Riley Matthews stared out of the rain-speckled window as her parents drove her to her new school. It was time to start college, and although she was nervous, she was excited at the same time – it was time to be independent, and she'd been longing to be independent for a long time.

Corey pulled up outside of the apartment complex Riley and Maya would be staying in. "Come on!" he exclaimed. "We gotta get the last of your stuff up there before it rains any more."

There was a rush as Corey, Topanga, Maya and Riley all leaped out of the car, grabbed their things, and ran into the apartment building. Maya got their apartment door open and all four of them rushed in with the boxes.

"You guys stay here, there are only two boxes left." Riley said. "Mom, can you put the kettle on for us? I think we all need some coffee."

"You sure you can handle it?" Corey checked, worrying as always.

"Dad, I'm fine." Riley rolled her eyes, picked up the car keys and left the apartment, rushing down to the car to get the last two boxes. She closed the boot of the car, locking it and starting to head back to the door.

She got into the apartment safely, as she knew she would, and she set the boxes down neatly. "See? Told you I'd be fine." Riley teased her father, as she handed him back his keys. "I really need to get myself a car." she mused.

"Yeah, you do." Maya agreed, laughing. "But for now, we'll have to go on foot. It's a good thing the college is only five minutes away from here."

They all sat around, drinking coffee and talking about the old days. But then Topanga and Corey had to go, and Riley's heart dropped into her stomach. She knew she'd miss her parents, but it was only just setting in just how much she'd miss them.

Maya hugged Corey and Topanga, thanking them for bringing the two here, and then Riley hugged both her parents tightly.

"Call us once a week." Topanga said.

"Of course I will, Mom. Take care of yourselves." Riley said, hanging onto her mother tightly. Then she moved away and hugged her father.

"No boys." he said, causing the three girls to laugh. "I mean it, Riley. I doubt any of those lowlifes would be good enough for you."

"Relax, Dad." Riley replied, rolling her eyes at Maya over her father's shoulder.

"We should get going." Topanga prompted, when Corey started holding his daughter tighter instead of letting go.

"Right, yeah." Corey broke away, looking down. "Good luck, girls."

Riley swallowed, nervousness starting to settle into her gut. She crossed her arms over her chest, a nervous habit of hers.

"Riley, we'll be fine." Maya encouraged, as they said goodbye to Riley's parents and walked back into their new apartment.

"I know." Riley replied, with a sigh. "I just..." she sighed again, waving her arms. "I don't know. College is a big deal." she said.

"I know it is." Maya raised an eyebrow. "We'll be okay. We can survive college."

Riley flopped onto the sofa with a small sigh. "Well, at least we don't have to live in the dorm rooms." she pointed out. "I'm glad my mom insisted on us having our own place."

"Your dad didn't seem like he'd let you, at first." Maya admitted. "But I'm glad he did."

"You and me both, Peaches." Riley said softly, getting to her feet and dragging the last of her bags into her room. "I'm gonna get unpacked!" she called over her shoulder.

"Okay, honey." Maya replied. "I'm gonna go get us some coffee!"

"See you later!" Riley called, as the door slammed shut. She began unpacking her things. She's changed a lot since her high school days, but of course, only Maya really knew that. Riley had changed her entire wardrobe, and she had an idea of where she wanted to go in life. She wasn't as clumsy and ditzy anymore, although there were certain occasions that side of her came back.

It took her less than an hour to unpack all her things. Maya returned just as Riley was placing her laptop upon her desk.

"You got those coffees?" Riley called.

Maya came rushing into the room, carelessly giving Riley her coffee, almost spilling it everywhere.

"Careful!" Riley scolded her, taking a sip of the warm coffee.

"Riley, I met someone!" Maya said.

"Already?" Riley raised an eyebrow. "Damn, you work fast." she teased.

"He goes to our college." Maya continued, ignoring her friend's comment. "He's just moved here from Texas. He's super cute. His name is Lucas."

"Good for you, Maya." Riley smiled brightly.

"I got his number, of course." Maya grinned. A pause. Then, "Should I wait for him to text me first?"

"That depends." Riley considered. "He might text you tonight, but if he doesn't, wait until tomorrow." she concluded. "Play a little bit hard to get."

Maya nodded. "Thanks for the advice. What's for dinner?"

"Pizza?" Riley suggested.

That's how they ended up in the living room, pizza boxes in their laps, watching a corny flick on the TV.

"I'm excited about college tomorrow, Riles." Maya admitted.

"So am I." Riley replied. "Do you think we'll fit in?"

"I don't know." the blonde shrugged. "But who cares? We have each other."

"We're in different classes, Maya." Riley pointed out.

"So what? If people in our classes don't like us, screw them. We don't need anybody but us." Maya said firmly, and Riley couldn't help wondering if she was right.

"Us and Lucas?" Riley teased, and Maya swatted her with a pillow.

"Shut up." she said, but she was smiling all the same. "I doubt it'll be anything serious."

"Who knows?" Riley shrugged. "I guess we'll find out, huh?"

A small smile curved up onto Maya's features. "Yeah. I guess we will."

This new chapter of their lives was just beginning.