Emily's POV

Maya and I are watching the play that Riley and Lucas are in.

The school play, Romeo and Juliet is going on. Lucas who plays Romeo, approaches Juliet (Riley) who is lying on the table in her family's tomb, dead.

"Eyes, look your last." He looks at Riley, lying down. "Arms, take your last embrace. And, lips, oh, you the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss." Lucas says.

Farkle jumps from the side of the stage. Oh god. "Back off!"

"What meanest thou? Spear carrier... who havest no lines." Lucas aka Romeo asks Farkle.

"You tried to kiss my woman. This I cannot allow. Prepare to die!" Farkle says to him.

"Farkle, what are you doing? It's "Romeo and Juliet."" Lucas says.

"Well, now it's "Romeo and Juliet and Farkle." I play Farkle." Farkle says. I laugh.

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

"Who thinks the spear carrier should finally get to kiss Juliet?" Farkle asks.

Maya and I are cheering in the audience. "Yeah, you kiss that girl, you crazy spear carrier." We say in unison.

"Hark! Danieths! You cometh uppeth here and getteth kissed too." He says. I sigh.

They all cheer. "Thank you, thank you. You're too kind, seriously." We both say. We walk up to the stage and talk to Riley. "How you doing?" Maya asks her

"I just don't understand how we end up in situations like this." Riley says.

"Me either kid." I say.

Riley, Lucas, and Farkle walk down with a crowd cheering their performance in the play.

"Thank you. Thank you, Farkle Nation!" Farkle says.

"Farkle, come here." Maya says.

"Maya, don't. He thinks he was good." Riley says to her.

"Yeah, I'm gonna fix that." I nod agreeing with Maya.

"He deserves to know the truth." I say to Riley.

"But you can't tell him the truth. You'll crush him." She says to us.

"We have to tell him." I say.

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

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

'You're saying we're not nice?" Maya says, pointing to us.

"No, I'm afraid to say that." Riley says. I roll my eyes.

"Tell him the truth. You know Farkle. You know what will happen if you don't." I tell her. He walks up to us.

"Farkle. You were so-- What are the best words?" Riley says.

"He killed the play." I say with Maya continuing.

"Those are the words. Those are the only words." She says then I finish.

"You killed the play. Tell him." I say.

"What? What does she mean?" He asks Riley.

"She means you killed it, Farkle. Killed It! Showbiz talk." Riley says. I sigh.

"I actually I thought I ruined the play." And you did. "If you would've told me I ruined the play, I would have believed you. I would have been crushed, but I would've believed you." He says.

Riley sighs. "How could I crush one of the best actors working in middle school today?" She says causing me to give Maya a look that says 'what is she doing?!".

"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." He says. He acts sad but then stops and says. "Wah. It's okay, it's okay. I was acting. Thanks, Riley, my public awaits. Hello, everybody!" He says. I sigh. He leaves

"You can't lie to him, Riley. You're gonna break our little Farkle." Maya says to her.

"Oh, I will not. I didn't do anything. This will all go away." She says to us.

Farkle re-enters tap-dancing across the halls.

"And I think... You broke him." I say to her.

Mr. Matthews is teaching a lesson on truth.

"Nice locket." He says to Maya.

"You likey?" Maya asks.

"If history's about discovering the truth of what happened in the past, we should spend some time finding out what truth is." Mr. Matthews says. I sigh. The truth. The truth sucks.

"Where'd you get the nice locket?" Riley asks Maya.

"Shh, I come here to learn." She responds. We all three laugh.

"All through history, people have suffered consequences for telling the truth." He says. If I tell anyone I'm gonna end up suffering consequences. Consequences I don't want.

"Is that real gold?" I asks Maya.

"Don't know. Doesn't matter." Maya says.

"They all suffered dearly for having the courage to tell the truth." Mr. Matthews says.

"So sometimes it's better not to?" I ask.

"But aren't there consequences for that too, sir?" Lucas asks from behind me. I rub my shoulder and wince at the pain.

"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 says. (bell rings)

I continue to pack up my stuff as everyone leaves the room. "Hey." I hear Lucas say.

I turn around and see him. "Hey."

"What happened?" He asks.

I give him a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

"There's a bruise on your shoulder and your arm." He says. My breathing hitches. I look at my arm and see the bruise showing a little. Crap.

"I uh I fell down some stairs." I lie.

"How?" He asks.

"I tripped." I say. I put the strap of my book bag on my non hurt shoulder.

"What did you trip on?" Lucas asks me. I turn to him.

"Lucas. I tripped. Just drop it." I say then walk out of the door and I see Riley and Maya talking.

"Come on, where'd you get the locket?" Riley asks her. I notice the locket Maya's wearing.

"Oh, cute locket." I say to her then open my locker.

"Thanks. And my father sent it to me." Maya says.

"He did?" Riley asks her.

"You don't believe me?" Maya asks.

"Did you just tell me?" Riley asks her. I sigh.

"I just told you." Maya says?

"Then I believe you." Riley says. No she doesn't.

"So this is over?" Maya asks.

"Like it never happened. I do, however, have one question for the locket. Where'd you get the Maya?!" Riley asks looking at the necklace.

"You don't believe my father sent this to me?" Maya asks her.

"Why don't you just tell me?" Riley asks.

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

"Why don't you just tell me the truth?" Riley asks.

"Oh, you think that's important?" Maya asks

"I do." Riley says. I frown and look around, I see Lucas looking at me like he's trying to figure out if I was lying earlier. I frown and look away at Farkle who is walking by. I look at Riley.

"Did you think Farkle was good in the play?" I ask her. Finally talking in their conversation.

Farkle melodramatically gasps when he walks by.

I walk inside my house and see my dad watching TV on the couch. Oh no. Why is he home so early? I quietly walk to my room hoping he didn't notice me. After a couple hours I hear him call my name.

"Yes?" I ask in a small voice, when I walk out there.

"Dinners ready." He says.

We sit at the table and begin to eat. It was quiet at first until he starts talking.

"How're your grades?" He asks me. I don't look at him while I answer, I keep my gaze on my food.

"Um, there good." I say.

"What are they?" He asks.

"Uh, history and English are A's, my gym class is a B, same as my art and math." I say.

"What about your science?" He asks.

"I don't know. We have a test tomorrow so it could go up." I say.

"I thought you said you didn't know?" He says. I look at him then back to my plate.

"I don't." I say.

"You just said it could go up? So what's the grade Emily?" He asks me.

"I- I don't know." I lie.

"You wouldn't be lying to me now would you Emily? So don't make me ask again, what's the grade?" He says.

"It's it's a D." I say.

"Okay. I'm not mad." He says.

I look at him confused. "You're not?" I ask.

"No but you do know I'm gonna have to punish you right?" I look down at my plate. I look out of the corner of my eye and see him looking around. "How about you can clean up the house first?" I look at him and nod. "Starting with the kitchen." He says and stands up. "I want to see this kitchen spotless." He says then throws his cup to the floor. I look at him wide eyed. "Do you understand me? Completely spotless!" He yells. I rush to get out of my seat as he starts throwing plates. I feel glass hit me in the arms and on my face. And that was just the beginning of the night.

The next morning, I wake up in my bed in pain. I remember everything of last night. Of him beating me. I walk carefully to my mirror and notice, my lip busted and a black eye,with a cut on my cheek.

I undress out of my pajamas to change into my school outfit. I notice bruises, bad bruises, on me. My legs, arms and stomach.

I bandage up my stomach and my shoulder. I put a lot of makeup on my bruises on my face and arms. I'll wear jeans today so no one will see. I notice that the cut on my cheek and lip can't be covered. Great. I change and then grab my phone, checking the time. 6:50 am. I'm supposed to meet Riley and Maya at Riley's at 7.

I grab my school bag and close my door. I walk out of the apartment, he wasn't home. Thank gosh. I walk to Riley's apparent.

After being questioned on why I couldn't come over last night and about one or two lies. We are standing at our lockers. No one asked about the cuts and if they did all I'm gonna say is that I fell.

"I got something to say to you." Riley

Maya puts fingers in her ears and sings. "I can't hear you. Baddada dadaa dadaa..." I give her a look which she ignores.

"I'm talking to you." Riley says to her.

Maya continues singing. "Da da dadaa. Whata whata whata, waa waa waa. And... Go."

"Whether or not you're a thief, or not a thief, or you stole the locket or you didn't, it doesn't belong to you. It belongs to somebody else. And you have to tell the truth about it because you are upsetting the universe. And the universe is going to have the truth come out anyway." Riley says. I look down at her words. She's right. The truth does come out. I hope at least mine doesn't.

"And what about you? When are you gonna tell the truth to Farkle?" Maya asks her.

"I hardly think the universe is upset with me for being nice to Farkle. I mean, what could possibly go wrong there?" Riley asks. I notice Farkle down the hall.

"Hey, Chess Club, you can move King's Knight to Bishop Six and then you can eat it! 'Cause I quit the Chess Club 'cause I'm an actor, 'cause Riley said so." He says. My eyes widen.

"'Cause Riley said so." Maya says to Riley.

"Hey, Chemistry Club, you know what you get when you put sodium and chlorine together? You're a bunch of losers!" Farkle says to them.

"Farkle!" Riley and I say in unison.

"Riley. You changed my life. The Farkle you knew is gone. I am now... " He says then next part dramatically. "Farkle!"

Maya sings. "Whata whata what. What could possibly go wrong? Whata whata what could possibly go wrong?"

Later that night I go with Maya to Riley's apartment, through the window. "Hey." We say.

"Well, now she's back, with Emily. Maybe it's not as upside down as you think." Mr. Matthews says. He looks at Maya's locket. "It's a nice locket, Maya."

"Thanks, Mr. Matthews." She says.

"It looks like someone else's expensive gold locket." Riley says.

"Maybe it is. But, you know, I don't think that matters to Maya at all." Her father says.

"You don't?" I ask.

"You know, it's an interesting thing about lockets. It's usually what's in the inside that matters most to people. Isn't that right, Maya?" He says and tries to open the door only to find Topanga standing in his path. "Yeah, okay." He closes door. "Please don't tell anyone this is how I live in my own house." He goes out the window.

"What's inside the locket, Maya, that's so important to you?" Riley asks. Maya opens the locket with a family photo inside.

"Who is this family?" I ask her.

"I don't know." She breathes deeply. "A father, a mother and a little girl. I just like that they're all together. I'm keeping it."

"Oh, boy." Riley says.

Cory re-enters through the window. "She's at the front door too. It's like there's two of her." He opens the door to find Topanga with the chicken making airplane noises; he screams and closes the door then sits next to me and Maya. "So what do we do now? Just sit here or what?"

"Hey, Dad. Can you tell me why I kind of think trying to help Farkle may have been wrong and maybe Maya should keep the locket?" Riley asks.

"I should?" Maya asks.

"Maybe. Is it me that's upside down?" Riley asks.

"You know what, girls? The universe is the most confusing place you'll ever live. But if you listen carefully, you'll find out that it's paying attention and that it cares about you." He says.

"Is that the truth?" I ask.

"It's the only one I'm still sure of." Mr. Matthews says. Auggie opens the door with a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. "Hey, Auggie, is that for me, Buddy?" His father asks him.

"I made it for you." Auggie says.

"Oh, Auggie, thank you so much. Thank you." He sits down and looks at the plate. "Look at this, ooh. This looks good." He takes a little bite. "It's-- It's cold s'ghetti."

"I know it's better warmer, but I don't know how to do that." Auggie says.

"Auggie, I appreciate that you did anything for me at all." Matthews says.

"You said that very nice. Why didn't you say it that way to Mom?" He asks his father.

"What? But all I did was tell Mom the truth." Cory says.

"Then why did you get cold s'ghetti?" Auggie asks.

"Whoa." Riley, Maya and I say in unison.

"Whoa. Auggie, are you saying the truth doesn't matter as much as how you treat people?" Mr. Matthews asks his FIVE year old son.

"Auggie, are you saying that the truth does matter, but you should tell it to people warmly?" Riley asks her five year old brother.

"Auggie, are you saying that the universe pays attention to me?" Maya asks the five year old.

"Do you people realize that I'm only" he shows his left hand. "this many?" I high-five Auggie.

The next day at school I see Lucas walking towards me. Great. "Whats going on with you?" He asks me.

"What?" I ask him, confused.

"This is twice now that I've seen bruises or cuts on you." Lucas says. I frown.

"I fall a lot. I'm clumsy. There's nothing to it." I say.

"I know your lying. Why are you lying?" He asks.

I close my locker. "Lucas, it's none of your business."

"It is if someone is hurting you!" He says.

"No one's hurting me!" I say, I'm happy it's the end of the day so no one is really here.

"Then why are you lying?" Lucas says.

"I'm not lying. Just drop it. Stop worrying. No one is hurting me. I'm clumsy!" I say. "Please just leave it alone!" I say then walk away. I feel tears fall down my face, which I think he saw.

I tell the girls that I was leaving, I then go home. I walk through the door. He's not here. Thank gosh.

I go to my room and do my homework, for a couple hours. I go to sleep around 8, skipping dinner, after I cleaned up the cuts and bruises. I fall asleep, hoping Lucas won't find out.

Here is another chapter. Okay. I know that the scene with her father is like the scene from Teen Wolf, with Isaac and his father. I wasn't trying to copy. I was just using it as an idea. I'm sorry if you guys don't like it. But here is another chapter. I know I asked this last chapter but if I have Emily date someone who would it be? Lucas? Farkle? Or someone else? Also when they find out about Emily's father hitting her, who do you guys want to find out first. Lucas? Farkle? Or someone else? It would mean a lot for your feedback and to see who you guys may want her with. So please comment on your thoughts about it. Anyways thanks for reading. Bye.

-Kelly.