Shawn Hunter hadn't actually witnessed the event, but he got a first person account from Cory Matthews after the fact. Cory, his best friend, had broken up with Topanga Lawrence, his first and only girlfriend. They'd been together something like, oh, Shawn couldn't even remember when Topanga had first diverted Cory's attention. Well, ultimately, it was his fault the two of them had gotten together in the eighth grade. But middle school relationships weren't supposed to actually last. Hell, neither were high school relationships. But Cory and Topanga just kept on trucking. That is, until two weeks before Topanga planned to move into an apartment a couple blocks from NYU, and one week and four days before Cory and Shawn would relocate to their dorm room at Penn State. On that day, Topanga told Cory she couldn't bear the thought of a long distance relationship, so over a cup of coffee at an anonymous Starbucks in downtown Philadelphia, a romance for the ages drew to a close.

Shawn wasn't as disappointed as he was supposed to be. As much as he liked Topanga—loved her, even—he'd always felt that she was, in some sense, holding Cory back. His interests were hers, and vice versa. Even though Cory and Shawn were still together as much as possible, it had become harder and harder to get Cory alone, especially after that time in the playground that Shawn promised himself long ago that he'd forget. He hadn't. He'd almost taken Cory's virginity that night, and that wasn't something he could easily scrub from his mind.

He feigned sorrow for Cory's sake and let his best friend literally cry on his shoulder for an evening or two before convincing him to drink a few beers and watch M*A*S*H* till the hurting went away. It was what he'd always seen Jonathan Turner, his former teacher and roommate, do when he went through a bad breakup, and it seemed to work nearly as well for Cory. Soon enough, Cory was leaning against Shawn, half smiling and dead asleep, and Shawn was ignoring the call that he was sure was from Angela.

It wasn't that he didn't still love Angela. Of course he did. She was a wonderful girl, funny and smart and gorgeous. But sometimes, Shawn wondered if he'd be better off without a girlfriend when he started school. He'd always thought of his relationship with Angela as kind of a slow burn, hot while it lasted, but bound to fade. She was going to U Penn, so their relationship could conceivably continue, and they hadn't talked about the alternative—at least, not explicitly. But Shawn missed the rush of being single, especially now that Cory was single, too.

He didn't want to date Cory or anything. That'd just be weird. They were Cor and Shawnie, best friends, nothing less and certainly nothing more. And it would be good for the two of them to go out together and meet people. Girls, specifically, unless Cory had been so swayed by Shawn's charms that he'd joined the other team. Shawn smirked at the thought as the phone rang a third time. Rolling his eyes, he gently pushed Cory toward the other side of the couch and answered.

"Hey," he said softly.

"How'd you know it was me?" Angela asked.

"Well, it's my apartment, you know Jack and Eric are gone, and it's after midnight," said Shawn. "What's up?"

"Oh, I was just wondering how Cory's doing."

Shawn looked at Cory, who'd curled up in the fetal position. He was drooling slightly. Shawn smiled. "Good. Sleeping. Passed out while we were watching TV."

"Is he OK?"

"Yeah, I think he will be. How's Topanga?"

Angela snorted. "Don't tell Cory, but it's looking like she'll be onto the next guy real soon."

"Oh. Well, that's kind of shitty of her."

"She was restless, Shawn."

"Yeah, but there's a grace period, you know?"

"There's never been for you," Angela pointed out.

"Well, two weeks is a lot different from five years," said Shawn. He felt himself stiffening, irritated at how wrong Angela was. Topanga was at fault here. That was obvious. Wasn't it?

Angela sighed. "Even so, it was time for them to break up. That just ... happens to certain couples, you know?"

Silence. Shawn chewed a piece of his too long hair.

"Shawn?"

"Yeah, I should go. Cor's drooling all over one of Jack's pillows, and you know how pissed he gets over stupid stuff."

"Right. I love you."

"Love you too," said Shawn, dropping the phone back onto the receiver. Cory lifted his head, bleary eyed.

"Were you talking to someone?"

"Yeah. Angela," said Shawn. "Did you want a blanket or something?"

"Oh, I should go home," Cory said, stumbling back downward as he tried to stand up.

"Yeah, you're not driving, buddy." Shawn went to the closet and brought back some blankets and a proper pillow. "You should probably give me the one you were sleeping on. Jack isn't crazy about your saliva."

"What do you know about what Jack thinks about my saliva?"

"I don't think Jack's ever thought of anyone's saliva as a good thing."

"That's fair." Cory accepted the pillow. Shawn unthinkingly tucked him under the cover of the blankets. "Thanks, Mom."

"Anytime, sweetheart," said Shawn. "I think I'm going to go to bed, too."

"Shawnie?" Cory's voice was small.

"Yeah, Cor?"

"Could you sleep out here?"

"Oh. Yeah, sure. I'll just—"

"I mean with me. It doesn't have to be weird or anything," Cory said, sounding rushed. "I mean, it's a big couch, or you can just forget it and sleep in your bed and pretend I never—"

Shawn shook his head and nudged Cory aside, lying down next to him. "Just don't ask me to be the little spoon, OK?"

"Thanks, buddy," said Cory, leaning his head against the back of Shawn's shoulder and quickly, quietly drifting off to sleep. Shawn sighed and tried not to think about how nice it felt, sleeping side by side with someone he actually still cared about.