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❛ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴄʜɪᴄᴋ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴍᴇ ꒱


❝ HEY, I'M YOUR BOY ❞

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"He took you to Le Chardonnay?" Topanga asked Debbie as she and Juliet walked down the stairs. "That's really expensive."

The girls stopped by their lockers as Debbie nodded. "Yeah, I know. It was really great. We were talking and laughing and having such a great time, and then—"

"—at the end of the night—" Juliet continued.

"—parked two blocks from my house. . ." Debbie trailed off.

"—octopus time," Topanga finished.

Speaking of the Devil, Gary approached Debbie from behind. "Hey, great time the other night," he said before he walked off.

The blonde rolled her eyes at the other two girls. "All over me. I mean, what happened to the nice guy I had dinner with? It's like, the night's almost over so he's all over me? Why are guys such jerks on dates?"

Glancing over her shoulder at the two guys listening in on their conversation, Juliet lowered her voice, "the good thing about liking the same guy for three years is that I got to skip over all of this."

Debbie sighed. "Not everyone's that lucky. I don't know how much more of this I can take."

"I wouldn't exactly say I'm lucky," the redhead countered lightly. "I just said it was a good thing."

"Besides, it's not all guys," Topanga added.

"After a night of fighting him off I'd almost rather spend my time at the library," the blonde replied, "it's pathetic."

"It's too bad guys and girls have such different ideas about what a date is supposed to be," Topanga agreed.

"Yeah. What goes on in their heads?"

Juliet gestured to the eavesdropping boys. "There's two over there."

The three girls approached them and Debbie asked, "hey, what goes on in your heads?"

"Topanga," Cory answered promptly, "twenty-four hours a day, it's the Topanga Channel in here."

"Aw, who's a good boy?" his girlfriend cooed, offering him a sweet as a reward.

Shawn glanced at the redhead. Juliet Capelwood, all day, every day. Instead, he asked, "Debbie, don't you think that, uh, guys and girls are looking for the same things on dates?"

"Well, girls are looking for an evening of good conversation and, you know, the sense that you've made a genuine connection with another human being," the blonde explained.

"You're not interested in making out?"

"Well, maybe I am and maybe I'm not but it shouldn't be expected because I went on a date with you."

"So how're we supposed to know it's okay?" Shawn wondered.

"We'll let you know," she answered.

"You don't let us know very clearly."

"Yes, we do," Debbie argued, "you just don't listen. You're too busy planning your next moves to hear us say no."

"What?"

Juliet gestured to him in imitation of Vanna White. "Need we say more?"

Cory turned to his girlfriend. "You see, this is why I write my fun column: to take us away from the drudgery of interesting conversation."

"Yeah, but you should be writing about something that affects people," she told him.

"Yeah, why don't you write your column about why guys are such big jerks on dates?" Debbie suggested.

"Debbie, if you really feel that all guys want to do is go too far then why go out with them at all?"

The blonde paused to think it over before she answered, "you're right, I'm done."

As she walked away, the boy flinched as Juliet poked his side. "Way to be sensitive, Shawn."

"Yeah, yeah, it really pays to be honest with a girl," he grumbled, walking off.

Juliet and Topanga exchanged exasperated looks before they moved in opposite directions towards their own classes.

🌎🌎🌎

"To research his book Black Like Me, author John Griffin, a white man, had his skin pigment temporarily darkened so that he could experience life through the perspective of a black man," Mr. Feeny explained as he underlined the book title on the blackboard.

"Wouldn't it have been easier to just. . . ask?" Cory suggested.

"Well, there was such distrust between the races that Griffin felt that only by becoming black could he begin to understand the horrors of segregation," Mr. Feeny replied.

Next to her, Shawn leaned towards the curly-haired boy. "Cory, that's your next story."

"What?" he asked.

"To understand what girls are talking about, you experience the world from a girl's point of view," Shawn smirked as he finished, "by becoming a girl."

"That's crazy talk," Cory said immediately.

Juliet leaned in to join their conversation. "No it's not. It'll be just like the book, but instead of skin pigment, you'll dress up like a girl and then write about it."

"Chick Like Me," Shawn suggested. "That's meaningful, you know? You're writing a real article, not just some silly column."

"It's not a silly column."

"Yes it is," Juliet and Mr. Feeny agreed in unison.

Cory shot her a look before he asked, "okay, Mr. Feeny, what happened to this guy Griffin after he wrote his book?"

"Well, he sold five million copies and won immediate world renown. Why do you ask, Mr. Matthews?"

"Miss Matthews," the boy corrected him.

"What?"

Cory shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing."

🌎🌎🌎

Juliet followed Cory and Shawn into the Matthews' home where Mrs. Matthews was preparing dinner and his father was sitting at the kitchen table. The curly-haired boy was carrying several large shopping bags and they must've looked suspicious as Cory's mom greeted them on their way through. "Hey."

"Hey, son. How was your day?" his dad followed up.

"Fine," Cory answered.

"What did you do at school?"

"Nothing."

They tried to continue upstairs but Mr. Matthews stood and stopped them. "Hey, hold on. Wait there." As they turned to look at him, he continued: "you know, every day I ask you 'what did you do?' and every day, you tell me 'nothing.' Well, I'm tired of nothing. I mean, we both know something happened today and I wanna know what it is."

There was a pause before his son answered, "I decided to be a girl."

Mr. Matthews stared at him and then looked at his wife before he sat back down. "Well, you've taught me a very valuable lesson there, son."

"You know the book Black Like Me?" Shawn asked.

"Sure. Is that what you guys are reading at school?" Mrs. Matthews asked.

"Don't ask questions, honey," her husband advised her.

"Cory's going to copy the premise," Juliet explained, "he's going to experience life from a girl's point of view by dressing up like a girl."

Cory pulled out a dress and showed it off. Juliet grimaced. "You have no taste."

"Nope, don't want you to," Mr. Matthews told his son.

"Aw, come on," Mrs. Matthews countered. "I think it would be a wonderful learning experience that could serve him well for the rest of his life."

Cory pulled out the next dress and the redhead made another disgusted face. "Not even on a dead man in August."

His mom came over and looked in one of the shopping bags. She pulled out a silky, black bra.

"It's a miracle bra," the boy explained.

"A miracle bra, honey. Get the camera."

Cory turned to his father. "I'm not dressing up like a girl just for the sake of dressing up like a girl. I'm journalist, dagnabit."

Topanga knocked on the back door and entered the kitchen. "Hi," she didn't wait for an answer as she turned to the dark-haired boy. "Hey, Shawn, I might have been a bit protective of Debbie this morning and I didn't fully consider your point of view."

Shawn looked surprised. "I never knew I had a point of view."

Juliet patted him on the arm. "Just because you're usually wrong doesn't mean your opinion isn't worth hearing."

Cory turned to his girlfriend, still holding up the ugly dress. "Y'know what, everything's worked out for the best because I've decided to be a girl and see what it's really like."

"Not in that dress you're not," she replied, obviously appalled.

The redhead threw up her hands. "Thank you."

"Well, that's why I was counting on yours and Jules' expert assistance to help in selecting the proper female accoutrements."

"You want us to dress you up like a girl?" Topanga asked.

"Yes Topanga," her boyfriend answered, "make Cory pretty."

"Now I wish I brought my Polaroid," Juliet sighed.

🌎🌎🌎

Not long after that, Shawn, Topanga and Juliet were waiting in Cory's room for the boy to make his appearance. His girlfriend knocked on the door. "Cory? Sweetie? You have to come out eventually."

"Don't wanna. Second thoughts."

"Cor, I promise we won't laugh," Juliet added, "and like I said, I didn't even bring my camera."

"You're not seeing what I'm seeing," he insisted.

It was Shawn's turn. "Hey, Cor. Come on, buddy. You're gonna write an article that means something! You're gonna make a difference in not only our lives but in the lives of guys and girls everywhere."

Cory remained unconvinced. "You're not seein' what I'm seein'."

"C'mon, Cor. How bad of a girl could you be?"

The bathroom door finally opened and Cory stepped out, looking down self-consciously. Juliet could only stare at him in morbid fascination. "Okay, bad."

He turned to her. "How bad?"

"Really, really bad," she replied.

"I knew it. I look. . ." he hesitated. "I look fat."

"Fat is the least of your problems, baby," Shawn told him.

Cory turned to his girlfriend. "Topanga?"

The blonde gave him a reluctant once-over. "Maybe it's just not a good color for you."

He looked at each member of the trio before he attempted to escape into the bathroom. They all worked to keep him in place, not wanting to convince him to come out again. Once he'd settled back down, Topanga spoke: "you guys, we can do this. It's just all how you present yourself. Now Cory, let's see how you present yourself."

"Okay. . ." He took a deep breath and walked forward with exaggerated bounciness, his arms swinging rhythmically from side to side. He paced back to them. "Is that alright?"

"Not even on a desert island," Shawn commented bluntly.

"Constructive criticism, Shawnie," Juliet told him.

"Okay. Cor, you're missing the obvious. Girls just. . . glide more. They're more at ease. You've got to let it flow," he explained.

The redhead gave him a surprised look as Topanga said, "that's pretty right on the nose there, Shawn."

He shrugged, looking suddenly embarrassed. "Yeah, well girls are my area. I like girls," he added just one girl in his head as his gaze flicked to Juliet.

"Okay. Then show me, Shawn," Cory replied.

The dark-haired boy shrugged. "What's to show? Here." He demonstrated, gliding easily up and down Cory's room before he returned to his best friend.

Juliet stared at him in amazement at the accuracy of the walk. Then, an idea clicked. She glanced at Topanga and was pleased to see a similar sly look cross her expression as the two girls' eyes met.

"What?" Shawn asked, seeing their mischievous looks. The two girls waited for him to catch on and his eyes widened. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no."

🌎🌎🌎

Juliet stood next to Topanga at their lockers the next day at school, feeling almost as nervous as if she were to have a class presentation that day. She kept looking around anxiously to see if Shawn had arrived yet and what sort of reaction the rest of the school would have.

"You're not gonna get jealous because he'll have a date this weekend, are you?" Topanga asked teasingly.

"She'll," the redhead corrected her. "And no, I'm not." She hoped.

"Right, sorry," the blonde agreed. "You didn't react very well to Jennifer, though."

"Yeah, but Jennifer was bitch," Juliet said matter-of-factly, "and besides, I still don't know why he dated her. At least now I know it an experiment."

The other girl shrugged. "I think it was because Jennifer looked like you."

She stared at Topanga. "In what world do I look blonde? Or tall?"

"Your eyes are a similar shade," Topanga explained, "and both of your names started with a J. That's the only reasoning I have since your personalities are completely different."

"Well at least you didn't say they were the same," she huffed, "I'd be very offended. "Still, he was probably just under her manipulative spell. I'm not gonna get jealous just because of one date."

"I'll believe it when I see it," the blonde told her lightly.

Before Juliet could say anything else, murmurs in the hallway caught their attention and the two girls turned to follow their path, both of them catching sight of Shawn. The redhead's eyes widened in shock seeing as how Topanga had sent her home in order for Shawn's makeover to be a "surprise."

"Well," she began rather breathlessly, "I was right again."

As they approached the lockers, Topanga watched her boyfriend hold Shawn's books in his arms. "Why are you carrying his books?"

"Well, we're trying to create the illusion that Shawn's a girl so I thought this would help."

"You never carry my books."

"Well, look at him," Juliet pointed out before she turned to Shawn. "Hi."

He— sorry, she— smiled somewhat shyly. "Hey. How does it look?"

"Very convincing," the redhead replied.

"So, Shawn, how does it feel to be wearing pantyhose?" Topanga wanted to know.

"Not Shawn."

"You're right," Cory agreed.

"Yeah, he needs a girl's name," Juliet added.

"Okay, this is easy," the curly-haired boy thought for a moment. "How about. . . Janet?"

"No. No, no, no. Not Janet," Shawn disagreed immediately.

"What possible difference could it make?"

"Cory," Topanga scolded him before she said, "you've thought about this before, haven't you?"

"A little," Shawn offered.

"And what name have you thought about?"

"Well. . . Veronica."

Cory didn't seem to approve of the name as he mouthed 'Veronica?' to the other two girls. Juliet gave a quick shake of her head to get him to stop and turned to. . . Veronica. "I think Veronica's a lovely name."

Mr. Feeny walked down the hallway, passing the group of four as he went. "Good morning, Miss Lawrence, Mr. Matthews, Miss Capelwood, Mr. Hunter—" He paused, then slowly turned to look at the students as Shawn gave him a sheepish look. "If there's anything you need to talk about, my door is always open. I'm not here to judge."

"It's for an article we're writing, Mr. Feeny."

Their teacher held up his hand. "I am not here to judge."

As he walked away, Cory caught sight of Gary. "Hey, guys. Target's approaching. Ten yards, five yards—"

Once he was close enough, he greeted the group: "guys."

"Hey Gary," Topanga replied, "Debbie said you two went out on Saturday."

"Yeah, I had a nice time," he acknowledged, though his voice trailed off as he noticed 'Veronica' standing with them. "Hi, there. Um, I'm Gary."

Juliet's eyes narrowed and she stepped closer to Shawn. "Gary, this is my best friend, um, Veronica."

"Veronica. . . Wasboyski," Cory added.

Gary barely paid attention to them. "You know, I've never seen you before. Are you new at school?"

"Yep, I'm just a whole new person."

The redhead didn't like the way Gary was looking at her best friend, so she added, "Veronica's recently moved here from Poland. She's staying at my house as an exchange student."

"Cool," was the only response she got before he turned to Shawn. "Listen, um, if you want, y'know, I'd be happy to take you to Chubbie's and tell you what teachers to avoid— that kind of stuff. Unless your boyfriend already did that?"

"Oh no, Gary," the curly-haired boy chimed in, "this one is definitely available."

"Cory, I can speak for myself," Shawn told him.

Cory patted his best friend on the shoulder. "Well then, you just do that, Ver-on-ica."

"That'd be great," Shawn answered.

"So, Saturday," Topanga offered. "Is that good for both of you?"

Shawn turned to her and spoke through gritted teeth: "that's when I hang out with Julie."

At the blonde's nudge, Juliet sighed and responded similarly, "you still will be."

She turned back and smiled at Gary. "Okay, Saturday," and mumbled, "I'll give up a Saturday."

"Well, I'll see you then," Gary said flirtatiously.

Once he walked away, Cory gave his best friend a proud look. "Shawnie, way to go."

"You got a date," Topanga added. Shawn frowned, prompting her to add, "what is it?"

"I have nothing to wear."

At that, a beaming smile crossed Juliet's face. "No need to worry, Ronnie, I'll help you find something."

🌎🌎🌎

Shawn came over in the afternoon on Saturday and was greeted by an ecstatic Juliet, who quickly grabbed his hand and led him to her room. The girl's enthusiasm made him chuckle. "I'm surprised you're taking so much interest in this."

As they entered her bedroom, she turned to look over her shoulder at him. "Are you kidding? After all the time I've spent putting up with you and Cory talking about guy stuff I finally get revenge!"

She made to push him onto her bed so she could pull out clothes, but he frowned despite her light tone. "We should've let you be a girl."

Juliet paused and gave him a confused look. "Uh, I am one?"

"I know that," he told her (boy, did he), "but I meant we should've let you be, well, girly."

The redhead rolled her eyes. "You were eleven year old boys, Shawnie. I don't hold it against you."

"That wasn't right, though," he insisted. "I'm sorry, Julie."

His apology surprised her and her expression softened. "It's alright. If it helps, I forgive you."

Shawn relaxed at that and plopped down on her bed. "Good. I think I'll regret saying this but you can extract your revenge now."

She grinned at him and turned to her closet, rifling through it for a while before she pulled out three possible outfits. She held up the first one. "Right then. How about this?"

"A pantsuit?"

"It'll give you confidence," Juliet explained, "or at least, that's what I've heard. I haven't worn it yet."

Before Shawn could squash the thought, the image of Juliet wearing the outfit popped into his mind and his eyes widened. His mouth parted slightly at the mental picture that formed. "Are you going to soon?" he asked and she looked surprised at his breathless tone.

The redhead shrugged. "Probably." She put down the pantsuit which was a relief to his emotions and held up a blue dress next. "This one's good for your figure." Then she showed him a green dress. "And I was gonna wear this at Christmas but you can wear it first if you'd like. It goes well with your eyes."

Shawn gave the two dresses a once-over before he nodded to the second. "The green one."

"Cool. Get changed, then." She pulled him off the bed and pushed him out towards the hall in the direction of the bathroom, thrusting the dress at him. "I'll get your wig set up."

He took the dress from her and took a few moments to get changed. While he was gone, Juliet let out a sigh of relief. While she'd been excited to impart her fashion knowledge onto her best friend, she'd also been nervous spending time alone with him in her room which, when she thought about it, was rather stupid with all the hours they'd spent there together in the past.

The only thing that was different was that they'd kissed and she could feel the residual tension lingering in the air. They both carefully tiptoed around the subject and made it a point to act more like "best friends" than ever before. As much as she would give to kiss him again, a part of her thought that their cautious dancing around the subject might be for the best since not all couples worked out. She still held on to the firm belief that she'd rather have Shawn as a friend forever than lose him after dating only a few weeks.

Juliet brushed the brown strands of the wig and carefully secured a decorative clip to hold back the front few. As she was adjusting the looseness of the strands, Shawn returned in the new outfit.

"So, how do I look?" he asked, turning around quickly for her benefit.

He was pleased when he was rewarded with a bright giggle. "Absolutely gorgeous, Shawnie. There's only one thing that will improve it." She pointed to the wig and then to the chair. "Sit, I'll put it on."

He followed her instructions, noting the mirror she'd propped up on her desk that she'd probably borrowed from her mother's room. There was also a bottle of gel sitting in front of it to keep his hair in place before she put on the wig.

Juliet took a deep breath before she picked up the bottle and squeezed some product into her palms. Her hands hesitated over the boy's hair for a moment before she forced herself into action, her fingers sinking in the soft strands.

Too caught up in her task, she didn't notice Shawn's eyes close at her touch as he enjoyed the sensation. Juliet kept her gaze on her fingers, trying to prolong the task since it was a rare occasion that she got to do something like this (seeing as she wasn't his girlfriend.) She carefully applied the gel and relished the feeling of his silky hair sliding through her fingers. Hoping that he didn't notice she'd exaggerated the amount of gel he actually needed, Juliet cleared her throat several minutes later. "I'm-I'm, um, going to wash my hands," she told him, her voice raspier than usual. "I'll be right back."

The redhead quickly darted out the room and down the hall, her heart pounding in her chest as she let the cool water run over her fingers. She'd had no idea that such as simple task would cause such a. . . flushed reaction and she'd had to get out before the tension had risen further. Thankfully, when Juliet returned to the room, Shawn had already put the wig on. The two of them moved to safer topics as he finished getting ready and the pressure in the room eased back to normal levels.

🌎🌎🌎

Juliet joined Topanga at a tall table in Chubbie's while Shawn (as Veronica) and Gary sat at a booth some distance away. The blonde was making an effort to be inconspicuous by reading a magazine but Juliet was making no such attempt and was watching the pair avidly. Topanga sighed. "You're going to give us away."

"I am not," the redhead objected. "I just want to make sure Gary doesn't try anything."

"He's not going to," the blonde said patiently, "and Shawn can handle himself."

Juliet frowned, unconvinced as they listened to the "couple's" conversation. "This has been a terrific evening and you are just great," Gary told Shawn, "and so I'm wondering, how is it that someone like you doesn't have a boyfriend?"

"Well, I-I haven't really been looking for a boyfriend," Shawn answered. "Guess I've just been. . . going through a lot of changes."

"Well, any time you wanna talk, I'm here to listen."

Shawn looked surprised. "Thanks, that's. . . that's nice, Gary." There was a pause. "I gotta have some food."

"Hey, you got it. Waitress!" Gary called.

Juliet's mouth parted in shock as Cory came out from the kitchen in a waitress outfit. Topanga's expression was equally flabbergasted, her eyes wide as she watched her boyfriend approach the table.

"How ya doin', honey?"

Shawn looked equally appalled, though thankfully Gary didn't seem to notice. "I'm Cora," Cory said, "I'll be your waitress this evenin'."

"I come in here a lot and I've never seen you before," Gary remarked.

"Quit hittin' on me!" Cory joked. "I'm just kiddin'. It's my first night. Besides, it looks like you're already taken, cutie. May I take your order, baby?"

"My usual," Gary answered, "a double chili burger and um, one chocolate milkshake. With two straws," he added, smirking at 'Veronica.'

"I'll have the same. And a steak." At the two boys' stares, Shawn added, "what?"

Cory chuckled as he reached over to pinch Shawn's cheek. "Well, aren't you the voracious little eater?" He asked before he headed back to the kitchen.

Gary put an arm around his 'date.' "So, you having a good time?"

"A little trouble breathing. You're crowding me a bit," Shawn replied.

"Oh, maybe you're just tense. How about if I rub your shoulders?"

Juliet watched from across the room as Gary did as he suggested, and she leaned forward as she saw Shawn grow more uncomfortable.

"I didn't ask you to do that," Shawn told him.

"Yeah, but doesn't it feel good?"

The boy was pushed back by Shawn's forceful shove. "You're not listening to me!"

"Whoa! You're a strong one," Gary exclaimed.

"Yeah, I play a little field hockey."

"Yeah, I knew that because the first thing I noticed were your legs—"

At that, Shawn leapt out of his seat with a startled yell. Topanga yanked Juliet back down to her seat as the redhead had half-risen out of it. Gary looked at 'Veronica' with confusion. "What's the matter?"

"You just don't listen! You're too busy planning your next moves to hear us say no!"

"What?"

Shawn grabbed his purse and scrambled out of the booth, joining the girls at their table. The redhead gave him a worried look. "What's the matter?"

"He touched me."

"Where?"

"On my knee. It's my knee. What makes him think that it's his knee?"

"Maybe you sent him a signal," Topanga suggested.

"The only signal I sent him was 'stop it,'" Shawn answered.

"And he didn't listen."

"I'm not like that," he insisted, though he seemed less convinced as he glanced at the redhead. "Am I?"

Juliet hesitated, frowning. "Well, I can't speak for how you are now, but when we were younger and you always-well, you always asked for a kiss and I said no—"

His eyes widened. "I didn't mean it like that." Shawn gave her a troubled look. "Julie, I'm sorry. I never will be again."

"Well, here he comes," Cory interrupted them.

"No. No, no. I want to quit."

"Of course," Juliet agreed immediately, "we can ditch him."

"You can't. We have an article to finish," the curly-haired boy reminded them sternly.

Shawn sighed. "I should've worn that pantsuit."

Gary joined them. "Look, uh. . . sorry I got a little. . . aggressive. Nobody respects women more than me. Forgive me?"

"Of course she forgives you, you two are just adorable together," Cory spoke for Shawn. "Isn't he just delish?"

Gary turned to Shawn. "Tell you what, how about I teach you to play foosball?"

"How about I teach you?" Shawn responded, passing by his 'date' as he walked towards the back room.

Gary was unconvinced. "Yeah right," he scoffed as he followed 'Veronica.'

Cory shifted next to Topanga. "My hosiery is bunching," he complained.

Juliet ignored him and slid out of her seat, intent on following them. Topanga caught her arm and she turned as the blonde demanded, "where do you think you're going?"

The redhead shook her off and waved a hand in her direction as if she were batting away a fly. Then she followed Shawn's route to the back room and pressed herself against the entrance, peering around the corner to watch them. It was going as well as could be expected from someone like Gary when he suddenly slid his hands to Shawn's waist, trying to guide 'her' to make the block. 

She made to step out from behind the wall and defend her best friend, but Shawn jumped back first. "Hey, hey!"

"Hey what?"

"What is wrong with you?"

"I was just showing you how to play the game," Gary defended himself.

"I know how to play the game," Shawn told him.

He gave a mocking laugh. "Yeah, I can tell by the way you're dressed."

Shawn looked down. "I just wanted to look nice. . ."

"Well, you do," Gary agreed, pulling 'Veronica' closer to him.

"Don't touch me."

"Okay," he raised his hands, "don't like to be touched."

"Did it ever occur to you that I might be a nice girl?" Shawn asked sharply.

"No, what I thought is that you'd be into guys but I guess you're not. I guess you prefer girls."

Shawn looked behind him to see Juliet watching the scene, her gaze fixed on Gary. She looked very much like she wanted to punch him. He dropped the girly voice. "As a matter of fact, I do."

"What?"

"I said," Shawn repeated, turning back to face him. His fist swung to hit Gary squarely in the face. "I DO."

The boy dropped to the floor, cradling his jaw. "What was that for?"

"For EVERY girl I've EVER known!" Shawn shouted in reply.

Seeing as how their cover was blown, Juliet wasted no time in standing next to Shawn to look down at Gary in disgust. "He's finally where he belongs."

Cory joined them as well. He tore off his order slip. "Uh, please pay at the register, honey. And 'tipping' is not a city in China." He released the piece of paper to let it float down to the boy. He turned to Shawn. "C'mon, honey. We're outta here."

Shawn linked arms with Cory and offered his other to the redhead. On their way out, Topanga met them on Cory's other side and the four of them marched out of Chubbie's together.

🌎🌎🌎

On Monday, Cory's article made big waves in the school population. He'd gained some fame as people crowded around him to read the article. The three girls joined the boys in the hallway as Mr. Feeny approached them. "Well, gentlemen. It seems the whole school is talking about it and if I do say so myself, excellent article." He turned the page to look at the pictures. "Troubling photographs. . ."

After he walked away, Topanga kissed her boyfriend on the cheek. "Cory, I am so proud of you. The article is wonderful."

"Well, I am journalist, dagnabit."

"Shawn, I wanted to thank you for what you did," Debbie said.

"Hey, not necessary. I-I learned a lot," he admitted.

"You did?" she asked.

"Yeah," he agreed, turning to the redhead next to him. "Y'know, in fact, out of all the guys around, I'd say I'm the world's most perfect— er, friend right now."

"Well," Juliet said, "I'd say out of all the girls around, I'd enjoy a perfect evening with a friend. So, what did you have in mind?"

"I don't know, we could. . . start with an evening of good conversation?"

"And a genuine connection with another human being?" she finished.

"Hey, I'm your boy." 

[written apr. 2021]
[edited may 2022]