Takes place on/after Season 3 Episode 20 "I Never Sang For My Legal Guardian" but establishes an alternate universe.
Title and lyric from the song "Round Here" by Counting Crows. If you know the significance of that band in the BMW universe then major props! (Hint: It's mentioned somewhere earlier in this season. Don't be Slackers go try to find out which!)
Cross-posted on AO3 under WriterRose
the crumbling difference between wrong and right.
It's been troubling. Every second it eats away at him. The fact that something like this could happen to someone, to someone like him, frequently, is just baffling.
What did Cory Matthews ever do to deserve this? Well, rather what did Cory Matthews' best friend ever do to deserve this?
Cory wouldn't believe it if Topanga wasn't there with him when he witnessed it. The cruel, twist of fate that would surely shatter the fragile being that was standing in place of his usually confident and cheery best friend.
Yes, Cory Matthews had seen things. Things that could ruin lives. Particularly Shawn Hunter's life. But even if he could somehow manage to tell his friend the truth, and Cory was sure that he couldn't, he had no idea where his best friend was.
After the…incident, Cory had come home to his parents questioning him not on his own past whereabouts, but Shawn's current. And Mr. Turner was there, which was quickly becoming a frequent occurrence. Apparently Shawn had been missing for a number of hours now, since the night before, and no one could find him. Cory stuttered out that Shawn told him he planned to stay at his Uncle Mike's and then Mr. Turner quickly took off after learning where that was and expressing his thanks.
His mom gave a deep sigh before giving Cory a disapproving look at returning home so late - well, early - but it was not nearly her most scornful of looks. Cory informed her that he was out with Topanga before she could question him. His mother still wasn't happy, but she seemed almost...relieved. As if she was worrying that Cory was out God-knows-where with Shawn.
It was a Friday night/Saturday morning so when Cory showed no signs of wanting to go to bed while his friend is potentially missing and hurting emotionally, his mother didn't voice any disagreements. She shared a quick look with his father and after a curt nod from the man she only warned about keeping quiet. No TV unless it's on extremely low, was her only demand on account that both his siblings were trying to sleep. As she headed up the steps in the kitchen, Cory and his dad went into the living room and took seats on opposite ends of the couch after his father turned on one of the lamps. Cory stayed silent and didn't make any attempts to turn the television on, too distracted by the swarm that was currently his thoughts. And if he were paying attention, he would've been able to tell that his father was working out the correct things to say in his own head as well.
Alan Matthews was a good father. He thought carefully about what he'd say to his children before he voiced it and he didn't yell at them harshly without first knowing all sides to a story. He'd make his disapproval known, but never yell. Never lied. Never left. Alan Matthews was a good father.
"Why exactly were you and Topanga out so late tonight?" the older man finally asked in a hushed tone, breaking the heavy silence.
"Our bus was late." the teen answered vaguely, in a voice that sounded barely above a whisper.
"Where did you two go where you'd need a bus to get there?" Alan asked skeptically. His tone wasn't necessarily admonishing but Cory could tell that his dad was upset he didn't ask for permission to go somewhere that wasn't in town or walking distance.
Not taking his eyes off of the pillow that was currently taking residence on his lap, Cory decided to answer his father. "We went to find Shawn's dad."
This seemed to have surprised Alan a bit as in the dim light he raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Cory nodded mutely.
"Cor, what's the matter? Where did you two go?" Alan asked in a genuinely concerned tone brought on by his son's strange quietness.
Instead of answering the question however, Cory decided to bring up what had been bothering him. "Dad," he started, looking up at his father. Cory must've looked as torn up on the outside as he felt on the inside, as his father's disapproving concern quickly turned into simply concern. "I...we saw something. Something we weren't supposed to see." he muttered out.
An angered look quickly crossed Alan's face after giving the comment a second's thought. "Now I don't know what kind of places Shawn's father hangs around but if you two went anywhere inappropriate―"
"No, no! We were at a dingy dinner off the highway." Cory informed in a rushed and hushed tone, which calmed Alan down as he gave Cory the go-ahead to continue. "We did find Shawn's dad. But…"
"But what?" the older man inquired after Cory trailed off.
"He was with a woman. In a booth. Looking very cozy." he revealed.
Alan took a moment to process this before finally asking, "Who was she?"
"I don't know." Cory admitted.
"Well, was it Shawn's mother?"
"I don't know." he repeated. "I've never seen Shawn's mom before but she didn't look like Shawn..."
Alan ran a hand down his face as he heaved a sigh before looking at his son once more. "So you think his father is seeing another woman?" Alan finally asked.
Hearing the suggestion finally voiced was pretty harrowing, Cory thought. He and Topanga had shared knowing looks, having had the same thought but neither of them had actually suggested it out loud.
"I don't know." Cory answered once more after a pause. "Like I said, I've never seen his mom before so it could've been her but…"
After his son trailed off into silence once more, Alan insisted "But what?" sitting up more in his seat.
"They got into the same car and took off. In the opposite direction of Philly."
Alan heaved a great sigh this time and slouched in his chair, once again rubbing his hand over his face. "Did you two tell Shawn any of this?" Alan asked.
"No." Cory answered. "His dad got caught in a speed trap so Shawn found out where he was. He tried sneaking over there but he was caught by Mr. Turner. And the cops. The last I heard from him he said he was going to stay at his Uncle Mike's if Turner kept giving him 'trouble'."
"I need to tell Jon." Alan stated after a moment's pause, as if to himself.
Cory shot his head up. "What? No. I should be the one to tell Shawn. He won't believe it otherwise." he argued. "Well, he won't believe it at first, but coming from me he'll eventually trust it. More than from anybody else." Cory shook his head in disbelief, looking away. "Whether it was his mom or not, both of Shawn's parents took off. They left him..." Cory was a little ashamed that his words came off a bit choked at the end.
"I get it, Cory." Alan quickly calmed, placing a comforting hand on his son's shoulder. "You can be the one to tell Shawn, but something needs to be done about Chet." he pressed on. Cory was taken aback for a moment due to the loathing expression on his father's face as he finished his sentence.
"Okay…" Cory conceded as he rubbed his traitorous eyes that were getting sleepy before voicing a thought that was bothering him greatly, "I don't get how someone could do that. Just leave their kid like that."
"Some people just weren't meant to be parents." Alan informed, his tone still containing soft malice and disgust. He looked back to his youngest son and after seeing the sleepy yet distraught look upon Cory's face, his expression softened but the anger in his eyes didn't disappear. "Get some sleep, Cor. You're going to need to be well rested. Shawn'll need you to be too."
Cory yawned. "Alright…" he agreed hesitantly, standing up and giving a small stretch.
"Make sure you don't wake up your brother when you get into your room." he cautioned.
"I will." Cory promised, making his way to the stairs noncommittally. He turned to Alan. "I can go see Shawn tomorrow, right?" the teen asked after he didn't quite make it all the way to the stairs.
"Tell you what," the adult started. "I'll drop you off at Turner's after I drop your brother off tomorrow. He needs meet with Feeny at the library. Something about his tutoring gig...Deal?"
"Deal." the teen agreed once more, returning on his journey to the stairs. Alan made his was back to the kitchen to tie up some loose ends but before he completed his exit of the living room, his youngest son called out to him.
"Dad?" Cory requested quietly from his position halfway up the stairs.
"Yes?" Alan asked back in an equally hushed tone.
"You were meant to be a parent." the teen said. "You're a good dad."
Alan gave a small smile. "Thanks, son."