It had been almost a week since Zoey left for Pittsburgh and Shawn was feeling the loss of his girlfriend.

He missed Zoey when something really good happens, because she was the one he wanted to share it with. He missed her when something is troubling him, because she was the only one who understands him so well. He missed her when he laughed and cry, because he knew that she was the one who makes his laughter grow and his tears disappear.

He missed her all the time, but he missed her the most when he lies awake at night and think of all the wonderful times they spent with each other for those were some of the best memorable times of his life.

There was not a day that goes by with out Zoey in Shawn's mind. There's not a day that goes by with out him missing her by his side, there's not a day that goes by with out him knowing how lucky he was, there's not a day that goes with out a smile on his face....

It was pouring down rain and wouldn't stop.

Shawn left his bedroom and walked to the kitchen. Virna and Chet both sat on the couch, frowning as they watched their son be so upset.

"Shawnie, I know this is tough on you, son, but you can't go avoiding life." Chet said. Shawn didn't respond as he grabbed a snack and sat down on a chair. "Listen, I was thinking. Why don't we just drive down to Pittsburgh this weekend, huh? I need to see some suppliers, and you can spend time with Zoey."

"I don't think that's the best idea, Chet." Virna stated.

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Mum, you know what? I know how you feel, okay? You've made it real clear how you feel."

"My feelings are for you. I don't want you to be in pain." Virna responded.

"No. You just don't want me and Zoey to be together." Shawn told her in annoyance.

"I don't want you to be sick over Zoey." Virna corrected. "Shawn, she isn't here anymore. And to tell you the truth, I think this presents you with a good opportunity to get to know other girls."

"Mum, I don't want to know other girls, okay?" Shawn argued, standing up from his seat.

Virna huffed. "I don't think that's healthy."

"Zoey and I would've been together for the rest of our lives." Shawn said confidently.

"No, you wouldn't have been." Virna said, standing up and stared at her son. "You both have to get to know other people to make a choice like that. I had relationships with four other men before I met your father."

Chet furrowed his eyebrows. "I know three."

"Well, you know what, mum, I'm sure you'll be real happy to know that I'm not going to go to Pittsburgh, okay?" Shawn decided.

"Why not? You and Zoey have a fight?" Chet asked.

"No. No fight. I just realized that I'm the one making all the phone calls. I'm the one writing all the letters, but I will not be the one who travels three-hundred miles to be rejected and look like a fool." Shawn explained to his parents. "So if life doesn't want me and Zoey together, then you can't fight life, can't you?"

Shawn grabbed a raincoat and marched over to the door. He grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open. Zoey's face comes from the shadows, smiling widely as she stood on the other side of the door, completely soaked from the rain.

Seconds passed, Shawn's brain taking her in, struggling to comprehend that she isn't one of the pictures he kept beside his bed, that she was real and was standing in front of him.

Zoey smiled. "Shawn."

"Zoey!" Shawn gasped in surprised.

Zoey wrapped her hands around Shawn's neck and pulled him down to her height, kissing him lovingly. Shawn kissed forcefully, his eyes long closed and his hands gripping her as if he was afraid she wasn't really standing in front of right now. Eventually, the two teenagers had to pull away for air, but when they did they didn't stray from each other.

Shawn rested his forehead on hers as they panted, his eyes closing for a long time, try to process what had happened. Zoey guessed he had a lot to say. She would too if she was in his position. Slowly, his hands lifted from her waist, his fingers trailing the side of her face.

"I missed you." Zoey whispered.

Shawn then wrapped his arms around her, holding her as tight as he could to himself. "I missed you so much."

"Hi, Zoey." Chet greeted.

Virna smiled. "Hi, Honey. Does your mum want to come in?"

"She's not here." Zoey responded as she pulled apart from Shawn.

"So your mum dropped you off?" Virna asked.

Zoey placed a quick kiss on Shawn's lips. "I couldn't be without you."

"I wasn't doing too good either." Shawn admitted.

"Zoey, your mother doesn't know you're here, does she?" Virna questioned in a serious tone.

Zoey shook her head. Shawn wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her body against his chest, stroking her wet hair with his fingers.

"Zoey, your Mum is going to be very worried about you." Chet told her.

"Why would she be worried about me now? She wasn't worried about me when she decided to move. I told her how much Shawn meant to me and how I couldn't be away from him. She said I was too young to say things like that, that I didn't know." Zoey explained.

"So you ran away from her?" Chet asked in disbelief.

"I ran away to Shawn." Zoey corrected. Shawn pressed a kiss on her head.

Chet turned to his wife. "Okay. It just got serious now."

"Zoey, I'm going to have call her." Virna insisted as she walked over to phone.

"No, mum. Didn't you hear what she just said? Her mother doesn't understand her, okay? Just like you two don't understand me. We want to be together. Okay? That's what we want." Shawn told his mother.

Virna sighed. "Zoey, I know you miss Shawn, but to come here without your mum's permission, that's just wrong."

Shawn rolled his eyes. "How can it be wrong, Mum, if she loves me enough to do that? I mean, I'm sorry I didn't do it myself."

"Help me, Chet." Virna begged quietly.

Chet stood up and faced the teenagers. "First of all, we are not the enemy. We understand that you two want to be together, but this is not the way to about it."

"I'm calling." Virna decided.

Shawn let out an angry sigh. He pulled apart from Zoey and turned her to face him. "Look, I promise no one is going to take you away from me. I promise."

••••

When Zoey was finally dry and was dressed in Shawn's oversized shirt and grey sweatpants, the two of them sat on the couch. The two were inseparable as Shawn wrapped her in a warm embrace.

"So the first day we didn't connect was Monday, but I figured you were busy with school and you had a lot of other stuff to do, but then we missed Tuesday and Wednesday, and I started wondering who were you with?" Shawn told her.

"Shawn, I could've sat and talked to you on the phone every day, but it was just the phone, and every time I hung up it got harder for me." Zoey admitted, frowning slightly. "I just tried to stay busy."

"Well, does busy include going to the school dance with your new friends?" Shawn asked.

Zoey furrowed her eyebrows. "How'd you know?"

"It was a guess." Shawn replied.

'It was just something to do." Zoey explained. "And I had a lousy time because all I thought about was you."

After a moment, Chet and Virna walked out from the back into the trailer and approached the two teenagers.

"We called your mum, Zoey, to let her know that you're here and that you're here all right." Chet informed before he sat on a chair.

"And later on..." Virna trailed off.

"And later on, what, mum?" Shawn questioned in frustration as he stood from the couch. "She's going back to her house? Then, fine. I'm going with her. We can do this again there."

"Shawn, you live here. Zoey lives in Pittsburgh. I didn't do it. Stop jumping on me." Virna told her son.

"No, no, mum. I'm not jumping on you because of where we live, all right? I'm jumping on you because you seem happy about this. I mean, why don't you want us to be together?" Shawn asked in frustration.

Virna pointed at Shawn repeatedly. "You cannot make adult life decisions without adult life experiences behind those decisions to make them stand up."

"Mum, I love her." Shawn declared.

"So you say, Shawn. But what does love mean to you at sixteen years old?" Virna wondered. She walked over to Chet, placing her hands on his shoulders.. "I have been with your father for 22 years, and I know I've been in and out, but I am just now begging to realize what love really means. Shawn, you educate me. You tell me what love means to you."

"Mum, listen, I haven't been together with Zoey for 22 years, but we have been together for 16, okay? That's a lot longer than most couples have been together. I mean, when I arrived to Philadelphia we instantly became best friends. I knew everything about this girl. I knew her favourite colour. I knew her favourite food. Then when I was 14, mum, we were in a closet together and she kissed me. I mean she gave me the best kiss I've ever had. She taught me how to dance. Sometimes she talks about these crazy things, and I never understood a word she said. All I understood was that she was the girl I stay up every night thinking about. And when I'm with her, I feel happy and to be alive, like I can do anything. Even talk to you like this." Shawn explained to his parents. "So that's what I think is love, mum. When I'm better because she's here. And no she don't be. So I'm finished."

Shawn sat back on the couch, wrapping an arm around Zoey's shoulders.

Zoey sighed and turned to Virna. "I think it's a good thing that Shawn's the only boy I've ever loved. I was looking forward to doing all the things that people do who are in love...with Shawn...  and not with just some guy in Pittsburgh because I'm there."

There was knock on the door.

"That would be Zoey's aunt." Chet grumbled.

Zoey's eyes widened. "My aunt? Aunt Maggie?"

"Your mum said she was going to call her." Chet explained, standing up.

"Hey, maybe she'll be on our side." Shawn said with a hopeful smile.

Zoey shook her head. "No, not my aunt."

"Well, maybe she'll realize that we're Romeo and Juliet. We belong together." Shawn responded.

"Look, my aunt has never been in love, never been married, and wouldn't even know who Romeo and Juliet were." Zoey told her boyfriend.

Chet opened the door to reveal Zoey's aunt on the other side. The woman was tall with sleek black hair, green eyes, and a pointed nose.

"Hello. I'm Zoey's aunt." Aunt Maggie greeted.

Chet shook Aunt Maggie's hand. "Hi. I'm Chet Hunter. This is my wife, Virna."

"Maggie King." She introduced, stepping inside the trailer. "Hello, Zoey."

"Aunt Maggie." Zoey greeted in a monotone.

Maggie noticed Shawn standing behind Zoey, wrapping his arms around her body. "And this must be the young man who has my niece so smitten."

"Hi, uh, I'm Shawn Hunter. Listen, you're my last chance. Please don't take her away." Shawn pleaded quietly.

Maggie sighed. "I'm sorry, Shawn, but my instructions are to take Zoey home with me and put her on the train to Pittsburgh first thing in the morning."

Zoey turned to face Shawn concerningly. "Shawn, help."

"I don't know what to do, okay? Everyone seems to want us apart." Shawn told her, grabbing a hold of her hands. He then turned to face his parents. "Except dad. Dad, listen, you really haven't said anything during this whole time. Are you going to let her take her away?"

Chet raised his eyebrows. "I don't think I'm going to have to."

"What?" Shawn asked in confusion.

"You know, you may have known Zoey since you were little, but I've known your mother like, forever, okay?" Chet said.

"So?" Shawn wondered.

"So... what I know about your mother, besides her favourite food and colour, spaghetti and red, and thee thing that I respect in her the most is that she has always put her faith in love, when she sees it, when she recognizes it. Which is why she chose me.... when her parents told her not to." Chet explained.

"Yeah. but, dad, she wants us to have other relationships." Shawn said.

Chet shrugged his shoulders. "Love is faith, Shawn. Do you love your mother?"

"Yeah, of course I do." Shawn answered.

"Then have faith." Chet simply said.

Virna sighed and strolled towards the two teenagers. "It would be... wrong... for Zoey to go back to Pittsburgh."

"Guess I have a lot to learn." Shawn muttered.

"Certainly you're not suggesting that I let some puppy love between two sixteen year old children interfere with her mothers wishes?" Maggie questioned in disbelief.

"I am suggesting that Zoey was born in Philadelphia and has spent her entire life here. All of her friends, everything she knows is here. And to rip her out of high school in her junior year and drag her to Pittsburgh where she has to make new friends for one year, and then have to leave again for college is.... irresponsible." Virna explained.

"Are you saying that my sister is irresponsible?" Maggie asked.

Virna nodded. "Yes, I am."

"Then keep talking." Maggie insisted.

Virna turned to Zoey and held her hand. "I have known Zoey for sixteen years, too. It's hard not to love her. Everything Shawn says she is, she is. And no matter how old Shawn is, it will be hard for him to find better."

"Mum..." Shawn trailed off, shocked and surprised.

"You're my son. I never want you to be in pain." Virna told him with a smile.

"Zoey, Shawn, would you excuse us so that I may speak to Mr. and Mrs. Hunter?" Maggie asked.

Shawn grabbed hold of Zoey's hand and opened the trailer door, walking outside. The two sat on the lounge chair at the front. Their hands were tangled on Shawn's lap as they waited for adults to finish their conversation.

A moment later, Chet, Virn, and Maggie walked out of the trailer.

"Zoey, your aunt has something to tell you." Virna said.

Zoey and Shawn shared a look and stood up from the chair. Zoey nervously stood in front of her aunt, fumbling with her fingers anxiously.

"I have spoken to your mother, and while I don't condone the intensity or exclusivity of this relationship, I also cannot condone the actions of my sister. Therefore I've decided, and she had agreed, that if you'd like to live with me during the remainder of your high school education, I'd be happy to have you." Maggie informed.

Zoey's face instantly lit up at the news. She quickly embraced her aunt before she turned to Shawn with a massive grin on her face.

"Did you hear what she said?" Zoey asked, shocked.

Shawn smiled. "Yeah, she said you're staying here."

Shawn kissed Zoey. He then wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her off the ground. Zoey squealed as Shawn lifted her higher, chuckling as she laughed.

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PUBLISHED: July 28, 2018
WORDS: 2660