"Who are you listening to?" Shawn asked, tapping Audrey on the shoulder as she worked on her own essay.

"La Dispute." She answered and he rose an eyebrow at her. "What?" She asked and took her earbuds out, giving the boy her full attention.

"Who's that?"

"They're like a pop punk group. Their music is actual poetry with background music. It's beautiful." She explained and he nodded, making a mental note to listen to them when we he could.

"How's your essay coming Shawn?" The teacher asked as he realized the two were talking, and he looked down at his half empty piece of paper.

"It's... it's coming?" He smiled sheepishly and the teacher crossed his arms, expecting that he would have had more written down. "Sorry Mr. Kole."

"Stop wasting time in my class Shawn, I'm not giving out anymore classtime for this. Ask your partner if you forgot. The entire essay is due this Thursday, rough draft, outline, and final draft." The teacher scolded and he nodded quickly.

"Okay, it'll be done." He promised and Mr. Kole walked away as Audrey laughed quietly, pulling her earbuds out. "How do you write so much so quickly?" Shawn gasped, seeing her entire paper full of words. Like she actually finished a page in fifteen minutes.

"I like writing." She responded nonchantly and shrugged as she tapped her pencil against the desk. "It's easy if you know what you want to say."

"I'm just distracted." He laughed quietly and she gave a soft nod, silently asking him if he wanted to talk about it. "Just a lot going on at home."

"Oh," she said, unsure of what to say. "Anything I could do to help?" She asked and he thought about it.

"Probably not," he told her honestly and shrugged as he began doodling on the desk. "Just gotta forget about it, I guess."

"Wanna listen to music?" Audrey offered the left earbud to him and he hesitated a moment. "If you hate what I'm listening to, I want be offended." She giggled quietly and Shawn took the earbud, putting in his ear as she pulled her phone out.

Shawn laughed lightly, the Disney tunes escaping the device making him shake his head slightly. "Pop-punk huh?" He asked and Audrey blushed a bit.

"I uh, am secretly five." She confessed, going to change the Aladdin based song to some random pop song. He stopped her before she could, letting the song play.

"Let's listen to it," he said and she nodded, slightly embarassed that he caught her listening to Disney music. "A whole new world." He hummed as he began working on his essay.

While he was writing, Audrey found herself tapping her pencil against the desk as she watched him. Tables have been turned. Audrey was the distracted one now, Shawn's soft singing and humming catching her by slight surprise at how gentle and soft his voice was. She thought he could be a Disney Prince at this point, he seemed to have absolutely no flaws to her. He was actually perfect.

She shook her head and began writing on the paper, though her words were suddenly caught up in a jumble. She forgot where she was on the paper, what was supposed to come next and if she wanted to go further into detail about Shawn's hobbies, so she opted to just drawing in the margins of the paper, tiny doodles her teachers always appreciated seeing while reading her papers.

-

"You free right now?" Shawn asked, wanting to hang out with Audrey a little longer today. She smiled smally as they walked together towards the school's parking lot, and then nodded her head.

"Yeah." She answered sweetly, her voice music to Shawn's ears. "You know, you seem to really like being around me. I haven't gotten annoying yet?" She questioned and he shook his head quickly.

"No way." He protested and then chuckled as he held the straps of his backpack in his fists. "If anything, I'd be the one who gets irritating. If you don't wanna hang out with me, that's fine." He offered and she looked at him, dumbfounded at why he'd think that.

"I never said that." She told him and he laughed a bit. "I'm not complaining, don't know a soul who would."

"Well then... don't make it seem like it." He teased her and she nodded, laughing loudly as he poked her side, showing her that he wasn't upset with her.

"Stop!" She whined and he laughed as he nodded, putting his hands in his pockets as their laughter bubbled down.

Shawn saw his friend Brendon and gave him a wave, but his friend's gaze was on Audrey. Shawn couldn't help but feel slightly jealous and protective, but he didn't let it show.

"Is that your friend?" Audrey asked as she looked between them and Shawn nodded. "Did you guys have plans?" She panicked, not wanting to intrude.

"Not that I know of " Shawn told her, running a hand through his hair. He saw Brendon walk over and the two shared a 'bro' hug. "What's up?"

"I was looking for you." Brendon grinned and Shawn nodded, glancing at Audrey, who was awkwardly scrolling through Instagram. "Where were you today at lunch? We were supposed to go get lunch with Karly and Ashton."

"I was busy," Shawn whispered, leaning into him like they were a couple of six year olds sharing secrets. "I was with Audrey, come man, lower your voice."

"Autistic Audrey?"

"Don't call her that." Shawn defended, feeling anger bubble inside of him from the 'nickname'. "Her name is Audrey. Just Audrey." He told him after he dragged him away from her slightly.

"Dude, Karly was asking about you. I told her you were single and would hit her up!" Brendon complained and Shawn ran his hand over his face. "You can't be dating her, of all people."

"I'm single, Audrey and I are just friends, and I'm not going on some blind date with a girl off of the cheerteam that you picked out." Shawn shot down his friend, and Brendon hit his shoulder.

"Dude she's fine, funny, and captain of the cheer team. She's actually perfect for you." Brendon tried, but Shawn shook his head.

"No thanks." He dismissed, and looked at Audrey, who was smiling at her phone. "I'm kinda set on someone right now, we're just friends, but I'm starting to hope I could try and make us more some time soon." He confessed to his best friend.

"Aut-"

"I swear if you call her by that dumb name,  I will hit you and then break your football helmet." Shawn, not so much threatened, more so promised.

"Dude, calm down." Brendon coaxed, pushing Shawn away a bit. The younger boy took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to control his anger. "No need to be rash."

"What-What did you want? I know you weren't just curious about where I was at lunch." Shawn rushed, wanting to get to the point of the conversation so he could be around Audrey before he has to go to work.

"I wanted to know why you were with her." Brendon muttered, nodding at Audrey, who was worried that she did something wrong since they were talking for so long. "Looks like you're in love with her."

"I'm not, I just met her, infatuated? Probably. In love? Urgh, disgusting 'love at first sight' cliches." Shawn pretended to gag, growing more and more irritated, more and more upset by the second.

"I'll go, just don't blow a fume, damn. You're redder than a strawberry." Brendon acnowledged, glancing at Audrey before walking away, his phone instantly in his hand. "Text me after your date it whatever."

"Oh shut it." Shawn snapped, pale fave turning red at the thought of going on a date with the girl.

"Hey, sorry about that." Shawn apologized and Audrey looked at him as he walked up to her. "He just wanted to know why I wasn't there at lunch with him."

"I'm sorry, is it my fault?" She asked and he shook his head. "Positive?"

"Dead." He promised and she nodded as she rolled her sleeves of her hoodie up. "Where do you wanna go?"

"If you want, we could go to my house and hang out? It itfsnt terribly far." She offered and he shrugged.

"Mind giving me directions?" He asked and she looked at him confused. He reached in his pocket and pulled his keys out, dangling them a bit before unlocking the car that was only a few yards away.

"Oh... right." She murmured and laughed lightly. "I forget you're like, already an adult." She told him and he gasped as the two walked to his car.

"I am not an adult!" He cried and she rose an eyebrow at him. "I can just drive... and work... and I go to the gym... and okay, maybe I'm kind of an adult."

"Grandpa." Audrey teased and he laughed as the two got in his car.

-

"This is my house, it's small but that's okay." Audrey introduced him as she threw her arms up dramatically. "My parents are at a meeting because they work together. My dad is the manager and my mom is a dispatcher. They work in different sections, but the same company."

"Oh, that's cool.." Shawn told her and looked around the small house. He thought it was really nice, absolutely warm and adorable.

The walls were painted a rich ivory color and the carpet, a velvety shade of burgandy. The wooden furnature was a polished oak brown, and the couches looked like an expensive black leather that he's willing yo bet were new. Picture rested on a computer desk by the door and hung up on the walls in black frames, small accents like snow globes and candle holders decorating available spaces.

"Is that your parents?" Shawn asked, seeing a picture of a really young man and woman. He was holding her up, both dressed in what seemed to be school uniforms, one for football and one for cheerleading.

"Yeah, they met in senior year. He transferred from a neighboring school and played in the football team. They met at his first game there. That was taken during his last." She recalled and looked at the picture, a soft smile on her lips.

"You look a lot like your mom." He commented and looked at Audrey. She laughed and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"People say that but I don't see it too much." She protested and Shawn laughed, telling her was almost an exact copy of her mother. "We can chill out here or like, in my room, but it's messy."

"How about we stay out here, and if I come over again sometime, you have a clean room and then we could chill there?" Shawn pitched and Audrey nodded.

"I like the way you think." She agreed and chuckled. "Want something to eat? Drink maybe?" She asked and he hummed.

"Can I get a glass of ice water?"

"Yes sir, what about to eat? May I interest you in our specials?" Audrey asked, pretending to jott his order down in a notebook. "We make a lovely ham and cheese sandwhich with chips."

Shawn laughed and shook his head. "I'm not hungry, maybe next time." He told her and she nodded as she went to the kitchen.

Shawn heard a bell and then looked around, seeing a small black kitten walk in from the hallway. "Oh my god, you're so cute." He gasped as the kitten looked at him.

It walked over to him, looking at him as if it was examining him. "What's the name of your kitten Audrey?" Shawn asked when it hopped on the couch and stood on his lap.

"That's Bean! She's adorable huh?"

"Bean?" Shawn asked, amused by its name. He looked at it's collar and saw that it's name was indeed, Bean. "Why did you name her that?"

"Cause when my aunt gave her to us, she was super tiny, like a little black bean." Audrey explained, bringing him a glass of water. She held a bag of chips and set them both on the table.

Shawn gently pet the kitten, smiling as it purred and rested on his lap. "She doesn't like many people." Audrey told him and he looked at her.

"I must be special then." He taunted and Audrey shrugged as she ate a chip. "She's so cute, I want to take her home and keep her."

"No, she's mine." Audrey told him and pouted. "My tiny Bean." She coo'ed, reaching over with her clean hand to let the kitten play with her finger.

They laughed when she tried biting on Audrey finger and Shawn smiled. "I love animals." He told her and Audrey agreed.

"I want a dog, but my mom is allergic." She sighes and Shawn nodded as the kitten hopped off of his lap.

"Same, it kinda sucks." He told her and she nodded. "I feel both betrayed and abandoned." He told her as Bean went walking around.

"She hates being in one spot too long. The only time she'll sit still is bedtime, cause she's with me in my bed usually." Audrey told him and he nodded.

Shawn reached for the glass, taking a drink of the cold liquid. "You start work in an hour." Audrey pointed out as she realized it was three.

"My house is only a couple blocks away, I'll survive if I stay a little bit longer." He shrugged and she nodded as she smiled.

"I'd offer you chips but your hands are dirty." She brought up and pointed to the kitchen. Shawn groaned and stood up, going to wash his hands in the sink.

"I'm sorry!" He said quickly, realizing he had almost stepped on the small kitten. She was hidden under a cabinet, stepping out to leave him alone.

"What did you do?" Audrey asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He laughed. "Don't worry about it." He told her and she just nodded, even though he couldn't see her.