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Junior Year

Missy touched the door knob on her front door for the fifth time that night. She was making sure it was locked before she went to bed. She knew deep down in her mind that every door in her house was locked, as well as every window, but a part of her couldn't help but double check. She walked back to her room upstairs and made sure the window in her room was locked and that the curtain was covering it completely.

She layed down on her bed and turned to look at the lamp on her nightstand. As she did so, she saw a picture she kept of herself and her two friends. Nina and Kayla. She picked it up and brought it closer to her in order to get a better view of it. The memory was permanently placed in her brain because it was one of the few times she remembered herself being happy.

They were on a morning hike and the sunrise was incredible. They waited minutes and minutes for someone to pass by and the second someone did, they asked for them to take a picture.

She remembered that day so perfectly because it was a day that they were all so incredibly happy. Nothing had happened. No one had died, no one became a murderer, everything was great.

The memory only brought sadness to Missy. She only kept the picture because without it she was completely lost. They were her best friends no matter what.

She placed the picture back to where it belonged and closed her eyes.

–

Riley had been cleaning her room the entire day. She decided that her things had been piling up for the longest time now that it began to look like she was a hoarder. As she brought out the boxes in her room, she decided that more than half of her things would be going in the basement. She looked further into her closet and saw that she had a box with the words Open with MAYA written all over it. She quickly yelled her name because the blonde was downstairs.

She came immediately and sat down beside her.

"Do you remember this box?" Riley asked and the blonde shook her head no.

"Why are you cleaning?"

"My room is messy. Plus, my parents and Auggie are coming home soon. But that doesn't matter, what matters is this," she picked up the box and shook it. "We made it in the sixth grade. We said we would open it when we're married but hey, it's been five years I think it's fair we open it now."

Maya clapped her hands as she saw that she was about to dive into memory lane with her best friend.

The brunette opened the box and brought out a whole bunch of picture albums she made when she was younger. She saw that Maya had opened it as soon as she set it down. The more she looked into the box the more and more she realized the memories she had not thought about in the longest time.

She brought out a picture she had found when she was younger. Her dad had taken it when he used to teach in the elementary school she was in. "Do you remember Ms. Stenson?" she asked.

"Hated her," the blonde said flatly. "I called her Ms. Stencil on purpose just so she could get angry."

Riley brought out one picture she never knew existed. In the picture, she could see her younger self speaking to Maya while on the other distance, Nina and Geb were smiling. They must've been seven years old in this picture.

She didn't tell Maya or make a big deal out of it, but instead, she made sure it was hidden. She didn't want to throw it away but rather place it back where it was and forget about it all over again.

–

"To be clear I said I was hungry because I was, it wasn't an excuse I made so that I could see you so don't get all happy because of it," Matías told Anthony. He was sitting on the drivers seat and they were on their way to In N Out to eat.

"It's my excuse," Anthony smiled at him. When he saw the text he knew it was the perfect excuse to see him and to spend time with him. He had been wanting to see him for a while now and since he had the money, he wanted to spend it on him.

"Good," Matías sheepishly smiled. "You're the only one that knows I'm a much better person when I'm not hungry."

As Anthony's drove, his hand left the steering wheel so that it could intertwine with Matías'. He looked at him for split second behind returning his attention back to the road. He could hear his chuckle and it warmed his heart.

Matías had never seen him act this way which completely surprised him. He liked it. "I'm not gonna lie, I'm a bit surprised you're the romantic one."

"I love being the romantic one," he confirmed. His gaze turned to him and he winked at him.

Once they got their food, Anthony didn't let Matías eat until they got to their destination which was only ten minutes away. He stopped the car in the middle of a dirt road and got out of it.

"Why are we stopping here? It's about to be eleven." Matías asked as he watched Anthony set the food down in the front of the car and sit.

"Look up," he instructed and when he did so, he saw the stars.

"Not bad," Matías said and joined him. "It's beautiful."

"It is."

Time went by and they ate their food. They laughed, they talked, they kissed, held hands, they did anything two people in a relationship would. As they finished eating, Anthony placed the extra napkins and food back into the bag but stopped Matías from walking back inside the car. "I want to ask you something," he said. "Come."

"It's late. If my mom wakes up and walks into my room, I'm toast."

"Just come here," he smiled and extended his arm to he could take it.

Matías didn't want to. He wanted to go home, but, eventually, he obliged. "Ask me what?" he questioned and joined him.

"Um..." Anthony chuckled because he felt weird asking him. Eventually, he gathered the energy to do so. "Would you ever want people to know about us? That we're in a relationship?"

Matías was not expecting to be asked this and the truth was, he didn't know. He thought about it, but he didn't want to talk about it because he feared it would ruin what they had. He looked at Anthony and realized how much of a great guy he was. If he was anything like this, if he made him feel this happy, he didn't want it to end. He smiled, but then looked away from him. "I've thought about it many times."

"I have too. And if I'm being honest with you, I want people to know. I want people to know that we're dating."

He turned to look at him and smiled. He couldn't help but this of the day he met Anthony. Of the day they bonded for the first time ever. He knew that Anthony was his happy place. His favorite person. "I do too..." he confessed. "...someday."

"What do you mean someday?"

"I'm not ready to tell people right now," the smile on Anthony's face slowly faded. "I feel like part of the reason we are so comfortable with each other is because people don't know about us," Matías told him. "One day, and I promise you, people will know about us...but the day has yet to come."

Anthony nodded because he respected this. He didn't want to hide who he was or who he was dating for the rest of his life and he was glad Matías felt the same way. He grabbed his hand once more and kissed it. He did this before kissing his cheek and then his lips.

"You mean a lot to me."

"And you mean a lot to me."

–

Can I come over? Lucas' text read.

Riley looked at Maya who was sitting right beside her on the couch. She was having a great time and she didn't want to ruin it. She typed back her response and told Lucas that maybe he could come over some other time.

Some other time? Tomorrow?

She told him that it's a date and turned off her phone. "You have the snacks ready?" she asked Maya who placed the large bowl of popcorn in between them and then brought out the Kit-Kats and Reeces.

"Locked and loaded," she responded.

Riley and Maya were preparing to watch old home videos of themselves when they were really young. Her dad used to chase her around with a camera in order to capture every moment. She pressed play on the video and immediately saw Cory. He was adjusting the camera before he walked towards Riley who was only months old. Another video showed Riley and Maya running around the apartment. They were five and Topanga was trying to get a hold of them.

"Cory, why don't you put the camera down and help me catch the other one?" she told him.

Riley and Maya both laughed.

"She was talking about you," Riley told her.

The more and more they watched the videos, the more and more Riley missed her childhood. She wanted to go back to those times where everything was perfect and when she did not know a thing about high school. The only thing that changed her mind was the fact that she didn't know Lucas then.

In a separate video, Riley was at school and during recess, she ran towards the park. Elementary school had to be her favorite mainly because of the park. She loved it. As she stepped over a bar, she tripped and landed on all fours.

A little boy ran up to help her. When she was standing up again, he smiled and walked away.

"Was that - ?" Maya asked but she didn't have the strength to say his name.

"Geb," Riley finished. "It was him."

"Wow," Maya placed the strand of hair on the back of her ear. "Even then he had a crush on you."

"Next video," Riley said as she skipped onto the next.

Riley and Maya sat on the kitchen table and Josh was there. They were eating cereal and they talked about their sleepover.

"Josh, how did you sleep?"

"Good," he responded.

"And you, Maya?" Corey turned the camera towards her. "Maya? Maya?"

The blonde was completely lost in Josh's eyes. She was so lost that she didn't hear her name being called.

"Maya?"

"Huh?" her younger self responded. "I was just...good. I slept great."

"Oh my..." Riley began to laugh. "That right there has to be the most hilarious thing I've seen."

"Stop," Maya covered her face in embarrassment. "Promise me you won't show him this?"

Riley didn't hear her because she was still laughing. She fixed herself on the couch in order to stare at her. "Do you still have feelings for him?" she asked. She knew her best friend and she felt like there was something going on between them.

Maya debated on telling her, but she couldn't lie to her. In fact, Maya was relieved she asked this. "I do."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Maya filled her in on the story and told her about the kiss as well as his breakup with Missy. By the end of the day, Riley was already caught up on everything. They ended up talking for a few hours and before they knew it, it was already late.

"Just know that because there are feelings there," Riley began, "It doesn't have to change what you guys have right now."

Maya nodded because she liked the advice. Right now she and Josh were at a good place and she didn't want a relationship or their feelings to change that.

–

It was sudden for Missy. Even though the creak was small, she heard it. It came from downstairs and she immediately gripped the bat on the side of her bed. A few seconds later, her phone went off and she grabbed it.

The message came from an unknown number.

When she opened it, her eyes widened. The message contained a picture of her house.

Who are you? She asked. It was her first time responding to the message.

Shortly after sending the message, her front door opened and then closed. "Shit." she cursed and got out of bed. She walked down the stairs very, very slowly with her bat in her hand and her phone on the other.

No one was downstairs. She searched the house and when she found the opened door, she locked it. On her way towards the stairs, she saw something on the dinner table.

From a distance, she didn't know what it was. But as she got closer she saw that it was an envelope. The envelope was addressed to her.

The letter read:

Fool Me Once Shame on You, Fool Me Twice...

Shame on Me...

Writers Note: How do you guys feel about Anthony and Matías? Ship or dip? And it looks like Missy is starting to get a lot on her plate?

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