Aria (a psych fanfiction)

Chapter 5: Procastanaion

"This is your dad's house? But I - I didn't know - he's going to think I'm a thief!" Shawn ignored her, knocking obnoxiously on the door. The door swung open - At least it's not a dead body this time, Aria thought. Thank God for small blessings.

"Shawn! You're too late, it's over - I found my wallet behind the couch. It must have - you!" Henry's face lit up in recognition.

Pushing aside her nerves, she held out a hand and flashed a winning smile at the man before her. "So you're Shawn's dad! I believe we met yesterday? I'm sorry for taking off like that, it's just that I had an appointment to go to, so I was on a tight schedule, and I thought you'd forgotten me, and, um...yeah." I really need to work on the rambling thing...

Henry looked at Shawn skeptically, spurring Shawn to jump in. "And you found your wallet, so everything's great! Dad, Aria. Aria, Dad, but you can call him Henry. She's a student at the high school, she's, uh, following Gus and me on an investigation."

"So, she's like an intern?"

"Yes? Yes, yes she is."

Henry squinted his eyes, searching his son for any signs of a lie. "Shawn, can I talk to you in private for a minute?"

"I'd rather not..." He was dragged into the house anyway, leaving the other two on the porch. "What, dad? We just need her out of our way for a few hours, we'll pick her up at the end of the day."

"Okay, Shawn, what's really going on?"

"What do you mean? Nothing's going on."

"Right. You can't lie to me, kid. I raised you, remember?"

"Well, I wouldn't really call that raising...more like child abuse..."

"Cut the crap, Shawn. Is she a runaway? A witness to something?"

Shawn let out a deep breath. "All right, you got me," he whispered. "She's an orphan. Homeless. I accidentally left the office unlocked the other night, Gus came in and found her sleeping on the couch - look, it's complicated. She begged us not to turn her in, so we're just letting her hang around for a while until we figure out what to do."

"Shawn - "

"I know, I know! But she's starting to grow on me. She's like the pet dog you never let me have..."

"She's a girl, not an animal, Shawn."

"Fine, then, she's like the little sister I never had! Even Gus is having second thoughts. They bonded over Harry Potter. Anyway, we can't just send her away now."

"Shawn..." Henry sighed. "Fine. She can stay here for today. But what will I do with her? I don't know how to entertain a teenage girl! I could barely handle you as a teenager!"

"Silence of the Lambs, Pretty In Pink, Dirty Dancing, and whatever books you have. Good luck." Shawn patted him on the shoulder before starting back outside. "All right, Aria, we'll come get you at around six o'clock. Have fun!"

The two partners practically ran to the Blueberry. Aria and Henry stood on the porch in silence for a minute or two. The girl finally spoke up. "Look, I promise I won't bother you or anything. I'm pretty good at entertaining myself, and I can be quiet."

He smiled at her. "No, don't worry about it. So, uh...do you like board games?"

"I've never really played...except, um, me and my mom played...have played...Scrabble a few times, but that's about it."

"You ever played chess?"

"No."

"You want to learn? Come on, I have a board out back."