Val Meets Yearbook

I don't own Girl Meets World!

Val and Annie were sitting on the bench in the hallway of John Quincy Adams Middle School when Farkle and Riley came down the hall, lugging a large box between them.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the hallway..." Farkle announced.

"It's yearbook time!" Riley cheered.

"Oh joy." Annie muttered darkly "Another year, another crappy photo."

"Maybe this year will be different." Val tried to assure her friend.

"Nope, it won't be."

"Well, not with that kind of attitude." Val teased.

Riley started handing out books "Hi, page 42." She smiled at a girl.

Farkle passed a boy his yearbook "Hi, pages 27, 34, and 58. You're doing too much. You should calm down."

"Yearbooks!" Riley exclaimed "Find out who we are and what we really think about each other."

Maya, who was sitting on top of the bench next to Val, turned to Lucas "You wanna know what I think about you?"

"No, I do not." Lucas shook his head.

"But I wanna tell you." Maya whined.

"I don't think you need to."

"I'm gonna do it anyway."

"Don't do it." Lucas pleaded.

"It's been a while." Maya sighed.

"I'm asking you not to do it." Lucas begged.

Maya shook her finger in his face "I'm gonna do it. You wanna run, or you want it straight in the face?"

"Well, I wanna run, but how would that look?" Lucas asked.

Maya started to hum her scales "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-hurr."

"You guys wouldn't judge me if I run, right?"

"Never." Val giggled.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-hurr."

"Come on, man. There's always another option."

"Ha-HURRRRRRR!" Maya screamed in the Texan's face.

Val stifled a chuckle as the force of Maya's shout blew Lucas's hair wildly.

"You okay now?" Lucas asked when the blonde finally stopped screaming.

"Hmm. That was good." Maya smirked.

"Not bad." Annie commented "But I'd do it more like-"

"Val!" Lucas interrupted pleadingly "Help!"

"Okay, okay, I think that's enough torment for now." Val said, still laughing.

"Fine." Annie fake pouted "But I'll get you one day."

"You know what else is good?" Riley interrupted "Yearbooks. All of our classmates say what they think of us."

"Yearbook, find out how we'll be remembered." Farkle grinned and handed Lucas a book "Guess what. You took another great picture, ya freak."

"Thanks, Farkle." Lucas laughed "How will you be remembered?"

"Did they do it to you again?" Maya asked.

"Most likely to be Farkle..." Lucas read aloud "Farkle."

"I didn't think I'd win it again this year, but I did." Farkle shook his head.

"What does that mean exactly, Farkle?" Riley asked.

"How should I know? They turned being me into a category."

"Hey," Lucas laughed "Riley won most likely to smile herself to death."

"Aw." Riley smiled "Well, who wouldn't wanna go that way? I mean, when the time comes, why you gotta be a gloomy Gus?"

Maya scoffed softly "Um, Riles, I don't think they meant this as a good thing."

"They're making fun of me, and they're making fun of you too." Farkle sighed.

"What?" Riley asked, still smiling.

"Would you stop smiling?" Maya groaned.

"I'm not smiling, Maya." Riley corrected "This is my upset face. This is smiling." She stretched her lips in a strange wide smile.

"Okay." Annie's eyes widened.

"You know what? I don't care what they say." Farkle said.

"Neither do I." Riley agreed.

"I don't care what they say at all."

"Neither do I at all." Riley growled like a caged animal "How did this stuff even get in here? We're the editors."

"Wow, we must have very poor quality control." Farkle sighed, looking at a yearbook.

"What'd you get, huckleberry?" Maya asked.

"I got most likely to be okay with anything that ever happens."

"How do you feel about that?" Maya teased.

"Well, actually, I'm okay with that. Oh." Lucas realized.

"What about you, Val?" Maya asked.

"It doesn't matter." Val shut the book "I don't care what I got."

"I'm not all sunshine and rainbows." Riley interrupted "I have a dark side."

"Let me see your dark-side face." Maya commanded.

Riley made a face that could have been that of a sad puppy.

"Aw." Everyone cooed.

Riley smiled proudly.

"Look, guys, we're not gonna make a huge deal out of this, are we?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, who cares?" Farkle shrugged.

"It's only what everybody thinks of us." Riley pointed out.

"No it's not, we don't think of you like that." Val insisted.

"What's more important to you?" Lucas asked "What you think of yourself or what other people think of you?"

"What I think of myself." Riley mumbled.

"Yeah." Farkle agreed.

Riley plowed on "And what I think of myself is that it really bothers me what other people think of me."

"Yeah."

"Well, forget about it." Lucas ordered "It's not like you can just turn around and be someone new."

"Yeah." Farkle spun around, ripping off his turtleneck to reveal a black tee-shirt on underneath and put on a black beanie.

Everyone's mouths hit the ground.

"Hubba Hubba!" Annie whispered.

"Annie!" Val scolded then turned to the genius "What did you just do?"

"This is me now." Farkle shrugged.

"Farkle?" Riley asked, worry creasing her brow.

"Nope, Farkle is gone. You will never see him again." Farkle walked into the classroom without another word.

"Um...What the heck just happened?" Val asked, eyes wide as dinner plates.

They were sitting in their seats in Cory's classroom, except for Farkle who was leaning on the teacher's desk, when Cory walked in. Farkle gave him a little head jerk in acknowledgement.

"Okay, what have we got here?" Cory asked.

"I haven't got a clue what's happening." Val sighed.

"I'm Donnie Barnes." Farkle introduced himself.

"Really, Farkle, of all the names int he world you could pick for another personality, you pick Donnie Barnes?" Maya questioned.

"You don't get it, do you?" Farkle shook his head "I'm Donnie Barnes, regular guy."

"I'd see that movie." Cory shrugged.

"Not helpful, Dad." Val groaned.

"Donnie Barnes is the real me." Farkle said "Farkle Minkus is my goofy other personality."

"No, you're Farkle." Lucas said, standing up "Look, I'll prove it to you."

He flipped the nameplate that read "Mr. Matthews" so it read "Farkle."

"See?"

Farkle flipped the nameplate again so it read "Donnie Barnes: Regular Guy."

"How did you possibly do that?"

Farkle shrugged "I don't wanna be most likely to be Farkle. Face it, cowboy. There's a new pretty boy in town."

"You can say that again." Annie whispered.

Farkle prepared to do his signature bow "Thank you, I am..." He stopped himself "Donnie Barnes."

"Are you gonna do something?" Lucas asked, turning to their teacher "Because this is where you do something, right? Are you gonna do something? Is there a lesson? You got a lesson? Is there a lesson?"

"Iceland." Cory said.

"Iceland!" Lucas cried "You all fixed? No? I don't think he's all fixed. If that was Riley or Val, you know you'd fix them."

"Sit down, Lucas."

"Oh, you know I'm right."

"Iceland and Greenland." Cory said, starting class "What do you think about them, Mr. Barnes?"

"When I look like this, I don't have to think, right, Lucas?" Farkle laughed.

"Dude, I won the scholar athlete award." Lucas reminded him.

"Ooh, nerd alert!"

"Iceland and Greenland, anybody?" Cory tried to bring the attention back to the lesson.

"Iceland is a land of ice." Riley offered.

"Wrong."

"Then Greenland is a land of green." Maya smiled.

"Wrong."

"Then who cares? Stupid countries don't even know who they are." Maya grumbled "Stupid countries."

"The vikings discovered this beautiful green country." Cory said.

"I come from Vikings." Farkle joked.

"You do?" Lucas asked.

"You don't know me." Farkle defended.

"Well, I know you and you don't come from vikings." Val told him.

"So, the vikings, they didn't want anyone else taking their new country, so they decided to name it Iceland. Everyone figures it must be cold. Nobody wants to go there."

"So they made everybody think of it in that way even though it wasn't true?" Riley asked.

"That's right." Cory pointed at her "Then another Viking comes along, Erik the Red, and he discovers a land of snow and ice. And he wants everyone to go there instead, so he names that Greenland, and everyone goes there. The jerks!"

"So you're saying the perception of a thing doesn't make it so?" Lucas asked, looking pointedly at Farkle.

"I'm saying people are always gonna say stuff. How you react to what they say is what makes you the person you are."

"So don't react?" Riley asked.

"That's right."

"Just keep on smiling."

Cory spread his arms "Would you, please? Lesson over."

"And nothing anybody else says is ever gonna make me feel any different." Riley grinned.

"Hey, Val, Lucas, congratulations on winning favorite couple." A girl near the back said.

Val's eyes widened "Um, what?"

"You and Lucas, you won favorite couple."

"But we're not a couple."

"Well, you should be." The girl shrugged.

"I feel different." Riley whispered.

"How is that possible?" Lucas asked.

"How are we a couple?" Val asked.

"I don't know, but everybody sees you as one."

"But we're so much alike." Riley protested.

"And they're so different." Darby sighed.

"But we're like a summer rain." Riley cried.

"And they're like fire." Sarah grinned.

Riley turned around "Daddy, remember when you told me not to react?"

"Yes."

"I'm gonna react." Riley got up and dragged Val into the hallway "How could you do this to me?"

"Do what?" Val asked.

"You stole Lucas!"

"Riley, Lucas and I are not a couple." Val sighed "I just said this."

"But you won favorite couple, that should have been Lucas and me." Riley shouted.

"Riley! You and Lucas aren't a couple either." Val pointed out "If you would just calm down for a minute I can explain-"

Riley shoved Val backwards so she hit the lockers. She was fine but really mad.

"Riley Matthews!" Cory said, he and the rest of the class had followed them out into the hall "Principal's office, now."

"No." Val said "We need to finish this."

"Okay." Cory stepped back, scared of how much his daughter looked like her mother.

"Riley, what is really the matter?" Val asked calmly.

"It's-!"

"Don't say this is my fault because you and I both know it's not. Now what are you so angry about?"

"It is your fault!" Riley shrieked "You took everything from me when we were kids, Mom and Dad's attention, friends, everything! If you hadn't been so 'sick,' which I don't believe you really were, everything would have been fine! I wish you weren't my sister! I wish you were never born!"

"Riley, what makes you think I wasn't really sick?" Val asked, stunned.

"You loved the attention, don't pretend like you didn't. If you couldn't have the attention you didn't want anyone else to get any, that's why you made up the story about pneumonia and all those hospital visits."

"Riley, I was three!"

"I don't care!"

"Well, then you get your wish. We aren't sisters anymore."

"Good!"

Val turned to her father "I'm taking a sick day, Dad, call me out, please."

"Okay, honey."

Val stalked off to the office where she signed out and walked home.

"Val, honey, your father called me and told me what happened are you okay?" Topanga asked as soon as her eldest daughter walked in the door.

"No." Val broke down "I'm not."

"Oh, sweetheart." Topanga hugged her daughter tightly "What can I do to help?"

"I don't want to be around Riley for a while." Val sniffed "Can we call Grandma and Grandpa and see if I can stay with them for now?"

"Of course." Topanga reached for the phone "I'll call now. Why don't you go pack your things?"

"Thanks, Mom." Val wiped her eyes and headed upstairs.

Meanwhile

"How could you say those things?" Lucas was shouting "Val and I aren't a couple, I told you."

"Hey, back off, Texas!" Maya said, wrapping her arm around Riley.

"I'm sorry." Riley muttered.

"Are you?" Lucas asked "'Cause you don't seem very sorry."

"Yeah, Riley, what you said wasn't okay." Farkle joined in.

"What do you care?" Riley snapped "You're supposed to be Donnie Barnes, regular guy. Regular people don't get involved in things like this."

"Well, if that's who you think I really am, then you aren't who I thought you were." Farkle glared and marched off, leaving Lucas to yell at the girls.

Farkle pulled out his phone and hit Val's contact to call her. As he pushed the button, he heard Annie's voice join Lucas' in berating Riley.

"Hello?" Val answered on the second ring.

"Val, are you okay?" Farkle asked "What are you doing?"

"I'm packing, Farkle."

"Packing? Why?"

"I-I decided to go to my grandparents' house for a few weeks." Val told him "I can't be around Riley right now. I think it's for the best."

Farkle sighed sadly "Have you told Lucas?"

"Not yet." He could almost hear Val shaking her head "I will though. You-you know about us, don't you?"

"Yeah, I figured out Lucas liked you last year and I always had my suspicions about you." Farkle confirmed "Val?"

"Yes?"

"Will you be okay?"

There was a long pause before Val sighed deeply "I honestly don't know, Farkle. I'm really hurt. And I already told you guys I suffer from depression. I'm afraid this won't help that."

"Promise me something, Val?"

"Of course."

"Call me if you ever need to. I don't care what time it is. Call me. I don't want you to have to deal with this alone." Farkle said.

"I promise." Val sounded slightly choked up "I love you, Farkle, you're my best friend."

"Love you too, now feel better and don't worry about Riley, Lucas and Annie are taking care of her. I think Eric will join in when he learns about all this too." Farkle smiled.

"Thanks, Farkle. Just make sure they don't hurt her too badly, I don't want them to get in trouble." Val said.

"Talk to you later?"

"I'll call you when I get there." Val confirmed.

"Bye, Val."

"Bye, Farkle."

They each hung up and Farkle went back to where Lucas and Annie were shouting at Riley.

"You are insufferable!" Annie screamed "You don't understand anything, you're such a child!"

"What don't I understand?" Riley asked.

"You don't see how much this hurts your sister, your twin. She straight out told you she has depression then you go and tell her you wish she was never born? What is wrong with you? Are you so immature that you don't realize your actions have consequences?"

"Val will be fine, she always is." Maya said trying to calm down the angry girl.

"No!" Annie shouted "Do you know how many times I've had to comfort her after one or both of you do something like this? For God's sake, you trashed her room! Riley hit her! There have been countless other times when she's come to me and I've helped her pick up the broken pieces."

"She-"

"She is my best friend." Annie glared "And if you say one word against her, I will personally beat you into the ground. Do you understand me?"

Maya nodded slowly.

"You can't always fix things when they're broken." Annie sighed "I'm afraid this time, I won't be able to help her."

"What do you mean?" Riley asked, seeming scared.

"I mean she doesn't feel safe around you, and who can blame her? She's probably heartbroken and hurt."

"She is hurt." Farkle interjected "She's leaving for a while."

Lucas turned to him "What?"

"She's going to stay with her grandparents for a while."

"She-she is?" Riley asked, sadness flickering across her face.

"Yeah."

"What if I apologize?" Riley asked.

"I don't think a 'sorry' is gonna fix this, Matthews." Annie scoffed "I need to call Eric, he's gonna want to get in on this."

Riley's phone dinged and she looked down at it. She'd gotten a text from Val.

'Riley, I'm sorry you hate me. I'm sorry I ruined your life by being born, believe me when I say it wasn't my choice. I won't be here when you get home. I'm going to stay with Grandma and Grandpa, so you won't have to live with me anymore, at least for a while. I hope you're happy now. -Val.'

Riley quickly tried to text back but the next text she received said the the Val had blocked her.

"Oh, no." She whispered "What did I do?"

Word count: 2794 words
So quick question, how do you all want the next chapters to go. I can do a few things.
1. Tell Val's story at her grandparents.
2. Tell Riley and the gang's story while they're still at school.
3. Skip to when Val comes back.
What do you want? Comment on the one you want. The one with the most comments for will be the one I do. Please don't forget to comment, vote, and add to your reading lists! Also stay home, stay healthy, and wash your hands!
Love,
The Author