Chapter Eight

Shawn pulled across the street from Angela’s house and parked. He walked her up to her house once they’d made sure that her father wasn’t home. It was his habit to park on the drive strip instead of in the garage as Angela mentioned to Shawn, and since there was no sign of his car, they assumed that he hadn’t yet made it home.

Deciding to live a little dangerously, they took advantage of that fact. Shawn accompanied Angela up the couple of steps to the small porch for an extended farewell.

“Okay, see,” Shawn groaned, finally coming up for air, “this is what almost got us in trouble the last time I was here.”

“Can you believe that that was just a few weeks ago? What I wouldn’t give to go back in time,” she sighed. “Everything was much simpler then.” With another sigh, she turned away, slid her key into the door, opened it and tossed her purse and keychain onto the little half moon table off to the right just before the stairs. She closed it and faced Shawn.

“I should probably go now,” he suggested reluctantly yet made no move to leave.

“No,” Angela protested. “I don’t want you to go.” She draped herself over his chest and raised her lips for another kiss.

Even though his hands automatically settled around her waist, he kept his head upright.

“Angela, if your father pulls up and catches me here with you, there's gonna be hell to pay,” he told her as her eyes opened when he didn’t kiss her. “Remember the bigger picture here, babe.”

“Oops! Sorry. I forgot that my once crazy boyfriend is now this reformed rebel with a cause,” she said only half-jokingly.

“That’s right,” he admitted with a slight grin. “And it’s too important a cause for me or you for that matter to mess up because our hormones are working overtime.”

Angela looked up into his face with a pout.

“It’s just that I’ve never felt like that before. Like I wanted to do anything with a boy.” She bit her lip and with a bashful look on her face, admitted, “It’s not that easy to suppress those feelings, Shawn.”

“Who’re you telling?” He retorted, but then smiled down at her and laid a gentle kiss on her lips.

He slowly lifted his head. “Now you’ve had a taste of what guys go through. I’ve been controlling my urges since I was twelve when I realized that girls weren’t icky like I thought.” A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest. “You’ll get used to it.”

“Maybe I don’t want to get used to it,” his girlfriend offered. She ran her hands over his chest and then his back.

He let go of her and took a step back with a heavy sigh. “You have to, at least, until we figure a way out of this jam.”

The drapery covering the sidelight on the right side of the door inched away from the glass. A faint shadow in the form of a head appeared towards the top portion of the rectangular window.

Angela was vehemently disagreeing with Shawn when he put a finger to her lips.

“Do we have to argue about this?” he asked wearily.

Angela stated with an unmistakable edge to her voice, “There’s nothing to argue about. Fact is, I’m not going to Stanford. I’m going to stay here and go to Pennbrook. I’ve got a scholarship. It won’t help with my room and board, but I can find a job, get an apartment and a couple of roommates to help with the rent just like plenty of other kids do.” She looked up at Shawn. “I don’t care if my father disowns me. All that matters is that we’re together.”

Shawn groaned. It was a tortured sound that seemed pulled from the depths of his soul. “Angela, can’t you see that that’s exactly what I don’t want for you?” Unconsciously, his hand raked through his hair, leaving it attractively rumbled. He looked at her with worried eyes. “I don’t want you estranged from your father, and if being with me is going to do that then—”

“You mean you’re just going to let him come between us?” she interjected in anticipating his words. She was both stunned and hurt. “I-I thought you loved me!” She looked like she was on the verge of bursting into tears.

Without hesitation, Shawn wrapped his arms around her, uncaring if they were seen by her father in the off chance that he pulled up.

He kissed her temple and soothingly ran his hands up and down her back.

Angela held onto him tightly, burying her face in his neck.

“Honey, you didn’t let me finish. What I was going to say was that I think you should go to Stanford.”

Angela pulled away to look at him. “What? No. Shawn—”

“Listen to me,” he insisted quietly, but firmly, silencing her. “I think you should go because you really don’t want this thing with your father to get any worse. I know first hand how it feels not to have parents, Angela. Neither of my parents gives a damn about me. That’s been the single thing that’s fucked with my head most of my life. Your father loves you, and even as misguided as he is right now, you’ve always been close. He’s always been there for you. That’s not something you want to throw away.” He gazed into her eyes, his expression serious. “And I can’t let you do that on account of me.”

“How can you even care about his feelings?” she flung at him.

“Because Angela,” he began a little impatiently, “I don’t know where my mother is, and I don’t have any kind of relationship with my father. At least you’ve always had your Dad. He’s been there for you. And he still would be if it wasn’t for me.” Bitterness seaped through his voice.

“Don’t you dare blame yourself for what’s happened between me and my father, Shawn,” she argued. “It’s not your fault that he’s behaving the way he is.”

“Maybe not,” he conceded, yet added, his tone laden with guilt, “but it feels like it. I hate that you’ve lost something that’s precious to you. It kills me.”

Angela stared at him, a soft adoring looking in her eyes. “If only my father could see how wonderful you really are, Shawn. If only he’d allowed himself a chance to get to know you. The real you, and not who he thinks you are because of where you grew up and who your parents are.”

“I wish that too, baby. I mean, outside of what he’s doing to us, he seems like a-a great guy,” he remarked, and tried to put some conviction into his statement. The smile that followed was rather weak in comparison though.

Angela trailed a light hand down the side of his face, appreciating his efforts, but she shook her head.

“I thought so too at one time. But I’m not so sure anymore,” she said sadly.

“Angela, I just don’t want you to lose something I’ve always wanted,” he explained.

She gazed at him with her heart in her eyes. “I don’t think I could love you anymore than I do right now.” She cuddled into his chest.

“I just hate that you and your Dad are fighting because of me,” he said after a few moments. “This situation isn’t fair to you. You shouldn’t have to choose between me and your father.”

Tears sprang to Angela’s eyes. She tore herself out of his arms, and turned her back on him, arms wrapped around her middle.

“I know I shouldn’t, but don’t you think he should be the one to recognize that? Who’s the adult here?” she choked out. “I don’t like being at odds with him, Shawn, but he’s the one who’s acting like a child. He won’t see anyone else’s point of view.” She gave a forlorn sniff. “And the worst thing about it all, besides us not being together, is that this isn’t completely about you.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

Angela emitted a deep sigh. “I never told you about my mother.”

Shawn walked up behind her, gently gripping her shoulders. Angela leaned back into him, and shivered as she absorbed the heat from his body even though the evening wasn’t cool.

“I know you never talk about her,” Shawn remarked. “You only told me that your parents are divorced. So…what does our problem have to do with her?”

Angela slowly gave him a thorough rundown of her mother and father’s history. The early parallels between the high sweethearts’ situation then and theirs now weren’t lost on Shawn.

“I’ve got to admit…something…to you, Angela,” Shawn said hesitantly before plunging on. “When I saw your GPA and senior class ranking, I have to admit that I was kinda thrown by it.”

Angela raised her eyebrows in surprise.

Shawn looked away briefly, but met her gaze full after blowing out a deep breath.

“I-I was panicked wondering what an overachiever like you could see in me, and how you would feel about me once we were out of high school and in a college setting. For a while, until Cory kept talking me down from the ledge, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with you, Angela, so in a way, I kind of understand how your Dad felt.”

Angela looked at him with concern. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“How could I? I was embarrassed and then this thing happened with your Dad hating my guts, and I guess I realized that it didn’t matter. When faced with a real problem, the fact that your smarter than I am didn’t seem that important after all. All that mattered is that we want to be together because we love each other. And I suppose,” he said slowly, thinking out what he wanted to say, “that’s why you going away to college isn’t as scary for me as it was.”

“Well, I’m still scared, Shawn,” Angela admitted. “I wish I was as confident as you. I just…I don’t want to lose you.”

Shawn smiled, and Angela’s heart filled in her chest. He didn’t smile that often, but when he did, it was like the heaven’s opening and a massive rainbow pouring down from a cloud.

“You’re not gonna to lose me, and I’m damn sure not gonna lose you.” He gave her his crooked smile. “I’m gonna visit you so much that you’ll be begging me to leave to you alone.”

“Never!” Angela said fiercely.

He had to kiss her for that. When he raised his head, they both were breathless.

“I want you to visit me every chance you get,” she insisted around a ragged breath.

“There’s not gonna be any ‘chance’ about it. I’m going to do this thing in an organized way. Every month, I’m going to be on your doorstep.”

“How?”

“Well, you remember that Jonathan offered me a full time position, but I turned it down because I was planning to take a full load this coming semester?”

Angela nodded.

“I asked him about the other day, and he told me it was still open and mine if I wanted it. It even comes with a slight raise since he last offered it to me because he’s been having so much trouble finding someone he thinks has a good enough eye to really train so he can expand the business. So I'm gonna work full-time, and go to school part-time. It'll take me a little longer to finish, but...so what. I was thinking that if we just stick to this and everything works out like we want it to, then maybe in a couple of years when your Dad sees that you're following your dreams and excelling in school, he’ll admit that he was wrong. He’ll see that I want what’s best for you as much as he does. Of course, it's not guaranteed," he commented with a shrug, "but I’m willing to do whatever I can to make sure to try and make that happens. I meant what I said, Angela. I don’t want you to have to choose between your father and me.”

“Shawn, how can you be so upbeat about this?” she asked miserably.

He shrugged. “Look, I’ve never had the most optimistic outlook on life, but you, Cory, Topanga, Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, and even Jack and Eric have shown me that I can have good things in my life,” he said simply. “They may not come to me as easy as for some, but I can have them. I can have a wonderful girlfriend and a great future. I just have to believe that things will work out for us, Angela. And you’re gonna have to as well.”

“I-I’ll try,” she promised with a wan smile.

He hugged her close. “That’s my girl!” he said, beaming down at her before he sighed. “I guess this is my cue to leave. I don’t want your Dad showing up while I’m still here. It’s only gonna set him off, and that’s all we need right now.” He kissed her temple, turned to step off the short stoop and bumped into someone hard enough to knock the person down.

His heart hammering, he looked down at a black girl lying spread eagle on the green grass of the front lawn.

“Oh, man!” he exclaimed, holding out a hand to her. “I’m sorry.”

She shot him a hateful look. “Yeah, you are, but what does that have to do with your clumsy ass knocking me down, jerk!”

Shawn’s hand retracted immediately. He scowled and felt his temper begin to rise. He wanted to say something cutting to the rude girl but stopped himself in time thinking she might be a friend of Angela’s. Just before he turned his head to ask, he felt her come up behind him, his back muscles flexing slightly as her breasts brushed against him before she ducked her head around him to peer down at the girl with a frown adorning her face.

“Um, just who do you think you are talking to my boyfriend like that?” Angela bristled. “You don’t know him well enough to talk to him like that. For that matter, you don’t know him at all, and I sure as hell don’t know you either.”

The girl smirked as she rose to her feet. “Oh, but I know you and we have a mutual friend in common.”

Angela allowed one eyebrow skeptically, doubting the validity of that statement.

“Ted Brazelton. My boyfriend, Ted.”

None of the teenagers noticed the strangled intake of breath that sounded just behind the front door.

“Your boyfriend,” Angela parroted, coming out from behind Shawn. “You’re Ted's girlfriend?” She looked the other girl up and down.

She had long brown hair that fell to her waist from a center part, blemish free dark chocolate skin, small features and slightly slanted copper-hued brown eyes. Her make up was light and attractive, accentuating all of her best attributes. The girl’s hand were smoothing her tight jeans over her hips and her belly button revealing t-shirt, unnecessarily drawing attention to her shaply figure.

Angela rolled her eyes and then gave Shawn a sidelong glance.

Shawn, however, was still scowling, his eyes intent on the newcomer but not from any personal interest or attraction. At the mention of Ted’s name, his nostrils flared ominously though in spite of his calm appearance.

Angela breathed easy and brought her attention back to the girl.

“Does Ted’s girlfriend have a name?”

“Cherise,” she replied, stepping onto the stoop. Shawn moved to make room for her, yet made sure that he was stationed in between this ‘Cherise’ person and Angela. He didn’t trust any friend or ‘girlfriend’ of Ted Brazelton’s.

With all thoughts of leaving gone, Shawn folded his arms, waiting to hear what else the brash girl had to say.

“Look, I’m not here to cause any trouble,” she asserted, looking back and forth from Shawn to Angela.

Angela snorted. “You could've fooled me.”

“Whatever,” Cherise said with an attitude that belied her earlier statement. “I just thought you ought to know that even though you think you’ve got Ted, you really don’t. A goody two shoes like you can’t hold him for long, and I’ll still be here when he drops you.”

Even though Angela had no interest in Ted as a friend, boyfriend or anything else, her curiosity was piqued against her will.

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh, and why’re you so sure that I’m going to be the one who's dropped?” she asked sharply, causing Shawn to look at her in surprise.

Cherise’s smile was smug. “Ted likes girls who understand a man’s needs. Unless you willing to put out,” she said pointedly, so that the other girl couldn’t mistake her meaning, “he’s going to drop you like you’re not so hot.”

A sharp in take of breath went unnoticed by the group standing on the small porch.

Shawn sneered. He wasn’t surprised in the least by this revelation concerning Ted’s obnoxious attitude toward women.

For her part, Angela had had enough of this obnoxious girl. “Okay, message delivered.” She dismissed her with a look and averted her face.

Cherise parted her lips to say something nasty, but when her eyes met Shawn's hard stare, she thought better of it. Shrugging off the slight, she turned to go. After all, she rationalized, she'd accomplished what she'd come to do.

“Oh, Cherise?” Angela's soft voice called out.

She glanced over her shoulder.

“For your information, I don’t want Ted. He’s the one who’s pursuing me. He’s the one who’s conned my father into thinking he’s some great guy. So much so that he and my father cooked up this scheme where he’s taking me to the Prom even though I don’t want to go with him.” So intent was she on sticking it to Cherise that Angela missed Shawn’s double take at her words. “So just imagine how shocked I am to hear that even with all your...strenuous back work,” she smirked at Cherise, “you still can’t hold onto your ‘boyfriend’,” Angela finished up sweetly.

Cherise surveyed her through narrowed eyes and her jaw clenched in anger, but unable to find a suitable comeback, she stomped away, disappearing as quickly as she’d appeared.

Angela’s treaclely expression faded. “Oooh!" She stomped her foot. "That no good bastard. That...that slimeball!”

Shawn stared at Angela, feeling a little jealousy rise. “What are you so angry about?” he demanded angrily. “Are you pissed that Brazelton’s sleeping with that chick while he’s been chasing you?”

“What?” Angela asked somewhat blankly. “What’re you talking about?”

Shawn folded his arms and stepped right in front of her. “I’m talking about the fact that you seem upset that the jerk’s seeing another girl and sleeping with her.” His eyes glared into her startled ones, his agitation betrayed by their darkening hue. “What’s up with that?”

His unexpected outburst had caused Angela’s to mouth fall open. Then, as her hand flew up to cover her lips, she began to giggle.

Shawn’s features seemed to be etched in stone. “I’m glad you think this is funny!” he said coldly. He dropped his arms and started to turn away.

“Shawn Patrick Hunter, don’t dare walk away from me because of that jerk.” Angela grabbed the arm closest to her. He allowed her to pull him back as she came up to him. Her arms slowly snaked around his waist as Shawn fixed his eyes over her head, his face sullen.

As Angela leaned in, her lips gently nipped the cleft in his chin. Then she kissed it. She pressed tender kisses along his jaw line until he relented. His arms came up to encircle her midriff even as the stiffness left his body.

“Okay, okay. I’m an idiot,” he sighed, his jealousy having dissipated.

“You are so cute when you’re jealous,” Angela cooed. She was actually flattered and would have continued with her pleasurable ministrations, but Shawn pulled back suddenly as something occurred to him.

“Hey, what’s this about you going to the Prom with that asshole?” he asked abruptly, his tone sharp.

Angela paused in mid-kiss. “Oh. Um...did-did I forget to mention...that?” she asked hesitantly.

“Uh, yeah. Ya did," he told her somewhat testily.

She leaned her forehead against his shoulder. “Baby, don't be mad at me. I swear just found out last night when my father and I were arguing,” Angela began wheedling as she stroked his back. “That’s one of the reasons I was so upset.”

“God, this situation has gotten so out of control,” Shawn cried, pulling away to run both hands through his hair. “I don’t think I can stand seeing you there with him, Angela. I know you can handle yourself, but…” He began to pace up and down the confined area of the small porch. The hard heels of his boots tapped harshly against the hard concrete. “I mean, if he tries something with you,” he released an unsteady breath, “I know I’m gonna lose it and beat the shit out of him. I…don’t think I can be there.”

“No!” Angela exploded, stunned by his decision. “Shawn, the prom’s the crowning event of our senior year. You have to go. We have to at least dance one dance together.”

Shawn stopped his pacing and looked at her, but didn't say anything.

“Then I’m not going.” She crossed her arms as if to add weight to her statement.

“Angela— ”

“No,” she cut him off hotly, “I already know what you’re going to say, and I don’t care if my Dad likes it or not. My God, Shawn, Ted’s totally pulling a fast one, and my Dad's a willing dupe.” She flung out her hand in the direction in which Cherise had taken off. “You heard that girl. Ted’s using her for sex, and if I tried to tell that to my father, he wouldn’t even believe me. He’d just dismiss it; he’d say I shouldn’t listen to a girl who’s motives are suspect, and that she wants Ted for herself. He wouldn’t believe that Ted’s a bonafide 'playa' and a sexist pig.”

Shawn scratched his ear thoughtfully. “Well, he’d be wrong, although I could see his point about Cherise.”

Angela squinted at him. “Okay, you know something.” It wasn’t a question.

He glanced at her briefly before looking away again out onto the streetscape. He watched as a late model sports car made its way down the street, surprisingly without the din of music blaring.

“Those girls I told you about? The ones he started seeing after you dumped him?” Shawn asked

Angela nodded, prompting him to continue.

“Well, I didn’t tell you the reason he dumped all three of them so quickly, one right after the other.”

Angela gasped. “Oh my God,” she butt in before he could explain. “Don’t tell me they refused to have sex with him, and he dumped them for it?”

“No.” Shawn wagged his head. “When I started asking around about Brazelton, I was told something I needed to verify, so I talked to each one of those girls.”

“What did they say?” she asked curiously.

“Well, at first, nothing,” he admitted, eyes narrowing thoughtfully as he rubbed the back of his neck. “But after I explained my problem with the guy, how he was after you even though he knew we were together, they loosened up a lot. The long and short of it is, each one I approached eventually admitted that they’d had sex with him, and then he dumped each one after he’d gotten what he wanted. That Cherise chick can consider herself officially dumped. You’re the one that got away, Angela. Mr. High School Football Star’s ego can’t take your rejection. That’s why he’s so fixated on getting with you. Well, I mean, besides the fact that you’re gorgeous,” he added hastily as he turned his head to her.

Angela sidled up to him and kissed his cheek. “It’s okay. My ego isn’t that fragile,” she murmured, “and this makes sense to me. I knew there had to be some other reason for him hanging around after I’d made it very clear that I was with you when I broke it off with him. But I’m not gonna lie and say that I had a clue that he was like that. I guess all those girls he’s messed over are so ashamed that they keep quiet from embarrassment, inadvertently making it possible for him to keep using more girls." She shook her head in disgust. "That creep has everyone fooled. He had me fooled, too.”

“You hurt his pride, babe, and he’s made it a point of honor to get what he thinks I’ve gotten from you.”

Angela emitted a frustrated growl. Shawn smiled slightly in spite of his own frustration because the sound she made emerged sounding like an annoyed kitten.

“I’m just so sick of this, Shawn,” she declared irritably. “This situation just gets more tangled the longer it goes on. It’s-It’s snowballing what with Ted’s plot to get me into bed with him, and Dad’s plan to help him get me there even if he doesn’t know that’s what he’s doing.” Her dark eyes flashed with anger. “Well, I may not have control over what they do, but there is one thing I do have some control over.”

“What’s that?”

“Me. I’m not stepping foot outside this house with Ted. I don’t want that disgusting excuse for a guy anywhere near me,” she said with a visible shudder. “And I don’t care how much trouble that gets me into with my father.”

Shawn didn’t respond to her announcement. He seemed to be deep in thought.

“Shawn?”

“Oh, sorry.” He blinked, focused and gave her his attention before making a shocking announcement.

“Angela, I think you should go to the prom.” Her face took on a look he recognized: stubbornness. Shawn forged ahead in spite of it. “Look, I've been thinking, and I’ve changed my mind about not going,” he said surprising her. His hands glided down her arms reassuringly. “I’m gonna be right there to make sure Brazelton doesn’t try anything. As much as it pains me to even think of that guy being anywhere near you, I just think we’ve got to stick to our plan of wearing your father down without being overtly confrontational.” He dipped his head to look her directly in the eyes from his slightly taller height. “So…what do you say?”

Angela chewed her bottom lip and gazed at him solemnly, unable to look away. When he looked at her like this, with this slightly pleading look in his azure eyes, she found it hard to deny him anything.

“Alright. But not because I want to or because I think giving into my Dad is the right thing to do, Shawn,” she hastened to explain. “I’m only doing this because you asked me to and for no other reason.” She gave the collar of his button down shirt a quick jerk, pulling him up against her. “And you better dance one slow dance with me even if Ted rats us out to my father. That’s my one condition.”

Shawn grabbed her and gleefully whirled her around. “Done. I was gonna do that anyway, you know,” he stated cheekily. He set her down gently.

Angela hit his arm, but melted into him. “I love you,” she said, holding his eyes with her own.

“I love you, too, baby.” He lowered his head, his lips meeting hers. Angela’s lips parted just before they touched, and Shawn’s tongue slid inside her mouth, intimately swirling around the soft velvet of her own.

Angela purred in her throat. His tongue sparred with hers a little longer until he broke their contact, lifting his mouth just above hers. Their foreheads touched. The wet warmth of their breaths mingled as they stood motionless, savoring the sensations the kiss had initiated in their bodies.

Shawn was breathing even more fitfully than Angela. “Damn girl, you don’t know what you do to me,” he said huskily.

“Actually, I think I do,” she murmured, her lips almost touching his as she spoke.

Sucking in a deep, calming breath that restored some of his control, Shawn released her and stepped back.

“I better get going. This time for real. We’ve pushed our luck enough as it is.” He gave his watch a cursory glance, and then looked over his shoulder at the empty street. “Your Dad could come home any minute.”

Angela held onto him, not wanting him to go.

He gently but firmly removed her hands from his shirt. “I gotta go.”

She sighed unhappily. “Okay.” She leaned forward, pecking his full lips. "Love you.”

“Of course you do.” Before she could retaliate by swatting him for his cockiness, he jumped down the two steps to the concrete pathway, turning just before he made it to the sidewalk that bordered the front lawn. “Love you, too,” he called out, giving her a heart stopping smile.

Angela grinned blissfully and blew him a kiss which he made a big production of catching and holding over his heart. Then, after a short walk across the street, he climbed into Jack's car. He honked at her before he sped off and was gone.

Angela waved one final time, and went into the house, not even noticing that the door was standing slightly ajar.

She went into the kitchen to make herself a snack before dinner. Spending extended time with Shawn had caused her diminished appetite to return somewhat to normal.

Before long, and with half a sandwich in hand, Angela strolled out of the kitchen to see her father come through the front door. Not even seeing him could dampen her high.

“Hey Dad,” she said pleasantly enough.

Sergeant Moore seemed surprised that she’d actually greeted him without prompting or having been spoken to first.

“Oh...uh, hi.”

“I made myself a sandwich. If you want the other half, it’s on the counter in a container,” she offered on her way to the stairs. “I’m going upstairs to call Topanga, and then I’ll be down to start dinner.”

Alvin Moore loosened his tie. His wasn’t wearing his uniform jacket. Angela just assumed that he’d left it in his car.

“Angela, I..." he began but paused after gazing into her face on which a look of inquiry had appeared, instead saying quietly, "Thanks. I’ll be in my office.”

Angela nodded. “No problem. I’ll call you when it’s ready.” She passed him as he stood in the foyer with his keys digging into the palm of his tightly clenched hand.

Alvin gazed up at her retreating form until she made it to the top of the stairs. As she turned and walked out of his view, he expelled a heavy sigh and sagged limply against the door.