#230 - Black and White - (theatrical_muse)
1990
Being troublemakers Shawn knew exactly what Gus looked like after he had gotten into a fight. Or merely stumbled and fell. Or had been stuffed into a locker. Or had fallen yet again into the painful, overall category of bullying.
It didn't look anything like this today. Gus just stood there and plucked his stained shirt that looked like he had been chased around and fallen into a puddle of mud.
Or pushed.
Shawn frowned when he saw that something wasn't right, that something was different, something in the way Gus stood there and had something about him that didn't make sense to Shawn. Analyzing Gus' body language and the patterns on his clothes indicated that he hadn't fallen but had been pushed into the mud. Which sucked, alright, Shawn couldn't agree more, but back in the days when Jimmy Nickles had terrorized them there had been far worse things on their daily schedule - and his best friend had never looked like this. So what was going on?
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
Nothing. There was something in this nothing that confused Shawn. He couldn't place it, was it defensive, hurt, scared, angry? Shawn didn't know and being unable to put his finger on it was probably the worst about it all. "Come on, Gus. What happened?"
Gus didn't answer, just plucked on his shirt some more. "That's a brand new shirt. Mom's gonna kill me."
Shawn frowned. The way his friend was acting was so unsincere. Something he had never seen before and after being friends with Gus for several years that was something that irritated him, because he didn't know how to react to it. "Dude, who cares about the shirt. What happened?" he asked a third time.
"Nothing. Let's go. I don't wanna be late."
---
They hadn't walked far when Shawn spotted two familiar figures heading their way. Brian Kedwin and his brother Jake. They were from the neighborhood and a few years older and Shawn and Gus never really had spent time with them. So what could they possibly want?
"What's up, guys?" he asked but frowned when he noticed out of the corner of his eye how Gus tensed up.
"Move it, Spencer. We wanna talk to him!" Jake pointed at Gus.
"Yeah," Brian agreed. "He kinda left our last conversation and I'm not sure we got our point across."
Shawn frowned. "Huh?"
"Shawn, let's just go," Gus mumbled behind him, taking a step back.
"Huh?" Shawn said again, looking back over his shoulder. "Why?" He looked back at Brian and Jake. He had never liked them very much but he had always considered them to be okay guys. "Did you push him in the mud?"
"Stay outta this, Spencer. 's between us an' coal boy!"
"Don't call me that!"
The sudden anger in Gus' voice surprised Shawn just as much as anything else on this day. Something was going on here, something all three of them knew about and he didn't and it made him angry as well. This was getting ridiculous. "Have you guys gone completely insane?" he asked, his voice high-pitched in irritation. "What is going on here?"
"Oh yeah? Well maybe I feel like calling you that! My dad says you're all evil! That's why God made all your skin so dirty! 'cause you come from hell, you're all burned from the sin and hellfire!"
Shawn just stared.
Blinked.
And stared some more while Gus pressed his lips to a firm line, taking another step back when Brian picked up a rock and weighed it deliberately in his hand.
"Yeah, I kinda figured you didn't have anything left to say, Guster!" Jake sneered.
"Yeah!" Brian echoed, taking aim. " You know I always kinda wonder if a burnt down char can actually burn!"
And there, on this day, for the very first time in his life, Shawn Spencer punched someone straight in the face.
Muse: Shawn Spencer
Fandom: Psych
Words: 653
Being troublemakers Shawn knew exactly what Gus looked like after he had gotten into a fight. Or merely stumbled and fell. Or had been stuffed into a locker. Or had fallen yet again into the painful, overall category of bullying.
It didn't look anything like this today. Gus just stood there and plucked his stained shirt that looked like he had been chased around and fallen into a puddle of mud.
Or pushed.
Shawn frowned when he saw that something wasn't right, that something was different, something in the way Gus stood there and had something about him that didn't make sense to Shawn. Analyzing Gus' body language and the patterns on his clothes indicated that he hadn't fallen but had been pushed into the mud. Which sucked, alright, Shawn couldn't agree more, but back in the days when Jimmy Nickles had terrorized them there had been far worse things on their daily schedule - and his best friend had never looked like this. So what was going on?
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
Nothing. There was something in this nothing that confused Shawn. He couldn't place it, was it defensive, hurt, scared, angry? Shawn didn't know and being unable to put his finger on it was probably the worst about it all. "Come on, Gus. What happened?"
Gus didn't answer, just plucked on his shirt some more. "That's a brand new shirt. Mom's gonna kill me."
Shawn frowned. The way his friend was acting was so unsincere. Something he had never seen before and after being friends with Gus for several years that was something that irritated him, because he didn't know how to react to it. "Dude, who cares about the shirt. What happened?" he asked a third time.
"Nothing. Let's go. I don't wanna be late."
---
They hadn't walked far when Shawn spotted two familiar figures heading their way. Brian Kedwin and his brother Jake. They were from the neighborhood and a few years older and Shawn and Gus never really had spent time with them. So what could they possibly want?
"What's up, guys?" he asked but frowned when he noticed out of the corner of his eye how Gus tensed up.
"Move it, Spencer. We wanna talk to him!" Jake pointed at Gus.
"Yeah," Brian agreed. "He kinda left our last conversation and I'm not sure we got our point across."
Shawn frowned. "Huh?"
"Shawn, let's just go," Gus mumbled behind him, taking a step back.
"Huh?" Shawn said again, looking back over his shoulder. "Why?" He looked back at Brian and Jake. He had never liked them very much but he had always considered them to be okay guys. "Did you push him in the mud?"
"Stay outta this, Spencer. 's between us an' coal boy!"
"Don't call me that!"
The sudden anger in Gus' voice surprised Shawn just as much as anything else on this day. Something was going on here, something all three of them knew about and he didn't and it made him angry as well. This was getting ridiculous. "Have you guys gone completely insane?" he asked, his voice high-pitched in irritation. "What is going on here?"
"Oh yeah? Well maybe I feel like calling you that! My dad says you're all evil! That's why God made all your skin so dirty! 'cause you come from hell, you're all burned from the sin and hellfire!"
Shawn just stared.
Blinked.
And stared some more while Gus pressed his lips to a firm line, taking another step back when Brian picked up a rock and weighed it deliberately in his hand.
"Yeah, I kinda figured you didn't have anything left to say, Guster!" Jake sneered.
"Yeah!" Brian echoed, taking aim. " You know I always kinda wonder if a burnt down char can actually burn!"
And there, on this day, for the very first time in his life, Shawn Spencer punched someone straight in the face.
Muse: Shawn Spencer
Fandom: Psych
Words: 653