Disclaimer: I don't own BMW
Chap. 5
"It's not fair!" Lauren thought to herself as she packed her bags in preparation for her departure from Philly. "I just hooked up with the guy of my dreams and now I have no time to enjoy it!" Lauren was headed back home that evening, she had only been able to come to Philly for the long weekend. There was school and her job at the lodge, things waiting for her that had to be taken care of. "If only I had just a little more time! Well, at least there's today to look forward to." Cory was taking her out for a day (as he called it) of fun in the Philly sun. He was just so sweet! She was looking forward to spending this day with him; she knew it would be the last for some time to come. A long distance relationship, that was not going to be easy, and frankly she was a bit worried about the prospect. Everyone back home kept telling her how hard they were, and how few of them actually lasted. "Well, I plan to be the exception to that rule" Lauren fired back at her doubts. She finished packing, threw on a light jacket, and went to meet Cory in the park. He wouldn't tell her what it was exactly that he had planned, claiming he wanted it to be a surprise.
"Shawn, I don't want to do this." Angela complained bitterly as she got ready "It's bad enough that Cory dumped Topanga the way he did, but now he expects us to be friends with the other women?! This little get-together has to be the dumbest idea I've ever heard. Why are you even going along with it? More to the point, why do I have to be there?"
"Cory's my best friend and I support him in this." Shawn answered "He wants us to be there for him, and to make Lauren feel comfortable with his friends. I want you to come along so that Cory feels we are behind him, besides, I don't want to do this alone". Cory had asked Shawn and Angela to meet him and Lauren for dinner at San's Chinese that evening. They were getting ready to leave for there own day of fun before they had to meet the two of them.
"Shawn, I'll come, but don't expect me to have a good time. I can't believe we're doing this! I know for a fact that Topanga is hurting, and her best friend is going out with the enemy? You better be glad I love you."
Angela was very unhappy about having to go out on this "double date" with Cory and the girl he broke Topanga's heart for. She knew all about what had happened between Cory and Topanga the night before at Chubbie's, Topanga had woken up about one AM, and had roused Angela. They talked for a long time, and though Topanga was still hurting deeply, at the least, Angela had decided, she was determined to move on at this point. Shawn had called early that morning to tell Angela about the plans he'd made. Topanga had told Angela that she should go with Shawn today, though she couldn't understand how Shawn, who was supposed to be her friend too, wasn't mad at Cory for what he did, even if it was just for her sake. Angela really couldn't understand that either. She had been astounded at Shawn being so supportive of what Cory was doing. She remembered that first real date, when he'd told her that he wanted what Cory and Topanga had, it had seemed so sacred to him. For him to not be hurt by this new development surprised her.
Shawn had kept to himself his real feelings about what Cory was doing, and his fears concerning his own relationship. He could be a very private person when it suited him, and when it came to these new and quite disturbing developments, he wouldn't have known how to voice what he was feeling even if he'd wanted to. Besides, he'd promised himself that he'd support Cory in this, and that's what he planned to do. To tell anyone, even Angela, what he was really feeling would risk it getting out there, and he was determined that would never happen. "So on this double date we'll go". He mused privately. "It might not be fun, and it defiantly won't be easy, but I'm going to be a good friend if it kills me". To Angela he only smiled and kissed her hard, before grabbing his coat and heading with her out the door.
"Hello Beautiful. It's so good to see you again." Cory smiled a small smile and kissed his new ladylove as soon as she came within arms reach. As glad as he was to see her, he was also shaken up by the events of the night before. He'd gone home with a soaked shoulder and a bruised heart that night, Topanga's violent reaction to his news having shaken him to the core. "I guess you're never really prepared for something like that" he thought to himself "Well, Lauren is here now, and I plan to make the most of it."
"It's good to see you too. I can't wait to spend this day with you; we're going to have such a great time! So, where to first?" Lauren responded, hugging Cory hard. She'd detected just a hint of sadness in his voice, and assumed that it had to do with the task he'd sat for himself the night before. She knew that he had gone to break-up with his girlfriend, and that he'd been really worried about how he was going to do it and how she would react. Cory would never actually talk to her about those things, being to afraid of hurting her, but Lauren could understand without being told, and she planned to make Cory's day the best she possibly could.
"Now what did I tell you? This day is going to be a total surprise for you young lady. So get in my car and stop asking questions!" Cory smiled mischievously and held open the door for her.
"Yes, sir!" She answered with a laugh, and got into the passenger seat. Cory walked around the car, got in and drove off.
What followed was one of the greatest days Lauren or Cory could ever remember having. They went on a grand tour of Philly, seeing some of the best sights the city had to offer. They started off at the Liberty Bell, and then headed to the Navy shipyard and museum. For lunch Cory took Lauren to Charlie's Cheese Steak, where he claimed they made the best Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches in the U.S. of A. After lunch it was on to the Franklin Institute where they were able to recapture their youth and play with wild abandon, they stayed there until dinner. After dinner Cory had to take Lauren to the bus stop so she could catch the last bus home.
It was early in the evening when Cory and Lauren showed up at San's. Cory and Shawn had decided it would be easiest to meet at the restaurant. Though neither of them actually said it, both Cory and Lauren were a bit apprehensive about this dinner. "What was I thinking?" Cory wondered to himself "Asking Angela and Shawn to accept Lauren? Still, Shawn did say he supported me in this, and I do really want Lauren to get to know and be comfortable with my friends."
Cory held open the door for Lauren, and they entered the restaurant. Shawn flagged them down as they entered, and they walked over to join him and Angela at the table.
"Hi there, did you guys have fun today?" Shawn asked as Cory and Lauren sat down and began to look at the menu
"Cory took me on the grand tour of Philly". Lauren answered, "We had a wonderful time, isn't that right Cory?"
"Yea, we had a great time, I made sure she got to see all the sights. So Angela, how have you been? Did you and Shawn have a good day too?"
"It was ok, no better or worse than any other." Angela had decided that even if she had to be there, that didn't mean she had to do a lot of talking. Short, sweet, and to the point, that was how she planned to keep her responses.
"Do you remember Lauren?"
"Yes." Do I remember her?! She thought with scorn, is he nuts?
"Hi Angela, it's nice to see you again." Lauren smiled tentatively, the ice that was dripping off of Angela's words was almost real enough to reach out and touch.
Angela didn't bother to answer Lauren at all, and since no one was saying anything, Cory suggested they go ahead and order. Cory tried to keep up the small talk while they waited for their food to arrive, and then while they ate, but things were not going well. Angela was visibly angry at having to be there, Shawn was trying so hard to be cheerful for Cory and yet understanding of Angela's feelings that he ended up not saying hardly anything at all, and Lauren was so uncomfortable that she didn't know what to do with herself. Finally, in an attempt to escape for a second, she excused herself to the bathroom. As soon as she started walking away from the table though, Angela also excused herself and followed. All through the dinner from hell Angela had been seething, and she'd decided that she was going to speak her mind, Shawn or no Shawn. Unlike her boyfriend, Angela had never gotten close to Cory, and so she felt no alliance to him. Her friend, her best friend, was Topanga, and it was to her that Angela felt she owed something.
Lauren reached the bathroom only a few seconds before Angela. She had barely had time to walk through the door before Angela followed her in.
"Oh, hi" She said, "I didn't know you were coming in too."
"Well, I am, and girl, I have something I just have to say to you. Topanga is my best friend, and your coming here and taking Cory away from her was just wrong. Those two loved each other; they were destined to have a life together. "Your" boyfriend broke my best friends heart last night, and I don't know if she's ever going to get over it. How dare you come here and split up one of the greatest couples ever?" Angela let all her feelings out; she was going to tell this girl off, because Topanga was too nice to do it for herself. She knew that Topanga was planning to try and move on, but she still felt obligated to let this girl know what she had done.
For a second Lauren could only stare. She didn't know what to say. Knowing how much Cory wanted her to get along with his friends made her unwilling to really get angry and speak her mind, yet at the same time she couldn't believe that this girl who didn't even know her would be telling her off like that, and in public to boot! Well, it seemed Angela wasn't going to like her anyway, no matter what she said, so she might as well say what she was feeling.
"Angela, I don't know much about the relationship that your best friend had with MY boyfriend, all I know is that I met a wonderful guy that I really liked and who really seemed to like me too. I came to his hometown to see if his feelings for me matched mine for him, and was lucky enough that they did. Cory chose me of his own free will; I just made that choice possible. So please don't go blaming a break-up on me. I saw what I wanted and I went for it. I defy anyone, even you, not to do the same. If you don't like it, then I guess that's your problem, not mine."
"No, it is your problem, it became your problem when you came here and decided to steal Cory away if you possibly could." Angela was mad, really mad. Was it the similarities between her relationship with Shawn and Cory's with Topanga? Was it maybe that she'd never had a best friend before and consequently felt very strongly herself any wrongs done to that best friend? The reason behind her actions was something that she would wonder about for some time after what happened next, but at that moment she just knew that this situation made her want to do things she'd never done before. So, before she even consciously realized what was happening, she snapped, and shoved Lauren, hard. So hard in fact that Lauren was thrown across the bathroom and hit the back wall with a crash. She narrowly missed slamming her head into the brick, catching herself just in time with her right hand. Lauren heard her right wrist go crack, and a sharp pain shot down her arm.
Lauren cried out, and tears sprung up in her eyes as she pulled the damaged wrist in towards her chest, protectively cradling it with her other hand "What did I ever do to you?"
"You broke my best friends heart, and for that you deserve whatever you get". Angela answered. She knew in the back of her mind that she'd feel sorry later about what she'd just done, but right then all she felt was a dizzying since of triumph. Without even glancing in Lauren's direction, Angela stormed out of the bathroom. She reached the table and jerked Shawn to his feet. "Come on, we're leaving" she told him, "Cory, you can find your "girlfriend" in the bathroom, you might want to get her some help." Shawn and Cory exchanged confused glances, and headed in opposite directions, Shawn following Angela out the door and Cory going to find Lauren.
Well, now what's going to happen? How will Shawn respond when he learns about what Angela did? How bad did she hurt Lauren, and will Cory be able to sustain a relationship with a girl all of his friends don't like?
Chap. 5
"It's not fair!" Lauren thought to herself as she packed her bags in preparation for her departure from Philly. "I just hooked up with the guy of my dreams and now I have no time to enjoy it!" Lauren was headed back home that evening, she had only been able to come to Philly for the long weekend. There was school and her job at the lodge, things waiting for her that had to be taken care of. "If only I had just a little more time! Well, at least there's today to look forward to." Cory was taking her out for a day (as he called it) of fun in the Philly sun. He was just so sweet! She was looking forward to spending this day with him; she knew it would be the last for some time to come. A long distance relationship, that was not going to be easy, and frankly she was a bit worried about the prospect. Everyone back home kept telling her how hard they were, and how few of them actually lasted. "Well, I plan to be the exception to that rule" Lauren fired back at her doubts. She finished packing, threw on a light jacket, and went to meet Cory in the park. He wouldn't tell her what it was exactly that he had planned, claiming he wanted it to be a surprise.
"Shawn, I don't want to do this." Angela complained bitterly as she got ready "It's bad enough that Cory dumped Topanga the way he did, but now he expects us to be friends with the other women?! This little get-together has to be the dumbest idea I've ever heard. Why are you even going along with it? More to the point, why do I have to be there?"
"Cory's my best friend and I support him in this." Shawn answered "He wants us to be there for him, and to make Lauren feel comfortable with his friends. I want you to come along so that Cory feels we are behind him, besides, I don't want to do this alone". Cory had asked Shawn and Angela to meet him and Lauren for dinner at San's Chinese that evening. They were getting ready to leave for there own day of fun before they had to meet the two of them.
"Shawn, I'll come, but don't expect me to have a good time. I can't believe we're doing this! I know for a fact that Topanga is hurting, and her best friend is going out with the enemy? You better be glad I love you."
Angela was very unhappy about having to go out on this "double date" with Cory and the girl he broke Topanga's heart for. She knew all about what had happened between Cory and Topanga the night before at Chubbie's, Topanga had woken up about one AM, and had roused Angela. They talked for a long time, and though Topanga was still hurting deeply, at the least, Angela had decided, she was determined to move on at this point. Shawn had called early that morning to tell Angela about the plans he'd made. Topanga had told Angela that she should go with Shawn today, though she couldn't understand how Shawn, who was supposed to be her friend too, wasn't mad at Cory for what he did, even if it was just for her sake. Angela really couldn't understand that either. She had been astounded at Shawn being so supportive of what Cory was doing. She remembered that first real date, when he'd told her that he wanted what Cory and Topanga had, it had seemed so sacred to him. For him to not be hurt by this new development surprised her.
Shawn had kept to himself his real feelings about what Cory was doing, and his fears concerning his own relationship. He could be a very private person when it suited him, and when it came to these new and quite disturbing developments, he wouldn't have known how to voice what he was feeling even if he'd wanted to. Besides, he'd promised himself that he'd support Cory in this, and that's what he planned to do. To tell anyone, even Angela, what he was really feeling would risk it getting out there, and he was determined that would never happen. "So on this double date we'll go". He mused privately. "It might not be fun, and it defiantly won't be easy, but I'm going to be a good friend if it kills me". To Angela he only smiled and kissed her hard, before grabbing his coat and heading with her out the door.
"Hello Beautiful. It's so good to see you again." Cory smiled a small smile and kissed his new ladylove as soon as she came within arms reach. As glad as he was to see her, he was also shaken up by the events of the night before. He'd gone home with a soaked shoulder and a bruised heart that night, Topanga's violent reaction to his news having shaken him to the core. "I guess you're never really prepared for something like that" he thought to himself "Well, Lauren is here now, and I plan to make the most of it."
"It's good to see you too. I can't wait to spend this day with you; we're going to have such a great time! So, where to first?" Lauren responded, hugging Cory hard. She'd detected just a hint of sadness in his voice, and assumed that it had to do with the task he'd sat for himself the night before. She knew that he had gone to break-up with his girlfriend, and that he'd been really worried about how he was going to do it and how she would react. Cory would never actually talk to her about those things, being to afraid of hurting her, but Lauren could understand without being told, and she planned to make Cory's day the best she possibly could.
"Now what did I tell you? This day is going to be a total surprise for you young lady. So get in my car and stop asking questions!" Cory smiled mischievously and held open the door for her.
"Yes, sir!" She answered with a laugh, and got into the passenger seat. Cory walked around the car, got in and drove off.
What followed was one of the greatest days Lauren or Cory could ever remember having. They went on a grand tour of Philly, seeing some of the best sights the city had to offer. They started off at the Liberty Bell, and then headed to the Navy shipyard and museum. For lunch Cory took Lauren to Charlie's Cheese Steak, where he claimed they made the best Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches in the U.S. of A. After lunch it was on to the Franklin Institute where they were able to recapture their youth and play with wild abandon, they stayed there until dinner. After dinner Cory had to take Lauren to the bus stop so she could catch the last bus home.
It was early in the evening when Cory and Lauren showed up at San's. Cory and Shawn had decided it would be easiest to meet at the restaurant. Though neither of them actually said it, both Cory and Lauren were a bit apprehensive about this dinner. "What was I thinking?" Cory wondered to himself "Asking Angela and Shawn to accept Lauren? Still, Shawn did say he supported me in this, and I do really want Lauren to get to know and be comfortable with my friends."
Cory held open the door for Lauren, and they entered the restaurant. Shawn flagged them down as they entered, and they walked over to join him and Angela at the table.
"Hi there, did you guys have fun today?" Shawn asked as Cory and Lauren sat down and began to look at the menu
"Cory took me on the grand tour of Philly". Lauren answered, "We had a wonderful time, isn't that right Cory?"
"Yea, we had a great time, I made sure she got to see all the sights. So Angela, how have you been? Did you and Shawn have a good day too?"
"It was ok, no better or worse than any other." Angela had decided that even if she had to be there, that didn't mean she had to do a lot of talking. Short, sweet, and to the point, that was how she planned to keep her responses.
"Do you remember Lauren?"
"Yes." Do I remember her?! She thought with scorn, is he nuts?
"Hi Angela, it's nice to see you again." Lauren smiled tentatively, the ice that was dripping off of Angela's words was almost real enough to reach out and touch.
Angela didn't bother to answer Lauren at all, and since no one was saying anything, Cory suggested they go ahead and order. Cory tried to keep up the small talk while they waited for their food to arrive, and then while they ate, but things were not going well. Angela was visibly angry at having to be there, Shawn was trying so hard to be cheerful for Cory and yet understanding of Angela's feelings that he ended up not saying hardly anything at all, and Lauren was so uncomfortable that she didn't know what to do with herself. Finally, in an attempt to escape for a second, she excused herself to the bathroom. As soon as she started walking away from the table though, Angela also excused herself and followed. All through the dinner from hell Angela had been seething, and she'd decided that she was going to speak her mind, Shawn or no Shawn. Unlike her boyfriend, Angela had never gotten close to Cory, and so she felt no alliance to him. Her friend, her best friend, was Topanga, and it was to her that Angela felt she owed something.
Lauren reached the bathroom only a few seconds before Angela. She had barely had time to walk through the door before Angela followed her in.
"Oh, hi" She said, "I didn't know you were coming in too."
"Well, I am, and girl, I have something I just have to say to you. Topanga is my best friend, and your coming here and taking Cory away from her was just wrong. Those two loved each other; they were destined to have a life together. "Your" boyfriend broke my best friends heart last night, and I don't know if she's ever going to get over it. How dare you come here and split up one of the greatest couples ever?" Angela let all her feelings out; she was going to tell this girl off, because Topanga was too nice to do it for herself. She knew that Topanga was planning to try and move on, but she still felt obligated to let this girl know what she had done.
For a second Lauren could only stare. She didn't know what to say. Knowing how much Cory wanted her to get along with his friends made her unwilling to really get angry and speak her mind, yet at the same time she couldn't believe that this girl who didn't even know her would be telling her off like that, and in public to boot! Well, it seemed Angela wasn't going to like her anyway, no matter what she said, so she might as well say what she was feeling.
"Angela, I don't know much about the relationship that your best friend had with MY boyfriend, all I know is that I met a wonderful guy that I really liked and who really seemed to like me too. I came to his hometown to see if his feelings for me matched mine for him, and was lucky enough that they did. Cory chose me of his own free will; I just made that choice possible. So please don't go blaming a break-up on me. I saw what I wanted and I went for it. I defy anyone, even you, not to do the same. If you don't like it, then I guess that's your problem, not mine."
"No, it is your problem, it became your problem when you came here and decided to steal Cory away if you possibly could." Angela was mad, really mad. Was it the similarities between her relationship with Shawn and Cory's with Topanga? Was it maybe that she'd never had a best friend before and consequently felt very strongly herself any wrongs done to that best friend? The reason behind her actions was something that she would wonder about for some time after what happened next, but at that moment she just knew that this situation made her want to do things she'd never done before. So, before she even consciously realized what was happening, she snapped, and shoved Lauren, hard. So hard in fact that Lauren was thrown across the bathroom and hit the back wall with a crash. She narrowly missed slamming her head into the brick, catching herself just in time with her right hand. Lauren heard her right wrist go crack, and a sharp pain shot down her arm.
Lauren cried out, and tears sprung up in her eyes as she pulled the damaged wrist in towards her chest, protectively cradling it with her other hand "What did I ever do to you?"
"You broke my best friends heart, and for that you deserve whatever you get". Angela answered. She knew in the back of her mind that she'd feel sorry later about what she'd just done, but right then all she felt was a dizzying since of triumph. Without even glancing in Lauren's direction, Angela stormed out of the bathroom. She reached the table and jerked Shawn to his feet. "Come on, we're leaving" she told him, "Cory, you can find your "girlfriend" in the bathroom, you might want to get her some help." Shawn and Cory exchanged confused glances, and headed in opposite directions, Shawn following Angela out the door and Cory going to find Lauren.
Well, now what's going to happen? How will Shawn respond when he learns about what Angela did? How bad did she hurt Lauren, and will Cory be able to sustain a relationship with a girl all of his friends don't like?