eleven - You'll Never Change.. Ever.

    ''Hey,'' A soft voice spoke close to her ear. Her shoulders were being nudge gently in a back and forth motion as they repeated. ''Hey, Ryan.''

    She open her eyes in one shot, well aware of the amount of sunlight raying into the basement. ''What, Lucas?''

    Those blue oceanic eyes that any girl couldn't help but get lost in, took a moment to inspect her. Through the bun she neatly done the night before, now in a chaotic mess, the grease blots glistening on the T zone of her face, and possible morning breath she was hiding with the blanket, he smiled. ''You gotta get up, Ry.''

    Ryan turns away from him, a groan emitting from her throat as she asks, ''What time is it?''

    ''We got twenty minutes to get to school.''

    And just like that, Ryan was up and off the futon, running to the closest bathroom to do her morning necessities.

    ''Ah!'' She yells when entering the cold water the shower head released. As if some sort of domino effect, goosebumps ran along her body from the tip top if her collarbone, down to the indent in her ankles. But she couldn't let that stop her when pulling her hair out of the monstrous bun.

    She let the cold water run through the knots in her hair she knew for sure was going to be a struggle combing through later on, as she lets an arm past the shower curtain to reach for her Morning Clear, she conveniently left on the basin of the sink the night before, to retrieve into her shower.

    Squirting out a decent amount, she used her other arm to put it back before rubbing her hands together, the friction and the water absorbed into skin created a silky foamy substance. Ryan rubs it all around her face, making sure to get in the T zone section, before letting the shower head rinse it off.

    Ryan went for the back of the tub, retrieving her Pantene, two in one shampoo and conditioner.

    It wasn't until then that Ryan realized how homey she made herself with all her belongings lying around.

    There was a knock on the door. ''Fifteen minutes.''

    ''Oh my god,'' She moans from irritability. ''I don't even have an outfit planned!''

    To any normal, possibly sane person, thought that may have been a little bit out of line. But to Ryan, she likes having a nice appearance, whether people thought she was ugly or not. It didn't matter if she was pretty, what she wore made her feel pretty.

    ''Ow,'' Ryan consistently repeated as she went through the the knots in her hair with the shampoo and conditioner mixed in her hands.

    Usually the girl would sit under the shower head for a good five to ten minutes to make sure all the soap was cleared from her scalp, but because of the lack of time and cold water, Ryan did a quick run down and exited out of the shower.

    It was hard to believe that the cold air after the cold shower, made Ryan even colder.

    The drenched brunette wrapped herself in a towel, droplets of water creating a puddle on the tile flooring from the ends of her hair. She reached for the extra toothbrush Lucas mother had given her and toothpaste and began to brush her teeth.

    Not long after, Ryan was running around the room, trying to see what would be the best way to get dressed, even though she didn't have a night before outfit planned for the day.

    ''Socks, need socks,'' She mumbles under breath and slips them on her moist feet while standing. Ryan then pulls out a black pair of ripped jeans from her bag and a cream rib knit laced up bodysuit. She began pulling on her jeans while the towel was kept on her until she realized another thing. And this one, was practically a smack to the face. ''Oh my god, underwear.''

    Pulling them back down, taking off that one sock during the process, she skimmed through her bag for the undergarments laying at the bottom of the abyss of her bag.

    Within a good minute, Ryan Collins was dressed, her brown suede ankle boots zipped on her feet when pacing from room to room, cleaning up the mess she made in her presence.

    ''Hey, just coming in to tell you that-'' Lucas words were cut short when he saw the drenched girl with bare features pouting at him with a handful of her objects carried in her arms.

    ''It won't be weird doing a full coat of makeup on the train, right?''

    He broke out into a grin and chuckles softly. Lucas walks over to her from the bottom landing of the staircase and took her belongings from her grasp and placed on the open futon. He then turned to her gripped both of her shoulders. ''You ready for this? Ready?''

    She furrows her brows but remains silent.

    ''School doesn't start for another forty minutes.''

    Lucas had never been hit with something so wicked his whole life.

    He took a step back and laughs, ''Jesus, Ryan.''

    She whipped her hair again in his direction and scowls. ''I hate you, Lucas Friar!''

    ''Hey, at least you don't have to do your makeup on the train!''

× × ×

    ''A) Every human being is a unique collection of atoms,'' Mr. Matthews begins to list. ''B) Some of you in this room might be human beings.C) When you mess with atoms, or human beings, they blow up.''

    Ryan was startled by the sudden motion of Farkle slamming his hands against his desk. ''Belgium, 1831!''

    ''Okay, everybody, it's happening right now,'' Corey points out. ''Under your desks, Farkle's gonna blow.''

    By how quick Ryan dipped her physique to the ground, you could only tell that you didn't have to tell her twice.

    But unlike everyone else, Farkle took a stand. Then again, not everyone else was like Farkle. ''I know everything except Belgium, 1831. And once I know that, I'll know everything! And then my name will go on the board with those three idiots!''

    Ryan peeked her head up and nods her head to the side with a small satisfied hum. ''That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.''

    Riley got up afterward to say, ''Breathe, Farkle.''

    ''Too late,'' He closes his eyes to take a moment to swipe his tongue across his bottom lip. ''I taste blue.''

    And before they knew, as per usual, Farkle fainted.

    The class took that as a cue to return to their seats.

    ''You know, with anybody else, that would've been strange,'' Riley took note of.

    ''But with Farkle, we don't even lift him off the floor anymore,'' Maya added onto Riley's point. The blonde herself reached for the book on her desk and mentions, ''Oh, here's your book,'' before dropping it on top of him.

    Farkle lets out a puff of air when it lands on him.

    ''Alright, but am I the only one who's wondering how he's still alive with how hard he falls to the floor?'' Ryan questions with her features twisted into a cringe.

    The guidance counselor entered the classroom with a small chorus of knocks on the wooden door. ''Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Matthews. I'm here to speak with Farkle Minkus.''

    ''Farkle,'' Matthews calls. ''Guidance counselor.''

    The kid sat up and shook his head to move his bangs out of his eyes. ''Well, it's about time.''

    He got up and walked over to her and when he approached, Riley gotten out of her seat, Maya following along.

    ''Are you finally taking him away?'' Riley begins to question.

    ''He goes, we all go,'' Maya shrugs, going along as if this was the case.

    Lucas came up behind them with a solemn expression flashed across his features. ''I'm here so it's not just the girls.''

    Ryan caused the amount of odd eyed stares when she squeezed herself between Riley and Farkle. ''I'm Ryan.''

    ''There are no secrets in our group,'' Riley mentions.

    ''Nothing can come between--''

    The bell rang and Ryan pushed her way through Riley and Maya to the door.

    ''Ryan, where is your chill?'' Riley exclaims as she followed after her.

    In a simple line that in order by Ryan in the back, Maya in the middle and Riley up front, where she had the best spot to listen in on the conversation.

    ''Farkle, I have the results--''

    ''Of my I.Q and aptitude test?'' Farkle finished for her. You didn't even have to see the kid to know that he had a grin going from ear to ear. And the thought made Ryan roll her eyes. ''I'm a genius, right? You know how I know? Because I'm a genius. It's not conceited when it's true, right, Mr. Matthews?''

    ''I wouldn't know, I'm barely literate.''

    The guidance counselor lets out a small chuckle. ''Your parents have given me permission to tell you that yes, you scored in the superior range.''

    ''And my aptitude test says I should consider a career in..'' Farkle trails off, waiting for the adult to finish the sentence for him.

    ''Ruling the world,'' She says, but from the sound of her voice, it sounded like she was reading it off some piece of paper. Probably what the file in her hands were for. ''Never seen that one. The rest of the class falls within a more traditional range of careers. Although, we did get one bunny farmer..''

    ''Yay,'' Riley cheers.

    The guidance counselor chuckles softly, ''An armpit sniffer number five in a deodorant factory..''

    ''I got a job!''

    ''And a cashier worker at Chipotle,'' She finishes.

    ''It's lit on the Mexican food!'' Ryan exclaims.

    ''But I would expect there to be further testing, is that right, Ms. Oben?'' Mr. Matthews intervenes.

    ''Yes, when someone scores this high, the experts usually want to confirm the testing,'' She explains towards Corey's matter.

    ''And then,'' Mr. Matthews adds. ''That's when more specialized schools with gifted programs like Einstein Academy might approach you.''

    Riley leans over and bursts, a full on grin across her features, ''now Farkle says-''

    ''I'd never leave my friends behind.''

    ''Whose a good genius?''

    The brunette pulls off a goofy grin and tells them, ''I am.''

    ''One more thing, Farkle,'' Ms. Oben adds. ''It's important not to react to your score in any way that might make your friends feel-''

    ''Inferior? Of less value? Like dum-dums?'' He interrupts with multiple phrases to finish her lecture.

    Corey furrows his brows and exclaims, ''We're talking about my daughter.''

    ''Whose fault is that?''

× × ×

    ''Welcome, to our Farkle Genius party,'' Staurt Minkus, Farkle Minkus' father announced. ''I'm Stuart Minkus, the original genius, very proud to welcome my son to the club.''

    As the Matthews and the Minkus' celebrated in Topanga's with Lucas Friar, Maya Hart, and Ryan Collins apart of it all, the group of friends shared great smiles.

    ''I'm sure his mother, who is unexceptional, would like to say a few words representing her people,'' He turns to her with that same smile.

    ''Yeah,'' She takes a stand. Ryan's eyes went wide from how drastic how eyes shifted up in order to still meet her gaze. ''I'm unexceptional.''

    ''Wowza,'' She mumbles under her breath.

    Maya leans over to her side and whispers, ''You had to tilt your head too, right?''

    ''Sh,'' Lucas hushed. ''Knock it off.''

    The tall blonde looks down at Stuart and questions him, ''Who does what I say?''

    ''Everybody.''

    Jennifer Basset waves at Corey Matthews who stood hunched next to Topanga Matthews. ''Hi Corey.''

    ''Nyah,'' He exclaims an animalistic noise.

    ''Stop it,'' Topanga lightly scolds.

    ''Look at her.''

    ''What, I like her now,'' She shrugs her shoulders. ''She's a lot less scary than she was in high school.''

    ''Uh-huh,'' He hummed, still eyeing the blonde with fright. ''Are you not looking at her?''

    Jennifer removes herself from Stuart side and waves a piece of paper in her hand as she walks closer to Farkle. ''I hold in my hand, the answer to the question that everyone's been asking. Is Farkle a clone? A robot? Or a real boy?''

    Ryan furrows her brows as Farkle has his eyes closed, repeating a chant, ''Real boy, real boy, real boy, real boy.''

    ''This is the birth certificate of Farkle Minkus, real boy!''

    Riley Matthews must have been the only one to cheer while others who came to the even owned up their end to a wager.

    Ryan kept her brows furrowed at Maya and Lucas, where the blonde had payed up.

    ''I didn't know we were making bets,'' Ryan pouts at Maya.

    ''This happened during lunch,'' Maya waves her off.

    Lucas points at her with furrowed brows. ''Weren't you there?''

    Ryan was going to speak when Maya beat her to it. ''No. She went to go see Mr. Edison because he called her essay awkward.''

    ''What does that even mean?'' She exclaims.

    ''Stuart and I want to thank all of Farkle's friends who care about him,'' His mother spoke to the group. She was keeled on the floor beside him with a gentle hand rubbing his back. ''You're all he ever talks about.''

    His father stood up and walked up from behind him as he spoke, ''We hope you'll keep encouraging him to be as unique as he's always been. The Minkuses have always been simple, incredibly rich people. Please enjoy our party, and don't forget your complimentary penguin.''

    ''I got my eye on Mr. Butterknuckle,'' Ryan mumbles, more to herself, but Lucas overheard.

    ''Butterknuckle?'' He jerks back. ''What type of name is that?''

    She turns to him with a pointed look. ''An exotic one, basics can't come up with. See, he's the one with the yellow stain on his beak.''

    ''Maya, when I rule the world, I'll give you half because you're my lovely fake wife,'' Farkle promises to the blonde with Ryan was pointing out her penguin to Lucas.

    But the brunette let out a small gasp and shifted her are over to Farkle. ''I didn't know Maya was the one dancing with you at the formal.''

    ''Hey, I want some of that,'' Riley chimes in.

    ''Huh,'' Maya scoffs with the flip of her hair. ''Desperate much?''

    Ryan perks up. ''I call shenanigans.''

    ''Farkle, you love them equally,'' Lucas points out. ''Marry them both. Wouldn't that be the genius thing to do?''

    ''See why I keep you around!'' Farkle exclaims. ''Make it happen, face.''

    ''Here we go,'' Maya and Ryan said aloud in unison as the got up to run behind the chair Riley sat on and the one next to her. Farkle had joined them while Lucas got down on one knee.

    ''Riley Matthews?''

    ''Yes,'' She frantically blurts out.

    ''Would you-''

    ''Absolutely,'' She eggs on with dreamy eyes.

    ''Do me the honor-''

    She shrugs her shoulders. ''Any time at all.''

    ''Of becoming-''

    ''Whatever you want.''

    Ryan cringed as Lucas continued. ''Mrs.-''

    Riley furrows her brows and cranes her neck forward. ''Do you not understand, yes?''

    ''Farkle Minkus?''

    Her features dropped as she questions him, ''You're gonna be there, right?''

    ''A yes is a yes,'' Farkle chimes in, pulling the expensive diamond ring off of Maya's ring finger. ''Here's your ring.''

    ''Hey!''

    ''You get two penguins,'' Farkle bargains with her, which seemed to pleased her when she smiled and tells him, ''Okay.''

    ''Maya, marry us quick while she's still distracted by the sparkles,'' Farkle urges.

    As Maya cleared her throat and Farkle ran around to replace Lucas' spot, Ryan held her arms out from her side and asks, ''What does the third wife get?''

    ''A gift card to Footlocker.''

    Ryan threw her head back and breathes out, ''New Pumas.''

    ''Blah, blah blah,'' Maya borely mocked a priest tone for the small wedding.

    ''I do,'' Farkle nods his head.

    ''And blah, blah blah.''

    Before Riley can utter a word out, Farkle's mother came into the conversation by pulling the ring off of Riley. ''There it is.''

    Being no longer distracted by the bling, Riley asks, ''What do you want?''

    ''If anyone has any reason why these two shouldn't be joined-'' Maya continued in the actual human language, but was interrupted when Smackle entered with an abrupt, ''I object, yes.''

    ''Ooh,'' Ryan drawls. ''Plot twist.''

    ''Smackle,'' Riley cheers, immediately getting out of her seat. She pushes past Farkle and runs to her. ''You made it to the wedding!''

    Riley wraps her in a hug, only Smackle didn't deliver one back. ''Still having trouble with the hugging thing, aren't you?''

    Ryan leans over to Maya's side and whispers, ''Who is she?''

    ''We met her last year,'' She briefly explains. ''You're about to see just who she is.''

    ''The average middle schooler spends nine minutes a day engaged in hugs,'' She lists off. Ryan's eyes went wide as Smackle counters, ''Do you know what I accomplish in those nine minutes?''

    ''No.''

    ''Ask NASA,'' She smirks.

    Riley then pulls away from her.

    ''Smackle, here to mock my recent membership into the genius club?'' Farkle questions.

    Ryan watched Smackle walk past her and towards Farkle while speaking, ''On the contrary, Farkle. I welcome you with open arms.''

    Just as she was when Riley hugged her, as soon as Farkle stood, she clunged to herself. Yet, with hesitation, she opens her arms for a hug.

    ''My arms,'' She breathes out. ''They are open.''

    ''Awe,'' Ryan gushed quietly. ''Awkward love.''

    ''What do you want me to do with that?''

    Ryan's features dropped in an instant as she snaps, ''Farkle, you're in the genuis club now, I'm sure you can figure it out.''

    ''Meaning, we're more alike now,'' He mentions, pointing a finger between himself and Smackle. ''And as a both know..-''

    ''Like forces repel,'' Smackle drops her arms when clearing out the observation. ''Yes, science says we may never be together.''

    ''And science never makes a mistake,'' He adds.

    While Riley walked over between the two to make a comment, Ryan turns to Maya and Lucas and flatly murmurs, ''Are they for real?''

    Riley comes back towards the group as they nod, feeling the same pain and frustration as her.

    ''I'm here to ask you to consider transferring to Eistein Academy,'' Smackle brought up a new topic of conversation.

    ''That's not happening!'' Lucas chimes in.

    Smackle turned back with a corner of of her lips quirked into a sly smirk. ''Stop hitting on me.''

    Ryan couldn't help but giggle as Lucas laughs it off as well. ''Okay.''

    ''What would be the benefits of my going to Einstein?''

    ''To develop your magnificent brain. So the world is not cheated of your full potential,'' She attempted to convinced.

    By now, Ryan was seated in the chair Maya was once sat in with a bowl of potato chips. She was already munching on some as exclaims to Smackle, ''You trynna call us stupid?''

    ''I am a blobfish,'' Riley mocked, her face as dysfunctional as Maya's.

    ''Yeah,'' Farkle drawled. ''Tell me more about Einstein Academy.''

× × ×

    Ryan Collins sat in Mr. Matthews class the next day, wearing a white Thrasher t-shirt with ripped denim high rise jeans and a pair of suede black pumas. Mr. Matthews nods his head towards a student in the class and calls, ''Farke, what are you?''

    ''Genius,'' He simply says. ''I'm on the board.''

    ''Wrong.''

    ''Riley,'' He calls. ''What are you?''

    ''Bunny farmer,'' She squeals.

    ''Wrong.''

    Riley sinks into her seat and mumbles, ''Then don't go into my room.''

    ''All these things that you guys have been told you are this week? That's only a piece of what makes you an individual. This I.Q. test produces a number that puts you in a category. A label.''

    Ryan points a finger at him. ''You're trying to say we're living like Divergent. I wanna be a dauntless but I'll probably be in candor.''

    Furrowing their brows, Maya Hart, Riley Matthews, Lucas Friar, and even Mr. Matthews blurts out a confusing, ''What?''

    Shaking his head, Mr. Matthews urges before he lost his train of thought. ''Point is, don't live under a label. It just gets in the way of who you are.''

    ''But if you get called something enough, don't you start believing it?'' Lucas asks.

    ''Believe in what you contribute to others,'' Mr. Matthews then turns his head to the side and smiles. ''We expect great things from you, Farkle.''

    ''I'll try my best, sir.''

    ''But,'' Mr. Matthews adds to his lecture. ''I also expect great things from everybody else. Remarkable people have I.Q.'s all across the board. Everyone has great gifts, and everyone in tho class has the potential to impact our world. So just be yourself. It's the only label that matters.''

    Attention was diverted to Ms. Oben when she came in to Mr. Matthews classroom, knocking on his open door.

    ''Mr. Matthews,'' She sweetly calls. She walks further into the room and asks him, ''If it's alright with you, I need a moment with Farkle.''

    ''Okay,'' He nods his head. ''Farkle?''

    The class had watched as Ms. Oben followed Farkle outside.

    ''That looked pretty serious,'' Ryan mentions with furrowed brows. She begins to bounce a leg from under her desk as she asks, ''Is everything okay?''

    Mr. Matthews shrugs his shoulders. ''When he comes back, we'll find out.''

× × ×

    Lucas Friar, Ryan Collins, Maya Hart sat in the Matthews household later that day with the Minkuses standing by when Farkle explains, ''So, they did more testing on me.''

    ''How big of a genius are you?'' Riley chuckles.

    ''Riley, they're considering some behavioral traits in Farkle that warrant a more specific kind of testing,'' Mr. Matthews explains.

    Riley shrugs her shoulders. ''What? They just noticed Farkle's a little Farkly?''

    ''I could have told them that.''

    Ryan sat next to Lucas in the living room bay window with furrowed brows. What's the news?

    ''They want to see if I have autism.''

    Maya stood up and tells him, ''You don't.''

    Ryan stood up as well and scoffs out, ''Autism?''

    ''He doesn't have that,'' Riley adds. ''Let's go tell them, you don't.''

    The closer the girls got, the more elaborate Farkle went into with details. ''I might have a type of autism called Aspergers Syndrome.''

    ''You don't,'' Maya repeats.

    ''What is it?'' Lucas asks, coming up from behind Ryan.

    ''It's a disorder that affects a person's behavior.''

    ''Farkle, when I said that you were a little Farkly, what I meant was-''

    ''Yeah,'' Lucas cuts Riley off and adds, ''That you behave just like a perfectly normal Farkle.''

    ''You do,'' Maya tells him.

    ''We'll get the results from today's interview, and we'll know,'' Stuart informs the group.

    ''We know,'' Farkle nods. There was a small feeling in all of them that knew he was right. He was the genius after all.

    ''We don't know,'' Maya rough counters.

    ''Maya, I don't think we should be denying anything right now,'' Ryan advises.

    ''I pass every single test I've ever taken,'' He prompts. ''I know.''

    ''He made us come right over,'' His mother spoke. ''He didn't want to go home, he didn't want to do anything except be with you.''

    ''Of course,'' Topanga smiles. ''That's who he is.''

    ''I see it in my classroom every day.''

    ''The most important thing to him was that you're a part of this.''

    ''Because he's Farkle,'' Riley repeats.

    Maya turns to him. ''That's who you are. No matter what anybody says.''

    Ryan met Riley's gaze. ''Bay window. Bay window, right now.''

    Ryan smiled wide and yells, ''Yay!'' Before running up the stairs.

    Soon enough, Lucas was on one corner with a laptop on his lap with Riley next to him, Maya next to her, Ryan next to her and Farkle on the far end corner.

    ''Could you please give us one of your wonderful little Riley pick-me-ups?'' Maya begged while Lucas was typing away research.

    ''What's the difference?'' Ryan exclaims with wide eyes. ''How can this be such a big deal when he's still the same person?''

    ''Because this is apart of his identity now, Ryan,'' Riley answers.

    ''It's apart of him but this doesn't own him,'' She counters.

    ''You guys,'' Lucas alarms the group from it's bickering. ''This website lists symptoms of Aspergers. Uh, the first one they mentioned is social awkwardness.''

    Farkle lifted a finger on the air and marked his own check Mark as he proclaims, ''Check!''

    ''You don't do anything awkward,'' Riley furrows her brows.

    To prove her wrong, Farkle stood and forced out a whiney, ''Ha!''

    Maya stood in an instant and held him by his side. ''Well, that's just something you do and you're gonna stop doing that. He's going to stop doing that.''

    ''Why?'' Ryan cocks a brow. ''I thought this wasn't going to change anything?''

    ''Ryan,'' Lucas scolds with a warning to his tone. This didn't need to be more serious than it was.

    ''Lucas,'' She fires back. ''Any other symptoms?''

    ''Narrowed interests, going on about a subject even if the people he's talking to don't have a shared interest,'' He continues, but his gaze was locked with Ryan's. It was like the line was already remembered and rehearsed all the while focus on the brunette.

    ''Check,'' He repeats the same motion again.

    ''Farkle, we're interested in everything you're interested in,'' Riley continues to counter.

    ''Belguim, 1831!'' He randomly blurts out.

    ''Stop doing that. He's going to stop doing that.''

    ''Maya!''

    ''Ryan!''

    ''No, Lucas,'' Maya stops him. ''Bay window is meant as an open space to share whatever it is we're feeling.''

    ''And are you okay with Farkle if he does have this sort of autism?'' She asks her.

    ''I'm okay with who he is, so yeah, I'll be okay with this,'' She nods.

    Lucas pursed his lips at the two before looking back down at the screen. ''Some people with Aspergers are uncomfortable being touched or receiving affection. They may struggle to fully understand emotion or love.''

    Farkle swings his pointer finger from side to side and chants, ''Check, check, checky-check, check.''

    Maya roughly grabs his finger and asks him, ''Farkle, what are you talking about? You loved Riley, Ryan and I since the day we met. You marrid us-'' Maya stops herself to look at Ryan and shrugs. ''Most of us.''

    ''It wasn't real,'' He prompts. ''And oww.''

    ''But, it's very sweet and it's all about emotions,'' Riley continues.

    ''You guys are my best friends, promise me one thing?'' He requests.

    Lucas nods his head as he closes the laptop. ''Anything.''

    ''Please don't ever let me not understand love.''

    Ryan smiles softly as she reaches for a hand that twinged just sitting on his knee. ''Promise.''

    Ryan turns to Maya who was already the two and nods. ''Promise.''

    Riley slipped a hand with Maya's and repeats, ''Promise.''

    Maya and Ryan connect hands just as Riley and Lucas were doing the same. The sandy blonde nods his head and spoke, ''Promise.''

    ''Thank you,'' He breathes out a puff of air it looked like he was holding. Almost as if he was relieved. He couldn't be anymore thankful to have friends to be there for him no matter what.

    ''There's,-- there's something I want to tell all of you,'' Ryan stammers. She gripped onto Farkle and Maya's hand tighter, they're palms beginning to grow moist.

    And even though they didn't feel, Riley and Lucas definitely saw.

    ''Well,'' She shrugs her shoulders. She looks up at Riley and says, ''Mostly to you and Farkle.''

    She turns back to Farkle and pursed her lips.

    ''I'm confused,'' Riley furrows her brows. She looks back and forth between Lucas and Maya. ''You guys know?''

    ''I would have told all of you sooner,'' Ryan urges. She didn't want any blame to go around, that wasn't even close to the point of this conversation. ''It just wasn't easy.''

    ''What is it?'' Farkle asks.

    Taking a deep breathe, she tells them with a shaky voice, ''Before I moved away, my mom and dad had gotten a divorce. My dad moved to Texas, so, yeah, I was still with my mom. But, she died last year and I had to move.''

    ''Ryan,'' Riley softly cooes, but there was no stopping Ryan.

    ''I owe you guys an apology,'' She furrows her brows, her gaze shifting from Riley to Maya and Farkle. ''I should have told you, or at least said goodbye. But I couldn't.''

    Though she couldn't tell, there were tears streaming down her cheeks, her eyes nearly bloodshot at this point. ''I had this thought that I could move past this but I really couldn't. It's apart of me now and-''

    She sniffles and looks around with a wide grin. ''I need the most important people in my life to know that.''

    Riley nods at her, tears stinging her eyes as well. The whole group was nearly at a break down.

    ''I'm glad you chose to tell us, Ryan,'' She wipes away a tear and apologizes, ''And I'm sorry about your mom. She was so nice.''

    ''She was, wasn't she?'' She beared a smile, but more tears came tumbling down as she says so.

    ''I'm sure you miss her,'' Farkle assumes.

    Her hair shifts as she turns to him. ''Everyday. Feels like yesterday I was leaving her to go to class.''

    ''At least you have your dad,'' Lucas comments.

    She looks at him awestruck. Should she drop the bomb? That her father is now a drug dealer who kicked her out the house because she went to a middle school dance?

    She nods her head and forced a smile. ''Yeah, I guess.''

× × ×

    The group transferred their location downstairs to Topanga's to cheer up their spirits.

    Though, there was no doubt that after the moment shared in the bay window, there was a sense of acknowledgment of the group growing immensely closer.

    It made Ryan feel safe. At home, even.

    ''Would you guys be upset if I transferred to Eistein Academy?'' Farkle asks.

    ''Yes,'' Riley responds, eyeing the boy as if he had three head.

    ''Would you still be my friends?''

    Maya chuckles softly as she remarks, ''Boy, for someone who's gonna rule the world, You sure ask some dum-dum questions.''

    Ryan's gaze shifted towards Smackle, who walked in by first setting her jacket aside.

''Farkle,'' She greets. ''People who aren't Farkle.''

    ''Hey, Smackle,'' Lucas had the courtesy of greeting back.

    ''Stop smothering me.''

    He breathes out a chuckle. ''Okay.''

    Riley stands up and forces a hug upon Smackle, where Smackle doesn't react.

    ''Friends. Hugging,'' Smackle states the obvious. ''I suppose this is all very important to people like you.''

    Riley begins to pet her. ''You love us, Smackle. You just don't know it yet.''

    ''Noted.''

    Smackle turns to Farkle while Riley takes a seat again. ''Farkle, I'm here to see how you enjoyed your tour of Eistein Academy.''

    ''You went?''

    ''He spent the day with us,'' She informs matter of factly. ''He fit.''

    She retrieves the jacket she set aside and opens it up for him. ''And so will this.''

    ''How does it look?'' He asks once he's put on the green blazer.

    ''I'm swooning,'' She flatly says. ''Perhaps we cod indulge in our established ritual of sharing a smoothie?''

    ''Thanks, but I'm not really thirsty right now.''

    Ryan smacks a hand on her forehead.

    ''Nor am I really interested in the consumption of a frozen treat..'' The raven hair girl took off her glasses and leaned over, creating a awkward motion of her arm nudging his and terribly winking.

    ''What are you doing? What is she doing? Who do we call?'' Maya stammers, equally confused as Ryan while Riley and Lucas calmfully watched with a bare reaction.

    ''I believe she's winking at me.''

    ''How do you like it?'' She asks, her countenance dawned with worry. She dramatically flipped her hair and posed for him.

    ''Ooh,'' She squeals, her legs bouncing as she cringed. ''It's so awkward, I can't not watch.''

    ''Yeah, let's see with one eye.''

    ''Forget that,'' Ryan waves him off. ''Sis, put back on your glasses.''

    ''Sis?'' She repeats curiously.

    ''I'm gonna assume we're friends by association, we'll become closer by giving each other nicknames to feel more welcome,'' Ryan explains in a way that Smackle could understand more of.

    ''Do we have a low key Einstein?'' Maya gapes at her.

    ''Oh, god no,'' Ryan blinks rapidly at the blonde. ''That sounds horrible.''

    After putting back on her specs, she suggests to Farkle, ''Why don't I get us a table outside?''

    She turns to walk away but she stops herself to pose for him at least three more times on her way out.

    ''Farkle! Isadora Smackle loves you,'' Riley claims while running up to him, Ryan and Maya following behind.

    Ryan throws her head back and groans, ''Oh thank god, she has a normal name.''

    ''But I'm loyal to all three of you.''

    ''Well, your three wives want you to spend time with one real Smackle.''

    ''Go get 'em, tiger,'' Maya encourages.

    ''Why are you doing this?''

    ''We promised we'd help you understand love,'' Ryan giggles. ''Well this is it. We're not gonna let this slip.''

× × ×

    Farkle Minkus returned to Mr. Matthews classroom the next day asking, ''Farkle time?''

    ''Absolutely.''

    Farkle switched Mr. Matthews name tagged towards his side and looked up at the class. ''Aspergers Syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder. A.S.D. This is a pretty complicated label, so I want to explain it to you. People with A.S.D can call anywhere on a spectrum of different behaviors. They talked to me for a long time. And you know what? I don't have Aspergers. But, they also said they don't what to make of me. And I like that. So, what am I?''

    He raises his arms and announces, ''I'm Farkle! Thank you.''

    Farkle took his seat, allowing Mr. Matthews to take over again. ''We're all a unique collection of atoms, and there's only one of each of us. The only label you should wear is your name. Let your actions define you. Because there's another spectrum; How you live your life, what you do with whatever you're given. How you treat the other people around you. These are your actions. This is your name. That's who you are.''

    ''Thanks for the way you treat me. And thanks for studying all of it,'' Farkle smiles.

    ''Whoa, whoa, whoa,'' Corey jerks back. ''You guys studied?''

    ''Hey, our friend was worried about something.''

    ''So, we learned about it,'' Maya shrugs her shoulders and counters, ''If I knew it was studying, I wouldn't have done it.''

    Smackle raises her hand.

    ''Miss Smackle?''

    ''I believed that Farkle would be better off attending Einstein Academy. Observing him in your inferior class was to be my proof.''

    Maya lets out a sarcastic, ''Don't hold back, Smack. Just say what's on your mind.''

    ''My findings are contradictory to my hypothesis.''

    Riley turns to her and adds, ''Also, please talk down to us.''

    Smackle gets up from her desk. ''This class teaches lessons you cannot find in a textbook.'' She begins to walk towards Farkle desks. ''There are friendships here that can't be created in a laboratory. Farkle, you are where you belong. I, on the other hand, should leave.''

    She starts to do just that. Most of the class is stunned and worried, especially Farkle. Smackle pauses at the door and gives him one last sad glance before she finally leaves.

× × ×

    Ryan is sitting with Smackle, Riley and Maya later that night at the bay window.

    ''I'm okay,'' Smackle assures the girls. ''I will be better off alone.''

    ''Isadora, you haven't lost Farkle,'' Maya giggles.

    ''He doesn't want me now?''

    ''Why?''

    Smackle remains silent. She looked like a fish out of water, but no words were spoken, as if she was stuck.

    ''Because he doesn't have Asperger's, like you?''

    ''How did you know?'' She asks, stunned.

    Maya arches her brows. ''We studied. We're studiers. She made me.''

    ''I was diagnosed when I was five years old. I..struggle with it,'' Smackle explains.

    ''Isadora, I don't think there's anybody we respect more than you,'' Riley scoffs.

    ''I'm not like everybody else.''

    ''Not everyone wants normal,'' Ryan chimes in.

    ''The strangest thing is that I feel so comfortable with Farkle. But he's not quite like me anymore.''

    Riley smirks with furrowed brows. ''But I thought that's what you guys always wanted. You were like forces and like forces repel.''

    ''Yeah, Smackle,'' Maya eggs on. ''Science dictates that you guys can be together now.''

    ''You think he knows that?''

    Farkle appears from out the window, exclaiming,''Ladies!''

    ''Farkle, my archnemesis,'' Smackle greets.

    ''Smackle, my archnemesis,'' He returns. He then looks over at his three best friends. ''Riley, Maya, Ryan, my wives who I will adore forever. I want a divorce. Make it a triple.''

    Ryan was the first to get up and head towards Riley's bed, waving him off, ''Boy, we were never even married.''

    Riley was next to walk towards her bed, pretending to be heartbroken. ''This is the longest relationship I've ever had.''

    ''You will love again, Riley,'' Farkle bluntly assures.

    Riley waves Maya over, trying to give the two former arch rivals privacy. Well, as much as they can with all of them in one room.

    Maya's features dropped in realization. ''Oh, I'm gonna leave you twos alone now.''

    She leaves the bay window and takes a seat next to Riley.

    ''Isadora, I'm a single man now,'' He declares.

    ''Farkle, before we continue, there's something I need to tell you. I have-''

    Farkle interrupts her and tells her, ''I know you do. I also know you showed me understanding and compassion.''

    ''Of course.''

    ''Please, let me do the same,'' He kindly requested. She nods her head. ''May I hug you?''

    ''Yes.''

    And so he does, but of course, Smackle couldn't help but clam up from the uncomfortbility by bunching her arms together.

    ''I don't like this at all,'' She lets him know.

    ''I know.''

    Though, the raven hair girl surprises them all by demanding, ''Don't stop.''

    ''Okay.''

    They both seemed to relax, knowing that they were trying to acknowledge one another.

    And at this point, Ryan was no longer cringing at how awkward their relationship grew to be. Being weird is the new normal, and it was the cutest moment she's yet to witness.

    She looks back at the girls and whispers to them with a small smile, ''I'm glad I came back.''

Ryan Collin's Outfit #1

Ryan Collin's Outfit #2

Ryan Collin's Outfit #3

authors note; it's been a hot minute since I've updated wow. But, I'm at 6411 words and counting right now, so that should make up for lost time. REASON FOR WHY THIS IS SO LONG BECAUSE I THOUGHT THIS WAS AN IMPORTANT EPISODE TO WRITE ABOUT, AND I REALLY HOPE YOU PLAYED THAT SONG, I THINK IT FITS PERFECTLY FOR THE CHAPTER. ITS CALLED QUESTIONS BY ALEX AIONO.