The Secret Life // A Shawn Hunter fanfic

Thirty-two ➵ J. C

I was jovial about the turnout of Christmas this year. Lot's of people would assume it was because of the alarming, shiny presents wrapped in printed paper only to receive what was out of the box. However, to me, that wasn't the case.
To me, what mattered to me the most was the fact I had cherished my first real Christmas with a family.
After my mom passed away and my dad, in his beginning grieving process, stopped Christmas. No compassionate love earned, no comfort gained of the scenery, and celebrating it with no one anymore.
My favorite gift I received was from Shawn was the stuffed panda bear, although I admired the necklaces and outfits his parents got me. I loved the stuffed panda bear; whenever I felt it rub against my skin, it was compellingly satisfying since it was soft.
Today was officially New Year's Eve. Shawn and I were heading to Cory's house since we were planning to hang out along with Topanga.
This meant that tomorrow was going to be the first day of the new year: 1995. The year everything was going to be different all around for me. No verbal or physical abuse anymore. All affection and love. More friendships than usual, more of a paradise to experience.
When we made it to their house, Topanga was already there, who answered the door.
"Cory! They are here." She called him, and she surprised me with a friendly hug. Cory walked out of the kitchen to come greet us, him high fiving Shawn and then whispering something to each other.
"I think they are excited to spend New Year's with us." Topanga whispered to me.
"I'm sure they already have something up their sleeves." I murmured to her, and she smirked. Although Cory and Topanga weren't dating, it was quite obvious they carried feelings for each other- even if they didn't admit it.
Cory's mom came into the kitchen to greet us along with Morgan- who clasped onto her hand. Once she spotted Topanga and me, she became excited.
"Finally! Two girl friends to play with instead of an idiot boy!" She exclaimed, and I chuckled.
"Morgan, that's not nice." Her mom scolded.
"Mrs. Matthews, I may agree with her claim. I am, indeed, an idiot." Shawn clarified her statement as true.
"Shawn, you're bright as can be." I said, kissing him on the lips.
"Well okay." Shawn says, with a smile on his face. He was a smart boy. Smarter than most of the kids in our class, in my opinion. He may not of been school smart, having passing A+ grades, but he was surely street smart. And street smart students are brighter than they think.
"If it's okay, I decided for dinner we will just have finger food. Like nachos, fries, and pizza bagel bites. Is that okay with any of you?" Cory's mom asked.
"It's fine with me."
"Me too."
"Me three."
"Good, good," before she headed into the kitchen with Morgan, Morgan didn't even budge on going,"come on, Morgan."
"I wanna play with Topanga and Jasmine." Morgan preferred, causing us two to chuckle at her request.
"We can bake cookies together..."
"Okay!" She agreed to it.
Meanwhile, the four of us lead by Cory went up to his room. I haven't been to his house much, so I didn't really remember what his room looked like. All I knew was he shared a room with his brother, Eric.
When we headed upstairs, Eric was in there talking on the phone.
"Get out of the room, Eric." Cory said, taking his cordless telephone phone off of his ear.
"Hey, hey, hey! I was going on a date with Veronica Watson." Eric stated, while Cory and Shawn bursted out laughing.
"Yeah right."
"I'm not kidding." Eric pulled out a ripped piece of paper with Veronica's phone number on it, as well as her signature. Once Cory and Shawn saw it they stopped laughing, standing closer to Eric so they could graze upon her phone number.
"Woah... but why would she want to waste her date on a bimbo like you? I am your brother and I can't even stand you!" Cory remarked. Eric just formed a frown and sat on the bed.
"Anyways why are you guys here spending time with this frizzy haired idiot here?" He asked us, then messing up Cory's hair before he left. Cory had a grimaced expression as he was trying to fix his hair back into place.
"Sorry about that guys," he apologized, then taking his brother's seat on the bed,"what do you guys want to do?"
"Make out with this beautiful girl." Shawn stated to me, pecking me on my face and wrapping his arms around my waist. I smiled as I kissed him back.
Suddenly Topanga pulled us away, then shaking her head.
"Not until midnight guys. As you can gladly tell, Cory and I aren't in a relationship." She acknowledged that fact firmly, but Cory headed over to her.
"Well we can act like it." Cory spoke up but Topanga flicked his head, hurting him then took a few steps back.
"Fine be feisty." He responded flatly.
We sat down and just chatted about all the subjects you could think of. Like school, hobbies, then suddenly my singing was brought up.
"Jasmine, why don't you sing a song for my parents or Morgan?"
"No way." I said. Thing was, my shyness got to me still when singing around people. I needed to conquer it though.
"Why? It's just them." Cory pointed out, but I shrugged.
"They could hate it." I pointed out.
"Jas- your voice is amazing. We've told you countless times, and it's the truth. Your voice has a lot of passion. If you don't sing to more people you'll never be able to conquer that fear. I know you." Shawn responded.
"I know.... what if my voice cracks? What if I hit the wrong pitch?"
"You'll do fine. Besides, I know what song you can sing: sing a Rolling Stones song," Cory suggested,"my dad loves The Rolling Stones."
"Well.. I do know Paint it Black..." I admitted.
"There you go. Sing that! Sing it later."
Cory insisted.
"I'm going to sing it now." I decided. I headed downstairs followed by an excited Topanga, Cory, and Shawn.
There sat on the couch Eric and Cory's parents with Morgan watching tv.
Right away Morgan saw us and she came over to me.
"Jasmine! Have you come to play with me?" She asked, and I picked her up.
"No, but I do have something to say to you guys."
"What is it Jasmine?" Cory's dad asked.
"I want to sing a song for you guys." I answered.
"I did hear about your singing talent. What song are you singing?" Cory's mom asked.
"Paint it Black." I informed them, and Cory's dad beamed up.
"The Stones song? Let us hear it!" I prepared myself to sing the first verse by attempting myself to take deep breaths; I have to do this just right. My eyes rotated from Eric, to Cory, to Topanga, then to Shawn. I met my eyes with Cory's parents and Morgan, the began to sing.
"I see a red door and I want it painted black. No colors anymore I want them to turn black," I debated wether or not I should continue the next verse, then I did so," I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes. I have to turn my head until my darkness goes."
I stopped singing and waited for everyone's response. They sat there speechless. I waited patiently for them to speak, then Cory's dad spoke.
"That was so good. I think you should become a singer in a band, or a solo artist. Cory, this girl has talent." He stood up and praised me by patting me lightly on the back.
"I know right." Cory agreed.
"No, I don't think I should." I said.
"Why not? If you're afraid, you shouldn't be. You can get somewhere with that voice, Jasmine."
"I tell her that everyday."
Shawn interrupted, standing up.
"Her voice is powerful. I tell her that all the time. It takes practice."
"Well powerful is a strong word." I laughed.
"That should be your New Year's resolution, Jas."
"What?" I asked.
"To be able to perform more on stage."
:::
I thought about Topanga's suggestion as we were eating dinner. All everyone could chatter about was my singing voice. My only way to escape was my singing. Ever since my mother died. I don't even remember if she sang or not. I was still trying to puzzle that memory up.
Suddenly I felt it. I felt a remembrance.
I remembered my mom's singing.
I left the room to find my mom singing to me as a baby, I was assuming.
She sang this lullaby, I never wondered what the meaning to it was, but it always calmed me to sleep.
"Little birdy in a nest,
singing from the tall oak trees.
May the sky protect you as you
soar onward. Then spread your
wings and fly to the garden."
Fly to the garden.
That was it.
Fly to the garden.
I figured out the meaning, puzzling them piece by piece. If I founded a talent, that meant I should use it. Use it and share it with others. There was a bird in a garden surrounded by flowers. The bird chirped, and the flowers were her audience.
I kept this to myself, planning on telling Shawn later in private.
Since it was only 8:00, we decided to have a marathon of movies to occupy us til the ball drop at midnight.
We watched Dazed and Confused, Home Alone, and Edward Scissorhands. A few of my favorite movies.
When it was time to watch the ball drop, we decided to pour a glass of sparkling grape juice similar to wine.
"To the year 1995." Cory said, raising a glass.
"1995." Shawn, Topanga, and I chanted in unison, the four of us clinking our glasses together. When 1995 was announce, Shawn kissed me.
Our first kiss of 1995.
Snap!
We pulled away to see a Polaroid camera in front of us. Cory was behind it, smirking.
"Time to light up fireworks and sparklers!"
We headed outside to Cory's background to light up fireworks, as they appeared into the sky. Mr. Feeny came outside, frightened at first until he realized he saw the fireworks in the sky. Then his eyes met with mine, watching me.
Shawn held onto my hand, with two sparklers in our hand. We ignited them, and then he kissed me. We both walked together as we the sparklers fused out.
I saw Mr. Feeny smiling at us, then he murmured,
"Happy 1995 to you guys." Then he headed back inside.
:::
Before we left, Cory handed us the Polaroid picture of us. It was perfect.
It was Shawn and me kissing at the right captured moment. It reminded me of us on Christmas Eve.
"Picture perfect, aye?" Shawn nudged me, and I formed a smile.
"It's perfect, that's for sure."
"See you at school?" Cory asked.
"See you at school." Shawn confirmed. The four of us shared hugs with each other, than suddenly, I felt someone hug my waist. I turned around to find Morgan holding onto me.
"Don't go." She ordered, and I chuckled.
"I'll be back soon, Morgan." I reassured her. She let go at the sight of her mom.
"Call me, we will have lots to talk about." Topanga ordered.
"Definitely." I said, establishing our plan.
Then Shawn and I headed outside after we finished our goodbyes.
"Did you have fun?" He asked me, getting a hold of my hand.
"I did. How about you?"
He smirked.
"I did." He responded, then he halted to a stop in his tracks.
"Do you want to come with me somewhere?" He asked me.
"Anywhere with you, I'm happy."
Shawn led me somewhere: the park in town. We sat there cuddling the night away in a slide, swinging with our hands held, and we sat together watching the glimmering stars multiplying in the night sky on the monkey bars.
"Shawn.. what's your New Year's resolution?" I asked, breaking the long term silence between us. His eyes met with my face, studying me. He rests a hand to my face, stroking my cheek.
"To be with you forever." I smiled.
"Is it really?" I asked him, and he nodded his head in response.
"It is. The best part of me is you. You bring the best out of me. You make me into this different person that does good. You make me believe in things I haven't before. You make me experience the best in this life. You make me... me." He murmured. We locked gaze, and he kissed me repeatedly on the lips, then he pulled away.
"What's yours?"
"To be with you too," I laughed, and he did too,"but there's another."
"Is it what I suggested?"
"Yes. Shawn, I thought of my mom, and I remembered a childhood memory. She sung this song to me and I remembered it. She said if I found something I'm good at it, to get better at it."
Shawn cheerfully smiled, and held me in his arms.
"Sing it to me?"
"It's a little childish but it's a lullaby she sung to me as a baby.."
"I don't care, sing it. I just love your voice." He replied. As I listened to his pounding heartbeat when I sat on his chest, I made my decision of singing it to him.
When I sang it to him, I noticed he closed his eyes, batting his eyelashes against the top of his cheeks.
After I finished singing it, he opened them.
"That was beautiful, Jas."
We sat up and viewed the stars. We were each other's resolution. We promised each other we were going to stay together.
And to make forever happen.
:::
Author's Note:
This chapter was actually a bit shorter compared to my previous two! XD. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this!
❤︎