Yours Truly ♡ shawn hunter

03: sleepless in philly

   This is a story between two estranged friends.
   "I haven't seen Heather in five years."
   "I haven't seen Shawn in five years"

  "Shawn and I used to have so much fun together in elementary. We got along, and loved the same things."

  "The last time I saw Heather she had braces, and now... when I look at her, she looks like a completely different person."

  Is it possible for them to be rekindle their friendship? Or has the distance and time between them surpassed the chances of them getting back together?

  "I just wish that I could turn back time and make it right wi-" Heather blocked Cory's camera lens from with her hand and pushed it forward. "Cory, do you really have to be that close?"

  Cory turned adjusted his camera, and released a heavy sigh. "Look Heather, I have to evoke emotion. Approaching the camera to your face, lets the audience to become closer to you as you continue your vulnerable story," he explained casually.

  Heather rolled her eyes, listening to Cory's directorial actions being all too familiar with her father's similar comments. "Look Cory, I'm only doing this to have an opportunity to explain myself to Shawn."

  "And you will, cause he's appearing in 3... 2... action!" Cory quickly kept one eye on the camera, as Shawn approached Heather.

   "Hi Shawn," Heather fluffed her hair and gave him a smile. "So I, uh, was wondering if you would like to join me at Chubbies after school." Cory leaned over Heather shoulders, to get the perfect angle of Shawn replying to Heather's question.

   "I actually have a date there after school, but uh, you could arrive about an hour later and we could catch up." Heather's smile slowly faded. She wasn't surprised that a handsome guy like Shawn would have dates lined up, and she shouldn't feel entitled to his time for being so distant over the last couple of years. Overall, she was just glad that Shawn said yes.

  "Great, I'll see you then." Heather walked away, and Cory turned off his camera.

•

  At Chubbie's, Cory and Topanga sat an empty table, waiting for Heather to arrive so Cory could continue his film, meanwhile Shawn was occupied with his date.

  Once Shawn's date left, Heather walked down the steps, and Shawn stood up and greeted Heather. Cory rummaged through his bag, quickly placed his camera around his fingers and hit record.

  "I don't know Cory. This seems too invasive." Topanga commented, feeling too involved in other people's relations. However, Cory was too indulged in his filmmaking, and his morals seemed to vanish as his only focus was getting the right angle in the perfect lighting.

  "You look good, amazing." Shawn complimented, admiring Heather's beauty. Shawn always found Heather beautiful, even with the braces and frizzy hair. Seeing her in front of him, reminded him of the feelings he had for her.

   Ever since they were six, they were inseparable, just like magnets they couldn't stay away from each other. They would tease Cory together, skip classes and hang in the cafeteria.

  "Thank you. You look amazing yourself." Heather replied as a blush crept upon her cheeks.

   Cory zoomed the camera, capturing the natural chemistry between Shawn and Heather. "Oh, Topanga. This is gold right here!" Cory commented.

  "So, how was LA?" Shawn inquired. "It's so different from here. It's sunny all the time, everyone's an actor, and if you don't get a nose job by 16 you're either poor or you won the genetic lottery".

  Heather chuckled to herself, with all of the high school memories became to submerged to her head. Being back in Philadelphia reminded her of her humble upbringing, and the wholesome people that resided in town. Philadelphia was her home, and spending her senior year here made sense, to go to prom and graduation with the people she knew for majority of her life.

   "I brought you something," Heather added. She dug into her purse, leaving Shawn anxious as to what she might've brought him. He wasn't expecting much from this meeting, let alone a gift.

  "I remember how you used to wish about owning one these, so here." Heather said excitedly, handing Shawn one of Aerosmith's Steven Tyler's scarf that he occasionally wore on stage. "You don't need to dream on anymore!"

"How did you get this?" Shawn asked, holding a precious item that one of his idols wore and probably sweated in. "My friend Liv gave it to me. She didn't mind stealing from her dad's closet" Heather giggled, possibly being a bit more excited than Shawn.

Shawn was taken aback, he was flattered but overall feeling as though he was being bought. His slowly slid the scarf back to Heather and shook his head. "Are you trying to bribe me?"

"No- not all." Heather quickly replied
"I only agreed to meet you here because I thought that you wanted to explain yourself." Shawn said, raising his voice.

"Why did you have to come back to Philly?"

Those words stabbed through Heather's heart, and the disgusted look on Shawn's face twisted the knife even further. Shawn stormed away, and all the while, Cory who was too invested in the juicy footage, continued to record and shoot his film.

•

At a corner of street, by the post office, Shawn was standing there, reminiscing about Heather. How seeing her now, reminds him of the days and nights he spent thinking about her, missing her. After all the time, all he wanted to hear was an 'I miss you', and he was afraid that Heather wasn't the person he wished to be.

Cory approached Shawn, realizing that he needed to be in the scene, and not behind the camera because his best friend was hurt.

"Cory, bring out your camera," Shawn ordered.

"No, Shawn. I need to be here for you." Cory said.

"No, I just need to get something off my chest." Shawn said, as Cory picked up his camera and hit record.

"You see, Heather was the first girl that I kissed and had real feelings for. But just like every woman in my life, she left. I didn't even get a goodbye. I found out when she was missing three days of school, so I skateboarded to her house and saw the post for sale on her front lawn. She didn't leave a number, address, letter, just nothi-"

"I'm sorry," Heather's said, walking behind Shawn. He turned around and was face to face with a teary eyed Heather.

"I should've said goodbye, I know that I hurt you, but if I said goodbye, it would've felt too real. It was easier to run," Heather admitted. Shawn's eyes became cloudy, and tried his best to prevent tears down his face.

"I just always thought that if you had stayed, we could've had what Cory and Topanga has."

"I've missed you. I always thought about you, and maybe you're right. We could've had what they have, but I'm here now, " Heather let out a weak smile as a tear fell down her face.

   Then she finally admitted as to what brought her back to Philly. "To answer your question from before, I'm back with Philly with my mom because... they got a divorce. Dad became uber rich, got acquainted with many Playboy models, and left my mom. So I left with her."

"Heather, I-"
"I'm fine, really." Heather looked down at her feet and let out a sniffle. Shawn wrapped his arms around Heather tightly, and rested his face into her neck. He cupped her face, wiped her tears with his thumbs, and gave her a smile.

"I'm glad you're here now".

♡              ♡              ♡

heather's mysterious reason for moving back has been revealed! do you empathize with heather? i would love to hear your thoughts.