𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 & 𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 ━ girl meets world²

5│GUESS WHO'S BACK, BACK AGAIN?

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❛ ʟᴇᴀᴛʜᴇʀ & ʟᴀᴄᴇ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ɢᴜᴇss ᴡʜᴏ's ʙᴀᴄᴋ,
ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ? ꒱


❝ FEEL THE FEAR &
DO IT ANYWAY ❞

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After the previous day's disaster, Cory felt worse than he already had and insisted that he needed to make it up to his best friend while she was still in the States. Juliet had rolled her eyes and agreed on the condition that Shawn not be mentioned at all. Now, the four of them (Cory, Riley, Juliet and Miya) were sitting at the teens' usual hangout spot enjoying some dessert. Topanga had joined them after dinner since she'd worked late at her law firm and was watching over the group from a distance with Katy.

Oblivious to their audience, Miya and Juliet were fighting over the last bites of cake, each guarding their own piece using their spoons like swords, while simultaneously trying to steal a bite from the other. Cory watched his best friend and her daughter with a mixture of amusement and surprise since he hadn't seen them interact much outside of tense situations. The two of them were practically fencing with their spoons, laughter bubbling between them as they tried to outmaneuver each other. Miya squealed as her mother successfully swiped a bite of her cake, but she retaliated with equal determination, leaning across the table to jab her spoon at Juliet's plate.

"Hey, no fair! You already had your piece," Miya whined.

"And you claimed yours was the better one, remember?" Juliet countered with a grin, holding her plate just out of reach. "I'm only helping you confirm that."

"Mom!" Miya huffed, though her giggles betrayed her outrage.

Riley smiled as she watched the pair, easily touched by their close bond. "They're so cute together!"

Immediately offended by the implication, Cory scoffed in reply. "We're cute together, Riley."

He leaned forward to scoop up some of his own cake and made an airplane noise as he brought it towards his daughter's mouth. The brunette gave his fork an unimpressed look and kept her lips tightly closed except to ask, "what are you doing?"

The curly-haired man frowned at her lack of cooperation. "Why do they shove cake and we don't shove cake? Riley? Is it over between us?"

"It's not me, Dad," Riley said with a dramatic sigh as she shook her head. "It's you."

"Okay!" Cory harshly set his fork down in annoyance. "Evening over!"

"Hey!" Juliet protested. She set her plate down, having successfully finished her cake without Miya taking anymore. "You're the one who invited me out! You can't also say when it's time to go home."

Trying to find an excuse to part ways, Cory suddenly wondered, "did you girls do your homework?"

"I did excellent work," Riley stated proudly.

"I also did excellent work," Miya added.

The brunette beamed at her father. "Isn't it nice that I finally have a best friend who likes school? There's no lessons that need to be taught or life journeys to go on!"

Cory narrowed his eyes at Riley. "No lessons? No life journeys?" He laughed sarcastically. "Oh, I think I can find something to work with. Who do you think I am?"

"Dad, I think you can make things way harder than they need to be. Sometimes there's just nothing left to learn," Riley remarked.

Topanga, who had been quietly chatting with Katy at a nearby table, finally spoke up. "Cory, let them enjoy themselves. You don't need to be the center of every lesson or journey."