Chapter Text
“Shawn, we’ve already talked about this, you can’t see anyone after school, you’re grounded.”
“I know Jon, but it’s really important, let me explain-”
“Explain, but I won’t change my mind".
“I got a date with Veronica Watson. If I miss this chance, she’ll find another guy. Please, just this once, it’s a matter of life and death".
“No, Shawn, in two days you’ll say the same thing about Cory and in two weeks about another girl. Now go get ready, we have to go to school, so you can tell Veronica in person that she has to wait three weeks.”
Shawn sighs, goes to get ready but decides to call Cory first.
“Hey Cor"
“Hey Shawnie”
“I need your help, can we meet before class? I need to ask you something quick. Can you ask your parents if you can sleep over at my place today? It’s Friday, no school tomorrow, I’ll explain later".
Cory asks his parents and gets a positive answer but he doesn’t know what Shawn has in mind.
“They said it’s okay”
“Okay, hurry up and get to school".
Shawn gets ready and heads to the door to go to school.
“Shawn, after school I have a short meeting with Mr. Feeny, but remember you have to come straight-”.
The door closes, Jon sighs.
Shawn arrives at school and meets Cory in front of the lockers.
“Hey Shawn, what’s up?”
“Cory, I need your help. You know I’m grounded for three weeks, but I NEED TO see VERONICA WATSON, Jon won’t let me, I have a plan".
“Shawn, don’t you think it’s a little dangerous If you see Veronica and Jon finds out?"
“Cory, it’s Veronica Watson, it’s worth it. Anyway, Jon won’t find out”.
Cory knows they’ll probably get caught, but he knows how important this is for his best friend, so he agrees.
“Okay Shawn, explain it to me at lunch break".
“Thanks Cory, you’re a great friend.”
Shawn turns and sees Veronica walking towards him.
“So what are we doing tonight, Shawn? Chubbie’s?”
“Absolutely, as planned”.
Veronica plays with Shawn’s hair and face, gives him a kiss on the cheek, then asks to him: “why don’t you come with me to the bathroom? There won’t be anyone now that class is starting":
“Oh yes, certai-”.
“I’m sorry Veronica, but Hunter will come with me, and you should go to class too,” Mr. Turner appears from behind.
He grabs Shawn by the arm to take him to the classroom, but first pulls him aside and before he can start talking, Shawn interrupts him: “you never said I couldn’t see anyone inside the school, it’s normal to see people inside the building and talk, so-”.
“Shawn, this has nothing to do with your punishment, but now you should be in class and not in the bathroom, especially not with a girl, not even during breaks. Do I need to keep an eye on you 24/7?” “No, no, okay, I’ll go to class.”
The hours of lessons pass, Cory and Shawn don’t pay attention.
At lunch, Shawn and Cory sit down and while eating, Shawn proposes his plan.
“Okay, Mr. Turner told me that after school I have to go straight home and that he has to talk to Mr. Feeny after classes, so we’ll run to Turner’s house, okay?”
“So far, so good”
“Okay, now. Remember when I made a really big mistake and hid in your room? Well, here it is".
“Shawn…”
“Let me finish. When Turner comes back, you’ll stay hidden. I’ll be mad at him and stay in my room with the door closed. He always knocks before entering, so as long as he’s not in the room, we can be together, but we can't make any noise”.
“Shawn…”.
“Wait. Tonight, I’ll go out with Veronica. I’ll go through the window so he won’t see me leave, okay? Jon had blocked it, but I managed to unblock it. Plus, he knows that if I’m mad at him, I don’t talk to him, so you won’t even have to speak. Just make sure that if he knocks before entering, you get under the covers so he sees someone in the bed":
“Can I talk now?”.
“Go ahead, yes”.
“We’ll both get in trouble, you know that, right? If Jon finds out I helped you, he’ll call my parents and I’ll get punished too. Point number two, how can I have dinner if I have to stay hidden all the time and you go out for dinner? What if Jon gets worried and decides to come in or something? There are too many risks, Shawn. Plus, until this morning, you and Turner were talking, why would you suddenly stop talking to him?”.
“Good points. So, for your dinner… um, I’ll bring you something back from Chubbie’s. As for Jon, don’t worry, just make sure that if he comes in, you don’t respond, move in the bed, let him know you’re alive. I’ve done it many times, he knows that if I’m mad at him, I don’t talk to him until I calm down. And I’ll go talk to him now, he’s at the table, I’ll ask him again if I can go out, and at his no, I’ll start the silent treatment”.
“The fact remains that if we get caught…”.
“We won’t get caught”.
“Shawn, we always get caught”.
“Cor, please, it’s Veronica Watson, look at her, look at me. And anyway, there are tons of comics and video games in my room. Then I’ll come back and we’ll spend the rest of the evening together, okay?” “I don’t know why, but okay, I’ll do it".
“Thanks, Cor, really, I can always count on you”.
“Hey Jon, can we talk?” “Tell me, Shawn. Can Eli stay?”.
“Yes, it’s nothing, it’s just that, please Jon, let me go out with Veronica tonight”.
“Shawn, we’ve already talked about this, no, you’re grounded. Your actions have consequences, okay?”
“I don’t understand-”
“Well, in these three weeks you’ll have plenty of time to understand".
Shawn looks at Jon with an annoyed expression, sighs, and then remains silent for a few minutes. When the boy is about to get up, Jon stops him.
“Come on, kid, I don’t want to hurt you, but you need to understand that your actions have consequences, talk to me”.
Shawn gets up and leaves.
“I feel like I’m doing everything wrong, Eli".
“Jon, you’re doing a great job. You know how Shawn is, he has a strong personality and isn’t used to all these rules. Imagine if your parents had stopped you from seeing the girl you liked at his age and you’ll understand why he’s acting this way. What you’re doing is right but it’s hard for him to accept it”.
“I hope he can accept it sooner or later. It’s not pleasant for me to punish him because I always have to keep an eye on him. I want to give him some freedom, but as soon as I try, he’s ready to mess up, and I have to take it back. I hope it gets better".
“It will get better, Jon, I’m sure. Shawn is improving.”
Cory and Shawn’s plan begins with the ringing of the bell. Jon meets Shawn on the stairs and reminds him to go home. Shawn doesn’t respond and walks past. He had arranged to meet Cory outside the school, in front of a nearby café, so Jon wouldn’t see them going home together.
“Okay, Cor, put all your stuff in the closet. Jon doesn’t want to open it considering how messy it is in there. When Jon comes to greet me, you hide in the closet or under the bed”.
“We still have some time, so… shall we play video games? Let’s keep it quiet though, I don’t know what time Jon will be back”.
When the boys hear noises from downstairs, they realize Jon is home. Cory hides under the bed and Shawn gets on top with a comic book in hand. As expected, Jon knocks on the door but gets no response.
“Come on, Shawn. I know you’re upset about not going out with Veronica, but there will be other chances. Anyway, I need to come in to check that you’re home”. Almost not believing his eyes, Jon sees that Shawn is indeed home as he had asked. The silence didn’t surprise him, considering Shawn often used the silent treatment.
“Thanks for following the rule. Whenever you want, I’m downstairs. I hope you’ll at least come down for dinner, okay?”. Jon closes the door, and silently and slowly, Cory comes out from under the bed and goes back to reading comics with Shawn.
Shawn starts getting ready for the evening with Veronica. He takes a shower and brushes his teeth. For the evening, he chose a pair of elegant gray pants but still very baggy, his black boots, now worn out but he didn’t want to throw them away, matched with a belt and a black T-shirt, plus a light blue shirt over it. He also had his leather jacket with him. He was very careful not to make noise while getting ready and succeeded. Jon downstairs wasn’t worried. He had blocked Shawn’s window so the boy couldn’t escape. He had come home on time, and even though he was angry, it seemed the situation would resolve soon. Shawn lends Cory some old clothes to stay in bed and proceeds to leave through the window, being careful not to ruin his clothes. It wasn’t as easy as Cory’s window, but he had learned to get out without hurting himself, having practiced a lot. Meanwhile, Cory decided to bring the comics to bed and lie down already to be ready in case of any surprises. Jon knocked a couple of times but didn’t enter. Usually, in cases like these, Shawn needed his space.
At dinner time, Jon knocks on the door again and says: “Shawn, I don’t want you to skip dinner. Hey, if you want, I can stop by Chubbie’s and get you something good, what do you think?”.
Cory is in panic. He couldn’t let Jon go to Chubbie’s, he would have seen Shawn, but he couldn’t speak either because Jon would probably recognize his voice. He tries to change his voice tone and says to Jon: “no, I’m not hungry,” hoping that from under the covers and with a door separating them, the difference in voice wouldn’t be noticeable. And indeed, Jon doesn’t seem to notice anything, but it’s strange that the boy refuses food from Chubbie’s, as it’s often their way of making peace.
“Shawn, you never refuse, are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine":
“Alright then, I’ll go get some food and come back”.
Cory shouts “NO.”
Jon is quite shocked. He doesn’t understand why the boy shouted and the voice does sound different.
“Shawn, I need to come in, I want to make sure you’re okay, even your voice sounds strange”.
Cory gets under the covers, covering his face. Jon enters, trying to convince him to take them off. He notices that Shawn’s boots and jacket are missing, which are normally on the chair and on the floor next to the bed. He also notices that the window is not blocked and starts to have doubts.
“Okay, I’ll leave, I’m going out”.
Jon takes a few steps towards the door and he pretends to close it. Cory removes the cover from his face. Looking ahead, he sees Jon standing by the door, staring at him.
“Hey there, Mr. Turner, I can explain…”
“Uh uh, let me guess, Shawn went out and you’re covering for him”.
Before Cory can try to argue, Turner looks at him.
“Where’s Hunter? You’d better tell me the truth because then I’ll have to talk to your parents, and I don’t think they want to hear that you’ve lied multiple times”.
“Alright, yes, Shawn is at Chubbie’s with Veronica”.
“I’m going to get him, you stay here, it’s better for you. When I return, I’ll talk to both of you”.
Meanwhile, Shawn was at Chubbie’s with Veronica. Their order had arrived a while ago, but the two couldn’t keep their lips off each other. All the high school kids were watching the scene, many were sad because they wanted to be in Shawn’s place, others cheering the couple on. Everything stopped when Mr. Turner walked into Chubbie’s. Everyone fell silent. Jon approached Shawn, Veronica saw him and pulled away from Shawn, who felt someone grab his arm.
“Hey hey, what’s up?”.
As soon as he turned around, he saw Jon’s face and was petrified for a few seconds.
“Okay, Turner, I can really explain-”.
“You’ll do it at home, because that’s where we’re going, NOW".
“But my date-”.
“Don’t say another word, boy, we’ll talk at home”.
Shawn tried to escape, but Jon held him back: “If I were you, I’d try not to make things worse, let’s go, now”.
“Okay okay, um, bye Veronica, see you at school, okay?”
As soon as they got home, Jon told Shawn to go to his room and join Cory, then called the Matthews.
“Yes?”
“Hello Amy, it’s Jon".
“Hi Jon, tell me, is there a problem?”
“Let’s say the boys got into trouble, I’d like you to come over":
“We’re coming".
Meanwhile, upstairs, Shawn and Cory are silent. Cory paces nervously, while Shawn lies on the bed thinking about the evening he spent with Veronica.
“Can you explain how you can be so calm?”
“Cory, the evening was fabulous, being with Veronica was fantastic, that’s all I can think about”.
“Shawn, when do you think you’ll see her again if you’re grounded for at least a month now?”
“What?”
“Shawn, your actions have consequences, Turner will punish you, and I’ll get punished too".
“Turner can punish me, but I’ll always find a way to escape. Cory, really, right now I’m just thinking about how great it was to kiss-”
“Shawn, stop it, we’re in trouble”.
The Matthews arrive, and Jon explains what happened.
"We didn’t know Shawn was grounded, Cory didn’t tell us anything. Now that they’re 17, we hoped we could trust Cory a little more and not have to control everything he does, but apparently, we were wrong”.
“I think it was all Shawn’s idea. Cory cares too much about him and wants to cover for him in any situation, not realizing that it makes things worse. What do we do?”.
“I don’t know what to do, Shawn was already grounded, he seems to ignore all the restrictions I impose".
“Jon, I hate to say it, but Shawn could took of at any moment. I think he’s just testing your authority. Cory did the same as a child, now when he gets punished, he knows he has to accept it. Shawn has a different personality and didn’t receive much discipline as a child, he still has to learn. You’ll probably have to keep a close eye on him for a while and stand firm in your positions, he’ll learn”.
“I’ll try, I’m really angry".
“We are too. Shall we go upstairs? I’ll give a talk to both of them, then we’ll leave you alone with Shawn, and we’ll go home and take action for Cory”.
The Matthews and Mr. Turner head upstairs, open the door, and find Cory sitting with his hands in his hair, worried about the situation, and Shawn lying on the bed with a smile on his face, completely unconcerned about the consequences of his actions.
“Boys, you’re in serious trouble, you know that, right?” Alan asks.
“Yes, Dad-”
“The boy behind you doesn’t seem very aware”.
“Boys, you went too far today. Cory, you can’t constantly cover for Shawn, you’re putting him in danger, and you can’t lie. You knew Shawn was grounded, you shouldn’t have gone along with it, okay? Shawn, you were already grounded, you shouldn’t have gone out, you shouldn’t have lied, you shouldn’t have escaped through the window, do you know how risky that is?” Cory nods, with his head down, while Shawn seems completely uninterested.
“Now let’s go home, Cory, say goodbye to Shawn, because besides at school, you won’t see each other outside for quite some time”.
“You can’t stop us from seeing each other” Shawn stands up and speaks.
“Shawn, sit down, yes, we can. You shouldn’t have involved Cory in your mess, and Cory shouldn’t have covered for you” Alan responds.
“You’re not my parents, okay? I-”.
“Shawn, we’ve already had this conversation. Say goodbye to Cory, you and I need to talk, seriously”.
“What were you thinking, Shawn? What part of ‘You’re grounded’ didn’t you understand?”
“None of this would have happened if you had let me go out with Veronica. Instead, there was your stupid punishment and I had to find a solution. I’m alive, I had a fantastic evening, Cory is alive, and he had a very quiet one too, what’s wrong with that?”.
“Shawn, why did I punish you?”
“Do I really have to repeat all the reasons?”
Jon nods.
“Okay, um, I smoked, multiple times, I broke curfew, I made you worry, I was about to run away from school, I told you to fuck off, I skipped classes and went to a place you said I couldn’t go, I… I think that’s everything”.
“Do you understand the point of the punishment? I punished you because smoking is bad for your health, because coming back too late could put you in dangerous situations. I know you’ve always done it and always managed, but you’re still putting yourself in danger. You skipped classes to smoke, and that has a negative effect on your education, which is important, and you went to the trailer park, when the last time you went there, I almost had to take you to the emergency room for all the injuries you had.”
“You should have seen how the other guy was-”
“Shawn. I’m not joking”.
Shawn lowers his gaze, starting to reflect.
“Everything you did could have led to very, very serious consequences. You’re lucky nothing happened, but it could have, and I don’t want it to. Do you understand, Shawn?”.
“Yes, um, yes…”.
“I punished you and told you that you couldn’t go out for three weeks. What I say, you have to respect, whether you like it or not. You shouldn’t have gone out with Veronica, and you shouldn’t have escaped. You could have hurt yourself badly escaping through that window. If I hadn’t noticed your trick, what time would you have come back? Probably late, and something bad could have happened. Think about the consequences of what you do, Shawn. Now there will be consequences because you're grounded, again. Do you understand?”.
“Yes, yes, I understand,” Shawn replies, keeping his gaze down.
“Now go to sleep, we’ll talk again tomorrow, okay?”.
Jon notices that Shawn isn’t looking up, isn’t trying to argue, which is unusual for him.
“Hey kid, are you okay? I’m mad, yes, but everything will be alright. You’re a kid, you have a lot to learn, it’s normal to screw up things sometime".
“So… you will not kick me out?”.
“No Shawn, I won’t do it ever. I like having you here, and I’m doing all of this because I care for you, remember this. It’s normal for a teenager to make mistakes, this doesn’t mean that I’ll kick you out, okay? Never, I promise”.
“Thanks, Jon”.
“Now go to bed, but first, I have to lock your window again, and with more strength. Don’t try to unlock it, Shawn, I’m serious. I want you to sleep now, in this bed, don’t take off, I want you here. And if you want, tomorrow you can talk to me about your date”.
Shawn smiles at Jon, he feels safe, feels that someone really wants him.
Shawn won’t try to escape, for once he’ll sleep in his bed, and Jon will find him there the next morning.
The next morning Shawn wakes up, goes to the couch, lies down, and turns on the TV.
“Hey, Shawn, you have to turn off the TV” Jon says.
“Why? It’s Saturday morning, I always watch TV on Saturday morning… well… I always watch TV, not only on Saturday mornings”.
“Yes, but as I told you yesterday, you're grounded, so no TV”.
“No, no, Jon, anything but the TV”.
“And tomorrow you’ll tell me everything but Cory, everything but the girls, come on, Shawn, turn off the TV”.
Jon says: “You won’t see Cory and you won’t go on dates with girls, you won’t watch TV for a while. When you show me that you’re starting to listen to me, you’ll get your freedom back”.
“But what am I supposed to do all this time?”.
“Study? Read something interesting? Clean your room, which is a disaster?”.
The weeks will pass like this, with Shawn’s constant complaints and sighs, and Jon’s continuous reminders. But little by little, the boy will regain his freedom. They are learning more and more to trust each other. Shawn feels increasingly safe and Jon feels more and more like a father to him.