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❛ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ sʜᴀʟʟᴏᴡ ʙᴏʏ ꒱


❝ I'D DROP CORY FOR
YOU IN A SECOND ❞

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"And as this will be the last Presidential election in which you do not cast a ballot, I want this classroom to be an open forum to discuss the issues which most concern our lives," Mr. Feeny said as he walked around the classroom. He stopped in front of Shawn's desk. "Mr. Hunter, what issue most concerns your life?"

"The swimsuit issue," he stated promptly, "how am I doin'?" Juliet buried her face in her hands and sighed, causing the boy to look over at her. "Not very well, I assume."

"Boffo, Mr. Hunter," their teacher agreed, "Mr. Matthews?"

"Yes. Actually, there is a pressing social matter which I feel equipped to discuss with confidence and alacrity," Cory stated.

"Oh, well, then you have the floor, Mr. Matthews," Mr. Feeny told him, surprised.

"Nah, that used me up."

"Miss Capelwood, Miss Lawrence, save us, please."

"Panga? You wanna take it away?"

"Sure thing, Peaches," the blonde agreed, turning around and shooting her a smile. "But first I'd like to say that I think Cory's really cute for tryin'."

"Oh, thank you, sugar," the curly-haired boy said, pleased.

"And that I think the biggest crisis facing this country is the breakdown of the American family," she continued.

"Oh, you always gotta go after Shawn," the boy complained.

"Shawnie, she's talking about the general population," Juliet explained.

"I think I know what she's trying to imply, Julie."

"Well, in support of Panga's statement, I think there are lots of other issues besides the individual that lead to family problems, like crime and the decline of education—" The redhead picked up her friend's argument.

"Hey, hey, not you too!"

"Shawn."

"—all have to do with how we're brought up in our homes," Topanga added.

"That's it," Shawn announced. He stood up and grabbed his bag before he marched to the door. He stopped just before exiting.

"Mr. Hunter—" Mr. Feeny began, but the boy just pointed to the clock as the bell rang. "Oh, that's it."

🌎🌎🌎

"Shawn, you're not really upset, are you?" Cory asked as he and Juliet chased after the dark-haired boy.

They stopped by the lockers as he turned to them. "What, that I'm personally responsible for the breakdown of American society? Nah, I got bigger problems."

"I know, I got problems too. Mine is that Topanga and I were supposed to go out tonight but that's not happening."

"Well, that's good. Now we got ourselves a rare guy's night out," Shawn shrugged.

"Hey!" Juliet protested, "what about me?"

"What about you?" he asked, giving her a teasing smile and ducking the swat she aimed his way. "Easy, easy. I know you weren't attacking me in class but think of this as payback." She huffed and crossed her arms as Shawn continued: "you and me. Two guys catchin' up."

"Alright, I'm into that. The boys together again. So, it's pretty lucky that Topanga's babysitting tonight, huh?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," the dark-haired boy exclaimed quickly, "you have a girlfriend who's babysitting?"

"Yeah, late into the night. So, burgers or movie?"

"Cory, there's no burger. There's no movie."

"What?" Cory asked.

"Use your brain. There's just you and your girlfriend in a stranger's house. . ."

His friend caught on. "No interruptions, alone on the couch. . ."

Shawn was not so lucky this time. Juliet smacked him, and he winced as he rubbed his shoulder. "What was that for?"

"You're being a bad influence," she told him sternly, only to earn a 'really?' look from him.

"Julie, this is Cory we're talkin' about."

"Oh," she paused and considered this. "You're right. Never mind. Have fun tonight, Cor. Don't go too crazy."

"No promises there, Jules. Cory Matthews, a parent's worst nightmare. Lock up your daughters. The hormones will be a-flyin' tonight."

The pair exchanged an amused look as the redhead said, "we really wish we could believe you when you say it—"

"— but it just comes out so sweet," Shawn finished, smirking slightly at the now-pouty curly-haired boy.

"Fine, rag on me all you want. What are you gonna do with your night now that it's free, Shawn?" he asked pointedly, glancing at the redhead.

Juliet cleared her throat uncomfortably and looked away, not quite liking what he was implying. Fortunately and unfortunately, Shawn caught his drift and looped an arm around her shoulders. "You got any plans for tonight, Julie?"

"Just a minute ago I wasn't invited to guys' night."

"I'd drop Cory for you in a second," he said.

Warmth colored the redhead's face as she ducked her head in embarrassment, mumbling, "nothing, I s'pose."

"Well, now you do."

🌎🌎🌎

Juliet couldn't help but feel anxious anticipation build within her as it got closer to six o'clock when she would go to meet Shawn for their night out. Logically, she knew this wasn't a date. She knew that despite his earlier words, he only felt friendship for her (to be honest, she'd pick herself over Cory in a heartbeat— no offence to one of her best friends.) She knew that tonight wouldn't amount to anything out of the ordinary.

Yet, no matter how many times she told herself it was just another few hours she'd be spending with her best friend, butterflies would erupt in her stomach, warmth would explode in her chest and her face would heat up. A part of her hated that he could have this effect on her but she knew she wouldn't trade the elated feeling for the world.

At times like this, it felt as if she and Shawn where on an uphill slope, though not the kind that tired a person out. It was more like riding a train up to the top of a mountain where, once at the peak, they could stop and enjoy the view for a while. If she thought about it too hard, she was terrified of the downhill decline they would eventually have to face. She preferred to think about their current situation, though, and it felt like it was culminating into something spectacular.

It was with this frame of mind that she met him at the door to his trailer before they headed out to the movies. When it was just the two of them, she often stopped to marvel at the easiness with which they got along. They never had to search for a topic to talk about, there were never any awkward silences or uncomfortable moments. When it was just the two of them, she knew that if she placed her heart in his hands, he would do everything he could to take care of it. Despite his past history with girls, she trusted him enough to know he wouldn't do that with her.

When it was just the two of them, it was perfect.

(When it was just the two of them, he felt exactly the same.)

🌎🌎🌎

On Saturday, Barron took his daughter and Daly out to eat in order to give them a break from preparing the meal. After catching up with the few events that had happened in the red-haired woman's classes, she turned to the younger girl with a knowing smile. "So, how was your date with Shawn?"

Predictably, Juliet blushed a bright red and cleared her throat to try and divert the attention. "So, how's the construction project going, Barron?"

He gave her an amused look. "Not so fast, young lady. What's this about a date? And who's this Shawn?"

Daly glanced at her daughter in surprise. "You haven't told him about Shawn?"

The redhead shifted uncomfortably in her seat at her parents' questioning and pushed her food around her plate with her fork. "No, I haven't. No reason, really." 

That was a lie, of course. As much as she was trying to accept having her father back in her life, the transition was still hard and she couldn't help but worry that something would happen that would make him leave again. It was better to be safe than sorry, so she'd kept most of her personal details to herself. Now, though, he gave her an odd look. "Come to think of it, whenever we've talked, you have asked a suspicious amount of questions about my family."

"Well, that's what you do when you have a whole lost side." She shrugged, trying for nonchalance. The dark-haired man wasn't convinced and he set his own fork down to reach across the table. He placed a hand on her arm to still her nervous movements. 

"Juliet," he said softly, "you can tell me these things. I want to know about you."

She ducked her head, allowing her red hair to fall in front of her face as she mumbled, "I didn't want to mess anything up."

"How on earth could you do that?" he asked with disbelief.

"I dunno. I bet I could."

"Hey," Barron chided her gently, "you don't have to be afraid. I'm not going anywhere."

"Darling," Daly added, "the only reason he left in the first place was because of his father, not because of his prerogative."

"Exactly," he agreed with a nod, "if I'd had it my way, I would've been there these past fifteen years."

Juliet lifted her heard to look at him. "Why didn't you fight harder, then?" she asked bluntly.

The dark-haired man stared at her in surprise but she gave him credit for not answering it immediately— or defensively. Instead, he responded after a few moments of thought. "At the time I thought the only option was to do as my father said," he explained, "I was in my mid-twenties and had always relied on my family's support to get by. I don't think it ever occurred to me until later that I wanted to be disinherited to be free from everything that came with them. If I had the mentality then that I do now, things would have been much different."

She could tell he genuinely believed what he said. He met her gaze evenly and spoke without shifting with discomfort or any other tells that came with lying. "Alright," she said slowly, "I'll try. I'm still getting used to this whole father thing but it might get easier if I start sharing things."

"So, about this Shawn. . ." Barron teased her, watching his daughter's face as it regained its previous color.

"Oh, wait 'till you hear the story," Daly told him excitedly, "it's so cute. I've watched them grow up together and I'll eat my hat if they don't get married someday."

He gave her an intrigued look. "Do I have to do the whole fatherly spiel with him?" He sounded awfully enthusiastic about it.

"No," Juliet exclaimed quickly, "gosh no. We're not dating," she added firmly for her mother's benefit. Daly only sent her a coy smile as she continued: "we've been best friends since kindergarten and yes, for a while Shawn kept up a ruse that we were married, but thankfully it didn't last past middle school."

"She's only saying thankfully for our benefit," Daly told the dark-haired man, "she misses it, truthfully. "She ignored her daughter's protest and added brightly: "wait until you hear her talk about her other friends. You'll notice there's a difference."

Barron returned his attention to the younger girl. "Alright, tell me who else you know."

"Well, there's Cory. The three of us have been friends since first grade and he had a similar fake-marriage thing going with another girl, Topanga. I've only more recently become friends with her—"

"Do you hear it?" the red-haired woman interrupted her with a rather absurd amount of interest.

"Wait, say those three names again, together?" Barron requested.

Juliet sighed. "I don't know what you're talking about, but sure. My three best friends are Shawn, Cory and Topanga."

She watched the man's face brighten with fascination. "Alright, now say them in a different order."

She huffed in exasperation but obliged. "Cory, Shawn and Topanga. I don't get it. What's weird about the way I say their names?"

"Darling," Daly said, "say Shawn's name alone."

The red-haired girl gave her mother a weirded-out look. "Ok-ay," she agreed slowly. "Shawn."

As soon as she said his name, she felt her lips tug up in a smile and she was pretty sure her expression brightened with the action. She stared at her mother with wide eyes. "What does that mean?" She repeated the boy's name: "Shawn."

It happened again.

Daly gave her a gentle smile. "It's only a confirmation of your feelings for him."

"Who? Shawn?" she asked, now more aware of how her expression reacted to the sound of his name.

"Exactly."

Juliet gave the older woman a worried look. "Do you think he's noticed?"

"Oh, no," Barron answered instead with a confident tone. "Most guys are completely oblivious to this sort of thing. I'm sure he falls into that category."

She sighed with relief. "You're probably right. What do I do with this information?"

"You could act on it," Daly suggested, this time receiving a more horrified version of the look she'd earned earlier.

"No way," the redhead exclaimed frantically, "I can't. He doesn't feel the same way—"

"He does."

"He doesn't. It doesn't matter what I feel, anyway. I'd rather keep him as a friend forever than be happy for a few months or weeks only to break up and never speak again."

"Give yourself more credit," the woman scolded her lightly, "you and Shawn have a great basis for a relationship and there's obvious attraction even if you're both blind to it. I really think you ought to take that risk which isn't really a risk at all." 

[written mar. 2021]
[edited may 2022]