❝Wherever you go, your memories from the place you grew up in always remain special.❞

Guru Randhawa

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"I just realized this might be the last time we'll play poker together," Elena sighed sadly.

The four had taken up playing a weekly game of poker as a way to meet up and catch up. Cory hated it but that was just because he lost every week without fail. And they'd tried doing other things but it never worked out. Cory still couldn't keep quiet for an entire movie, Elena still wasn't a fan of the outdoors, and all three of them still had a life-long ban from the mall in place.

"Oh, don't say that," Topanga brushed her off, not wanting to think about that at all.

"Well, you're talking about taking that job in London," She reminded her as she sneakily took a peek at Cory's cards.

"Oh, we'll still get together," Topanga reassured her as she glanced at Shawn's cards.

"I guess," She shrugged, "It's just..."

"What?" Cory asked when she trailed off, still trying to figure out how he kept losing.

He didn't know about his very obvious tell and the fact that he made it very easy for Elena to look at his cards.

"I just always had this fantasy," Elena admitted, "The four of us staying here, growing old together. You know, our grandkids coming to visit, me staying gorgeous while the three of you age horribly," She smiled innocently.

Topanga laughed loudly at that. "You know she's actually dreamed about that."

"Of course, she has," Shawn chuckled warmly as he glanced over at her lovingly.

"No, seriously," She insisted, "I'm gonna miss this so much. I'm gonna miss us. It's like we just got back to being all together again and now we're not."

"It's funny. Some people never get to know the folks next door. They share a fence and nothing else. And we've shared everything," Cory mused with a fond smile at all the memories they'd shared together.

"Yeah," Shawn nodded, nostalgia hitting him hard too, "Remember how we all met?"

"The zoo."

"Pre-K."

"The sandbox."

All four of them answered in unison before they looked around at each other with wide eyes. "Wait, what?!" They said in disbelief.

"We all met on the first day of pre-k," Elena said decidedly, "Topanga and I were sitting next to each other, and then at lunch some girl was being mean to Shawn so I ruined her lunch."

"No, no, no," Cory shook his head, "We all met in the sandbox at the park. Now, years ago, I was in the sandbox with Topanga, and then she started going after Joey Hutchinson," He threw his wife a glare, "I don't have to tell you how that made me feel."

"You were four," Shawn reminded him incredulously.

"Well, you don't have to be five to have feelings," Cory scoffed, "Anyway, I could have given up, right? I mean, the sandbox was filled with pretty babies, but I didn't give up. No, instead I spent my day pouting and that's how Elena found me. And like she did for many years after that day, she gave me advice and I listened to her. So I told Joey that he could fly, and I pointed to the monkey bars. And for that brief moment that Joey was airborne, I told Topanga she had beautiful lips and I kissed her."

"At four years old your first idea to fix his problem was to cause serious bodily harm to another four-year-old?" Topanga asked in disbelief.

Elena rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Hey, if Josh Whats-His-Face was stupid enough to do it then I was doing the world a favor. Now, even if that was how we met, which it wasn't," She said pointedly, "How'd we all meet Shawn?"

"Well, Shawn had seen you around the playground and as he's made it very clear over the years, fell headfirst in love with you. But he wasn't always the suave, ladies man we know him to be now so he never approached you... until he saw us talking. Scared I would steal you away from him before he ever even had a chance with you, he marched over and-"

Elena cut off his dramatic narration of his version of how they met. "Cory, you're not pitching a movie to Netflix, speed it up," She demanded with a sigh.

He rolled his eyes and huffed. "No one here understands or appreciates my talent for story-telling. Anyway, I got my Topanga and you got your Shawn."

"That's not how it happened," Shawn said with a shake of his head, "We met at the zoo. I asked you to have lunch with me but you said your friends told you I lived in a trailer park and you shouldn't talk to me. Then they all ditched you when you fell into the llama pen but Elena and I got you out safe and sound back to your wife."

"That happened after we met in pre-K," Topanga brushed him off.

"See!" Elena grinned proudly.

"You were wrong too," Topanga said sharply, "We met in pre-K because we were in the same desk group."

The three shared a look and scoffed, feeling that was way too simple to be the way they met. So, even though all three of them had different stories they joined together to argue against Topanga's boring story.

"You know what, we can just ask Feeny," Elena said after a moment of arguing.

The three froze and let out a long 'oh' wondering why they hadn't thought of that before.

"Come on," Cory rushed them as he grabbed his car keys, "I'll drive."

"I'll criticize," Elena countered as she followed after him with Topanga and Shawn in tow.

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"You do realize that I met you children in kindergarten, so while I could verify Elena and Topanga's stories, I have no way of knowing whether your sandbox story or your zoo story is real," Mr. Feeny explained as he massaged his temple.

And that was how the four went right back to arguing like they were, well, kindergartners.

"Why does it matter?!" Mr. Feeny yelled over their arguing, stunning them into silence, "Are you four really fighting about how you met, or is this about something else?" He asked smartly, knowing them too well.

Elena sighed, visibly deflating. "I don't want you guys to go to London," She admitted.

"Oh, thank God!" Cory exclaimed loudly, making them turn to him in shock, "I didn't want to say anything because I needed to be supportive but finally, someone said it! Thank you!"

Topanga sighed, having been up every night that week herself agonizing about their possible move to London.

"I know," Elena smiled excitedly, "Feeny will tell us what to do," She decided.

Mr. Feeny sighed. "I can't do that."

"Why not," She whined, "It would make this a lot easier."

"Because this decision, much like one you faced years ago, needs to come from you, Topanga," He said softly, reminding her about the similar situation with college.

"You know, we still remember everything you taught us," Topanga smiled at him warmly, "And that's how I know I'll make the right decision. Because you taught me how to do that."

Mr. Feeny smiled proudly at the four. "Why don't you stay for dinner. Lydia is making ropa vieja."

"Ooh," Cory grinned excitedly.

"We have children to feed, Cory," Topanga reminded him sharply.

"They're old enough to-"

"Car, now," She demanded.

"Awe," He frowned and walked in front of her with a pout.

So, it was just Shawn and Elena joining them for dinner.

"I still remember the first thing you said to me," Mr. Feeny mused at the table as they continued to go down memory lane after dinner.

"Is it cancer?" Elena asked with a frown while Mr. Feeny dabbed his nose to get the bleeding to stop, "I just need to know how invested I should get in you. You don't adopt a 15-year-old dog."

He turned to her with a look of disbelief. "It's not cancer. This is just what happens when your troublemaker friends hit me in the face with a ball."

The three had been playing basketball in Cory's backyard while Mr. Feeny tended to his garden. Elena went inside to get some water only to come out and see Mr. Feeny sporting a bloody nose courtesy of Shawn and Cory she later learned.

"They don't have much hand-eye coordination," Elena agreed with a shrug. 

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Eva Longoria︱Elena Martinez

( 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐒𝐒 )

❝The only person I've ever apologized to is my mother and only because it was court-ordered.❞

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〚𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄〛

I had literally no ideas for this chapter if it wasn't already obvious lol. Anyway, I hope you guys still liked it! 

What did you guys think about the last chapter?

Please don't forget to comment! That really helps with motivation and gets you guys updates faster, so it's a win-win for everyone!

I'm so excited for the next chapter... It's the ski lodge episode! What do you guys think/want to happen?

Have a great day and stay safe ♥♥