She's My Little Sister

I'd Do A Lot Worse Then That For Her

FROM WHAT JONATHAN TURNER HAD seen so far, Shawn Hunter was not a clumsy kid.

He was cocky, and kind of dumb, but he wasn't clumsy.

So the next day, Jon straightened up a bit when he saw Shawn walk into class with a swollen cheek and black eye. He sat down at his seat behind Cory, keeping his head lowered.

"What happened to you, Hunter?"

Shawn jumped, his head jerking up. Jon had to hold back a wince when he saw how bad his face actually looked.

"Hmm?"

"You're face."

Shawn scoffed. "Wow, thanks, Jon."

"Hunter."

"I mean, really," Shawn continued. "What a way to make someone feel good about themselves."

"Shawn."

Jon didn't miss the way Shawn flinched and ducked his head slightly. Jon paused, watching Cory's face fall into one of confusion, and turn to his friend. After a beat of silence, Shawn looked up again, a wide, cocky smile on his face.

"You should see the other guy." He joked. "He's got a bloody nose and everything."

"Who was it?"

"What?"

"Who'd you fight?" Jon asked, watching as Shawn's smile slipped a bit, before coming back.

"Ah, the neighbor kid was talking, and then he mentioned my sister, so I pushed him, and then he punched me. Don't worry though. I nailed him right in nose."

Topanga turned, raising her brow. "You gave a kid a bloody nose for talking about Michelle?"

Shawn turned deadly serious. "I'd do a lot worse then that for her."

Jon didn't doubt that. He had only seen Shawn and Michelle interact a few times, but it was enough to see how protective Shawn was. But the way Shawn fidgeted, made Jon feel like he was lying about what happened to his eye.

Shaking his head, Jon walked back to his desk, ready to start the lesson. It wasn't his business anyway. Shawn probably had just gotten into a fight.

So why did he get such a sick feeling in his stomach?

{}~{}~{}~{}

The second time Jon saw Shawn acting weird was when he ran into Shawn and Michelle in the park.

Shawn had been pushing Michelle on the swings, and Jon had decided that he was going to ask Shawn about the homework he knew that he didn't do, when he saw the shaggy haired boy slow the swing down, and began to walk around it. Jon watched with furrowed brows as Shawn limped and winced at the little distance he had to walk.

Shawn looked up, and smiled at Jon when he saw him.

"Look, Michelle," Shawn cheered. "Look who it is."

Michelle turned, and her eyes lit up, and she loudly squealed, "Turn!"

"Michelle!"

Shawn slowly limped over to where Jon was standing, and sat on the bench, wincing as soon as he sat down.

"You get into another fight, Hunter?"

Shawn looked like he could throw up. "Yeah. Same kid. He was more prepared this time. He's got a nasty kicker."

Jon nodded. "Yeah, okay. Why do you keep getting into fights with this kid?"

Shawn's eyes unfocused a bit, and he was staring over Jon's shoulder. "Kind of hard when he's always there."

"You can't avoid him in anyway?"

Shawn's face darkened, but it had a tinge of...fear? No, that wasn't it. No way was Shawn Hunter afraid of something. "You've never met this guy."

Jon sighed. "By the sounds of it, I hope I do."

Shawn shook his head fiercely. "Trust me. You don't."

{}~{}~{}~{}

The next time Jon confronted Shawn on his injuries, the boy completely lost his cool.

Jon had been walking through the hallways, having just finished photocopying some papers, when he saw Shawn limping out of the bathroom again.

Jon stopped, watching with furrowed brows as Shawn stopped, hissing, crouching down slightly. Jon walked forward, reaching his hand out.

"Shawn-"

Instantly, Shawn straightened out, his arms falling to his side. He smiled a smile that Jon was just now beginning to see didn't fully reach his eyes. "Hey, Mr Turner. How ya doing?"

"I should be asking you that question." He said, his eyes scanning the boy, noticing he was still hunched over slightly.

Shawn scoffed. "I'm fine."

"Get into another tousle?"

"Yeah." But Shawn had paused before he answered. "Yeah. That-That kid was ruthless."

Jon cocked his head to the side. "Does this kid have a name?"

Shawn froze, staring at Jon with wide eyes. "Does-Does that matter?"

Mr Turner looked at Shawn as if he were slow. "Yeah. Yeah, it does. The kid probably goes to school here, and we'll talk to him, maybe threaten him a bit-"

"No!" He exclaimed. "It doesn't matter. He-He doesn't go here."

"What, is he a middle schooler?"

Shawn rolled his eyes. "No, he doesn't go here."

Jon gave him a look saying that he didn't believe him. "Shawn, if this kids beating you up everyday-"

"I'm fine!" Shawn yelled. "I'm completely fine. So what if I get into a hassle with him? I-I'm willing to get a few bruises in defense of Michelle."

"I get that," Jon said, trying to keep his voice level. "But how hard is it to walk away?"

Shawn clenched his jaw, giving Jon a filthy look. "You don't get it."

"I really don't." He agreed, letting out a laugh of disbelief. "Tell me, Shawn, why you have to respond to him. Why you have to give him the satisfaction of hearing a response that you know will get your butt kicked."

"You. Don't. Understand." He snarled, glaring up at Jon. "It's not as easy as you make it sound. He doesn't leave me alone. He-He corners me, and doesn't stop until I scream back at him, no matter how hard I try to just ignore him. He. Just. Won't. Let. Me."

Jon sighed. What kid could possibly be messing with Shawn this bad? And when did Shawn have such a short temper with people? He seemed to stay relatively calm in tense situations, so what could this kid possibly be saying to Shawn to make him freak out so badly?

He studied Shawn, watching the boy adjust his shirt, his brows tight. He sighed, rubbing his face. "All I'm saying-"

"Just get off my case!" Shawn snarled.

As Shawn stormed away, Jon could have sworn he saw cuts from glass on his neck.