought about how proud her dad would be if he could see them like this, if he could see how they communicated without phones.

“Hey Riley, how was class?” Farkle softly asked her, putting down his notepad and book.

“It was good, I still have to get used to how different this school is,” Riley admitted, laughing lightly.

“Yeah, all the teachers have rejected Farkle time,” Farkle admitted with an awkward smile.

“It’s okay, Farkle, I’ll let you have Farkle time whenever you want,” Riley offered.

“Thank you, Riley,” he laughed. “Where’s Maya?” Farkle asked.

“Detention, I don’t know how she does it,” Riley dreamily admitted.

“Neither, it’s one of the greatest mysteries, that and time travel.” Farkle shared, looking up at the ceiling, staring off and into the distance. “First time travel, next mars, you ready to do this thing?” Farkle asked with a grin.

“We can do anything as long as we’re together, Farkle,” Riley laughed. At least she wasn’t here by herself, at least she had Farkle and at least she had Maya. Everything would be great; everything would turn out good. She knew it would, she believed it would. The two continued looking through the books until the library closed and then Lauren picked Farkle up and Riley and Maya walked home together.

**

Stepping into a school classroom had never felt so good to Maya as she passed the threshold into Mr Feeny’s classroom with Riley close behind her. It would be a good day. They both felt it, and they were both hoping for two very different outcomes. Maya sat down in her seat while Riley sat in front of her, drifting away to the scene in front of her, both Farkle and Stuart talking about their homework, competing to see who had the academic edge. Feeling the annoying and intrusive stare on her, Maya smirked, keeping her head straight and her knuckles tapped on her desk. “Whatca looking at, Hunter?” Maya asked, cocking her head to the side, her eyes clashing against his.

“Oh, you know,” Shawn coyly began, shrugging his shoulders. “Someone who’s gonna lose,” he smugly answered which only made Maya’s smirk grow.

“I’m not gonna lose, string-bean,” Maya bit back, liking their little game. She’d never admit it though. No way in hell.

“What are you going to lose, Maya?” Riley asked, jolted out of her blissful daze, her day quickly becoming rocky at his words.

“It’s nothing Riles, we just made a little bet,” Maya shrugged her shoulders.

“What bet?” Riley asked, her voice wavering.

“Who can get the most detentions by the end of sixth grade,” Shawn smirked. “And I’m gonna win.” He sneered, leaning in slightly.

“In your dreams, Hunter,” Maya bit back, leaning in slightly as well. The two distorted their faces which had continued moving closer and closer. “I’m getting that $30 and nothing is gonna stop me.” Maya smirked, moving away from him first. Riley watched from the sidelines as Shawn chuckled, settling into his seat as Mr Feeny began to speak. She turned away from them, afraid something was going on between her godfather and her best friend.

“I have in my hands the results of Tuesday’s IQ test, and one person here deserves special mention.” Mr Feeny proudly informed everyone. “This person achieved not only the highest score in the class, not only the highest score in the school, but a score so high, as to give rise to the question, ‘is there in fact, a ceiling on human intelligence?’” Mr Feeny questioned the class, stepping forward, making his way towards the middle aisle of the classroom.

“Please, Mr Feeny, you’re embarrassing me,” Stuart smugly said, naturally assuming, like any Minkus, that they were the smartest person in the room. Stuart abruptly whipped around, facing Farkle with a condescending smile.

“Minkus, you’re embarrassing yourself,” Farkle called out, gripping the edges of his desk, his eyes twitching slightly, shocking both Maya and Riley at how forceful he was being. “He’s clearly talking about me.” Farkle growled at Stuart causing Maya to bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing.

“Mr Minkus, Mr Abernathy, you came in tied for second place,” Mr Feeny bluntly informed them.

“What?” Farkle yelped. “Oh no,” he fell off to the side, falling to the floor unconscious, the whole classroom silently watching him lay there, twitching every now and then. Soon everyone looked away, returning to the topic at hand.

“Second?” Stuart asked, more confused than anything else. So was Riley, no one else in this class could have gotten higher than the Minkai students.

“Mm-hm.” Mr Feeny hummed.

“As in the context of not first?” Stuart asked, unable to grasp the concept of Mr Feeny’s words. Farkle woke up, grabbing onto Riley’s desk, stabilising himself. “Someone scored higher than me on the academic test?” he asked for further clarification.

“Blew you out of the academic water.” Mr Feeny informed Stuart.

“What’d I miss?” Farkle asked.

“You didn’t come in first, which isn’t surprising, but I didn’t either, which I don’t understand.” Stuart explained to Farkle who nodded, grabbing onto Riley for support.

“I think I’m going down again, Riley.” Farkle whimpered before Maya reached over, pushing him into his seat.

“Someone sitting in this very classroom is a junior kierkegaard.” Mr Feeny continued to praise the mysterious genius.

“A what?” Cory asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

“A great mind, Mr Matthews,” Mr Feeny explained to Cory. “Just like yours,” this took the whole class by shock, but none more than Riley, Farkle and Stuart, their faces fell, shock, jealousy and disbelief running through their minds while a smile grew on Maya’s face. “I have clearly underrated you, and I bow to your genius.” He said as he began clapping, soon everyone else began to clap along while Farkle leaned over to Riley and Maya.

“Please tell me this isn’t happening.” Farkle begged them.

“I can’t believe this is happening, best day ever,” Maya proclaimed, clapping her hands together, her laughter filling the room as Riley turned around, looking at her best friend in fear.

“This can’t be happening,” Riley muttered.

“You bet your ass it is.” Maya laughed, looking over to Cory and Shawn, amused. It wasn’t what she was expecting, out of all the things that could have happened travelling to the past, she never could have expected to see this coming from Matthews himself.

As class ended, one by one each student filed out of the classroom, Maya strutted out of the room with Riley and Farkle following closely behind her, Farkle hovered behind her, eyeing Cory as if he was the devil, or as if he’d just farted on Farkle’s food, whichever was worse for Farkle. An idea entered Maya’s head as she stalked forward, ignoring Riley’s protests.

“Wow Cory, chia pet,” Maya boldly announced her presence, an ill-meaning smile made its way onto her lips as Cory reached up, feeling his hair. “Congrats, you’re a real genius you know?” Maya sarcastically drawled out.

“What she means is, we’re really impressed, Cory, it’s so awesome.” Riley grinned, staring at her father in awe.

“Yeah, Cor is a real genius,” Shawn quickly cut in, he felt confident that he knew how to handle the blonde now. Cory furiously nodded beside him.

“I bet he is, I’m impressed he managed to cheat and get away with it.” Maya quickly said, she wouldn’t let anyone hurt Riley, sometimes that meant ripping off the band-aid now rather than slowly peeling it off. It was an added bonus to see Cory squirm under her gaze.

“Maya, it’s nothing, Cory would never lie to Mr Feeny like that.” Riley optimistically spoke, shaking her head causing Cory to awkwardly smile at her.

“Yeah, never,” Cory said, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn’t know why he felt so bad lying to Riley.

“Who’s gonna tell her?” Farkle asked.

“Just let her have this, it’s too good.” Maya quietly said. After school the three of them made their way back to Riley’s home, Maya had done her best to avoid getting a detention due to her, Farkle and Riley having important issues to discuss. When they got to Riley’s they quickly ran up and into her bedroom while Joanne busied herself in the kitchen, making brownies for them. They were both messes and Maya found it amazing, she watched from the side-lines, leaning against the window, sketching Cory’s house in her notebook as Riley began pacing back and forth in her bedroom and Farkle was surrounded by a ring of books.

“I don’t understand how this could happen,” Farkle exclaimed, perplexed at the situation.

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Riley whispered, pacing faster.

“There is no way Cory is smarter than me,” Farkle called out again as Maya glanced over at them, furrowing her eyebrows.

“He cheated, he actually cheated, Maya this isn’t like my dad.” Riley panicked. “My dad is not a cheater.” Riley quickly called out, waving her finger around. “What if we’re the reason why he cheated Maya? What if by being here my dad cheated on the test and it screws up the whole timeline.” Riley worriedly exclaimed.

“He’s not even smarter than me in the future, there is only one thing he knows that I don’t,” Farkle exclaimed.

“Belgium 1831.” Riley and Farkle hissed at the same time before facing each other. Maya’s eyebrows shot up; she couldn’t believe how seriously they were taking this.

“You guys worry too much.” Maya laughed, looking between them again. “There is no way we could have screwed up the timeline already,” she didn’t know if she was right or not, if she was being honest, anything to do with time travel just confused the hell out of her. All she knew was that they weren’t responsible for what Cory chose to do.

“How do you know that Maya?” Riley asked, plopping down beside her, Maya sighed, wrapping her arms around Riley, stroking her hair softly.

“Because I know, do you trust me, Riles?” Maya softly asked.

“I do, Maya.” Riley smiled, hugging Maya back. As long as Riley and Maya were together, Farkle had faith in the world, he smiled as he watched them, he had to figure out how to get them back. He couldn’t afford to let them down. “Are you okay, Farkle?” Riley asked, turning to look over at him.

“Yeah, I am now.” Farkle nodded, softly smiling. “I think while we’re all together we should talk about how to get home.” He began, hand in hand, Riley and Maya walked over, sitting down in front of him.

“Ugh can we get this over with?” Maya asked, looking around, her face scrunched up.

“You don’t want to go home?” Riley asked, confused while Maya just shrugged. She knew it wasn’t the same for Riley and Farkle, but she had everything she needed right here, she really did believe her life would be better in the 90s.

“I just want us all to be happy, Riles,” Maya answered, shrugging her shoulders.

“Thunder?” Riley held out her hand.

“Lightning.” Maya held out her hand as well, the two smiling over at each other.

“Okay, so since there are no computers, we have access to it’ll take slightly longer,” Farkle informed them, sighing. “I’m trying to talk my parents into buying me one, but it’ll take a while, until then we’ll just have to look through books. Since we have no data about anything abnormal on the night we went missing, we’ll just have to retrace our steps, what’s the last thing each of you remember the night it happened?” Farkle asked, looking to Maya expectantly. There were so many variables to time travel and what could have possibly happened, but they were connected, and Farkle had a theory it wasn’t just them; it didn’t seem like a coincidence that they ended up here of all places.

“I went to the diner and had dinner with my mum and then I went home and to bed.” The lies easily slipped from Maya’s lips. Like they always did, really. Riley and Farkle didn’t need to know everything about her life. Their lives were too perfect to know all about it.

“Riley?” Farkle asked, looking over at her.

“I got into an argument with my parents about Lucas,” Riley answered. “After that I went to bed and that’s all I can remember.” Riley said, her eyes blinking furiously, she felt like she was forgetting something, they all did.

“Right now, all we can base it off of is predictions and estimates, was there anything weird that you noticed?” Farkle asked.

“No, no black cat, or old lady with a huge nose, other than Mrs Mortelli, but she’s always there.” Maya answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Nothing different,” Riley confirmed. It felt wrong, it all felt wrong, like they were missing the most important piece of the puzzle, that someone was withholding it from them until the fulfilled their purpose here. Or maybe so they could keep them trapped in the past. A knock came at the bedroom door before it was slowly pushed open, revealing an awkward looking Daniel standing there, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

“Farkle, your dad is here,” Daniel informed him, stopping himself from remarking how jealous he felt about the rich pretty boy standing down the stairs, talking to his wife and playing with his daughters.

“I should probably head out too,” Maya said, stuffing her books into her bag and standing up, the trio making their way downstairs, Maya turned to Riley, pulling her friend into a hug before turning, her eyes settling on Antonio who stood in the corridor, clad in a tight fitting suit. He stood up, towering over them.

“Farkle,” Antonio smiled, glancing between Riley and Maya. “You must be Riley and Maya, it’s great to meet you two, so, Mrs Schmidt, here is my phone number and my wife’s phone number. You can call us any time you want to arrange for these two kids to have a sleepover or whatever.” Antonio was polite and easy going and Riley dreamily stared up at him when Maya quickly nudged Riley, breaking her free from her trance.

“You too,” Riley beamed. Watching them, she felt like a stranger, an outsider. It was like she was sitting in front of a TV watching these people play happy family and she was left to dream about what it really felt like. Maya walked outside when she saw Shawn walking out of the Matthews house, she tried to stop the smile forming on her face as she saw him walking towards her. She didn’t feel like such an outsider when she was with Shawn.

“We gotta stop meeting like this.” Shawn joked, quickly walking to Maya who waited for him to catch up, they then turned making their way towards their respective homes.

“It’s so weird, I could have sworn you were stalking me again,” Maya teased him.

“Pfft, I have better things, besides I think you kind of like me waiting for you.” Shawn smoothly smirked, causing Maya to roll her eyes. Even if she did like being with him, all it took was for him to open his mouth and she regretted ever thinking she liked being around him.

“Honey,” Maya said, stepping closer to him, watching as Shawn’s cheeks reddened. “I would rather kiss Minkus than ever look forward to you stalking me.” Maya playfully remarked.

“Sure, you would, babe,” Shawn smirked, running his hands through his hair, completely and utterly convinced otherwise.

“Why do you do that so much?” Maya asked scrunching up her face.

“Just giving the girls a treat,” Shawn smirked. “Why? Do you like it?” he asked.

“No,” Maya shook her head. “Now, again, why do you do that?” Maya asked, demanding the truth.

“The hair keeps getting in my eyes.” Shawn answered, sighing.

“There we go, I knew you had it in you.” Maya laughed, punching Shawn’s arm causing him to wince, rubbing it.

“How long have you known Riley?” Shawn asked, trying to smoothly slip in the question.

“How long have you known Cory?” Maya bit back.

“I asked you first,” Shawn bit back.

“Are you five?” Maya asked, squinting up at him.

“No, I’m 11.” Shawn retorted and this time Maya couldn’t hold back the laughter that threatened to burst free, it took her a moment to quieten down before she answered his question.

“I’ve known Riley since first grade.” Maya answered.

“No way,” Shawn said, his mouth hanging open.

“Yeah, why?” Maya asked.

“I’ve known Cory since first grade,” Shawn exclaimed.

“Oh my god,” Maya mock gasped.

“I know right,” Shawn mock gasped.

“That is a bit weird though,” Maya replied.

“Yeah, it is, isn’t it?” Shawn asked, his eyebrows pinched together.

“Yeah,”

“Yeah,”

“Yeah,” Maya drawled out.

“Yeah,” Shawn continued, ready to keep doing this for a long time.

“Okay, this is getting ridiculous.” She quickly snapped.

“Can’t keep up, Hart?” Shawn asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, I can keep up, and if I wanted to, I could destroy you,” Maya gleefully threatened him.

“I’d like to see you try,” Shawn scoffed.

“You will one day, and I’ll make you regret it.” Maya growled.

“Right,” Shawn laughed. “How many detentions have you gotten so far?” Shawn asked.

“Five,” Maya proudly said. “You?”

“Six,” Shawn grinned.

“You know what, it’s fine, I got all year to beat you.” Maya proclaimed.

“Like you could,” Shawn scoffed as they made it to the fork in their road, the place where their paths diverged. “See you tomorrow, Hart,” Shawn waved.

“Later loser,” Maya waved back at him, as she turned away from him, a smile broke out on her face, a wide and unbelievably happy grin. It had been a good day after all. She walked up and into the apartment, eating dinner with her foster father. While she was waiting for dinner, she looked out the window at the colourful characters strolling the streets thinking about how much she misses her mum and how weird it is seeing Cory, Topanga and Shawn as kids. As much as her mum disappointed her sometimes, she still couldn’t help but miss her sometimes.

**

Sitting inside of the classroom, patiently waiting for Mr Feeny to walk in through the front doors, Riley looked around the classroom, noticing the absence of Maya, she had noticed that her friend hadn’t been on the bus this morning. There was no universe or timeline where Riley wouldn’t be worried about Maya flying off of the handle. “Hey, Riley, you shouldn’t worry about Maya right now, she seems like she’s in a good place.” Farkle said, reaching over and placing his hand on top of Riley’s, she smiled looking over at him.

“Come on, Farkle, it’s Maya,” Riley exclaimed, laughing lightly.

“I know, and I also know that this can’t be easy for you,” Farkle began, pursing his lips, out of all of them, Riley was the most effected by leaving her family.

“I’m fine, really.” Riley assured him.

“I think you’re pretending to be.” Farkle stated, offering her a small smile. “I’m here Riley, I’ve loved you since the first grade, and I’ll always be here for you.” Farkle promised her and Riley smiled, reaching out and pulling Farkle into a hug.

“Thank you,” she whispered into his shoulder.

“Ooo, Farkle’s got a girlfriend,” Shawn called out, letting out a bout of laughter, causing the two to pull away and Farkle smiled softly over at Riley, neither of them really caring. Outside of the classroom, Maya came to a stop, panting and clutching the doorframe, trying to catch her breath. She’d missed the bus because her alarm batteries were dead and then she’d had to run all the way to school because Rino had already gone to work, having an early shift that morning.

“Shawn, this whole thing is getting out of hand.” Cory voiced his concerns for the scheme he and his best friend had cooked up. Cory sat up on his desk, looking around nervously as Maya looked up, a slight smirk forming on her lips as she heard them.

“Relax, everybody thinks you’re brilliant.” Shawn tried to ease Cory’s nerves. “You should enjoy it.”

“When it was just Feeny, I could enjoy it, but now my parents are involved, and I don’t like lying to them.” Cory shared with Shawn.

“You don’t?” Shawn asked, confused.

“No.” Cory firmly said.

“Cause it gives me a little rush.” Shawn admitted, letting out a breath. “Besides, you didn’t tell them you were a genius, Feeny did,” Shawn exclaimed, coming up with an idea. Just from hearing it, Maya already knew it would come back to bite them in the ass.

“And I didn’t tell Feeny I’m a genius,” Cory grinned.

“The test did. And you didn’t ask to take the test.” Shawn grinned while Maya rolled her eyes at them.

“And they gave it to me.” Cory grinned.

“And you wouldn’t have even seen the answers,” Shawn breathed out.

“If they didn’t give us,” Cory continued.

“Detention,” Shawn grinned.

“We’re innocent victims.” Cory smiled, the two finishing each other’s sentences.

“You’re something, but innocent victims is not it.” Maya called out, stepping forward, her hands stuffed into her pockets and a smile decorating her face as Shawn bit back his smile and Cory jumped back in fear.

“How much did you hear?” Cory warily asked as Maya walked forward, placing her hand on Shawn’s shoulder, leaning in closer to him.

“Enough to know you two are idiots.” Maya dryly commented when Stuart walked up to them. This drew the attention of both Riley and Farkle who turned, looking over at her.

“Hey, Maya,” Riley waved, standing up and walking over to her with Farkle in tow.

“Hey, Riles,” Maya smiled, feeling Shawn’s intent gaze on her she glanced over at him, her smile quickly fading at the weird look in his eyes. She slowly retracted her hand, letting him go and looking away from him, seriously disturbed.

“I don’t get it,” Stuart commented.

“What?” Cory asked.

“If you’re smarter than I am, how come you’re always trying to copy for my paper?” Stuart asked.

“Uh,” Cory was stumped, and Maya leaned against her desk, watching everything unfold with an amused smile, she wanted to see what Cory had in him.

“He’s not copying, Minkus.” Shawn quickly said, standing up.

“Maybe he likes your handwriting?” Riley suggested, her cheeks burning bright red.

“Yeah, he’s just glancing over to admire the work of a fellow genius.” Shawn easily lied, smiling over at Stuart.

“You are?” Stuart asked.

“He is,” Shawn nodded.

“I am.” Cory agreed. Farkle and Maya glanced towards each other before looking back at them.

“Oh, well, that’s okay,” Stuart smiled. “In fact, from now on, I’ll kind of tip my test papers up so you can admire the answers even easier.” Stuart offered.

“Oh, come on,” Riley called out.

“No, Riles, let’s see where this goes,” Maya cut in, laughing when Shawn glared over at her before turning to look back at Stuart.

“He’s not that stupid Riley, Minkus is no me,” Farkle laughed, finding it weird and forced when he called his father Minkus, but he enjoyed that his words caused Stuart to glare at him. If he couldn’t have his father back, then he’d at least be happy to have him as an academic rival.

“I’m not stupid,” Stuart growled at Farkle.

“Let’s see about that,” Farkle bit back, the two-storming back to their seats.

“Genius envy,” Shawn nodded, glancing over at Cory.

“I haven’t seen this much stupid in a room, like ever.” Maya commented, earning a glare from Shawn as she went to sit down.

“Class, this is Miss Chin, she’ll be with you for the first half-hour while I have a talk with Mr Matthews.” Mr Feeny informed his class what would be happening during the class, walking out of the classroom with Cory.

“My dad’s gonna die,” Riley whimpered, watching Cory leave the room.

“There, there, honey,” Maya drawled out in a thick, high pitched, Texan accent. Riley tilted her head back, smiling as Maya reached over, patting Riley’s head. She fought back her laughter at how much Riley seemed to enjoy it. “Hey, Riles,” Maya wondered out loud.

“Yes, Maya?” Riley turned around in her seat, facing Maya.

“What are we doing for Halloween?” Maya asked her watching as Riley’s face lit up.

“I have so many ideas, Maya,” Riley excitedly grinned when Farkle leaned over to them, hearing their conversation.

“I have an idea, we should do a threesome costume,” Farkle grinned, looking between them.

“Not in this lifetime,” Maya dryly commented, her lips curling downwards at the thought of doing matching costumes or trio costumes with these two.

“So there’s hope for the next?” Farkle hopefully asked.

“Why can’t we do one, Maya?” Riley asked, confused. Maya’s eyes grew wide as she slumped in her seat, pursing her lips as a smile threatened to break free on her face. Shawn leaned over, looking to Maya.

“Who’s gonna tell her?” Shawn asked.

“No one at all,” Maya shook her head. “I’m not having that conversation.” Maya quickly said. It would be more difficult than she really wanted. On the night of Halloween, it had been fun, the first Halloween together and it was more than anything any of them could have hoped for, Maya, Farkle and Riley dressed up as the ninja turtles, they’d decided to go trick or treating in Riley’s side of the neighbourhood. Eventually they’d found themselves trick or treating with Cory and Shawn. It was fun and easy and at the end of the night they were all cooped up in Riley’s living room, sound asleep.

Chapter Text

Being stuck in the 90s for two weeks had taken its toll on Riley, Maya and Farkle. Sometimes they missed home, worried if they would mess up the timeline and sometimes it was just life. A life they were unprepared for. Not that anyone could have prepared them for this. But even now, sitting in Mr Feeny’s social studies class, waiting to hear about their next assignment was somewhat of a relief to them. Even as a mix of dread, anticipation and boredom swirled around inside of the small classroom, it was better than being stuck on the inevitable and impending doom that was the repercussions of time travel and the unanswered question of how they got here and how they would get back.

“This week in social studies, we’ll be talking about prejudice,” Mr Feeny introduced them to what they would be learning about this week as he clapped the chalk dust off of his hands.

“Thrilling,” Maya dryly remarked.

“I myself am prejudiced against the scrungy food in the cafeteria.” Cory proclaimed, earning a round of laughter from the class while he turned around, high fiving Shawn.  

“Aren’t we all?” Maya airily asked.

“Guys, I’m not sure the lunch lady would like you guys talking about her food like this, I’m sure she puts a lot of hard work into making the food.” Riley quickly defended the lunch lady, confusing everyone in the class, even Mr Feeny.

“Who’s gonna tell her?” Cory dryly questioned, pointing to Riley.

“Tell me what?” Riley asked, reminding all of them of Bambi.

“We will be discussing black slavery, in the American South,” Mr Feeny spoke over them, raising his voice. Walking towards the front of the class he passed out the books they would each be studying this week. “The Jews in Nazi Germany, and several examples of prejudice throughout history.” Mr Feeny elaborated for everyone. Stuart turned around, passing two books to Riley.

“Back off my lady, Minkus, I’m a lot of crazy,” Farkle hissed, threatening Stuart who held his hands up, quickly turning away.

“Farkle,” Riley cried out while Maya laughed behind her.

“Didn’t realise you two were an item,” Stuart awkwardly said, turning away from him.

“We’re not, we’re really not,” Riley defensively said, passing back the book to Maya.

“You are now,” Maya snickered.

“You both are,” Farkle proudly called out, looking between them.

“Gross,” Maya muttered under her breath.

“Tonight, your assignment is to read the first 30 pages of that book,” Mr Feeny informed them disregarding the collective groans, slouched figures and the few heads banging on the desks.

“Come on, Maya, I’m sure it’s interesting.” Riley optimistically spoke with a bright smile. Slowly rising her head, Maya glared over at Riley.

“Aw, man, it’s a book about some girl.” Cory groaned.

“Keep up that attitude, Matthews, and it’s going to be the only girl in your life other than your mum.” Maya goadingly drawled out as the bell rang and students began to file out of the classroom.

“Ha-ha, very funny,” Cory sarcastically exclaimed. “And that’s totally not true, I have a sister too.” Cory defended himself while Maya snorted in amusement.

“Congratulations,” Maya breathed out.

“Come on, Maya, don’t be ridiculous. I mean, one day Cory is going to get married and have two kids, a boy and a girl and they’ll live in New York and be one big happy family,” Riley excitedly exclaimed, her smile growing wider and wider as the seconds passed while Maya and Shawn winced and Cory scrunched up his face.

“Gross,” Cory said, quickly turning and walking away from them. Maya didn’t blame him. Each of them made their way to their next class, throughout the whole day Riley felt lonely, having barely any actual lessons with Maya. It would be okay though, when they got into High School, she and Maya would have classes together and everything would make sense again. Unless they went home, which just meant they’d have all their classes together and everything would be right with the universe. After school, Maya and Shawn were held back, the two both landing themselves a detention. Riley and Farkle were picked up by Antonio and brought over to Farkle’s new home.

“Do you think there’s something weird going on with Maya?” Riley asked, she’d noticed Maya hadn’t been acting like herself, not completely anyway.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Farkle shrugged. “But she seems like she’s been getting along really well with Shawn,” he offered, shrugging his shoulders. It was nothing, even in their original time, Maya had only ever shown interest in Riley’s uncle Josh.

“That’s what I’m worried about,” Riley admitted. “I mean, as far as we know, Shawn never gets married or anything, but still.” She was right to be off-put by this. They had to be careful with every step they took. A black Chevrolet Chevelle ss with white stripes pulled up to the curb and Farkle got up, the two jumping into the car. Antonio glanced between them, waiting for them to put their belts on before he drove off.

Walking into Farkle’s new home, it was amazing, Riley had never seen ceilings this high before. Even if this wasn’t his home, Riley could tell that Farkle seemed happy here. “I’ll be in my study, if you kids need anything, just let me know, and Lauren said we’ll have dinner at six so if you want to stay, Riley, just let us know and we’ll call your parents.” Antonio explained to them before walking past them, his long legs gracefully carrying him away from them. Riley watched him go, gigging lightly.

“What was that?” Farkle asked, his eyes wide.

“What was what?” Riley defensively asked, her eyes wide as she stared back at him.

Farkle imitated the giggle that Riley did before pointing to her. “That, what was it?” Farkle asked.

“It was nothing,” Riley loudly called out before making a funny noise at Farkle.

“It was something,” Farkle then made the noise back at her, they did it back and forth a few times before they looked at each other, bursting out laughing.

“Can I ask you something serious?” Riley asked.

“Of course, Riley, I’d be happy to answer any question you have.” Farkle nodded.

“Do you like your parents?” Riley asked, referring to the ones he had now as she made her way around the living room spotting a wedding photo of the two, they looked a lot younger. They both looked like movie stars.

“They’re great, they’re always busy but I like them. I’m glad I met them.” Farkle admitted, as he went to sit down on the plush couch and Riley turned around, joining him on the couch. “They’re good people.”

“I know how you feel, my foster parents are really amazing, and my sisters, they’re so cute. I always wanted little sisters.” Riley laughed lightly.

“Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all,” Farkle offered.

“It isn’t, but I really want to go home. I miss my bedroom and my parents and Auggie.” Riley admitted, her cheeks burning. “We don’t belong here.” Riley whimpered.

“Maybe not, I’m not superstitious, there is logical answers behind everything, but I can’t find one with this.” Farkle admitted, trailing off. “I still remember something you once told me, Riley,” Farkle smiled down at her, if there was one thing, he believed in more than science, it was Maya and Riley. They inspired him.

“What was it?” Riley asked.

“You said, ‘I don’t believe anything that happens to us is by accident,’ maybe we’re supposed to be here.” Farkle offered, it was one of the few possibilities floating around in his mind and Riley smiled over at him, she’d never thought that.

“It’s a nice thought, and maybe the Riley I used to be believed that, but I’m not so sure I believe that anymore.” Riley admitted with a sad smile.

 “I think I need to believe it right now, or I’ll feel like a failure.” He whispered, slumping in his seat, Riley looked down at him before slumping in her seat, tilting her head to look at Farkle.

“You’re not a failure, we couldn’t do this without you.” Riley smiled over at him.

“I love you Riley, you light up my whole day,” Farkle softly drawled out causing Riley to laugh lightly.

“Okay, thank you,” she smiled.

“Always, Riley.” He nodded.

Skipping down the steps in front of the school, Maya and Shawn quickly ran out of the school, not wanting to be there any longer than they had to be. When they came to a stop, the two were panting, giant grins spread to their face, their eyes lit up with excitement and wonder as they caught their breath before continuing to walk towards their side of town.

“I can’t believe her, she totally didn’t see the funny side of it,” Shawn exclaimed, running his hands through his hair, still panting.

“I know right, I happen to think that was our masterpiece.” Maya proudly proclaimed, smiling up at Shawn.

“Oh yeah,” Shawn nodded, agreeing. “At least a week’s worth of detention, there’s no way you’re catching up now, Hart.” Shawn smirked. That smirk made Maya’s blood boil.

“There’s no way I’m losing, string-bean,” Maya said. “Not to you anyway.” She scoffed, giving him a once-over.

“Like you’re any better,” Shawn bit back.

“I’m a lot better,” Maya glowered.

“Keep believing that, Hart, you’re falling for me.” Shawn confidently proclaimed.

“It’s barely been two weeks, string-bean, love doesn’t happen that quickly.” Maya pointed out.

“Not true,” Shawn squeaked out. “Marcy and Terry, two trailers down from me got married after four days, they’re forever.” She was at a loss for words, unable to tell if he was joking or not. Maya just decided to ignore it and stop herself from smiling. She couldn’t catch feelings for him already. That wasn’t how her life worked. No matter how much she would have liked it to.

“I really pity the girls that end up with you.” Maya said.

“You pitying yourself?” Shawn teasingly asked. “That’s just sad, Maya, do you need a hug?” Shawn offered holding his arms open.

“Not interested now, and I never will be.” Maya shoved him away from her, smirking at the way Shawn’s face scrunched up.

“Oh, have you been to Joey Two Time’s Milk Bar?” Shawn excitedly asked, his eyes lighting up as he saw it in the distance.

“No,” Maya scrunched up her face, trying to figure out what the hell kind of name that was, it didn’t register that Shawn had reached down, grabbing her hand and dragging her behind him until they began to move. Maya’s eyes went wide, trying to keep up with him without falling. They came to a stop once they were inside and still, he didn’t let go of her hand. “You gonna let go of my hand or am I going to have to break it?” Maya asked, raising an eyebrow as Shawn quickly retracted his hand, wiping off the sweat of his palm on his shirt. “You got a little crush on me, Hunter?” Maya goadingly asked.

“Ew, no.” Shawn scoffed.

“Your blush says otherwise,” Maya stated, waving her hand around in front of his face, Shawn’s scowl deepened. “It’s okay, string-bean, I’ll give you a pass, I am pretty awesome.” Maya proclaimed, flipping her hair over her shoulder, smirking over at him.

“Hey, Maya,” Rino awkwardly greeted her, holding a six pack of beer and a loaf of bread, he stared down at Maya’s mortified face as she tried to shove Shawn away from her.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Maya asked, trying to play it cool.

“Good,” Rino answered, looking between her and Shawn. “Do you want a ride home?” Rino asked as Shawn sheepishly smiled at him.

“Nah, I’m good,” Maya answered.

“Right,” he drawled out. “Are you two dating?”

“No,” Maya squeaked out, her eyes wide. “Never,”

“In her dreams,” Shawn scrunched up his face causing Maya to turn to him, her eyes burning with fury causing Shawn to let out a yelp, jumping away.

“Okay, see you at home, kid.” Rino brushed past her, ruffling her hair. Maya scowled, her fingers combing through her hair.

“Bet you wish your hair was as good as mine, huh?” Shawn asked, shaking his head, his hair, effortlessly flopping around.

“Yeah, you know I’m so jealous that maybe next time you’re asleep in class, I’ll just shave it off.” Maya suggested, stepping closer to him with a bold smile.

“You wouldn’t,” Shawn gasped, backing away with each closer step she took to him.

“I would,” Maya said in a low voice. “Try me.”

“You’re a very mean little person,” Shawn commented, shaking his head.

“That’s the point,” Maya replied. The two had bought some lollies before sitting down on the curb, eating and talking. Being stuck in the past, Maya found herself spending more time with Shawn than anyone else, even Riley sometimes. They were weird. But them, Shawn and Maya, it seemed to work. Everything and everyone she’d met so far had just seemed to work. It worked better than anything had in her original time. But this wasn’t her timeline and she couldn’t get comfortable here.

**

Walking into class late had all been more or less pre-planned. Anything to get the edge on Shawn, there was no way she was losing their bet. But walking into class that day, she hadn’t expected to see Cory up there, pretending to be the teacher. Maya blinked multiple times to see if what she was seeing was real. “Maya, I’m not hallucinating, am I?” Riley asked, turning around to face Maya who sat down.

“If you are, so am I and it’s one weird hallucination,” Maya commented, frowning.

“Maya, glad you could make it, no detention for you today.” Cory proclaimed causing Riley to grin and for Maya’s face to drop in disappointment.

“Yay,” Riley shouted, jumping up and down in her seat.

“You gotta be kidding me,” Maya grumbled, refusing to look over at Shawn who was looking at her, smirking.

“You should try harder next time,” Shawn jokingly goaded her, Maya snapped her head in his direction, sending him a scathing glare. He fought the urge to jump back, afraid of what she would do to him.

“You wanna try me string-bean? Cause I’ll kick you so hard that you will start to feel like Minkus.” Maya threatened him.

“You wouldn’t,” Shawn gasped.

“Try me,” Maya growled.

“Maya,” Riley exclaimed, turning to her.

“You’re lucky she’s here or you’d be a dead man.” Maya seethed, she wasn’t prepared to pay Shawn $30, not just because she didn’t have the money but also because that meant she lost to him of all people.

“I’m your new teacher and my name is,” Cory turned, writing on the chalkboard, the chalk scraping against the board causing some of the students to wince “Hey Dude,” he introduced himself, grinning.

“This can’t be happening; this isn’t supposed to be happening.” Riley cried out.

“Hey, it’s happening and I’m here for it.” Maya burst out laughing.

“That alright with you, George?” Cory asked, leaning forward on the teacher’s desk.

“Mi clase es su clase.” Mr Feeny dryly replied.

“And you guys know that rule about no baseball caps in class? History.” Cory exclaimed, placing a baseball cap on his head. All the boys with the exception of Stuart and Farkle reached into their bags, putting on a baseball cap.

“This is gonna be great,” Maya grinned, looking over to Riley.

“This is gonna be a nightmare.” Riley whimpered, looking over to see her mum had raised her hand. Riley’s attention was removed from Cory, shifting to Topanga. Sometimes she forgot her mum was raised by hippy’s.

“Yeah, Topanga?” Cory asked, looking down at her.

“If we’re going to eliminate the cap rule, can we also discard the dress code in its entirety?” Topanga asked Cory.

“Why?” Cory asked, clueless. “You’re not thinking about showing up, like, naked tomorrow, are you?” Cory asked, disturbed.

“No. Although I find nothing shameful about nudity.” Topanga proudly proclaimed. “I was thinking about wearing garments from cultures more in tune with the goddess. A sari, perhaps, or a pareo.”

“Yeah, fine. As long as you’re covered up.” Cory quickly waved his hands around.

“Awe, aren’t they cute?” Riley giddily asked, turning to look at Maya who snorted in amusement.

“Yes, they are, they really are.” Maya nodded her head slowly. “Your mum is an odd duck, Matthews,” Maya playfully commented.

“I think it’s kinda cool,” Riley admitted, leaning forward.

“I think it’s very cool, too, Riley.” Farkle announced his presence. Both Riley and Maya looked over at him. “I admire how freely she’s able to express herself, I think everyone should be a little more like her.” He shared.

“Wow, that was kind of sweet,” Maya admitted.

“Does that mean you will go out with me?” Farkle asked.

“No,” Maya deadpanned.

“People, people, people, are we going to do our social studies work today?” Stuart asked, drawing the whole classes attention to him.

“Minkus, Minkus, Minkus, shut up.” Shawn bit back. Maya let out a small chuckle, looking over to Shawn who’s smile seemed to grow upon hearing her laughter. The smile quickly faded upon seeing that look on Shawn’s face and she looked away from him, facing the front. Riley furrowed her eyebrows, looking between the two of them, making a mental note to ask Maya later.

“I agree with Minkus,” Farkle said, standing up. “We’re here to learn, aren’t we?” Farkle asked, standing up, Maya scrunched up a ball of paper throwing it at him, Farkle’s eyebrow twitched, diving towards his desk, pulling out the paper ball gun shooting it off to Maya’s direction, she lifted her arms up, shielding her face. “There’s more where that came from,” Farkle proclaimed, sitting down in his seat.

“I’ll destroy you when you least expect it,” Maya threatened him, flashing a pretty smile.

“I look forward to it,” Farkle said in a low voice, grinning.

“Okay, guys, guys, for homework tonight, read the first 30 pages in whatever that book was that George assigned us yesterday.” Cory ordered, walking forward.

“But that was the assignment last night.” Stuart pointed out, confused.

“Minkus, not long ago, I was a student myself, and I remember that sixth-graders don’t always do their homework. So, this way, everyone gets a second chance.” Cory explained, easing Stuart’s confusion, and further reaffirming Stuart’s believe that Cory was an idiot.

“Excuse me, Mr Hey Dude, but I did my homework.” Stuart deadpanned.

“Yeah, well, I finished the whole book. HAH,” Farkle shouted, causing Stuart to turn around, glaring over at Farkle.

“Minkus, get a life, that’s your homework assignment. Get a life.” Cory said, looking between them, Riley’s face dropped, freaking out, thinking her father had figured it out.

“He’s not a Minkus, why would you think he was a Minkus?” Riley nervously laughed.

“Well, he is now, there’s two Minkus’s, I don’t know how but there is.” Cory exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. Farkle quickly ran forward, arguing with Stuart about the book and their grades in every class. Riley looked off and over to Topanga.

“What’s the matter, honey?” Maya asked in a Texan accent, reaching out and stroking Riley’s hair, Riley leaned into Maya’s touch, looking up at the ceiling. “You know, if you wanna get to know your mum, you’re allowed to. Making a friend won’t change her.” She didn’t know if it would or not. “Now get over there before I drag you over there myself.” Maya ordered.

“Hey, Maya, wanna get in on this?” Shawn asked and Maya glanced over seeing Shawn throwing paper balls into the bin and Maya left Riley’s side, running over to them. Riley stayed in her seat, looking over at Topanga, afraid. She knew she shouldn’t have been; it was her mum.

(Fineh)

As the bell rang Maya and Farkle walked off to art class together, Farkle silently dreaded what would happen in the class, somehow Maya and Shawn always started fights with whatever they were doing in art that day. As long as he avoided becoming caught in the crossfire like all the other times, he would be okay. Instead of having class with them, Riley was stuck in art class. Alone. “Hi, you’re Riley, right?” Riley’s mum’s voice came from behind her, jolting her out of her spiralling FOMO. She turned around, smiling up at Topanga.

“What?” Riley asked, grinning. “Yes,” Riley nodded. “What?” She asked, blinking in confusion. “I’m Riley,” she let out a bout of girlish laughter.

“I know,” Topanga laughed, sitting down beside Riley. “Where are your friends?”

“They have art.” Riley informed them.

“Oh, is that the class that keeps getting into paint fights?” Topanga asked causing Riley to nervously laugh, nodding.

“That’s my Maya.” Riley beamed.

“I like your spirit, Riley. Can I have your hands?” Topanga asked, holding her hands out, smiling at the way Riley’s eyes went wide, holding her hands out.

“You can borrow them, but I want them back, okay?” Riley enthusiastically asked.

“I promise you will get them back,” Topanga replied, grasping Riley’s hands and closing her eyes humming. “Yes, our auras seem to be agreeable.” She breathed out, letting go of Riley.

“Really?” Riley asked, grinning. “Yay,” Riley cried out, throwing her arms up in the air, waving them around. Topanga laughed at Riley’s enthusiasm.

“What instrument do you play?” Topanga asked, looking around, Riley’s smile grew, reaching behind her and grabbing the recorder, holding it out in front of Topanga. Drawing in a deep breath, Riley brought the recorder to her mouth, blowing into it causing it to let out a loud, high pitch squealing noise. Everyone in the classroom winced, looking over at her while Topanga nodded, swaying her head from side to side, invigorated in the music. “It speaks to me, Riley.” Topanga breathed out, grabbing the bongos and rapidly hitting them.

“We are so cool,” Riley exclaimed, before blowing into the recorder again.

“What are you deaf?” Cory asked, covering his ears, looking over to them with a pained expression.

“No,” Riley’s smile faltered, slowly lowering her recorder. “You were amazing, Topanga.” Riley grinned over to her.

“So were you, Riley.” Topanga laughed.

“Yeah, sure, if you’re tone deaf.” Cory called out.

“I think we sound great, Cory.” Topanga said looking over at Cory before she turned, looking back over to Riley. “Would you like to come over to my house tonight and-” Riley cut Topanga off before really thinking. Somewhere inside of her, there was a little Riley and Farkle telling her that this would mess up the timeline but there was also a little Maya telling her to do whatever she wanted.

“Yes,” Riley shouted.

“She didn’t even finish her sentence.” Cory shouted over at Riley.

“I know,” Riley shouted again. “Yes, yes, yes and yes again.” Riley shouted, looking to Topanga who smiled at her.

“Excellent, I’ll call Jedediah.” Topanga said.

“Who?” Riley asked.

“That’s her dad.” Cory informed Riley.

“You call your dad Jedediah?” Riley shouted, stunned. “Who hurt you?” she asked.

“Thank you,” Cory exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

“I call my dad by his first name, what do you call your dad?” Topanga asked, looking down at Riley who forced a weak smile.

“Dad,” Riley shakily answered.

“So basically, she does what every normal person does.” Cory sassed, looking over at Topanga who rolled her eyes. Looking at the two of them, she felt like there was something wrong twisting inside of her. She felt like she was the only one that missed her mum and dad and the way they could tuck her into bed, and her dad would chase Lucas out of her bedroom. She missed them more than anything in the world. She never truly appreciated them until they were gone. And now all she wanted to do was get them back.

The final bell rang, and the elementary school students ran around, racing around and leaving the school as quickly as possible. Riley and Topanga walked out of their class, Jedediah had agreed to pick them up from school. Riley hadn’t been this excited since she had begun texting Lucas back in her original timeline. As they walked down the halls Riley spotted Farkle walking down the hallway, a sour expression on his face as he stopped by his locker, tugging it open.

“Why are you so sparkly Farkley?” Riley asked as they stopped in front of him. Topanga reached out taking his hand and humming, catching Farkle by surprise.

“Our auras are compatible.” Topanga dreamily said, looking at Farkle who looked to her confused.

“You should try again later, my aura was decorated by Maya.” Farkle sassed before walking away.

“Well, it looks very nice,” Topanga complimented him, Farkle’s head snapped in Riley’s direction, his eyes wide with fear.

“I still love you Riley, she means nothing to me.” Farkle dreamily said while Riley slowly nodded, biting back her laughter.

“It’s okay Farkle,” Riley assured him, laughing and walking away with Topanga, down the hall she spotted a head of blonde hair she instantly recognised to be Maya. Her gaze drifted to Maya’s left, seeing Shawn walking beside her, the two sparkling with glitter and smiling up at each other. Seeing them together, it didn’t sit right with her.

Arriving at Topanga’s house, Riley was in awe, looking around at all of the dream catchers, incense and knitted and crocheted things decorating the house. It had always been a bit of a mystery, Topanga’s side of the family rarely ever visited and when they did, they were very distant from their daughter and her family. Maybe by being here, Riley could understand what went wrong, she knew she wasn’t supposed to change anything but maybe they were meant to be here so that they could fix what had broken. Maybe they could make things better for future Riley and Auggie. They sat down in the lounge room, the two-playing music together when Topanga’s father and mother joined them.

“I’m Jedediah, it’s nice to meet you Riley.” Topanga’s father greeted her, grinning and handing her a kazoo which she took with a wide smile.

“It’s nice to meet you guys too, I love it here.” Riley grinned, they played music together and ate snacks that Topanga’s father had made for them. When it came time to prepare for dinner, Topanga walked up to Riley, placing down a glass of lemonade.

“Do you want to stay for dinner Riley?” Topanga asked, sitting down.

“Of course, I mean, I’ll have to call my mum, but I’d love to.” Riley beamed, standing up and going over to the phone, calling her mum, telling her she would be having dinner with her new friend, Topanga and she handed the phone over to Joanne who talked with Topanga’s dad. Her and Topanga then made plans to sit on the ground, wearing a sari which would bring them closer to the goddesses.

Chapter Text

So yes, when the next day did come around, Joanne had told Riley that there was no way she would be wearing a Sari to school, Riley was upset but she couldn’t say that she wasn’t extremely anxious to wear one to school altogether. When she walked into Social Studies class that Cory had taken over, she saw Maya already there, her feet kicked up on the desk, sunglasses shielding her eyes and her chest softly rising and falling. “Is she dead?” Riley asked, looking over to Shawn and Cory.

“No, she’s turned into a sleeping beauty.” Cory sarcastically exclaimed.

“Oh no,” Riley exclaimed, slapping her hands on her cheeks. “Ow, who’s gonna be her prince? Maya Hart has no prince, oh my gosh, Maya Hart is going to wake herself up.” Riley excitedly called out, looking over to Cory who was baffled.

“Yeah, that’s it.” Shawn nodded, spurring Riley along.

“Not asleep,” Maya muttered, taking off her sunglasses glaring over at Cory and Shawn before she turned her focus to Riley. “Hey, Riles, what’s going on?” Maya asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Why are you tired?” Riley asked.

“Um, Rino had some of his friends over last night, they were up pretty late playing poker, he’s so cool, he let me play with him.” Maya excitedly filled Riley in, oblivious to the worry her best friend had for her.

“Is that a good thing? Should you be playing poker with him? He’s an adult.” Riley whispered as if it was a dirty word.

“What’s the worst that could happen, Riley?” Maya asked, leaning forward when Topanga walked in, waving to Riley as she passed. “What did you get up to last night?” Maya teasingly asked.

“Nothing,” Riley lied, hoping Maya would persist and like usual, she didn’t disappoint.

“Come on, I know you wanna tell me, Riles.” Maya smiled over at Riley.

“I do wanna tell you.” Riley grinned. “I hung out with my m-Topanga last night.” Riley caught her slip up, waving her hands around excitedly. “It was amazing, I knew she was amazing, but seeing her as this spiritual flower child has been awesome.” Riley exclaimed, admiring her mum even more than she already did.

“I’m surprised you didn’t cough up a lung from all the incense.” Cory sassed, causing the two girls to slowly look over at him.

“Why are you always so mean to Topanga? Do you have a crush on her?” Riley asked with a hopeful smile while Cory just scrunched up his face.

“No way, she’s a girl.” Cory exclaimed, grossed out by the very thought. Maya laughed.

“Yeah, Riley, it’s gross cause she’s a girl and girls have cooties. Right?” Maya asked Cory who scowled.

“We don’t think girls have germs,” Shawn defended them.

“It sure seems like you think that, Hunter, I mean, I understand,” Maya said, leaning forward, making a mocking sad face. “Little boys think stupid things all the time.”

“We’re men and men don’t think that.” He proclaimed, he and Cory both hitting their chest.

“Yeah, Maya, they’re men,” Riley called out, the two looking at each other before doubling over, laughing.

“We are men, it’s you who’s not woman enough,” Shawn called out, instantly regretting what he said when Maya glared at him.

“Drop dead,” Maya bit out.

“I’m not sure you’d be able to handle that.” Shawn teased Maya, smiling in satisfaction as her eyebrow twitched.

“Maya come on, he’s just joking, please say you’re joking.” Riley begged, crossing one leg over the other.

“Why would I say I’m joking?” Shawn asked, confused.

“Uh, Shawn,” Cory nervously said, looking to Shawn worriedly.

“Say it,” Riley shouted, her voice becoming deep and demonic as Farkle walked in, frozen in his place.

“Oh my god, Riley, you’re channelling your inner Maya, this can’t be happening. What am I going to do? You know what? It’s okay. That just means more of both of you.” Farkle voiced his existential crisis before walking off to his seat, intently watching them.

“He’s so weird.” Cory muttered, distracted.

“What’s new Hey Dude?” Maya asked, smirking over at Cory.

“Riley,” Topanga walked over to Riley, her hands clutched behind her bag.

“Hi, Topanga,” Riley smiled up at her.

“Why aren’t you wearing the Sari I gave you?” Topanga asked, looking down at Riley who was seated.

“My mum said she didn’t want me to go to school with it on.” Riley nervously informed Topanga who nodded.

“That’s okay, you’re still welcome to join me up at the front of the class,” Topanga offered, her smile growing as Riley jumped out of her seat, running to the front, dragging Topanga behind her, and sitting down on the Yoga pillow. Despite the initial struggle, somehow, she managed to fold her long limbs and sitting down beside Topanga, grinning like a sweet idiot.

“Uh, Topanga, what are you doing?” Cory followed her away from Shawn, standing up in front of Riley and Topanga.

“I pushed my desk forward, I have decided I’d rather sit on a traditional yoga cushion with my new friend, Riley.” Topanga explained what was happening to Cory who floundered in front of them.

“We’re connecting with the goddesses.” Riley giddily proclaimed buzzing with energy as Stuart moved his desk forward as well.

“Oh, come on, Minkus, don’t tell me you want to sit on a yogurt cushion,” Cory exclaimed outrages by the roughly class of students Cory had allowed to spiral out of control.

“Yoga,” Riley loudly drawled out, correcting him.

“Whatever, same thing.” Cory bit back, waving his hand in dismissal.

“No. You told me to get a life.” Stuart replied, holding a large, red ball. “Now I’m going to be as fun as the next guy.” He informed Cory, sitting down and bouncing on the ball as Riley looked over at Topanga, her eyes wide as she tried to fold her legs the same way Topanga did. Riley closed her eyes once she’d managed to squeeze her legs into the same position and she closed her eyes, trying to meditate.

In the back of the class, Maya leaned back in her seat, watching Riley and Topanga with an amused gleam in her eye. Shawn leaned over, getting in her face which caused Maya’s eyebrow to twitch. “Maya, you want a piece of this?” Shawn asked, gesturing to the cards and a smile formed on Maya’s lips as she reached over, grabbing Farkle and dragging him closer to Shawn’s desk. “Does he have to be here?” Shawn asked.

“You don’t get me without Farkle, you got a problem with that?” Maya brashly asked as Shawn scrunched his face up, looking between her and Farkle.

“I love when you drag me places,” Farkle whispered, his eyes wide as he looked at Maya, she scrunched her face up.

“No,” she shook her head.

“What did you need?” Farkle asked.

“We’re playing poker, you’re playing with us.” Maya told him.

“I don’t want to play, Maya.” Farkle shook his head. “My father always says gambling is too risky.”

“I’ll let you smell my hair if you win.” Maya offered. Over the night, Maya had an epiphany, she spent too much time with Shawn, she was aware what they were doing, the back and forth, it was nice, but it would mess up the timeline. So, she needed a buffer from the constant flirting, and she knew he didn’t flirt with her as much when Farkle was around. Shawn looked between the two, disgusted.

“Are you two dating?” Shawn asked.

“Never,” Maya said.

“No, not yet, but we’ll be married one day and have 11 children together.” Farkle informed Shawn who nodded slowly.

“Okay,” Shawn slowly said as he took the cards out, stacking the deck.

“Not in this lifetime, Farkle.” Maya shook her head.

“So, there’s hope for the next one?” He asked, leaning in but Maya reached out, grabbing his face and pushing it away from her.

“Meter from the Maya,” she flatly demanded.

“Uh, Lawrence, Topanga.” Cory read out loud.

“I’m channelling.” Topanga informed Cory. “I will only answer to the name,” Topanga’s eyes snapped open and she let out a growl, Riley’s eyes shot open, looking over at Topanga. Cory stood there, dumbfounded before nodding.

“Okay, present, but not all here.” Cody nodded.

“But still cute, right?” Riley asked, trying to encourage Cory to go after her.

“I’ll pass.” Cory quickly quipped. “Uh, Hunter, Shawn,” Cory put the role down, storming over to Shawn. “Hunter, Shawn.” Cory walked up to them.

“You’re being summoned.” Maya dramatically drawled out while Farkle shook his head, letting out a groan.

“I love when you do medieval talk, woman.” Farkle grinned over at her.

“Out of my face, I’m stacking the deck.” Shawn called out; his focus stolen by the deck in front of him.

“Yeah, Hey Dude, outta his face, string-bean is gonna get me a win.” Maya grinned, rubbing her hands together.

“No, I’m getting myself a win.” Shawn snorted.

“No, I’m winning all of it and then I get to smell Maya’s hair.” Farkle grinned. Maya frowned, aware of what she got herself into.

“Hey. Where’s Mr Feeny? I mean George?” Cory asked, noticing the absent desk.

“Hey, Dude,” Mr Feeny walked in, weaking a Phillis baseball outfit, Maya looked over at him, unable to contain her laughter. “Sorry I’m late, I was chillin’ with my homies.” Mr Feeny called out, the words sounding so foreign coming from him.

“This is crazy,” Farkle breathed out looking between Cory and Mr Feeny.

“I love it.” Maya grinned.

“I’m in,” Mr Feeny put down the lollies he had and so did Farkle and Maya, the three trapped in a game of poker which Maya bluffed her way into winning with nerves of steel. When lunch came around, Maya, Farkle and Riley were sitting down on at a table with Farkle still surrounded by books and Maya was looking through all the lollies she’d won with glee.

“Have you made any progress Farkle?” Riley asked, looking over at Topanga with a sad look in her eyes.

“Have a chiclet honey.” Maya said, holding out a chicklet which caused Riley to smile and grab it, placing it in her mouth.

“Thanks, Maya.” Riley smiled, she couldn’t show how sad she was, not in front of Maya. “You know exactly how to make me feel better.” Riley said, stuffing more lollies in her mouth. Farkle looked up for a brief and stern moment, sometimes she felt like Farkle knew her better than Maya, he was always able to tell when something was wrong.

“Nothing new, and I’m still working on the computer.” Farkle sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “There’s something missing, I can feel it, I think we should have another meeting, if everyone free after school?” Farkle asked, looking around the table.

“I’m babysitting my sisters. Joanne and Daniel are having date night.” Riley informed them.

“Detention,” Maya answered.

“How many detentions do you have, Maya?” Riley playfully asked, smiling over at Maya.

“Not enough.” Maya replied when Cory and Shawn sat down with them, causing Riley to go into a freaked-out frenzy.

“Why are you sitting with us? What are you doing sitting with us? Maybe you would prefer to sit with Topanga? I mean you two looks so cute together, I bet you would.” Riley began running her mouth and Shawn and Cory looked to each other, grossed out and Maya and Farkle looked to each other, mildly amused.

“Uh,” Cory didn’t know how to respond to Riley.

“It would just be best to move past it,” Maya suggested.

“Thanks,” Cory muttered. “How come none of you warned me or how hard it is to teach sixth graders?” Cory asked.

“I kind of thought it was just obvious.” Maya dryly stated.

“She’s got a point, Cor,” Shawn shrugged his shoulders, reaching for some lollies but Maya dragged them away from him, her eyes narrowed.

“Back off, Hunter.” Maya growled.

“I think you were doing great, Cory,” Riley encouraged him, smiling over at him, getting weird looks from all of them.

“Uh, thanks Riley, at least someone thinks so,” Cory shouted, turning to Shawn who rolled his eyes.

“Whatever man, you’re sounding like such a teacher.” Shawn commented, shaking his head.

**

The class test was swiftly approaching and while Farkle, Topanga and Riley had done their readings and homework, and potentially Stuart as well, everyone else in the class ran wild. Maya and Shawn had pushed their desks together as Maya reached into her bag, pulling out a bag of lollies, waiting for Mr Feeny so they could continue their game from yesterday. Riley was sitting with Topanga, trying to find her inner flower child and Farkle was finishing what he would imagine would have been the homework for their class when Cory walked in, wearing a suit.

“Hey, Mr. GQ, nice neckwear.” Shawn playfully called out.

“Awe, look it a little brillio haired Feeny.” Maya called out, tilting her hear to the side earning a short snort from Shawn.

“Excellent Windsor knot. Did your mum tie it?” Stuart asked.

“Okay guys, very funny, I happen to think you look really nice, Cory, very professional. Do you like it Topanga?” riley asked, nudging Topanga who hummed, looking up at Cory.

“It is unusually visually appealing.” Topanga replied before closing her eyes again causing Cory to blush.

“Minkus—Stuart, I need your help.” Cory said in the midst of his desperation. “You’re the smartest kid in class- “

“Allegedly.” Farkle called out.

“Bit me,” Stuart called out back.

“Oh, I well, I’m a lotta crazy.” Farkle shouted back at him.

“Look, I didn’t come here to watch nerd v nerd, maybe if you pay attention to me, some of the other kids will,” Cory suggested, ready to do anything.

“Why should I help you?” Stuart asked. “You made fun of Mr Feeny and said he gets paid too much.” He pointed out as the bell rang. Riley turned to Stuart with a small smile.

“It’s the right thing to do, Stuart, I mean if you really needed their help wouldn’t you like to think they’d help you out?” Riley asked. “Aren’t you willing to do the same?” she asked.

“I would never need this cave dwellers help.” Stuart sassily stated.

“Okay then, so much for that. It’ll be okay Cory; I believe everything will turn out fine.” Riley dreamily said, swaying from side to side. Somehow Cory was not comforted by this. Mr Feeny walked in, sitting down on his desk, facing Maya and Shawn.

“Hey dude,” Mr Feeny greeted them, before stopping, jumping up, holding his hands up in the air upon seeing Cory in a suit. “Ooh, that suit. It’s not cool.” He shook his head.

“You’re telling me,” Maya snorted.

“Ha-ha- “Cory jumped back upon seeing Maya’s death glare directed at him, he didn’t know how Shawn didn’t jump away in fear of Maya. “Class, I’d like to talk to you today about prejudice,” Cory began, walking away from Shawn, Maya and Mr Feeny, stopping at the front of the class. Riley opened her eyes, looking up at her dad. “And how it still exists in today’s world. I didn’t even know that till last night, when I saw a real smart, totally cool Asian girl crying her eyes out because some idiot at the mall called her a bad name. My lesson for today is that when people treat other people badly because of their skin colour, or their religion or where they come from, then real smart, totally cool people can really suffer.” Riley smiled, this was the Cory that she knew, her dad. The one that would inspire her and teach her about the world. She needed her dad so much in her life, and she needed him now.

“Hey, George, this isn’t gum, these are Rolaids.” Shawn called out, inspecting the lollies.

“You’re only noticing that now?” Maya laughed out.

“And how long ago did you notice and why are you only telling me now?” Shawn asked, earning an eye roll from Maya.

“Deal me out of this one, Mr Hunter.” Mr Feeny placed the cards on Shawn’s desk, causing both him and Maya to become confused.

“What? Why?” Shawn asked.

“Okay, you win. I’m a crummy teacher and I resign.” Cory relented, walking out of the class, but he paused at the door, Maya reached out, grabbing the cards and she began shuffling them when Cory turned to Shawn. “Hey Shawn, before your mother got married, what was her last name?” Cory asked.

“Cordini.” Shawn absently answered.

“Cordini, so that would make you a Wop, right?” Cory asked, all humour faded from the room, it went silent and all eyes were on Cory as Shawn’s face twitched with disbelief and anger.

“What did you call me?” Shawn snapped, throwing his cards on his desk and standing up and over Cory.

“You heard what I called you,” Cory bit back.

“Did you hear what he called me?” Shawn asked, turning to face Mr Feeny.

“I heard what he called you,” Mr Feeny nodded.

“What are you going to do about it?” Shawn asked, his voice breaking.

“He’s the teacher, what are you gonna do about it?” Mr Feeny asked.

“I’m gonna knock his head off.” Shawn growled, grabbing onto Cory and shoving him against the door.

“What if you couldn’t? What if you couldn’t do anything about it?” Cory asked.

“What?”

“What if you lived in a country where I could kill you just because of your mum’s last name?” Cory asked, putting Shawn on the spot.

“Cory, what are you talking about?” Shawn asked in a low voice.

“A 15-year-old girl is dead.” Cory shouted, making his way to the front of the class. “Doesn’t anybody care?”

“Cory,”

“She was real smart and totally cool. She wrote this book; her name was Anne Frank. They say she died of Typhus, but they killed her because her name was Anne Frank. Anne Frank was a victim of Antisemitism.” Cory explained to the class.

“Anti-Semitism.” Mr Feeny corrected him.

“Thank you, Mr Feeny.” Cory nodded before stepping forward. “You have to read this book, and you have to pass this test. Not because of me, but because when someone calls someone else a bad name, it’s not good that just that one person jumps up. We all have to jump up. ‘In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.’” Cory read out to the class. After everyone left school and Maya and Shawn were sitting together in detention.

“You okay, Hunter?” Maya asked, looking over at Shawn who glanced over at her, a slow smile forming on his lips.

“Yeah, I’m always okay, Hart,” Shawn replied, a mutual respect lingering between them. After Maya’s detention Maya, Riley and Farkle were walking home and Riley was gushing about her parents. Cory was Riley’s inspiration; he and Topanga were how she would make it through all of this without her family.

Chapter Text

To the time traveling trio, it was one of those moments where they were all experiencing a sense of déjà vu watching Cory standing on the left of Mr Feeny in a funny hat and wig, pretending to be General Washington. And Stuart was standing to the right of Mr Feeny, wearing a fake crown and pretending to be King George. Maya was just glad she wasn’t forced to dress up like some bald, fat guy. “Taxation without representation, King George,” Mr Feeny turned to look over at Stuart

“We provide the colonists with all their finished manufactures goods, we deserve remuneration.” Stuart confidently said, already all-knowing on the topic.

“General Washington,” Mr Feeny said, gesturing for Cory to take over. Riley was slumped in her seat, trying to shrink herself into oblivion because of the embarrassment and Farkle was watching on with envy.

“Kill me now,” Riley muttered into her arms causing Maya’s body to shake with laughter.

“Fine, keep your goods,” Cory called out, waving his arms around in the air. “Like we need your stinking British goods. We’re American. We’re independent. We’ll get out goods from Japan.” Cory exclaimed. Maya snorted in amusement, she couldn’t believe this guy would one day be her teacher and a major authority figure in her life.

“How you doing, Riles?” Maya asked, leaning forward.

“Am I dead yet?” Riley asked, slowly turning to look at her.

“Not yet,” Maya shook her head.

“Can you put me out of my misery?” Riley whimpered.

“General, I’m dying for you to elaborate,” Mr Feeny sighed, looking to Cory expectantly.

“What’s the point Mr. Feeny? We all know we kicked British butt.” Cory grinned, looking out at the flurry of students who laughed with him.

“Winners and losers aside, General, if we do not understand history, we are doomed to repeat its mistakes.” Mr Feeny gave the same sage advice that Cory one day would.

“Oh, who cares about George Washington? Who cares about King George? Was every boring guy in history names George?” Cory bellowed in distaste before nervously looking to Mr Feeny.

“Maya,” Riley cried.

“There, there, honey,” Maya reached over, patting Riley’s head.

“I mean, every dead boring guy.” Cory nervously laughed, suddenly realising how dead he was.

“Nothing can save you now, Matthews,” Maya called out.

“Don’t kill him Mr Feeny, I’m begging you,” Riley loudly begged, slamming her hands down on the table, pleadingly looking at Mr Feeny who sighed.

“I won’t be killing him, Miss Matthews,” Feeny paused for a moment, looking over to Cory, contemplating it for a fleeting moment. “Not yet anyway.”

“Mr Feeny,” Cory gasped.

“I love this class,” Maya exclaimed.

“Apparently, the past holds no fascination for you.” Mr Feeny said.

“No, it’s happened, it’s done.” Cory exclaimed, waving his hands in the air.

“It’s history.” Mr Feeny said.

“I’m saying,” Cory agreed with Mr Feeny.

“Perhaps we should study your history, Mr Matthews.” Mr Feeny suggested.

“I have no history, I’m 11.” Cory pointed out, taking his foot off of the seat and planting it on the ground and sitting down on the chair. “I’m more interested in my future,” Cory said.

“Right here,” Maya called out pointing to Riley who blushed.

“Right there,” Riley shouted, pointing to Topanga.

“No way,” Cory shook his head.

“I’m flattered, but I think I’ll pass.” Topanga quickly said, glancing over at Cory, wrinkling her nose.

“Oh, well, then it might be more interesting for us to look into our futures,” Mr Feeny commented, standing up. “To see if we can avoid our mistakes before they happen.” Mr Feeny suggested.

“I smell an assignment.” Shawn muttered, deflated.

“Are you sure you aren’t just smelling yourself?” Maya asked, Shawn looked over to her, scrunching up his face.

“I had a shower two days ago.” Shawn defended himself before tilting his head to the side, giving himself a sniff.

“Gross,” Maya breathed out, looking away from him.

“I swear I didn’t see it coming.” Cory called out.

“I did,” Farkle beamed, holding his hand in the air.

“The assignment for all of you is to create personal histories for yourselves as if you were returning for your 20^th High School Reunion.” Mr Feeny explained the assignment.

“More like a Preunion.” Stuart grinned.

“Well said, Mr Minkus.” Mr Feeny pointed over at him, turning his back and Stuart poked his tongue out as Farkle who growled.

“Fineh,” Farkle shouted at Stuart.

“You are the graduating class of the year 2000, what is your profession? Do you have children? Are those children tormenting their sixth-grade teachers?” Mr Feeny asked and the whole class laughed.

“Mr Feeny, would it be okay if I brought my wife,” Stuart asked, standing up.

“Oh, come on, Minkus, what’s going to marry you?” Shawn asked.

“Topanga,” Stuart grinned causing Maya to burst out laughing.

“No way!” Riley shouted. “She’s taken.” Riley called out.

“From who? I’ll fight them.” Stuart said, looking at Topanga intently as the whole class ‘ooo-ed’.

“Why, Stuart, I’m flattered that you would consider me as a potential life mate, but I’m not sure I even recognise the institution of marriage,” Topanga said.

“Trust me, babe, I’ve seen the future and it’s me.” Stuart said, pointing to himself with his thumb.

“Please, Minkus,” Farkle said, standing up. “You may be smart, but you’re no match for me, the world will be mine and no one can stop me, especially not your clearly inferior brain.” Farkle trash talked his father.

“It’s on Abernathy.” Stuart glowered as Maya and Riley looked between the two, stunned, Farkle had started an academic war against his dad of all people. Not that they should have really been that surprised. When it came time to have Lunch, Riley walked out of her class and towards the cafeteria, placing the paper bag with her food down on the table and pulling out a jam sandwich right when she saw a drenched Maya and Farkle storming towards her. Maya looked like she was prepared to kill anyone that so much looked at her.

“What the heck happened to you?” Cory exclaimed, examining Maya who stopped in her tracks, snapping her head to the side, her eyes narrowed. “Never mind, you look lovely,” Cory nervously laughed.

“Are you kidding? She looks like a drowned rat.” Shawn exclaimed before seeing the look in Maya’s eyes. “A very pretty drowned rat,” he nervously laughed.

“Nice save,” Maya growled before sitting down beside Riley and Farkle cautiously sat down opposite her, nervously glancing in Maya’s direction.

“What happened to you?” Riley slowly asked, looking between the two confused.

“Nothing,” Farkle squeaked out.

“Tell her,” Maya growled, glaring at him.

“I told Maya the names of our future children and she poured the water in the beaker on me.” Farkle explained, Riley was confused, none of it was adding up to her.

“Maya, you know that’s just Farkle being Farkle.” Riley laughed, waving her hands out towards him. “He’s great.” She laughed.

“Continue,” Maya demanded, gesturing to Farkle.

“I then told another girl about mine and Maya’s future together and she called me a creep and went to throw water on me, and I ducked out of the way and it got Maya.” Farkle nervously informed Riley who nodded, her mouth forming an O.

“Peaches,” Riley exclaimed, holding her arms wide open and Maya leaned in, allowing Riley to hug her sightly, stroking her hair as Maya stuffed some chips into her mouth. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to save you.” Riley whispered.

“Riley, it’s okay, it’s fine, I’m okay, but Farkle is dead.” Maya slammed her hands on the table causing Farkle to dive under the table in fear of her scathing glare and brash actions.

 “Do you guys know what you’re going to do for Mr Feeny’s assignment?” Riley asked, quickly changing the subject and attempting to save Farkle’s life in the process, he slowly crawled out from under the table, sending Riley a thankful glance.

“Well, I’ve had my future planned out since the moment I met you two, so I know everything that will happen.” Farkle proudly proclaimed, looking between the two of them with love struck eyes. Maya looked at him unimpressed while Riley grinned.

“Keep in mind we’re in the 90s, Farkle.” Maya dryly pointed out, grabbing one of her chips, aggressively chomping down on it.

“Right, so I’ll have to make a few adjustments but the way I see it, I can only use the knowledge of the future to my advantage.” Farkle proclaimed.

“Remember we can’t do anything that could impact our future,” Riley quickly said, looking between them.

“You mean other than being here, right?” Maya playfully asked.

“Yeah,” Riley drawled out, looking down at her untouched sandwich.

“Don’t worry, as my future wife, I’ll do anything to make you happy, Riley.” Farkle offered, smiling when he saw Riley’s face light up. She always lit up his world.

“Future wife?” Maya asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Okay, it’s Riley or Maya.” Farkle shrugged, turning to Riley, wiggling his eyebrows. “Lucky you.” He purred. Maya was on the verge of bursting out laughing as she looked between them.

“Help me,” Riley whimpered, looking over to Maya.

“You’re on your own,” Maya said, her eyes glimmering with amusement,

“How could you leave me like this?” Riley asked, her eyes glimmering with betrayal.

“Sorry, Riles, I’m out on this one.” Maya firmly said, there was no way in hell she was getting in the middle of whatever this was. If Farkle had actually, finally, hopefully just chosen Riley, then she was out.

“We’re having 11 children.” Farkle shared, staring deep into her eyes.

“I’m out, I’m out too, there is no way I’m having 11 kids,” Riley exclaimed, her eyes wide, her head jutting out every which way. “Is that even humanly possible?” Riley asked leaning forward.

“Good luck, soldier.” Maya mock saluted her.

“I’m scared,” Riley whimpered, smiling through her pain.

“Just do what I do, close your eyes and pretend it doesn’t exist.” Maya playfully suggested, taking another handful of chips and shovelling them into her mouth.

“But you get angry and try to beat Farkle up.” Riley pointed out, turning to look at Maya who grinned over at Riley, her mouth full of food.

“And I love every second of it.” Farkle grinned.

“You don’t want this,” Maya quickly snapped, gesturing to herself.

“Bring it on, Hart.” Farkle grinned over at her earning an exasperated eye roll from Maya who sighed, turning towards Riley, deciding she was moving on from this. “Can I study at yours after school, Riley?” Maya asked, changing the subject.

“You’re studying now? That’s great, Maya, I knew you had it in you.” Riley cheered her friend on, clapping. Maya raised an eyebrow, sometimes Riley was a lot.

“Yeah, um, totally,” Maya grinned, not even bothering to tell Riley the real reason was that she couldn’t be bothered taking the bus all the way home, and it wasn’t exactly like she had a curfew that she needed to abide by.

“You wouldn’t mind if I came and studied with you, would you?” Farkle asked, glancing over at Riley who smiled and shook her head.

“Of course not, we’re in it together.” Riley replied, happy she had friends like them. When the school day came to an end, Maya, Farkle and Riley had begun their migration to Riley’s home, crawling onto the bus, Riley went to sit down, waiting for Maya when Farkle dove past Maya, sitting down beside Riley.

“Just you and me future Mrs Farkle Min-Abernathy.” Farkle quickly corrected himself with nervous laughter, looking up at Maya who narrowed her eyes at him.

“Outta my seat,” Maya demanded.

“You can sit next to me,” Shawn offered, flashing a playfully grin and patting the seat next to him when Cory dove towards the seat.

“My Shawn.” Cory growled before screaming at the unimpressed look on Maya’s face. “I mean, you can have it if you want, I really don’t mind.” Cory nervously said.

“I’d rather rip out my eyes, but thanks.” Maya sarcastically commented, turning away from Cory when Riley shouted.

“Boom” knocking Farkle out of the seat and Maya smiled, sitting down beside her best friend.

“Peaches,” Riley grinned, and Maya slipped into the seat beside her. “Hey, what are you guys doing for Mr Feeny’s assignment?” Riley asked, looking over at Cory and Shawn.

“I’m gonna be a tire salesman like my dad.” Shawn grinned, looking between them.

“Are you serious?” Maya asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’ll work at my Uncles garage.” Shawn proudly proclaimed.

“Wouldn’t you rather do something else?” Maya asked.

“Like what?” Shawn asked.

“Poetry, writing, art, photography, you know, something creative?” Maya suggested, holding her hand out to Shawn who shrugged his shoulders.

“Not really, that sissy stuff is for people like Minkus.” Shawn scrunched up his face.

“You’re not far off it, string-bean.” Maya sassed.

“Oh yeah? Like you got anything better planned.” Shawn bit back at her.

“You’re looking at the future mini mart employee of the month.” Maya called out, dramatically waving her hands around.

“No, she’s joking, you’re joking right, please say you’re joking.” Riley demanded; her eyes wide.

“I’m not having this conversation in front of those losers.” Maya said, pointing between Cory and Shawn.

“Hey, we’re cool guys.” Shawn proclaimed.

“Yeah, in your dreams.” Maya scoffed.

“That’s not the only thing that happens in my dreams.” Shawn smiled over at Maya who rolled her eyes.

“Disgusting,” Maya spat.

“Please, you love me.” Shawn chuckled.

“Again, only in your dreams, Hunter.” Maya growled.

“Okay,” Riley shouted, cutting the two off. “What about you Cory? Are you going to be a teacher in New York?” Riley asked with a hopeful expression.

“No way,” Cory exclaimed, disgusted. “That’s Larry.” Cory said pointing over to Larry.

“Yeah, Larry.” Shawn nodded, pointing to him.

“So what do you want to do?” Riley asked, trying to stop her smile from faltering.

“I’m gonna be a centre fielder for the Philadelphia Philies.” Cory proudly proclaimed causing Shawn to burst out laughing.

“What? What’s wrong with that?” Riley asked, looking to Shawn.

“He had 31 errors in little league last season.” Shawn informed them.

“Yes, that’s Pro baseball material.” Maya sarcastically nodded.

“Maya, what’s happening?” Riley asked, looking to her best friend.

“The short, brillio haired, Cory Matthews wants to be a pro baseball player.” Maya exclaimed in an old-fashioned accent, holding her hands out.

“But what about teaching?” Riley asked.

“Ew, I don’t wanna be Feeny.” Cory exclaimed, shaking his head. “I want to do something cool,” Cory grinned, nodding as he looked over to Maya and Riley.

“Yeah, that’ll happen.” Maya snorted as the bus stopped at Riley and Cory’s stop and all five of them made their way off the bus, Maya glanced over her shoulder feeling someone’s breath on the back of her neck and she glared up at Shawn. “Two steps behind me or you’re a dead man.” Maya threatened him.

“I’m not scared of you.” Shawn snorted.

“You should be.” Maya growled back at him.

“You like me too much to hurt me.” Shawn said, stepping closer to Maya as they continued down the aisle.

“Keep dreaming,” Maya bit back.

“I will.” Shawn dreamily said as they got off of the bus and Maya glared over at him as she, Riley and Farkle walked towards Riley’s house, stepping inside and they saw Joanne rushing around the house, chasing after the two daughters.

“Hi kids, Riley can you help me get Juliette?” Joanna asked, panting when she heard something hit the ground and she ran off and Riley quickly grabbed Juliette who ran past her, holding her close.

“Riley, I wanted a pony,” Juliette cried, burying her head into Riley’s shoulder.

“I know how you feel, I want a pony too.” Riley said, nodding over at Juliette.

“We tried that once, Riles, I still have no idea how we managed to get it in your bedroom.” Maya laughed as they remembered how that turned out.

“Sorry, Riley,” Joanne panted, quickly running back over to them with Emily in her arms. She held out her hand and Riley handed her Juliette.

“Why do they want a pony?” Riley asked with a hopeful smile. “Are we getting a pony?” Riley cried out, opening her arms wide open.

“No, Riley,” Joanna laughed, shaking her head. “One of their classmates had a birthday and she had a pony; my parents have a ranch down in Texas so we’re going to go on holiday there.” Joanna informed Riley who broke out into a grin, waving her hands in the air.

“Yes,” Riley screamed. “Can Maya come?” Riley asked, stepping closer to Joanna who sighed, looking between Riley and Maya.

“We don’t have enough seats in the car.” Joanna stated.

“She can fit in a trunk.” Riley exclaimed.

“That’s real sweet, Riles, but spending my holiday with some heehaws isn’t exactly how I want to spend my free time.” Maya said, smiling as she noticed the stressed features on Joanna’s face.

“Sorry, Maya.” Riley apologised turning to her.

“It’s okay honey.” Maya smiled up at her best friend.

“How was school today?” Joanna asked, bopping up and down.

“It was great, we have a preunion assignment where we prepare our future and who we will be on our 20^th reunion.” Riley explained to Joanne who nodded, smiling.

“That sounds great, Riley, if you need any help with any of it just come to me or your dad, we’ll help you. Now I need to give these girls a bath, have fun, I’ll prepare some snacks for you.” Joanne said, turning away and making her way to the downstairs stairs as Riley, Maya and Farkle made their way up to the bedroom, surrounding themselves in their homework and huddling together on the floor. Maya searched through Riley’s belongings, grabbing the nail polish and going through all of the colours while Riley and Farkle helped each other with the math homework first.

While Farkle began to explain the fractions to Riley, Maya had decided on coating her nails in a deep red nail polish, once Riley had done her math homework, she turned to Maya with a hopeful look in her eyes. “Do you want any help?” Riley asked her with a wide smile.

“I’m fine, Riley, I mean even if I don’t do the work what’s the worst that can happen.” Maya shrugged her shoulders, not really caring.

“You could get a detention.” Riley nervously said.

“Exactly, that’s the best thing that could happen.” Maya exclaimed.

“That stays on your transcript forever.” Farkle said.

“Yes, but what’s more important? $30 or a transcript that no one will care about?” Maya asked.

“Transcript” Farkle answered.

“Wrong,” Maya exclaimed, pointing at him.

“What? I’m never wrong,” Farkle said, his eyes wide.

“Maya, if you don’t do the homework, you’ll be held back.” Riley voiced her concern nervously.

“It’ll all turn out alright, Riley, besides if we’re just gonna go back in time, does it really matter?” Maya asked Riley.

“I guess not.” Riley nervously answered.

“I’ll be fine, Riley.” Maya promised her.

“Really?” Riley asked.

“Who am I?” Maya asked.

“Maya Hart.” Riley nervously said.

“Exactly,” Maya smiled. The door was pushed open and Joanne peaked into the room, looking around nervously before she walked into the room and looked over at Riley.

“Riley, can you help me bring up some snacks and drinks?” Joanne asked and Riley nodded, getting up off of her spot and running after Joanne, following her down the stairs leaving only Maya and Farkle in the room, he looked to Maya with a stern expression. Maya had always been a mystery to him, but he knew enough about her to know that when he looked into her eyes, he saw sadness, and something broken beyond repair. Something he’d never be able to understand, a true mystery. But that didn’t stop him from trying to figure her out.

“What’s going on?” Farkle asked, his serious tone surprising Maya as she glanced over at him. It shouldn’t have surprised her, he always saw Maya and Riley for who they were, even when she didn’t want him to.

“It’s nothing Farkle, can we just move on from it now?” Maya asked, trying to move on, but she knew he wasn’t so easily swayed.

“Not when you start keeping things from Riley.” Farkle pointed out worriedly. “You’re Maya and Riley, you don’t keep secrets from each other.” Farkle said.

“Well, I do now.” Maya softly said, looking down at her hands when Riley burst through the door with a wide grin, bubbling with energy as she placed down the brownies in the middle and took the drinks from Joanne, handing them to Farkle and Maya.

“Guess who’s got freshly made brownies?” Riley asked, waving her hands out, gesturing to the plate of perfect, fresh out of the oven brownies. Farkle glanced over at Maya, wondering if she’d ever trusted anyone with her truth, they all kept secrets from Riley, they needed to protect her from the world, that was why they had never told her Pluto wasn’t a planet anymore, but sometimes, even Farkle realised she was too much.

The hours went by and darkness overcame the outside world, Farkle realised his fath-Antonio would be showing up soon to pick him up. It was one of the rare nights where Lauren would be home on time for dinner and Farkle was looking forward to it. No family was perfect, but he liked to think they were pretty close to it.

Farkle and Maya collected their belongings and made their way down the stairs with Riley, all of them stopping in front of the door and pulling their shoes on. Joanne looked down at Maya with worry as Daniel’s arm was wrapped around her, providing her with the warmth she needed to keep going. “Maya, sweetie, is your mum or dad coming to pick you up?” Joanne asked Maya who looked up, pursing her lips and shaking her head.

“No, I was going to walk home.” Maya informed Joanne who sternly looked at the blonde girl. She didn’t understand why Riley didn’t seemed worried at all for the safety of her friend, there were many bad characters around.

“Maya, sweetie, it’s really late, I’m not sure I would feel good with you walking home by yourself.” Joanne said, walking up to her with a nervous smile.

“I’ll be fine, Mrs Schmidt, you don’t need to worry about me. I’ve walked home by myself plenty of times before.” Maya answered, trying to ease Riley’s Foster parents’ minds. Even if she did as Rino, she could feel bad that after a long day of work he’d have to go out of his way to pick her up. It wasn’t like she even ever really walked home by herself anyway. Shawn was always there with her somehow.

“I don’t know, it’s really dark. Where do you live, I’m sure we could drive you home,” Joanne offered.

“Or maybe she could stay over?” Riley suggested, wanting her first sleepover of the 90s to happen so badly. It was sweet that Riley had so much home for them.

“Yeah, that’d be good as long as we can call your parents, right sweetie?” Daniel asked, rubbing Joanne’s back and she sighed, shaking her head.

“Not on a school night, Riley, you know our rules.” Joanne declined.

“Yes, we just can’t trust you on a school night, the horror, the horror.” Danial sarcastically exclaimed causing Joanne to laugh, rolling her eyes.

“Okay, maybe, only if we can talk to your parents, Maya.” Joanne persisted, looking over at Maya who had allowed her gaze to stray down to the ground. This confused Riley. A short, curt knock came at the door and Daniel launched forward, opening the door to see Antonio standing there with a dazzling smile and a well fitted suit, his hair slicked back and his eyes glistening with amusement.

“You have a wife, right?” Daniel insecurely asked, stuffing his hands into his baggy khaki pants.

“Hello to you too.” Antonio grinned, amused at Daniel’s question. “You ready to go, Farkle?” Antonio asked, not bothering to answer Daniel’s question.

“I am,” Farkle glanced over at Maya, a thought popping into his head. “Dad, maybe we can drop Maya off at home?” Farkle asked, a soft smile forming on his lips at the way she looked up, thankful for the suggestion.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ve walked home by myself in worse places, it’s no big deal.” Maya didn’t let up, trying to remain tough on the surface.

“No, no, it’s fine, Maya, we’ll drive you home.” Antonio agreed, he would do anything for Farkle and the people Farkle loved.

“You sure?” Maya asked.

“Yeah, come on.” Antonio ushered them out of the house, waving goodbye to Daniel and Joanne. Walking outside of Riley’s new home, Maya looked to the side seeing Shawn leaving Cory’s house, his smile faltered slightly when he saw her with Antonio and Farkle and he waved over at her, knowing he wouldn’t be walking home with her tonight. Maya waved back, saddened about not walking home with him. For some reason she couldn’t understand, Maya looked forward to walking home with him.

It was a short ride there; she couldn’t help but notice how quick the drive was in a car compared to walking. Once again, she got the short end of the deal, and Farkle and Riley got everything that she wanted. Dread filled her the closer they came to the little apartment she shared with her foster father. She didn’t want to be ashamed of it, she realised Rino probably worked really hard for what they had, he did everything he could to give them everything he could, and he always made sure he was home at night. What she wouldn’t give for what Riley and Farkle had.

Antonio came to a stop outside of her apartment building and he turned around, looking over at her with empathetic eyes, now Maya was even more jealous. He seemed like a good guy. “It’s okay, Maya,” Farkle softly assured her.

“Thanks,” Maya smiled before her gaze drifted to Antonio. “Seriously, thanks, Mr Romano.”

“Any time, Maya, you want us to walk you up?” Antonio asked her and Maya shook her head, uttering another thanks and getting out of the car and walking up and into her apartment, unlocking the door and making her way to the dining table, seeing that Rino was standing in the kitchen looking at a cookbook.

“Hey Maya, how was school?” Rino called out from the kitchen and Maya stood up, making her way towards him, smiling up at him.

“It was great, Rino,” Maya answered, trying to contain the happiness inside of her.

“Yeah, elementary school is easy, wait until High School,” Rino said, pointing the wooden spoon at her, grinning before something dawned on him and he frowned. “No dating until you’re 25.” He ordered.

“You really think you can control that?” Maya asked, tilting her head to the side.

“I think that I’ll probably just confine you to your room throughout your teens, but I also think you’re smart enough to stay away from boys.” Rino offered with a soft chuckle ad he squinted.

“What are you cooking tonight?” Maya asked.

“We’re cooking gnocchi.” Rino answered. “It’s my mums’ recipe,” he informed Maya who looked over, frowning and squinting her eyes.

“That looks like ingredients.” Maya commented.

“It’s my mum’s version of a recipe.” Rino clarified.

“Fair enough,” Maya slowly nodded. “Well, let’s get to it.” Maya clapped her hands together, standing up and making her way around the island table and she helped him make it, from watching him she knew it wasn’t his first time. This had what she had wanted her whole life, she thought as she looked up at him. She didn’t need a lot, but she needed this. She wanted this. She had her whole life.

Maya was sitting at the dining table, eating heated up left over pizza from the previous night and her eyes were drawn to Mr Feeny’s assignment, she had no idea where she would be in 20 years, well, technically she would have been born in close to 20 years. But she doubted Mr Feeny would accept that as an answer. And like usual, she had no one at home who could help her with her homework. Or at least, that’s what she thought until Rino sat down beside her with some more pizza and lemonade for the two of them.

“No beer tonight?” Maya jokingly asked.

“No, I figured if you need any help with your homework, I don’t want to be drinking.” Rino answered with a shrug of his shoulders. “What is it anyway?” Rino asked.

“Mr Feeny gave us an assignment to build our lives for this preunion thing, like for our 20^th reunion.” Maya answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

“They definitely didn’t have assignments like this when I was in school.” Rino laughed lightly. “So, where do you see yourself by then?” Rino asked.

“I don’t know, probably as a waitress or a mini mart employee.” Maya answered, shrugging her shoulders.

“I’m hoping for more for your future, Maya.” Rino tenderly spoke and Maya looked up surprised, before smiling.

“Thanks,” she just kept repeating in her head, Hope was for suckers. But Rino didn’t leave her, not until he had looked through all of her homework, trying to help when he could. It had been the first time anyone had stayed up most of the night trying to help her with her homework. It made her happy, it made her feel a little less broken. He told her he hoped she decided to change her assignment, she’s smart and she could do so much more. Maya believed him.

**

Walking into school, Farkle was dressed in a lab coat with a suit under it, Antonio and Lauren had given him the clothes, he turned, seeing Riley dressed in a pant suit and glasses, smiling down at Farkle. “What did you choose?” Riley asked.

“Scientist, technology development, you?” Farkle asked.

“I’m a guidance counselor, I’m going to tell teenagers what their futures should be.” Riley proudly informed Farkle who nodded.

“I like that, it suits you Riley.” Farkle said in a dreamy voice when Maya ran towards them with a bright smile, she came to an abrupt stop, almost crashing into Farkle and Riley as she entered the room.

“I’m the mini-mart employee of the month,” Maya called out, holding her arms wide open.

“Maya, why? You know you could be so much more.” Riley worriedly pointed out.

“I think you think I could be more. I know what I’ll become, besides you’re my meal ticket.” Maya smiled, nudging Riley who grinned.

“Yay,” she giggled while Farkle sighed, looking between them. They were the best friends he’d ever seen, but that didn’t stop Farkle from seeing that Maya had things going on inside of her that Riley couldn’t see or even recognise. That was their greatest weakness, neither really recognised each other’s pain. Maya’s was too complex for many to actually understand.

“A tire salesman,” Cory exclaimed, walking up behind Shawn, catching Maya’s attention. She turned around, seeing him standing there with a big fake gut. “I can’t believe you came as a tire salesman.”

“You’re looking grosser than usual, string-bean.” Maya called out, stalking towards him with Riley and Farkle following behind her.

“Hey, hey, lay off the gut,” Shawn defended himself, clutching his stomach before looking back over to Cory. “And I’m a muffler specialist.”

“Wow, now we’re talking,” Maya sarcastically hollered.

“Yeah, it’s real special.” Cory sarcastically added.

“Mr Abernathy, please, tell me about your future,” Mr Feeny stopped in front of him and Farkle grinned up at him.

“I have a PhD in physics, and I am a technology developer with my own successful start-up company,” Farkle reached into his bag, handing Mr Feeny the reports he had, and Mr Feeny skimmed through them nodding. “There’s a prediction of an upwards progression and any potential mergers for the future, I am also married to Riley and we have five children and we’re planning on having six more in the future. We have a home in New York and a few vacation homes in most major cities.” Farkle explained to Mr Feeny who nodded, keeping the folder.

“An A, Mr Abernathy, perhaps you would like to look to Mr Minkus for a merger.” Mr Feeny suggested, not missing the way both Stuart and Farkle glared at each other.

“Never, as my rival I will never merge with the enemy.” Farkle exclaimed.

“Shawn, why are you fat?” Riley nervously asked, letting out a small laugh.

“Let’s see, my dad’s fat, my uncle’s fat, my grandpa’s fat. Let’s face it, Cor, I’m going to be fat.” Shawn proudly proclaimed.

“Your fourth wife is one lucky lady.” Maya dryly commented.

“I know you are.” Shawn teased her.

“Drop dead,” Maya grumbled.

“Bite me.” Shawn retorted, enjoying their little game.

“Not in this lifetime,” Maya said, biting back a smile that was forming on her lips as she stared up and into his eyes.

“What are you, Riley?” Cory asked, awkwardly stepping away from the bickering duo.

“What do I look like?” Riley asked, grinning and holding her arms wide open.

“Uhm, my mum?” Cory said, confused causing Shawn and Maya to look over at him, furrowing their eyebrows.

“Seriously?” Maya asked, shaking her head.

“Smooth,” Shawn laughed.

“What? How am I supposed to know what she is? I’m not a mind reader.” Cory exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air, both Cory and Riley looking weirdly similar at the moment, Shawn and Maya looked between them, disturbed at how similar they looked.

“I’m a guidance counselor. I guide people.” Riley exclaimed.

“Oh, you know, that makes sense.” Cory slowly nodded.

“I’m surprised it makes sense to you.” Maya sarcastically commented.

“Says the future minimart employee,” Cory called out, facing Maya who smirked, raising an eyebrow.

“At least I got a realistic future,” Maya replied.

“Are you sure you don’t want to be a teacher? You’d be really great at it.” Riley nudged him.

“Yeah, I don’t need guidance from you, Riley.” Cory said, shaking his head.

“Stuart and I obviously do not see eye-to-eye on our futures.” Topanga stated, drawing Maya and Riley out of their conversation.

“We’re married.” Stuart called out.

“You’re breeding stock.” Topanga called out.

“I’ll take it.” Stuart said, causing Maya and Riley to laugh.

“I see where he gets it from now,” Maya commented.

“Yeah.” Riley nodded.

“Okay, Miss Matthews,” Mr Feeny said, moving on from Topanga, making his way towards Riley.

“I went to university and studied psychology and teaching and I then became a guidance counselor as a High School in New York, I plan on being married and I have two children. Just to clarify, I am not married to Farkle.” Riley loudly called out.

“Keep dreaming toots, you’re the next Mrs Farkle Abernathy.” Farkle called out over his shoulder.

“Very good Miss Matthews, A.” Mr Feeny then walked over to Maya, giving her a once over. “And what about you, Miss Hart, hopefully your future is as promising as your friends.”

“Yeah, it’s not,” Maya shook her head. “I am the future Minimart employee of the month, I work at a minimart in New York, I have had two divorces,” Maya began.

“Wanna get married?” Shawn asked, waddling over to her.

“Not gonna happen, string-bean.” Maya called out, shaking her head.

“Why a minimart employee?” Mr Feeny asked.

“Because it’s the best I can do, Mr Feeny. I know where I come from, I know who my parents were, and I’m probably not gonna be any better than they were.” Maya answered with a shrug of her shoulders. Mr Feeny didn’t agree with that though.

“I think you could do better, Miss Hart, you get a D.” Mr Feeny sternly said before walking off.

“Wow, even I got a better grade than that.” Shawn muttered, clutching his stomach like a pregnant woman. “You really wanna be a minimart employee of the month?” Shawn asked, raising an eyebrow, Maya sighed, shrugging her shoulders as she watched Riley and Topanga talking.

“You really wanna be a muffler specialist?” Maya asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You remembered,” Shawn smiled.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Hunter.” Maya fought back a smile, looking away from him.

Chapter Text

Sitting outside, the morning chill freezing Farkle all the way down and into his core. It had been one of those mornings where he’d wondered why they even bothered to make family breakfasts a thing. His parents had never really bothered to. The two always busy. Don’t get him wrong, he loved his mum and dad, but that didn’t mean they did what Lauren and Antonio did.

It was one of those rare moments where the whole Romano family consisting of just Antonio, Lauren and Farkle were sitting together, crowded around the outdoor table, eating breakfast together. Farkle had noted that neither Lauren nor Antonio were normal parents. Ambition. Success. Resourcefulness. Loyalty. Those were qualities they admired and the two had those in spades. And in all his time there, they had never once made him feel like anything less than part of their small family. He admired that about them, that they went out of their way to make him feel welcomed, to make him feel like he had a real home.

“We should tell him,” Lauren said, her graze drifting over to Antonio, her eyes gleaming with a calming excitement that made Antonio smile.

“You should do the honours, Lauren, it was your idea.” Antonio offered, reaching out, resting his hand on the table and he grasped her hand, giving it a small squeeze. Watching the two, Farkle wondered if someday someone would look at him like that.

“Farkle, Toni and I have been talking and we want to take you to Calabria over Christmas,” Lauren informed him, laughing lightly. “You know, to celebrate our first Christmas together as a family.” She informed him watching as Farkle’s eyes lit up.

“I would love that, guys,” Farkle grinned, joy flooding his insides. It quickly faded as Riley and Maya burned their way through his mind, making themselves known. He didn’t want to leave them over Christmas. It was also their first Christmas away from their family.

“Are you okay, buddy?” Antonio asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Yeah, it’s just, I don’t want to leave my friends,” Farkle said, saddened. “I know this is probably very important to you, it is to me as well, but” he sighed, not knowing the right words to say, or how to even say it. How did he explain to two people who took him in that he was a time travelling teenager?

“It’s okay, Farkle, I just wanted to share part of my life with you,” Antonio admitted, shifting in his seat. “My mum came over here from Calabria and I thought maybe we could share this part of my history with you.” Antonio offered with a stern smile.

“That actually sounds really amazing,” Farkle smiled, he wanted to go with them. “I’d love that.”

“Wonderful,” Lauren grinned, reaching out and grasping Farkle’s hand. “I just want you to know, you’re the greatest gift we could have ever asked for, Farkle.” She whispered before leaning over and pressing a kiss to the top of head.

“And I’m glad to have you guys as my parents.” Farkle returned the favour. “I was actually wondering about something,” he said, looking between them.

“I’m not giving the puberty talk yet, I don’t think I’m ready for that one.” Antonio quickly cut in, shaking his head. Farkle laughed, his cheeks burning red.

“Trust me, I’m not ready for that one either. I was actually wondering about the possibility of getting a computer.” Farkle winced, looking between them.

“What do you need it for?” Lauren asked, taking a sip of her orange juice.

“If you wanted a playboy all you had to do was ask.” Antonio joked, chuckling to himself when Lauren kicked him in the shin causing Antonio to grunt. “What?” Antonio laughed.

“Pervert.” Lauren called out, biting back her smile. “He’s only 11,”

“That was around the time I started being interested in girls.” Antonio offered, shrugging his shoulders as they both turned looking to Farkle, smiling at the way his cheeks burned bright red.

“Well, I mean, I do like two girls, I’ve loved them since first grade, actually.” Farkle shared.

“Maya and Riley, right?” Lauren asked.

“Yeah, how did you know?” Farkle asked, surprised.

“Toni has a mouth bigger than Russia.” Lauren stated, smirking over at Antonio who rolled his eyes. “But what do you need this computer for?” Lauren asked.

“There’s some special planetary occurrences I want to research the cycle and predict future occurrences and document them. It would be a lot easier with a computer.” Farkle informed them, his cheeks burning from embarrassment.

“We’ll think about it, Farkle,” Lauren offered, standing up. “Brush your teeth and then I can drive you to school.” She pointed to him before walking away to go and get ready for the day.

“You really love those girls?” Antonio asked, soaking up the left-over runny egg yolk with the ciabatta bread before biting down on it.

“Yeah, I have since I met them.” Farkle admitted.

“You know, you’re a good friend,” Antonio nodded, standing up. “I wish I had someone like you around when I was a kid,” he laughed and got up, grabbing all the plates and bringing them into the kitchen, rinsing them and putting them into the dishwasher. Farkle got ready for school, brushing his teeth and getting dressed, noticing his hair was getting too long, he’d have to get a haircut soon.

**

“’…and it was always said of Scrooge, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us. And so as Tiny Tim observed, God bless us, everyone.’ And so, ends Dickens’ masterpiece, A Christmas Carol.” Mr Feeny closed the book, looking out at the classroom full of excitable and distracted children.

Farkle had dazed off while Mr Feeny had read A Christmas Carol to them, normally he would never even dream of a day where he’d daze off in the middle of a class, but today felt different. They’d been stuck in the 90s for longer than he had hoped, and during that time he’d developed a connection with Lauren and Antonio, one that he could never take back, one that he would never want to take back. He wondered what would happen to them if he went back into the future, would they forget him? Would he forget them? There were so many variables that none of them had even considered yet.

Looking over to the side, he saw Riley leaning forward, invigorated with the story and decorated with red and green, embracing the Christmas spirit like he had hoped and knew she would. His gaze then shifted to maya who had her head buried in her arms, letting out soft breaths, slowly a smile slipped onto his lips watching a sleeping Maya.

“Wait a minute, that’s not the end.” Shawn called out, breaking up his conversation with Cory and causing Maya to jolt awake.

“That the hell is that noise?” Maya whimpered, looking around, her squinted eyes trying to make out where the noise had come from.

“Peaches, shh, shh, just go back to sleep.” Riley reached out, stroking Maya’s blonde hair, Maya began to nod off again when she heard Shawn speak up

“Where’s the Grinch?” Shawn asked as Maya slowly looked over at him, unimpressed.

“Yeah, isn’t the Grinch supposed to show up now and like take everything?” Cory asked, turning around as well.

“What?” Maya asked, suddenly wide awake.

“How come it’s called A Christmas Carol, anyway?” Shawn asked, leaning forward in his seat.

“Yeah, there is nobody in this story names Carol.” Cory stated, pointing towards Mr Feeny who shook his head, exasperated.

“How do you guys not know what A Christmas Carol is about?” Riley asked, her mouth hung open in shock.

“You guys are idiots,” Maya bluntly stated, shaking her head.

“Hey, we’re smart in our own way.” Shawn defended them.

“Who told you that?” Maya dryly asked, challenging the duo.

“My mum,” Cory exclaimed, clicking his figures and pointing over at Maya who raised an eyebrow.

“I take it back Matthews, you’re really smart, you might even be smarter than pet ferret if you tried.” Maya sassed, leaning back and watching as Cory and Shawn looked to her, offended.

“Miss Hart could you please trade places with Mr Hunter, Miss Lawrence would you please trade places with Mr Matthews,” Mr Feeny ordered causing Shawn and Maya to look at each other, their faces both scrunched up.

“Alright, I’m a hyperactive, underachieving, 11-year-old boy.” Topanga said causing Maya to snicker in amusement as Riley abruptly got up from her seat, pumping her first in the air.

“Burn,” Riley screamed at the top of her lungs. Cory glanced over at her, confused and hurt by her comment while Maya just looked up at Riley, a smile spreading to her lips.

“Um, I meant physically.” Mr Feeny said, gesturing for everyone to move, Maya huffed, grabbing her stuff and standing up, her eyes narrowed over at Shawn.

“Oh, well, that takes less of a psychic toll.” Topanga said.

“Double burn,” Riley shouted again, punching the air.

“I’ll miss you Riles,” Maya whimpered, waving goodbye to her best friend.

“I’ll miss you more, peaches,” Riley said, going from a boisterous too soft within seconds, staring after Maya with a sad expression. Swapping seats with Shawn, Maya scowled, sitting down in Shawn’s seat, glaring over at him and his smug, grinning face.

“How do you like my other side?” Shawn asked, giggling as he noticed Maya staring, she then lurched forward sticking her tongue out and gagging.

“Why do I have to move?” Cory asked, sitting down.

“We’re just giving our view of the book.” Shawn added, defending the two.

“Yeah, I mean, you say literary masterpiece, we say,” both Cory and Shawn held out their hands, giving it a thumbs down.

“ANH” they called out.

“Maybe it’s because you’re both just faces,” Farkle called out, pausing for a moment, glancing over at Cory.

“Are you sure about that?” Riley asked, turning to him.

“Hey,” Cory called out, waving his hands out to the side.

“He’s just a face,” Farkle said, pointing to Shawn who grinned, glancing over at Maya who gagged again, making dry heaving sounds. “I don’t know what your excuse is,” Farkle quickly said, gesturing to Cory who looked at him offended.

“Yeah, well, you’re just a nerd.” Cory bit back.

“One day I’ll be making billions when I’m older and you will bow to me.” Farkle exclaimed, warning Cory.

“Mr Matthews, I’m less interested in your review than I am that you understand the material. What, in your opinion, was Mr Dickens trying to express in his Christmas story?” Mr Feeny asked, walking towards Cory’s new seat, staring down at him.

“That if you’re a real butthead, the neat ghosts will take you to cool places.” Cory shared his interpretation of the story causing Riley’s mouth to hung open in shock.

“ANH!” Farkle called out, scrunching up his face.

“Correct, Mr Abernathy,” Mr Feeny nodded in approval, turning and making his way back behind his desk.

“Suck up,” Cory called out.

“Face attached to chia pet.” Farkle bit back when the bell rang, and all the students hurried to lunch, Maya, Farkle and Riley were sitting together, Riley had bought herself and Maya food from the lunch lady while Farkle had heated up lasagna that Antonio had made for him the night before. Right as they sat down, Shawn and Cory came storming towards the table, sitting down in front of them.

“Fish and sticks, two things nature never would’ve put together.” Cory exclaimed, holding up his fish stick.

“You’re sitting with us, oh my god, Maya they’re sitting with us.” Riley exclaimed, her mouth hung wide open as she slowly turned her head to the side, looking to Maya, trying to hide her obvious freak out.

“I know, honey, they’re right there.” Maya pointed out, slowly raising her hand, pointing over to Shawn and Cory.

“And I bet you enjoy the view,” Shawn smirked, running his hands through his hair.

“You make me wish I was blind.” Maya deadpanned, not even bothering to cast a glance in his direction.

“Because I’m so pretty?” Shawn asked, grinning.

“Only in your dreams,” Maya retorted, rolling her eyes.

“Back off, Maya’s mine.” Farkle stood up, slamming his hands down on the table causing Maya to smirk and glanced over at Shawn who had looked at her, confused.

“Uh, what’d you get, Shawn?” Cory awkwardly asked, breaking the silence.

“Peanut butter and jelly, two things nature couldn’t keep apart.” Shawn shared, grinning and reaching into his bag and pulling out his sandwich.

“Since when did your mum pack you lunch?” Cory asked, confused.

“I have a slice of lasagna, try and beat that.” Farkle grinned, looking between them.

“Fish stick,” Maya shouted, holding it up, Cory and Riley were nodding in agreeance.

“PB and J sandwich.” Shawn shouted.

“Uncultured swine’s,” Farkle shouted back at them.

“I love marshmallows.” Riley screamed at the top of her lungs, causing everyone to look at her as if she was confused, their faces scrunched up slightly.

“I thought you liked fish sticks.” Cory said, confused, glancing back to Shawn.

“I do, but I think it’s cruel how the little fish scream when they rip their sticks off.” Shawn shared, wincing slightly as Cory and Riley looked down at their Fish sticks quizzically.

“Really? That’s the story you’re gonna go with?” Maya dryly asked.

“Yeah, it is.” Shawn nodded.

“May I sit down?” Stuart asked, glancing around the table, no one but Riley looked open to allowing him to sit down.

“No,” everyone except for Riley said.

“Why can’t he stay?” Riley asked confused.

“Nerd,” Cory and Shawn said at the same time.

“Oh, it’s you,” Stuart muttered in distaste upon seeing Farkle.

“Minkus,”

“Abernathy,”

“Great, well since everyone knows each other, have a seat, Stuart.” Riley offered, and Stuart sat down at the head of the table, Maya and Shawn on either side of him. Maya glanced at him, narrowing her eyes at the way he smiled in her direction, this made him scoot closer to Shawn.

“Gee, thanks Riley,” Cory sarcastically muttered, but Riley just smiled even wider.

“Ah, Christmas, a season of togetherness, a season of brotherhood,” Stuart breathed out, his gaze drifting across the people who sat at the table.

“What world are you living in?” Maya dryly asked, tapping her nails against the table.

“It’s the season of wool,” Cory corrected him. “9 out of 10 Christmas gifts—wool.” Cory bluntly stated. “It doesn’t matter if it’s shaped like socks or a sweater, it’s wool and it’s itchy.” Cory stated.

“Oh, you too?” Riley asked, leaning in with a sad look in her eyes. “My dad always gets me wool; I really wish he wouldn’t.” Riley cried out causing Maya to smile, her gaze drifting over to Cory. So much for the deal of not trying to actively change anything in the past.

“I know right!” Cory exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. “Worst gifts ever,” he called out.

“When I grow up I’m never getting my kids wool,” Riley smiled, looking Cory dead in the eyes. “Are you going to get your kids wool? Cause I’m not. Are you?” Riley persisted, changing one little thing couldn’t hurt the future. “Never mind,” Riley laughed it off seeing him look at her confused, they all were with the exception of Maya who was on the verge of laughing. “No, but seriously, are you? Can you promise me you won’t?” She begged Cory.

“Uh, yeah sure, no wool for my kids,” Cory played along, confused.

“The gift isn’t as important as the thought behind it,” Stuart chimed in.

“For once we can agree on something, Minkus.” Farkle spoke up, smiling over at Stuart.

“You too, huh?” Stuart asked, nodding.

“Yes, I think appreciating the gift is the most important thing in the world, if someone gives you a gift from the heart, it doesn’t matter how much it costs.” Farkle shared he and Stuart humming in agreement.

“What’s the thought behind wool?” Cory asked, confused, slamming his hands down on the table.

“That’s what I wanna know,” Riley shouted, waving her hands in the air.

“What the hell just happened?” Maya asked.

“I have no idea; I was hoping you knew.” Shawn said looking between them before his gaze settled on Maya who chuckled, shaking her head.

“I agree with Farkle and Stuart,” Topanga said, walking up to their table, stopping between Farkle and Cory.

“Hi Topanga,” Riley smiled up at her mum.

“Hi Riley,” Topanga smiled back.

“Oh, no. It’s a nerd swarm.” Shawn groaned, he and Cory slumping in their seats. “Minkus, shut off your geek magnet.”

“I just think we often lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas in the frenzy of commercialism.” Topanga shared her spirituality with them.

“But it’s wool,” Riley whimpered.

“How are we gonna know what to ask for if we don’t have commercials?” Cory asked, looking over at Topanga.

“Christmas is the celebration of the winter solstice, an ancient tribal ritual whose origins are lost in time.” She explained to them.

“That’s so cool,” Riley dreamily said, looking up at her future mother.

“Yeah, we were just talking about that in the bathroom, right Maya?” Shawn nodded.

“Without me?” Riley screamed, looking over at Maya.

“I certainly wasn’t.” Maya scoffed, shaking her head.

“Yes, you were,” Shawn insisted.

“Why were you in the boy’s bathroom?” Riley asked.

“That’s so brave Maya, not even I go in there.” Farkle shared, shaking his head.

“Yeah, I’m just so brave,” Maya laughed, shaking her head and glaring over at Shawn who smiled over at her.

“Listen, Topanga, I think I can hear them calling you back into your own dimension,” Shawn called out, his hand to his ear.

“Oh yeah, they’re saying ‘Topanga, get your aura back here’” Cory added, going along with Shawn’s antics.

“’And bring Minkus’” Shawn added.

“’And keep quiet Riley’” Cory added again causing Maya to snort in amusement.

“Hey,” Riley exclaimed, offended.

“Sorry, but you keep inviting nerds to the table, and we only have room for a Farkle,” Cory shrugged his shoulders, gesturing to Farkle who grinned, flipping his hair to the side.

“Thank you, ladies…and gentlemen.” Farkle grinned, looking between them.

“Yeah, okay,” Cory looked away from him. “Okay, Christmas tree update,” Cory grinned, turning to Shawn, Maya zoned out, glancing over at Farkle and Riley.

“What are you guys doing during Christmas break?” Maya asked. Their first Christmases away from their parents, away from home and away from time and if she was being honest, she was afraid that she’d be spending this Christmas alone. That she’d have no one. She had Rino but it wasn’t the same when she looked at Riley and Farkle’s life. The had two parents, they lived in nice houses and had enough money. Something Maya had never had.

“Mine want to take me to Italy,” Farkle informed them, missing the way Maya rapidly blinked at him, shocked.

“That’s great Farkle, I bet it’ll be beautiful over there, tell us where you go, and take lots of photos so when Maya and I backpack across Europe we’ll go there.” Riley excitedly responded.

“Yeah, cool,” Maya nodded, forcing herself to smile.

“Thanks, I mean, I was hesitant at first, my dad wants to share his side of the family with me, so I couldn’t let him down.” Farkle answered with a shrug of his shoulders. “What about you, Riley?” Farkle asked.

“My mum wants us to go down to Texas to her dad’s ranch so that Emily and Juliette can ride the pony’s, I wanna ride them too.” Riley giddily responded.

“You have five bucks?” Shawn asked drawing Maya’s attention away from Riley and Farkle, her gaze drifting over to Shawn.

“I’ve been saving up for a month,” Cory informed Shawn.

“Then let’s go buy it after school.” Shawn enthusiastically said.

“No. You see, then I tip off my parents that I know what I’m getting.” Cory stated.

“You are a Yuletide Master.” Shawn laughed, pointing over to Cory.

“Christmas is very delicate,” Cory shared. “You screw up,”

“Wool,” Cory and Riley shouted at the same time.

“So, back to the wool, please don’t ever get your children wool,” Riley pleaded.

“But I’m not having kids,” Cory asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Oh, you will have kids,” Riley said in a deep voice.

“Calm down, Riles, it’s starting to get weird.” Maya sighed, patting Riley on the head.

“So what’s the update at your house?” Cory asked, putting his money away.

“Me? Hey, Bob Stubcheck’s sports world has to send over a truck with all the stuff my dad got me.” Shawn excitedly boasted to Cory as he got out his sandwich, Maya’s eyebrows creased.

“That sounds amazing,” Riley dreamily breathed out. It sounded wrong, but Maya wasn’t going to say anything in front of them, she knew what it was like.

“It is, he got me everything, like, everything.” Shawn boasted.

“That’s great,” Cory nodded.

“Yeah, my dad totally came through this year.” Shawn said, his voice softening in slight hesitation. It reminded Maya a little of herself, a little like her mum.

“Speaking of gifts, I believe you haven’t yet chipped in your $5 for the class present to Mr Feeny.” Stuart said, walking back over to them.

“Tomorrow,” Shawn quickly said.

“You said that yesterday.” Stuart pointed out.

“Come on, Shawn, don’t think of it as $5 for Feeny’s present, think of it as five bucks to make Minkus go away.” Cory suggested, all of them missing the way Shawn gazed down at his sandwich, his jaw clenched.

“Look, Minkus, I just spent my last money on lunch, okay?” Shawn raised his voice, slamming his hands down on the table. “I’ll give it to you tomorrow.” Shawn stood up, storming out of the lunchroom.

“What? His mother charged him a packing fee?” Stuart sassed before walking off.

“Do any of you know what that was about?” Cory asked, confused.

“Do I look like his friend?” Maya asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Cory nodded.

“Gross,” Maya’s face wrinkled in disgust, standing up and walking away from them.

“I hope Shawn’s okay.” Riley muttered, before looking back down at the fish sticks. “I can’t eat these anymore.” She whispered, Shawn’s words about the fish sticks echoing in her mind.

“Yeah, me neither.” Cory replied.

**

What you don’t acknowledge can’t hurt you.

Laying on her back, sunglasses on and shielding herself from the sun as the grass brushing up against her, causing the bare skin it brushed against to aggressively itch. School had ended and Maya was counting down the days until she could just sit back and relax over a short break from learning. Swaying from side to side, Riley kept herself busy making a flower crown and humming to Party in the USA. Some of her favourite songs hadn’t even been invented yet, she noted to herself.

“You’re doing something over the break, right?” Riley asked, catching Maya by surprise. It stirred something inside of Maya, it was the same something inside of her that made her feel inadequate and undeserving of anything Riley and Farkle had. There had to be a reason they got everything, and she got nothing.

“Yeah, of course, my Foster parents are taking me on a road trip,” Maya lied. What she didn’t acknowledge couldn’t hurt her. If she didn’t think about how she would be all alone, with just Rino, then it wouldn’t hurt her. It wouldn’t be remembered as another Christmas she spent without anyone she loved; without anyone she considered her friend. “We’ll just drive around a bit and stop as these truck stops and eat at these cool, small diners in the middle of nowhere. It’s going to be awesome.” Maya exclaimed, having dreamed up this Christmas get-away every time she heard about how people spent their Christmases with their families.

“That sounds really fun, Maya,” Riley smiled, finishing off the flower crown and holding it out to Maya who sat up, leaning forward, allowing Riley to place the flower crown on top of her head.

“Thanks,” Maya laughed.

“I’m so excited to go to Texas, I can’t wait to learn how to finally ride a pony. I’m going to be a princess, Maya.” Riley excitedly said, flapping her hands around, unable to really contain her excitement. “It didn’t feel right, leaving you here alone, but now you’re doing something, yay!” Riley exclaimed, waving her hands in the air before continuing on doing the necklace.

“Yeah,” Maya laughed lightly, looking down at the grass, she always felt lonely, she didn’t know why this was any different. Joanne walked outside with the terrible twosome, Emily and Juliette who ran towards the small swing set.

“That’s a very beautiful flower crown,” Joanne smiled over at them, stopping at the steps.

“I made it,” Riley grinned.

“It’s very nice,” Joanne said before she took a picture of the two of them. Maya put on a pretty smile, trying to forget about her life for a little while. She revelled in the praise, the people who called her beautiful, who called her kind, she revelled in their compliments, absorbing them, changing, figuring out who they wanted to be, who they perceived her to be.

When Maya was on her way out, she hugged Riley one last time before it got dark and Joanne made a fuss about it. “I’m sorry we can’t spend our first Christmas together.” Riley apologised.

“It’s fine, Riles,” Maya said, even if she didn’t mean it, she wanted Riley to be okay. She wanted the best for Riley, she always had. Riley put a flower necklace around Maya before they hugged again and Maya turned, leaving the nice, suburban home that Maya always knew she’d never get.

As she walked down the street, her squinted slightly, her eyes zoning in on Shawn’s retreating figure, from what she could see, he was practically fuming. A smirk formed on Maya’s lips as she ran up to him, jumping on him causing him to stumble, she quickly then landed on her feet, walking around him and grinning up at him.

“Hey Hunter,” Maya smirked.

“Not now, Maya, I’m not in the mood.” Shawn huffed, brushing past her.

“What’s going on?” Maya asked, walking beside him.

“You wouldn’t get it,” Shawn snapped, glancing down at her, he paused slightly, faltering as he spotted the flower crown and necklace. “Riley?” Shawn asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, no, you see, I like making flower jewellery now.” Maya sarcastically answered causing him to snort in amusement. He bit back every compliment; he wasn’t sure how to really compliment women. “What makes you think I wouldn’t get it?” Maya asked him, drawing in a deep breath. She got it; she probably did more than anyone else in their grade.

“I don’t want to bother you with it. It’s nothing.” He tried shrugging it off.

“That’s just code for it’s not okay, you can’t fool the master, Shawn.” Maya teasingly drawled out, smirking at the slight twitch of his lips.

“My dad got laid off and I can’t afford the five bucks for that stupid Christmas present for Feeny and Cory gave me his Christmas present, treating me like this, like this charity case.” Shawn exclaimed, his voice breaking slightly as he sniffed. He was afraid Maya would end up pitying him, that she would for some reason look at him differently but as he looked down at her, he saw nothing that supported that.

“I get that, I’ve had a few Christmases like that,” Maya admitted. “There were a lot of them where I didn’t get anything at all, but as long as I had Riley, I knew I could get through anything.” Maya shared.

“You two are pretty close, huh?” Shawn asked.

“She’s the best person in the world to me,” Maya admitted, nodding. “Cory’s your best friend, and I don’t think you should be mad at him. It’s what best friends do, they’re there for each other even when things get bad.” Maya offered her sage advice. “And as my Christmas present to you,” Maya reached for the crown, lifting off of her golden strands of hair. She slowly leaned forward, her body brushing against his as she reached up, placing it on top of his weirdly perfect hair. Shawn’s cheeks flared bright red as he stared down into her eyes. “You’d make a very pretty girl, Hunter,” she playfully offered causing Shawn to laugh.

“I know, I’d be prettier than you,” Shawn replied, his cheeks flaring as Maya pulled away from him.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Maya smirked, slapping his bicep before turning and walking off with him.

“What are you doing for Christmas?” Shawn asked, he’d overheard what Riley and Farkle were doing, and he saw the look on her face, it was the way he felt when he heard about everything Cory was getting.

“It’s just me and my dad,” Maya admitted with a small smile.

“No mum?” Shawn asked and Maya shook her head.

“Not this time,” Maya replied.

“If you want, we can hang out on Christmas for a bit,” Shawn nervously offered.

“I’d like that,” Maya agreed, as they came to their fork in the road and Maya turned around, pulling Shawn into a hug, shocking him. “Don’t look too much into this, Shawn,” Maya said before pulling away and walking back to her apartment, yelling a ‘keep the crown it’s your Christmas present’ to him before disappearing inside of her apartment. She couldn’t stop the way her heart felt, pounding, lurching up and into her throat. She didn’t like how this felt.

**

Farkle was sitting down on the couch, watching TV with Lauren who was sipping on a glass of Shiraz, her feet up on the coffee table as she was slumped in the couch. “Can I ask you for something?” Farkle asked, turning to look at Lauren who muted the TV and turned to look over at Farkle, smiling over at him.

“You get no wine until you turn 16.” Lauren firmly said.

“I wasn’t going to ask for any wine.” Farkle said, smiling. “16?” Farkle asked, confused.

“If Toni had it his way, he would have been giving you some wine with dinner the moment you walked through that door.” Lauren playfully pointed out, the two laughing.

“I was hoping maybe we could have a pre-Christmas Christmas party with my friends and their parents. We won’t be together on Christmas and I don’t want them to feel like they’re not the most important people in the world to me.” Farkle shared watching as Lauren smiled over at him nodding.

“That sounds really nice, Farkle, but what’s brought this on?” She asked.

“Riley is going to Texas, I’m going to Italy, and I think Maya is going to be all alone, I just don’t want her to feel left out or alone.” Farkle shared and Lauren reached out, wrapping her arm around Farkle, hugging him and resting her head on his shoulder.

“You’re a good friend.” Lauren offered.

**

The next day at school Farkle walked the halls in search of Cory, he sat down in front of Cory who was busy watching Shawn and Stuart arguing over the present for Feeny. “Can you believe that?” Cory asked, frowning. “I can’t believe he wouldn’t just tell me what was going on.” Cory exclaimed, looking over to Farkle. “You’re smart,”

“Yes, yes I am.” Farkle proudly nodded.

“What would you do?” Cory asked.

“I think the true meaning of Christmas is to give without expecting anything in return,” Farkle shared, pulling out $5 from his pocket and handing it to Cory who looked at Farkle, confused. “My Christmas present to you and Shawn is to help mend your friendship.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Cory shook his head.

“I did,” Farkle nodded peering through the windows seeing Shawn and Maya talking, their faces serious and Cory looked behind them, seeing Shawn and Maya talking as well before he looked back at Farkle. “Shawn is Maya’s friend, and I love Maya,” Farkle tenderly shared.

“Thanks,” Cory nervously said, standing up and walking over to Stuart. Farkle then got up, going to class.

**

Sitting in class, all eyes were drawn up to the clock or Mr Feeny, eagerly awaiting the Christmas break. Some dreaded it, some were excited for it, and some didn’t care either way. “I hope our reading A Christmas Carol interested all of you in reading other works by Charles Dickens,” Mr Feeny said at the front of the class. Farkle glanced over his shoulder to Maya who slouched in her seat, her eyes drawn to her desk, tapping her nails against the desk. He wondered if she was okay, or if she only dared to express how she truly felt when she was sure no one was looking.

“No but I will watch the David Copperfield special,” Cory called out.

“Mr Minkus,” Mr Feeny said when he saw Stuart’s hand up.

“In my capacity as class treasurer I would like to present you with the sixth grade’s Christmas gift.” Stuart walked up and over to the desk, lifting a bag onto the desk. Mr Feeny stood up, looking down at the gift.

“Oh, my. Well, oh, it has the lovely heft of a thick book,” Mr Feeny excitedly said, lifting the bag up.

“You cunning bibliophile, you.” Stuart nudged Mr Feeny, the two laughing.

“Oh, my,” Mr Feeny reached in, pulling out a dictionary and Maya’s eyes widened.

“I paid $5 for a dictionary?” Maya asked, her face falling.

“I think it’s thoughtful.” Riley proclaimed, smiling.

“A dictionary. How wonderful.” He reached for the card, pulling it out and looking down at it. “To our admired and respected teacher, from his dutiful and attentive class.”

“I wrote that,” Stuart shared.

“I never would’ve guessed,” Mr Feeny shared, looking down at Stuart before looking back at the card.

“No kidding,” Maya scoffed.

“And all our names are written below.” Stuart pointed out to Mr Feeny.

“Yes, Minkus all the way down to Hunter.” Mr Feeny said, smiling. “You all seem to be there. Well, I am very touched. This means a great deal to me. So, thank you very much.” The school bell rang, and everyone rushed off and out of the class.

The night before Farkle and Riley left with their families, their families got to know each other, each of them so different, and yet all of them similar in a way. It gave the children hope, hope that one day they’d be able to get home and be okay. That no matter what, family and friends got through anything so long as they had each other. Farkle knew they’d be okay, even if right now they weren’t.

On Christmas night there was a chill in the air as Maya leaned against the window, looking out of it, wishing she had something to make the time go by quicker. A phone, a computer, anything really. Anything other than a crummy TV and a foster father that was busy in the kitchen, making them a perfect dinner. Maya missed Farkle and Riley, it was her first Christmas without her mum, as much as she hated Gimbo the Elf, she loved that at least her mum tried.

Knocking at the door broke her out of her thoughts and Maya stood up, making her way towards the door, confused. “Did you invite anyone over?” Maya asked, looking over her shoulder.

“No,” Rino answered from the kitchen. “Be careful,” what he meant was grab the baseball bat before she answered the door, getting up on her feet, she peeked through the little peep hole seeing two tall people she didn’t recognise there, slowly she pulled the door open, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the baseball bat. Rino slowly made his way over when Maya sighed, seeing Shawn standing behind them.

“You must be Maya,” Chet, Shawn’s father, exclaimed in a thick, Texan accent that reminded Maya of Lucas.

“Uh, yeah, what are you doing here?” Maya asked, smiling as her eyes drifted over to Shawn who managed to squeeze his way between his parents.

“Shawn kept telling us how this would be your first Christmas without your friends, and he wanted to come over.” Virna stiffly explained to Maya. “She’s very pretty,” she said, nudging Chet slightly Maya laughed, looking over to Shawn.

“Hi, I’m Maya’s, I’m Rino,” he hesitated, holding out his hand, shaking Chet and Virna’s hand. “Come on,” he ushered them inside, and they made their way over to the kitchen while Maya looked over at Shawn, confused.

“What are you doing here?” Maya asked, confused, trying to fight back the smile on her face at his unexpected appearance in her home.

“It’s Christmas, and I didn’t want my friend to be alone for Christmas.” Shawn shared, biting back his smile as he shyly met her gaze.

“You’re alright, Hunter.” Maya laughed.

“Dinner will be ready in 30 minutes; you guys can go to the park if you want.” Rino offered and Chet nodded. Maya and Shawn grabbed their coats and made their way out of the apartment, walking down the side of the road, trucks and loud cars traveling loudly down the road. They found their way to a park and they both sat on the swings, swinging back and forth, Shawn looked over to her, his eyes lit up with joy and a smile spread to his lips as he watched her swing as high as she could, her laughter echoing throughout the park and the darkness shrouding them, even in the darkness, her smile still lit up his day.

She stopped swinging and the two sat facing each other, Shawn leaned over, holding the mistletoe between them, his eyes meeting Maya’s and she laughed, rolling her eyes. She pushed him away before leaning back herself, her back pressed against the chain. “I’m not interested.” Maya firmly stated. “Not like that, anyway.” Maya shrugged her shoulders.

“Is it because it’s your first kiss?” Shawn asked, his cheeks burning red.

“That’s none of your business,” Maya snapped, pursing her lips. She wanted to kiss him, part of her really, really did. But she had already screwed up the past by being this close to him, she didn’t want to screw it up even more by kissing him. That stuff was something she could never take back; she wasn’t sure she’d want to it she could take it back. But still, she didn’t, and she wouldn’t want to.

“Can I kiss you?” Shawn asked, nervously twiddling his thumbs.

“Not on the lips, you got it?” Maya asked, pointing over at him, seeing the smile spread to his lips. “You go anywhere near my lips and you’re dead, string-bean, I’ll break you in half.” Maya playfully threatened him as he got up from the swing, he leaned closer to her, pressing a kiss to her cheek, her cheeks burned as she smiled up at him.

“Did you like it?” Shawn asked.

“It was weirdly nice; I’m questioning my whole existence now.” Maya sarcastically drawled out. “Do that again and I will break you.” Maya laughed, nudging him lightly as the two made their way home and she was glad he couldn’t see the way her cheeks burned bright red under the cover of the night. She wasn’t sure she was ready to face that.

Chapter Text

Sitting around the outdoor table, the morning sun beating down on the Romano family as they ate breakfast together quietly. Lauren was looking down at the photographs she’d submit to her employer, Antonio was looking down at the case files he had for work and Farkle was finishing off some homework, perfecting it as best he could. “Have you heard about the father son baseball game?” Lauren asked, taking a sip of coffee, the desire for nicotine invading her mind, but she had quit smoking. She was trying to stick to it this time.

“The father what game?” Farkle spluttered, his eyes bulging from his face.

“Father son baseball game,” Antonio said, looking up from his work, his eyes set on Farkle.

“Do I have to?” Farkle cautiously asked. “I don’t really do sports…we could work on my science project together.”

“Oh, you know, I don’t really do science.” Antonio sarcastically commented, shrugging his shoulders as Lauren bit her bottom lip, keeping her smile at bay as Farkle stared over at him, wide eyed. “I’m joking.”

“Oh, good,” Farkle nervously laughed.

“Doesn’t mean you’re getting out of it.” Antonio stated, shoving some toast into his mouth.

“I don’t see what’s so great about baseball, it’s for stupid faces.” Farkle exclaimed causing Lauren to chuckle and Antonio glanced over at Farkle, raising an eyebrow.

“Is it now?” Antonio asked, smirking.

“Toni used to play baseball, Farkle.” Lauren said in a hushed tone causing Farkle to nervously laugh, glancing over at Antonio.

“Oh, wow, that’s great, I never said baseball was bad,” Farkle smiled.

“Nice try,” Antonio smirked, getting up. “I’ll teach you how to throw and catch after school,” Antonio informed him, leaning in and kissing Lauren before he walked off, driving to work, Lauren soon did the same and

**

Standing outside of his house he patiently waited for the bus, his foot tapping on the ground as the morning sun shone down on him, warming him. Back with his real family there was always something that he and his dad didn’t do and that was sports. Neither liked it, neither were good at it. Antonio was different to Stuart. Too different sometimes. The bus stopped in front of him and Farkle walked up and onto the bus, making his way to the back where Riley and Maya usually sat, glancing around he frowned, confused as to where Maya was. She rarely ever missed the bus, not anymore anyway.

Farkle sat by himself, wondering about the father-son baseball game until it stopped at Riley’s stop and he smiled upon seeing her walk down the aisle and sit down beside him as they usually did when Maya was nowhere to be see. “Hey, Farkle.” Riley greeted him, crossing one leg over the other.

“Hey, Riley, how are you?” Farkle asked her.

“Good, Emily was so cute this morning, she told Joanne that she drew a picture of her new family and I was in it, I loved it.” Riley laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“That’s great, it sounds like you really get along with them,” Farkle said not missing the way Riley looked away from him, smiling. Maybe she was ashamed of how much she had grown to care about her new family. It made sense, Farkle couldn’t say he was really any different to Riley. As sappy and illogical as it sounded, Lauren and Antonio had become his parents, they had looked after him and loved him despite him not really being theirs, and he loved that about them. He loved that they didn’t have to choose between him on their jobs, he liked that they made time for him. Sometimes he thought he’d just end up feeling lonely again like he did with his real parents.

“Yeah, they’re nice people, but you know…it’s not the same.” Riley hesitantly shared.

“I know,” Farkle’s lips twitched into a sad smile, seeing the pain hidden in her dark, glossy eyes. “Guess what?” Farkle excitedly asked, trying to distract her.

“You’re gonna get me a unicorn.” Riley guessed, almost bouncing off of her seat as she said that. Farkle just laughed, shaking his head.

“No, I got a computer.” Farkle exclaimed. “They set it up in my bedroom, isn’t that great?”

“That’s so cool, Farkle, not even my parents have one, but they don't let me use it.” Riley shared, shaking her head. “What can they even do in the 90s?” Riley wondered out loud.

“I guess we’ll find out. It’s so weird being in a time when technology isn’t as advanced as we know it can be.” Farkle shared. “But this way, we’ll be able to more accurately predict what was going on at the time we were transported back here.”

“And then we’ll be able to go home where we belong,” Riley said, smiling.

“Exactly,” Farkle nodded. “How was Texas by the way?” Farkle asked.

“It was awesome, I learnt how to ride a horse, we’ve all agreed to make it a tradition, every time we’re on break we’ll be going down to the ranch. I got along with Joanne’s dad, he’s so cool. He’s like a real cowboy, Maya would love him.” Riley shared with Farkle who laughed before the two noticed that Maya wasn’t there. Cory and Shawn sat down behind them, talking amongst themselves when Riley turned around, leaning over the chair.

“Hey Riley, good to see ya,” Cory waved at her.

“We just saw each other before,” Riley reminded him, her lips twitching into a slight smile.

“Really?” Cory asked, gaping at her.

“We obviously didn’t see you,” Shawn said, flustered.

“Are you excited for the father-son game?” Farkle asked watching as Cory scrunched up his face.

“No way,” he squeaked out.

“Have either of you seen Maya?” Riley asked, looking around.

“Why would I know where she is?” Shawn squealed, his voice becoming high pitch.

“Yeah, that’s not suspicious at all.” Cory scoffed.

“So, you do know?” Riley squinted down at him.

“No,” Shawn shook his head.

“Are you sure? Cause you and Maya seem like you’re good friends.” Farkle stated his observation.

“No, we’re not,” Shawn exclaimed.

“The Farkle has a point.” Cory said, glancing over to Shawn suspiciously.

“There’s no way I’d be good friends with some girl that calls me string-bean.” Shawn’s voice got higher.

“Okay,” Riley said, she wanted to believe her Uncle Shawn.

“You seriously believe that?” Cory exclaimed, looking at her in disbelief. “They walk home together every night,” Cory shouted causing Shawn to kick him, forcing a smile as Riley’s head snapped in his direction again.

“You lied to me?” She snarled.

“Well, it’s not really lying,” Shawn nervously replied.

“Yes, it was, the definition of lying is not telling the truth and or being in a reclined position. And it’s pretty obvious which you were doing.” Farkle bluntly stated causing Shawn to huff.

“Cory,” Shawn said through clenched teeth.

“Are you guys excited for the game?” Cory asked, changing the subject and glaring over at Shawn.

“Yes, I’m really excited.” Riley exclaimed.

“You’re playing?” Shawn asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, I am, I love baseball.” Riley shared. “You’re playing too, right?” Riley asked Farkle who sighed.

“I wish I wasn’t.” Farkle pouted.

“Thank you!” Cory exclaimed, holding his hands out to Farkle. “Finally, we can agree on something.”

“Huh, I never thought something like that was possible.” Farkle admitted.

“Trust me when I say an ambulance will always be involved, I’m warning you guys.” Shawn said, shaking his head.

“I haven’t forgotten about you.” Riley snapped, anger seething into her voice.

“Thank you, that’s actually very nice.” Shawn nervously said, rubbing the back of his neck as the bus pulled into the school and one by one, they all filed out of the bus. Glancing over her shoulder, Riley watched Shawn and Cory, talking amongst themselves. It bothered her how close Shawn and Maya had gotten over the months. Maybe it was bound to happen, Shawn was Maya and Maya was Shawn. But they couldn’t get too close to anyone in this time. Even though barely any of them had listened to that. Topanga and Riley had sleepovers every now and then, Farkle and Stuart had an intellectual rivalry and Shawn and Maya bickered back and forth at each other. But Shawn and Maya felt different from everything else.

“Why do you think Maya isn’t at school today?” Riley asked, leaning close to Farkle.

“Maybe she’s sick,” Farkle suggested.

“That’s ridiculous, Maya can’t get sick,” Riley shook her head.

“Why not?” Farkle asked.

“She just doesn’t, I don’t make the rules.” Riley called out as they made their way towards class. Something wasn’t right and they both knew it. Whatever it was, Shawn knew it and that was what Riley was most worried about. They walked into class, sitting down in their respective seats and Riley looked behind her to see Maya wasn’t there before her gaze trailed over to Shawn, narrowing slightly as he quickly looked away from her, awkwardly whistling. One by one they rose, ready to recite the pledge of allegiance.

“…and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” They all said, sitting down once they were finished. Farkle had noticed two things.

• One: Riley couldn’t take her eyes off of Shawn, trying to see into his mind through his nostrils.
• Two: Topanga hadn’t stood up to recite the pledge of allegiance.

“Miss Lawrence, I couldn’t help noticing that you didn’t recite the pledge of allegiance.” Mr Feeny said, walking towards her.

“Yes, sir, I elected not to.” Topanga informed him and Riley watched on from the side, thinking her mum was so cool.

“You can do that?” Riley gasped.

“Why was that?” Mr Feeny asked, shocked.

“I didn’t feel like it.” Topanga shared with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Woo!” Riley called out, pumping her fist in the air and everyone in the class looked at her and Riley pumped her fist in the air again. “Not woo.” Farkle laughed lightly, looking over at her.

“This is gonna be cool,” Cory exclaimed, looking over to Shawn and rubbing his hands together.

“What was that, Mr Matthews?” Mr Feeny asked.

“Who, me? Are you sure you don’t mean Riley? I can understand how you’d get us confused.” Cory nervously said, smiling up at Mr Feeny.

“He doesn’t mean me.” Riley proudly said, folding her hands and sticking her tongue out as Cory who groaned.

“Why is it always me?” Cory cried.

“Because I’m curious as to why you said, ‘this is going to be cool’.” Mr Feeny stated.

“Oh, you know, just cause you’re finally gonna nail Topanga for being weird.” Cory said, trying to contain his excitement.

“ANH!” Farkle called out.

“Correct, Mr Abernathy,” Mr Feeny nodded before returning his attention to Cory. “Do you think it’s weird to engage in social protests?” Mr Feeny berated Cory.

“I think it’s weird to pick on me when she didn’t say the pledge of allegiance,” Cory said, his hand pressed against his chest.

“Well, Mr Matthews, it seems that you and Miss Lawrence have opposing positions for this morning’s debate.” Mr Feeny informed Cory causing Riley’s smile to fade.

“You been set up, Bud.” Stuart glanced over his shoulder, teasing Cory who slumped in his seat, already dreading what was to come.

“This is fixed,” Riley shouted, slamming her hand down on the desk.

“What she said,” Cory nodded, pointing over at Riley. “Mr Feeny told you not to say the pledge?” Cory asked, squinting over at Topanga who turned around in her seat, meeting his gaze.

“Today’s social studies discussions, American traditions, the pledge of allegiance versus social protest.” Mr Feeny wrote it on the board, the chalk scraping against it, making Riley’s skin crawl. “Mr Matthews, defend old glory. Mr Lawrence defend the right to dissent.” Cory and Topanga stood up, standing side by side and Riley could barely stop herself from bursting with excitement seeing the two-stand next to each other. She thought they looked adorable.

“Just because it’s a tradition doesn’t mean you have to do it,” Topanga began.

“But it’s the pledge of allegiance,” Cory exclaimed, waving his hands around. “It takes, like, 10 seconds to say. Why can’t you just say it and make everyone happy?” Cory asked, outraged.

“Because if I’m forced to do it just because it’s some tradition, I don’t understand then it doesn’t make me happy,” Topanga stated, and Riley smiled already knowing this was one of the many arguments between them that Topanga would win.

“Can you spell peculiar?” Cory slowly asked, his eyes growing wide.

“Can you?” Farkle asked, huffing at Cory who glared at him.

“Oh, and you’re normal?” Topanga called out, turning to face him. “You talk to a flag every day, and you don’t even know what you’re saying.”

“But I do it,” Cory exclaimed. “I do it because I’m supposed to do it and that’s what makes me a great American.” Shawn then brought his closed fist up to his mouth humming Glory, Flory, Hallelujah. Riley looked between the three of them confused. “That’s what makes this country great, that flag, because that flag gives us the right to have this discussion. And this discussion is the most important discussion we will ever have, and,” the bell went, and everyone began scrambling to leave the classroom. “Outta here.” Cory called out, quickly running out of the classroom as well. Once everyone had left Farkle had stayed behind, looking over his shoulder at Riley, giving her a small smile before they walked up, making their way towards Mr Feeny.

“Ah, how can I help you two?” Mr Feeny asked.

“We were wondering if you knew where Maya was,” Riley nervously asked, twiddling her thumbs.

“Since you didn’t ask us where she was, I’m guessing you already know.” Farkle added.

“You’re right, I do know.” Mr Feeny nodded in confirmation. “She’s fine, trust me.”

“If she’s so fine then how come she isn’t here?” Riley cried out.

“That is confidential Miss Matthews,” Mr Feeny stated.

“So, what you’re saying is you know something about Maya that we don’t?” Riley scoffed, unable to deal with how it felt, not knowing something about Maya that her teacher did. “Me and Maya don’t have secrets.” Riley raised her voice.

“Then perhaps you better bring it up with Miss hart, not me.” Mr Feeny sighed, brushing past them and leaving, Riley and Farkle then walked out of the class and to the cafeteria.

“Mr Feeny knows, Shawn knows, how come I don’t?” Riley whimpered, looking over to Farkle who drew in a deep breath, forcing a smile onto his lips.

“She’ll come to us when she is ready to, Riley,” Farkle shared his thoughts with her. “If we force her to speak about it, we’ll only push her away.”

“How do you sound so sure about that?” Riley asked.

“Because she’s Maya and you’re Riley, and I believe in that.” Farkle laughed lightly as they walked into the cafeteria and sat down opposite Shawn and Cory, Riley stood up from her spot, circling the table, glaring over at Shawn.

“Whatcha doing?” Shawn asked, shifting in his seat and watching Riley.

“Oh, you know, nothing,” Riley shrugged her shoulders.

“I think I saw this on a documentary show once,” Cory shared.

“Same,” Farkle nodded.

“What do you know?” Riley shouted, slamming her hands on the table and leaning in close to Shawn who leaned away from her.

“Uh, nothing.” Shawn laughed lightly, shaking his head.

“I don’t believe you.” Riley growled, moving away from him and going to sit down on her spot opposite Shawn, glaring over at him.

“Then you’re smarter than you look.” Shawn offered, fighting back the urge to jump back from the murderous look in her eyes. “Cory, help me.” Shawn squeaked out.

“So, what are you guys doing on the weekend?” Cory asked, leaning in. “Oh right, baseball,” he grumbled.

“Don’t remind me.” Farkle slumped forward.

“I think it’ll be fun. I’m excited.” Riley smiled, smushing down the feelings of ache in her gut as she looked to Cory with a hopeful expression. He used to take her and Auggie out once a month to play catch with them. She missed that.

“Must be your first time then,” Cory commented.

“How’d you guess?” Riley asked, grinning when Stuart walked up to them, placing down his tray.

“Only three days till Monday.” Stuart beamed.

“Hi Stuart,” Riley smiled up at him.

“Riley,” Cory coughed.

“Minkus,” Farkle hissed.

“Abernathy,” Stuart bit back, their eyes narrowed at each other.

“Are you going to the father-son baseball game?” Riley asked Stuart.

“No, me and my father don’t do that.” Stuart answered, shaking his head.

“I bet you do science together,” Farkle grumbled.

“Yes, we do actually.” Stuart nodded.

“Lucky,” Farkle muttered under his breath.

“Minkus, I’m sure that if you check your ticket stub, you’ll see that your seat is in the goon section.” Shawn sassed, leaning forward and flashing a toothy grin.

“Oh, my mistake, I thought this was the goon table, I’m sure you understand how easy it was for me to get confused since you’re all here.” Stuart sassed, looking over at them.

“Is it because of Farkle?” Cory asked, pointing over to him.

“Hey,” Farkle called out.

“Cause Farkle doesn’t count, he gets a free pass,” Shawn added, shaking his head.

“Look, I’m just leaving my tray here while I get an apple, okay?” Stuart sighed.

“Oh, don’t do that.” Riley shook her head, her voice flat as they watched Stuart walk away.

“I mean, my weekends are jam-packed,” Cory began. “I have no spare time.”

“Come on, Cory, that’s hard to believe.” Riley laughed.

“No, I’m dead serious, Riley.” Cory said, locking eyes with her about to launch into an explanation.

“Minkus left his hamburger here.” Shawn whispered, his eyes drawn to the burger as temptation drew him closer and closer to it. Farkle tilted his head to the side, curiously watching to see what Shawn would do.

“I get up Saturday morning and watch X-Men.” Cory began.

“It’s very hard for me to be alone with Minkus’s hamburger,” Shawn said right when Cory paused, still looking at the burger.

“What’s going on?” Riley asked Farkle.

“I really don’t know Riley; it seems to be some sort of stage of WOO that I haven’t seen before.” Farkle shared, equally as confused as Riley when they saw Shawn untwist the lid of the salt, pouring it onto the beef patty.

“Don’t you think it’s kind of mean to be doing that?” Riley asked Shawn.

“No, if anything, it’d be rude not to. I’d be letting down everyone.” Shawn scoffed, placing the burger on the tray. “I don’t know if it’s a personality disorder with me or what,” Shawn proclaimed, contemplating what he’d do next.

“Should we stop him?” Riley asked Farkle, hoping he could fill in for Maya.

“There is no way Minkus is dumb enough to fall for this, if he is, then he can no longer be my intellectual rival.” Farkle shared, shaking his head.

“And then it’s a good night.” Cory finished informing everyone about his evenings, despite the fact that no one was listening. “Where’s the spare minute?” Riley wished Maya was here to say something sassy.

“I mean, I’ll have this moment and know it was a good day.” Shawn laughed, placing the bun on top of the custard, squishing it down.

“Tasty,” Riley whimpered, her lips curled into a disgusted frown.

“I can’t take the pressure of a father-son softball game.” Cory proclaimed as Stuart walked up to them, placing an apple down.

“Oh, I hate those.” Shawn exclaimed, leaning back on his seat looking over at Cory.

“They take it so seriously,” Cory said as Farkle and Riley looked at Stuart who appeared.

“I know, my dad always screams and yells like it’s the mort important thing in the world.” Shawn exclaimed, shifting in his seat, doing his best to avoid looking in Stuart’s direction.

“And they always get injured.” Cory added.

“So us it’s only a game, to them it’s a guest shot on Rescue 911.” Shawn chuckled.

“The trouble with fathers is they sometimes try to live vicariously through their children.” Stuart shared, joining in the conversation only to be met with blank stares until Shawn spoke up.

“Okay, Minkus, that’s enough quality time, take your little hamburger and go to your table.” Shawn said, waving his hand trying to usher Stuart to leave.

“Hey, did you do anything to my hamburger?” Stuart asked, staring down at Shawn suspiciously. Riley looked away from him, whistling.

“Yeah, sure, like doing something to his hamburger gives me my jollies.” Shawn scoffed, his voice breaking as he tried to play it off as if he didn’t know anything.

“I know,” Riley burst out laughing. “He would never do that, that’s not the Shawn I know, not at all.” Riley called out, her and Shawn looking at each other and forcing their laughter.

“Look, guys. Shaquille O’Neal.” Stuart gasped, pointing behind them, Riley was the first to turn, slamming her hands down on the table.

“Where?” Riley asked, her voice deepening. Farkle smirked, glancing over at Stuart who grabbed his and Shawn’s burgers picking them up and putting them back down, this made him laugh. “I don’t see him.” Riley muttered.

“Gee, I guess we just missed him, it’s okay Riley, maybe next time.” Cory sarcastically said, reaching over and patting Riley’s hand awkwardly.

“Hey, Minkus, isn’t that Stephen Hawking?” Shawn asked, squinting.

“Where?” Stuart asked, whipping around when Shawn swapped his and Stuart’s burger. “Oh, darn, I missed him too.” Stuart fakely said.

“It’s a sad day.” Riley nodded.

“Is she serious?” Stuart asked.

“Yes, she is.” Farkle said, nodding.

“Well, see ya,” Stuart picked up his tray, walking away to the table he usually sat at.

“Worst day ever,” Riley grumbled, slumping forward, playing with her food.

“Why do they think he’s so much smarter than us?” Shawn asked, laughing and picking up his burger, taking a bite, his eyes widening in realisation that this was the burger that he’d messed with.

“Because he is, isn’t he?” Cory asked, smiling as Shawn nodded, a pained expression on his face as he spat out the burger from his mouth.

“You know where Maya is,” Riley growled, locking eyes with Shawn again.

“No, I don’t,” Shawn cried, standing up and wiping his tongue. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go and saw my tongue off.” Shawn groaned, wiping his tongue and walking out of the cafeteria.

**

Hurriedly striding down the footpath, Shawn took a turn, stepping past the threshold and into the trailer park, narrowly avoiding puddles of mud and not flinching when aggressive dogs chained to a post barked as he passed them. He stopped in front of his door, he unlocked the trailer door and pulled it open, stepping inside, his eyes drawn to the sunshine blonde head of hair attached to Maya Hart. Carelessly dropping his bag on the ground, he walked towards Maya, leaning against the island counter as she quickly shut the notebook Shawn assumed, she’d been writing in.

“Writing about me?” Shawn confidently asked, smirking over at her.

“I have better things to do than write about some string bean that can’t beat me in a wrestling match.” Maya sassed, smirking over at Shawn who huffed, rolling his eyes as a smirk slowly made its way onto his lips.

“I also officially have three more detentions than you.” Shawn proudly proclaimed causing Maya to huff. “There’s no way you’re beating me now, I can practically taste that $30.” Shawn grinned.

“Enjoy it while you can because when I go back to school, I will crush you.” Maya loudly proclaimed.

“I’m sure you will Penelope,” Shawn smirked over at Maya who glared at him.

“You know what, Shawn,” Maya asked, rounding the island table, stopping in front of him, smiling up at him.

“Uh…what?” Shawn nervously laughed, fighting the urge to step away from her.

“You’re not making it to the end of the year.” Maya stated.

“Why not?” Shawn asked, smiling.

“Cause you’re dead.” Maya said, flashing a Stepford smile.

“Not if I threaten to tell everyone what’s in your diary.” Shawn squeaked out, quickly snatching the notebook causing Maya’s eyes to grow wide and she ran towards him, jumping at Shawn, the two falling down to the ground, Maya landing on top of him, she pinned his arms above his head, quickly snatching her notebook back.

“Nice try, String-bean but you’re not man enough to beat me.” Maya drawled out in a mocking tone. Shawn huffed, dusting off the imaginary dust on his clothes.

“You know what, when I hit puberty you won’t be laughing.” Shawn sneered over at her.

“Yeah, I will cause you’re a string-bean.” Maya said, contorting her face before she threw the notebook on the coffee table and she took a seat on the couch, placing her feet up on it and grabbing the remote. “So how was school?” Maya asked, wanting to hear if he had anything to say about Riley.

“Minkus switched my burger,” Shawn said with a shrug of his shoulders as he sat down beside Maya who was channel surfing.

“Yeah, I’m gonna pretend I know what you mean because I don’t really care,” Maya sassed, shrugging her shoulders.

“Sure, you don’t,” Shawn scoffed, shaking his head. “Just like you probably don’t care that Riley was asking about you.” Shawn informed her watching as Maya’s amused smile quickly faded and she placed the remote down, looking over at him.

“You didn’t tell her anything, did you?” Maya asked, pursing her lips.

“No, I didn’t, but I think you should.” Shawn shared, rubbing the back of his neck. Maya scoffed, shaking her head, she couldn’t believe she was hearing this from Shawn of all people. But it also made sense to her. Knowing what was best for other people often didn’t mean they knew what was best for them.

“There’s nothing to tell, everything will be fine.” Maya said, but the two both knew that she didn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. “My…dad will find a job and I’ll get to stay here.” Maya said, her eyes widening slightly at her slip up.

“What? Why wouldn’t you be able to stay here?” Shawn asked as he watched Maya stand up, reaching for her coat, about to storm outside when Shawn grabbed her arm, trying to stop her. Maya whipped around, her angry blue eyes clashing against his.

“I’m going to give you three seconds to get your hands off of me.” Maya warned him and Shawn held up his hands, stepping away from her.

“Hands off, now are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Shawn asked, sternly watching Maya. If she left now, she wouldn’t have to face him, but eventually Rino would come here to check on her and everything would be over. One way or another, Shawn would find out.

“Why do you care?” Maya softly asked.

“Because you’re my friend, Maya.” Shawn bashfully pointed out, looking to the ground and Maya sighed, sitting down on the couch and Shawn slowly joined her.

“Promise you won’t say anything?” Maya asked, looking over to Shawn who chuckled.

“As long as you don’t tell anyone I live in a trailer park.” Shawn said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Deal,” Maya nodded.

“Yeah,” Shawn said.

“Yeah,” Maya said back at him, smirking at how his smile grew.

“Yeah,” he mouthed to her.

“Rino is my Foster dad.” Maya reluctantly informed her, refusing to look over at Shawn, she couldn’t. Her reality had always been something she was used to. It was never good and full of sunshine and rainbows like Riley’s was, and somehow, she always had faith that she could make it through this. She always did.

“Maya,” Shawn whispered.

“My dad has another family and my mum…she was never really there.” Maya explained to him, drawing in a shaky breath. Something she didn’t expect happened next, she felt tight arms wrapped around her and she reached up, grasping Shawn’s hand as he buried his head into the crook of her shoulder, holding her tight, she relaxed into him, leaning her head on top of his. “I don’t want to bother Riley with this. She’s got her perfectly little family and she has a perfect little life and she wouldn’t be able to handle this.” Maya offered with a sad smile.

“Man, I get that.” Shawn muttered, slumping in his seat. “You know, you can talk to me, I’m not gonna judge you or tell anyone.” He pointed out.

“I know, it’s just easier to pretend nothing’s wrong.” Maya admitted, shrugging her shoulders.

“I really get that,” Shawn chuckled. “You know, me feeling sorry for you doesn’t mean I’m gonna throw our bet.” Shawn stated, smirking down at Maya who rolled her eyes.

“I didn’t need you to throw it, cause I’m gonna win.” Maya smirked up at him.

“Keep dreaming,” Shawn bit back, grabbing the remote, Maya’s smile grew as she dove at Shawn, jumping on his back, surprising him as she reached out for the remote. “Get off me,” Shawn cried out as the door creaked open and the two quickly jumped apart, their hair sticking up in all different directions and their eyes were drawn up and to Rino and Chet who had just walked in. “It’s not what it looked like,” Shawn squeaked out.

“It’s really not, Mr Hunter,” Maya’s cheeks flared bright red.

“That brings me back,” Chet chuckled while Rino rolled his eyes, shaking his head slightly.

“Rino,” Maya said.

“It’s fine, Maya, I know you’re a good kid and you wouldn’t be doing that with our friends.” Rino pointedly said causing Shawn to smile nervously at Rino while Chet’s laughter filled the trailer. Maya got up from the couch, walking over to the kitchen where Rino and Chet were.

“How did it go today?” Maya asked him.

“Good, I got a job working in Chet’s brother’s garage, it’ll work out.” Rino promised her, smiling down at Maya who had become a ray of light in his life. Without her he doubted he would have bothered getting a job. “You’ll be staying here for a few days while I try and find us somewhere good to live.” He explained to her.

“Thanks,” Maya smiled.

“Anything for you,” Rino chuckled, turning away from her.

“Shawnie, can you get some beer?” Chet asked, checking the fridge for any.

“Yeah,” Shawn nodded, grabbing some money and walking out with Maya, the two making their way down the trailer park, Maya buttoned up the coat she’d found at school and hugged herself close as the cold air bit at her exposed skin. “Looks like everything’s going to work out.” Shawn said, glancing over at Maya.

“For once,” Maya said, rubbing the back of her neck. Trying to distance herself from Shawn would never work, their lives were too intertwined for that to ever really happen now.

**

Glancing out of the window, the bright, evening sun shone into Farkle’s blue eyes as they drove down the road, making their way towards New York. Farkle had been given no verbal indication that they were going there, but he knew the road. Even in the past, he knew this road. He knew most roads in and out of New York. Especially this one. He also knew Antonio had been planning to teach him some basics of baseball.

They had stopped in front of a small baseball field littered with cigarette butts and beer cans, Farkle wondered if they were in the right place, upon seeing Antonio get out and making his way towards the field with the equipment, they spent two hours on the field, baseball after baseball hitting Farkle, probably bruising him but by the end Farkle knew how to catch and at least protect his face. At the end of their short practice Farkle and Antonio were sitting on the stands, eating burgers and drinking milkshakes.

“Did you like it?” Antonio asked, taking a sip of his chocolate milkshake.

“No, I’ll be honest with you, Antonio, I don’t want to play baseball, I don’t like it,” Farkle admitted, silence overcoming them as Antonio hummed, contemplating Farkle’s words. “I accept that sports isn’t for me.” Farkle added, hoping Antonio would say something.

“It’s not for everyone,” Antonio shrugged his shoulders, glancing out at the field.

“How come we went all the way to New York to practice?” Farkle asked, he’d assumed some emotional part of Antonio brought them there, a part of his being that was beyond Farkle’s logical comprehension.

“Yeah, I grew up around here, you know?” Antonio asked Farkle, glancing down at him.

“Really?” Farkle looked around, everything about the neighborhood seemed to contradict everything about Antonio’s lifestyle.

“Um, yeah, some of the kids in my group home, we were probably about 12 at the time, we’d come down here, drink some beers and watch the kids with their nice families and their expensive uniforms play baseball. We’d get drunk and watch little league and we’d rag on these guys, but they had everything we never did.” Antonio began, feeling his eyes sting with tears as he remembered what it was like. Before a family. Before getting into the Marines. Before Lauren. Before Farkle. “We’d be here until they left, their parents used to look at us like we were worse than dog shit on the bottom of their shoe. But when they were all gone, we’d light a bonfire and we’d play some baseball together. Usually, the cops came, we knew we only had a few hours, maybe less before we had to leave.” Antonio shared, rubbing the back of his neck.

“That sounds really sad, I’m sorry.” Farkle breathed out.

“Don't be,” Antonio smiled, looking down at Farkle for a brief moment. “I think most of all, I was just jealous of what all these kids had that I didn’t. They’d have their fathers teach them how to play, their families would come and watch. I won’t tell you what you should and shouldn’t do with me, I’m not your real dad, I guess. But I just wanted to do this with you.” Antonio offered, reaching around and patting Farkle on the back.

“We can play sometimes,” Farkle trailed off, looking down at the ground.

“Thanks, Farkle, and maybe someday you can teach me a thing or two about science.” Antonio chuckled, taking a sip of his milkshake.

“Antonio,” Farkle said, looking up at him.

“Yeah?”

“You may not be my real father, but you’re like a father to me. I see more of you than I ever really did him.” Farkle offered, swallowing the lump in his throat as he leaned forward, wrapping his arm around Antonio who fought back the happiness inside of him, hugging Farkle.

**

Turned around in her seat, Riley’s eyes were narrowed slightly having lost the baseball game over the weekend to Maya’s team, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was Maya was keeping quiet about whatever it was that was going on. And Riley didn’t like that. Another overly suspicious thing, Shawn and Maya were actually getting along. That wasn’t normal. Being nice to someone led to bad, bad, timeline altering things. At least, that was how it was in Riley’s mind.

“Alright class, when we were last in social studies, we were addressing the issue of social dissent.” Mr Feeny informed the class, looking around at the bored expressions on his students faces.

“Gee, you miss a lot when you’re gone for a day.” Maya mockingly said tapping her nails on the desk as Topanga put her hand up.

“Yes, Miss Lawrence.” Mr Feeny addressed her.

“I’ve thought over my position, Mr Feeny, and not only do I not want to say the pledge of allegiance,” Topanga said, making her demands.

“Fight the system,” Riley cheered her on.

“But I also do not want to wear shoes.” Topanga proclaimed.

“Oh, don’t do that,” Riley scrunched her face up.

“We who sit behind you object.” Shawn quickly quipped.

“I second that,” Maya raised her hand.

“Mr Matthews,” Mr Feeny said, as Cory raised his hand. “You were a pro-pledger as I recall,”

“And hopefully pro-wearing shoes,” Maya playfully said, tilting her head to the side to look over at Shawn, grinning.

“Oh, yeah, always wear shoes, but I thought it over the pro-pledging thing,” Cory thoughtfully said.

“Oh? You’ve changed your position then?” Mr Feeny curiously asked.

“No, I haven’t, but I can argue it better now.” Cory said, looking up front.

“Really?” Mr Feeny asked, mildly surprised. “Well, then, the floor is yours.” Mr Feeny said, holding out his hand, gesturing for Cory to stand up. Cory got up, making his way to the front.

“At first, I thought we should just say it because it was a tradition, and it’s the flag. But now I think it’s dumb to do something and not know why you do it.” Cory shared with the class.

“And what conclusion has that led you to?” Mr Feeny asked.

“That if there’s something you care about, like the country you live in or the father you have, then allegiance, which means,” Cory paused, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. “Noun, loyalty or devotion to a Government or a group or a person. Allegiance is something you should show.” Cory informed the class.

“So, then you believe that you should respect the traditions of that government, or group, or person.” Mr Feeny questioned Cory, getting up and off of the desk, walking over and beside Cory.

“Yeah, I should’ve.” Cory admitted.

“Or teacher?” Mr Feeny asked as the bell rang and everyone rushed for their belongings. “Miss Hart, a word please,” Mr Feeny called on her before she could leave, Maya groaned, slumping in her seat and looking over at Riley.

“What did you do now?” Riley nervously asked.

“That’s for me to know and for you to never find out,” Maya jokingly said, smiling up at Riley. Maya doubted Riley would really understand it anyone, she had so much hope for the world, something Maya couldn’t really relate to. When everyone was out of the class Maya leaned forward, smiling over at Mr Feeny. “I’m gonna be late for detention,” Maya stated.

“I’ll talk to Ms Kell.” Mr Feeny sighed, sitting down in front of Maya. “As I understand it your foster father is in a difficult situation, before I give him this, I have some questions.” Mr Feeny said.

“I’ll try and answer them,” Maya answered.

“How are you?” Mr Feeny asked.

“I’m fine, Mr Feeny, I mean I’ve been through this before.” Maya shrugged her shoulders. It was something she’d spent a long time trying to forget.

“How do you feel living with Mr Clark?” Mr Feeny asked.

“He’s good to me,” Maya admitted with a small smile. “We don’t have much, but we have dinner every night, he helps me with my homework when he can, he gives me what he can, and he always makes sure he’s got time for me. I’ve had worse.” Maya shared with Mr Feeny.

“But have you had better?” Mr Feeny asked.

“No,” Maya shook her head. Not unless she counted Riley’s family, but she’d spent a lot of time thinking about how much she relied on them. About how she could barely identify herself without them. Who the hell was Maya Hart without the Matthews? Maybe she was just some pathetic little girl with half a mum. Mr Feeny reached into his suit jacket, holding out an envelope which Maya took, smiling up at Mr Feeny. “Thank you,” a smile slowly made its way onto Maya’s lips.

“I care about all my students, Miss Hart, and it pains me when I see a student like yourself. You have a lot of potential, Miss Hart, and I look forward to seeing how far you will go in life.” Mr Feeny smiled, watching as Maya nodded, turning around and walking away and into detention, she passed the threshold and sat down, waiting for it to be over.

Maya sat there, feeling the smooth paper between her fingertips and slowly a small smile spread to her lips. Nothing was perfect, nothing could be. But as long as she had people who loved her, she could get through anything. She could be anything. Well, not anything, but within the realm of possibility, she could achieve it if she tried. Maybe she’d play it cool for a few more years before she really decided what she’d care about.

Riley burst into the room dramatically slamming the door open, causing everyone in the room to look over at her and Maya’s lips twitched into a smile. “You don’t have a detention, Riley.” Ms Kell sighed. Riley walked towards the desk, flipping one over and looking to Ms Kell expectantly.

“You should give me attention, I’m a bad person, I have a dark side.” Riley said, looking like she was afraid.

“She’s not serious, is she?” Shawn asked, smirking and leaning forward.

“You bet your string-bean ass she is.” Maya laughed, shaking her head.

“I hereby give myself, Riley Matthews, a detention,” Riley exclaimed before marching over to Maya, sitting down in front of her.

“Riley, you don’t belong here.” Maya sighed.

“I belong wherever you belong.” Riley softly said, reaching out and placing her hand on top of Maya’s. “Where were you on Friday?” Riley asked.

“I wasn’t feeling good, I had a stomach bug.” Maya lied, feeling uneasy as she lied to her best friend.

“Are you sure? I mean it didn’t seem like nothing. It doesn’t seem like a stomach bug, how come Shawn was being so secretive? Are you to like together or something?” Riley asked, her eyes widened slightly. Maya scrunched up her face, slowly looking over at Shawn who shyly looked at her, smiling. Maya shook her head, looking back to Riley.

“Yeah, that’s a no.” Maya quickly said.

“Riley, no talking in detention.” Ms Kell sighed.

“I don’t have detention, Ms Kell.” Riley quickly proclaimed, jumping up and holding her hand out. “Thunder,”

“Lightning.” Maya laughed, holding her hand out as well before Riley left. After detention had ended it was a long and quiet walk to his home, to his trailer while Rino searched for an apartment of their own, somewhere that they could call home. Or so she hoped. As they drew in closer to the trailer the shouting and smashing of objects could be heard from outside so Maya and Shawn had decided to spend some money on lollies and they sat side by side outside of the milk bar, sitting on the curb, buying themselves time. “They like that a lot?” Maya asked, memories of a time when her father was still around lingering in her mind.

“Yeah, but it’s love, right?” Shawn asked, slowly peeking over to Maya.

“I have no idea,” Maya’s lips curved into a sad smile. “I hope not.” Maya whispered, letting out a soft sigh.

Chapter Text

Tilting her head to the side, Riley stared up at the front of the class, watching as Topanga and Stuart filled the entire class, mostly just Mr Feeny, on the progress they were making in class. They all got to choose their own partners and were supposed to build up their own investments and businesses. Maya and Riley had chosen each other, which just meant Maya suggested some morally questionable ideas she had, Riley shot them down and did most of the assignment herself, even giving Maya a list of things to remember for their presentation. Farkle had partnered with Angus, his theory was to partner with the dumbest student in class besides Shawn and Cory (Riley had protested against the use of the word ‘stupid’) and do the whole assignment himself.

So far, Maya and Riley’s assignment had seen a steady incline in their profits for their assignment, focusing on a small, start-up perfume company, their relationship with the public and conducting themselves in an ethical and sustainable way to pave forward for a good future. Farkle’s was all about the money, he looked less at the reputation and more about how he could gain from investing in them. Surprisingly, but also not surprisingly to Riley, he had earned the most, having a drastic incline in his profits. It was Farkle after all and Riley suspected he was using his knowledge of the future to his benefit.

“Topanga and I invested our imaginary $1,000 in the stock market,” Stuart began, informing the class of his and Topanga’s progress as she stood behind him, drawing a graph of their profits.

“And how did you do?” Mr Feeny asked.

“We kicked Wall Street butt.” Stuart shortly boasted.

“I still say that my business ventures were by far more successful, as the graph already indicates,” Farkle spoke up, folding his hands and smiling up at Stuart, reveling in the twitches of his eyebrows.

“The combined IQ of Topanga and I will crush you like the Scarabaeidae you are.” Stuart growled causing Farkle to gasp, placing his hand on his chest.

“What’s a scabidiea?” Riley fumbled over her words, confused.

“No idea Riles,” Maya laughed, shaking her head, Riley then looked over to Cory.

“Hey, I got no idea,” Cory said, holding up his hands. “I don’t speak nerd.”

“Minkus, I would be afraid, you know, if your combined IQ wasn’t Cardinalis Cardinalis with a side of wooo.” Farkle sung, rolling his head around to the side, smiling as Stuart’s eyes twitched.

“Yes, none of the companies we invested in discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or bad karma.” Topanga chimed in. Maya leaned forward in her desk an eyebrow raised as listened to the presentation of the most unusual duo.

“How does one measure bad karma?” Maya jokingly asked as Topanga turned around, drawing a smiley face on the board.

“You got to love her.” Stuart smiled adoringly over at Topanga.

“She’s so cool,” Riley laughed, smiling over at Maya who nodded, trying to stop herself from laughing.

“You gotta lock her up,” Cory called out, grinning.

“Oh, come on,” Riley called out, throwing her hands up in the air. “Does nothing please you Matthews? That was an awesome presentation, the best yet.” Riley growled.

“Wait till ours,” Cory grinned, nodding his head.

“Dude you know we have to compete against these guys, now, I’m okay with a D, are you?” Maya asked Riley watching as her face fell.

“Maya, I’m just cheering on our friends, is it okay to cheer on our friends?” Riley asked her.

“It’s okay for you to cheer on your friend’s pumpkin, they’re not my friends.” Maya scoffed, shaking her head.

“When do I get a pet name?” Shawn dreamily asked.

“You already have one,” Maya said in a soft voice, her eyes fluttering.

“What is it?” He giggled.

“String-bean.” Maya bluntly stated.

“I’m not your friend?” Cory gasped and she slowly glanced over to him, giving him a once over before shaking her head.

“Not in this lifetime.” Maya shortly commented.

“Wait, does this mean I’m your friend?” Shawn asked, a smile spreading across his face, slowly Maya’s eyes went wide as she looked over at him.

“That was very well thought out, Mr Minkus, very politically correct, Miss Lawrence.” Mr Feeny got up from his seat on Topanga’s spot. “Mr Abernathy has a lot to learn from you in that regard.” Farkle huffed, glaring over at Stuart’s smug face. “Which company’s next?” Mr Feeny asked.

“Mr Feeny, this project wasn’t due for another week.” Cory spoke up causing Maya to laugh and Riley to be filled with dread.

“This is just a progress report, Mr Matthews,” Mr Feeny stated. “Those companies who’ve made progress should have no problem.” Maya chuckled as she watched Shawn and Cory slowly make their way to the front of the class.

“This is gonna be good,” Maya proclaimed.

“They’re gonna crash and burn.” Riley whimpered, mentally wincing at what was to come.

“Our investment plan is,” Cory slowly said as Shawn drew a straight line across the board. “Proceeding.”

“We are pleased to report we have absolutely no losses.” Shawn happily proclaimed, trying to make their lack of work, work.

“And no gains either,” Farkle observed.

“We haven’t fired anybody,” Cory stated. “And nobody quit.”

“Yay,” Riley laughed.

“Wait for it.” Maya quipped, smirking.

“They haven’t even started yet,” Stuart called out.

“No,” Mr Feeny sassed, slamming his hands down on the desk.

“Why didn’t you do it?” Riley asked Cory.

“Pfft, we’ve already done it,” Cory tried to stand by his life. “That was it.”

“Boo,” Maya called out, giving the two a thumbs down.

“Oh please, you’re a disgrace to the back row for doing it.” Shawn shouted over at Maya.

“No, you’re a disgrace to the back row.” Maya bit back, flashing an overzealous smile at him as the bell rang. Everyone got up and left with the exception of Cory and Shawn, Riley had abandoned Maya and Farkle to go and take a drink from the water fountain, leaving the two shortest members of the time traveling trio to their own devices.

“How have you been lately, Maya?” Farkle asked, his eyes lighting up as he looked over at her.

“Peachy keen,” Maya dryly replied. “How’s plotting your way to global domination?” Maya asked, unimpressed at the growing smile on Farkle’s face.

“Working with someone who is below average intelligence suits me very well,” Farkle smugly laughed, leaning against the locker as Maya opened hers. “He has no ideas, no creativity and therefore I get to do everything I want.” Farkle shared causing Maya to snort, shaking her head.

“Better not say that to his face,” Maya offered.

“Please, I know you love me enough to protect me,” Farkle smiled up at Maya.

“Leave me alone.” Maya grumbled.

“Hey, what are we talking about?” Riley excitedly asked, stopping in front of them.

“My plan for global domination.” Farkle informed Riley.

“Oh, I was actually thinking about that and maybe you might need some fresh ideas from Angus,” Riley suggested causing Farkle’s eyes to grow wide.

“Riley, why would you ever suggest such a thing?” Farkle asked.

“Yeah, Riley, oh my god.” Maya sarcastically gaped, shaking her head.

“What? What’d I do?” Riley asked looking between them.

“You know, Farkle, Minkus might ending up beating you because of Topanga’s special connections.” Maya suggested with a shrug of her shoulders

“Please, what’s Topanga gonna do? Beam down some all-knowing spirit and crash my business?” Farkle sarcastically asked.

“Yeah,” Maya and Riley said in unison.

“Uh, I think I have to go now. I have some things to think about.” Farkle slowly said, quickly running away from them. Maya and Riley laughed before separating, making their way to their classes, Maya to Art and Riley to music. Walking into art class, Maya sat down on her chair that was in her spot, sitting between Shawn and Farkle, waiting for their teacher to some in.

“Hello class, today we will all be doing portraits the night sky, you each have a photograph, I want you to paint it and as long as Maya and Shawn don’t cause any trouble, I’ll let you out of class early.” She said before turning and walking around the room.

“Can you believe her?” Shawn scoffed, glancing over at his photograph.

“I know, it’s almost like she doesn’t like us having fun in this class.” Maya sarcastically commented, glancing up at the photograph she’d been given. Art class normally would have been a class she’d love, but ever since her first art class in the 90s she hadn’t been doing much of it. “What picture did you get?” Maya asked, glancing over to Shawn who huffed, showing her a photo of a wolf howling at the moon. “Better than mine.” Maya shrugged showing hers which was a cloudy starry night.

“Wanna swap?” Shawn asked.

“Why would it?” Maya huffed.

“Because you love me?” Shawn hopefully asked.

“Try again,” Maya demanded.

“Cause I’ll do your homework?” Shawn asked.

“This is your last chance, you gotta give me a better offer, string-bean.” Maya demanded, crossing one leg over the other.

“Please,” Shawn whined, and Maya handed hers to him, the two swapping.

“How bad did Feeny ream you?” Maya asked, smirking over at Shawn.

“It wasn’t so bad,” Shawn lied, shrugging his shoulders.

“That’s a lie,” Maya scoffed.

“Fine, but Cory and I have a plan.” Shawn shared, his eyes lighting up.

“And what is it you and Cory’s combined braincell came up with?” Maya teasingly asked him, raising an eyebrow.

“Horses,” Shawn proudly proclaimed.

“Horses?” Maya asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re gonna bet on a horse?” Maya asked, unimpressed.

“Yeah, I know a guy.” Shawn shared, smirking.

“That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard,” Maya flatly said. “And that says a lot considering I speak to you every day.” She sassed.

“Cute, and what brilliant idea have you had lately?” Shawn bit back, smirking over at Maya who narrowed her eyes over at him. “And sitting next to me doesn’t count.” He smirked, dipping his paintbrush in blue paint and brushing it against Maya’s nose, slowly anger began to contort onto her face.

“Choose your next words very carefully string-bean.” Maya growled, standing up and dipping her paintbrush in the green blue paint and walking towards him.

“I’m sorry,” Shawn whimpered, nervously laughing.

“You’re gonna get it, Hunter, but I want out of this class early.” Maya growled, sitting back down and wiping the paint off of her nose.

“Lucky me,” he muttered under his breath. “But if we’re gonna do this the right way, you should know I’m gonna be at Cory’s this afternoon, you know, you can come over and watch us win a ton of money.” Shawn invited her over, flashing a wide grin.

“I’ll come over, but only to watch you lose.” Maya said, looking away from him.

“I don’t lose, babe.” Shawn smirked over at her.

“Yeah, I think you do.” Maya bit back.

“Yeah, I think I don’t.” Shawn replied.

**

Stepping out of the bus and into Riley’s home the two were bombarded with hyperactive children. In general, kids were fine, Maya didn’t hate them, and she didn’t love them, but when they jumped into her arms with sticky hands and chocolate-coated faces, she wanted to tell them to back up. “Hi Emily,” Riley laughed, holding her close as the two marched towards the kitchen.

“Hi Riley, can you and me play princess tonight?” Emily asked in a soft voice. “Juliette can be the wicked witch 'cause she’s being mean.” She said in an even softer voice.

“What did she do?” Riley asked.

“I shoved her head in the sand,” Juliette called out while Maya held her tightly, afraid she was going to drop the little kid. “And I regret nothing.”

“Which is why they got sent home early from school,” Joanne huffed from the kitchen, clapping her fingers clean of the flour and rounded the corner, grabbing Juliette from Maya’s arms.

“Oh, thank god.” Maya breathed out, stepping as far away from the children as she could, leaning against the bench.

“Why did you do that Julie?” Riley asked, kneeling down in front of them, pulling Emily down on the ground.

“Because Marissa dared me to,” Juliette shyly replied.

“Well, I don’t think sister should treat each other like that, sisters gotta look out for each other.” Riley advised them, smiling as she fixed up the mess that was Juliette’s hair. “Promise me you won’t do that again.”

“I promise, Riley.” Juliette shyly said.

“About time,” Emily called out, shaking her head and toddling away.

“Yeah, I couldn’t go down and pick them up from kinder, so I had to ask Mrs Matthews to pick them up and look after them until I got home. She’s a god send sometimes,” Joanne breathed out as she held out a tin for Riley who hesitantly took it.

“Thank you, Jo, but you didn’t have to, I think you should have the biscuits. It sounds like you’ve had a hard day.” Riley bashfully said, holding out the tin to Joanne who furrowed her eyebrows before she laughed, shaking her head.

“No, Riley, sweetie, can you take that over to the Matthews? I just wanted to say thank you.” Joanne shook her head before Emily squealed, running towards the exit and Joanne dove for her but narrowly missed her. Bending down, Maya quickly snatched Emily, taking her in her arms before handing her to Joanne. “Thank you, Maya.” Joanne breathed out.

“It’s what I’m here for.” Maya quickly said.

“Come on, Maya, we take them over, come back here and nothing changes.” Riley exclaimed, grinning and marching towards the door. Maya followed her out, going along with Riley’s usual antics. They came to the Matthews door and a slow smile spread to Maya’s lips as she slowly looked up at Riley who shook her head. “I don’t like that smile, why you smiling peaches?” Riley asked, stepping closer to Maya who knocked on the door twice before twisting the door open and stepping in. “Maya I really don’t think we should be doing this,” Riley called out as Maya marched towards the voices.

“Maya, Riley, haven’t you ever heard of knocking?” Cory exclaimed, his eyes wide like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“We did knock, right Riles?” Maya asked, elbowing her and Riley grunted, nodding.

“Yes, yes, we did, we knocked, and you didn’t answer. Why didn’t you answer?” Riley meekly asked.

“Hey, Honey Bun,” Shawn called out, looking over to Maya, Riley and Cory’s eyes bulged from her eye sockets as Maya looked to him, confused. “Roses are red, violets are blue, Valentine’s Monday, let’s rendezvous.” He recited the poem, flashing a flirtatious smile. Slowly a smile spread to her lips and she pointed at him.

“Dead,” she grinned before going to charge towards Shawn who jumped out of his seat and behind Cory while Riley latched herself onto Maya, holding her back from attacking Shawn.

“I think you should take this as a sign you should never flirt with girls,” Cory quickly commented. “It doesn’t work, this stuff, it’s a scam.” Cory exclaimed, waving his hands in the air.

“I think that’d be wise,” Maya growled as she sat down beside Shawn, glaring at him.

“Hey honey bun,” he nervously said.

“Riley won’t be around forever,” Maya said in a hushed down.

“Why are you here, Riley? By chance is it because you come with news that Minkus and Topanga already lost?” Cory hopefully asked.

“No, my mum made your mum some biscuits for helping her out today.” Riley informed Cory.

“And now the results of the ninth race from Aqueduct,”

“It’s post time,” Shawn called out, subbing his hands together while Cory clutched his brillo hair tightly.

“Are you sure you should be doing this? I mean it is illegal.” Riley nervously pointed out. “We could get in trouble.”

“Well, maybe you should block your ears, that way you don’t actually know what’s going on.” Cory suggested and Riley smiled, plugging her ears and singing.

“The winner is Tuna Melt by a neck followed by Hot Wax and Jacob’s Ladder. Tuna Melt paid 19.80 To win, 8.60 to place and 5.40 to show.”

“AAH!” Shawn screamed, turning to look over at Cory while Maya walked around them, jumping up and onto the counter beside Riley, looking down at them.

“What? What?” Cory shouted.

“We won!” Shawn shouted, grabbing Cory’s hands and removing them from his hair.

“How much?” Cory asked.

“This times this.” Shawn said, showing Cory.

“Geniuses.” Maya sarcastically said as Riley slowly turned to look at her.

“99 bucks,” Cory exclaimed after doing the calculations on the calculator.

“What happened?” Riley shouted only for Maya to sigh and slowly remove her hands from her ears.

“Nothing, pumpkin.” Maya laughed when Mrs Matthews walked into the room causing Riley’s smile to grow as she looked over at her grandmother, trying to stop herself from becoming a giggly mess.

“What is the matter?” Mrs Matthews asked, looking between them.

“We won,” Cory jumped up and down, latching onto Mrs Matthews shoulders.

“He means the flyers.” Shawn turned the radio off. Sudden death overtime goal.”

“Very intense.” Maya sarcastically said, smirking.

“And very exciting.” Shawn added.

“You guys act like you had money on the game.” Mrs Matthews quizzically said, looking around the room, her eyebrows furrowed slightly at the way Riley hummed and looked around the room. “Hi, I’m Amy,” she said upon seeing Maya, she held out her hand and Maya shook it.

“Maya,” she answered. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Are you one of Cory’s friends?” she asked.

“I am one of Riley’s friends.” Maya quickly said.

“Yes, my mum wanted me to come over and give you these biscuits as thanks,” Riley nervously said, holding out the tin.

“Oh, thank you. That’s so sweet.” She turned around, placing them on the table when she saw the note and she reached out, grabbing it. “What is this?” she asked, reading it.

“You okay, Mrs Matthews?” Shawn asked, leaning on Cory.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking I got to get a sitter for Monday night.” Mrs Matthews said, unable to take her eyes off of the heart shaped note.

“Someone’s got a rendezvous,” Riley teasingly called out grinning at the way Mrs Matthews cheeks flared bright red.

“Oh, you know, anything to keep the romance even a little alive.” Mrs Matthews said.

“Yeah, cause that’s something we know a lot about.” Maya sarcastically said.

“My mum and dad are going on a date as well, they’re heading into New York, actually.” Riley informed Mrs Matthews.

“That’s so sweet,” Mrs Matthews said. “Are you looking after your sisters?” Mrs Matthews asked.

“Yeah, I am. Emily and Juliette aren’t getting along right now so I’m going to hold a white flag tea party. Morgan can come if she wants.” Riley offered.

“That would be so sweet, Riley, thank you.” Mrs Matthews said before looking over to Cory. “You know, I started babysitting when I was around 12, and you’re almost 12, maybe you could stay with Morgan and take her to the tea party with Emily and Juliette.” Mrs Matthews suggested, Maya bit the inside of her cheek, glancing over to look at Riley whose face went white. “The job pays $2.00 an hour.”

“Whew, two bucks, that’s a lot of money.” Cory jibed. “Mum, you know what? Keep the two bucks and buy yourself a nice dress.” Cory walked up to her, patting her on the arm.

“Gee, thanks Cor,” Mrs Matthews sarcastically muttered. “Okay, Monday night, I’ll take a chance on you. Say thank you to Jo for me.” She smiled over at Riley before walking out of the room.

“Whew, you almost spilled the beans to boom-boom.” Shawn quipped.

“Boom-boom?” Maya asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

“Pet names,” Cory nervously shrugged. “Do you have one for me?”

“Why would I have one for you?” Maya asked.

“We’re friends.” Cory proclaimed. “Shawn has string-bean, Riley has a lot of nicknames, Farkle has a lot as well. Why don’t I get one?” Cory asked.

“Fine, Fuzzy, there you go, you got a nickname.” Maya relented.

“Can I take it back?” He asked.

“No.” Maya shook her head.

“Darn it,” Cory huffed.

“Come on, Fuzzy, we just won 100 bucks,” Shawn exclaimed, glancing over to Cory, slowly a smile stretched onto his lips. Maya and Riley’s eyes grew wide as they saw Cory and Shawn to their friendship handshake and Maya raised an eyebrow.

“You and Fuzzy call that a handshake?” Maya asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I bet you $30 you can’t do any better.” Shawn sneered, stepping closer. Maya and Riley smirked at each other before they flipped their hair over their shoulders.

“Stop it,” they said to each other before Maya’s eyes drifted over to Shawn and she winked over at him, smirking as Shawn let out a small giggle.

“That was so much better,” Shawn dreamily breathed out. Cory glanced over to Shawn, scrunching up his face.

“Squish,” Cory called out, shoving Shawn.

“Am not,” Shawn exclaimed when Eric came storming into the kitchen, not seeing Riley and Maya standing there.

“Come here guys,” Eric ushered Cory and Shawn towards the table, crouching down between them. “Now, would this bother you? Alright, your name is Brianna Henshaw, you’re the best-looking girl in the school. So one day you see me accidentally stumble into your best friend Debbie, and inadvertently French kiss her. Now you won’t go out with me.” Eric whined, turning to look over at Shawn, about to open his mouth again.

“There’s girls here.” Shawn nervously said.

“Why won’t you go out with me?” Eric said, his voice growing louder and more forceful.

“I’m a little bit country, you’re a little bit rock ‘n’ roll.” Shawn said, waving his hands around, unsure of what to say.

“There’s girls here.” Cory repeated Shawn’s words. Eric’s eyes grew wide as he turned around, nervously smiling at the two.

“Why won’t you go out with me?” He asks the two girls.

“You’re not my type.” Maya shrugged her shoulders.

“What’s a French kiss?” Riley asked confused and Maya bowed her head down, groaning.

“Hey, Eric, you like this girl,” Cory stood up, turning around to look at his older brother. “Well, then you got to take a big risk. I know about this.”

“Fuzzy knows about girls,” Maya chuckled. “Biggest surprise of the decade.”

“You can say that again,” Eric huffed, looking to Cory unconvinced. “But you know me, I’m always eager to get romantic advice from a fetus.” Eric sassed, leaning in, humouring Cory.

“The point is, you’re never going to win her over unless you do something bold, unless you take a risk. That’s how I live my life.” Cory shared with Eric.

“That’s…actually not bad advice.” Maya commented, blinking in shock.

“I’m…risk boy.” Cory called out, posing.

“And there it is.” Maya said under her breath.

“Why are boys like this?” Riley asked, squinting over at him.

“Not boys, just fuzzy.” Maya corrected, the two tilting their heads to the side, quizzically watching Cory.

“Hey, I’m a boy,” Cory called out.

“Oh yeah? You got proof?” Maya asked, a smirk growing on her lips.

“You’re seriously responding to fuzzy?” Eric asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Hey, I finally got a nickname, I’m gonna take it.” Cory exclaimed.

“Right, since I don’t really care, I’m going to leave you guys to your little girlfriends.” Eric said, quickly marching up the stairs and Maya scrunched up her face, glancing over to Shawn and Cory.

“I would never date either of you.” Riley exclaimed, shaking her head, causing Maya to burst out laughing.

“Good, I don’t wanna date you either.” Cory called out, scrunching up his face.

“I think we should go back home, Maya.” Riley said, looking over to her best friend.

“Alright,” Maya shrugged, slipping off of the bench and locking eyes with Shawn. “I expect that $30 by tomorrow.” Maya slyly stated.

“What about another bet?” Shawn asked, shooting up from his seat.

“Shawn,” Cory screamed, jumping to his side. “Maya is unstoppable, there’s no way you’re winning.” Cory hissed.

“Please,” Shawn chuckled.

“What’s the bet?” Maya asked.

“Maya, I don’t think we should be making bets.” Riley nervously said, worried interacting too much with them would change too much.

“You and Riley verses me and Cory in basketball.” Shawn smugly said, missing the way Riley’s joyas exterior faded.

“Yes, yes! I love that!” Cory exclaimed, pointing over to Maya. “You’re so dead.”

“What do you think, Riles?” Maya asked, looking up at her.

“Basketball?” Riley slowly asked.

“Yeah, we’re gonna wipe the floor with you girls.” Cory smugly said.

“Why, of course, we’re just girls of course,” Maya said, slowly inching closer to Cory and Shawn with Riley following her closely behind.

“I don’t know that much about basketball, obviously,” Riley shrugged.

“You’re on.” Maya smirked, shaking Shawn’s hand. The boys went into the game confident and went out as sore losers. During a basketball game, even though Maya had never seen Riley play, she’d seen her best friend watch basketball and if she was half as spirited when she played there was no doubt in Maya’s mind they would win.

“Cory, Cory, gonna floor-ye.” Riley chanted, and with a little flirting and Riley being as aggressive as she usually was in sports, they won, scaring Cory and making Shawn flustered.

“Man, that was the easiest $30 I’ve ever made.” Maya proudly boasted, bursting out laughing with Riley as they made their way into Riley’s home.

“Hey kids, how was your day?” Daniel asked from the lounge room which Maya and Riley walked into, the two flopping down on the couch, slightly exhausted from the game.

“It was great, we won a basketball game.” Riley informed him.

“Oh, you’re into basketball?” Daniel asked.

“Here we go,” Maya muttered under her breath.

“Yeah, yeah,” Riley breathed out.

“Maybe?” Daniel asked, confused.

“Well, I grew up in New York, so obviously my favourite team are the Knicks and- “Maya slapped her hand over Riley’s mouth, stopping her from saying anything about her opinions on the future Knicks team.

“She loves basketball.” Maya quickly said, flashing a nervous smile.

“I can see that,” Daniel nodded, scratching his head. “Maybe I can get tickets to see a game sometime if you’d like.” He offered, Juliette and Emily were little, and they liked rolling around in the dirt and giving each other sand tattoos and playing princess more than they liked sports. It was one of the things that made Daniel want a son, but a Riley was good enough for him.

“Really?” Riley asked, her eyes going wide. “I mean, I’m not that into it, obviously,” she trailed off. “But that would be awesome, I wanna be at Madison Square Garden, but then I’m gonna have to see all of these fake fans just jumping onto bandwagons like it’s the heat or something like that and you know what that is not a true fan is. If you’re gonna be in the garden then you better represent the Knicks.” Riley passionately ranted, causing Daniel to look at her stunned and confused while Maya smiled, nodding. She was very proud of Riley.

“Well, whatever makes you happiest, Riley. We will represent the Knicks.” Daniel slowly and unsurely said.

“Yay,” she giggled.

“Nice one,” Maya nodded.

“Oh, you think so?” Daniel sarcastically asked as Joanne walked into the room, smiling down at everyone, ushering them towards the dining room. Everything felt so surreal for Maya, to sit with Riley’s temporary family and eat and laugh and pretend everything was perfect. It was for a while, everything always seemed so perfect when she was with Riley, sometimes Maya wished some of that happiness would rub off on her one day. After dinner, they went up to Riley’s room and while Riley went to sleep early as she usually did and Maya sat by the window, drawing the Matthews home in her notebook, she wanted to remember all of this, it had been the happiest few months of her life.

Chapter Text

At school, Shawn and Cory stood at the front of the class, giving their update presentation again after their failure the previous day. “After careful market analysis, product testing and strategic planning, we bet on tuna melt to win,” Cory exclaimed, standing tall on the step ladder.

“Lollipop, lollipop, oh,” Riley plugged her fingers in her ears, her singing filled the classroom.

“Why is Riley singing? Don’t get me wrong, I love the sound of her voice…but I’m confused.” Farkle said, his eyebrows pinched together.

“It’s her new thing,” Maya sarcastically drawled out.

“You gambled with your $10?” Stuart asked, outraged.

“It’s $1,000,” Mr Feeny corrected him.

“Oh, right, right.” Stuart called out before his gaze drifted down to his hands.

“If only you knew,” Maya muttered under her breath.

“Miss Matthews could you please stop singing?” Mr Feeny asked, exasperated as Maya leaned forward, pulling Riley’s hands out of her ears.

“Why did you do that Maya?” Riley asked.

“Because Mr Feeny was gonna give you a detention and we can’t have that.” Maya stated.

“Thank you, Miss Hart.” Mr Feeny nodded to her before he returned his attention back over to Cory and Shawn. “You invested your money on a racehorse?” Mr Feeny asked them.

“And we won,” Shawn exclaimed, pointing at Mr Feeny.

“Call the police, Mr Feeny it’s illegal for minors to bet.” Stuart called out.

“Well, now, he has a point,” Mr Feeny said.

“Were they really betting though?” Maya slyly asked. “I mean, as far as we know, they didn’t actually bet money on it.” The lies passed through Maya’s lips too easily for Riley’s liking.

“As our good friend, Maya, pointed out, it’s just an assignment, we didn’t have any real money on the bet. But if we did, in this assignment we’re supposed to be businessmen and businesswomen, and as we all know, it’s perfectly legal for men and women to play the ponies.” Cory proclaimed.

“Mhm. Although I don’t condone gambling in any form, Mr Matthews and Mr Hunter have demonstrated a basic tenet of American free enterprise.” Mr Feeny paused, stopping in front of Topanga. “The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward.”

“Risk, risk, risk,” Cory sang, his hands slowly inching higher and around his head.

“Reward, reward, reward,” Shawn followed in suit. Maya leaned forward.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” Maya sang, pointing at them.

“I think they were very bold,” Topanga proclaimed, staring up at Cory admirably.

“Gold digger,” Stuart muttered under his breath.

“Wanna repeat that, Minkus?” Riley asked in a dead tone causing the boy to whip his head around, frightened.

“Miss Hart, I do not condone such language in my classroom,” Mr Feeny sternly said, choosing not to give his bias opinion on the two boys.

“Neither do I Mr Feeny,” Maya called out, grinning. “But we all know it’s true, Fuzzy and String-bean share a brain cell.” She shrugged, smiling proudly as the class burst out laughing.

“Maya,” Cory hissed, looking around. “I thought we agreed to keep that nickname a secret.” He said, inching forward.

“You agreed, last time I checked, I’m still me.” Maya sassed.

“I mean, she’s got a point. What’d you expect, Fuzzy?” Riley defended Maya as Cory looked between the two, suspended in disbelief. The bell for the end of school rang and everyone was quick to jump out of their seats and run out of the class. Instead of giving Maya the $30 they had settled for buying her and Riley some lollies before making their way back to Cory’s house. Riley sat on the ground, sorting through everything she had gotten, the guilt burning a gaping hole in her stomach which she would fill with lollies while Maya was curled up on her lounge, eating the lollies she’d gotten.

“100 bucks and an ‘A’, it just doesn’t get any better than this.” Cory proclaimed.

“Yeah, add in some illegal gambling and I say you guys have peeked.” Maya jokingly commented.

“And where exactly is your money, huh?” Shawn asked.

“Riley why can’t we do this?” Maya whined, looking over to Riley.

“I happen to think there is a clear and ethical way to earn money and it doesn’t involve addictive activities,” Riley stated causing Maya to raise an eyebrow. “Fine, I don’t like it when the horse’s race for money.” Riley pouted.

“Alright, I suppose it’s for the best, I don’t wanna end up like my uncle Larry.” Maya shrugged her shoulders.

“Yeah, you really don’t.” Riley shook her head as Eric burst in through the front door.

“I am a dating god, worship me.” Eric loudly proclaimed, holding his arms wide open causing everyone in the room to look over at him.

“And why should we do that?” Maya asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, little girl I don’t know the name of,” Eric said, walking forward.

“Just ignore him, maybe his big head will float him upstairs.” Cory sassed, causing Riley to burst out laughing.

“I was bold, I took a risk and now I got a date with Brianna Henshaw.” Eric informed them, leaning down and between Cory and Shawn.

“Is she nice?” Riley asked him.

“I don’t know.” Eric shrugged his shoulders.

“And you should be saying thank you to whom?” Cory asked.

“The Helco Locker company of Madison Wisconsin.” Eric replied, sitting on the arm rest.

“Why?” Cory asked.

“I stuffed myself in her locker.” Eric informed them.

“You fit?” Maya asked in disbelief causing Eric to whip his head around, glaring at Maya.

“Yes, I did.” Eric grit through his teeth. “Cory, what is that mean little blonde pancake?” Eric asked, pointing over to Maya who scoffed, shaking her head.

“Oh, that’s Maya, she’s our friend.” Cory informed her.

“Really? Why?” Eric asked, his smile dramatically dropping.

“Uh, what?” Riley asked, the cheer in her voice, disappearing. “Excuse me, but I don’t think I hear you right.”

“You hear me fine, Riley.” Eric sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“No, Maya is a nice, sweet girl with a horrible life.” Riley exclaimed.

“Yeah, thanks, Riles.” Maya muttered under her breath.

“You’re welcome.” She smiled to herself. “What happened next, Eric?” Riley asked.

“See, at least Riley wants to know,” Eric exclaimed. “So I had to wait in the locker for like three periods, she came back from math and there I was. Her compact bundle of love.” Eric laughed.

“Eric when I said take a risk, I didn’t want you to become a stalker.” Cory called out, leaning forward on his seat.

“That’s so romantic.” Riley whispered.

“Yeah, that’s a grand gesture alright.” Maya dryly commented.

“I think it’s kinda sweet.” Riley continued.

“Oh, honey, no.” Maya flatly said.

“The greater the risk, the greater the return…I guess.” Cory sarcastically said, taking a bite of the red liquorice stick while Eric turned around, facing the red heart with writing scrawled onto it.

“Dear Pooh-bear,” Eric began causing Maya to scrunch up her face and Riley to grin. “From mum to dad.”

“Ooh, boom-booms reply.” Shawn teased, everyone turned to listen what was on it.

“Blue is the violet, red is the rose, wear that sexy cologne and meet me at 8:00 where you proposed.” Eric read out loud, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

“Poetry is not boom-boom’s strong suit.” Shawn said, turning to look at Cory, their faces scrunched up.

“I love Valentine’s day, I love seeing my parents get all cute together.” Riley shared.

“Poetry,” Eric said, having a sudden revelation before looking to Maya and Riley. “Girls love poetry, right?” he asked, looking between them.

“No,” Maya quickly said.

“Yes,” Riley grinned.

“Maya is barely a girl,” Cory laughed, before squealing at the look Maya sent him. “Dead?” Cory guessed.

“Oh yeah,” Maya growled.

“I like this side of you, honey bun.” Shawn said, trying to deter her from killing Cory.

“What did you call me?” Maya seethed.

“Have fun getting killed guys,” Eric began to walk upstairs. “Uh, there once was a guy in a locker…”

“Who just got a date—what a shocker.” Cory called out before seeing the look on Maya’s face.

“You are a real chip off the old boom-boom.” Shawn shared, smirking.

“Hey, Shawn, can you reach your Uncle Frank right now?” Cory asked him.

“Yeah, why?” Shawn asked Cory.

“Because I have wasted the last 12 years of my life,” Cory proclaimed, standing up.

“Huh?”

“Don’t swim after you eat, don’t read in the dark, don’t stick your head in the ball return.” Cory exclaimed.

“What are you talking about?” Shawn asked, as confused as everyone else.

“Are you gonna stick your head in the ball return? Cause I know that’s not a good idea.” Riley spoke up, shaking her head.

“What?” Cory asked.

“What?” Riley spluttered, pretending she hadn’t said anything.

“I think what Mr Fuzzy is trying to say is that he wants to take more risks.” Maya said in a heavy, Texan accent.

“You, you get me,” Cory said, pointing to Maya.

“I really hoped this day would never come,” Maya whispered.

“It’s okay, Peaches, I still love you the same.” Riley reached over, placing her hand on Maya’s causing the two girls to smile at each other.

“I’ve been playing it safe all my life, and where’s it gotten me?” Cory exclaimed.

“To 12?” Riley suggested.

“No,” Cory said, shaking his head. “But yes, I mean, it’s just gotten me here, in a room, with you three.” Cory sharply stated.

“Thanks a lot,” Shawn sarcastically said.

“What’s wrong with us?” Riley asked, pouting.

“Yeah, thanks Fuzzy, now I really gotta kill you.” Maya threateningly said.

“Nothing’s wrong with you Riley, you’re weird in a cool way,” Cory said, unsure of what exactly to say to a sad Riley.

“Yay,” Riley grinned.

“Look, I’m just saying, big risk, big reward.” Cory stated. “Bigger risk, bigger reward. Feeny finally taught us something that we can use. Call your uncle.” Cory demanded.

“You wanna risk our $100?” Shawn asked, his eyes wide as he turned around to face Cory.

“I wanna live,” Cory shouted, holding out his hands.

“I don’t think this is very smart,” Riley said, pursing her lips.

“When was the last time you really lived, Riley?” Cory asked her, trying to get her to come over to their side.

“Right now,” Riley said.

“Riley, don’t look at this as something bad, look it as a chance to be a strong, independent woman who earns her own money,” Maya smoothly spoke, slowly watching as the cogs turned around n her brain.

“I’m in,” Riley said. “Get us in on this as well.” Riley demanded. After having Shawn call his Uncle Frank and make the bet they all made their way up and into Cory’s bedroom, they huddled around the radio, anxiously listening to see if they won or not.

“The flyers swept by Montreal, 6-3.”

“Ah, forget the stinking flyers.” Cory shouted at the radio. “Give me the fifth race at Pimlico.”

“Yeah,” Riley screamed from beside him. “Gimme my money,” Riley screamed to the radio as well while Shawn and Maya sat side by side, looking up at them, their eyebrows raised.

“And now the results of the fifth race as Pimlico,”

“Come on, Neck, Flap, baby,” Cory screamed, dancing around in excitement.

“Show us the cash money, Neck Flap,” Riley screamed as well, throwing her arms up in the air.

“And the winner is N—”

“What did you do?” Maya screamed at Cory, watching in devastation as he pulled the radio up, the cord disconnecting from it.

“Nuh? What kind of name is Nuh?” Cory cried out, looking to Shawn.

“You idiot, you ripped the plug out of the wall.” Shawn shouted at him.

“Boo!” Riley said, punching Cory’s arm. “Oh no, oh, Maya, Maya.” Riley then began to freak out.

“Well, he said nuh.” Cory said. “it’s gotta be neck flap, what other horse starts with nuh?” Cory asked, looking between all of them.

“You’d be surprised.” Maya chuckled, looking down at the names. “Let’s see, we got the obvious neck flap,”

“Then we got Nux Vomica,” Shawn continued for her.

“Nunzio’s Dream,” Maya said.

“And finally, and remarkably, a horse called Nuh.” Shawn said, looking between Cory and Riley.

“Oh no, I told you this was a bad idea, gambling is not okay, it’s never okay and why did you talk me into this? I told you I didn’t want to gamble, it’s not a good habit, it gets peoples hopes and dreams up and crushes them with the cold had reality of horse poo and crushed dreams, leaving you penniless and divorced.” Riley cried out, causing everyone in the room to pause, looking up at Riley, confused.

“Pumpkin, do you need a hug?” Maya asked, holding her arms wide open and Riley nodded, quickly walking over to Maya, going into hug her before flopping onto the bed, on top of Maya who grunted under Riley’s weight. “Riley, Riley,” Maya muttered.

“Get on the horn and call your Uncle.” Cory demanded, the two racing over to the phone.

“Gus, Shaw. Give me Frankie Two toes.” Shawn demanded.

“Hey, Riley, you know I love you, but maybe, just maybe you’d like to oh-I don’t know, get off me?” Maya suggested and Riley rolled over screaming as she fell to the floor and Maya sat up, crossing her legs and looking up at Shawn.

“My life is officially over, I’ll have to retire, but I have no money to retire with so I’ll live with my parents until I die.” Riley cried out.

“What? What’s the matter?” Cory asked, his eyes wide. “I knew we shouldn’t have bet on Neck Flap, all the smart money was on Nuh.” Shawn got off the phone, glancing over to Maya with a grin while Cory looked away. “I know, I know. We lost it all. I’m sorry for getting you and Maya involved, Riley, I shouldn’t have.” Cory muttered, sitting down on the bed.

“It’s okay, Cory, I forgive you,” Riley accepted his apology before her face fell. “I forgive you for ruining my life,” Riley’s voice went deep, and her eyes narrowed at him. “But it’s okay.” She said, still glaring at him.

“Uncle Frank says we—”

“Just lost all our money, because we took a risk.” Cory called out.

“Oi, Fuzzy, I think string-bean is trying to tell you we won.” Maya called out, a smile growing on her face causing Cory to whip around, his eyes wide and Riley shot up from her place on the ground.

“We just won 780 bucks.” Shawn breathed out in shock.

“Let it ride.” Cory called out as Riley quickly jumped up from her spot.

“I love gambling.” Riley called out, jumping up and down with all of them.

**

The next day in the afternoon, Maya made her way up and towards Riley’s home, seeing Riley standing outside the front of the house, laying on the grass with Emily and Juliette, looking up, Riley grinned, waving at her best friend. “Hey, Riles,” Maya smiled, sitting down with them.

“Peaches, I didn’t know you’d be over today,” Riley wondered out loud.

“Eh, I was home alone and I got no curfew tonight.” Maya shrugged her shoulders, crossing her legs.

“That’s so cool, I wish my parent didn’t give me a curfew.” Riley muttered, resting her chin on her palm.

“What’s your curfew, Riley?” Emily asked.

“7:30.” Riley answered.

“I heard mum and dad talking and they said they’re thinking of giving you a later curfew when you go into high school.” Juliette informed Riley and Maya.

“Great,” Riley nervously said.

“Awesome, I gotta tell you, I got some plans.” Maya proudly proclaimed as the two saw Cory running out of his house, leaving the door open, Riley and Maya glanced over at the Matthews home hearing music boom from inside of the house.

“Jules come on, it’s Riley, her bedtime is 7:30.” Emily pointed out, the two small girls giggling to each other.

“Come on, are you guys up for a little field trip to see Morgan?” Riley asked, placing her hands on her legs and the two girls agreed, holding onto Riley’s hands as they toddled up and into the Matthews home and Maya closed the door behind her.

“Hey, Shrimp, what are you doing?” Maya asked, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

“My names Morgan, not shrimp, you’re a shrimp.” Morgan bit back at Maya whose eyes went wide and Riley laughed, looking over to Maya.

“You’re a shrimp.” Riley grinned.

“I know and I hate it.” Maya said through clenched teeth.

“Where did Cory go?” Riley asked, kneeling down in front of Morgan.

“I don’t know,” Morgan shrugged her shoulders.

“Hey, Morgan, can we go to your cubbie?” Juliette excitedly asked.

“Yes, yes, let’s go to the cubbie, it’s so fun up there. I remember when I broke my arm on that, it was kind of awesome.” Emily grinned, looking over at Riley and Maya, Maya fought back her laughter while Riley glanced towards Emily, shocked.

“Well, if we go up there, let’s try and not break any bones.” Riley suggested, nervously laughing.

“Alright, we can go, but you just got rid of the fun part.” Morgan commented, grabbing onto Juliette and Emily, the three girls running off and into the treehouse. They spent quite a while in the treehouse, Morgan and Emily began doing Maya’s hair as Riley made imaginary food and drinks with Juliette.

“Morgan,” Cory shouted, running to the treehouse, he paused, looking up to see Riley poking her head out of the entrance.

“Hi Cory,” Riley greeted him as he climbed up, pulling Riley into a hug.

“I’ve never been happier to see you,” Cory breathed out, panting as his eyes drifted over to Maya and he burst out laughing.

“We’ll leave you two alone,” Riley said, ushering Emily and Juliette out of the treehouse and they made their way back into the house and to their home, Maya trudged through the house, glaring up at Shawn.

“If you say anything about the hair I’ll kill you.” Maya threatened him.

“I think you look nice,” Shawn’s cheeked flushed bright red causing Maya to look at him confused before the two then began to make their way home together.

**

Walking into Mr Feeny’s class on Monday, Riley and Maya sat down in their desks watching as Farkle and Angus stormed into class, the two both looking annoyed. Abruptly Farkle stormed towards his seat, aggressively sitting down in his seat when Riley turned to him. “Hey, Farkle, how’s it going?” Riley asked him.

“Oh you know, you try to run a business and then you realise your business partner is so foolish that he goes and makes a business transaction without me and then our business was almost run into the ground.” Farkle exclaimed, huffing. “Needless to say, I’m never doing that again. I’ve learnt my lesson.”

“Isn’t that what you were supposed to do anyway?” Riley asked, confused.

“No, it was supposed to be me with Angus’s name attached to the assignment. It all would have worked out so well if he just went along with it.” Farkle groaned. “Farkle is never working with anyone again.”

“Well, Farkle, while I would never condone negative feelings upon anyone, this is what happens when you build your company on bad karma.” Topanga shared, giving him an apologetic smile.

“I love her,” Stuart dreamily breathed out.

“How is this happening?” Riley asked.

“You’re telling me.” Farkle muttered with a bitter expression.

“Good luck, Farkle, you’ll need it.” Maya said, laughing to herself when Mr Feeny walked into the classroom, getting started on the final notes he’d taken into account with their business projects.

“Well, based on performance figures to date, it seems as though the Matthews-Hunter consortium if our most profitable corporation.” Mr Feeny informed the class.

“What?” Farkle squealed.

“The system is rigged, a girl like me never had a chance.” Maya called out, slamming her palm on the table.

“Yeah, recount, I demand a recount, this is fixed.” Riley shouted, backing Maya up.

“Thank you for your um commentary Miss Hart, Miss Matthews, your business plan was very well thought out.” Mr Feeny sighed, looking over to Cory and Shawn who were grinning. “So, Gentlemen, do you have any business tips for our other young entrepreneurs?” Mr Feeny asked when Shawn raised his hand.

“Yeah, some people bet on a jockey. I say ‘give me a horse that can run in the mud’.” Shawn wisely shared with the class.

“Real inspirational,” Maya dryly commented, smirking.

“Oh, bravo.” Mr Feeny clapped his hands together sarcastically. “Anything to add, Mr Matthews?” Mr Feeny asked him.

“Yes, the greater the risk, the greater the potential profit. Just like you taught us, Mr Feeny.” Cory added, frowning.

“Yes, but sometimes the glitter of the profit makes one lose sight of the risk.” Mr Feeny offered.

“And you should never gamble anything that you can’t afford to lose.” Cory offered, pursing his lips, thinking back to his sister. He knew that if Riley wasn’t there, something terrible could have happened to his little sister. He wasn’t prepared to let that happen again.

“I didn’t teach you that.” Mr Feeny stated.

“No, you didn’t. I kind of managed to trip over that one myself.” Cory admitted, nodding his head. The bell then rang and everyone began walking out of class, Cory came up behind them, handing a pong ball gun to both, Maya, Riley and Farkle. “We’re gonna get him after class,” Cory grinned.

“Yes,” Maya grinned, grabbing it and looking at Cory dangerously. “You’re dead.” She shared, stepping closer to Cory.

“Oh no,” Cory whimpered. They ran into the classroom shooting the balls at Stuart and Mr Feeny, the latter of whom tried to fight back at them. On their way out they began to make their way out of the school and Shawn looked over to Maya.

“Do you want to grab a burger?” Shawn asked her and Maya smiled at him.

“Yeah, I do,” Maya said, turning to look at Riley. “You wanna grab a burger?” Maya asked her.

“Yes,” Riley grinned, the two walking off together. Farkle smiled, watching them go before he looked up at Shawn, shaking his head.

“Rookie.” He shook his head and walked away.

Chapter Text

Standing outside of their classroom before it started Maya, Farkle and Riley huddled together, Maya leaned against the locker as Farkle held a notebook full of his observations in his hand, trying to figure out the best way to explain his findings so far. “I have made a few new discoveries about that night; from what I can tell I still have to figure out a predictive pattern of anything abnormal but there’s a chance this was a one-off occurrence or something. What I have been able to think of, it’s more a theory at this point is amnesia, I think the obscurity of the event mixed with the transtemporal travel had an adverse effect on our mind, causing a deficit in our memory.” Farkle shared, shrugging his shoulders.

“English Farkle,” Maya bluntly demanded.

“Come on, Maya, don’t be mean.” Riley rolled her eyes, turning to look at Farkle.

“Time travel made our memories of the night we travelled back in time hazy which is why we don’t remember much.” Farkle explained to Maya.

“But we obviously wouldn’t know since we don’t really remember.” Riley commented.

“Yes, exactly Riley. Now, I’m doing to do some more research on this stuff, but we’re limited by our resources in the 90s and medical knowledge wasn’t exactly an interest of mine when we were in our original time. I was planning Farkle corporation, dictator of the world, not fixing someones boo boo. So I will need some help gathering data.” Farkle shared with a sigh.

“Well, I’d love to help, Farkle.” Riley offered her help.

“Thanks, I mean it’s not like I was going to take no for an answer since we’re all stuck here.” Farkle stated.

“I’m out.” Maya went to walk away from them but Riley quickly grabbed Maya, pulling her back to them.

“Maya, you have to help.” Riley demanded.

“Why?” Maya fined.

“Because this is a responsibility we all need to share.” Farkle pointed out. “It may take a while so we’ll need to lay lower than we have so we don’t change too much, or at least, not more than we already have.” Farkle shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s okay Farkle, I mean, we knew going in that there was no quick solution to this.” Riley offered, laughing in an attempt to hide her sadness.

“Don’t worry, Riles, if there is anyone we can count on, it’s Farkle,” Maya said, linking her arms with the two and walking them into class, a small smirk spread to her lips as she saw Topanga pick up an origami flower on her desk. Riley felt her heart melt when she saw the bashful look on both Topanga and Stuart’s faces. Stuart was sweet, it made her wish she could be back to her real life with Lucas.

“What’s that?” Riley asked, her smile falling.

“I believe it’s a camellia origami flower.” Farkle shared, looking over to them.

“Do you don’t like medical stuff but you like flowers?” Maya asked with a small, amused smile.

“Hey, some flowers are poisons, I can’t accidentally poison myself because of my natural curiosity.” Farkle proclaimed, shrugging his shoulders.

“I don’t like this, we need to stop this, I mean what if the only reason they’re not together is because we messed up the timeline and this didn’t really happen?” Riley asked, worried.

“It’s normal, Riley, I mean it’s nerdling mating season.” Maya called out, letting out a chuckle. “Speaking of which, what’s taking you so long?” Maya asked Farkle with a raised eyebrow. Usually, he was the first to the party.

“I’m insulted that you think I’m a nerd, you know, for that I’m revoking your Farkle privileges for a day.” Farkle huffed, turning away from her.

“I’m devastated.” Maya rolled her eyes.

“It’s okay, Maya, I know he won’t be mad for too long.” Riley assured her.

“So it’s not just me apparently,” Cory said, glancing back over to Shawn, the two nodding to each other as they looked between Topanga and Stuart.

“No,” Riley screamed, shaking her head causing Cory and Shawn to look over at her. “No way that’s happening,” she pointed to the two.

“No way what’s happening?” Cory asked, confused.

“You’re really gonna ask that?” Shawn asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, yes I am.” Cory nodded before looking back and over to Riley. “What’s going on Riley?”

“So that’s it? You’re not gonna stand up and defend your woman?” Riley asked, her eyes wide and pleading.

“I don’t have a woman, and if I did, it wouldn’t be Topanga, she’s weird.” Cory exclaimed grimacing slightly.

“Real smooth,” Maya nodded, wincing at the way he said it.

“No, you see, they would make a great movie, me and her, not so much.” Cory shook his head. “’It’s Minkus in Love,” Cory said, deepening his voice. “Watch what happens when 48 pounds of near-sighted Geek meets 10 pounds of hair from a parallel universe.”

“Ha!” Cory and Shawn called out, looking at each other.

“I would never see that movie.” Maya commented.

“No, instead we’d see Corpanga.” Riley exclaimed, clapping her head together. “From friends to lovers, Fuzzy and Flower Child unite.” Riley called out, waving her hands in the air.

“Yeah, I’m gonna be honest, I wouldn’t see that movie either.” Maya dryly muttered.

“Maya,” Riley cried.

“Riley, I’m no expert with social interactions but maybe you should try and be subtle about it.” Farkle nervously offered, whispering into Riley’s ear.

“I think people who judge other people by their outward appearances are shallow and ignorant and will have much to answer for in their next life.” Topanga said to Cory and Shawn in a threatening tone.

“Oh no, don’t say that, I’m sure he didn’t mean it. You didn’t mean it, right?” Riley demanded, looking over at Cory.

“I’d listen to her guys, we’re not sure what exactly she’s capable of.” Farkle advised them causing the two boys to snicker, for some reason that Farkle couldn’t pinpoint, it made him feel happy.

“I think I’m safe, I mean that might be how they do it on Remulak but here on earth, you’re a nerd, you pay.” Cory called out.

“You just keep digging yourself that hole, don’t you?” Maya asked, amused.

“Yeah, well I don’t see you coming up with anything better to say.” Cory bit back.

“Maybe because I don’t care,” Maya suggested.

“No, it’s because peaches doesn’t judge people based on their appearance. She’s not shallow or ignorant.” Riley cheerfully stated.

“Yeah, that’s it.” Maya slowly nodded.

“I think it’s normal, outward appearance is what attracts us to everyone at first, no one looks at someone from across the room and thinks ‘damn that personality’. You know, apart from me, but we can’t all be as perfect as Farkle.” Farkle offered, slowly everyone turned and looked at him. “Besides crushes are generally shallow, if you find someone you love like I love Riley and Maya or how Minkus loves Topanga, then I think it’s very sweet and will create something long lasting. It’s easy to think someone’s beautiful but seeing beyond that makes what you have special.”

“Since when did you get so wise about this?” Riley asked, smiling as a red tint slowly formed on her cheeks.

“I read my mum’s Cosmopolitan magazine.” Farkle proudly announced.

“Wow, not even I read Cosmo, that’s serious woman stuff.” Riley sheepishly said, her cheeks burning.

“Ew, that’s a girl’s magazine.” Shawn scrunched up his face.

“It is, but the secret to understanding women lies in a magazine, it hasn’t yet told me how to face a woman such as Maya, but I’m looking forward to uncovering that mystery myself.” Farkle flirtatiously said, batting his eyes in Maya’s direction.

“Never gonna happen,” Maya deadpanned.

“Yes, you see, that’s because she’s secretly a robot and robots don’t feel things like that.” Cory said, chuckling.

“You probably shouldn’t have said that,” Riley said, shaking her head.

“Yeah, I’m a robot, the next thing I’m gonna do is strangle you with my robot arms. Be careful Fuzzy.” Maya growled.

“You know, I’ve never actually seen you make good on your threats.” Shawn commented, Maya’s head snapped in his direction, her eyes dangerously narrowed at him.

“She’s gonna blow.” Farkle shouted, diving under his desk when the bell rang and Mr Feeny marched into class.

“Just wait,” Maya threatened him.

“Bring it on, Hart.” Shawn smirked, facing away from her.

“Good morning, class. I trust you all had a good weekend.” Mr Feeny greeted them, making his way to his desk.

“I sure did. My mum baked brownies and my dad rented two monster movie videos.” Cory announced, sharing what he did with the class.

“Those movies were really scary.” Riley shared. “I couldn’t get to sleep at all.”

“Oh right, you know I almost forgot you were there.” Cory grumbled, slumping into his seat.

“I sold blood.” Shawn proudly shared and Maya looked to him, smiling.

“That’s awesome,” she laughed. “How much?” slowly a smile spread to Shawn’s lips as everyone in the class looked to them, concerned.

“This morning we have a guest lecturer. The school board feels that since you’re all starting seventh grade next year it would behove you to have an advanced taste of the experience.” Mr Feeny shared with the class when Maya held up her hand.

“Yay,” Farkle jumped up and down in his seat.

“Yes, Miss Hart,” Mr Feeny said.

“It would behove me to not attend High School, is that an option?” Maya asked, leaning forward in her desk.

“Not until you turn 16, Miss Hart,” Mr Feeny sighed as a knock came at the door.

“You know what behove means?” Riley asked.

“Not a clue,” Maya shook her head, flashing a toothy grin when Eric walked into the classroom, holding a sticky note in his hand, looking confused.

“Eric?” Cory asked, leaning to the side and turning around to see his brother.

“Cory?” Eric asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Mr Matthews?” Mr Feeny asked.

“Mr Feeny?”

“Great, we all know each other,” Riley exclaimed, slapping her hands on the desk.

“Let’s get this over with,” Maya called out with a fake smile, slumping into her seat.

“I thought the school said they were sending over good students.” Mr Feeny commented, glancing over at Eric again.

“Nah. You see, the problem with smart kids is they all have goals to pursue. I’m just looking to get out of algebra.” Eric shared with a shrug before turning his attention to the class.

“Lucky me,” Mr Feeny dryly said before sitting down. “Proceed.”

“Hi, kids, I’m Eric, I’m in the 10^th grade at Adams High, the school you’ll all be going to next year.” Eric informed the class, hands on his hips. Maya groaned, slumping in her seat.

“At least all of us who pass,” Stuart sassed.

“Hey, Minkus, pass this,” Shawn reached under his shirt, making a farting noise with his hand and armpit, Maya scrunched up her face, looking away from him.

“Please, class, give Mr Matthews your attention,” Mr Feeny demanded.

“Matthews?” Topanga asked, smiling up at Eric, her eyes lit up. Looking between the two, Riley’s face fell, already dreading what was to come by the look in her mum’s eyes.

“Oh, yeah, I’m Cory’s older brother. I got the good hair.” Eric smiled, running his hands through his hair.

“No surprise there,” Maya said under her breath.

“I know, any hair is better than his.” Riley laughed with Maya.

“You know I’m sitting right here; I can hear you.” Cory called out, holding his hand to his ear.

“I know,” Riley shrugged her shoulders. She could not have been more glad that she didn’t end up with his brillo hair.

“Anyway, next year you guy will be seventh graders or as we upper class men will be calling you, phlegm balls.” Eric called out, grinning as he looked around the room. “Now there’s gonna be a few things you’re gonna need to know for survival on the mean streets of High School.”

“Will the exam process be more rigorous?” Stuart asked.

“Do you seriously need to ask that Minkus? Of course it will be.” Farkle called out as if it was common knowledge.

“What he said,” Eric nodded, pointing to Farkle. “So, moving on, parties are gonna be a lot better too because you can stay out later.” Eric informed the class.

“Alright,” Shawn grinned, interested.

“And of course, cool clothes are a must.” Eric gestured to himself, spinning around for everyone.

“For that young detention sitter on the go.” Mr Feeny sassed.

“Noted,” Maya grinned, leaning forward.

“Please, your detention game is pathetic.” Shawn commented, his smile growing as Maya glanced to the side, her eyes narrowed at him.

“I’m beating you at the moment,” Maya stated.

“What? No you’re not.” Shawn scoffed.

“Actually I am.” Maya said.

“She is,” Riley backed her up.

“That can’t be right,” Shawn muttered as he began counting the detentions he’d had in his head.

“You’re gonna want to know where the parking lot is, too, cause that’s where the most popular kids hang. And you’re gonna want to hang with them, unless, of course, you want to look like a complete nerd.” Eric called out, laughing and sitting down on the desk before he looked over at Farkle and Stuart. “No offence, guys.”

“Why would it be offensive?” Farkle asked before his face fell and it dawned on him what Eric meant. “Oh,”

“I have a question,” Cory called out.

“Who cares?” Eric asked.

“This isn’t like home, Eric, in here, when I raise my hand, you have to answer.” Cory smugly stated.

“I do?” Eric asked, turning to look at Mr Feeny who nodded, unimpressed.

“I do, too.” Mr Feeny sighed.

“Alright, now, next year, when you’re 16, and driving to school, would you be willing to give a ride to a certain few select phlegm balls?” Cory asked, hopeful, gesturing between him and Shawn.

“Do I have to?” Eric groaned, turning to look at Mr Feeny.

“I wouldn’t.” Mr Feeny dryly said, shaking his head.

“Drop dead.” Eric quickly replied. This time it was Cory’s turn to groan, slumping in his seat and dramatically falling off the side of his chair and onto the ground.

“What do I owe you?” Mr Feeny asked.

“Why do we have to be phlegm balls? Can’t we be something nicer? Like glitter balls?” Riley asked, looking up at Eric.

“Riley, I don’t really wanna be a glitter ball.” Farkle shared.

“Why not? They’re so sparkly Farkly.” Riley asked, grinning and waving her hands around as she turned towards him.

“Because I don’t like glitter anymore.” Farkle shared, glancing behind his shoulder, eyeing Maya and Shawn who proudly beamed with happiness.

“You’re welcome, dude.” Shawn said.

“You know, you used to be nicer than this, you used to like glitter.” Riley exclaimed, her eyes getting wider.

“You know what, Riley, you can be a glitter ball, you can be whatever you want.” Eric relented, slapping his hands together.

“Very wise, Mr Matthews.” Mr Feeny sighed, knowing not to get into this type of conversation with Riley of all people. “Are there any other questions?” Mr Feeny asked, his eyes scanning the room, not missing the way Farkle’s cast down eyes and pursed lips darkened his usually bright presence.

“I have one.” Riley’s hand shot up, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

“Shoot,” Eric slapped his hands together, looking at her eagerly wanting this to get over and done with so he could leave.

“Do they have a cheerleading team?” Riley asked, smiling to herself while dread occupied the minds of both Farkle and Maya.

“Oh no,” Maya huffed, slumping in her seat.

“Uh, yeah they do,” Eric slowly answered, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Yay,” she giddily grinned.

“I didn’t know you wanted to be a cheerleader, Riley,” Topanga said, turning around to look at the bubbly brunette.

“At my old school, every year I would try out for the cheerleading team, I was really upset when I realised this school didn’t have one, but I know next year, it’s gonna be my year.” Riley informed everyone, brimming with excitement as a smile almost permanently spread to her lips.

“I can converse with the goddesses and see what they know on the matter if you’d like.” Topanga offered.

“Here we go.” Cory muttered under his breath. “I don’t know how you believe this stuff, Riley.” He shook his head, scrunching up his face as he watched Topanga connecting to her dead people.

“I’d love that Topanga.” Riley grinned. Shawn furrowed his eyebrows, slowly turning to look at Maya who sighed and shrugged.

“Don’t ask,” Maya muttered, leaning forward in her seat.

“Uh, Riley, this might be brand new information to you, but you can barely stand up,” Cory dryly commented, his eyes glued to Riley who slowly turned to look at him, her face darkening.

“Now that’s just mean, Cory, you know, just because you don’t believe me I hope you….I hope you have a very bad day.” Riley clasped her hands, smiling and facing the front.

“You just gonna let her do this?” Cory asked, gesturing to Riley.

“There’s no stopping her, trust me, I’ve tried.” Maya answered.

“What good are you then?” Cory shrieked.

“Me? I’m no good, that’s why I’m here,” Maya proudly proclaimed.

 “I will be a cheerleader if it’s the last thing I do.” Riley screamed, slamming her hands on the table as the school bell rang.

“I believe in you, Riley,” Farkle shared as everyone began to gather their things.

“Bold choice, Farkle,” Shawn chuckled, placing his pencil behind his ear.

“Every year,” Maya muttered under her breath, walking out beside him.

“Thank you, Farkle, will you watch my tryouts?” Riley asked.

“Oh, no, no way.” Farkle chuckled, shaking his head.

“That bad, huh?” Shawn asked.

“You have no idea,” Maya snickered.

“Thank you for your wisdom, Mr Matthews,” Mr Feeny muttered, shaking his head as he glanced out at his class full of children who had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Next year they would join the ranks of high school students and while they were buzzing with excitement for all the wonders High School would hold, none of them really thinking about what would happen. Part of him knew there were a few in this class who would be guided down the wrong path, despite their young and impressionable faces, he truly worried for Shawn and Maya most of all.

Farkle clung to his books as he began to make his way to earth science with Riley following closely beside him. “Why so glum?” Riley asked with a playful gleam in her eyes, trying to ignore Maya and Shawn who disappeared down the hall with Cory who had been giving them the stink eye for a while now. So much for trying to lay low. A sigh escaped Farkle’s lips as he thought about high school, it would be easy for people like Shawn and Maya, they were cool, cooler than him at least. He already knew he wouldn’t be so lucky. This place, he felt safe here, no one really bullied him, not like he used to get back in their original time, and not like they would when he would go into High School.

“It’s nothing Riley, I promise.” Farkle forced a smile, turning to look at Riley shyly, he’d never felt like this before. He never wanted to feel like this.

“Come on, Farkle, we’ve known each other forever, I know when something’s wrong.” Riley stated, placing her hand on his arm, stopping him from escaping her.

“If we’re still here by next year, then we’ll be going into High School. It just feels like we’re planning our whole future here.” Farkle admitted, leaning against the row of lockers as Riley leaned against them beside him.

“It’s not like we can do anything else here right now.” Riley shared with a sad smile.

“I know it’s scary, but we’re just waiting until we can get home, and I know nothing is going to change in High School whether it’s in the 90s or our normal time. It’ll be you, me and Maya like it’s always been.” Riley offered with a small smile, turning and wrapping her arms around the shorter Farkle. No matter the time, Riley had to have faith that nothing would change between her and her friends. They would always stay the same. Even though, lingering in the back of her mind, she hoped they’d be home by then, she knew the likeliness of it actually happening was low.

“I don’t know, Riley, is what Eric said is true, people will just write me off as a nerd, I know I’m more than that but I also know I’ll be the weird kid.” Farkle sighed.

“You are weird, Farkle, but that’s a good thing. We can be weird together.” Riley smiled, locking eyes with him.

“Thank you, Riley,” Farkle sighed, the two turning and making their way to their next class together, just like it should be. They both worried more than they should about things that were out of their control, but at the end of the day, they knew it was them against the world.

**

Huddled together outside of the school, Cory, Riley and Farkle sat down on the steps leading to the school, waiting for their friends to finally be let out of after school detention. The burning sun beating down on them as the emptiness of the school made them all wish they had opted for detention over sitting outside. It had almost become a ritual of theirs as the end of the competition loomed over Shawn and Maya. The two were neck and neck for first place with Maya having two more detentions than Shawn. But then again, one week Maya was winning and the next it was Shawn so it was anyone’s bet who would actually win the grand prize of $30.

“How, tell me how one get so many detentions, please, because I just don’t get it. Even if I tried I couldn’t get that many detentions.” Cory exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

“I know,” Riley exclaimed, turning to look at Cory. “I can’t believe they got another detention, me and Maya never get to spend any time together anymore.” Riley groaned, leaning forward, her elbows digging into her knees.

“Tell me about it,” Cory huffed.

“I think it’s very bold of Maya to express herself like that, I mean, I could never do it. Quite frankly, the kids in detention scare me.” Farkle shared, pursing his lips as he shivered thinking about them.

“I know right,” Riley threw her hands up in the air, her eyes growing wide. “They’re so mean,” she whimpered. “My little Maya doesn’t belong there. She won’t make it in detention much longer.”

“You sure about that? Have you even met Maya?” Cory asked, raising an eyebrow.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Riley lowly asked.

“Alls I’m sayin is that your friend is stealing my friend. That’s the kind of person that belongs in detention.” Cory squealed before realising what he said and nervously laughed as Riley and Farkle glanced in his direction.

“Please, Maya wouldn’t do that, she has me,” Riley nervously laughed.

“I mean, if you think about it, studies have shown that this behaviour will increase in high school due to the excess production of hormones that will effect one’s ability to make good choices. I’m not really sure how that works in practice, but it doesn’t sound pleasant in theory.” Farkle stated, glancing between them, seeing dread on both Cory and Riley’s face.

“No, no way, not happening,” Riley shook her head.

“Shawn wouldn’t do that, he’s not like that.” Cory scoffed.

“Neither is Maya.” Riley called out as Cory’s eyes were glued to the door as Maya and Shawn walked out, making their way down the stairs to meet them halfway. The trio shot up from the stairs, quickly meeting the trouble making duo half-way.

“Sup losers,” Maya grinned, looking between them.

“Took you guys long enough, what the heck was the hold up?” Cory asked, throwing his hands up.

“You see, I tried to tell Ms Beecher that we were in a rush, she just really didn’t understand.” Maya sassed, a slight smirk spreading to her lips as she glanced up at Shawn who huffed in amusement.

“Can’t imagine why,” Shawn sarcastically remarked.

“I know right?” Maya mock gasped, placing her hand on her chest.

“Really you can’t? I woulda thought your little robot mind had more going on.” Cory pointedly snarked, staring at Maya who snapped her head in his direction, her eyes narrowed.

“You must really have a death wish, Fuzzy,” Maya snarled, stepping forward as a smile played on her lips.

“I love when you get like this,” Farkle let out a dreamy sigh.

“Back up,” Maya threateningly snarled.

“No,” Farkle smiled as Maya rolled her eyes and took a sip of her can of coke.

“How’d you get those?” Cory squeaked, pointing to the coke cans that Shawn and Maya were holding, a proud smile spread to Maya’s lips as she looked between everyone.

“Oh, you know, I have my ways,” Maya coolly shrugged her shoulders, taking a step forward, holding her head high and proud.

“You’re so cool,” Riley smiled at her friend.

“It was so cool, Cor, Maya totally kicked a soft drink machine, not that I couldn’t have done that as well,” Shawn cleared his throat causing Maya to roll her eyes.

“Because you couldn’t,” Maya stated.

“I totally would have, but nothing is better than a free beverage,” Shawn grinned, looking towards Maya again, his cheeks burning slightly.

“What are you looking at?” Maya asked, scrunching her face up.

“Oh, just the face of someone totally in love with me.” Shawn smirked. “First it’s a free drink, next, a free dinner.”

“You must be deluded if you think I’d ever buy you dinner.” Maya smirked up at him.

“$30 you’ll buy me dinner one day.” Shawn bet, challenging the feisty blonde.

“You’re on,” Maya smirked, the two shaking each other’s hand.

“Okay we get it, you’re both bad,” Cory exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air.

“Maya’s not bad, right peaches?” Riley asked, her eyes glistening as Maya forced a smile, stepping closer to Riley.

“Of course not, Riles.” Maya wrapped her arms around Riley, slowly pushing her friend down the pathway as they all made it to the Matthews residence.

“Please tell me you don’t believe that.” Cory begged, throwing his hands in the air.

“I’m sorry to say that I think she does.” Farkle answered, his smile faltering.

“Why’d you guys wait?” Maya asked them.

“We were gonna head over to Cory’s to do our math homework,” Farkle answered, the look of dread donned on Shawn and Maya’s faces.

“Yeah, not happening, Fuzzy,” Maya quickly called out, shaking her head.

“I’m with Maya on this one.” Shawn chimed in.

“When aren’t you?” Cory asked, shaking his head in disapproval.

“Come on, Peaches, I know you haven’t done the homework, we could help.” Riley pointed out, playfully nudging her friend.

“Yeah, you see, that kinda goes against what my original plan was,” Maya answered, taking a sip of her drink.

“And what was that?” Riley asked Maya.

“Oh, you know, doing it by myself and living with the satisfaction that I did it all on my own,” Maya sarcastically answered.

“I don’t think even Riley could believe that.” Cory scoffed.

“Why wouldn’t I believe her? Look at this face, it is the fact of trust and honesty.” Riley asked Cory, watching as he sighed, slapping his forehead. “I’m so proud of you, peaches,” she breathed out with a goofy grin.

“Don’t worry, babe, she’s just trying to beat my record. Just give up, Hart, there’s no way you’ll win.” Shawn chimed in, smugly looking at Maya.

“Says the one who is losing right now,” Maya smirked up at him.

“She’s right,” Riley chimed in, nodding furiously.

“Not for long,” Shawn grumbled.

“Don’t worry, string-bean, I’ll try to keep the bragging to a minimum.” Maya slyly commented, her eyes glimmering with amusement.

“You know, for some weird reason, I don’t believe you.” Shawn bit back.

“You know me so well.” Maya mock gasped.

“But you’ll get in trouble,” Riley squeaked out.

“Boys and girls, she’s a genius.” Maya exclaimed, holding out her arms.

“Maya,” Riley warned her friend.

“Fine, I’ll come willingly, but I expect to be fed,” Maya demanded, locking eyes with Cory.

“You’re a big girl, feed yourself,” Cory exclaimed.

“I think that defeats the purpose of having someone over,” Farkle shyly commented.

“Except I didn’t, I invited Riley and Shawn, what did I get? You two,” Cory seethed, looking between them.

“What’s wrong with us?” Maya threateningly asked.

“Nothing, you’re great, you’re perfect, your teeth look nice today,” Cory nervously answered.

“You’re lucky I don’t feel like destroying you right now.” Maya turned away from him.

Chapter Text

Marching into the Matthews kitchen, Riley boiled with excitement, ready to witness a remarkable day in her life where Maya would actually complete her homework. When this day was over she would mark it in the calendars and celebrate every year. It was a revolutionary afternoon indeed. Lately, it seemed like walking into the Matthews home had become a regular occurrence for her, she’d spent so much time it had begun to feel like home, even when she looked around, it would always remind her of visiting her grandparents on the holidays, often with Maya. Nothing changed. Except for the company.

Stopping by the table, Maya dumped her books on the table, quickly escaping, making a b-line for the bathroom, hoping to miss some of the evening. If she was being honest, this was far from how she’d imagined her evening going. Riley sighed, sitting down, between Farkle and Cory while Shawn dove for the seat between Maya and Cory.

“Okay guys, so I think the quickest way we can get things done is to see where everyone is up to and work through the ones we know how to do first.” Farkle began, his voice racing and his eyes glued to the book as he flipped through the chapters.

“Sounds great, Farkle,” Riley said before looking up and between Cory and Shawn. “Where are you two up to?” she asked them, donning a nervous smile as Cory and Shawn glanced in each other’s directions before looking back to Riley with uneasy smiles.

“Have I mentioned you’re smelling amazing today, Riley?” Cory asked, letting out a bout of forced laughter.

“What?” Riley asked, her eyes wide.

“You smelt her?” Farkle screamed at the same time as Riley. “You smelt my woman, prepare to die,” he let out a war scream, jumping up from his seat. Staying seated beside Farkle, Riley scrunched up her face at the thought of her dad smelling her. Ewww.

“Aw, you and Farkle together?” Shawn asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Yes,” Farkle quickly said.

“No,” Riley said at the same time as Farkle. “This cannot be happening,” Riley groaned, her head falling onto the table.

“Come on, Riley, you know it’s you and me forever.” Farkle proudly proclaimed, smiling up at her.

“Okay, moving on,” Riley nervously laughed. “Where are you two up to?” Riley asked them.

“Damn, I thought we’d distracted her.” Cory hissed.

“Next time you gotta sell that you’re in squish with Riley.” Shawn muttered.

“Ew,” Cory scrunched up his face, looking at Riley who mimicked his reaction.

“So?” Riley asked.

“One?” Cory answered, unsurely.

“What?” Riley’s voice rose, her face falling.

“A challenge, I like it,” Farkle grinned, looking between them.

“Why did you invite him Cory?” Shawn asked with a huff, glancing at Cory, his body flooding with dread.

“Again, I didn’t invite him,” Cory exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air as a knock came at the back door and all eyes turned, landing on Topanga passing the threshold and into the kitchen. Maya walked into the room, her eyes landing on Topanga with an amused look on her face.

“I have some freshly baked brownies here I thought you might enjoy.” Topanga began, Cory reached out, grabbing the brownies and attempting to snatch them from her.

“Aw look at your little flower child girlfriend delivering brownies for you.” Maya teasingly called out, her smile growing into a grin as she saw Cory’s cheeks burn bright red as his head snapped in Maya’s direction.

“Thanks for dropping them off.” Cory hurriedly said, slowly turning to look back at Topanga who clung to the brownies despite her best efforts. “Oh look at the time, I think you’re rocket to remulak is about to head off soon, don’t wanna miss it.” He tried to push her towards the door again.

“I thought perhaps I could stay here and enjoy them with you.” Topanga said, deflecting Cory’s obvious distaste for her being here, his narrowed eyes followed her into the kitchen.

“I vote that you can stay,” Maya quickly said.

“I second that vote, don’t you want her to stay, Cory? I mean she’s awesome, don’t you think, Cory?” Riley asked, her eyes boring into Cory, causing him to scrunch his face up.

“No,” he exclaimed.

“I love free food.” Maya giddily exclaimed reaching over and grabbing a brownie from the tray, taking a bite. For Riley this experience was surreal, eating homemade brownies with younger versions of her parents in a house she used to visit every holiday with Maya and her family brought her back. It felt right, but she knew there was so much missing, so much that she missed having with her. It didn’t feel right without Auggie and Josh, but still, it was as close to normal she would get in a long time if their current pace was right.

“Milks in the fridge, babe.” Shawn informed Topanga, reaching for a brownie, Maya’s eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced down at Shawn. “Well, well, well, look who’s jealous.” He grinned.

“No,” Maya scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I’m just trying to stop myself from vomiting.” Maya locked eyes with Shawn, dry heaving. Glancing over her shoulder, her eyes were removed from the train wreck that was Shawn and Maya, instead they were drawn to Cory and Topanga getting milk and glasses.

“Aw, look at you two, you guys look like you’re already married and have kids.” Riley giddily grinned as Cory glared at her. Maybe it wouldn’t be completely bad. She’s always felt inferior when it came to her parents but seeing them grow up and figure out what she was trying to as well, she loved growing with her parents. Right now, she needed to look at it as a chance to get to know who her parents were without them really being her parents.

“While our auras are compatible, I don’t think I could be with someone so shallow.” Topanga shared, placing the milk down on the table.

“He’s not shallow, Cory is a very stand-up guy, why don’t you give him a chance?” Riley excitedly asked, grabbing a brownie and taking a bite.

“I’m not, I’m really not.” Cory furiously shook his head.

“Yes you are, don’t sell yourself so short Cory,” Riley tried.

“I mean, that’s probably a pretty difficult thing for him to do.” Maya said in between fits of laughter.

“Come on, Maya, have another brownie, they’re really good.” Riley exclaimed, grabbing one and taking a bite.

“I concur with that, Riley, these are one of the best brownies I’ve ever had.” Farkle exclaimed with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Hey, not bad,” Shawn nodded, taking a bite.

“Not bad?” Riley asked, her face falling slightly. “Not bad?” She raised her voice. “These are the single most best brownies in the world, they could cure diseases and stop wars, these are the brownies of miracles and don’t you dare think of them as anything less than that, these are the brownies that will keep your future children from starving,” she exclaimed in an attempt to defend her mum’s brownies. Shawn furrowed his eyebrows, watching Riley.

“My sister Nebby made them.” Topanga informed everyone.

“That’s a very interesting name.” Farkle said, slightly confused.

“Thank you, Farkle is also a very interesting name, where does it originate from?” Topanga asked Farkle with a small smile.

“Nebby?” Cory asked, pausing. “Don’t you mean Debbie?”

“No, Nebby. It’s short for Nebula, Nebula stop the war Lawrence.” Topanga replied, pouring everyone a glass of milk.

“So your parents thought, like, what, Linda was already taken?” Cory asked, scrunching up his face, confused.

“I will admit, that’s a very unusual name, but in my experience the ones with the normal names are very blah, expect of course for Riley and Maya.” Farkle laughed lightly, turning to look between them, winking.

“Don’t look at me,” Maya growled.

“You love me.” Farkle proudly proclaimed.

“Stop it,” Maya demanded.

“Come on, Maya, I think he’s very sweet.” Riley giggled causing Maya to side eye her, deeply confused.

“Coming from someone whose parents named him Farkle?” Cory asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I happen to think my name is very standard, obviously not by societal norms, but when I rule the world, all names accepted as a societal norm will be outlawed so no two people can have the same name.” Farkle proclaimed.

“Right, remind me to invent space travel before that happens.” Cory sassed.

“I’m working on that one too,” Farkle chimed in causing Riley to let out a squeak.

“Yeah, you got something to say, Fuzzy?” Maya asked, drawing the attention away from Riley as her eyes scoldingly snapped to Farkle.

“Uh, no, awesome name, spectacular names all around.” Cory stammered, coughing.

“Real manly.” Shawn chuckled.

“Please, you’re closer to little girls than men.” Maya bluntly stated.

“Burn!” Riley screamed at the top of her lungs, the table minus Cory and Shawn burst out laughing when Morgan ran downstairs, Riley smiled, turning to the small girl.

“Riley!” Morgan screamed, holding her arms wide open, hugging the lanky brunette.

“Hi Morgan,” Riley waved before Morgan’s eyes landed on Maya.

“What’s she doing here?” Morgan grumbled.

“I came over because I missed you,” Maya dryly commented, Morgan’s face soured as she slowly turned to look up at Topanga and her eyes lit up in awe.

“Hey, cool braid,” Morgan exclaimed.

“You like it? I can put one in your hair,” Topanga offered, looking down at Morgan.

“You can?” Morgan asked.

“Sure. Do you have some ribbons and a rubber band?” Topanga asked her.

“Upstairs in my room,” Morgan replied before turning around and grabbing Riley’s hand, squeezing it tightly. “You’re coming with me,” Morgan demanded, tugging Riley up.

“Yay, I can’t wait for you to do my hair. Maya does my hair sometimes, but she makes it look like a bird nest. One time a bird tried to make it’s home on my head. My parents weren’t happy.” Riley laughed as she followed Topanga and Morgan towards the stairs.

“Awesome day,” Maya laughed.

“You know,” Morgan turned to Maya, Shawn, Cory and Farkle. “I’d like to see more of them, and less them,” Morgan pointed between Shawn and Maya.

“Oh, now we’ll never get to exchange friendship bracelets.” Maya sarcastically drawled out.

“What?” Cory asked, noticing Shawn staring at him.

“Comes over with the brownies, tries to get in good with your sister.” Shawn nodded, trying to fight back a smile.

“So?” Cory asked.

“Rookie,” Farkle shook his head as Cory looked to him bewildered.

“I think you’re gonna have to spell it out for him, string-bean.” Maya chuckled, taking another brownie and taking a huge bite of it.

“SO, Cory and Topanga, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g,” Shawn sang as Cory looked away, his cheeks flaring.

“No way, Minkus wants her.” Cory exclaimed.

“Now, let me drop my knowledge on love, I am somewhat an expert having been in love with Maya and Riley since the first grade,” Farkle butt in, looking between the two.

“What? How could you even-“Cory was cut off by Maya’s penetrating stare.

“Be very careful with your next words,” she growled.

“Fall in love with these exceptionally lovely ladies,” Cory flashed a nervous smile.

“Nice save,” Shawn said under his breath.

“So as I was saying, what I learned from our previous school was that no matter how much you love someone, sometimes they will love someone else.” Farkle shared.

“Meaning?” Cory asked, confused.

“I think your brillo hair is cutting off the circulation to your brain.” Maya deadpanned.

“She’s not over at Minkus’s house unloading brownies,” Shawn tried.

“What does this mean? I don’t get it,” Cory exclaimed.

“Do you want to do the honours or should I?” Shawn asked, glancing over to Maya.

“Take it away, string-bean, let’s see what you know.” Maya huffed in amusement.

“Okay, Cory, it all has to start somewhere. See, Minkus gets squishy about Topanga, Topanga gets squishy about you. One day you’re solid as a rock, the next day, squish.” Shawn explained to Cory who slowly nodded.

“So like you and Maya.” Cory said causing Maya’s eyes to bulge from her eye sockets and Shawn to shyly look away, blushing.

“What did you just say?” Maya asked, leaning forward.

“I sense I’ve said something wrong,” Cory froze.

“Wow, not even I have gotten that look before.” Farkle said, surprised.

“Okay, so first, Topanga does not have a squish on me,” Cory tried to change the topic and distract Maya’s impending wrath.

“She brought you brownies, dude.” Shawn stated, amused. “Ipso facto, love-o you-o.”

“Hi, guys,” Mrs Matthews greeted them, walking into the kitchen with groceries. “Oh, hi Maya, how are you sweetie?”

“I’m good, Mrs Matthews,” Maya flashed a sweet smile.

“Who’s your little friend?” She asked, looking over at Farkle.

“I’m Farkle,” he grinned.

“Uh, Farkle…” she paused, nodding slightly.

“Ah, reinforcement snacks.” Cory shot up from his seat.

“It doesn’t look like you’re starving to death.” Mrs Matthews observed as Eric walked in from the back door.

“Hey,” Eric greeted them.

“Eric, your can runneth over.”

“Garbage again?” Eric groaned. “I just took it out last week.” He leaned over, removing the plastic bag from the bin.

“That’s kinda the thing about trash, you need to keep taking it out. Shocking, I know.” Maya exclaimed with an amused smile.

“I didn’t ask for your comments you mean little pancake.” Eric bit back as Topanga, Riley and Morgan ran downstairs together.

“Mummy, mummy, look,” Morgan tried, showing off her braid. “Topanga made me and Riley’s hair pretty.”

“She sure did,” Mrs Matthews reached out, looking at the braid.

“Yep, brownies, braids, she does it all,” Cory shot up, walking towards Topanga, placing the brownie tray in her hand. “But uh, now she has to do it all at home.”

“But I was hoping I could stay,” Topanga tried as she was pushed out the back door.

“You can’t, we’re over the legal hair limit of this room.” Cory shrugged, grabbing the brownies from Topanga and pushing her out the door, slamming it in her face.

“Is that actually a thing?” Riley asked, looking to Maya who sighed and smiled.

“Yes,” she replied. Cory smiled, turning back towards everyone.

“Well, that wasn’t very polite,” Mrs Matthews said, looking at her son shocked he would do such a thing.

“I can’t afford to be polite, mum, I’m polite, squish.” Cory slapped the side of the tray.

“Ooh, someone’s got a crush,” Maya teasingly sang.

“I do not,” Cory squealed, blushing.

“I hear a lot of men treat the women they love like that.” Shawn playfully added, looking back down at his homework.

“I think it’s very cute, you see I would never treat Maya and Riley like that, but everyone shows their love in different ways.” Farkle dreamily said, staring at Maya, love struck.

“Look away,” she growled.

“No,” he replied.

“I’ll kill you,” Cory growled, looking between the three.

“We got a little girlfriend action going on here?” Eric teasingly asked.

“Yes he does,” Maya nodded, biting back her snicker as Riley’s chest filled with hope that this would be the moment her mum and dad would finally get together.

“No,” Cory shook his head.

“Why not? Topanga is an awesome gal, she’s smart and funny and she’s so in touch with the goddesses. What’s not to love about her?” Riley praised her mother.

“Yeah, uh, I’m not really looking for anyone, especially not a hairy flower child.” Cory sassed.

“Oh you,” Riley laughed, punching Cory in the arm. “You two will be so cute together.”

“Cory and Topanga sitting in a tree, a-b-c-d-e-f-g,” Morgan sang.

“That’s not what this is,” Cory cried out, throwing his hands in the air.

“Best study session ever,” Maya laughed, glancing over to Shawn.

“Totally, honey bun,” Shawn grinned, his smile faltering as he saw the corner of Maya’s eye twitch.

“You’re dead,” she threatened him.

“You know, I’m still waiting for you to actually do it.” Shawn boldly said.

“You know who’s squish? Maya and Shawn,” Cory exclaimed causing the two to turn to Cory, their cheeks burning and Maya’s eyes narrowed as she slowly turned her head.

“Aw, you two are so cute.” Mrs Matthews exclaimed.

“No, Maya would never,” Riley nervously laughed, shaking her head.

“Only in his dreams.” Maya bit back.

“Back off, Maya’s mine,” Farkle exclaimed, pointing at Shawn who snorted, shaking his head. Reaching out, Maya balled her fist around his shirt, tugging him closer. “Wow, Maya, I gotta say this kind of affection is a new experience for me. I like it.” Farkle exclaimed, his eyes growing bigger.

“This seriously looks like affection to you?” Maya asked, a look of disgust shrouding her face.

“I takes it however I gets it.” Farkle said causing Maya to shove him away from her.

“Let’s just get this homework over with.” Maya huffed, sitting down at the table.

“That sounds like a great idea, Farkle.” Riley beamed, making her way back to her seat and grabbing her math book. As soon as they began, Shawn and Maya had zoned off, turning to each other, whispering about Shawn telling blood, the two making plans to sell blood together on the weekend.

**

Stepping onto the bus, Maya and Shawn quickly made their way to the back, Maya sat on the seat behind Shawn, the two saving seats for their friends. Both their eyes twinkled with amusement as Maya glared as a passer-by who looked at the seat beside her. “Hey, Maya,” Shawn called out, glancing over his shoulder and to Maya.

“What do you want, Hunter?” Maya sighed. “It’s too early to talk.” She whined, slumping in her seat.

“Hey, if you want you can lean on my shoulder and take a nap.” Shawn offered, laughing lightly.

“Squish,” kids called out in front of them causing the two to look at them, their eyes narrowed and their cheeks burning bright red.

“Funny you mention squish,” Maya smirked, leaning forward as she glanced in the corner of her eye, locking eyes with Shawn who grinned.

“I like how you think, Hart.” Shawn said before turning to the people. “Me and Maya happen to know two soon to be love-birds.” He shared, the same thought running through both their heads.

“Who?” the kids enquired.

“Oh you know, Cory and Topanga,” Maya nonchalantly shared.

“She brought him brownies to his house and in the evening their parents decided to take them on a trip to Acapulco,” Shawn shared with the children who had crowded them, their eyes peeled.

“You know, I even heard Mr and Mrs Matthews took them to a bed and breakfast where they shared a plate of chocolate chip pancake.” Maya added, biting her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing as whispers broke out amongst the kids on the bus. Slowly, Shawn turned to look at Maya.

“Nice one,” Shawn snickered as Riley and Cory got on the bus.

“Yeah, I know, I’m good.” Maya boasted, smiling over at him.

“Peaches,” Riley cried, quickly diving to the seat beside Maya, the two quickly hugging.

“Riles,” Maya grinned, holding her best friend.

“It’s been too long since I last saw you.” Riley said.

“I know, Riles, it’s been what? 14 hours? Not even.” Maya sarcastically asked.

“No, you see, Maya, everything after five minutes is just too much for the young and impressionable Riley Matthews, not related, to handle.” Cory quipped.

“I can never have too much of Maya.” Riley grinned.

“I know.” Shawn shared, grinning at Maya who rolled her eyes.

“Can’t relate, string-bean.” Maya bluntly bit back.

“Hey! That’s my Shawn.” Cory screamed at Maya.

“You better watch out; Shawn could become your second daddy one day.” Maya whispered to Riley who sighed.

“Sometimes I feel like he already is.” Riley replied watching the two.

**

Sitting in the school cafeteria after the first art class that didn’t end in a detention or any accidents, Maya sat with mac and cheese in front of her, scrunching her face up at the look of it. As hungry as she was, she didn’t think she’d ever be hungry enough to eat this goo. “That was the worst macaroni and cheese I’ve ever tasted.” Shawn groaned, glancing over at Cory’s plate, his eyes glued to the macaroni and cheese. “You going to finish yours?”

“As someone who sits near you in class, I’m begging you, don’t do it.” Riley called out, pleadingly gazing at Shawn who huffed, shaking his head.

“No can do, babe.” Shawn smirked, digging into Cory’s macaroni and cheese.

“You’re a pig, you know that?” Cory asked, looking over at Shawn.

“I think everyone knows that by now.” Maya chuckled. “I mean, you practically inhaled the mac and cheese.” She pointed out.

“Hey, I’m in a growth spurt. I need fuel so I can get big and strong so little girls that call me string-bean don’t beat me in a wrestling match anymore.” Shawn sassed, glancing up at Maya.

“Please, we both know that’ll never happen.” Maya bit back, smirking.

“Yeah, well, those of us who sit near you don’t like the exhaust fumes.” Cory sassed.

“What? When did this happen? Maya I told you to stop picking fights.” Riley exclaimed, her head snapping in Maya’s direction.

“Do you admit that I beat you?” Maya proudly asked causing Shawn to glare at her.

“Pfft, no,” Shawn blushed.

“I really admire your strength, Maya.” Farkle dreamily said.

“Oh, look, here comes the future Mrs Cory Matthews.” Shawn teasingly said as Riley’s eyes lit up, ready to see her parents get together before her very eyes. Soon she, Shawn and Maya were making kissing noises as Cory tried his best to hide from Topanga.

“Hello, Cory,” Topanga greeted him.

“Cory’s not here,” Cory smushed his face into his book. Riley reached over, snatching the book from him and smiling up at Topanga.

“He’s shy,” Riley laughed.

“Oh, I didn’t know that about you, that’s okay, I respect that it takes some people a while to become comfortable around others.” Topanga shared.

“I’m not shy,” Cory exclaimed.

“It’s okay Cory, anyway, my sister rented a videotape, I thought you might be interested in seeing.” Topanga offered, looking down at him expectantly.

“He left, you just missed him,” Cory waved his hand around, gesturing to the door.

“He’s definitely interested,” Riley quickly chimed in.

“Godzilla goes to college,” Topanga tried again.

“No way,” Maya gaped. “I love that movie.”

“I hate that movie,” Riley groaned, remembering she, Lucas and Farkle watched it one time while her parents were out on date night. She’d had nightmares for months after. It was a good thing she didn’t live near UCLA otherwise she’d have refused to leave her bedroom.

“Woah, that’s the one where Godzilla scarfs down UCLA.” Shawn said in awe.

“Yeah,” Cory quickly turned to Topanga, changing his mind. “When can we borrow it?” he asked.

“You can’t, it’s my sisters’ tape.” Topanga quickly stated. “She said I can’t let it out of my sight.”

“Woah, she’s smooth.” Riley said in awe, watching them.

“She’s my idol.” Maya quickly said, a smile twitching at her lips.

“Okay, what time should we be over at your house?” Cory asked her to cause Riley to jump up and down on her seat.

“Our VCR is broken; I’ll have to bring it to your house.” Topanga said, pointing down at Cory causing Maya’s smile to grow.

“That was smooth,” Maya whispered under her breath.

“You think that is smooth? Feel my arm.” Farkle pushed up his sleeve holding out his arm in front of Maya who scrunched up her face, pushing him away. “I’ll never wash this arm.”

“Gross.” Maya muttered.

“Alright, how about 4:00?” Cory asked.

“4 is good for me, that’ll give me time to get home and get ready.” Topanga whispered.

“Get ready?” Cory asked, confused.

“I mean get the tape, that’s all. Bye.” Topanga quickly walked away from them.

“Cory and Topanga sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g,” Riley excitedly sang, swaying from side to side as she and Maya began to make kissing sounds.

“Gross, no,” Cory made a sour face.

“Man, she’s got a thang for you,” Shawn poked fun at Cory.

“Aw, look at you, fuzzy finally found himself a girl.” Maya joined in, bursting out laughing with Riley and Shawn.

“I hate you all,” Cory huffed, folding his arms.

“Me?” Riley whimpered.

“Yes! No! Which answer isn’t gonna end up with her crying?” Cory asked, looking around the table seeking advice.

“No,” Farkle said under his breath.

“No,” Cory quickly answered, sighing in relief at Riley’s grin. “Look, all I want from her is brownies and videos.” Cory huffed.

“Brownies and videos now, but eternal love is in your future, trust me I know what it looks like.” Farkle proudly proclaimed, looking between Maya and Riley.

“You maggot,” Stuart hissed, appearing in front of the table.

“Hi, Stuart.” Riley smiled up at him.

“Riley, it’s good to see you.” Stuart smiled at her.

“Minkus,” Farkle narrowed his eyes up at his father.

“Abernathy,” Stuart hissed before returning his gaze to Cory. “All these years pretending to be my close friend.” He growled, leaning forward.

“Close? As in Philadelphia is close to…Neptune?” Cory snarkily asked.

“All so you could get to her.” Stuart spat.

“Her, Topanga? I don’t think so.” Cory exclaimed, his eyes wide in disbelief.

“Cory and Topanga are soulmates, Stuart, and they’ll end up with two, amazing, smart, children that they won’t give their kids wool for Christmas.” Riley exclaimed, mapping out their lives.

“Real subtle, Riley.” Maya nodded, rolling her eyes.

“It’s okay, I know you’ll end up finding another lucky woman to love.” Riley soothingly shared with Stuart.

“Well any woman would be lucky to have me, but that’s not the point, me and Topanga, we’re the future.” Stuart proudly proclaimed before looking back to Cory. “And yet, the whole school is talking about you.” He said causing a wide-eyed Maya and Shawn to look at each other before Maya laughed, looking at her wrist.

“So what? I ate a couple brownies and said I’d watch a video.” Cory exclaimed, confused.

“Oh, would you look at the time, I think I got stuff to do, a detention I’m late to. Gotta go,” Maya shot up from her seat.

“Yeah, would you look at that, so do I,” Shawn cleared his throat, the two going to leave when two eyes set on them.

“What did you two do?” Cory asked, exasperated.

“Sit down,” Riley demanded in a low, demonic voice causing the two to sit down.

“Okay, I will, but not because you asked me to.” Maya slowly sat back down.

“What about the trip to Acapulco? Where you went to a bed and breakfast and shared a plate of chocolate chip pancakes?” Stuart exclaimed causing Cory to burn with fury as he glared between Maya and Shawn.

“We embellished,” Shawn sheepishly shrugged his shoulders.

“You embellished.” Maya corrected him.

“No, I definitely know you embellished as well.” Shawn quickly said.

“Do you really care about her?” Stuart asked, leaning in. “Or are you just doing this to humiliate me?”

“I give up, take it Shawn.” Cory sighed as Shawn stood up, stalking towards Stuart, Maya fought back the grin that spread to her face.

“Minkus, wanna play walnut?” Shawn asked, grabbing the much shorter Minkus, tightly gripping his head causing Maya to let out a bashful giggle.

“What was that?” Riley asked, her eyes wide.

“What was what?” Maya asked.

“The giggle, Maya.” Farkle quickly pointed out.

“I don’t giggle.” Denial had overcome Maya.

“Your bodyguard can’t be with you 24 hours a day, Matthews, be afraid, very afraid.” Stuart warned Cory as Shawn let him go, Stuart then turned to look up at Shawn. “I’ve got two words for you, anti perspirant.”

“He’s not wrong,” Maya snorted.

“Abernathy,” Stuart snobilly snipped.

“Minkus,” Farkle bit back.

“That’s three words,” Shawn huffed in amusement.

“I seriously hope stupid isn’t contagious,” Maya sighed.

“What’s going on here?” Cory exclaimed, trying to figure all this out. “I don’t want girls to like me, why is everything changing?”

“I wouldn’t be too worried about that, Fuzzy, chances are only the flower child will ever like you.” Maya dryly commented.

“Maya!” Riley exclaimed before looking at Cory. “Don’t listen to her, I happen to think Cory has a lot of admirable qualities that any girl would be lucky to have.” Riley proclaimed.

“Uh, Riley, no offence, but you’re not gonna squish on me, are you?” Cory nervously asked.

“Oh heck no,” Riley furiously shook her head.

“Thank you,” Cory sighed.

“Hey, Topanga forgot her notebook,” Shawn smirked, reaching down and grabbing it. “Wanna trash it? I got a little macaroni and cheese left.” Shawn asked sitting down.

“I don’t think we should be doing that.” Riley chimed in.

“I don’t think that’s very nice guys.” Farkle muttered, looking between them sternly.

“Naw, she’ll probably think it’s some type of love code,” Cory sighed. “Oh, why do I have to be so attractive?” Cory asked, running his hands through his hair.

“I think you need a mirror, fuzzy.” Maya dryly stated.

“Oh, look, it’s a heart with a name doodled in swirly things,” Shawn pouted, speaking in a baby tone. “’Mrs Matthews’, ‘Mrs Topanga Matthews’, ‘Mrs Eric Matthews’” Shawn paused and soon everyone froze at the table.

“I didn’t see that one coming.” Farkle said, shocked.

“What?” Cory asked, leaning over to look at the book.

“Maya, why is this happening to me?” Riley cried.

“I don’t know, but I love it.” Maya burst out laughing before she reached up, patting the top of Riley’s head. “There, there honey.” She said in a southern accent.

**

The next day at school everyone sat in their seats, Riley’s eyes glued to Topanga, she couldn’t understand what her mum saw in Eric, year he had nice hair but he was a total shallow goofball in the past. And there was no way her uncle would end up being her father.

“There are strange things done in the midnight sun, by the men who moil for gold. The artic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold. The northern light have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see was that night on the marge of lake LaBerge I cremated Sam McGee.” Feeny read from the book they were studying that week. Any other day she would have sat in total silence, enthralled in the American poetry, but today, her mind was occupied on history changing before her eyes.

“Cool,” Cory’s shriek broke her out of her thoughts as Maya jolted awake behind her.

“What happened? Who died?” Maya rapidly blinked, confused.

“Sam McGee,” Shawn said, shaking his head.

“Oh, look who’s a disgrace to the back row now.” Maya smugly said, her eyes twinkling with mischief that any other day Riley would have been worried about.

“Now Sam McGee was from Tennessee where the cotton blooms and blows. Why he left his home in the south, to roam around the pole, God only knows.”

“Burn him,” Cory exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air as a knock came at the door. Riley’s head whipped around to see Eric and she huffed, slumping in her seat.

“Mr Feeny?” Eric called from the doorway. “Um, may I come in?” Eric asked.

“Of course,” Mr Feeny said.

“Uh, could I speak to your class?” Eric sheepishly requested, making his way towards the front of the classroom.

“Be my guest.” Mr Feeny placed the book down.

“This better be good, Eric, he was about to toast this guy.” Cory huffed, annoyed at the interruption.

“Actually, going by what has already been read, Sam has already been toasted and they’re just recounting how it happens. I feel like the most interesting part has already been read out.” Farkle offered with a smug twinkle in his eye as Stuart looked behind, seething in annoyance.

“So, uh, a couple of days ago, I pretty much covered the big high school picture, but, uh, I left out one little, tiny detail.” Eric nervously began, looking around at everyone. “You’ve all known each other since, like, kindergarten. But next year there’s gonna be maybe 9 or 10 other sixth grade classes from different schools making up your seventh-grade class, and you’re not gonna know all these kids. A lot of them are gonna think differently than you.” Eric said, looking out at the class, seeing a look of confusion shrouding the faces of the students.

“What do you mean?” Stuart asked.

“Well, do you smoke cigarettes?” Eric asked him.

“No,” Stuart quickly answered.

“A lot of kids in your new school will. A lot of them are gonna try to pressure you into it.” Eric informed him.

“Why?” Riley asked.

“Because they think it’s cool, Riley, and they’ll tell you how cool it is to smoke. Now, obviously you wanna be cool, don’t you?” Eric asked, placing his hands on his hips.

“More than you could ever know,” Stuart idealistically exclaimed.

“Maybe you’ll smoke,” Eric suggested.

“I don’t think so.” Stuart shook his head.

“Why not?” Eric asked.

“Because, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, smoking reduces lung capacity, leads to emphysema, and causes heart attack and lung cancer.” Stuart said, listing off all the side effects.

“It also increases the risk of stroke and loss of smell and taste and has been known to lead to tooth decay which is very dangerous if it leaks into your bloodstream.” Farkle added with a wary look on his face.

“Well, what if…she thought it was cool?” Eric asked, gesturing to Topanga. “Then would you smoke?” he asked Stuart.

“In a heartbeat.” Stuart quickly replied.

“Welcome to the world of peer pressure.” Eric proclaimed. “So, he smokes. Do you think that’s cool?” Eric asked Topanga.

“I think anyone who smokes is a disgusting pig.” Topanga announced.

“I’m trying to quit.” Stuart exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

“It’s not that easy, Minkus, there’s all kinds of pressure.” Eric shared, drawing in a deep breath.

“But we have friends, and I know none of my friends would ever do anything bad.” Riley shared, swallowing as she pleadingly stared at Eric.

“Okay, Maya,” Eric said, staring at the blonde who had been trying to hide from him.

“Yes?” Maya asked, reluctantly looking up.

“Would you ever smoke?” Eric asked her.

“No,” Maya shook her head.

“What about drink alcohol?” Eric persisted noticing the silence that overcame the room.

“Maya, you’d drink alcohol?” Riley asked, turning around to look at Maya who drew in a deep breath.

“I don’t know, Riley, maybe.” Maya sighed.

“So you don’t know if you’d drink alcohol?” Eric asked, walking towards the back.

“Eric,” Cory tried to chime in.

“What about drugs?” Eric persisted.

“Hey, calm down, Eric, we’re not into that stuff. What we like is baseball and comic books.” Cory called out, trying to call off his brother.

“Yeah, that’s what you like now, but that’s going to change, just like you’re changing schools.” Eric pointed out, pacing around the classroom. “Just like you’re gonna feel a lot of new stuff inside of you you’re not really gonna understand.”

“How do you know?” Cory asked his brother.

“Because you’re growing up.” Eric stated.

“What if we don’t want to grow up?” Riley nervously asked, scared about the future.

“It’s not something you can stop Riley, some of you have already started.” Eric shared, his eyes lingering on Topanga who smiled, looking down at her desk.

**

Sitting in the cafeteria, the whole class moped around trying to make sense of what was happening to them. Cory and Shawn sat on the opposite end of the table from Riley, Maya and Farkle, all of them talking about the new information they’d just found out. “I don’t want to grow up,” Riley whispered.

“As much as we’d like, biologically, we can’t stop it. I don’t think we could stop it emotionally either.” Farkle shared, pursing his lips.

“Why not? We time travelled somehow, why can’t we stop this?” Riley asked with a sigh.

“Because this was going to happen to us in our life. No matter what year we’re in.” Farkle replied as the two turned to look at Maya.

“We won’t grow up yet, we still got time.” Maya smiled, holding out her hand which Riley took the two smiling at each other.

“Are you okay, Maya?” Farkle asked.

“Who am I?” Maya asked them.

“Maya Hart.” Riley sternly answered.

“Exactly, I’m always okay.” Maya sighed, standing up.

“This love thing could kill us if we let it,” Cory exclaimed causing the trio to slowly look in his direction.

“That’s not true, Cory, love is a natural part of life, and I know you’ll experience it one day.” Riley optimistically offered, she had to believe that not even her presence could stop Cory and Topanga from uniting. If she didn’t, there was nothing left for her to believe.

“No way, I’m done with this whole thing. Shawn, you and me have to make a deal right now,” Cory demanded.

“This is gonna be good.” Maya smirked.

“Let everyone else go nuts,” Cory held out his hand.

“We stay the same,” Shawn reached out, shaking Cory’s hand.

“Forever,”

“I give them five minutes max until one of them breaks it,” Maya laughed lightly as a girl came up and tapped Maya on the shoulder, turning around, she glanced up at the girl. “Yeah?”

“The principal wants to see you in his office.” She informed Maya, handing her a note. Maya sighed, standing up.

“Alright, later losers,” Maya waved. Glancing to the side, Riley’s face fell as Shawn looked between Maya and Cory with a giddy grin.

“We had a deal,” Cory exclaimed.

“Hey, Maya, wait up, I know they need me in the principal’s office for something, wait up.” Shawn shouted, chasing after Maya as Cory clung to Shawn desperately.

“Things are already starting to change,” Farkle softly shared.

“How?” Riley asked, trying to stay in Rileytown, in her house of denial.

“Shawn and Maya, they like each other.” Farkle shared with a soft look on his face. In the future, Farkle gave up Riley first, she’d found Lucas and fallen head over heels in love for the cowboy. He knew he could never compete with that. But in the past, Maya had found a companion in Shawn, someone who understood her better than anyone. He knew he couldn’t compete with that either. When he said he loved them both, he meant it, but he’d always felt more at ease with himself with Riley.

“How do you know?” Riley asked.

“Because he looks at her the way I look at you…and Maya.” Farkle pursed his lips, staring into Riley’s eyes and for once, she didn’t immediately look away, instead she sat still smiling up at him. No matter what she did, or where she was, she was always glad to have Farkle with her.

Chapter Text

Sitting in Mr Feeny’s class like usual, all eyes were drawn to the front of the class where the educational screening of what a modern model family was like flickered on the screen and filtered through the mind-numbingly board minds of the kids in the room. Together they watched as they ‘supposedly’ navigated the conflict. If you could even call it that. It was so perfect and scripted. As if life was really like that. Or at least that’s what Maya thought. Unless you were Riley Matthews, you never would have experienced anything even remotely close to this. These things were just dreams. This family was just a dream. Something Maya would wish upon a star on. Hoping every night that she could have that. Because she wanted to desperately to have that. But things like that didn’t just happen. Wishing on stars didn’t make anything come true.

Surprisingly, the one person who loved education more than anyone else had his eyes cast down to his notepad, desperately scribbling conspiracy theories that filtered through his mind. He’d spent days and nights filtering through all the possibilities, trying to keep it realistic with what was accomplishable. If he’d believed more in the power of the zodiac he’d entertain his mother’s thoughts on the mystical powers of the universe. But he didn’t even want to look at his daily zodiac reading. Why would he want to entertain anything further than that?

He'd recently binge watched time-travelling movies, making Lauren and Antonio take him to blockbusters to rent all of them, and while they had dutifully sat and watched what was Farkle’s latest hyper fixation, he had told them they didn’t have to. Lauren had called it movie night. Every night was movie night apparently as they indulged and explored his interests with him. Their busy and bustling lifestyles never got in the way of spending time with Farkle. It had always been a dream of his. But dreams didn’t matter when he was stuck in the past with his two best friends, and all their hopes and dreams relied on him finding a way back home, he couldn’t fixate on the things that made him happy. He needed to focus. And by focus he really just meant marvelling at the cinematic masterpiece that was Back to the Future and how it could even be remotely possible to build a time machine.

How? How the hell did he do that? With the limited resources he had he had begun spiralling. How did he tell the two girls he loved the most in the world that he might not be able to figure out a way to get home? With all the thoughts swirling around inside of his mind, all he really knew was two things:

• One: Their memories of that night were hazy at best, he remembered going to the school art show with Lucas and Riley to support Maya and then going home. Neither of the girls remembered much else either.
• Two: They couldn’t stay here, if they did, the future they knew wouldn’t be the same. He doubted they’d start any wars, but he didn’t want to take his chances.

“Once I wished I was a duck, as mostly ducks have lots of luck. They swim around all day in a pool, and mostly never have to go to school.”

“Beaver, I think that’s very, very cute.”

“Hey, Beav, you still think you’ll get a prize for that?”

“Sure, Wally. I’m the only kid in the third grade who wrote a poem.”

The TV went black, and the blinding lights switched on causing some students to squint in an attempt to adjust. Maya could not believe she just watched that, her head remained glued to her desk as she stared at the front of the class. She’d never been more done with school before. Well, that wasn’t true. School sucked. But why did they have to watch a show about the most boring family in America. Unlike Maya, Riley attentively sat in her seat, a polite smile on her face as she remained engrossed in the show. “Miss Hart,” Mr Feeny called out, waking the blonde girl from her slumber, letting out a yawn, she looked up at him.

“Yes?” Maya tiredly asked.

“How do you feel Ward and June handled their family problem?” Mr Feeny asked, watching Maya’s blank features as she quickly glanced to Riley who slowly began to mouth her answer.

“They’re a snooze fest,” Maya flatly said. “The Brady Bunch are more interesting than them.”

“You know who the Brady Bunch are?” Shawn mockingly snorted, slowly Maya turned to look at him, her eyes dangerously narrowed.

“That’s not what I said,” Riley yelped before nervously laughing. “I said nothing.” She quickly said.

“Interesting observation from the one person in class who didn’t watch it. Anyone else?” Mr Feeny sighed looking around the classroom trying to search for someone other than Stuart and Farkle, or even the sarcastic quips of Shawn and Cory. He couldn’t wait for the day they would become some other teachers problem.

“They were too perfect,” Shawn chimed in.

“Too TV.” Cory critiqued.

“I agree with you, Mr Matthews,” Mr Feeny pointed towards him causing Maya to snicker.

“There’s a surprise.” Maya said under her breath. “Who’s a disgrace to the backrow now?” she mockingly asked.

“I know you are but what am I?” Shawn hissed causing Maya to laugh.

“Yeah, that’s not like you,” Cory squinted, looking up at Mr Feeny.

“Permission to speak, Mr Feeny?” Farkle asked, putting his hand in the air.

“Yes, Mr Abernathy?” Mr Feeny asked.

“The family we just witnessed is such an idealised version of an upper middle-class family that loves and respects one another completely, they have no conflict, there is nothing unique or unscripted about them. They have no problems which really just doesn’t represent a majority of families in America, or even the world for that matter. They show what every family ideally would like to be, not what is the reality. They’re too unrealistic to ever resonate with anyones experiences.” Farkle shared with an expectant smile, even if he barely listened during class, he knew not even his academic rival would beat his answer. Snidely he looked over to Stuart whose eyes were twitching. “HEH!”

“Why?” Maya whined, banging her head on the desk.

“What’s wrong, peaches?” Riley asked engrossed in blissful ignorance as she turned to her friend.

“You brought me to today’s assignment.” Mr Feeny shared with a wistful smile as Maya began to sob.

“Boo,” Shawn called out, glaring at Farkle.

“Back in the prehistoric 1950s when cleavers strode the earth, the U.S census indicated that a model American family had a mother, a father and two children.” Riley raised her hand.

“What if they don’t have two parents, or any siblings?” Riley asked, trying her best not to look back at Maya.

“Then they don’t count.” Shawn commented, biting back a smirk as he glanced over at Maya.

“They’re not a family, they’re just roommates.” Maya sarcastically called out, slumping in her chair as she and Shawn chuckled while Riley looked over her shoulder confused.

“Leftovers.” Cory called out, raising his hand.

“What are you talking about, Mr Matthews?” Mr Feeny queried.

“Well, last year in fifth grade we divided up into families and solved problems. It’s sixth grade now, Mr Feeny. Families are yesterday’s news.” Cory sighed, sharing his wisdom with everyone.

“Fuzzy’s right, can I pass on this one?” Maya asked.

“You weren’t even here last year,” Stuart called out making Maya rise both of her eyebrows and plant her hands on the table.

“Say that again, I dare you,” she hissed at him. “You better watch it or I will jack you up son.” She growled.

“As an academic rival I live for your demise, you do not want to meet your demise at the hands of Maya Hart, trust me on that one.” Farkle warned him with a small wary smile. “I however would love to be on the receiving end of that fury, you have no idea what you do to me.” He wiggled his eyebrows as he looked to Maya.

“No,” Mr Feeny snapped. “In that case, this year, I shall let you form into urban gangs.” Most of the student’s eyes lit up with excitement with the exception of Riley, Farkle and Stuart.

“Awesome,” Maya shouted.

“Cool,” Cory exclaimed.

“No,” Riley whimpered, looking to Maya scared. “I wouldn’t survive in a gang.” She whispered.

“It’s okay, honey, I’ll protect you.” Maya said in a southern accent, soothing her best friend.

“Yay,” Riley said, suddenly at ease.

“Each gang will have a mother, a father, and two children.” Mr Feeny firmly said.

“Boo,” Maya cried.

“Not boo, yay, only yay.” Riley quickly cut in, grinning.

“You just love dangling that little string of hope in front of us and yanking it away, don’t you?” Cory asked, gesturing with his hand.

“I had a cat.” Mr Feeny sassed.

“I bet it hung itself.” Shawn said, leaning forward in his chair.

“No, that’s such a mean thing to say, I’m sure the cat died happily in its sleep at an old age.” Riley optimistically exclaimed as both Cory and Shawn gave her deadpan looks.

“In this assignment each participant will help the other to become an ideal family member. For instance, Mr Hunter and Mr Minkus will be paired as brothers.” Mr Feeny said, turning around to them. Biting her tongue, Maya looked between them, her smile growing.

“Oh, no,” Stuart and Shawn said at the same time, slapping their foreheads.

“Well look at you, soon to be Minkus 2.0.” Maya grinned over at Shawn who huffed.

“Trust me, you are going to enjoy this. I know I shall.” Mr Feeny exclaimed, biting back a smile.

“Finally something we can agree on.” Maya grinned.

“Don’t look so pleased yet, Miss Hart.” Mr Feeny remarked, biting back a smirk.

“What?” Maya flatly asked.

“Now, each of you will write a profile of a model brother. Then each of you must become that brother.” He informed them of their task, soon Stuart started chuckling.

“Maya, I have a bad feeling.” Riley fearfully said.

“Why? I got a great feeling.” Maya grinned.

“You mean Shawn has to act exactly how I want him to?” Stuart asked, grinning.

“That’s correct, Mr Minkus.” Mr Feeny nodded.

“You’re gonna be Minkus’s brother,” Cory chuckled, whipping around to look at Shawn’s less than excited face. “Nerd-o-rama. I’d hate to be the guy who had them for sons.”

“Just wait,” Maya said under her breath. “Sweet irony will take you soon,”

“Funny you should say that, Mr Matthews, or as I like to call you, dad,” Mr Feeny walked towards him, playfully tapping Cory’s shoulder as he looked up to the teacher in disbelief.

“He’s gonna be my father?” Stuart asked in disbelief as Cory pumped his fist in excitement.

“This just keeps getting better.” Maya laughed.

“And Miss Lawrence, your mother.” Mr Feeny added.

“Yes!” Riley screamed at the top of her lungs. Soon her eyes grew wide as everyone looked at her, she quickly sat down, nervously laughing. “You two would have cute kids, let’s just hope they get m-Topanga’s hair.” Riley smiled.

“You know, I’m thinking Cory’s hair would be a better fit.” Maya grinned, leaning forward, Riley whipped around.

“How dare you,” Riley seethed, her eyes wide. “Take that back, take that back right now.” She growled.

“You know I can’t do that, Riles.” Maya said.

“Wait until you hear what comes next,” Mr Feeny dryly commented looking between the two girls. “Family number two.”

“No,” Riley screamed.

“Yes,” Mr Feeny smirked. “Meet, the mother, Miss Matthews,” he gestured to Riley. “Father, Mr Abernathy,”

“Who?” Riley asked, her eyes wide as Farkle’s head shot up.

“What?” Farkle asked, bewildered. “I don’t think I heard that right. Could you please repeat that for me?” he asked.

“You’re going to be a dad, Farkle, and you’re married to Riley.” Maya barked with laughter as a shaky smile twitched onto his face.

“Oh come on,” Riley screamed, slamming her hand on the desk. “This is fixed.” She added.

“Yay,” Farkle giggled before falling off the side of his chair and on the ground.

“No, no, Maya you can’t let me do this by myself.” Riley cried.

“Oh, you won’t because meet your daughters, Miss Sheff and the one and only Miss Hart.” Mr Feeny smirked.

“Uh, Sir, I think I heard you wrong.” Maya looked at him.

“Trust me, you didn’t.” Mr Feeny turned away from him. Slowly, Maya looked between Riley and Farkle, there was no way she would be their child. Why? Why did the universe do this to her? Being in the past was so fun, but then these things happened. She hated assignments.

***

Squeezing together on the overcrowded bus, Maya and Riley sat behind Cory and Shawn, the group of newly found friends huddled together, talking about the project that was coming up. Amongst the bustle and chatter on the bus Farkle excluded himself from the group of friends, his eyes drawn down to his notebook filled with ramblings of ideas he had no clue how to even achieve. Glancing over at him, Riley studied her friend for a moment, she’d been worried for a while now, Farkle had been unusually quiet today in class, she knew she shouldn’t have been worried. It was just Farkle being Farkle. But with all the time travelling had changed all of them. Sometimes Riley felt guilty for being as happy as she was in the 90s, but she saw it in Maya’s eyes and in Farkle’s actions, the two were happier than she’d ever truly seen them. So, she shouldn’t feel bad.

“Hey Matthews, whatcha writing there?” Maya asked, peeking over Cory’s shoulder watching amused as Cory glared up at Maya, clutching the notepad to his chest.

“Back off, Maya, can’t a man who is forced to be with 90 pounds of hair have a little privacy?” Cory gasped, watching as Maya’s smile grew.

“You wish, Fuzzy, cough it up,” Maya demanded.

“It can’t be that embarrassing. I’m sure your perfect wife will be very romantic.” Riley dreamily shared, looking down at Cory who scrunched up his face.

“Have you met Cory?” Maya asked, raising an eyebrow.

“She’s got a point, babe.” Shawn chuckled, pushing his hair out of his face.

“Yoink.” Maya called out, snatching the notebook, her and Riley leaning back on the bus chair, giggling as they peered down at the piece of paper.

“Hey, give it back you little ferret.” Cory screamed, jumping up.

“What does it say?” Shawn excitedly asked.

“My model wife will wash my tighty whities-“Maya began with a slow grin.

“I didn’t say that.” Cory shouted.

“She will only feed me pickled vegetables because they’re my favourite.” Maya continued.

“It doesn’t say that.” Cory shouted again.

“Come on, Maya, what does it actually say?” Riley asked in-between laughter.

“You mean that’s not what it really says?” Shawn asked, feigning shock.

“I know right,” Maya flatly said.

“Maya,” Riley whined, eager to hear what Cory’s ideal wife was like.

“Fine, you’re gonna love this by the way, Riles.” Maya snickered. “My model wife won’t care how dirty my room gets, she will always let me win at video games, she will play street hockey at any time, day or night.”

“That can’t be what it says.” Riley deadpanned, her gaze slowly drifting to Cory.

“What? That’s what I want in a woman.” Cory exclaimed, defending himself.

“Why is your ideal woman Shawn?” Riley asked, concerned.

“If what you want in a woman is Shawn Hunter, then you’re a lucky man.” Maya teasingly commented, her smile growing.

“I did not describe Shawn.” Cory huffed, snatching the notepad back from Maya who burst out laughing as she turned to Shawn.

“Hunter, but you and fuzzy are gonna be very happy together.” Maya teasingly said, locking eyes with Shawn who scrunched his face up.

“Well, I like Cory very much, but I like to think you and me will be very happy together after we divorce our first wife and husband.” Shawn smirked, as Maya shook her head slowly.

“Not even in your dreams.” Maya bit back.

“My Shawn,” Cory growled before realising what he did and he quickly let go of Shawn and glared at Maya. “What’s your ideal husband then, Maya? I bet it’s Riley.” Cory shouted.

“It’s not.” Maya shook her head.

“I’m not?” Riley asked.

“Riles, you’re my best friend, but unfortunately I’m not a Texan ranger so we just wouldn’t work out.” Maya replied, shrugging her shoulders.

“Fooey.” Riley pouted as the bus stopped and the group got up.

“He is not my ideal wife.” Cory snapped again.

“Yeah, I’m not into it.” Shawn shook his head.

“Our kids would look like horses.” Cory added.

“Calm down Mr and Mrs Matthews,” Maya laughed quickly walking off the bus.

“I’ll kill you.” Cory muttered under his breath.

“I’d like to see you try, Fuzzy.” Maya growled, smirking as Cory gasped, jumping back, hiding behind Shawn who rolled his eyes.

“Pretty badass babe.” Shawn smirked, walking away from them, disappearing into the Matthews household. Rolling her eyes, she turned away from the two retreating boys and the looming dread of a model family assignment filled her with the urge to run back home and hide. But she knew if she did that Riley would just do her part of the assignment anyway. The two had agreed to actually do their homework, no more rebellions, no nothing like that. Maya needed to pass middle school with Riley. That was the plan. As the trio walked into Riley’s home they were greeted with the shrill sound of screaming children and Riley’s foster parents running around like headless chickens.

This made Maya smile. This house was full of so much life and happiness. Sure, Maya had spotted brief moments of conflict. Joanne refusing to take the title of housewife and Daniel embracing being a homebody and looking after the two spawns of Satan.

“I wish we were like the family in the movie,” Riley sighed as Emily boulderer into her, tackling Riley to the ground. The lanky brunette landed on the ground with a grunt. This was not something she’d ever encountered having Auggie as her brother. Emily and Juliette were little devil children.

“Riley, Riley!” the small girl squealed. “What’s the evil witch doing here?” she asked, pointing to Maya.

“Oh my god,” Farkle shrieked, jumping behind Maya.

“Who? Me?” Maya gasped, stepping closer. “Wanna tango?” Maya asked, raising her eyebrows, causing Emily to scream and jump up, her feet crushing Riley as she began to run away. Slowly sitting up, Riley groaned clutching her stomach.

“Why do they scream so much?” Daniel asked, sighing as he quickly intercepted Emily, picking her up with one arm, having a sleeping Juliette in the other.

“Because they’re still four,” Joanne flatly said, making her way over to him, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. “Hi Riley, Maya, Farkle how was school today? I heard you have a new assignment.” She began, wiping the flour off of her hands and onto the apron.

“How do you know about it?” Riley asked, her eyes growing wide. “Maya, is she psychic?” Riley asked, glancing down at her friend who gave Joanna a quick onceover.

“What am I thinking?” Maya asked Joanna who sighed, smiling lightly.

“That you should go upstairs so you don’t have to be around children.” Joanna replied.

“Woah, she’s good.” Maya exclaimed, smirking.

“I know.” Riley proudly said.

“Yes, yes she is, I mean I didn’t marry her for her good looks.” Daniel grinned, stepping closer to Joanna who sighed, rolling her eyes and leaning in pressing another kiss to Daniel’s lips.

“Good luck,” she smiled, turning away from him.

“Why?” Daniel asked, his face falling. “Why do I need luck?” he cried as Emily soon reached over, pulling Juliette’s hair causing the sleeping child to wake and start screaming, the two attempting to attack each other. “Oh dear god.” Daniel exclaimed, quickly leaving the room.

“I am so glad I don’t have a sister.” Maya muttered.

“You and me both,” Farkle nodded.

“What about me peaches?” Riley asked Maya, sad.

“Except you, Riles,” Maya replied, wrapping her arm around Riley, hugging her.

“Oh, by the way girls, one of your friends you’re working on the assignment with is upstairs.” Joanna informed them.

“What? Why didn’t you lead with that?” Riley screamed.

“Simply forgot,” she shrugged. “Will you be staying for dinner?

“No, I’m good thanks, my dad wants me to be back for dinner.” Maya casually answered.

“I don’t think I can,” Farkle politely said.

“Okay, you know we have to have him over for dinner one night, I feel like you’re not eating enough.” Joanne turned away, walking back into the kitchen.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll ask.” Maya muttered under her breath. The three quickly bolted upstairs, disappearing into Riley’s flowery bedroom when they heard Emily and Juliette screaming at each other. Stepping into the bedroom, the two glanced around the room, Maya blinked twice, her eyes adjusting to the sunflower bedcovers and brightly coloured curtains while Riley’s eyes set on the red headed stranger sitting on her bed, reading a magazine.

“Took you guys long enough,” Sarah huffed, sitting up and crossing her legs.

“Hi, I’m Riley,” she greeted the girl.

“Yeah, I know, you’re loud.” Sarah commented, nodding her head slowly.

“I like her,” Maya laughed, sitting on the bed.

“Maya,” Riley shrieked.

“What happened to your bedroom? It looks like a telly tubby threw up on it.” Maya exclaimed, looking around.

“I know, it’s my best work yet.” Riley proudly proclaimed.

“Ladies.” He grinned, looking between them.

“Uh, that’s creepy. Do you do that a lot?” Sarah asked, looking over at Farkle with a scrunched-up face.

“Every chance I get.” He dreamily said.

“Well, let’s get this over and done with so I don’t have to spend any more time with that.” Sarah sighed.

“Excuse me?” Maya asked, stepping forward.

“Maya, it’s okay.” Farkle quickly said.

“No, no it’s not. No one talks to Farkle like that.” Maya growled; her eyes narrowed at Sarah who rolled her eyes.

“Look at you two already acting like sisters.” Riley grinned, looking between them.

“No,” Maya snapped. “Look let’s just get this over with and grab a pizza after.” Maya huffed reaching into her bag and holding out a note for Sarah who took it and handed Maya her own note. The two took it, quickly gazing over it. “You’re dead.” Maya growled.

“What’s it say?” Farkle asked.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad.” Riley tried to laugh it off.

“My ideal sister is an overly peppy cheerleader that bakes her sister brownies and does her sister’s hair every day.” Maya paused, drawing in a deep breath, glaring at Sarah. “Also, she has a secret boyfriend called Shawn Hunter.”

“Uh what?” Riley asked, looking between them as Maya handed her the note. “Oh no,” Riley nervously laughed. “No you will not have a boyfriend, especially not Shawn, there is no way that’s happening.” Riley looked at Maya nervously.

“I loathe you.” Maya flashed a cold smile.

“Love you too, blondie.” Sarah bit back. “My ideal sister is a really smart and optimistic girl that has a dark side, she sneaks out of the house to hang out with her friends and carries paintings of purple cats with her everywhere. I’m okay with mine.” Sarah shrugged, looking up at Maya who let out an annoyed bout of laughter. “No take-backs right?” she smirked.

“Well, Maya, looks like you’ll need to get a cheerleading uniform, I don’t have mine anymore, sorry.” Riley sheepishly laughed.

“When do the malls close?” Maya asked.

“6:30.” Sarah replied.

“Come on Ronald McDonald.” Maya growled before looking between Riley and Farkle. “We’ll be back.” She said walking towards the door and Sarah jumped up from the bed quickly following Maya.

“Well, this is going to be an interesting assignment. You know, if they don’t kill each other. I love Maya’s dark passion, but even I have to admit, Sarah is testing Maya’s homicidal tendencies. It’s a very dangerous game.” Farkle shared, sitting down beside Riley, the two sharing a laugh.

“I know Maya, she’s all talk.” Riley quickly shrugged it off. “Anyway, here is my ideal husband.” She handed the note to Farkle who took it, looking down at the note.

“My ideal husband is a compassionate and goofy person who loves basketball and the knicks as much as I do. They will want to be a veterinarian one day and only tell me about their hopes and dreams. They will also ride horses with me every weekend.” Farkle read it out loud, laughing lightly. “Do you want a Texan accent with that?” he asked.

“Well, it couldn’t hurt.” Riley laughed, her cheeks burning as Farkle handed her the note and Riley looked down at it, her smile quickly fading. “My ideal wife is Riley Matthews.” She whispered. In every timeline, in every way, Farkle was her Farkle. He was beautiful and smart and funny; he always made her feel special. Since the moment she’d met him, he’d made her smile. Hearing that just as she was, she was already everything he wanted in a wife. She couldn’t describe it. Riley’s arms wrapped tightly around Farkle. “Thank you, Farkle, I hope I never settle for anything less than you.” She whispered.

“You don’t have to say thank you, Riley, you are the most amazing person I have ever met. What’s more to want? I can’t change what’s already so perfect.” Farkle whispered into her ear, the two slowly pulling apart, Riley’s heart rapidly beat against her chest. Farkle never failed to surprise her.

“I’m…I’m sorry.” Riley looked down at her hands. When she looked up at Farkle her chest felt like it was about to explode.

“It’s fine, I know you miss him, I do too.” Farkle softly shared. “We’ll be back to normal soon.” He hoped they would, but right now he wasn’t so sure. “Speaking of, I was actually thinking about it, weirdly I could only actually think of back to the future and on my list of probabilities I have considered that we are trapped in an infinite loop, but that would mean the chances are our future selves keep sending us back. And I don’t understand why they would.” Farkle paused, pursing his lips. “I’d need to find evidence of a time-loop but right now nothing currently proves that.” He shared.

“Oh, what else have you thought of?” Riley asked, her eyes fluttering, excited to hear and help.

“I’ve thought up 250 possibilities,” Farkle shared, reaching into his bag, taking out two notebooks.

“Oh wow, email me them?” Riley asked with a forced smile.

“You don’t have a computer, Riley.” Farkle reminded her, his smile flickering.

“Oh, why did we have to be stuck in the 90s?” Riley groaned, falling back onto her bed, grabbing a pillow and screaming into it. Farkle laughed lightly, sitting down beside her.

“I know right, I can’t believe they didn’t have technology, like, at all here.” Farkle exclaimed, shaking his head.

***

Walking into a thrift store, Maya and Sarah looked around for a cheerleading outfit Maya could realistically afford, even though she knew she couldn’t afford any of it. Things had been tighter than usual at her home, and despite the fact that this thrift store was like a second home to her, she hated having to argue her way out of paying full price for everything. After a while she had just become known as discount girl. In front of others, she was proud of it, but in reality, it wasn’t a title she actually wanted.

“Hey blondie, I found one,” Sarah called out with a cheeky smile, waving around a toddler sized cheerleading outfit. Scrunching up her face, Maya wondered why they even made cheerleading outfits that small. “It’s about your size, right?” she goadingly asked, glancing down at the outfit. With a small huff Maya shoved past Sarah, continuing to look.

“Maybe 8 years ago,” Maya scoffed, attempting to find one about her size, or at least something she could squeeze into. There was no way she was going to give Sarah the satisfaction of trying to fit into it.

“Wow, you know you’re real picky,” Sarah commented. “How come you’re not more excited about this assignment?” she asked. “I think it’s kinda cool.” She shrugged.

“Why?” Maya scrunched up her face.

“Because I do.” Sarah harshly bit back.

“Look, I don’t like being a peppy cheerleader, it’s kinda out of character for me.

“But you’re blonde.” Sarah dumbly said before she burst out laughing. “Oh well, it’s an assignment, I expect you to commit to the role.”

“Not to mention Farkle’s my dad.” Maya groaned.

“I can see how that’d bother you.” Sarah nodded.

“I loathe you.” Maya forced a smile as she grabbed a cheerleading outfit and walked towards the changerooms, trying it on.

“Have I don’t something for you to loathe me?” Sarah asked, glancing down at her nails.

“You were rude to my friends.” Maya plainly stated.

“Wow, you’re really gonna take that to heart?” Sarah asked, walking back and forth outside of the changing rooms.

“Yeah, I am.” Maya said.

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to seem like that. To be honest you and your friends are pretty cool. You’re beating me and my zero friends.” Sarah quickly stated with a sigh.

“No friends, huh?” Maya asked, pausing.

“Yeah.” She said.

“Why?”

“No one wants to hang out with the weird girl.” Sarah sighed.

“You don’t seem that weird to me.” Maya commented.

“Well, I am. Does it fit?” Sarah impatiently asked.

“I’ll let you know when I actually get it on.” Maya shouted back.

“Jeez, someone needs to take a chill pill.” Sarah snickered.

“Whatever,” Maya huffed, shaking her head as she pulled on the cheerleader outfit and she pushed the door open, showing Sarah who gave Maya a once over, shyly smiling.

“Looking good,” Sarah said as a girl walked up to them, looking at Maya’s legs. “I’ve never seen anything so white.” She squinted.

“I do every morning and it hurts.” Maya defeatedly said. “As if you aren’t that white.” Maya exclaimed.

“Oh, no I am but I got a lot of freckles to cover it just enough,” Sarah joked, the two bursted out laughing. “I think we’re gonna get along.” Sarah grinned.

“You’re not too bad, I think I could get used to having you as a sister.” Maya shared with a small smile.

“Like the Riley me or me-me?” Sarah asked reaching out and grabbing the dress, stuffing it into her backpack, surprising Maya.

“Woah, Riley would never do that.” Maya laughed. “I think I like you-you.” She confirmed making Sarah smile at her.

“Likewise Hart.” The two held hands, quickly running out of the shop and towards Riley’s home, hoping they would make it back in time for the brainstorming session they had planned. As the two made their way into the room they were greeted by Riley dressed how she usually did and Farkle donning a fringe shirt and a cowboy hat. Upon sight Maya immediately doubled over laughing. She saw this coming, but nothing could prepare her for the real thing.

“Wow Lonestar, I was expecting something like this, but I also wasn’t expecting this.” Maya chuckled, placing the bag with her cheerleading outfit on the bed, her eyes twinkled in amusement as her gaze drifted over to Riley. “You got a problem, honey.” Maya said in a southern drawl as she wrapped her arms around Riley, stroking her hair.

“Do I really? I think he looks very nice.” Riley squeaked out, looking up at Maya.

“He looks like a fetus Pappy Joe.” Maya deadpanned.

“I don’t think that’s something my sister would ever say.” Sarah gasped, placing her hand on her chest.

“Oh yeah?” Maya asked, raising her eyebrows. “Where’s your purple cat?” she sassed.

“Touché.” Sarah smirked.

“Okay, so the assignment, I think we need to start by talking about our places in the family.” Riley began, looking down at her notebook.

“No thanks, I’m good.” Maya said, rolling onto her back, looking up at the ceiling.

“My mum will kill me if I fail this of all things so I’m gonna have to vote against you.” Sarah stated.

“Boo!” Maya called out.

“No boo, only yay.” Riley demanded with a grin. “So we got the good cheerleader sister with a secret boyfriend.” She began.

“Called Shawn Hunter.” Sarah chimed in.

“Not gonna happen.” Maya called out.

“My Maya would never do that.” Riley quickly said.

“But my ideal sister would.” Sarah laughed.

“Come on, Maya, I know you find it hard to resist my magnetic physic but you and Shawn do have a little something-something.” Farkle chimed in with an innocent smile that Maya wanted to slap off his face in that moment.

“No, we don’t, we really don’t. We’re barely even friends.” Maya flatly said, groaning and rolling onto her stomach, burying her head in the bed covers. “Look, you wanna know family dynamics, we got pray mantis Lonestar, goofball Riley Matthews, purple cat loving, sweet younger sister that sneaks out and me, blonde cheerleader. There we go, any of you get lost?” Maya asked, looking between them. “No? Good.” Maya fall onto her back, looking up at the ceiling again.

“Maya, you missed the part where you bake and do your sisters hair in the morning.” Riley added, earning a scathing glare from Maya that made Riley gasp. “I know you didn’t mean to be hurtful and that’s why I’m forgiving you.”

“Not happening.” Maya huffed, quickly sitting up. “I’m out.”

“What? We haven’t even prepared a script yet.” Riley called out.

“I’ll just smile and nod along, there, done.” Maya flashed a grin.

“Hey Hart, what’s your problem with this assignment?” Sarah called out.

“It’s nothing.” Maya quickly said.

“Look, we need a conflict, why isn’t it Maya’s boyfriend?” Sarah suggested.

“That actually sounds like a good idea, I’ve read about how when we grow up, our parents will most likely become more protective over dating, especially when it comes to daughters, so me and Riley could share out respective stances are on it based on the personalities given to us.” Farkle suggested, looking between them.

“The assignment didn’t specify that we needed conflict though, it just said that we needed to create dialogue as a family.” Riley shared.

“Don’t know what century or world you come from, but where there is a family, there is conflict.” Sarah bluntly stated when the door when it was pushed open, shocking the group.

“Hi kids, uh, Sarah, your mother is here to pick you up.” Joanne informed Sarah who nodded, collecting her things.

“Shit, we haven’t gotten anything done.” Sarah hissed under her breath. “Okay, I’m gonna come up with some ideas, and tomorrow before school we’ll get up a script, practice your personas guys. We gotta hustle together on this one.” She firmly called out before walking out towards the front door.

“I should go too.” Maya said quickly following Sarah out of the house.

“Hey, Hart,” Shawn called out when he saw Maya quickly running down the steps of Riley’s porch. Turning around, as much as she hated it, a smile spread to her lips as Shawn ran to catch up to her, the two quickly turning and walking off and into the distance, a sly smile spread to Sarah’s lips as she watched them disappear into the darkness. “So, what ideal step ford sister are you?” Shawn teasingly asked.

“I am a peppy cheerleader with a secret boyfriend.” Maya dryly shared, rolling her eyes at the ridiculousness of the situation. This assignment hadn’t been so bad, but Maya literally didn’t know how to be part of a family. That was something she didn’t know how to admit to her friends.

“Sweet, so who’s the boyfriend, huh?” Shawn nudged her lightly, biting his bottom lip.

“Only the bane of my existence.” Maya teasingly replied, rolling her eyes again, looking away from him as she fought to keep herself from laughing. She always struggled to stop herself from laughing or smiling when Shawn was around. Yet again, another thing she wasn’t willing to admit to anyone around her.

“What a lucky guy.” Shawn’s cheeks burned red.

“Don’t flatter yourself, string-bean, nothing about this assignment will ever be my reality.” Maya commented, running her hands through her hair, pushing it out of her face.

“I get it,” Shawn stayed silent for a moment before stopping, reaching his arm out and grabbing onto her shoulder. She whipped around, face to face with him. Staring down at her, his gut began to twist and turn, Shawn didn’t know what this feeling was or why Maya was the only person in the world that made him feel the way he did, but he wanted to reach out and kiss her like he saw some older people do. Because she was beautiful. And before he'd realised that, he thought she was smart. And even before that, she was funny and kind. But he didn’t see a universe where Maya Hart saw him as anything other than a friend. And that was okay with him. Right now, he just wanted to be friends too. “Don’t worry babe, I’ll be here when you change your mind.” He jokingly winked, jumping back as Maya went to hit his arm.

“Never gonna happen,” Maya quickly said. “Cough it up, Hunter, who are you?” Maya asked, a smile playing at her lips as she turned to look at him. “Is this a Minkus 2.0 situation?” she teased him.

“Pfft, no, there’s no way all of this could become a Minkus.” Shawn defensively scoffed, gesturing to himself.

“Yeah, sure,” Maya replied. “Just like how someone could ever think I’d be a peppy cheerleader.”

“I happen to think you’d look very cute as a cheerleader.” Shawn quickly proclaimed.

“Okay, string-bean, we both know that won’t even happen in your dreams.” Maya quickly bit back.

“I don’t know about that.” Shawn giggled before looking to Maya, seeing her face darken before she flashed a wide and bright smile. “Why you smiling so pretty?” Shawn nervously asked.

“Because I want the last thing you see to be nice.” Maya said, stalking towards him. “Run.” She soothingly suggested as Shawn turned bolting towards the trailer park as Maya quickly ran after him, their laughter bouncing off the dark streets. In her friendship with Shawn, Maya had found freedom, she had found the only person who understood her life.

***

Sitting at the dinner table, Farkle’s eyes glided between Lauren and Antonio, the two sitting on opposite ends of the table, distance growing further and further between them every day. At first he hadn’t noticed it, and if he did, he must have quickly dismissed it. But now he saw it clearly, the distance, the wavering affectionate smiles and touches. Sometimes, Lauren would use any excuse just to not be home and Antonio would busy himself. If they had to, they would come together, but only for Farkle’s sake. The perfect parents Farkle had come to know suddenly were falling apart before his very eyes.

“How was your day at school, Farkle?” Lauren broke the silence, reaching for her wine, taking a tempered sip, her sapphire eyes boring into him.

“It was good, thank you,” Farkle replied, hesitating slightly as he glanced between the two again.

“I have never met a kid that likes school as much as you do, Farkle.” Antonio snickered to himself. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s great, your dedication to your academics will take you places.” He shared with a proud gleam in his eyes.

“I think you should quit while you’re ahead, Toni,” Lauren playfully drawled out, glancing to the side, studying Farkle for a brief moment. “How were your classes? Any new assignments we can help you with?” she asked, tempered and prepared as always.

“We were actually given a very interesting class project. We were split up into families and given roles and our partners wrote down their ideal person. I’m a father of two daughters, Riley is my wife.” Farkle dreamily said, looking between them, seeing the warmth spread to Lauren’s smile and Antonio let out a throaty chuckle.

“She’s the little brunette you have a crush on, right?” Antonio asked, his dark eyes glinting with amusement.

“It’s not a crush, I am very much in love with her.” Farkle proudly proclaimed.

“It’s young love, Toni,” Lauren teasingly reminded him, leaning back in her seat. “What is her ideal husband?” Lauren asked him.

“Her ideal husband is a compassionate and goofy person who loves basketball and goes for the knicks, whoever they are,” Farkle sheepishly laughed, his eyes returning to the piece of paper.

“You don’t know who the knicks are?” Antonio asked, his eyes wide.

“No, why should I?” Farkle asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

“They’re only the best basketball team in America.” Antonio exclaimed.

“Yeah, sure,” Farkle scoffed. “Who even cares about basketball?”

“Apparently your wife, you might want to learn who they are.” Antonio suggested with a scowl.

“They’re not, don’t believe Toni.” Lauren playfully remarked, shyly glancing up at Antonio, whose eyes were filled with fire, an argument building up on the tip of his tongue.

“Anyway, her ideal husband will also want to be a veterinarian and will only tell her about my hopes and dreams. We will also ride horses every weekend together.” He finished, looking between them expectantly.

“That’s quite a list,” Antonio chuckled.

“She knows what she wants, it’s good for a young girl to know what she wants at a young age. There’s so much working against her as is.” Lauren quickly said, her sharp tone and analytical eyes studying Antonio as he shifted in his seat.

“Actually, Riley modelled me after this boy she used to have a crush on, his name is Lucas, we actually used to be friends before…” Farkle trailed off his teary eyes drifting to the table.

“You’re still friends,” Antonio quickly chimed in causing Farkle to look up, wide eyed. “If you stop being friends because you were put into the system and had to move away, that’s no true friend.” His voice was vicious and it honestly frightened Farkle.

“Thanks,” Farkle smiled.

“Who knew behind that pretty face you were so wise.” Lauren teased him, her eyes glimmering with amusement, giving him a once over.

“You did,” Antonio replied.

“Gross,” Farkle called out.

“Cool it, kid, we’ll try keep it G rated in front of you.” Antonio quipped.

“I was wondering something,” Farkle said out of nowhere.

“Is it how to ask a girl out?” Antonio queried.

“Wh-no, I know how to ask her out, I go to her dad and offer two oxen and my best milking cow. But I’m getting ahead of myself, I won’t even have to ask them out anyway-“ Farkle got cut off.

“Them?” Lauren asked, raising an eyebrow as she reached out for her wine.

“Well, one of the great mysteries of the universe is who will be the next Mrs Farkle Mink-Anbernathy. The loser will be crushed and go ‘uh-uh-uh-uh Farkle’ and cry in slow motion.” Farkle shared with a gleam in his eyes. “But that’s not what I was going to ask.” He quickly said.

“Yeah?” Antonio asked.

“What were your families like?” Farkle asked them. Taking a slow sip of her wine, Lauren’s sapphire eyes drifted up to Antonio, taking in his cast down eyes and clenched jaw, tempering himself before he exploded.

“Mine were an upper middle-class suburban family, the dream on the outside, but nothing is ever perfect once you scratch the surface.” Lauren quickly replied, filling in the silence as Farkle’s curious eyes landed on Antonio. Some of Antonio’s past had already been shared with Farkle, but his past was one of desperation and survival. Nothing like what she’d been through and she knew when to keep quiet about it. Perhaps Farkle hadn’t learned that rule yet. “Toni, help me with the dishes?” Lauren asked, getting up from her seat, Antonio quickly cleared the table, wanting to leave before anything he regretted happened.

“Did I say something?” Farkle asked, confused as Lauren placed a soft hand on his shoulder, smiling down at him.

“No, you didn’t. I think you need some air; I’ll see you out there soon.” Lauren advised him before following Antonio into the kitchen. There was a picture-perfect husband and wife, it was a picture they tried to hard to illuminate to the world. The two had worked hard to get where they were, and they’d tried even hard to build it without the help of anyone. Ambition. Success. These were things they demanded of each other in spades. The expectations didn’t stop there, but they shouldn’t expect such things of Farkle. They had made a deal to never expect such things of him.

“Darling,” she breathed out, reaching out into the abyss, clinging to the loose material of his soft shirt. Stepping closer to him, her body pressed against his, remaining gentle, careful not to frighten him. Slowly he turned, his callous hands clinging to her waist, afraid to let her go while his dark eyes bore into her.

“I assume I’ve done something wrong. Care to let me know what it is?” Antonio playfully drawled out, leaning in and pressing his lips against her cheek, making Lauren let out a bout of throaty laughter.

“I’m not sure I want to let you know.” Lauren teased him, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

“That’s very rude of you.” He paused for a very brief moment.  “What?” Antonio asked, sighing, his eyes drifting down to her lips, tempting and torturing him.

“What happened today?” Lauren asked, fearing the outcome, fearing his wrath.

“An old friend of mine showed up, I served with him for a while. He wants to go for drinks, meet you, but I insisted that I’m not mixing my past with what I got now. It’s not good business.” Antonio informed Lauren, carefully eyeing her, studying her reaction as he always did.

“I’m sure no friend of yours would hurt us, no matter how paranoid you get about it.” Lauren quipped, pulling away from him.

“It’s not paranoia.” Antonio quickly called out, running his hand through his hair.

“And yet you reek of it.” Lauren bit back. “You need to let go of what’s wrong, open up to everyone you care about.”

“So far that’s a list of two people, and Farkle’s too young to deal with my shit.” Antonio sighed.

“I’m not.” Lauren reminded him.

“I’ll deal with it.” His voice cut like glass on her heart. “Our first priority should always be playing the perfect parents to Farkle, we provide for our lifestyle and for him. Everything else, whatever we go through, it comes second to him.” Antonio reminded her, the harsh edges of who he was at his core revealed. In truth, Lauren had always known who he was, who he could be under the suits and the masks he donned.

“I remember what our job is, but I also remember this being your idea.” Lauren reminded him, pausing for a brief moment. “Should you go out there and talk to him or should I?” Lauren asked him.

“I’ll drive him to school tomorrow.” He answered, clenching his jaw.

“Will you tell him about your family?” she asked him, pushing the boundaries he’d set in place.

“What family?” he let out a hollow bout of laughter. “I guess we still have a long way to go.” Antonio muttered, pressing his forehead against hers.

“We do, but we’ll get through it together. Have you taken your meds today?” Lauren asked him, her smile disappearing as he sighed, pushing her away and walking to the opposite end of the kitchen. “You know you need them.” She quickly stated.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Antonio clenched his jaw.

“I want to see you take them.” She demanded as he reached into the cabinet, past the alcohol and placed his medication in his hand, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge and placing them in his mouth, swallowing the pills.

“Happy?” Antonio asked.

“Yes.” Lauren nodded, walking up to him and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll see you in bed.” She brushed past him grabbing a blanket and a pack of cigarettes. Despite wanting to quit this time, she’d fallen down the spiralling rabbit hole of addiction. A day away from them in her occupation and in her life, the pressure wasn’t worth it. Despite knowing she could handle anything thrown at her, that didn’t mean she wanted to, she just wanted to light a cigarette and just let the anxieties fade away. Stepping into the backyard she saw Farkle curled up, looking at some of the flowers.

“Hi Lauren,” Farkle smiled up at her as she handed him a blanket.

“You look cold,” she commented, sitting down on the chair beside him, placing a cigarette between her lips and lighting it.

“I thought you quit,” Farkle commented.

“I did, and I will again. I promise.” Lauren tiredly shared, bringing the cigarette up to her lips, taking a drag of it.

“They’re highly addictive, honestly, I’m surprised you aren’t experiencing more health complications due to the excessive nicotine consumption.” Farkle shared, perplexed as he stared up at Lauren who let out a small bout of laughter, shaking her head.

“Guess I’m just lucky.” Lauren shrugged her shoulders. “I’m sorry about Toni’s behaviour, he’s always going through something, but family has always been a touchy subject,” she paused, taking a drag of her cigarette, staring off into the distance. “His past was never a happy one.”

“I know, he told me he was in an orphanage when he was young. Is that why he doesn’t want to talk about it?” Farkle asked her.

“Some of it,” Lauren replied.

“Will I ever meet any of your family?” Farkle asked.

“I wish you could. But you and Toni are the only family I will ever need. Even if it’s not easy sometimes, but I always knew it wouldn’t be.” Lauren mused, glancing down at Farkle, she reached out, wrapping her arm around him. “Even if I’m not here often I want you to know I love having you here.” She shared.

“Thank you, Lauren. I miss my mum, but I’m glad I’m here with you.” Farkle shared, leaning against her. It wasn’t the same as his parents back in his home, but they tried hard to be everything he could ever need. Farkle was never 100% sure what love felt like, not non-romantic love, but he was sure what he felt with them was close to it.

Chapter Text

In school the group huddled together in the school halls, their family script prepared to perfection, in Riley’s opinion anyway, but everyone had felt the absence of Maya Hart throughout the duration of their assignment. No matter how hard Riley tried to track Maya down and get her to work together in the group project. It just wasn’t working. Looking between the two, Sarah knew she’d have to be the one to fix things. She was nothing if she wasn’t a problem solver. While Sarah knew better than to ask about someone she barely knew, and while she couldn’t sympathise with whatever was going on with Maya, she knew when something was wrong. Something felt off about Maya, like she was missing something.

“Hey Hart, your friends looking for you,” Sarah said, sitting down in the before school detention.

“You have detention?” Maya asked, scrunching up her face.

“Yeah, I go to the morning one to get some studying in. I saw your dad give you a lift to school.” She commented, leaning back in her seat.

“Are you stalking me?” Maya asked.

“No,” she shook her head.

“Good.” Maya looked away.

“You done your part of the group project?” Sarah asked, glancing over at her.

“Why do you care?” Maya asked.

“Because we still need your script, Maya. Look something is obviously going on, so what’s your issue?” Sarah snapped, demanding an answer.

“There’s no problem, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Maya rebuffed.

“But you do,” Sarah insisted.

“No, I don’t.” she bit back.

“Whatever issues are your own, here’s our script, do yours now.” Sarah demanded, slapping the script on her desk and quietly facing the front. Reaching out, Maya grabbed the script and looked over it, biting her bottom lip. She imagined the worry on Farkle’s face at the thought of anything below a A- and the denial smile that Riley would send her way. How could she disappoint them like this? Feeling Sarah’s gaze on her, Maya knew there’d be a satisfied smile on her face as Maya began to read over the script, adding in her dialogue.

In the hallways, Farkle and Riley were patiently waiting for Sarah to return as they ran over their lines. “I don’t know what’s going on with Maya, she’s behaving all over the place.” Riley sighed as the two began to make their way towards their next class.

“It’s Maya,” Farkle replied, hoping Riley would figure it out by herself. This time had caused a small but significant strain on Maya and Riley’s friendship, the two had always been the closest friends he’d ever met, but something had changed. He’d hate to see what a few more years would do to them.

“But Maya has never kept secrets from me, she is now.” Riley cried out when she saw Maya walking with Sarah, the duo laughing together, quickly Riley walked away from Farkle, appearing behind her and grabbing her arm. “Bay window, bay window right now.” Riley shouted, causing Maya to rapidly blink, taken by surprise as she was pulled away from the two boys.

“It’s a school, Riles, I don’t think there’s a bay window,” Maya called out as Riley came to a stop in front of a bay window and Maya scrunched up her face.

“There’s always a bay window.” Riley giddily said, sitting down with Maya.

“Somehow.” Maya muttered, shaking her head. “What’s up, Riles?” Maya asked.

“Where were you? We were doing our assignment and you never showed.” Riley pointed out, looking at Maya with a scared smile, afraid of what she might say.

“I was just busy, Riley.” Maya quickly answered with a dazzling smile, only Riley could tell how broken it was.

“Why didn’t you just tell me? Is everything okay?” Riley persisted.

“It’s nothing, I mean if you’re worried about my assignment, don’t, I just did my part. Don’t worry, no homework rebellions until next year.” Maya assured her with a small chuckle.

“Oh no,” Riley said, looking away from Maya, dreading the homework rebellion.

“You don’t need to worry about me, I promise. One bad grade isn’t the end of the world.” Maya sighed, standing up as the bell rang. “But Feeny might kill us if we’re late for class.” She quipped, smiling to herself, holding out her hand, Riley smiled, grabbing her hand and the two walked down the halls and towards Mr Feeny’s classroom.

“Okay, but I need you to tell me about what’s really going on with you because I need to help, I’m always here to help you peaches.” Riley nervously said, Maya’s smile faded as she looked between the sheet of paper and Riley.

“Thanks, but you don’t have to fix my mess.” Maya sighed, stepping into the classroom and she sat down, looking towards the front of class as Mr Feeny ushered Cory’s family to the front to present first.

“What the hell are you wearing?” Maya asked, her eyes wide as she gave Shawn a once over.

“I’m wearing a white button-down shirt and a wool sweater vest, I heard it’s all the rage in high functioning intellects such as myself.” Shawn quickly replied in an obnoxious voice, flashing an award-winning smile.

“I wish I had a camera right now.” Maya seethed, smirking at him.

“Same, babe.” Shawn cheekily commented, letting out a short bout of giggles before running to the front of the room sitting between Stuart who was slouching in his seat and Cory who sat cross-legged on the table.

“He’s so dead.” Maya smiled to herself. Glancing between the two, Riley’s giddiness faded as she studied the way her best friends gaze lingered on the pretty boy of the 90s, dreamily amused at his antics. This was not good.

“So, let’s get to it, this family’s crisis is that the older, cooler brother wants to get a tattoo, conflicts abound. Take it away, younger, uncool brother.” Mr Feeny tapped Shawn on the shoulder.

“I can’t fathom why any human being in full possession of his faculties would want to render himself permanently disfigured with so-called ‘body art’.” Shawn said visibly flinching, playing the part of the uncool brother perfectly. Sitting in the back row, Maya raised an eyebrow as she watched them. “Woah,” Shawn took his glasses off. 

“What?” Cory asked.

“I’m such a good geek I scared myself.” Shawn breathed out, running his hands through his hair.

“Listen, pinhead.” Stuart sat up. “It’s my body and I’ll do whatever I want with it, unless maybe you’d like to try and stop me, you woodchuck faced, nearsighted, underweight, future I.R.S auditor.” Stuart spat, before slouching back in his seat.

“Woah,” Riley breathed out, her eyes wide. “He’s so cool right now.”

“You find that cool?” Maya asked in disbelief.

“Minkus is not that cool,” Farkle pouted, looking between Riley and Stuart.

“Mr Minkus, I might remind you that eventually the bell will ring, and he will be he and you will be you. And natural selection will once again rule the blackboard jungle.” Mr Feeny reminded Stuart who paused, his life flashing before his eyes. Quickly he reached into the pocket of his shirt, holding out some money to Shawn who smiled smugly.

“Will five cover it?” Stuart spluttered out.

“Hey, talk some more.” Shawn grinned, grabbing the money and placing it in his pocket.

“Okay, you live under our roof,” Topanga continued with the assignment. “We make the decisions. No tattoo. Tattoo, you, no.” she quickly laid down the law of the house.

“Hell yeah!” Riley screamed; all eyes drawn to her as she nervously sank back into her seat.

“I love the enthusiasm Miss Matthews but save it until after the performance.” Mr Feeny advised with a sigh.

“A person’s body is his temple, if our son wants to ornament his temple with a tattoo, let him worship in his own way. Nam myo ho renge kyo.” Cory’s voice became airy as he stared off into the distance.

“Hey, Riles, imagine if your dad was a flower child.” Maya giggled.

“I think it’s cool,” Riley slowly replied, shifting slightly.

“Until you have to start using leaves for toilet paper.” Maya shrugged.

“What? Who does that? Why do they do that?” Riley gasped.

“Miss Hart, Miss Matthews, it’s not your turn yet.” Mr Feeny warned them.

“You are so bizarre!” Cory exclaimed, looking to Topanga.

“I’ve decided without benefit of discussion with my spouse, because that’s the kind of husband I know you’ll be—“Topanga raised her voice, pointing up at Cory.

“Man, I’m loving this.” Maya grinned.

“Kill me now, Maya, put me out of my misery.” Riley sunk in her seat.

“There, there, honey.” Maya pouted, patting Riley’s head.

“The tattoo will have to wait.” Topanga stood her ground when Stuart launched up from his seat, ripping his shirt open. The whole room was in shock, Farkle’s jaw dropped while Riley screamed, quickly covering her eyes and Maya burst out laughing, unable to look away from mini-Minkus’ chest.

“Now, that’s cool.” Maya called out, clapping her hands together.

“Woah, cool,” Shawn exclaimed, grinning ear to ear, unable to take his eyes off of it.

“Stuart, a tattoo, it speaks to me.” Topanga said, shocked.

“Minkus, what’s the deal?” Cory called out, throwing his hands in the air. “We agreed on no tattoo.” He reminded the tattooed boy.

“Mr Feeny’s assignment was to solve a family problem, and I decided to solve it my way, well, actually, his way.” Stuart gestured to Shawn.

“Minkus, you’ve got a dark side,” Shawn took off his glasses. “It speaks to me.”

“Let’s not go overboard. It’s just a press-on.” Stuart quickly informed everyone, holding his hands up before sitting down.

“Thanks for screwing up the assignment.” Cory groaned.

“On the contrary, Mr Matthews. Mr Minkus didn’t screw up the assignment at all.” Mr Feeny quickly informed him.

“Yeah, but we had our family discussion all planned out and he messed it up.” Cory exclaimed.  “He broke the rules.”

“Which is exactly what happening in real families.” Mr Feeny loudly informed Cory.

“It does?” Riley asked.

“Yes, honey.” Maya nodded.

“I don’t like that.” Riley groaned, slumping in her seat again.

“There is no model household. There are no model parents.” Mr Feeny informed everyone.

“I think the only way you can judge a family is by how much love there is in the home.” Topanga shared with a small smile. Leaning back in her chair, Maya’s jaw clenched, and her heart ached. If the only way to judge a family was by how much love there was in the home, then her family must have been a cosmic joke. What love? What love was there left in the home to judge?

“Excellent point, Miss Lawrence, a family is a living breathing thing that required constant adjustment and change.” Mr Feeny preached, looking to Cory, his words settling into the hearts of everyone there.

“But Beaver’s dad never changed.” Cory commented. “You always knew what he was gonna say.”

“Beaver’s dad wasn’t real, real fathers have to adapt. Real father’s don’t have a script like Beaver’s father did.” Mr Feeny exclaimed.

“I guess it’s easy to sound smart when you got the best writers in Hollywood writing everything you say.” Cory commented, nodding along.

“I wouldn’t know.” Mr Feeny deadpanned, pursing his lips as the group made their way back to their seats.

“What’d you think?” Shawn asked, smiling to himself. “Impressed?”

“Not really.” Maya coolly said as she shrugged him off, making her way towards the front with the group she was in. Sitting beside Sarah, she glanced down at the script before flashing a bright smile, crossing one leg over the other, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

“Take it away, Miss Matthews,” Mr Feeny gestured, standing off to the side, watching them closely.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Maya grinned. “Before we get started, our family crisis is…” Maya scrunched up her face, looking down at Sarah, glaring at her.

“Say it,” Sarah mouthed, flashing a toothy grin as she clung to the painting of a purple cat.

“Kill me,” Maya growled before flashing a peppy grin and letting out a bout of girly giggles, ready to take on this assignment for Riley. She couldn’t let her down this time. “My parents found out I have a secret boyfriend and they don’t want me dating yet.” Maya forced out the crisis before sitting down again.

“Right, let’s begin with the wholesome cowboy father.” Mr Feeny said, tapping Farkle’s shoulder.

“Well, darlin, you know me and your mother love you very much, but we was talking and I just don’t think you’re ready to start datin yet. Especially if you feel like you need to keep it a secret from us.” Farkle said in a heavy western hero accent that made Maya’s eye twitch and a ‘hur-hur’ tickle the back of her throat.

“But dad, he like really gets me, you know? I’m just so in love with him and I’m sure you would be too if you met him.” Maya cheerily exclaimed, cringing inside.

“Maya, you need to listen to dad, he knows what’s best for us.” Sarah quickly chimed in, placing her hand on Maya. “It’s for the better.”

“She’s right, sweetie,” Riley reached over, taking Maya’s hands. “We want you to be happy and find someone you love, but not if you’re gonna keep it a secret. We don’t keep secrets from the people that we love.”

“That being said, we also don’t want you datin until you’re 30.” Farkle quickly added.

“We didn’t agree on that.” Riley quickly butted in.

“No way am I doing that, I’m about to get into high school guys, my life is like over if I can’t date.” Maya exclaimed, diverging from the script, satisfaction boiling in her chest as she looked between everyone. “I mean Sarah sneaks out of the house to hang out with her friends.”

“You what?” Riley screamed, turning to look at Sarah who slumped in her seat, trying to hide her face.

“Come now, sugar,” Farkle reached out for Riley who jumped away, looming over Sarah who wondered what kind of fresh hell this method acting was.

“No, our children are running wild, they’re crazy and out of control, you’re both grounded for life.” Riley quickly said, looking between them. “We’re not budging from this, now you best go to bed and not sneak out.” She pointed to both of her assignment children.

“But dad,” Maya screamed, looking to Farkle who looked between Sarah and Maya and his ‘wife’ Riley like a deer in headlights.

“No, darlin, what your mother says goes, that’s how we work.” Farkle dreamily said, looking at Riley with a soft smile.

“Thank you, honey,” Riley leaned into Farkle.

“I love this assignment.” Farkle grinned, trying to stop himself from fainting at the way Riley came into contact with him.

“That’s so unfair.” Sarah huffed. “Thanks for nothing.” Sarah huffed.

“Like you can talk.” Maya bit back.

“Whatever, you know I bet you weren’t doing anything different from what we’re doing when you were our age. You can’t control me and you can’t control my sister.” Sarah screamed.

“We’re done,” Riley quickly cut in, not wanting it to go on for any longer.

“Well, thank you all for your…unique take on a family crisis.” Mr Feeny hesitated to look between them. “I sense that like you should have, you diverged from the original script, excellent work. I very much appreciated your take on the sibling squabble present in many families. No two siblings agree with each other and support each other every day, there are complications and rivalries and snitching which I believe you displayed perfectly.” Riley’s smile faltered as she glanced over at Maya who remained quiet.

***

After school had finished Riley sat on the steps of the school, waiting for Maya to get out of detention with Cory, Farkle had been ushered home by his father who had told him that he, Lauren and Farkle would be leaving to go to Lauren’s work event tonight so Riley knew that he would be gone for a few days. Hearing the bolstering noise from behind, Riley’s head whipped around to see Shawn and Maya making their way towards them.

“Well looky here, you gotta stop waiting honey.” Maya grinned; her arms wide open as she engulfed Riley in a hug.

“Pfft, we weren’t waiting. I missed the bus.” Cory quickly scoffed.

“You did?” Shawn asked in disbelief.

“Tell the truth, Cory,” Riley smiled over at him.

“Fine, I’m waiting, but only cause you,” he pointed to Maya. “Ya little Weasel, are stealing my Shawn.” Cory called out, quickly going to walk away with Shawn when the latter turned to look at them, brushing the hair out of his face.

“Yeah, that’s really not it.” Maya flatly said.

“We’re going to the mall later, you wanna go for milkshakes with us?” Shawn asked her.

“With you?” Maya asked, raising an eyebrow as Riley looked between them. “Not a chance,” she bluntly commented.

“Come on, Maya,” Riley laughed, looking down at her friend. “We’d love to go for milkshakes with you two.”

“Only cause I’m being forced to.” Maya quickly called out.

“Keep telling yourself that babe.” Shawn smirked over at her before walking away with Cory, watching them go, something was left lingering between them and Riley turned to look at Maya worriedly.

“Why didn’t you take the assignment seriously?” Riley asked. “I know when something’s going on we’ve been best friends since I can remember, and I know when somethings going on.”

“Fine, look Riley, this whole family thing, I don’t know how to do it.” Maya admitted, looking down at the ground. She wanted to turn and run, cause as fearless as she acted, it wasn’t her. It never had been. Not if she really thought about it. “Back then…I barely had a dad; he was there one night and then the next he was gone forever. And my mum, it’s just my mum and me. I had half a mum, and she was the one who stayed but I barely remember doing anything with her. I don’t know what a family is supposed to be, I just know that even without a mum or a dad, I’ll get by, I can look after myself. In class we were talking about families, about a mum and a dad and two children. I only had one of those things and I still only have one of those things.” Maya shared, feeling her eyes burn, her teeth sunk into the inside of her cheek to stop herself from saying anything she’d regret. What came next surprised her. Riley launched herself at Maya, wrapping her arms tightly around Maya.

“Family or no family, Maya, you’ll always have me. You’re my sister and there’s no getting rid of me. Ever. You’re stuck with me.” She smiled down at Maya who laughed lightly, rolling her eyes.

“Hey girls, you coming or what?” Cory called out, holding his arms wide open.

“Yeah, we’re coming.” Riley shouted back at him. “I wish he wasn’t my dad.” She sighed, suddenly and dramatically turning, walking towards them with Maya following closely behind, laughing as they stopped in front of Cory and Shawn, the group walking together. Slowing down, Shawn stopped beside Maya, noticing the redness of her eyes.

“Hey, you okay, Hart?” Shawn asked in a quiet voice, glancing behind her, Riley looked between them.

“I’m always okay, Shawn.” Maya answered, but he knew what she really meant. “Thanks.”

“I got you.” Shawn nudged her lightly. When they got to the mall the four got milkshakes and began to walk around the store, Riley and Maya’s arms were linked as they looked around, memorising all the stores they wanted to visit.

“Cory,” a voice called out and all of their heads turned towards a giant lobster.

“Maya, are you seeing this?” Riley asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Cory, that lobster over there seems to know you.” Shawn dryly remarked.

“You know, today would have been awesome if I had a camera.” Maya snickered as she took a sip of her drink.

“Boy, what kind of idiot would wear one of these getups at the mall?” Cory asked snickering.

“Apparently your brother.” Maya burst out laughing.

“No he wouldn’t,” Cory shook his head in denial.

“Come here,” he hissed.

“Okay, apparently he would.” He dryly said as the four kids came to a stop.

“Eric, this may come as somewhat of a shock, but you’re a lobster, dude.” Shawn pointed out, biting back a smile.

“No, really?” Maya gasped.

“Look, Jason and I invited two girls here.” Eric began.

“They’re definitely gonna run screaming when they catch a look at you,” Maya goadingly stated causing Eric’s head to whip around and his eyes narrowed while Cory and Shawn snickered behind her.

“Hey, small blonde girl I don’t know the name of, why are you here again?” Eric demanded to know.

“I’m just here to look at the most stupid thing in the world.” Maya bit back.

“But you don’t look much different after a beach day.” Riley pointed out; her eyebrows furrowed.

“We don’t talk about that, Riley.” Maya hissed under her breath.

“Righhhht,” Riley drawled out.

“You have to get rid of them.” Eric shouted, grabbing Shawn with his lobster claw.

“Eric, you look great as a lobster.” Riley clapped her hands together.

“Tell him the truth.” Maya demanded.

“I don’t wanna.” Riley quickly rebuffed.

“Riley,” Maya sang.

“Fine, Eric—”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it Riley.” Eric huffed. “Get lost.”

“Wow, that was so mean.” Riley gaped as the two slowly walked away from him, glancing over her shoulder, Maya’s eyes were glued to Cory and Shawn as a smile crept onto her face. “Maya, whatever you’re about to do, please don’t.”

“Why, Riley, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Maya feigned innocence, placing her hand on her chest.

“Is anyone hungry? Shoppers, now’s your chance to win a free lobster dinner from Larry’s Lobster Locker! All you have to do to win a free lobster is knock Larry the Lobster into the giant tub of butter.”

“Piece of cake.” Maya said to herself as she turned around, to look at the unveiling of Eric the Lobster looking miserable.

“Eric, my brother Eric.” Morgan cried, pointing up to the lobster. “There’s my brother Eric.”

“Oh, check it out.” Jason called out, biting back a smile.

“Oh, he’s a lobster.” One of the girls he brought said.

“How embarrassing for him.”

“Maybe we should be sensitive and understanding.”

“Then we wouldn’t be us.”

“Dunk him.” The two girls said in unison as Maya slowly began to make her way towards them with a slow smile spreading across her face.

“Maya, we can’t change the past.” Riley called out in a hushed tone, grabbing onto Maya’s arm.

“This won’t change anything, Riles.” Maya assured her friend as she grabbed the ball from Jason, her eyes glimmering with mischief.

“Oh, come on Maya, I know you don’t want to do this.” Eric spluttered.

“Oh, I’m surprised you remember my name.” Maya playfully drawled out.

“Of course I do, you’re cool.” He nervously smiled. “The coolest.”

“Right, you know, it’s such a bummer that I don’t care.” Maya shrugged her shoulders as she threw the ball towards him, hitting the trigger causing Eric to scream, being dunked in the butter.

“Nice shot.” Shawn called out, appearing behind her.

“You’re not getting any lobster.” Maya bluntly said, smirking up at him.

“Pfft, what makes you think I even wanted any?” Shawn asked, biting his bottom lip.

“Because you’re a growing boy.” Maya sarcastically replied, taking the lobster that was given to her. “Maybe next time.”

“You mean it?” Shawn asked, his eyes lighting up.

“No.” Maya shook her head. “You wanna eat lobster tonight, Riles?” Maya asked.

“I would love to.” Riley grinned, the two walking off together.

“Whatever, I bet it’s not even that good.” Shawn grumbled, folding his arms. The two made their way to Maya’s side of the neighbourhood. It was a long time coming and Maya knew it. In her mind she had no idea how Riley could help or even begin to understand the life that Maya seemed doomed to live. A helpless suffering. She could never have anything. She didn’t deserve to have anything. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she saw Riley’s head darting from side to side, looking around in shock and pity. Random bangs and shouting from inside thin-walled houses echoed through the street and before Maya went to reach for the doorknob, she turned to look at Riley with a nervous smile.

“This is my home-“

“You don’t have to explain anything—” Riley tried.

“I do.” Maya firmly said. “Look…I was nervous to bring you here because…look it’s just different to what you’re used to, it’s so different from the life you have with your perfect little family, with your mum and dad who have stable jobs and your siblings.” Maya finally said, letting out a breath, waiting for anything to reassure her that she didn’t make the biggest mistake of her life. From the moment she’d met Riley she had always been able to talk to her.

Comparing her life back in their original time seemed pointless, they were born to who they were born to. There was no point in comparing or wishing her life was better. She was who she was and there was no changing that. But coming to the 90s, all of them placed under the care of foster parents at the same time, it just felt so unfair to her. Farkle got these amazing, rich, ambitious, beautiful parents who were willing to do anything to encourage and lift Farkle up. And Riley…she got the suburban dream again. Everything Maya wanted. She got. And what did Maya get? Yeah, it was all that she needed, but it wasn’t what she wanted.

“Maya, you know it doesn’t matter where you live, I love you just the same.” Riley assured her friend, the two linking arms as Maya drew in a deep breath, pushing the door open to see Rino standing there, drinking black coffee in the kitchen.

“Hey Maya, how was your assignment?” Rino asked, looking between the two.

“It was good, I mean, Mr Feeny said we did pretty good.” Maya answered, shrugging her shoulders, trying to play it off as if she didn’t care.

“Hi Mr Clark, I’m Riley, Maya’s best friend.” She proudly introduced herself, holding out her hand which Rino shook, unsure of the situation or who the girl was. Unfortunately Maya usually kept quiet when it came to who she hung out with.

“It’s good to meet you, Riley, it’s good to meet another friend of Maya’s.” Rino have her a strained smile.

“Oh, have you met Farkle?” Riley asked.

“Who?” Rino asked.

“Yo, I got us lobster tonight.” Maya grinned quickly irrupting them, making her way into the kitchen.

“Great, I don’t think I’ve ever had lobster before.” Rino laughed, flustered.

“You haven’t? How?” Riley spluttered, her eyes growing wide.

“It’s expensive, Riles.” Maya stated.

“Yeah, but it’s so tasty.” Riley exclaimed. “I love it so much.” She groaned.

“How’d you manage to get your hands on lobster?” Rino asked her as he made his way into the kitchen again with Riley following closely behind.

“I knocked some lobster into a tub of butter.” Maya answered, smiling to herself.

“Maya is awesome at throwing things, she used to be the best pitcher at our middle school before we came here.” Riley proudly boasted.

“Really?” Rino asked, surprised. “How come you never told me?”

“It’s not a big deal.” Maya laughed, shaking her head.

“No big deal huh? You like baseball?” Rino asked, curious.

“She loves it, she was part of the team.” Riley quickly added.

“Uh, yeah, I like it a lot.” Maya forced a smile.

“We should get some guys from around to play baseball with, it’ll be fun.” Rino offered, his eyes slipping over to Riley. “If you want, you can come, you seem like you’re very passionate about this.” He joked.

“Oh, no, no, I don’t like baseball. It’s not really my thing.” Riley scoffed, shaking her head.

“Yeah, not at all.” Maya sarcastically commented, rolling her eyes.

“How are the Hunters?” Rino asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

“I’m sorry, who?” Riley asked, looking between them.

“They’re friends of Rino’s, he’s friends with Shawn’s dad.” Maya quickly lied, looking between the two, her eyes wide.

“Uh, yeah, I haven’t seen them in a while and I just wanted to know how they were.” Rino caught on, noting in his mind that he would ask about it later.

“Why are you asking Maya, then?” Riley asked.

“I know she goes to school with Shawn.” Rino answered.

“Okay,” Riley shrugged, the three of them eating together and after dinner Rino drove Riley home, it had been the best night Maya had in a while. To finally share her life with Riley, it felt like a weight lifting off of her shoulder, her best friend in her world, somehow she felt like everything would make sense now. The stars aligned and dreams could come true when you stopped along in Rileytown. A nice visit before she stepped her foot back into reality.

Chapter Text

The chill in the air, spewing into the small apartment had Maya Hart curled up on the small recliner, wrapped tightly into a blanket, the soft hum of the radio filling the apartment with song. However, the hum of the music fell upon deaf ears as Maya’s eyes were drawn to the foggy window, slowly she reached out wiping the fog off and staring outside into the darkness of the storm with a dazed expression. On nights like this, there was nothing in this world that could make her forget her mum…and her dad. The night that had confirmed for her that hope was for suckers. But she was Maya Hart at the end of the day, these things didn’t matter to her. People leaving her didn’t bother her…not on the surface.

“Holy shit,” Rino shouted at the top of his lungs from the bathroom. Whipping her head around, Maya’s eyes were drawn to the hallway as Rino came running out in pants and a bathrobe.

“What happened?” Maya asked, scrunching up her face.

“There’s a leak in the bathroom.” Rino panted, gesturing behind him. “At least I don’t have to shower tonight.” He muttered, shivering at the fresh storm water that had doused him.

“You need help?” Maya asked, standing up from her spot beside the window.

“No, Maya, I got this, I mean I was a plumber.” He muttered, pushing his hair out of his face as he slowly made his way towards the linin closet, pulling out his toolbox. “Look, just in case it gets better you should probably go and stay at one of your friends.” He suggested looking down at Maya.

“So you want me to go?” Maya asked him.

“I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning, I promise.” Rino tightly smiled, turning around and grabbing an umbrella, handing it to her.

“Gee, thanks.” Maya sarcastically muttered.

“Look, Maya, I’m trying to be responsible. This place needs to be up to code and you need to be dry every night.” Rino expressed, placing his hands on his hips as he watched Maya roll her eyes.

“Thanks for your concern.” Maya stood up, grabbing the umbrella. “See ya later.” Maya grinned, turning around and tearing the door open walking outside into the rain. A smile slowly spread to her face as she discarded the umbrella, twirling around, kicking the puddles, and letting big bouts of laughter escape.

“Well, well, look who’s stalking me,” Shawn called out over the violently pelting rain that surrounded them. Whipping around, Maya’s eyes landed on Shawn and she couldn’t contain the grin that seemed to grow upon seeing him.

“Hey Hunter,” Maya waved, running up to him.

“You just can’t get enough of me can you?” Shawn asked with a small smirk.

“You see this face?” Maya asked, gesturing to herself.

“Yeah,” he dreamily said.

“This is the face of disinterest, memorise it.” Maya said before turning her back on him, continuing down the street. She paused when she realised Shawn wasn’t following and her body whipped around, a small smile present on her lips. “Come on, Hunter, don’t tell me you’re too old to keep up.” She taunted him.

“Please, Hart, I’ll be young forever.” Shawn boasted, his head held high as the two walked together.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Hunter.” Maya snickered, shaking her head as the crack of thunder echoed throughout the dimly lit streets.

“You help me sleep at night.” Shawn shared, smiling down at her causing Maya to step closer to him, dry heaving before pushing Shawn away from her.

“Come on,” Maya reached out, grabbing Shawn’s arm, dragging him.

“Where are we going?” Shawn asked, trudging behind her.

“Does it matter? It’s not like you were going to say no anyway.” Maya bit back playfully.

“Yeah, right. Believe it or not, Hart, my life doesn’t revolve around angry small people.” Shawn dryly remarked, letting out a small bout of laughter.

“Oh, I’m sorry, do you want me to leave?” Maya asked, her eyes gleaming with amusement as her smile grew, staring up at him, watching as Shawn’s smile faltered slightly. Maya already knew how this would end, despite how weird it was to have Shawn blatantly flirt with her, she liked hanging out with him. She always did. If there was one person Maya knew she could always have fun around, it was Shawn Hunter.

“Please, as if you got anything better to do.” Shawn scoffed, looking away from her before he stepped closer to her. “You’re not gonna really do that are you?” he asked, his voice becoming squeaky.

“Try me.” Maya said in a low voice before brushing past him, her head held high as Shawn trailed after her. “Hurry it up Hunter, if you keep that up I’ll never get to eat.” Maya hollered, her head tilting to the side as she kept her gaze on him.

“Hey, that’s just a normal Thursday for me.” Shawn chuckled, catching up to her as they passed the threshold, walking into Joey Two Time’s Milk Bar the pair trying to gauge what they wanted.

“Maya, Shawn, how’s it going kids?” Joey asked, looking up from his newspaper to look at the duo. Fighting back the burning sensation in her cheeks, Maya quickly glanced up at Shawn. They weren’t supposed to be hanging out. It had the potential to screw up the future, her future, but she didn’t want to let go of their friendship.

“It’s been real, can’t say hanging out with mop head is ever really any fun.” Maya jibed, flashing a toothy grin up at Shawn who scoffed, rolling his head.

“She’s just jealous she’s got a birds nest and I don’t.” Shawn bit back, rolling his eyes.

“Wouldn’t be too sure, kid,” Joey commented.

“Are you saying she has better hair than me?” Shawn asked, his eyes wide.

“I mean, was that ever actually a question?” Maya asked, raising her eyebrows as Shawn huffed, shoving Maya away from him, she let out a squeal, bursting into a fit of laughter as she began shovelling some lollies into a bag.

“You two should probably get home soon, there’s a big storm on the way.” Joey advised them, returning to looking down at his newspaper.

“How come you’re not home?” Shawn asked him.

“I live here.” Joey deadpanned.

“Nice place, kinda rocks.” Maya said, looking around. “It’s better than my place.” She shrugged.

“Oh yeah, you got a new place, right?” Shawn asked, making his way towards her.

“Yep, and guess what? It’s already leaking.” Maya sighed, before turning around, coming to a sudden stop as Shawn invaded her personal bubble.

“That sucks,” Shawn muttered.

“No, really?” Maya gasped, walking around him and placing the lollies on the counter and passing over the money.

“See you kids next week.” Joey waved to the two as they left the store and Shawn grabbed his bike walking it around as they made their way down the street while Maya stuffed her face with the lollies she’d bought.

“Man and you guys call me a pig.” Shawn muttered, watching in amazement at she scarfed them down. Maya’s head snapped in his direction, her eyes narrowing.

“What did you say, string-bean?” Maya asked, taking a threatening step in his direction.

“I love you?” Shawn nervously laughed as his heart attempted to break free from his ribcage.

“Nice try,” Maya turned away from him.

“Oh, did I tell you I bought a cherry bomb yesterday?” Shawn excitedly asked, reaching into his pocket and holding it out in front of Maya, a grin spread to her face as she stepped closer to Shawn, looking down at it.

“That’s awesome,” Maya exclaimed. “How come you haven’t used it yet? Too scared?” Maya taunted him, raising an eyebrow.

“Please, me? Scared?” Shawn scoffed, shaking his head.

“If you’re not scared then light it up now.” Maya challenged him.

“You really think I won’t do it?” Shawn asked, leaning in.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking.” Maya nodded her head.

“Alright then, and if I use my one and only cherry bomb what do I get?” Shawn asked her.

“The satisfaction of blowing it up.” Maya replied, taking one of her lollies and shoving it in her mouth.

“That’s not good enough.” He shook his head.

“Then what do you want string-bean?” Maya asked.

“A kiss, right on the lips.” Shawn puckered his lips and Maya gagged, shoving him away from her, the two laughing.

“Dream on.” Maya grumbled.

“I will,” Shawn dreamily said. “You got a light?” Shawn asked her.

“Do I seriously look like I do?” Maya dryly asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.

“Well if I’m gonna light it I need something to light it.” Shawn pointed out as Maya huffed, looking around, her eyes drawn to a matchbook, leaning down, Maya picked it up, holding it out to Shawn. “If this isn’t a sign, I don’t know what is.” He breathed out in awe.

“You’re right, it’s a sign from above that you gotta blow something up.” Maya sarcastically said, watching, amused as he lit the match and placed the flame to the cherry bomb, the two watching in silence as the cherry bomb was lit on fire, slowly coming closer and closer to exploding.

“Oh my god, this is awesome.” Shawn screamed.

“Let it go, Hunter,” Maya laughed. “You’re gonna blow up your hand, is that what you wanna do? Blow up your hand?” she asked between fits of laughter, buzzing with excitement as Shawn looked around, his eyes wide and his heart beating as he quickly threw it into the closest thing, a mailbox. Maya’s eyes bulged from their sockets and the two stared at each other, frozen in their place.

“I almost ended up like our shop teacher,” he breathed out, not sure of what to say next.

“Too bad, it would have suited you.” Maya teased him, batting her eyes watching in satisfaction as Shawn groaned. The two then heard sirens go off and Maya quickly reached out, grabbing Shawn’s hand, quickly bolting down the street with him following hot on her heels, their hands clinging to each other. Dipping into an alleyway Maya shoved him against the wall as the trucks passed them.

“What do we do?” Shawn asked, looking around.

“I’m gonna go home,” Maya said as rain beat down on them. “You do too.”

“You saw what just happened, I need to hide, I’ll see you in a few days.” Shawn smiled down at her quickly running off and Maya ran in the other direction. Quickly she found her way home and stumbled into the house. Rino suddenly appeared with the bat in his hand which he dropped as soon as he saw a drenched Maya, reaching out he grabbed a towel quickly handing it to her.

“Do I even want to know what happened to you?” Rino asked with a smile playing on his lips.

“Uh…no.” Maya quickly shook her head.

“Why didn’t you go to Riley’s? Did something happen? Are you okay?” Rino asked in the midst of a panic.

“I’m fine, promise.” Maya laughed as Rino placed a towel over her shoulders, his eyes darting around as he tried to find the heater.

“As long as you’re dry it’s fine.” Rino chuckled, placing his hand on her shoulder, directing her further inside. “You…uh, you want a drink?” he asked her.

“Do we have anything warm?” Maya asked him.

“I’m pretty sure we got some coco.” Rino said quickly rushing to the pantry looking through it. “Apparently not, I know we got milk.” He reached for the fridge opening the milk, smelling it.

“It’s fine, Rino.” Maya weakly smiled, watching him.

“No, I’ll make you some warm milk.” He insisted, grabbing a clean cup and pouring the milk into the cup as Maya walked into her bedroom, stripping her clothes off and changing into sweats. As she came out she huddled beside the heater, drinking her warm milk and watching as Rino kept on trying to fix the leak on the house. It wasn’t anything close to what Riley had, but she didn’t need all that fancy stuff, she just needed someone to stay. Her time here had made her realise that even though her mum was barely there, she stilled loved her, why else would she stay? It was easy to leave. But her mum never gave up and neither did Rino.

***

Showing up to school the next day, the rain consumed everything in its wake as Maya sat in the passenger’s seat of Rino’s car, he had offered to drive her to school before work. That day being one of the rare days that their hours were similar enough to do such things. Pulling up to the school, not a word was said as Maya quickly made her escape, rushing up the steps to escape from the rain, or at least not cop the brunt of the raging storm.

As she made her way towards her first class, her gut began churning again, as it had all morning. Something felt wrong. Last night had been so much fun. But like all things in the real world, it wasn’t without its consequences. Maya worried that she might have messed up Shawn’s life forever. All because she couldn’t control herself. Inside of her mind lingered thoughts about what happened to Shawn after the two parted ways, it had been fun for her, but the look on his face before he left, it didn’t seem like he thought the same way. Why would he? She was a cyclone, wreaking everything in her path.

Stepping into the class the hushed whispered of her classmates gossiping about Shawn’s delinquency reached her ears causing her lips to tug into a frown. As she slipped into her seat, she glanced over at Shawn’s empty desk, her gut churning again. This just made her feel worse than she already did. “Hey, Matthews, where’s Shawn?” Maya asked, looking around, trying to play it off as if she didn’t know.

“Uh, I don’t know, what makes you think I know?” Cory spluttered, nervous sweat forming on his face, all Maya could do was raise an unimpressed eyebrow.

“Look, I know he’s at yours.” Maya said.

“No, he’s not.” Cory squeaked out.

“You’re not a very good liar.” Maya deadpanned.

“Oh, really? What gave me away?” Cory nervously asked trying to avoid her gaze.

“What if I told you a secret?” Maya asked him, leaning in.

“I’d say I don’t want none of your secrets.” Cory exclaimed violently shaking his head.

“I was there with Shawn when it happened.” Maya said in a hushed tone.

“You were hanging out with my Shawn?” Cory asked, glaring at her before it had dawned on him. “No!” Cory gasped, shooting up from his seat. “No, I didn’t hear anything.” Cory shouted, shaking his head. “La, la, la, la,” he screamed.

“God, you’re such a girl.” Maya huffed, pushing him back into his seat and tearing his fingers out from his ears. “You’re also the worst liar I’ve ever met.” She deadpanned.

“Were you really with Shawn?” Cory asked her, his eyes wide in awe. Looking around, Maya pursed her lips, she wasn’t stupid enough to believe her actions didn’t have real life consequences. Judging from Shawn’s reaction, maybe it just wasn’t worth all the trouble. “You know he’s scared.” he said to her, his voice softening as he looked at Maya.

“He’s gonna be okay, right?” Maya asked.

“He’ll be fine, just don’t tell anyone where he is.” Cory quickly said.

“What’s going on?” Riley asked sitting down in her seat, looking between them.

“Nothing, why would anything be going on?” Cory squealed, his eyes wide and his eyebrows raised. Of course, melodramatic Cory Matthews would jump out of his skin every time someone talked to him.

“Cause that’s not suspicious at all.” Maya chuckled, shaking her head.

“Somethings going on,” Riley said, her eyes glued to Cory. “Have you got a surprise for me?” she excitedly asked.

“Yes, yes we do.” Cory called out.

“Why would you say that?” Maya growled.

“What would you rather I tell her?” Cory asked, throwing his hands up in the air.

“Literally anything else.” Maya huffed before turning to Riley, forcing a smile. “We were talking about Shawn.” She quickly informed her friend.

“What happened?” Riley asked. “Do I still get a surprise?” she asked, leaning into Maya.

“Ladies,” Farkle passed the threshold, looking between them smiling.

“Farkle.” They both greeted him.

“Suppose you’ve all already heard about what happened.” Farkle began, leaning on Riley’s desk. “I know you two have, you’re his friends.” He pointed at Cory and Maya.

“He’s not my friend.” Maya denied.

“How do you know I know? Why would I know?” Cory gasped, placing his hand on his chest.

“Who’s not your friend?” Riley asked Maya who rolled her eyes.

“Shawn.” Maya reluctantly answered.

“What happened to him?” Riley asked, looking around the room.

“How do you know?” Maya asked, shocked as she looked at Farkle.

“Yeah, it’s weird that you already know.” Cory muttered, scrunching up his face.

“I have connections,” Farkle shrugged his shoulders.

“Okay, someone better tell me what happened right now.” Riley demanded, looking between everyone, no one volunteered to give her the details on what happened. Cory whistled, looking in all directions, sweat beads collecting on his forehead. Farkle’s eyes went wide, looking away from Riley. Lastly, Maya looked between everyone unimpressed. Cowards.

“Shawn made a bold political statement last night, I found it was a very interesting and unique way of expressing his beliefs.” Topanga shared, locking eyes with Riley while Maya scrunched up her face at what she was hearing.

“He blew up a U.S mailbox with a cherry bomb.” Stuart shortly informed the dumbfounded brunette.

“He what?” Riley screamed, her jaw dropping.

“Sorry I’m late,” Mr Feeny walked into the class, everyone quickly rushed to their seats, sitting down, ready for the class to begin as the pelts of rain crashed outside. “I see you’ve all heard about Mr Hunter’s little stunt yesterday. I just spoke with his parents, evidently, Shawn didn’t come home last night. I imagine no one here has heard from him.” Mr Feeny placed his belongings down before making his way around the classroom.

“Me?” Cory exclaimed, pointing to himself. “What makes you think I heard from Shawn?”

“Totally not suspicious at all.” Maya muttered under her breath, slumping in her seat.

“I was addressing the entire class.” Mr Feeny pointed out, turning and making his way back to the front of the class.

“Yeah, but you make it sound like I lit the cherry bomb and stuck it in the mailbox on K street near the market giant,” Cory called out, turning the heads of everyone in the class. Riley’s eyes grew wide as dread and doubt flooded her mind, somehow she’d never heard this story from her dad before.

“That’s oddly specific.” Farkle chimed in. “Are you sure you don’t know?” he asked.

“I’m just guessing?” Cory shrugged his shoulders, playing dumb.

“He claims he hasn’t spoken with Shawn since the incident yet-“Stuart began but was cut off by Maya.

“Can it, Minkus, unless you wanna be dead before lunch.” Maya threatened him, glaring up at him.

“Please, if Shawn Hunter is anything to go by, you won’t make good on your threats.” Stuart bit back.

“Wanna try me?” Maya asked, leaning forward, getting ready to stand up.

“No.” Stuart returned to his seat.

“What I thought.” Maya smiled to herself.

“Thank you for doing my job, Miss Hart.” Mr Feeny sighed, casting a quick glance over his shoulder, disapproval radiating from him.

“You’re welcome sir.” Maya beamed. “I’m here to help.”

“Don’t push your luck, Maya.” Riley sang under her breath.

“I’m not.” Maya sang back.

“Now then, we should continue reading aloud from page 157, Edgar Allen Poe’s the tell-tale heart.” He leaned against his desk, opening the book in his hand as the whole class followed. All of them peering down at the pages open in front of them. Turning around in her seat, Riley quickly passed a note to Maya before Mr Feeny could catch them in the act.

“What happened to Uncle Shawn? Do you know why he did it?” – Riley

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.” – Maya

“Maya, we don’t keep secrets from each other. I know that you two are friends.” – Riley

Glancing down at the piece of paper, her gut began to churn again. Her and Shawn were friends. They were friends and she’d goaded him into messing up his life. Ruining every chance, he had for the bright future he was destined to have. The very idea of it didn’t seem real to her. Up until now, it had felt like there was no such thing as consequences because this wasn’t her life. This wasn’t her timeline. From the moment they’d gotten here, it felt like there was no such thing as consequences. What was the point if they were just going to go home?

Now…Maya saw the truth. She saw the reason why they needed to be careful. Why they couldn’t get close to anyone. It would ruin everything. In this moment, she knew that she couldn’t continue how she was going. Distance kept everyone safe.

“Mr Matthews? Anything wrong?” Mr Feeny asked, his eyes drawn to the guilt ridden brillo haired member of the Matthews family. Turning back to the book, he continued to read until the bell came and he’d bolted out of class, leaving a room full of confused faces staring in the direction he’d disappeared. Walking out of class Riley and Maya made their way to drama, one of the few classes they had together.

“Maya, you know the rules, we can’t get too close, so if you did anything that made him blow up the mailbox on K street outside the market giant, you can tell me.” Riley reached out to Maya, clinging to her arm desperately. Fear rose in Riley’s chest, scared that the blonde would disappear forever.

“Okay, fine,” Maya relented. “Let’s say hypothetically I hang out with Shawn when we’re not at school,” she coyly began, waving her hands around. “And let’s say, hypothetically, I was there with him the night of the cherry bombing on ‘k’ street outside the market giant,” she slowly added, bracing herself for Riley’s reaction.

“No,” Riley quietly shook her head.

“I only said hypothetically,” Maya added, whipping around to face Riley who’s eyes settled on her, disappointed.

“Maya, this is serious, not only is that a crime but you’re in the system. If our so-eh work-eh heard about this, or the authorities you could be taken away from me.” Riley said in disbelief. There was a line they weren’t allowed to cross. There used to be a line that she thought Maya would never cross.

“Don’t worry, Riles, I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.” Maya sighed, trying to sooth Riley’s worries as her own bombarded her.

“Okay,” Riley let out a breath. “That’s one problem gone, now time to fix Shawn.”

“You mean help Shawn, right?” Maya hesitantly asked.

“That’s what I said.” She rebuffed. “Do you know where he’s hiding?”

“Why would I know?” Maya asked.

“Because you’re friends. We may not like it, but we’re friends with my parents and my uncle.” Her face filled with dread as she peeked over in Maya’s direction.

“I don’t know for sure, but there’s no way he’s not with Cory.” Maya stated.

“Okay, bay window.” Riley screamed at the top of her lungs, pausing as she heard the bell ring. “Bay window right after drama.” She said with an awkward smile before trudging to their class.

“You got it.” Maya let out a loud bout of laughter as she trailed behind Riley, the two making their way into drama class. When class had come to an end the two had made a break for it, rushing towards the bay window before Maya had to make a quick detour to detention, as usual, Riley would wait after school for Maya to get out of detention so that they could walk home together. But when Riley looked outside, she really didn’t want to walk home in the rain. Due to the lack of Shawn in detention, Maya would take the lead by one detention and Cory would not be waiting with her.

“Why do you always have detentions, Maya?” Riley asked with a huff.

“Come on, Riles, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t get detention.” Maya pointed out with a sneaky smile.

“Okay, you’re right.” She laughed lightly. “So what’s our plan of action?” Riley asked her as they sat down at the bay window.

“You know, I got a great idea,” Maya’s smile grew, flashing her teeth as she looked up at Riley.

“I don’t like that look.” Riley said, uneasy.

“Why Riles, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Maya slipped past Riley, making her way towards the exit.

“You can’t leave, you have detention.” Riley pointed out.

“Exactly, I’m knocking out two birds with one stone.” She proudly pointed out.

“Oh right…I don’t get it.” Riley said, furrowing her eyebrows.

“By ditching detention I’ll get another two on top of the one I missed which will bring up my detention average compared to Shawn’s. We can also catch the bus so that we don’t have to run in the rain as well. As cute as you look in the trash bag, I think this is a better idea.” Maya shared her plot, smiling to herself as Riley’s eyes went wide in shock.

“You’re diabolical.” Riley gasped.

“I know,” Maya breathed out. “I really impress myself sometimes.” She drawled taking a step outside of the school, the fresh scent of air invading their senses.

“What a rush,” Riley exclaimed. “My heart is beating so fast, is this normal?” Riley asked clinging to Maya as they made their way onto the bus and into their usual spots.

“Of course it is Riles, this is what being me feels like.” Maya shared.

“You’re so cool,” she grinned as Cory sat down in front of them. “Hi, Cory, how’s Shawn?” Riley asked, leaning forward, against the seat, her head peeking over the edge.

“Pretty good—wait!” Cory screamed; his eyes wide as he snapped his head in her direction; Maya fought back her laughter at Cory’s screw up. “I have no idea, no idea at all. How’s Shawn? More like who’s Shawn?” he scoffed, nervously laughed as he turned away from them, shrinking into his seat.

“Hey Maya, did I break him? I think I broke him.” Riley asked, looking between Cory and Maya.

“That’s what I’m thinking.” Maya nodded along, jumping up against the chair. “Come on, Fuzzy, we know you’re hiding him.”

“I know nothing,” Cory began to sweat.

“Lies,” Riley shouted. “Can it Matthews, we know you’re lying.”

“What are you Maya now?” Cory shouted looking between them.

“Yeah, she is, you know what that means for you?” Maya dryly asked.

“That it’s the end of the world?” Cory nervously asked.

“Close,” Maya breathed out.

“Look, I don’t know anything, I promise.” Cory called out.

“Are you sure or are you just saying that?” Riley asked, squinting over at him, attempting to read his mind.

“I’m, I’m very sure, Riley. I wouldn’t lie to my friends.” Cory said, forcing a weak smile.

“I believe him.” Riley said.

“Liar.” Maya called out.

“Maya, I trust him.” For some reason Riley believed him. That was the man that would one day become her dad. There was no way he would lie to Riley, there was just no way. That’s what Riley believed. But as Maya looked between them, she couldn’t help but stare in awe at how far Cory would go to protect Shawn. She didn’t think a Matthews had it in them. Now…Maya would go to the ends of the world to protect her best friends, and she always wanted to believe they’d do the same for her. Shawn had. None of them were different when it came to protecting their friends. She admired his loyalty. When the bus came to a stop at Cory and Riley’s home Cory jumped up from his seat making a break for it outside of the bus and into his home. Leisurely walking, Maya and Riley followed, stepping off the bus, as they did Maya grabbed Riley’s arm, stopping her from going home. “What’s going on, Maya? You heard him.” Riley pointed out, looking up at the Matthews home.

“You might believe it, but I don’t believe anything until I’ve seen it with my own two eyes.” Maya said with a sudden determination as she stalked towards the Matthews house with Riley by her side, the two sneaking into the backyard.

“Hey peaches, you know this is breaking and entering right?” Riley asked in a hushed tone as they came to a stop at the tree house. Taking a step back, Maya tilted her head upwards staring at a potential way to get into Cory’s room. It was a lot different in the rain, she’d give it that.

“You coming or are you gonna let me do this by myself?” Maya boldly asked as she grabbed onto the tree, preparing to climb it.

“Fine, but I don’t like it. I just want you to know that.” Riley held her head high, following Maya up the tree, as they made it to the branch which led to Cory’s bedroom the rain began to heavily beat down on the two who inched closer and closer to the window. Grabbing the window, Maya heaved as she pushed it open, jumping inside with Riley tripping behind her. The two stumbling through the window and crashing onto the flood.

“You mean the stuff he said?” Cory asked, worriedly looking at Shawn.

“No. He sat on my head.” Shawn muttered, pushing his hair out of his face.

“Well, it can only get better from here.” Maya commented with a small smirk her eyes drawn to Shawn who donned Cory’s too small clothes as Riley stood up beside her. The two jumped, gasping as they looked between the two girls. “Hello, children.” She waved, she and Riley glanced to each other before they burst out laughing, their eyes zoning back in on Shawn who’s face turned sour.

“Don’t even start.” He muttered, shaking his head.

“Aw what’s the matter honey?” Maya mockingly asked in a southern accent, a smile playing at her lips as she took a step closer to Shawn whose jaw dropped.

“Uh…well, you know,” Shawn spluttered.

“Oh, come on,” Cory shook his head, suspended in disbelief.

“What’s going on?” Riley asked, looking between them.

“Why are you in my bedroom?” Cory asked.

“You see, me and Riley were just in the neighbourhood and we wanted to say hi to you and the delinquent over there.” Maya bluntly stated.

“Hey, I wasn’t the only one there.” Shawn defended himself, clenching his jaw as Riley’s gasps filled the silence of the room. Suddenly Maya’s gut began churning again as Shawn just stared at her, unable to say a word. And she hoped he wouldn’t say anything. She hoped he wouldn’t tell Riley about who she really was and what she was capable of. She was so scared that she didn’t deserve the few things she did have.

“Who else was there? Maybe they can vouch for you?” Riley asked, stepping forward. “I can help you; we can get you out of this situation.” She tried again, hoping to find some solution where everyone would win. But things like that only worked if you were Riley Matthews. They didn’t work for the Maya Hart’s and Shawn Hunter’s of the world.

“As much as I hate to say it, Riley’s got a point, you know. If we explained to my dad how this happened then he could talk to your dad and then there wouldn’t—” Cory tried.

“No way. I can’t ever go home, Cory.” Shawn quickly said, shaking his head.

“Shawn, you’re wrong. You did one bad thing, but we’re all going to make sure that nothing bad will happen to you. You’re going to stay here and you’ll be happy. We’ll make it happen.” Riley determinedly said, feeling tears sting at her eyes while the rainwater that had saturated her dripped down her face.

“Riley, that’s really cool of you but talking isn’t going to get me out of this.” Shawn paused, looking at Cory, drawing in a small breath. “Not this time.”

“But…didn’t you hear what my dad was saying?” Cory asked.

“Not all of it.” Shawn admitted. “I blacked out a couple times.”

“Look, if all of our parents worked together and talked it over and our dads explained to your dad that you’re still an okay kid—” Shawn stood up, cutting Cory off.

“It won’t work, Cor.” Shawn stated.

“Why not?” Cory asked.

“Because my dad will kill your dads just to get to me.” Shawn said, raising his voice slightly.

“That’s not true, your father loves you Shawn, I’m sure all he wants is for you to be home and safe.” Riley shared hoping to sway him.

“She’s right, I know if it was my parents they would be a mess without me here.” Cory added.

“Cory, all our lives we’ve done these little things, but we’ve always stayed on this side of the line.” Shawn pointed out.

“What line?” Cory asked, confused.

“Yeah, I don’t understand.” Riley said.

“The line that separates the little bad from the big bad. The line I blew up with my cherry bomb.” Shawn explained to them, his eyes drifting to Maya who had remained eerily silent during the conversation. She wasn’t sure if she had any right to speak about this. Guilt burned a hole through her heart as she looked at Shawn scrambling to find a way out of this mess. A mess she’d helped create.

“Shawn, you’re wrong.” Cory exclaimed. “Watch, I’ll prove it to you. Dad? Dad, can you come here a second?” he called out, making his way to the door, Maya’s eyes went wide as she noticed the panicked look on Shawn’s face as he quickly boulderer past them diving out of the window the two girls had come through. Looking up at Riley, she was pleading for Riley to let her go after him.

“Go,” Riley softly said, biting her bottom lip as she saw Maya quickly run after Shawn, diving out of the window after him.

“Where’d he go?” Cory asked before noticing Maya wasn’t there either.

“Maya’s going after him,” Riley told him as she turned away from the window. “I’m going to help you get him back.” She determinedly said making her way closer to Cory. Watching Maya so desperate to run after Shawn, to help him, to save him. Maya Hart was fiercely loyal to her friends. Riley didn’t want to believe in any cosmic or divine reason for them being here, but like Topanga had said, mother Gaia never made mistakes. If the ancient goddesses of the universe placed them there, it was always for a purpose. Maybe Maya’s purpose was to save Shawn Hunter from a lot of pain. To give him someone who understood.

***

Running down the street in the storm, Maya’s eyes tried to focus in on Shawn’s retreating figure as she called out his name. Panic began to rise in her chest as the sound of thunder overwhelmed her. None of this felt right. Chasing after Shawn at night during a storm, something about this felt wrong. She knew that none of this was supposed to be happening, her, a girl from the future, chasing after a boy from the past. Someone who would eventually go on to be Riley’s godfather and someone she would call Uncle Shawn. Maya chased him right into the school before he stopped, pushing the hair away from his face, whipping his body around to face her as Maya came to a sudden stop, her shoes skidding against the flood and her body colliding with his. Clutching her arms, he stopped her from falling, holding her close to him as she regained her balance.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Maya demanded to know, creating some distance between them.

“You know what happened Maya, you were there. You know I can’t go home.” Shawn pointed out, his voice becoming quiet and his eyes burning.

“I know you can’t go home right now, but if you’re gonna do what I think you are,” Maya paused, biting her bottom lip to keep herself from crying in front of him. “You can’t.” she said, shaking her head.

“You have no idea what will happen if I go home,” Shawn shouted, turning away from her and kicking the locker. “If I go home, that’s it, I’m gonna have to leave here, I’ll never get to see Cory again,” he paused, turning to look at Maya, he couldn’t say it. Not now. Not to her. These feelings were too new and he didn’t even understand what they meant. “What would you do?” he asked, seeing her resolve fade.

“I’d stay close to here; I’d figure something out. If there’s anything I know, it’s that I can survive fine on my own. I don’t need anyone.” Maya proclaimed, biting the inside of her cheek, trying to convince herself of that. Screw everyone else, she didn’t need them. But if someone was her friend, she never wanted them to struggle through anything by themselves. They all deserved so much better than that. “What are you gonna do?” she asked.

“I don’t know, maybe I’ll get on a bus to New York, I’ll get a job, you know, find somewhere to crash.” Shawn hurriedly began, unsure of what to say next. “Maybe I could find a place that’ll hire me as a muffler specialist.” Shawn tried to laugh it off.

“It sounds nice,” Maya whispered.

“Maybe you can come and visit me sometimes.” Shawn tried.

“I won’t have to.” Maya said, hoping he would stay. Hope was for suckers, but she needed to believe it wasn’t just this once in her life. “You belong here, with your friends.”

“Are you my friend?” Shawn asked, nervously looking up at her.

“Of course, Shawn, you’ve been my friend for a while now.” Maya admitted. “Tell anyone and you’ll have to die, obviously, but yeah, you’re my friend.” She shared, a smile twitching at the corner of her lips as she saw the way Shawn’s eyes lit up.

“You should go, Maya, I already dragged you into this mess, I don’t want to get you into any more trouble.” Shawn muttered, turning and walking away from Maya, leaving her standing there alone. Turning around, Maya made her way back home to her apartment with Rino. Nothing felt right, but soon Riley came there, her arms open wide as she hugged Maya, the two watching movies on the tv.

“It’s going to be okay, Maya. Me and Cory handled it.” Riley whispered so Rino wouldn’t hear.

“How are you sure you did?” Maya asked, her mind drifting off and away from them.

“Because I believe at the end of the day, Shawn will do the right thing, just like you will?” Riley tried to ask, looking down at her friend.

“What do you mean?” Maya asked.

“You know what I mean.” Riley replied.

“You mean the fact that I was there when it happened.” Maya breathed out.

“Yeah.” Riley nodded. “You can tell me anything, Maya, I want to make sure only good things happen for you.”

“I was there,” Maya reluctantly began. “I encouraged him to light the cherry bomb, I handed him the matches,” she paused, biting back the tears. She couldn’t cry. “I’m the reason he did this. I’m a bad influence.” She whispered, wiping away the tear that cascaded down her cheek.

“No, you’re not Maya.” Riley began to stroke Maya’s hair softly. “You’re a good person and Shawn will be at school next week and everything will make sense again. But this is not your fault. You need to believe that.” But Maya didn’t believe that. Deep inside she blamed herself for what happened. She didn’t want to be this person that made people cross the line, sometimes she couldn’t help herself though. She did bad things; she didn’t know why she did them but she did. Sometimes…a lot of the time actually, things went too far and that was something none of them could take back.

A knock came at the door and Rino rushed to the door, pulling it open. “Hi Chet, how’s it going? Did you find him?” Rino asked Shawn’s dad, concerned.

“Uh, yeah, we found him, thanks to Shawnie’s curly haired friend.” Chet sternly said. “He’s grounded but he wanted to give ye little girl something. Figured we’d let him.” He shrugged.

“Right, come in.” Rino stepped aside, allowing Shawn and his dad into the house. “Maya, Shawn’s here.” He informed his foster daughter, Riley worriedly looked down at her friend who forced a smile, sitting up.

“It’s fine, Riles.” Maya assured her friend before standing up and making her way towards him as Riley disappeared into Maya’s bedroom and Chet and Rino stayed in the kitchen leaving the two relatively alone. “Hey, Hunter, knew you wouldn’t be gone for long.” Maya smiled up at him, Shawn laughed lightly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You know me, I can’t stay away for long.” Shawn teased her, neither laughed though, it wasn’t the right time to do that, reaching into his pocket he held out a piece of blank canvas that Mr Feeny had given him. Furrowing her eyebrows she slowly took it before looking up at him confused. “I’ve seen your paintings,” Shawn shared.

“No you haven’t, I never get that far in art class.” Maya stated.

“Not in class, in your diary.” Shawn corrected Maya watching as her eyes went wide and her nostrils flared. “Hey, I’m grounded until I’m 30, killing me now would only put me out of my misery.” Shawn quickly said, trying to salvage something he wasn’t sure about.

“You’re lucky I’m feeling nice tonight.” Maya bit back, her cheeks burning slightly.

“And I’m lucky that you write about me in your diary.” Shawn said, smirking to himself as he watched in satisfaction as Maya became livid. “But for real, I like your paintings. They’re really good.” He shared making Maya smile slightly.

“Thanks, Hunter.” Maya said, forcing herself to forget about him invading her privacy for a brief moment. “I guess I’ll see you in 20 years.” Maya said, smiling up at him.

“18,” he corrected her. “But I’m looking forward to it, maybe we can go for burgers together.” Shawn asked as Chet began to walk towards them, ready to go.

“No deal,” Maya shook her head as she saw Rino watching them like a hawk. “But you and Cory can have a basketball rematch with me and Riley. I gotta defend my title somehow.” Maya replied, the two laughing lightly.

“Deal,” Shawn said as he and Chet made their way back to the car and Rino closed the door before turning to look at Maya.

“Remember our no boys deal?” Rino asked her.

“I remember it, no boys until I turn 25, trust me, I’m not counting down the days.” Maya said, smiling to herself. “He’s one of my friends.” She said, looking down at the canvas he’d given her.

“Good.” Rino breathed out.

“You know, it’s still funny that you think you could stop me.” Maya joked, turning to make her way to her bedroom.

“I’m smarter than you think.” Rino called out, his laughter bouncing off of the cracked walls as Maya slipped into her bedroom where Riley was waiting.

“What’s that?” Riley asked, looking at the canvas in Maya’s hand, she placed it down on her dresser before flopping onto her bed beside Riley.

“Shawn just gave me a piece of canvas.” Maya told Riley, biting back the giddy smile that was trying to force its way onto her lips.

“You like him,” Riley had finally admitted to herself.

“Who?” Maya asked, scrunching up her face.

“You know who.” Riley said, shaking her head as a dazed smile began to form on her lips.

“We’re just friends, Riles, he’s not going out with me, he’s never going out with me. Me and Shawn, we will never be anything,” Maya said, ignoring the ache inside of her chest as she spoke. Push past the pain. Pretend everything was fine and eventually everything would be, it had to be. “His feelings aren’t real, they’re just because I’m one of the only girls he talks to and I don’t have Topanga’s connection’s or your everything. Soon new girls will come and he’ll move on. Trust me.” She looked to Riley, smiling. “I’m nothing to him.”

“Just as long as you and Shawn don’t date, there is no way you are going to be my Aunt…again.” Riley said as it dawned on her. “Why do you like my uncles so much?” Riley groaned.

“Ew, gross.” Maya exclaimed, bursting out into fits of laughter. “You know I only like the ones my age.” She called out.

“So you admit you like him?” Riley asked, grinning.

“No, I admit that we’re done with this conversation.” Maya jumped up, grabbing a pillow and hitting Riley in the face, all their problems dissolving as their laughter filled the room.

Chapter Text

The suburban comfort of a warm home, hot food, the soft hum of the radio playing in the background and the chatter of a family full of love was the dream. And Riley was living it. She was living the dream. Sometimes she got all in her head about it because of how much she missed her parents. Well…she missed the adult version of her parents. Needless to say, child version of her parents were nothing like the people she’d known growing up. Guess everyone had to grow as people before they could become perfect like Cory and Topanga were are her parents.

Plates of food were scattered across the large dining table as Emily and Juliette, Riley’s foster siblings were squealing at the top of their lungs, fighting for the ownership of the barbie. They had millions of barbies scattered across the house, legs, heads, arms ripped off and Joanne had decided to get the two girl’s new dolls. However, they both wanted Emily’s doll. As usual, this has caused a riot to arise and now they were at each other’s throats, save for the rare occasion where they decided someone was going to be the victim of the violence.

“Okay, Riley, I got a question for you.” Daniel asked, ignoring the way Juliette kicked Emily in the stomach. It was dinner, so it was naturally Joanne’s job right now. Since he looked after them all day, Joanne allowed for a moment of relaxation when she came home from work.

“Yes?” Riley asked, looking up at him.

“Can you pass the orange juice?” Daniel asked, confusing Riley as she glanced down at the coffee cup he had.

“But you’re drinking coffee.” Riley said, furrowing her eyebrows.

“Daddy, are you pregnant?” Emily asked, her and Juliette pulling apart to look over at their father. Whenever she looked at the little devil children she did wonder if they were spawns of Satan or if they were capable of love.

“He sure looks pregnant.” Juliette chimed in causing Daniel’s eyes went wide while Riley passed him the orange juice, her eyes darting between them.

“Julie, that was very rude, apologise to your father.” Joanne sternly demanded, sitting down at the dinner table, her eyes harshly drifting between the children.

“Sorry you’re fat.” Juliette apologised causing Emily to muffle her giggle.

“Oh my.” Riley pursed her lips.

“Now I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” Daniel sighed, turning to Riley. “So, next year you’re going to be in High School, now how would you feel if I drove you to school?” he asked her.

“Why would you drive me to school?” Riley asked confused.

“Because I’m going to be the High School’s male gym teacher.” Daniel exclaimed, holding his arms wide open.

“You’re what?” Riley screamed, slamming her hands on the table.

“See that wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for. Maybe we should try again.” Daniel sarcastically suggested.

“Why would you do that to me?” she groaned, slumping forward in her seat.

“Riley, be nicer to Daniel, this is a very good opportunity for him to figure out what kind of job will make him happy.” Joanne chided her foster daughter.

“Sorry,” Riley grit through her teeth. “But the boys gym teacher is going to be my father.” She exclaimed.

“Would you rather I be your cousin?” Daniel sarcastically asked.

“Yes,” she cried out.

“I’ll try better next time.” Daniel scrunched his face up.

“But I’m really happy for you.” She reluctantly said.

“Good, now that we got that over with, I got two tickets to see the knicks to celebrate.” Daniel said, getting two tickets out from his suit jacket, holding them out in front of Riley, smiling to himself at the way Riley’s face lit up in excitement.

“Yes, I love you,” Riley screamed at the top of her lungs, jumping up from her place at the table, reaching out and snatching the tickets, holding them close to her face. An amsed chuckle escaped Daniel’s lips as he watched Riley bring them closer and closer to her face, sniffing them. “I’m not really into basketball, you know, but that’s really cool.” Riley sheepishly said, giving them back and looking between her parents.

“You’re welcome, Riley.” Daniel said before placing the two tickets back in his pocket.

“We’re glad you like it, usually we wouldn’t buy a foster child of ours tickets but since you’re gonna be staying with us for a while longer we feel like you’ve become a part of the family.” Joanne shared with Riley whose eyes went wide and a soft smile spread to her lips.

“Really?” Riley asked.

“Yes, you’re our sister, Riley.” Emily shared.

“And as our sister you should make us cupcakes for our bake sale.” Juliette added with a wide grin.

“What?” Riley asked.

“The girls have a bake sale at their elementary school and as a member of the pta I volunteered to make cupcakes for the bake sale. We’re making them tonight, if you would like you can help.” Joanne shared with a warm smile before looking to her daughters, shaking her head. “You have to ask nicely girls.” She reminded them as a grin appeared on Riley’s face.

“I have an even better idea, we should make the cupcakes, but we should invite my friends over to make them as well.” Riley brightly exclaimed.

“And while we’re at it, why don’t we just invite the neighbourhood riff raff over as well.” Daniel sarcastically said, leaning back in his seat with an amused look on his face as Riley jumped up and off of her chair again.

“That is an awesome idea.” Riley grinned, grabbing the Tupperware box and her bag, turning and running out of the house, not giving Daniel and Joanne a chance to disagree. With wide eyes, Daniel turned and glanced over at Joanne who stared back at him with a raised eyebrow.

“She didn’t think I was serious, right?” he pleaded.

“How didn’t she?” Emily asked.

“You seriously need to ask?” Juliette raised an eyebrow.

“You know Riley doesn’t really understand your sarcasm.” Joanne sighed, rubbing her forehead.

“No,” Daniel gasped, placing his hand on his chair. “I never would have guessed.”

“Like that’s new, I never would have guessed you were so slow.” Joanne bit back with a small smirk.

“Ha-ha” he barked. “How many people do you think she’s going to invite?” Daniel nervously asked.

“I don’t know but this means a trip to the store. Do you want me to go or are you good to?” Joanne asked him.

“I’m on it, I’m the neighbourhood housewife, didn’t you know?” Daniel sassed, leaning over and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“Ew,” Emily said, shutting her eyes tightly.

“Close your eyes, I’m kissing your mummy.” Daniel whispered before leaning in again, pressing a kiss to Joanne’s lips as Emily and Juliette covered their eyes with their hands.

“You can open your eyes.” Joanne laughed, glancing up at Daniel, love gleaming in her eyes, it was sometimes hard to remember why she loved her husband, especially when he struggled with jobs and sarcasm. But he was an amazing father and husband. She couldn’t have asked for anything better.

“You know, Miss Gelles says that when we grow up we need to make sure we leave room for Jesus because she didn’t and that’s why she’s divorced.” Juliette shared with the two who slowly pulled apart and Daniel sighed.

“I think it’s time for them to change schools.” Daniel muttered.

“Okay, but you’re the one driving them, sweetie.” Joanne pointed out.

“Another couple years wouldn’t hurt.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s what I thought.” Joanne smiled, taking a sip of her coffee.

“Have fun at work, babe.” He stood up and smiled down at Emily and Juliette. “Who’s excited for school?” he asked, quickly running to the two, grabbing them up from their chairs and grabbing the bags on his way out, making his way to the car, ready to drive them to school.

Strolling up and onto the school bus, Riley skipped down the bus walkway and fell into her seat behind Cory and Shawn, slipping into the waiting embrace of Maya. The two respective best friends were engaged in conversation, but like usual, Maya would tear herself away from Shawn and give Riley a bright smile that she loved seeing every morning. “Pumpkin,” Maya beamed.

“Peaches, it’s good to be back.” Riley exclaimed.

“Good to have you back, I had to fight off this one so you could sit here.” Maya dryly said, gesturing back to Farkle who waved at Riley.

“I loved every second of it.” Farkle breathed out, completely enamoured.

“That must have been so hard on you, peaches.” Riley wrapped her arms around Maya. “I got you a little something to make you feel better.” She shared, waving the box around causing Maya’s face to light up like a Christmas tree.

“What is it?” Maya asked, the two laughing as Riley have Maya the box and the girl pulled it open, grinning at the sight of waffles drenched in chocolate syrup and sprinkles. “Score! I love you.” She called out, turning to Riley before she dug into them.

“It’s okay, my mum thinks you don’t eat after I told her where you live.” Riley said not noticing the way Maya’s face fell slightly before she brushed it off, continuing eating. “Anyway, Jo-my mum wants me to invite you and your family to dinner tonight, we’re also baking cupcakes and we could really use the help.” She said looking between Farkle and Maya.

“I can’t.” Maya quickly answered, her voice muffled by waffles.

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you to chew with your mouth closed?” Cory asked, disgusted.

“Did anyone ever tell you I don’t care?” Maya bit back, raising an eyebrow.

“No, but you have told me I’m dead.” Cory nervously laughed.

“He finally gets it.” Maya quickly said.

“We’re very proud of you.” Riley nodded.

“That’s just girls.” Shawn pointed out before realising what he said. “A very amazing and talented girl.” He nervously laughed.

“You still have so much to learn about Maya Hart.” Farkle said, shaking his head.

“Why can’t you come, Maya?” Riley asked.

“I’m busy.” Maya half-heartedly replied, digging into the breakfast as if she hadn’t had three bowls of cereal this morning.

“Doing what?” Shawn asked, glancing down at the short blonde, his eyebrows furrowed slightly as Maya slowly glanced up at him, her furious eyes locked with his. “You told me that you weren’t doing anything tonight.” He said, oblivious to her lies.

“Are you serious?” Maya growled.

“I think I said something wrong.” Shawn looked to Cory for backup.

“Oh really? What gave it away?” Cory sarcastically asked.

“Even I knew you said something wrong, you really are a troglodyte. Minkus finally got something right.” Farkle shared, laughing to himself slightly.

“Bite me, nerdling.” Shawn hissed.

“You wanna go? Cause I’ll do it!” Farkle exclaimed, his eyes and grin growing wider making Cory back away with an unsure look in his eyes. Messing with Minkus was nothing compared to messing with Farkle, despite the eery similarities, there was a differing craziness that kept Shawn and Cory on edge.

“So, you’re coming,” Riley demanded, her smile never faltering. “And so are your parents.” She added.

“Of course, Riley, I don’t have to bake do I?” Farkle asked, knowing baking was not one of the skills he possessed. He tried it once, they had all agreed to never let him do it again.

“Not if you don’t want to.” Riley replied with a sweet smile.

“Fine, I’ll come,” Maya reluctantly said. “But only if you’re having tacos.” She demanded.

“I think that can be arranged.” Riley proudly smile, a sense of victory washing over her.

“Why weren’t we invited?” Shawn asked Riley.

“Do you really want to be invited to bake?” Cory asked, scrunching up his face.

“Only if Maya’s there.” Shawn dreamily said looking into Maya’s eyes as her face scrunched up slightly.

“Not happening.” Maya quickly said.

“We would love that,” Riley exclaimed, grinning ear to ear as Maya glared at her friend.

“Why are you doing that?” Maya hissed in a hushed tone.

“Because we’re all friends Maya,” Riley reminded her, ulterior motives becoming put into play.

“No can do, babe, but thanks.” Shawn smirked, pushing the hair out of his face looking away from Maya.

“I got better things to do.” Cory proclaimed.

“Like what?” Maya raised an eyebrow.

“Like not be around you. As exciting as spending time baking with you sounds, I’d rather pull out all my hair.” Cory bit back.

“I’m surprised you don’t just do that anyway, fuzzy.” Maya hissed, giving him a sassy once over. With wide eyes, Cory immediately reached out, clinging onto his hair with an anxiety he’d never felt before. This caused Maya to lean back with a smile, glad she could finally trade insults with Cory without worrying too much about Cory being much older than her and fully prepared to give her a detention. Not that she did much worrying about that anyway to begin with. Their chatter buzzed throughout the bus until they came to a stop at school and they all quickly made their way out.

***

It was third period, and the group of misfits were sitting down in Mr Feeny’s class, each and every one of them fluttering through some level of zoning in and out, finding their own inner thoughts and feelings more interesting than what todays lesson was. It was just one of those days. It was a day when Riley would have a song made in the 2000’s consuming her mind, as she tapped her foot to the tune, she was also decorating her notes with flowers and rainbows and purple cats. It was a day where while Farkle tried, he couldn’t force himself to listen, so instead he read ahead of the class, even though he was already ahead. And Maya, well, she was just Maya. Napping and trading snarky and funny faces with Shawn.

As the end of the lesson drew closer, Mr Feeny has begun to inform the kids of the clubs they could join. While he hadn’t worded it as mandatory, it was heavily implied that they must join at least one.

“The following is a list of exciting extracurricular activities offered to you, the student.” Mr Feeny said, making his way in front of his desk. Sighing, he waited a brief moment as Maya put her hand up. “It’s not mandatory Miss Hart.”

“Just checking.” Maya grinned, returning her attention back to Shawn, poking her tongue out at him, making him smile, sticking his tongue out at her.

“Each student shall select one exciting activity, Vocabulary club.” He began listing off the classes.

“Too exciting,” Shawn scoffed, glancing over at Maya who stifled her laughter.

“Mr Matthews, please,” Mr Feeny held out his hand, not bothering to look up.

“What?” Riley asked, confused.

“It wasn’t me; it was Shawn.” Cory pointed out, equally as confused.

“Same thing.” He waved his hand before continuing. “Alright, uh, debate team,”

“Because who doesn’t love arguing?” Maya asked.

“If I wanted that I would have stayed home.” Shawn muttered, looking to Maya, the two laughing.

“Who hurt you two?” Riley asked, looking back at them.

“Mr Matthews,” Mr Feeny called out again.

“W-what it wasn’t me.” Cory exclaimed.

“Scuba club.” He continued.

“Finally the good stuff.” Maya grinned, leaning forward in her seat.

“Upholstery squad.”

“What?” Maya asked, scrunching up her face, glancing over to Riley, tapping her on the shoulder. “What’s that?” she quietly asked.

“Making furniture.” Riley answered.

“Ohhhh,” Maya nodded, leaning back in her chair.

“Scuba club?” Cory asked, interested.

“Underwater adventure.” Shawn exclaimed.

“I’m in.” Cory grinned.

“Me too.” Shawn added.

“What do you say, Riles? You in?” Maya asked, lazily leaning back in her seat.

“Yes, peaches, we’re gonna be mermaids.” Riley giddily said, the two flipping over their hair, crossing one leg over the other.

“Stop it,” the two said in unison.

“What about you? Which one do you think you’ll end up choosing?” Riley asked, looking over at Farkle.

“I would prefer the debate team as I believe it has relevance and will provide for an enriching experience when I eventually rise to power.” Farkle informed the two with a toothy grin. “That and while I have the obvious physique of a scuba diver,” he said in a low tone, smiling to himself. “I don’t much like being under water, or any kind of athletic based activity.”

“As expected of my intellectual rival,” Stuart said, having listened in on their conversation. “I for one plan to stimulate my intellect like my rival Abernathy. I will therefore choose between vocabulary club and debate team.” He shared with the class as Mr Feeny jotted down his preferences.

“You and me on the same debate team? That sounds like an interesting predicament.” Farkle commented, pursing his lips together. “I look forward to verbal jousting with you. Just know, even though I consider you a rival of intellect, you have no chance of winning.” He smirked. “And eventually the rise of Farkle Nation will destroy you.”

“Would you look at that, nerds unite.” Shawn said, chuckling lightly.

“At least he has functioning brain cells.” Maya bit back, defending Farkle.

“How dare you say I have no brain cells; I have one and his name is Stevie.” Shawn gasped as Maya rolled her eyes, amused at his comment.

“I would enjoy communing with the creatures of the sea.” Topanga shared, smiling up at Mr Feeny. “I choose scuba.”

“Slap me in a wet suit and throw me overboard.” Stuart chuckled to himself, looking up at Mr Feeny.

“How is this happening, Maya?” Riley asked.

“The boys in love, you can’t stop a Minkai that’s in love.” Maya teasingly drawled out, snickering to herself.

“Can anyone tell me what the acronym scuba is?” Mr Feeny asked, looking around.

“It’s an acronym?” Maya asked.

“That’s news to me too.” Riley said in a hushed tone.

“Mr Matthews,” Mr Feeny called on him.

“Duba?” Cory dumbly answered, waving his hands around.

“Scuba duba,” Mr Feeny dryly said in disbelief.  “Mr Matthews, I have obviously failed you on so many levels.”

“You shouldn’t blame yourself for that, Mr Feeny.” Maya laughed.

“And yet it haunts me.” He said before continuing. “An acronym is a pronounceable formation made by a combination of letters.”

“I told you.” Cory whipped around to face Shawn.

“Is it possible to get second-hand dumbness?” Maya asked Riley who watched Cory and Shawn for a brief moment.

“Maybe.” Riley slowly replied.

“So, no, can anyone tell me what scuba stands for? Come on. Take a stab at it.” Mr Feeny asked, zoning in on Shawn which made Maya’s smile grow. “Mr Hunter, you haven’t spoken since the fourth grade.” Mr Feeny knelt down to Shawn’s level. “S-C-U-B-A. What does it stand for?” Mr Feeny asked.

“This is gonna be good.” Maya laughed.

“This is gonna end bad.” Riley whimpered.

“Something’s…creepy…under…boat…Andy.” Shawn thought out loud, proudly smiling up at Mr Feeny who sighed, standing up straight.

“Mr Matthews was closer with duba.” Mr Feeny dryly remarked, his eyes landing on Maya and he shook his head. “I won’t even bother.” He moved on.

“Good choice.” Maya said.

“You never know, Maya might surprise you.” Riley quickly called out.

“I very much doubt it.” Mr Feeny dryly remarked making Maya chuckle and look over to Riley with a pouty face. “Very well, take it away Mr Minkus.” Mr Feeny sighed.

“No.” Stuart meekly replied.

“I beg your pardon?” Mr Feeny asked, leaning forward.

“I don’t want to know everything,” Stuart pouted.

“Why not? Knowing everything is awesome.” Farkle proudly proclaimed.

“No, it’s not, I want to be one of the normal stupid guys. I’m going with duba.” Stuart exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air.

“Take it away, Mr Abernathy.” Mr Feeny said, looking between them as Stuart began to furiously tap his fingers against the desk.

“Thank you sir, now since my intellectual nemesis does not know, I will proudly tell you scuba is an acronym for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus. HEH!” Farkle squealed in excitement.

“I hate myself.” Stuart said.

“You’re not alone.” Shawn said, smiling slightly.

“I think it’s cool how smart you are Stuart.” Riley encouragingly smiled over at him, causing Stuart to whip around, his eyes wide and his cheeks red as he stared at Riley in awe.

***

The sun shone brightly in the backyard of Riley’s foster family’s home. Laying down in the sun, Riley’s eyes were open, staring up at the clouds, an unbridled sense of joy and optimism overcoming her. Something that she loved and also never got used to was having a back yard. Laying in the plush grass, the warmth of the sun overcoming her. Just laying there after a long day at school made her feel so relaxed and at one with the universe. Here, she laid waiting for Maya and Farkle to come around. While she ideally had wanted them over right after school that just wasn’t going to happen because Maya had detention and Farkle had a lot of things he was going to bring over, so everyone had settled on 6pm.

“Riley!” Upon hearing Joanne call out her name, Riley jumped up from her spot on the grass and she skipped towards the door, slipping into the house. Her eyes drifted down to the oven seeing there were 12 more minutes until the last batch was done. Excitement boiled over inside of her. Deeper into the house, Joanne rushed around, trying to prepare everything by intensely cleaning the house and preparing the table, placing bowls of snacks around the house where people would sit. “Daniel,” Joanne called out, turning watching as the heavy-footed steps came closer and two girlish squeals drew closer to them. Around the corner came Daniel, running towards Joanne with Juliette and Emily tucked into his sides, held up by his arms.

“Hi honey, you like my new accessories?” Daniel asked, showing them off, posing with his hands on his hips.

“Yes, I love them, but I would like them even more if you put them down and let them calm down before we have guests.” Joanne sighed, trying her best to refrain from arguing in front of the girls and Riley.

“You see, I would, but then that’ll open the flood gates to the worst the demon spawn are capable of.” Daniel sassed, freezing at the sight of Joanne’s face, slowly he put them down, leaning down to their level. “Run,” he whispered and the two squealed loudly, quickly running out of the room. “I love you,” he tried.

“Since when?” Joanne asked.

“Since forever, Jo.” He stepped forward, clutching her waist, tugging her close to him. “You don’t need to worry, everything will be great.” Daniel promised her, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“Those girls really worship you,” Joanne sighed, disappointment simmering in her eyes, upon noticing this, Riley’s lips pursed. Everything inside of her wanted to reach out and comfort Joanne. “We just barely had any warning and I couldn’t cook anything I wanted to because I didn’t have any time.” Joanne began, as she felt her head furiously pounding.

“Look, they’ll love anything you got here. I’ll keep the dad’s happy; I’m leaving you with the serpent.” Daniel said, referring to Lauren. The two laughed, kissing each other as a knock came at the door and the blurry figure of Riley flew past them, tearing the door open, a wide, goofy grin spread to her face as she looked up at the slim figure of Antonio.

“Hi Mr Romano,” Riley giddily breathed out. Wasn’t like she had a small crush on him or anything.

“What are you doing, Riley?” Farkle asked, confused, looking between his foster father and friend.

“Yeah,” she giggled.

“Hi Riley, can we come in?” Antonio asked, trying his best to ignore the way Riley kept looking at him.

“Yeah,” she giggled again as Daniel made his way towards the door, pulling it open and then placing his hands-on Riley’s shoulders slowly pushing her away from the doorway.

“Come in, guys, sorry about Riley.” Daniel sheepishly apologised.

“Don’t worry about it,” Lauren smoothly said, swaying her hips from side to side as she walked into the room with her family. “I’m more worried about the interns then her.” She smoothly replied, quickly strutting into the house, making her way directly to the kitchen with a bottle of wine tightly clutched in her hand.

“The woman I love.” Antonio drawled out, placing his hand on his chest.

“Right, I mean I get it, sort of, not really.” Daniel shrugged, not knowing what else to say to this man. It shouldn’t have been this hard since Antonio showed up regularly to pick Farkle up after hanging out with Riley. And yet, the statuesque beauty of Antonio and Lauren always made Daniel feel worried.

“Don’t mean to be rude, but why are we having a dinner tonight?” Antonio asked, looking around.

“Oh, you know, there’s a bake sale and Riley wanted company. She thought it’d be nice.” Daniel answered, shrugging his shoulders.

“You’re not joking, are you?” Antonio asked, stifling a chuckle.

“I wish I was I really do.” Daniel sighed.

“Hm,” he looked around the house again, slowly drifting into the lounge room, inspecting the very room. It was the first time he had passed the doorway, a place he would always prefer if he was being honest. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to get to know his child’s friends, there was time for that in the future; especially if Lauren and he went through with the adoption. However, after a long day working himself to the bone trying to fix other people’s screw ups, the last thing he wanted to do was try and play nice with people he normally wouldn’t associate with. “You watching the game tonight?” Antonio asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he looked at the basketball game playing on the screen.

“You a fan?” Daniel asked with a growing smile.

“Yeah, yeah, recently got into the game, I always preferred baseball though.” He shrugged; his lips pursed into a tight-lipped smile.

“I know the feeling; football was more my thing but Riley’s into basketball so I’m brushing up on it.” Daniel shared with a sigh.

“The things we do for our kids, huh?” Antonio asked as a knock came at the door and Riley boulderer through the house, tearing it open.

“Peaches,” Riley held her arms open, embracing her small blonde friend. The three then disappeared out of sight leaving Rino standing there awkwardly looking around the front of the house.

“Hey man, how’s it going?” Daniel asked as Rino walked towards them.

“Alright,” Rino shortly answered.

“Antonio,” he introduced himself, holding out his hand.

“Rino,” he shook Antonio’s hand. “You drive Maya home sometimes, right?” he asked and Antonio nodded.

“I do, she’s a good kid.” Antonio replied.

“I know.” Rino said. In the kitchen Lauren stopped in front of Joanne, a bottle of vintage wine in her hand and a smile toying on her painted red lips.

“Aren’t you just so darling.” Lauren goadingly drawled out, brushing past Joanne and plucking the wine glasses from the table and placing two in front of Joanne, filling them with wine. “My plan is to finish this bottle before I have to share with the boys.” Lauren shared with a small smirk of her own.

“You think they drink wine?” Joanne asked her with a small chuckle.

“I think they’ll resort to that once we lay claim to the beer which is what will be happening soon.” Lauren teasingly drawled out.

“I like the way you think.” Joanne grinned.

“Knowing Toni, he’ll probably try and get your husband to put the game on.” Lauren shared.

“Knowing Daniel, he won’t need much convincing.” Joanne added, the two sharing a small chuckle, clinking their glasses together and taking a sip. “This is good.”

“It’s from my collection.” Lauren shared, holding her head high and proud. “I’ve only met Riley a few times, but she’s very good for Farkle, you know, Farkle likes Riley.” Lauren informed Joanne, studying her slightly amused expression.

“I’m not surprised, he doesn’t hide it.” Joanne shrugged, laughing to herself. “They would be adorable together, though.” She admitted.

“They would, they’d be a beautiful couple, but they’re both still too young to date. Dating in high school usually doesn’t turn out so well.” Lauren commented, taking a sip of her glass of wine as she analysed the kitchen, committing it to memory. “You have such a beautiful home; it would look stunning in a homemaker magazine.” She shared.

“Thank you, before we moved here me and Daniel had the whole house renovated. We figured if we were finally settling down then we want to live in our dream home. We love it but we’re still paying off our loans.” Joanne said with a short grunt while Lauren nodded looking around. “I suppose you don’t have to worry about those things.”

“Everyone has to start from somewhere,” Lauren commented. “Some people are happy staying at this level and I don’t blame them. It’s quaint…I grew up in a home like this.”

“Oh, where did you grow up?” Joanne asked.

“Tampa, you?” Lauren asked.

“Phili, born and raised.” Joanne joked.

“Makes sense,” Lauren muttered under her breath.

“Excuse me?” Joanne snapped; her eyes narrowed slightly.

“It’s safe, staying inside your comfort zone, staying in a place you know you can trust. I’m willing to bet you also either met your husband in high school or in some generic night school class at a college that every person who doesn’t get into college takes so that they’re sort of qualified.” Lauren drawled out, flashing an overly polite and completely fake smile to spite Joanne. This was why she was called the snake.

“You’re right, I stayed here because I liked it. Because I knew it and I did meet my husband in a night class. But at least I was never some selfish gold-digger than conned my way up to the top and became a foster parent to feel better about myself.” Joanne hissed.

“I would be offended, but you couldn’t be more wrong,” Lauren bit back, refilling their glasses again. “Boldness breeds success, believe what you will about that.” She twirled around, leaning against the kitchen counter as the two silently sipped on wine together.

“You gotta tell me where you get this wine from.” Joanne groaned.

“Come by my workplace some time, we’ll make a day of it.” Lauren placed her card down on the kitchen counter, smiling over at Joanne. The two sat opposite each other, sizing one another up. No malice or hate was felt towards one another, just a comradery. Outside, lazing in the grass together, Farkle, Maya and Riley had already begun decorating the cupcakes with quirky and unusual designs, while Farkle had decided to make the solar system. Sitting outside with the cupcakes, Riley had begun decorating the cakes with quirky and unusual designs. Placing his notebook on the table, Farkle flipped through the pages, coming to a stop the finalized list of ideas on how to get them home.

“What you got, Farkle?” Maya asked him.

“He’s got Venus,” Riley said, gesturing to the to the cupcake he’d just finished.

“I’ve gone over it my list of potential and realistic solutions to get home based on our limited resources. Now I’ve ruled out building a time machine due to the mechanics of it nearly being impossible due to us having no money or the equipment needed to build it. There are some theories we can test out, usually I’d consider these things to be ‘WOO’ with a side of crazy but we’re here.” Farkle said with a sheepish smile. “I remember hearing that sometimes natural occurrences such as meteorites, planets and moon phases can cause unusual things to happen throughout the universe, even if it’s been mostly unknown or unrecorded. As of now, I’m unsure if the unusual occurrences would lead to time travel or if it was some form of advance technology that effected us, but I’ve predicted that the occurrences that coincide with the time we went missing won’t happen for a while so I will have more time to look into it.” He shared, looking between them.

“That sounds really complicated.” Riley said, frowning.

“It is,” Farkle nodded. “Even I am struggling to comprehend it and I know everything.” He admitted with a small frown. “While I don’t like to entertain this, there is a chance it’s something more like a supernatural woo occurrence. If it is, then we’ll need to consult someone with a deeper spiritual connection. It sounds really crazy but it’s a last resort.” He shared with a frown.

“So…we’re probably not going home any time soon.” Riley said, anxiety consuming her as she bit her bottom lip to stop it from trembling. Getting home just seemed to become more and more impossible, she wondered what she would think in a few years when they got closer to getting home. If it would ever come. If Farkle could ever figure it out. She had so much faith in him. But hope almost seemed impossible.

“I’m sorry Riley, in the meantime I’m going to keep on looking, maybe I can build a time machine. But I’m doubtful of it.” Farkle admitted with a sad smile. “What I’m confident about is that if it wasn’t an unnatural occurrence then we’d have changed the past forever.”

“Great, so we’re screwed.” Maya muttered, slumping forward.

“It really seems like it.” Farkle muttered.

“We’re not going to be stuck here forever, Maya, we’ll get back home, and everything will go back to normal. It will be better.” Riley optimistically shared, she had to have hope. No one else would. Glancing between them she noticed the guilty look on Maya’s face, as if she didn’t want to say anything, not like she usually did. And Farkle seemed slightly reluctant to chime in, she knew he wouldn’t stop until he found an answer, that was the thing about Farkle. Farkle was reliable. Maya kept secrets and lied, and Riley didn’t know why. But she loved them both.

“Of course, we will, they don’t call me a genius for nothing.” Farkle proudly boasted.

“People actually call you that?” Maya asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m intellectually superior to everyone, I know almost everything. In five years I really will know everything, including the secret to time travel.” Farkle lightly said, a smile growing on his lips.

“Dinner is ready,” Lauren said from the doorway, a soft smile forming on her painted lips as she looked between them.

“We’ll be there soon.” Riley called out.

“Hm, I think you’ll be there now.” Lauren insisted. “The cupcakes look beautiful, Riley.”

“Thank you,” Riley blushed, holding out one. “Would you like one? I mean you probably don’t eat cupcakes.” She nervously said, looking at Lauren’s thin figure.

“I will for you.” Lauren reached out, grabbing one and making her way back into the house with the three following closely after her.

Chapter Text

The next day everyone in the scuba club rushed to get ready, buzzing with excitement for their first scuba lesson. With the exception of Farkle who excitedly deviated from everyone, making his way to debate club, he was ready to take on the world, Riley and Maya just wanted to be mermaids for a little while. In the girls changeroom Maya and Riley walked in, placing their bags down on the bench, getting their swimmers out. “Jo brought me a new swimsuit yesterday when she heard I was gonna be in the scuba club.” Riley excitedly shared, pulling out her one piece, showing it to Maya who grinned, stepping closer to her.

“Oh, that’s so cute,” Maya exclaimed, trying to stop herself from squinting as she stared at the bright yellow one-piece swimsuit decorated with flowers. All Maya could think was that it was very Riley.

“I know right, I mean it’s very 90s, what I wouldn’t give for my clothes back home.” Riley groaned in a hushed tone. “But at least the clothes here aren’t too bad.” She shrugged.

“I get that, you know most of my clothes from back then, they’re not even in thrift stores rights, they’re just not a thing. Had to get me a whole new style, but it’s not so bad right?” Maya asked, spinning around.

“I think you look very cute peaches,” Riley grinned as Maya stopped and reached into her bag pulling out the bland black one-piece swimsuit.

“I mean, this really isn’t me.” She sighed, walking into a stall to change her clothes.

“Come on peaches, we’ll go shopping and get you some nice clothes one day.” Riley called out as she began changing. “You know it’s my dad’s birthday today.”  Riley said to Maya through the stalls.

“Oh wow, fuzzy’s birthday finally came around, took him long enough.” Maya commented, stepping out of the stall at the same time as Riley, the two looked to each other, smiling, they flipped their hair over their shoulder and turned their head the other way.

“Stop it,” they said at the same time. The two then put on their bathrobes and made their way out and towards the room where everyone gathered. As they walked into the room their eyes landed on Cory who whipped off his bathrobe and posed with his hands on his hips, his head held high.

“Scuba boy!” Cory called out, trying to make his voice deeper.

“Is it too late to join the debate club?” Riley asked, scrunching her face up seeing her dad shirtless.

“No, but I think it’s too late to forget ever seeing that.” Maya stated, biting back her laughter.

“Man, Cory, you are the whitest white boy I have ever seen.” Shawn said in between fits of laughter.

“Cool necklace,” Riley said, showing up beside him, leaning in to inspect the necklace. In her whole life, she had never seen her dad wear a necklace before.

“You want it?” Cory asked, hopeful.

“How do I get out of this?” Riley asked, stepping back beside Maya.

“Just pretend this never happened.” Maya quickly said.

“Cool necklace.” Riley said again, looking between them as she pretended that their prior conversation had never happened. Glancing over at Shawn, Cory looked confused at Riley’s antics once again.

“Wow, Cory, sure looks like you’ve never seen the light of day.” Maya quipped, tilting her head to the side, her eyes gliding up and down his short stumpy body causing Cory to blush.

“That’s because he hasn’t.” Shawn chimed in.

“And you have?” Cory asked, turning to Shawn. “Let’s see what you got.” He demanded.

“Think I’m afraid to take my shirt off?” Shawn challenged Cory.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking.” Cory nodded, standing his ground.

“It’s what we’re all thinking.” Maya commented, amused.

“Hey, I got nothing to hide.” Shawn stalled, shaking his head. “Nothing at all.”

“I’m thinking that, too.” Cory nodded.

“Hurry up,” Riley shouted, looking between them.

“Come on, Hunter, you’re gonna have to eventually, unless you plan to swim with a jumper on.” Maya dryly commented, cocking her head to the side.

“Alright, I’ll show you the goods, babe, but only because you asked me.” Shawn winked in her direction. “Let me warn you, I’ve been working out.” Shawn smiled, pulling off his jacket to reveal a shirt underneath with exaggerated muscles on it. “I have pumped…me up.” Shawn posed, flexing his non-existent muscles.

“Wow, Shawn, that was…underwhelming.” Riley smiled, stepping forward and patting his shoulder. “There, there, it’ll get better.”

“I don’t see how.” Maya snickered.

“How come you’re wearing a shirt?” Cory asked.

“Well, because otherwise,” Shawn pulled his shirt off and looked down at Cory, frowning. “I look like you.”

“Hey, Riles, have you ever seen anything so white?” Maya asked, tilting her head to the side.

“One time when I looked into the sun.” Riley shared with a flustered smile as Shawn whipped his head around, glaring between the two girls.

“Like you’re any better, Hart, I bet you’re so white you’d blend in with snow.” Shawn sneered, stepping closer to her.

“And yet I’d still never even manage to be as white as you.” Maya bit back, boldly taking off her bathrobe, showing her plane black one-piece watching with an annoyed expression as Shawn’s jaw dropped slightly and his cheeks burned bright red.

“Hey, you seriously gonna let her talk to you like that?” Cory asked, hitting Shawn’s arm.

“Uh, yeah,” Shawn said, his cheeks burning.

“She’s just a girl, insult her.” Cory demanded.

“I got nothing.” Shawn giggled.

“That’s what I thought, string-bean.” Maya smirked up at him, slowly stalking towards him, tilting her head back as she stopped just shy of colliding with him. “You got a little something,” Maya gestured to her mouth before slowly leaning in to touch his face.

“Oh, what?” Shawn asked, leaning his head in.

“It’s a little drool.” Maya said before shoving him away from her. “I win, but that’s no surprise.” She proudly proclaimed, shrugging her shoulders, turning away from him.

“Please, you have no effect on me, and for the record I’m gonna win.” Shawn scoffed.

“Keep dreaming.” Maya bit back.

“It’s not very evolved to ridicule the human form.”  Topanga shared, walking into the room, stopping in front of them. “Each of our bodies is the master creation of mother nature.”

“You’re so right,” Riley exclaimed, her eyes wide and gleaming with admiration. 

“Well, except for Minkus.” Shawn pointed to Stuart who was by the snorkel masks. “He was created by Mother Goose.” He quipped, earning a small chuckle from Maya.

“Aren’t these jokes about Stuart getting old?” Riley asked in an attempt to defuse the situation, they all turned around as Stuart whipped off his bathrobe to reveal a bright green full body suit. “Okay, so maybe they aren’t.” she quietly said.

“Hunter, he wasn’t created by mother goose, this is clearly the spawn of juicy fruit.” Maya commented with a small smirk spreading to her lips.

“I want to say you’re wrong but look at him.” Riley exclaimed, holding her arms towards Stuart in shock.

“Anybody ready for a dip?” Stuart asked them with an overzealous smile.

“Minkus, you look like a stick of Juicy Fruit.” Cory said, giving Stuart a onceover. “You wearing a wet suit too, mother nature?” Cory asked Topanga, whipping his head around to face her.

“No.” Topanga simply said, letting the bathrobe fall to the ground, confidently looking up at Cory. Biting back a squeal that threatened to erupt from her, Riley excitedly hit Maya’s arm, the two turned to each other, letting out a quick squeal before acting cool. “What’s the matter? No funny remarks?” Topanga asked him.

“Uh, you got anything?” Cory asked Shawn.

“I got nothing.” Shawn admitted.

“Uh, you got anything?” Cory repeated himself.

“Aw, look at fuzzy all doe eyed and in love.” Maya tauntingly called out, earning a furious glare from Cory.

“Shut up.” He hissed under his breath.

“Make me, I dare you.” She challenged him.

“Snap out of it, Cor, she’s just a girl in a bathing suit. Insult her.” Shawn demanded, snapping out of his initial dazed state.

“Right, like you did with Maya?” Riley asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Pfft, I was just being nice.” Shawn scoffed, looking away from Riley, flustered.

“You know, Shawn, from now on I’m gonna be insulting you.” Cory stated, turning to face Shawn, his hands behind his back as he stared up at his friend. Standing off to the side, Riley could barely contain her excitement at seeing how flustered her dad got. She just wanted to squeal.

“Topanga,” Stuart walked up to her.

“Yes, Stuart?” Topanga asked.

“You’re beautiful.” He smiled appreciatively.

“I’m gonna be a Minkai, Maya.” Riley whimpered quietly causing Maya to hold her arms wide open, wrapping them around her taller friend, stroking her hair.

“There, there, honey.” She said with her southern drawl that always soothed Riley as they watched Stuart and Topanga walk off together.

“How is this happening, Maya? How does Stuart have more game than my father?” Riley cried out, staring off into the distance as Maya held her.

“You seriously need to ask that?” Maya asked, raising an eyebrow. “Look at him.” She held her hand out, gesturing to Cory who gave her a sour look.

“What?” Cory snapped.

“Stop staring, honey bun, if you really want to look you should just take a picture,” Shawn winked in her direction and Maya leaned forward, gagging.

“I would say I wanna rip my eyes out but looking at you is making me blind.” Maya bit back.

“You know what they say, love is blind.” Shawn proudly shared.

“Did he really say that?” Riley asked, looking to Maya.

“Unfortunately.” Maya sighed, shaking her head.

“Hey, what’s with the necklace?” Shawn asked, looking down at it.

“Oh, my dad gave it to me.” Cory said, grabbing it, inspecting the two gloves attached to the necklace. “It’s one of those really important father-son gifts that you don’t understand what it is.”

“Been there. My dad once gave me a gold-plated tire pressure gauge he won at the company bowling tournament.” Shawn said, picking up the inflatable lifejacket.. “Try getting psyched over that.”

“I think it’s sweet that your fathers want to give you something meaningful.” Riley shared making Cory and Shawn scoff.

“Please, you see one day you might understand, but for now you’re still in the blissfully ignorant promise land where I used to be.” Cory began, placing his hand on Riley’s shoulder, taking a dramatic pause. “One day, you will get given a gift you won’t understand and then you’ll have to pretend to like it. Can you pretend to like something?” Cory asked her.

“No, but I’m sure if it means something to them I’d love it.” Riley proclaimed.

“It’s okay, Riles, I can teach you how.” Maya quickly reassured her.

“Thank you, peaches.” Riley let out a breath as Shawn pulled a string and it inflated. Stuart rushed over, quickly snatching it from Shawn and deflating it.

“Have you taken leave of your senses?” he scolded Shawn. “You can endanger the safety of yourself and others. No touching the equipment until the dive master gets here.” Stuart insisted.

“The dive master sure is taking his time, juicy fruit.” Maya drawled out, tilting her head to the side as Stuart glared at her.

“Who is this dive master, anyway?” Cory asked.

“I don’t care who it is, as long as it gets us out of school, under water, and away from Feeny.” Shawn listed off, leaning forward and high fiving Cory.

“Good afternoon, fellow divers.” Mr Feeny walked in, dressed in a tracksuit. Biting the inside of her cheek, Maya slowly turned to look up at Shawn.

“Why doesn’t this surprise me anymore?” Maya sighed, shaking her head.

“It’s strange that it keeps happening.” Riley commented, tilting her head to the side.e

“Ahh!” Cory and Shawn turned to each other screaming.

“Yes, Mr Matthews, Mr Hunter.” Mr Feeny pointed to them. “I’m a certified dive master and have been for years.” He proudly shared with them.

“Well, aren’t we lucky.” Maya sarcastically commented.

“You are, Miss Hart.” Mr Feeny quickly replied as he began to prepare.

“Come on, isn’t that a little dramatic?” Riley asked, shaking her head.

“I-it’s Feeny.” Cory called out, pointing to him.

“I can see that.” Riley said.

“Two out of three, not bad, Hunter.” Maya nodded.

“Oh can it.” Shawn huffed, leaning on the table.

“Okay, so I’m thinking upholstery club.” Cory squeaked out, turning to look between Maya, Shawn and Riley, pleading for them to switch clubs. Anything to escape Mr Feeny’s clutches.

“I’m thinking you wouldn’t last a second in there, fuzzy.” Maya commented, folding her arms.

“You don’t know that.” Cory snapped, earning a raised eyebrow from Maya.

“Oh, you really wouldn’t.” Riley quickly confirmed.

“I thought we were friends.” Cory gasped.

“We are, but she’s right.” Riley said.

“Now, the first rule of diving is never dive alone.” Mr Feeny began and Shawn turned to Maya, taking a step closer to her.

“I think I’m gonna stay here.” Shawn tried to play it cool as he looked over to Cory.

“Squish.” Cory teased Shawn who’s cheeks burned bright red once again.

“Am not.” Shawn insisted.

“Therefore, I would like each of you to select a partner to be your diving buddy.” Mr Feeny urged them and Shawn was quick to latch onto Maya with a goofy grin.

“Whatcha doing?” Maya asked, smiling up at Shawn. “Do I need to remove this arm from your body?” she glowered.

“Only if you promise to keep it. I’m very attached to this arm and I’d only want someone who is as attached to it as I am to have it.” Shawn teasingly proclaimed as Riley and Cory watched on in disbelief.

“He’s my Shawn.” Cory shouted.

“You can have him.” Maya said.

“But I was thinking you, me, diving buddies?” Shawn asked.

“Now, one of our first drills will be buddy breathing, where you share your regulator and breath through the same mouthpiece.” Mr Feeny quickly informed them. Upon hearing this Maya scrunched her face and spared Shawn a quick glance as Mr Feeny demonstrated the motion. There was no way.

“When did you last brush your teeth?” Maya asked him.

“You’re actually considering it?” Riley asked in disbelief.

“Not sure. What day is it?” Shawn asked, contemplating it and Maya sighed, slapping Shawn on the back.

“You can have him, Fuzzy, I got my girl Riley.” Maya grinned, linking arms with Riley.

“Thanks a lot.” Cory pouted.

“Buddy?” Stuart asked, jumping his chair closer to Topanga.

“Okay.” Topanga grinned.

“This just keeps getting worse.” Riley sighed.

“Oh, how cute, it’s the little mermaid and Aqua Nerd.” Shawn teased the two.

“Squish.” Maya called out in the background.

“Maya,” Riley shouted.

“Sorry Riles, but you know they’re just so darn cute together.” Maya mockingly drawled out with a grin, biting back fits of laughter as they began to run through their exercises in Scuba Club. Despite Mr Feeny looming over them, diving into the depths of the school swimming pool had made her feel like a mermaid. Here she was in the 90s living her underwater dreams.

***

Lying flat on her stomach, the soft plush fabric of her rub brushing against her skin, providing comfort from the hardness of the floor. Today really did feel like a dream minus seeing a child version of her father shirtless. But after spending over 20 minutes in the water and swimming like a mermaid and worrying about how she was going to breath under water, sitting in her bedroom with her friends, doing homework felt amazing. Even if Maya wasn’t doing her homework. Maya kept insisting that she’d do it when she got home, Riley didn’t understand it and protested but she’d always so a spare in case Maya ever forgot to do her homework.

“Farkly,” Riley called out.

“Yes, Riley?” Farkle asked, looking up from his science homework.

“Can you find out a way to let me breath underwater?” she asked.

“I believe there are already contraptions that can help you breath under water, but you’re not really breathing under water, you just have devices that provide air for you.” Farkle quickly explained to Riley who shook her head.

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Riley quickly said.

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

“I wanna be an underwater mermaid princess.” Riley exclaimed making Farkle giggle.

“Oh you,” Farkle grinned.

“Yeah, she’s not kidding.” Maya laughed, glancing between them. “She’s our precious little mermaid.”

“Yes she is.” Farkle spared a soft glance in Riley’s direction, his smile growing as she began to hum a Taylor Swift song.

“But she wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts, she’s cheer captain—I wish I was cheer captain, I can’t wait until we get into high school. I’m gonna become cheer captain, just watch me.” Riley determinedly proclaimed.

“As long as I don’t have to try out with you,” Maya entertained her, before jumping up. “Okay Miss Riley Matthews,” Riley jumped up and onto her feet, standing straight and proud.

“Yes Sir,” Riley screamed.

“What are you going to interview for first?” Maya asked, running circles around Riley, eyeing her down.

“Cheerleading captain of our future high school cheer squad.” Riley screamed.

“That’s your first job outta middle school?” Maya asked.

“Sir, yes, sir.” Riley replied. “I believe I’m overqualified.” She exclaimed.

“Share with me what’s on your resume.” Maya demanded.

“I have extensive tryout history in cheerleading, and I am part of the scuba duba club.” Riley quickly informed Maya who nodded slowly.

“Then welcome to the cheer team, effective immediately.” Maya held out her hand, quickly shaking Riley’s who beamed at the news.

“Yay, when do I start?” Riley asked.

“When you graduate.” Maya answered.

“Oh rats.” Riley hissed as the door to Riley’s bedroom was pushed open, immediately all three of them whipped their heads around, their eyes zoning in on Joanne causing Riley to let out a loud gasp. “It’s my mother,” she exclaimed.

“It appears so.” Maya commented. “Honestly shocking.”

“This boy says he’s your friend.” Joanne quickly said, gesturing to Shawn who stood off to the side, looking between them confused.

“Hey guys,” Shawn waved at them. “Babe,” he nodded to Maya who scrunched her face up.

“Gross,” Maya flatly stated as Joanne laughed, leaving the kids and making her way downstairs ready to resume laying on the couch with Daniel, watching the video they’d rented.

“Shawn, what are you doing here? Do you want cupcakes? Wait, what happened to my d-I mean Cory, what happened to Cory? Is he okay?” Riley bombarded him with questions, the all-consuming fear of something terrible potentially happening dawning on her.

“Uh, yeah he was just busy and I kinda figured you’d all be over here.” Shawn shrugged, closing the door behind him.

“What’s Cory doing?” Riley shot up from her spot, stepping closer and closer to Shawn, her face only inches away from him.

“Nothing, he just lost his necklace that his dad gave him.” Shawn nervously said, stepping around Riley and sitting down on the ground, his eyes slowly peering up at Maya watching as she drew her attention back to her sketch book.

“He what?” Riley screamed, her eyes wide and her mouth agape.

“Hey Riles,” Maya called out in a soothing voice.

“Yes peaches?” Riley asked, smiling up at Maya.

“Careful of the flies,” she said, glancing over at Shawn, frowning. “Riles, it’ll be fine. What’s the worst that could happen? Him losing his necklace potentially leading into years of neglect and hate between him and his dad, never to be repaired?” she whimsically asked with an amused gleam in her eyes. “That’d never happen.” She quickly said.

“Why wouldn’t it happen?” Riley asked.

“Because your-I mean fuzzy,” Maya quickly caught herself, trying not to spare a glance in Shawn’s direction as she slipped up. “He’s got a lot of people looking out for him it’s fine. You’re the one always telling us that it’s better not to get too involved in other peoples problems, I think this is one of things you need to just let run it’s course.” Maya suggested with a sigh.

“I agree with Maya.” Farkle nodded, pursing his lips.

“Fine.” Riley pouted, anxiety building up inside of her chest. Throughout her whole life, Riley had been Cory with Topanga’s hair. Who could help Cory better than another Cory right? In the very core of her being Riley was desperate to help those in needs, when she saw someone struggling, when she saw someone trying to hard to bring their life back on track, Riley always wanted to be there. She wanted to be there helping and giving advice and listening to them. But that wasn’t her destiny. That wasn’t what she was supposed to do in the 90s.

Once everyone had left, Riley sat by herself in the kitchen. It had been an hour since Antonio had come to pick up Farkle, and Maya and Shawn left to walk home together. There were so many things on her mind, a million questions left unanswered, most were about other people, they were the new ones that had left Riley on the verge of panic attacks. They were an issue for another day. But the questions she had about the universe and about herself, the questions she relied on her parents to help find the answer to, who would help her now?

“Hey tiger,” Daniel nodded to her, walking in from the backyard the ashy scent of cigarette smoke coming off of him in waves causing Riley to scrunch her face up. “Can we keep this a secret for like a day or two?” Daniel asked with a nervous smile.

“Uh…uh-huh.” Riley absentmindedly nodded, stuck in her own world.

“What’s wrong?” Daniel asked, sitting down on the bench stool.

“Nothing,” Riley shook her head.

“You see, you say that, but I expected to come into the kitchen and see bright, smiley Riley and maybe watch some re-runs of the game you missed yesterday.” Daniel shared with a small smile. That smile quickly turned into a frown as he noticed Riley didn’t react in a cheery way she usually would. Instead she just stuffed her face in the Saturn cupcake. “Or we could talk? I’m not great at the advice, but I can offer some helpful comfort food choices.” He shared.

“I like the cupcakes.” Riley said, her voice muffled by cupcake.

“Cupcakes are a great choice, but chocolate hazelnut spread with cinnamon crunch is elite.” Daniel exclaimed, getting up from the stool, gathering the ingredients, preparing them in a bowl for Riley, placing them down in front of her. “Now that I’ve offered my first suggestion, want to share some sad stuff with me?” he asked.

“Sorry, there’s just a lot going on. It just feels like no matter what say I look at it I’m just stuck, and nothing is going to get better or worse and I hate that.” Riley shared with a frown. Everything was changing and that scared her.

“Good news for you, things get better and worse no matter how you look at it,” Daniel offered with a shrug. “You’ve got some pretty big changes coming up and me and Joanne are gonna do our best to make sure you don’t fall of the edge of the earth, promise.” He laughed a little, nervous about being the advice giver.

“What are these changes going to do to me and my friends?” Riley asked causing Daniel to let out a nervous bout of laughter.

“You see…I would answer that, but I don’t really have friends.” Daniel shared, laughing, and scratching the back of his head. “But I imagine when you and your friends go through whatever changes you’re talking about, yeah, things will change. Maybe there’ll be a period of time where your friendship doesn’t feel the same as it was, but if there’s truly love there which I know there is, you’ll come back together. And you’ll be stronger for it. Sometimes people need to go out and experience the world for themselves to find who they truly are and what they need and want in life. You see, I imagine that the world you’ll need to experience will be very different to Farkle’s and Maya’s and Cory’s. But you’re all amazing kids.” Daniel shared, smiling at the way Riley stuffed her face with the comfort food he’d prepared for her.

“Are you sure about that? Because it doesn’t feel like it.” Riley shared, feeling the panic rising in her chest.

“I am.” He firmly said. “Going out and finding myself is how I met Jo, it’s how I found something to live for.” He shared.

“Your reason for living is Joanne?” Riley asked.

“No,” he shook his head. “The life I have with her is. We have our ups and downs, but we live in this beautiful house, we had two beautiful daughters together, and we decided to be foster parents. Along the way, you came into our lives and you’ve made the whole world a little brighter for me and Jo and our girls. I want to protect that life.” He shared. “You see, I am not particularly amazing, but to Em and Juls, I’m the most amazing person in the world, and Jo is an example of what woman can do. Your parents are examples of either what you do not want, or what you could be. It all depends on the situation.” He shared.

“What were your parents like?” Riley asked.

“They had a lot of money, but they didn’t love each other…they didn’t love me.” He reluctantly shared, hoping he was helping Riley. “For the longest time nothing seemed to work, school was the worst, I was bullied a lot and I didn’t have many friends. There was no one there to show me what it felt like to have love in my life. But I have it now, and when I see you Riley, you are surrounded by so much love, and I never want you to feel like you aren’t.” he softly said.

“I’m sorry you didn’t have much love in your life before you met Joanne,” Riley whispered, feeling tears stinging in the corners of her eyes.

“Doesn’t matter,” he shook his head. “I got it now.”

“You really think I’ll always have love?” she asked.

“I do,” he nodded. “For as long as we’re in each other’s lives, I promise I’ll do my best to make sure you always feel supported and loved, you’re an amazing kid, but you need to dream dreams too. I like your friends, they’re awesome kids, the best friends in the world, but my job is to look after you, so I’m always going to be checking in on you more.” He reached out, wrapping his arms around Riley, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Now, finish up and get to bed before Jo comes in and yells at me for letting you stay up past your bedtime.” He whispered.

“I thought you said we were gonna watch the rerun.” Riley tilted her head to the side.

“Okay, I’ll cop the scolding, but only for that okay?” he began to walk towards the lounge room, Riley excitedly ran after him. Comparing herself to Cory and Topanga was always difficult, even if when she had them as her parents she was too young to really take notice. They were just so perfect in her eyes. With Joanne and Daniel as her parents, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever feel the same way. But she felt safe and happy having them in her life.