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❛ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡʀᴏɴɢ sɪᴅᴇ
ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴀᴄᴋs ꒱


❝ SHAWN MAY BE AN
IDIOT BUT HE'S MY IDIOT ❞

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Juliet had hung out with Jack all week. While she couldn't say that she liked hanging out with him more than she liked spending time with Shawn and Cory, it was certainly a nice type of different. He barely worried about spending too much money or what activities actually cost and he didn't mind paying for her share either (he kept insisting since he claimed it was all part of him 'wooing' her— and it was working more than Juliet wanted to admit.)

They'd gone to a private movie showing on Monday, driven in his expensive car and taken a boat out on the Delaware River on Tuesday, gone to Philadelphia again to have a five-star dinner out on Wednesday, he'd sent her shopping with Dalya on Thursday for a whole new wardrobe and on Friday they'd gone to see The Eagles in one of Philadelphia's concert halls. It had been a whirlwind week and Juliet was glad she'd had no major tests to worry about so she could relax and enjoy all of it. It had been a taste of a life she'd never get to have and how she'd imagined a stereotypical rich person would be live.

Now that it was Monday again, the whole week had seemed like a dream even as she saw Jack approach her from down the hallway. When the boy was closer, he slung his arm comfortably around her shoulders. "So how'd you like last week, Ocean Eyes?"

"Definitely one of the best weeks of my life," she admitted as they walked down the hall together towards the cafeteria. "I've never done so many things all at once."

"Well, you can get used to it seeing as I'm hopefully going to be spending a lot of time with you in the near future."

The girl's eyes narrowed. "As much as I enjoyed the concert and private movie and boat outing, I hope you're not trying to buy my affection because if you are, I'm out for good."

Jack's expression lost its amusement as he became serious. "Hey, Juliet," he began and he turned to the girl to place his hands on her shoulders as he looked at her with intense blue eyes. "I'm not that type of person. I know money only goes so far in relationships. I'm just trying to treat you how I think you should be treated. If-if you were my girl, I'd make sure you'd never want for anything and not just because I'm 'buying your affection' as you said. I know you don't have a lot of opportunities right now and I'm happy to provide you with an outlet. Even if my 'wooing' doesn't work I'm glad to be your friend, okay? I don't want you to think I'm just doing this to get you to have romantic feelings for me." He paused. "Okay, maybe I am a little but that's not the whole reason."

The redhead relaxed and smiled up at him. "Well, thank you for being honest, but I'll be watching you very closely, mister," she teased him.

Jack rolled his eyes playfully at her and resumed his position as they continued on their path. "So, what about this weekend? Got any plans?"

"Well, I do have Feeny's test coming up," she sighed. "That's gonna be annoying but other than that, nope."

"So, you wanna go out with me? We can do a bike ride through the Pennsylvania countryside. It's beautiful in the spring," Jack suggested. "After you study for your test, of course."

Juliet thought for a moment before she nodded. "Sure."

The boy beamed brightly. "Say it again."

"Yes, I'd love to go out with you," she repeated with an eye roll.

"Now say it with my name," he asked hopefully.

"Yes, Jack. I'd love to go out with you. . . Jack."

"Now you're just being patronizing." The boy's expression grew grumpy, only to morph into laughter as she lightly poked his side. He scrambled to get away from the girl and she giggled at his reaction.

"You're the one who's being an idiot, genius."

"Now that's an oxymoron," Jack said with a grin.

"You're an oxymoron."

🌎🌎🌎

When they arrived at the cafeteria, Juliet bid goodbye to the boy as they went their separate ways, only to be stopped by two girls on their way out. She didn't know their names but knew they were like Jack— only meaner and not as rich.

"Hey— Juliet, right?" one of them questioned her.

"Uh, who's asking?"

"We are," the other girl said snootily.

"We've noticed you've been spending a lot of time with Jack," the first one observed. "What's your deal?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, we know he's not really interested in lowlife trash like you so what's your deal? Is he offering to pay for your education? Are you sleeping with him in exchange for something?"

"Are you a gold digger?" the second one piped up. "I mean, puh-lease. People like you don't catch the attention of hot, rich guys unless there's something they want that no one else can provide."

"Maybe he feels sorry for her," the first one giggled. "Maybe he's turning her into his pet and will show her off to all of his rich friends."

Juliet's jaw dropped open at the girls' words. "For your information, Jack likes me because of me, and I work hard to earn what I have. I don't cheat my way through the system just because my daddy can pay for it."

The second girl pouted her lips mockingly. "You don't really believe that he likes you for you, do you? Why else would he send you on a shopping trip with his mom? How pathetic, Mindy," she commented to her friend. "Trailer trash thinks she's worth something."

The first girl, Mindy, laughed harshly. "She's just like her trailer trash best friend. To think he thought he could score a date with you, Jill. He's more of an idiot than I thought— and that's saying something."

Both of them practically cackled as if Mindy had said something funny though to her credit, Jill did look slightly guilty. It didn't matter. Juliet's face grew hot and her hands clenched into fists. "I don't care what you say about me, but don't you dare talk about Shawn like that. He's a better person than either of you will ever be, not that that's saying much."

"Oooh," Mindy trilled. "Does someone have a crush? It looks like opposites don't attract. Lowlifes should stick with lowlifes. You're much better suited for an idiot like him."

The redhead's eyes narrowed. "Shawn may be an idiot but he's my idiot and you're not allowed to insult his intelligence. I don't have to hear anymore of this, leave me alone," she tried to push past the two of them but the girls stepped together to block her.

"Do yourself a favor, trailer trash. Dump golden boy and stick with people who are in your class. You and Jack are only doomed to fail."

Juliet didn't let her expression change but it didn't stop the sting of the girl's words from affecting her. Sticking her head up, she pushed roughly past them and ignored their loud laughter as she headed over to where Shawn and Cory were standing.

"Uh, hey guys."

"Yeah? Look at where I live," Shawn replied, responding to what Cory had said a moment ago.

"You live in a great place," the curly-haired boy countered.

Shawn stood. "Cory, I live in a trailer park."

"And I live right next door," the redhead added with a sigh, causing the two boys to look at her.

"What happened to you?" Cory asked.

She gave him a half-sad, half-exasperated look. "What d'you think?"

"You were hit by the terror twins too?"

"Yup," she answered as she occupied Shawn's previous seat on the table. "They went the whole nine yards."

The dark-haired boy frowned at her. "But we're not the same, Julie. I'm trailer trash and you're, well, you're an up-and-coming genius."

The girl's head jerked up and her eyes narrowed. "Don't say that," she snapped, causing the boy to look surprised. "Don't say you're trailer trash because it's not true. If you were, we wouldn't be best friends. It doesn't matter that you live in a trailer park."

"Then it shouldn't matter that you live in what's practically a hovel," Shawn shot back, "but it does, for both of us."

🌎🌎🌎

Jack caught up with the redhead after class and looped his arm around her shoulders. "It's too bad that the weekend is called the weekend for a reason, huh?"

Juliet stiffened as Mindy and Jill's words echoed in her ears. Trailer-trash. Low life. "Uh, Jack, about the weekend— I can't."

"I'm free next weekend, too."

She shook her head and tried not to let her upset enter her voice. "I can't any weekend. I-I don't want to be friends with you anymore."

She didn't look to see the expression on his face as she freed herself from the hold of his arm to rush into the girl's bathroom. The redhead gave a single, loud sob as soon as the door swung shut behind her before she allowed the rest of her hurt to flow out after it.

🌎🌎🌎

Jack frowned as he watched the girl run off, hurt by her ending their friendship. Something seemed off about it, though, and she hadn't been herself. While he couldn't claim to know her very well, he'd like to think he knew her better than the average person and there were two people in the school who could fill in the blanks. He decided to ask Matthews since Hunter always seemed to give him a chilly reception.

"Hey, Matthews," he called after the boy when he spotted the telltale curly hair. The boy paused and looked around in confusion, prompting the blond to wave at him.

"Uh, Jack Montacute, right?" Cory asked. "Why are you talking to me? How do you know I exist?"

"You're one of Juliet's best friends. I practically know you as well as she does with how much she talks about you guys. Anyway, can I ask you something?" Jack questioned him, deciding to get straight to the point.

"Uh, sure."

"Well, I had plans with Juliet this weekend and she totally just blew me off but it wasn't a normal 'no thanks.' You know her better than almost anyone, so is something wrong?"

Cory frowned. While he wanted his two best friends to end up together he also knew Juliet cared a lot about Jack. If he lied to the boy now it would lessen Shawn's competition but it might hurt his best friend. He sighed. "Uh, two girls said some pretty nasty things to her. They targeted Shawn, too. I dunno what they actually said but—" He paused as he remembered the distant, upset expression the redhead had had when she'd joined them— the one he'd ignored in favor of focusing on Shawn. "She was really torn up about it."

"Do you know who the two girls are?"

"Yeah, Mindy and Jill. I think it had something to do with 'social class'." He put air quotes around the last two words.

The blond-haired boy frowned as well. "Thanks, Matthews. Keep an eye on her, okay?"

Once Cory had agreed, Jack left to go find Mindy and Jill.

🌎🌎🌎

The two girls were gossiping next to their lockers when he approached and Mindy cut off whatever Jill was saying to turn and twirl her long, blonde hair around a finger. "Hello, Jack."

His eyes narrowed. "What's your deal, Mindy?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the girl said sweetly as she stepped towards the boy to press herself against him, "but I heard you're recently single."

Jack stepped away from her with a disgusted look. "I'd never want to date someone like you, Mindy," he told her firmly. "And you do know what I'm talking about. What did you say to Juliet?" he paused, then sighed. "And Hunter?"

"Only the truth," the blonde shrugged. "It's something she probably already knew but needed a slap in the face to realize it."

The boy glared at her. "What— exactly— did you say?" he questioned her, punctuating each word.

"I don't quite recall. Do you, Jill?"

"I don't remember conversations I have with trash like her," the brunette said, and winced as Mindy elbowed her in annoyance.

"Trash?" Jack all but snarled. "What the hell? Why would you say that?"

"Like I said, it's only the truth," Mindy answered. "Have you seen where she lives? What her parents— sorry, her mom does? Yuck! You're better off without her and much better off with me."

"It doesn't matter where she comes from," the boy growled. "It only matters that she's a good person and an even better friend. She's twice the woman either of you will ever be." He didn't even let them respond before he turned on his heel and stalked away.

🌎🌎🌎

Jack found the red-haired girl hiding in the space underneath the stairs. He sat down next to her on the floor, causing the girl to jump and scoot several paces away from him. "J-Jack! What— what do you want?" she demanded, trying (and failing) to keep her voice from wavering.

The boy's blue eyes softened even as his expression remained steely. "I know what Mindy and Jill said to you and I want you to know it's not true. They're just brats that are looking for attention. If they knew the real you, Ocean Eyes, they would have no basis to say those things."

Juliet looked up at the boy through a curtain of red hair. "Don't call me that."

"Don't call you what?"

"Ocean Eyes. My name is Juliet and even that's a joke. How could I be named after nobility when I live how I do?"

"You're smarter than this, O— Juliet," Jack insisted. "You know that what those girls said shouldn't mean anything. You shouldn't give them the time of day."

"That's easy for you to say, Mr. Perfect," the redhead snapped. "You have no idea what it's like to live my life. Mindy was right— our social circles are too different. It would be best if you left me alone."

Despite the sting of her words, Jack didn't let his expression change. "And you have no idea what it's like to live my life. I know we're different but if everyone was the same the world would be incredibly boring, don't you think?"

The girl scoffed, "don't go pulling the holier-than-thou speech on me, Montacute." She stood and brushed herself off. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going somewhere I don't need to be."

The blond jumped up and made an effort to follow her. "O— Juliet please, think about this. Use that smart brain of yours to realize that this isn't what you want."

When Juliet whirled around, her blue eyes chips of ice. "And you would be the one to know that? What I want is Shawn Hunter and no matter how hard you try, there will never be a future for us."

The redhead then stalked away out of sight, leaving the blond boy stunned in her wake. For the entire time he'd known Juliet, she'd never raised her voice or lost her temper. As much as Jack wanted to race after her again, he knew his efforts would be futile and maybe even make things worse. He had to trust that Matthews and Hunter would get her back to the Ocean Eyes he admired.

🌎🌎🌎

Juliet's angry walk continued as she marched out of the school building into the parking lot. She'd expected it to be empty and was surprised when she saw Harley's gang and Shawn.

"What's up?" she asked casually, crossing her arms as she walked over.

The boys jumped slightly and Harley gave her a sneering look. "Well, lookie here. It's little miss goody-two shoes come to save her boyfriend."

Her expression became puzzled. "Save him? I'm here to join him. I've had a recent revelation that no matter what I do, nothing I ever achieve will be respected and therefore have decided to give up."

"Huh?" Joey asked. "What'd she say, Harley? She talks too smart."

Rolling her eyes, she clarified: "I give up. Bye-bye school. Understand?"

She startled slightly when she felt a hand grasp her arm and her head jerked up to look into Shawn's familiar blue eyes. "You're making a mistake, Julie," he said softly. "You've always been the one with potential, I haven't been. You need to go back inside."

Juliet pulled a face. "What, and let you have all the fun? What's the activity here?"

With his usual energy, Joey answered before Harley could stop him. "We're about to make Hunter one of us with this bat." He held up the item. "Say, Harley, do we have another spot open? We could use a pretty face. Not that yours isn't pretty, of course, but some people prefer—"

"Can it, Joey," Harley snapped.

"Canning it."

Keiner gave the red-haired girl a sharp glance. "You want to join us, Red?"

"Yup. If you're taking Shawn you gotta take me, too."

"Absolutely not," the dark-haired boy insisted as he tried to push the girl towards the door. "Julie was just leaving to rethink her life decisions."

"No, I was just joining to take the first swing. Ladies first, after all. What's the target?"

Joey handed the bat to her. "Turnpike's bike."

"Uh, you mean Turner's bike?" Juliet corrected him.

"Whatever, just hit it."

The girl gripped the smooth wood of the bat in her hands and let her gaze fall on the vehicle in front of her. "But he loves that thing."

"Which is why you should go inside."

"Can it, Shawn."

"Are you gonna hit the bike or are you just all talk, Red?" Harley taunted her.

"I'm gonna hit the bike," the girl said firmly as she readied to take aim. Except—

"No, no, no," Shawn interrupted her and leaped forward to take the bat out of her hands. "You have no idea how to hold this thing. You're terrible at baseball, remember?"

Juliet gave him an irritated look. "Stop stalling, Shawn. Let me hit the damn thing."

"I'm gonna show you how to hold it, Julie. Come here."

She gave an exasperated sigh but followed his directions, feeling her face heat up as the boy wrapped his arms around her. He gently maneuvered her hands to the right position and folded his own over hers to help her practice the grip. "See? You were holding it completely wrong before," he said quietly in her ear, "but it's not gonna matter because I'm not letting you throw away your entire life just because some girls said something."

The girl instantly jerked out of his grasp and glared at him. "You're such a hypocrite, Shawn Hunter! And until you've stopped being one, I can do whatever I want. Give me the damn bat!"

"Hey guys, what's up?" A new voice joined them.

"Cory, come on. Get out of here," Shawn protested.

"Shawn, Jules, that looks like a bat."

"Congratulations, Captain Obvious," the redhead snarked. "Would you like your diploma now?"

"And could that be Turner's bike?" he wondered, ignoring the girl.

"Yeah, you're right. Now take Juliet and leave!" Shawn snapped.

"Nah, this looks kinda fun," Cory commented as he stepped forward. "If Juliet's here, it definitely is. Here, let me go first." He made to grab the bat but Shawn tried to pull it away.

"Cory, let go."

"No, I'm gonna try it."

"You're not even supposed to be here," Juliet pointed out.

The boy's gaze flicked to hers. "Yeah? And neither are you two."

"Would you just let me do this?" Shawn demanded, letting go of the bat.

"If you guys are gonna do this then I'm gonna do it."

"This is not your place, okay?" the redhead told him.

"Are you saying I don't belong here?"

Shawn stepped up next to the red-haired girl. "Yeah, and I'm saying you both don't belong here."

"Hey, baboon— look, we got some business here," Harley cut in. "So I suggest that you walk away while your legs still bend only once."

Juliet whipped around and her eyes narrowed. "Stay out of this, Keiner. It's none of your business and leave my best friend alone."

"Yeah you heard her, Keiner," Cory retorted. "So take your greasy head and your rat-faced thug and get away from my friends." He giggled nervously at the end as Harley's expression became murderous.

"Oh my. Oh my, my, my," Keiner began as he walked closer to the boy.

"Alright, Harley, you've got one punch but you better make it good 'cause chances are it's gonna kill me."

"Think so."

"Hey, fellas," Mr. Turner's voice greeted them. "Hey, whew. Boy, thanks for lookin' out for my bike. From my window up there it looked like some clowns were about to mess it up." He gave Harley and Joey a look.

"Yeah, well, I'm glad that we got here just in time, you know? Come on, Joey. We've got some appointments."

As they walked away, Joey asked, "hey, when he said 'rat-face' was that, like, a pejorative?"

"Alright, you three," Mr. Turner turned to the trio. "You wanna tell me what the problem is here?"

"No problem," Cory answered.

"Everything's great," Shawn lied.

"We're all very good friends," Juliet finished.

"Who you kiddin'? What's with you, Hunter and Capelwood? Why you wanna hang out with these lowlifes?"

"Maybe we're lowlifes too, okay?" Juliet asked.

"Is that what you think?"

"That's what everybody else thinks."

"I wanna know what you think," their teacher said.

"Hey! I'm out here with a bat, aren't I?" Shawn asked.

"Yeah," Mr. Turner answered as he grabbed it, "but you didn't swing it. In fact, you were preventing Capelwood from swinging it."

"Only because I know how much potential she has and what she'd be throwing away if she had."

"Oh and you think that was an accident, huh? That you think so highly of your friend who comes from nearly the same exact background as you? And you have another friend who's willing to put his own neck on the line? No, I don't think lowlifes have friends like that. Do you?"

"I don't know," Shawn said. Juliet remained quiet.

"They don't," Cory put in.

"I don't know anything! I don't even know who I am!" the dark-haired boy exclaimed.

"Well, Shawn, I know who you are. You're Shawn Hunter! You were raised by wolves. You and Juliet are my friends. It says so in your biography," Cory said. "I mean, what else do you need to know?"

"I need to know what's gonna happen to me and neither of can tell me that."

"Hey, Hunter. All Capelwood and Matthews can do is be your friend. And so far, you three have been doing a real good job looking out for each other. Capelwood, you're one of my brightest students and you do have a future. I'm not just saying that because I'm your teacher. As for me, all I can do is teach you whatever I can and hope that you'll leave my class a little better than when you came in," Mr. Turner finished.

Shawn scoffed. "You mean drag the trailer park trash up to decent society?"

"Hey, if either of you don't know that deep down inside you're alright then I haven't taught you anything at all."

The dark-haired boy didn't answer for a moment but then asked: "you think I'm alright?"

"I think you need to think you're alright."

"You think you're alright?"

"I think if you put your mind to it and get back inside that school and never, never go near this Harley or that Harley again then yeah, I think you'll be alright."

Shawn didn't reply but he walked back in the school. Mr. Turner turned to the redhead. "You'll be alright too, Capelwood. You have more drive than most of my students put together and you can recognize good people when you see them. Just remember to trust your instinct and not what other people tell you, okay?"

The redhead hesitated before she nodded. "I understand, Mr. Turner," she answered before she followed Shawn's path into the building. She saw the dark-haired boy sitting on the floor underneath his locker and slid down next to him. She was quiet for a moment before she asked, "d'you really think I have potential?"

"I've always thought that, Julie," the boy answered as he turned his head to look at her. "You're the smartest person I know. You're gonna be alright."

She tilted her head so she could meet his eyes. "You're gonna be alright too. You know that, yeah?"

Shawn's expression softened. "I'll always be alright with you."

His answer made her heart flutter in her chest and butterflies erupt in her stomach. Taking a deep breath, she gently lifted his arm to wrap it around her shoulders so she could lean against his side. The boy tightened his arm's grasp and shifted so that their sides were pressed together as he leaned his head on top of hers so that the two of them were sitting contentedly on the floor.

"It's us against the world, Shawnie." 

[written dec. 2020]
[edited may 2022]