(Authors Note: I thought I was going to finish this story in 25 chapters but it looks like its going to take more chapters than I expected. Sabrina Carpenter shared a quote on her social media accounts that inspired me while writing this chapter. If you follow her, you'll recognize it. Thanks for reading and thanks for all the feedback! Enjoy :-)

Riley's POV

The next day, we walked into my dad's classroom and took our seats. He hadn't arrived yet. When the late bell rang, I started to think he wasn't coming.

"Where's Mr. Matthews?" Farkle asked.

I turned around. "I don't know."

"Didn't you see him at home?" Lucas asked.

I looked at Maya. "We told him everything last night, and he kind of kicked me out."

"What?!" Farkle was shocked.

"She stayed at my house last night," Maya added.

"That doesn't sound like Mr. Matthews." Lucas said.

"You mean it doesn't sound like our teacher," I said.

"It doesn't sound like your father either," Maya said.

"It does seem surprisingly out of character," Farkle said.

"Well he's not here. So not only does he not want to be my father, I guess he doesn't want to be my teacher either," I supposed.

"What exactly did you tell him that made him kick you out?" Zay questioned.

Maya and I looked at Lucas. "What? I wasn't going to tell anyone your secret. Not even Zay," he said.

I looked at Zay, "Maya and I are together."

He looked at Maya and then back at me. "I know. You're always together. You two are never not together. You're inseparable. Don't you think that's a little codependent?" He said.

I glared at him.

Maya explained, "No, she means we're a couple, Zay. We're dating."

"Oooooh." He reacted. "Wow, that explains a lot," he replied. Maya nodded.

A substitute teacher entered the classroom.

"Hello, class. I'm Mr. Katz. I'll be your sub today," he said.

"Where's Mr. Matthews?" Maya asked Mr. Katz.

"Mr. Matthews is out sick today," Mr. Katz responded.

Maya turned to me. "Maybe us being together makes him sick, literally."

For that, I had no answer. Maybe she's right. I wish I knew what my father was feeling.

Maya's POV

We sat down at our desks for English class. Ms. Burgess, or Harper as she preferred to be called, was teaching us the The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. She addressed the class, holding up the book: "Has everyone finished reading?" The class nodded.

"What have we learned from this book?" She asked.

Farkle stood up enthusiastically, "Farkle goes first! Farkle always goes first!"

"Alright, Farkle, what did you learn?" She asked.

"It's a criticism on the superficial nature of society. They valued physical beauty over ethics."

"Very good, Farkle. Did anyone learn anything different?" The class was silent.

"There are no right or wrong answers. Oscar Wilde believed art didn't have any obligation to teach us anything, that it's beauty alone was enough to justify its existence."

"So Oscar Wilde was just as superficial as the society he depicted?" Farkle asked.

"You call him superficial. He called himself an aestheticist," Harper answered.

"So the lesson is that there is no lesson?" Lucas asked.

"That depends on your own critical thinking and what take away from the novel," she replied.

She posed another question. "Does anyone know anything else about the author, Oscar Wilde?"

"He was in love with a man and he was sentenced to two years of hard labor for being homosexual," Farkle said.

"What?!" Riley exclaimed.

"It's unfortunate, but it's true," Harper confirmed.

"Oh my Gosh!" I exclaimed. I suddenly had a revelation. "Basil!"

"Did you learn something from this character?" Harper asked me.

"He was gay, right? He was in love with Dorian," I reasoned.

"That can be debated, but yes, some critics recognize Basil as a homosexual character," Harper confirmed. "And that is part of the reason this book was considered scandalous in its time."

"I'm Basil!" I declared.

"You can identify with this character?" Harper asked.

I looked at Riley. "A gay artist who falls in love with his friend who is the subject of his painting. Yep. That's me," I affirmed.

Harper smiled. She turned around and started writing on the board. Riley suddenly looked alarmed. "Oh no, does that make me Dorian?" she asked me.

"Oh honey, you wouldn't even know how to be a Dorian if you tried," I assured her.

"I promise I won't kill you in a fit of rage like Dorian killed Basil," she promised sincerely.

"Aww, thanks Pumpkin," I smiled.

Harper finished writing on the board and turned around again. "Maya, please read what's on the board."

It was a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I read it aloud: "That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover your longings are universal longings, that you're not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong." I smiled at the words I had just spoken.

"I'm glad you found a character you can relate to, Maya," she said. "Can anyone guess why I assigned this book in June?"

"Because Oscar Wilde was gay, and June is Pride month?" Riley guessed.

"Good job. I see you've been paying attention in Mr. Matthews' class," Harper remarked.

"Do you guys make your lesson plans together?" Lucas asked.

"Do you and your friends study together?" Harper asked.

"Yeah," Lucas answered.

"So why shouldn't we?" Harper responded. "We compare notes. We collaborate from time to time. You will find that literature and history have much in common," she said.

Riley's POV

Later that evening we were doing our homework at the kitchen table when there was a knock on the door. Maya opened it, and my mother walked in.

"Mom!" I quickly rushed over and hugged her.

"How's my girl?" she asked.

"I'm doing the best I can."

She turned towards Maya and opened her arms. "And how's my other girl?"

Maya smiled and hugged her. "You know me. I'm always okay."

My mom put one arm around each of us.

"It's really hard being stuck in the middle of a conflict between two of the people you love most. But he's coming around. I can tell," she said.

"Was he really sick today?" Maya asked.

"No, he just needed a day," my mom answered. She looked at both of us.

"Are you hungry? Should I make you something to eat while I'm here?" My mom is such a mom. She's the best.

"No it's okay, mom. Uncle Shawn just went out to get us a pizza," I answered.

"Okay, good. Well, I have to go start dinner for your dad and Auggie. I just wanted to stop by on my way home and check on you. I miss you girls." She pulled us in for a squeeze.

"I miss you too, Mom," I said.

"Thanks for coming by, Topanga," Maya said.

"Call me if you need anything," she said.

We nodded and waved as she headed out the door. My eyes started to tear up a bit. Maya noticed.

"Riles, are you okay?" She asked.

I sniffled, wiped my eyes and nodded.

"Look, maybe this has gone too far," she said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, holding back my tears.

"He kept telling me to leave and you kept saying that if I left you would leave too, and now here we are. You should've just let me go, Riley," Maya said.

"You want me to let you go?" I can't believe I'm hearing this.

"Maybe you should. I'm not good for you anymore," she said.

Hmm, where have I heard that before?

"Only I decide that. I didn't let you push me out of that subway car the first week of 7th grade and I'm not letting you push me away now."

"I'm not worth it," Maya said.

"You are. I told him back then that you were what I believed was worth fighting for. And I meant it. I will always fight for you," I said.

"At what cost, Riley?!" Maya argued.

"At any cost. We've come so far, Maya. We're so close to overcoming everything we were so afraid of. Please, don't give up on me now."

"Riley, I only want what's best for you," Maya explained.

"How could losing you possibly be what's best for me?" I asked.

Maya walked toward the door and opened it. "I don't want you to have to choose between me and your dad."

I walked over to her.

"Do you really think I'm going to walk out that door?" I took the door from her and closed it.

"You promised me, Maya. When you came back after you ran away, I told you never again, Maya Hart. And you said you would always be right here. You're not allowed to run again."

She sighed. "I'm not. Riley, this is hurting you. I never meant for our relationship to hurt you," she said.

"Sure, it's complicated," I admitted. "But it's worth it."

Maya shook her head. "It's not. You're sacrificing too much to be with me right now."

I took both of her hands in mine and looked into her eyes.

"I'm in love with you, Maya."

Her expression changed.

"You've never said that to me before," she said.

"You know better than anyone that it's a scary thing to admit. But it's the truth." I said sincerely.

I couldn't tell which one of us initiated it, but we both leaned in as if we were being pulled toward each other like magnets, and shared a deeply impassioned kiss.

As our lips parted, I said "There was a time when my father was the only one who knew he and my mother would always be together, even when everyone else said that they wouldn't. He knew. And so do I. Love is worth fighting for. My dad is the one who taught me that, and that's how I know he will come around, eventually."

Maya looked at me with an enamored gaze. "I love you so much," she said.

"I love you too," I said. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in for an embrace. I held her close, and probably hugged her a little too tightly, but my arms needed to show her that they're not letting her go.

"It's you and me forever," I whispered in her ear.