Author's Notes: My apologies for such a long wait for an update! Summer classes are torture. Also I took down my previous chapter 3 because I felt that it didn't fit into the story at all and I had to fix my mistake. Now here's a new and IMPROVED chapter three enjoy! By the way I do not own Girl Meets World or the characters except for Ashley and a few others. I also do not own the songs Life is Beautiful by Sixx AM and You and Me by Lifehouse!
Will You Stay
Chapter 3: You and Me
It had been a few weeks since the moment happened between Shawn and Ashley; Shawn had been hanging out with Cory while Topanga took the kids to do some shopping. "So Shawny what's it like to have a young girlfriend?"
"I told you Cor she's not my girlfriend. We barely know each other so it's crazy for us to jump into a relationship." Cory slapped Shawn at the back of his head.
"Then why would you kiss her! That's low even for you!"
"I couldn't help it! We were in the moment and one thing led to another."
Images of that flooded through his head. Of course he wanted to be with her but with his track record he didn't want this relationship to end up like the other; with someone getting hurt. He felt that he would be hurt the most because she's still young and she has a whole life to live. Not to mention when someone is twenty they rarely ever thing about a relationship lasting longer than a few months.
"Shawn how can you just sit there when she's out there probably wondering what she did wrong. We all felt that there was something between the both of you. Quit being afraid just because the one girl you've ever loved left you."
"Cory you don't understand my situation. You have Topanga and you've had her since you were four. You have no idea how hard it is for me to let my guard down!"
"Don't you think it's hard for her too? Did you ever consider her feelings? Or do you think her feelings do not matter? Don't write her off just because of your insecurities. You both might not be like Topanga and I but that doesn't mean that you won't last. You don't have to jump into a relationship but you can at least get to know her."
Shawn got up and left Cory's apartment needing some time to think things over. 'What could I possibly have in common with a twenty-one year old? We grew up in different locations and at different time periods. She was born when I was fourteen; how could this possibly last long? So what's the point of even trying?
Next thing Shawn knew he was standing in front of the Universal Fusion Café; he looked back and wondered how he was able to walk the whole way there. 'How in the world did I get here? Obviously the world is testing me right now. Oh well guess it's time to face the music.'
He opened the door and saw that it was packed and all of the tables and chairs were moved to make more space for the audience. He looked towards the stage and saw a band setting up equipment for the show. He found the owner overseeing the crowd from behind the bar area; he went over to question him. "Hey Simon what's with the huge crowd?"
"You didn't hear? Ashley's band is having a show tonight. It's their last show for a while since most of the members are going on to 'better' bands."
He looked up to see the members take their position with their instruments; and one guy with long black and bleached white hair came up to the mic with his guitar strapped to him. He looked over the crowd and smiled as he spoke, "How's everyone doing tonight! Well sadly this will be Black Cherry's last concert for a while but that doesn't mean we can't rock out tonight! Now give it up for our leading lady Ashley!"
The crowd broke out into a roar of cheers as she came on stage wearing a red dress with knee high black boots. He smiled when he saw her under the stage light. She looked more beautiful than before. She smiled and almost shed a tear for all of the cheers she was getting from the fans. "Hello my friends! I'm so happy everyone came out tonight! I hope my friend Johnny doesn't blind you with his white hair. He's trying something new and hopefully you guys like it. We'll do our best to give you one heck of a show! Alright let's get this party started!"
The crowd started to roar again as Johnny began to strum his guitar and then the rest of the band fell into the melody.
'You can't quit until you try, You can't live until you die, You can't learn to tell the truth, Until you learn to lie'
Her voice echoed amongst the restaurant and Shawn couldn't help but stare in awe as she sang.
'You can't breathe until you choke, You gotta laugh when you're the joke, There's nothing like a funeral to make you feel alive, Just open your eyes, Just open your eyes, And see that life is beautiful. Will you swear on your life, That no one will cry at my funeral?'
As she sang it made him reminisce over his life and how not a lot of things went well for him. He lost some people who meant so much to him like his father and the love of his life. However he was still alive and had a great life going for him with his career, his friends, and the kids. He finally realized that maybe it's time for him to move on and allow himself to be happy for once. He looked back up at her and she finally caught his gaze and ended up messing up a few of the lyrics.
The show ended a few hours later and the crowd was being cleared out the door. The band was at the bar trying to replenish their lost fluids. Shawn walked over to them but Johnny blocked his path. "Sorry bro she's not signing autographs right now."
"I'm not here for an autograph I'm here to talk to Ashley. Can you please move aside?"
"Hold on I think I remember hearing about you. Yeah now I'm definitely not letting you through." Johnny nudged Shawn back a bit.
"It's a free country man I can talk to her if I want to." He nudged back practically shoving him out of the way.
"Well a jerk like you doesn't deserve a chance to talk to her!" He pushed Shawn to the ground which alerted Ashley.
"Johnny! Would you please for once not use violence to solve your problems?"
She walked over only to see Shawn on the ground; once she saw him her face went through a shift of emotions from sadness to anger. She turned on her heels and was heading to the backroom when her hand was grabbed by Shawn. She jerked her hand away from his and kept on walking.
"I'm sorry!" He shouted as he rose to his feet. She froze in her position but still kept her back to him. "I was scared that I was going to get hurt again. I thought that with you being so much younger that it would happen again. I'm scared to let anyone get close."
"You don't think she was scared too? The night you kissed her she came home practically glowing but when you ignored her for weeks her smile faded and her light was gone! She don't trust people easily yet she trusted you and you broke her heart!"
"Johnny! Go to the backroom and gather the equipment now!"
"But Ash-."
"I SAID GO!"
He stormed off towards the backroom grumbling the whole way there. She turned to Shawn with tears in her eyes.
'What day is it? And in what month? This clock never seemed so alive, I can't keep up and I can't back down, I've been losing so much time'
"Ashley I didn't mean to hurt you. I just didn't want to give it my all and then you end up dumping me for the next guy."
She walked across the room and sat at one of the few tables present. "What makes you think that I would dump you?" He followed her and settled in the seat across from her.
"I don't know but I didn't want to take the risk and end up broken hearted."
"So you ended up breaking my heart instead."
"It's not like that Ashley."
She slammed her hands down, "Then what is it like!"
'Cause it's you and me and all of the people, With nothing to do, nothing to lose, And it's you and me and all of the people, And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you'
"Ashley you have to see where I'm coming from I'm thirty-five and you're twenty-one. It's time for me to settle down and your life has just started."
"You think that just because I'm younger that I'm more likely to dump you? Shawn that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."
"Yeah make fun of my insecurities. This is why I don't like letting my guard around anyone."
"Shawn how do you think I felt letting myself be exposed to someone I barely knew. It was scary but you made it easier."
'All of the things that I want to say, Just aren't coming out right, I'm tripping on words, you got my head spinning, I don't know where to go from here'
He looked at her and saw pain in her eyes. He didn't want this; he didn't want to hurt the first person he connected with in a long time. "Ashley I don't deserve someone like you: I grew up in a trailer park with parents who argued constantly and eventually lost both parents. I don't deserve to be happy with someone like you."
She turned her head away, "Obviously you know nothing about me. I never had parents and I never had a true home. I lived in multiple foster homes and multiple 'orphanages' and yet you still think you don't deserve me?"
'Cause it's you and me and all of the people, With nothing to do, nothing to prove, And it's you, and me and all of the people, And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you'
He felt even guiltier than before; he never really tried to learn about her he was just quickly jumping to his own conclusions. She's had it tougher than he ever could and yet here he is making her life more miserable. He was standing up to leave when she spoke up "Go on ahead and leave. Just know that the day you first came into the restaurant was one of the best days of my life. Now you get to leave taking the broken pieces of my heart with you."
'Something about you now, I can't quite figure out, Everything she does is beautiful, Everything she does is right'
"That's not fair! I leave and seem like the bad guy yet there you were with your muscular boyfriend! You moved on way before I did!"
"Okay first thing that's just gross. Second thing Johnny is not my boyfriend nor will he ever be. He's like a little brother to me and I practically raised him since I was four. He was the only one keeping me going. Without him I wouldn't even be here today."
"Well any other person would think that there was something going on."
She shoved herself up from the table knocking over the chair and started walking towards the other side. "I thought you were different from any other person but you're just like the rest of them. You see two people who are close and assume we're together. I honestly thought you were better than that. Call me when the real Shawn comes back."
In that moment time stood still; Shawn's mind was racing along with his heart. It felt like it was breaking as she was walking. 'Quit being afraid just because the one girl you've ever loved left you.'
"I'm not letting that happen again." He ran after her, grabbed her shoulder, and spun her around to face him and planted a kiss on her.
'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to lose, And it's you and me and all of the people, And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you, And me and all of the people with nothing to do and nothing to prove, And it's you and me and all of the people, And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you'
She opened her eyes and gazed into Shawn's searching for a small glimmer of hope that she can finally be happy.
'What day is it? And in what month? This clock never seemed so alive'
"Ashley. Will you be my girlfriend?"
End Chapter 3
Author's notes: Well what did everyone think? A lot better than the other chapter I hope! Well don't worry readers this is just the beginning of the roller coaster! Remember reviews fuel my creativity!
