A/N: So-I have been working on this chapter for a while now. It's not happy-I refuse to apologize for something that should be a known fact by now, lol! I absolutely love this song, and I totally recommend you listen to it while reading this for the full effect. On a sidenote, this story is officially at the 100 page mark and has broken the 50,000 word mark. This is a real milestone for me, even if it is a collection of one-shots.

This was bound to happen

It was just a matter of time

This town is just too small

For us to really say goodbye

Santa Barbara wasn't a small town by any stretch of the imagination. However, when your ex-boyfriend is wondering around that town, it can't be big enough. Normal, everyday things, like grocery shopping becomes an almost unwanted chore. Juliet had seen Shawn from a distance numerous times in the six months since their break-up. Normally by now she'd be over it, and moved on with her life. Then again, Shawn Spencer wasn't a normal guy, and what she had felt for him had been so much more different than what she had felt for any other guys she had ever dated.

Juliet O'Hara was not one to admit to loving a lot of guys. In fact she could practically count on one hand how many guys she had actually muttered those words too. None of those guys had made her heart skip a beat like Shawn Spencer did. As goofy as he was, Shawn was also sweet and attentive, at least when no one else was around. Juliet knew from that first day back in Canada that Shawn would be one of her greatest loves, no matter how cheesy it sounded.

Of course with any relationship, they started to grow apart, until Juliet wasn't able to see the couple they used to be anymore. While they lived in the same house, they rarely saw each other, when they did an argument generally formed. After a while it was just far too obvious that things with them were far too different, that they had grown too far apart. On one particularly cold, rainy, Santa Barbara day, Juliet finally said the words that both of them were trying to deny. It was over, had been for a while, and they were just trying to keep up pretenses.

That had been six months ago, and it is just as hard for her today as it had been that day. Since then, they both tried to avoid each other. Juliet had thought about transferring back to Miami, but came to the conclusion that she wasn't uprooting her life for a man again. Shawn had left on his bike for a couple of months, and that had made things easier. Of course, she couldn't begrudge him for returning to his home. Since their break up, Shawn has refused every case that the chief has tried to get him to take on, barely making it by on private cases.

That's why it's so hard, so memorizing and hard. Standing in aisle three of the market, watching him look over cereal choices, oblivious to her presence. Taking a deep breath, Juliet moved forward making her presence known.

You're smiling that smile

That you get when you're nervous

Like you don't quite know what to do

But this is me you're talking to

"Jules!" Shawn smiled at her, his arms were down at his sides. They twitched slightly, as he brought one up to run a hand through his tousled hair.

"Hi, Shawn." Juliet faked a smiled as she moved toward Shawn. Her arms wound tightly around his midsection. Her head lay comfortably against his shoulder, as his arms wound around her waist pulling her closer. "I've missed you!"

Shawn pulled back from the hug first, looking slightly uncomfortable. "I missed you too, Jules." The smile still planted firmly on his lips.

It wasn't his normal, knee weakening smile, that had won her over in the first place. This was his nervous smile, and that in itself made Juliet nervous. They had been friends for years before they even started to date, and it broke her heart that they couldn't get back into at least some semblance of that friendship. Not that it didn't surprise her, it was the reason she had been so reluctant to date him in the first place. Juliet loved their friendship, since she didn't really have many friends in Santa Barbara.

"How was your trip?"

Shawn shrugged noncommittally. "It was nice, you know to get away from it all for a while. I'm just—not as young as I used to be. Santa Barbara's home."

Juliet couldn't believe what she as hearing. This Shawn Spencer sounded like an adult, like an actual living adult. Not the man-child he actually was. Though he did seem to act more adult-like when they were alone. Only a small handful got to see the real Shawn for what he was. Shawn liked to hide who he really was from most everyone, he even hid it from her for a while. Though she did get to see bits of pieces of who he is on occasion, but after they started to date was when she really got to see who he was.

"Well, I'm glad you came home. Santa Barbara just wasn't the same without Shawn Spencer around." Juliet smiled for real this time.

I've heard you met somebody

It didn't take you very long

And I'll admit it isn't easy

Knowing you've moved on

Shawn's cheeks flushed pink. "Yeah well, I missed messing with Lassie-face. How is good ol' Lassie, anyways?"

"Happy that the annoying thorn in his side is gone. That was a direct quote, just so you know." Juliet crossed her arms across her chest.

Shawn smiled brightly, flashing his white teeth. "Oh, then I am going to have a blast!"

"Shawn?" A female voice drifted down the aisle-way, and Juliet cocked an eyebrow. She couldn't help the hint of jealously that climbed up into the pit of her stomach.

"Hey, Beth." Shawn smiled, as he extended his hand to the closely approaching woman. Shawn turned back toward Juliet, an uncomfortable look on his face. "Jules, this is Beth, and vice versa."

"Hello, Beth." Juliet kept her voice neutral, even as the jealously spread through her body like a wildfire. It just wasn't her place to get jealous of any woman that Shawn would want to date. Though she could admit that it was painful for her to know he had already moved on.

"Hello, Jules." Juliet's hands were balled into fists tucked under her arms. That nickname was reserved for Shawn, and Shawn alone. No one, especially not some skank, would call her that. Forcing herself to keep her smile plastered on her face, she carefully extended a hand toward the woman standing before her. It took everything in her to keep it from shaking, but with enough control she shook Beth's hand.

"Hey, babe. Go grab some pineapple?"

Beth smiled at him, before kissing his lips. Juliet forced herself to look away from the scene, as she sized up the other woman. Her hair was a light brown and cascaded down her back in small curls. Her eyes were a fiery green color, and her lips protruded out a little further than normal to give her the effect of constantly pouting. Overall, she was a very beautiful woman, though Juliet hoped that perhaps Beth wasn't quite as beautiful as Juliet.

Shawn turned back toward Juliet, his eyes downcast as he kicked at an imaginary clump of dirt. "So—I should have said something earlier." Shawn's hazel eyes looked up at her through his eyelashes.

But I can see

How you could make any woman

Fall deep in love with you

This is me you're talking to

Juliet clamped down hard on the jealously that overwhelmed her. Shawn Spencer wasn't hers anymore, no matter how much her heart seemed to think he was. Her head hung for a moment as she tried to put her mask securely back into place. Lifting her head, she offered him a small smile.

"No you didn't, Shawn. It's not like I earned to know anything about your life. Not anymore." No amount of trying could keep her voice from breaking at the end. Batting her eyelashes, Juliet was able to keep her tears firmly in place.

Shawn reached out a hand and ran his thumb against her cheek. Though she tried to keep her emotions in check, Juliet could feel her mask slip only slightly when his thumb came in contact with her skin. It was akin to an electric shock to her emotional system. It shot straight through her heart and down her spine. Every ounce of her being wanted to lean into that touch, but she bit her tongue and stood perfectly still.

"I hate that I'm hurting you, Jules." His voice was a soft, husky whisper. His hazel eyes were staring holes through her blue orbs.

Juliet swallowed thickly, forcing the lump in her throat to at least bob up and down. "It's not your fault, Shawn."

He smiled sadly at her. "But it is. I knew I was hurting you, Jules. I knew that I was holding back, and it was because I was scared. Living together—that was a big step for me, Jules. I'm not stupid, I knew where the next logical step was leading, and just thinking about it. Just thinking about proposing—it made me unable to breath." He sighed, his eyes downcast. "I was scared, because I loved you so much. I was afraid of what marrying you meant, and what it would mean if our marriage didn't last. I wasn't exactly brought up in a warm and cuddly home, ya know. I didn't want to lose you." He looked up, the look of utter sadness on his face nearly crumbled Juliet's facade of indifference. "I lost you anyway. Now—we're just so-" He sighed, running a hand through his perfectly sculpted hair. "I'll never, not love you, Juliet."

The use of her full first name was like a stab to her heart. He rarely called her by her first name, except toward the end of their relationship. Her first name was now attributed to pain, heartache, fighting, and screaming. So hearing him say that now, looking at her with eyes so full of emotion. So—unlike Shawn. Juliet was confused and hurting and she didn't understand what he was trying to tell her.

"What are you saying, Shawn?" Juliet could no longer keep her voice from breaking, nor could she keep the tears inside any longer.

His hand reached out again as he cupped her cheek. "I'm just saying that—I still love you. I probably always will. You were what I never thought I wanted, and what I always needed. I screwed that up, and I know it. It's fine. I've been able to dust myself off and move on. At least as well as I ever could. Beth is no Juliet O'Hara-" Shawn smiled softly. "But she makes me happy. At least I think she does." He nodded his head. "I'm fairly certain I can be happy with Beth. Even if my heart will always be pining after the one that got away." Shawn cringed as a particular memory floated back to the forefront of his mind. "By the way, Juliet. Abigail was never the one that got away. She was the one that never was—well-for a while-" Shawn sighed softly. "I am horrible at this." He laughed lightly, as his head shook. "What I'm trying to say is that Abby couldn't be the one that got away, because that title belongs to you solely." Leaning forward, Shawn kissed Juliet's cheek. "Promise me you'll be happy, because it'll kill me if you never move on."

Juliet nodded her head numbly, as she flashed back to a movie theater after a particularly grueling case. A kiss on the cheek, a weak smile, and then she had disappeared. Only this time, it was in reverse. She was the one receiving the kiss and smile. Just as she felt her cheeks enough to smile back, his back was turned, and a hushed whisper of "Goodbye, Juliet" could be heard as he walked slowly back down the aisle and away from Juliet.