You're Worth It

About ten years after the end of Girl Meets World. After August (Auggie) leaves for college

The car was quiet after Topanga and Cory left Boston. Topanga had expected her Cory, who had always hated change, to start moaning the moment they'd left August's dorm. Just as he'd done when Riley had left for college at NYU.

Of course, Topanga's heart felt a bit empty without both of her children, but she focused her mind on August's smile as he met his new roommate, a tall friendly boy who had immediately put August in a headlock. She remembered her son's excitement about the school's state-of-the-art science labs, and the many activities available to a college student in Boston.

August was happy. That was what was important.

"Do you think you made a mistake now, Topanga?" Cory's said, his voice suddenly interrupting her thoughts. She should have known better than to think he could remain quiet.

She turned to him as they drove through another suburb. "I think August has made a good choice for college, Cory. What happens next is up to him, not me or you."

He pulled over to look directly into her eyes. "I hope so, but that's not what I meant. I mean…Auggie and Ava believe they can make their relationship work even though she's at Bowdoin in Maine and he's at Boston College. Maybe we could've done it if you went to Yale, too."

Cory said that last sentence staring at his lap.

Topanga sighed, wishing she didn't have to keep saying this over and over throughout their relationship. "I didn't make a mistake, Cory. You were worth it then, and you're still worth it."

"But if you could have had both me and Yale…" Cory still wouldn't look up.

She grabbed his face and gave him a hard kiss. "Even without Yale, I still did well enough to get the internship and then a job at Brown & Elliot. I even got offered that promotion several years ago, and without the kids at home, I might finally be able to get a partnership in New York City."

Cory nodded but his face still looked uncertain.

"When we were eighteen, I was faced with not seeing or talking to you on a regular basis, or going to Pembrooke, which was a fine school. August has the option to speak to Ava regularly by email, texting, or even speaking out loud on his cell phone. He can see her if they have a regular skype date. It's not the same thing."

"I know, but – "

Topanga shut him up with another kiss. "But nothing." She often found Cory's insecurities endearing, but now they were getting on her nerves.

"August and Ava may have been dating almost as long as we had, but their relationship hasn't really been tested like ours was when we were teenagers," Topanga said softly, still holding his face. "How many times did we break up? Two or three times by the time we graduated high school."

Her mind drifted back to each break-up, from when they were six, and Cory had screamed that "girls were dumb" and "they couldn't be friends anymore" to when they were fourteen, and their relationship wasn't new and exciting, to when they were seniors, and Cory had allowed another girl to kiss him.

Every time they came to the same conclusion: That Cory and Topanga were always better together than apart.

Cory's breath tingled against her face, bringing Topanga back to the present. "Those tests always brought us closer together, to the point where we knew what and who we wanted when we graduated." His face felt warm and natural in her hands.

A wide grin exploded from Cory's face. "I know what you mean." Topanga's body warmed from the inside that he'd finally let go of those silly insecurities. Especially when he gave her a loving kiss. And another.

Eventually, Topanga backed away a few inches to finish explaining.

"I think August and Ava need to be tested to see if their relationship is truly meant to be, and going to separate colleges is the right test for them," Topanga said, her smile turning sly. She'd highly encouraged Ava to attend Bowdoin College even though she knew it was in Maine, and August would be in Boston. The girl still got on her nerves, and there was a part of Topanga who hoped August would finally choose someone else after a few months in separate colleges.

But regardless, she knew her son's relationship had to mature if it were going to succeed.

Returning his hands to the steering wheel, Cory sighed. "I suppose you're right."

Topanga grinned. That phrase never got old. "You know I'm always right. And that's another reason why you're always worth it, Cory."

They entered another suburb. "I just wish Auggie had chosen to stay in New York City, like Riley." He sighed.

Here came the moaning about things changing too much, Topanga thought to herself. "But Auggie is happy with Boston College," she said firmly. She ignored the ache in her own heart.