1986

The rain pours down in torrents, effectively creating a gray sheet that's difficult to see through. Most of the children at school are huddled inside, waiting for their parents to come rushing in with an umbrella. The students who aren't huddling inside, for the most part, have their umbrellas with them and have seen their parents' cars.

Shawn Spencer is one of the children who doesn't have an umbrella and isn't waiting inside.

He knows his dad will roll his eyes and probably provide some sort of lecture as to why he should take care not to get wet so that he doesn't ruin the seats in the truck that's older than Shawn himself, but it's fun to play in the rain, and they've had a huge drought this year. Despite the fact that he's dancing around in the rain, effectively ignoring Gus whisper-shouting at him to get his butt inside, he does take care to avoid the big puddles. His mom got him these brand-new shoes for his birthday, and he wants to mess them up as little as possible.

Gus is steeling himself to run outside to grab Shawn when Henry Spencer's truck pulls up next to the school. Henry narrows his eyes at his dripping wet son, but jerks his head for Shawn to get in the car. Shawn turns around, waves goodbye to Gus, and scrambles inside the truck.

"Shawn," Henry says, shaking his head, "why do you always have to play in the rain? Can't you just wait until you're home to do so?"

Shawn wedges his backpack in between his dad and himself. His wet shirt sticks to his back, and his jeans are dripping. A shiver runs up his spine, and goosebumps start lining his arms. He shivers, and his teeth click together. "I-I don't know when it'll stop raining, so I play in the rain when it's p-pouring."

Henry sighs and pulls out of the parking lot. "One of these days, you're going to catch pneumonia, and I will tell your mother that it was all your fault."

Shawn grins at him. "She'll still take me to the doctor."

Henry glances at him and smirks. "Yeah, but you'll have to get all these different shots."

Shawn clamps his mouth shut.

The rain pounds hard on the roof of the truck as Shawn settles into shivering silence. Henry winces, briefly concerned that he somehow upset his son, but he's more concerned about getting Shawn nice and dry.

Shawn licks his lips. "Mrs. Benton said that we don't have any homework tonight, Dad."

Henry raises an eyebrow, but he keeps his eyes on the road. His poor old truck's windshield wipers can't keep up with the torrent of rain, no matter how high of a setting they're on. "Oh, yeah? What's that supposed to mean?"

Shawn shrugs and bites his thumbnail. "Maybe, when I get cleaned up, and after dinner, you, Mom, and I can watch a movie?"

Henry smirks and tries to squint through the windshield. He can't see a damned thing. "What makes you think that?"

"Well…" Shawn drawls, sheepishly glancing at his father. "I was thinking that we could since I don't have any homework?"

"Shawn, you know the rules: no movies during the school week." He's seriously considering pulling over until the storm subsides.

"But Daaaa–"

Before Shawn can finish his complaint, another car spins into them. As soon as Henry feels the contact, he throws out his right arm to push Shawn back into his seat. His truck skids, spins. Shawn's screaming. Henry can't see anything out of the window, but a shadow looms nearby. Henry grits his teeth, pulls his arm away from Shawn, and jerks the steering wheel away from the tree. Finally, finally, the truck comes to a halt, and Henry immediately throws it in park and turns to Shawn.

Shawn's eyes are wide with terror, and Henry notices the thin trail of blood running down the right side of Shawn's face.

"Hey, Shawn, look at me," he says, his voice soft and gentle. He gently grabs Shawn's face in his hands and takes a look at the small gash on Shawn's forehead. Shawn winces when Henry pushes Shawn's hair away and checks the cut, but it's not too deep – he can fix it up at home. Small wound aside, though, Henry needs to make sure that Shawn's okay. "Shawn, are you alright?"

Shawn licks his lips and nods slowly. "Y-yeah, I'm fine, Dad." His voice is tiny compared to Shawn's normal personality, and Henry sighs, unbuckles, and scoots closer to his son. Shawn stretches out his arms immediately, and Henry pulls Shawn into a hug.

"Once the storm lets up, we'll get home. As for now…what were you saying about watching a movie?"

Shawn grins against Henry's shoulder.