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❛ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴀɪɴ'ᴛ ᴄᴏʟʟᴇɢᴇ ɢʀᴇᴀᴛ ꒱


❝ I TOLD YOU SO! ❞

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Unlike Cory, the girls didn't make a big deal about the transition from high school to college. They calmly unpacked their belongings as they talked enthusiastically about what they were looking forward to in the upcoming semester. Angela, Topanga and Juliet had decided to room together which was sure to bring about many. . . interesting situations.

When they reached a good resting point, Topanga and Juliet broke off to go find their boyfriends. The boys' door was open and when they entered, the blonde gave her a teasing grin. "Hey look, Peaches. I found us some college guys."

"She means us," Cory said proudly.

The redhead went to stand next to Shawn, who gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "Well, the four of us are here at Pennbrook."

"Let's check it out," she suggested.

They made their way into the main corridor to take a look around and Cory (who was still excited about the move) narrated the sights happily: "okay look: we got hallways, rooms and a co-ed bathroom. Oh, see, Shawnie? In college girls are not called girls. They're called 'co-eds." He paused as a man pushed the door open before he remarked, "boy, is she butch."

"Cory, the bathroom is for men and women," Topanga pointed out.

"Both?"

"Yes, Cor," Juliet answered with a sigh. "Co-ed, as in co-educational. At the same time."

"Just like Ally McBeal," his girlfriend added.

"'Just like Ally McBeal,'" the curly-haired boy repeated mockingly. "Let her go in there!"

"Cory, it's no big deal."

"I'm going in," Shawn decided without hesitation. As the girls followed him, Cory sent the door a dismayed look.

"I just got used to going in front of other guys!"

🌎🌎🌎

Juliet immediately grimaced as they stepped into the registration room. The atmosphere was hectic and compressing in a sense that reminded her too much of elementary-school lunches. Her hand instantly searched for her boyfriend's and she grasped his fingers tightly, half-afraid she'd get lost in the crowd. He sent her a concerned look. "Alright, Julie?"

"I'm not a fan of this." She waved her arm around vaguely to indicate the press of students.

Shawn's face suddenly became understanding. "You want me to sign you up for classes?"

"Nah," she said with a sigh. "We're in college now, dammit. You shouldn't have to stand in line for me."

"Well, the offer's there if you need it," he told her as he squeezed her hand reassuringly.

She sent him a grateful smile as they joined the rest of their friends. Cory was on yet another tirade about the 'change.' "Registration. Here is where we make the decisions that will determine who we are and what we know for the rest of our lives."

"Oh, shut up," the dark-haired boy retorted.

"Not everything has to be ceremonious, you know," the redhead agreed shortly.

"Cory, we're freshmen," Angela chimed in. "There's really no big decision to make here."

"It's anything that says '101' or 'Intro to,'" Topanga finished.

"Sure, if you wanna go the safe way," her boyfriend scoffed.

"Here we go."

"You see, I was studying my course guide last night. Now, the old Cory would've gone down that road of safe and easy courses but I refuse to be trampled by the masses registering for a little course that I like to call 'Introduction to Mediocrity.'"

"You know I'm going to say 'I told you so,' right?" Juliet asked.

"No," the boy disagreed firmly. "You might've had the upper hand in high school but college is different. I'm going to be the one saying that. Look, I'll practice right now: I told you so. I told you so. I told you so—"

"Come on," Shawn murmured as their friend continued to repeat the phrase.

🌎🌎🌎

Registering for classes went much better than Juliet had anticipated but it was mostly because she didn't stand in line alone. After purchasing their books, the four of them went to the common area to find their missing friend. Cory was sitting at a high top table with his own books piled next to him. The redhead's eyes widened at the title of the textbook he held.

"You're already done registering?" Topanga asked as they joined him.

"Yeah," he answered. "I registered, I got my books and I bought each of us a Pennbrook sweatshirt. Go penguins!"

"Don't ever do that," Shawn scolded him while he took the remaining seat.

"'Quantum Physics, Theoretical Calculus, Inorganic Chemistry, Forensic Pathology?'" the blonde read the titles of his books aloud.

Cory lifted up the sleeve of his new sweatshirt. "Is this your son, Mr. Johnson?"

"Oh, Cory, Cory, Cory," Angela sighed. "How do I put this delicately? Could you be a bigger moron?"

"Why would you ask me that? Why?"

"Do you even know what any of those words mean?" Juliet pointed to the titles. "I'm not even taking any of those classes."

"Somebody's jealous. Here, let me show you how it's done: I told you so," Cory taunted her.

"Cory, you've taken on an impossible load that will eventually crush you to death," Topanga told him.

"I know, but I figure we'll have a good ten or twelve good years together first."

Shawn let out a short, fake laugh. "That's good. . . all I wanted you to do is stop with the pudding. What is this? Julie, what's Quantum Physics?"

"Why are you asking her?" the curly-haired boy demanded. "I'm the one who signed up for the class and that's what they're going to teach me."

"Alright. Then why don't you tell us, Cory?" Juliet suggested.

"Well, if I knew what it was right now then I would've taken Quantum Physics two, now wouldn't I?"

"Have you looked at this? It's gibberish," the dark-haired boy said as he looked through the book. "Really, Julie. I wanna know what it is."

"It basically explains how everything works," the redhead explained. "There's different branches depending on what you're interested in but there's a lot of math and science, both of which you're not good at." This last part was directed at Cory.

"You're gibberish," he grumbled. "It's new and exciting, just like me. So nuts to you, you jerks." He stood and collected his books. As he walked away, he stopped to talk to an older professor for a moment only to call back: "everything's fine!"

🌎🌎🌎

"Shawn? What are you doing up?"

The dark-haired boy jumped at the sound of Angela's unexpected voice and shifted to look up at her. "Nothing. What are you doing up?"

"I'm a night owl," she explained with a shrug as she sat down next to him on the couch. She'd come down to the common area to get some late-night coffee only to find the room wasn't as empty as she'd first thought. "I don't usually go to bed until two or three a.m.."

"Oh," he said. "I'm one too but not quite that late."

"But it doesn't look like you're here because it's not time for bed yet," Angela observed as her hands wrapped around the warmth of the to-go cup. "What's up?"

Shawn glanced at her, half-tempted to brush her off like he usually would any help. Still, he felt the need to talk to someone and Cory was in Wyoming (and he was biased.) "I'm just thinking."

He almost expected her to answer 'that's never good' with a teasing smile as Juliet was prone to do, but instead she just gave him a concerned look. "Well, I've got nothing to do for the next four hours. Or I could get Juliet if you want."

"She's asleep?" he guessed. The brunette nodded, so he continued: "nah. I was just thinking about Cory. I've always thought that I would be the one to be the college screw-up but it's his first day and he's already made a mess."

She studied him for a moment. "Cory's lucky that he's got such good friends looking out for him. I'm sure you three will figure something out."

"I know that I'm not very good at math but I think you mean four."

Angela waved a hand in the air to dismiss his words. "I'll be happy to help, of course, but I haven't known him for as long as you three have."

Shawn turned to her, surprised. "You don't think you're one of us?"

"Only because I'm still new," she answered. "But anyone can see how much you all care about each other." He nodded but didn't say anything in response, causing her to scrutinize him further. "But you're not up at twelve in the morning just because you're worried about your friend, are you?"

"Nothing gets past you," he replied with a light chuckle.

She gave him a faint smile. "One of the perks of being an outsider is that you can observe without bias. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Would you regret your offer if I said that it was about my romantic relationship?"

"Something's wrong with you and Juliet?" Angela asked, shocked. "But you two get along so well!"

"I wouldn't necessarily say wrong," Shawn corrected her hastily. "I care about her more than probably anyone. It's just. . . ever since we've started dating, we haven't talked as much. I mean, most of the time we spend alone together is— well, kissing— never mind, this was stupid. I'm sorry—"

"No, no," the brunette said quickly. "It's alright, I've had my fair share of relationships too, you know, though none were like yours or Topanga's." Her brown-eyed gaze seemed to pierce right through him before she came to a conclusion: "you miss how it was when you were best friends."

"Yes," he agreed, stunned that she'd understood so easily. "I mean, I've always been able to talk to her— Julie, I mean— about anything, but we haven't really had the conversations that we used to have when we weren't together-together, you know? Like, this would be a conversation I'd have with her, yet here I am having it with you. Don't get me wrong; I like all the kissing that we do but. . . but—"

"It's not what you pictured it would be like," Angela finished for him, "because you've waited to long that you've built up this expectation in your head and if it's even slightly off, then it's wrong."

"I— yes," the dark-haired boy exclaimed. He stared at her with wide eyes. "How did you know?"

She shrugged. "I may or may not be going through the same thing."

He gave her a curious look. "With who?"

Something about the way the brunette shifted uncomfortably made him even more interested, especially when she didn't answer. "Never mind that. Have you said anything to Juliet about this?"

"Er— no. I mean, I would but I don't want to hurt her feelings."

"She's your best friend, Shawn," she told him patiently. "She'd understand. Unless. . . there's something else?"

"How are you so good at this?"

Angela glanced down at the coffee cup in her lap, which had lost a majority of its warmth. "Well, I do love poetry and the arts. Those are said to make someone more in-touch with feelings."

"Huh," he responded intelligently. "Because you're right."

The brunette looked back up at him and a note of sarcasm entered her tone. "Really?"

Shawn gave her an amused smile that faded quickly. "I just. . . I don't know if I'm even ready to admit it to myself yet."

"I'm not going to judge you, you know," she reassured him. "And I can keep a secret if you want me to."

"Even. . . even if it involves Juliet?"

"Yeah."

He hesitated for a second as he weighed his options (because even Cory was biased as much as he could be helpful) before he spoke again: "well, I've always wanted to be with her, even all the way back in kindergarten. I've been convinced all these years that she's the only one for me and I still believe that. I think I always will. But on top of our relationship not being quite what I expected, I've also realized that we've only ever been around people we know. Even in high school, we got to know most of the other students well enough so that I remained convinced of that. Now that we're in college, though, with people from out of state and even the country, I've realized how very few people I actually know. And now—" he trailed off to look at her hopefully.

Angela shook her head. "Uh-uh. While I understand what you're getting at, you have to say it yourself."

The dark-haired boy sighed and finished quietly: "now it feels like I might be missing out, that I'm so blinded by the feelings I've had for years that they've clouded everything else. I feel terrible about it because I've wanted this for so long that I'd have to be an awful person to throw it all away. I mean, we've only had a year-plus together before it all goes up in flames. What sort of relationship is that?"

"Well, I wouldn't say flames," the brunette corrected him. "You and Juliet get along so well even with how you're feeling and a year is a long time for anyone. I'm guessing you haven't talked to her about this, either?"

"Right again."

"Maybe you should," she suggested. "You might feel better. Besides, I've seen how smart she is. If anyone could come up with an answer it would be her."

Shawn slumped against the couch as he sighed. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to because even I know these feelings are grounds for a break up and that's the last thing I want."

"A part of being in a functional relationship is having the ability to talk things over, Shawn," Angela pointed out. "If you can't do that, then maybe you should break up." 

🌎🌎🌎

For the rest of the weekend, Angela's words echoed in his mind. Whenever he was with Juliet, he couldn't help but feel guilty that he would even think to be with anyone else after they fought so hard to be together, but he also couldn't ignore how he actually felt. He tried really, really hard to forget about them as they focused on helping Cory but even that didn't work despite their successful solution.

The curly-haired boy returned on Sunday evening with Mr. Feeny in tow and they found him sitting in the same place where he'd talked to Angela (which didn't help the situation.) He was speaking as they approached him. "Yeah, I mean. . . what I learned from you was mostly about life and how to make friends and how to help and support the people you care about."

"That's what you taught all of us," Shawn agreed as he glanced over at the redhead. "How you doing, Mr. Feeny?"

"Howdy."

"Thank you for bringing my Walter home," Topanga said as she perched on the arm of the couch to kiss her fiancé's cheek.

"Listen, I'd love to chat but Mr. Feeny and I, we gotta start studying for quantum. . . whatever it is that I signed up for," Cory told them reluctantly.

"Here," the blonde replied as she handed him a piece of paper.

"What's this?" he asked, looking at it in confusion.

"It's your schedule. You have two classes with me and three with Shawn and Juliet. I figured you'd want it this way," she explained.

He stared up at her. "I don't get it. How'd you do this?"

"Well, we each signed up for an extra class. . ."

"And then we dropped one," Angela continued.

"And signed you up instead," Shawn added.

"And then we got your books and returned them for the right ones."

"You did? How'd you know to do this?"

"Hey, we had the same teacher you did," Juliet replied. "But that won't stop me from saying this the right way: I told you so!"

They shared a laugh as Cory turned to Mr. Feeny. "So I'm ready to start college now?"

"I think you are, Mr. Matthews," he answered. "I think you all are." 

[written oct. 2021]
[edited jun. 2022]