Ever since Zoey and Shawn had broken up, Zoey had formed a group of three with Topanga and Angela.
After a long day of classes, they usually returned to their rooms to study or hand out before they went to dinner together. Sometimes the boys would join them and sometimes it was just them, but they'd fallen into a routine.
On this particular night, Zoey, Topanga and Angela walked through the hallway where they found Shawn, Blake and Cory.
"Where you guys been?" Zoey wondered.
"Movies. Babe II: Pig In The City." Shawn quickly answered while Cory leaned against the wall.
"Cory, you and I were supposed to see that together." Topanga told him.
Blake chuckled. "Well. he'll definitely go again cause it was a great movie."
"And he loved it and what's funnier than those mouse's, and we all know how I fee about..." Shawn trailed off.
"We went to Cleavage." Cory announced.
"Little pink pigs...." Shawn finished.
Zoey raised an eyebrow at him. "You should, cause you are one."
"Oh, come on, don't be like that. It's just a restaurant. And besides, you can't be mad at me. Hello, drama queen, it's not like you're my girlfriend we're not going out together anymore, remember? We're just friends." Shawn told her.
"You're right. You go where you want." Zoey responded before she walked into her dorm.
"Hey, come on. Hey..." Shawn trailed off as he followed her inside. "Would you listen for a second?"
Zoey spun around to face him, crossing her arms over her chest. "No, Shawn. You know what? I really don't care. You're perfectly within your right to do whatever you'd like to do."
"Yeah, but by your tone I can tell that you do care." Shawn pointed out. "It's not like I'm going to live there permanently or anything. It's something all guys do."
"All guys who are pigs." She argued.
"I wasn't the only one in there!" He snapped. "I don't know why you're making such a big deal about it. It was just for a bit of fun!"
"Your definition of fun is very different than mine." Zoey told him coldly. "You wouldn't catch me dead in a place like that."
"Well, I know not to invite you next time!" Shawn exclaimed.
Zoey raised her eyebrows. "Next time?"
It took nearly fifteen minutes for them to exhaust their disagreement as they fell into an irritated silence. Zoey glared at him before marching out of the dorm room.
••••
The next day, Angela, Topanga and Zoey were in the coed bathroom. Topanga was in the shower while Angela and Zoey sat on the bench as they began talking about the boys,.
"So just because you were all understanding and mature about this, you really think Cory's not gonna go back to that place?" Angela wondered.
Topanga walked out of the stall with her robe on. "I know he won't, Angela. It was a one time guy thing and it's over."
"Well, I bet Shawn's back there right now." Zoey muttered with a frown.
"Well, I guess as long as some women chose to wiggle around half naked, there'll be men who go to see them." Topanga said as she sat on the bench beside her friends.
Angela scoffed. "Women don't choose to work in a place like that. They're forced into it by circumstances."
"I work there."
The three girls turned around to see Joan, one of their classmates stepping out of the shower stall with a green towel wrapped around her body.
"Joan, you do?" Zoey asked.
Joan nodded. "Yeah, because I need-"
"Stop." Angela declared, standing to face her. "You need go no further, my sister. I know the profile. Broken home, years of abuse, then a child out of wedlock, forcing you into financial chaos and a life of degradation and sin."
Zoey smirked as she watched Angela marched her way to one of the stall and pulled the curtain, blocking her from them.
"I'm a cook." Joan explained.
"Is this place really that bad?" Topanga asked.
"It's harmless." Joan assured. "I mean, the girls wear more than you'd see them wear at the beach. I'm on my way to work now. You want to check it out?"
Topanga nodded. "Yeah. I'm kind of curious to see what Cory finds so fascinating."
"Are you sure?" Zoey asked, looking up at her best friend. "You might regret it."
"Zo, we're talking about Cory here. What could he possible do?" Topanga wondered.
••••
Later that night, Zoey chose to study in the Student Union. She had her books and papers spread out over a table and she was currently working on her history reading while she occasionally looked around to see what other people were doing.
Angela was playing pool before herself, Topanga was sitting by the fireplace morosely and Cory entered the room through the glass door before Zoey directed him over to his fiancée.
Zoey watched as the engaged couple exchanged words but she was too far away to hear them.
Cory gestured wildly with his hands as he tried to explain himself while Topanga listed quietly to him. Her expression softened as she forgave him for whatever he had done.
Shawn then joined them only to nod and turn towards the exit. He paused as his gaze fell on Zoey doing her homework.
It had been a weird few months because while he'd seen Zoey, they hadn't talked much at all. In fact, he could probably count on one hand the amount of words they'd exchanged. After talking so easily all their lives, the distance made him feel uncomfortable.
It didn't help that a part of it was his fault, too. Even though he'd been the one to start them on the path of a break up, there were still feelings there. Whenever he caught sight of Zoey in the hallway, his heart jumped in his chest.
And then, when they were in class and she raised her hand, it was all he could do to give her his full attention when she spoke. He was glad that he sat behind her in several classes so she couldn't see the way he hung on to her every word.
While he claimed that Cory was whipped, he knew he could be just as bad.
The hardest times to hide his feelings were when their eyes would met across the room. He could feel the instinctual tug to be closer to her, to go over and talk to her, to be around her because whenever he was, he felt happier.
_____________________
PUBLISHED: November 21, 2018
WORDS: 1102