Zoey ate some popcorn as her and Shawn laid on the couch and were watching a movie in Mr. Turner's apartment.
Zoey laid her head against Shawn's chest. Her left arm was draped across his stomach while his arm was wrapped around her waist, pulling her into his side. They laid together under the blanket.
Then the phone started to ring. Shawn sighed and pressed a kiss against his girlfriend head before he got up from the couch and made his way over to the phone, picking it up. It was Chet Hunter. Shawn walked up the stairs so he could talk to his father privately.
Then all of a sudden repetitive knocking was heard on the other side of the front door. Mr. Turner sighed and made his way over to the door.
Mr. Turner opened the door. "Matthews, what's with the camera?"
"Well, Mr. Williams says a good newsman's always gotta have his camera ready. You don't mind if I keep on shooting, do you?" Cory asked.
"No, go ahead." Mr. Turner replied.
"All right!" Cory exclaimed excitedly before Mr. Turner slammed the door shut. "Hey!"
"Turn that thing off, I'll let you back in." Mr. Turner said.
"Oh, come on, what are you hiding?" Cory wondered.
Mr. Turner opened the door again. "My disdain for you."
Cory walked into the apartment and greeted Zoey before he saw Shawn walking downstairs with the phone up to his ear.
"Shawn, Shawn." Cory called.
"On the phone, Cor." Shawn told him. "So, Dad, how are you gonna celebrate your birthday?... Oh, that's great." He lowered the phone. "He's going to the dog track with President Clinton." He raised the phone back to his ear. "So, are you coming home soon?... Yeah. Yeah, I understand. Oh, well, I really miss you..."
"Where's Shawn's dad calling from?" Cory asked.
"He said aboard Air Force One, but I kinda have my doubts. I heard people yelling in Spanish." Mr. Turner replied.
"Well, I'm glad to hear you're doing so well..." Shawn continued talking to his dad. "What? Oh, you gotta go? Oh, the president needs the phone." He turned to the others. "Yeltsin's on call waiting." He turned back to the phone. "Okay, well, I can't wait to... Hello? Hello?"
Shawn placed the phone down and sat down next to Zoey and threw his head onto her shoulder. She carded her fingers through his hair comfortingly as he played with her fingers absentmindedly.
"It's alright, Shawnie." Zoey assured softly.
Shawn frowned. "Didn't even get a chance to sing him Happy Birthday."
"You miss him, huh?" Zoey asked softly.
"Oh, family's really important to the Hunters. You know, my dad always said, 'Where there's family, there's a place to hide'." Shawn said.
"Did he say when he's coming back?" Cory questioned.
"No." Shawn replied, shaking his head slightly. "But he did say he can't wait to see me. I bet it'd make him really happy to see how well I'm doing."
"Hey, well, he can." Mr. Turner told him.
"What do you mean?" Shawn asked.
"Well, Matthews has his video camera. You could put yourself on tape." Mr. Turner suggested.
Cory nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Shawn, you know, we could go down to your old trailer park and get all your relatives on tap. I'll shoot it."
"It would be great." Zoey said with a smile.
"Well, Shawn, what do you say?" Mr. Turner asked.
"Putting the Hunter family on tape. It'd be great. It'd be like Court TV. Without the court." Shawn stated.
••••
Zoey let out a small sigh as she walked her way down the school wall. A smile was plastered on her face when she saw Shawn and Cory by their lockers. She made her way over to them.
"Shawn, I got a light, camera, video." Cory informed as he held up all the equipment. "Everything we need to film your family."
"Oh, great." Shawn said happily before he turned serious. "Hey, Cory. Remember when you're around my Aunt Lorena, keep your hands where she can see 'em and don't reach for anything quickly in your pocket."
"Hey, Matthews." Mr. Williams greeted as he approached.
"Hey, William." Cory responded, earning a look from their teacher. "Comma, Mister."
"Glad to see you signed out all this video equipment. I guess you're entering that news contest Channel Five's running." Mr. William's said.
"No, actually." Shawn replied for his best friend. "Cory's just shooting a video for me."
"Wait, wait. What contest is this?" Cory asked.
"Well, it's open to high-school kids all across Philly and they're running the best story on the air. I think you got a shot." Mr. Williams explained.
"Wow. Someone believes Cory is good at something. Am I dead?" Zoey teased, earning a glare from her best friend.
"Why, Mr. Williams, you flatter me." Cory told their teacher.
"You're pretty good with that camera, but you'd better get on it. It's due in two days." Mr. Williams said.
"Cory, what about the trailer park?" Shawn questioned.
"Uh, thanks Mr. Williams, but you know, I already promised Shawn." Cory said.
"Alright, it's your call, but I'm telling you. If you get inspired and win a contest like this you're on your way, my man." Mr. Williams told him.
"Well, I hear you. Hey, slap me some!" Cory exclaimed excitedly, holding out his hand for a high five.
Mr. Williams laughed. "You gotta be kidding."
••••
After dropping their school things off at Mr. Turners, Shawn, Zoey and Cory went over to the Pink Flamingo Trailer Park.
"Well, let's start with my Uncle Mike. You'll love him." Shawn promised as they approached a trailer. "Of all my relatives he's easily the warmest and friendliest."
Shawn knocked on the trailer.
"Get lost, scum!" Uncle Mike yelled.
Cory's eyes widen in fear. "Shawn, maybe we shouldn't bother your uncle."
"I think that's my aunt." Shawn said before knocking on the door again. "Uncle Mike, open up."
"There is no Uncle Mike. I'm an old shut-in living on my pension. Go away!" Uncle Mike shouted.
"It's me, your nephew, Shawn." Shawn replied.
"Shawn?" Uncle Mike repeated before the door swung open. He grinned and pulled his nephew into a hug. "Shawnie!" Cory smiled at the heartfelt moment and held up video camera to get it on tape. Uncle Mike noticed and covered his face hurriedly. "Hey! What's with the camera? Shawn, you setting me up?"
"No. No, no, no, no." Shawn assured, holding his hands up and shook his head quickly as he pushed Zoey behind him. "Uncle Mike, do you remember that video letter I told you about? Well, this is my buddy, Cory, and you've already met my girlfriend, Zoey."
Cory smiled. "How are you doing, Uncle Mike?"
"What do you know?" Uncle Mike wondered, his face stone cold.
"Nothing." Cory answered instantly as he took a step back.
Uncle Mike grinned. "Then I'm doing great."
"Hey, Uncle Mike, I really appreciate you doing this for me." Shawn said gratefully.
"I know how much family means to you, Shawnie." Uncle Mike said, patting Shawn on the shoulder. "And besides, everybody here at the old Pink Flamingo Trailer Park is real excited about being a part of it. Well, except for Grandpa Lewis. Last week he got picked up."
Zoey frowned. "Police?"
"Tornado." Uncle Mike corrected.
"Well, Uncle Mike, why don't you call everyone together and we can get started?" Cory suggested.
"Okay." Uncle Mike said before cupping his hands around his mouth. "All Hunters, out now!"
"We didn't do it." Several people automatically answered in unison.
"That's our family motto." Uncle Mike explained proudly to Cory.
••••
Once they assembled the order of filming, Zoey stood beside Cory, who was setting up the camera while Shawn stood behind his grandma and her lawyer.
"And go!" Cory called, pressing play on the camera.
"Hi, dad, it's me, standing here with Grandma Hunter and her attorney." Shawn said with a wide smile, wrapping an arm around his grandma. "Now, since Grandma is under a gag order and medication, her attorney's prepared the following statement; 'To my alleged son Chet. Happy Birthday. These loving words are in no way an admission of guilt in the trial of The People V Gertie Hunter'."
"Any woman that can give birth to me is one tough broad." Uncle Mike commented proudly.
"Hey, Cory, thanks again for doing this." Shawn grinned, making his way to his best friend and girlfriend. "Man, I have never seen my family open up like this."
"Shawn, nobody said anything." Cory said in disbelief.
"Maybe the problem lies within you, outsider." Uncle Mike said darkly as he stared down at Cory.
"That's food for thought, sir." Cory responded, smiling nervously as he shuffled behind Zoey.
"I could take you." Uncle Mike told Cory.
"Uncle Mike, I could take him, and trust me, some days I want to." Zoey told the older man.
"Shawn..." Cory called quietly and pulled Shawn and Zoey away from Uncle Mike. "You're uncle's insane."
"It was an option, but he never pleaded that way." Shawn explained casually.
"Look, I just think the tape would be better if we got the family to, you know, talk a little more." Cory suggested.
"Hey, you want a Hunter to talk, put 'em in a situation where they're not afraid to talk." Uncle Mike barked.
Zoey, Shawn, and Cory shared a look at that, thinking the same thing. Next thing they knew, the Hunter's were standing side-by-side, nothing but their silhouettes discernible in the darkness.
"Action!" Cory called, pressing play on the camera.
"Happy Birthday, Chet, from all the Hunters here at this undisclosed location." They said in unison and their voices distorted to ensure the Hunter family's anonymity.
"Okay." Cory began as he held his hands up. "I'm gonna turn the camera off, all right? I'm not going for my pockets."
Shawn looked up at Uncle Mike. "You know what, Uncle Mike? Dad's really gonna get a kick out of this."
"Yeah, it was nice to have the family together." Uncle Mike said, smiling down at his nephew.
"I'll be sure to send you a copy." Cory promised Uncle Mike.
"Why would you make Copies?" Uncle Mike questioned slowly.
Cory gulped nervously as he looked up at him. "You're a tall, tall man."
"Thanks!" Uncle Mike exclaimed happily before wrapping an arm around Cory. "You know Shawnie, you got a good friend here."
"Uncle Mike." Shawn warned.
"Hey, it fell out." Uncle Mike defended himself before handing back Cory's wallet.
"So, anybody else we gotta talk to?" Cory asked once Uncle Mike walked away from them.
Shawn shook his head. "No. That's pretty much everybody."
Zoey froze at the sight of a group of four boys approaching them. She immediately grasped Shawn's hand, her fingers intertwining as he positioned himself in front of her.
"Look, who's slumming." The leader called out. "It's Shawn."
"Eddie." Shawn greeted coldly.
"I guess this is the part where you wise up and move back to the trailer park. You know we missed you." Eddie said.
Shawn shook his head dryly. "No. I'm really happy living where I am."
"Oh, yeah. Out in the suburbs, where there are fancy homes built into the ground." Eddie mocked before glaring at Zoey and Cory. "Hey, builtins."
Cory's eyes widen. "Us?"
"You two got names?" Eddie questioned.
"Uh, it's Cory and that's Zoey." Cory answered before squaring out his shoulder. "But my karate students refer to me as Dr. Pain."
"Zoey? Where have I heard that name before? Oh... you're the stupid girlfriend." Eddie said.
"You say one thing about her and you're not going to be able to talk again." Shawn warned sharply.
The little boy walking with Eddie approached Cory. "I could take you."
Cory frowned. "What are you? Twelve?"
"Eleven." The kid corrected. "And I can make you bark."
"And I won't hesitate to drop kick you if you talk to him like that again." Zoey told the kid with a pointed glare.
"This is a nice camera." Eddie commented as he notice the video camera.
Cory jumped towards the camera and pushed Eddie's hands off it. "It's mine."
"What are you doing with it here?" Eddie questioned.
Shawn sighed heavily. "We're just filing some video of, you know, old friends and family."
Eddie frowned exaggeratedly. "And you didn't ask me to be in it? Should I be insulted?"
"Shawn, I got plenty of tape." Cory said.
"Cory, no." Shawn told his best friend. "Look. Eddie, I'm not bothering anybody, so why don't you and your friends just get lost?"
"No. No, no, no, no. See, we still live here. You don't. So the way I see it, you and your friend Cory Dorkery and your stupid girlfriend here should get lost." Eddie snapped.
"Don't talk to Shawn like that." Zoey scowled, stepping out behind from Shawn and approached Eddie.
"Or what?" Eddie challenged.
" That I'll guarantee you that you'll be eating food through a straw for the rest of your life." Zoey threatened darkly.
Shawn, knowingly knew that this was going to end badly, quickly grabbed Zoey's hand tightly and pulled her into his side protectively.
"Hey!" Cory barked angrily.
"Hey, what?" Eddie questioned, squaring his shoulders as he turned to Cory threateningly.
"Hey... what's the fastest way out of here?" Cory wondered.
Eddie pointed, causing Cory to run in that direction. Shawn glared at the older boy before pushing Zoey gently in front of him, making sure that she was never directly in Eddie's way.
••••
Next day at school, Zoey sighed heavily as she walked through the halls, thinking about last night. Whilst watching the tape last night, they noticed Eddie in the background with a stolen computer. Cory had gotten excited over the prospect of entering the video into the Channel Five news contest Mr. Williams had told him about, but Shawn refused.
After getting into a heated argument, Shawn agreed to give Cory the tape but only after he ripped out the tape and rendered it useless. At that, Cory stomped out of the apartment with a huff.
As Zoey walked towards the lockers, she saw two people lunging at each other as students circled around them cheering. Her eyes winded in shock when she realized that the two people that were slamming each other into the lockers before falling to the ground in a mess of punches were non other then Cory and Shawn.
Mr. Turner and Mr. Williams ran into the hallways, pulling the two boys apart.
"Get back to class now!" Mr. Turner ordered the students circling around them. His eyes furrowed in shock that it was Cory and Shawn fighting. "Hunter? Matthews?"
"Did you guys know you were fighting each other?" Eli wondered.
Shawn rolled his eyes and began to leave. "I'm outta here."
Mr. Turner quickly grabbed Shawn's shirt and pulled him back. "Not until somebody tells me why you guys were going at it."
"What do you want me to say? I'm good with a camera, and this guy's jealous." Cory explained as he glared at Shawn.
"You know when I'll be jealous of you, Cor? When you can do this." Shawn said as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Hey. Watch it." Mr. Williams warned, holding out a hand. "I can't do that either."
"Look, Mr. Williams, I've been inspired alright, I want you to enter me in that news contest." Cory insisted.
"I don't think you'll have time, Mr. Matthews." Mr. Feeny commented as he joined them.
Cory sighed with a frown. "Detention?"
"Let's not call it detention. I prefer hooked on Feeny." Mr. Feeny replied with a smirk.
••••
After school, Cory was still going to the trailer park against Shawn's continued warnings. Zoey tried to convince not to go, knowing he would do something dumb and get himself into trouble. But it failed.
Shawn and Zoey had the same idea and met up at the trailer park. When they entered the Ping Flamingo Trailer Park, they heard a yelp of pain. Shawn and Zoey shared a look of worriedness before bolting towards the sound.
Zoey's eyes widened in shock as she rushed over to Cory's side and draped his arm over her shoulder to help keep him standing. He's gotten punched in the stomach and kicked in the shin.
"Back off Eddie." Shawn warned, standing in front of Eddie and his group.
"Shawn, you got no business here." Eddie said.
"Yeah, well looks like I do. You touch this guy again and you've got me to deal with." Shawn responded.
Eddie raised an eyebrow. "What? You're gonna take a swing at me?"
Shawn shook his head. "No."
"Then what are you gonna do?" Eddie wondered.
"I'll call the cops." Shawn said simply. "Let them figure it out."
"Police?" Eddie repeated with a scoff. "You would do that to family?"
Shawn paused for a moment before nodding. "Yeah."
"Shawn, what's he talking about?" Zoey asked in a hushed whisper.
"Zo, just stay out of this." Shawn begged before turning to Eddie with a stern glare. "Look, Eddie, I'm serious. I'll turn you in."
Eddie frowned deeply. "Come on, man. I'm your brother."
"I'll do it if I have too." Shawn said.
"Like you're so much better than me." Eddie growled.
Shawn glanced over his shoulder at Zoey and Cory meaningfully. "I'm on my way to be."
Eddie laughed. "Okay, okay, go pretend. Play hero. But you'll be back. This is who you are."
"Just get out of here." Shawn told Eddie, his voice tired.
"Eh, c'mon, let's go." Eddie declared as he and his group turned and left.
"A brother?" Zoey repeated slowly. "You have a brother?"
"A half brother." Shawn corrected.
"Shawn, what else have you been hiding? A wide? You and Zoey got kids?" Cory joked.
"Sorry, Cor, it just didn't seem worth talking about." Shawn said quietly.
Cory nodded understandingly. "So that's why you didn't want me to hand in my story. You were protecting family."
"I guess." Shawn replied before he nodded towards the camera. "They broke your camera. Sorry about that."
"They didn't get the tape." Cory said with a mischievous smirk as he pulled it out from his jacket pocket.
Shawn smiled. "You know, Mr. Williams was right, you are a pretty good reporter."
Cory then held the tape out to Shawn. "Take it, it's your family."
Shawn shook his head. "No, no. Go win that contest."
"What about protecting your family?" Zoey asked.
Shawn smiled gratefully. "I just did. Eddie's only blood, you and Zoey are my family."
Zoey returned the smile as she stood between the boys before pinching their ears tightly.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" They yelped as their faces contorted in pain.
"Zo, I think my ear's losing blood flow." Cory whined.
"Good." Zoey said before finally releasing them. "If we were in prison, you guys would be, like my bitches."
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PUBLISHED: April 26, 2018
WORDS: 3163