You know what? I've come to realize that I love how realistic the "Meets World" universe is. Cory and Topanga were that rare couple that fell in love really young and got married at nineteen, but that didn't work out for Shawn and Angela. They both got their happy endings later on in life to different people, which is completely okay. Anyways, after watching Upstate, I had to write this. Enjoy :) DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED UPSTATE.

Riley and Maya left and went to the school; leaving Cory and Shawn alone in the car.

"Alright." Shawn said. "I guess you better be headed too."

Cory shook his head and chuckled.

"No no buddy. I'm not leaving for home quite yet. There's something I need to talk to you about."

Shawn bit his lip.

"What?"

Cory sighed and remembered Shawn's wall, with the pictures at Maya's birthday and Shawn's first date with Katy.

He sat with his best friend.

"Shawn, you're my best friend, and I wanna talk to you that way, like we've always had. In this moment, I'm not Feeny. Though we both know I am Feeny."

Shawn chuckled and looked down.

Cory took out his phone. He knew he had that birthday picture saved somewhere.

Finally, he found it.

"You love her."

"What? Who?" Shawn said sincerely, staring at he phone. It was true that he didn't know who Cory was talking about. It could've been Katy or Maya.

"Maya. " His best friend replied. "Don't you?"

Shawn thought about it. For being her mother's boyfriend, the two didn't have an ordinary relationship. Even when Katy was working and the couple weren't on a date, Maya would somehow get upstate herself and the two would watch a movie or play a game, like a father and daughter. Sometimes, when Katy was done working and Maya wasn't hanging at the Matthews', Shawn would meet up with the two at Topanga's and they'd have one dinner altogether. Like a family.

"Yes." Shawn replied. "I care about Maya very much."

"There's a difference between caring about someone and loving someone Shawn. You care about Riley and Auggie too. But not like your own children."

Shawn thought back to when he bought all those clothes for Maya. He remembered seeing her smile.

And the daddy chairs.

"It's true," Shawn said. "I love Maya. She's the closest thing to a daughter I've ever had."

Cory smiled. "Good."

The two sat there quietly for a minute. Cory picked up one of those Swedish cookies Shawn had set up. (Yes, he kept them in the car, too)

Shawn turned to Cory, opened his mouth to speak, then shut it again.

"Anything wrong, Shawny?"

In a quiet tone, not whisperingly, but very close, Shawn decided to speak.

"Do I love Katy, Cory?"

Cory swallowed the remains of his cookie and answered.

"Well, that's romantic love. That's for you to decide. I'm the best friend, I don't decide these things, you know."

"You literally just decided whether I love Maya or not."

"No." Cory shook his head. "I let you come to a healthy conclusion."

Shawn stared.

"Think about it, Shawny. You've been together for more than a year. I helped you when it came to Maya. I'm not going to help you here."

What Cory said was true. It was necessary for Shawn to make sure he loved Katy. He did. He was sure he did. Any rumor of them going out just so Shawn could be a father figure to Maya was completely false. Shawn new that. He felt something when it came to Katy.

"I love her. I love Katy. I haven't felt that feeling in a long time, but I do."

Cory grinned.

"No Shawn, you don't love her."

Shawn frowned.

What do you mean? He thought.

"You're in love with her."

And so there they sat, in a car in an empty school parking lot.

At 11:53 pm.

It was quiet for several minutes. The two best friends had just sat there, thinking. Occasionally one of them would check the time on their phone or eat another Swedish butter cookie.

Shawn was first to speak, in a shy tone. Almost sounding, even, like he didn't wanna be heard.

"Cor?" He said.

"Yeah Shawny?"

"Would..." He paused. "Would it be too soon right now, if, maybe, I... proposed to Katy?"

Cory just blew up and started the car.

"This is why I like your reckless spontaneity."

"Are you sure we should be here Cor? We literally just left the girls alone at the school in the middle of the night."

Cory and Shawn were at a popular jewelry store in Manhattan.

"It's fine Shawny! The school is literally like two and a half blocks from my house. They know we're up to something. They'll be fine."

"Okay." He replied. "So which ring should I get? Some of these might be a bit too expensive for me."

Cory smiled.

"It's not about the money. It doesn't matter how it looks. Obviously you want it to look nice, but it doesn't have to be the fanciest thing ever to show you love somebody. And that's what it's about. "

"Says the guy who didn't even propose to his own wife."

"Hey!" Cory replied. "She beat me to it!"

"Nevermind." Shawn said. "Let's see what I should get."

The two looked at the different rings through the glass for a few minutes, before a man came from the back to offer them help.

"Hello, what can I do for you guys today? Or should I say, tonight?"

You could tell this man hadn't had customers for at least a few hours, and wasn't used to people coming in at night.

"Oh." Shawn thought. "I'm looking to propose soon."

The man looked to Cory.

"Oh no, not to him." Shawn chuckled. "My girlfriend. We've been dating for a year and a couple months."

"Very well." The man replied. "Is there anything you're specifically looking for?"

"Anything, as long as it's pretty." Shawn grinned.

Cory chuckled, but the other man didn't seem to appreciate Shawn's humor.

The man walked the best friends through several different rings the store had. Some were too expensive; others too fancy or too plain.

"If we don't find anything." Cory whispered to Shawn, "I can always find Farkle to give us his mom's 17000 dollar wedding ring."

Shawn laughed. "Yeah." He paused. "Who did Minkus wind up married to anyway?"

"Jennifer Bassett."

"That...was unexpected."

"I know right?"

In the car, Cory and Shawn looked down at the ring.

"Did I make the right choice, Cory?"

"It's perfect, Shawny."

In a red velvet box lay a beautiful ring, with a small round diamond.

The two sat silently again.

"I hope she says yes, Cor."

Cory started the car.

"So do I Shawny. So do I."

Cory drove. Because of how late it already was, Shawn would probably be staying at their house that night.

"So," Shawn began, "You sure Katy's at your house?"

"She is." Said Cory. "She's waiting for Maya. And even though she doesn't know it yet, also you."

"Is it really a good idea to propose righ now though? I mean, it's not very romantic."

"What you say makes it romantic." Cory debated. "And even so, it's special. I'll be there, Riley and Maya will be there, Topanga will be there. And Katy. The most important people in your life right now will be there. It's the best proposal there could be, Shawn."

And perfect it was.

Kind of rushed ending, but I did my best. Technically, I just wanted to see what happened with this. Although Upstate rocked, you don't see when Shawn decides to propose or them buying the ring. The proposal just comes at you. (Not that I'm complaining) So tell me, we're you guys expecting a proposal so soon? Once you saw the leaked pictures you probably saw it coming, but before? Tell me! I wanna hear your thoughts!

Till next time!

-YY