Author's Note: Please don't forget to REVIEW, and thanks to those who have already followed, favorited, and reviewed for this story! (Edited by Chereche!)

Today is the one month anniversary of the first chapter! So, to "celebrate", you guys get an extra chapter! ;)

I want to thank everyone who reviewed, especially last chapter, because it was so amazing to have people take the time to respond...and as for the people who graciously suggested things, I hope you like this one, because it's probably not going to be what you expected. I really liked some of your ideas, but I already have a set plan in mind, though this doesn't mean I'll never use one of them at some point!

And for later on, the paintings described in here are actual paintings, in case any of you were curious... :)

UPDATED: 12/12/16

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

Chapter Nine: Tricks Are Better Than Treats

"I'm sorry, I have plans Riles."

"Like what?" Her pout was evident, even through the phone. "We always go trick or treating on Halloween!"

"You don't think we're a little too old to do that, anyway?"

"Of course not! What's Halloween without going to people's doorsteps, and asking for candy?" Riley gasped.

"That doesn't sound creepy to you at all?" Maya asked.

"Okay, maybe a little," she admitted. "But, it's still tradition! What are you doing that is so important that you're giving up our annual trick or treating?"

"Fine, so you know how there's that soup kitchen down by the park, where they help the homeless?"

"Yah?" Riley responded, excitedly.

"It's got nothing to do with that. See you later, honey." Maya hung up the phone, just after hearing her friend's protest.

Smirking, she dropped the phone, and walked out to the kitchen. Her mother was running around frantically, grabbing random items, and muttering absentmindedly to herself. After watching her with some amusement, Maya spoke up.

"Are you looking for something, mom?"

"What?" She lifted her head, and paused. "Oh, no that's not it. I'm trying to get ready, because Shawn invited me on this last minute date, and I was not prepared at all...hey, there's my shoe!"

"Um, on Halloween?" her daughter inquired.

"Yah, he's in town right now, and it's one of the few times he's available, so I'm taking whatever I can get!"

"What time are you leaving?" Maya said, sitting down on a stool by the table.

"Around 5:30? I think that's what he said," she answered, rummaging through her purse.

"You do realize it's 5:25 right now?"

Ms. Hart looked up with a panicked expression on her face. Moving faster, if that was even possible, she snagged her purse, coat, and double checked that she had both shoes on.

"Okay," she sighed, breathing heavily. "How do I look?"

"Where you going, mom?" Maya inquired before she pursed her lips.

"Some nice restaurant, which is so sweet and—I'm wearing sweatpants." Her mother exclaimed in disbelief and concern.

"Hey, we've done this before, we can do it again. Let's go!" Maya grabbed her mother's hand, and dragged her to her room.

"Should I go with the blue or the brown dress?" she asked, still being led by her daughter.

"Go with the blue, it really deepens and brings out your eyes. And then you can wear those sparkly, green earrings you haven't worn in years."

Ms. Hart found the dress, and quickly donned it, while Maya found the jewelry.

"You know what? Put the silver necklace on too, with the belt because then it will really match. And there you go; a casual yet sophisticated look."

"You are a live saver, baby girl." Her mother praised as she put on the earrings. "It's fun to see you like this, too."

"Like what?" she asked in confusion, handing her mother the belt.

"You don't care a lot about fashion, but that seems to change when you help others." Ms. Hart chuckled a little. "I mean, you designed those gorgeous wings for Riley's costume, and you know how to put together the perfect outfit in less than a minute!"

"I'm an artist; this is kind of another outlet," she smiled.

Maya's grin faded as her own words hit her. She was wrong; she wasn't an artist anymore, and she needed to remember that. What she was doing was merely helping someone out, and planning outfits wasn't exactly rocket science anyway.

Finishing the accessorizing, Ms. Hart let Maya examine her, and the girl nodded in approval. A knock came from the door, just as the two Hart women were walking back into the dining room area.

"An artist with perfect timing," Maya's mother winked at her, opening the door.

"Hey, Katy!" Shawn walked inside, and looked her over. "Wow, you look amazing."

"Thanks, it was all Maya's doing." She grinned at her daughter, who forced a smile.

"Yah? You have good taste, kiddo," he complimented. "It's nice to see you both; it's been a while hasn't it?"

"Too long," Ms. Hart agreed.

"You guys should probably get going." Maya reminded, glancing at the clock.

"She's right." Shawn started to leave. "Our reservation's at 6:15, so if we want to make it on time we have to leave soon."

"Wait, I thought you said this was a last minute thing? How could you have made—?"

"I have my ways. Oh, the perks of being a photographer!" he teased.

"Uh-huh. Like free camera usage," Maya snorted.

"Hey, I value whatever I get!" he defended, sounding a lot like her mother.

"Wait," Ms. Hart place a hand on her date's shoulder. "I don't want to leave Maya home alone. When is Riley coming to pick you up for trick or treating? I want you home no later than 11."

"Uh, actually I'm spending the night, so don't worry about that." She already had her excuse ready. "And she's coming in about a half-hour, so it won't be long."

"Okay, but text me as soon as you're leaving." Her mother hugged her. "See you tomorrow, baby girl."

"Love you." Maya hated lying, but she had gotten used to it after years of practice, so it—almost—didn't faze her anymore.

"See ya, kiddo." Shawn waved, and closed the door gently behind them.

Maya breathed a sigh of relief, though her night was far from over. In fact, it was just starting.

"No way this is that simple." She shook her head.

"But, I just did it."

Maya shivered in the night air, and glanced nervously at the silent street. They were starting small, so naturally it was a tiny museum, and it also happened to be in the middle of nowhere. There wasn't a big chance that they would get caught—tonight at least—but, the small nagging doubts were creeping into her head, and she knew she would be stuck with them all night. It could be worse of course; last time her conscience had spoken to her she had sworn that it came in the form of a Tater Tot.

It didn't help that it was Halloween. Maya wasn't superstitious, and obviously didn't scare easily, but she had never really liked this holiday. It was almost funny, because every time her friends invited her to a horror movie, she really just buried her fears in a giant bowl of popcorn. Not that she would ever let anyone know that fact. Boy, were her secrets adding up.

"Great, you unlocked the door," she said sarcastically. "But, what about cameras? Or guards and motion sensors?"

"Have a little faith, Hart," Coco smirked, and led the group in silently. "Don't you think we've taken care of all that? Besides, since when do you worry about stuff like this?"

"Since this might end up being the dumbest mistake I've ever made," Maya whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

"Look, I came in here earlier this week, and took notes. Mental ones of course," Ace explained. "I hacked into their security system so I could shut down the sensors and cameras. As to the guards, I know their schedules, and because it's a small town, there's only one guy on duty per night."

"And you're assuming he's not going to hear us?" Josh spoke up suddenly, voicing his own concern.

"Okay, you guys seriously didn't talk this over before you came here?" Maya exclaimed in disbelief.

"Hart, a word please," Jazz said quietly; but it almost seemed like she was shouting.

Crossing over to the tall girl, who had her hands placed on her hips, she ran a hand through her hair and tried not to look anxious.

"Look, I'm just saying this so you realize how stupid it is," Maya snapped defiantly. "I don't have any problems with this—"

Her cousin bent down and yanked the smaller girl's head towards hers.

"Listen to me right now. You will not question my leadership, or what I'm doing. This is my group, and I run the show around here, you understand? You're here because I let you, not because you have any talent or importance to add, and I can just as easily kick you out."

Maya had to contain herself from lashing out at the tall girl, so she didn't answer, hoping silence was the best option right now. This was more like the Jazz she knew. The older girl smirked, knowing she had defeated her cousin, and let go. They parted ways, the leader sauntering back into her group, and the current victim staying planted, though she still held her head high.

Josh watched through narrowed, suspicious eyes as the two girls had their silent exchange. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he knew the two personalities well, and he had a pretty good idea of what the conversation was about. Maya may not have wanted him to watch out for her, but he was going to do just that, though from a distance. Jazz was going to have to be careful with his honorary niece, or he would have to take some responsibility.

"Everybody ready?" The leader grinned.

The group smiled sickeningly, and made silent cheers of excitement. Oh, they were ready; in fact, they had thought this day would never come. Even Maya smirked, still upset. But she was so tired of playing it safe. It was time to be stupid. She'd already played the role of the responsible one, and she hadn't really liked it that much...apparently neither had Jazz. All that didn't really matter anyway, because at the end of the day, it was just Maya, a painting, and some destruction literally in her hands.

They trudged down the road, some clutching bags, others holding onto hats as the wind blew strongly. Approaching the end of the neighborhood, the friends decided to call it quits, and start the long walk home. Zay kept glancing at his friends, wondering who was going to be the first one to talk, because he was determined not to after they complained about his big mouth. It lasted a whole whopping 32 seconds.

"Apparently you 3 aren't going to say anything, but I'm tired of this whole quiet thing. So, I'm just going to say whatever I want now. Hey, are any of you willing to trade your peanut butter cups for licorice? I hate that stuff...oh, and any grape flavored candy I need right now! I think it's my weakness, I mean man, sugar is addicting!"

Farkle glared at his chatty friend, while the other two watched the ground go by slowly next to their feet. The moon shined high from above, and a certain Farkle below slowly began to lose his patience.

"...and if you ever feed coconut to a ferret, remember I warned you not to!" Zay exclaimed.

"Will you shut up already?" the genius snapped, breaking.

"Farkle!" Riley reprimanded, pulling her head up to look at him.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"What's gotten into you?" she asked, sounding a whole lot like each of their mothers.

"I don't know...I guess it feels really tense, and I don't like it." He shrugged apologetically.

"It's just not the same without her here, is it?" Lucas admitted.

"No. It isn't," Riley sighed.

"Why did she say she wasn't coming?" He asked.

"She said she had plans," she responded flatly.

"Do you think skittles would taste good with chocolate?" Zay wondered aloud.

The rest of the group turned to look at him, each with different emotions crossing their faces.

"Are you even paying attention?" Farkle questioned, exasperated.

"Uh." He racked his brain for an excuse, but came up empty. "Not really."

"I'm going to text her," Riley decided, searching for her phone in the mess of her pockets.

"Don't bother. If she didn't tell you what she was doing, she not going to answer." Lucas warned. "You know that's how Maya works."

"I know...I'm just worried about her. She's acting really weird."

Farkle nodded. "Well, we know it probably has a lot to do with her insecurity thing."

"Which we do need to discuss, because it's going to get worse, and we haven't addressed it with her in a long time," Lucas stated.

"You all are cowards." Zay said, finally 'contributing' to the conversation.

"Oh, yah? I don't see you talking to her either," Farkle scowled.

"Yah, that girl freaks me out, man." He shivered.

"Moving on." Riley glanced at the two boys. "How are we supposed to help her? She won't even let me talk about it."

"Well, we should probably do some research, right?" Farkle said, sounding like himself again. "I've already started, and it's not a bad idea for you guys to do it too."

"Yah, but you're better at that stuff," Zay reminded him.

"It doesn't matter. We're doing this for Maya, remember?"

Riley looked at the time on her wrist.

"It's getting kind of late, but I still want to make sure she's okay. Do you think we can stop by her apartment?"

"You know it's like 10:30, right?" Lucas said. "You never stay up past 11, and that was only one time."

"But it's Maya. That's reason enough."

"Okay, but how do you know she's home yet? She didn't tell you where she was going or when she would be back," Farkle pointed out.

"I'm still going." Riley said stubbornly.

"Hey, Little Miss Sunshine grew a backbone!" Zay grinned widely.

She smiled. "I think Maya is finally rubbing off on me."

"You're in my group." Jazz nudged her on the shoulder, walking past briskly.

"There's no other person—"

"I thought I said no questions, Hart. Let's go." She headed down the hall to the right.

"You know what, whatever." Maya seethed. "But, I'm only staying quiet because I want to. No one walks over me, not even you."

Her cousin laughed softly. "Oh, you and I are so alike."

"I'm nothing like you," Maya scoffed. "We already talked about this."

"No, what we discussed was that you are like me...well, almost. You have a little more experience you need to gain before you get there. Not that you could fully be me, anyway. I've grown up with a lot more bitterness than you have."

"Are you kidding?" Maya raised her voice a little. "Do you even know anything about me?"

"Oh, plenty."

The way she said it made it seem like it wasn't a big deal, and Maya didn't really catch the words; she was too busy planning her next move, but it wouldn't be until later that the phrasing caught her attention.

"Look, I know you want to talk to me, so can you just say what you need to say, and move on?" Maya asked impatiently.

"Okay, fine. We'll play it that way," Jazz said, sounding irritated. "I just want to make sure you are going to go through with this, and not rat us out or bail."

"I already told you I would. I'm going to do this," Maya confirmed angrily.

"Good, then. You can prove it soon, but first I guess we can chat a little. You're family, and family is supposed to look out for one another, and I know I may not seem like it but I'm looking out for you too. If you ever want advice or need to spill about the crap in your life, give me a call, okay?"

Maya cocked her head, and narrowed her eyes at her cousin. How did people switch from danger to helpful in less than a second? No way was this legitimate.

"And what would I ever need your help for?" she challenged.

"I don't know...boys, creating problems, clothes," the taller girl said, shrugging.

"What's wrong with my clothes?" she asked defensively.

"I didn't say anything was wrong with your clothes. But, I would recommend changing some things, if you're brave enough to do it."

"Brave enough?" Maya raised an eyebrow. "That was like the stupidest dare ever."

"Yah, but did it get you riled up?" She pointed out, smirking.

The blue haired girl crossed her arms and sighed, deciding not to answer.

"Okay, great," Jazz smiled, knowing she was right. "What do you think about skirts?"

"Not into them; too girly."

"Nah, you just have to find the right one..."

Maya was intrigued, but repulsed at the same time. What game was her cousin playing? She wasn't quite sure she really wanted to know, but she knew in time her nature would win, so why deny what was inevitable? And after all, they had a long night ahead of them.

"She's still not answering." Riley frowned at her phone.

"Big surprise there," Lucas said sarcastically. "You've checked it like every 10 seconds, and nothing's different."

She pouted. "But, I texted "ring power"! She has to listen to that!"

"You two are ridiculous." Zay shook his head. "How did you even let her go in the first place?"

"She's a lot stronger than me, you know!" the brunette said defensively.

They reached the base of the fire escape, shivering as a blast of cold wind blew over them. The moon was full, and shining brightly, but the moonlight couldn't reach them on this street. It looked like it would rain though, and the friends all regretted not bringing warmer clothes.

"Should we knock on her door, or—" Farkle looked up at Maya's window.

"I'm not sure." Lucas squinted. "I don't see any lights on; she's probably asleep."

"Right...Riley's awake and Maya's asleep; let's think on that one a little more, okay?" Zay snorted.

"We're still going to check, right?" she whispered.

"Yah, but I kind of want to get out of here as fast as we can," Farkle admitted. "It doesn't feel safe."

Everyone murmured in silent agreement. They loved Maya to death, but she came from the wrong side of town, and it didn't make them feel comfortable. Not that they would ever say anything about it to her.

"I'll go," Riley decided, starting to climb the ladder.

"No, I'll do it. It'll be faster and safer anyway." Lucas stopped her from going any further.

"Please be careful!" she pleaded.

"It's just a fire escape, Riley." Lucas reassured her, rolling his eyes good naturedly.

He climbed the ladder swiftly, recoiling from the cold metal that touched his hands. Lucas already knew that Maya wasn't there; the only reason he was going was to console Riley. As much as that girl saw through Maya, she still didn't pick up on the small things that seemed to scream what her friend was really feeling.

Did he? It seemed like it; and maybe it was only because they shared a lot of similar traits. Or ones he used to possess at least. But, Lucas supposed the reason they had called off the triangle was because he was equally like both of the girls and couldn't choose. Now, he wasn't so sure it had been the best decision; something seemed off, even though they were all acting like friends again.

Lucas reached Maya's window and peered inside, squinting to see past the dirty glass. He had been to her house once or twice before, but she obviously didn't feel comfortable with it, so it didn't happen very often. The last time he had been there was almost a year ago, but he didn't remember her room looking this gloomy before. All her drawings had been taken off the walls, exposing holes and cracks that littered the surface, and there were matching gaps and chinks on her furniture and floor. There were clothes all over the place—which wasn't abnormal—and a suspicious number of schoolbooks in piles around the room. The only other thing that caught his attention was the long, rectangular shaped mirror hanging by her bed. It was the cleanest thing in there; in fact in looked like it had just been polished this morning.

Knowing it wasn't necessary, but doing it anyway, Lucas opened the squeaky window and hopped inside quietly. Crossing over to Maya's bed, he sighed at the flat blankets which held dozens of pen, marker, and paint stains. She wasn't there and that left him with a weird feeling that he couldn't seem to shake. Maybe it was because no one knew where she was, and even though she left to do her own thing a lot, she never bailed on her friends. And maybe, he admitted, that scared him a little.

"Moment of truth, Hart." Jazz stepped in front of a large painting. "You get the first shot."

She studied the painting, trying to guess what the artist was saying. There was a girl standing on a rock, holding a colorful blanket of some kind over her head, facing sideways; that was the main focus. But, what caught her attention were the cliffs and hills that made up the background. Maya wasn't there, it was a painting of course, but she felt like she was up on that rock with the girl, and getting a beautiful view of the landscape around them. The artist had painted the girl leaning forward, and she looked like she was ready to jump into the canyon at any minute. Maya wanted to join her. To feel that moment of weightlessness, to be surrounded by everything and nothing, to be numb to everything but elation and defiance. Maybe the artist was capturing a memory, a feeling that he had experienced, and was giving it to everyone else. Looking at the painting, Maya felt calm, rebellious, and free all at once...that was what the artist was trying to show.

"Hart, we don't have all night," Jazz snapped.

She couldn't do it. By ruining someone else's painting, she was ruining memories, dreams, and feelings that not only the artist felt, but whomever else saw it. She could ruin the chance of it giving hope and emotion to people.

But, then again, when had hope ever done anything for her? No, she would do this, because she wasn't going to let hope ruin other people's lives too. Maya wasn't going to be selfish, and in order to do that, she had to make tough decisions...but it was all for the better in the long run, right?

Taking the gray spray paint from Jazz's outstretched hand, Maya took a deep breath and began to do the biggest, dumbest thing she had ever done in her life.

A corner of blue stuck out from underneath the bed, and Lucas couldn't help his curiosity. Pulling it out, he studied the bin, seeing if there was anything special about it. There wasn't; it was just a box with random scribbles and words scattered across the surface. Except for one phrase that caught his attention, and his breathing became rapid. Lucas had always been taught never to jump to conclusions, or judge people from the outside, but how could you argue with evidence and logic? He had seen that handwriting, those words, and the cold, hard fact was mind bending. Maya had written "Hope is for suckers" on the lid of the bin, and it was obvious now that she had painted the same phrase on the school wall. The question was why, and how. Why would she have done all of that damage to the school? Vandalism was a huge felony, even for something like spray painting, which came off easily but took a lot of time to accomplish said task. Maya had done some crazy stuff in the past, but this was a whole different level. All he could say was that he was sure glad he had gone up here instead of Riley.

Sliding the bin back under the bed, Lucas crawled out of the open window, and back onto the fire escape. Climbing down slowly this time, he tried to hide his emotions before he reached the ground, because there was no way he was telling anyone what he saw...at least not yet. As soon as his feet touched the sidewalk, Riley flung herself at him, concern filling her gaze.

"Was she there? Was she gone? Do you think someone could've kidnapped her? Oh, no! That has to—"

She was silenced by Lucas's hand over her mouth.

"She was there, Riley. Please, calm down."

"Oh, good!" She sighed in relief. "But, how come there aren't any lights on?"

"Uh, Maya and her mother were watching a movie in the living room." Lucas hated lying.

Zay raised an eyebrow. "I thought she had plans...were those her plans?"

"I don't know; I didn't really ask. But, that could be it, or she already did her thing and came back home...who knows?"

Farkle and Zay glanced at each other, knowing that wasn't the full story. Lucas was obviously hiding something, but at least Riley was oblivious, like usual. They agreed to head home, the boys trudging, and the girl skipping a little. Lucas' brain was filled with hundreds of thoughts, thousands of doubts and concerns and millions of theories, all overlaid with feelings of disappointment. What bothered him was that there was no way of finding out what was really going on with Maya until she opened herself up, which rarely happened. Until then, he was stuck...and even though she didn't realize it; so was she.

"Everybody ready for the last wing?" Jazz grinned, leading the group down the stairs.

Maya's heart thumped in her chest, and her blood ran hot throughout her body. She knew the feeling; it was a dangerous mixture of guilt and adrenaline...a bittersweet combination.

"Okay, spread out and be quiet. We haven't seen the guard yet, but that doesn't mean we won't," Jazz warned, whispering now.

Everyone dispersed, and Maya immediately headed for the back of the room, probably out of habit. Plus, she didn't really want to be surrounded by people at that moment. Glancing down the row of paintings, she almost dropped her spray paint as she spotted one that made her mouth dry. She couldn't destroy this piece, there was no way...but she had an idea of how to preserve it.

Walking briskly back to Jazz, she put on her mask, and proceeded to hide her emotions. She was going to come out of this unscathed, proud, and triumphant.

"Hey, Hart. Done already?" She teased.

"Nah, I just had an idea I thought you might like." Maya crossed her arms, and tried to look agreeable.

"Okay, let's hear it." Jazz said, intrigued.

"You know how you wanted to leave a legacy with this whole thing?" She spread her arms out. "Well, what if we left our mark in each museum too, by making a statement."

"Isn't that what we're doing?" the taller girl snickered.

"No, I mean, what if we left one painting untouched in the museum...it would definitely get talked about, and would represent us."

"So, every time we did this, we'd leave behind one painting?" Jazz narrowed her eyes in thought.

"Yah..." Maya said, shifting her weight uneasily.

Her cousin started nodding in agreement. "Okay, I like it. Do you have one in mind?"

"I do."

"Okay, let's see it."

Maya led Jazz to the back wall, and stopped in front of the chosen painting.

"Why this one, Hart?"

"I don't know. I think it's because I know exactly what the artist feels and how the person in the art felt too," she cocked her head.

The painting was labeled "The Ride", and depicted a cowboy riding on a bull. What she liked about it, was that the bull didn't look mean, though the artist could've easily made it that way. So, instead of a dangerous ride, the painting felt—at least to her—like a demonstration of the friendship between the bull and its rider, and the elation of the whole thing. It reminded her of Lucas...it couldn't be destroyed.

"Well, regardless of the reason, I'm glad you're contributing. You proved me wrong today, Hart... congratulations, that doesn't happen very often," Jazz smirked.

"What did I prove you wrong about?" she asked, still staring at the painting.

"That you were able to destroy paintings, sneak out on Halloween, and break into a museum...that takes guts."

Maya looked at Jazz, and nodded in agreement, but inside all she could think about was that stupid cowboy on the bull.