Hi, everyone who decides to read this. I hope you enjoy!

It was two days before Graduation. Gus was in his room, taking a break from all of the family visiting. His Uncle Burton hadn't stopped complaining since he got here, his Great Aunt April kept shouting questions that she couldn't hear the answer to because she had forgotten her hearing aid, and his parents were running all over the place trying to make everyone happy. Gus just needed a break from it all, and escaping to his room had been the best idea he had ever had.

Suddenly there was tapping at his window. Gus spun around and there was Shawn, waving like an idiot all while balancing on the small bit of roof outside of his window and gesturing for him to let him in. Every time Shawn did this, Gus was sure he was going to fall, but it had yet to happen.

Gus let his best friend in, and before he could ask what Shawn was doing in his room, Shawn said "Hey, buddy!"

Although he tried to sound jovial, there was something missing, something was off.

"Shawn, are you all right?" Gus asked, feeling a twinge of worry hit his stomach.

"Yeah, I'm fine, man," Shawn replied, and before Gus could press any further, Shawn continued. "Hey, I know your family's here and all, but I just…can I…Gus, can you read me your valedictorian speech?"

Gus was taken aback. Why would Shawn want to hear my speech?

As if reading his mind, Shawn said "I just want to hear it before…" he hesitated again and his eyes flicked around Gus' room, almost nervously. "I just want to hear it before everyone else."

Shawn smiled again, and it was his same cocky and charming smile that he always wore, but something was different. Shawn was different, something was wrong.

"Shawn, are you…what…why do you want to hear my speech?" Gus asked, deciding to ask only one of the questions swirling around his head.

"Come on, man, please? You're my best friend. Can't I get a little sneak-peak? Except not really a sneak-peak because I want to hear the whole thing so it'd be like a sneak…whole thing…thing…" Shawn's voice died off and Gus wasn't sure if he should laugh or shake his head at his best friend.

"All right, Shawn, but I swear—"

Shawn cut Gus off, "I swear I won't interrupt or interject crude, though extremely witty, jokes. I swear, I just want to hear it."

Gus frowned, still confused as to what Shawn could possibly want. "All right…" Gus said, and he pulled out the sheets of paper that held the speech he would be delivering to the entire graduating class and their families in two days.

Gus couldn't look Shawn in the face throughout the reading of his speech. Sure they were best friends and they told each other everything, but it was just awkward to look only at Shawn while saying these things, so instead Gus focused his attention on the wall behind Shawn's head.

And, quite frankly, Gus was surprised at the way Shawn acted. Even though he had essentially promised complete maturity, Gus had assumed that Shawn would throw in a few jibes or cracks, make inappropriate interjections in hopes of throwing Gus off track, but he didn't. Even as Gus focused on the wall, in his periphery, Gus saw flashes of white from when Shawn's teeth when he smiled at the jokes or the memories Gus attempted to invoke. And he saw Shawn nodding his head thoughtfully at the right times. And when he was done, instead of referencing some obscure movie, or making fun of the speech or how he read it, Shawn did a quiet and polite golf clap.

"That was awesome, Gus," Shawn said, still speaking quietly.

Now that Shawn had gotten what he wanted from Gus, it was Gus' turn to get some answers.

"What is with you, Shawn? What's wrong?" Gus asked.

At the shocked look on Shawn's face, as if he had though he was hiding how he was really feeling quite well, Gus continued, "You're quiet. You came here and you're so quiet! Usually when you sneak into my house I have to remind you to stay quiet like fifteen times a minute so that my family won't know you're here, but now you're being so quiet, I feel like I'm screaming! And why would you want to hear my speech? You'll hear it in two days, and no matter how entertaining someone is, hearing the same valedictorian speech twice is—"

Gus stopped talking. Shawn was looking down, but Gus knew, or at least he had a feeling about what was happening.

"Shawn, what's going on?"

Shawn looked up and smiled weakly.

"I wanted to hear your speech because…because I'm not really going to get another chance to hear it."

"What do you mean, Shawn?" Gus asked, tension beginning to build in his chest. He knew what Shawn was about to say, but he was going to make Shawn say it, make him explain himself.

"I'm not going to Graduation, Gus," Shawn said, his voice solid and determined, although his face showed some signs of regret and wariness.

Gus gawked at Shawn. He had expected Shawn to say this, had figured that was why he was here, but simply hearing it from Shawn, knowing that it was a fact rather than just an assumption, threw him for a loop.

"I'm leaving. Today. Or, tonight, rather," Shawn continued. "I just wanted to hear your speech because I'm going to miss it."

"Shawn…you can't," Gus managed to get out, and then began grasping at straws, hoping that Shawn would stay. "Your mom! She had been talking about Graduation since we were freshmen! You can't just—"

"She's not coming," Shawn interrupted, studying his sneakers now more intently than he had ever studied anything before in his life.

"What?" Gus asked, shocked for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

"She called. A couple hours ago. She said that she wanted to but she just can't get time off. Said she couldn't risk losing her job."

Gus swallowed the painfully large lump that had all of the sudden formed in his throat, but his mouth was dry and swallowing did not do much to help. He couldn't believe Mrs. Spencer. She left less than a month after Shawn's birthday, saying that she needed to start things off again, saying she would call him as much as she could, although she rarely did. She left him, abandoned him with Mr. Spencer who, although was not as bad as Shawn often portrayed him, the two of them still did not get along too well. She left him right before he began his senior year of high school. The year he and Shawn had both been waiting for since they began high school. She left and Shawn…a part of Shawn left too. Sure he was still ridiculous and crazy, but while as before he would go to class for the social aspect of things and would just happen to learn things along the way thanks to his genius memory and skill, after Mrs. Spencer left he just stopped going to class. He would show up in the morning, maybe go to the first class of the day, but then he would disappear until lunch time and then not show up again until the end of the day. And it wasn't just that. Shawn was different after Mrs. Spencer left. And she left her son in the most unhappy environment, rarely found the time to call to check in, and now wasn't coming to his Graduation. And she calls herself a psychiatrist. Well she may know things about the human mind, but she knows nothing about her own son.

"Shawn…I…" but Gus didn't know what to say.

Luckily, Shawn saved him from continuing. He smiled sadly, although desperately trying to make it appear carefree. "It's all right, man. She's busy, there's not much you can do, I guess."

"But, Shawn, you can't skip Graduation. Your dad, what it your dad going to say?" Gus asked desperately.

"Gus, my dad is disappointed in me either way. He has been for awhile now. I just…I don't want to go to Graduation. I don't want to…I don't know. I just want to get out of here. I just want to leave." Shawn looked at him, his eyes pleading Gus to understand.

"Please don't…" Gus stopped talking as he searched for words to say. Shawn needed him right now. Needed him to understand. He didn't want Gus to beg him to stay; he didn't want Gus to make arguments in favor of him staying. Shawn wanted to leave and he needed Gus to support him. "Okay," Gus said quietly, looking up at his best friend, the idiot he had been friends with since Gus, with his shirt tucked in to his diaper, threw up on Shawn at the playground when they were both less than two years old.

Shawn looked at Gus and smiled a small but finally genuine smile. "Thanks, man," Shawn said, and then stood up to leave.

"Wait, Shawn, wait," Gus said, frantically. He knew Shawn was going to go, was going to leave. But he wanted him to stay a little longer, and he wanted a few answers before he left. "What about your dad? What are you going to tell him?"

"Well," Shawn answered, "I left a note for him on my bed. I probably need to leave soon or else he'll realize I left before I even leave the neighborhood and catch me to drag me back home."

"But, Shawn, you're seventeen! You're not even old enough to be on your own!" Gus said.

"I'll be eighteen in like a month—"

"Shawn, it's May."

"Okay, so I'll be eighteen in two months. Gus, I need to go," Shawn said, making his way to the window.

"Where are you going to go? What are you going to do?" Gus asked quickly.

"Oh, you know," Shawn answered, a careless shrug dancing on his shoulders. "I'll probably drive until I'm hungry and-slash-or tired, find places to work. I don't know, experience life?" Shawn looked up and saw the despair and still-present confusion on Gus' face. "Gus, I'll be fine. I'll figure something out. And I promise I'll call you at least once a month and I'll send you postcards from everywhere I go." And with that, Shawn began to climb out the window, but then suddenly stopped.

"Gus," Shawn said, spinning around quickly. "You're the best friend I could ever ask for. You have been...just the best from the get-go. Have fun at college, but not too much fun. And experience things, man. Just live a little. And be yourself. Learn a lot and love what you learn or else it's not worth it. Be yourself and don't stress out. And congratulations, man. You've been absolutely amazing. Thanks for everything."

Then Shawn jumped at Gus and they hugged goodbye.

"Good luck with the speech, Gus. And believe me when I say it is the best speech I have ever heard in my life. JFK has nothing on you, man." With that, Shawn climbed out the window.

Gus felt tears growing in his eyes, and was afraid that maybe his voice would betray him when he tried to speak, but he didn't know when he'd see Shawn again, and he needed to say goodbye.

"Good luck to you too, Shawn. With everything. If you ever need anything, or just miss home or whatever, call me."

Shawn looked back and smiled, and finally Shawn's smile reached his eyes. Finally he looked like the skinny boy with the wild hair that he had known almost all of his life.

And with that, Shawn waved a quick goodbye and turned around and fell off the roof. Gus shot to the window and looked down, only to see Shawn already getting up, laughing. He looked up and whisper-yelled "I knew I was going to fall off your roof one of these days!"

Gus shook his head and watched as Shawn jogged over to his stupid motorcycle, put on his helmet, gave a thumbs-up, and rode away.

"Me too, Shawn. Me too."

Yeah, the ending was a bit sappy wasn't it? Oh, well, sappy is fun! Hahaha, anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this story. Please submit a review if you feel like it, and let me know if you want me to continue. I thought it would be interesting to maybe write a few additional chapters about Shawn and Gus' relationship while Shawn is off working odd jobs and Gus is at college. I have one idea in mind, but if you all like this plan I can try to think of more! Thanks again for reading!