A/N: Soooooo yes I am starting yet another story. This will follow the lives of Maya, Riley, Lucas, Farkle, Zay, and Isadora (Smackle) as they go through live and go through some hard life experiences and go through some drama and find out life isn't as easy as it seems and only gets harder and whatever…yeah just give me the medal for the worst summary ever because I'm pretty sure I won it.

Anyway, this is kind of AU and the characters may be OOC, but I'm just writing them differently because this is going to go to topics that will never happen or even be mentioned on Disney so. And as you may have guessed, most things that happened on the show never happened in this story. Oh, and Lucaya will be endgame so if you ship rucas or something then…yeah.

Please R&R, and I hope you enjoy (this is kind of a filler chapter so things will start off slowly so it may be short and/or boring).

Enjoy!

I.

"…Happy birthday to you!"

Everyone clapped and cheered after the song ended while Maya awkwardly grinned.

"Make a wish, Peaches!" Riley yelled excitedly as if it were her own birthday, bouncing up and down.

Maya shook her head at her best friend in amusement before closing her eyes. After a minute of silence, she grinned and blew out the candles. Once again, everyone erupted in cheers and laughs.

"Sooo, Maya," Zay said, sliding up to the blond. "What'd you wish for?"

"If I were her, I'd wish for you to leave already," Isadora said to Zay, who responded with a roll of his eyes.

"Maya!" Riley tackled her with a hug. "How does it feel to be 17 years old?"

"So far? Pretty awesome," Maya grinned.

"I'm sorry we couldn't throw you a real party, Baby Girl," Katy told her daughter guiltily.

"It's fine, Mom, and I had a huge party for my sweet 16 already. I'm okay with this." Maya looked around the Matthew's apartment with a smile. Yes, it wasn't a huge party, but all of her closest friends were there—her best friend, Riley, was there of course. Mr. and Mrs. Matthews were there, trying to keep Auggie from stealing frosting off the cake. Zay and Isadora were there, making a bet to see who could eat more. And Lucas and Farkle were there, eyeing the presents as if they were going to get some. It was perfectly okay.

"Alright, let's get this cake cut already!" Zay said, rubbing his hands together. "I call dibs on first slice."

"Yes, because you'd get the first slice over the birthday girl," Isadora said with a roll of her eyes.

Katy laughed. "While you guys eat the cake, I have to run to the store real quick."

"How come?" Maya frowned.

"I forgot to get your caramel popcorn. My birthday girl isn't going to have a birthday without her favorite snack."

Maya smiled. "Thanks."

After Katy left, every one got their slices of cake.

"Wow, this is delicious!" Farkle noted.

"Yeah," Zay agreed. "Where'd you get it?"

"Actually, Isadora made it," Maya said.

"Really?" asked Lucas.

"Yup," Isadora said proudly. "I used my Abuela's famous recipe and made it from scratch."

"Well in that case, it's not that good," Zay said, to which she ignored.

"When are you going to open your presents?" Lucas asked Maya.

"You actually got me something for once, Ranger Rick?"

"What are you talking about? I got you a present last year!"

"A CD of some crappy country music is not a real present."

"Then why did I hear you humming one of the songs?"

Maya's face turned red—it wasn't her fault that that song was extremely catchy. "No I wasn't!"

Lucas just smirked.

"Hey, did Katy come back yet?" Topanga asked, walking into the room.

"Not yet," Farkle said.

"Good, because I want to get some ice cream at the store," she said, grabbing her coat and purse before leaving.

"Oooh, is it only us left in the house?" Zay said deviously. "We should play something—I suggest spin the bottle."

"Mr. Matthews is still here, genius," Isadora told him, shaking her head in disgust. "And we're not playing that terrible game."

"Why, because no one ever wanted to play with you?" Zay smirked. "I wouldn't blame them."

"Okay," Riley jumped up before a full-blown argument could happen. "Let's open those presents."

"Okay, there's only one present left," Farkle said after Maya had opened all of the other ones. "Who's it from?"

Maya looked at the tag which read "From: Ranger Rick" (some suspicious feeling told her that Riley was the one who put his present last) and rolled her eyes. As she opened the box and looked inside she rolled her eyes again.

"Pancake mix?" Maya said, trying to contain her smile as she held the box of Bisquick mix. "Really, Huckleberry?"

"Really really, Shortstack," Lucas smirked.

The next thing she pulled out really made her roll her eyes, but smile as well. It was a very dorky drawing of a guy in a cowboy hat sitting on a white horse standing next to a blond haired girl also wearing a cowboy hat. Maya made a mental note to get a frame for it later, but she turned to Lucas saying, "Stick figures—impressive. And I'm not even that short!"

Lucas laughed at the drawing of Maya who was barely an inch.

"I dunno," Zay commented, squinting at the drawing over Maya's shoulder. "Looks pretty accurate."

Maya was about to hit Zay but she noticed there was something else in the box. She pulled it out and let out a breath. "You got me the sketching tools." Maya continued to look at it because she realized he had listened to her. She mentioned to him months ago that she wanted to sketch more than paint, but she didn't have the money for the pencils and such. Maya thought he forgot—she had even forgot herself.

"Not bad, Sundance," Maya said with a small smile. "This definitely beats that country CD." Lucas smiled back, knowing that that was her way of thanking him.

"Whew! I can't wait till my birthday!" Zay said, shattering the moment.

"Me neither," Farkle said. "Did I mention I wanted Zombie Bloodbath 3?"

Riley smiled. "Yes, Farkle, you did."

"Just making sure."

Everyone jumped when the door slammed open to reveal a panting Topanga.

"Woah! What's wrong, Mom?" Riley asked.

"Maya," Topanga said, rushing into the room. "Get your stuff on, honey."

"What happened?" Maya asked, standing up. "Where's my mom?"

"Riley, go get your father," Topanga ordered.

Maya watched Riley run out of the room and turned back to Topanga. "Mrs. Matthews…what happened? Where's my mom?"

Topanga sighed and wrapped an arm around Maya. "I'm sorry, Maya, but…"

"But what?" she pushed, ignoring the crack in her voice.

"I don't know any other way to say this but…there was an accident. I already called the ambulance and then rushed here."

"Okay…what happened to my mom?"

Topanga sighed again. "Your mother was hit by a car. They don't know if she's going to make it."

Without another word, Maya rushed out of the apartment and everyone followed.