A/N: And so it begins...


Episode One – Girl Meets Last Summer


"I get my roommate assignment today," Maya said to Josh with a big smile on her face as she opened the computer her parents had gotten her as a graduation gift. It wasn't the most expensive computer in the world, but it was hers and she was happy about it.

"Are you and Riley going to be roommates?" Josh asked as he settled down next to her on the bed, he had stayed behind that summer since Riley and Lucas had gone down to Texas.

"They said something about a lottery or something, and that freshmen weren't allowed to pick their roommates but that's ridiculous, why shouldn't we pick our roommates," she said shrugging to him but feeling worried that she was going to be stuck with someone she hated.

"It's meant to be a growing experience," Josh said with a smile. "My first roommate at school remember how I had a hard time with him, and now we're actually friends, so maybe this is going to be your moment to branch out and grow."

"I don't want that really, I think I just want to get used to the idea of school first and not have to deal with a new person who in the end might hate me," she said sighing at Josh. "Maybe I'm just insecure because it's the first time I'm going to be away from home, and my mom and Shawn are still in the early stages of their marriage."

"I think you're more afraid of being away from Riley who has been your rock for years," Josh put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "But Maya, wouldn't you want Riley to grow too."

"I guess," she said knowing that all of it was too much. She wasn't sure of what college was going to bring, she wasn't sure if she would make it if Riley wasn't around, even though she knows that if Riley had gone to some big school and she couldn't follow that they would still be friends.

"College isn't going to change your friendship, you two have the strongest connection to each other now more than ever."

"But, what if it does?" she asked genuinely afraid to lose her best friend. She couldn't lose Riley, or Farkle, or even Smackle, Lucas and Zay. She was truly afraid of it all.

"It would only change if you let it," he said before kissing her on the cheek and pointing at the laptop. "Now let's find out who your roommate is going to be."

Maya nodded at Josh, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips before turning to her computer and opening up the student portal. The roommate assignments had been sent out and she saw the message but she hesitated on opening it. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and clicked on the link.

"Maya, you have to open your eyes," he said in her ear making her jump for a moment before turning and looking at him. He gave her a wide smile and kissed her nose, he always did things like that to distract her for a moment, to get her out of her head. He would kiss her hand, her neck, her forehead, always smiling and encouraging her. They had only had one fight in the time they had been together, it wasn't a major fight either and she couldn't remember what it was about but in the end, they always gravitated back to each other. The kisses were small assurances, a reminder of all they have been through over the years to get to where they were.

Turning to the screen she read for a moment before sighing, "Smackle is going to be my roommate," she said her heart was a little lighter, because she was going to be with someone she knew and that was better than having to be with a new person. "Maybe Riley and Cassie are going to be roommates."

"You're okay with this?" he asked, and she knew he was checking to make sure that nothing was bad about this roommate assignment.

"Yes, because in the end it's still familiar, and maybe I can help Smackle get out of her shell a little more."

"That's the spirit," he said and she couldn't help but start laughing.

"Oh god you sound like your brother," she said laughing at him before he started laughing as well.

"He's rubbing off on me," Josh said after the moment had passed. "Maybe I need to hang out with a certain blonde a little more so it won't happen as often."

"I wouldn't mind that," she answered before putting her head on his shoulder. "Let's watch a movie and cuddle."

"Sounds like a plan."


For Isadora Smackle, knowing how to act around others is the hardest thing she could ever do, and the one thing that she can't master at all. Being a genius doesn't come with a social manual, and it makes it hard to gain friendships with others when you're awkward. She got lucky in middle school, she found love at a young age, she gained friendships, she even learned that it was alright to be herself. Once she gets comfortable with a person, her true self comes out and she feels an ounce of what it's like to be a normal girl.

That's where her problem at this time begins, because of the fact that she was able to gain all of this she learned to be happy, but she was still a little awkward and it bothered her. It shouldn't bother her, and her friends have told her so. But starting college is a whole other journey, one where she would need to start over even if she was going to the same school as her friends.

She lucked out in one department, her roommate was going to be Maya, although she had once believed that Maya and Riley would become roommates but apparently the school had other ideas. She had a friend with her, albeit a brash outspoken one, but still a friend. The problem was that she wasn't Riley and in the end, she was afraid of what would happen between herself and the blonde girl.

"You're thinking too much Smackle," Farkle said to her as they sat inside of Topanga's on an afternoon outing. He had wanted her to get out and go shopping for what they needed for school, and the first step was to get some coffee and make a plan.

"Sorry beloved," she sighed to him. "It's just that I don't understand all of this, how am I supposed to go to school and speak with others when at times I don't know what to say."

"Human emotions are complicated Smackle," he answered, and she knew this but it still didn't change the fact that she had to do it all over again at a new school. "Just take everything one day at a time and you're going to be alright."

She sighed to herself before taking a sip of her latte, "People are like these drinks, all complicated and interesting, at times some are too bitter but when you add something extra they warm up to you."

"Aww that sounds romantic," Mrs. Hunter says as she walks by smiling at the two of them. "Are you two ready for school?"

"We're going shopping today for our necessities," Smackle said smiling at the older woman. "Your daughter will be my roommate, is there anything I should know in advance?"

"Well that's an interesting development," Mrs. Hunter said before thinking to herself for a moment. "Since you're a scientist you're going to have a part of the room to work on your experiments so I think you should think about Maya having her own part for art."

"Maya would like that," Farkle added smiling at her.

"Has Maya talked to you about anything she would want to bring?" the older woman asked and while Smackle nodded, she didn't know what it meant when Maya had spoken to her.

"She said we would need a microwave, but I thought we had meal plans for school," Smackle answered.

"The microwave is probably for snacks, for times when the dining hall is closed," Mrs. Hunter answered.

"How do you know so much," Smackle said as she wrote it all down.

"I watch a lot of shows," she said and Smackle knew that it was because Mrs. Hunter hadn't gone to college. She had wanted to become an actress and while she did have her chances at roles, she still worked at the café.

"Have you ever thought about going to school, at least part-time," Smackle said to her hoping that it would inspire her to step out of her comfort zone in the same way that Smackle was. "It's never too late to go and get an education."

"I'm not cut out for school," she answered and for some reason it only made Smackle more determined.

"Maybe you just need the right motivation, I mean Maya had once believed that she couldn't get the same chance and look at her she's starting college in the fall, so by logic if she could you can too," Smackle said trying to give the older woman so hope for her own future.

She realized at that moment that Farkle was watching but not saying a word to either of them. He was giving her the opportunity to learn, on how she could interact with another person. That's when she realized that she could do this, she could go to college and be awkward and weird in other people's eyes as long as she had her friends by her side helping her along.

"If you start now, you and Maya could both graduate at the same time, and that would be something you both share with one another," Smackle finished giving the woman an awkward smile.

"Thank you," Mrs. Hart said after a moment had passed, smiling at her. "That's the nicest thing anyone could have said to me, and maybe you're right maybe I just needed the right motivation, and who knows, maybe I could teach drama one day in a middle school just like Cory teaches history."

She smiled at Smackle before walking off, mumbling to herself about going to school for teaching, and wanting to be a drama teacher. Smackle wasn't sure what she had done, but the smile on her boyfriend's face made her heartbeat just a little faster.

Why was it so hard to be a girl?


Zay wasn't sure what had happened, in the middle of July he had been happy, he had had his friends, his girlfriend, and he was going on a trip to Texas to visit family. By the end of July everything changed and he was heartbroken.

Cassie's mom had relapsed, and the family had decided to move to Florida to be close to their extended family while her mother was treated. The whole point of college for Cassie had been to grow after years of helping her family, and Zay was one of the reasons she had been able to get out of that shell. In the end, family was more important than their relationship, and he knew this because it was the same for him.

"I'm sorry Zay," she had said to him as she told him that she wasn't going to school with them. "I need to be there for them, I can't leave them."

"I know," he said but it didn't stop his heart from shattering. This was what Lucas must have felt when he had thought that Riley was going to move to London during freshman year.

The day that she was leaving he stood at the airport with her, holding back the tears, he loved her and he knew it was something special but he also knew that he had to let go. His grandmother had once told him that if he was fated to be with someone that person would come back to them time and time again. He wanted to hold onto that thought, he wanted to have the hope that maybe some high school romance was going to last forever, especially since he watched his friends have those moments themselves. It's just that it wasn't meant to be for him.

"Zay," Cassie said as she held onto his hand, before she had to go through the gate and he would lose her. "Please don't hold back in school, go out with people, date have fun."

"I don't know why this hurts so much," he whispered as he pulled her into his arms. "I don't want to lose you."

"I know, but Zay honey, my sugar, people come and go in our lives," she said trying to tell him in her own way to move on. "I'm leaving yes, but one day I want to be able to look back and remember that this was the right thing to do, I don't ever want you to regret our relationship because for me, these past two years have been the best I've had."

He could feel her body shaking, he knew she didn't want this to happen as much as he wished it hadn't happened. He wished he could cure her mother, keep them together, but in the end, it wasn't possible. This was the life that they had been given, and he wanted her to have every moment with her mother. If it had been his mother and she had wanted to move back to Texas he knew that he would go with her, because for Cassie and him their family meant the world. If they were sick or hurt, the two of them would drop everything to be with their families. Even if it meant breaking each other's hearts along the way.

"Take care of your mom," he said not wanting to let go.

"One day, if we're meant to be Zay, one day we'll find our way back to one another," she whispered in his ear before letting go.

She wiped the tears off her face and gave him the best smile she could before walking through the security gates and joining her family, waving at him as she walked forward leaving him standing there wishing that this wasn't the fate they had been handed.


Lucas felt like an idiot, they had had a fight because he had wanted to sit down at the campfire and talk about the past. He had wanted them to fight their past life, the problems that sometimes plagued them, and make a new memory in the same place. The minute he realized it had been a mistake was when he had told her the whole story about what had happened in middle school. He could see the heartbreak in Riley's eyes, because apparently Maya hadn't told her everything about their conversation about the almost kiss about that day that he had felt so broken about.

He found her the next day, sitting in the middle of the field as the afternoon sun hit her face and the shadows danced around her. Riley in the end hated reliving that part of their relationship, but he had pushed because he wanted it to forever be in the past. They were starting school in a few weeks, Riley was going to be rooming with some girl she had never met, while Lucas had lucked out and had gotten a suite with Farkle and Zay. Everything was changing, and he was sure that those changes were a part of why Riley was insecure about everything else.

"That day was one of the worst days of my life," he said as he sat down next to her. Before she could say anything, he held up his hand. "Let me get this out."

"Okay," she whispered.

"Every time the triangle or that first trip down here comes up it brings up bad memories, and even though we both learned to hide it I know it's going to haunt us for a long time, so I wanted to clear the air and get this all over with so that when we start school in the fall we could put it behind us once and for all." He knew that she wanted to say something put instead he put his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze. "So that day was the worst, maybe because I knew even then that I was in love with you, and you pushed me aside, you told me about Maya and in my mind, all I could feel was this part of me that was floating away. I was really broken up about it, and it's one of the days I regret the most."

"I'm sorry," she said but he shook his head.

"No, don't be sorry Riley," he said before crossing his legs and turning towards her. "After reading through your articles sophomore year and seeing how the whole thing affected you, I thought back to that moment and realized that the part that had broken off was the one that kept me grounded, the part that held back that angry side of who I used to be. I tried to be good, and do what you wanted but honestly it hurt me even more. I'm the best I can be when you're around, I had to learn to be next to you without being with you."

"If I could change the past," she said as she looked into his eyes, "I would change that whole mess, I probably would have pushed Josh more, or Maya, or even myself."

"We can't change the past Riley, but it can teach us a lot about ourselves, you make me a better person, and even though it happened it also means that we can learn from it."

"So, do you want to try again? Because that campfire isn't going to light itself," she said smiling at him. "And maybe we can finally put this all to rest."

That night while they laid down on a blanket watching the stars as the campfire roared next to them, Lucas knew that whatever happened in the past, whatever parts that they could have done differently, he wouldn't have changed because he wasn't sure if changing them would have brought them to this moment under the stars. Riley was snuggled close to him, her hand on his chest right over his heart. For a moment they both looked into each other's eyes and he felt bashful, they never really made out, they had tried and often failed mainly because of her father.

He took this moment and put his hand on her cheek and slowly pulled her face up, so that her lips could meet his and slowly kissed her. It was soft and sweet, with a bit of spice to it, but that was because they had eaten barbeque earlier, but it was everything to him. He felt her hand slowly move up towards his hair, and he couldn't help but want her hands there for the rest of his life.

Someone cleared their throat above them before pulling Riley away from Lucas, "What the hell…" the words died in his throat as he came face to face with Mr. Matthews.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you come down here," he said to Riley as her mother rushed towards them. "Why aren't you two being supervised as you suck face."

"Oh Cory," Mrs. Matthews said as she pulled Riley away from her father. "Sorry Lucas, but there was no stopping him."

"It's okay," he said but he missed the feel of Riley next to him. "I knew this whole trip was too good to be true."

"Damn straight bucko," Mr. Matthews said before his wife groaned. "Riley you're coming back to the hotel with us, no more of this… whatever it is."

"Dad," Riley said but before she could finish her father pulled her away.

"You know you're welcome to stay at the house," Pappy Joe said as they reached the porch steps. "You don't need some fancy hotel, and you can have some family time."

"That sounds lovely," Mrs. Matthews said before pulling Riley away from her father. "But we don't want to put you out."

"It won't be a bother ma'am, there's plenty of room," he said as Auggie rushed forward chasing Pappy Joe's newest edition, a border collie named Luna that he had adopted earlier that summer, the Matthews dog Artemis not far behind.

"It really wouldn't, and Mr. Matthews can chase me around the yard if he wants too," Lucas added making Riley snort, her father glared at him but before he could say anything her mother pulled him aside to talk to Pappy Joe.

"This is our life," Riley said the moment her father was out of hearing range. "I don't think I would change it for the world."

"I would do it all over again too," he said to her before taking her hand and going back to the campfire with Auggie and the dogs so that they could roast marshmallows and talk about the stars in the sky.


A/N: I made the decision about Cassie long before I plotted out the whole thing, mainly because things always change in life, and although I feel horrible for doing that to Zay, there's actually going to be a lot happening that is centered towards him, Riley and Lucas during this season. The other characters will have their moments, but apparently when I chose to do this I ended up focusing more on them three over everyone else. You'll see as the story comes along, a lot of it is centered around real things that I've had experience with in college, or my friends have, because I wanted this to be as real as possible.

Also because of my current school schedule, and the fact that I have two twenty page term papers due before graduation, I won't be posting daily like I did before. I set it up so that there's a new chapter every other day, or every three days, so that I'm not overwhelmed by school work.