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❛ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴜɢɪᴛɪᴠᴇ ꒱


❝ I DON'T KNOW WHAT
I'D DO WITHOUT YOU ❞

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Juliet was curled up on her bed with the covers pulled up over her head as the storm outside worsened, flashes of lighting throwing the room into occasional sharp relief. Underneath her covers, the redhead had a flashlight, popcorn and a Catcher in the Rye propped open. The storm was loud enough that she didn't even hear her window sliding open or the footsteps made by a soaking-wet boy.

It was only when her covers were tugged back and the light shone on Shawn's familiar face did the girl let out a startled yelp, one hand reaching to flick on the lamp. It was quickly caught by the dark-haired boy who said in a whisper, "don't turn on the light."

The redhead propped herself up and used her flashlight to take in the boy's appearance. "What did you do now, Shawnie?"

He didn't even have to ask how she knew he'd done something. Instead, he continued to speak in a quiet voice: "the cops are after me, maybe even the FBI. You're not involved unless you want to be."

Juliet's eyes widened and she blinked a few times as his words processed. Then, she did something he never would've guessed: she laughed. "Shawnie, you've been hanging out with Cory too much. I'm sure whatever you've done isn't bad enough to get the government on you. You're being overdramatic." When he didn't make a move to claim this was all a joke or that she was right, the girl frowned slightly. "What did you do?"

"Do you want to be involved or not?"

"If you're being serious about this you know I'm here to help," she told him firmly. "What's this about?"

"I'm a fugitive," the boy said.

"Huh?"

"You remember that cherry bomb I showed you at lunch?"

"Yeah?"

"All day long I kept feeling it in my pocket, all round and waxy just begging me to light it. I mean, I could actually hear it saying 'light me, light me Shawn. Blow something up.' I heard your voice, too, telling me not to be stupid, but I— well, I kind of ignored it."

Juliet gave him a worried look. "What did you blow up, Shawnie?"

"Well, I was riding my bike down K Street and I parked at the Market Giant—"

"Cory's dad's store," Juliet said with sudden, dawning horror.

"But there on the ground by the shopping carts was a matchbook. It was like a sign, y'know, saying 'now, Shawn, now. Let the sucker blow.' You were still telling me not to be an idiot and that I would get in trouble for this but I couldn't help it. I don't remember lighting it but suddenly there it was in my hand, sparks flying off the fuse and suddenly I realized 'this thing's going to go off!' I mean, I could lose an eye, lose an arm, wind up looking like our shop teacher!"

"So why didn't you just throw it?" the girl asked with a frown.

"There were people all around, I could've hurt somebody," Shawn explained. "I just knew I had to get it far, far away, so I mailed it."

"You blew up a US mailbox," the redhead realized, aghast.

"Well, it's still standing although the sides did puff out like a fat guy burping. All the stuff inside got torched, though. You should have seen the flames and the freaked-out look on people's faces."

Juliet was glad she was sitting down. "Okay, maybe it's not as bad as we think."

He shook his head. "I'm pretty sure I shook the cops but what do I do now? I can't go home! You're the smartest person I know, Julie. Help me," he pleaded.

"Okay, okay," the girl said as she tugged on her braids. She stood and started pacing. "I'm sure you could bunk here for at least tonight, you know my mom's only home for a few hours. I don't have any clothes for you to change into but I can run a load of laundry while you take a shower and dry them out. We can think of a better plan in the morning. How does that sound?"

She gave a squeak as she was pressed against wet clothes as Shawn wrapped her in a hug. She felt him press his face into her hair as he took a few steadying breaths. "Thank you, Julie. I knew I could count on you."

The redhead wrapped her arms around the boy, ignoring the dampness. "'Course, Shawnie. Hey— if you need food, you can finish my popcorn. I can make some stuff after I get the laundry started."

The boy pulled away with a grateful look. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Probably wind up somewhere terrible," the girl said, only partially joking. "Alright, get in the shower so I can start the laundry."

🌎🌎🌎

After Shawn's clothes had been dried and the boy had eaten, the two sat on Juliet's bed while the rain continued to pour. The girl was curled up against his side while the boy ran his fingers through her hair which he'd freed from its braids.

"I can skip school tomorrow if you want," she offered suddenly.

"What? No, Julie. It'll be too suspicious if both of us are missing. Besides, I promise I won't blow up your house if that's what you're worried about. "

"Okay, maybe I was little worried about that but I don't know if the hour before school is enough time for us to think of a plan. You know you can't hide forever, right Shawnie?"

He shifted slightly. "I know. I just. . . maybe if I hide for long enough this whole thing will blow over."

"What, run away from everything you've ever known? Don't pull a Holden Caufield, Shawnie."

"A what?"

"Never mind. My point is, running from your problems usually makes it worse."

"If my dad finds out about this—"

"He's not going to kill you," Juliet countered, "but you'll probably be grounded for a while." They fell silent for a bit after that, the redhead listening to the sound of rain pounding on her window. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet: "am I really your voice of reason?"

"Huh? Oh," the boy said as he realized what she'd asked. "Uh, yeah. You know Cory's not the one I'm gonna listen to when it comes to the important things. Besides, you're the only one who could probably stop me from doing something stupid in real life so it's not really a surprise that I try to listen to you in my head, too."

A small smile graced Juliet's features and she hugged her best friend tightly. "Well, I hope you know I'm quite flattered."

🌎🌎🌎

At school the next day, Shawn's desk was noticeably empty. Cory didn't even have the decency to wait until they were out of earshot of their classmates to demand where he was.

"He's sick, okay?" Juliet answered shortly. "I'll tell you more later." She stressed the 'more' in an effort to subtly say that she was lying.

The boy shot her a suspicious look but nodded and took his seat. At the front of the classroom, Topanga and Minkus were talking about the missing boy as well. "I think Shawn was making a daring political statement."

"And what statement was that, build more prisons?" Minkus snarked.

"Minkus?" the redhead called, easily catching the blond boy's attention. "Shut up."

He gave her a surprised look at the bluntness of her words. "But my sweet—"

Juliet stood and made her way over to the boy, close enough to tower over him. "Lay off Shawn, alright? You have no idea what you're talking about."

Minkus' eyes widened at her fierce tone but before he could reply, Mr. Feeny walked into class. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized. "I see you've all heard about Mr. Hunter's little stunt yesterday. I just spoke with his parents. Evidently, Shawn didn't come home last night. I imagine no one here has heard from him." Their teacher walked up Cory's row and paused to look at the boy before his gaze flicked over to the redhead who'd resumed her seat.

Juliet gave him her most innocent face while Cory— predictably— overreacted. "Why are you looking at me? You should be looking at Juliet!"

Suddenly, she was very glad Shawn hadn't gone to the boy's house.

"I was addressing the entire class," Mr. Feeny said calmly as his eyes focused on the girl who sat in the corner seat.

"Yeah, but you made it sound like I would know! For once I have absolutely nothing to do with this."

Minkus turned in his seat to study both of them. "He claims he hasn't spoken with Shawn since the incident yet Juliet has been oddly silent about this whole ordeal, bar when defending him and saying that, quote, 'you have no idea what you're talking about.'" The boy stood up and walked between their rows with his eyes mostly focused on Cory. "I smell conspiracy, I smell cover-up."

The redhead reached forward and grasped Minkus' wrist. "Seriously, Minkus, lay off."

"Miss Capelwood unhand that Minkus. Mr. Minkus, return to your seat. Now then, we shall continue reading aloud from page one-hundred fifty-seven of Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart."

Juliet rolled her eyes at the coincidence as she turned to the correct page. Cory twisted around in his seat to whisper, "seriously, what did Shawn do?"

Without lifting her eyes from her page, the girl answered, "and this is why he doesn't come to you for these things. I'll tell you later."

🌎🌎🌎

When Juliet got home from school that day, she was only slightly worried about Cory spilling the beans. At least he didn't have Shawn living under his roof, so it should be easier for him to keep the secret. As the redhead entered her apartment, she called out for the boy: "Shawn? Shawn!"

There was no response from the boy and her worry increased. After checking the main area of the kitchen and living room, she studied her own room carefully. On her nightstand was The Catcher and in the Rye with a piece of paper sticking out of it that hadn't been there before. Leaping towards it, she quickly yanked it from the pages and read in Shawn's messy handwriting:

Julie.

Thanks for letting me stay but I had to go— my dad came by looking for me. I think you know where I'm headed.

The redhead frowned, knowing he went to Cory's. At least Shawn wouldn't have to brief him on the situation and if anyone could convince her best friend not to leave, it would be her other best friend (even if Shawn wouldn't take kindly to it.)

Later that night it was still raining but the evening didn't find her under the covers like the last one had. Instead, Juliet had put on her raincoat and ridden her bike to the school after Cory called her in a panic. She'd known it wasn't going to go well.

Her boots squeaked on the floor as she entered Mr. Feeny's classroom where her two best friends were already present.

"Did you bring the stuff I asked for?" Shawn asked as Cory handed him a bag.

"I brought Juliet," the boy said, nodding to the girl.

"It's empty, how about some money?" the boy asked after discovering that there was nothing in the bag. "Can I borrow either of your bikes?"

"You don't want me walking home in the dark do you, Shawn?" Juliet asked innocently.

"And I got a ride here," Cory added.

"From whom?"

"Your mom and dad."

"They're here?" Shawn exclaimed.

"They're actually parked right outside," the redhead said. "I saw their car when I pulled up."

"Forget it, I'm not going home. You don't want to help me, that's fine. I'll sneak out the back. C'mon, Julie. Let's go." He paused as both Juliet and Cory blocked him. "Get out of my way, Cory, or—" he started, thinking the redhead was coming with him.

"Or else, what? You'll hit me? Fine, go ahead. Wipe the floor with me."

"We're not going anywhere, Shawnie," Juliet said softly. "I was fine with hiding you but you can't run away."

"Cory, just get out of my way," he pleaded, avoiding the redhead's gaze.

"No," they said in unison.

"You have to go home, Shawnie," the redhead persisted.

"I can run away, just get away from the door!" He tried to push past them.

"Hey." Juliet stepped in front of him again, but not just to block him from leaving. Instead, her hands came up to gently cup his face and she tilted her head up to meet his gaze. "Please, Shawn. Don't leave."

Her heart hurt at how much fear was in his eyes. "Julie, what do you want from me?"

"I want you to come back on our side of the line, Shawnie. I don't want to lose you, I don't have much and you leaving will make it one less," she pleaded.

"How am I supposed to do that?" he whispered.

"Go home. Please," she asked again.

"My parents are gonna ground me for, like, a year," Shawn said quietly.

"We'll see you in a year," Cory finally spoke again.

Shawn's eyes moved between the girl and the boy. His face was still caught between the redhead's hands although he made no effort to move it. "Man, I am going to get so killed."

"Hey," Juliet said, "we're only twelve. We'll live again."

She lowered her hands and moved so that he could grab his jacket. Pausing at the door, he looked back at the girl. "Hey, Julie?"

"Yeah?"

"Do I get a kiss when I'm free?"

A small smile tugged at her lips. "After all this? Sure, why not."

"Man, this year's gonna be so long," the boy commented as he left.

"What the heck was that?" Cory asked the girl with wide eyes.

"I didn't say where I'd kiss him. He's got to be a bit more specific if he wants to get what he wants." She grinned.

🌎🌎🌎

The entire next month was very long, especially since Shawn was usually the person Juliet hung out with the most even after they parted ways with Cory for the day. Now she had to walk home by herself and spend her remaining free time alone, but luckily she could catch up on her reading when she and Cory were done spending time together. One day, though, she was so bored that she'd joined the Matthews on their couch to watch a sports game and was extremely relieved when the doorbell rang.

Without waiting for anyone to ask about it, she jumped up to open the door as Cory spoke: "what day is it?"

"The nineteenth," Mrs. Matthews answered as the redhead opened the door.

"It's Shawn!" Cory exclaimed as the boy himself opened his arms and cried out happily.

Juliet immediately jumped into them and hugged him tightly. "I missed you, Shawnie."

"I'm free!" he breathed happily, hugging her back.

When they separated, he and Cory did their handshake. "A whole month!" the curly-haired boy exclaimed. "How are you?"

"Oh, not too bad. My eyes are still trying to adjust to the light, though."

Juliet rolled her eyes at his drama. "Are you hungry?"

"Nah, they gave me bugs with my potatoes today. Hey—" he started, but was cut off by Mr. Matthews.

"Woah, I hate to interrupt your touching reunion but there's one minute left in the triple overtime."

Shawn gave her a wide-eyed look. "You're watching sports?"

Juliet grinned. "I was bored."

"How about that kiss, Julie?"

"I'm surprised you remembered."

"'Course I did, it was the only thing that kept me going." He gave her a hopeful look.

"Well, I always keep my promises." She tried to ignore the goings-on of the other Matthews and stepped closer to the boy, using his arm as a support to push herself onto her toes.

As her lips neared his cheek, the room went dark which prompted exclamations to come from all of the Matthews.

"Alan, didn't you pay the electric bill?"

"Of course I paid it. A month ago. I put it in the mailbox right. . . outside. . . my store," he trailed off as realization hit him.

"On cherry bomb day?"

"I can kiss you outside," Juliet said quickly as she dropped back down on her feet.

"Right," Shawn agreed. He pulled her towards the door. "Good night, everybody!"

They left the house as quickly as they could. 

[edited may 2022]