Disclaimer: I do not own Boy Meets World.

Chapter 2

Cory slid into the chair next to Topanga in the cafeteria. Shawn sat across from him. Dani moved to stand only moments later.

Topanga leaned over to her. "You can't keep leaving every time Shawn comes around. You're our friend too, so sit back down," she said in a harsh whisper before Dani could even get out an excuse.

Dani sat back down.

His girlfriend really could be scary sometimes. "Subtle," he whispered over to her.

"I wasn't trying to be," she whispered back.

"So," Cory said loudly, "how about them Phillies, huh? They really started out rough last year, but boy did they turn it around by the end. I think they've got a real shot this year." Cory just barely suppressed a wince at how forced that was. From the looks he received from everyone, it apparently showed.

"Yeah," Shawn said. "Sure."

They all ate in silence for a while. Cory poked at the meatloaf surprise, a little scared to find out what the 'surprise' entailed.

"This is some weather we've been having," Topanga said.

"Yeah, you'd think we'd get at least one snow day or delay or something," Cory said, trying to help.

Shawn snorted. "With Feeny in charge? I wouldn't bet on it. There could be a blizzard and we'd still have to be here bright and early."

"I know. We did that a couple years ago, remember?"

"Yeah."

Cory downed the brick of meat fast to try to taste it as little as possible. He didn't care what anyone said. Silence was anything but golden.

"Really, I think it's better if I go." Dani pushed her chair out.

"No, it's okay. I'll go." Shawn stood. "I wanted to find Angela anyways." He left.

Dani settled back in.

"This is getting ridiculous," Cory said. "Can't you two just talk about it and move on or something?"

"If and when he's ready. Until then, no," Dani said. "Can we please just drop it?"

"You do realize who you're talking to, right? Me? Drop it. Please."

"Cory, honey, I agree with you, but drop it for now or another friend is going to walk out on us," Topanga said.

"Fine," Cory said. "So, how about them Phillies?"

Dani rolled her eyes at him.

"We're probably going to Chubbie's again later. Do you want to join us?" Topanga asked.

Dani shrugged. "Sure. If you don't mind a third wheel tagging along again."

Cory waved his hand. "Oh, pish posh. We've been an old married couple for the last—what is it now, honey—fifty years? Extra company doesn't hurt."

"Pish posh?" Dani said. "How old are you?"

"According to this magazine quiz I took, about eighty."

"Seriously though," Topanga said, "we don't mind."

Dani shrugged again. "Okay." She picked at some food on her plate, a soft smile spreading on her face.

"You've been smiling a lot since last night," Topanga said.

Dani looked up. "Hm?" she said distractedly. "Uh, yeah. I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Oh, it's nothing, really." Did she just blush?

"About something or someone?"

Dani shifted a little in her seat. "Someone." She smiled again.

"I sense girl talk coming," Cory said.

Next to him, Topanga leaned forward in her chair. Her face broke out into a big grin. "Ooh. Okay, spill. I want details."

"There really isn't much to tell. We just bumped into one another, introduced ourselves, and that was pretty much it. Well—except that Brody kind of sort of said he'd see me around," Dani said. The smile was back again. Cory raised an eyebrow. This was about the girly-est he had ever seen her. It was weird.

"I'm not sure how to feel about this. As a friend, I'm happy. As a brother, I'm leery. Who is this Brody fella you speak of?" Cory asked.

"I don't know. Just some guy. We didn't really talk."

"Is he cute?" Topanga asked.

"Very." Dani played with her food some more. "I don't get it. I don't even know the guy, but I can't seem to stop thinking about him."

Topanga's smile grew wider. "Sounds like you have a crush."

"We just met. We didn't even talk, really. How could I have a crush already?"

"I had a crush on Cory ever since I saw him on the monkey bars. We hadn't talked much then, either."

"Since you saw him on the monkey bars?" Dani asked.

"We were two."

Dani smirked briefly before the expression slid off her face and she looked down. "Even so, I don't think anything will come from this anyways."

Cory and Topanga shared a look. "What? Because of your ESP?" Cory asked.

"No," Dani said. "Nothing like that. It's just . . . relationships and me don't ever mix well."

"Why?"

Dani looked up. "You're kidding me, right?"

Cory just stared back.

"I'm not normal. It makes it kind of tough to have a normal relationship."

"So you're not even going to try?" Topanga asked.

Dani frowned. "I don't know. I mean, I want to, but I'm not sure I should. What if he finds out, you know, about me—what I can do and all—and he can't handle it? Whether it's Brody or any other normal guy, it's always the same thing. It's just easier if I don't try."

"But you want to?" Topanga asked.

Dani gave a small smile again. "Yeah. I do."

"Then give it a try. Who knows? Maybe something will come from it, maybe nothing will. You won't know unless you give it a chance. It could be a good thing."

"Besides," Cory said. "We all found out and we're okay with it. Maybe this guy will be too."

Dani nodded. "Maybe."

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Hey, Angela." Shawn leaned against the lockers next to the girl.

Angela closed the locker door and turned to face him. "Hey, Shawn."

"Word around school is you just ended a two-week relationship. I just ended a two-week relationship. If you're free Saturday, what do you say we give it a go?" Shawn grinned.

Angela smiled back. "Two weeks and we're done? I would say, why not?" She hugged her books to her chest. "Word around school is you're a lot of fun and a great kisser. I'd like to see if they're right."

"You'll have to let me know if they are." He pushed away from the lockers and started backing away, still facing Angela. "So, Saturday it is then? How about I meet you at Chubbie's at 8?"

"Yeah. Sure thing. I'll see you then."

Angela was alright. This would be nice and easy. They could have a lot of fun together. No one would get hurt. They both knew and understood going in that it would just be a short fling and then over. Why couldn't they all be that easy?

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Shawn averted his eyes after briefly meeting Dani's. It was always so awkward anymore when they tried to spend time around one another because of Cory and Topanga. And, of course, Cory and Topanga had to rig it so they were sitting across from one another in the booth at Chubbie's.

"Did you talk to Angela?" Cory asked.

"Yeah, I did," Shawn said. "She's in for two weeks starting Saturday."

Topanga let out a frustrated sound.

Shawn suppressed a smirk. "She wants it that way too. This time it's not just me."

Topanga drummed her fingers on the table. "I'm not going to say anything. I promised Cory I wouldn't. But can you seriously tell me you're happy with this?"

"Yes. Yes, I am. I have fun, so does whoever I'm dating at the time, and we both get out before either of us gets hurt."

Shawn wasn't sure whether to be intimidated or amused by how annoyed this seemed to make Topanga. She let out another growl.

"Easy there, honey, or you'll end up with a stroke," Cory said.

Topanga turned her glare on her boyfriend before zeroing back in on Shawn. "Fine, then," she said. "If that's how you want to be, then fine."

"Okay. Now that that's settled, I'm gonna go check on why our food is taking so long." Cory slid out of the booth. He gave a not-so-subtle look at Topanga while walking past her, followed by a little nudge.

"And I will go with him." Topanga left too.

Shawn relaxed back in his seat and glanced back over at Dani. She was staring at some spot on the table, almost as stiff as she was when he first met her. He looked back away and glanced around the place. It was crowded with all the usual John Adams kids among others. John was sitting at his usual out-of-the-way table. Shawn smiled a little. He was a good man—always wanting to make himself available in case anyone needed him. Shawn wasn't too thrilled with the idea of his guardian invading his usual hangout space at first, but they came to an agreement. John would stay out of the way and leave Shawn be unless some situation popped up that John felt he needed to handle.

Cory and Topanga stood up at the counter, looking over at him and Dani every once in a while. Did they really think that just leaving the two of them in a booth together would get them to talk? He wasn't ready. She wasn't talking, so obviously she wasn't either. He loved those two. Really, he did, but they needed to learn how to butt out. Between his two-week rule and Dani . . . .

His gaze strayed back over to the girl in question when she slid out of the booth, muttering something about being back later.

The weird thing was that he wasn't even mad at her anymore . . . not really. The anger had faded with time. He just couldn't trust her anymore. That was a harder thing to get over. She had so many secrets that she was too damn stubborn to trust any of the rest of them with. How did he know she wouldn't do the same thing again if he or any of the others got too close to finding out whatever it was she was still hiding? It was better to just back off. It was safer that way.

Cory and Topanga both slid back into the booth with their food. "Where's Dani?" Cory asked.

Shawn shrugged. "I don't know. She didn't say."

Cory heaved a huge sigh next to him. "I get that what she did was bad, but I know she apologized. She hasn't done anything like that since. It's been months. Can't you two just talk about it already? She's waiting on you, and you know how stubborn she can be. She's not going to approach you about it first. I'm tired of one of the two of you constantly running out when the other is around."

"We both are," Topanga said.

Shawn sighed. "Until she's willing to actually tell us the truth—and I mean the full truth—I don't see that happening."

"So, in other words, never," Cory said.

##

Dani wove her way back over towards her friends, pausing when she saw that guy she met last night. He turned his head towards her. She looked away and kept walking.

"Hey, Dani, is it?" Brody's smooth voice called out. "I was hoping I'd see you again."

She considered ignoring him, reminding herself yet again that this was a bad idea despite what she wanted. She couldn't do normal. She wasn't normal, no matter how much she wished she was. She had a bad feeling growing since she met him and she just knew it was a disaster waiting to happen. Except there was also the fact that the bad feeling could just be because she was worried about what would happen. That had happened before. Her instincts may be pretty accurate, but they weren't foolproof. It's not like they came along with exact instructions about what was causing them or if they were even supernaturally charged bad feelings or just normal trust issue bad feelings that had absolutely no grounding in what was actually going to happen. Then, of course, there was the fact that she didn't want what she could do—what she was—to control her life. That had always been easier said than done, but still. If she didn't give him a chance, she was letting it control her life.

Besides, she didn't even know anything would happen between them anyways. So really, where was the harm?

She turned back towards him. "This time we didn't even have to run into one another . . . literally."

He smiled at her, gazing at her with those warm, inviting eyes. All of her worries just seemed to disappear.

"Do you want to join me? I was just gonna grab a bite to eat," he said.

A warm bubbly feeling spread through her. He wanted to spend time with her. She smiled, then shook her head slightly to clear it. "I'm sorry. I can't. I'm here with some friends. Maybe some other time?"

A look of disappointment crossed his face. "Sure," he said. "Maybe we can bump into one another again on Saturday?"

"Yeah," she said. "I'd like that." She smiled at him again, then went to rejoin her friends. The smile slowly slid from her face the further she walked. She really hoped she wasn't making a mistake.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Come in," Mr. Feeny's voice sounded from inside his office.

Cory opened the door. He and Topanga went in.

"Mr. Matthews. Miss Lawrence. What can I do you for?" He looked over the top of his glasses at the two students.

"Can we borrow your office later?" Cory asked.

"Excuse me?" Feeny asked.

"What Cory was trying to say is we could use your help," Topanga tried. "And part of what we need is your office later. You see, we've both had it with Shawn and Dani avoiding each other. We were kind of hoping if we stuck them in a room together, maybe we could get them to say whatever it is they need to say to one another so we can get our friends back."

"You expect me to leave just like that?"

Cory looked at Topanga before looking back at Feeny. "Well, we were hoping you might send requests for them to come here, but yes, you leaving here and more or less standing guard outside the door is the general idea."

Mr. Feeny stared at them a few moments. "Well, I suppose if we plan this for the end of the day, it shouldn't interfere with anything. But you two better be near here too in case this plan of yours backfires."

"Of course, Mr. Feeny," Topanga said. "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't make me regret this."

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Shawn walked into Feeny's office. "I got a note saying you wanted to see me? What did I do this time?"

"Actually," Feeny said, looking up from his planner. His voice trailed off as he looked just past Shawn.

Shawn looked back to find Dani standing there, also holding a note.

"I believe you have Mr. Matthews and Miss Lawrence to thank for this." The teacher stood and walked around his desk. "I hate to see any friendships broken for any reason, which is the only reason I agreed to help with their little scheme. I'm to inform you, you are not to leave this room until you talk to each other. I'll leave you to it then." He walked out the door, shutting it behind him.

Shawn frowned at the door. Of course they went to Feeny. He put his hands in his pockets and looked over at his fellow inmate. She looked about as happy about this as he did.

"So," Shawn said. He ran his hand through his hair.

"So," Dani said.

"I don't know what they're thinking is going to happen in here," Shawn said. "I mean, it's not like we're going to talk and then magically become friends again."

"No, I guess not."

He walked over to the window and looked out. There was a point in his life where he probably would have climb out the window and down the tree rather than face this. As tempting as that thought was, though, he knew the situation wouldn't just go away. Cory and Topanga—especially Cory—were both way too persistent for that. Besides, he kind of understood where they were coming from. They considered both Shawn and Dani friends. At one point in time, Shawn and Dani had been friends too. This whole thing made things tough for Cory and Topanga.

"For what it's worth, I am sorry," Dani said. "I know that's not going to cut it with this, but I really am."

Shawn looked back at her. "I know you are." He leaned back against the windowsill. "I just—how do I know I can trust you? You hide so much. What am I supposed to think?"

"I don't know. I wish I could tell you everything, but you know I can't."

"Why?" Shawn thought better of it and held up his hand to stop her from talking. "No, wait. Let me guess. It's complicated, right?"

Dani frowned. "I know you don't understand, and I know I've never told you enough for you to be able to understand, but yes. Mock it all you want, but it is complicated. Not in an intellectual trying-to-understand calculus kind of way, but in the sense that there are a lot of interconnected reasons that I can't go into without revealing some things that I can't reveal."

Shawn nodded. "I can't trust you as long as you're keeping all these secrets, and you can't or won't tell me what they are . . . ." He crossed his arms. "So, where does that leave us?"

Dani ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know. Only you can answer that one."

As much as he wanted to, he couldn't ask her to back off from his friends. They were her friends too, and their current situation made it pretty obvious they wanted her around. And he wasn't going to back off, not that they would let him, anyways. "Cory and Topanga were right about one thing, at least. We can't keep running off like we have been. I think, for their sake, we can compromise. I'm okay with you being around, but we're not really friends. Maybe we will be again someday, but not yet."

Dani nodded. "Alright."

Shawn just hoped that was enough for his well-meaning but highly manipulative friends. It was the best he could do for now.