Cinderdude - A Boy Meets World Fanfiction

Chapter 18 - Boy Meets Blush

I open the door to Shawn's trailer, and Topanga walks in. I follow her, and Shawn goes in last, locking the door shut. Topping strolls over to the couch and sits down, lifting her legs and setting them on the table in front of her. I sit on the recliner next to the couch, just in case she still feels awkward from our last couch encounter. Shawn silently goes to his room.

"I want to finish our conversation. You know, the one we had before school?" I say, careful not to make her tense up at the topic.

"What is there to continue?" she says innocently.

"That second reason, Topanga." My eyes are fixed on hers.

"W-What second reason?" She breaks eye contact and shifts in her seat.

"You said me getting involved was one of the reasons you weren't going to tell me the truth. That means there's a second one."

"Oh, it's not a big deal, I mean, it's nothing important. You don't really need to know-"

But I want to know, Topanga. And if it's not important, you shouldn't be going through so much trouble to tell me."

She takes a shaky breath.

"I-I don't want you to f-feel bad for me," She mumbles. I see her eyes tear up. I pull out a tissue from my pocket, and hand it to her. She takes it and we make eye contact. Her eyes are, again, filled with sadness and hurt.

"Why?" I ask softly.

"B-Because I..." She pauses and closes her eyes. "Because I like you..."

My heart skips a beat, and I smile lightly. I know now's not a good time for a happy dance, so I make a mental note to postpone it for later.

"I like how you treat me, how you look at me. Recently, you've been looking at me like I'm a lost puppy. I mean, I know it's because of my behavior, but that's why... I thought... if I changed back, you'd treat me normally again. That was my plan. I'm sorry. I know you were just trying to help me."

She's now sitting in the corner of the couch and hugging her legs, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. I move to sit next to her and wipe them off.

"I won't treat you differently, Topanga. I promise." She looks up at me. "You know, it's kind of funny," I continue, "that's exactly why I didn't tell you about my family, or home life."

Topanga loosens up a bit more, and puts her legs back down. She unzips her hoodie and I help her get it off, then get up and hang it on the coat rack next to the door. I notice she's wearing my football jersey. When I sit back down, Topanga moves to lean her head on my shoulder.

"So, um..." How do I make this not sound awkward... "Nice jersey..."

Way to go, Cory...

"Oh, yeah, sorry, I just needed something to comfort me, and-"