Hannah looked around the zoo. "Eric, how did I let you talk me into this?
If my best friend dies, it's on your head..." she scowled.
"Shawn wouldn't...and couldn't...hurt her physically..." Eric shook his head.
"That's nice to say...although he is scrawny..." Hannah laughed. "But, Abigail is a freaking toothpick."
"If she's a toothpick, than what are you?" Eric asked, raising an eyebrow.
"A big 'ol tree!" Hannah held her arms out.
"Oh, right..." Eric nodded. "You're a tree...uh huh...if you're a tree, then what is Topanga?"
"ENOUGH with the COMPARISONS...Eric!" she stomped. "Let me have some fun!"
"Oh, here comes Shawn..." Eric pointed.
"Oh, what's my line again?" Hannah asked.
"Ha ha..." Eric mocked. "'When's Cory getting here?'" he repeated her line to her.
"Oh, right..." Hannah nodded. "Why did you write a script to begin with?" she asked.
"For my lovely line forgetter!" he kissed Hannah's cheek.
"That's me, right?" Hannah beamed.
"Hey trailor boy, what's up?" Eric asked Shawn.
"Hey, when's Cory getting here?" Shawn asked.
"He stole my line!" Hannah yelled.
"Line?" Shawn raised an eyebrow.
"Uh..." Eric thought. "She's obsessed with that line you're standing on...long story..." he shook his head.
"Uh, sure..." Shawn stepped off the line. "Here ya go, Hannah..."
"Thank you..." Hannah was on the verge of laughing herself to tears.
"Now, as I was asking, when is Cory getting here?" Shawn asked again.
"Cory's not coming...he went somewhere with Bailey..." Eric lied. "We called someone to replace him."
"Who, Jack?" Shawn asked.
"No..." Eric shook his head.
Hannah was about to die laughing.
"What is so funny?" Shawn asked. "Did I miss something?"
"Everything's great, Shawn..." Eric explained. "Thanks for coming, by the way..."
"No problem..." Shawn shrugged.
Abigail walked around the corner. "Hey Eric, hey Hannah, hey...Shawn...?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Abigail?" Shawn asked. "Eric..." Shawn looked at Eric.
"I needed the help...those cages are heavy man!" Eric complained.
"Whatever," Abigail sighed. "I'm fine with it, if you are, Shawn."
"Yeah, I'm fine..." Shawn shrugged.
"Your jacket is in my car, by the way. I've been meaning to bring that to you..." Abigail told him.
"Thanks," Shawn spoke as little as possible. "So, Eric, what do you need us for?"
"These three cages...you and Abigail get the side by the door, and Hannah and I will get the other side..." Eric explained.
"Ok," Abigail nodded. "I'll get the one over here," she pointed to the end closest to her. "Ok, Shawn?"
"Fine," Shawn nodded.
As Shawn was walking by the door of the cage, Eric pushed him in quickly, and grabbed Abigail by the arm, and pushed her in too, slamming the door behind her.
"Eric!" Shawn ran to the door. "Let us out of here!"
Abigail followed Shawn. "Come on, Eric! This isn't funny!"
"We'll let you out when you're happily kissing and in love again," Hannah explained.
Abigail shook the bars of the cage. "ERIC! HANNAH!" she yelled. "Come on!"
Eric and Hannah pulled a blue tarp over the cage, filling it with a blue glow. "See you later," Eric yelled.
"Just great," Shawn kicked the wall.
"Gee, thanks Shawn. You act like you just lost something important to you..." Abigail took offense.
"Is this very dignified, Abigail?" Shawn threw his hands into the air. "Excuse me if I find my self-respect very important to me!"
"Well, excuse me!" she scoffed.
"Don't get that attitude with me!" he raised his voice.
"What are you gonna do?" Abigail put her hands on her hips.
Shawn sat down. "Nothing." He scowled. "Absolutely nothing."
"So, we're just going to sit here, silent?" Abigail asked. "And then never speak to one another after we leave?"
"If you want it that way," he tilted his head. "Then, it's fine with me."
"I'd really prefer not," Abigail looked at him. "I still care about you, Shawn."
Shawn ignored her comment. "What have you been doing?" he struck up a conversation instead.
She sniffled back a tear. "Hanging out with Jeffrey..." she felt the tears welling up. "I saw a 'set it and forget it' commercial...it made me think of you..."
There wasn't a thing that didn't make Shawn think of Abigail. Even ice cream made him thing of her, because of the food fight. "Really?" he laughed. "Hey, you know you didn't have to leave Eric's yesterday..."
"I did..." she nodded. "It's too..." she stopped. "I just did, ok?" she knew in her mind that he didn't care.
Shawn frowned. He still cared so much about her, and he wanted to take her in his arms, and make all the pain go away. "Uh..." he thought. "I got a letter from Angela..."
"Great," Abigail pretended to be happy.
"Not really..." Shawn frowned. "She kinda dumped me..."
"Oh...Shawn, I'm sorry." Abigail tried not to feel sympathy, but she couldn't help it. "I know how you feel for her..."
"Hey, I'll plow on..." he held back tears.
"Yeah," Abigail's animosity toward Shawn was fading. "I'm sure girls are falling all over you..."
"I used to be like that," Shawn chuckled at his younger days, when a commitment was a two week relationship. "I don't think I could name off every girl I've dated..."
"Really?" Abigail asked. "When did that fade?"
"When I met Angela..." he sighed. "She changed me a lot. What were you like when you were a kid?"
"I was really shy. I never talked to anyone, except Hannah and Bailey. And I literally, never had a date. The first time I ever hung out with a guy was in eleventh grade, and that was Johnny." She sneered at that name.
"You dated that sleaze bag?" Shawn asked. "Wow. I thought you'd be the type of girl that only dated the Cory's of the world..."
"I pay no attention to class, Shawn." Abigail shook her head. "Never have."
"It's like my dad always told me... 'Money don't make ya rich, live makes ya rich...'" Shawn quoted his dad.
"What happened to your dad?" she leaned forward.
"He, uh, had a heart attack in 1998." Shawn cleared his throat.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Abigail put her hand over her mouth. "What about your mom?"
"The woman I thought was my mom you mean? She abandoned my father and I..." Shawn looked down. "But then, I found out she wasn't even my mom a couple years ago. I found my real mother online, and tried to contact her, but she would have no part in it." Shawn explained. "It scarred me so badly, that I started drinking." He sighed. "But thank God for Cory, or else I'd still be on that path..."
Abigail was aghast. "Oh, Shawn, I'm so sorry..." she was tearing up.
"I was basically alone all the time. Even when my dad was alive, he was always out drinking. When he came home drunk, I'd follow him around the house, cleaning up whatever he knocked over, or wherever he puked. I was a latchkey kid..." he was on the verge of tears. "But I admit, I'd give almost anything to have my dad here with me again, even though he was never there..."
"I'm sorry, Shawn..." Abigail slid a little closer to him.
"What about you?" he changed the subject.
"My dad is never home either, as you know." Abigail shook her head. "He's always offering to take me places with him, but I never want to go. I've been basically everywhere there is. But, yeah, when he does come home, he's always too tired, or too busy to even waste a second talking to me." She nodded. "The only person I have around to talk to, or to ask for advice is Jeffrey. But, I guess, I'd be living in an side street somewhere, if he wasn't gone all the time..." she shrugged.
"But, it'd be nice to have him around to talk to, huh?" Shawn asked.
"Yeah," she nodded. "My mom left us when I was eight months old. She never wrote, never called, never had any contact with me, so I don't know what she's like. I'd love to have a mother figure, but I never have."
"When my dad went on a personal vendetta to find my mom when I was in seventh grade, so I lived with my English teacher, Mr. Turner. He basically raised me..." Shawn grinned. "He's a lot like me. I spent so much of my time at Cory's, though." Shawn shrugged. "I did have a father and mother figure, now that I think of it. I always had Mr. Turner, and the Matthews'."
"See, you're lucky." Abigail nodded. "I didn't even have that..." she sniffled.
"But they're not my parents. I was fortunate enough to have them, and my teacher Mr. Feeny, who always moved up a teaching grade whenever Cory, Topanga and I moved up a grade, which is pretty weird...but, yeah, nothing beats your real parents..." Shawn sighed.
"I couldn't agree more..." Abigail slid over beside Shawn. "What about Angela, anyway? I mean, I know I've asked this so many times, but what made you fall in love with her?"
"She..." he thought for a second. "I don't really know what it was...but, it was like, she walked across the room, and I knew..."
Abigail nodded. "That's sweet."
"But, now..." Shawn felt his eyes well up with tears. "Everything is gone. I mean, I never had a mother, or a father, and the only real thing I knew is gone..." he swallowed back the lump in his throat.
"Don't be afraid to let it out, Shawn..." Abigail hugged him. "I won't turn away, I promise."
Shawn looked into her eyes. "I know..." he swallowed another lump in his throat, as he always had, but this one just didn't want to go down. He felt the tears, which were so familiar since Angela had left, welling up again, and couldn't hold them back much longer. He closed his eyes, and tried to push them back in, but wound up crying in front of Abigail, and crying in front of someone wasn't a very 'Shawn Hunter' thing to do.
Abigail wrapped her arms tightly around Shawn, and consoled him. "I know how you feel, Shawn. I mean, I know what it means to feel so alone that you don't think you're consolable. But, you always are. I'm always here for you..." she lay his head on her shoulder.
"Why did they all have to do this to me, Abbi?" he asked. "Everyone in my life has betrayed me, with the exception of Cory, Eric and you. I mean, I would be such a better person if they hadn't." he sniffled. "Don't you think so?"
"You are an amazing person, just the way you are, Shawn." She pushed him back a little, so she could look into his green eyes.
He hugged her again. "Thank you so much..."
"That's what I'm here for," Abigail returned Shawn's hug.
"You know, we're a lot alike," Shawn grinned. "We have a lot in common..."
"Yeah, we do." Abigail smiled.
"Kinda weird." Shawn thought for a second. 'What am I doing? Letting an angel like her pass me by? I mean, she's right here in front of me, and I'm just throwing it all away? No, I won't. I won't let this become another Angela case.' he told himself. Then, it just came out. "Abbi, I'm sorry." He looked at her. "I'm so sorry. I never, ever wanted to hurt you. I just want you to be happy. You deserve the world, and someone who can give you things!"
"I don't want 'things,' Shawn..." she shook her head. "I want someone to talk to me. Someone who'll always be there for me, no matter what. I want someone who'll love me..." she wanted to cry. "I have 'things,' but one thing I don't have is someone who's constantly there."
"And, you actually want me to be that?" he asked.
"Yes, more than anything. You showed me that not all guys are like Johnny." She put her hand on his. "You're the most amazing person I've even met..."
"And you are to me..." he grinned.
It was silent for a couple seconds, then Abigail gasped. "Eric's plan...it...worked..."
"Oh my God...there's a first time for everything, I guess..." Shawn laughed.
"Shawn wouldn't...and couldn't...hurt her physically..." Eric shook his head.
"That's nice to say...although he is scrawny..." Hannah laughed. "But, Abigail is a freaking toothpick."
"If she's a toothpick, than what are you?" Eric asked, raising an eyebrow.
"A big 'ol tree!" Hannah held her arms out.
"Oh, right..." Eric nodded. "You're a tree...uh huh...if you're a tree, then what is Topanga?"
"ENOUGH with the COMPARISONS...Eric!" she stomped. "Let me have some fun!"
"Oh, here comes Shawn..." Eric pointed.
"Oh, what's my line again?" Hannah asked.
"Ha ha..." Eric mocked. "'When's Cory getting here?'" he repeated her line to her.
"Oh, right..." Hannah nodded. "Why did you write a script to begin with?" she asked.
"For my lovely line forgetter!" he kissed Hannah's cheek.
"That's me, right?" Hannah beamed.
"Hey trailor boy, what's up?" Eric asked Shawn.
"Hey, when's Cory getting here?" Shawn asked.
"He stole my line!" Hannah yelled.
"Line?" Shawn raised an eyebrow.
"Uh..." Eric thought. "She's obsessed with that line you're standing on...long story..." he shook his head.
"Uh, sure..." Shawn stepped off the line. "Here ya go, Hannah..."
"Thank you..." Hannah was on the verge of laughing herself to tears.
"Now, as I was asking, when is Cory getting here?" Shawn asked again.
"Cory's not coming...he went somewhere with Bailey..." Eric lied. "We called someone to replace him."
"Who, Jack?" Shawn asked.
"No..." Eric shook his head.
Hannah was about to die laughing.
"What is so funny?" Shawn asked. "Did I miss something?"
"Everything's great, Shawn..." Eric explained. "Thanks for coming, by the way..."
"No problem..." Shawn shrugged.
Abigail walked around the corner. "Hey Eric, hey Hannah, hey...Shawn...?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Abigail?" Shawn asked. "Eric..." Shawn looked at Eric.
"I needed the help...those cages are heavy man!" Eric complained.
"Whatever," Abigail sighed. "I'm fine with it, if you are, Shawn."
"Yeah, I'm fine..." Shawn shrugged.
"Your jacket is in my car, by the way. I've been meaning to bring that to you..." Abigail told him.
"Thanks," Shawn spoke as little as possible. "So, Eric, what do you need us for?"
"These three cages...you and Abigail get the side by the door, and Hannah and I will get the other side..." Eric explained.
"Ok," Abigail nodded. "I'll get the one over here," she pointed to the end closest to her. "Ok, Shawn?"
"Fine," Shawn nodded.
As Shawn was walking by the door of the cage, Eric pushed him in quickly, and grabbed Abigail by the arm, and pushed her in too, slamming the door behind her.
"Eric!" Shawn ran to the door. "Let us out of here!"
Abigail followed Shawn. "Come on, Eric! This isn't funny!"
"We'll let you out when you're happily kissing and in love again," Hannah explained.
Abigail shook the bars of the cage. "ERIC! HANNAH!" she yelled. "Come on!"
Eric and Hannah pulled a blue tarp over the cage, filling it with a blue glow. "See you later," Eric yelled.
"Just great," Shawn kicked the wall.
"Gee, thanks Shawn. You act like you just lost something important to you..." Abigail took offense.
"Is this very dignified, Abigail?" Shawn threw his hands into the air. "Excuse me if I find my self-respect very important to me!"
"Well, excuse me!" she scoffed.
"Don't get that attitude with me!" he raised his voice.
"What are you gonna do?" Abigail put her hands on her hips.
Shawn sat down. "Nothing." He scowled. "Absolutely nothing."
"So, we're just going to sit here, silent?" Abigail asked. "And then never speak to one another after we leave?"
"If you want it that way," he tilted his head. "Then, it's fine with me."
"I'd really prefer not," Abigail looked at him. "I still care about you, Shawn."
Shawn ignored her comment. "What have you been doing?" he struck up a conversation instead.
She sniffled back a tear. "Hanging out with Jeffrey..." she felt the tears welling up. "I saw a 'set it and forget it' commercial...it made me think of you..."
There wasn't a thing that didn't make Shawn think of Abigail. Even ice cream made him thing of her, because of the food fight. "Really?" he laughed. "Hey, you know you didn't have to leave Eric's yesterday..."
"I did..." she nodded. "It's too..." she stopped. "I just did, ok?" she knew in her mind that he didn't care.
Shawn frowned. He still cared so much about her, and he wanted to take her in his arms, and make all the pain go away. "Uh..." he thought. "I got a letter from Angela..."
"Great," Abigail pretended to be happy.
"Not really..." Shawn frowned. "She kinda dumped me..."
"Oh...Shawn, I'm sorry." Abigail tried not to feel sympathy, but she couldn't help it. "I know how you feel for her..."
"Hey, I'll plow on..." he held back tears.
"Yeah," Abigail's animosity toward Shawn was fading. "I'm sure girls are falling all over you..."
"I used to be like that," Shawn chuckled at his younger days, when a commitment was a two week relationship. "I don't think I could name off every girl I've dated..."
"Really?" Abigail asked. "When did that fade?"
"When I met Angela..." he sighed. "She changed me a lot. What were you like when you were a kid?"
"I was really shy. I never talked to anyone, except Hannah and Bailey. And I literally, never had a date. The first time I ever hung out with a guy was in eleventh grade, and that was Johnny." She sneered at that name.
"You dated that sleaze bag?" Shawn asked. "Wow. I thought you'd be the type of girl that only dated the Cory's of the world..."
"I pay no attention to class, Shawn." Abigail shook her head. "Never have."
"It's like my dad always told me... 'Money don't make ya rich, live makes ya rich...'" Shawn quoted his dad.
"What happened to your dad?" she leaned forward.
"He, uh, had a heart attack in 1998." Shawn cleared his throat.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Abigail put her hand over her mouth. "What about your mom?"
"The woman I thought was my mom you mean? She abandoned my father and I..." Shawn looked down. "But then, I found out she wasn't even my mom a couple years ago. I found my real mother online, and tried to contact her, but she would have no part in it." Shawn explained. "It scarred me so badly, that I started drinking." He sighed. "But thank God for Cory, or else I'd still be on that path..."
Abigail was aghast. "Oh, Shawn, I'm so sorry..." she was tearing up.
"I was basically alone all the time. Even when my dad was alive, he was always out drinking. When he came home drunk, I'd follow him around the house, cleaning up whatever he knocked over, or wherever he puked. I was a latchkey kid..." he was on the verge of tears. "But I admit, I'd give almost anything to have my dad here with me again, even though he was never there..."
"I'm sorry, Shawn..." Abigail slid a little closer to him.
"What about you?" he changed the subject.
"My dad is never home either, as you know." Abigail shook her head. "He's always offering to take me places with him, but I never want to go. I've been basically everywhere there is. But, yeah, when he does come home, he's always too tired, or too busy to even waste a second talking to me." She nodded. "The only person I have around to talk to, or to ask for advice is Jeffrey. But, I guess, I'd be living in an side street somewhere, if he wasn't gone all the time..." she shrugged.
"But, it'd be nice to have him around to talk to, huh?" Shawn asked.
"Yeah," she nodded. "My mom left us when I was eight months old. She never wrote, never called, never had any contact with me, so I don't know what she's like. I'd love to have a mother figure, but I never have."
"When my dad went on a personal vendetta to find my mom when I was in seventh grade, so I lived with my English teacher, Mr. Turner. He basically raised me..." Shawn grinned. "He's a lot like me. I spent so much of my time at Cory's, though." Shawn shrugged. "I did have a father and mother figure, now that I think of it. I always had Mr. Turner, and the Matthews'."
"See, you're lucky." Abigail nodded. "I didn't even have that..." she sniffled.
"But they're not my parents. I was fortunate enough to have them, and my teacher Mr. Feeny, who always moved up a teaching grade whenever Cory, Topanga and I moved up a grade, which is pretty weird...but, yeah, nothing beats your real parents..." Shawn sighed.
"I couldn't agree more..." Abigail slid over beside Shawn. "What about Angela, anyway? I mean, I know I've asked this so many times, but what made you fall in love with her?"
"She..." he thought for a second. "I don't really know what it was...but, it was like, she walked across the room, and I knew..."
Abigail nodded. "That's sweet."
"But, now..." Shawn felt his eyes well up with tears. "Everything is gone. I mean, I never had a mother, or a father, and the only real thing I knew is gone..." he swallowed back the lump in his throat.
"Don't be afraid to let it out, Shawn..." Abigail hugged him. "I won't turn away, I promise."
Shawn looked into her eyes. "I know..." he swallowed another lump in his throat, as he always had, but this one just didn't want to go down. He felt the tears, which were so familiar since Angela had left, welling up again, and couldn't hold them back much longer. He closed his eyes, and tried to push them back in, but wound up crying in front of Abigail, and crying in front of someone wasn't a very 'Shawn Hunter' thing to do.
Abigail wrapped her arms tightly around Shawn, and consoled him. "I know how you feel, Shawn. I mean, I know what it means to feel so alone that you don't think you're consolable. But, you always are. I'm always here for you..." she lay his head on her shoulder.
"Why did they all have to do this to me, Abbi?" he asked. "Everyone in my life has betrayed me, with the exception of Cory, Eric and you. I mean, I would be such a better person if they hadn't." he sniffled. "Don't you think so?"
"You are an amazing person, just the way you are, Shawn." She pushed him back a little, so she could look into his green eyes.
He hugged her again. "Thank you so much..."
"That's what I'm here for," Abigail returned Shawn's hug.
"You know, we're a lot alike," Shawn grinned. "We have a lot in common..."
"Yeah, we do." Abigail smiled.
"Kinda weird." Shawn thought for a second. 'What am I doing? Letting an angel like her pass me by? I mean, she's right here in front of me, and I'm just throwing it all away? No, I won't. I won't let this become another Angela case.' he told himself. Then, it just came out. "Abbi, I'm sorry." He looked at her. "I'm so sorry. I never, ever wanted to hurt you. I just want you to be happy. You deserve the world, and someone who can give you things!"
"I don't want 'things,' Shawn..." she shook her head. "I want someone to talk to me. Someone who'll always be there for me, no matter what. I want someone who'll love me..." she wanted to cry. "I have 'things,' but one thing I don't have is someone who's constantly there."
"And, you actually want me to be that?" he asked.
"Yes, more than anything. You showed me that not all guys are like Johnny." She put her hand on his. "You're the most amazing person I've even met..."
"And you are to me..." he grinned.
It was silent for a couple seconds, then Abigail gasped. "Eric's plan...it...worked..."
"Oh my God...there's a first time for everything, I guess..." Shawn laughed.