At the Psych office [OTA]

[psych_outshawn]

Having your own place of work (where you were your own boss, you set your own hours, and your own payscale) had its advantages, Shawn thought. Not just because the the above, but also because he got to choose which fine beverages would nestle in the 'company' fridge. So he stood right in front of the open fridge door, cans and bottles clinking

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[jd_jules]

Juliet found herself standing in front of some store called Psych, staring at it like she should know what it was, but didn't. As far as she was concerned, she was supposed to be on her way to school, but this did not look like Miami. It didn't feel like Miami. It was actually freezing cold and despite her better judgement Juliet pulled open the door to the building and hurried inside. She just wanted to get inside somewhere warm.

When the heat flooded her t-shirt-and-skirt-wearing body she sighed. At least it was warm in here. She reached behind her into the side of her backpack and pulled out her emergency bag package of Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts. She was too busy peeling the silver foil off of the breakfast food to notice what the store was or if there was anyone in it.

[jd_jules]

It was when Shawn's eyes started to water that Juliet started to worry. Her eyes went wide. What did her mom always say in times like this? "I know CPR! Do you need CPR?" Juliet didn't actually know CPR, but her mom did and she sometimes saw her mom practicing on the plastic dummie at home.

She jumped back as Shawn spit the milk on the floor. Gawd. Boys were so gross! She made a face and looked up from the mess on the floor to Shawn. "Are you... better now?"

[psych_outshawn]

His face scrunched up in disgust, somewhat mirroring Juliet's own. "I just drank buttermilk. Does it look like I'm better now?" He used the hem of his shirt to wipe the liquid from his mouth.

"That whole freakout? You didn't see that," he insisted, carefully stepping around the small puddle of liquid on the floor. And somewhere in the liquid was the rest of his Pop-Tart. Crap.

[jd_jules]

Juliet didn't know what buttermilk tasted like, but she assumed by Shawn's reaction it wasn't all that great. At least he didn't look hurt anymore. She didn't like the panicked feeling she had gotten from it. She wasn't very good in a crisis. She looked at him for a moment. Gross or not, it'd be funny to tell her friends she saw a boy spit out milk all over the ground. But considering Jimmy Whitenight had squirted milk out of his nose the other day, her story would probably go unnoticed.

She shrugged. Alright, she wouldn't tell anyone. Who'd be interested anyways? Juliet noticed Shawn's obvious lack of Pop-Tart and looked down at hers. She hestitated for a minute and then broke off the rectangle into two equal parts and handed the untouched piece to Shawn. It was warm now, not hot, and safe from causing third degree burns.

"We're not in Santa Barbara, by the way. We're in Miami."

[psych_outshawn]

Once again, he snatched the offered Pop-Tart like an animal being fed in the park, though he cautiously nibbled at the edges this time. Even though it was a lot cooler than before, he'd learned his lesson, and with his memory, he wouldn't forget it.

"Nuh-uh. It's Santa Barbara. It's a really really cold part of Santa Barbara, but that's where we are." To prove it, he reached into the fridge again, and took out a brightly decorated can. "Cactus Cooler. Only available in southern California. My dad said so."

He scrunched his nose. "Did your dad bring you here to teach you something too?"

[jd_jules]

She thought maybe Shawn wasn't fed enough by his folks or something because of how he took the food. She wondered if she should share her lunch with him too. There was one and a half peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, an apple, crackers and cheese, and a a red Fruit Roll-up with animal cut-outs in them. She knew that because she had watched her mom pack her lunch.

Juliet read the can carefully and looked back to Shawn confused. "My dad?" She chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't know. Maybe? But wouldn't he have told me?" The thought of her dad bringing her somewhere without telling her first made her frown. A frown that might have the ability to start threatening tears.

[psych_outshawn]

His parents took very good care of Shawn. Being an only child, one would assume he was spoiled by his parents, but Henry and Maddie Spencer were much more pragmatic than that. But he was a boy, and boys, by nature, had bottomless stomachs. It was kind of lucky that the Spencers only had one kid. The frightening thought of two Shawn-ish creatures running around the Spencer household might have discouraged his parents from procreating again.

"Most of the time, my dad won't. But he's usually around to explain things. Except he's not here either. So I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to learn."

Oh, crap. She wasn't gonna start crying, was she? Maybe he was supposed to learn how to deal with crying girls?

[jd_jules]

Juliet was on the verge of crying. She could feel the familiar burning sensation in her eyes and nose and her cheeks getting warm from the blood flow. But she didn't want to cry, especially in front of some boy who would probably make fun of her. She took a deep breath and held it in while counting in her head to ten and when she exhaled she looked completely fine again.

"Do you think you're dad's maybe outside? She didn't really want to go outside. She didn't have a coat and her skirt made things even colder. "Or maybe we can phone someone? There's a phone here right?"

A worried expression crossed her face. "Maybe we've been kidnapped! Maybe we should call the police!" Little did Juliet know there was a badge with her name on it on the opposite side of her backpack.

[psych_outshawn]

"Um...maybe? I dunno..." Juliet's panic was starting to affect Shawn. He was no where near the crying stage, though, just in the rising breath, hyperventilating, need-to-suck-his-thumb-and-hug-his-blankie stage. And if he could help it, he was not going to cry in front of a girl!

What did his dad say to do when you think you were kidnapped? Find out everything about where you are. Okay, did that. Get a close look at the kidnapper so you can describe him later. Well, no luck there. And then when you get all your information, call 911.

There was a phone nearby; Shawn remembered seeing it on the desk. He lifted the receiver, but there was no dial tone. A few clicks on the cradle didn't fix the line either. "I...I think we're cut off..."

[jd_jules]

She bit her bottom lip which turned into a chew and she started shifting her weight back and forth from one foot to the other. Under any other circumstance it might have looked like she had to go to the washroom, but this time it was Juliet trying not to completely panic. It wasn't working. "Isn't that what happens to people just before some guy with a mask and a chain-saw come in or something?" She wasn't allowed to watch those kind of movies, but she snuck down the stairs once on Halloween and saw Friday the 13th. She looked at Shawn as if he was supposed to know what to do.

[psych_outshawn]

Oh, crap. She might only be a girl, but Juliet definitely knew what she was talking about. Shawn gulped and dropped the receiver to the floor, where it landed with a loud thunk.

"But I'm the guy. The guy always gets killed before the girl!" He rushed to the closet, intending to dig out a broom to defend himself with, but instead (since the last person to have opened the closet was adult!Shawn and he basically just shoved everything inside afterwards) the entire contents of the closet tumbled onto kid!Shawn, and onto the floor.

"Ow...okay. The closet is safe from boogeymen..." he said, trying to salvage the last of his coolness.

[jd_jules]

Juliet followed Shawn hurriedly. Her eyes widened. "But I don't want you to get killed either. If you die I'll be alone." Then Juliet was sure to be killed too, but it was the being alone in a strange place that was the most scary part of it all.

She jumped back as the contents of the closet fell out. There was a lot of strange things in there. Juliet waded through the debris toward the closet. "You'll think we'll be safe?" She didn't see the ending of the movie. It had been to scary and she went back to bed only she didn't sleep all night.

She shrugged one of the backpack straps off her shoulder. "I have supplies in here that will last us a couple of hours."

[psych_outshawn]

He scrambled free of the brooms and mops, and got his head out of the empty plastic bucket. Scanning through the mess, he picked out a sturdy pushbroom and held it in his hands.

"I dunno if we're gonna be okay, but...I'm not gonna die, and I'm not gonna let you die either." He paused. "I guess."

Should he barricade the door? Or did that only work for zombies and not knife-wielding serial killers? "Um, okay. So we have food. There's more food in that room in the back. I saw cookies and potato chips. Um...help me push stuff to block the doors?"

[jd_jules]

"Thanks." She said, not so genuine since he didn't seem so sure about protecting her. But he was her only hope, after all and he had a weapon so he could fight.

She put her backpack down in the closet and then looked around for things to baracade the door with. A desk was probably a good thing to use to baracade a door with. She walked over to one of the desks and started pushing. It didn't budge even though she was 'putting her back into it' like her father always suggested.

[psych_outshawn]

Shawn watched Juliet try to push a desk and rolled his eyes. Pfft. Girls.

He made a shooing gesture in Juliet's direction, shoved up the sleeves of his polo shirt, flexed a little to show off his awesome boyish physique, and slammed his hands down on the edge of the desk.

He forced all his weight down. And grunted. And shoved. His face contorted into something resembling Popeye's famous face: one eye squinted shut, and his jaw jutting out. All he needed was a pipe in his mouth and the image would be complete.

He stood, resting a moment as he was slightly out of breath. Then he threw himself down again, his grunts almost vulgar as he tried with all his might to force the stupid desk to move. His shoes lost traction and were simply sliding along the floor.

"Okay...Okay...Okay..." he said between breaths. "Maybe we should try it together? On three?"

[jd_jules]

When Shawn had shooed her away she stood there with her arms crossed over her chest and watched him fail just like she did. She was the one to roll her eyes this time as she tried to show how clearly unimpressed she was. However, by Shawn's second round, Juliet's unimpressed exterior had melted and was replaced by genuine amusement. She was even smiling. Shawn was funny.

"On three," Juliet nodded. She was glad Shawn finally asked for her help. She wanted to help protect herself against the crazy serial murder just as much as Shawn did. She moved back in position, next to Shawn, and put her hands on the desk. "Ready?" She wanted to be the one to say three, so she did it before Shawn had a chance to. "One, Two, Three!" Juliet closed her eyes and pushed with all her might.