Mᴏʀᴇ Tʜᴀɴ Jᴜsᴛ Fʀɪᴇɴᴅs

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟♧︎︎︎𝑇𝑤𝑜

People would have thought the fierce Archer's son would be just as badass and strong as his mother, but it was exactly the opposite for Shawn. He had mostly inherited his father's soft and calm composure, which often led him to being bullied and picked on by others.

Of course it wouldn't have been an issue for long if only he'd uttered one single word to his mother or the Dean of the school, but he didn't. He could never, that's how soft he was.

Most of the time, Janette would be right there protecting him, and he'd eventually beg her to not inform anything to his parents or the Dean. She refused his pleas initially, but only let go because seeing the desperation in those pearly hazel eyes, she couldn't bring herself to not keep his pleas.

Janette would never admit it, but she had a soft, weak spot for the Archer boy. She had grown protective of him over the years and knowing that he was getting bullied behind her back and she couldn't do anything about it, pained her deeply. So, she tried to fight back as much as Shawn allowed her to, often convincing her to not get involved saying he didn't want her to get hurt because of him.

But who would tell him that his well being was all that mattered to her?

"I'll meet you after class, okay?" Janette softly spoke as they stood outside Shawn's class, their hands interwined.

Shawn nodded, smiling as he squeezed her hand tightly, sparks flying through his veins at the touch of their skin, and he felt happy.

"I'll wait right here. Don't wander off to anywhere alone and get beaten up." She warned.

Shawn giggled, enjoying the warnings and commands of his crush, his heart fluttering with utmost love as he nodded again.

"Don't worry, I'll wait right here for you." He assured, due to Janette being a little bit taller, he had to look up and from this angle, the red head looked even more gorgeous in his eyes.

"Good. Go now. Bye." Janette ushered him inside and waited till she noted him sitting at his desk, waving back when he waved at her.

Shawn sighed as he got his books and notebook out and laid them on the desk, waiting for the professor to emerge and start the class.

"Hey, spoiled princess."

That was the last thing he needed so early in the morning. With an internal groan, Shawn looked up to be met with the sluggish smirk of none other than Jean Beckson, aka his bully.

"What do you want, Jean?"

Jean clicked her tongue, chewing on a gum in an obnoxious way while her boyfriend and friend stood guard behind her.

"Can't I just check on my favorite mama's boy?"

Shawn decided to just focus on his book to avoid further conversation with her, but apparently that was a bad idea as the girl took it as an indication of disobedience. She grabbed his cheeks harshly in her hand, forcing him to look up at her.

Shawn whimpered as her grip hurt his cheek, he might have bit on his cheek from the force of it and cut it.

"Look at me while I'm talking, or else this face would no longer be a pretty sight to look at anymore." She seethed and the smell of her gum hit his nose, making him scrunch it. Jean smirked, shoving his face away and walking away.

Shawn sighed in relief, clenching and unclenching his jaw to release the stiff pain hanging on there. He just hoped Janette wouldn't catch up on it, otherwise he might have to pry her away from another fight with Jean.

He hated whenever Janette got hurt because of him, he hated that he was such a weak boy, unable to even protect himself, and needed a friend to stand up to him. But it wasn't just in his heart to fight or talk back to someone hurting him, he just felt like it was better to bear the pain rather than causing chaos.

The professor entered soon enough and the class started. Two of his classes would be in the same classroom and he was grateful to not have to move after the first class ended.

He kept himself small till Jean left for her next class.

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As promised to Janette, Shawn waited outside his class, tiptoe-ing on his heels to get a better look among the sea of crowded students to spot his favorite red head.

There she was!

Shawn raised his arm and waved frantically, then quickly weaved his way through the crowd to crash into Janette who caught him before he could tumble.

"Hey! Be careful!" Janette yelled, concern and edge lacing her tone as she helped Shawn stand upright.

"Sorry." Shawn panted a little, grinning sheepishly. "Wanted to get to you fast." He added.

Janette's heart warmed, she gently brushed her fingers through his untamed hair and smiled at his flushed face.

"I'll always get to you, even if it takes long." She said in a tender voice, admiring Shawn's hazel irises. "I don't want you to hurt yourself to find me."

Shawn could only beam at her reply, his heartbeat already quickening and a giddy bubble made him blink rapidly. Why was he so nervous around her?

"Come on, the girls are waiting at the cafeteria." Janette took his hand and led him away from the crowd.

They found the girls sitting at the backyard, at their designated table. Bree spotted them and waved, Janette waved back as they made their way to the table, sitting across from the two.

"Hey, Shawn."

Bree, the blonde in the group, greeted him. A bit of sultriness lingered in her way of calling his name which got Janette to glare at her.

"Hey, girls." Shawn smiled politely. "How was the break?"

"We missed you a lot." Bree chirped, again using a tone that was getting under Janette's skin.

"Uh-yeah, me too." Shawn replied, shifting uncomfortably on his seat.

"Come on, Shawn. We should definitely hang out sometime." Bree almost purred, staring intently at the boy. "Just you and me. Whatcha say?"

Suddenly they were all startled by Janette slamming her fork right into the table's wooden surface, her face turning red like her hair.

"LET'S," her tone raised then lowered, eyes boring dangerously in Bree's mischievous ones, "Eat in peace." She finished through gritted teeth.

Bree shrugged, winking at the other present there, Su Yeon, the fourth of the group.

Janette could feel her heart racing as her two girlfriends stared at her briefly, then continued to eat food as if they didn't just play with her nerves.

Bree had always been like this. Pushing her to approach Shawn in a romantic way saying they were practically in love but neither was brave enough to take the step.

She even went to the point of threatning her, 'If you don't want him, I'll gladly have him. Soft boys are exactly my type'.

Janette didn't believe such conclusion at all, she wasn't in love. Yeah she did love to take care of Shawn and sometimes went overboard while protecting him, but it didn't mean anything else.

Also, Shawn was a shy and soft guy, he would never date someone wild like her. Though it didn't go unnoticed by her whenever a boy proposed to her how Shawn's face would lose the colors and he'd hang his head down. But maybe he was just insecure about losing his only friend.

Nothing else was there, yeah. But Janette would cause murder if someone tried to hit on Shawn in front of her, didn't mean she was in love or anything.

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