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❛ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐒𝐈𝐗 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴊᴀɴɪᴛᴏʀ ᴅᴀᴅ ꒱


❝ TO KNOCK SOME
SENSE INTO YOU ❞

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Juliet and Cory entered the Hunters' trailer to pick up Shawn on their way to school. The three occupants of the home were standing in the middle of the kitchen and the redhead immediately picked up on the thick tension in the room. Her eyes to darted worriedly over to Shawn to see how he was handling the situation. So far, he looked alright.

"Hey, Mr. Hunter, Mrs. Hunter," Cory spoke up, drawing the attention to them. "Boy, it sure is nice to see you back together. A whole family again in happy domestic bliss."

"Well, aren't you sweet," Virna cooed at him before she turned to her husband. "If you don't want to see this entire family livin' in an Amana refrigerator box, you get your sorry act together and find some other way to pay these bills!"

"Perhaps we should wait outside where there's a little less tension," Cory suggested, nudging the redhead towards the door.

Juliet allowed him to slowly back her away as she prompted, "coming, Shawn?"

"In a minute," he responded absently as Cory opened the door.

Outside, a voice in a different trailer was raised to an equally loud volume: "you spineless deadbeat, hiding the bills in the cat box! I'll kill you!"

The curly-haired boy quickly shut the door as realization dawned on her. "It's the first of the month, isn't it?"

"Yep," Shawn agreed.

"Now Virna, Sugarpie, honeybunch," Chet started, "don't you go chewing my leg off over minor financial fracas." He turned to address them. "That's your new vocabulary word for today, fracas."

Virna was not pleased with his avoidance of the topic and grabbed him by the ear, saying, "Chet?"

"Yes ma'am?"

"I have been tearing tickets every afternoon at the movie theater so we don't have to hide bills in the microwave but pay 'em like normal people, Chet!" She grabbed the front of his robe and shook him. "I want to be normal, Chet!"

"You know, Virna, if we're not pleased with our little job at the theater maybe we should seek employment elsewhere. Preferably one that gives us a little more job fulfilment. . ." he trailed off as he caught her look. "What?"

"We?" she repeated furiously.

"What?"

"We. You said we work. We don't work, I work! I work like a pig!" She stormed away, disappearing into the hallway towards the back of the trailer.

"Well," Chet called after her, "maybe you better ask for a raise 'cause we got a microwave full of bills, honey!" He ducked as her apron came flying his way.

"It's gotta be better out there," Cory said hopefully as he opened the door.

"Uh, I don't—" Juliet started, only to be interrupted by the same voice from before.

"I want to be normal, Spud!"

"—think so," she finished.

Cory closed the door. "I'm stuck."

"Dad," Shawn said, "mom came back because she believed things would be different, so you gotta do something to show her that you've changed, that it's gonna be different."

"You're talkin' about me getting' a nine-to-five job?" he asked.

"That would be different," Shawn agreed.

"Well, maybe you're right. Maybe it's time I quit my ways of dreamin' and schemin' and settled down, get a job and focus on reality."

"That's all I'm sayin'."

"'Course, we'll have to move to Portugal," Chet continued.

"Portugal? Why?"

"It's the pearl-diving capital of the world, son," he answered, "you know, I can hold my breath underwater for over four minutes?"

"That should help you when she throws you off the bridge," Cory told him.

"Dad, I'm talking about a normal job," the dark-haired boy explained, "'we want to be normal, Chet.'"

"Gang up on me, why don't you?" He looked to Cory and Juliet. "I suppose you want me to get a job too?"

"Whatever would calm everybody down's fine with me," Cory answered.

She shrugged, feeling awkward. "It might be nice."

🌎🌎🌎

At school, Cory and Topanga stood on the top of the stairs. The curly-haired boy sat on the wall while Shawn stood below him, leaning on a trashcan with Juliet standing next to him. Three cartons of milk sat on the bench nearby as they lay in wait for unsuspecting seventh graders.

"This isn't gonna work," the redhead told him.

"Is."

"Isn't."

"Is."

"I think you are so immature," Topanga said.

"Hey!"

"I can't believe you're letting him do this," the blonde remarked disapprovingly.

"It'll probably be funny," the redhead answered with a shrug. "And if not, I'll get to say I told you so. It's a win-win situation."

She received a disbelieving look from Topanga as the three younger students came back. "That wasn't Homer Simpson!" one of them exclaimed as they sat down.

"Oh. Sorry, kid. I could've sworn it was him."

The four of them watched as the kids drank from their cartons and the milk leaked from the holes Shawn had punched in them earlier. The dark-haired boy laughed loudly as Juliet smirked in amusement, forcing her laugh down as Topanga gave her a disappointed look.

"That's not funny at all," she tried, though a few chuckles escaped as she tried to appear scolding.

"Wow, all three at once," Cory commented admiringly as the three kids stood up.

"Oh! And they said it couldn't be done. Thank you, gentlemen. You've been great sports. Thanks for playing our game. Come back anytime," Shawn told them brightly as they walked away.

"Oh, very good. Anytime you can humiliate people who are weaker or defenseless you should certainly go for it," Topanga snarked before she stalked away.

"Alright, she got the bit," he said.

"She wasn't being serious," Juliet offered.

He didn't seem convinced as Cory came down the steps joined them, looking at the result of the prank. "Shawn, what a mess."

"Indeed. But now, the school janitor will have something to do, thus we have ensured his job for another day, thereby helping the economy."

"We are so underappreciated," he agreed. Juliet rolled her eyes.

The janitor backed out of the nearby closet and caught Shawn's attention. "Uh, sorry about the mess here, Mr. Janitor, sir—" The man turned around and his eyes widened in surprised recognition. "Dad?"

"Mr. Hunter?" Cory asked.

Chet grinned. "Chet Hunter, educational custodial services. Normal job for normal people."

As he began to clean up the mess on the floor, Shawn turned to his two best friends with a shocked expression on his face.

🌎🌎🌎

"My dad's the janitor," Shawn repeated for the umpteenth time as he leaned against his locker with his eyes closed, as if not being able to see prevented the fact from being true.

"Shawn, there is no shame in your father being a janitor," Topanga told him.

"My dad's the janitor."

"You know, if that's what you dwell on it's not gonna sound good," Cory said.

"Shawnie, it's not the end of the world," Juliet tried, "at least he has a job, right?"

"But he could've been anything!" he exclaimed, "I mean, god! My dad has all these wonderful dreams and why does he have to be a janitor here?"

"Everybody needs a job," Topanga answered, "people understand that."

The four of them left the lockers and started to walk to Mr. Turner's class. "Topanga's right," Juliet agreed, "every school needs a janitor. Ours just happens to be your dad."

As they entered the classroom, a boy named Doug Crandall who sometimes sat in front of Juliet called out to Shawn: "hey, Hunter. I hear our dads have a lot in common."

Cory and Topanga continued to their seats but both Shawn and the redhead froze at the oncoming insult as the boy asked, "and you say that, why?"

"My father's a doctor and your father's— oh, wait. He cleans toilets. My mistake."

Juliet's hands balled into fists by her sides and her gaze narrowed as Shawn threatened him breezily, "well, that was very funny and if you keep it up, I'm gonna punch your head off."

"And then you're father's gonna pick it up."

"Hey, Doug," the redhead cut in evenly, "shut up."

He turned to sneer mockingly at her. "Listen to your little girlfriend, Hunter. Shut up."

Mr. Turner came over and slung his arm around Shawn's shoulders as he attempted to cut through the obvious tension. "Hey, everything okay here? 'Cause if it is, we're just gonna take a brief break for your education, okay?" When no one responded, he continued: "great. Thanks. This won't take long."

Juliet returned to her seat as Mr. Turner began the lesson, talking about the book they were reading. For once, she barely heard him. All she could think about was how nice it would feel to slam her heaviest textbook down on the back of Crandall's head.

Chet entered the room and rolled a TV to the front of the class. Doug smirked at the sight. "Speaking of your dad. . ."

"Speaking of head off. . ." Shawn replied.

Juliet reached down to open her bag to pull out her math textbook and placed it with a heavy thump on her desk as Mr. Turner explained, "now, I know there are no pictures in the book so I thought we might take a look at the film version of The Time Machine so for one time this year, you'll know what the heck I'm talking about."

"Here you go, teach," Chet said, handing the movie to him.

"Thanks, Chet."

As he walked towards the door, he patted Shawn on the arm. "Hey, Shawn."

Juliet's hands curled around the edges of the bound book and the sharp corners dug into the palms of her hands as she contemplated exactly how hard she'd have to hit the boy in front of her to knock him unconscious. Doug pushed the empty shells of the sunflower seeds he'd been eating onto the floor. "Oops. Look at the mess I made. I guess I better go get your father to clean it up." He stood and called out the door: "hey, Shawn's pappy!"

The anger that had been simmering in her chest since Doug's first dig exploded into raw fury. Chet was a good person and didn't deserve to be treated like this— no one did, for that matter. This was a direct attack at Shawn— her Shawn, and she wouldn't— couldn't— stand for it. Juliet stood, the math textbook heavy in her hands,. 

"Hey, Doug," she said calmly, though from the warmth of her face, she knew it was already red from anger.

He turned and smirked. "What do you want, Tomato?"

"To knock some sense into you," she replied and, while he was too tall for her to hit him on the head like she'd imagined doing (she should've taken that chance when she had it), she swung the book with all the force she could muster and it collided into his shoulder, causing him to stagger away.

"Jesus Christ, are you crazy?" he demanded as his hand rubbed the sore spot on his arm.

"Maybe," she answered before she charged at him again. The book swung through the air and met its mark again— this time clipping him on the ear. His height had suddenly decreased dramatically as he was bent forcefully at his waist.

She hadn't even seen Shawn get up, but now he was holding the boy's head in an armlock as Doug tried to get away. "Hit him again, Julie," he bit out, struggling to keep him in place.

Juliet gladly followed through, each moment of contact making a satisfying thud until Mr. Turner's voice sounded over the fight. "Hey, hey, hey! Knock it off! Knock it off!"

Cory took control of Shawn's arms and pulled him away from Doug as Topanga quickly took the book out of Juliet's hands, leaving her weaponless. The blonde forced her away from the offending boy. Mr. Turner stood in the middle of the trio as all three of them breathed heavily from the adrenaline and anger that resulted from the fight.

🌎🌎🌎

Juliet sat next to Shawn in Mr. Feeny's office. She felt a little nervous now that she'd calmed down; she'd never been called to the Principal's office for doing something wrong and she knew she was in for at least detention. Still, she couldn't quite bring herself to regret her actions, only— "I'm sorry," she said quietly, looking down at her lap where her hands were folded together. "I know you don't need me to fight your own battles. It's okay if you're mad at me."

"Julie," he started, "this is the first time you're in trouble for something on your own not because of me or Cory, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"And you did it because you were defending me," he continued, "how can I be mad at that?"

She finally looked up at him and searched his expression to find that he was telling the truth. "But aren't you supposed to be?"

"Do you want me to be?" Shawn asked, faintly amused.

"No," Juliet answered quickly, "it just seems like I got in the way."

"You didn't," he promised and paused before he added, "why did you get so worked up about it, though?"

She looked back down at her hands as warmth filled her face for a different reason this time. She hadn't missed the thought that had sparked her into action— her Shawn— and there was no way she was admitting to him that that was the reason. Instead, she shrugged and went with her usual answer: "you're my best friend and one of the best people I know. Your dad's a good person, too, and he doesn't deserve jumped-up kids mocking him like that. I'm always gonna take your side on these things."

Before he could answer, Mr. Feeny entered his office. "Well, it's Mr. Hunter in my office for getting into a fight and, in an unusual turn of events, Miss Capelwood. I'm very surprised at that one."

"Come on, Mr. Feeny. Just punish us and let's get on with our lives," Shawn said.

"This is my life, Mr. Hunter. Asking what you've done and why you have done it."

Juliet opened her mouth to explain about the jerk that sat in front of her, but Shawn answered first. "It's nothing about what we did. It's about you hiring my father to be the janitor. My dad is picking up garbage at my school. How could you do that to me, Mr. Feeny?"

"Well, now, Shawn. I never actually considered that it would be awkward having your father work here."

"Hey, how would you feel?" he asked.

"Well, if your father working here is disruptive to your education, I will certainly have to reconsider his employment," Mr. Feeny responded.

"You mean that? You're on my side?"

"Frightening, isn't it? However, rather than taking sides here, I think the best course would be to throw it to you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you are my student and have a right to decide whether you want your father to work here or not," he explained.

"So it's up to me?"

"Yes, Mr. Hunter. It's up to you."

"So, what's my punishment?" Shawn asked.

"Our," Juliet spoke for the first time, "you mean our."

He opened his mouth to protest that it wasn't her fault, but she watched their teacher resolutely, who gave her a thoughtful look in return. "Two weeks of detention for each of you."

🌎🌎🌎

At lunch during the next period, Cory laid out sheets of paper towels along the bench, floor and stair railing before setting his lunch down on top of them. Shawn eyed him for his odd behavior. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing. I just want to make sure that I don't make a mess."

"Since when do you care whether you make a mess or not?"

"Oh, I don't. I don't. I just think that when you make a mess, somebody's gotta clean it up and I don't want anybody to clean it up," Cory explained.

"My dad's the janitor," Shawn repeated.

"Why are you always on that?" Cory asked.

Doug— who was quite sore from his beating from a book— walked by them with his friend and remarked: "so, the toilet overflows and Feeny asks the new janitor if he can handle it. Guy says, 'hey, when I was with the CIA, I mopped up after the Sandinistas. I think I can mop up this.' Janitors are so colorful."

Juliet's hand tightened around the strap of her bag and spoke up, "I guess I didn't knock enough sense into you the last time. Want another go?"

"Julie," Shawn said as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "he's not worth it."

"I know, but you are," she answered, glaring heatedly at the arrogant boy who walked over to lean against the lockers.

Shawn's expression softened at the redhead's words, though her gaze was still focused on Crandall and his friend. The irritation that had been bugging him all day— both due to the other boy and being put in this position— dissipated and he came to a decision. As Mr. Feeny passed them, he caught up to the teacher. "Mr. Feeny."

"Yes?"

"I've thought it over."

"Oh, well. That took all of five minutes. I'm glad you gave it the time it deserved," he responded sarcastically.

"I think it'd be best for everybody if you just let my dad go."

"Ah. Well, it is important to look out for everybody."

"So when are you gonna let him go?" he asked.

"It might take a few days to find a replacement. I'll tell your father about my decision after that, alright?"

"Okay. Thanks, Mr. Feeny," Shawn said.

"No trouble, Mr. Hunter."

As Cory and Juliet joined him, Chet approached the mess of paper towels the curly-haired boy left. "Oh man! What pig ate here?"

"How'd I not see that?" Cory sighed.

The redhead turned to Shawn. "Are you sure this is what you want?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah. You know, when you think about it, I'm actually doing my dad a favor. He needs a job where he can do something important."

"Are you sure?" she repeated, not entirely convinced by his answer.

"Yeah. I think I'm making the right decision."

🌎🌎🌎

After school, Juliet had planned to walk home with Shawn as they always did, but she was surprised when she recognized a very familiar car parked outside the door. The dark-haired boy saw her pause and looked curiously at her. "What is it?"

"That's Barron's car," she answered, mystified, "he usually only comes on Saturdays."

"Maybe he heard about what happened today," he suggested before he added, "hey— when am I going to meet him?"

"Soon," she replied absently, "I can tell him to meet me at home."

"It's alright, Julie. I can walk home by myself you know."

The redhead finally turned to look at him. "Are you sure?"

He gave her an amused look. "What, you think I'll get lost?"

She shrugged. "You might do something rash."

"Nothing exciting will happen between here and the trailer park, I promise," he told her, "go ride with your dad."

Juliet hesitated but he waved her off, so she slowly made her way to the waiting car. She opened the front seat door on the passenger's side and climbed in. "Er— hi, Barron."

"Hi Juliet," he greeted her, "how was your day at school?"

"It was good," she replied quickly, "um— not to be rude or anything, but why're you here?"

As he pulled away from the curb, the dark-haired man gave her a teasing look. "What, a dad can't pick up his daughter from school?"

"Well, it's just that I usually only see you on Saturdays."

"I was meeting some contractors for the apartment complex so I was already in the area and thought it would be a nice surprise," he explained, "and to let your mom cool off."

"Cool off?" she repeated.

"She was not a fan of the phone call she had with your principal, apparently. Something about you getting into a fight?"

Immediately, her expression turned stony and defensive as she looked out the window instead of the man next to her. "It was for the right reasons."

"Hey, I'm not judging here. It just seemed very out-of-character for you."

"It is," Juliet agreed begrudgingly, "there was a jerk picking on Shawn and his dad at school and I couldn't stay out of it."

Barron frowned as he turned the corner. "Why was he being picked on? I thought he was the type that could handle himself."

"Well yes, but his dad is the new janitor and they're giving him a hard time about it."

"And you stood up for him because it pissed you off to no end," he finished.

"Yeah," the redhead agreed and turned to look at him with surprise.

He glanced away from the road for a second to give her a wry smile. "You're not the only one who's gotten into a fight for someone you care about. Believe it or not, I was in quite a few during my college years. Admittedly, they were just verbal but a few came to blows."

"Really?" she asked, warming up to the topic. "Who did you fight for?"

"Your mom, of course. I was mostly just arguing with Emyr, but your mother was— is— quite beautiful and gained a lot of attention from lonely college guys."

Juliet made a face at that, causing him to laugh. "Gross. Did you punch Emyr?"

"Maybe. Once or twice. Trust me, he deserved it," Barron reasoned.

"He still does," she mumbled, too quietly for him to hear. "Do you think mom will be okay?"

"Of course. She was just surprised that her straight-and-narrow daughter received detention for beating up another student."

"It wasn't just me!" the redhead protested immediately. "Shawn joined in, too!"

"I wish I could've been there to see it," the dark-haired man mused, "you two make quite the power couple, don't you?"

Juliet huffed in embarrassment and her gaze returned to the window. "We're not a couple, Barron."

"Not yet, anyway."

🌎🌎🌎

The next morning Juliet walked to school by herself. She'd earned an earful from her mother the previous night and she was almost glad that Shawn had gone early (early!) so she could recover from the scolding she'd received. When she got to school, Cory and Topanga were standing off to the side of the hallway as they watched Shawn talk to Mr. Feeny who was saying, "oh, well, I don't know about that. I've already started the process of searching for a replacement."

"Well, you just have to cancel it, okay? Because you can't just do that to a guy who's finally found a steady job. And my mom, who's been waiting all this time for him to be responsible, came to the chair and put her arm around him. You have to cancel it," Shawn pleaded.

"Okie-dokie," Mr. Feeny agreed.

Shawn gave him a confused look. "What, just like that?"

"I'm the principal, Mr. Hunter. I wield great and mysterious powers. Besides that, I was never going to fire your father in the first place."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because this was never about your father, Shawn. This was always about you. You're the kid. You're in school. It's always about you," Mr. Feeny explained before he walked away.

The remaining trio approached Shawn as he asked, "what the heck was that?"

"I don't know. The man just runs our lives."

"We're never getting rid of him," Juliet agreed.

"Alright, Shawn. What was so important that we had to be here five minutes early?" Cory asked as Doug and his friend made an appearance.

"Oh, I, uh, just wanted you to drink this milk," Shawn said, handing him the carton.

"Alright, I guess I could always use a little milk."

"If only we had Oreos," the redhead said wistfully.

"I'm fresh out. Sorry, Julie," the dark-haired boy apologized, "but maybe this will make up for it."

"Oh, is this another one of those delightful little stunts?" Topanga asked.

"Actually, Topanga, I think you're gonna like this one," he answered before he smacked the milk carton out of Cory's hand.

"Shawn, look what you made me do!" Cory exclaimed.

"Yeah. Sorry, man."

Doug walked over. "Hey, Hunter, looks like we get to start another day with your dad."

"Yep. Looks like we do, Doug."

Chet came out with a mop and saw the milk spill. "Well, looks like I'm needed here."

Shawn stopped him. "Hold it. Here, dad. Let me take care of that." He grabbed the mop and started cleaning up the milk.

"Uh, you don't have to do that, Shawn," Chet said awkwardly.

"I know I don't, and I know you don't either." 

A/n: I wanted to make a comment about the next chapter. Since the "official" Singled Out episode was mostly focused on Eric, it will be another original chapter, this time featuring Juliet getting to know her father's side of the family. The reason why I'm prefacing it with an announcement is because of the theme it includes. 

BMW was a very forward-thinking show for its time and covered a lot of sensitive topics (which is one of the reasons why it was so good), it didn't cover everything. As I've mentioned before in some of my other works, I strive for inclusivity and diversity because I like to have my characters be representative of the different cultures and beliefs that exist in the real world to make them (the characters) seem more real. 

That being said, I will be introducing LGBTQ+ characters in some of season four's chapters. While Wattpad on the whole is a rather accepting place (from what I've seen), I wanted to warn everyone now that I will not accept negative comments towards this book because of these themes. If these comments are made I will not hesitate to block and report you. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself, it's important to me that this is a safe space for people from all walks of life. 

[written mar. 2021]
[edited may 2022]