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❛ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐒𝐈𝐗 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ʜᴏɢs & ᴋɪssᴇs ꒱


❝ IN THE CONTEXT OF
HOW STUPID YOU ARE ❞

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Over the next week, Juliet spent a lot of time in the Fine Arts building. She hardly saw her friends at all and instead locked herself in one of the practice rooms to begin to build up her skill. She'd even found a tutor and had lessons on Saturdays in the older woman's apartment off-campus. She'd also spent some time with her new friend, Kendrick, and found that she liked his company a lot; it was nice to have a friend that didn't remind her of Shawn.

Now, she finally had a free minute which she was spending in the common area to help Cory and Topanga film a video to advertise the school. There had been more than forty takes already but no one was giving up. "And action!"

The couple opened the doors together as Topanga began: "hello, I'm Topanga Lawrence."

"Hi, I'm Cory Matthews," Cory added. "We'll be hosting your hosts on this historic tour of Pennbrook College."

"For over a century, Pennbrook has been a place where thousands of students come each fall to embark on a journey," the blonde continued as they walked further in to the room. They stopped at the end of the couch.

"A journey that will take you to a ugiverse of exciting experiences."

"So if Pennbrook is the college of your choice. . ."

"Then come on," the curly-haired boy finished with an awkward wave.

"Cut! Cut!"

"You think?" he demanded. "Where've you been? I stink. I think I said the word 'ugiverse.'"

"Shall we try it one more time?" the director asked with a sigh. "Maybe take fifty-nine will be the charm."

"No, no. I knew way back at take thirty-three that I was sucko," Cory said. "I quit."

The onlooking students cheered loudly only for Topanga to interrupt them. "Whoa! Wait a minute, I don't understand. Cory and I were picked as the perfect freshman couple because of our natural chemistry."

"Yeah, where'd that go?"

"Cor, come on. Don't leave yet," Shawn started supportively, but he finished with a smirk: "I want to hear you butch the word 'curriculum.'"

"Oh yeah?" the boy asked as his friend approached him. "If curricum is such an easy word, then let's hear you say it."

Shawn leaned forward slightly and carefully enunciated: "curriculum."

"Wow."

"Do that again," the director called out.

The dark-haired boy turned to face him. "Curriculum."

The man held his hands up to his eye to imitate a telescope as he spoke: "wow. I like it." He glanced over at the watching redhead. "Hey, you wouldn't possibly consider, uh. . ."

Juliet's eyes widened. "I'm going to pretend like I don't know what you're implying."

"It's obvious that besides screw-up here, you and him have the chemistry we're looking for. It would be the perfect—"

"Absolutely not!" she exclaimed at the same time Shawn all but yelped, "no way!" He carried on hastily: "there's no chemistry."

"Never was," Juliet agreed quickly. "You're imagining it. Us doing the movie would be worse than Cory, I promise."

The director frowned with disappointment. "Well, if you two won't do it together, would you. . ." He pointed between the two boys.

"What a great idea!" Cory exclaimed. "Shawn, you could take my place."

"Perfect," he agreed.

"Oh, I don't know," Shawn protested as his eyes flicked between Topanga and (more subtly) Juliet.

"I don't feel comfortable doing this unless Cory is gonna do it," the blonde insisted.

"Cory, I can't be you."

"Shawn, listen," the curly-haired boy said. "I don't want to be responsible for ruining this film. You can take my place. Besides, Topanga will be here and she'll make you feel comfortable."

"I think it's a bad idea."

"Oh, when did I ever have a bad idea?" Cory scoffed.

Juliet stared at him in disbelief. "Basically every day of your life."

🌎🌎🌎

After places had been reset, the new 'casting' had gone much better than the first fifty tries. They'd made it to the end of the script with Shawn and Topanga sitting on the couch in front of the camera as the blonde spoke: "the social life at Pennbrook University will lead to lifelong friendships and who knows? Maybe more. Right, honey?"

Shawn wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders. "That's right, snookums. Why, I remember the first night we met, right here in the newly remodeled student union which was paid for by the generous donation of Mr. Stanley Kandleman, class of '48."

"In fact, many students wind up meeting their lifelong mates here at Pennbrook," Topanga continued.

"And while that may not be the number one reason to attend Pennbrook College—"

"—it sure ranks high on our list."

"Kiss her," the director said suddenly as he stood from his chair. There was a moment of hesitation as the pair looked at each other before their lips met. The older man gave them encouragement: "come on, more heat. Come on, you're in love. Oh, that's hot. That's very hot."

Even though she knew it was for a movie, Juliet watched the scene in front of her with almost sick fascination as her worst nightmare came true. The director wasn't even wrong; her stomach twisted at the sight of her best friends (and the boy she still had feelings for) kiss each other passionately.

Cory understandably felt the same way, though he was far more vocal about it. He grabbed the megaphone and spoke loudly into it: "cut! Cut! Cut! Back away from the girlfriend! What was that?"

Shawn pulled away from the blonde. "What?"

"What, 'what?' You know what!" the boy shouted. "You kissed my girlfriend!"

The dark-haired boy pointed at the man. "He told me too."

"And if he told you to put a knife through my heart would you do it?"

"It depends," Shawn retorted. "Would you be yelling in my ear through a bullhorn at the time?"

Cory smiled nervously and quickly handed the device to a crew member. "I don't like that you kissed my girlfriend."

"It didn't mean anything."

"Cory, this is silly," Topanga pleaded with him. "Please don't go crazy over this. Please."

His hands curled into fists as he tried to fight the urge and muttered his girlfriend's request as he walked away. Shawn stood from the couch and slid his hands comfortably into his pockets as he approached the redhead. "Hey, Julie."

She eyed him warily. "What do you want?"

There was an irritating, smug smile on his face. "You're not jealous, are you? You're not going to make a big deal out of this like Cory, right?"

She snorted derisively. "You wish. We're not dating anymore, if you'll remember. You can kiss whomever you'd like and I wouldn't care."

"Mmm," he agreed, clearly not believing her words. "Are you sure about that?"

Their eyes met and hers narrowed. "Positive."

🌎🌎🌎

"It's like he expected me to care!" Juliet exclaimed as she waved her fork exasperatedly in the air. "What, like I'm supposed to say 'yes, Shawn, I still have feelings for you and it kills me to see you kissing my best friend?'"

"But you do care," Rachel pointed out mildly before she took a sip from her soda.

"Of course I do, but that's besides the point! I'd like to see how he would react if I kissed Cory. He's an idiot."

"Well, you're not wrong. Do you think he was hoping you'd be jealous?"

The redhead scoffed. "Of course not, Rach. He's the one who wanted to break up in the first place. It would be impossible for him to still have feelings for me—"

"Like you do for him?" she suggested.

Juliet glowered at her. "You're not helping. Anyway, how about your stupid boys?"

"Ugh," Rachel complained immediately. "They're being ridiculously proper and everything has to be just so. I'm sick and tired of them treating me differently just because I'm a woman. I mean, it feels like I'm still living with my mom! That's why I'm not eating with a fork," she explained, though her sandwich also gave her an excuse.

"Makes sense," the girl agreed. "Mave you tried talking to them about it?"

"Yes but they don't listen. They think I'm trying to trap them."

"Well, maybe you should show them instead."

Rachel gave her a curious look. "How?"

Juliet grinned mischievously. "Cory, Shawn and I used to have the best food fights."

🌎🌎🌎

Later that night, she and Angela were in their dorm doing homework. Ever since her break up with Shawn, there'd been an odd tension between the two girls that neither one of them had addressed. The room was completely silent as they worked as both were unwilling to start any sort of complicated conversation that night. They were saved by an evening visitor. "Come in!"

Cory opened the door. "Hey."

"Hey," they greeted him in unison.

"What are you studying?" he asked as he looked between the two girls.

"White history," Angela answered. "You know, you people contributed quite a bit to this country."

He held up his hand. "Thanks. Jules?"

"Music theory," she replied as she looked up from her notebook. "I'm thinking of adding a minor."

"Well, you always were the brains of the operation," he admitted as he sat on her bed. "I'm not surprised. But I got my own problems. Angela, please continue."

"No fair," the redhead grumbled.

"Now," he continued, ignoring her, "you know about what's gone down between Shawn and Topanga because you were there and I know how much you still care about him and how much I care about that betraying witch of a girl—"

"Is there a point to this?"

"Shawn and Topanga are out on a date."

It took a moment for the words to register in her mind while across the room, Angela burst into laughter. "They would never do that."

"It's true!" he insisted, turning to face her.

"Well, why would they—"

"Because I made the reservation."

"Well, what—"

"And I paid for it."

"Why did you—"

"I ordered a soufflé in advance—"

"Why?"

"Because you have to do that sort of thing, Angela—"

"Wait, wait, wait," Juliet interrupted them as she sat up. "Shawn and Topanga are on a date?"

"Yes. Catch up, would you? Maybe you should drop one of your areas of study since it's clearly affecting your comprehensive abilities."

She ignored his tone. "Why?"

"Well, you know when you get overwhelmed with schoolwork it clogs your brain! Gosh, the love of my life is out with my best friend and all you're worried about is you! I thought you'd make a bigger deal out of this, Jules."

"Cory," the redhead said patiently as she tried to move past the fact that Shawn and Topanga were on a date, "is this still about the kiss?"

"Of course it's still about the kiss!"

"Come on, Cory. It was all for show!" Angela added in disbelief.

His eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute, she told you about this? That means it must have meant something to her." He faced Juliet again. "In all the time that you were with Shawn did he ever call out the name Topanga?"

"No, but he called out the name Cory," she answered evenly.

He paused. "In-in what context?"

"In the context of how stupid you are," Juliet told him with amusement. "I agreed with him most of the time, too."

"You were there, Jules. How could you remain unaffected by this? Are you sure you still have feelings for him? Because I don't understand why you're not making a bigger deal out of this."

"Of course I still have feelings for him," she said, not missing Angela's curious look. She made a mental note to talk to the brunette later. "But it was all fake, Cor. A movie! Do you really think that the actors playing characters on screen in theaters are in love with each other in real life?"

"There was passion!"

"Repeat after me," the redhead told him firmly. "Acting."

"They weren't pretending. I know when Topanga pretends! I've been there!"

She sighed. "You have nothing to worry about. These are our best friends you know. Even if Shawn's a free agent he's not going to go after Topanga. They're going to go out on this date, spend the evening talking about your idiocy and have a terrible time." She hoped.

"She's right," Angela agreed as she looked up from her history book. "Those two care too much about you two to even think about having feelings for each other."

"You really think so?" Cory asked hopefully.

"I know so."

"Positive," Juliet added.

"Alright. Thanks a lot, you guys. That helped."

Outside, they heard Topanga's voice loudly in the hall: "ha ha! You are so funny, Shawn."

"Oh, stop."

"Jules, I demote you." The boy stood and ran to the door to crack it open.

She tried to resist the temptation but couldn't and she eventually gave into the urge to join him. Their heads piled comically on top of each other so they could look into the corridor. Shawn opened the door to his room and peered inside of it. "Oh, he's not here. Let's go in."

"Ok, but we should put a rubber band on the door just in case he comes back," Topanga suggested.

Despite her understanding that this was fake, Juliet still let out a breath of relief. She could recognize her friend's joking tone when she heard it. The dark-haired boy took one off his wrist and slid it on to the doorknob. "After you."

They disappeared inside the room and shut the door behind them. Thoroughly convinced, Juliet went back to her bed while Cory crept across the hall to listen in. The redhead glanced at her roommate. "Hey, Angela?"

"Mmm?"

"Um, would you mind not mentioning anything you heard tonight to. . . anyone?"

The brunette looked up with a sincere expression on her face. "Did I hear anything?"

"Thanks, Ange."

Cory returned moments later. "Come with me," he pleaded. The two girls exchanged a glance but stood, allowing him to pull them by the hand out into the hall as he explained: "I heard sounds. Forbidden sounds. I think there was a cow in there."

"Cory, you're letting your imagination run away with you," Angela insisted.

"Really? Go ahead." He stepped away from the door. "Tell me there's nothing going on in there."

The girls shared another exasperated glance before Juliet stepped forward to press her ear against the wood. "There's nothing going in there."

His face crumpled. "Oh no, they're nestling."

She gave him a 'really?' look. "I'm opening the door."

Immediately, Cory raised a hand in front of his face. "No, I don't want to see!"

Rolling her eyes, Juliet opened the door to reveal. . . nothing, just as she'd thought. He entered the room with disbelief. "There's no one here."

"Of course not," Angela said as she followed them inside. "We're talking about Shawn and Topanga. They don't care about each other because they have you two!"

"No, Angela, Jules, you are thinking about this too logically and this defies logic. This is raw, hot, unfiltered passion and that kiss opened the gates."

"There are no gates," the brunette argued in an incredulous tone.

"Oh, there's gates."

The redhead sighed. "Cor, haven't we known each other a long time?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, is there any tension between us?"

He hesitated. "Well. . . there was that one time when you didn't get me a birthday present. I mean, I pretended not to notice but ooh."

"Not that kind of tension."

His eyes widened. "Oh, you mean—"

"I mean, have you ever thought of me— or Angela, for that matter— in a way other than just a friend?"

"Never!"

"Tell us the truth," the brunette ordered him.

"One time," Cory admitted sheepishly.

"Really?" Angela asked.

Juliet gagged. "God, I hope not."

"It was Angela," he reassured her, "but it wasn't even my fault. See, I had a dream and you were in it."

"Was it a good dream?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Yes."

"Was it real?" When he shook his head, she added, "neither was the kiss."

"Yeah, but-but they— it happened and they felt something."

"How do you know?" the redhead demanded.

"Because you can't do something like that without feeling anything."

"Even if they're just friends?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," Juliet said as she began to understand the point Angela was trying to make. With a reluctant sigh, she stepped forward and placed her hand against Cory's chest to force him back towards the bed.

"Oh no, it's a nightmare!"

"Hey, I'm not thrilled about this either," she complained as she knelt on the mattress above him. She made to lean down and kiss him only to have her brain short circuit before she could think about it further. She started gagging again. "Nope, nope, nope. Angela, I'm sorry but I can't do it. You'll have to make your point yourself." She scrambled out of the way as she shuddered at the thought of following through.

"I don't know if I should be offended or relieved."

Rolling her eyes, Angela took Juliet's place but prevented the boy from speaking any more by pressing her lips to his in a very solid kiss. When she sat up, he stared at her. "Wow."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No, tell me."

"No, I mean, I. . . I felt nothing. I mean, it felt good and everything but not—"

"Like you and Topanga?" Juliet offered.

He looked over at her. "Yeah, not like me and Topanga."

"Yeah, well, that's because you love Topanga, Cory," the redhead told him, "and when you're with her, you feel something for her. That's why it doesn't matter that she and Shawn kissed because there aren't any feelings there."

"Even though you and I just had a kiss between friends. . ." he began. His gaze landed on Angela as he addressed her.

"Because you don't love me. It's the same reason why you didn't want Juliet to kiss you because you don't love her either."

"Yeah. Sorry."

"Well, I've been getting a lot of that recently," Juliet said with a shrug as she tried to appear unaffected. They both picked up on the wobble in her voice.

Cory's gaze met hers. "Well, you don't deserve it. You know I do love you. Right, Jules? Just not like that."

"I know," she agreed quietly. "I love you too, Cor."

"And you're a great person," he told the brunette. "Someone will realize that someday. Thanks for talking me down." He lifted both of his arms. "C'mere." With a faint smile, Juliet joined him and Angela on the bed as they both curled up against him. A contented look appeared on his face until he remembered something. "Hey."

"What?"

"What about when I walked in and Shawn was in his underpants?"

"He was what?"

The brunette chuckled. "Cory, if you're going to spend the rest of your life with Topanga, don't you think you should trust her more? And don't you start, Juliet."

"I wasn't gonna," she grumbled. "I'm just disappointed I missed it."

"He was wearing a shirt," the curly-haired boy told her before he answered Angela: "oh, nobody would trust anybody they caught in such a compromising position."

"There you are, we've been looking all over for you," Topanga said as she entered the room.

He immediately held up his hands. "I can explain!"

"Shawn, I found him! He's in bed with Juliet and Angela!"

The boy came to stand next to the blonde. "You're really putting on the moves, Cor. Two girls at once? I'm proud. Aren't they so cute, Topanga?"

Instead of answering, she glanced at him quickly before the pair rushed towards the bed and took a flying leap to land on top of their friends. 

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