Alas I do not own GMW or anything that comes from it.

The bell was seconds away from ringing when the girls entered the school. As much as she hated to admit it she was relieved there would be no time for morning greetings with her friends. Another pang of guilt flooded her. She wanted Maya to be happy more than anything in the entire world. Riley had known when she practically forced them together in Texas that if her plan worked Maya and Lucas would end up a couple. Another feeling she refused to name coursed through her at the thought.

Something had happened in Texas. She didn't know exactly what it was, but she could certainly imagine what it might be. Everything was working out exactly as she had foreseen…well, almost everything. Something good was finally happening for her best friend and Riley was happy about that…but knowing Lucas was that good thing, that was the hard part.

Watching Maya and Lucas exchange hello's in the morning was physically painful. That had been their thing. It was wasn't like they had any kind of copyright on the words but over the last year that had been one of the small distinctions of the "unofficial something" between them. And now it was gone.

Riley exchanged her books for the day at her locker and braced herself for the next wave of emotion she knew was about to occur. How could she feel so much and so little at the same time? She was exhausted mentally and physically. Everything just felt wrong. Still she was certain she had done the right thing.

Everyone else was already in their seats when she entered the room. Lucas looked up from his desk, locking eyes with her. A surge of something she didn't want to feel rushed through her, but she pushed it down. They really were just friends now. She broke his gaze as she made her way to her desk and sat down.

Maya had seen the look. It had only lasted a moment, but it was there. Maya now resolved there was a third certainty she could cling to; Lucas still had feelings for Riley. Despite her feelings for him, or perhaps because of them, she couldn't help but feel sorry for Lucas. After all, she knew what it felt like to want someone that would never want you back. It was a pain she wouldn't wish on anyone, even Hop-along.

Sure, she and Lucas had shared a moment by the campfire, but everything else he had said and done since screamed he wasn't over her best friend. Riley had finally come to grips with her true feelings for Lucas, but he hadn't made peace with them yet. He didn't want to be her brother. He'd made that perfectly clear over the last few days.

Every time Riley had emphasized their new relationship Lucas had rebelled against it. Even when she had told him how Maya felt he was more concerned with what Riley didn't feel for him. Part of her wished they had never gone to Texas. Lucas never would have ridden that stupid bull and everything wouldn't have changed.

Maya had been confused about Lucas before that. There had been moments between them that she couldn't really explain or define. He was so passionate about defending her art, and when he looked into her eyes and validated her work…that was the first time they had ever really looked at one another. That was the first time she had ever really seen him.

Until that day he was just a cute, goofy boy who her best friend had a crush on, who was really hot whenever he lost his temper. Riley didn't like that side of Lucas but Maya did. She knew that he was good like Riley. She assumed that was one of the reasons they had become friends, but there was something about knowing that he wasn't perfect, that he was angry…like her. It made him relatable…on her level. He was a little broken too.

Maya hadn't really given a thought to why she treated Lucas the way she did or what it meant until then, but once she had looked down into him something had begun twisting inside her. She was looking at him from a completely different perspective…Riley's perspective. She was interpreting her relationship with Lucas through the classroom's perspective. Everyone thought they should be together, and Riley didn't actually want him…so there was no harm in whatever it was she was feeling, right?

Cory Mathews stood at the front of his classroom. He had a special lesson in mind for today, one he hoped would ripple out into the lives of his students, as Feeny's lessons had always done for him. He didn't just want to teach them about events in history. He wanted them to learn about how those moments shaped their world and how they could learn from them. In history were lessons about life, love, friendship, and there was no better time for this particular lesson, given what was happening between his daughter and her friends right now. He didn't know exactly what was coming next but he knew it involved feelings, and feelings were a very messy affair.

"All through history countries go to war. That's what we normally study in here, but today we're going to talk about peace, forgiveness, and how we get there."

This would be one of the most important lessons he would ever teach them.

"Every once in a while I come up with a good idea." Cory was certain this was one of those moments.

"What could it possibly be that I haven't already thought of," shouted Farkle. Cory could always rely on Farkle to get involved and had not only expected it, but counted on it.

Cory pointed out into the classroom. "I forgive you Farkle."

Confused Farkle responded "what did I do?"

Just then Zay Babineaux looked over at Farkle. "I forgive you too," he said.

"What did I do?" this time a little more worried than confused.

Zay just looked at Farkle. "Oh you know what you do." Lucas solemnly nodded in agreement.

Cory's plan had already taken a life of its own.

"I feel better now that I've forgiven you. How do you feel," Cory asked Farkle.

"I'm sorry for every time that I hurt you! What did I do?" the boy cried.

"Ladies and gentlemen today we are going to begin the forgiveness project. Our history isn't just about what we've done. How we grow comes from the repair of what we've done and how we forgive what was done to us."

"Okay we're in," Riley mused. "What do we do?" That's my girl, Cory thought to himself.

He told everyone to take out a piece of paper and write to someone who had wronged them. He knew this task would be easier for some of his students than others. Riley began dictating her letter to his son August about the teddy bear he had damaged years ago. Why this had permanently traumatized his daughter he wished he knew.

Maya resisted the project, claiming she could think of no one to write to. He knew this project would be extremely difficult for her, but he also knew that if she saw this project through she would be better off for it. Cory didn't have to say anything about her father. Maya's friends were looking out for her as always. He was happy to see that even under the current circumstances they were all making their friendship a priority.

Cory looked out into his classroom, watching each of his students, put pencil to paper. He didn't know what each of their grievances were, but he was certain, no matter how big or small, they would learn something from them. He would see to that.