Val Meets Legacy
I don't own Girl Meets World!
This chapter is going to bounce back and forth between the actual episode and an original storyline! Y'all are getting a Val and Lucas date night (I suck at writing romance but I'm giving it my best shot)! Bonus points if you can guess what they're doing on the date. I'll label each section, just in case.
Annie's Apartment
Spring had sprung. The birds were singing, the clouds were puffy, the cars were honking, and the New Yorkers were as rude as always if not more so due to seasonal allergies. Val was over at Annie's baking brownies and watching musicals. Eric was slumped over the back of the couch, reading his math textbook as he hung upside down.
"I hate high school."
"So you say every time we hang out." Val teased "Get up and help us, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."
"It's almost like someone forgot I existed." (I definitely didn't forget, how dare you?)
"How could I ever forget you?"
Eric grinned "Right, you love me too much to forget me."
"What time's Lucas coming over?" Annie redirected before Val could start throwing eggs at the boy.
Val checked her phone "He should be here any minute, he texted he was on his way half an hour ago." There was a knock on the door "That must be him."
"He still knocks?" Eric laughed "And here I thought we New Yorkers had corrupted him. Seems like we still have work to do."
"Shush you." Val smacked him with a pillow as she moved to open the door "I think it's sweet."
She opened the door and came face to face with a bouquet of daisies, red tulips, and hyacinths. (1)
Lucas held out the flowers sheepishly "For you."
"For me?" Val blushed, she took a deep breath, smelling the sweet flowers "What's the occasion?"
"Well..." Lucas shuffled awkwardly "I...uh..."
Annie handed him a small stack of notecards "Here you go."
Lucas looked profoundly relieved "Thanks."
"Anything for my OTP."
"Val, the flowers are blooming. It's the season of love." Lucas paused to smile as Val bit her lip hard "Go ahead."
"Seasons of love, seasons of love!" (2)
He flipped to the next card "And it's been more than 525,600 minutes(3) since I've started loving you. You're my best friend. And so, in the spirit of Springtime, Val, will..." Next card "You go..." Another card "On a..." He pulled out the last card "Date with me?"
"Why'd you have a card for every word?" Eric asked.
Annie handed Lucas another card and he read off "Emphasis."
"Aw," Val swooned "Of course I'll go on a date with you. Did you really think I'd say no? Why the cards?"
"No." It was Lucas's turn to blush "I asked Annie to help me make the cards because I knew I'd forget what I wanted to say as soon as I laid eyes on you."
"That's adorable." Val kissed his cheek "I'm gonna get a vase for these and then we can plan our date."
"Actually, it's a surprise. Tonight?"
"A surprise?" Val laughed "Well, can I get a hint? What do I wear?"
"I've taken care of all that." Annie grinned "I've got an outfit for you and I'll be doing your hair and makeup."
"I'm here to make sure she keeps it appropriate." Eric glowered.
"So, I'll be picking you up around 8?" (4)Lucas quoted, earning a brilliant smile.
"I'll see you then." Val ducked into the kitchen, redder than a rose.
Annie waited for her to be safely out of earshot before she passed Lucas an envelope "Tickets are in here, a car is going to pick you up after because you guys are not riding the subway alone that late, and your outfit is in Eric's room."
"I have an outfit?"
"Neither of us would speak to you again if you didn't dress up for this." Annie threatened "That's practically sacrilege."
Lucas nodded "Noted. Thank you for your help, seriously. I really appreciate it."
"You'd have done it on your own, I just sped up the process." Annie shrugged "Now shoo! Grab your outfit and go get ready."
Lucas tipped his imaginary cap as he slipped through Eric's door and snagged the clothes hanging on the back before he ducked out of the apartment. He'd been saving up for these tickets for months and Annie had made a call and gotten them "the best seats in the house."
John Quincy Adams Middle School
"Legacy." Cory tapped the blackboard.
"What is a legacy? It's planting seeds in a garden you never get to see." (5) Val sang, her thoughts a million miles away, but never one to miss a chance at a musical reference.
"Hah!"
Their teacher let out a long suffering sigh "Why is Farkle a goose?"
"It's the Einstein Academy goose." Riley smiled like that was all the explanation needed.
"Oh, of course. The Einstein Academy goose." Cory nodded "Why is the Einstein Academy goose on Farkle's desk?"
"Einstein captured Farkle." Maya's explanation didn't clear much up either.
Lucas, thankfully, saw Cory's despair "It was their end of year prank. They took our mascot so we took theirs and now, we're even."
"Farkle's not a mascot."
"What would you call him?" Maya asked.
Cory didn't have a good answer "Where's Zay? They got Zay too?"
"Zay's back in Texas." Lucas shook his head "He's at Vanessa's Spring Formal."
"Oh, that's nice." It took Cory a moment to refocus "What are we gonna do about Farkle?"
"I'm already on it." Val sent off a quick text before shoving her phone back in her bag "Please proceed with your previously scheduled life lesson."
That was good enough for him "All right guys, listen up. It's your last week of school. This is my last chance to teach you something."
Maya whined "Do you have to teach us?"
"I have so much more I want to teach you. So much more. I mean, you guys are gonna be leaving this place. What will you be leaving behind? What is your legacy? I wanna talk about not just what you've gotten from this place, but what you've given."
"He's right!" Maya gasped dramatically "We still haven't thought of our class prank! I was thinking we could let all the air out of the school. Everybody would just be like gah-ugh-bleh. That would be hi-larious!"
Farkle stormed in, slamming open the door "I'll tell you what's hi-larious. Nobody saved me!"
"I object, I texted Smackle and asked her to let you go." Val raised her hand.
"Why was Val the only one who saved me?" Farkle amended.
"Farkle, we looked for you for a whole five minutes, and then we took the goose." Riley shrugged.
"He's the new you." Maya laughed.
"Donnie Barnes, regular goose." Lucas teased.
"I'd see that movie."
"Oh, please, Farkle cannot be replaced by a goose. Farkle is unique and one of a kind. Hah!"
"Hah!" The goose honked right back in a perfect imitation of the genius.
Farkle glared viciously "You don't know me!"
Date Night
Val was in a teal blue dress that fell to her knees, Annie had given her a bold red lip and straightened her dark hair so it swept down her back.
"This is way too fancy for the movies." Val laughed, dodging the blush "Where are we going? Please? I HAVE to know."
"And there's one thing I promise you, I can keep secrets too." (6) Annie teased.
Val pouted "Speaking true will get you through the day, truth is not a thing that one should ration." (7)
"You're not getting it out of me, and we can go back and forth like this all day. Now stay still." Annie warned.
Val didn't bother to hide her smile, she loved her best friend. But she really wanted to know what Lucas's plan for their date was.
"What if I bake you blue cookies?" Bribery it was.
Annie hesitated "Chocolate chip?"
"Snickerdoodle, sugar, gingerbread, whatever you want." Val wheedled.
"You've found my weakness." Anne groaned "You were my brother, Anakin! (8)I'm still not telling you."
Val laughed.
There were three sharp raps on the door and Annie squealed "Ooh he's here!"
"You're more excited about this than I am."
"Might be because I know where you're going."
Lucas was waiting in the living room in a dark green vest, his eyes lit up when Val came in "You look amazing."
Val twirled, making her skirt spin out "Thank you, so do you."
"Shall we, milady?" Lucas offered his arm and Val took it, letting him lead her out the door.
The Matthews Apartment
Dinner was always a dramatic event in the Matthews household. Whether it was Cory counting the tots, Topanga starting a tirade of social justice, Val's musical references, Riley's never-ending series of woes, or Auggie's latest news, the meal was sure to be entertaining.
Tonight was mashed potatoes.
"You haven't taught me enough." Riley pouted, glaring at her father.
"Did I teach you to pass the mashed potatoes?"
"Yes."
"Well, there's a test on that right now." Cory made gimme hands at the bowl and Riley passed it to him "You passed!"
"What's bothering you, Riley?" Topanga decided to take her daughter's concerns seriously since her husband clearly wasn't going to.
"Everything gets harder. Everything gets harder and you didn't tell me." Riley crossed her arms "Were you going to tell me?"
"You didn't tell her?" Topanga poked at Cory's shoulder.
Cory scoffed as he stuffed his face "Only every day. You tell her."
"Life gets harder. Tell her, Auggie."
"I'm doing fine." Auggie shrugged.
"Tell her, Val."
"I thought it was obvious." Val shook her head "Look at our lives."
"We're graduating middle school. We're supposed to be in the middle of our education." Riley sighed "The only thing I'm in the middle of is a big mess."
"Of your own making." Val mumbled.
"What was that honey?" Topanga raised an eyebrow.
"More mashed potatoes, Auggie?" Val ladled an enormous spoonful onto his plate, dodging the question.
"Why does he get more mashed potatoes?" Cory complained.
"He didn't give me homework in the last week of school."
"Yeah, that's fair."
"You know what makes me happy?" Topanga smiled.
"Mashed potatoes?" Cory asked, hopefully.
"You have a one-track mind, don't ya?" Val laughed.
"Mash-ed Po-ta-toes!" Cory enunciated each syllable making Auggie giggle.
"You're talking to us about your problems." Topanga patted her daughter's hand "No matter what happens to you, we always want to be a part of what happens to you."
"You always will be." Riley glanced at her sister "I hope you all will be."
Val carefully avoided eye contact.
"Thanks, Riley. That's the greatest legacy any parent could have." Cory deviated from his mashed potatoes to pull his younger daughter into a quick side hug.
"You girls are all going to be fine, and there is nobody stronger than Maya. Nothing can break her. I just don't see it." Topanga was confidently wrong.
Maya opened the door and fell to her knees, then promptly face planted in the carpet.
"Aw, it's a poor baby." Topanga cooed "A poor, poor baby. Come here."
Maya let herself be pulled into the mother's hug.
"Oh, Maya, whatever happens it's nobody's fault." Topanga rubbed her back soothingly.
"Yes it is." Maya whimpered.
"Whose fault do you think it is?" Val smirked.
An arm wiggled free to point "Matthews."
Cory threw down his fork "Well, of course."
"You didn't teach us enough." Maya pouted "And we don't know how to handle this. And now we're leaving, and you're staying behind, and you didn't teach us enough."
"Yeah, Dad." Riley turned on the puppy dog eyes "You're more than a teacher. You're like a father to me."
"Thanks?"
"He's the best teacher you're ever going to have." Topanga soothed "And if there's one thing I know for sure he's taught you, it's how to express yourselves in the best way possible."
"Obscure musical theater references no one understands?"
"...Sure, sweetie. As long as you do that, there is nothing to worry about."
Val squealed in delight "You're taking me to Hamilton!?"
The gold marquee seemed to glow in the early evening light. How had she ended up with a boyfriend as sweet as this?
"Technically, Annie's footing the bill." Lucas rubbed the back of his neck shyly "But I know you love it and, well..."
Val cut him off with a kiss "You are amazing. Have I told you that lately? I adore you, this is the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me. I love this musical and I love that you know I love this musical and-"
"You're babbling."
"Like a brook." Val joked "Seriously, Lucas, thank you. This means so much to me."
Lucas blushed.
"Oh, my god, our outfits make so much sense now!" Val bounced on her toes "You're Hamilton and I'm Eliza? Awww! You really thought of everything."
"What can I say?" Lucas grinned "You got me helpless."(9)
Val didn't try to hide her smile as she threw her arms around Lucas's neck, letting him pick her up and swing her in a circle. She wasn't sure how long they stayed there, the hug a warm barrier against the Spring chill in the air. When they finally broke apart, Lucas flushed, remembering they were in the middle of a crowded sidewalk. But it was New York, nobody noticed their public display of affection, or they didn't care enough to mention it.
"Shall we find our seats?" Lucas offered his arm to the amazing girl beside him "May I escort you in, fair lady?"
Val giggled "Certainly, good sir."
Annie had managed to get them orchestra seating, front and center. Lucas was incredibly grateful for her connections and was already planning a spread of blue food as a thank you; blue brownies, blue fudge, blue cookies, and blue candy.
Cory's Class
Riley and Maya were still struggling with the looming specter of life in high school ahead of them. Riley hadn't even bothered to come all the way into the classroom, her face instead was plastered against the windows. Maya was laying facedown on her desk, the occasional pitiful wail breaking the silence.
"What's wrong with them?" Annie asked, gesturing as she took her seat.
Val started to explain "Well..."
"Wait, I only care about Maya. What's wrong with Maya?"
"It's the same problem."
"Ah, the sense of impending doom that comes with middle school graduation and the sequel, foreboding fear of graduating high school, and the cataclysmic crushing reality of graduating college and being forced to work a minimum wage job while deeply in debt for the rest of your life?"
"...Pretty much, yeah." Lucas nodded, scooting his chair away from Annie's desk as quickly as he could.
"Don't forget the prequel, graduating from elementary to middle school." Val sighed "Whoo-hoo."
"It's not a graduation, he's moving from the fourth grade to the fifth grade!"
"It's a ceremony!" (10)
Cory slammed his briefcase down on his desk, pulling the class's attention to the front, except for Maya who simply groaned and Riley who squished her face closer to the glass "You came to this place a bunch of young kids who didn't know very much, and now look at ya. Young men, women, and non-binary people ready for what's next." He leaned down next to Maya "Snap out of it!" He pointed at Riley through the window "Get in here!"
Riley shook her head, smudging the glass.
"Val?" Cory begged.
"Annie?" Val prepared for a back and forth.
Annie grinned "Lucas."
"Mr. Matthews?" The Texan's eyes were wide.
"Annie!"
"Val."
"Dad."
"Lucas!"
"FARKLE!" Farkle had felt left out. (11)
Val laughed "I'll get Riley, you get Maya."
Annie pouted "Why can't I get Riley?"
"Because you can't go to prison before we go to high school."
"So I can go to prison after we get to high school?"
Val shook her head as she pulled Riley into the classroom and forcibly sat her at her desk. Annie was less than gentle, rolling Maya off her desk so she landed on the floor with a thud.
"Ouch." Maya complained, sitting up.
Annie shrugged "You could've gotten up on your own."
Cory decided not to comment "Now, the most important thing you can do in life is give people the reason to remember you. The people who do that are the ones we study in here. So, your last assignment from me and for yourselves is to figure out what you will give back."
Lucas looked around the room, everyone here had made such an impression on him. From the rebel in the back to the most amazing girl he'd ever been lucky enough to meet. What could he give back? His eyes landed on Val, she was fidgeting with her pencil as she listened to their teacher continue.
"What are you grateful for?"
Farkle was grateful for every single person here. Lucas, who had stuck up for him and stuck with him. Val, who had always been his best friend and talked science with him until he was blue in the face. Maya, who might tease him but was ready to go to bat and fight for him at the drop of a hat. Even Riley, she'd seriously messed up the last couple years and he was pissed about how she'd broken up their friend group with all her petty drama, but she'd been his friend for so long, she had still had such an impact on him. She was one of his fake wives after all. So even after everything she'd put them through, he was still grateful for her.
"Who do you want to remember you?"
Riley didn't want to be remembered as the terror she'd been the last few years. She wanted to be remembered as the happy, sunshiny, bubbly person she used to be. But better. She wanted, no needed, to be a better friend and person. There were so many people in the room she'd barely ever spoken to, maybe she should fix that.
"Do something about it right now."
Val glanced at her friends, she knew how she wanted the world to remember her. She knew how Annie and Lucas saw her, how Farkle saw her, and how Maya saw her. It was Riley she thought about now. Her sister had always seen her as perfect, as a princess. That wasn't how she wanted to be remembered.
"Now get outta here."
Everyone gathered their things and headed to their next classes, except for Maya. She was still sitting in her chair, gnawing on her lip.
"Maya?" Cory asked.
"I'm not ready to leave this place."
Hamilton
Val and Lucas had scored some programs and found their seats as the orchestra stared tuning. The theatre nerd was practically vibrating in her seat as they waited for the lights to dim and the show to start.
Lucas couldn't stop himself from grinning, his girlfriend was adorable. Quickly he pressed a kiss to her cheek, making her blush and flash him a dazzling smile.
"You pull out all the stops every time, don't you?" She asked.
"I don't know what you mean." Lucas played dumb.
Val snorted "Need I remind you what happened after you rode Tombstone? You dipped and kissed me in front of your entire hometown like a movie. We made the front page of the local newspaper. Your grandfather has the article framed in his living room."
"It really was like a movie, wasn't it?"
"And now you take me to one of my favorite musicals ever just because?"
"Just because."
Val smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder "What did I ever do to deserve you and your absolute sweetness?"
Lucas kissed her hair "You were you. That's all you needed to do."
The lights flickered out and the music started to swell, filling the theater. Val's breath caught in her throat as the stage lit up and Lucas squeezed her hand.
"How does a bastard, orphan..."
The Roof of the Matthews Apartment After Graduation
Val had left her sister's graduation drama in her parents hands for once. She wasn't going to be responsible for Riley forever. And it had worked out, Cory and Topanga had been able to help Riley without any input from her. Growth all around.
The parents had decorated the roof in celebration of their kids. Farkle's parents had brought them all congratulatory gifts bags, Maya's mom had baked a pie for the party, and Lucas and Zay's parents had made barbecue to Farkle's delight.
"Congratulations, baby girl!" Katy whooped, squeezing Maya in a tight hug "You are now the most educated person in our family."
Maya frowned "Mom, you didn't graduate middle school?"
Katy huffed "It was a joke. I am a high school graduate with three days of college under my belt. And if I hadn't taken neuro-biology, perhaps I'd still be there. So, take classes you understand, okay honey?"
"Congratulations, Farkle." Stuart clapped his son on the shoulder "Only four more years 'till Princeton."
"I wanna go wherever my friends go." Farkle answered like a good little genius.
Zay and Lucas were gazing out over the New York skyline.
"Different view from when we were growing up, huh?" Zay nudged his friend.
Lucas grinned "I'm glad you're here with us, Zay. So, how was the formal?"
"Vanessa likes me better now than when I lived there." Zay laughed "Now she's all missing me 'cause I'm gone. You know, I've got this love thing figured out. Don't be there."
Lucas squinted "I don't think that's it."
"Yeah," Zay slumped "Guess I have to concede to your superior knowledge. You and Val, you've got this love thing figured out."
"I don't know what I'm doing half the time...But, I did have an idea. I want to do something nice with Val, to celebrate graduating." Lucas sighed "I just don't know how I'm gonna pull it off."
Zay looked around thoughtfully, before he spotted Annie and Val by the punch bowl "I have an idea. I'll distract Val for you, you talk to Annie. If anyone can help you, it's her."
Lucas grinned as Zay swooped into the girl's conversation, guiding Val over to the cookies, which of course, were blue. He waved Annie over and explained his idea, she got a wicked gleam in her eye.
"Call this number tomorrow, tell 'em I sent you." Annie scribbled a phone number on a napkin "Ask for Jerry, he'll hook you up."
"Sounds ominous but okay."
"What are you two plotting?" Val came over, Zay clearly unable to restrain her any longer.
"Nothing!"
"That didn't sound guilty at all."
Fortunately, Cory and Topanga joined the party, pulling their girls into a hug.
"Congratulations girls, you did it." Topanga squealed.
Riley blushed "We had help."
"You would have been fine without me." Cory waved away the praise.
"I don't really see it that way, Dad." Riley shook her head.
"None of us do." Maya joined the group.
"Yeah, don't sell yourself short." Val nodded "You've taught us so much."
"Thank you for teaching my daughter so well." Katy placed a proud hand on Maya's shoulder.
"I don't think Farkle would have reached his full potential without you, Cory." Stuart said pointedly.
"He's never gonna get it." Val laughed "You've got to come right out and say it."
Cory squinted at his oldest suspiciously "What?"
"Their class prank." Topanga hid her smile "Oh, you haven't heard about that?"
"No?" Cory panicked "What'd they do? What did you do?"
"Well," Riley smirked "We started talking about legacy -"
"When will you learn that they are your legacy? We are your legacy!" (12) Val sang.
"It's never good when you start singing like that."
"-About what we left behind, about what we don't want to leave behind, and what we wanted to take with us." Riley continued, a smile spreading on her face.
"We stole something from the school." Maya said plainly.
Cory's face dropped "You what? Well put it back!"
"Nope." Farkle shook his head "We captured the real John Quincy Adams mascot, and we're taking it with us."
"What did you do?" Cory started to fall to pieces "Val, you're supposed to be the reasonable one, why didn't you stop them?"
"Stop them?" Val scoffed "This was my idea."
"We stole you." Maya explained.
Cory froze "What are you talkin' about?"
Val studied her nails carefully "I might've made a call to Uncle Johnathan and told him you had a lot more left to teach us."
Auggie bounded up the stairs with confetti "She got you promoted, Daddy!"
"Of course, the superintendent of schools didn't want to move teachers around for only one student, so there would have to be a lot of other people who thought you knew what you were doing." Topanga elbowed her husband hard in the ribs, knocking the stunned look off his face.
"So some of us parents put together a little petition, got some signatures and we presented it to him." Stuart leaned in "Your daughter is very convincing...and scary."
"You're going to high school, Cory." Topanga teased "Again."
"Guess you shouldn't have given us homework in the last week of school, huh Dad?
References:
1- In Flower Language daisies mean "I love you truly." Red tulips mean "I declare my love." Hyacinths mean "Your loveliness charms me."
2 & 3- Rent, Seasons of Love
4- Wicked, Dancing through Life
5- Hamilton, The World was Wide Enough
6- Promises, Promises, Our Little Secret
7- The Addams Family, Secrets
8- Star Wars Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith
9- Hamilton, Helpless
10- The Incredibles
11- Shrek 2
12- Hamilton, First Burn
Word count: 4329 words
Sorry for the wait, I'm going through a lot right now. Please don't forget to comment, vote, and add to your reading lists! #FreePalestine🍉🍉🍉
Love,
The Author