The Secret Life // A Shawn Hunter fanfic

Thirty-nine ➵ J. C

It was now the month of April.
It sincerely amazed me how time was passing by like that.
This meant that birds were out and chirping, there was only of a slight breeze, nights were longer, the sun was shining, pretty bright colored flowers in the fields sprouted from the soil.
It was a soaring sight.
School was ending next month, which I couldn't believe. It seemed like just yesterday I started my first year of high school at John Adam's High School.
My aunt has been sending me letters now that I wrote to her. She's been sending me money like she intended to, and was happy with the thought of me residing in a secure, sanctioned home. With no abuse, and instead with love.
She said she wanted to visit me, but it was impossible because of her work schedule. She had been a certified nurse assistant for several years, and earned such a good salary every time.
I still hadn't received the letter from my audition. It was beginning to feel overwhelming.
Aside from the auditions, that's not what I was feeling anxious about.
It was Shawn's birthday next week.
He was older than me by seven months, but it didn't matter to me. We were still the same age. I had turned fourteen while he was turning fifteen.
The main thing I was anxious about for Shawn's birthday, was the money problems we've been dealing with lately. It was next week, it being Wednesday on April 7th.
Shawn's dad hasn't been showing up for work, and his mom became unemployed. They were still trying to figure out how they could at least make Shawn's birthday this year.
If they couldn't figure it out, it was all up to me. With everything he's been through as well, and all he's done for me due to the sweet, caring personality he had,
He deserved a special day for his date of birth.
And I knew just the idea.
:::
I arranged a group meeting between Topanga, Cory, Trinie, Dawn, and I at Cory's house. Shawn had detention since he didn't complete any of his homework in Feeny's class, so it was perfect in a way.
"What's this for, Jasmine?" Cory asked, as we made it up to his bedroom.
"Well, I thought that with the all the trouble Shawn went through for my birthday, we should do something similar to that aspect, but make it way of a better experience." I suggested to them.
"I agree. Shawn has helped us on many occasions in different ways you can imagine. He may be a doof, but when it comes to us, he know's what he is doing." Topanga agreed with my idea.
"True, guys. He's been my best friend since forever, and without him, I don't know if I wouldn't even have found a best friend." Cory admitted to us.
"I remember when he wasn't hungry he always gave me his food." Dawn stated.
"I remember when he had only one stick of gum left from his pack he gave it to me." Trinie recalled.
"See? He's all had a meaning to us in some way. We should let him know of that and remind him what he truly means to us." I continued on with my idea.
"We should throw him a party here, at Cory's. Thing is, we shouldn't invite the entire school like last time, since it ended up in a disaster. So, we could at least have a small party. Just the five of us for him to come to." Topanga added to my idea.
"You knew exactly what I was thinking, Topanga. I know what to get him too." I stated. It was the perfect gift for his creative mind, it would allow him to have a departure to into his world and to help him spark his voice more.
"Wait a minute," Cory came abrupt to the realization as he peeked over to the calendar, then he turned back to us,"it's spring break next week."
"You're right. That should give us plenty of time for planning his party. Alright now, who's with me?"
:::
Monday
Spring break came and popped out of the blue as if the clock whirled and spun around so many times then broke.
It made time endless.
Shawn's birthday was in nearly two days.
Two.
For work, I decided to apply for a job at this restaurant called The Lunchbox. Weird name, but they acquired a splendid amount of pay.
I was making $7.50 a hour. However, I couldn't tell Shawn because this place was at the other side of town.
The worst part, actually.
If he found out he'd make me quit right away. Or he would be here to aid most of the time.
The workers here were all ladies, but I heard from the boss, Mrs. Connor, that a creepy pervert was one of her last night customers and barked in her face.
He was a drunk, she had concluded to me, although he kept requesting for more cups of coffee.
And today happened to be the lucky lottery ticket for me.
"Jasmine, it's your turn to work the night shift. Can you close when you're done?" Mrs. Connor asked me.
"Sure, Mrs. Connor. Do you think there'll be more customers coming in?"
"At this rate, only truck drivers will pop in and complain about their tires being flat to a pancake," She joked, then was ready to leave.
"Be safe, Jasmine." She insisted, then left the restaurant. I didn't understand why she had to leave me alone, but she did have a reason to go.
She had kids to take care of. To feed and provide that safe comfort for them. She hasn't been giving them enough affection lately since she was wound up in being busy all the time.
Besides, it shouldn't be so bad. I had ten minutes left til it was ten o'clock. What could possibly go wrong?
A moment later, a familiar guy walked in with an angry expression on his face. His eyes were loopy and he was drooling, wobbling around in motion.
It frightened me.
It was nearly closing time now.
"Can I have some coffee?" He spat at me, trying to contain his balance.
"It's closing time, sir. It's time to leave." I persisted, but he didn't budge.
He frightened me with a chilling spook when he slammed both of his fists against the table.
"I said, I want some fucking coffee! Is that too much to ask?"
"It's time to go-"
Suddenly I was taken aback when he got a hold of me, pushing me up against the wall.
"I said, I want some more coffee. If you don't do as I request, I swear to god I'll hurt you." He threatened, his voice hovering over me.
He had me in his hold for the longest time, leaving me in a quivering, fearful state. He pulled himself away from me and lounged himself into the booth.
Tears started to form out of my eyes as I did as he requested, but luckily I was stopped when one of the workers came.
I knew her, she was the manager and also Mrs. Connor's sister, Miss Harris.
"Hey, get out of here." She ordered the guy, who was in a deep slumber with a hangover.
She pressured him to leave, but it wasn't working as he wasn't waking up.
Miss Harris turned her attention back to me and said I could leave, that she had it taken care of.
"Thank you." I acknowledged her and she just nodded in response, then I rushed home.
When I returned home, I came to an overwhelmingly protective Shawn. His arms were crossed, with eyebrows furrowed in anger.
Since his parents were no longer to he found, Shawn's duty was to play the role of a defensive parent.
"Where were you Jas? It's late." He pointed out.
"I know, I was at Topanga's, remember?"
"Yeah, but I wasn't expecting you to be this late," he pointed out,"I was worried sick."
"Shawn, it's okay. Really." I tried to reassure him. When it came to me, he was a complete different person. This quarrel proved it.
"You know you could of been hurt out there right?!" He scolded me.
I just calmed him down with a kiss on the lips, then let go. His condition of ferocity tumored down a little, and he was completely nonchalant.
"I just don't want you to get hurt." He whispered to me.
"I know, and I love you for that." I replied to him, grateful of our everlasting hug. I couldn't have the heart to tell him about the incident at my job today. Not now.
I could at least tell him about my job though.
Afterwards.
After his birthday.
I didn't wanna spoil his surprise.
Speaking of his gift and the job, the next day I earned my paycheck.
I informed Shawn I was going to spend the night at Topanga's, when really right afterwards I was going to meet up with Cory and the rest at his place.
After I got done working, I headed to go purchase Shawn his gift. This was different than most presents you could expect.
I got him a high dollar camera.
It was not cheap, but this was worth a while. It had great filming. This costed $153.
I know Shawn has been wanting one for a long time. This meant so much to me purchasing him just as the exact same way it would be for him to receive it. It had a dignified meaning; it would provide and publicize his voice to the world we lived on.
I had saved some money left over to be able to wrap it, and the ingredients for baking his favorite flavored cake.
He deserved the very best of it.
It was lemon cake with white icing.
When I made it to Cory's house the previous night, we decided to have a sleepover sort of. Dawn, Trinie, Topanga and I slept downstairs, with Cory sleeping with Eric upstairs in his room.
The next morning, I was the first one to wake up. Our plan was for the four to get the party prepared and for us to attend the party at 1:00.
For baking the cake, I baked it all last night. When I first found out his mom had a spare saving of sprinkles.
So, to sweeten it up a little, I added it with sprinkles, and had candles digged down deep into the cake like different, drilled screws in a wall.
After I was done, I sneaked out of the door so that way I wouldn't wake anyone up.
I left around 10:30 in the morning, heading to the trailer park.
Shawn would be asleep right now.
Perfect.
I was relieved to have made it back.
I came home to find no one awake except for Shawn's mom, who happened to have a short meal prepared for Shawn with a candlelit cupcake.
"There you are! Shawn is still asleep, and I managed to get him a couple of presents. If you didn't I understand..." Her voice trailed off, feeling a pang of guilt.
"Actually, I did. You see, there's this party I'm throwing for Shawn, so I thought that would make his birthday a whole lot more exciting than I intended it to be." I informed her, and she formed a pleasured smile. She hauled me into a hug, grateful of what I did. She pulled away, getting ready to say something. What she had said to me made me smile wide. You could tell how much she meant it in her tone. 
"You're a good kid, Jasmine. I love you very, very much." I thanked her with a peck on the cheek then went to Shawn's bedroom. He was plastered all over his bed, warm drool running out of his mouth and onto his pillow like a faucet getting turned on in a sink.
It was cute.
I decided to wake him up by hovering myself on top of his body, and he woke up right away. He groaned, not wanting to wake up.
"Time to get up! Time to get up!" I was acting like this annoying, alarm clock girlfriend trying to get him to get out of the bed.
"Okay, okay," he said, chuckling and he sat up abruptly,"I'm up. Now what's the big deal?"
"It's your birthday, silly." I surprised him with a bunch of kisses all over his face, and he was laughing.
"Okay, my birthday is off to a great start then."
"That's not all." I hinted, and he smirked.
"Ooma ooma ooma..." I got a hold of his arm and we rushed to the kitchen, with the cake lit up. There stood at the dining table his parents, prepared with everything. His mom held the birthday cake firmly in her hands, with a slight smile on her face.
"Happy birthday, sweetheart." She blessed him softly. Shawn didn't move, his mouth gaped open and his eyes widened.
He took a few steps forward, leaning towards the cake and blowing out the candles. He made his wish.
"Thanks, mom." He whispered.
His mom set the cake down on the counter so she and his dad could hug him, then there stood me.
"Come on, you're a part of the Hunter Clan too." His dad pointed out, and they welcomed me into their hug.
After we were done cherishing our embrace as a family, it was time to cut the cake into pieces.
His mom had made him a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting on it as well. It was absolutely scrumptious.
Afterwards, they handed Shawn his presents, which were brand new outfits. One was a blue long sleeved shirt with a brown flannel to go over it, with tan colored pants, mostly similar to his attire from before.
"Thanks guys." He acknowledged them, then raveling them into a kneaded fold.
I realized on the clock it read 12:20. The party started in forty minutes!
"Shawn, we have to go. Come on."
"Well alright then, let me get dressed first." He insisted. He got dressed into a pair of light jeans with a orange shirt and a ochre brown flannel over it.
I had a hold of his hand the entire time as I led him straight to Cory's.
I knew from that moment it was 1:00 since from the inside, everything was dark.
"Why are we at Cory's-" Before he could finish his question, we opened the door and the lights dimmed up.
"Surprise!" Everyone shouted, with Shawn taken aback in astonishment.
"Wow guys, I never had a surprise party before." He confessed, blushing and scratching the back of his neck in fluttered embarrassment.
"Well, now you've had one." Topanga pointed out.
"And it was all Jasmine's idea." Cory added. Shawn's eyes met with mine, and he pulled me into a tight hug.
"I love you." He said to me.
"I love you, happy birthday, baby." I replied, rubbing his back.
"Well don't just stand there and play kissy kissy with each other all night! Enjoy your party, Shawn!"
:::
Although the party was only Dawn, Shawn,Topanga, Cory, Trinie, and me, what mattered most was the fact we were having fun.
We watched movies, ate a lot of food, gossiped with each other, and now we were going to eat the cake as well as open presents for Shawn.
I was anxious for him to open mine.
"This cake is my favorite! Who made this?" Shawn asked, smacking his lips as he scooped up some of the frosting and put it in his mouth. He made a popping noise, noting he enjoyed his other birthday cake.
"I did." I answered him with a smile.
Shawn smirked and kissed me on the lips, the taste of icing fabricating against my mouth.
I licked my lips afterwards, then when it was time to open presents, he opened the other's first, my being last.
When he unraveled Trinie's, it was a pack of gum. Seriously, Trinie?
"Oh, wow. A pack of gum. Thanks, Trinie." Shawn acknowledged to the best of his ability, trying to sound appreciative.
"It was worth every penny." She states.
Second was Dawn's, which happened to be a waffle iron.
"A waffle iron?" He asked, confused.
"Now you can make cookie waffles! They are good. I ate twenty in one day." She bragged.
"Well, those sound good though. Thanks a lot Dawn."
Next was Topanga's.
It happened to be a scrapbook.
"A scrapbook?" He asked her, confused.
"Not just pictures, Shawn. A scrapbook could mean anything personal to you." Topanga informed him, making him understand more.
"Oh, well, gee thanks Topanga. I will have to fill it in then." Shawn planned, and second to last was Cory's. It happened to be a Counting Crows shirt.
"Woah, thanks Cor. I love the Counting Crows." I admired it. It was black and had the band logo plastered over it in white.
"Anytime buddy."
Now it was time for my gift. As he reached for it, I was jittery at the edge of my seat. As he unopened it, it revealed the camera from it's peak.
Once he caught sight of it, he studied it for a moment.
"A camera?" He turned his attention to me.
"I know how much you've been wanting one. So I got a job and started saving up." I informed him, and he looked back down at it.
"Woah, this looks like a nice camera. It must of been expensive." He pointed out.
"Yeah, but it was all worth it. I hope you enjoy it."
He surprised me with a kiss on the lips then felt the camera, checking the focus of the lenses, the buttons, etc.
"Wow. This is so cool honestly." He was so amused by it as he was leaning in a close perspective.
"You know, Shawn, since you have a scrapbook now you could use that camera for it then." Topanga suggested. That was a good idea.
"Good idea, Topanga. And I have the perfect thing to do for it."
:::
The next two days Shawn had plan a trip for us. We told his parents about it and they were fine with it. I took the weekend off because of it.
"Uh, Shawny. Don't you need a car?" His dad wondered, raising an eyebrow.
"No, not really actually. It's this road I found that's within walking distance. It shouldn't take that long to get there actually." Shawn admitted to him.
"Alright then, have fun." His mom allowed, giving her permission.
Chip came with us, frolicking around near us with it's tail wagging. I picked him up and held him in my arms.
When we left his trailer, I asked Shawn where we were going, but all he did was hold a smirk.
"You'll see."
:::
It seemed like forever walking, but it was worth it.
"And we are here." Shawn confirmed finally at last. We halted to a stop at the sight of a wondrous, pleasuring sight.
Here we stood in a field, filled with dandelions and wishing flowers.
A cool breeze swept at the seams as if it was a big broom stroking it to the side.
The sky was a lilac colored one, going with the scenery.
"This is so beautiful... how did you find a place like this?" I asked Shawn, as he took out his camera.
"I have my ways," he answered, then knelt to the ground, trying to gain a clear perspective and focus,"alright, get in the picture."
"You're taking a picture of me? What for?"
"Because Topanga said to fill my scrapbook with something important, and I want it to be with you." Chip and I made eye contact, as if it melted both of our hearts tremendously when Shawn said that.
"Okay." I tried looking modest as possible.
"Perfect, perfect..." I heard Shawn murmur under his breath. I was wearing a white dress, and I did all kinds of poses in this shot. I had it with my knees combining itself with the blades of the swooped grass, me supposedly making a wish from the dandelion flowers, a close up of my face, me looking at Chip, then lastly for this shoot it was a picture of me smiling. I thought it was the last of it until Shawn handed me a flower crown from behind him.
"Where did you get that?" I asked him.
"Oh... long story."
This made me conclude he's been here before. As if he was planning it.
He handed it to me, and I planted it on top of my head, placing itself perfectly.
We did a few more until it was time to stop.
I thought we were done with pictures when he had led me to another place right near the fields. When we reached our next destination, it happened to be a beautiful beach, with a sunset in the background.
The luminescent sun kissing the ocean finally as if they were reunited at last, surrounding itself by the ombré colors of the sky, with hues of a pink, orange, blue, and purple in pastel colors.
"Go to the sand, Jas." Shawn ordered, following me towards it. Chip stayed by Shawn's side, kneeling itself down by his feet. I came to the sand and decided to take off my shoes, wiggling my toes against the grainy texture.
He took some more closeups, and even some more with Chip as well as I.
After we were done taking pictures, we gazed upon at some of the filming, which all were a clear, HD resolution.
"I love them all, Shawn." I said, flattered he was into taking pictures of me.
"Now for our last photo shoot- pictures of us." He took a closeup of me and him, with Chip in a couple of them.
We took a break from taking pictures, roaming around on the beach a little, the fields, then to relaxing on the other side again. He rested his head on my lap with Chip as well.
"I don't think Chip likes the idea of me resting my head on your lap." Shawn joked, as he was stroking my leg back and forth.
"I know." I said as I was taking a flower and twirling it around with my hand.
"If I could have it this way- just me, you, and Chip forever; like this, I would." He replied, and I pecked him on the lips.
Since my neck was beginning to ache, Shawn and I rotated in position, with me laying on top of his chest, Chip right beside us now. He buried himself into a sphere, just like most animals did trying to rest.
"Shawn, I can't believe school is almost over." I admitted to him.
"Me too, and I'm glad. No more Feeny for the summer." He joked.
Yeah." I responded. No interruptions, nothing.
"I can't wait to spend it with you. I have so many plans made up."
"Me too." I agreed with him.
Going over here was definitely one of ten now.
"Jasmine?" Shawn asks me, and I looked up.
"I love you. A lot. I know it's early, but what about right when we graduate, we get married? Then we can enjoy life like this forever." He requested.
"Yeah, that would be nice." I sighed with relief, beginning to feel tired.
"It would be."
We rested like this for a while, then it was time to go home. He packed his camera and I slipped on my shoes, then left the wondrous place with regret as if was getting darker out.
Chip was right at our tails. I could imagine how tired he must be after him roaming around all day on the beach and in the fields.
:::
That wasn't the only gift I had received.
It all started on Sunday, the day before school was back in session.
It had me only being up, with everyone else in bed.
When I let Chip outside to go use the restroom, a letter was at the doorstep.
I picked it up, as it was engraved with my name on it.
I decided to open it on the porch step, reading it carefully.

Jasmine Grace Clayton,
It is our strong duty to inform you with the best of news. Your audition a while back has been recognized for your amazing performer and we feel as if you should be accepted into Canadelt's Singing School in New York!
You'll be staying and learning your ways of music for a year. Admissions start this summer and you'll head back in September in the year of 1996.
Signed form submission and your date of notice for leaving must be sent by:
June 5th, 1995.
Hope to see you there.

I couldn't believe what I just read.
My heart was feeling so many emotions right now that we're bottled up inside me. A mix of sadness, happiness, and feeling overwhelmed.
What would Shawn say?
My aunt lived in New York. There was a pro to going, but the only con here was Shawn. I wouldn't know what to do without him. This was going to take plenty of time to consider. So, putting the letter back into the envelope, I did what I had to do.
I headed inside with Chip after he was done. Not wanting Shawn to spot the letter, I hid it in the best hiding spot.
I hid it in my small chest for private items with the lock in it, burying it into my dresser with a lot of clothes stuffed over it to convey it easier.
Under these circumstances, I could not
tell Shawn about this.
❤︎
:::
Author's Note:
OOH! Cliff hanger so far!
I hope you enjoyed this :)
You'll definitely like the next few chapters. Also if you've ever heard or watched the show Roseanne, that's actually who Mrs. Connor, Miss Harris, as well as the lunchbox are based off from too.