Hello again! Recently, I have been watching a lot of Cory/Topanga videos on youtube, and I decided I kind of wanted to do a weird version of that in a one-shot. One of my favorite videos had the song "Never Stop" by Safetysuit and I absolutely love the song. It's so beautiful. So I decided to write a one-shot based off of it.
I hope you enjoy! :)
The music changed and I saw everyone around me stand. I looked past the people and toward the other end of the aisle. That's when it happened.
I saw her.
I instantly felt my breath taken from my lungs. My heart jumped so much that it almost seemed like it stopped. Time was frozen. It became just her and me. Then she smiled at me.
I could do nothing but smile back, completely filled with joy and excitement. It was just us in that moment. There were about a hundred people there, but it was just us.
As I saw her, I saw everything. First I saw my past.
xxxXXXxxx
Topanga pushed play on her tape player.
"Sun. The only. The one. Donut in the sky," I read.
I watched her act out the poem in my kitchen.
"Space. Big gaping place. Without. Within. Our skin. Donut in the sky."
Then she pulled out a tube of lipstick.
"Freon. Fluorocarbon."
She put the lipstick all over her face.
"Humpback whale. So pale. Exhaust. Is all lost? Donut in the sky."
That was the moment when I knew she was special. I knew that I'd never forget this girl no matter what happened.
Later that day, she said, "It would be interesting if all your life you remembered that your first kiss happened when you thought you looked weird, wouldn't it?"
"No! It wouldn't be interesting! Get away!" I had yelled, trying to make her leave me alone.
"Because then you'd know it's not what you look like on the outside that matters. It's what kind of person you are."
Then I came back with probably the worst comeback in the world. "You shouldn't kiss somebody you're not married to."
Little did I know that a few years later, I'd be watching that same girl walking toward me down the aisle in a white dress.
"Hmm, yeah. I would have to feel I really knew the person and that I liked him," Topanga'd said.
"Good," I replied, relieved.
"Good," she said.
Then she pushed my shoulders against the lockers and she gave me my first kiss.
xxxXXXxxx
A few years later, she almost moved away to Pittsburgh. I'd never felt that way before and hopefully never will again. I knew that the love of my life was leaving me and there was nothing either one of us could do about it. I thought I was going to lose her. I had treasured every moment, every second, every touch, every kiss, more than ever.
I told my mom just how much she meant to me. I'd said my feelings out loud- some of which I never told anyone before. Some of it didn't even feel like it made sense until I said it out loud. Once I said it, it all became obvious, as if things could be no other way. I don't think I ever fully realized how much Topanga meant to me until that day.
"So that's what I think is love, Mom- when I'm better because she's here. And now she won't be. So I'm finished."
Then her aunt came and decided to let her stay with her for the rest of high school. So I guess, in a way, we owe her for our relationship. If she hadn't offered that, I don't know if we would've made it this far. She saved us.
xxxXXXxxx
Then I made the most horrendous, horrific, awful mistake I have ever and will ever make- I almost sacrificed what we had for a stupid crush. I only look on that time with shame and anger with myself. I don't know what I was possibly thinking. I had everything with Topanga. Everything. I loved her so much, and she loved me. We were happy.
And she didn't deserve it.
I don't think of the person anymore. "She" is not a person to me anymore. I choose not to remember her. "She" will never mean anything to me other than pain. "She" could not ever replace the love I have for Topanga. "She" has no place in my life other than teaching me a valuable lesson.
I suppose the lesson had to be learned, but I just wish I could go back in time and change my own mind. Because while this lesson could have been learned easily, I forced us to learn it and caused Topanga pain. How could I ever cause her pain? What was wrong with me?
This is why I don't think of the memories of that time. I only think of what happened because of it. Topanga and I sat under the stars together. She and I finally figured out that there was no one else for us, and there never would be. We were meant to be together no matter what. Nothing could ever change that.
I still remember how she kissed me that night. I had never been so happy. One kiss had never meant so much to me.
xxxXXXxxx
There was still another day that changed our lives- our graduation day. For most, graduation is a life-changing event anyways. It will alter your life if you graduate, and if you don't, you're set back. There was that for us, but there was also so much more.
We were sitting in our caps and gowns, listening to Mr. Feeny talk about our class.
And then Topanga said, "Mr. Feeny said I should go to Yale unless I have a really good reason not to."
"Well, there isn't any good reason," I said reluctantly, but trying to show support.
"Actually there is. Cory?" she said, her eyes wide.
"What?" I asked. I started to feel anxious and worried. What does she mean? I thought.
Mr. Feeny announced our class, and she grabbed my arm to stop me from standing up.
Then she said it. "Will you marry me?"
Those four words changed our lives forever.
I was so scared when she said that. I couldn't imagine going into something like marriage. I just graduated high school- I was thinking about how I was going to spend my summer and getting ready for college. And then she said it.
It wasn't that it's not right for us- it is. We both knew it. There was no one else for either of us. We were going to get married someday. I just didn't think it'd be so soon.
Then I realized that she chose me. She chose me over one of the most prestigious colleges in the country. She chose me. After everything that happened, she still chose me.
There was no way I could say no, but I was scared to say yes. Luckily I did and we got engaged that day.
xxxXXXxxx
I was brought back to the present then. I saw her walking toward me and I could do nothing but smile uncontrollably and look at how beautiful she was. It was still just us in that room. I took a few steps toward her and someone grabbed my hand.
I looked up and saw her dad. He gave me her hand and then said something. I couldn't concentrate. All I could see was her.
Then she spoke.
"We've waited for this moment all our lives. What're you thinking?"
I was temporarily thrown back into a state of consciousness. What am I thinking?
I was thinking before about her, but I couldn't form it into words. Then I remembered my fight with Shawn.
"I can't believe Shawn's not here," I said, thinking that I was still upset over the event.
"I love you, too," Topanga said with tears in her eyes.
This brought a smile to my face. Even though I'd said something about Shawn, she still knew. She knew that I was thinking about her. I didn't even have to say anything for her to know.
It was that moment in which I saw what my future would be like.
xxxXXXxxx
We'd always be together, through everything. I'd be by her side, and she'd be by mine. We would no longer be facing the world as separate people- we'd be unified as one. Her name is going to be changed. She'll be Topanga Matthews. We'll be family. She'll be only mine and I'll be only hers.
I can see us sitting together in our future home, and we'll be so happy. Maybe we'll have some kids running around us someday. Everything will be perfect.
Sometimes she'll be sick, so I'll make her soup and wrap her up in a blanket and watch movies all day with her. And when I'm sick, I'll just want her by my side, holding my hand.
I can't wait for the simple things like that. Or when we've both had long days and we just fall asleep on the couch. She looks so peaceful when she's sleeping, and every day I'll get to wake up to her beautiful, calm face.
I'll get to kiss her goodnight and fall asleep with her in my arms. I'll feel her lying next to me and just feel so at peace.
I'll get to come home from work and she'll be there, or she'll come home and I'll be there.
And when she wakes me up at three in the morning…I'll be tired, but I'll still love it. I'll know that she's the only one I'd ever be happy to be woken up by.
One day, we'll have a baby. I'll get to see her smile at that precious life and she'll be such an amazing mother. And that baby will be me and her.
When all the kids are gone, and it's just us left in that house, we'll do all the activities an old couple would do. We'll play cards together, and go to bingo nights. We'll just spend time walking in the park together. We'll be like that old couple on the anniversary card, somehow more in love as the years go by.
I can't wait.
xxxXXXxxx
There was an incident on my wedding day with Shawn. We both realized the impact of this marriage on our friendship. We fought and then talked everything out. I was giving up the years of "Cory and Shawn," for something so much greater. It wasn't that the years with my best friend weren't great- they were. They meant more to me than anything, up until this day. The only difference is that they're two completely separate feelings. While with Shawn, I feel happy and myself, with Topanga I feel complete. It feels like there's no other way for things to be than us. I'll never want those years of "Cory and Shawn" to go away. They mean a lot to me. Shawn understands that. It's just that they're two different situations. In order to be complete, I have to put Topanga first. Once Shawn and I talked that out, everything was good again.
Topanga said her vows first. I've never heard something more beautiful than the things she told me.
Then it was my turn. As I said my vows, I thought back again on all of our memories together. I looked into her eyes and saw her fighting back tears.
Even as someone who never cries, I felt my own tears threatening to escape. I forced them away as I slipped the ring on her finger.
"I love you, Topanga," I said seriously.
"I love you, too, Cory."
xxxXXXxxx
I turned to Topanga and said those words- the ones we've been waiting our entire lives for- the ones you only say to the love of your life.
"I do."
She smiled at me. I couldn't help but smile back.
"Then by the power vested in me by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Topanga started laughing and we both grinned.
She put her hand behind my head and pulled me to a kiss.
We both couldn't stop smiling and were once again in our own world.
While we had both known it before, it was now certain that we were going to spend the rest of our lives together, and we couldn't have been happier.
