The More Things Change (Shawn Hunter)

She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not

A/N: If anyone doesn't like the fact that the oc is black, go away. (Also, I thought the song was fitting.)

As I walked into the classroom, with my nose in my copy of John Fowles' The Collector, I stopped a few feet away from my desk when I noticed an origami clematis flower sitting on my desk. I chuckled at it. Not that the act wasn't sweet, but it was obvious that whoever did it didn't know me very well. As I sat down, Shawn looked up at me with a goofy smile on his face. "Good morning, Sunshine." He smiled wider when I returned his greeting.

"Good morning Puppy. Morning Cory." I said before taking a seat.

"What's with the paper rose?" Cory asked, taking note of the origami flower on my desk. Shawn looked at it with furrowed brows but he relaxed when I paid it very little mind.

"Minkus." I mumbled, still reading my book as Shawn sat on my desk and started goofing around with Cory, before Topanga walked over to her desk, which also had an origami flower on it, before walking over to Minkus' desk.

"Stuart?" She spoke clearly, as the boy hid behind his massive book.

"Yes?" He replied. It was barely audible and that instantly made me realize that both Shawn and Cory were silently watching the ordeal.

"Did you leave this paper rose on my desk?" Topanga asked, which caused me to roll my eyes. Firstly, Stuart Minkus was making paper projects, like planes, snowflakes and origami animals. Secondly, and more importantly, HE WAS CURRENTLY READING AN ORIGAMI BOOK!

"No." Minkus lied and I saw the confusion etching itself on her face. She looked genuinely surprised and disappointed. She made a soft noise before turning to walk away. "Actually it isn't a rose. It's a camellia. And Raven-Anniya's is a clematis. In the language of flowers a white camellia means perfect loveliness. A clematis symbolizes cleverness and wit." Minkus explained and I noticed Shawn's eyes darting in my direction. "At least, that's what I've read." He looked up at the girl with the sandy blonde hair.

"Well, then...The person who left this for me must be a sensitive and a caring soul." Topanga said with a smile causing Minkus to blush.

"Is it just me or is love blooming among the nerd set?" Cory asked in complete surprise and disbelief.

"I don't know. The only time I've ever seen a look like that was just before Bambi's mother caught that bullet." Shawn said as he got off my desk.

"Both of you are deranged." I muttered but Shawn pinched my cheek and took off my glasses. My brows furrowed as he removed my hair from the pigtails. "What are you doing?" I asked as he looked at me for a few moments.

He shrugged before he stood behind me, separating my hair down the scalp. "Just kinda want to braid it." He muttered before turning back to Cory.

"What a movie they'd make. It's Minkus in Love. Watch what happens when 48 pounds of near-sighted geek meets 10 pounds of hair from a parallel universe." My curly haired friend narrated dramatically before both of them laughed at their own jokes.

"I think people who judge other people by their outward appearances are shallow and ignorant and will have much to answer for in their next life." Topanga glared at my boys and I don't know what came over but I wasn't in the mood for her today.

"This coming from the girl who laughed at a boy for his appearance when someone likened him to Don King and perpetually hides behind the stigmatization of other cultures to seem superior and enlightened. Or are we forgetting the times you've walked into this classroom and used South Asian customs for aesthetic purposes?" I didn't raise my voice, which I think made me seem scarier if the off balanced, shocked looks on the boy's faces mean anything.