AN: Ok, now I'm going to start with my original plan. What I'm gonna do,
so you all know, is use Shawn and Abigail as my main characters, and have
little side plots with Cory and Bailey, Eric and Hannah and Jack and Kady.
I just thought giving each person a separate chapter would be easier. Damn
was I wrong. PS: Would you all do me a huge favor? If you see a mistake
in my writing (not spelling and grammar, just, like names and stuff) tell
me in a review? Because, I originally had Bailey with Eric and Hannah with
Cory. Ok, now. If that note wasn't too confusing for you, I'll get to the
story now.
***
Shawn woke up in a cold sweat. He'd never had such a realistic dream in his life. He and Abigail were taking a walk in Central Park, talking and having fun, when all of a sudden, Johnny and Angela walked up to them, and tore them apart. He sighed. "Get a grip, Shawn. You're losing your mind." Knowing he'd never get back to sleep, he grabbed the remote, and flicked on the TV. "Infomercials. Yay..." he rolled his eyes. "Ooh, look, it's the set it and forget it guy!" he clapped his hand. "What the..." he looked at the bandage on his left hand. "Oh yeah..." he looked around, remembering what had happened the night before. "Whoa...I slept right through the day?" he asked himself. He reached up to rub his eyes and winced in pain. "No way...not a black eye!" he grumbled. He heard stirring in the chair on his right.
"Huh?" Abigail groaned. "Oh, hey Shawn. How are you feeling?" she asked, looking toward him.
"I forgot what happened, until I went to rub my eyes..." he shrugged at Abigail. "Do I still have all my teeth?" he kidded, smiling wide.
"Yes, Shawn..." Abigail laughed. "They're all there and pearly white. Ooh...it's the set it and forget it guy!" Abigail clapped.
"My exact reaction..." Shawn laughed. "I used to idolize him, back in Philadelphia when I lived in the trailor-park..." he nodded. "I tried to convince my dad to buy me one of those rotisserie ovens."
"I was always partial to the Orange Clean dude." Abigail grinned. "When daddy's gone on business trips, all I really have to do is watch TV, so I watched all those infomercials and stuff."
"Eh, the orange clean guy is ok, but the set it and forget it guy's really cooking!" Shawn punned. "Get it?"
Abigail rolled her eyes. "That was bad, Shawn..." she shook her head. "That'd be like me saying 'yeah, but the orange clean guy CLEANS his clock...'" Abigail returned the pun.
Shawn laughed and shook his head. "So, when can I get outta here?" he asked.
"The doctor said you'd be ok to go day after tomorrow..." Abigail told him. "I convinced them to let me or Cory stay, too. I know how creepy it can get in the hospital alone..." she sympathized.
"I have to choose one of you?" he asked. "Not fair!"
"I'd completely understand if you chose Cory. He is your best friend..." Abigail smiled.
"Well, it takes quite a bit to get Cory to actually do me a favor, so I choose you!" Shawn tried to wink at her. "Damn it, now I can't ever wink! Let's try that one again.well, it takes quite a bit to get Cory to actually do me a favor, so I choose you!" he flashed her the notorious Shawn Hunter grin.
Abigail went weak at the knees, at the sight of that grin. Unable to speak, she just smiled at him. She took a deep breath, and when she could finally speak again, she whined, "Don't use that grin!"
"Why not?" Shawn asked, pretending to be clueless to the effect of 'the grin.'
"Because...I asked you to?" she smiled.
Shawn smiled. "I'll save it for when I WANT to make you weak in the knees, ok?" he stuck out his tongue at her.
Abigail was falling deeper in love by the second. She hated it, because she'd never felt like this before, and she knew that she could lose Shawn at any moment, if Angela came back. She didn't want to lose him. Not after falling so quickly. Somehow, she felt it was right, even through such a short time with him. She sighed deeply, set her hands on the side of the bed and turned her gaze to the TV.
Shawn mocked her sigh. "What ya thinking about, Abigail?" he set his un- bandaged right hand on top of her left hand.
She couldn't tell him. She didn't want to get his mind back on Angela, because she knew the topic depressed him, deeply. "I...just feel bad about you being in the hospital and everything..." she lied, not taking her eyes off the TV.
"Don't be afraid to tell me the truth..." Shawn moved his hand, and turned her face to his, then placed it back onto her hand.
"I don't know, Shawn...I don't think it's a good idea..." she half-smiled.
"Go ahead. I don't care." He encouraged her.
"It's about Angela..." Abigail looked at him, wondering if he'd stop her. Instead, he just looked at her, waiting for more. She took a deep breath through her nose, then continued. "Please don't make fun of me...but I don't want to lose you...er...what we have...when she comes back..."
Shawn thought for a second. "Abigail..." he half-smiled, too. "I know what you mean. That's been bugging me, too. But, I've made the decision to just make the best of what time we do have. We'll see what happens." He held her hand.
That wasn't what Abigail wanted to hear. But, then, it was better than what she expected to hear. She just nodded, and turned back to the TV.
"I do like you a lot, Abigail. I'm just not ready to commit to anyone...anyone who isn't Angela, that is..." Shawn put it as sensitively as he could.
It wasn't sensitive enough for Abigail, though. "I'll...be back..." Abigail stood up, and walked to the bathroom. She locked herself into a stall, and started to cry. "I wish I knew this Angela chick, so I could talk some sense into that head of hers. If I can't have Shawn, I want to know soon!" she stopped for a second. "Or, should I say, I want to know when I have to give Shawn up..." She sucked it up, rinsed her eyes with cold water, to get rid of the red, breathed a deep sigh, and returned to Shawn.
"Are you ok?" he asked, watching her walk back into the room.
"Yeah..." Abigail lied. "I just had to pee..." she joked.
Shawn laughed. "Did it all come out ok?"
"Yep," Abigail smiled. 'I wonder if he can tell...' Abigail thought. 'I'm trying not to make it too obvious, but it's not easy. Whenever I'm around him, I just want to kiss him. Am I in love?' she asked herself. 'Not yet, I just like him a lot...' she closed her eyes, and glanced at his wristband- nametag. 'Hunter, Shawn Patrick...Shawn Patrick Hunter...Abigail Autumn McDaniel-Hunter...Abigail, get a hold of yourself.' She shook her head abruptly, grabbed her bottle of Vanilla Coke off the table, and took a sip.
'I wonder what Angela's doing right now...' Shawn thought. 'I mean, what amazing things has she seen? I still have yet to hear from her, so they must have been quite amazing...' he sighed, then looked over at Abigail. 'She's so amazing. Maybe the reason I'm not chasing this opportunity is because I know she can do better than what I can give her...'
Abigail stared at the floor. She loved Shawn with all her heart, and deserved him, way more than she thought Angela did. Sure, they had history. But that's just what it was, history. The past. So, why couldn't he let it go? I guess she couldn't just expect to waltz into his life, and take him over. But, she also didn't think she deserved to be cast aside like an old pair of shoes. Whatever the case was, she loved Shawn, and there was nothing she could do about that.
***
The next morning, Cory poked his head into the hospital room. "Shawnie?" he asked. "Did I get the right room?"
"Hey Cory, hey new people I don't know..." Abigail whispered.
"Eric Matthews..." Eric laughed.
"Jack Hunter..." Jack nodded a hello.
"Hey Eric...hey Jack, I'm Abigail McDaniel." She smiled. "Nice to meet you. Wait a second...Jack Hunter? Related?" she asked Jack.
"He's my half-brother..." Jack replied. "You couldn't tell could you?"
"Not by looks, anyway..." she shrugged. "What about you? Are you guys brothers...cousins, what?" she asked, directing her attention to Cory and Eric.
"Brothers, yeah," Cory laughed. "Can't you tell?"
"Yeah, that's why I asked..." Abigail smiled.
"How's trailor boy doing?" Eric asked. He had always referred to Shawn as trailor boy, because of his background. Shawn accepted it, though, because he knew Eric was kidding.
"He's sleeping. Can you all wait here, though? I'm gonna go get something for us to eat." Abigail told them.
"Sure..." Cory replied, whispering. "By the way, Bailey and Hannah are out there waiting for you..."
"Oh, cool. It's been a couple days since I've talked to them...you want something to eat?" Abigail asked. "I'm going to the cafeteria...so I doubt it..." she laughed.
Cory laughed too. "Well, I'd like something to drink if it's not too much to ask...a Pepsi would be nice..."
"I'll just steal some of his..." Eric smiled at Abigail. "Thanks anyway..."
"No thanks, I ate on the way here." Jack told her.
"Ok, cool. I'll be back..." Abigail slipped out the door, and walked to the cafeteria.
"She's taking pretty good care of Shawn..." Eric nodded.
"That's only because it's her fault he's in here..." Jack scowled.
"No it's not, Jack. Shawn protected her on his own free will..." Cory defended Abigail. "And we all know Shawnie...once his mind is set on something, he does it."
"Ack, my ears are ringing..." Shawn opened his eyes. "Oh, hey guys. When'd you get here?"
"A couple seconds ago..." Cory told him.
"Where's Abigail?" Shawn asked.
"Yo, trailor boy! She's in the cafeteria, getting lunch..." Eric explained. "She seems sweet..."
"She really is." Shawn smiled. "She feels so guilty about this, she's waiting on me hand and foot..."
"Rightfully so," Jack rolled his eyes.
"Hey Jack, and no, Abigail has no right to feel guilty. I could have chosen to leave her there, but I didn't." Shawn explained.
"When Angela comes back, you're going back to her, right?" Jack asked.
"Yeah...and Abigail understands that..." Shawn told Jack. "What's wrong?"
"I don't like her..." Jack explained. "She seems..."
"Nice." Eric glared at Jack.
"Sweet." Cory glared too.
Jack huffed, and sat in the back of the room. "I just don't like her."
"So, Cor..." Shawn changed the subject, because he felt anger filling him again. "What's going on with you and Topanga?"
Cory frowned. "The divorce papers have been filed..." he wanted to cry.
"Oh..." Shawn felt bad. "Cor, I'm sorry...who filed for it?"
"Well, both of us..." Cory sighed. "But Topanga did first. I'm ok, though. Bailey has been here for me unconditionally. She's great..."
"She seems it." Shawn smiled. "So..." Shawn got nervous about Cory's whole divorce topic. He felt guilty, because the whole reason they got divorced was Cory and Shawn's friendship. "Eric...what have you been up to?"
"Not much, I mean, I'm hanging out with Hannah a lot." Eric smiled. "She's really cool."
***
"Yeah, he seems to really love Angela. I'm gonna try not to get too close to him. I don't want my heart broken." Abigail already looked like she was about to cry.
"Not that it's not already..." Hannah knew Abigail better than anyone else in the world. "Abigail, you can't just let him get away...let him know how you feel..."
"No." Abigail sighed. "Listen..." she felt tears coming to her eyes. "I can't tell Shawn that I'm falling in love with him. He wants Angela, he can have her. He deserves to be happy."
Cory walked out to see Bailey, and before turning the corner, listened to Abigail. "You're falling in love with Shawnie?" he asked, coming around the corner, behind Abigail.
"Which one is it?" Abigail asked, freezing in position.
"Hey, Cory..." Bailey looked at Cory. "Don't tell Shawn that, ok?"
"I wouldn't do that..." Cory reassured Abigail. "Don't worry. But you should tell him. If you really do love him, you'd do anything to get him..."
"This coming from the man who wanted Shawn to have nothing to do with me in the beginning..." Abigail glanced curiously at Cory.
"Well, you seem to make Shawn happy." Cory smiled. "And Angela is making him miserable right now."
Abigail sighed. "I don't want him to be miserable. He deserves to be so happy. But he wants Angela back so badly. I do love Shawn. And it scares the life outta me."
"Abigail..." Hannah shook her. "You NEED to tell Shawn. He might stay with you, even if Angela comes home!"
"NO!" Abigail screamed. "Cory, take this to Shawn, please? And tell him I just needed to get some air." She handed Cory the plate she was going to bring to Shawn, and walked off in a rush. She sat outside on a bench, watching the cars go by. She looked at the sky, and sighed. "Remind me never to fall in love again..." she wiped a tear from her cheek. "Especially not if he's tied down."
***
Shawn woke up in a cold sweat. He'd never had such a realistic dream in his life. He and Abigail were taking a walk in Central Park, talking and having fun, when all of a sudden, Johnny and Angela walked up to them, and tore them apart. He sighed. "Get a grip, Shawn. You're losing your mind." Knowing he'd never get back to sleep, he grabbed the remote, and flicked on the TV. "Infomercials. Yay..." he rolled his eyes. "Ooh, look, it's the set it and forget it guy!" he clapped his hand. "What the..." he looked at the bandage on his left hand. "Oh yeah..." he looked around, remembering what had happened the night before. "Whoa...I slept right through the day?" he asked himself. He reached up to rub his eyes and winced in pain. "No way...not a black eye!" he grumbled. He heard stirring in the chair on his right.
"Huh?" Abigail groaned. "Oh, hey Shawn. How are you feeling?" she asked, looking toward him.
"I forgot what happened, until I went to rub my eyes..." he shrugged at Abigail. "Do I still have all my teeth?" he kidded, smiling wide.
"Yes, Shawn..." Abigail laughed. "They're all there and pearly white. Ooh...it's the set it and forget it guy!" Abigail clapped.
"My exact reaction..." Shawn laughed. "I used to idolize him, back in Philadelphia when I lived in the trailor-park..." he nodded. "I tried to convince my dad to buy me one of those rotisserie ovens."
"I was always partial to the Orange Clean dude." Abigail grinned. "When daddy's gone on business trips, all I really have to do is watch TV, so I watched all those infomercials and stuff."
"Eh, the orange clean guy is ok, but the set it and forget it guy's really cooking!" Shawn punned. "Get it?"
Abigail rolled her eyes. "That was bad, Shawn..." she shook her head. "That'd be like me saying 'yeah, but the orange clean guy CLEANS his clock...'" Abigail returned the pun.
Shawn laughed and shook his head. "So, when can I get outta here?" he asked.
"The doctor said you'd be ok to go day after tomorrow..." Abigail told him. "I convinced them to let me or Cory stay, too. I know how creepy it can get in the hospital alone..." she sympathized.
"I have to choose one of you?" he asked. "Not fair!"
"I'd completely understand if you chose Cory. He is your best friend..." Abigail smiled.
"Well, it takes quite a bit to get Cory to actually do me a favor, so I choose you!" Shawn tried to wink at her. "Damn it, now I can't ever wink! Let's try that one again.well, it takes quite a bit to get Cory to actually do me a favor, so I choose you!" he flashed her the notorious Shawn Hunter grin.
Abigail went weak at the knees, at the sight of that grin. Unable to speak, she just smiled at him. She took a deep breath, and when she could finally speak again, she whined, "Don't use that grin!"
"Why not?" Shawn asked, pretending to be clueless to the effect of 'the grin.'
"Because...I asked you to?" she smiled.
Shawn smiled. "I'll save it for when I WANT to make you weak in the knees, ok?" he stuck out his tongue at her.
Abigail was falling deeper in love by the second. She hated it, because she'd never felt like this before, and she knew that she could lose Shawn at any moment, if Angela came back. She didn't want to lose him. Not after falling so quickly. Somehow, she felt it was right, even through such a short time with him. She sighed deeply, set her hands on the side of the bed and turned her gaze to the TV.
Shawn mocked her sigh. "What ya thinking about, Abigail?" he set his un- bandaged right hand on top of her left hand.
She couldn't tell him. She didn't want to get his mind back on Angela, because she knew the topic depressed him, deeply. "I...just feel bad about you being in the hospital and everything..." she lied, not taking her eyes off the TV.
"Don't be afraid to tell me the truth..." Shawn moved his hand, and turned her face to his, then placed it back onto her hand.
"I don't know, Shawn...I don't think it's a good idea..." she half-smiled.
"Go ahead. I don't care." He encouraged her.
"It's about Angela..." Abigail looked at him, wondering if he'd stop her. Instead, he just looked at her, waiting for more. She took a deep breath through her nose, then continued. "Please don't make fun of me...but I don't want to lose you...er...what we have...when she comes back..."
Shawn thought for a second. "Abigail..." he half-smiled, too. "I know what you mean. That's been bugging me, too. But, I've made the decision to just make the best of what time we do have. We'll see what happens." He held her hand.
That wasn't what Abigail wanted to hear. But, then, it was better than what she expected to hear. She just nodded, and turned back to the TV.
"I do like you a lot, Abigail. I'm just not ready to commit to anyone...anyone who isn't Angela, that is..." Shawn put it as sensitively as he could.
It wasn't sensitive enough for Abigail, though. "I'll...be back..." Abigail stood up, and walked to the bathroom. She locked herself into a stall, and started to cry. "I wish I knew this Angela chick, so I could talk some sense into that head of hers. If I can't have Shawn, I want to know soon!" she stopped for a second. "Or, should I say, I want to know when I have to give Shawn up..." She sucked it up, rinsed her eyes with cold water, to get rid of the red, breathed a deep sigh, and returned to Shawn.
"Are you ok?" he asked, watching her walk back into the room.
"Yeah..." Abigail lied. "I just had to pee..." she joked.
Shawn laughed. "Did it all come out ok?"
"Yep," Abigail smiled. 'I wonder if he can tell...' Abigail thought. 'I'm trying not to make it too obvious, but it's not easy. Whenever I'm around him, I just want to kiss him. Am I in love?' she asked herself. 'Not yet, I just like him a lot...' she closed her eyes, and glanced at his wristband- nametag. 'Hunter, Shawn Patrick...Shawn Patrick Hunter...Abigail Autumn McDaniel-Hunter...Abigail, get a hold of yourself.' She shook her head abruptly, grabbed her bottle of Vanilla Coke off the table, and took a sip.
'I wonder what Angela's doing right now...' Shawn thought. 'I mean, what amazing things has she seen? I still have yet to hear from her, so they must have been quite amazing...' he sighed, then looked over at Abigail. 'She's so amazing. Maybe the reason I'm not chasing this opportunity is because I know she can do better than what I can give her...'
Abigail stared at the floor. She loved Shawn with all her heart, and deserved him, way more than she thought Angela did. Sure, they had history. But that's just what it was, history. The past. So, why couldn't he let it go? I guess she couldn't just expect to waltz into his life, and take him over. But, she also didn't think she deserved to be cast aside like an old pair of shoes. Whatever the case was, she loved Shawn, and there was nothing she could do about that.
***
The next morning, Cory poked his head into the hospital room. "Shawnie?" he asked. "Did I get the right room?"
"Hey Cory, hey new people I don't know..." Abigail whispered.
"Eric Matthews..." Eric laughed.
"Jack Hunter..." Jack nodded a hello.
"Hey Eric...hey Jack, I'm Abigail McDaniel." She smiled. "Nice to meet you. Wait a second...Jack Hunter? Related?" she asked Jack.
"He's my half-brother..." Jack replied. "You couldn't tell could you?"
"Not by looks, anyway..." she shrugged. "What about you? Are you guys brothers...cousins, what?" she asked, directing her attention to Cory and Eric.
"Brothers, yeah," Cory laughed. "Can't you tell?"
"Yeah, that's why I asked..." Abigail smiled.
"How's trailor boy doing?" Eric asked. He had always referred to Shawn as trailor boy, because of his background. Shawn accepted it, though, because he knew Eric was kidding.
"He's sleeping. Can you all wait here, though? I'm gonna go get something for us to eat." Abigail told them.
"Sure..." Cory replied, whispering. "By the way, Bailey and Hannah are out there waiting for you..."
"Oh, cool. It's been a couple days since I've talked to them...you want something to eat?" Abigail asked. "I'm going to the cafeteria...so I doubt it..." she laughed.
Cory laughed too. "Well, I'd like something to drink if it's not too much to ask...a Pepsi would be nice..."
"I'll just steal some of his..." Eric smiled at Abigail. "Thanks anyway..."
"No thanks, I ate on the way here." Jack told her.
"Ok, cool. I'll be back..." Abigail slipped out the door, and walked to the cafeteria.
"She's taking pretty good care of Shawn..." Eric nodded.
"That's only because it's her fault he's in here..." Jack scowled.
"No it's not, Jack. Shawn protected her on his own free will..." Cory defended Abigail. "And we all know Shawnie...once his mind is set on something, he does it."
"Ack, my ears are ringing..." Shawn opened his eyes. "Oh, hey guys. When'd you get here?"
"A couple seconds ago..." Cory told him.
"Where's Abigail?" Shawn asked.
"Yo, trailor boy! She's in the cafeteria, getting lunch..." Eric explained. "She seems sweet..."
"She really is." Shawn smiled. "She feels so guilty about this, she's waiting on me hand and foot..."
"Rightfully so," Jack rolled his eyes.
"Hey Jack, and no, Abigail has no right to feel guilty. I could have chosen to leave her there, but I didn't." Shawn explained.
"When Angela comes back, you're going back to her, right?" Jack asked.
"Yeah...and Abigail understands that..." Shawn told Jack. "What's wrong?"
"I don't like her..." Jack explained. "She seems..."
"Nice." Eric glared at Jack.
"Sweet." Cory glared too.
Jack huffed, and sat in the back of the room. "I just don't like her."
"So, Cor..." Shawn changed the subject, because he felt anger filling him again. "What's going on with you and Topanga?"
Cory frowned. "The divorce papers have been filed..." he wanted to cry.
"Oh..." Shawn felt bad. "Cor, I'm sorry...who filed for it?"
"Well, both of us..." Cory sighed. "But Topanga did first. I'm ok, though. Bailey has been here for me unconditionally. She's great..."
"She seems it." Shawn smiled. "So..." Shawn got nervous about Cory's whole divorce topic. He felt guilty, because the whole reason they got divorced was Cory and Shawn's friendship. "Eric...what have you been up to?"
"Not much, I mean, I'm hanging out with Hannah a lot." Eric smiled. "She's really cool."
***
"Yeah, he seems to really love Angela. I'm gonna try not to get too close to him. I don't want my heart broken." Abigail already looked like she was about to cry.
"Not that it's not already..." Hannah knew Abigail better than anyone else in the world. "Abigail, you can't just let him get away...let him know how you feel..."
"No." Abigail sighed. "Listen..." she felt tears coming to her eyes. "I can't tell Shawn that I'm falling in love with him. He wants Angela, he can have her. He deserves to be happy."
Cory walked out to see Bailey, and before turning the corner, listened to Abigail. "You're falling in love with Shawnie?" he asked, coming around the corner, behind Abigail.
"Which one is it?" Abigail asked, freezing in position.
"Hey, Cory..." Bailey looked at Cory. "Don't tell Shawn that, ok?"
"I wouldn't do that..." Cory reassured Abigail. "Don't worry. But you should tell him. If you really do love him, you'd do anything to get him..."
"This coming from the man who wanted Shawn to have nothing to do with me in the beginning..." Abigail glanced curiously at Cory.
"Well, you seem to make Shawn happy." Cory smiled. "And Angela is making him miserable right now."
Abigail sighed. "I don't want him to be miserable. He deserves to be so happy. But he wants Angela back so badly. I do love Shawn. And it scares the life outta me."
"Abigail..." Hannah shook her. "You NEED to tell Shawn. He might stay with you, even if Angela comes home!"
"NO!" Abigail screamed. "Cory, take this to Shawn, please? And tell him I just needed to get some air." She handed Cory the plate she was going to bring to Shawn, and walked off in a rush. She sat outside on a bench, watching the cars go by. She looked at the sky, and sighed. "Remind me never to fall in love again..." she wiped a tear from her cheek. "Especially not if he's tied down."