BEING IN A school play was certainly something not on Katherine Decker's bucket list this year—but somehow here she was now.

Still on her journey of getting out of her comfort zone, Riley and Maya suggested that she'd audition for Romeo and Juliet which their seventh-grade class had to help out as an assignment. Of course, Kat reminded them that the story wasn't particularly her favorite of his, but they still pushed it as an option.

Instead, Kat just volunteered to help out anyone who needed help with their lines, not wanting to be a part of the play itself.

At first.

It all went south however when her English teacher caught her on the school stage, dramatically reciting Juliet's lines to herself. Because the teacher not only discovered her then, but she also instantly assigned her the role of Juliet for her performance.

Caught off guard, Katherine reluctantly accepted the role as a challenge to herself. One thing led to another, and as soon as Lucas came by, their teacher revealed then that she found him—his Juliet.

"Excuse me?!" both of them yelled, infuriated at what she just revealed.

Neither of them were happy about this, but their teacher said if they didn't comply, she'd fail them for this assignment, which Kat questioned if that was even allowed, but she argued it was her class and her rules.

Again, the Shakespear classic wasn't her favorite play or book ever, but Kat wasn't going to let her enemy almost fail her again.

No way.

So here she was now, lying on a stage altar, eyes shut, and her arms hugged around her chest.

It was one of the final scenes of the play, and Katherine felt a nauseous knowing what was bound to happen. This was the moment where Romeo kisses Juliet, and god did she dread this particular scene.

Luckily, their teacher hadn't made them practice their kiss. She instead, insisted they saved it for the actual show. But Katherine still couldn't wait for this moment to be over with.

"Eyes, look your last," Lucas spoke longingly, entering the stage with his gaze fixed on Kat. He walks to her altar, kneeling himself down. "Arms, take your last embrace."

Unbeknownst to Kat, however, Farkle, casted as a spear carrier, suddenly comes from behind the stage wall, scooting closer by Lucas, his sights hardening at him.

Lucas dragged his head up from resting it by her side. "And, lips, oh, you the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss."

Kat spoke in a whisper with her eyes still closed, "You kiss me, and I break your face, Texan Romeo, you get that?"

"Wasn't planning on kissing your sour lips anyway, red," he assured softly, before bringing himself up to act like he did.

But before he could even do that, someone stops him.

"Back off!" Farkle exclaimed, hoisting his spear toward the Texan boy.

Not expecting this, Lucas turns away Kat, mildly perplexed. Meanwhile, her eyes bursted open, wanting to see what the hell was happening.

Lucas straightens his posture "What meanest thou?...Spear carrier, who havest no lines."

Farkle brought his spear back by his side. "You tried to kiss my woman. This I cannot allow. Prepare to die!"

Watching this before her eyes, Kat mentally thanked the Universe that Farkle existed.

Lucas finally breaks out of character. "Farkle, what are you doing? It's Romeo and Juliet."

"Well, now it's 'Romeo and Juliet and Farkle." The genius looks away and smirks to himself. "I play Farkle."

Lucas argues, "Dude, I'm supposed to kiss the girl. Shakespeare said."

Farkle turned to the audience, posing the question, "Who thinks the spear carrier should finally get to kiss Juliet?"

And to the astonishment of all, everyone starts to clap and cheer at the idea. Especially Riley and Maya, who stood up to their feet proudly.

"Yeah, you kiss that girl, you crazy spear carrier!" Maya exclaimed in encouragement.

"Yeah, man! Get the girl, brave little fella!" Riley encouraged along with her girl.

"Hark! Matthias!" Farkle shouts, pointing the blade of his spear at them. "You two cometh uppeth here and getteth kissed too."

The crowd erupts in cheer another time, leaving the girls to dauntingly oblige.

"Thank you, thank you. You're too kind, seriously," Maya assured bitterly, trudging up to the stage with Riley behind her.

The two join Kat at the altar, copying the position she was in.

And as she met Kat's gaze, Maya couldn't help but be amused at their circumstances. "How you doing?" she quipped.

The apple-haired girl sighs. "I just don't understand how we end up in situations like this."

Riley shakes her head with a smile. "Me neither, sista."

⤵︎

THE SCHOOL PLAY came to an end finally as the audience piled into the hallways afterward to clap and acknowledge its actors.

Kat's the first one to walk down, even though her whole body was shaking about the cheering and sudden attention on her. But she pushes her past her nerves and curtsies to everyone before going by her locker.

Maya and Riley soon stroll around the corner together, earning everyone's applause even though they weren't a part of the play. They obviously didn't mind it and soaked in applause, their arms wrapped around each other as they walk to Kat's side by their lockers.

Next is Lucas, who shines his hazy smile around at everybody as he saunters down the hallway, more fastly than his other cast mates.

Then comes Farkle, and with his presence, the surrounding applause abruptly halts.

Unpleased by this, Katherine starts clapping to break the silence, gesturing for everyone to join her, which they do.

Farkle pridefully takes in this glory as well as he cruises down the hallway.

Maya finds her gaze on the genius, her expression having a slightly ominous edge. "Farkle, come here," she beckoned, motioning him toward her.

Riley intervenes however, "Maya, don't. He thinks he was good."

"Yeah, I'm gonna fix that."

Kat interjects between them, "Maya, please. Why you gotta hurt our boys' feelings like this?"

"Because he practically ruined the play."

"What? No, he did not. He spiced it up," she countered.

Maya raised a brow. "I don't think you even know what "spiced it up" even means, Kitty-Kat."

The Decker gives Maya a phony frown before Riley spoke again, "Kat's right, Maya. You can't tell him the truth. You'll crush him."

"Oh, I can tell him the truth. It's you who can't tell him the truth because you're afraid."

"I'm not afraid. I'm nice."

"You're saying I'm not nice?"

"No, I'm afraid to say that," Riley dreaded.

Kat tsks out a chuckle. "Riles, just him the truth. He deserves to know."

Reluctantly, but heeding Kat's advice, Riley approached Farkle. "Farkle!" she called out, his attention momentarily diverted from signing a playbook. "You were so...what are the best words?"

Close by, Maya advised, "He killed the play. Those are the words. Those are the only words. You killed the play. Tell him."

Farkle's expression clouds with confusion. "What? What does she mean?" he inquired.

But in a classic Riley Matthews moment, she fumbles under pressure. "She means you killed it, Farkle. Killed it! Showbiz talk!"

Farkle's face lights up with relief. "I actually I thought I ruined the play. If you would've told me I ruined the play, I would have believed you." But before Riley could attempt to correct her misstep, he added, "I would have been crushed, but I would've believed you."

His gaze shifts to the apple-haired girl. "I mean, you thought it was good, right, Kat?" he sought to know then.

But as Kat looked at him, something within her shifted. Seeing the genuine hope in his eyes, she found herself cracking like Riley did just now.

"Offff course! You did so amazing, being the spear carrier, and doing so well—carrying that spear, right?!" she hectically turned to her friends for support, "Right?!"

Though startled by Kat's sudden outburst, her friends nodded along in agreement.

Riley adds along, "Besides, how could we crush one of the best actors working in middle school today?"

Farkle, now contemplating his newfound potential, started thinking. "I'm a good actor?... What if I'm better than good? What if I'm great? What if I'm the greatest actor who ever lived, and I never knew it? That would be sad. Wah. It's okay, it's okay. I was acting," he rambled for a while.

He began to make his exit. "Thanks, Riley, Kat, my public awaits," he declared with this newfound confidence. "Hello, everybody!" he proclaimed, leaving his friends behind to stroll out into the hallways.

Maya turns to Kat then, demanding for an explanation. "What was that for, Kat?!"

She frowns harshly. "Oh Maya, I'm sorry but I just couldn't! He's our poor little Farkle! I just couldn't lie to him for such a thing."

"Yeah? Well, you and Riley's lies are gonna break our little Farkle!"

Kat waved off Maya's concerns. "Oh, that's nonsense, okay. He's not going to break because of our innocent simple lie."

But just as Kat spoke, Farkle comes back by them, a baton in hand, and a top hat atop his head. And with that, he ends up tap-dancing his way down the other side of the hallway, driving an applause from those around him.

As Maya's prediction unfolded before their eyes, Kat and Riley couldn't help but feel Ike they were a bit screwed

"And I think..." Maya trailed off, her gaze flickering between Riley and Kat, "You two broke him."

⤵︎

"TRUTH." THAT WAS the magic word Cory Matthews wrote down on his chalkboard today for class.

Something catches Kat's eyes as she glanced at Maya. "Nice locket, sweetie-pie."

She beamed at the compliment. "You likey?" Maya asks.

Cory's voice cuts through the playful banter, "If history's about discovering the truth of what happened in the past, we spend some time finding out what truth is."

Riley, ever curious, inquired as well, "Where'd you get the nice locket?" her interest piqued by Maya's accessory.

She silences Riley with a hush. "Shh, I come here to learn."

But such a statement coming from Maya Hart's lips drives the trio to burst into laughter, knowing it wasn't at all true.

Cory ignores this and continues whilst walking around his room, "All through history, people have suffered consequences for telling the truth,"

"Is that real gold?" Riley interrogated.

"Don't know. Doesn't matter," Maya shrugged.

"They all suffered dearly for having the courage to tell the truth," Cory says.

Having that in mind, Katherine asks, "So sometimes it's better not to?"

"But aren't there consequences for that too, sir?" Lucas pondered along with her.

Cory nodded. "Yes, there are, Mr. Friar. But in my experience with the universe, no matter what you do, the truth always finds a way of coming out," he affirmed as he returned to his desk.

The bell rings then, signaling the end of class, leaving the students to gather their belongings and file out of the room.

"So...where'd you get the locket?" Riley sought to know again.

"France."

Kat immediately gasps. "France?!" she yelps out, a big frown appearing on her lips. Since childhood, one of the many places she's been wanting to go to was Paris, and the girls knew that. "You went to France without me?!"

Seeing Kat's dismay, Maya's face softens. "I'm sorry, sweetie-pie. But I got you and Riley croissants," she reveals, presenting two pastries from her desk.

Riley's eyes lit up as she grabs one. "Ooh! Piping hot," she exclaimed eagerly.

As Maya made her exit, Riley wasted no time in taking a bite of her croissant, but Kat couldn't help but eye her pastry warily.

"Hold on...Maya, where did you really get these from?" Kat demanded to know.

Maya paused in the doorway. "I found it on the street."

"Bleah!" Riley spits out her croissant, revolted by this.

Kat scowls at hers. "I should've known it was too good to be true," she snarled before throwing it into the trash.

Eventually, she and Riley walk out of the classroom to Maya, who was by her locker.

"Come on, where'd you get the locket?" Riley wasted no time in pressing for answers.

Maya closed her locker door with a decisive click. "My father sent it to me."

Kat's forehead creased. "He did?"

"You don't believe me?"

"Did you just tell us?"

"I just told you two."

"Then I believe you."

"So this is over?"

Riley, however, wasn't ready to let the matter rest. "Not exactly. I do, have one question for the locket." She snags it and asks vehemently, "Where'd you get the Maya?!"

Maya's lips pressed into a thin line. "You don't believe my father sent this to me?"

"Why don't you just tell us?"

"Why don't you just call me a liar?"

"Why don't you just tell us the truth?"

"Oh, you think that's important?"

"I do."

"Did you think Farkle was good in the play?"

Suddenly, Farkle turns around and gasps as he was by the stairs, leaving the girls to share a look at him.

This lie was sure starting to tear the trio apart, and they didn't even know it.

⤵︎

EVENING CAME ALONG Kat's world. And as usual, during this time of day, she made her way to the Matthews' apartment out of pure boredom.

As she opens the door, she notices the family were at the kitchen table, about to eat.

"Hey, Kat," Topanga greeted warmly as she handed Riley her plate of food. "You hungry?"

A smile graced Kat's features as she closed the door. "Not really, I kinda just at-"

"Oh! That's nonsense. I already made you some mac and cheese," the mother-figure urged, grasping a bowl from the kitchen counter and placing it on the table.

She had a hunch Kat would come over by this time somehow. Call it mother instincts but she just knew, even if she wasn't genetically hers.

Sitting next to Riley, Kat just blinks and nods. "Oh—okay, thank you," she sighs awkwardly before grabbing a fork and eating, again.

Topanga then placed a plate of chicken on the table, only for Cory's expression to falter at the peculiar-looking dish.

"Well, what do we have here?" he questioned skeptically.

"Chicken," she replied.

"I'll tell you right now, Topanga, this was never a chicken," he advised with a foul attitude.

But Topanga was undeterred. "Why don't you just eat it, honey? I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of it after," she urged, almost menacingly.

Riley couldn't help but be amused by their exchange. "Oh, great teller of the truth, please demonstrate how you're going to get out of this one."

Suddenly, Topanga starts to crack her knuckles and jaw, a move that sent Cory's face contorting in fear with every crack.

Joining in the teasing, Kat added, "Yeah, I would also like to see how this ends too, dearest Uncle Cory."

Uncomfortable with the situation, Cory turned to his son for support. "Psst, what'd you get?"

"S'ghetti and meatballs," Auggie responded, stuffing his mouth.

"Ooh, yum...Yum that!" Cory anxiously points to his plate. "Why this me?! Why yum him?!" But Topanga paid no heed, moving the chicken plate closer to him. "All right, fine, I'll eat it...Here we go."

However, before Cory could make a move to grab anything, he suddenly stopped as a thought strikes him like lightning.

"Have we prayed?" Cory's inquired, reaching out for his wife and daughter's hands.

Kat arched a brow at this interruption. "Since when have you guys pr-"

"Have we prayed as a family?" Cory interrupted her.

With a grumpy sigh, Kat set her fork down. "I think I should just not talk at this point, huh?" she muttered under her breath before joining in, grasping Auggie and Riley's hands.

Topanga glances at her husband once more. "Go ahead, pray."

Cory affirmed, "Oh, I'll pray." He starts then, "The world is a beautiful place...Full of many beautiful things....Look what she did to your chicken!" hissing out the last part.

The family separated their hands as Topanga urged, "Eat your dinner, honey."

"Okay," Cory nods, peering up to the ceiling after to dread out, "I'll see you soon."

He grabs a drumstick and manages to laugh his way into eating it.

"Well, what do you think?" the wife asks.

Cory chews through his food as he retorts, "Um, you know, from eating this chicken, I'll tell you right now how this chicken died. It ate this chicken."

Kat throws him a phony frown. "Well, that's not a nice thing to say, Uncle Cory."

"Oh, I don't want to hear it from you," he swats his hand her way, leaving Kat's eyes to roll.

His son spoke again, "You know, Daddy, sometimes when I don't want to eat something, mommy feeds it to me like it was an airplane."

He twirls his fork around to grab some spaghetti, before mimicking a motor whir and shoving his food into his mouth.

A grin flows through Auggie's features. "And I like that."

Cory ensured, "That's very sweet, Auggie, but daddy's a little too old for mommy to feed him."

But suddenly, Topanga stabs her fork into the big chicken and mimics a motor whir like her son did, only to move it towards her husband while he shakes his head in opposition.

Kat can't help but laugh at the sight before her. "Ha....my second family is a mess."

⤵︎

LATER THAT EVENING, Kat found herself lying down in Riley's bed, whilst the Matthews was reading a magazine. She laid her head on her palm and was thinking about today, and yesterday.

Thinking about the play, the almost kiss, Farkle ruining said almost kiss, and all the guilt she was carrying for lying to him.

Katherine knew she could never hurt Farkle Minkus. He was someone she's known since she was young, and practically grew up with him alongside Riley and Maya.

He'd always find out somehow whenever she was visiting from Philly, and always made the effort to see her every time.

She cared about him; and he obviously cared about her too.

But she couldn't help but feel her chest tighten at the thought of him. It felt weird to associate the boy with such a feeling. Most of the time, the boy could do no harm to her, so for her to unintentionally hurt him by lying, it drove Kat down a hole of guilt.

Amidst Kat's thoughts however, Maya unexpectedly comes by the bay-window. "There's a serious pigeon following me," she complained while crawling inside.

Their gazes turn to her. "How you doing?" Riley greeted. "Hey! Here's a new thing. Where'd you get the locket?"

Maya deflects Riley's question. "He's a very sneaky pigeon, but I'm onto him," she remarked.

Kat sends her a look as she and Riley join Maya by the window. "Maya, just tell us where you got it. I mean, from what I can tell, it's gold, it's expensive, and frankly, you know I'm a curious cat...literally."

She remained evasive though as she stood up. "So I ducked behind the tree to fake out the pigeon. And you know who came over? A squirrel...I didn't say hello though, because I was already in my thing with the pigeon."

But even with Maya's attempt to change the topic, Riley still voiced her worries, "I need to know if you're stealing things, Maya."

The blonde girl sighed. "You don't think my dad sends me stuff?" she retorted, defensively.

Kat frowns. "Maya, you've cried to us because your dad doesn't send you stuff," she reminded.

It was moments like these that reminded Kat of the struggles her friend faced, and it filled her with empathy. For her, watching anyone she loved cry was something she really didn't like, especially when it came to Maya.

She was also her best friend. She didn't like to see her hurt in any type of way. That was the last thing she wanted in this world.

Being hit by such a truth, Maya finally reveals, "Sometimes I walk around the village and I pass stores and I look in windows at things I know I'll never have. So one day, I saw this sitting in a lost-and-found basket. Do you think it's right that somebody loses something so beautiful and never comes back for it?"

"Who knows? I don't have a criminal mind."

Maya's gaze narrows on hers. "Yes, you do. Kat, what are you talk-"

"Shhhh!" the Decker hissed, forcing a finger to Maya's lips. "We do not speak of that time, woman," she includes in a hushed tone.

Undeterred, Maya pressed on, "I walked by the window for months. Nobody claimed the locket, okay? It sat there like a kid that has no...like an orphan. So I claimed it. It's mine now."

But Riley wasn't convinced. "It's not," she argued as they returned to the bay window. "You took something that doesn't belong to you."

Maya fought back, "How come you two don't tell Farkle the truth, but you have no trouble telling me?"

Suddenly, a pigeon flies into Riley's window seal.

"And you—stop judging me."

It flies out eventually as Riley sits down. "Hey, my father tells my mother the truth, even when he knows she's gonna shove a chicken in his face."

Maya chuckles softly as she and Kat join Riley. "Sorry, I missed it."

Kat shrugged. "It's okay, sweetie-pie. I was thinking about you the entire time I hilariously witnessed it."

Maya's face brightens slightly at her words. "Thanks."

"'Cause I love you," Kat confessed with a smile, gesturing to both her and Riley. "We both do."

"And I love you guys, too," Maya replied.

But Riley's worries cut through the sentimental moment. "Then why do you want to end up in the slammer?"

Maya's mood faltered. "Here we go..."

Riley insisted then, "You won't do well in the slammer!"

"I will so!"

"You won't pack right. And you'll forget to bring shower shoes and you'll take somebody else's from the lost-and-found. And I think you're gonna get toe fungus! And I think you deserve to get toe fungus because they're not your shower shoes...They're not!"

Maya couldn't help but hold back a laugh at Riley's outburst. "That's adorable."

However, Riley's next words weren't at all. "I think you're a thief," she declared.

Kat's eyes widened. "Riley!" she protested, rising to her feet.

"Am I wrong though?" Riley stands up beside Kat. "You think I'm afraid to tell people the truth? I'm not, and I now await your praise," she says, bringing her arms out to Maya for a hug.

But to her dismay, Maya didn't reciprocate the gesture. Instead, she retreated, crawling out of the window and leaving them both alone again.

Turning back to Riley, Kat could see the conflict etched on her friend's face. But she knew there wasn't much they could do now.

"Just let her go, Riles. I think that's what's best for now," Kat assured.

And in that moment, all Riley could do was nod, accepting that she might've just torn their friendship with her own words.

Who would've known that this was all because of a simple lie? But truly, was it simple at all?

lani's talking!

y'all I've been seeing a lot Lucas hate lately and it actually irks me

i dont think anybody understands Lucas the way I do bc that boy had potential to have more character growth and the writers wasted it so badly, like SO BADLY

it actually annoys me that in s3, he doesn't really have much of a character arc, he's just fucking THERE and the whole triangle thing just pisses me off even more like ARGH

lucas friar deserved more character depth, fuck you michael jacobs

if ur making a lucas fic, pls give my boy a more better personality and don't just go off the show, because they lowkey make him useless like halfway through it, and he deserved more than that. give my man the depth he deserved!!!

anyways, lucas rant over, which makes me think that I should do an unpopular opinions chapter on him later, geowofjeodoco

lol but thank you guys for the love and support that you've given to this book. it genuinely means the actual world to me.

also, if you found this book from tiktok, don't be shy and reply to this bc i want to know how much people have come from there. :)

and i will see you all later!

byeee <3