AN: I originally had something in the plot for Angela, but I think I'm
gonna change that this chapter. I have a new plan, so yeah. Hope you
likey.
***
Shawn stared at the letter in his hand. He had just returned from getting the mail, and all he received was a letter with his address in the corner, and no return address on it, just 'Angela,' written in pink. He nervously opened it, and read.
***
"And he just sat there, and didn't spare me a passing glance again all night..." Abigail was sitting in Eric's apartment, talking to Eric, Hannah, Cory and Bailey. "I don't know, I mean, I know I messed things up. I just thought I deserved to know what the real situation was..."
"You did..." Cory explained. "Shawn will get over it. Believe me, if anyone knows Shawn Hunter, it's me. He'll get over it." He reassured her.
"What if this is the one time that he doesn't?" Abigail asked. "I mean, what if Angela comes back, and takes him away from me forever?"
"If he said he loves you more than Angela," Bailey looked curious. "Then why would he go with her over you?"
"Because he feels like he has nothing to give to me..." Abigail shrugged. "I told him that he has everything I want, but he won't listen to me."
"It's kinda tough to listen in that position..." Hannah shrugged. "I mean, he says he loves you, and he means it. He wants you to have the world."
"He left his jacket at my house, and I meant to bring it over to leave for Cory to give to him. I think maybe my subconscious left it there on purpose, because I want to see him again." She laughed at the fact that she sounded like a psychology class.
"Do you want me to call him and tell him, later or something?" Eric asked.
"Nah, I'll call him..." Abigail sighed. "So, anyway, enough about me..." she focused her attention to Bailey, Cory, Hannah and Eric. "What have you guys been up to?"
Bailey shrugged. "I've been spending most of my time with Dingy here..." she said, pointing to Cory.
"Oh, gee, now I'm Dingy..." Cory shook his head. "Nice..."
Abigail laughed. "What have you guys been doing?"
Cory sighed. "She's helping get through the divorce, and everything..." (AN: Thanks to Emma for correcting me about that...go back to Chapter Six, and see the conversation between Cory, Shawn, Eric and Jack, to see that I fixed it.)
"Oh, Cory, I'm sorry..." Abigail frowned. "I totally forgot about that. If you need anyone to talk to, please don't hesitate to call me. I'm sure Bailey is doing great, but you never know when you'll need another friend."
"Thanks, Abigail. That's a very nice gesture." Cory smiled. "And I will, too. I'm sure Bailey's about sick of me anyway."
"Not really," Bailey grinned. "You are always making me laugh."
"I think, 'lil Miss Sullivan has a thing for 'lil Mr. Matthews..." Abigail laughed.
"Me?" Eric sat beside Hannah. "Aw, I know I'm special, thanks!" he flashed a goofy grin.
"The other Mr. Matthews..." Hannah smacked Eric's arm.
"My daddy?" Eric played.
"Eric!" Hannah and Abigail yelled in unison.
"Oh...you mean Cory?" Eric asked.
Bailey kicked Eric. "Shut UP Eric!" she yelled.
Abigail smiled. She was gonna be fine. With these people as her friends, she couldn't go wrong. Cory was sweet, Eric was goofy, Hannah had been her best friend almost all her life, and Bailey was one of the funniest people she'd ever met. She could get over Shawn. There'd be nothing to it, nothing at all. All of a sudden, the doorbell rang. Eric was busy washing the counters, and Abigail was the closest to the door, so she offered to get it. "Want me to get it Eric?" She asked, walking to the door.
"Could you?" Eric replied. "Thanks, Abbi."
"Not a prob," she stood up. She opened the door, and her heart sank a mile. It was Shawn. "Oh...uh, hey Shawn..." she said, uncomfortably.
Everyone paused. There was an echo of gasps and clearing throats, then everyone went back to their business.
"Hey," Shawn walked in. "What's up?" he asked, feeling uncomfortable as well.
"Oh, uh...I was just...leaving..." Abigail cleared her throat as well, and pulled her coat off the coat-rack. "See ya everyone. Bye Shawn..." she waved to everyone in the room. "Remember, Cory, call if you need anything."
"Thanks, Abbi," Cory smiled.
"See ya, Ab..." Eric half-smiled.
Abigail left, and as soon as she shut the door behind her, she took a deep breath. "There's the problem with having them as friends...close encounters of the Shawn kind..." she walked down the stairs to her car.
"So," Eric asked. "What have you been doing?"
"Nothing," Shawn hung his coat on the rack. "Did...uh, Abbi say anything about me?" he looked around the room at each face.
"Uh, no..." Bailey lied.
Shawn sensed the falseness. "What'd she say?" he asked.
"She..." Cory sighed. "She told us what happened."
Shawn put his hands in his pockets. "Is she mad at me?"
Hannah shrugged. "No, not that we could tell." She stood up. "She seemed a little upset though."
"I can understand that..." Shawn nodded. "She looked a little uncomfortable seeing me at the door..."
"Obviously..." Hannah told him. "Wasn't that the first time you guys had seen each other since this all went down?"
Shawn half-smiled. "Yeah," he remembered the smile on Abigail's face when they were in the food fight. 'She deserves to smile like that all the time, and I can't give her that,' he reminded himself. 'I'm doing this for her...' he nodded once. "Is she handling it ok?"
"She's strong. She'll be fine," Hannah nodded her head.
Eric grinned, and grabbed Hannah's arm. "I need to talk to you..." he pulled her into the bedroom.
"Uh...ok?" Hannah was unsure. "What is it?" she asked.
"Plan!" he held up his pointer finger. "I have a plan!"
"Uh oh..." Hannah had often heard that Eric Matthews plans were very scary things.
***
Shawn handed Cory the letter. "Read this aloud. Then you'll get why I'm so...not myself...today, aside from everything with Abigail, that is."
Cory looked at Bailey for reassurance. "Ok..." he took the letter, and unfolded it. "Shawn," he read. "It's been so long. I mean, I know it's partially my fault, but we need more contact. Anyway, how is everyone? Cory? Topanga? Jack? Eric? I need updates...oh wait...no return address...never mind..." he paused. "So, anyway, Paris is amazing, it's so beautiful, and everything here dazzles me. Which brings me to the point of this letter, Shawn. I have to tell you a few things that are going to hurt a lot. My father informed me that after we leave Paris, he's going to Madrid. You remember me saying that Madrid was one of the places I really wanted to go? So, I'm going to go with him. It's my choice, and I know you'll think it's ok. Plus, one more thing...one of the Sergeant's sons, Bryan Davidson. I think I'm falling in love with him, Shawn. I hate to do this to you, but I really have to break it off. Please don't take it the wrong way, because you are still one my most valued friends. But, I just really am starting to love Bryan." Cory stopped, and looked over at Shawn, and noticing that he was on the verge of tears, sighed. "Well, I'm going to end this right now. See you sometime. Angela." Cory put the letter on the table. "Shawnie..." he hugged Shawn. "Are you gonna be ok?"
"After realizing that I messed things up with Abbi for something that I was just holding on to, and then coming to grips with it," Shawn shrugged. "I was fine. But then, seeing Abbi a few minutes ago," he pointed out the door. "Made me lose it again."
***
"So, what's this genius plan of yours, Eric?" Hannah asked.
"Ok, you know I work at the zoo, right?" he asked.
"Uh oh..." Hannah shook her head. "Yeah..."
"Well, there's three empty cages, that aren't open to the public yet..." Eric grinned.
Hannah's jaw dropped. "So...you're thinking..."
"Got a better plan?" Eric asked.
"No...but even if this was a good idea, which it's not," Hannah rolled her eyes. "How would we get them into the cage?"
"I could call them to help me unload them, and you could be there, then we could 'inadvertently' push them in!" he grinned.
"Of all the half-witted plans I've heard in my lifetime, this one is the most...original..." Hannah sighed. "If I go along with this plan, and it backfires, it's NOT gonna be blamed on me..."
"Sure it will, but I'll take the blame off you..." Eric kissed Hannah's cheek. "It'll be fine!"
***
"Jeffrey, do me a favor? Knock me in the head? Really hard..." Abigail fell to the couch.
"Why, Miss McDaniel?" he asked. "Something wrong?"
"I saw Shawn..." she put her chin in her hand, and her elbow on her knee.
"I thought you and Master Hunter liked each other..." Jeffrey looked confused.
"We fought..." Abigail turned on the TV, and saw a 'set it and forget it' commercial. "Strange how when you miss someone, the smallest thing will make you think of them..." she changed the channel.
"What happened, Miss McDaniel?" he asked. "You know, you never tell me these things anymore...you used to call me your personal diary, remember?"
"Yeah," she turned her attention to Jeffrey. "Do you really wanna know?"
"Always," Jeffrey nodded.
"Well," she started explaining. "Shawn was writing in his poetry book on the couch, and I went out to the balcony. I was thinking about him, and how his ex-girlfriend, Angela, powered everything he did, and I started to cry. He came out, and asked what was wrong, and I explained it to him. Then, he told me the real reason he didn't want a relationship with me was because he couldn't give me anything. I tried to tell him he gave me all that I wanted, but he wouldn't listen. We argued a little bit, but he still stayed the night. When I woke up in the morning, you were home, and he had left..."
"And, now you aren't talking?" Jeffrey asked.
"I saw him at Eric's, but I left, because I knew it's be uncomfortable..." she shrugged.
"I'm sorry, Miss McDaniel. I'm sure things will get better..." Jeffrey smiled.
"Thanks, Jeffrey." Abigail turned back to the TV.
***
Shawn stared at the letter in his hand. He had just returned from getting the mail, and all he received was a letter with his address in the corner, and no return address on it, just 'Angela,' written in pink. He nervously opened it, and read.
***
"And he just sat there, and didn't spare me a passing glance again all night..." Abigail was sitting in Eric's apartment, talking to Eric, Hannah, Cory and Bailey. "I don't know, I mean, I know I messed things up. I just thought I deserved to know what the real situation was..."
"You did..." Cory explained. "Shawn will get over it. Believe me, if anyone knows Shawn Hunter, it's me. He'll get over it." He reassured her.
"What if this is the one time that he doesn't?" Abigail asked. "I mean, what if Angela comes back, and takes him away from me forever?"
"If he said he loves you more than Angela," Bailey looked curious. "Then why would he go with her over you?"
"Because he feels like he has nothing to give to me..." Abigail shrugged. "I told him that he has everything I want, but he won't listen to me."
"It's kinda tough to listen in that position..." Hannah shrugged. "I mean, he says he loves you, and he means it. He wants you to have the world."
"He left his jacket at my house, and I meant to bring it over to leave for Cory to give to him. I think maybe my subconscious left it there on purpose, because I want to see him again." She laughed at the fact that she sounded like a psychology class.
"Do you want me to call him and tell him, later or something?" Eric asked.
"Nah, I'll call him..." Abigail sighed. "So, anyway, enough about me..." she focused her attention to Bailey, Cory, Hannah and Eric. "What have you guys been up to?"
Bailey shrugged. "I've been spending most of my time with Dingy here..." she said, pointing to Cory.
"Oh, gee, now I'm Dingy..." Cory shook his head. "Nice..."
Abigail laughed. "What have you guys been doing?"
Cory sighed. "She's helping get through the divorce, and everything..." (AN: Thanks to Emma for correcting me about that...go back to Chapter Six, and see the conversation between Cory, Shawn, Eric and Jack, to see that I fixed it.)
"Oh, Cory, I'm sorry..." Abigail frowned. "I totally forgot about that. If you need anyone to talk to, please don't hesitate to call me. I'm sure Bailey is doing great, but you never know when you'll need another friend."
"Thanks, Abigail. That's a very nice gesture." Cory smiled. "And I will, too. I'm sure Bailey's about sick of me anyway."
"Not really," Bailey grinned. "You are always making me laugh."
"I think, 'lil Miss Sullivan has a thing for 'lil Mr. Matthews..." Abigail laughed.
"Me?" Eric sat beside Hannah. "Aw, I know I'm special, thanks!" he flashed a goofy grin.
"The other Mr. Matthews..." Hannah smacked Eric's arm.
"My daddy?" Eric played.
"Eric!" Hannah and Abigail yelled in unison.
"Oh...you mean Cory?" Eric asked.
Bailey kicked Eric. "Shut UP Eric!" she yelled.
Abigail smiled. She was gonna be fine. With these people as her friends, she couldn't go wrong. Cory was sweet, Eric was goofy, Hannah had been her best friend almost all her life, and Bailey was one of the funniest people she'd ever met. She could get over Shawn. There'd be nothing to it, nothing at all. All of a sudden, the doorbell rang. Eric was busy washing the counters, and Abigail was the closest to the door, so she offered to get it. "Want me to get it Eric?" She asked, walking to the door.
"Could you?" Eric replied. "Thanks, Abbi."
"Not a prob," she stood up. She opened the door, and her heart sank a mile. It was Shawn. "Oh...uh, hey Shawn..." she said, uncomfortably.
Everyone paused. There was an echo of gasps and clearing throats, then everyone went back to their business.
"Hey," Shawn walked in. "What's up?" he asked, feeling uncomfortable as well.
"Oh, uh...I was just...leaving..." Abigail cleared her throat as well, and pulled her coat off the coat-rack. "See ya everyone. Bye Shawn..." she waved to everyone in the room. "Remember, Cory, call if you need anything."
"Thanks, Abbi," Cory smiled.
"See ya, Ab..." Eric half-smiled.
Abigail left, and as soon as she shut the door behind her, she took a deep breath. "There's the problem with having them as friends...close encounters of the Shawn kind..." she walked down the stairs to her car.
"So," Eric asked. "What have you been doing?"
"Nothing," Shawn hung his coat on the rack. "Did...uh, Abbi say anything about me?" he looked around the room at each face.
"Uh, no..." Bailey lied.
Shawn sensed the falseness. "What'd she say?" he asked.
"She..." Cory sighed. "She told us what happened."
Shawn put his hands in his pockets. "Is she mad at me?"
Hannah shrugged. "No, not that we could tell." She stood up. "She seemed a little upset though."
"I can understand that..." Shawn nodded. "She looked a little uncomfortable seeing me at the door..."
"Obviously..." Hannah told him. "Wasn't that the first time you guys had seen each other since this all went down?"
Shawn half-smiled. "Yeah," he remembered the smile on Abigail's face when they were in the food fight. 'She deserves to smile like that all the time, and I can't give her that,' he reminded himself. 'I'm doing this for her...' he nodded once. "Is she handling it ok?"
"She's strong. She'll be fine," Hannah nodded her head.
Eric grinned, and grabbed Hannah's arm. "I need to talk to you..." he pulled her into the bedroom.
"Uh...ok?" Hannah was unsure. "What is it?" she asked.
"Plan!" he held up his pointer finger. "I have a plan!"
"Uh oh..." Hannah had often heard that Eric Matthews plans were very scary things.
***
Shawn handed Cory the letter. "Read this aloud. Then you'll get why I'm so...not myself...today, aside from everything with Abigail, that is."
Cory looked at Bailey for reassurance. "Ok..." he took the letter, and unfolded it. "Shawn," he read. "It's been so long. I mean, I know it's partially my fault, but we need more contact. Anyway, how is everyone? Cory? Topanga? Jack? Eric? I need updates...oh wait...no return address...never mind..." he paused. "So, anyway, Paris is amazing, it's so beautiful, and everything here dazzles me. Which brings me to the point of this letter, Shawn. I have to tell you a few things that are going to hurt a lot. My father informed me that after we leave Paris, he's going to Madrid. You remember me saying that Madrid was one of the places I really wanted to go? So, I'm going to go with him. It's my choice, and I know you'll think it's ok. Plus, one more thing...one of the Sergeant's sons, Bryan Davidson. I think I'm falling in love with him, Shawn. I hate to do this to you, but I really have to break it off. Please don't take it the wrong way, because you are still one my most valued friends. But, I just really am starting to love Bryan." Cory stopped, and looked over at Shawn, and noticing that he was on the verge of tears, sighed. "Well, I'm going to end this right now. See you sometime. Angela." Cory put the letter on the table. "Shawnie..." he hugged Shawn. "Are you gonna be ok?"
"After realizing that I messed things up with Abbi for something that I was just holding on to, and then coming to grips with it," Shawn shrugged. "I was fine. But then, seeing Abbi a few minutes ago," he pointed out the door. "Made me lose it again."
***
"So, what's this genius plan of yours, Eric?" Hannah asked.
"Ok, you know I work at the zoo, right?" he asked.
"Uh oh..." Hannah shook her head. "Yeah..."
"Well, there's three empty cages, that aren't open to the public yet..." Eric grinned.
Hannah's jaw dropped. "So...you're thinking..."
"Got a better plan?" Eric asked.
"No...but even if this was a good idea, which it's not," Hannah rolled her eyes. "How would we get them into the cage?"
"I could call them to help me unload them, and you could be there, then we could 'inadvertently' push them in!" he grinned.
"Of all the half-witted plans I've heard in my lifetime, this one is the most...original..." Hannah sighed. "If I go along with this plan, and it backfires, it's NOT gonna be blamed on me..."
"Sure it will, but I'll take the blame off you..." Eric kissed Hannah's cheek. "It'll be fine!"
***
"Jeffrey, do me a favor? Knock me in the head? Really hard..." Abigail fell to the couch.
"Why, Miss McDaniel?" he asked. "Something wrong?"
"I saw Shawn..." she put her chin in her hand, and her elbow on her knee.
"I thought you and Master Hunter liked each other..." Jeffrey looked confused.
"We fought..." Abigail turned on the TV, and saw a 'set it and forget it' commercial. "Strange how when you miss someone, the smallest thing will make you think of them..." she changed the channel.
"What happened, Miss McDaniel?" he asked. "You know, you never tell me these things anymore...you used to call me your personal diary, remember?"
"Yeah," she turned her attention to Jeffrey. "Do you really wanna know?"
"Always," Jeffrey nodded.
"Well," she started explaining. "Shawn was writing in his poetry book on the couch, and I went out to the balcony. I was thinking about him, and how his ex-girlfriend, Angela, powered everything he did, and I started to cry. He came out, and asked what was wrong, and I explained it to him. Then, he told me the real reason he didn't want a relationship with me was because he couldn't give me anything. I tried to tell him he gave me all that I wanted, but he wouldn't listen. We argued a little bit, but he still stayed the night. When I woke up in the morning, you were home, and he had left..."
"And, now you aren't talking?" Jeffrey asked.
"I saw him at Eric's, but I left, because I knew it's be uncomfortable..." she shrugged.
"I'm sorry, Miss McDaniel. I'm sure things will get better..." Jeffrey smiled.
"Thanks, Jeffrey." Abigail turned back to the TV.