˜"*°•𝚃𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝙳𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖/ 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚠𝚗 𝙷𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛.•°*"˜

30

"I think I have diarrhea"

The day at John Adams High was like any other. Except, Shawn walked in all giddy and nervous. Brooke hadn't returned any of the calls, and her pager didn't seem reachable either. She seemed really pissed at him. 

He walked in and saw Brooke near her locker, taking books for the next class. He was about to approach her when he saw Feeny walk by.

"Good morning, Mr. Feeny" Brooke chirped. 
"Morning, Miss Matthews" The old man said in his usual sophisticated tone, walking away.

"Brooke" Shawn mustered up courage to mutter one word that was such an excuse for a greeting.
"Shawn" She coldly replied, her expression guarded.

"So, new dress?" He bit his tongue, internally scolding himself.
"I bought this on my last birthday. I've worn it a billion times since then" Brooke rolls her eyes.
"I'm trying to start a conversation!" Shawn said, throwing his hands in the hair as he frustatedly
"And I'm trying to stop it"

"Are you you ignore me forever?" He grunted.
"Not forever. Only until I've calmed down. So maybe a day before forever ends" Brooke sassed.
"You know whatever you just said made 0...absolutely no sense." He scoffed.
"I don't make sense when I'm mad!" She groaned. 

"But what did I do?" He whined, getting in her face. 

Again...he was right. It wasn't his fault he didn't like Brooke back.

"I don't know. But I'm still mad at you" She said, twisting on her heels and walking away. 

During lunch, Brooke found herself at their usual table, surrounded by Cory, Topanga and one of Shawn's casual flings who were discussing plans for the upcoming weekend. Shawn was there too, laughing and chatting with everyone as if nothing was wrong. Brooke clenched her jaw, her gaze fixed on her food.

"Hey, you okay?" Cory asked, noticing her distant expression.

Brooke forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Shawn glanced at her, concern in his eyes, but she looked away, avoiding his gaze. She felt a mix of anger and disappointment bubbling within her. She had hoped that they were on the same page after their conversation near the lockers, but his comment had shattered that illusion.

The school day came to an end soon. Cory and Shawn, bid their good-byes and had parted ways. Cory was going home and Shawn stayed back at school for basketball practice while Brooke stayed for her singing lessons. 

He changed into his jersey and was heading to practice but he saw Brooke. But she wasn't alone.

"So you sing?" Shawn felt like wiping off the smug smile off Griffin's face.
"Yeah um I do. My mom kinda forced me to but it's enjoyable" Brooke's giggles seemed to frustrate Shawn more. He swore he could see her ears turn red, even from a distance. His best friend was with his rival, laughing, giggling and blushing. Nothing could piss him off more.

"Maybe you could sing for me sometime" Griffin grinned.
"Uh I had practice now...you could come watch" Brooke sheepishly suggested.
"No I meant...somewhere more private. Maybe you can-"

"Brookie Cookie!" Brooke's gaze turned towards Shawn. 
"What?" Confused by the nickname, she frowned.

"Can't you see we're talking?" Griff grunted, throwing dirty glares towards Shawn.
"Sorry, buddy but her dad says she can't talk to guys who are not me" Shawn pursed his lips.
"Okay, my dad neve-"
"Never wants you to talk to any boys. Protective parents" Shawn wrapped an arm around Brooke's shoulder and dragged her away from Griffin, leaving the oldest dumbfounded.

"What was that for?! He was so close to asking me out!" Brooke groaned, huffing.
"You wanna go with a Griff? Griff Hawkins. If our high school life was a show, he would be in the bullies and thugs category in some fandom wiki" Brooke rolls her eyes at his lame comment.
"Why do you suddenly care? I already made one 'mistake', I can make two" She said, using her fingers to air quote the word mistake.

"You're seriously still mad about that?" Shawn scoffs in disbelief. 
"Yeah well, your choice of words was poor. It was my first kiss. I'd planned it on a lavender field, looking into each other's eyes with the right person. My first kiss ended up being in a flippin' closet as a game. And it was called a 'mistake'. That's the last thing a girl could want" 

"I'm sorry but could we do anything about it? I didn't mean it that way. Brooke. A kiss isn't something worthy to ruin our friendship over. It was just a kiss!" He frantically moved his hands around, trying to work this out logically. 
"Just a kiss? Maybe it was just a kiss to you, since you get a new girl every other day. But that was my first kiss, Shawn. And it's my fault too! I should've stopped it! But honestly I'm too pissed to think right now"

"But Brooke-"

"I'll come around when I'm in the right head to think things over"

And so she did.

Around 2 days later, Brooke approached Shawn.

"Hey..." She said gently in a low tone, as his balance was disrupted by her.
"Sup'!!" He over-enthusiastically yelled.
"Shawn...I'm sorry. I've been a jerk to you for-"

"Don't be. I deserved it. I hurt you. My best friend" Her heart sank as he called her his best friend. Best friend. That's all she could ever be to him. 

"No, I mean. I should've tried to understand your side of the story too. I overreacted. I don't know what I was thinking. You're right. A kiss is not something we can lose us over. It's just that...these Leonardo Di Caprio, Van Damme and Jim Carrey movies had given me this some sort of illusion that my first kiss will be in front of the sunset in a lavender field or whatever. Or on top of a ferris wheel...or on the beach. or-" She bit her tongue, embarrassed. "The point is that I just got slightly egocentric. I don't wanna lose our friendship either."

"Aw. Thanks for understanding. I really felt bad after...y'know...you...left"

Brooke softly smiled at him. 
"So...we're good. for real this time?" Brooke asked, hope captivating her light brown orbs. 
"For real this time" Shawn reassured with a firm smile. 

And then, without thinking, Brooke leaned in and pulled Shawn into a hug. Shawn's surprise was evident, but he didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her in return.

But as they stayed in the embrace, Brooke felt a strange shift in Shawn's demeanor. It was as if he didn't want to let go, as if he was holding onto her a little too tightly. She began to pull back, intending to end the hug, but Shawn's grip remained firm.

"Shawn," Brooke said softly, her tone a mixture of curiosity and concern.

For a moment, it seemed like Shawn didn't hear her. Then, slowly, he released his hold on her, his gaze slightly distant. "Oh, sorry. I guess I got lost in thought there."

Brooke cleared her throat, about to change the subject, when their eyes accidentally locked. It was an innocent yet charged connection, a fleeting moment that held a thousand unspoken words.

Their eyes held each other's gaze, and in that moment, everything seemed to slow down. The noise of the surroundings faded into the background, and it was just Shawn and Brooke, lost in each other's eyes.

Shawn suddenly felt a strong, foreign feeling in the bottom of his stomach.

"Oh shit. I think I've got diarrhea." He groaned, holding his stomach.

--------------------------------------------

They had a moment.