FIC: "Right Place, Wrong Time" by Regann - PG-13/R - Shawn/Lassiter (8/??)
Title: Right Place, Wrong Time (8/??)
Author: Regann
Pairing: Shawn/Lassiter
Rating: PG-13/R
Disclaimer: I don't own anything; I just play with them.
Notes: Extra special update for Memorial Weekend! Also, please note that I will be moving to a Tues/Thurs update schedule starting next week. Oh, and this is still dedicated to pookaseraph.
Summary: 17-year-old Shawn has a fake ID burning a hole in his pocket, a college party to crash, and a mission to stop being the only virgin in his senior class. Unfortunately, there's this big-earred, good-doing grad student by the name of Carlton who catches him in the act. The unfair nature of cosmic humor being what it is, thus begins something that'll come back to haunt them both ten years later -- when an adult Shawn Spencer decides to give psychic investigation a try.
Past Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Right Place, Wrong Time (Part 8)
As much as he sometimes cursed it, Carlton was a creature of habit, and habit had him coming to wakefulness early the next morning. At first, he was disoriented by the odd angle of the windows that were letting light into the room but his confusion quickly burned away when he glanced over and saw Shawn sleeping next to him.
He was in no particular hurry to move. Shawn was partly draped over him, nose buried against his shoulder and Carlton was satisfied to stay where he was. He traced an idle hand up and down Shawn's back, watching Shawn sleep in languid fascination. In some ways, it was very disconcerting: the kid was energetic, always in emotion and to see him still was an aberration. But on the other hand, it was interesting to see him at rest, looking as young as his years, more serious in sleep than he ever looked awake.
Even though he wasn't ready to admit it, Carlton had made a decision last night, by choosing to sleep with Shawn again. The first time had been bad luck and ignorance and he had been able to explain it away to his conscience as such but last night he had known exactly what he'd been doing. Carlton was sure the guilt would catch up with him eventually -- probably as soon as he left -- but, at that moment, he wasn't feeling it.
Remembering Shawn's indulgent sleeping habits, Carlton had figured he'd probably have at least an hour or so before he'd wake up but his deductions were proved false when the ear-splitting sound of a phone ringing shattered the morning quiet. Shawn, mumbling and cursing under his breath, half-climbed over Carlton to make a sleepy grab at the phone on the nightstand, eyes still mostly closed as he brought the receiver to his ear.
"Hullo?" he mumbled drowsily. "Yeah, hey, Mom."
Shawn's eyes finally opened and he grinned, rather fuzzily, when he noticed that he was almost nose to nose with Carlton. He obviously decided that laying on top of him was a perfectly fine place for him to have a phone conversation because he settled in.
"What? Yes, I was asleep," he said into the phone. "It's early!" He squinted at the digital alarm clock next to the phone. "It's not even ten o'clock! Where else did you expect me to be?"
Carlton couldn't make out Shawn's mother's words but he could hear the buzz of her voice as she responded.
"Yes, we went! We? Me and Gus." Another pause. "Well, he doesn't have to take my word for it, he can ask Captain Connors! And Fenich, they both saw me." Shawn rolled his eyes at Carlton, although it was clear it was directed at what he was hearing through the phone. "Shouldn't you two be off doing couple-y things anyway?"
Carlton dragged a lazy hand through his hair as he waited for the conversation to end.
"Yeah. Uh huh. Yeah, I remember. I will. I promise! Jeez! Yes, okay, Mom. Love you, too. Bye."
Shawn smacked the receiver back on the base and sighed. Then he nuzzled against Carlton. "So, where were we?"
"I believe you were snoring in my ear," Carlton teased.
Shawn paused and lifted his head to glare at him. "Har-de-har-har." Then in a quieter voice, he observed, "You're still here."
"You didn't think I would be?"
Shawn shrugged. "Never any telling when you'll spazz on me again."
Carlton accepted the mild rebuke but raised an eyebrow, pointing out, "You were the one who ran out on me last time."
"Only to save my ass, Carly, I promise," Shawn told him, grinning. "An ass you're probably glad I saved. Am I right?"
Carlton decided it was time to shut him up the best way he knew how -- by keeping Shawn's mouth otherwise occupied.
They eventually untangled themselves and left the messy haven of the bed, taking turns in the shower before they headed to the kitchen, Shawn declaring starvation. Neither of them had skills when it came to things culinary but Shawn produced a pineapple from somewhere which he enthusiastically sliced for them and a quick glance in the bread box turned up bagels. Paired with some cream cheese and the fruit, it wasn't a half bad meal, especially when Shawn started up the coffeepot.
They spent most of the day just lounging around Shawn's house. It was a holiday and most places would've been closed, even if Carlton had felt safe being seen with Shawn in public. Shawn didn't seem to be mind, though; in fact, he was perfectly happy sticking to his own home.
After breakfast, they curled up together on the sofa in the living room while Shawn tuned it to ESPN to watch the FIFA match being aired.
"Soccer?" Carlton asked dubiously, glancing at the television. Soccer wasn't really his sport; he was more of a basketball or football man, the kind of things that every other cop he knew watched.
"It looks like Brazil is gonna kick our ass," Shawn groused. "Dude, soccer is great! Have you ever even watched a match before?"
"No."
"Well, you're going to see this one," Shawn announced, settling on top of him and directing his head toward the TV.
"Is this my only choice?" Carlton wanted to know.
"Well, it's this or OJ," Shawn told him, grabbing the remote. "And I can only watch the footage of him and the little Bronco so many times."
Once that was over and Shawn's prediction had proved correct, they went in search of other things to do. Shawn was a typical teenager with a SNES hooked up to a TV in his bedroom and a box full of games which were good for a few hours' amusement. Once they'd been exhausted, Shawn produced a stack of board games.
Carlton was willing to give board games a try, if only for the comedic value of watching Shawn, but Shawn quickly got bored and started introducing outrageous rules to the mix. Carlton didn't think he'd ever heard of anything as ridiculous as strip Yahtzee but it did eventually land them back in bed, so he wasn't complaining.
Later, he asked Shawn why he hadn't just opted for strip poker.
Shawn laughed. "Well, that wouldn't have been fair, Carly."
"To you?"
"No, to you. I've never lost a game of cards in my life."
It sounded like an extravagant boast but somehow Carlton could almost believe it when it came to Shawn, especially when he was smiling at him with that mischievous, knowing grin as they lay together in the messy, disheveled bed.
Before Carlton knew it, it was Tuesday afternoon. He was surprised that the time had flown so fast when they really hadn't done anything but loiter around the house or in bed since Sunday night. They'd talked -- a great deal, actually, since Shawn could rarely keep his mouth and Carlton couldn't help but respond -- but it had always been about trivial topics; Carlton wondered if Shawn had deliberately kept them from discussing much in the way of personal topics or if the boy's obfuscation was merely an ingrained habit. Not that he could fault Shawn for ignoring important topics -- Carlton hadn't exactly brought up issues like the future. He hadn't wanted to ruin their time by talking about reality but, as the time wound down, he knew something had to be said.
Shawn tried to convince Carlton to stay longer but he knew he was already pushing his luck by having stayed so long. Displeased but understanding, Shawn threw on some clothes and walked him out to the car. His shoulders were slumped, hands shoved dejectedly in his pockets.
"So, I'll see you around?" he asked, watching Carlton climb into the car.
Carlton wasn't sure what to say. As much as he wanted to see Shawn again, he'd yet to figure out how to do without a surfeit of deception or danger. "We'll figure something out," he replied.
Shawn obviously wasn't pleased at the vagueness of the answer and an uncharacteristic frowned creased his face. "Okay...later, I guess."
He turned back toward the direction of the house. Carlton stopped him. "Shawn..."
"Yeah?"
Carlton reached through the open car window and pulled Shawn into a last, lingering kiss. "I will figure something out," he declared softly against Shawn's lip. "Okay?"
Shawn was smiling now. "Okay."
Knowing if he hung around any longer he'd never leave, Carlton waved goodbye and quickly pulled his car out of the driveway and pointed his car in the direction of home. The drive to Carpinteria wasn't long and sooner than he thought, Carlton was stepping back into his silent house.
It felt strange, at first, to be away from Shawn and his house and his noise after so many days wrapped in it and Carlton found himself wandering around his small abode, trying to get settled. He finally decided to check his answering machine, idly looking through his refrigerator while he listened to messages play.
Two were hang-ups and one was from his sister, just checking in with him as she sometimes did. There was also a call from a telemarketer who'd taken the time to read her spiel into a message, which made Carlton roll his eyes and quickly hit the delete button. The last two messages were from Rodney whose recorded voice demanded that he answer the phone and then sniped huffily before ending the call.
Carlton was just about to grab the phone to return the calls when it rang. "Hello?"
"Where have you been?" Rodney demanded to know on the other end of the phone, his voice full of impatience and pique.
"Out," Carlton said.
"For three days? I've been calling you for three days!"
"Yes, Rodney, I was out. For three days." Carlton grabbed the last beer from the fridge and sat down at the kitchen table.
"Well, you could've told somebody!" he said. Carlton rolled his eyes. "Where were you?"
"Staying...at a friend's."
"Oh really?" Carlton could hear the interest in Rodney's voice skyrocket.
"...Shawn's, actually," he admitted.
"Shawn? You mean, the jailbait kid?"
"Yeah, him."
"So, he's...?"
"In Santa Barbara. He lives here."
"And now over 18?"
Carlton downed a swig of beer before answering. "No."
"No? What about all that going-to-hell stuff you kept moaning about?"
"I thought you didn't believe in hell?" Carlton asked.
"I don't! But I'm not the statutory rapist!"
"Rodney!"
His friend paused on the other end. "That didn't come out right, sorry. I just meant -- you're doing this? Even though you know?"
Carlton stared down at the condensation on his beer. "Yeah. I think so."
"You're doing something more than thinking if you spent the weekend with him."
"True."
Rodney sighed. "I'm not good at -- well, this -- but...well, you know. Don't screw this up."
"This what?"
"Your life, mostly."
Carlton almost laughed. "I'll try my damnedest not to."
"Good." Rodney cleared his throat. "Now that that's out of the way, can I talk about why I was calling in first place?"
"Yeah, sure." Carlton leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes. He needed the distraction. "Go for it."
**
For the first time in his life, Shawn cleaned up the house without either parent demanding it of him. As soon as Carlton left, Shawn busied himself with setting the house to rights, making sure that no trace of Carlton lingered in his wake.
It was one of those times that his special skills came in handy; he could scroll through his recollection of what every inch of the house looked like on Friday and make sure it looked exactly that way again. He'd even manage to notice and correct the slight misplacement of one of Henry's fishing trophies that Carlton had moved while admiring it.
Shawn washed and dried his sheets and then remade the bed, rinsed and put away all the dishes they'd used, stuffed the games that he and Gus hadn't played in years back into their corner of the closet, and finally took out the trash so no one would wonder why he'd ordered double the Chinese takeout than usual.
He was just settling down to catch the highlights of the FIFA matches he'd missed when Shawn heard the sound of the his parents pulling up in the driveway. For a moment, he was torn between relief and resentment: relief that Carlton had already cleared out and resentment that they'd come home early, unannounced. He wouldn't have put it past his father to have told him Wednesday when he always planned to return Tuesday, just to see if he could catch Shawn doing something wrong.
As always, his mother acted overjoyed to see him, even though she'd only be away from him a few days. Being in an indulgent kind of mood -- at least as far as his mother was concerned -- Shawn let her fuss over him for a little while before she wandered away to start the tedious task of unpacking the luggage.
Henry, on the other hand, just eyed Shawn for a few minutes before he sat down beside him on the couch, staring at him as he said, "Shawn."
"Dad." Shawn answered in the same, flat tone.
"What did you do all weekend?"
Shawn glanced at Henry out of the corner of his eye. "Went to the 4th of July thing on Saturday with Gus. Fenich asked about you."
"He did?"
"Yeah," Shawn nodded.
"Did you do anything else?" Henry wanted to know.
"Not really," Shawn lied smoothly, still staring at the television screen. "Hung around the house, watched the FIFA matches."
"Soccer?" Henry asked dubiously.
"Yeah. We lost."
His father was frowning at him. "I thought you were helping Costas with some odd jobs?"
"I am," Shawn said, the implied "so what?" clear in his tone.
"Don't tell me you blew off work just because I wasn't here to make sure you went."
Shawn stood up, dropping the remote on the couch with a thud. "No, Dad, I didn't," he told him. "Costas is out of town all week to visit his family in Greece. Like I told you last week." He didn't wait for a reply for his dad; he just headed toward his bedroom, pausing to say goodnight to his mother as he passed.
He spent the remainder of the evening moping -- no other word for it -- in his bedroom, re-arranging things more out of a sense of boredom than anything. Not too long after he'd left his dad sitting in the living room, he heard his parents' low voices arguing from their bedroom and he sighed, figuring that whatever that weekend had been supposed to cure, it hadn't done its job because it didn't sound like they were any happier than they'd been before they left.
In hopes that it would drown out the droning sound of their voices, Shawn turned on the radio and tried to play some Final Fantasy II but he just couldn't stay focused enough to care about Cecil, Kain and the rest of the gang. He finally called it a night and went to bed, though sleep didn't come as easily as he'd have liked, feeling inexplicably lonely after having Carlton with him constantly for the last few days.
Since Henry had all of Wednesday off from the station and plans to do some gardening, Shawn called Gus as soon as he rolled out of bed the next day and made his owns plans to get out of the house. He waved goodbye to his dad as they headed out, Henry busy in the yard as Gus navigated his way out of the driveway, pointing the LTD toward the beach.
"So where have you been all weekend?" Gus asked once they'd finally reached the their favorite stretch of beach. Instead of stepping out onto the sand, they circled around to the nearby smoothie stand.
"Around," Shawn said noncommittally, adding, "Don't give me that look, I called you like I said I would."
"I talked to you twice since then," Gus pointed out. "Saturday, after the picnic, and then this morning, so you could get away from your dad."
"I thought you had 'family stuff' to do," Shawn told him sourly.
Gus was watching him critically as they lined up behind a family of five at the smoothie stand. "You did it, didn't you?"
"What?"
"You saw him again!"
Shawn rolled his eyes. "You know I did! That's why I had you leave me on Saturday."
"No, I mean after that," Gus explained. He narrowed his eyes. "That's where you've been all weekend. With him!"
"And if I was?" Shawn singsonged. "What's the big deal?"
"You know what it is," Gus huffed. "This guy's too old for you, Shawn."
"Who says?"
"I say!" Gus said, pointing at him. "The law says! He could get in a lot of trouble."
"Really, Gus? I wasn't aware of that," Shawn told him, sarcasm lacing his voice.
Gus shrugged Shawn's tone away, as if he didn't bother him at all. "You've had a lot of bad ideas, Shawn, but this? Takes the cake."
"Well, I think you're dead wrong," Shawn announced as they reached the front of line. They paused in their discussion to order their smoothies -- pineapple for Shawn, strawberry-banana for Gus.
Once they had their drinks in hand and were headed back toward the sand, Gus continued with his objections. "Your dad will flip! And I don't know what he'll flip over more, the gay thing or the older-than-you thing or the his-coworker thing."
"Henry is not going to find out about any of this," Shawn said, more serious than he'd ever been in his life. He well knew that his father would make sure that Carlton paid dearly if they were ever found out.
"And how do you expect to keep it from him?" Gus scoffed. "You don't think he's not going to notice you hanging out with some guy he works with?" He shook his head. "Your dad's a detective, I don't know how you think you can fool him."
"We'll figure it out," Shawn told him.
"This isn't a good idea, Shawn," Gus said again. He actually looked troubled which brought Shawn up short. "You're going to get hurt."
Shawn shot him an incredulous look. "Okay, no more soaps for you, Gus!"
"I'm serious, Shawn!" Gus said defensively. "What did you tell me about Caitlin Hughes?"
"Never date a girl with four older brothers?"
"No," Gus shook his head. "Never get involved with someone who your best friend knows is bad news. Your turn to follow your own advice and listen to me when I say forget about this."
"Entirely different!" Shawn exclaimed, waving his smoothie around. "I told you that because she had four older brothers and her last boyfriend had an "accident" a week after he dumped her!"
"Shawn!"
"Gus..." Shawn stopped walking and turned to look at his friend. "I've got this covered."
"I'm just saying," Gus told him, sighing.
"Yeah, I know," Shawn said, nodding. "And I appreciate it but..."
"Okay, fine, whatever," Gus agreed. "Let's just not talk about it anymore."
Shawn agreed and quickly changed the subject. Although he and Gus didn't discuss it anymore, he could sometimes feel Gus's sideways glances, the disbelief that crept into the quiet minutes of their lazy afternoon.
He knew that Gus was just trying to be a concerned friend and he did appreciate but Shawn had faith that he and Carlton could figure it out.
To Be Continued...
Author: Regann
Pairing: Shawn/Lassiter
Rating: PG-13/R
Disclaimer: I don't own anything; I just play with them.
Notes: Extra special update for Memorial Weekend! Also, please note that I will be moving to a Tues/Thurs update schedule starting next week. Oh, and this is still dedicated to pookaseraph.
Summary: 17-year-old Shawn has a fake ID burning a hole in his pocket, a college party to crash, and a mission to stop being the only virgin in his senior class. Unfortunately, there's this big-earred, good-doing grad student by the name of Carlton who catches him in the act. The unfair nature of cosmic humor being what it is, thus begins something that'll come back to haunt them both ten years later -- when an adult Shawn Spencer decides to give psychic investigation a try.
Past Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Right Place, Wrong Time (Part 8)
As much as he sometimes cursed it, Carlton was a creature of habit, and habit had him coming to wakefulness early the next morning. At first, he was disoriented by the odd angle of the windows that were letting light into the room but his confusion quickly burned away when he glanced over and saw Shawn sleeping next to him.
He was in no particular hurry to move. Shawn was partly draped over him, nose buried against his shoulder and Carlton was satisfied to stay where he was. He traced an idle hand up and down Shawn's back, watching Shawn sleep in languid fascination. In some ways, it was very disconcerting: the kid was energetic, always in emotion and to see him still was an aberration. But on the other hand, it was interesting to see him at rest, looking as young as his years, more serious in sleep than he ever looked awake.
Even though he wasn't ready to admit it, Carlton had made a decision last night, by choosing to sleep with Shawn again. The first time had been bad luck and ignorance and he had been able to explain it away to his conscience as such but last night he had known exactly what he'd been doing. Carlton was sure the guilt would catch up with him eventually -- probably as soon as he left -- but, at that moment, he wasn't feeling it.
Remembering Shawn's indulgent sleeping habits, Carlton had figured he'd probably have at least an hour or so before he'd wake up but his deductions were proved false when the ear-splitting sound of a phone ringing shattered the morning quiet. Shawn, mumbling and cursing under his breath, half-climbed over Carlton to make a sleepy grab at the phone on the nightstand, eyes still mostly closed as he brought the receiver to his ear.
"Hullo?" he mumbled drowsily. "Yeah, hey, Mom."
Shawn's eyes finally opened and he grinned, rather fuzzily, when he noticed that he was almost nose to nose with Carlton. He obviously decided that laying on top of him was a perfectly fine place for him to have a phone conversation because he settled in.
"What? Yes, I was asleep," he said into the phone. "It's early!" He squinted at the digital alarm clock next to the phone. "It's not even ten o'clock! Where else did you expect me to be?"
Carlton couldn't make out Shawn's mother's words but he could hear the buzz of her voice as she responded.
"Yes, we went! We? Me and Gus." Another pause. "Well, he doesn't have to take my word for it, he can ask Captain Connors! And Fenich, they both saw me." Shawn rolled his eyes at Carlton, although it was clear it was directed at what he was hearing through the phone. "Shouldn't you two be off doing couple-y things anyway?"
Carlton dragged a lazy hand through his hair as he waited for the conversation to end.
"Yeah. Uh huh. Yeah, I remember. I will. I promise! Jeez! Yes, okay, Mom. Love you, too. Bye."
Shawn smacked the receiver back on the base and sighed. Then he nuzzled against Carlton. "So, where were we?"
"I believe you were snoring in my ear," Carlton teased.
Shawn paused and lifted his head to glare at him. "Har-de-har-har." Then in a quieter voice, he observed, "You're still here."
"You didn't think I would be?"
Shawn shrugged. "Never any telling when you'll spazz on me again."
Carlton accepted the mild rebuke but raised an eyebrow, pointing out, "You were the one who ran out on me last time."
"Only to save my ass, Carly, I promise," Shawn told him, grinning. "An ass you're probably glad I saved. Am I right?"
Carlton decided it was time to shut him up the best way he knew how -- by keeping Shawn's mouth otherwise occupied.
They eventually untangled themselves and left the messy haven of the bed, taking turns in the shower before they headed to the kitchen, Shawn declaring starvation. Neither of them had skills when it came to things culinary but Shawn produced a pineapple from somewhere which he enthusiastically sliced for them and a quick glance in the bread box turned up bagels. Paired with some cream cheese and the fruit, it wasn't a half bad meal, especially when Shawn started up the coffeepot.
They spent most of the day just lounging around Shawn's house. It was a holiday and most places would've been closed, even if Carlton had felt safe being seen with Shawn in public. Shawn didn't seem to be mind, though; in fact, he was perfectly happy sticking to his own home.
After breakfast, they curled up together on the sofa in the living room while Shawn tuned it to ESPN to watch the FIFA match being aired.
"Soccer?" Carlton asked dubiously, glancing at the television. Soccer wasn't really his sport; he was more of a basketball or football man, the kind of things that every other cop he knew watched.
"It looks like Brazil is gonna kick our ass," Shawn groused. "Dude, soccer is great! Have you ever even watched a match before?"
"No."
"Well, you're going to see this one," Shawn announced, settling on top of him and directing his head toward the TV.
"Is this my only choice?" Carlton wanted to know.
"Well, it's this or OJ," Shawn told him, grabbing the remote. "And I can only watch the footage of him and the little Bronco so many times."
Once that was over and Shawn's prediction had proved correct, they went in search of other things to do. Shawn was a typical teenager with a SNES hooked up to a TV in his bedroom and a box full of games which were good for a few hours' amusement. Once they'd been exhausted, Shawn produced a stack of board games.
Carlton was willing to give board games a try, if only for the comedic value of watching Shawn, but Shawn quickly got bored and started introducing outrageous rules to the mix. Carlton didn't think he'd ever heard of anything as ridiculous as strip Yahtzee but it did eventually land them back in bed, so he wasn't complaining.
Later, he asked Shawn why he hadn't just opted for strip poker.
Shawn laughed. "Well, that wouldn't have been fair, Carly."
"To you?"
"No, to you. I've never lost a game of cards in my life."
It sounded like an extravagant boast but somehow Carlton could almost believe it when it came to Shawn, especially when he was smiling at him with that mischievous, knowing grin as they lay together in the messy, disheveled bed.
Before Carlton knew it, it was Tuesday afternoon. He was surprised that the time had flown so fast when they really hadn't done anything but loiter around the house or in bed since Sunday night. They'd talked -- a great deal, actually, since Shawn could rarely keep his mouth and Carlton couldn't help but respond -- but it had always been about trivial topics; Carlton wondered if Shawn had deliberately kept them from discussing much in the way of personal topics or if the boy's obfuscation was merely an ingrained habit. Not that he could fault Shawn for ignoring important topics -- Carlton hadn't exactly brought up issues like the future. He hadn't wanted to ruin their time by talking about reality but, as the time wound down, he knew something had to be said.
Shawn tried to convince Carlton to stay longer but he knew he was already pushing his luck by having stayed so long. Displeased but understanding, Shawn threw on some clothes and walked him out to the car. His shoulders were slumped, hands shoved dejectedly in his pockets.
"So, I'll see you around?" he asked, watching Carlton climb into the car.
Carlton wasn't sure what to say. As much as he wanted to see Shawn again, he'd yet to figure out how to do without a surfeit of deception or danger. "We'll figure something out," he replied.
Shawn obviously wasn't pleased at the vagueness of the answer and an uncharacteristic frowned creased his face. "Okay...later, I guess."
He turned back toward the direction of the house. Carlton stopped him. "Shawn..."
"Yeah?"
Carlton reached through the open car window and pulled Shawn into a last, lingering kiss. "I will figure something out," he declared softly against Shawn's lip. "Okay?"
Shawn was smiling now. "Okay."
Knowing if he hung around any longer he'd never leave, Carlton waved goodbye and quickly pulled his car out of the driveway and pointed his car in the direction of home. The drive to Carpinteria wasn't long and sooner than he thought, Carlton was stepping back into his silent house.
It felt strange, at first, to be away from Shawn and his house and his noise after so many days wrapped in it and Carlton found himself wandering around his small abode, trying to get settled. He finally decided to check his answering machine, idly looking through his refrigerator while he listened to messages play.
Two were hang-ups and one was from his sister, just checking in with him as she sometimes did. There was also a call from a telemarketer who'd taken the time to read her spiel into a message, which made Carlton roll his eyes and quickly hit the delete button. The last two messages were from Rodney whose recorded voice demanded that he answer the phone and then sniped huffily before ending the call.
Carlton was just about to grab the phone to return the calls when it rang. "Hello?"
"Where have you been?" Rodney demanded to know on the other end of the phone, his voice full of impatience and pique.
"Out," Carlton said.
"For three days? I've been calling you for three days!"
"Yes, Rodney, I was out. For three days." Carlton grabbed the last beer from the fridge and sat down at the kitchen table.
"Well, you could've told somebody!" he said. Carlton rolled his eyes. "Where were you?"
"Staying...at a friend's."
"Oh really?" Carlton could hear the interest in Rodney's voice skyrocket.
"...Shawn's, actually," he admitted.
"Shawn? You mean, the jailbait kid?"
"Yeah, him."
"So, he's...?"
"In Santa Barbara. He lives here."
"And now over 18?"
Carlton downed a swig of beer before answering. "No."
"No? What about all that going-to-hell stuff you kept moaning about?"
"I thought you didn't believe in hell?" Carlton asked.
"I don't! But I'm not the statutory rapist!"
"Rodney!"
His friend paused on the other end. "That didn't come out right, sorry. I just meant -- you're doing this? Even though you know?"
Carlton stared down at the condensation on his beer. "Yeah. I think so."
"You're doing something more than thinking if you spent the weekend with him."
"True."
Rodney sighed. "I'm not good at -- well, this -- but...well, you know. Don't screw this up."
"This what?"
"Your life, mostly."
Carlton almost laughed. "I'll try my damnedest not to."
"Good." Rodney cleared his throat. "Now that that's out of the way, can I talk about why I was calling in first place?"
"Yeah, sure." Carlton leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes. He needed the distraction. "Go for it."
**
For the first time in his life, Shawn cleaned up the house without either parent demanding it of him. As soon as Carlton left, Shawn busied himself with setting the house to rights, making sure that no trace of Carlton lingered in his wake.
It was one of those times that his special skills came in handy; he could scroll through his recollection of what every inch of the house looked like on Friday and make sure it looked exactly that way again. He'd even manage to notice and correct the slight misplacement of one of Henry's fishing trophies that Carlton had moved while admiring it.
Shawn washed and dried his sheets and then remade the bed, rinsed and put away all the dishes they'd used, stuffed the games that he and Gus hadn't played in years back into their corner of the closet, and finally took out the trash so no one would wonder why he'd ordered double the Chinese takeout than usual.
He was just settling down to catch the highlights of the FIFA matches he'd missed when Shawn heard the sound of the his parents pulling up in the driveway. For a moment, he was torn between relief and resentment: relief that Carlton had already cleared out and resentment that they'd come home early, unannounced. He wouldn't have put it past his father to have told him Wednesday when he always planned to return Tuesday, just to see if he could catch Shawn doing something wrong.
As always, his mother acted overjoyed to see him, even though she'd only be away from him a few days. Being in an indulgent kind of mood -- at least as far as his mother was concerned -- Shawn let her fuss over him for a little while before she wandered away to start the tedious task of unpacking the luggage.
Henry, on the other hand, just eyed Shawn for a few minutes before he sat down beside him on the couch, staring at him as he said, "Shawn."
"Dad." Shawn answered in the same, flat tone.
"What did you do all weekend?"
Shawn glanced at Henry out of the corner of his eye. "Went to the 4th of July thing on Saturday with Gus. Fenich asked about you."
"He did?"
"Yeah," Shawn nodded.
"Did you do anything else?" Henry wanted to know.
"Not really," Shawn lied smoothly, still staring at the television screen. "Hung around the house, watched the FIFA matches."
"Soccer?" Henry asked dubiously.
"Yeah. We lost."
His father was frowning at him. "I thought you were helping Costas with some odd jobs?"
"I am," Shawn said, the implied "so what?" clear in his tone.
"Don't tell me you blew off work just because I wasn't here to make sure you went."
Shawn stood up, dropping the remote on the couch with a thud. "No, Dad, I didn't," he told him. "Costas is out of town all week to visit his family in Greece. Like I told you last week." He didn't wait for a reply for his dad; he just headed toward his bedroom, pausing to say goodnight to his mother as he passed.
He spent the remainder of the evening moping -- no other word for it -- in his bedroom, re-arranging things more out of a sense of boredom than anything. Not too long after he'd left his dad sitting in the living room, he heard his parents' low voices arguing from their bedroom and he sighed, figuring that whatever that weekend had been supposed to cure, it hadn't done its job because it didn't sound like they were any happier than they'd been before they left.
In hopes that it would drown out the droning sound of their voices, Shawn turned on the radio and tried to play some Final Fantasy II but he just couldn't stay focused enough to care about Cecil, Kain and the rest of the gang. He finally called it a night and went to bed, though sleep didn't come as easily as he'd have liked, feeling inexplicably lonely after having Carlton with him constantly for the last few days.
Since Henry had all of Wednesday off from the station and plans to do some gardening, Shawn called Gus as soon as he rolled out of bed the next day and made his owns plans to get out of the house. He waved goodbye to his dad as they headed out, Henry busy in the yard as Gus navigated his way out of the driveway, pointing the LTD toward the beach.
"So where have you been all weekend?" Gus asked once they'd finally reached the their favorite stretch of beach. Instead of stepping out onto the sand, they circled around to the nearby smoothie stand.
"Around," Shawn said noncommittally, adding, "Don't give me that look, I called you like I said I would."
"I talked to you twice since then," Gus pointed out. "Saturday, after the picnic, and then this morning, so you could get away from your dad."
"I thought you had 'family stuff' to do," Shawn told him sourly.
Gus was watching him critically as they lined up behind a family of five at the smoothie stand. "You did it, didn't you?"
"What?"
"You saw him again!"
Shawn rolled his eyes. "You know I did! That's why I had you leave me on Saturday."
"No, I mean after that," Gus explained. He narrowed his eyes. "That's where you've been all weekend. With him!"
"And if I was?" Shawn singsonged. "What's the big deal?"
"You know what it is," Gus huffed. "This guy's too old for you, Shawn."
"Who says?"
"I say!" Gus said, pointing at him. "The law says! He could get in a lot of trouble."
"Really, Gus? I wasn't aware of that," Shawn told him, sarcasm lacing his voice.
Gus shrugged Shawn's tone away, as if he didn't bother him at all. "You've had a lot of bad ideas, Shawn, but this? Takes the cake."
"Well, I think you're dead wrong," Shawn announced as they reached the front of line. They paused in their discussion to order their smoothies -- pineapple for Shawn, strawberry-banana for Gus.
Once they had their drinks in hand and were headed back toward the sand, Gus continued with his objections. "Your dad will flip! And I don't know what he'll flip over more, the gay thing or the older-than-you thing or the his-coworker thing."
"Henry is not going to find out about any of this," Shawn said, more serious than he'd ever been in his life. He well knew that his father would make sure that Carlton paid dearly if they were ever found out.
"And how do you expect to keep it from him?" Gus scoffed. "You don't think he's not going to notice you hanging out with some guy he works with?" He shook his head. "Your dad's a detective, I don't know how you think you can fool him."
"We'll figure it out," Shawn told him.
"This isn't a good idea, Shawn," Gus said again. He actually looked troubled which brought Shawn up short. "You're going to get hurt."
Shawn shot him an incredulous look. "Okay, no more soaps for you, Gus!"
"I'm serious, Shawn!" Gus said defensively. "What did you tell me about Caitlin Hughes?"
"Never date a girl with four older brothers?"
"No," Gus shook his head. "Never get involved with someone who your best friend knows is bad news. Your turn to follow your own advice and listen to me when I say forget about this."
"Entirely different!" Shawn exclaimed, waving his smoothie around. "I told you that because she had four older brothers and her last boyfriend had an "accident" a week after he dumped her!"
"Shawn!"
"Gus..." Shawn stopped walking and turned to look at his friend. "I've got this covered."
"I'm just saying," Gus told him, sighing.
"Yeah, I know," Shawn said, nodding. "And I appreciate it but..."
"Okay, fine, whatever," Gus agreed. "Let's just not talk about it anymore."
Shawn agreed and quickly changed the subject. Although he and Gus didn't discuss it anymore, he could sometimes feel Gus's sideways glances, the disbelief that crept into the quiet minutes of their lazy afternoon.
He knew that Gus was just trying to be a concerned friend and he did appreciate but Shawn had faith that he and Carlton could figure it out.
To Be Continued...