Butterflies || Shawn Hunter

Chapter 13: Only His Friend

"You got a hair cut," I commented to Shawn first thing after we entered our college, Penn Brook.

"Yeah, it was an $8 hair cut," he cutely grinned as though it was no big deal.

"Well, it's the cutest $8 hair cut I've ever seen. I miss your curtain bangs though," I frowned, him kissing my faint pout away.

"Who knows? Maybe I'll grow them out again." He led me through the room as people socialized together. Topanga and Cory were making out on the couch though, and I couldn't believe how they were climbing over each other.

"So, do you want to make out," I shyly asked Shawn, not planning on doing it that heavily, but it still sounded nice.

"No, I want to meet new people. In my past I never really met people while I was making out, except for that one time, but it was an accident."

"Okay," I nodded faintly, a pretty girl striding up to us.

"Hi, I'm Cameron," she introduced.

"I'm Shawn and this is my friend," Shawn introduced, causing my face to crumble, but I didn't correct him. I just kind of drifted off as they kept conversing, Topanga and Cory finally up for air.

"Wow, I don't know about you, but I think I'm really going to like Penn Brook," Cory happily expressed.

"What's wrong," Topanga asked me, instantly noticing my negative mood.

"Shawn keeps talking to that other girl, and he introduced me as only his friend," I admitted, the facts stinging more when I heard them out loud.

"You should go talk to him. He shouldn't treat you like that," Topanga stated, looking over at the couple as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, I'll talk to him later. I just think he needs his space right now." As soon as we had gotten settled in our dorms, I was ready to confront Shawn. "Shawn, we need to ta-"

"Did you know they have a co-ed bathroom? Pretty cool, huh," he grinned, biting his lower lip for a moment as he bobbed his head.

"What? I don't think I feel comfortable with that..."

"You sound just like Cory. He refuses to go in there."

"Doesn't it bother you that I'll be in there with other guys?"

"No. Why should it? I'll be in there with other girls," he shrugged, leaving me for the restroom.

"Shawn-" I stopped when he shut one of the stall doors, feeling awkward being right outside it as he did his business. "Shawn, we need to talk."

"Now? I'm kind of busy."

"I know, but you haven't been listening to me."

"What do you want to say?" He flushed the toilet before stepping out to wash his hands, flicking his fingers after before grabbing paper toweling.

"Are you sure you still want to be in a relationship with me?"

"What kind of question is that?" He looked over at me as he threw his trash away. He went to brush his hair back with his hand out of habit, before remembering his bangs were much shorter and in the rest of his hair.

"You introduced me as your friend earlier, and you didn't even try to find me again after you talked to that girl. And you just seem different. I don't know how to explain it."

"Okay, I'm sorry I messed up earlier, but don't you want to keep going out with me?"

"It's not a question of that. I think maybe you need your freedom, so that you can experience new things in college."

"But you don't want to break up, right?"

I took a quiet, deep breath before faking a smile as my heart shattered. "I think it would be best for both of us. I mean, there are things that would be nice for me to experience too."

"So, that's it? We're breaking up in the bathroom?"

"You picked the place. It was the only one where I could catch you." I left, fighting back the tears until I shut the door to my dormitory. I wanted Shawn to believe our break up was mutual, so that I could pretend I was fine and still hang out with him, but I had never felt worse. I hugged my pillow as I heard the soft click after the doorknob was turned.

"Hey, Shawn told us what happened," Topanga gently spoke, sitting beside me on my mattress.

"I don't want him to know that it's not mutual. I want to just pretend we're friends again like in the beginning."

"Are you sure you'll be able to do that? Maybe you should talk to him."

"No, I already talked to him, and I just feel this is what's best. If I really mean that little to him that he can't call me his girlfriend, then I would rather not be together."

"I'm sorry your first day of being here was so lousy." She soothingly rubbed my back after I sat up, giving me a weak smile.

I took a shaky breath before swallowing hard, brushing my hair over my shoulder. "It's okay. I never expected for us to be together forever anyway."

"That's not true. You called him your soulmate."

"Yeah, you were the perfect couple," Cory cut in, me just realizing he was in there. I sniffled as Topanga handed me a tissue to blow my nose with.

"Nah, that's you and Topanga," I lightly argued.

"Believe me, you guys were perfect too," he stated, sitting on my other side as I laughed a tiny bit.

"You two are the best. Do you care if I just lean on you for awhile? I'm sure I'll get over this fast enough if I can still be friends with Shawn."

"You can lean on us anytime. Not to brag or anything, but I have very nice shoulders," Cory grinned, me cautiously placing my head on his shoulder. Topanga kept rubbing my back as they let me express my emotions, me not sure if I could hide this from Shawn easily.

A/N: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please remember to comment, vote, and follow. Thank you so much! <3