For Better Or For Worse
A/N- Hello, readers! Here's a quick oneshot about the second to last scene from 2x21 Career Day. This is only my second fanfic for the Boy Meets World fandom, but by no means will it be my last, so if there's anything you guys can tell me how o improve my writing, I would be very grateful.
Disclaimer: I don't own Boy Meets World, just my own imagination and my personal insight into this scene.
Jonathan Turner was not prepared for Shawn Hunter showing up on his doorstep at 11: 47 P.M on the Friday his father took off. But to be honest, he wasn't prepared for a lot of things that were happening that night. He had no idea that this visit from his troubled student would set into motion a series of events that would impact the rest of his life.
Shawn smiled nervously at Jon when he opened the door. "Hey, Mr. Turner, sorry for bugging you, I, um..." He hesitated. "I had a question. Am I interrupting anything?" He looked around and spotted Katherine Tompkins, another teacher at John Adams High School. "Hey, look, it's Ms. Tompkins!"
Jon smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, I know."
"Boy, you teachers sure work late...Ohhh." He stopped when he realized that they were about midway through a romantic date. That explained the mood music and romantic candles. "Sorry, Mr. Turner, but I didn't know you guys had personal lives." He added sheepishly.
Jon, realizing that their date was pretty much over, turned to Shawn. "Hunter."
Shawn grinned. "How you doin'?"
Jon smiled in welcome. "Wanna come in?" He asked, stepping aside to give him room to enter the apartment.
Shawn nodded and gestured to Katherine. "But you've got company..." He started to say, not wanting to invite himself into a personal moment.
Katherine raised her hand to stop Shawn before he decided to leave. "It's okay."
Jon frowned. "Kat, where are you going?" He didn't want her to leave and get upset with him later. He was already in deep trouble for the whole phobia of commitment thing he had going on.
"Yeah, you don't have to leave. Stay, we'll hang!" Shawn told her, not wanting to upset Jon.
Katherine smiled at Shawn. "Another time." She could sense that this was important, and she knew how concerned Jon was with Shawn's life. Kat kissed Jonathan's cheek in an affectionate goodbye gesture. "We'll talk." She assured him.
Jon stared at her. "We'll talk?" He asked, unsure if she actually meant it.
She nodded and walked out, closing the heavy door behind her. Jeez, this woman was complicated. Jonathan thought, exasperated.
Shawn started talking quickly in a nervous manner. "I like her. Do you like her? I like her." He rambled on, not really wanting to get to the point of why he came over to Jonathan's place. He knew he had to talk to someone, but that didn't make it any easier for him to say.
Jonathan smiled at him affectionately. "Yeah, I do." He said simply. He was more interested in the reason his student showed up at his apartment at nearly midnight. "So Hunter, what are you doin' out so late?" The teacher couldn't keep the concern out of his voice. Shawn was fifteen, and Jonathan didn't like the idea of Shawn being alone in the city at night.
Shawn swallowed hard. "Well, ya know, umm…" Spit it out, Hunter. He chided himself. "My Dad's out looking for my Mom, and I had this thought..."
Jon furrowed his brow. He knew Shawn's father had took off on him earlier, giving him some bullshit excuse about not being able to live without his wife, who obviously was fed up with him for one reason or another. George Feeny had informed him earlier, and all Jon could think was that this idiot better come back to Shawn quickly or he wouldn't be responsible for his actions. No kid deserved a life like Shawn's, where he had to realize he came last on his parent's list of priorities. "Okay..." He said carefully, using the radio remote to turn the romantic music off.
Shawn gulped. He knew Jon was taking this seriously, and he couldn't do it. He panicked and tried to pull a phony excuse out of nowhere. What did average kids from normal homes talk to their teachers about? Normal kids don't know where their teachers live. He thought. "About the homework! You know that Forrest Hemingway guy? When do we get to read his stuff?" Whoa. I know the name of a famous author. I gotta spend less time with Feeny and Turner.
Jonathan, amused, answered, "Next year."
" 'Kay. Just checking. I heard he was good." Shawn said, hoping that would be the end of this discussion.
Jon was skeptical, and Shawn could tell when he said, "You came all the way over here for that?" Crap. Turner wasn't buying it.
Shawn let out a forced laugh. "You're the English teacher. I figured there was no one else I could ask." He didn't realize how true that statement was until much later.
Jon smiled. "I'm flattered." He really was, too. He knew how hard it must've been for Shawn to come to him, even if Shawn couldn't tell him what was actually wrong right now. One day Shawn would be able to trust him enough to come to him with his problems. Jon was just glad he tried.
Shawn wasn't paying attention to the conversation anymore. He was focused on the leftover meal on the kitchen table. He was so hungry he couldn't help staring. "Boy, you guys were really having a dinner, huh?"
Jon noticed Shawn's preoccupation. "There's plenty left over if you're hungry." He offered.
"No, I.. I ate and everything." He said quickly. Last thing he needed was for Turner to think he was starving to death.
"So I'll put it away?" He asked, reaching for the casserole.
Shawn grabbed it. Screw not acting hungry. He hadn't eaten since dinner at the Matthews' the previous night. He almost never ate breakfast at home and he didn't have money to buy anything on the way to school. His appetite hadn't been great after his father showed up and embarrassed him anyway, and hearing that his mother took off and his father was going to leave him completely alone while he looked for her wasn't very helpful. "No!" He hadn't meant to yell, and he looked at Jonathan sheepishly. "I might pick at it." He added calmly. He sat down, quickly shoveling food into his mouth in his haste.
Jon sat down at the table with him. "Would a napkin slow you down?" He asked, amused at his young student's actions.
"Uhnn…hnn." Shawn mumbled through his mouthful of food, taking the napkin from him.
Jon wondered why Shawn was so hungry. Didn't he eat yet? George hadn't known where Shawn was spending the next few days while his parents were out of town. They assumed he'd be at the Matthews'. Obviously he wasn't because they would've given him dinner, not to mention a curfew. "So Shawn, where ya stayin' until your father gets back?" He tried to make the question casual, but his tone betrayed his concern for the young teenager in front of him.
Shawn started speaking with his mouth full again before he realized his manners were atrocious. He thought quickly about what to say while he swallowed."Oh, a great place. My dad gave me some money so I'm staying at the motel down the street." He glanced nervously up at Jonathan and quickly looked back down at his food.
Jon couldn't believe his hearing. "The one down on Seventh?!" He asked, alarmed at the thought of Shawn staying in that disgusting, seedy place. It was infamous for it's reputation as a place for drug lords and prostitutes. "Are you sure you're gonna be alright there?"
Shawn looked up and, seeing Jon's worry, tried to be reassuring. "Oh yeah. The guy in the cashier's cage gave me clean sheets and everything."
Jonathan stared at Shawn in disbelief. "Look, Shawn, if you wanna save your money, I mean, you could just crash here tonight." He offered, hoping that Shawn would realize Jon cared about him and didn't want him to be alone in a hellhole like that.
Shawn didn't. "Nah, I already paid the guy five bucks to turn on the TV."
Jon was still worried, but he gave Shawn a slight smile. Figures. Regular teenager, acting like the television is more important than a safe place to sleep. The kid looked exhausted, and Jon doubted he'd be able to sleep in the motel anyways. "Have a seat on the couch; watch some free TV. Give me a minute to clean up the kitchen and I'll ... I'll drop you off." There wasn't anything else he could do. He couldn't force Shawn to stay. But just in case, he was planning to hang around the motel after he dropped the kid off. Just to make sure it was safe.
Shawn was relieved. As much as he wanted to stay with Turner, he couldn't. He was Shawn Hunter, and he wasn't such a wuss that he couldn't handle being alone for a night or two. "Okay." He walked over to sit on the couch, taking the casserole he was still eating with him and sitting down. Man, Turner's couch is comfortable.
Jon started grabbing dishes to put away. "You know, Hunter, since you're gonna be staying down the road, I mean… you know, feel free to drop by. I mean, you know…we could eat, we could talk...or not talk." He added quickly, not wanting to pressure Shawn. He knew Shawn took off when he felt any type of pressure.
Shawn was too tired to listen. He lay down halfway, closing his eyes and concentrating on the sound of Turner's voice. It was strangely soothing, like when he fell asleep in English class. Damn this comfortable couch. He thought sleepily.
"We can just hang, you know. What's goin' on at home can't be easy on you. So Shawn, anytime you just..." Jon broke off when he turned around to find Shawn Hunter fast asleep on his couch, casserole bowl still in his hands. Jon ran his hands through his hair in a stressed manner before sighing and shaking his head as he walked over to the couch. There was no way in hell he was walking the kid up and taking him to that damned motel, that was for sure. Shawn would have to stay the night. To be honest, it was a bit of a relief, knowing that Shawn had a safe place to sleep where Jonathan didn't have to worry about him. Because he really did worry about his young student. Jon knew that something was wrong. He knew that Shawn was falling apart, and he couldn't let that happen. Whether or not his parents cared, Jon did. He cared about Shawn, for better or for worse.
"I talk, he sleeps; it's like class." He joked to himself, gently taking the casserole bowl from Shawn's hands and putting it on the counter next to him before carefully covering Shawn with the throw blanket on the couch. When the kid woke up, he'd take him to the Matthews' and have a long talk with George about what to do. But for now, Shawn Hunter was safe and sleeping soundly on the couch. That was all Jonathan Turner cared about. It was all he needed to know.
A/N – So there it is! I hope you guys enjoyed it. Even if you didn't, just let me know in a review what I can do better. Thanks for Reading!