Girl Meets World: They're Us

Chapter 1 (Brave New World)

Author's Note: This will be my version of some important scenes in the future holiday episode of GIRL MEETS WORLD where Shawn comes to Cory and Topanga's apartment after having been gone for a long time since Riley's birth

I don't want to spoil much about what I've learned from this episode, but I have a strong feeling that when it airs, it will be one of those heart-tugging episodes.

Anyway... Hope you enjoy the story, and also, Disney is the rightful owner of GMW

1:32 pm (had to update name problem real quick)

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At a local diner near Riley's apartment building, Shawn Hunter was thinking about his prepared speech that he was planning on giving to her "niece" and her best friend.

Right now, he was sitting in a booth, with Riley and Maya sitting across from him, both not exactly knowing what to say to the longtime best friend of Cory Matthews since childhood.

"Well..." said Shawn, clearing his throat. "Let's just get the hard stuff out of the way first, okay? What do you think of me?"

Riley and Maya looked at each other in confusion, and Shawn repeated, "Seriously, what do you think about me?"

The blonde-haired teenager sighed, and crossed her arms as she said, "Well... uh, Shawn... I honestly thought that you weren't even a real person."

"But I'm right in front of you," chuckled Shawn, trying to make the conversation a little bit light.

Maya rolled her eyes, and she said, "Well, duh, I can see that, but I never saw you once after I became Riley's best friend. Not even a picture or a letter or anything. Just stories about a guy who lived in a trailer park or something and joined a cult that-"

"Uh, Maya, stop, please," warned Riley, in a low but concerned tone since she had noticed that her uncle was looking a bit uncomfortable.

Shawn took a deep breath, and he said, "It's okay... I'm good. Just a little bit of flashback stuff."

He looked at Riley, giving her an encouraging smile as he said, "And you, Riley?"

Riley hesitated for a moment before answering, choosing to just look at Shawn for a little bit.

For some reason, she felt like they had a special connection of some kind, especially after her parents had told her and Augie so many stories about the young man who'd been their best man at their wedding, and Cory's best friend since they were kids, but it also felt impossible because she had never even seen him until just a few days ago.

"I... thought... you didn't like me..." said Riley, a sad expression on her face. "You hardly came... I only got gifts... And pictures... I just don't understand why you've been so cold to us."

Shawn started feeling sorry for her, and also mad at himself. He'd seen Cory sad plenty of times back when they were younger, but it tugged more at his heartstrings seeing the look on Cory's amazing and beautiful daughter.

"Look, Riley, I..." said Shawn, his speech coming into his mind. "I could never NOT like you... I mean, you're like Cory but with Topanga's hair... and I know so much about you."

"Like what, genius?" Maya challenged, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm not her best friend, obviously," replied Shawn. "But I do know that her birthday is October 14th, that your brown eyes sparkle when something exciting is about to happen..."

And here it comes, Shawnie

"I also know how it felt to see you after you were born into this world..."

Shawn smiled, and he added, "Right about the moment when I got into a world of my own."

Riley was speechless, so he continued. "After your parents, I was the 3rd person to hold you in my arms-"

There's that special connection, thought Riley.

"-I'll never forget that day. It was something that changed my life, Riley..."

(FLASHBACK)

"Look at our little angel, Cory," smiled Topanga, tears sparkling from underneath her eyes.

Cory kissed his wife's forehead, and nodded as he looked at his new daughter that was in his arms. "Welcome to the world, Riley."

As for Shawn, he was sitting down in a chair that was across from them, but he was also smiling widely, with eyes sparkling as he looked at the new parents.

"Want to hold her, Shawnie?" Cory offered, looking at his best friend.

"M-me?" Shawn said. "Er... I-I- I don't know, uh, Cor... Why don't you let Topanga hold her again?"

Topanga laughed, and said, "You're not getting out of this one, Hunter. Riley already knows who we are; now it's time for her to learn who her uncle is."

Shawn looked at Cory, who nodded his head, and said, "If she's anything like me, Shawn, then she's going to need advice from a person like who. One who already experienced the lessons we got from the world."

Taking a deep breath, Shawn stood up, and as Cory placed her in his arms, the soon-to-be photographer smiled as he listened to her coo in a very cute and heartfelt tone.

"Hey, there, Riley," said Shawn, smiling as wide as ever. "Welcome to the world... You know, it's gonna feel like you're alone, even as you grow up,but when you're not a little girl anymore... when the world has taught you how to be this special woman...

"You know, you're probably gonna make a whole lot of mistakes, but your family and your friends that you've made along the way are gonna help you, OK? Even though it'll seem like the world is going out of its way to teach you these hard lessons, you're gonna realize, that it's the same world that's given you your family and your friends. And you're gonna come to believe that the world's gonna protect you too."

Cory looked at Topanga, frowning in confusion as he said, "Wait a sec, did he just...?"

"Honey, please, I think we should let him be," whispered Topanga. "You told Joshua that so it could help in his world-"

They looked at Shawn trying to memorize this special moment, and she added, "I think it's good that Shawn is trying to be the right person in the world she's going to grow up in."

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"Honestly, Riley, after I moved out later that day," finished Shawn, trying his best to not cry in front of the two teens. "It was partly because I wanted to actually mean something special to you in your world... But I got so focused in trying to be a better person that I didn't realize until it was too late that my world needed help of its own."

Riley and Maya looked at each other, and then, she said, "Well... Uncle Shawn... I sometimes wish that in my world, it was just me and her. But it isn't right if I don't have the people I care about helping me along every step of the way until I am ready to be on my own adventure."

Her smile grew as she added, "And, if you don't mind... I'd like you to be a part of it again, like when you said that stuff when you held me."

Shawn smiled, and nodded his head. "I'd be very happy to do that, Riley."

They got up to share a warm hug, then shook hands with each other, but just as Riley was about to say something, Maya said, "Wait a sec, just tell me one thing. Did you and Cory really make, like, a thousand bucks from a bed-and-breakfast scheme?"

Shawn laughed, and said, "Oh, my gosh, I honestly forgot about that... I still haven't gotten it back from Feeny."

Maya just chuckled, and said, "Huh, nice... What else have you done?"

Shawn crossed his arms, smiling as he saw that they were looking interested. "Okay, if I'm gonna tell stories, then we gotta order some food."

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Author's Note- I didn't want to post all the scenes in one page because i have a bad habit of writer's block from time to time. So it'll be, like, a collection of one-shot scenes about Shawn finding his place in Riley's new world ;)