A/N: Good evening (or whatever time you're reading this) Pebblemist Nation!

Guys, I'm SO sorry I haven't been updating any of my stories recently. School has been getting the best of me lately, and even when I do have time to write, I do it on my tablet, which is at my Mom's (where I live most of the time), where I don't have internet. We're supposed be getting it soon, but in the meantime, the only time I can update is at my Dad's, where we have internet, but the idea of re-writing what I have written is not one that I fancy. So this doesn't exactly make up for it, but it'll show I haven't disappeared, and I promise that I'm NOT abandoning my stories.

I was writing a Christmas fic, but it looks like I won't be getting it up before Christmas, so, guys, consider this my gift to all of you!

So, anyways, without further ado...


~~~Like Kids Again~~~A Girl Meets World Fanfiction~~~


"IIII'm booorrred!" Riley announced loudly as she burst through the door of her apartment, dropping her backpack onto the floor and flopping onto the couch with a overly dramatic sigh.

Topanga looked up from peeling the potatoes for dinner, eyeing her daughter with a slightly amused smile. "How ya doin', honey?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Riley sat up, opening her mouth to say something in reply when the door burst open again, this time with Maya coming in, announcing that she was "booorrred" and flopping down in the same manner that Riley had, minus the dramatic sigh.

Topanga sighed, shaking her head in exasperation. "Hey, Maya."

The blonde looked up. "Oh, hey, Mrs. Matthews." she said, as if she had only just noticed her best friend's mother's presence.

"Hey, Mom," Riley said plainly. "We're bored."

"So I've noticed," Topanga told them.

"Oh, really?" Maya asked, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "How'd you guess?"

Topanga rolled her eyes and returned to preparing dinner, not providing an answer.

Riley heaved a sigh and laid back down, staring at the ceiling, her brown eyes dull as she tried to think of something to do. If she put a little thought into it, she could almost always think of a way to make the best out of a boring night. But tonight, apparently, was different. As hard as she thought, she couldn't think of anything.

Well, that was definitely a first.

Oh, come on! It's a Friday afternoon! I don't want to just sit here on my butt all night! she thought, frowning. Her eyes lit up as she thought of something. We could go shopping! But then it dawned on her that she's already spent her allowance. She was completely broke.

"So much for that idea," she mumbled under her breath. Maya looked at her, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Hm? What idea?"

"I thought we could go shopping," Riley began. She folded her arms and sighed, frustrated. "Bu-"

"We're broke," Maya finished for her, as if she were reading her thoughts.

"Yep," Riley said, popping the 'p.'

Seconds ticked by. As the seconds turned to minutes, neither of them could think of an idea. Riley could practically see the gears turning in Maya's head as she concentrated on thinking of something to do.

"There's got to be something to do," Maya said, her frustration evident in her voice. "It's Friday!"

"We could do our homework," Riley suggested. She and Maya locked eyes for a second, then they each doubled back in laughter.

"Yeah, right," Maya snorted. "C'mon, let's think of something fun to do." she paused for a moment, eyeing Riley. "And not Riley fun. I mean actual fun."

She pulled out her phone and began to type something. After a moment of watching her, Riley tried to peer over her shoulder.

"What 'cha doing?" she asked curiously, tilting her head top the side.

"Nothing," Maya said, sliding the phone back into her pocket. Riley narrowed her eyes. The thought dawned on her that Maya was planning something.

What does she have up her sleeve this time? she thought. She tried to push the thought away, but after a few minutes of awkward silence between the two of them, it came back, and kept nagging her.

"What are you hiding?" she finally blurted out.

"What do you mean?" Maya asked, tilting her head to the side.

Stop playing dumb, Riley wanted to tell her. But she didn't. Instead, she said "You know what I'm talking about."

Maya kept a straight face. "No, I don't." she said.

Riley sighed. "You're planning something, I know you are," she said, her voice filled with determination. "And I will find out what. And when I do, I'll-"

The intercom buzzed, and a familiar voice rang throughout the living room.

"It's Lucas."

Riley's eyes lit up. Lucas is here! She danced over to the door, pressed the button, said "Come on up," as sat back down. She turned to Maya as a sudden realization came to her. "You were texting Lucas, weren't you?" she said accusingly. A smirk grace Maya's features.

"Not just Lucas," she told her.

"Then who?" Riley blinked.

The intercom buzzed again. "Farkle!"

"Him," Maya chirped.

The door opened, and Lucas stepped in, followed by Farkle. Riley's heart did a back-flip when they locked eyes. The butterflies in her stomach fluttered a bit, then settled down as she calmed herself down.

"Hey, Lucas, Hey Farkle!" she called, waving them over.

"Hey, Maya, hey, Riley," Lucas said, turning on that to-die-for smile. Her heart fluttered a bit, but she managed to keep herself from squealing like she wanted to.

"Hello, ladies," Farkle greeted. He turned to Maya. "You wanted us? We here!"

She nodded. "Yep. We're bored. I thought you two might be able to help us think of something to do." She looked up at Lucas, placing her hands on her hips. "So, got any ideas, Bucky McBoing-Boing?"

Lucas shrugged. "I dunno. It's a nice day. Why don't we go outside?" he suggested. "We could go to the park."

"Go outside and do what?" Maya raised an eyebrow. "Play tag? Hide and seek? Newsflah; we're not five years old."

"I think it's a good idea," Topanga piped up.

Riley jumped. She'd almost forgotten that her mom was there. Almost.

"See, Maya?" Lucas asked. "Mrs. Matthews agrees with me. And besides, back in Texas, my buddies and I would go outside all the time. Granted, there's no horses to ride here, but-"

"Yeah, why not go outside in this 10-degree weather?" Maya asked dryly. "Being bored in the freezing cold definitely beats being bored inside with the heat on, am I right? You're forgetting that this ain't Texas, cowboy," she said, putting on her fake country accent with the last part.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Well, do you have any better ideas?" Maya looked down and didn't answer.

"Then it's official," Riley blurted out before she could stop herself. "We're going to the park."

All eyes turned to her, and she stared at her feet, smiling sheepishly. She could feel her face grow hot as it turned a bright shade of red. Her blush grew even deeper when Lucas linked arms with her, giving her a wink as he looked at the group.

"You heard them, Maya" Farkle said, giving Maya a playful glare. "We're going to the park."

"I don't have a choice in this, do I?" Maya asked, looking to Topanga, who shook her head.

"Nope," she said with a slight smirk. Maya huffed.

"Fine. But if I freeze to death, it's on your-" she pointed at Lucas- "conscience. Got it, cowboy?"

Lucas tipped his imaginary cowboy hat. "As you wish, ma'am."

Maya shuddered in annoyance. "C'mon, let's just go to that stupid park already. Let's get this over with."

...

Riley shivered, pulling her jacket closer to her body in an attempt to warm herself up. Her teeth chattered uncontrollably, and she was beginning to wonder why she had agreed with Lucas in the first place.

I didn't think, she scolded herself. Why didn't I think? It's too cold out here!

The walk to the park didn't take long. Maybe ten minutes, tops. It was just enough time for Riley to be sure that she'd made a mistake in going outside. It was freezing!

"So, Nature Boy, what do you suppose we do out here, other than freeze to death?" Maya asked, placing her hand on her hips.

Lucas paused. Evidently, he hadn't exactly thought this through.

Riley sighed, her warm breath coming out in a puff in front of her. Without thinking- she seemed to be doing that a lot lately- she lunged forward and tapped Maya's shoulder, yelling "Tag, you're it!"

"Hey!" Maya protested, reaching out to tag her, but Riley surged forward, ignoring her.

She took off, the frost on the ground crunching under her boots. She slid a bit, but managed to keep her balance.

"I'm going to get you!" Maya cried. Riley glanced behind her. Maya was just a few feet away, reaching out in an attempt to tag her. Riley swerved, making a sharp turn in the direction of Lucas and Farkle. She weaved in between them, and when Farkle's voice rose up, yelling 'Hey!' she knew that he was 'it.'

Sure enough, when she looked behind her again, she saw Farkle chasing Lucas in circles through the trees.

"Watch out!" Lucas called as they neared us. Maya and I both took off, laughing. Farkle lunged forward, grabbing Maya's shoulder. Riley let out a little scream and jumped to the right, trying to avoid getting tagged, but she was too fast for her, and next thing she knew, everyone was fleeing from her like she had rabies or something.

Laughing, she chased after Lucas, seeing as he was the only one of them who hadn't been 'it' yet. He saw her coming after him, and put on a burst of speed. Riley panted and surged after him. He's pretty fast! she thought, a determined look on her face. I'll just have to be faster!

She was just close enough to reach out to him when suddenly he turned. She tried to follow him, making a sharp turn as soon as she realized that Lucas was no longer in front of her, but didn't watch where she was putting her feet. Her foot got lodged under a frost covered tree root, and before she knew what had happened, "Oof!" Riley was face-to-face with the ground.

Riley didn't move for a second, the wind knocked out of her. Her chest heaved as she struggled to catch her breath. She suddenly became aware of a sharp pain in her lungs. The cold made her stomach feel hollow.

"Riley?" Lucas asked, turning around. "Are you okay?" He jogged back over, and crouched down next to her, extending his hand to help her up.

"Yeah," Riley grunted as she pulled herself up. She took a hold of his hand, smiling gratefully as he pulled her the rest of the way up. "Thanks."

"No problem," Lucas said. Riley felt her face turn red. Her heart fluttered as Lucas smiled, his emerald green eyes sparkling. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Mm-hm!" Riley assured him. Hey, wait a minute, she thought. A mischievous, almost Maya-like grin graced her features. "And you know what?"

"What?" he asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion. Riley tapped his shoulder, then took off.

"You're it!"she cried.

"That was a good one," Maya whispered to her as they fled from Lucas. Riley smiled.

"I learned from the best," she told her. Maya smirked.

"I know."

Riley rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth to reply, but got cut off as she slid on the slippery grass. She slid a few inches, then landed on her butt with a squeak.

Lucas caught up to them. "I think that's enough tag for today," he said, taking her hand and pulling her up. He wrapped his arms around her and stared into her eyes.

Nature seemed to want to make this moment as romantic as possible. The sun had begun to sink bellow the horizon, washing a pale, milky orange light over them. Snowflakes began to fall, drifting to the ground. They laced throughout Riley's hair and caught onto their jackets.

They stayed like that for a few moments, until Maya pulled Riley away from him.

"So, what do we do now, cowboy?" Maya asked, placing her hands on her hips. Her was lathered with sarcasm. "Now that we're acting like five-year-olds, why not go back to Riley's and watch High School Musical?"

"We're all in this together!" Farkle suddenly began to sing. "And it shows, when we stand, hand in hand, make our dreams come truuuuuuue!"

Riley bit her tongue, trying her hardest to contain her laughter. Lucas rolled his eyes and chose to ignore him.

"Yeah, why not?" he asked, playing along. "HSM never gets old, does it?"

Maya shuddered, glaring at him. "I'll never get to you, will I?"

Lucas tipped his imaginary cowboy hat. "Nah, probably not. But I certainly do appreciate you trying, ma'am,"

Maya looked at me and mouthed 'what do you see in him?' A smiled and shrugged.

"People, people, are we watching High School Musical or what?" Farkle asked. Maya laughed and patted him on the back.

"In your dreams, Farkle," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I guess his dreams are coming true, then," For the third time that afternoon, Riley didn't think. "Now that I think about it, watching it doesn't sound like a bad idea. We've already acted like little kids all afternoon, it won't hurt to watch High School Musical, will it?"

What has gotten into me today? she thought. She looked at her friends, who gawked at her like she'd grown a second head. Suddenly feeling foolish, she stared at her feet, mumbling "Auggie might like it..."

Maya smiled weakly. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to watch it... just as long as you don't think we're gonna watch Hannah Montana or something afterwards."

"I don't, don't worry," Riley smiled. She turned to the boys. "So what do guys you think? Come back to my house and watch High School Musical?"

"I'm in," Lucas said.

"So am I," Farkle nodded, putting on a cheesy grin.

"Then come on!" Riley said excitedly. "Let's go act like kids again!" she smiled and took off, managing not to slip.

Maya, Lucas, and Farkle all laughed, and ran after her, belting out the lyrics to 'We're All In This Together' at top volume. And for a moment, the four of them weren't almost-teenagers anymore. They were five years old. They were like little kids again.


~~The End~~


A/N: So, what'd you think? I'm pretty proud of this one. Once again, I'm really sorry I haven't been updating my other fics! I'll try to update as soon as I can! Don't forget to leave a review on your way out! I wanna know what you think!

Happy Holidays!

~Pebblemist~