"I don't know, Topanga," Cory stated to his lovely wife, "Shawn seemed very vague on the phone – like he was avoiding the point or something."

"Relax, honey," she reassured her beloved, who always got overworked over everything. " Shawn probably just wants to chat or something. You know how he is," she continued while she sat calmly brushing her hair in front of her vanity.

"Yeah, you're probably right," he said as he sat down on the sofa and took a deep breath, but he couldn't sit still. He bounded out of his seat and marched over to her, pointing his finger at her reflection, and saying, as he went, "No Something is up! And I'm going to get to the bottom of it!"

Topanga was just about to tell him how ridiculous he was being, when there was a sharp knock on the door. They both got up. Cory marched toward the door but Topanga sachéd there before him; and before he could open it, she blocked it off. "Now, Cory, don't just assume that something is going on. You're seeing things, but all it is is your paranoia," she scolded lovingly as she spun around to open the door. She was at a loss for words when she saw a girl standing next to Shawn. "Well, my 'paranoia' looks about 5'5" with blonde hair and green eyes," Cory whispered sarcastically to his better half. She gave Cory a look and an elbow, and then remembered her manners at once, "Hi, Shawn. Come in!"

"Hey, guys," he returned. "I'd like you to meet my friend Abi."

"You must be the woman of the house," Abi shook Topanga's hand heartily.

"I'm Topanga," she replied cheerily, but she was still confused by the appearance of Shawn's new "friend."

"And that would make you…" she gestured toward the fuzzyheaded one.

"Cory." He was right, Topanga was wrong; but this was more complicated than he had hoped. Shawn was with a girl who wasn't Angela. Why couldn't he have just joined another cult?

Shawn made the next move, "So…" he took a deep breath, "I don't mean to be forward, but the reason we came here is because…well…as you can see…Abi has nothing to put on except my sweatpants and oversized t-shirts, and well…I kind of thought that maybe you could help us out, Topanga?" he proposed gently. He knew that whenever he was in need, Cory and Topanga would be there for him. Even though they were taken aback by the whole situation, they were always willing to help Shawn.

"Sure!" Topanga exclaimed with stars in her eyes. "This is going to be so much fun!" She grasped Abi by the arm and made a mad dash for the bedroom. Abi gave Shawn a quick "help me" look just for humor.

Cory and Shawn watched the door shut and then turned to face each other. "Okay, Shawn. What's up?" sighed Cory knowingly.

"What do you mean, Cor? I just came over to get Abi some clothes, that's all," Shawn stated equivocally, wondering if he really should have come.

"C'mon, Shawnie, we've known each other far to long for you to try to pull the wool over my eyes. Now, tell me what's going on."

Shawn took a deep breath and followed Cory over to the couch. It was going to be a long night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So, Abi, what are your sizes? What exactly do you need? Do you have a color preference?" Topanga queried. Abi started to feel a little dizzy when Topanga opened her closet doors. Colors? Sizes? Fits? She had never realized how many different choices women had when dressing. After spending her entire life being satisfied with clothes from a dumpster and never being displeased by the fact that they did not "flatter" her features, being presented with so many options can be pretty mind blowing!

"Um…I don't really know…" she admitted hesitantly.

"Oh, that's okay!" her new friend consoled. "You can try on everything and borrow what you like!"

Abi was amazed at Topanga's extreme generosity. "I don't want to intrude!" she contradicted, but Topanga wouldn't hear it.

"Oh, nonsense! Any friend of Shawn's is a friend of mine." Which reminds me… "You know," she treaded softly, "I know it's none of my business, but…how did you two meet anyway?"

Abi couldn't help but chuckle, "Let's just say he was right up my ally." Topanga gave her a curious look and Abi took a deep breath before continuing.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"But, Shawn! She's not Angela!" Cory fumed. "How could you even think about being with anyone else?"

"I don't know, Cory!" he screamed back at his lifelong best friend. "I wouldn't have come to you if I knew!"

"Well, think, Shawn! Are you having doubts? Have you been away from her for so long that you can't remember how much you love her?" he shrieked even louder than before.

"Of course not! I have never had ANY doubts about my feelings for Angela!" Shawn vowed matter-of-factly.

"Then what is it?!" Cory chided. "WHAT?! Do you think she doesn't love you anymore?!" he mocked.

"YES!!! Yes, Cory!!! Is that what you wanted to hear?! I feel unloved and abandoned – AGAIN!!! There, I've said it! I hope you're happy!" Shawn screamed almost in tears. Cory, now realizing that something more than he anticipated was happening, sat down next to Shawn on the sofa.

"Did something happen between you and Angela, Shawn?" he asked carefully and instinctively switched into brotherly mode.

"No," he began, "and that's what's bugging me."

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't heard from Angela in over six weeks, Cor. Right after she left, we wrote each other letters everyday, I got a postcard every week, and every once in a while her dad would let her call me. But, all of a sudden, it stopped – no more letters, no more postcards, and no more phone calls. She's totally cut me off, Cory. I just…I don't know what to do."

Cory tried his best to comfort his friend. "Well, Shawn, there are several reasons why this could be happening. Don't just assume that she doesn't love you anymore. I mean, remember when Topanga had to move to Pittsburgh? The same thing happened. She and I talked just about every chance we got. Then, one day, BAAM!!! She dropped off the face of the earth! I went crazy 'cuz she wouldn't talk to me. But she stopped writing and taking my calls because she couldn't stand to be away from me…and then she showed up at my door SOAKING wet." Cory paused recollecting that fond moment, then he added as a strong reassurance, "Angela loves you, Shawn. Don't ever forget that."

Shawn thought for a moment then realized that Cory was right. Angela loved him. "Thanks, Cor."

"Your welcome, buddy." They shared a friendly hug and Cory hopped up to get some chips and sodas. Shawn sat back and immersed himself in Cory's words. He should have felt better. He heard exactly what he hoped to hear. But something was still gnawing at the back of his mind. Something still wasn't right. Please don't misunderstand. He in no way doubted his best friend's words, but he still wondered why she wasn't corresponding with him. But now he had reached a dead end. Not even Mr. Feeny, in his infinite wisdom, could answer this question. It was something only he and Angela could know, but he had yet to figure it out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What was he doing in the ally?" Topanga inquired after hearing Abi's account of the previous night.

"I have no idea and he wont tell me." Abi was enjoying this frivolous girl talk and discovered how much fun trying on clothes could be (even though she was very embarrassed by her need of undergarments, yet tickled by the fact that she and Topanga wore the exact same sizes). Topanga was having a wonderful time as well and was very happy to have made a new friend. She felt very sorry for Abi, though, after learning her derivation. Life on the street is a nightmare and it was quite amazing that Abi had even survived.

After picking out some more clothes and accessories, the girls loaded Abi's things-for-the-time-being into shopping bags then ushered themselves out of the room giggling like girls do. Shawn was getting tired, but he didn't really want to leave Cory and Topanga's house. He felt safe there. He didn't want a repeat of last night's events; but he decided that he had already imposed upon them enough, so he got up to leave. He glanced at his watch. It was already after 9:30.

The gang gave their hugs, kisses and goodnights then Shawn and Abi picked up her bags and started for his apartment.