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“Okay, what do you got?” Shawn looks over to his best friend in a drunken stupor. His girlfriend had just given him an ultimatum followed by quite the kiss, and Shawn had to weigh his options and pick either her or Cory. Now he was staring at Cory expectantly, waiting for what his friend had to offer. If he were thinking more clearly he would probably realize that it was ridiculous to even consider choosing someone over Cory… but Jennifer was a really good kisser. Shawn saw Cory’s jaw hinge and unhinge as if filtering through his options of rebuttal. The Pink Flamingo kid was just about to shake out of his pheromone-induced high when Cory leaned forward and pulled Shawn into a desperate kiss, sending him on another emotional roller coaster.
Shawn drops the pool cue he had been holding as he’s swept away by his best friend’s lips. His arms snaked around Cory’s waist by their own volition, and Shawn tugged the curly haired boy even closer. What in reality was only a few seconds felt like an explosion that lasted forever between the boys. Cory was the one that pulled away first, and Shawn’s eyes were closed. The boy was too lost in wonderment that he couldn’t open his eyes, and out of awe he whispers, “ Whoa… ” Shawn opens his eyes to see his best friend staring back at him with a glint in his eye. Cory exhales a warm breath, and Shawn smiles slightly.
“What the hell ?” An interjection from Jennifer causes the boys to jump out of their not-that-private moment. In his shock and fright, Shawn instinctively leans closer to Cory, their arms still wrapped around each other. Jennifer crossed her arms when the boys looked at her and raises a demanding eyebrow. “Well?” she questions, but she doesn’t wait for Shawn to respond before continuing, “I should have known you were gay. We’re done Shawn. Consider yourself officially dumped.” Without waiting the blonde girl huffs and storms out of the room.
The boys look back at one another and chuckled awkwardly; at least that inconvenience was behind them. They thought all was well until a familiar clearing of the throat caught their attention. Cory’s eyes widens, and its his turn to look back at his girlfriend. Cory begins to flap his jaw once again, trying to find a way to dig himself out of this, but Topanga just shakes her head. Cory closes his mouth ashamed, and Topanga walks up to kiss him on the cheek. “We’ll talk about this later.” She gives a small smile to Shawn and walks away, leaving the boys alone.
Once again they lock eyes with each other, daring the other to speak first. “I'm sorry,” they say at the same time. “Why are you sorry?” they again ask in unison. The boys chuckle and fidget awkwardly, Cory shuffling his feet while Shawn runs a hand through his hair.
Finally Cory speaks up, “I'm sorry I kissed you… I don't… I'm not sure why I did that…” Cory smiles timidly, feeling uncomfortable for the first time in front of his best friend.
Shawn shakes his head, loose tresses following the movement. “I'm sorry I put you in that situation. I should have never asked you to lie for me.” He looked down at his feet. “I never should have chosen her to begin with.”
Cory points his finger at Shawn and defends his friend, “No, I get it. I hear she's a good kisser.”
Shawn chuckles, still looking at his feet. He looks up, staring at Cory for a long time before amending, “So are you.” Cory's eyes widen, and his face turns cherry red. The boys stare at each other for a long time, and Shawn bravely reaches out to once again wrap his hands around his best friend's waist. Cory gasps at the contact, biting his lip. “Cory?” Shawn asks, quieter now.
Cory reaches out and brushes Shawn’s bangs away from his face with a slow and trembling hand. “Yeah, Shawnie?” He asks with a shaky voice, keeping his hand on Shawn's face despite his apparent nerves.
Shawn’s face warms at the contact, and it sends a shiver down his spine. His eyes fall to Cory’s lips and back up before he says in a breath, “Why did you kiss me?”
Cory looks down and furrows his brow, analyzing his actions carefully. Kissing Shawn had felt like the right thing to do, and, god, kissing Shawn felt right when it was happening. That didn’t explain why he did it or for what purpose. Best friends don’t kiss each other on the lips like that. Best friends didn’t hold each other the way they were holding each other now. Cory meets Shawn’s eyes once again and takes a revitalizing breath. He knew this wasn’t what best friends did, but this kind of relationship felt so natural that Cory just assumed this was what friendship was. Kissing Shawn felt different than kissing Topanga. Kissing Topanga felt nice, a reminder that someone cared for him; their kisses were always chaste and sweet and never left him breathless. Shawn left him breathless, and as Cory came to that realization he could only find one reason why. “Shawnie, I think I love you?”
Shawn is surprised by this confession but finds he isn’t caught off guard by this either. Cory loved him? Duh. That was their entire life, Cory and Shawn together forever. He didn’t realize how much weight that statement held. Cory’s kiss had sent sparks through his body, and the emotion he felt had been more intense than anything he had ever felt with a girlfriend. He looked down to find his arms still tugging Cory into him and Cory’s hand still delicately cupping his cheek. His eyes widen in realization as he responded, “Cory, I think I love you too?” The boys stood in this revelation for a moment in silence, processing what had just transpired completely. Shawn made a face and looked questioningly to his best friend. “Now what?”
Cory crumples his face in thought as well, pondering the future. Suddenly he cringes and slaps his forehead. “How am I gonna tell Topanga?”
Shawn smiles bemusedly at his friend and chuckles, “I think she already knows,” he explains in reference to her graceful exit. Shawn pulls back from his friend and grabs one of Cory’s hands. He blushes a dark red and looks down timidly. “Uh, Cory…” he starts slowly, “Do you want to… maybe go on a date? With me?” he adds as an afterthought.
Cory’s face turns scarlet at the proposal and giggles nervously at the treatment. Shawn’s smile crinkles admiringly hearing his friend’s shy laughter, and Cory nods affirmatively. “I would like that very much.”
“Cool…” Shawn says in a breath, and the boys stand with each other for a few more moments, exchanging shy glances and smiles. “Or,” Shawn begins, and Cory quirks his eyebrows curiously, “We could just kiss again?”
Cory’s smile goes wide and without a thought he shouts out, “Okay!” and pulls Shawn in for another kiss.