Girl Meets World: Reckless Spontaneity
Chapter 2 (Telling Shawn, Part I)
Author's Note: This takes place sometime before and after GIRL MEETS TRUE MAYA.
A few days after Katy and Shawn's engagement, Maya (who was now staying every other night over at her soon-to-be stepdad's place) walked out of the spare bedroom and into the living room, where she saw Shawn putting things inside a suitcase.
"Going somewhere?" asked Maya.
"Not yet, but later tonight, yeah," answered Shawn, grabbing clothes and camera supplies that were getting packed into the suitcase. "Just a small job up higher north. Takes a few days, but it'll pay good."
"So, does that mean we can still go somewhere today?" Maya said.
"Uh-huh, sure, wherever you want…" replied Shawn, only paying half attention.
Maya grinned, and said, "Perfect… I know just the place."
A few moments later..
"Why am I here?" exclaimed Shawn.
The place she had chosen was "Demolition", the clothing store where Shawn had discovered the "daddy chair" and began to care more for Maya.
"I already got you new clothes!"
From inside her dressing room, Maya yelled out, "And now they're all in vintage stores!"
Shawn sighed, but laid back in his chair, trying to keep a smile appearing on his face.
If it wasn't for the love he had for her and Katy, Shawn would have definitely left already. "How long does it take a girl to choose something anyway?"
"You'd be surprised how long your mom took."
Shawn turned to the other side of the store, watching his father make his way towards him. "Dad? What are you doing here?"
"Just came to congratulate you, son," smiled Chet, placing a hand on Shawn's shoulder. "Katy's a wonderful woman."
Shawn smiled, and said, "Yeah, I think I finally found the person I want to be with for the rest of my life."
Chet nodded in agreement. "I'm proud of you, Shawn… and I'm also glad you let your guard down.
"Now, your life's gonna get better, especially takin' care of that little girl."
Looking over in Maya's direction, Shawn smiled, but then, Chet said, "Well, I'm off, then..."
"Wait, what?" exclaimed Shawn. "Dad, where you going? You just got here!"
Chet gestured to the dressing rooms and the other empty chair, saying, "I've already done did that stuff, Shawn… I don't got to do it again now that I'm dead."
Shawn was about to answer when Maya yelled, "Okay, coming out now!"
"Dad, come on, how… Dad!" Shawn turned to see that his father was gone.
When he went back the other way, Shawn was surprised at the outfit she'd chosen.
[The outfit she wears at the start of "True Maya"]
"Wow," said the photographer. "You look like… you again, Maya."
Maya smiled, her face lighting up as warmth filled up her entire body. "Thank you… I've missed being me."
Then, she went over to hug Shawn, who (although didn't mind) was surprised.
"Uh, Maya, I'm not leaving till tonight," pointed out Shawn.
"I know," replied the young teenager. "I just felt like doing that."
Shawn smiled, and hugged her back. "Hey, promise me something?"
"Yeah?"
As serious as he could be without hurting her feelings, Shawn said, "Don't get into any kind of serious trouble, okay?"
Maya rolled her eyes, and said, "I'm not that kind of person, Shawn."
"I'm serious, Maya," replied Shawn, not realizing he was beginning to talk in a more stern and fatherly tone. "I know I'm almost-but-not-yet-officially your dad, but I have given you a roof over your head, a bed to sleep in, and a window to crawl out of.
"I don't want to see you end up the way I almost did when I was your age, or go through the things I did. Got it?"
Maya just simply nodded while Shawn chuckled. "All right, come on, bring it in…".
The two began hugging again, and after they finished, Shawn said, "Now go on, pick something else out, and don't cry on the clothes I haven't bought yet!"
(A few days after the events of "Girl Meets True Maya")
"You want me to do WHAT?!"
Cory sighed, and said, "It can't be from your mother, Maya, if you want things to turn out worse… it needs to come from you."
"But he's gonna be upset with me," replied Maya. "He'll think I broke our promise to stay out of trouble.".
Offering words of encouragement, Riley said, "Not all promises can be kept, Maya, even if-"
"Not helping," replied Maya, gritting her teeth in response.
Cory simply said, "I know it seems hard, Maya, but you know you'll have to do this later on when Shawn's legally your father, and when something worse happens. If you can't do it now, what do you think will happen then?"
Maya was about to respond, but instead, she sighed, knowing that Riley's dad was right. "I'll tell him..."
Cory nodded, and as he walked away, Riley went over to Maya. "You okay?"
"Yeah... I'll be fine..." replied Maya, nodded her head. I'll tell Shawn when he comes back home. The way I want to.
"Man, it's good to be home!" thought Shawn, who had barely made it onto the subway train that had brought him.
Tossing his suitcase onto the bed, the photographer entered the kitchen, wondering what he could find in the fridge to heat up when there was a knock at the door.
"Coming!" yelled Shawn, smiling, already knowing who was probably at the door.
"Maya!" He grinned. "Hey, just in time for dinner..."
The young teenager tried to smile, but she looked worried.
"What is it?" Shawn asked, amused. "No snappy comeback or anything?"
Instead of answering, Maya stepped to the side, and Shawn's face went from happiness to shock as he saw a police officer stand next to her.
"You know this girl?" The officer asked.
Shawn instantly nodded his head. "Yeah, that's my soon-to-be daughter..."
"And she's staying with you? I caught her trying to climb the fence a few miles down to get up here."
"There's a fence now?" said Shawn, as low as possible, but it wasn't enough.
"Yeah, just placed there yesterday for safety reasons... figured you would've known about that."
He was about to say that Maya usually stayed either at his place or with her mom, but he didn't want to make things worse, so instead, he said, "Yeah, I mean, of course, I knew that... and yeah, she's staying with me... I'm taking care of her while her mom's out of town."
Maya frowned in confusion, looking at him, but Shawn gave her a look as if he was saying, "Not now."
As for the officer, he said, "Well, keep a closer eye on her... she recently pulled a 415 yesterday."
That definitely wasn't good news to Shawn's ears. "Vandalism?"
Turning to Maya, he told her, "I hope you know how lucky you are that I'm keeping the folder misplaced still... and good luck..."
"I understand... and thanks, officer," replied Maya.
Shawn was about to ask what he meant, but the officer already began to leave, wishing Shawn and Maya goodnight.
"Okay, then..." He said, still confused. "Maya, you mind explaining...?"
To his surprise, Maya was now inside the house, and laying across the couch, acting as if nothing had happened.
"You bring any food from up there?" asked Maya. "I haven't eaten all day."
As he closed the door, the photographer said, "Nah, I was about to cook something when... hey, wait a sec... do you mind telling me what was that all about?"
"The cop stuff? Nothing too bad." Maya replied. "We're cool with each other."
"What do you mean cool?" Shawn asked. "I've tangled with cops before, Maya, and being cool doesn't sound like good news to me."
Maya just laughed, and said, "Just be cool, Shawn, nothing bad happened..."
What am I missing here? thought Shawn, now starting to feel suspicious.
To Maya's surprise, Shawn (now frowning) suddenly pulled her up from the couch, grabbing her by the arm. "Hey, what's your deal?"
"My deal?" exclaimed Shawn. "I come home from a subway train that I was almost late to, and the first visitor I get is you with a cop?"
Maya held up her hands in defense, saying, "Whoa, okay, if you're stressing out or whatever, I can always go somewhere else."
She began leaving, but Shawn blocked her by standing in front of the door. "What is your problem, Shawn? I thought you were cool!"
"We already went through this, Maya, I'm not that cool," yelled Shawn, his voice rising. "Especially when I see someone that I care about deeply being brought to my house by cops!"
Maya instantly became quiet again.
"Now, I don't know if the cop was kidding about the fence thing because you're cool with him," exclaimed Shawn. "But getting in trouble for vandalism is -"
Maya began shaking her head. "Shawn, it's not what you think..."
"Hey, I know what vandalism is, Maya," exclaimed Shawn, getting angrier. "I almost did the same thing at my old high school with some guys I shouldn't have even been with in the first place."
Maya returned to her quiet self as Shawn continued. "I told you, I didn't want you to end up the way I could've back when I was your age. You're better than that, Maya!"
She felt her eyes slowly begin to water up. "If this is about finding yourself, then I don't think you're doing it the right way, Maya... so what is-"
Before he could finish, Maya instantly went up to Shawn, and he could hear her starting to cry.
"Um..." Shawn's anger instantly became confusion, as well as concern. "Okay... Maya, you don't have to... it's okay for you to tell me..."
Maya's sobs began to increase. "Or just... let it all out..."
As he wrapped his arms around her, Shawn sighed, hoping that nothing bad had happened to Maya while he'd been away.
Meanwhile, back at the Matthews apartment, Cory and Riley were watching television when suddenly, Cory said, "I feel a disturbance..."
Riley frowned in confusion. "Huh?"
Cory just nodded his head. "Yep... uh-huh... come on, Riley, we gotta go..."
He got up, and began heading out of the apartment, while Riley cried, "Dad, what are you talking about? Go where?"
"If I'm correct, Riley," replied Cory. "It's gonna be where Maya needs to be..."
