A/N: I wrote this a while ago and then picked it up again recently. This takes place after Girl Meets Yearbook and is only canon up to that point. I am also considering turning this into a larger story maybe taking them through high school. Let me know what you think. I appreciate any feedback.
Warning: Homophobic language
His hands were sweating and shaking from nerves. Farkle wiped them on the thighs of his jeans as he took several deep breaths. Lucas was his friend, he would understand. He tried to convince himself of this. He had planned out every word he would say before he set up the meeting with Lucas outside of Topanga's. Every minute leading up to the meeting was spent practicing the words over and over again.
But as he sat there waiting for the other boy's arrival doubts started to creep into his mind. What if Lucas didn't want to be his friend anymore? Or even worse, what if Lucas told people? No, he couldn't risk that.
Farkle pushed himself away from the table. He would text Lucas and let him know that something came up. He stood and as he turned he ran into Lucas's very solid form. Farkle stumbled back, banging the backs of his legs into the chair.
"Oh! Sorry there, buddy." Lucas said grabbing the smaller boy's shoulders to steady him.
Farkle attempted a smile but couldn't quite get there. "That's okay. It's my fault. I should've watched where I was going." A nervous laugh escaped his lips and he tried to cover it with a cough. "Did you want anything to eat? I could get us some pastries." Before Lucas could reply Farkle rushed into the bakery.
Somehow in the short span of time between ordering the baked goods and setting them on the table outside, the speech he had prepared had fled his mind. All that was left was a jumble of words. Everything would come out wrong if he told him now.
"This was stupid." Farkle looked up at Lucas with wide eyes. He hadn't meant to voice his thoughts
"What?"
"I'm sorry, Lucas. I-I can't do this." Farkle got to his feet once more and tried to make his escape. Lucas stopped him by grabbing his wrist.
"Sit down and tell me what's up."
"I can't. I don't even know why I wanted to tell you. This was a bad idea."
"Farkle." Lucas said sternly. "You wouldn't have asked me to meet you here if it wasn't important. So you are going to sit down and tell me what's on your mind. And I am going to sit here and listen like the good friend I am."
Farkle felt his chest tighten. Lucas cared. Maybe that meant that all his doubts were unfounded. He sat back down. "I want to tell you this because I don't really know who else to talk to about this."
"What is it?"
"I… umm…" He swallowed and hoped that Lucas was as good a friend as he thought. He then said in a soft voice. "I'm gay."
Lucas's eyebrows shot upward in surprise. "But- but you're always talking about how much you love Maya and Riley."
"I do love them, but now it's more like they're my sisters than… actually being in love with them."
"Okay… Just give me a minute."
Farkle nervously glanced at Lucas and then down at the table. The other boy looked like he was trying to process the information that Farkle had just dumped on him.
"Do you still want to be my friend?" Farkle tried to sound nonchalant, like it wouldn't matter because he had tons of other friends, but inside he was desperately begging Lucas to still be his friend.
"What kind of question is that?" Lucas asked incredulously. "Of course we're still friends. Best friends."
Farkle felt tears of relief sting his eyes. He subtly wiped them away. "I'm glad."
"Have you told you're parents?"
He let out a humorless laugh. "No. I'm not sure how they'd react but I'm not particularly eager to find out."
"What about Maya and Riley? Are you going to tell them?"
Farkle shook his head. "Not right now. This isn't something I want to broadcast just yet. Like I've told you, I'm trying to figure myself out still. This is part of that journey. I'm gay, that's part of who I am, but I'm not ready to share it yet."
Lucas frowned in confusion. "But you told me."
"Yeah. Cause you're my best friend and I need support."
A smile turned up the sides of Lucas's mouth. "I'm always here for you. And you don't have to be afraid to tell me stuff. You're secret is safe with me."
It was in between periods Farkle was exchanging books from his locker. He had been feeling more at ease lately. After he told Lucas his secret everything seemed less overwhelming. He had someone in his corner and it felt awesome.
"Hey, sparkle, where's your boyfriend Lucas?" Farkle spun around and saw a group of three seventh grade boys passing by. "Oh, sorry. I meant 'Farkle'." Their leader said sarcastically. They laughed as they walked away.
Farkle felt his face heat up in humiliation. The other students in the hall were staring at him curiously. He slammed his locker shut and ran.
He hid out in the janitor's closet. It was his safe haven. Janitor Harley asked him what was up but let it go when Farkle gave him a vague answer.
Harley had to go clean up after a girl who had vomited during class which left Farkle alone with his thoughts. He couldn't help but dwell on the fact that Lucas had betrayed him. Lucas was the only one who had known and that insult couldn't have been a coincidence, could it? It hurt knowing that his friend had broken his trust without as much as a second thought.
He stayed there through the rest of the class period with Harley coming and going, frequently suggesting that he go to class, and that maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought.
In between class periods Farkle could hear his fellow students in the hall making their way to their next class. They were chatting and laughing. What if they were talking about him? He felt a sudden burst of anger in his gut even though he knew he was most likely being paranoid.
The door to the janitor's closet slowly opened and Lucas stood there looking concerned. How dare he be concerned when he was the cause of Farkle's pain.
"You okay? You weren't in English. We were all worried. Was someone messing with you again?"
Farkle rolled his eyes as he got to his feet. "Like you care."
"What are you talking about? Of course I care."
"Wow. You care so much that you couldn't even keep your mouth shut for a full twenty-four hours?"
"Again, what are you talking about? I haven't told anyone about… the conversation that we had yesterday."
"Don't deny it. Who did you tell? Your jock friends? Or were you trying to make some seventh graders laugh and you thought that it would be a good joke?"
"I didn't tell anyone." Lucas' looked at a loss.
"Then how do people know?" Farkle had tried to yell, he wanted to scream at Lucas, but it came out pleading.
Lucas stepped into the small room closing the door behind him. "What did they say?"
"They called me 'sparkle' and then asked where my 'boyfriend' Lucas was."
"If I was the one who told them then why would I call myself your boyfriend?"
Farkle was flustered. He hadn't thought about that. He had been angry and hurt and lashed out at the only person he could think of to blame. "I don't know! You're the only one who knew."
"I swear, Farkle, I would never do that to you. What if it was just a coincidence? We do hang out a lot."
Farkle bit his lip. "Maybe…"
Lucas gave him a strained smile. He turned and opened the door again. "Come on. Let's go to class."
They met up with Riley and Maya on their way. "Where were you?" Riley asked.
"I wasn't feeling well." Farkle answered too quickly.
Riley looked unsure while Maya gave him a disbelieving glare.
"It's true." Lucas said. "He was feeling light headed but he's better now."
Farkle was thankful for Lucas in that moment. Maybe he had jumped to conclusions. But then was it a coincidence or had they found out some other way.
By the end of the day Farkle decided to put the incident out of his mind. No one else had said anything about it. He was probably just being paranoid.
After dinner he texted Lucas an apology.
"It's fine." Lucas texted back. "I get that this is a big deal for you. Just remember that I got your back."
"Thanks." Farkle replied.
The next day Farkle went to his locker at the beginning of the school day and saw a piece of paper taped to the door. It said "HOMO" in all caps, a drawing of a penis beside it. He ripped it down and looked around for the culprit. The same group of seventh graders stood a little ways off gesturing over at him and laughing. Farkle put away the books he didn't need and took out the ones he did, ignoring the snickering coming from the group of boys.
As Farkle passed Lucas in homeroom to get to his desk he shoved the note into the older boy's hands. Lucas didn't get the chance to look at it until after they were dismissed.
"What the heck?" Lucas exclaimed once they were alone.
Farkle had his arms crossed over his chest. "I found that on my locker this morning."
"Do you know who put it there?"
"I'm certain that it's the same boys who called me 'sparkle'. But I can't do anything about it because then they will know for sure that I'm gay."
Lucas ran a hand through his hair in a frustrated manner. "Farkle, I know that you want to keep this private but if you don't do anything about it then it will only get worse."
"I'll think about it." Farkle said to placate his friend.
The next day was Friday and Farkle held his breath the whole day waiting for the other shoe to drop. Nothing happened.
Over the weekend he put the incidents out of his mind. He hung out with his friend like normal. They laughed together and teased each other good naturedly. He felt like he could breathe again.
On Monday Farkle forgot to hold his breath. One of the larger jocks bumped into him nearly knocking him to the ground.
"Watch it, faggot!"
Farkle froze. His whole body went cold, like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over him. "What?" he said shakily.
The jock smirked at him. "You heard me. I always suspected you were more of a freak than everyone already thought."
Farkle felt his face heat up and tears sting his eyes. The jock's words were like a slap to the face. The casualness of it stung.
The bell rang and Farkle walked automatically into history class. He sat down and silently glared at his desk.
Lucas reached over and gently poked his shoulder. "You okay?" he mouthed.
Farkle shook his head.
At that moment Mr. Matthews came in and started the lesson.
Lucas slipped him a note. What happened?
Everyone knows. Someone called me a faggot.
Lucas was shaking in anger as he wrote his reply. Who was it?
It doesn't matter.
As Farkle went to hand Lucas the piece of paper they had written their notes to each other on Mr. Matthews plucked it out of his hand.
"What is so important that it couldn't wait until after my class?" He opened the note and then looked seriously at both of them. "Stay after class." He told them.
The tension in the room was suffocating throughout the rest of the class time. For Farkle the time went by too slowly and too quickly at the same time.
When the bell finally rang everyone filed out except Farkle and Lucas. Riley and Maya kept looking back at them as they left. Farkle knew that they would be waiting right outside the door.
"Do you guys want to explain this to me?" Mr. Matthews asked. He was holding up the note with a raised eyebrow.
Lucas looked at Farkle, his face stony. "Tell him."
Farkle was standing on a precipice and looking over the edge was making him nauseated. He stared at the ground as he spoke. "I told Lucas that… that I'm gay, and somehow everyone found out. Now I'm getting harassed about it."
Mr. Matthews looked mildly surprised at the confession but his focus was on the bullying part. "Who called you this?" he asked referring to the note.
"If I tell you and you do something about it then they'll know it's true."
Mr. Matthews sighed. "Farkle, I know that you are not ready to tell people. It isn't fair that this is happening, but I can't stand by and let you be bullied."
"Calvin Messer. That's who called me a faggot." Farkle spat the word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.
Lucas spoke up. "There's also a group of boys who left this on his locker." He fished the "HOMO" note out of his backpack and handed it to Cory.
"I'll talk to the principal about this, but, Farkle, I'm going to need to tell your parents about what's happening."
Farkle's face went white as a sheet. He wasn't ready for all of this.
Cory frowned in concern. "Do you believe that your parents would react badly?"
"I don't know. This is all happening so fast. Lucas was the only person who was supposed to know."
"I'm sorry. I can wait a day so you can tell them yourself if you want."
Farkle clenched his fists. "Can you be there when I tell them? I don't want to do it alone."
"Of course."
Riley and Maya sat in the bay window, Lucas sat on the bed, and Farkle paced as he tried to find the right words to tell his friends his secret. If they didn't hear it from him they would most likely hear it from someone else in an undesirable way.
Maya rolled her eyes. "Come on, Farkle, what's going on?"
Farkle stopped pacing and turned to face them. Riley sat looking up at him curiously, her usual smile on her face. Maya looked impatient but he could see concern in her eyes. Why was he so afraid of telling them? They were his best friends, the most likely people in the world to accept him no matter what.
"I need to tell you something."
Riley's smile faltered and Maya sat forward her full attention on the boy in front of her. "Is something wrong?" Riley asked. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know if you are aware that some stuff has been going on with me at school."
Maya glanced at Lucas. "Does it have to do with you guys being kept after class?"
Farkle nodded. "Yeah. I told Lucas a secret and somehow some people at school found out. And they aren't treating me so nicely because of it."
"Why would this secret cause people to be mean to you?" Riley asked.
Farkle looked over at Lucas who gave him an encouraging nod. He took a deep breath. His stomach was twisting into knots. If it was this hard with his friends how difficult would be to tell his parents? "I am gay."
Both girls were quiet. It took a moment but Riley was the first to speak up. "Gay? As in you like boys?"
"Yep. I like boys. Is that okay?"
"Of course it's okay. But I thought you liked us." Riley gestured to herself and Maya.
"I do like you. But it was just a game. You were both my first real friends, I was a bit overzealous about the whole thing."
Lucas said. "Maya, how do you feel about this?"
Maya stood up and walked over to Farkle. She raised her fist and punched him hard in the shoulder.
"Ow!"
"Maya!" Riley and Lucas shouted simultaneously. They both jumped up and grabbed each of Maya's arms.
Farkle felt tears spring to his eyes. Maya hated him now. She would stop being his friend because of something that he couldn't control.
Maya pulled away from Lucas and Riley. "You trusted Huckleberry before you trusted us! I thought we were your best friends. Did you seriously think that we wouldn't be fine with you being gay?"
"What?" Farkle said in surprise. "You don't hate me?"
"I'm a little disappointed that your secret wasn't something cooler like: you really are a robot or something, but no, I don't hate you."
The tears he had been holding back ran free. A sob broke past his lips and before he could stop he was crying full force. His three friends rushed forward and embraced him. Riley was clinging to him like she was afraid he would disappear.
It was a while later that Farkle's parents arrived to have dinner at the Matthews' apartment. Everyone was sitting around the table talking about nothing in particular. Farkle pushed the food around on his plate too nervous to eat.
When dinner was finished Cory dismissed Riley, Maya, and Auggie. Farkle requested that Lucas stay. The girls looked hurt but Farkle sent them a pleading look and they left without argument.
"What's going on?" Stuart Minkus asked. He had a smile on his face but his worry still came through. His wife gripped his arm and looked at her son with concern.
"Farkle wanted to tell you something." Cory said before looking to Farkle.
Farkle wanted to run. He didn't mind all eyes being on him when it was Farkle Time at school but this was different. He didn't like this attention at all. "Mom, Dad, I- I'm being bullied again at school." That was not what he was trying to say.
Stuart looked at Cory. "What are you doing about this?" he turned back to his son. "Who is it? What are they doing?"
Jennifer got to her feet. "I want names and addresses." She demanded.
Farkle felt warmed by his parents' concern. "I'm not done, mom. Please sit down."
Jennifer reluctantly took her seat again. "Fine. But after you're done I want names and addresses. No one's getting away with hurting my baby."
"Some kids at school found out something that I wasn't ready to tell anyone. And now they are calling me names and leaving notes on my locker. So now I have to tell everyone when I was only barely ready to tell one person."
"What is it, sweetie?"
"I'm gay."
Everyone was silent. "Oh," the sound came from his dad. Farkle silently begged for him to say something more.
"We love you no matter what," his mom said. She got to her feet and wrapped her son in a hug that made him feel safe. "Stuart," she prompted as she loosened her grip on Farkle.
Stuart glanced from his wife to his son and then lowered his gaze to the floor. "I just… need a moment… to process this."
Jennifer glared at her husband. "What is there to process? He's your son, Stuart."
"Exactly. He is my son. And I- I always expected my son to marry a woman, have children someday."
Lucas stepped in at that moment, a surprisingly sensible voice to the adults. "Kids aren't always going to live up to their parents expectations. And I think it's unfair to put those pressures on us. This isn't a choice, Sir. This is who Farkle is. This is who your son is."
Farkle sat down next to his father. "Do you still love me?" he asked seriously.
Stuart looked at Farkle in surprise. "Of course. I could never stop loving you."
"Then why does my sexual orientation matter?"
Something in Stuart's expression changed and he pulled his son into a suffocating hug. "I'm sorry," he said voice cracking. "We will adapt. I will adapt. And I will do my best to support you."
Jennifer looked to Cory. "What are we going to do about this bullying problem?"
Farkle listened to the adults starting to discuss how they were going to address the issue but to him the more immediate concern was how everyone found out.
It was getting late. Lucas had already gone home and Farkle laid on Riley's bed, Riley was lying beside him, Maya was sprawled on the bay window seat. His parents were still having the same discussion with the Matthews.
Farkle sat up and stared ahead with a frown. "I still don't understand how everyone could have found out."
"We've been over this." Maya groaned. "No one else was around, Lucas is a good guy and he wouldn't have told. We have no idea. It's a mystery, like the Bermuda Rectangle or something."
Farkle turned to her looking mildly amused. "It's the Bermuda Triangle."
Maya sat up with a pout. "I'm tired."
Riley sat up and held out her arms. "Come to bed, Peaches," she said in an equally tired voice.
Maya got up and stumbled over to them. She launched herself at the both of them knocking them back on the bed.
"Really!" Farkle choked out. The air had been knocked out of him.
Maya grinned in contentment. "Really, really."
"Don't you think Mr. Matthews might not be too happy if he saw us all cuddled together like this."
"You're gay now," Riley stated matter of factly.
"Yeah," Maya agreed. "That's one of the perks. We get to be all cuddly and Matthews can't say anything about it."
Farkle rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of his friends but there was a smile on his face. Now looking back he wondered why he had been so afraid to tell them. It sucked that it all came out before he was ready, but at the same time it was nice to know that his friends and family still cared about him just the same.
The next day at school Farkle found out that the seventh graders and Messer had all been suspended. Before they could come back they had to read a booklet about bullying and tolerance and answer a questionnaire on what they had learned and how they would be changing their behavior. Farkle wasn't sure if it would work but he hoped for the best.
When Farkle sat down at his desk for history class Mr. Matthews had already written his lesson on the board. "Loose lips sink ships"
"Loose lips sink ships. A phrase that was created during the Second World War." Cory started once the bell rang. "Can anyone tell me what it means?"
"It means to be careful what you say," Farkle answered. "Because revealing a secret to the wrong people could hurt someone." His mind immediately went to his own situation. Had someone overheard his conversation with Lucas?
"Exactly. It was a caution to people to not talk freely about our ships' movements because enemy ears could be listening."
In between classes Zay approached Farkle in the halls. He had been talking to Lucas, Riley, and Maya but Zay pulled him away. "Hey, Farkle, I need to talk to you about something."
They stepped away from the group but they were still listening. "What is it?"
Zay shifted uncomfortably. "Mr. Matthew's lesson today kind of got to me."
Farkle frowned in confusion. "Why? What are you talking about?"
"I overheard when you told Lucas about being gay and all. I had seen him walking to Topanga's and I was going to sneak up on him but then you two started talking…"
Farkle glanced over and saw that Lucas had mixture of emotions showing in his face. Hurt, anger, confusion; it was all there. It was like a reflection of everything Farkle was feeling.
"So you told people?" Farkle asked incredulously.
"It wasn't like that. I only told one person. This girl was talking about her gay uncle and so I told her that I have a gay friend. She asked who it was and I told her."
"Zay, I was barely ready to come out to Lucas. What made you think it was okay to tell anyone else that?"
Zay shook his head. "I don't know it just slipped out of my mouth. I guess I have 'loose lips'. I'm sorry, man. I heard that people have been calling you names and stuff because I told your secret. I wasn't trying to hurt you."
"But it did hurt me. I got called names, other kids taped notes with crude drawings to my locker. They made me feel like I was less than them because of something that I didn't choose."
"I'm sorry. Can you forgive me, Farkle?"
Zay did seem like he was sincerely apologetic. Yet Farkle wasn't sure he could forgive him. He had told a secret that Farkle hadn't even meant to tell him. "I don't know."
Zay looked shocked and hurt. "I- I get it."
The group of friends was quiet. Other students passed by unaware of what had just happened to change things between the friends. Lucas looked conflicted, caught between his friends. Riley looked away uncomfortably. She had a hard time with her friends not getting along. Maya was glaring at Zay. Betrayal was not something she forgave easily whether it be her or her friends who got betrayed.
Zay took a step backwards. "I'll just go then," he muttered. When he turned away Lucas looked like he wanted to call out to his friend but he left the words unsaid.
"He was sorry," Riley implored. She, Lucas, Maya, and Farkle all sat inside Topanga's in their usual seats. Riley had gotten to her feet and was attempting to make a case for forgiving Zay. "He confessed what he did and he said he was sorry and he meant it. How can we not forgive him?"
"You don't get it, Riles," Maya told her. "He did something unforgivable. He's why the word 'unforgivable' was invented."
"But he was really sorry," Riley said weakly.
Farkle looked up at Riley. She was struggling with the whole situation. "I know he was sorry. But saying 'I'm sorry' can't undo what he did. I may believe he was sincere but I'm not going to trust him again."
Lucas spoke up, obviously struggling with it too. "I can't just cut Zay out of my life."
Farkle eyes widened in shock. "I'm not asking you to. I'm not going to tell you to stop being friends with Zay. All I'm saying is that I don't think I can be as close with him as I was. And I'm not going to stop being friends with any of you if you want to hang out with Zay."
This wasn't about choosing sides or shunning Zay. To Farkle this was just about him being careful about who he trusted. He wasn't about to make Lucas cut out his best friend and last connection with Texas. And he knew it would break Riley's heart to have to choose sides.
A week had passed. No one else at school really bothered him. The only thing that made school difficult was not being friends with Zay. Sometimes he would think of something he wanted to tell him or he would wait for a joke from Zay that never came. Then there was Lucas who would start a story with "Zay said this," or "Zay and I did that," but he would cut himself off realizing that he shouldn't have brought it up. It was maddening.
Farkle stayed after one of his classes to speak with his teacher about a project. He was given a hall pass since it took a little longer than he had anticipated and he was already late for his next class. He quickly changed out his books at his locker and sprinted down the hall. As he rounded a corner he slammed into what felt like a brick wall. Looking up from where he landed on the floor he met the eyes of Calvin Messer.
It only took a split second for Messer to recognize him. "You got me suspended!" Messer grabbed Farkle by the front of his shirt and lifted him so he hovered about an inch off the ground. "I had to miss the game." Messer growled.
Farkle swallowed hard. This was it. This was how it ended. He squeezed his eyes shut, not particularly interested in seeing his internal organs on the outside.
"Hey, Cal." Farkle opened his eyes at the sound of a familiar voice. Zay was approaching them. He placed a hand on Messer's shoulder. "How about you put Farkle down."
Farkle was lowered so that his feet once again touched the ground. "Thanks, Zay."
"Wait. Why should I listen to you?" Messer asked turning on Zay.
"Cause… I'm so charismatic?" Zay said as more of a question than a statement. Farkle started looking for an escape. This could not end well.
"That little..." Messer trailed off pointing at Farkle. He hesitated and then started again. "He made me miss the game."
Zay looked hard at the larger boy. "This isn't really about the game is it," he said knowingly.
Messer bit his lip looking away. Farkle was surprised when he sniffled softly. "My mom yelled at me," Calvin confessed. "She said she was ashamed I'm her son. Apparently her cousin tried to kill herself cause she's gay and stuff." He turned to look at Farkle. "You aren't gonna kill yourself cause I called you… that name are you?"
Farkle shook his head amazed that Zay had gotten all of this out of Messer. "I wasn't planning on it."
"Good. Cause I'd feel bad and stuff. Just stay away from me okay?"
"Sure."
Messer stormed off without another word. Farkle turned to Zay. "Thank you."
Zay shrugged. "I'm still going to look out for you."
"Maybe… maybe I was too hasty in ending our friendship."
"Really?" Zay looked hopeful.
Farkle smiled. "I miss you, Zay. I think I would like to try being friends again as long as you promise not to… speak so freely about certain things."
"I've learned my lesson," Zay replied seriously. He pulled Farkle into a hug. "I really am sorry."
"I know." Farkle pulled away after a moment. They stood there smiling until the smile dropped off of Farkle's face suddenly. "I'm late for class."
Riley pointed to yet another picture in her magazine as they sat in her family's kitchen. "Do you think he's cute?"
Farkle dropped his head onto the table. "I don't know!" he groaned. "I've looked at so many pictures I have lost my ability to differentiate between cute and not cute."
Maya laughed as she poured herself a glass of juice. "I think you broke him."
"I'm just trying to figure out his type so that one day we can find him an appropriate boyfriend."
Farkle lifted his head to look at Riley incredulously. "You don't think I can find myself a boyfriend?"
"Of course you are able to, but it would be easier to get our approval if we found one for you."
"So now I need your approval?"
Maya sat down across from them with a nod. "Yep. We have to make sure he has honorable intentions."
Farkle was too exhausted from the day to argue. "Fine. Okay. You win! You get to pick out all my romantic partners until the day I die."
Maya and Riley high fived across the table. Farkle's phone beeped and he looked at his text. "Zay wants to know if we want to meet him and Lucas at the bakery."
Riley quickly nodded. "Sure."
Maya's face grew stony and she shook her head. "I can't believe you went back to being friends with him so quickly after what he did."
"I wanted to give him a second chance, Maya. He rescued me from Messer."
"Whoop-dee-doo," she said in monotone.
Riley frowned in confusion. "Why are you so against him being friends with Zay again?"
"Because I don't want Farkle to get hurt again." Maya directed her gaze at Farkle. "I'm your friend and I should have been there when you were being bullied. I should have been there to protect you and I wasn't. So I'm doing it now by telling you not to trust Zay again."
Farkle reached across the table to hold Maya's hand. "I will always need my friends, but I can take care of myself, Maya. I am choosing to give Zay another chance. And I am asking you to trust that I am making a good decision."
She blinked and her expression softened. "I- I trust you, Farkle."
Riley looked hopeful. "So you're coming with us to the bakery?"
Maya took a deep breath. She looked between Riley and Farkle as if gauging how much this meant to them. "Yeah. Okay. But I'm going to give Zay a hard time."
Farkle laughed as they all got up from the table. "I would not expect anything less from you."
With them all gathered at Topanga's Farkle felt like things were as they were before. Yet he could feel tension under the surface. Maya refused to laugh at Zay's jokes, Riley was on edge waiting for an outburst to come from Maya, and Lucas was trying too hard to make everything seem normal.
Farkle was starting to think that their little group would never be the same. But then Maya cracked a smile, Riley laughed in relief, and Lucas visibly relaxed. That was when Farkle could see it, he could see a future in which their friendship with Zay was fully repaired. He had faith that they could move on from this.