Diclaimer: I do not own Boy Meets World or its characters. They belong to Michael Jacobs and April Kelly. I'm just borrowing them.

Chapter 1: After the finale

Soft rays of sunlight creeping in through the blinds from the nearby window created ultraviolet stripes that covered the arm he'd draped across his abdomen. He'd spent the past couple of hours staring at the ceiling fan that rotated over his feet. His sky blue eyes had been fixated on the petals of the ceiling fan hoping that it'd clear his mind, but all he could see was her. He allowed gravity to pull his head to the left, so he could look at the alarm clock facing him on the small coffee table next to the couch. Quick math told him that he had a little more than twenty minutes to attempt to fall asleep again, before the alarm was set to go off, he shut his eyes and tucked his right hand behind his head.

He tried to recall a scene from the last movie or sitcom he'd seen to help relax his mind long enough to catch a least twenty consecutive minutes of sleep. Memories of the last movie he'd seen were repeatedly pushed aside by the face of an Angel. His Angel. His Angela.

The image of her was so crisp and clear. He felt as though he could touch her, hold her in his arms, feel the weight of her body on his, the sensation of her lips on his, the taste of her tongue, her subtle scent of lavendar and soap, and the sound of her voice whispering, 'I love you' in his ear. He could feel the soft touch of her fingers strumming through his short cinnamon brown locks, as the smile that warmed his heart lit her face. The moment felt so real that he quietly uttered. "Don't ever leave."

She whispered sweetly into his ear. 'I won't.'

He took a deep breath that hollowed his chest before releasing a shaky exhale that turned into a whisper of. "I love you." He felt her fingertips float down to trace the side of his face.

Their eyes met and she smiled reassuringly. 'I love you too.'

Her image gradually faded from his thoughts, and a heavy weight seemed to build over his chest. A single tear slid down the side of his cheek as he opened his eyes. "Angela." He mumbled under his breath as if to summon her back to him. The alarm blared sooner than he anticipated and disappointment washed over his brooding face. He turned to look at it for a minute before slamming his hand down on the clock, immediately turning it off. He tossed the covers off of him and peeled himself off the sofa and into a seated position.

"Shawn," Topanga strutted into the living room dressed and ready for work. "I'm glad you're up, because we need to talk." She fanned out three sheets of unfolded notebook paper filled with handwriting on the front and back of each page. "I checked the mail yesterday…"

"Not now Topanga," Shawn growled while snatching the comforter from the couch, quickly covering the boxers that felt more snug in the front than they did when he put them on the night before. "It's too early and I'm not in the mood alright?" He grumbled while rubbing his hands up and down over his face.

"No, it's not alright." She snapped back. "Shawn, I finally got a letter back from Angela." She stuck her left hand at her hip while tossing the papers on the coffee table with the other hand. "She obviously never received any of the letters that I gave you to send her." A curious frown emerged on her face and she pushed the items on the coffee table over, so she could sit across from him. "What's going on?"

He rested his elbows at his knees and watched his hands rub against each other. "Nothing."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Come on Shawn, this is me you're talking to. I've been thinking about all of times I've asked for her number and you either forget to give it to me or you changed the subject without me realizing it." Topanga covered his clasped hands with her right hand. "I haven't been worried about you since Angela left, because I thought you were keeping in touch with her and she'd just been too busy to get in touch with me. Come to find out…"

"Look," He dropped his hands from hers before looking up at her with sincerity in his eyes. "I'm sorry I lied to you. I'm sorry I held your letters, and I'll give them back to you so you can mail them to Angela yourself." He burrowed his brows. "I didn't send them, because I don't want you and Cory forcing us back together."

"But, Shawn…"

He stood up, stepping over her feet as he began making his way out of the room.

"She has messages for you in this letter." She stood up and watched him walk toward the hallway. "She wanted me to tell you that she misses you."

He froze where he stood, bowed his head and closed his eyes and allowed the pain to wash over him.

"She said that she loves you and she's worried about you." Topanga picked up the pages of the letter and held it out for him to come back and grab. "She's wondering why she hasn't heard from any of us in all this time, and she wanted me to ask you to call her."

Shawn's chest became tight, and he felt like he was struggling to breathe. "I know." He slowly turned around to look at Topanga. "I never opened the other letters she sent. I only read the last letter, because I thought something might be wrong." His eyes welled against his will and his head subtly moved side to side, as he dropped his hands to his thighs. "Topanga, I can't talk to her. Every time I think about her, it tears me up and leaves me raw on the inside. So, there's no way I can bring myself to call her. She's the only woman I've ever loved, and….She left me." He shrugged. "And as painful as it is…I have to move on, and so does she."

"It doesn't seem like she wants to move on, Shawn." Topanga gently rattled the papers in front of him, trying to prompt him to take them. "It's not over for her. She hasn't given up on your relationship."

"Not yet." He turned around and walked down the hallway.

"Angela!" A tall, caramel coated cutie with dimples and a sexy smile called out in a heavy French accent, as he stood up and rolled his wrist in a circular motion. "Over here!"

A sweet smile graced her face as she made her way through the crowded French café. She gently pushed passed the small diverse groups of readers, poets, laptop addicts, bloggers, and coffee sipping gossip junkies. Until making her way to the four-foot high table standing in the middle of her European friends. She hugged Sasha, a sassy blonde with doe shaped brown eyes, dimples, and medium frame that stood about three inches taller than Angela. She then hugged, Monique, a pretty brunette with silky jet black hair extending past her shoulders, smooth milky skin, and deep blue eyes that popped no matter what she was wearing. Angela slid her books onto the tabletop before perching herself up on the barstool next to Jean-Luke.

Jean-Luke paused for a moment with open arms before frowning at Angela. "What about me?"

Angela tilted her head to the side and smiled. "I'd hug you, but you have far too many hands for me to keep up with."

Monique rolled her eyes and shook her head while using her straw to stir the ice around in her drink. "So true."

"Don't keep up with them. Let them roam and see where they go." He placed his right hand on the small of her back while light brushing the back of his left hand across her cheek. "This, I'm okay with."

"Keep these to yourself, Luke" Angela pushed his arm out from behind her back and the other one from her face while smiling politely. "I'd hate for you to pull one back and it's broken."

"Okay" He eased his hands behind his back. "What about a kiss between friends?"

"I have a boyfriend." She chuckled while looking at Sasha and then Monique. "Why doesn't that translate?"

"Because, I enjoy your smile." Jean-Luke claimed the stool next to Angela's and leaned in closer to her. "I want to make you smile all of the time."

"Awe," She tilted her head to the side and smiled. "That's really sweet, but I already told you." She made a concerted effort to look him in the eyes. "I have a boyfriend."

"Oui, oui…Zohan, in the states." Jean-Luke bobbed his head while pulling his laptop out of its bag. "The one you haven't heard from since you got here."

She whipped around and threw up the index finger on her right hand. "First off, it's Shawn!" She narrowed her brows as her temperature rose. "And second: That's none of your business."

Jean-Luke glanced down at his laptop before looking back at her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." He placed his hand on the small of her back. "I just meant…"

"I know what you meant." Her eyes shifted down to his arm without turning her head. His eyes moved to where hers were and he quickly moved his hand. Angela turned her attention back to her book. "We have a paper to write."

"Hey Jean," Sasha placed the eraser end of her pencil at the corner of her mouth and flirtatiously smiled. "Pouvez-vous nous un peu de café s'il vous plait?"

"Oui, four of them." Monique held up four fingers and waved them. "Merci."

"Oui, four coffees." Jean-Luke sneered as he slipped off of his barstool. "Anything else I can get for you..eh-um…Ladies? As I seem to be the…uh" He glanced at the ceiling for a second. "Go-for-it man."

"Gopher" Angela chuckled.

"It is the same, no?" He smirked before walking away.

"Okay, now that he's gone." Sasha folded her arms on top of the round black table. "Have you heard back from anyone in the states yet?"

"No," Angela sunk down in her seat and bowed her head. "And I don't understand it." Her head remained down as she begun fidgeting with her fingers. "I mean I figured out that Topanga got the internship in New York after I got the letters back with her forwarding address, but then I started getting Shawn's letters back with his forwarding address being the same as Topanga's. All of that took a month or two to get straightened out. Okay, I get that." She sat up and folded her arms on top of the open book while taking turns looking at Sasha and then Monique. "(Sigh,) I prayed that Shawn would take the year apart in stride and keep in touch like we agreed to do, but I'm afraid that…" She shook her head before looking off to the side at nothing in particular, getting lost in thought.

"It's been what? Nearly four months?" Monique politely touched Angela's hand and spoke as sympathetically as she could. "Don't you think he's seeing someone else?"

Sasha's eyes widened as she turned to look at her friend. "Monique!"

"That's what guys do…you know…" Monique slowly raised her shoulders while rolling her wrist. "When they act like this way."

"No," Angela turned to look at Monique and the pain in her eyes was evident. "Promises were made and I trust him to keep them." She fought to tame the burning and stinging building in her eyes. "I just wish I could talk to him." She opened her arms while glancing at the ceiling and scoffed. "I just don't understand. Why I haven't at least heard from Topanga by now?"

"Eric, wait up will ya?" Shawn peered through his professional grade photographer's camera to get a shot of a couple of kindergarten aged kids playing with the bottle of bubbles that Eric gave them. A small grin flashed on Shawn's face after he got the perfect shot of the little boy in awe of the larger than normal bubble he'd just blown just as the little girl giggled when her finger got a centimeter away from popping it. "Okay, now she's trying to bite them." Shawn chuckled. "Gosh Eric, she could be yours."

Eric scurried over to them, scooped up the little girl and spun her around. "Recess is over!" He brought her back down the ground and watched her and the other kids start running to the building. "Slow down and line up!" He shouted while watching them come to a halt, a few at a time. "So, do you and Angela ever talk about having kids?"

"Yeah," Shawn hung his camera bag over his shoulder and watched the asphalt disappear from under his feet. "We..um..eh-um…we wanted two." He cleared his throat and narrowed his brows trying not to get choked up.

"A boy and a girl?" Eric smiled while watching the kids line up single file with their left hands in the air and their right index finger up in a shushing manner, in front of their closed mouths.

"No preference, just two healthy kids. So, they grow up always having each other." Shawn brought his redden eyes up to meet Eric's. "You're doing a great thing at this community center, Eric. I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks" Eric playfully slapped Shawn on the side of the arm. "And thanks for using the kids in your advertisement. I hope it'll bring some much needed attention here."

"Me too." Shawn walked behind Eric and the kids on Eric's team. "Will any of this time count towards classroom time?"

"No," Eric shook his head. "But, if I do a great job here they'll recommend me to one of the schools. I'll get some classroom time, some subbing gigs and I'll still get to hang out with these rugrats."

"Heeeey!" An adorable little girl in curly pigtails stuck her hands at her hips and tilted her head to the side while frowning at Eric. "I am not Angelica!"

Eric lifted his brows and corrected himself with a serious expression. "No, you're more like Tommy."

"Tommy's a boy!" She sternly stated while crossing her arms over her chest. "And now I'm just not going to be your friend for five minutes."

"Awe, Sofie." Eric fell to his knees and whined. "Five minutes is like forever!" He clasped his hands together and pleaded. "I can't have you mad at me for…forever."

"Okay," She giggled. "But, you'll have to give me a piggy back ride."

"How 'bout you give me a piggy back ride in a minute?" He smiled while getting back up to stand on his feet. He glanced at Shawn and smirked. "I always wanted a pony."

Shawn turned his head to face Eric's, tilted it back in a nod in unison with Eric's, raised his brows and smiled.

Sofie shouted in her sassy way. "You're too big!"

"Nah, we'll throw a saddle on you and it'll be fine." He nonchalantly added before watching her shake her head and walk away. He turned back to Shawn who had been staring at the same tile since they'd stopped walking.

Shawn lightly scratched the bottom of his beard that he'd obviously neglected for the past few days. "I'm going to head out."

Eric kicked his head back while trying to hide his worried expression. "Are you coming home at a decent hour tonight or are you gonna keep avoiding Cory?"

"I'm not avoiding Cory." Shawn glanced at the tiled floor for a second before looking off to the side at nothing in particular. "It's just that between this work-study program I'm doing at the advertising agency this year, and the full-time classes I'm taking at the University. I've just been so busy..."

"He's your best friend." Eric flatly stated.

"He is." Shawn nodded. "But, we can't live in that one bedroom apartment with him and Topanga forever." He looked back at Eric. "I'll catch up with Cory when our schedules do." He flashed a half-hearted smile. "Besides, you seem to be well rested lately and that works for you." He pointed at Eric and chuckled. "I'm thinking it's because you've been sleeping on my air mattress."

"Yeah" Eric bobbed his head a couple of times. "Talk to Cory."

"I'll see you later." Shawn waved his hand once from left to right before exiting the building.

A light tapping of knuckles hitting the glass door of Topanga's small office prompted her to raise her head. She threw her index finger up, bowed her head and continued sifting through the numerous stacks of papers on her desk while continuing to speak to the person on the other end of the phone.

"Topanga." Cory softly called out, only to be answered by the same index finger that originally greeted him. "I stopped by to take you to dinner."

Topanga lifted her head and shot him a scolding glare that screamed 'are you kidding me?' She flung her hand forward and moved it in a back and forth motion, before continuing to search through the paperwork on her overcrowded desktop. "Yes, Mr. Simon. You'll have it by the close of business today." She hung up the phone and exhaled deeply. "Cory, I'm working."

"You're always working." Cory stepped into the office and sat down in the chair directly in front of her desk. "I haven't seen you in days."

"Honey, I'm only here four hours a day, two days a week." She explained without stopping the flow of her work. "And I should remind you that this is not one of those two days." She pushed herself back from her desk to make it a little easier to find what she was looking for. "I'm working today, because…" She lifted a piece of paper and breathed a sigh of relief that she'd finally found the document she was looking for. "Someone left a ton of files on my desk and I have to put them together and up to one of the Partners before I leave today." She frowned in thought. "What were you saying?"

"Dinner" Cory quickly reiterated. "I was asking if you'd go to dinner with me."

"I don't have time." Topanga unintentionally snapped.

"Don't get an attitude, alright." Cory leaned forward and became serious. "I haven't seen you in days and I miss you. I just want to spend some time with my wife who has to eat at some point this evening. That's all."

"I'm sorry, but I can't do this with right now." Topanga began organizing the sheets of paper scattered across her desk. "I promise that I will spend time with you as soon I can, but in the meantime.." Her eyes shifted around the room in search of missing file. "Why don't you hang out with Shawn?"

"Shawn?" Cory frowned. "Shawn who? He's been busier than you. I haven't seen him in over a week." He scratched his head at his sudden revelation. "You know what I can't understand?" He rubbed his smooth chin. "There's four of us sharing a one bedroom apartment and the only person I ever see is me." He stood up and began pacing. "Eric spends all of his free time at the Community Center, Shawn's working and going to school, you're working and going to school and what do I have?" He flattened his hand on her desk, leaned forward and growled. "Nothing and no one."

"You're going to school too." She quickly added.

"Yeah, but my workload's not has intense as yours or Shawn's." Cory sulked.

"Honey, I would love to delve into the Coryland…where over-reacting prevails, but…" She raked her fingers through her long golden brown locks in an attempt to control her frustration. "Again…I don't have time."

"Okay, okay…" He nodded while making his way to the door. "My wife doesn't have time for me. My best friend doesn't have time for me…" He threw his hand up and let it come down to hit his thigh as he made his way out of the door. "Eric doesn't even have time for me." He muttered under his breath. "Maybe I'll call Feeney. He'll have time for me."