WHEN KAT WAS young, she liked to draw the night sky from her window. Of course, the first couple of tries were bad, but like many things in her life, Kat was determined to become better at drawing.

She even took art class a little too seriously in 5th grade. Even got mad at one of her old friends for ruining one of her drawings by scribbling on it while she went to the bathroom.

It was one of the reasons why she stopped drawing for a bit. It was an irrational fear on her end, but she was afraid of people ruining her art like her old friend did.

But since she was in New York now, she decided to try and take it seriously again.

Currently in art class, Kat was sitting next to Lucas, which was another thing she mentally cursed the universe for.

After she'd searched the question of: "How do I know if I like someone I hate?" Kat has been in deep questioning of herself and her feelings towards Lucas since then. She couldn't help but be annoyed at her own self because of it. There was even this one article that talked about it, that almost made Kat spiral.

"At first, you can't stand being around them, but now you can't get them out of your head. You find yourself making excuses to see or talk to them. You catch yourself staring at them when they're not looking.

You start to feel a confusing mix of anger, frustration, and desire whenever you're around them. You find yourself wanting to do things to make them happy, even if it means sacrificing your own happiness. Slowly but surely, you're with your enemy."

The last sentence made her want to throw herself off a cliff, but she just hoped it wouldn't get to that point.

In her mind, Katherine was ready "fake it till you make it" until she stopped liking her enemy. If anything, she didn't even think her supposed "feelings" would blossom anymore than they did now.

So to keep her mind off it, she began to draw the Eiffel Tower. The latest postcard her mom sent her back today was about her trip back to Paris last month. And of course, she briefly talked about how Kat now knew about what she did, but she also said that to move from the past, you have to move with the present.

Whatever.

As the class door opens, Farkle walks in with a robe on. "Why draw fruit? Let's draw a real work of art," he declared, seizing the fruit basket off the stoll. "That's right. Check out 48 lbs of nasty."

Then suddenly, Farkle began to untie his robe, sparking protests from Riley, Maya, and Kat.

"No!" Riley and Maya exclaimed, shielding their eyes from the sight.

"Oh my god, no, no!" Kat cried out before watching Lucas cover her eyes with his hand while he just closed his.

Farkle finally stripped off his robe, revealing he only had a red and black striped tank top and shorts on.

The art teacher chuckled at the unexpected display before her. "Well, well, looky here. The male... physique," she remarked.

"Why thank you, art lady," Farkle grinned

As Lucas lowered his hand, giving Kat the all-clear, she looked at him, perplexed. "In any other situation, I would've been tempted to break your hand, but thanks."

Lucas twisted his head, shooting a minor glare at her. "Does everything have to be violent with you?"

She flashed a playful grin his way. "Only when it comes to you," Kat retorted before refocusing on her drawing.

"Whatever," he shook his head.

"Why aren't we drawing Lucas?" Riley's voice cut through the room then.

The teacher glanced at him. "Because nobody looks like that," she responded bluntly.

"Thank god," Kat murmured, refusing to tear away from her artwork.

The teacher turned to Farkle. "Get used to this. Get used to this right now. When drawing a Farkle, start with the eyes."

"I think the eyes should go straight to the gun show," Farkle quipped, flexing his muscles for emphasis.

Lucas couldn't help but notice Kat beside him, engrossed in her drawing, focused on the Eiffel Tower. "You must really like that place, don't you?"

Kat's brow furrowed. "What?"

"Paris...I mean, you're drawing the Eiffel Tower," Lucas clarified. But as he noticed her silence, he inquired, "Have you even been to Paris before?"

A slight frown creased Kat's features. "No...and that's why I like drawing it."

"Do you draw it often?"

"When I want to," Kat replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah...hold on," she insisted before pausing her drawing to flip back a few pages in her sketchbook.

Tempted by a random urge, Lucas tries to reach toward her stuff but gets hit with a warning. "I will break your ribs if you try to touch this without my permission, cowboy."

His eyes broadened before he raised his hands in surrender, noting her attitude.

Eventually, Kat comes across the one she wanted to show him. "Here," she says, hesitantly handing it to him.

It was another rendition of the Eiffel Tower in Kat's sketchbook, but it was more detailed than the one she was drawing earlier.

And as Lucas stared at it, Kat watched his face brighten with fascination. "Whoa," he spoke, surprised. "You actually draw pretty good, red."

Instantly, her heart came to a halt, and god did she hate how she noticed that it did.

But she also felt perplexed.

He just gave her a compliment. A decent one, but still. Lucas Friar giving Katherine Decker a compliment, that was a rare thing in her head.

Sign #4. He complimented my drawing.

"I think that was the first time you've ever been this—nice to me," Kat said out loud, unintentionally.

His head shifts to hers as it tilts. "I've been this nice to you before, Kat."

"But you've never been this openly nice to me." She adds, "In-fact, this is the first time you've ever complimented my-"

"Katherine, you're very good at art, okay?" Lucas cuts her off, leaving her tongue-tied for a moment. "Better than me to be honest...Better than I'll probably ever be."

Katherine. God, how he said her name, made her breathing flounder.

Even though they were connected, her heart and mind were like two different beings now. She knew that her stubborn mind wasn't having it with the idea of liking Lucas, let alone love in general. But her heart was insisting that she'd accept these feelings or whatever she was starting to feel for him.

So although she wanted to say some sly remark like always, Kat does the opposite.

She gives him a weak grin. "Thanks. That means a lot."

He trails back to the drawing before him. "And who knows? Un jour peut-être vous et moi serons à Paris ensemble.."

("Maybe, someday, you and I will be in Paris together.)

Her heart drops to the ground, and for a moment, Kat's mind spirals out of her control.

D-did he actually just say that to me? Kat thought, her nerves going crazy.

Swallowing a lump in her throat, she brings herself to reply. "Un jour peut-être...If I ever grow to tolerate you enough to sit in a 7-hour flight with you to go there."

His eyes widened, and she could tell he was stunned by her reply. "You understand French?" he asked, carefully.

"Yup, thank my grandma for that," she grinned. "I'm not entirely fluent, but she's been trying to teach me and my sister it since we were kids so I'm fairly good at understanding it."

Lucas stares at her, amusingly. "You're always full of surprises, aren't you?"

"Well! She sure is!" their teacher suddenly exclaimed as she approached them.

Grabbing Kat's sketchbook from her, the teacher's sudden action nearly gave Kat a heart attack and a yelp to escape her lips.

"My god! I have never seen the Eiffel Tower drawn so well!" the teacher exclaimed in praise.

Kat uneasily chuckled. "Oh stop it, you're too nice...Uh, can I have my sketchbook back...please?" she sought with a pleading smile.

The teacher hands it back and insisted, "Katherine, I think I want you to present one of your pieces at the school's art exhibit this week. It'd be a great opportunity to showcase your talent."

Kat's face goes blank, not only surprised by what happened earlier but at the bold opportunity given to her. "Oh...uhm—I don't know if I want to do that, I mean I'm kind of-"

"I don't think she will, Ms Cossal," Lucas spoke up then. "I think Kat here is a bit too shy to do something like that anyways, right?" he added obnoxiously.

Of course, Kat scowls at his figure. "Wow, okay," she replied, before her mind suddenly swelled in pride. "Well, actually you know what? Yeah, I'll do it, Ms. Cossal. I'll happily, present one of my artworks there."

The teacher's face lit up. "Good! I'll see one of your pieces then," she said warmly before leaving their sides.

Kat turned to Lucas again. "Ha! You didn't think I was gonna say yes, hmh? Well, I just proved ya wrong there, Buttercup."

But in return, Lucas didn't seem fazed at all. Instead, he just grinned and returned to his work afterward.

His lack of a reaction left her puzzled, again. "God, what are you smiling at now, Yeehaw?"

Lucas shook his head. "Nothing...Just nothing."

The teacher, now addressing Riley and the others, gasped. "Oh my gosh."

"See? I am an artist. I am finally something," Riley declared with pride.

But the teacher disregarded her and moved on to the blonde next to her. "Maya!"

Riley's expression soured. "What a life I'm having."

"Maya. My goodness. This is brilliant!" the teacher exclaimed, showcasing Maya's work to everyone.

In the artwork, Farkle is depicted inside a bird's nest.

"Farkle is in a bird's nest," Riley observed.

"It's a work of surrealism, Riley. It's how this artist's mind views the subject," the teacher explained.

Farkle squints his eyes at Maya. "I'm a bird to you?"

She shook her head. "No, you just... Need to be protected."

A grin tugged at Farkle's lips. "You love me."

"Leave me alone," she pointedly ordered.

The teacher placed Maya's sketchbook back on her stand. "I was talking to Katherine about this earlier but, Maya, there's a school exhibit coming up. I want one of your pieces in it too."

"What about my piece?" Riley piped up.

The teacher took a glance at her artwork. "That's a cute top," she commented with a smile.

Kat interjected, "Yeah, come on! We can both be the cool artists that we are, and you can see me proving to Lucas that this is just another thing I'm simply better at than him."

Lucas shook his head. "How I'm so delighted."

Maya, however, declined the offer. "No thanks, Miss Kossal. I don't draw for other people to look at, but thank you."

"I'd appreciate you thinking about it, okay?" the teacher responded, hopeful.

Meanwhile, Farkle began to make his way to the door.

"Where are you headed, Farkle?" Riley inquired.

"Gym class. That should go well, right?" And with that cryptic remark, he disappeared.

⤵︎

     BEING A NYPD detective meant taking some work home to finish by the next morning. And that was what Maverick Decker was doing right now, on his laptop.

He had to answer some emails before bed, but as he was writing some, he hears a knock on his door. And as he looked, he found Katherine there.

"Hey, I know you're probably busy right now but I just wanted to know if you were still going to Career Day tomorrow to talk?" she asked, peeking her head from the cracked door.

Maverick turned fully to her. "Of course I am, Kat. You told me you wanted me to be there, and I told you I'd always be there, no matter what."

She walked to him and grabbed a chair from his side to sit. "And I'm very grateful that you continue to do that. And, I know it may be random, but I understand now that all you ever wanted to do was protect me, even from the bad stuff about life, even the stuff I deserved to know."

Although he wanted to inquire about what was making her so sentimental, he didn't mind it.

Instead, he weakly grinned. "You know I'm still sorry that, Kat. Your sister and I—we shouldn't have kept what your mother did from you. You did deserve to know."

Kat shrugged. "It's okay now. It's all in the past, right?" She sighs and straightened up. "But, since I'm here, why don't you practice your speech for tomorrow to me?"

Maverick raised a brow. "My speech?"

"Yeah?" It doesn't take long before she understands her father's slight confusion. "Dad, you're going to talk about your job in front of my classmates, and you don't even have a speech prepared?"

He shrugged. "I was just gonna wing it, honestly."

She gave him a pointed look. "Dad...practice one now, please."

"Practice what? I've got nothing?!"

"Just practice what you're going to say!" Kat exclaims, letting out a sigh after. "It doesn't even need to be all fancy just—explain what you do for a living...but try to make it sound interesting or else I'll fall asleep," she smiled.

He shook his head. "Okay, fine."

The father straightens his posture before he spoke. "Well, hi everyone, I'm Maverick Decker. I'm a NYPD detective for the 12th precinct and basically what I do for a living is conduct investigations for many things, murder, robberies, and all things crime."

Transitioning to Career Day, there Maverick Decker stood in front of his daughter's class, his hands folded against his stomach.

"Being a detective isn't easy. I'm talking long hours of examining records and trying to solve crimes that sometimes take days, even weeks to crack. But it's worth it in the end, watching someone go away for a long time, maybe even for life, for their crimes. It's the joy in my day." He glanced over at Kat. "Besides seeing my daughter and her sister every day."

Kat pouted at his comment. Meanwhile, Cory coughed discreetly, catching Maverick's attention.

He shoots Cory a peculiar look. "And I guess seeing my best friend too?"

And to that, Cory smiled knowingly to himself.

Turning back to the class, Maverick concluded, "Thank you for listening."

The room erupted into applause as Maverick made his way over to Cory's side, exchanging a fist bump with his daughter along the way.

The teacher then stepped into the center of the room. "Alright, future history makers, that was one of your first speakers for today. Now there are a lot of other ways to make your mark on the world."

Suddenly, Topanga comes inside. "Hi, Riley."

Riley sneered in reply, "Oh great, Shakira is here." She turned to Maya and raised a brow. "Where's your mom?"

"She won't be coming," Maya replied.

Kat furrowed her brows. "But she told you she was coming."

"Yes, she did."

Cory spoke up again, "Okay, guys, our second guest today is a lawyer, and I like her." He pulled Topanga close to him. "Hey, lawyer lady. How about we go out sometime? I get off work every day at 3:15...Except Tuesdays. I got playground duty."

Topanga chuckled at Cory before launching into her speech. "So, I am an attorney. I got here through a lot of hard work in school. By the time I was your age, I had 350 'A's."

Just then, somebody knocks on the back door.

"Your mom... there she is!" Riley exclaimed.

Cory went to the door as everyone turned to it, watching him open it to Stuart Minkus himself.

"Minkus," Cory said.

"Topanga," he replied, his gaze darting her.

She shot him a look. "Stuart."

"Topanga," he repeated before strolling over to his son, Farkle.

"Father."

"Farkle."

Beside them, Lucas had to do a double take. "Wait a minute."

By then, Stuart was squatting by his son.

"Yes?" Farkle responded.

Lucas sought to understand, "He's your father?"

"Look at us."

"Your name is Farkle Minkus?"

"Don't wear it out."

The Texan boy shook his head. "I don't know how you could..."

Stuart soon sauntered up to the front, sheepishly grinning. "Sorry, I'm late, everybody. I had helicopter problems, 'cause I have a helicopter." He turned to the teacher. "Do you have a helicopter, Cory?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Do you have a Topanga, Minkus?"

Like Cory, he shook his head. "Nope, because she chose you. I run Minkus International, I have a helicopter, and she chose you."

Topanga interjected, "Stuart, please. Aren't we a little too evolved to still be competing with each other?"

Stuart laughed lightheartedly. "Of course."

Topanga echoed his laughter. "Of course."

But their competitive spirit soon surfaced as they turned back to each other. "Go!"

"Between the two of us, Riley and I have 1260 "A" s. Ha!"

"That's remarkable, Topanga. Between the two of us, Farkle and I have 1261."

"Ha!"

"Ha!" Stuart copied his son's triumphant tone.

Topanga turned to her husband but he faltered. "Ah!" he yelps out. "I... I had to, Topanga. He's a lot smarter than I am."

Stuart stood beside Topanga then. "But what's more important to me than anything... Is that I have this guy. Come up here, son."

Topanga gestured for Riley to stand by her as Farkle went by his dad. "Come up here, daughter. Look how tall she is. She's been taller than me since the day she was born."

Maverick walked over to the front, his eyes landing on Kat as he gestured for her to join his side.

She sighs defeatedly, rolling her eyes. "To be fair, I know me and Kim are smarter than you ever were growing up," she insisted as she stood mext to him.

He wrapped an arm around her and pats the side of her shoulder. "And that's all that matters to me anyway."

Cory smiled at them. "Well, very nice. Good for you guys," he remarked to the class. "So, this is what Career Day is really all about."

"Yeah, I love it every year," Maya spoke.

Cory's smile faltered. "I'm sorry, Maya. Maybe your mom just got a little busy."

Kat and Riley approached Maya. "Are you okay?"

"I'm always okay," she assured, later accepting Riley's help to stand up. "Yeah, thanks," she smiled before the girls made their way over to Stuart and Farkle together.

"So, these are the three ladies you tell me keep chasing you, huh?" Stuart asked Farkle, pointing at the trio.

The girls widened their eyes, darting to Farkle.

"Please," he pleaded in a whisper.

Riley nods reluctantly. "Yes sir, it is us."

"I'm not doing it," Maya insisted, but Riley nudged her to accept this. "Yes, sir, it's us. We hope that one day, one of us will be lucky enough to become the future Mrs. Farkle Minkus and have a lot of baby Minkii."

Kat's face contorted slightly at Maya before turning back to the Minkus boys. "Yeah, it was either this or I was gonna end up alone so...why not?"

⤵︎

     EVEN THOUGH IT was nighttime at this point of the day, Riley couldn't shake off one thought as she sat with her girls, their usual positions unchanged.

"Why won't you show your art?" Riley asked Maya solely.

The blonde shrugs. "Because I'm... I'm fine believing that nothing much is going to happen for me. Otherwise, I'm full of hope. You hope for things, you get disappointed."

Kat frowned. "Not all the time though."

"Sure, but still."

"What reason could your mom have for not showing up, Maya? You're right, I did expect her. I know Kat also did too," Riley admits, gesturing towards her and Kat.

"And I didn't. See? Only one of us is disappointed."

"And only one of us will never let this go. You know that."

Maya assured, "I don't expect out of life what you expect, Riley."

She sighs out a breath. "What do I expect?"

"You expect...good things. You expect people to keep promises and people to show up."

Kat frowns again. "You don't?"

"You know I don't, Kat," Maya replied. "Unlike the both of us, you have a father. You have someone who shows up for your events when you ask him, and he never lets you down. I'm not one of those dreamers like you or Riley."

The brunette sighed deeply. "If your mom saw your art, doesn't it make sense that she'd be proud of you?"

"Yeah," Maya nodded. "It makes sense to you two...Guys, you need to be okay with this. Do you understand that finally something is beyond your control? Look, I know you and Kat can't control your twisted need to fix people's lives, but please."

Riley suddenly reached over, adjusting Maya's jacket.

"I'm begging you," the blonde begged, a hint of frustration in her voice.

Then Kat moved in, fixing Maya's hair, driving her to scowl back. "Hey! I just wanted to make you as pretty as I know you are."

Yup, this wasn't going to go so well.

lani's talking!

as I'm writing this end note, I'm having the most excruciating cramps ever.

im in pain 😁

ALSO if u didn't see my recent message on my board, I changed some dialogue in ch 7-8 bc I realized I made lucas so mean to kat during that one scene FOR LIKE NO REASON even though he's canonically like such a nice guy

but anyways, thank you all for reading and supporting this story, it means a lot :)

byeee <3