Shawn's Corner of Disaster

[Tori]

Those first few sips....

Six years old, Shawn Davis was in his room playing with his limited amount of toys. Well, okay, he was mostly just trying to stay out of the way of his abusive father, Larry. Ever since Shawn was hit for the first time by his father, at just three years old, he’s been extra careful of what he does around his father in order to not get beaten again. Not that that ever worked though. Even if he has done nothing, Larry still manages to find some sort of reason to beat on little Shawn.

So one Saturday, Larry told Shawn that he was going out for a little bit, and to not even leave his room until he came back. Because if he did, and surely Larry would find out somehow if Shawn did, he would get beaten harder.

Of course that didn’t stop Shawn at all, though. Because he did get hungry. He snuck out into the kitchen, careful not to make any lasting footprint on the hardwood floors, not even a single fingerprint on any of the walls. When he finally reached the kitchen then, not even bothering to be careful anymore because of how hungry he was now, he climbed up onto the counter to reach up into one of the cabinets to pull out some crackers. He headed across the way to grab some paper towels so as to not make a single mess. But that was when he noticed something different. Next to him was another cabinet door left partway open. A cabinet door which was never left open. Shawn had always been curious as to what could be in there. And why his father never wanted him on that part of the kitchen. Or rather, in the kitchen at all. He had seen his father sneak into this cabinet so many times before, he wondered what was in there that was so addicting. He creaked the door the rest of the way to find his father’s hidden stash of alcohol. And without thinking, Shawn grabbed the first bottle he saw, which happened to already have the top popped off. He pressed the bottle closer to his lips, and took the tiniest sip of it. He licked his lips a couple times, trying to figure out the flavor he was tasting. After scrunching up his nose and face quite a few times then, he took a few more sips of it. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t good....but it wasn’t bad. He figured he could get used to sneaking some of this stuff whenever he was left alone again. Shawn realized then after drinking half the bottle that he felt better. Better than he has ever felt ever, no worries, nothing.

He was taking one final sip before suddenly hearing a car pull up in the drive way. He knew it was his father. Who else could it be? He quickly stashed the bottle back in the cabinet and rushed back up to his room, not even realizing he had left crumbs and spills of alcohol on the kitchen floor, not to mention the cabinet doors were still wide open. He wasn’t thinking about that though, he couldn’t. All he was thinking of was locking himself back up in his room, acting as though nothing has happened. Even with the beating that had come to him not five minutes later, those drops of alcohol were something else to him. It made everything worth it. Even the beatings and large, dark bruises left on his arms, back, chest, and face had been worth getting those drops of alcohol. It wasn’t like it was gonna stop him from sneaking some more when left alone in the house again.

[Tori]

One smoke, turns into twenty smokes....

Two years after his last beating, Shawn knew he made the right decision to leave home. Even if life on the streets begging for food wasn’t the best life for a ten year old, he was still happier than he was at home. The only thing he would truly miss was the alcohol his father kept stashed in the kitchen.

After passing two other towns, Shawn wandered around some alleys for a bit before stopping himself for a moment. He spotted a small, unopened white box just lying on the ground in front of him. He bent down to get a better look at it only to find that it was a box of cigarettes. A box of unopened, unused cigarettes. “Well, I’ve drank alcohol already, so whats one pack of cigarettes gonna harm?” he mumbled to himself, ripping open the box and pulling out a single butt. The only problem he had next was, he had no lighter. The only thing useful he had on him was an old and dull jackknife. He reached further in his pockets to find just the right amount of change to buy himself a lighter from the nearest drugstore. Another problem he had...there was no way the cashier was gonna let him get away with it. So he did the next best thing. He slipped the package of cigarettes in his back pocket, and wandered into the drugstore looking as innocent as can be, despite his raggedy look he had from being homeless for two years. He gave the cashier a small smile before heading into the candy section, grabbing a snickers bar and walked a bit faster to the next isle grabbing the first lighter he saw and slipping that into his other back pocket. He walked up to the register to pay for his candy bar with what little change he had, and rushed back outside and into the alley again to pull out the cigarette butt and his new lighter.

Once lit, Shawn held the cigarette up to his lips, sucking in the tobacco smoke and blowing out not a second later. He gave a few little coughs at first, not being used to the strong sensation going into his lungs. But after three or four other smokes, he was stomping out the end of the butt, and grabbing for the next one. “Dang. Now all I need is that alcohol stash and I’m good to go.” he chuckled to himself, giving out another blow of smoke. “Whoa...Deja Vu.” he suddenly said, his forehead wrinkled with thought. He felt this feeling before. It was the same feeling he had when he drank his first sip of alcohol. It was a good feeling. Like, he would never have to worry about anything again. Not beatings, abuse, none of it. He felt free.

[Tori]

One thing I learned from all this.....


“Shawn, c’mon! Move your ass!” shouted just one of Shawn’s friends but also gang member, Ricky. Shawn ran even faster now, looking back once or twice seeing the police start to gang up on them. A few of them gave the cops the finger, with an occasional, “You’ll never catch us alive, motherfuckers!” Just to make their chase that much more exciting. The gang made a sharp turn into one of the allies then, and Shawn just barely made that turn, with a small slip on the way in there.

Once they were sure they lost them, and were safely in their secret hideout away from all the madness, Shawn came bursting out saying, “You know, you guys could of gave me a little warning back there.” he said out of breath, “How should I know the fucking cops were two fucking feet behind me?”

“You should know by now Shawn. It’s every man for himself out there.” said Drake, the leader of the group.

Shawn rolled his eyes, plopping down on their old beat up couch, kicking his feet up and bringing out a cigarette to light up. “So I guess that means I can never trust you, huh? Never could...”

Drake nodded, as well as the rest of the gang. “Learn something new everyday, don’t you?” he chuckled, and returned back to his own corner, smoking up a cigarette of his own and popping open a brand new liquor bottle that they just recently stole.

Shawn gave another death glare over to Drake again, puffing out a cloud of smoke before Ricky came over to join him with his own bottle of whiskey. “You know, if you keep acting up like that, its likely Drake’s gonna leave you altogether the next time we’re running. You remember what happened to Ryan...”

Shawn gave a disgruntled look, picking up his beer and taking a long swig of it. “Yeah, but he deserved it.” he retorted back. “You know what he was like. He was the worst of all of us. He nearly turned us all in!”

“I know.” Ricky sighed. “Lucky for us though, Drake got us out of that fucking town though and into this one. I’m just saying, Shawn. You should watch what you say around Drake.” he said warningly to Shawn, who simply just scoffed, and drank down the rest of his beer before returning to his cigarette butt. “Look, I’m just trying to keep your ass out of juvy, alright? So don’t scoff at me like that.” Ricky’s temper was starting to grow again.

“Look, I don’t need anyone saving my ass, alright? Even before the gang, I was doing just fine on my own.” Shawn’s tone had also raised rapidly towards Ricky. He inhaled in his cigarette again and let out a puff of smoke into Ricky’s face. “Just leave me alone, and stop trying to save my ass from going to juvy. Or even Drake. Not like he scares me or anything...”

The next day, as it was nearing the afternoon already, Shawn was the last to wake up. When he did though, he noticed everyone was already out and gone. “Probably out stealing some little old lady’s purse.” he scoffed, picking up a fresh beer and taking a swig of it as his breakfast, scratching his dark messy hair as he looked around for any sign of anyone who might still be here with him. He was alone. Hell, even everyone’s stuff was gone. The place was empty. “Fuck!” he cursed aloud. “I knew this would happen eventually. Whatever, I’ve been on my own before...not like this is any different.”

Shawn grabbed his pack of cigarettes, lighter, jackknife, and another bottle of beer and headed out in search for nothing in particular. He basically just needed some air to cool off his hot head. Not even five minutes later then, he spotted Ricky, and Drake, and the rest of the gang. They were in the middle of another robbery at the liquor store. “...the fuck?” he grumbled, as he continued down the path to the direction of the guys. Before he could get any closer though, all the guys sprinted out of the place, nearly knocking Shawn over, not even realizing who he was. The police came sprinting out next, and apparently, they recognized Shawn being part of the gang, and went to grab hold of him. “Hey! What the fuck!” he yelled, struggling to free himself from their grasps. “I didn’t even do anything this time! Why the fuck are you grabbing me?!”

The next thing Shawn knew then, he was held up at the police station, being asked numerous questions. He refused to answer any of them of course, and even if he did, he just lied. The police seemed to know he was lying from the start though, and immediately called for the rehab center to take him in.

It was about a month after he was finally free to be let out. Of course, by free, they meant free to go to Juvenile hall. Another few months, which turned into a year or two, of switching out to different Juvenile hall’s and even a few other Rehab centers, Shawn was finally taken into an orphanage, where he stayed at till he was fifteen. “Well, I have learned something from all of this....” he mumbled to himself, as he laid in his little bed in the corner away from all the others, “....You can’t trust anyone. Especially friends...” and he rolled over from his back to his side where he stared out the night filled window until he was fast asleep, with his hand underneath his pillow where he kept his jackknife.

[Tori]

How did I come across meeting you?


With his black hoodie up over his head, hiding most of his face, Shawn meandered on into the forest, just anxious to get out of the house; mostly for a smoke, even if he technically wasn’t allowed to smoke anymore. He didn’t care, it was his addiction, and his lungs. Once he was in the dead center of the forest, he slid out a cigarette from his pocket along with his lighter, and lit up his first cigarette. He leaned against one of the thicker trees as he inhaled the tobacco and let out a puff of smoke after. "Ah...that's more like it. No one to nag me about my bad smoking habits." he muttered to himself, mocking the word 'bad' as he took another puff. Why the hell did I even agree to coming to this fucking town anyway?"I still say I would of done fine on my own..." he scoffed, inhaling the smoke longer before exhaling it back out again.

After taking in a few more smokes, Shawn could of swore he heard another voice in the forest. A female. “You know, smokings not all bad, but it is a bad idea in a forest. You know, with flammable things and all.” The voice said. He looked from the side to up in the tree, there he spotted the mysterious girl. "What do you care?" he scoffed, with smoke exhaling back out of his mouth towards the girl above him. "..the hell you doing in a tree anyway? Looking for your monkey friends?" he chuckled, inhaling the last bit of the butt before dropping it to the ground, stomping on it, covering the sparks with dirt to put it out, before grabbing a new cigarette to light.

"I'm in a tree because the ground is boring. Just walking is so pointless. No excitement in it at all." said the young girl, waving her hand in her face where the smoke had landed. When he turned back away from her again, she twisted and then fell backwards, hanging from the branch by her knees. She took the cigarette from him. "I'll take that." She pulled a lighter from her own pocket, lighting the cigarette and taking a small inhale from it.

"Dude! What the fuck?!" he cursed out, his eyebrows furrowed down in anger and frustration. He shook his head at her, pulling out another cigarette and sticking it in between his lips before lighting it up.

The young girl swung lightly. "So what brings you out to the forest, rebel? Hiding from the authorities, or your mother?" Her hair swayed lightly, almost touching the ground underneath her.

Shawn let out another puff of smoke, ignoring the fact that the girl was now swinging her hair against him. "Just felt like being alone for once." he simply said, placing the cigarette back between his lips, crossing his arms after.

She took in another puff of smoke from Shawn’s earlier cigarette, blowing out the smoke when she said, "Sorry to disappoint you then. I'm usually the only one around here." She looked at him, putting her hands behind her head with her cigarette still perched between her lips.

Shawn just continued puffing on his cigarette waiting a few seconds of silence before responding to the last comment she made. "Well now that I'm here, you can find another tree to climb. Cause I ain't moving a muscle." he said straight-forwardly, speaking through his cigarette butt for his arms were still crossed as he was kept staring blankly out into the forest as if in a trance.

She removed her cigarette from her mouth. "No thanks. I feel a lot more comfortable here." She put the cigarette back in her mouth and sat up back on the branch. From the look of her, she seemed to have excellent body strength, so she made it look easy. She leaned back on the trunk and closed her eyes. "Gotta name?"

Shawn closed his eyes, as if he were trying to rid a headache, which admittedly he was starting to get. Not from the cigarette, he just wasn't used to people hanging around him so closely, let alone talking to him non-stop. He took out his cigarette holding it between two fingers as he let out some more smoke as he spoke out, "If I tell you my name, will you shut up and leave me alone?" he oddly asked first, then realized that already seeing the type of girl she was, she most likely wouldn't shut up even if he cussed her out again. He sighed.

The girl shrugged, grinning slightly with her eyes still closed. "Possibly. I'm Polaris." She wondered what would happen if she didn't go away. "I'm not even talking that much. Just wondering why you're in my hiding spot. And don't yell at me anymore, I didn't do anything to you."

"Mm.." he raised an eyebrow, his eyes still shut as well. "Shawn." he introduced himself short and to the point, placing his cigarette back between his lips, letting out short puffs of smoke every few seconds. "Yeah well, I’m just not used to.....people." he explained more clearly and calmly than before, opening his eyes slightly as his headache was evaporating more quickly than usual.

Polaris noticed the calmness in his voice. "Nice name." She said simply. "I'll be quiet now if you want." She chewed slightly on the cigarette, taking her hair out of the ponytail and running her hand through her hair.

"Mhm.." was all Shawn had to say for now. His eyes half-way shut, cigarette half-way done, Shawn was back to being relaxed again. Well, until he couldn't get rid of the feeling that Polaris was still behind him. Sticking the cigarette butt back in his mouth, he turned his head slightly while the rest of his body remained still. "Well, you might as well talk to me since your obviously not gonna move from behind me." he said, a bit harshly but that's what his voice had been sounding like for a while now. Finishing off his second cigarette he stomped it out into the dirt as he had done with the first, his body positioned the same with his head turned back up to Polaris who hasn't moved since.

Polaris opened her eyes, getting slightly irritated. "I'll move then. I don't feel like getting a third person mad at me today." She dropped her cigarette to the ground, even though it was only half way done. She dropped to the ground, landing lightly, and rubbed her foot over the butt. She folded her arms and looked at Shawn. "You look very different when you're not upside down.

Shawn closed his eyes again, more relaxed this time, before his forehead wrinkled slightly at her response. Third person? Is she really that annoying? he thought with his eyes still shut until hearing her jump out of the tree to stomp out what was left of her cigarette. Not even flinching at how close she suddenly was to him, he just kept his same blank expression before replying back, "Well, gee I wonder why." he said in a sarcastic tone, rolling his eyes. "And what do you mean third person to get mad at you? How many people do you annoy per day?"

She scowled. "I don't annoy people that much. My sister was pissed, but when I tried helping her, and she got super mad at me. And when I was walking down the sidewalk leaving my house, a guy ran into me, making me fall, and he started yelling at me for making him late and getting his suit dirty." She didn't realize how fast she was talking or that she was letting her anger out on him. She blinked after she'd finished, surprised at herself for letting herself get so worked up to a guy she didn't even know. She sat down on the ground, hugging her knees. "I've been having a crummy day, alright? I didn't expect anyone to be out here at this time." Polaris didn't look at him.

For once, Shawn was actually listening to what Polaris had to say. Barely letting out a blink, and chewing on the butt of the cigarette idly with his forehead still slightly wrinkled, he nodded his head shortly, watching as she sat back on the ground. Hm, maybe this girl isn't all that bad after all. He started thinking to himself, not really sure what to say next. He took out the butt of the cigarette out of his mouth tossing in onto the ground, stomping the leftover sparks out in the dirt, before speaking again in simple words. "Oh. Yeah, uh..I've had pretty crummy days too. Well, crummy life, I should say..." he answered, facing back into the black forest trees. "People always telling you what you can and cannot do." he sighed, which sounded more like a scoff, "Pathetic. It's my life, and I'll do what I want with it."

Polaris shrugged. "I don’t really have a bad life, per-say, but it's just that the days have been getting worse. We moved here about a week or two ago and I've met a few nice people, but bad ones along with it. And my sister, Quisha, hasn't had the best time either. So when she comes home mad, one of us gets the butt end of it. I guess it was my turn today." She shrugged lightly, still not knowing why she was telling him this, but thinking, Well he's the only one around and the only one listening so I might as well spill it out to somebody.

Shawn nodded, understanding where she was coming from. "Sort of like bad influences, you mean? Heh, I know what that's like. People kept saying how bad of an influence I became. Even now, sometimes." he chuckled, crossing his arms back up across his chest. "So, you think I'm a bad influence on you? And maybe you'd be going home mad because of me?" he grinned very lightly giving out a light chuckle along with it.

Polaris finally looked back at him, raising her eyebrow and smirking slightly. "Not really. It's been me pissing you off this entire time. Not the other way around. So I've got nothing to be mad at you about." She stretched her legs out to the side, leaning back on her hands. She looked back to the side. "If anything...I'd say I probably had a cool time here. I haven't really made any friends here yet; and while I wouldn't count you as friendly, I'd say you're a cool person to know."

"Damn." he muttered to himself, half hoping he would of at least scared her or even pissed her off a little bit. I knew it, I'm turning soft. Ugh..I gotta get my mojo back. Fuckin' police ruin everything. Suddenly the word 'friend' caught him off guard, as he swung his head back facing Polaris again. "Friend?" he snorted, "Why would anyone want friends. The only things friends are good for are stabbing you in the back...and betraying you..letting you down in desperate times." his voice started trailing off towards the end, staring down at the dirt where his two dead cigarettes were laying.

Polaris gave him a weird look. "I...Sorry." She looked down. She knew she'd probably brought up bad memories or something for him to act like that. Even though it wasn't very different from what he'd been acting, but to just blow up weirdly like that was what her brother Quo did a lot. "I didn't mean anything by it. I didn't even say you were my friend so chill out." She was annoyed with herself that she kept making him mad at her in some way.

Shawn perked his head back up, shaking away his thoughts going on in his head. "Wha..oh, no. It's cool. Trust me, there's nothing you need to be sorry for. I just--I have issues. So all this pissy mood I'm suddenly bringing onto you has nothing to do with what you've been doing." he tried explaining as simply as he could, his voice sounding very plain simple. "I've been trying to chill out since I got here too. So, just don't beat yourself up. It's cool. Really." he added in, technically only half correct. He was trying to chill, but by doing that, he had been sneaking out of the house, smoking, drinking, doing whatever kinds of drugs he could get his hands on. To him, that was his way of relaxing.

Polaris still didn't look at him. "Well I'm still doing no help by being here. I seem to only be aggravating you more." She sighed, but laughed lightly when he said he had problems. "I'll agree to you having a few problems, but they seem to be things that you could get over if you tried." She stood up, dusting herself off. "Look I'm not one to be judgmental, or Dr. Phil or anything, but you seem to have things going on. I may not know you too well, but I think I know enough. She pulled out a pen and a small notebook she always had with her and wrote down her number, handing it to him after. "I should probably go. Take care of yourself kid. And.. if you ever get into any trouble, I'm always willing to help." She shrugged. "I'm someone who never back stabs. So you can trust me anytime you need help." She held out the paper to him, looking him in the eye.

Still looking into the black forest, Shawn listened to what she had to say, up to the part when she said she never back stabs. He blankly stared at the crimped piece of paper in front of him with a number written on it. "Um..okay." was all he could think of saying, really. What else was he suppose to say to that? So he painstakingly took the paper she held out to him, taking another quick glance at the number in his hands before looking back up at Polaris rather blankly and confused. No one ever talked to him like that, nor did anyone ever really talk to him, period. Either this girl was crazy, or she was just...different than the others. Understanding. "Um...thanks..?" he confusingly spoke out, seeing nothing but light coming from in her eyes.

Polaris laughed lightly. "Your...welcome. Are we stuttering now, or did our mental disabilities kick in?" She tapped his forehead lightly.

Shawn had finally snapped out of his trance like stare once her finger had poked his forehead. Without thinking then, Shawn slapped away her hand for which had touched him. He didn't mean to really, he just wasn't really into people getting into his personal bubble so much.

Polaris raised an eyebrow when he hit her hand. She sighed lightly and ignored it, figuring it was just his nature. "Just don't get into much trouble. I hate seeing familiar faces in the paper." She smiled and sighed lightly. "So I'll get out of your hair now kid. It...it was nice talking to you."

“Yeah, sure. I'll try my best not to get in the paper." he laughed lightly, showing his first real smile throughout the whole time they had been talking, even though it was more of a smile off of the corner of his mouth. "But yeah, I'll...I'll see you later.. I guess. I mean, maybe I'll give in and call this number sometime." he joked, holding up the paper in his hand still. Though in the back of his mind, knowing him, he would light it on fire with his lighter tossing it into the nearby lake as soon as he got the chance. But for some reason, he had this strange urge to hold onto the little crumpled piece of paper for just a little while longer. Though he had no intention in actually calling it. At least that’s what he was thinking now....