Author's Note: Thank you all for the wonderful response! And I really appreciate everyone who has followed, favorited, or reviewed this story! It means a lot that you would take the time to do so...(Edited by Chereche!)

Well, this is the chapter where things start to get interesting! I'm a little nervous, but I hope you guys enjoy! And please don't forget to REVIEW!

UPDATED: 11-9-16

Disclaimer: I don't own Girl Meets World, just the story!

Chapter Five: What the Moon Saw

Maya flopped onto her bed, moving aside the schoolbooks and essays with her feet and legs, not caring if they got crumpled or bent. It was going to be a long day, and she had nothing to do but homework, and—just like Riley predicted—lots of chores. Naturally, she didn't want to do it. Of course, she had no choice or say in the matter, but Maya still wasn't going to do them just yet.

Her mom was at the diner, and so the house was full of silence, something she wasn't used to. She wasn't sure she really liked it, so she wandered over to her small window, and struggled to open it; the hinges rusty and the glass extremely dirty. Had they actually ever cleaned their windows? Probably not, but Maya didn't really care, because it meant more work for her and her mother.

The streets were full of their usual noise and people, and even though it would have been frightening, annoying, or distracting to anyone else, it was calming and comforting to Maya. She couldn't imagine living anywhere else, or at least somewhere quiet and far away from the city.

Her phone buzzed on her bed, letting her know that she had a text message. Her mom had been gracious enough not to take away her phone, and it was the one privilege she had while she was grounded, so she was grateful for it...at least most of the time. Maya was hesitant to open the message because she didn't really need the hurtful words right now, but her nature refused to allow her to do anything else, so she did. Much to her relief though, it was only from Riley, someone who she was annoyed at. But, she was definitely an improvement over the mystery texter.

Riley: How's the dungeon of sadness?!

Maya: Dark...

Riley: I'm sorry you got grounded, Peaches! :(

Maya: Yah, well it's all okay, 'cause I got tons of homework and chores to keep me company.

Riley: Aw, she treating you like Cinderella before the ball?

Maya: Something like that...you know you have the weirdest comparisons?

Riley: You know you love them!

Maya: …

Riley: Well, will your mom let you out of the house?

Maya: Doubt it. I can text her though; she doing a shift at the diner til' around 10 tonight.

Riley: Your mom left you alone in the house?! Why aren't you already over here? You snuck out right?

Maya: No...

Riley: What?! Maya Hart always sneaks out!

Maya:...Are you encouraging me to sneak out?

Riley: No, no, no, no! Don't do it, Peaches!

Maya smirked at her friend, and opened up a new message to her mother, hoping she wasn't too busy. Getting out of the prison would be great; it was lonely and boring here.

Maya: Hey, mom? Can I go over to Riley's?

Mom: You remember that you're grounded, right?

Maya: Yes...

Mom: Have you even finished your homework and chores?

Maya: Okay, fine. Can Riley come over to do my homework and chores?

Maya: Typo, sorry. I meant help me.

Mom: ...Alright, you can go over to the Matthews', but I need to have your word that you will do your schoolwork and cleaning, and that they will all be done when I get home!

Maya: Got it, warden. ;)

Mom: Excuse me, missy?

Maya: Calm down, mom. It's just a word Riley and I use as nickname for our parents.

Mom: Warden?!

Maya: Don't you have tables to take care of?

Mom: You're right...I'll see you tonight! Please, please don't forget to do your jobs!

Maya: Yes, mom...um, break a dish?

Mom: Got that covered...

Maya quickly texted Riley back that she would be there soon, then gathered her homework, stuffed it inside her bag, and hopped nimbly down the fire escape. The safest way to travel was never by front door... she always chose windows.

"Peaches!" Riley yelled, throwing her arms around Maya's neck.

"Hey, hey, hey. At least let me get through the window!" She protested.

Maya slipped inside, plopped on the window seat, and then looking at her best friend, rolled her eyes and nodded her consent.

"Yay!" She hugged her tightly. "The stepmother let you go...wait, she did right? You didn't sneak out, right?"

"No, honey," Maya smirked. "I even brought my homework, so you can do it for me."

"Oh, good—what do you mean I'll do it for you?" Riley leaned back.

"Hey, if I don't have someone do it, they'll suspend me again just for bad grades!"

The brunette sighed, and crossed her legs. "How long is the suspension for?"

"10 days."

"10 days?!" she cried.

"Hey," Maya pointed out. "It could be a lot worse, you know."

"Yes, way to think positive!" Riley's face brightened.

"A little hard though, when it hurts to smile." The blonde pointed to her face.

"Aw." She looked at her friend with big, brown doe eyes. "At least now you look fierce, huh? Though I still don't think you should have done that. Did it have anything to do with your insecurity?"

She shook her head in response. "Let's not start this, Riles."

"But—"

Maya held up a hand. "Nope. Not going to do it. I'd rather write my essay on stupid plants."

"Okay, fine...for now. But, please promise me you won't do that again, and you aren't going to sneak out during your grounding."

"Can't promise that, Riley," she shrugged.

Riley jaw dropped, and she slammed her hands down on the seat. "You're already planning something, aren't you?"

"Me?" Maya raised her eyebrows. "Oh, you know it."

"I don't want you to get in more trouble, Peaches! I need my bad, bad influence!" she cried.

"Well, as your bad, bad influence, I need to recharge."

"Why?" Riley huffed, and crossed her arms.

"Because otherwise, I won't have any bad to be your influence," she reminded.

"Fine, but now we get to work on homework, because you have to balance out your evil side," Riley proposed, still not happy with the arrangement.

"Okay, but please, don't turn the questions into a Riley Game Show again," Maya whined, resting her head on the window and staring up at her friend, who was already gathering her schoolbooks.

"I can't promise that, because I am a good, good influence!" she hummed, pleased to have mocked her friend; it didn't happen very often.

Maya stared at her, and sighed. "Just tell me Lucas and Farkle and Zay aren't going to pop their heads in here, and "help" us with studying? 'Cause they never actually do, you know."

Riley smiled, glancing from her to the window behind her. "How about you just don't look behind you?"

"Mom, I think the world is falling apart," Riley declared as she looked up from the papers in front of her.

"And why is that, Riley?" She raised her eyebrows at her daughter, laying down the pen she was writing with.

"She's smart, mom..." She furrowed her brow. "She got most of these right."

"Who?" Topanga asked, completely lost.

"Who? Who else? Maya!"

"Really? Can I see that?" Her mother took the homework and scanned it thoughtfully. "Well, this is good, honey. You and your friends are turning out to be great teachers."

"But, if she got those all right, how come she never gets good grades in school? I mean her last test was a D!"

Mrs. Matthews rested her arms on the table. "I'm not pretending to understand Maya, but here's what I think about this, because I've watched her for a while now. She doesn't care enough about it, because it's not important to her so, she doesn't try... There's also a possibility that she doesn't believe enough that she can do the work, and if she doesn't think she can, she won't..."

Riley was starting to understand, and she wondered if maybe her mom was actually spot on.

"But, please don't take my word for it, honey," her mother reminded. "We can only see one part of people unless they open themselves up, and Maya doesn't do that very often. So, we can't really know what's going on inside her head; the only one who knows is Maya herself."

"I don't think she does," Riley leaned back, her mind working furiously.

Oh, she was going to sneak out. There was never any doubt about that; just where she was going to go in the first place. Maya thought about an old building she used to hang out in over by the highway, but then she remembered it had recently been demolished, and its land used in the building of a hospital.

But, then as luck would have it, her cousins on her dad's side texted her before she went over to Riley's and wanted to know if she could join them. They did this every so often, whenever they were going to do some prank or stunt, and even though Maya usually declined, they continued to text anyway. She knew they invited other people too, and she had met some of their friends before - one had even taught her how to scale a wall with just a rope quickly. What she liked about these cousins though was that they didn't care about her dad, or his family; in fact, they disliked him just as much as she did. And so even though her father had left and she scarcely heard from him anymore, it didn't matter. They still tried to include her.

After letting them know that she would actually be joining them this time, much to their pleasure, she began to prepare for the event. Her cousins had instructed her to bring along something she could use to do graffiti with, it didn't really matter what. So, basically, she had to procure some spray paint from somewhere. Maya couldn't remember the last time she had used spray paint. It had definitely been a long time ago, but she had a vague memory of getting grounded and banned from anything to do with art for a while and even after that, that specific art tool.

She didn't think that her mother would have made her thrown it out though, and so she knew that there would probably be some in her blue bin if she checked. Except, she didn't really want to go back into the bin though. Grabbing the edge of the container, and reluctantly sliding it out, Maya ripped the lid off and dug through the mass of jumbled art supplies. And just under some paintbrushes, were two cans of spray paint, blue and black. She smirked and rolled the cold metal cylinders between her equally cold palms. Even though there was a sprinkling of guilt, it was just part of the bigger, exhilarating feeling she got from doing something rebellious. The feeling stayed with her as she put away the box, stuffed the cans into her black bag, and pulled on her sneakers. It filled her mind as she arranged the blankets to appear in use, opened the squeaky window, and leaving a small crack; crept out and slid down her fire escape for the second time that day. And, it was all she felt by the time she reached her destination.

She spotted them crowded by an old antique store, laughing and shoving one another around. Hoping what she was doing wasn't completely suicidal, she crossed the silent street, and walked up to the group. A girl in long, black jeans and equally black hair turned around at the sound of Maya approaching.

"Hey, Hart actually showed up!" She smirked, and nudged the guy beside her.

"I said I would, didn't I?" Maya raised an eyebrow, shouldering her bag.

"You still remember us?" the girl asked.

"Some of you," Maya admitted.

"Well, we should probably refresh your memory, huh? People call me Coco, and this is my boyfriend Ace," Coco said, referring to the boy who was standing right next her.

She listed off a couple of other names, but the only one that caught her attention was the one at the end. Her, she remembered.

"...and that's Jazz. She's the one in charge, so any complaints you got, take to her; but be careful. She'll bite when threatened." At this, Coco snickered and crossed her arms.

Jazz was tall, and she seemed to radiate confidence. Her clothes perfectly matched her personality and the mood of the night. She wore a green jacket, ripped jeans, and long, brown boots, all accented by the black choker around her tan neck. Jazz rested her hands on her hips, and pursed her lips.

"Be careful not to scare her off. We finally got her to join us, so let's try to keep her here this time. Although, she's looks like maybe she could hold her own." The girl smiled in Maya's direction referring to her black eye; but Maya could tell it wasn't genuine.

"Did you get the stuff?" Coco asked.

Maya nodded and gestured to her backpack. "All in here."

"Good." Ace nodded. "We should probably head out then."

The group grinned in anticipation, and grabbed individual bags and assorted items. Jazz took the lead, clutching her own duffel bag, and striding purposefully down the sidewalk. Everyone followed, still laughing, but quieter now, and Maya took a place in the middle next to Coco and some other girls. She did remember that she had to establish her place in the beginning, or else she would be regarded as lowest on the totem pole, and blamed for every mishap. The blonde had already been there, and she wasn't going to do it again. Now, she was doing something bigger than what she'd done before. This was going to be very interesting, and Maya couldn't wait.

Maya drew the blue spray paint from her bag, and let out a huge breath as she ran her fingers over the cold metal. It was ridiculous, but she felt like whatever happened next could be potentially influential on her future, and she didn't know why. Maya rolled her eyes at her own oddity, and turned her attention to more important things.

She had been ready to paint the building with blue, but a large hand gestured for her to hand over the spray paint, and instead it was replaced with a red can. Shaking her head in confusion, she walked away skeptically, trying not to seem too reluctant to give away her spray paint.

She regarded the scene before her, taking in the brick walls, benches and trees that surrounded her. They looked eerily familiar, and a pit in the bottom of her stomach formed along with the anxious fluttering of butterflies. This was her school. The school that she and her friends went to. The school she was suspended from.

Maya looked around as if someone knew, even though she was aware that overly paranoid and ridiculous. This was the part where she decided not to do it, right? No, that didn't make any sense. Why should the fact that this was a school that she went to control or change her decisions? It shouldn't. It wouldn't.

"Okay, have at it." Jazz spread her arms out wide, and grinned, breaking her moment of silent contemplation.

Maya strode to one of the walls, and stared blankly at it. There was a moment of hesitation as a little voice that rarely came up surfaced, telling her not to do it. She ignored it; she needed to do something to get rid of her insecurity, and maybe this would help. At least she was getting back into something that was kind of comfortable; being reckless and stupid. She seemed to excel in that class. Shaking the can, and pressing the nozzle, she etched out a familiar phrase. Maya liked it there; all big and obvious. Apparently, so did Jazz. She had been watching her, and she came up behind Maya, and nodded in approval.

"Okay, Hart. Good start," Jazz said, and then left to do her own damage.

In her place, Coco appeared, and smirked at her writing.

"Hope is for suckers...I like it. Great message."

Maya laughed a little. "Thanks."

The other girl began a drawing of some weird creature.

"Hey, aren't you like an art person?" she asked.

"I used to be," Maya replied, starting another word.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. It's just not working out so much anymore, I guess," she shrugged.

"Well, this isn't the best job for you then, huh?"

"I can still write," Maya pointed out.

"I don't know. You were never good with words," Coco taunted.

"Neither were you," she retorted.

"You remember me now?" the black haired girl asked in surprise.

"Yah, a little bit," Maya admitted. "You taught me how to climb a rope, didn't you?"

"Nah, that was Jazz," She waved the question off.

"I was hoping not," The blonde muttered.

"But, I was the one who showed you how to run fast." Coco smiled, and laughed.

"From the cops."

Coco nodded, still grinning, but then turned around suddenly as a boy tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to drop her can with a loud clang.

"You can't do that to someone, you know?" She glared at the newcomer, picking up her spray paint.

"Sorry, not my fault you scare easily," he smirked, and then noticing Maya, his face turned to one of disbelief and shock.

"Maya?" He walked closer, trying to see her clearer.

"Hey, Josh." She tried to hide her own surprise.

"What in the world are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you..." Maya crossed her arms. "Aren't you like a goody two shoes?"

"Him?" Coco laughed.

Maya raised her eyebrows at her, and she leaned back and gave Josh a hard look.

"Something of an actor are you?" The older girl accused.

He ignored her, still looking at Maya. "You could get in huge trouble, you know."

"So could you," she retorted, glaring at him now.

"Yah, but I'm the one who's legally an adult," he challenged.

"Then, shouldn't you be smart enough not to be here?" the small, blonde taunted. "You should be thinking about your future...speaking of which, how's college?"

"College?" Coco asked confused. "No way Josh got into college."

"We're not going to talk about me, okay? How about your future, then huh? And how do you even know these people?" he demanded as he ignored the other girl.

"Oh, and who made you king?" Maya set down her can.

"Stop ignoring my questions!" Josh exclaimed.

"Then stop ignoring mine!" she countered.

He started pacing, much to Coco's amusement.

"You know I have to take you home, right?"

"You are not in charge of me...no one is." Maya seethed. "You don't get to tell me what to do."

"I'm older than you!"

"Oh, real mature," she mocked. "What are we, in preschool?"

Jazz noticed the commotion, and ran over, irritation written all over her face.

"If you two want to attract attention, please, continue your loud argument," she warned, looking between the two, and then added, "We're not that far from the police station!"

"Oh, hey Jazz." Josh's composure changed as he addressed her.

"Yah, hey. Can you be quiet now?" she asked.

"Sorry, I'm just trying to tell Maya that she can't be here." He glared down at the girl.

"Hart?" Jazz glanced at her. "Nah, she's cool...she wrote that."

Josh stared at the "Hope is for suckers" in glistening red paint.

"Wonderful," he muttered. "Look, don't you think she's a little young to be hanging out with you guys?"

"I don't know...I always take care of my cousins." Jazz slung an arm around Maya's slim shoulders, the first contact she had seen her give anyone.

The boy raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You two are related?"

"Oh, yah. We go way back," Maya nodded, forcing a small smile.

"Okay, well I'm ending it now." Josh grabbed her wrist, and she attempted to wrench it free.

"What's your deal, huh? Why do you care so much?" Coco spoke up, curiosity in her voice.

"She's my niece's best friend...she's kind of like a second one to me. I feel responsible, and if I don't take her home, my family and hers will have my head too," he admitted.

"That's sweet..." Jazz narrowed her eyes. "But, she's right. You aren't in charge of her."

Maya looked at her gratefully before turning back to Josh. "And if you take me home, I'll just keep coming back. No one is in charge of me, can walk over me, or insult me or my friends, got it?"

He raised his hands defensively. "I'm not insulting you, Maya."

She walked up to him and looked him dead in the eye.

"I just want to make sure you understand. Clear?"

Coco and Jazz smirked.

"I think he does." The girls flanked the blonde. "Right, Josh?"

Josh looked from girl to girl, different emotions displayed on his face.

"Fine. Do whatever you want with your life. But, don't say I didn't warn you." He walked away then, hands in his pockets, head bent against the wind.

Coco faced Maya, and punched her lightly in the arm.

"Hey, I think you just made the cut. You're made of tough stuff, Hart."

"Agreed." Jazz grinned. "I guess we'll be seeing you around more often, yah?"

Maya nodded, and picking up the spray paint again, turned back to the wall. She had a job to finish; this school hadn't seen the last of Maya Hart.