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❛ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐓𝐖𝐎 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ʜᴀɪʀ ᴛᴏᴅᴀʏ, ɢᴏᴏɴ
ᴛᴏᴍᴏʀʀᴏᴡ ꒱


❝ STOP LOOKING AT HER LIPS! ❞

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Juliet woke to the sound of her alarm going off and she reached over to quiet the obnoxious beeping. Raising her arms to stretch the sleep from her limbs, she threw back the covers and stood. After making her bed, she pulled a pair of jeans and a collared shirt with red, black and white flowers on a light blue background.

After pulling on a pair of black boots, she left her room fully-dressed to make her way to the bathroom she shared with her mom. As she started her morning routine, she couldn't help but notice (again) how similar her eyes were to Barron's. She'd always considered herself lucky to have such bright blue eyes though she hadn't really thought about them much before she'd started high school.

Juliet finished by brushing out her long red hair (she'd been considering having it cut) and headed to the kitchen to grab some breakfast before it was time to go. Daly was there already, preparing dinner for the night. Since Barron had come into their lives, the red-haired woman had made more of an effort to start her shift early so her evenings would be free to spend time with her daughter to help make things less awkward between her and her estranged father. While their relationship was better than it had been before the summer, they still treated each other with caution.

Daly looked up at the sound of her daughter's footsteps entering the kitchen and smiled at her in greeting, "ready for your first day of school?"

The girl shrugged. "I suppose. I don't expect much to happen today at least."

The red-haired woman paused in chopping the carrots to look up at her. "You're friends with Cory and Shawn," she reminded her with amusement, "they always have something going on."

Juliet put the toast in the toaster and set it to medium before she poured some juice in a glass. "I know," she agreed, "that's why I'm hoping today will be at least normal. It's probably too much to wish for, though."

"What do you think it will be this time?" Daly asked conversationally as she sealed the carrots in a plastic container before she washed the zucchini.

"Who knows?" the redhead replied with a roll of her eyes as she buttered her toast. "I'll find out soon enough. It'll probably have something to do with Cory being dramatic."

🌎🌎🌎

At school, most of the student population stood in front of their open lockers, looking into mirrors as they adjusted their hair, makeup, or something similar. Juliet had already closed hers, satisfied that her appearance hadn't changed much in the thirty minutes between when she'd left the house and now. Shawn was still standing in front of his, messing with his hair.

"Yes, fine, you're perfect," Cory grumbled to his best friend, "now can we get out of the hallway where everyone can see you?"

"Not everyone can see you, Cor," Juliet told him sympathetically, though she had trouble hiding her smile at his hopeful expression. "The teachers are in their classrooms."

He groaned. "Great, just great. Thanks, Jules."

"No problem," she said cheerfully, "but seriously, Shawnie, we're gonna be late."

"Hold on. I just need to get a little more hair in my eyes," Shawn replied as he fixed the front strands to do as he said. (If pressed by anyone except Topanga, Juliet would have denied the quiet, dreamy sigh that escaped her lips as she watched him.)

"You know I hate that," Cory complained, ruffling his friend's hair.

He looked in the mirror. "Also good."

The curly-haired boy glowered at the redhead's slightly dazed expression before he shoved his hands through his hair. "Great, more hair. Also good, also good! Move!"

Shawn pulled the boy's hands back. "Whoa, whoa. Cory, Cory, come on, come on. You're gonna cut your fingers."

Juliet sighed. "This is the next big thing, isn't it?" she mumbled before she raised her voice, "come on, Cor, it's just hair. Relax."

"You're right. I'm overreacting. It's just that between you guys and Eric, I feel like I'm surrounded by people with perfect hair."

"Hi Cory," Topanga said as she appeared.

"No need to explain this relationship, is there?" he asked, motioning to his girlfriend.

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. I'm just a little insecure today but I'm sure it'll pass."

Another boy— with reasonably nice hair, Juliet noted— approached them and greeted the blonde, "hey, Topanga."

"Hey, Dylan."

"So, you wanna go out this weekend?"

"Of course not. I'm going out with Cory," she told him.

"Oh, you're still with him? I figured you'd have dumped him over the summer."

"Would you please leave?" Topanga asked.

"Yeah, but if you do decide to dump him, here's my card," Dylan said, handing her a piece of paper. His attention turned to the redhead and he opened his mouth to try again, but at the sound of a throat being cleared, his gaze rose to meet the dark-haired boy's who gave him a look that clearly said back off. "Right," Dylan added abruptly, "see you around then."

Juliet sent the boy a puzzled look as he left realizing that was probably not what he'd been about to say. She quickly forgot about him as Topanga tried to reassure her boyfriend. "Look, Cory, it's just some guy asking me out. It's no big deal."

"Yeah," Juliet agreed, "Topanga knows she's in a relationship with you. Not every girl says yes as soon as someone asks them out. I wouldn't have said yes to him."

"You wouldn't have?" Shawn asked, unable to keep the relieved note out of his voice.

The redhead turned to him in confusion. "Of course not. I like someone else." Her eyes widened at the admission and she slapped her hands over her mouth. Shawn started to question what that meant, but Cory cut him off.

"Can we get back to my problem, please? It's no big deal to you guys because you're the askees! And why are you guys the askees? You're gorgeous!"

"Thanks, Cor," Juliet mumbled through her hands, both for the compliment and saving her from further questioning.

"Well, thank you very much but give me some credit. No guys go out with girls because of how they look. You go out with me because of who I am inside." In response, the two boys looked at each other and chuckled. Topanga continued, "the only reason you think I'm good-looking is because you care about me."

Shawn laughed again but Cory didn't. "That was one too many," he said.

"It wouldn't matter what I looked like. You'd still think I was pretty."

"Yeah, but Topanga, I mean, this is easy for you to say. You don't have a nose that takes up half your face and hair like a Brillo pad."

"Cory," the blonde began gently, only to be interrupted as he bent his head.

"What? You saw suds?"

"First of all, I love your face and I love your hair, but most of all I love you because of who you are and I hope you love me because of who I am and not because of my face and hair."

At the admission, Juliet couldn't help but let out a little "aw."

"Topanga, if I looked in the mirror every morning and saw what you see, I'd feel real good about myself too," Cory pointed out, unconvinced.

Topanga exchanged a look with Juliet, the two girls eager to prove him wrong. The redhead gave the curly-haired boy a look. "You think what gives us all our confidence is our face and hair?"

"And the fact that they're perfect, yeah. I think that puts a little spring in your step."

"Oh yeah?" Topanga demanded as she pulled out a pair of scissors. "Well, here's what I think."

"Words, Topanga, use your words."

"Panga, do you have a spare?" Juliet asked innocently, having caught on to her idea.

"Yes, I believe I do," the blonde answered, handing her another pair.

"Girls—" Cory started, but before the scissors reached Juliet's hand, another intercepted them.

"Absolutely not."

The redhead turned and narrowed her eyes at the dark-haired boy as Topanga carried through with the plan. "Shawn!"

Unaffected by her irritation, he held the scissors above his head. "No way. You don't need to cut your hair to prove a point."

"Give them to me," she insisted, holding out her hand.

"Come and get them," Shawn told her, smirking slightly at the impossibility.

Juliet glared at him in annoyance and she crossed her arms, huffing as she turned away. While she was irritated that her participation had been foiled, doubt began to creep in. Why had Shawn stopped her? Did he only like her because of how she looked?

Topanga had begun to walk towards class, leaving Cory holding a good three inches of hair. She paused next to an open mirror.

"She's gonna scream now," Shawn predicted and, for once, he was right. As Topanga tried to calm herself down, Mr. Feeny approached the group. 

"Mr. Matthews, Mr. Hunter, Miss Capelwood," he paused as his eyes landed on Topanga's hair. "Ooh, what the heck happened to you?"

"Mr. Feeny, I cut my hair in an attempt to show Cory that physical appearance is secondary to inner beauty," she answered.

"Ah," Mr. Feeny said, "well, in that case, Miss Lawrence, I applaud your attempt at teaching a very valuable lesson during these extremely vulnerable teenage years."

"You think I'm ugly!" Topanga cried before she ran away.

"Nice going, Feeny," Shawn told him.

🌎🌎🌎

Juliet ran after her friend and found her in the girl's bathroom anxiously obsessing over her hair. The redhead approached her carefully with a look of concern on her face. "How are you doing, Panga?"

"Terribly," the blonde pouted as her hands continuously ran through the uneven strands. The redhead huffed and pulled her hands away. 

"Would you stop that?" she asked pointedly, "hey, look at me." It took some effort for the other girl to pull her gaze from the mirror to meet her friend's eyes, which were genuinely sympathetic. "It doesn't matter what you look like," she started firmly, only to be interrupted.

"Easy for you to say," Topanga mumbled.

"That's not the point. Panga, you're still one of the best people I know even when you change your appearance. You were right," Juliet told her emphatically, "your outer appearance doesn't dictate your inner personality, at least not for us. You're still someone I want to be friends with and hair is just hair. We can go to the salon after school and get it fixed up."

"Are you sure?" the blonde asked hopefully.

"I'm positive," she said firmly, "we'll go together. I've been thinking of getting a haircut myself."

"Promise?"

She held out her pinky. "Pinky promise," she agreed as the other girl accepted the gesture.

The bathroom door opened revealing Cory, who made a big deal about being "a boy in the girl's bathroom." When he'd finally settled down, Juliet patted his shoulder on her way out. "She's all yours, Cor." Only a few steps out of the door however, she reached an impasse when someone— Shawn— blocked her way. "Sorry," she mumbled as she tried to step out of the way.

As she made to get around him, he caught her wrist gently to stop her from walking away. "Julie, wait. What's wrong?"

She was quiet for a moment, uncertain whether she wanted to tell the truth. Then she turned to face him and her eyes lifted to meet his. "Why did you stop me?"

He gave her a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

"The scissors."

Understanding showed on his face before his expression softened. "Julie, you don't need to chop off your hair to teach me that lesson."

"I wasn't doing it for you, I was doing it for Cory."

"He has Topanga for that," Shawn told her, "I know how much you respect her and I wasn't surprised that you wanted to follow her plan but I wanted you to make the decision for yourself."

It was Juliet's turn to look confused. "Decision?"

"To cut your hair," he clarified, "I didn't want you to do something you might regret."

"Oh," she murmured, touched, "um, thanks. I have been thinking about cutting my hair, though."

"And you should totally do it," he agreed, "I just wanted to make sure you were thinking."

"I'm always thinking," the redhead retorted, her tone lightening as she teased him.

"Yeah, yeah, you're a regular Tony Stark," Shawn joked.

She raised her hands in defense. "Hey, you said it, not me." She couldn't help but feel pleased as he acknowledged her intellect even if he wasn't being completely serious. Then, her expression became thoughtful. "Hey— what did you mean when you said I didn't need to teach you that lesson?"

"Oh, well," he started, looking oddly uncomfortable. He ran his hand through his hair, causing her stomach to flip pleasantly. "'S nothing."

"You didn't say it for no reason," she told him sternly.

"I'll tell you if you tell me who you like."

Juliet sighed as her shoulders slumped. "Damn it." (Because that wasn't happening.)

🌎🌎🌎

Shawn and Cory were waiting in the beauty salon. The curly-haired boy was looking at one of the books in the waiting area while Shawn paced around the small space. He finally broke the silence: "I don't know, man. They've been in there an awful long time."

"What are you getting so crazy about?" Cory asked, "she's just getting a haircut.

"No, Cory. We've known them all our lives, okay? They don't wear makeup. Neither of them have been to a beauty parlor. They're completely natural."

"So what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that they were beautiful before without anybody's help," Shawn explained, "now they've got professional help. They're gonna be mega-beautiful. We're not even gonna be able to look at them directly without burning out retinas."

"Come on. This isn't Beverly Hills. I mean, it's a neighborhood beauty salon next to old lady Schneider's doughnut shop. I mean, they don't exactly do miracles here."

A woman turned around in one of the chairs and left the salon, leaving the boys staring after her. "Old lady Schneider."

"It's a miracle!" Cory exclaimed, "oh no. Juliet and Topanga are gonna come out looking ten times better than they did when they went in."

"Okay, the first thing they're gonna do is Topanga will dump you and Julie will finally agree to go out with me. Then, they're gonna start hanging out with other unbelievably good-looking people."

"How do you know that? And why do you get the better end of this?" the curly-haired boy complained.

"It's what we do." Shawn shrugged. "And I'm already unbelievably good-looking."

"Uh huh, uh huh. Well, I think that's interesting but oh-so-wrong because if anybody knows hair, it's me. When I get a haircut it looks terrible for, like, the first six weeks. Then all of a sudden it looks terrific for, like, a day. Then it's time for another haircut. It's what I like to call the haircut cycle of shame," Cory replied.

"Okay, and that's what you think's gonna happen to Topanga?"

"Yes, I do, because the universe knows that Topanga and I are supposed to be together so the universe has seen fit to put Topanga in that chair and make her hideous so we can get through out teenage years awkward hand in awkward hand," he declared.

Shawn laughed. "You know she's gonna come out great-looking, don't you?"

"Yes!" Cory exclaimed as he slumped against the other boy in defeat.

His eyes widened as a familiar person appeared in front of them and he patted his friend urgently. "Shawn, Shawn, look!"

Shawn turned and stared at the girl in surprise. "They made Julie look like Topanga," he paused, "I don't know how I feel about this."

"I am Topanga," Topanga said, stepping aside to reveal another familiar, redheaded person.

The boys stared at them in shock until Cory exclaimed, "this universe blows!"

"Well, isn't somebody going to say something?" the blonde asked.

Juliet smiled almost nervously as the two boys stood frozen in front of them. She didn't think she looked that different, certainly not like Topanga. She'd only had about three inches trimmed off and had decided to straighten her hair for once instead of leaving it in its natural waves. She'd also agreed to wear some light makeup, though she had said no to the mani-pedi Topanga had received.

"She's my best friend, she's my best friend," Shawn muttered to himself before he turned to face the redhead. "Oh, the heck with that! Marry me! I live in a trailer park and I have no education but my hair does this!" He ran his fingers through his hair to make it bounce. The action caused Juliet to giggle as her face turned pink from his silly proposal.

"Shawn!" Cory exclaimed.

"Shut up, man. I'm going for it!" the dark-haired boy told him. Cory ignored his words and sprayed his friend's face with water from a nearby spray bottle.

Shawn took a deep breath. "Thanks, thanks. I'm back." As soon as the curly-haired boy turned around, though, he made motions for her to call him, earning a rather bashful smile that made him abnormally proud of the gesture.

"Alright, Topanga. I want the name of the guy who did this to you," Cory said.

"You don't like it?" Topanga asked.

"No, no, it's not that I don't like it. It's just that my best friend and this girl I'm in love with was never interested in what they looked like before and now I see makeup on your faces and polish on your nails, and—" He glanced at his friend, huffing, "stop looking at her lips!"

"But they sparkle," Shawn protested, his gaze fixed on Juliet's face. Her blush darkened as her own eyes moved down to look at his lips. She'd always thought they looked incredibly soft.

"I want the name of the guy who did this to you," Cory demanded.

"My stylist's name is Mr. Cellini. Cory, it's just a haircut. It's just some makeup," Topanga told him.

"Yeah, it's not like it's going to change us," Juliet agreed, though the effect of her words were lost as her gaze remained focused on the dark-haired boy.

The blonde looked at her watch and nudged the redhead. "Ooh, we gotta go."

"Where are you going?" the curly-haired boy asked.

"This outfit with this hair? Hello, bye-bye. I am so at the mall," Topanga declared.

"Well, you can't leave a girl to shop for herself!" Juliet agreed as she dashed after her.

🌎🌎🌎

The next day at school was very different for Juliet. She received more attention and compliments than usual on her appearance and she wasn't sure if she liked it or not. Now that that they were in Mr. Turner's class, some of the interest had died down which she was grateful for, though a few boys still crowded around Topanga's seat. Surprisingly, they seemed to be steering clear of hers.

Mr. Turner came in and called the class to order: "alright, everybody, take your seats. Come on, take your seats. What is so interesting that you all have to crowd around here?" The boys sat and their teacher startled slightly. "Oh boy, look at you."

"Yeah, Juliet and I got a haircut," Topanga told him, adding, "do you like it?"

"Hey, hey! Focus, Mr. Turner. Some are here to learn," Cory said pointedly.

"Okay, today, we're going to be talking about John Merrick, immortalized in the play The Elephant Man. Now, even though he was tragically disfigured, he still won the hearts of London society with his wonderful inner sprit," their teacher began.

"Yeah, you know what? I come from a great-looking family and I'm just going through my awkward teenage phase," Cory said hopefully, "but that doesn't mean I can't win the heart of high school society with my wonderful inner spirit."

"Now, see, what's really interesting about John Merrick is that he came from a wonderful-looking family, yet was so hideous himself that he was forced to wear a burlap sack over his head and perform as a sideshow freak until the day that his oversized head rolled back and he died."

"And when did he grow out of this. . . death?" the curly-haired boy asked.

Mr. Feeny came in before he got an answer. "Attention, please. Excuse the interruption, Mr. Turner. A reminder that this Friday is picture day so please dress nicely and try to look your best."

"Shawn?" Cory said.

"Yeah?"

"I just want to die," he complained, leaning back on his friend's desk. "Please don't lift my oversized head. "

🌎🌎🌎

Later that day, Juliet made her way to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror, messing with her hair. She was still getting used to how pin-straight it was and was having quite a bit of fun running her fingers through the shiny red locks. The bathroom stall opened and she jumped, turning in surprise to see Shawn leaning against the wall. "Shawnie?"

"How's it goin'?" he asked as he left the stall and approached her.

"A little differently than usual," she admitted, her fingers pausing as the dark-haired boy came to stand behind her.

Tentatively, he placed his hands on her shoulders. She tensed at first in surprise but then shivered slightly as she relaxed. She could feel the heat of his hands seeping through her shirt (which was incredibly distracting.) Using their even more-noticeable height difference to his advantage, he rested his chin comfortably on top of her head.

"I can see that," he admitted, "you wanna know how I learned that lesson now?"

"That's not gonna make me tell you who I like," Juliet told him firmly.

"It doesn't matter," Shawn said with a shrug (it did, but for some reason, it wasn't the punch in the gut he'd felt when he'd seen Juliet with Jack). He continued: "I'm ready to tell you without requirements."

"Okay," she agreed, though her tone was uncertain.

"You taught it to me."

Juliet frowned slightly. "I think I would have remembered that."

"Well, I kind of picked it up by myself through you."

"Through me?"

"Yeah. Do you remember when we were kids and I told you that I loved you?" Shawn asked.

Her expression turned wry. "Of course. You told me that every day."

"Well, contrary to popular belief, it wasn't because it was love at first sight."

She met his eyes through the mirror, startled by this new information. "Oh?"

"When you're in elementary school, you don't really notice things like how someone looks," he explained, "it was your personality that I saw first. I liked how you stood up for your friends and how you stuck to what you believed in even if it wasn't the popular opinion. You were more outgoing than any of the other girls in class and a lot of the other kids were intimidated by that but that didn't stop you from being who you were. You wouldn't change for anybody and the fact that you were unapologetically yourself caught my attention and never let it go."

Juliet was speechless as she listened to her best friend finally tell her why he'd felt that way at such an early age. He continued: "I noticed your appearance later, of course, but it didn't matter by then. You were— are—" he corrected himself quickly, "the most incredible girl I know."

Despite his words, her heart sank. "I'm sorry, Shawnie."

He gave her a confused look. "Sorry for what?"

"I. . . I never realized that's why you felt that way. I always thought it was just a silly crush or even some sort of ongoing joke. If I had known—"

"How could you have?" he asked gently, "I'm only just telling you now. I don't hold it against you, Julie."

"Well, if I had realized it sooner. . ." she trailed off with obvious regret.

"It's never too late," Shawn said with a shrug. He didn't elaborate, though he wanted to tell her he'd never given up hope.

"You're right," the redhead agreed, "this isn't me, is it?"

Reluctantly pulling away from him, she bent over the sink and turned on the tap to soak her hair with water. After shutting it off, she turned around and teasingly flipped her wet hair in his face, hoping to lighten the mood. It did the trick as he chuckled. "Yeah, thanks."

She dropped the now-wet blob and lifted her head slightly to look at him directly. "Thank you, Shawnie."

"'Course. That's what. . . I'm for." He'd been about to say best friends, but who was he kidding Juliet smiled at him, and once again his attention was caught by how shiny her lips were. "Hey, how do you get your lips to do that?"

"Do what?"

"The sparkle thing. They've never done that before."

It was odd how such a simple statement could make her face warm, but the thought of Shawn giving her lips any sort of thought caused the pink color to return and she (only half-truthfully) cursed the effect he had on her. Trying to distract him from the sudden change to her face, she rifled through her jean pockets and pulled out a clear container. "Lip gloss," she explained, and noticed his curious look. "Wanna try some?"

"Okay," Shawn agreed, holding out his hand, palm flat.

"What, are you gonna eat it?" When she saw his straight-faced expression, she sighed and mumbled, "you're lucky you're cute." More loudly, she said, "not like that, Shawnie. Do this." She puckered her lips slightly.

Bad idea. BAD IDEA! 

She immediately panicked, watching as the dark-haired boy copied her actions. Now all she could think about was kissing him! Focus, she told herself sternly, though it did little good if her pounding heart was anything to go by.

Running her finger over the solid gloss, she sucked in a breath and held it as she lifted it towards his lips. The closer she got, the harder it was for her finger to stay still despite her numerous attempts at telling herself to keep it together. And then, when she finally did touch his lips, she was distracted by how soft they felt (of course she'd been right about this, too.) Thankfully, though, he'd closed his eyes as he waited for her to apply the lip gloss so he didn't see her external alarm. She retracted her finger. 

"There, all done," she said, coughing as her voice came out higher than she'd intended.

Shawn opened his eyes and his tongue darted out to taste what she'd put on his lips (which definitely didn't help at all) and his eyes widened. "Kiwi mango?"

She stared at him in surprise. "How the heck did you figure that out?"

"I'm a really good guesser," he answered with teasing boastfulness.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, but unfortunately there's no award for guessing. Now that I'm back to normal should we see what our crazy friends are up to?"

He gave her an amused smile. "That's probably a good idea." 

[written mar. 2021]
[edited may 2022]