Zoey was squished in-between Cory and Shawn of the truck. She didn't mind the journey so far, she was just thrilled for the adventure ahead of her.

"Alright. Tank full of gas, the open road, and no destination." Shawn said as he focused on the highway ahead.

"Let the road be your guide." Cory agreed. "Where are we going, Shawn?"

"Man, this trip is exactly what I needed to talk my mind off everything." Shawn said, ignoring the question.

"I'm sorry about your dad dying." Cory said.

Zoey elbowed Cory in the side. "Not helping, Cor."

"Shawn, why are we really on this trip?" Cory wondered.

"I'll tell you later." Shawn replied.

"When?" Cory asked.

"When the time is right." Shawn answered.

"Well, will you at least tell me when we get to wherever it is we don't know where we're going?" Cory wondered.

"Yes." Shawn replied with a faint smile.

Zoey pursed her lips as she drummed her fingers on her leg as she sat between her friends. Cory was fine, she didn't mind him. On Shawn's side, though, she could feel the warmth of his leg pressing against hers and felt him shift every time he adjusted his grip on the steering wheel.

Then Zoey turned her attention to Cory who placed on a bandana to match his best friend.

"What?" Cory asked, noticing Shawn and Zoey's look.

"Well, it's just, you know...." Shawn trailed off.

"No. What? Tell me." Cory insisted.

Shawn shrugged his shoulders. "Well, if one guy's wearing a bandana, it's cool. If two guys are it's...

"Ah, say no more. The 'one bandanna rule' has been enforced." Cory said, taking off the bandanna. "I'll just save mine for another time."

Zoey rolled her eyes. "Idiots."

••••

Shawn, Zoey and Cory decided to stop for lunch at a diner that was on the side of the road. When the three of them walked inside, Cory wore his best friends bandanna.

"This is a real truck stop." Cory said in excitement.

"We have a real truck." Shawn agreed.

"And we stopped here. You know what? I think I'm gonna get Topanga a hat." Cory insisted.

Zoey nodded. "Yeah, she'd like one."

"I'll get her a hat them." Cory said as they sat at the counter in a replica of their usual position. A blonde waitress came over to them. "How you doing, Amy Sue?"

Amy smiled. "I haven't seen you here before."

"What do you think?" He questioned.

"I think you're cute. What can I get for ya?" She wondered.

Zoey grabbed the menu off the counter with Shawn and Cory looking over her shoulder, studying the menu.

"World's best hash browns." Cory answered.

"Good choice." Amy commented. "How about you two?"

"His daddy died." Cory informed which earned him an elbow in his side. He glared at Zoey. 'Would you stop that?"

"I will when you stop talking about it everywhere." Zoey sneered, giving him a pointed look.

"You should try the chicken fried steak." One of the diners who sat across from them suggested.

"What kind of animal is that from?" Cory wondered.

"Chicken fried steak." The diner replied.

"I don't want any trouble." Cory said quickly.

Shawn looked up at the waitress. "We're gonna have the chicken fried steak."

Amy wrote down the order before looking at Shawn. "I'm sorry your daddy died."

"Thank you. I can tell you mean that." Shawn told her.

Zoey clenched her jaw slightly at the interaction as she went to the back to place their order.

"Hey. You know, that looks like the guy from ZZ Top." Cory said, pointing to the other customer as another waitress refilled his coffee. "I love this place."

"I have mixed feelings." Zoey muttered under her breath.

"Where are you from?" The blonde waitress asked.

"Philadelphia." Cory answered.

"I always wanted to go there. Is it scary?" She wondered.

"Not really. I'm a cop." He replied.

Zoey rolled her eyes. "And I'm Cindy Crawford."

"Yep. He's the chief of police and she's a model." Shawn added sarcastically with a smirk.

"How come you've never been to Philadelphia?" Cory asked.

"My dad says we're just fine here." The waitress answered. "Yell if you need anything."

"Hey new guys." A third waitress greeted as she walked passed them. "I'm Stacey."

"You know, this place is crawling with chicks." Cory whispered, leaning over Zoey to talk to Shawn. She pushed him back to his seat and he turned to the other girls. "Hi, Stacey."

The fourth and final waitress came to stand in front of them, placing their food down in front of them before staring directly at Shawn. "You're searching for something. I can tell."

Shawn nodded. "Yeah. I am."

Zoey's grip on her fork tightened as she tried to quell the jealous feelings that rose within her. Thankfully, the waitress left quickly to be replaced by an older man who the boys definitely wouldn't be interested in.

"Well, hell there, authentic, grizzled, old roadside-diner man." Cory greeted, attempting to be friendly.

"Do you see her?" The man questioned, pointing to the fire blonde waitress.

Cory nodded. "Yes, I do."

"That's Amy Sue. She's my daughter." The man announced.

"You're a lucky man." Cory praised.

"Do you see her?" The man asked, pointing at the second waitress. "That's Sarah. She's my daughter, too."

"You must have quite a gun collection." Cory joked.

"Do you see her?" The man repeated as he pointed to the third waitress.

"Let's see you explain that one." Cory insisted.

"Stacey and Ali. My daughters best friends and just like daughters to me. Watch yourself." The man informed them. He then turned to Shawn. "Now, you look familiar."

"Never been here before." Shawn replied.

"I didn't say you been here. I just said you look familiar." The man told him.

Then the man walked away from them, leaving the three with their food.

"Alright, Shawnie and Zo, eat up. We got a lot of road to cover in two days." Cory insisted.

Shawn sighed. "Cory, I'm not being fair to you or Zoey. You guys should go home."

Cory's narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What do you mean, we should go home? What about you?"

Amy and Sarah must have overheard their conversation.

"Do you have to go home before we sing?" Amy wondered.

"What, you girls got yourself a little band?" Cory asked. "You play a little Johnny Cash?"

"How old are you?" Amy questioned.

Cory chuckled nervously. "Honey, I'm taken."

"We don't get a lot of city guys around here. We'd be interested to know what you think." Sarah said.

"This'll be cute. See, they wanna hear what we think of their band. I hope they do that Achy Breaky." Cory stated.

Sarah and Amy smiled before they gathered the other waitresses and walked towards the stage.

Shawn leaned towards his best friends. . "I mean it. I need you to go home."

"What do you mean, I need you to go home? What about you, Shawn?" Cory asked.

"I wonder if this band's any good." Shawn said by way of answer.

••••

The girls weren't too bad but Zoey was reluctant to give them much praise seeing as how they'd tried to make moves on Shawn.

While they'd finished eating, Shawn had tried to explain himself to Cory but as usual, Cory wasn't having any of it.

"Life changes, you know. People go separate ways." Shawn told him.

"Shawn, what, are you breaking up with me in a restaurant, in a public place, so I won't make a scene? You think I won't make a scene?" Cory questioned.

Shawn chuckled. "No, I know you'll make a scene, but I'm not going home."

"Well, when are you gonna go back, then?" Cory asked.

Shawn hesitated for a moment. "When I need too."

"Shawn, just because things are not going perfectly in your life doesn't mean that you tear everything up and end up in who knows where." Cory said as he and Zoey followed Shawn over to the checkout counter.

"Sarah?" Shawn called.

"What, Shawn?" Sarah wondered.

"Can I see that picture?" Shawn asked, pointing to a specific photo that was pinned on the board behind her.

"Do you hear me? What do you think you're gonna find?" Cory questioned. He turned to Zoey with a disbelieve expression. "Why aren't you fishing with me on this?"

"It's his life, Cor." Zoey told him.

"This one?" Sarah asked, pointing to the photo.

"Yeah." Shawn answered. When she passed him the photo, he smiled slightly. "How about that? Look."

Cory and Zoey looked at the photo and their eyes widen. It was a photo of the older man from before and Chet.

"Okay, now it just got interesting." Cory admitted.

"You know that guy?" Stacey asked as she and the other waitresses walked over to join them.

Shawn nodded. "Kind of. He's my father."

"That's your father?" Sarah asked, surprised. She then turned around to face into the kitchen. "Hey, dad!"

"No!" Cory pleaded as he begin to panic. "Don't call him over. He hates me."

"Why do you guys a picture of my dad?" Shawn wondered.

"This boy bothering you?" The older man demanded as he stared at Cory.

"I just stopped here for lunch!" Cory explained simply.

"This is Chet Hunter's son." Sarah announced.

The older man looked between the photo and Shawn. "Yes, of course he is. I knew you looked familiar. Chet's been showing us picture of you for I don't know how long."

"I like the one where you're getting a bath in the sink." Sarah said.

"You're Shawn?" The older man asked.

Shawn nodded. "Yeah."

"How'd medical school?" The older man wondered.

"Actually, it's college." Shawn corrected.

The man laughed. "Chet always tells a good story. And your Cory, the kid Shawn's' always getting out of them crapes." His eyes fell on Zoey. "And this must be Zoey. Chet was always going on about his youngest is marrying the most beautiful girl in the world. Though I'm guessing that hasn't actually happened yet."

"Definitely not." Zoey told him.

"How come there's a picture of my dad at this truck shop?" Shawn asked.

"Chet wouldn't drive his rig between Pennsylvania and Ohio without stopping here, and telling us some of his latest adventures, right?" The older man explained. "He also told us how proud he was of his daughter-in-law." Shawn and Zoey awkwardly stood beside each other. "So, what's your daddy up to now?"

Shawn frowned as he turned to his best friends. "Guys, none of these people know."

"No, they don't." Cory agreed quietly.

"Know what?" The older man wondered.

"Well, I hate to have to tell you this, but..." Shawn began, looking around to see everyone staring at him. "My dad died last week."

There was a moment of silence.

"So, who shot him?" Someone asked which caused everyone to laugh.

Shawn looked around in confusion as everyone laughed. "Is it okay that people are laughing?"

"Of course it's okay. Just thinking about that son of a gun's face is enough to make you laugh." The older man answered as he moved to sit on a stool.

Shawn laughed. "Is it okay that I'm laughing?"

"Your father died, Shawn, but he ain't gone. When someone you love leaves you, they're never gone. They stay right here." The older man said, placing a finger to his own temple. "You know what I mean?"

"How well did you guys know my dad?" Shawn asked.

"Pretty well. He was always running from something. He had that way about him." The man answered.

"I always thought he was running for something." Amy offered.

"For what?" Shawn questioned.

"You." She replied simply.

"You were all he talked about, kid. Your father wanted to be perfect for you." The man told Shawn.

"Well, he would've been perfect if he had just been there for me." Shawn responded.

"Well, Chet may not be here now, but the man deserves a toast." The man insisted.

"Definitely. But I'm horrible at these things." Shawn admitted before turning to his friends. "Cor, Zoey, would you say something?"

Cory shook his head. "No. I'm mad at you."

"I'll do it." Zoey offered, stepping forward. "Chet Hunter was not a saint. But, he loved Shawn as much as he possibly could. And even if he wasn't always around to show it, we all know he wanted to be. And I'm sure, if he could, he's be right here with you right now. I believe that."

Shawn sent Zoey a grateful look which she returned with a soft one of her own.

Shawn nodded. "I believe that too."

"To Chet Hunter, Shawn's father." Zoey announced.

••••

Later that night, the three of them were in the trailer getting ready for bed. Cory and Zoey stood with their arms crossed as they watched Shawn trying to unfold the bed.

"I'm on a journey, guys, so I've gotta stay on this journey." Shawn told them.

Cory scoffed. "Oh, you're on a journey. It was a two day trip. Now it's a journey. Soon it will be a voyage."

"I'm looking for something, okay? I'm not gonna be able to find it at home, and I'm not gonna be able to find it with you or Zoey." Shawn explained simply, unfolding the bed.

"Then why are we on this trip? Why did you bring Cory and I here in the first place?" Zoey wondered.

"So I could get your blessings." Shawn replied. "Cause I wanted to say goodbye."

Cory's face grimaced in disgust. "Oh, you are sick, sir. So this was a fling? You know, I feel cheap. Now give me the keys."

Shawn jumped back away from Cory's reach. "No."

"Give me the keys." Cory demanded.

"We are spending the night in the trailer." Shawn explained.

"No. Give me the keys. I am turning this trailer around and taking you home." Cory argued.

Shawn shook his head. "No."

Zoey leaned against the kitchen table as she watched Shawn and Cory fight like children in front of her.

"You just wait until Feeny hears about this one." Cory told his best friend.

Shawn managed to wrap his arms around Cory's neck. "Cory, I need your help, okay? Tell me I'm making the right decision."

"Okay, fine. You want my help?" Cory insisted as they continued fighting in the trailer. "Go home, finish college, and work on your people skills."

"We're gonna sleep on it." Shawn hissed.

Shawn and Cory fell onto the ground, still fighting. Then the trailer door opened to reveal Amy on the other side. She walked inside and looked between the boys on the ground and Zoey.

"We need your advice." Amy said desperately.

Cory looked down at Shawn. "Perhaps we should get up."

Shawn nodded in agreement. Zoey stood beside her best friends as the waitresses from the diner filed into the trailer.

"We wanna see if we can make it somewhere other than here." Ali said.

"Their father will never let that happened." Stacy added.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not leaving. Amy Sue and I are all Dad has." Sarah explained..

Amy sighed. "Sarah, we can't stay here the rest of our lives."

"Look, this is a big decision." Stacey admitted. She turned her attention to Cory. "Could you tell us what you really think?"

"No. I can't, because I don't know you. I don't want to. I'm not gonna. You can't make me." Cory quickly said. He then sighed and turned to face the girls. "You girls are better than every band I've heard at college. I mean, you have a real shot out there. And even if things don't work out, you'll never know what your lives are gonna be like if you don't see what else is out there. So talk to your father, you know. He'll understand. He seems like a very understanding guy."

Zoey couldn't help but snort in amusement when she saw the older man appear behind Cory and quickly covered it by coughing, earning a confused look from Cory. She then subtly gestured behind him.

Cory turned to see the older man behind him. He screamed in shock and pointed at him.

"Why are you in here with my daughters?" The man demanded.

"I'm not." Cory replied nervously.

Amy stepped towards her father. "Cory thing we're good, dad. He thinks we should take a chance and leave."

"She's a liar!" Cory exclaimed.

The man glared at the teenage boy. "Why do you want my girls to leave me?"

"I-I don't. It's just..." Cory began, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "...you know, there comes a time in every man's life..." He stopped when he noticed the man's pointed glare. "You don't want me to touch you, do you?"

"Why don't you keep doing it and see what happens?" The man challenged. Cory quickly pulled his hand away.

"I was just gonna say, there comes a time in every man's life where he has to let go of the people he loves and, you know, let them find their own way." Cory explained which caused Shawn to laugh. He turned to his best friend. "I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about them." He turned back and was greeted with a pointed glare from the man. "I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about me. I want to go home."

Sarah approached her father. "We'll stay here, Daddy. You need help running the place. You need us. We'll stay."

"Girls... you're fired." The man announced.

"Thank you, Daddy." Amy said gratefully.

"We'll make you proud of us." Sarah added.

"I'm already proud." The older man stated happily. He then turned to Cory and pointed at him. "And if anything should happen to them, I'll hunt you down like a dog."

Cory chuckled. "Then we'll see each other again soon."

"Don't worry, I know where he lives." Zoey informed with a faint smile.

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay without us?" Amy asked her father.

"I'm not gonna be without you. You're always right here." The man responded, placing a finger to his temple.

Cory sighed and began walking towards his best friend. "Shawnie?"

"Yeah?" Shawn asked.

"You're fired." Cory announced.

Shawn furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "From what?"

"From me and Zoey." Cory replied. "I mean, I don't know what you're looking for, but I guess you need to go away for a while to find it."

Shawn smirked. "You sure, Daddy?"

Cory nodded. "Listen, if you ever need anything or you ever need my help...."

"I know." Shawn said. Cory reached into his back jean pocket and pulled out his bandana before passing it over to Shawn. "Thank you."

Zoey took a deep breath and strolled towards Shawn. "I'm gonna miss you, Shawnie."

"I'm gonna miss you, too." Shawn told her.

Shawn hesitated for a moment as he gaze at her before he leaned forward and pressed his lips gently to her cheek. Zoey eyes widen slightly at the action as she stayed frozen as they lingered for longer while her heart pounded in her chest.

"I'll see you soon, yeah?" Zoey murmured,

Shawn nodded. "Yeah."

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PUBLISHED: December 29, 2018
WORDS: 3209