DISCLAIMER: I do not own Psych or any of its characters, I just like writing their untold stories. I also do not own Avenged Sevenfold or their song 'Seize the Day'. No copyright infringement is intended.
AN: Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark...EPIC!!!!! Also, this is an apology for not posting that new story after 'In the Midst...' like I said I would. I've hit a snag in the production line but I should be back in order by next week and possibly have the first few chapters posted the week after that. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this! Unbeta'd so all mistakes that lay within are of my own oopsie.
-Squeedle

Carpe diem.

Seize the day.

Capture the ever diminishing flame known as life and keep it burning for as long as you possibly can. Just take the bull by the horns, as they say. But how does one actually go about 'seizing the day'? It's not as if we can just scoop up precious or life-changing moments in a glass jar to keep as our own. We as human beings can't possibly snatch up certain points in time and just place them on our mantel to show off to guests and the like. There is not a snowball's chance in hell that we can 'seize the day' because the moments in which to seize are the smallest and rarest sands within the hourglass of life. To the untrained eye these moments don't seem any different than any other moment in time. These split seconds are hard to see if you don't look at them correctly. So in reality, seizing the day is about the equivalent to trying to catch smoke…attempts are fruitless.

At least that's what Carlton thought. Before…

***

Earlier that day

"So…'Detective' huh?" Shawn said letting a small smirk grace his lips. Carlton would've seen that smirk, would've battled it with his patented 'Lassiter Scowl' had it not been for the fact that he was unable tear his gaze away from the sling nestling Shawn's left arm. It had been two weeks since the day that resulted in that sling.

"Slip of the tongue Spencer." Carlton grunted. His words might've had more of an impact had he put any of his normal heat into his tone. Instead it just sounded staged, laced with a monotone air.

He blames it all on the damned sling. He can't seem to stop staring at it, glaring as if it had offended him in some way. Perhaps it had. He doesn't know why though. It's not as if it was his fault or anything. He's not the one who shot the 'psychic' despite how many times he had threatened to.

"Oh Lassie, denial is but a river in Egypt and you, my friend, are swimming through it without your floaties." Shawn said as he leaned against the wall.

This time Carlton didn't need to look away from the sling to know that he was smirking and for some strange reason he felt anger well up in his chest. Did Shawn not care about what happened? Did he see nothing life-altering about it?

"How can you be so nonchalant about it all? Fuck Spencer, you almost got yourself killed!"

That's when Carlton finally tore his gaze from the sling and what he saw made his heart stop for just the tiniest fraction of a second. Shawn's hair was askew, in even more disarray than it usually was and he looked a great deal thinner than he had two weeks ago. His eyes though were what made his breath catch in his throat. The eyes that were once vibrant and alive no longer shined with their usual liveliness, no longer held their usual gleam of mischief. They were dull and sunken deep into their sockets surrounded by dark bags. Carlton could do nothing but stand there and take it all in.

"You think I don't know that Carlton."

Shawn's soft but venomous tone took Carlton off guard and he was in no way prepared for what followed.

"You think I don't know how stupid it was? How much pain and worry I put people through in the span of less the twenty-four hours? You think I don't know that I pretty much signed my death certificate that day?" As quickly as Shawn's deadly tone had came it left and in its wake was something much, much worse.

"I've barely eaten in days because I can't seem to keep anything down. I've hardly slept in days because every time I close my eyes I see a bullet hurdling towards me. I can remember every single little thing about it all and it won't go away. Hell, within the passed two weeks I've called Gus forty-six times just to hear someone else, to know I'm really still alive. The only thing that's been keeping me semi-sane is knowing that you guys had my back the whole time, knowing that you guys didn't give up…"

Carlton had to strain to hear what Shawn said next.

"…Knowing that you didn't give up."

Never before had Carlton heard Shawn speak with such helplessness, such…vulnerability. It actually pained him to hear it. Shawn struck him as the type of person to just go through life without a care or fear in the world. It was almost surreal to see him like this. He stood there looking into Shawn's eyes trying to figure him all out. Those eyes held fear, apprehension, and…love? Before Carlton knew what he was doing he surged forward, took Shawn's face in his hands, and closed the distance.

"You annoy, and sometimes scare, the hell out of me Shawn…but I'd never give up on you." He whispered against Shawn's lips and had it not been so silent in the room Shawn wouldn't have heard him.

***

Presently

Carlton woke to the smell of coffee mixed with hints of pancakes and bacon. It confused him at first until he remembered what had happened the night before. After the kiss Carlton took Shawn to his house. Sex wasn't a factor because they'd both felt it wasn't exactly the time to be rushing into anything. No, they just curled up on the couch staring at the blank TV. They laid there on the couch in silence until Shawn drifted to sleep leaving Carlton to watch him for as long as he deemed fit. Carlton had wanted to fall asleep well before that but he didn't dare doze off until he knew for sure that Shawn was asleep and getting the rest he desperately needed. Slowly though Carlton felt himself being pulled into a blissful slumber.

"Mornin'" Carlton mumbled through a yawn as he walked up behind Shawn.

Shawn turned to face him and gave him a quick peck on his cheek before turning back to the stove. It happened quickly but it gave Carlton enough time to take in Shawn's appearance. He looked exceptionally better than he did the night before. He still had the bags under his eyes and he still looked way too thin for Carlton's liking but that didn't matter, those things he knew would be remedied soon enough. The thing that put a proud smile on Carlton's face was the change in Shawn's eyes. They didn't look so lost and dull anymore. They were bright and green and…alive.

Shawn's spark was back and Carlton vowed to never let it fade away again.

~*~

Seize the day or die regretting the time you've lost.

Wow so…I actually like this one which is weird because normally I'd be apologizing right about now for the crappiness of it all. I've noticed something about my Carlton voice though. Unless I'm trying to be a tease with it he ends up coming off as some sappy romantic and stuff. It doesn't seem very Carlton but it always ends up making its way in there. Eh, I guess I have to work on my Carlton a bit more. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed as much as I enjoyed writing it!

-Squeedle