"Girl Meets The Bay Window"

(primrose's outfit for this chapter)

"Why are you smiling like that at us?" Primrose asked Riley, looking at the brunette-haired girl weirdly. Primrose sat next to Maya and Riley on Riley's bay window and Riley was smiling widely at them.

"I need to ask you two for permission for something." Riley responded.

Maya chuckles lightly, shrugging her shoulders. "Whatever you want." She told her while Primrose pointed at her in a sign of agreement.

"Aw, ever since the three of us were little kids," While smiling, Riley looks at Maya. "You would always say 'Whatever you want'," Riley then turns to Primrose, her smile never leaving her face. "And you would always agree even before you guys knew what it was."

"You got a good thing going here, kid." Maya nodded.

"You better not blow it." Primrose spoke to Riley in a stern tone, pointing at the brunette girl beside her.

"Maya, Primrose," Riley tilts her head to the side. "You two don't know what you're getting yourselves into." She smiles. "Remember when I first asked you guys if you wanted to be friends?"

"Did I take it on?" Maya raises her eyebrows. "Am I still here?"

"You can't just say yes this time." Riley purses her lips together, shaking her head. "This one's different."

Maya still nods her head and repeats, "Whatever you want."

"I want to completely redo-"

"Your hair." Maya interrupted Riley, thinking that's what she's going to say.

Riley laughs nervously. "You want me to change my hair?"

Maya shrugs. "I think you could try something once."

"Riles, you look fine." Primrose reassured Riley, smiling when the brunette-haired girl looks at her with a smile.

"Thank you, Rosie." Riley tells her. She looks back at Maya. "I don't want to change my hair."

Maya points at her straight brunette hair. "I gotta look at that everyday."

"You change your hair." Riley suggested to her.

"Stop being ridiculous!" Maya exclaimed, looking at Riley with furrowed eyebrows.

"I want to completely redo-"

"The way you dress." Maya interrupted Riley again. 

Riley tilts her head to the side, furrowing her eyebrows. "You don't like me at all, do you?"

"You and Rosie are my favorite people in the world. I wouldn't change a thing about either of you." Maya responded and Primrose glanced at her with a smile.

Riley takes a deep breath before continuing. "I want to tear down the bay window."

Primrose's eyes grow wide, looking at Riley with surprise. "Wait, really?" All of her life this bay window has been the same and she was so surprised that Riley actually wanted to change it now. 

Maya points at Riley. "You shut your face."

Riley shakes her head. "It's time."

"What's the matter with you?" Maya questioned. 

"We're changing."

"We're not." Maya told Riley, shaking her head. 

"Maya, the most important things in our lives are changing." Riley said. "The bay window is one of the most important things in our lives. It's changing us. It's time."

"Riley, look at me." As Maya speaks, Riley turns to face her. Primrose looks at Maya, seeing how upset she was by this. "Some things mean too much to us to ever change. I don't want this place to ever change. Look at me and tell me that you understand that."

"Maya," Riley looks at the blonde with a small smile. "It's time."

"No." Maya shakes her head. "You don't have my permission for this."

"You have my permission." Primrose said to Riley. 

Maya looks at her with wide eyes. "What? Why are you giving her permission for doing something like this? I know this bay window means as much to you as it does to me." 

Primrose turns to Maya, looking at her with a smile. "I'm giving her permission to do this because this is her room. She can decide whatever she wants to do with us and being the great friend she is she asked us permission before she changed her bay window which is something important to all of us."

Maya's lips curves downwards. "But this place has always been my sanctuary before the storm." 

"And it still will be." Primrose tells her, shrugging her shoulders a bit. "It will just look different."

"Thank you for giving me your permission, Rosie." Riley smiled, happy that Primrose backed her up on this and gave her permission.

Primrose looks at her with a smile. "You're welcome, Riles." 

"And Maya," Riley takes her hand off of Primrose's knee as she turns to Maya. "We're doing it."

"It never mattered what was going on outside these windows." Maya sighs, "When I sit here with you and Rosie, I'm safe. We're not changing that."

"You looking forward to high school?" Riley asked her.

Maya shakes her head. "We still don't know if that's gonna happen!"

"Maya, it's going to happen." Riley chuckles. "You stink at change, and I want to hit the ground running from the very first day while Rosie checks on us no matter what happens."

"I stink at change?" Maya questioned, pointing at herself.

"Oh, yeah." Primrose nodded. 

Maya looks at Riley. "Remember when you were afraid that Lucas was changing? Remember when you said 'Change fills my pockets with pennies of uncertainty.'" 

"And you," Maya turns to Primrose, pointing at her. "You're not so great at change either. Remember when you didn't want to move away from here? Remember when you hid your feelings from Farkle because you were afraid if your feelings were out in the open it would ruin your friendship with him?"

Primrose stays silent, looking at the floor knowing that Maya was right. Primrose had to admit she was kind of bad with things changing. Maya shakes her head, looking at her and Riley. "Both of you stink at change." 

"Yes, but I've changed." Riley said. She smiles. "Maya, it's a natural part of growing up. We're changing whether you like it or not."

Maya pouts, shaking her head. "Not." 
She takes a shaky breath before she speaks again. "Okay? You know what's natural? The way the sun comes in through these windows, and the pillows are warm when you put your head on them, or...How the moon glows off of the curtain and we don't care that it's the middle of the night because we're here, and we're safe, and we're protected."

Riley sends Maya a sad smile. "And we're doing it."

"Or how Farkle comes in through the window all our lives and says, 'Ladies!'" Maya adds, glancing at Primrose before looking at Riley. "I don't want that to ever change."

Just after she says that Farkle climbs through the window, taking a seat beside Primrose. He places a kiss on Primrose's cheek which caused her to smile shyly and for blush to appear on her face. Farkle smiles a bit and looks at each of them. "Hey."

Maya sighs. "Why do things change, Farkle?"

"Because things grow." Farkle replies. "Did you know that every seven years, your body grows a whole new set of cells? Every seven years it's like you're a whole new person."

Riley smiles. "Mr. Norton taught us that in Science."

"Yeah?" Maya shakes her head. "Well, I'm exactly the same as I was when I was seven, and I'll be exactly the same when I'm-" She turns to Farkle for help. "Do it."

Farkle chuckles lightly. "21. See, the difference between you at seven and now is that at seven, you just met me, and now, you've learned to use me. Well, besides Prim."

"I know a good thing when I see it." Maya smiles at Farkle. "You've been growing ever since we met. 

"Yeah," Riley agrees. "Farkle I hope we can say that you've grown into a handsome young man without embarrassing you. 

"Uh..." Farkle shakes his head, an embarrassed smile forming on his lips. "No you can't." 

"Remember the little boy he was? Remember the first day we met him?" Maya asked causing a smile to tug on Primrose's lips as she looked at Farkle. 

"Of course I do." Primrose replied. 

"Yeah, me too." Riley smiles widely. "He saved my life, Maya. He saved my life twice, and you didn't even save it once." 

Maya looks at Riley with offense and then repeats the line she said to Riley back on that day. "You have to wift your head, Wiwey."

The four of them remember the day of the Halloween party the Matthews' had which was when the girls met Farkle. Riley was bobbing for apples, but had no luck getting one. She then forgot what to do when she didn't get an apple. Maya and Primrose kept telling her to lift her head, but Riley didn't listen. That's when Farkle walked over to them and saved Riley, twice. 

"And I always have." Maya smiled, remembering when Farkle told them 'Feel free to use me as you see fit.' 

Farkle chuckles when he remembered what her costume was. "Your costume was a bag."

Maya shrugs. "I couldn't afford a costume." She grins. "I was a different bag every year." 

"Look how much Farkle has changed." Riley gestures to the boy. "And look how much Primrose has changed." She gestures to Primrose. She then smiles when she noticed the couple were now holding hands. "And look at what they are now. They've both changed." She looks at Maya with a smile. "It's nothing to be afraid of. Maya, we're changing the bay window." 

Farkle furrows his eyebrows. "Why can't you just change your hair?" 

Primrose groans. "Why are you people so hooked on changing her hair? Changing the bay window should be her decision because it's apart of her room and if she wants to change the bay window then she should."

"You're changing the bay window?" 

The four of them look over when they see Lucas peeking his head through the window. They scoot over to the right edge, letting Lucas sit down beside Farkle. 

Maya sighs with a bit of annoyance. "Oh, look what you did. You made Hee-Haw show up out of nowhere." 

"Lucas, how does this affect you?" Riley questions Lucas. She gestures to herself, Maya, Farkle, and Primrose. "You didn't grow up with us."

"Yeah, I didn't have to." Lucas responds. "I know this place has a lot of meaning to you. That makes it a special place to me," He gestures to Maya and Riley. "Because both of you are special to me...In whatever way you'll eventually tell me."

"High school's coming up." Riley said. She looks at Maya. "We're changing." She gestures to the bay window. "Look around, guys. This is a...Little girl's bay window. It needs to change with us."

"Hey, Huckleberry," Maya looks at Lucas with a smile. "It might've been okay to have known you as long as we've known Farkle."

Lucas smiles. "Yeah, being friends with you guys has changed me in the best ways possible. I wish I always had that."

"It's time to forget the past." Riley said to Maya.

Maya shakes her head. "We don't have to."

"Maya," Riley stands up. "What's important now is 'Who are we going to be?'"

Maya stands up, looking at her with confusion. "What happens to who we were?"

"You are never touching this bay window." Maya told Riley.

Silence fills the room as Riley's friends looked at her with shock when she pulled off one of her curtains on the bay window. Even though Primrose supported Riley on her decision to change the bay window she was still surprised that Riley was actually changing it.

****

Riley and her friends, plus Riley's parents, stood in her bedroom that was now torn down. Maya sat on the bay window, looking at the room in disbelief. "How could you let them do this?" 

"We didn't." Cory replies. He looks at Riley, Farkle, Lucas, and Primrose with wide eyes. "What did you guys do?"

Topanga points at the bay window. "Riley, this is your favorite place in the world."

Riley smiles. "I'm just a teenage girl rearranging her room a lot." 

"Uh-huh." Topanga nods, crossing her arms, not believing her one bit. "What's really happening?" 

"Just because we're going to high school, she thinks we should destroy our childhood." Maya responded.

Cory nods. "Okay, you know, this raises an interesting question. Who here knows-"

"Stop." Each of the kids interrupted him. 

Cory outstretches his arms, looking at them with confusion. "Stop what?"

Primrose narrows her eyes at him. "You were getting ready to teach us something."

"No..." Cory shook his head, dragging out the word as he spoke. 

"Sure you were." Lucas said in a disbelieving tone. 

Farkle chuckles, shaking his head. "It's the weekend and you can't stop. Bring it, Hambone."

Cory blinks, looking at each of them with surprise. Maya nods at him. "You need help, Matthews."

"No teaching us anything today." Primrose pointed at Cory. 

"I wasn't gonna teach you anything..." Cory started. 

Lucas, Riley, Maya, and Primrose says 'yay' in unison while Farkle was the only one who groaned. "Because you already know this one." Cory finished. 

This time Lucas, Riley, Maya, and Primrose groan and Farkle is the one to say 'yay'. "The truth is, people get comfortable with what's familiar." Cory explained.

Topanga nods. "Yeah, and when you get too comfortable, you don't allow yourself room to grow."

"The worst thing you can do is fold your arms and refuse to accept what's gonna come anyway." Cory continued. 

Riley turns to Maya, who had her arms crossed while she stared at the floor. "Yeah." Riley spoke.

"Hey, Riley," Lucas speaks up, noticing something Riley was holding along with her bear. "Is that my boot? Can I please have that back?"

Shaking her head, Riley giggles a bit. "No."

Primrose chuckles lightly and takes a seat on the edge of the bed beside where the boys now sat. "Honey, it's totally okay that you want to create space for new memories." Topanga slowly walks towards Riley, taking the bear and Lucas' boot away from her and steps back to where she was standing beside her husband. "Let's just keep the old memories somewhere safe. You may want to visit them again later."

Riley nods. "Fine." She turns to Maya. "You see, Maya? One of us is completely okay with making room for the new."

Riley's parents look at each other as they laugh. "Okay." Cory laughed. 

Riley laughs awkwardly. "You guys are laughing."

Cory and Topanga nods. "Yeah." Cory nodded. 

"Is it because I'm so right that it's funny?" Riley questioned, looking at them with a smile. 

"No." Topanga shook her head. 

Riley raises her eyebrows, tilting her head to the side. "Oh. Then why are you laughing?"

"It's just a little memory that we've put away." Cory responded.

"Yeah." Topanga smiles. "Let's take it out and visit."

*****

Cory Matthews heads to the door of the apartment in a rush while holding a duffle bag. It was time for the birth of Riley's sibling. But in doing so, the couple had to leave a little Maya and Riley behind.

"You're gonna be a big sister." Maya smiled at Riley. 

Riley turns to her with a frown. "Why does everything have to change? Why do I have to share my parents?"

"You're gonna have a little brother or sister, Riley." Maya tells her. "Your family loves each other. You're very lucky."

"What's the matter, Maya?" Riley asked the blonde when she pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. 

Maya frowns. "We don't know where my daddy is."

****

"What's going on?" A ten year old Primrose asked when she walked into her parents' bedroom after she saw a lot of moving boxes out in the hallway. 

"Your dad is moving, honey." Her mother, Josie, replied while she taped one of the boxes shut. 

Primrose furrows her eyebrows, feeling tears start to brim her eyes. "What? Why?" 

"Your dad got a job promotion," Josie puts the tape to the side and walks over to the young girl. She kneels in front of her, putting her hands on Primrose's shoulders. "The job promotion is in Texas." 

Primrose's lips curves downward. "D-Does that mean we will never get to see him again?"

"Actually," Josie and Primrose looks over when they see Quinton walk in. He walks over to them, looking at Primrose with a smile. "I was hoping my little flower would come with me." 

Primrose looks at him with wide eyes, feeling a mixture of emotions. Moving with her dad meant that she could see him all the time, but then she wouldn't be able to see her mom or her friends that often. 

"Would I still be able to see you?" She asked her mom after a few moments of silence. 

Josie nods, taking her hands off of her shoulders. "Of course. I will call you guys everyday and try to facetime you whenever I can." 

"Does Opal know about this?" Primrose questioned, biting her lower lip. 

"She does," Quinton answers. "We told her earlier this morning. She was upset with me leaving, but she was happy I got a better job offer." 

Quinton ruffles Primrose's hair while smiling at her. "I'll let you think about this decision 'cause this is a big decision to make. I don't have to leave until the end of the week. I'm okay with whatever you decide."

During the rest of the week that decision and leaving her mom, sister, and friends behind was all she thought about. But by the end of the week she decided to move with her dad to Texas where she started a new adventure and made some new friends. 

*****

Now the five of them sat on the bay window next to where Maya pulls her knees up to her chest while wrapping her arms around them. "Yeah, that was the day I decided that change wasn't such a good thing." 

"I wasn't so big on the change I went through either." Primrose muttered, frowning at the floor when she remembered moving from New York. Since they were still holding hands, Farkle gently squeezed her hand in an attempt to comfort her and it worked because she smiled slightly after he did that.

Riley smiles slightly. "Sometimes change is a good thing."

Maya sighs. "I don't want to go to high school."

"Why not?" Riley asked her. 

Maya gestures to her and Primrose. "We've always been together. What if something changes? What if something happens? People drift apart in high school."

"Maya, how could that even possibly happen?" Riley questioned.

Maya looks at her. "How could it possibly happen that the bay window would change?" She moves so she's now sitting in a normal position as tears begin to brim her eyes. "How could it possibly happen that people just...Leave?"

Primrose frowns and puts her other hand on Maya's knee in a comforting manner. "Maya," Riley said to the blonde, looking at her with a small smile. She puts a hand on Maya's shoulder. "Sometimes change is good. It leads to...A wonderful growing up. Don't you want to be big girls?" 

"No." Maya pouts, taking Riley's hand off of her shoulder and Primrose's hand off her knee. She sighs. "This is the first place that I ever thought was safe. Even if my whole world changed, this place never would."

Riley is quiet for a moment before she says, "Then we'll put it back. We'll put it back, Maya."

"Riles," Maya looks at her. "I know that it's not just the bay window we're saying goodbye to."

"It's us, right?" Farkle speaks up. "You think you're gonna say goodbye to us?"

"Maya," Lucas said, sending the blonde a reassuring smile. "We're not going anywhere."

Primrose nods in agreement, looking at the blonde with a smile. "Yeah, you're stuck with us whether you like it or not." 

"It's always gonna be us." Farkle nodded, glancing at Primrose with a smile as he gently rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. Primrose felt her face grow hot, but she looked at him with a smile.

"Very good." 

The five friends look over at the door to see Riley's parents standing there with proud smiles on their faces. 

"That's it?" Lucas asked Cory, referring to the lesson. 

"Yeah." Cory nodded. 

Lucas raises his eyebrows. "That's what you wanted us to learn?"

Primrose furrows her eyebrows while looking at Cory. "You wanted us to learn that we will always have each other?"

Cory sighs. "Leave me alone."

Topanga points at him. "It's his day off."

The couple leaves as Riley speaks to Maya. "Maya, we're never leaving. No matter where we go, we're never leaving. And Farkle told us he'd always love us equally no matter what." 

Maya looks over at Farkle who nods. "I'm as good as my promise." 

"And I'm always here for you, Maya." Primrose puts her hand on Maya's other shoulder, getting the blonde to look at her. Primrose smiles at Maya. "No matter what." 

Maya smiles a bit at her, and then looks over at Lucas when Riley looks at him with raised eyebrows. "Lucas?"

Lucas nods, smiling at the two. "Right here." 

"Maya," Riley looks back at Maya with a smile, shrugging her shoulders. "High school is just the next place. Your safe place is us. Your safe place is me."

"And me." Primrose added causing Riley and Maya to smile at her. 

"And I'm both of yours." Maya smiled. 

Riley nods and smiles. "From the day we met." 

A/N this chapter was so sweet to write! & the next chapter will be the one of them graduating middle school! i'm excited to start writing the high school episodes