A/N: I own nothing. A/U fic. What if when Shawn fell into hanging out with Frankie and Joey, he dropped out of school and lived on the streets?
Shawn Hunter had never felt more alone in his life. Just a few short years before, he had dropped out of seventh grade and submitted to the life he thought was destined to be his. Now, he was all of seventeen years old. He had been living decently on the streets of Philadelphia. He saw his parents occasionally, but didn't want to drag them into the mess he'd made of his life. New Year's Eve was tonight. The opportunity of a fresh start and a whole new millenium was totally lost on Shawn. He hadn't expected to end up in an alley on the wrong side of town, bleeding, with no one to ask for help. He began to rack with sobs, and wished with all of his heart that somehow, the pain would stop. He managed to crawl to a payphone. He didn't have any money, so he dialed 911. He haltingly explained what had happened and soon, an ambulance was picking him up and taking him to Jefferson Hospital. When he was asked for a contact for a family member or a guardian, he swallowed hard. Then he rattled off Cory's home phone number by heart. The Matthews family would know what to do.
Soon, Shawn was settled into a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV streaming nutrients into his rail thin body. Someone had changed him into a hospital gown, but he couldn't have told you who. The cuts on his face and arms had been treated, and the wrenched wrist was in a brace. He was laying there, thanking Whoever had managed to get him all of this help, when someone came into the room.
"Shawn!" Cory cried, running across the room and almost falling onto his friend.
"Cory?" Shawn tried to focus on Cory, but his vision was still fuzzy.
"Are you okay?"
"I...I don't know." Shawn admitted, as the doctor stepped into the room, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Matthews.
"You are a very lucky young man." the doctor said. "The level of malnurishment you reached, Shawn, coupled with the attack you received today, should have killed you. I'm going to be very honest with you: I'm surprised you survived the last four years on the streets, alone."
"Shawn," Cory said quietly when the adults had stepped into the hallway to confer about how to handle future steps, "What happened to you?"
"I had it all under control...and then, I didn't." Shawn shook his head, and then winced.
"Shawn, do you know what the last four years has been like for me?" Cory asked, searching the face of his oldest friend for any hint of Shawn knowing the answer. None came. "Shawn, every single day for the last four years, I have spent at least an hour, wondering where you were, and if you were okay. I worried about you. I've been worrying about you since before you left, but especially since the day you split."
"I had no idea." Shawn lied, a lump rising in his throat. He hated lying to Cory, but he couldn't wreck Cory's perfect world again.
"Yes, you did. You knew then, and you know now." Cory looked right at Shawn. "You know that you are still my best friend. You knew all along that I have been missing you for four years."
"I didn't want to mess up your life." Shawn said, quietly, refusing to look at Cory directly.
"What?" Cory couldn't believe his ears.
"Your perfect life, with your siblings, and parents, and house, and everything. You had everything I ever wanted. I just didn't fit in there."
"That's not true."
"It is true!" Shawn lashed out with fury he hadn't realized he had. "Your parents have three kids! Why would they want me?"
"Because, Shawn, we all care about you." Cory said.
"I don't need this." Shawn tried to sit up, but Cory forced him back into the bed.
"Please, Shawn." Cory said, suddenly, with tears unashamedly threatening to fall. "Let us help you. I don't want you to die because you won't let us."
"I don't know how to be a Matthews kid. I never really knew. I'm a Hunter kid. My last name doesn't match. I don't belong, Cory."
"Shawn, tonight's New Year's Eve! You can be whoever you want to be. It's a whole new year, a whole new century, and a whole new millenium. You have a fresh start waiting for you. Take it."
"I think I will." Shawn said, finally.
Shawn returned to the Matthews' home. With Eric off at some college with standards low enough for him to gain admission, there would only be two in Cory's room. Even Morgan welcomed Shawn back into the house. She was now all of eleven, and quite taken with Shawn. He told her straight away that there was no way they could ever be more than siblings, and Morgan just laughed.
That spring, when Cory and Topanga graduated, they were also celebrating Shawn getting his GED. Mr. Feeny had taken the time out of his busy schedule to drill the material into Shawn's head, and Shawn had passed! Only six months had passed since Shawn had been dying on the streets of Philadelphia, and now, he knew what it was like to really live.