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❛ ʟᴇᴀᴛʜᴇʀ & ʟᴀᴄᴇ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ sʜᴇ ᴡᴀs
ғʀᴀɢɪʟᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴀ ғʟᴏᴡᴇʀ ʙᴜᴛ
sʜᴇ's ғʀᴀɢɪʟᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴀ ʙᴏᴍʙ ꒱


❝ LORD HELP THE MAN WHO
DON'T KNOW HOW STRONG
/ A WOMAN CAN BE WHEN
SOMEBODY DOES HER WRONG ❞

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"Somebody read that," Cory told the class as he pointed to the board.

Lucas was quick to do as he asked and recited, "'history will be kind to me for I intend to write it.' Winston Churchill."

He gave him a nod of approval. "And he did. Who's gonna write their own history here? What is history? I keep forgetting."

"History is time passing," Riley answered.

"Oh, yeah? How much time?" the curly-haired man asked rhetorically. "Someone once said, 'a hundred years from now, all new people.'"

Maya smirked and stuck her hand in the air as she stated confidently: "one hundred years."

"Wrong."

She pointed at him accusingly. "You set me up."

Cory chuckled, clearly amused by Maya's indignation. "No, Maya, I didn't set you up. I'm just trying to make a point." He leaned against his desk and gestured broadly. "Time is always moving and history is always changing. What we know today might not be what we know tomorrow. When should you guys begin to make your own history?"

"Right now," his daughter declared.

"Good. So, today we're talking about Winston Churchill—" He paused as Miya raised her hand, still not used to his 'free speech' policy. She was never comfortable speaking up in class, but there was something that was just different about the way he taught that made her want to step outside her comfort zone. He smiled warmly at her. "Yes, Miya? You don't have to raise your hand, you know; everyone's voice deserves to be heard equally."

As she put her hand down awkwardly, she was pretty sure that she heard some disgruntled muttering about that from the other students but forged ahead regardless. "But that's a famous quote from a notable person. Even though he didn't know he was going to be so well-known at the time, it kind of proves his point, doesn't it? What happens to the rest of us who don't get a quote in a history book? Does that mean our history doesn't matter?"

Cory's expression softened. "Good question, Miya. Writing your own history doesn't mean you have to change the whole world. Sometimes, it just means changing your world. Making choices that define who you are, even if they seem small. When the new people come, how do you want them talking about you?"

"Nicely?" Riley asked hopefully.

Miya caught Lucas' amused smile at the brunette's innocence as Maya wondered, "how long do we have before history makes its decision about us?"

"What if they're writing it down now?" Farkle wanted to know.

Cory shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Chapter one: Introduction. Please read."

They all turned to the first page and Miya listened as Riley repeated the words they were all looking at. "'There is a comfort in knowing that history is fixed. You can no sooner change history than you can change the nine planets in our solar system from Mercury to Pluto.'"

The class let out an understand 'oh,' which made the brunette look around at them in confusion. "What?"

"Nice job, Mr. Matthews," Lucas said, pointing at their teacher.

"What'd he do?"

"He just showed us history books can be wrong," the Texan told her. "You can change history."

Riley still looked at them blankly. "I don't get it."

Miya frowned, wondering how she couldn't see something that was literally right there. But then again, Riley was a sheltered, naïve person; maybe she didn't know. . . The Asian girl leaned forward to whisper to Farkle: "how can she not know?"

"I also have this question," Lucas agreed, giving her a perplexed stare.

Sensing trouble coming on, Maya acted quickly and pointed in a random direction. "Look at the bird!" Riley turned without question, her mouth dropping open in excitement as she scanned the classroom for a creature that clearly wasn't there. While she was distracted, the blonde continued in a hushed tone: "she doesn't know because she has us."

"The Riley committee," Farkle added, glancing at Miya.

"The committee exists to keep certain information away from Riley."

"Like what?"

Farkle shrugged. "Everything, really."

Cory leaned down to interrupt their (apparently not very well) whispered conversation. "Listen, this committee can't protect her for the rest of her life. She's getting too smart."

The genius threw his hands up in exasperation. "She's looking for a bird."

"Well, someone's gotta tell her."

Maya jerked away from what she considered a terrible idea. "You do it."

Cory took one look at his still-occupied daughter and shuddered at the thought. "Nah. . ." His expression brightened as his gaze landed on Miya. "Hey, Miya, you're new! You don't have a long, deep, personal history with Riley that makes you not want to disappoint her. You can do it!"

She gave him an uncomfortable look, now severely regretting ever speaking up in his class. Maybe the other students had the right idea: if they didn't say anything, it was almost like they weren't there. He didn't ask them to do. . . unusual things. But, she did also want Farkle's friends to like her and Cory was looking at her with such expectation that she felt she couldn't say no. She shot a quick, pleading look at her teacher, but he just gave her an encouraging nod. Gulping, she decided to break the news as gently as possible.

"Uh, Riley," Miya started tentatively. "About the, um, planets. . ."

Riley tilted her head curiously, abandoning her search for the nonexistent bird. "What about them?"

"Well, um," Miya glanced at Farkle for support but he just gestured for her to continue. "There's been a. . . change."

"A change?" the brunette's voice lifted with interest. "What kind of change? Did we find another planet? Is there a tenth planet?"

Miya winced. "Not. . . exactly. There's, uh, actually one less. You know Pluto?"

She brightened at that. "Pluto? I love Pluto! Everybody knows that. Pluto's a little cutie-pie. The smallest planet with the biggest heart. I love Pluto so much, I would kiss it on the face."

"Maya, help!" the Asian girl squeaked out, shrinking back into her seat. "I can't do it!"

The blonde sighed and reached over to pat her arm consolingly. "Good try, name-twin. We need a bit more practice before you can be my stand-in" She then smiled tentatively at her best friend. "Honey?"

"Peaches?"

Then, in the most careful voice Miya had ever heard Maya use, she said gently: "Pluto is not a planet anymore."

Riley blinked several times as the news sank in. "What's that you say?"

In the same voice, her best friend explained, "they made a scientific discovery that Pluto's not a planet anymore." She paused, assessing the brunette's reaction. "Will you be okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied quietly. "I am too old now to flip out over something like that. Dad, please continue."

He gave her a concerned look. "You sure, sweetie?"

"Please, continue," she repeated firmly.

"Okay. Alright, guys. So, we're talking about who we are now, and who we hope to be someday," Cory addressed the class once more. "How will we write our own history and decide what's important to us?"

"They found a 100-year-old time capsule in Boston last week," Farkle offered. "Could we do one of those?"

The curly-haired man beamed at him. "I love that idea, Farkle. In fact, we did one of those when I was in high school. We were gonna see what became of us in fifteen years." He froze as he tried to do the mental math, then allowed himself to become excited as he came up with a ballpark answer. "Wait a minute. . . We were gonna see what became of us right now! Fifteen years is right now. We were gonna go back and see how much we've changed."

Maya's gaze stayed on her best friend's shell-shocked face. "Yeah, well, I hope some of us never do."

🌎🌎🌎

"'Hey, Jules. . .'"

Juliet frowned in concern as she heard Cory's more-nervous-than-usual voice sound over the speaker. "Hey, Cor. What's wrong?"

"'What?'" he yelped, and she pictured his wide-eyed stare as he tried (and failed) to hide his guilty face. "'Nothing's wrong! Why. . . why would you think that? Can't I just call my best friend because I want to talk to her?'"

She let out a faint huff of laughter. "You can, but you haven't recently. Besides, you sound nervous so I thought you might be planning something."

"'Sorry, I'll try to be better about that,'" he apologized and, to his credit, it sounded sincere. "'But. . . I'm not planning anything, honest! I just wanted to know when you'd be coming 'across the pond' next, as you Brits say.'"

"Uh-huh," she said flatly, not at all convinced by his bluster. "Cor, I know you far too well to believe that. But, to answer your question, probably not anytime soon; Miya wants to come back here for Christmas. Which is good, since no one wants a repeat of last year's disaster."

"'Well. . . that might be what some people call it, but there are plenty of other words one could use to describe that event!'" She heard him clear his throat before he began to recite: "'abacus, abactor, abaisanc, abaft—'"

The dark-haired woman rolled her eyes in amused fondness. "Cory, you're just reading from the dictionary—"

"'What? No I'm not!'" he protested heatedly. "'These are all very good words approved by the good people at Merriam-Webster, you know.'"

"Oh, I know," she said, smirking. "Why don't you just tell me the reason for your call? What's so important that you need me back in the US for?"

His nervous tone appeared again and she heard his breathless chuckle through the speaker. "'Well, you see. . . you know those same people who would use a different word than 'disaster?'"

"Yes?"

"'They might call what I need you here for a matter of life and death.'"

Her eyes went very wide as her thoughts began to spiral into different worst-case-scenarios. "Cory! Why didn't you lead with that?"

🌎🌎🌎

Unaware of her mother's suddenly impending arrival, Miya sat with her friends in Topanga's in their usual seats. They'd all taken a few days to come up with their item that they would put in the time capsule and were now ready to present their decisions to each other. Riley was still distressed over her discovery about Pluto. "How can they just do that? She works her whole life to become a planet, and then it's just taken away from her. Do our hopes and dreams even matter?"

"Well, in fifteen years, we're gonna find out," Lucas said as he held up the item he'd chosen.

Farkle gave it a curious once-over. "A buffalo nickel. That's what you're putting in the time capsule?"

"Yeah, my grandfather gave it to me for. . ." He glanced at Maya and seemed to think better of finishing his sentence, sensing her taunting a mile away. He changed it quickly to: "anyway, my grandfather gave it to me."

But, the blonde refused to let him hide another juicy reason to mock him from her and a mischievous smile appeared on her face. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, for what? Pappy Joe gave it to you for what?"

Riley frowned at her teasing. "Don't call his grandfather pappy Joe."

The Texan grimaced, knowing his response would only give Maya more fodder. "It actually was pappy Joe."

Although Riley was surprised, there was nothing but smug satisfaction on her best friend's face. "You knew that?"

"Eh, it would've been anything I said." She tilted her head and gave him an innocent look of curiosity. "Why'd he give you the nickel? Why?"

Lucas shifted tensely as he tried to avoid her gaze. "Nothing. He gave it to me for being a good little boy."

Maya wouldn't be deterred and sing-songed: "no, no, no, no, no, no, tell us."

He let out a tired sigh and relented, knowing it had always been a futile effort to keep anything from her. "I was a little kid, I want to a kiddie rodeo, and I was the only one who made it the whole eight seconds."

"You rode a bull?" Riley asked, impressed.

His gaze dropped back to the nickel in his hands. "It was sort of like a bull."

"Here comes funny."

Reluctantly, he admitted, "I rode a sheep." As expected, Maya burst into laughter— but this time, even Riley joined her while Miya smiled, pressing her lips together so her new friend wouldn't be hurt by her amusement. "It's real thing! It's called mutton busting," he told them defensively. "Riley, you're laughing at me?"

"No," she replied quickly, immediately stopping her giggles.

"I wanted to be a rodeo star," Lucas explained earnestly. "But, I got older and gave up on it."

"Aww, don't ever give up on your sheep riding dreams." Katy had apparently overheard their conversation and came over to them, leaning on the back of Lucas' and Farkle's chair. "You go out there and you become the best sheep rider the world has ever seen."

Maya suddenly looked like she wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. "Mom, what are you doing?"

"As long as I'm here, I've decided to give out valuable life-living advice," Katy announced brightly. "Like Cory and Topanga. So, you all come to me when you're feeling lost in this world and I'm gonna fix you right up."

They didn't need to think about it for a second— not even Miya, who was not as well versed in being on the receiving end of the Matthews' guidance— to turn her down. "Nah, we're good."

Still, she insisted: "do not let your sheep-riding disappointment prevent you from dreaming dreams. As I look back at my life, the only regrets I have are the dreams I gave up on too soon."

Lucas gave her a surprised look. "Wow. Thank you. That's good advice."

"Yes, it is!" she said triumphantly. Wanting to give it another go, she started on her daughter's next friend. "Hey, nice trophy, the Farkle."

"Thanks, the Maya's mom. It's my science fair lifetime achievement award."

She paused, trying to figure out what she could do with that, but couldn't seem to come up with any other words of wisdom so she repeated, "forget science, you dream dreams!"

"But. . ."

"Okay!"

After Katy walked away to take care of other customers, Farkle turned to Miya. "What did you put in? You said I had to wait until everyone was here. Everyone's here now, so share it, lady!"

The Asian girl gave him a fond smile and produced a very familiar blue mug. His eyes widened at the sight. "Your Doraemon mug?"

Miya nodded, her fingers tracing the cartoon robot cat's cheerful face painted on the mug. "Yeah. This is the replacement you got me for Christmas, remember?"

Farkle's brow furrowed in confusion. "You're putting that in the capsule? But you love that mug. You use it for everything— hot chocolate, ramen, popcorn."

"Exactly." Miya set the mug carefully on the table, knowing all too well how easily the other had broken. "It's one of my most treasured things because it reminds me of you— of how thoughtful you were when you gave it to me. I thought about putting the broken one in— yes, I did keep the pieces— but. . ." Her voice trailed off, and she bit her lip, trying to find the right words. "This one represents not just the trip we took to Japan, but also how you turned a sad memory into a happy one. It's a symbol of our friendship."

Farkle stared at her, his mouth opening and closing like he wanted to say something but, for once, didn't quite know what. Eventually, he managed: "wow. I— I don't even know what to say."

"Say 'thank you,'" Maya suggested, arching a teasing eyebrow at him. "Then promise her you'll replace that one when she misses it."

Miya laughed softly and she felt her face warm as her best friend continued to look at her in stunned amazement. "It's not that big a deal."

"That's so sweet, Miya," Riley said, her Pluto-induced melancholy momentarily forgotten. She leaned forward, studying the mug. "It's like your way of saying you trust Farkle to still be in your life when we open the capsule."

"Of course I do," Miya said, taking even herself by surprise; as strange as her new friends could be, she knew they meant well and were good people to be around. "I trust all of you."

"Well, now I feel like my buffalo nickel's not nearly sentimental enough," Lucas muttered, but there was a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

With her face growing steadily warmer from the extended amount of attention she was receiving, Miya hastily prompted them: "who's next?"

As the conversation shifted, Farkle couldn't help but glance back at the mug, his expression thoughtful. Even as the chatter resumed around the table, the moment lingered between them, unspoken but understood. Maya announced that she wasn't putting anything in— no hopes, no disappointments— and it was finally Riley's turn.

She played with a little orange sphere between her fingers as she shared, "I don't know why it's so important for me to care about something that's so far away. But, I do. I'm putting in Pluto."

Having recovered from his unexpectedly touched feelings, Farkle was quick to point out: "well, it's small enough. Ha!" At their unamused looks, he winced apologetically. "Too soon?"

🌎🌎🌎

Topanga entered her home to find her husband standing in the middle of the living room with a big grin on his face. He wore a headlamp and a sweatshirt that read SHOVEL in big letters across a blue background. Turning to her left, she saw seven identical shovels propped up against the wall where their coats would usually go. She had expected this, but she was still disappointed to find the sight before her.

Bracing herself for her husband's next escapade, she made her best attempt at smiling supportively. "Back from the hardware store, are we?"

He beamed at her and indicated his shirt. "Shovel."

She reached up and clicked the button on his headlamp, causing his smile to widen. When she turned it off, he 'frowned.' She knew this exceptionally silly mood from him could only mean one thing. "Please tell me you didn't drag Shawn into this?"

Cory stated evenly: "I did not drag Shawn into this."

Her eyes widened in alarm and she grabbed his arm in a vice-like grip. "Tell me you didn't tell Juliet to come, too!" His smile became more forced and he avoided her eyes. "Oh my god— Cory! How could you do this to her? Did you even tell her that Shawn was coming?" He remained silent and Topanga felt cold dread settle in her stomach. "Cory, this is a disaster—"

"That's funny," he said, laughing nervously. "You and Juliet must have the same dictionary since that's the word she used—"

A knock sounded at the door and Topanga went to go answer it, pointing threateningly at her husband. "For your sake, you better hope it's Juliet so we have time to tell her exactly what's going on here."

Sure enough when she opened the door, the dark-haired woman stood on the other side, her appearance windswept and visibly worried as she rushed into the room. "Okay, I know I'm probably making a bigger deal out of this than whatever it actually is, but Cory wouldn't tell me any details so I wasn't taking any chances; I came as fast as I could. Now will you tell me what's wrong?"

Topanga sighed, her sharp eyes slicing toward her husband. "Peaches, you're not overreacting. In fact, you may have been underprepared. Cory—" she said his name with the force of a thousand unsaid scoldings, "—is about to explain everything. Aren't you, dear?"

Cory scratched the back of his neck and avoided Juliet's pointed stare. "Uh, well. . . first of all, no one's about to die or anything. I just thought— uh, hoped— this would be a fun trip down memory lane. You know, reconnecting with the past. . . uh. . . together?"

Juliet narrowed her eyes. "Cory, you're doing that thing where you talk in circles because you don't want to get to the point. What's—going—on?"

The curly-haired man held up his hands, stalling. "Just, uh, one sec." He darted to the shovels, grabbed one, and shoved it into her hands. "You're gonna need this."

Topanga groaned into her hand as Juliet looked at the shovel in bewilderment. "Why do I need this? I didn't think you were smart enough to have the need to bury a body."

"First of all, ouch," Cory said, pretending to be hurt by her insult. "But, we're actually going to be doing something a lot more fun than that! We're digging up a time capsule!"

Juliet's brow furrowed. "A time capsule? Wait. . . our time capsule? From high school? You made me fly across the entire ocean for that?"

"Exactly! It's been fifteen years— just like we said! Don't you think it'll be amazing?" He smiled so widely it was almost painful to watch.

She did not look as happy as he'd hoped she would be. Her lips pursed suspiciously as she watched his antsy behavior continue. "Okay, Cory, what aren't you telling me?"

Cory's gaze darted towards Topanga, who threw up her hands in exasperation. "Oh, no. This is your mess. You clean it up."

Juliet's expression hardened. "Cory."

"Shawn's coming too," he blurted out, cringing as the words left his mouth. He immediately used his arms to shield himself as if he expected her to hit him.

The air seemed to drop ten degrees. Juliet's face froze before it twisted into something between anger and disbelief. "Shawn?! You invited Shawn without telling me? Why would you do that, Cory? You know we're not on speaking terms! There's a reason why last year was the first time you saw me in over a decade! I don't want to be in the same room as him— I don't even want to be on the same continent as him!"

"But you wouldn't have come!" Cory yelped, cringing away from her. "And this time capsule is our thing. All of us. I didn't want to leave anyone out—"

Juliet threw the shovel onto the couch, her eyes blazing as her face grew steadily redder. "You didn't want to leave anyone out? Don't you remember what I said last year? Or even stopped to consider why this might be a terrible idea?"

Cory opened his mouth to respond, but the words died as the dark-haired woman stormed toward the door. "Forget it. I'm leaving. Have fun digging up the past with your buddy."

Before anyone could stop her, she yanked open the door— only to freeze mid-step. Standing on the other side with his fist halfway raised to knock, was Shawn. His blue eyes locked on hers, widening in shock.

"Juliet," he breathed, his voice low and unsteady.

Juliet blinked at him, stunned silent. The color drained from her face as if she'd seen a ghost. "You've got to be kidding me," she muttered, recovering just enough to glare daggers at Cory, who had gone pale and seemed to shrink under her gaze.

Shawn lowered his hand awkwardly, his voice hesitant. "I. . . I didn't know you'd be here."

"Well, now you do," she snapped, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. "And now I'm leaving."

But she didn't move. Neither did Shawn.

Cory coughed loudly, breaking the tension. "Okay! So! You're both here! That's great. This is. . . uh, so great. Because. . . best friends!" He gestured wildly between them. "Right? It's the perfect time to get back on speaking terms!"

Topanga groaned from where she was standing safely out of the way. "Cory, stop talking. You're making it worse."

Then, a look of abject horror appeared on Shawn's face as he brought his hands up to hide his mouth. "Oh, god, Julie, that means it's you! Oh, honey, take me back," he burst out, his hands reaching out to grab ahold of hers. "If you don't have that long left to live, I want to spend it with you. Please—"

Startled, Juliet yanked her hands away from him and scrambled backwards to put space between them. "What? No— are you crazy?"

Shawn blinked, confused and frantic. "I mean— yes, obviously— but not that kind of crazy! Cory said it was life or death, and you're here, so I just thought—"

Her eyes narrowed at this new information. "You thought what? That I was dying?!"

"Well, yeah!" the brunet said, as if it were the most natural conclusion. He gestured toward Cory with wild, accusatory movements. "Because he said it was a matter of life and death! And you wouldn't have come if it weren't serious, and—"

Juliet's face twisted in outrage and she turned sharply on Cory. "What did you say to him?"

Cory stammered, holding his hands up defensively. "I may have— uh— implied it was urgent?"

Topanga quickly stepped in, knowing her husband's propensity to miscommunicate. "Shawn, he's fine. Everybody's fine."

He still didn't seem to be able to believe her as his eyes darted between his two favorite people (three, including Topanga), afraid that something really was wrong. "No. Someone's gotta not be fine."

The curly-haired man shifted awkwardly under his gaze. "I had to make sure you'd come."

Now it was his turn to look at his best friend suspiciously. "Nobody bye-bye?"

"Everybody whoop-di-whoo!"

"Why am I— why are we here?" he asked.

Topanga smiled and put her hand on her husband's arm to pat him condescendingly. "Cory here remembered the time capsule from high school. It's fifteen years. He wants to drive to Philadelphia to dig it up."

"Oh. . . okay," Shawn, seeming to accept this. Then, he glanced at the dark-haired woman with anticipation. "Hey, Julie, how much more would you hate me if I murdered him?"

A wicked smile curled on her lips as she picked up the shovel she'd tossed on the couch and handed it to him. "Get him, boy."

The curly-haired man eyed his best friends apprehensively. "Why do you want to murder me, guys? This is a—"

He let out a very girlish scream as Shawn launched forward with a furious yell. He waved the shovel in the air as he charged after his best friend, who clumsily clambered over the couch to get away. Juliet watched the two men chase each other smugly, crossing her arms against her chest in satisfaction. Topanga came to stand next to her with a similar expression on her face. "You know, I would've thought you'd want to do some of the killing yourself."

"Nah," she replied dismissively. "Shawn's not smart enough to get away with murder. The way I see it, he'll go to jail and I won't have to be around him for another fifteen years."

🌎🌎🌎

"Hey, so, uh, about that thing I said earlier, back when I thought you were gonna die—" Shawn began uncomfortably, keeping his voice low so Cory and Topanga wouldn't hear them from where they walked a few steps ahead.

"I won't hold it against you," Juliet replied tensely, holding herself so stiffly it was a wonder she was moving at all. She took several steps to the side to put obvious distance between them. "It's already forgotten."

"O-oh," he said, nodding as if in relief— but if she had cared to pay closer attention to his tone, she would've heard the disappointment in his voice. "Yeah. That's, uh, that's good. Thanks."

"Don't mention it." She saw him open his mouth to say something else, but she shook her head firmly. "Seriously, don't mention it."

"Right. . . right. So—"

To her relief, they arrived at Topanga's, cutting off any awkward small talk that Shawn had been about to try. Cory beamed at the teens as he cheered, "road trip!

Juliet raised her hand sarcastically. "Who wants to go instead of me?"

"Mom!" Miya leapt out of her seat to hug her mother tightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, some dingbat considers friendship a good enough reason to make me suffer, so here I am," she said dryly, glaring at Cory over her daughter's head. He let out another squeak of fear and hid behind his wife.

Farkle straightened hopefully as he responded to Juliet's question. "I'll go. I'll do anything with anybody!"

"No deal," Cory told him bluntly, coming out from behind Topanga when he realized Miya would keep his best friend from killing him. "There's not enough room in the car for you and all your words." He then noticed the red metal box on the table. "What's this here?"

"This is what we're putting in our time capsule," Lucas explained.

The curly-haired man made an interested noise as he took in the contents, then declared: "nope. Not good enough." He pointed to the blue mug. "Well, that one might be. Who's is that?"

"Mine," Miya answered. She pulled away from her mom but remained standing, Shawn's presence telling her that Juliet would want her to act as a buffer.

Topanga did a quick count of the items. "Why are there only four of them?"

"I'm not playing," Maya stated.

"Oh, you're playing!" Cory told her.

"Nice shovel shirt."

He smiled and smoothed out the fabric to show it off. "They got plenty left."

"I don't see how."

Katy caught sight of Shawn and walked quickly over to Topanga, murmuring, "who's that handsome man?"

Although she let out a short laugh at the other woman's comment, Topanga reminded her sharply, "Jack, remember him?"

"I know; I can't have my eyes tell me when a guy is good-looking?"

The brunette sighed and told her, "that's Shawn. He's Cory's best friend—"

"Maya's Shawn? The travel writer?" Katy asked, sounding even more interested.

"Yes. But he's also still kind of. . . in a thing with Juliet, though neither of them know it," Topanga added hastily, not wanting another 'Angela' incident on her hands. One had been enough.

Katy's eyes sparkled mischievously as she glanced over at Shawn, who smartly keeping the teens between him and Juliet. "Oh, I see. A 'thing,' huh? Well, I'll just keep it friendly."

Topanga groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Please do. The last thing we need is more drama."

Before her friend could say more, Katy sauntered over to the group with a confident smile firmly in place. "Hi there," she said warmly to Shawn, extending her hand. "I'm Katy, Maya's mom. It's nice to finally meet the famous Shawn Hunter. Maya's told me a lot about you."

Shawn shook her hand politely, offering her a friendly smile. "All good things, I hope."

"Mostly," the blonde teased, her tone light and playful. "Maya gave me a few of your travel articles to read. You've got quite the way with words."

"Thanks," Shawn said. "It's just something I've always loved doing. Keeps me out of trouble, too."

Katy laughed, her gaze lingering just a second too long. "Well, it's definitely working for you."

Juliet, who had been pretending to admire the pastries in the display case, snapped her head up at the exchange. Her hands curled into loose fists as she turned to Maya. "Your mom's very friendly," she muttered under her breath, keeping her tone even but failing to mask the edge.

"Mom," Miya began worriedly, "if it's a problem—"

"No, it's not. Not at all," Juliet said quickly, straightening. "Why would it be? It's none of my business."

Maya smirked knowingly since she was the only one who was aware that her mom was 'seeing' someone else. "Sure. No business whatsoever."

Meanwhile, Shawn, oblivious to Juliet's growing tension, continued talking to Katy. "So, you run the bakery with Topanga? That's pretty cool."

"Oh, I just help out here and there," Katy replied with a casual wave of her hand. "This is just a side job, though. My real passion is acting; I was playing a waitress at the Nighthawk Diner and now I'm playing a waitress here."

Used to her mother's vivid imagination, Maya sighed. "It's your real life."

"It can't be," she protested weakly.

"Well, it's not the worst movie I've ever seen," Shawn offered, hoping to give her some encouragement.

As if sensing the increased waves of annoyance coming from Juliet, Cory drew his best friend's attention away from the blonde as he exclaimed, "come on! It's a chance to go back and see what time has taught us. Come on, it's our history! You and me, Feeny, Shawn and Juliet!"

"Where'd we put those shovels, Peaches?" Juliet asked, her expression going flat at Cory's continued insistence to bring up hers and Shawn's past. "No reason. Clearly if you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself."

She grabbed the front of the curly-haired man's sweatshirt and marched him towards the bakery's entrance as Topanga called after her: "they're in the trunk of our car!"

"So. . . Topanga tells me that you and Juliet were a bit of an 'it' couple back in your day?" Katy pried curiously. Since they had basically raised their girls together, she and Topanga had become close friends and the brunette had told her all about what happened last Christmas. She didn't miss the way his expression had become wistful as soon as Juliet's attention had gone elsewhere.

Farkle, too, knew of the pair's history, both from overhearing the adults talking about it and Miya filling him in. "Do you miss her? I know I'd miss Riley and Maya if I didn't see them for a long time. Do you think your old feelings will get all stirred up for her? And you'll miss her?"

Feeling the need to defend her mother, Miya smacked the back of her best friend's head lightly to get him to shut up. But, the damage had already been done and Shawn blinked at the boy's barrage of questions, his face flushing slightly as the teens— and Katy— turned their curious gazes toward him. "Uh. . ." He rubbed the back of his neck, clearly caught off guard. "I mean, it's complicated. Julie and I. . . we have a lot of history."

"That's not a no," Riley pointed out, her grin widening.

Shawn gave her a sharp look but relented, his shoulders dropping slightly. "Fine. Yes, okay? I never stopped caring about her. And yeah, I've missed her. Every day."

The teens collectively let out a loud, dramatic "awwww!," making Shawn groan and glance toward the door where Juliet had just disappeared with Cory, hoping she wasn't close enough to hear their teasing. Riley exchanged a look with the two girls and remarked, "Maya, Miya, all of a sudden, I think we should be going with them. "Do you think we should go?"

"If nothing else to ensure that all four of them return," Miya agreed worriedly, experiencing— for the first time— exactly how far the Matthews would go to meddle in a relationship.

"We're going with you," Maya announced, speaking for all of them.

"Alright," Topanga agreed. "Katy, do you mind if we take this one off your hands for the weekend?"

"Have fun, baby girl," the blonde told her daughter, giving her a one-armed hug.

"Alright, girls, grab a shovel. We're digging up the past!"

The trio followed Topanga and Shawn out to the car where, thankfully, Cory was still alive— but once more not for long as he grabbed his wife's hand to pull her towards their vehicle. "Okay, mommy and daddy need some alone time, so that means Jules and Shawn get the fun car! That sound good? It sounds great!"

He didn't wait for their reply before he all but shoved Topanga into the passenger's seat and hurried around to take his own place, slamming the door loudly behind him. That left the five of them standing awkwardly around Shawn's car as the two Matthews sped off. Juliet held out her hand to the brunet. "Keys."

Shawn scrambled to comply, clumsily producing his keys from his pocket and nearly dropping them three times before she snatched them from his hand. "Get in the car, girls."

Miya's brow furrowed in concern. "Mom, I really don't think—"

"Get—in—the—car." They did as she told them to, then crowded around Riley's side with their faces pressed up against the glass to watch what was going to happen next. Juliet put the hand that held his keys on his chest and forcefully shoved him so that his back hit the car behind him. Shawn's eyes went wide— maybe in fear— as she held up one of his keys threateningly between her pointer finger and thumb. "Listen to me very closely. You will not talk during this trip. You will not look at me. You will not even breathe—"

He cleared his throat nervously. "Uh, Julie—"

Her eyes flashed. "What did I say about no talking?" Shawn raised his hand uncertainly. She sighed and ground out, "yes, Shawn?"

"Um, breathing's kind of important—"

"Figure it out. Am I clear? Capiche?"

He lowered his hand and averted his gaze. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good."

🌎🌎🌎

Miya, Maya and Riley had been under the mistaken impression that road trips were supposed to be fun. This was nowhere near something that could be considered enjoyable; the air was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Shawn had tried to turn on the radio to make things a little more relaxed— it was his car, after all— but Juliet had punched the power off button with her finger so hard that it made him afraid to adjust anything else. Her hands gripped the steering wheel in a white-knuckled hold and her eyes stayed intently on the road ahead, her shoulders so tight that they were almost hunched up around her ears. The teens didn't dare say anything and mostly communicated in silent gestures.

It wasn't easy for Shawn, either, who tried to put as much space between them as the two front seats would allow, leaning more on the door than was comfortable. He made his breathing quiet as possible so Juliet would have one less thing to flip out about and kept his gaze anywhere but on her. But, that meant he looked elsewhere— most notably at the speedometer, which had been steadily creeping upwards since they got onto the highway. A few miles later, he saw the first glimpse of a police car some distance away and attempted to draw her attention to it. After unsuccessfully pointing behind them to show her, he risked speaking.

"Uh, Julie—?"

Her grip on the steering wheel became impossibly tighter. "Shut. Up."

". . . Okay," he said quietly, his gaze dropping to his lap.

It wasn't long before red-and-blue lights appeared behind them. Juliet let out a frustrated groan, tightening her grip on the steering wheel as she pulled over to the side of the road.

"Great," she muttered. "Just great."

Riley, Maya, and Miya all turned to look out the back window, their expressions a mix of alarm and fascination. Juliet put the car into park. She tapped her fingers against the steering wheel and turned to Shawn, who was looking at her with a mix of worry and something else she couldn't quite place. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Shawn's mouth fell open in disbelief. "Are you serious? I tried! Twice! And you either ignored me or told me to shut up!"

Juliet's glare darkened. "Then maybe you should've tried harder."

"Tried harder?" he repeated incredulously. "What did you want me to do? Throw myself out the window to get your attention?"

"That's not a bad idea," she muttered under her breath, earning an audible snicker from Maya in the backseat. Before he could respond, there was a sharp knock on the driver's side window. A young man with a clean-shaven face and a sharp uniform was on the other side and Juliet's entire demeanor shifted, going into what Miya called 'charm mode,' which had helped her score many dates in the past. She offered a wide, brilliant smile, her tone suddenly syrupy sweet. "Good afternoon, Officer. Is there a problem?"

The man gave her a professional nod. "Good afternoon, ma'am. You were going almost thirty miles over the speed limit."

Juliet gasped dramatically, placing a hand over her chest. "Oh, no! Was I really? I must not have been paying attention. I'm so sorry."

Shawn stared at her, slack-jawed, as she turned up the charm. She leaned slightly out of the window, her expression apologetic yet dazzling. "I'm usually such a careful driver. I feel terrible for breaking the rules. Is there any way we could work this out?"

The officer's stern expression faltered slightly. "Well, ma'am, speeding is a serious infraction. . ."

Juliet tilted her head, her smile never wavering. "I completely understand, Officer. You're just enforcing the rules, keeping the roads safe. And you're doing an amazing job, by the way."

The man cleared his throat, visibly flustered by the pretty woman who was complimenting him. "Uh. . . just. . . keep it under the speed limit, okay? I'll let you off with a warning this time."

"Thank you so much, Officer," Juliet said warmly, giving him a grateful look. "I promise it won't happen again."

After running her information and issuing a verbal warning, the officer walked back to his car. Juliet rolled up her window, her triumphant grin firmly in place.

"That," Maya said from the backseat, "was terrifying. But also kind of impressive."

Riley nodded. "I can't believe that actually worked."

"That's my mom for you," Miya stated proudly.

Shawn, on the other hand, sat silently, his jaw tight and his gaze fixed out the window. Juliet, catching his expression, raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing," he muttered, though his tone said otherwise.

"Shawn." Her voice carried a warning.

He turned to her, his lips pressed into a thin line. "I just didn't realize flirting your way out of a ticket was part of your skill set."

Juliet's eyes narrowed. "Is that supposed to mean something?"

"Nope," he grumbled, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. "Not a thing."

"You're one to talk," she shot back as she pulled onto the road again. "You were flirting with Katy back at the bakery!" She put on a mocking tone that was clearly supposed to be his voice. "'Keeps me out of trouble.' 'Well, it's not the worst movie I've ever seen.'"

"I was being nice!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

Juliet scoffed, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye as she merged back into traffic. "Nice? That's what you're going with?"

"Yes!" Shawn retorted, sitting upright again as his frustration built. "She's Maya's mom! What was I supposed to do, be rude to her?"

"Oh, please," Juliet muttered, glaring at the road ahead of them. "You were laying it on thick. I could see her eating it up."

"I wasn't laying anything on!" Shawn shot back. "And if I was, it wasn't intentional. Unlike you just now."

Juliet's jaw tightened. "I wasn't flirting. I was de-escalating a situation."

"By batting your eyelashes and calling him amazing?" Shawn's tone was dripping with sarcasm. "Yeah, real tactical."

"Maybe if someone had just spoken up before we got pulled over, none of that would've been necessary," she countered sharply.

"I did speak up!" Shawn exclaimed. "But apparently, I have to hire a skywriter to get your attention these days!"

She scoffed at his statement. "You don't have the money to hire a skywriter."

🌎🌎🌎

The adults fell into a sulky silence the rest of the way to Philadelphia, much to the teens' relief (though Maya was disappointed that there wasn't more drama.) As they got out of the car, Miya pulled her mom aside, watching her in concern. "Mom, now that we're here, we can leave those three and go back to New York if you want. You don't have to stay."

Juliet let out a derisive snort. "Yeah, right. Honey, you don't know the power of Cory's stubbornness. He'd tail me all the way back and force me to turn around. He'd kidnap me and bring me here in a body bag if he knew where to get one. There's no way I'm getting out of this."

Miya frowned, still worried about her mother. "Your friends are supposed to care about you, not make you jump through hoops to please them. Really, we can leave; if you're staying here for me at all, I wouldn't mind."

The dark-haired woman cupped her hand affectionately to her daughter's face. "When did you get so smart?"

She smiled in an embarrassed sort of way, her face flushing at the compliment. "I must've gotten it from my mom."

Juliet chuckled at her reply and dropped her hand to wrap her arm around her daughter's shoulders. "Good answer. You don't have to worry, Miya. Once we get through tonight, Cory will hyperfixate on something else and forget all about this. Might as well get it over with so we can move on."

"Do you remember what you put in?" the Asian girl asked as they rejoined the group.

"Oh, yeah," her mom said with a grimace, her gaze darting to Shawn and then quickly away again. She didn't say anything else on the topic and Miya knew she'd just have to wait until they unearthed the box to find out.

They got to digging, which was a highly unpleasant task— especially with tensions so high between certain people. The boys, as usual, weren't as invested in the project once it turned out to be difficult, so it didn't take long for them to stop working. Cory leaned on his shovel and watched his wife stab the ground with her own tool. "Come on, Topanga! Put some back into it, will you?"

"I have blisters!" she snapped. "And, it's not exactly like I'm wearing my shoveling shoes. What about you guys?"

"We're on a mandatory break," Cory told her

"Hey, I thought we were only doing every other hole," Shawn added with a shrug.

Juliet tossed the bit of dirt that was on her shovel aside and joined the adults, standing more on Topanga's side than Cory's as she glared at the curly-haired man. "You said you knew exactly where this thing was buried."

"Well, it's in this general vicinity, yes."

"How is this fun?" Maya complained, straightening from where she'd been digging in a flower box. "You said this was gonna be fun. How can anybody make this fun?"

As if on cue, Riley finished what she was doing and spun towards the two teens. "I made one for Maya's head," she sang, putting a flower crown on the blonde's hair. "And I made one for Mi-ya," she added, doing the same to the other girl.

Miya smiled, a little bubble of happiness forming in her chest as she reached up to touch the circlet, pleased to be included. Maya was less excited and pinned her best friend with a stern look. "You're supposed to be digging."

"Oh, but I was digging for an hour, and all I found was this old metal box." She picked up said container to show them.

Everyone dropped their shovels in unison, groaning in frustration at the wasted time. As Shawn turned back to the other adults, he froze at the sight his eyes fell on just beyond them. "Cory, Julie?"

"What?" the curly-haired man asked.

"I'm concerned."

"What's there to be concerned about, Shawnie?"

Juliet had already turned around to look, more to avoid the brunet's eyes than anything else. She pointed at their ex-teacher as he turned on his flashlight. "That."

The boys did their time-honored response of gasping dramatically and pointing at the older man. Mr. Feeny remained unphased. "Mr. Matthews. Mr. Hunter. Miss Capelwood. We meet again."

"Detention?" Cory guessed.

"Big people detention," Mr. Feeny corrected him.

Cory glanced at his best friends and put his hand on his chest in an anxious manner. "I-I won't do well in big people detention."

Riley and Maya exchanged a mischievous look, then the brunette leaned backwards and yelled as loudly as she could: "Feen-ayh!"

The blonde followed her as they approached the older man. "Fee-hee-hee-hee-heenay!"

Miya winced at the sudden awkwardness as Mr. Feeny watched them with a blank expression. Neither girl seemed to notice as Riley continued, "what, what, what, what?"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey. . ." Maya added, shimmying her shoulders. Once they were close enough, the girls hissed at him as if they were cats, even waving their hands in the air in a claw-like manner.

When all he did was arch an unimpressed eyebrow, Riley let out a defeated sigh. "Okay, let's go."

They went over to the nearby bench, which Miya had taken refuge on as she peered at them between her fingers. She felt that it the cringey-ness was finally over and dropped her hands as Mr. Feeny greeted Topanga. "Mrs. Matthews."

"How you doing?"

"Put back my flowers." He nodded to the uprooted plants, then looked towards the three girls. "Except for those. I'll attend to those myself." He sat between Riley and Maya, with Miya on the brunette's other side. He gave the Matthews girl a pitying look. "Is he a good father, you poor, poor, little girl?"

She smiled affectionately at the curly-haired man. "I'm very lucky."

"Hmm." He studied Miya for a second. "And who do you belong to, young lady?"

The Asian girl pointed to Juliet. "She's my mom."

"You got very lucky indeed, then."

She nodded. "I think so."

He finally turned to Maya and asked, "is he a good teacher?"

"I think he's the best there is," she answered confidently.

"Oh."

"But, he says you are."

"Oh." This time, the short word came out a little more touched. Never good with sentimental feelings, Mr. Feeny changed the subject as quickly as he could, reaching over to pat the metal box that sat on Miya's lap. "This was what you were digging for?"

"It's our time capsule, remember?" Cory prompted him.

"I remember everything."

"We wanna see how time treated us," the curly-haired man explained. "If we turned out like we hoped we would. Got any advice for us while we're all out here together, Mr. Feeny?"

Their ex-teacher took in his old students, his expression unusually fond as he considered how much they'd all grown. "Well, yes. It's been a long time, and you're still together. What else do you need to know?"

🌎🌎🌎

Since Cory was too excited about opening the box to wait for the two-hour drive to be over (plus it was already late), they decided to stay the night and share their items right there. The curly-haired man eagerly went first and he rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"Now, no one knows what anyone else buried, right?" Shawn asked.

"Yeah, that was the deal," Topanga replied.

He didn't waste any more time and took off the lid to be met with. . . "There it is."

"It's the jean jacket," the brunette reminisced, folding it fondly over her arm. "It's the first time we said 'I love you.'" She then shook it out and put it on to discover: "and it still fits."

Cory gazed at her with eyes full of love. "Time has been good to you, Topanga."

She looked up at him and smiled with equal tenderness. "Time has been good to us all."

"And that's how you do the time capsule!" Cory declared triumphantly, then gestured to his wife. "Okay, your turn."

"Don't overreact," she warned him as she picked up a rectangular piece of paper.

"Why would I overreact?"

She handed him the envelope that had to Cory written on the front in big, cursive letters. "Because I know you're going to misinterpret this."

He sat down on the bench and opened it to read the letter. "Let's see. 'Dear Cory, if you would let it happen, I think you and I could have a future.' Topanga, what's wrong with this? This is great."

"It's. . . not from her," Shawn pointed out.

Cory let out a shriek and tossed the paper away from him as if he'd been burned by it. "Aah!"

Topanga picked it up, chuckling at his reaction. "It's from Lauren."

"Who's Lauren?" Riley wanted to know as her father gaped at her mother.

The brunette turned to face her daughter to address her question. "Well, before we got married, your father met a girl at a ski lodge, and she really liked him."

Maya grinned at him. "Matthews, you dog!"

"Is this why we never go skiing?" Riley wondered thoughtfully.

Her father, however, had more important things on his mind as he stared at his wife with a hurt expression on his face. "Why would you do this, Topanga? I. . . I buried a symbol of our love."

"Cory, I was threatened by this because I was young," she told him, waving the paper in the air passionately. "The jean jacket was the first time we said 'I love you.' But, I almost let this little piece of paper hurt us because I was young. You always knew, but I didn't understand that our love will last forever. And that nothing could hurt it. I buried this because I hoped that when we opened it, I would be sitting next to you, and that I could go like this." She gave him a pointed look and tore the letter in half, then in quarters, until the pieces were too small for anyone to read.

Juliet braced herself to go next. "Alright, ready for this doozy?" She pointed at Shawn threateningly. "Do not read into this."

He held up his hands placatingly as she stepped forward and took out a blue, stuffed whale to show the others. As expected, Shawn's gaze lit up at the sight of the prize he'd won her from their first date. "Wow," he murmured, the single word carrying more weight than Juliet had expected. "I can't believe you kept it."

The dark-haired woman played with the whale in her hands as she avoided his gaze. "I was young and stupid. If I'd known then what I do now. . ."

"You were never stupid," Shawn interrupted her firmly, his tone more serious than usual. "Not even close."

Her gaze darted to his and for a moment, they seemed to grow quiet, the history between them was unspoken yet palpable. She shrugged lightly, attempting to brush off the emotion as she placed the whale on the bench next to Cory. "Well, maybe I wasn't stupid, but I was. . . sentimental. Alright, it's your turn."

"Ah. . ." he said as he remembered what he'd put in the box, stating each one as he pulled it out. "Shakespeare's sonnets. Vivaldi's four seasons. A Van Damme movie ticket. And lip gloss."

"Kiwi mango," Riley read the flavor off the label after she took it from him.

Shawn smiled, a flicker of nostalgia warming his expression. "If you think you were stupid, Julie, then I was practically brain-dead. Remember when I found that purse you'd borrowed?"

"Yeah, and you thought you were in love with someone else," she reminded him bluntly.

He grimaced. "Not my brightest moment. But it served its purpose in the end because all this stuff was from that night when I realized I wasn't just infatuated or smitten— I was really in love with you. And not just the high school 'I love you, I love you, too.'"

The air shifted. Juliet crossed her arms tightly. "And you still managed to fuck it up anyway."

Shawn's smile faltered and a heavy silence settled over them. Cory, Topanga, and the girls exchanged uneasy glances, the weight of Juliet's words thickening the atmosphere.

"Julie," he began, his voice softer now, "I know I messed up. But don't you remember how were good we were together? That we could still be good together?"

Her head whipped around and her eyes sparked with anger. "You really think it's that simple, don't you? You're still under the mistaken impression that we can just—" She made a vague gesture between them, "—pick up where we left off? Do you have any idea how much you hurt me?"

He flinched but didn't back down. "I'm not brushing that off. I know what I did was wrong, okay? But we've both changed. Maybe we could—"

While Shawn had been talking, Juliet had marched past him to grab Feeny's garden hose that was coiled nearby. He kept speaking while he warily watched her turn it on. Then, his words were cut off abruptly as she aimed the hose right at him and sprayed him directly in the face.

"Whoa!" he spluttered, backing up as the cold water drenched him. "What the hell, Julie?"

"That's what you deserve!" she snapped, shutting the water off and tossing the hose aside. "You don't get to waltz in here and act like none of it happened, Shawn! You don't get to rewrite the past."

Shawn wiped his face, blinking through the water as hurt flashed in his eyes. "I thought maybe we could move on."

"Well, I can't!" Juliet lost her temper entirely and shouted the last word so loudly her voice cracked. She made a visible effort to regain control of herself, though her face had grown quite red as her anger overtook her. "I will never be over this, Shawn. Never. Because every time I look at you, I remember what it felt like when you left— just like I get to do to you now. Come on, Miya. We're leaving. I knew it would be a mistake to come."

🌎🌎🌎

Juliet and Miya sat in silence as the city lights of Philadelphia flickered past them, the cab they'd called steadily moving through the quiet night. The air was no less uncomfortable than it had been on the way up, but for a different reason this time. Miya, who was now seated in the passenger seat, glanced at her mom from time to time but said nothing. She could feel the emotional storm brewing within the older woman and knew better than to prod her before she was ready.

Eventually, though, the silence became suffocating, and Miya tentatively cleared her throat. "Mom?"

Juliet's gaze flickered away from the window but her jaw remained set. "What is it, Miya?"

Miya hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "You know Pluto?"

"I've heard of it, yeah," she said, her tone easing.

"Mr. Matthews was using it as an example in class the other day," she continued, watching her mom's face carefully. "He was telling us how people believe that the history they're making in their present is fixed, but those who come after them can change it."

"Okay. And?"

Miya shifted in her seat, clasping her hands together nervously. "He gave the example of Pluto once being a planet, but then other people came along and changed their minds. And. . . I guess I've been thinking about how people can kind of be like that. Stuck in their version of what happened."

Juliet's lips pressed into a thin line, but she didn't interrupt. Encouraged, Miya continued: "maybe history itself doesn't change but how we see it can. How we understand it. And maybe that's not rewriting history, but. . . reframing it."

Juliet let out a long breath, her posture relaxing the further they got away from the Matthews. "Are you saying I'm stuck, Miya?"

"I think. . . maybe both you and Shawn are," she offered tentatively. "Just in different ways."

"I thought you were on my side," the dark-haired woman commented lightly.

"I am!" the brunette insisted quickly. "But now that I've seen you and Shawn interact more. . . There's clearly something there. Everybody can see it."

Juliet chewed on her bottom lip as she listened to her daughter, not at all liking where this was going. "Miya, what Shawn did— what we went through— isn't something you just forget about. It can't be changed by telling yourself it didn't hurt."

"I know," Miya said, "and I'm not saying you should. I just mean. . . maybe holding onto all that pain isn't helping you anymore. Maybe it's time to see things for what they are now, not just what they were then."

Juliet turned towards her daughter to meet the younger's girl's eyes more fully. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I'm surprised Cory has the mental capacity to put such thoughts into your head," she muttered.

Miya smiled faintly. "He's good at making people think. But so are you, Mom. And you don't have to decide anything right now. Just. . . think about it, okay?"

Juliet leaned back against the seat, exhaustion seeping into her bones. "I will."

🌎🌎🌎

"Okay, I'll go first," Lucas announced when they had all regrouped at the bakery.

Maya smirked at him from her usual seat. "You putting in your sheep nickel, Billy Bob?"

He shook his head and held up a piece of paper. "No, I changed my mind about that. I'm not putting in a reminder of when I gave up on a dream."

"Your transfer slip," Riley realized after she recognized it.

"I'd rather be reminded of when something good started," the Texan explained.

"Me next," Farkle said.

"Your science fair trophy?" the Matthews girl guessed.

He shared a smile with Miya, who had helped him make the decision. "Wasn't important enough for this."

"Your favorite orange turtleneck," she commented as he held up the shirt.

He nodded, holding the piece of clothing in his hands for a moment longer before he put in the box. "It was the one I took off when I felt like I was nothing. But, you guys wouldn't let me be nothing. And since it's us that's gonna be together when we open this, I can't wait to see the something that I am."

"Miya, still your mug?" Riley asked.

The Asian girl nodded and set her item inside, too. "Yeah. After seeing how my mom and the person she loved turned out, I want to have a better story. I hope Farkle and I are still best friends in fifteen years."

"Of course we will be," the genius stated confidently. "Riley, Pluto?"

She exchanged a smile with the brunette next to her. "Yeah. Like Miya, I'm gonna keep mine the same. Whenever we open this, I hope I haven't stopped believing in things."

The other teens heeded her wishes and left her alone with the box, with allowed her to produce a photo that had been taken on her birthday of her, her mom and Jack. She closed the lid on it and stared at the container for a moment longer, muttering, "hope is for suckers."

A/n: I bet you guys are surprised I actually updated! 🤣 Consider it my Thanksgiving gift to you.

I've finally finished writing my TUA books so now I can hop back over here. I'm about twenty-seven days late from when I hoped I'd start this back up, but oh well. I definitely had fun writing this chapter since I had imagined these scenes for a long time now and it was great to write them at last! I hope you guys enjoyed the tension and requited jealousy! There's lots more of that before it gets resolved. . . *evil laughter*

And, as a definitive promise, this book WILL be completed (unless something tragic befalls me) no matter how long it takes.