CHAPTER TWO;
confuzzled

SHAWN EMERGED FROM HIS SLUMBER as the fluorescent light in the bus flickered on, squinting his eyes to adjust to the new light source. Lifting his head up off the seat, Shawn peered out of the bus window, viewing something both strange and bewildering, "Change of plans. Rock slides, the road is closed. You're back home." Called the bus driver as he opened the doors to a dimly lit West Ham.

Once everyone began to exit the bus, Shawn started to stretch until he realised a fast-asleep June was still cuddled up on his chest and holding his hand tightly. He was surprised that she could even get to sleep despite taking her insomnia pill; taking naps whilst travelling had never worked — even throughout the late, moonlight hours.

Brushing some of her raven hair out of her face, Shawn gently shook the girl awake through the chorus of groans coming from the rest of his classmates. Eventually, June's eyes fluttered open; raising her head off Shawn's chest before furrowing her eyebrows in confusion when she came to the same conclusion as him — they were back in West Ham.

"Why are we back at home?" She asked, her voice slightly hoarse from sleeping. Yet, despite the explanation from the driver, something uneasy floated through the air causing Shawn Rudman to feel unhinged. So instead, he only shrugged his shoulders as he pushed himself up off his seat, extending his hand out to June in order to pull her up too.

As the pair headed off the bus, the evening seem to become more and more disorientated. With the buses leaving as quickly as they pulled up here, not one adult was waiting outside for their kids. Now for June, this was a usual occurrence for her; parents always away or just never being bothered to show up. But for Shawn, his younger sister and parents wouldn't dare not to pick him up, always desperately pestering him about stories and memories from his time away.

June and Shawn exchanged a long glance, picking their phones and dialling each of the Rudman boy's parents — both well aware of how June's wouldn't answer anyway — however, as they pressed their phones to their ears waiting for an answer, neither of the adults picked up, sending June and Shawn to voicemail as well as another whirlwind of puzzling questions.

Removing the device from his ear, Shawn placed his phone back into his pocket in his jeans, knitting his eyebrows together as he once again looked at June whilst she did the exact same.

As the year stood silently, Shawn's mind reached for an explanation, but couldn't seem to find one. Basically all parents showed up to deliver their kids back home, it was almost like an unspoken rule in the town of West Ham. See your teenagers off and be here to collect them proved you were caring — that you were good.

"Shawn," June finally spoke up, running her hand smoothly down his arm, her delicate touch snapping him out of his own thoughts. Shaking his head, Shawn switch his focus back onto the beautiful girl in front of him, who gazed at him like Shawn was only one she could ever see.

It was contact like that that made Shawn kick himself for being so cowardly, for never having the guts to ask the girl who always been standing right beside him, through thick and thin, good and bad, sickness and in health. Letting the words disappear every time he attempted to ask her, telling himself that the moment must be perfect or she'll shut him down. Shawn Rudman just dreamed of showing June Lee how he loved her as much as she did him — he only prayed that she knew that despite his cowardly ways.

"They're probably still trying to get Violet to bed." She reassured him with a small smile, although June herself isn't very convinced, let alone convincing Shawn. Then elaborated in the hopes that it would seem more reasonable, "You know what your sister's like when she misses you."

With a heavy sigh, Shawn pulled his lips into a tiny grin. "Yeah, yeah, you're probably right." He muttered under his breath. Silence fell between the pair as they watched other leave the grass they were standing on and make their way towards their homes. "Want to come back to mine?" Shawn asked as he intertwined June's hand with his.

June nodded her head in response, squeezing his hand a little tighter as they made their way home.

━━━━━━━━━

CONFUZZLED.COM
created by ❛ june💘 ❜ at 1.36am

june💘
dudes, i'm an insomniac
and confuzzled,
what's going on??

tabs🧡
'confuzzled' isn't a word.

june💘
sure, jan.

tabs🧡
. . .but it's not.

edith💛
no clue

caleb💙
nope

bea❤️
no idea.

tabs🧡
and can anyone get
ahold of their parents??
grizz and i can't seem
to get through.

bea❤️
no.

edith💛
nope

caleb💙
me neither

june💘
shawn and i can't.

bea❤️
june, why did you make a
separate gc when there's
the senior year one??

june💘
because. . .

june💘 is typing

tabs🧡
you have no reason,
do you??

june💘
nooooooo
would you believe me if i said
it was shawn's idea? :)

shawn🖤
no sweetheart, they wouldn't

edith💛
ugh the nicknames,
not a 1am guys please

tabs🧡
and who gave you the
right to say who and
what i believe rudman??

but no june, i would not.

bea❤️
wait, when did shawn and
june start dating?? cause jesus
it took a long fucking time
june💘 and shawn🖤 read at 1.47am

bea❤️
what did i say??

caleb💙
they're not dating,
they just call each other by
pet names sometimes.

tabs🧡
they basically are dating,
it's just not official. . .yet.

edith💛
yeah because rudman
here's a pussy.
fUcKiNg aSk hEr BiTcH

shawn🖤
sUcK a dIcK

edith💛
i'm a lesbian, thOt

june💘
okay e, chill out.
anywho, i made this gc because
you're the closet people in my life and i
wanted to know what's going on.

plus everyone on the senior
year one is talking about
getting shit-faced at a party.

also, make friends!!
make june mary lee happy :)

edith💛
party? ;)

bea❤️
party!?

june💘
edith, nO!

tabs🧡
beatrix, NO!!

caleb💙
i thought you two
hated each other?

tabs🧡
hate is a very strong word.

bea❤️
we dislike each other

shawn🖤
imagine believing that now. . .

tabs🧡
no we do.

bea❤️
yeah, she's a bitch

tabs🧡
slut.

bea❤️
hoe

tabs🧡
whore.

bea❤️
th0t.

edith💛
i know the aim was to
make us believe that you
dislike each other. but using
slut-shaming insults
actually made it less believable.

tabs🧡
fUck.

june💘
wait that feud's an act??

tabs🧡
it might be. . .

edith💛
scandalous!!

bea❤️
don't breathe a word to anyone

caleb💙
it might be the end
of the world you know,
there's no point
in hiding things now.

shawn🖤
deep bro.

june💘
also not helpful.

edith💛
i'm still really upset
that no one wants to party :(

do you guys really not want to party??

shawn🖤
nope, i want to party.

caleb💙
same.

tabs🧡
same.

bea❤️
i already said i did.

june💘
. . .same

edith💛

june💘
someone just texted for
a meet-up, apparently it's
back by where the buses
dropped us off.

shawn & i will see you there??

caleb💙
meet you there.

bea❤️
see you there

tabs🧡
grizz and i will be there.

edith💛
see y'all there.

AUTHOR'S NOTE
a quick update before i head off to bed and revise for the next 2 weeks :(

this is barely proof read but i really wanted to update before my exams so i hope it's okay. please hype up my self-conscious ass and cheer me up with funny comments!