Christyne's "The Teens" Fan Fiction Site
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Spice of Life – Chapter 4E Salem Place - Barrington’s Formal Wear Shop
Miracle of miracles Shawn was able to park his dad’s truck in the space immediately adjoining the designated disabled zone in front of Barrington’s. Philip ran his fingers through his hair to keep it from hanging in his eyes as he jumped from the passenger’s side of the truck’s cab. "Dude, it’s only 12:45," he said, looking at his watch. "We’re pretty much on time ……maybe even a little head of schedule. I still need to get a Valentine card at the shop next to Menninger’s where you’re going to go with the gift for Chloe. Why don’t I go with you to pick up Belle’s gift, we grab lunch at Java time and then get a haircut? It’s bugging the hell out of me to keep having to push my hair back off my face all the time." "Bet you don’t mind when Chloe pushes it back, do you?" Shawn replied with a twinkle in his deep brown eyes and a small smile at the corners of his mouth. Philip looked across the hood of the truck as Shawn dumped quarters into the parking meter and suddenly grinned which served as his answer. "Yeah, that’s what I thought. Bro, you are sooooooo into your relationship with her. It’s hard to watch the death of K-man, the romantic rogue. Who knew one woman could be enough for the Kiriakis love machine. Man, you used to have an appointment book to keep the girls from knowing about one another on Valentine’s Day you had so many dates." "I don’t think it was quite like that, Shawnster, but you know……I don’t miss it one bit. Each one of those girls I dated had something about them at first that interested me but I’d get bored after awhile and try to find somebody else. I kept looking for something but I didn’t know what it was exactly I was looking for. With Chloe…… even the minute we first met at school and hated each other, I’ve never been bored again. She’s the complete package - - intelligent, talented, beautiful and hard as hell to figure out at times but I want to keep going back for more….I can’t explain that any other way. Besides, you’re just jealous, Shawn….not that you couldn’t have the same sort of thing with a certain Salem High cheerleader…," Philip reminded him. "Okay, let’s forget I brought this up. I was just teasing. I’m happy for you with Chloe and with things the way they are between Belle and me." "And just how are things, Shawn?" Philip asked with his eyebrows raised and his head tilted knowing he was starting to make his friend squirm a bit. "Something tells me that maybe you’d like to move a little beyond childhood friends status with Belle lately." "What’s the something telling you that?" "Well, for one thing…this is the first time I can ever remember you going out with her on Valentine’s Day. Before, you’d always make the excuse your family had a celebration you had to be a part of and I know, if you’d asked them, they would have let you off the hook For another, you bought her a gift at Menningers and not Kmart or Target. "You are so blowing this out of proportion." "Oh, …am I? Come on, Shawn, we’re buds, best friends….you can tell me. I won’t say anything to anybody." "Yeah, except Chloe." "Well, yeah, I mean….we share secrets about almost everything. That’s part of what makes us grow closer. You can’t have a relationship and keep secrets, you know." "Right, I understand. It’s just that she also happens to be best friends with Belle and ………well, she might slip and say something." "Not if I asked her not to………wait a minute…….I’m right….you do want to get serious with Belle. I knew it!" Oh, mannn…..give it up, already. I have nothing more I want to say on this subject." "No…no….no…spill, man. You know you want to tell me." "No comment, Kiriakis. Come on, let’s go to Menningers and that card shop. I only put an hour’s worth of coins in the meter." "If you want my opinion…." "…which I don’t…" "…you are long overdue making a move on Belle. For awhile I figured you weren’t interested and I thought about dating her last spring." Shawn stopped walking and looked at Philip with a look that bordered on surprise mixed with anger. Philip realized he’d unwittingly struck a nerve. "Shawn….I said I THOUGHT about it. But, two things prevented me…our friendship and getting to know Chloe a little that night after your birthday party. I suddenly realized after meeting her on the pier we could go for minutes at a time without shouting at one another. Look, I don’t want anything to come between us so I’m going to say this right now. You have been one of my best friends since kindergarten. We’ve been teammates on baseball, football and basketball teams every year. We even got chicken pox at Mimi’s eighth birthday party together. I would never come between you and whoever you want in your life….including Belle. You believe me?" Shawn looked into his friend’s eyes and saw the sincerity in his direct gaze. His quick Brady Irish temper immediately disappeared and he clapped Philip on the back, smiling at him. "Yeah…I believe you. And just to set the record straight….the same goes for me. Chloe has been a good friend but that’s all.. no matter what kind of rumors Jan spread about it being more than that." "I was stupid to let her get to me like that. I knew better than to think that any of my good friends would do something like that to me…..even Jason. I mean, I wondered at one point if he and I would ever be friends again as long as he stayed around Jan with her vendetta against Chloe. I still don’t know how or why he ever got involved with Jan Spears to begin with. I sure didn’t like what she made him become." "Well, the reason he got involved is pretty easy……she’s not that bad on the eyes….her family has money…sofa change compared to your father, Phil, but more than the rest of us. She’s popular within the ‘in’ group….Jason just lead with his heart over his common sense." "His heart, Shawn? I was thinking it was something a little lower that he led with." Shawn smiled at Philip’s innuendo and nodded. "I wasn’t going to say it but, that was probably the other reason he got involved….she does have that reputation for enjoying……how shall I put this……the procreative process without the creative part?" "Shawn, you amaze me….I’ve never heard sex described in that many syllables before. I think you’re right, though. Jason has gotten a little ahead of us in that field of knowledge, no doubt. I just don’t think he should have paid for it with his reputation and self-esteem. Come on, let’s get to Menningers." They walked into Menningers and headed to the customer service counter. Shawn removed his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans and hunted intensely through it. "What are you looking for?" "The sales receipt. I have to show it to them to prove I already paid for it." As he spoke he located the folded receipt and handed it to the clerk. The boys looked around at the items in the store biding their time until the clerk returned carrying a small blue plastic bag. "The price you paid also included gift wrapping. Would you like to see?" Shawn looked out the corner of his eye in Philip’s direction and saw the surprised smile on his face. He nodded to the clerk figuring it was too late to avoid the teasing his friend would inflict upon him once they left the store. The box was wrapped in shiny silver paper decorated at random with tic-tac-toe boxes filled in with hearts rather than x’s and o’s. The bow was a bright red one and perfectly matched the color of the hearts on the paper. Philip looked at the items in the glass case he rested his arm on. "Which one is it, Shawn?" Shawn pointed to the third one in the last row. "Nice….nice ….good choice. It looks like something she’d pick." The clerk returned the gift to the bag, handed the bag and receipt to Shawn while thanking him for his purchase. They headed for the door, Shawn preparing himself for whatever Philip was going to say. They walked down the Salem Place sidewalk to the card shop in silence. "All right, Phil,…come on." "What?" "Come on…come on…get it over with…..you know you’re dying to say something so just say it." "What are you talking about?" "As if you don’t know….Belle’s gift - - that’s what I’m talking about. I saw the smirk on your face when the clerk showed the box. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for your bursting a blood vessel holding in whatever remark you’re desperately keeping to yourself." "Wha….I think what you got her is a great idea. It’s personal but not too personal. It’s practical but not in a boring way. She’s really gonna like it." Shawn looked at Philip trying to read his sincerity and was pleased to see Philip didn’t have that look in his eyes that usually appeared when he was in a teasing mood. They waited as a customer emerged from the card shop holding the door open before Shawn led the way in. Philip followed and leaned over Shawn’s shoulder at the last second. "The cutsie gift wrap on the other hand must have set you back at least $5.50, though…ahhh, love comes to Shawn Brady." "I knew it. I knew you had to say something. Shut the hell up, Kiriakis, or would you rather run along side the truck all the way home?" Philip laughed and walked toward the Valentine cards avoiding any physical retaliatory measure Shawn might have planned. Soon Philip was intensely reading cards while Shawn stared about the store. Phil?"
"Hmmm….?" he said in a distant tone. "How much longer are you going to be picking out a card?" "I don’t know. I thought this was going to be easy but now…" "It’s just a greeting card, Phil, not a legal document that Chloe’s going to hold you to." "That’s not exactly true. I want to find just the right card for Chloe. I know her. Whatever I give her…she’ll take the words to heart, no pun intended. So, I want them to say what I feel for her. Aren’t you going to get one for Belle?" "I already did. I gave it to her yesterday." "Yesterday? But, today is’ Valentine’s Day." "So? The words in it are the same either day. She liked it. She told me so." "Let me guess….you gave her a Shoebox Greeting Valentine?" "Maybe……yeah…" "Shawn…that’s not exactly a romantic card." "I know…I wasn’t looking for a romantic card. I left those for you, Romeo." Philip exhaled an audibly deep breath, shook his head and resumed reading cards. Nearly twenty minutes later he found the one he’d been looking for and headed to the counter to pay for it. "Gee, Phil, think you could find a bigger, pinker card? I mean, that one even would need extra postage for the size if you were mailing it to Chloe." Ignoring him, Philip took the bag from the clerk and they headed out of the card shop. Shawn glanced at his watch. "I’d better put more quarters in the meter. I didn’t realize you had planned to read every card in the store when we first went in. Hand me the card and I’ll put it and Belle’s gift in the glove compartment before we go grab a bite to eat." "Here…while you do that I’ll get us a table at Java Time. You want your usual order?" "Yeah, sounds great." After having consumed lunch the duo headed to the hair salon and exited forty-five minutes later with fresh haircuts and buffed nails. They were only a half an hour behind their self-appointed time schedule. Shawn checked the meter once again, added another quarter and joined Philip headed in the direction of Barrington’s. The store was filled with other men picking up formal wear. Many of them were, no doubt, also attending the Sweetheart’s Ball that evening. Waiting their turn they didn’t hear the door of the shop ring as another customer came in. "Hey, guys. Fancy meeting you here…and I do mean fancy. Look at all these tuxes." "Hey, Jason," they said nearly in unison. "Where’s the sling, man?" Philip asked. "Oh, I had a doctor’s appointment this morning. He thought the shoulder had healed enough I don’t need it any more. I can still feel twinges if I move it the wrong way but nothing like it was. I guess you’re here getting your tuxes for tonight?" "Yup……glad you changed your mind, Jase and decided to go." "Yeah, well, I wouldn’t want to deprive you of my company tonight, now would I, Shawn?" "Good point and I’ll be forever grateful…really." "What are friends for? Just don’t ask me to save you a dance." "Damn…I almost don’t wanna go now." "Shawn, I only said that because when they play a slow dance…..well,…you never let me lead." "Only when we’re in public, Jase…I have a reputation to protect. How would it look if I let you dip me at the Penthouse Grille in front of my family?" "I never thought of that." "You guys are sick." Philip admonished them in a good-natured fashion. "But, you do look good together on the dance floor." The three became aware some of the customers seemed to be eavesdropping on their banter and decided to end it before there was a possibility of them being taken seriously by those unaccustomed to their free wheeling verbal interplay. "Seriously, Jase, I’m glad you’re coming to the Ball tonight. We’ve got a table to ourselves. My dad paid for an extra table just so we could be with our friends. I know it’s for charity but it was a neat thing for him to do. The last time I talked to you I thought you had definitely made up your mind not to go." "I…uh…had. It’s hard to dance with the sling and I didn’t know then that I wouldn’t have to wear it tonight. It was too late to get a date, which, was another reason I hesitated to go. Even though my mom’s a staff nurse in pediatrics, I wasn’t sure I wanted to tag along with my parents." "So, what made you decided to go then, Jase?" Shawn asked. "It was Chloe." Philip answered in Jason’s place. Jason turned to look at Philip - his eyes showing a hint of surprise" "Who told you that?" Jason asked with a little more intensity than he had planned to have in his voice. "Chloe did…last night…remember I was arriving at her house just as you were leaving?" Philip replied somewhat surprised Jason didn’t seem to remember their encounter at the Wesley’s front door. "Oh, I’d forgotten. She was just trying to be nice and didn’t want me to miss out on having something to do on Valentine’s Day." "I know…..she’s like that. She knows what it’s like to be left out of things and tries to be sure others aren’t. She was really glad you had accepted her invitation." "She was?" Jason asked sincerely. "Yes. Jason…look, you need to start realizing Chloe has forgiven you for what happened in the past. Forgiving you with a hug after the crack-the-whip incident I thought would convince you of that. You do remember that, don’t you?" "Yeah…..yeah, I remember that. I guess I just keep thinking that I deserve a lot worse from her for all that I did to her over the past year." "Well, now maybe you can understand why I care about her so much. She’s amazing." Jason nodded his head and seemed to Shawn to be more emotional in his silence. "Hey, we’re next in line, Phil." The three boys produced their receipts and reservation numbers. The plastic garment bags were brought from the back room and unzipped so each could verify it was the one they had selected. When Phil’s was opened, Shawn and Jason both smiled while looking at the tux, Phil and one another. "What?" Philip asked defensively. "Did you pick that one on purpose or was it what they had left?" "What’s wrong with it…and, yeah, I did pick it out. I have a reason for doing do." "Okay, Phil, but you may have to defend that reason in the locker room next week," Jason kidded. "You’ll see at the Ball why I did." "Okay, K-man if you say so." They left Barrington’s together each carrying a garment bag. "Where are you parked, Jase?" "Just over there. I have to get a haircut and then I’m heading home. I’ll see you guys tonight. What time are you going?" "I have to pick up Chloe at her house so we should be there about 7:30." "See you then." Jason headed for his car as Philip watched him walk away. "Phil? What’s up?" "Jason’s what’s up.….Did he seem….a little defensive about my knowing Chloe invited him to the Ball?" "He seemed defensive, I agree, but I think it has to do with what he said. He’s still feeling a little like an outsider with Chloe and the rest of us. I think he’s just having trouble learning to be comfortable around Chloe after the past year. He’ll be okay the more he gets to know her. It’s partly his going through de-programming of being around Jan and her hatred of Chloe, too. I think the dance tonight is a good way for him to get over it. I’m glad Chloe talked him into coming." "Yeah, I am too……….just wish he didn’t seem to be so cautious around me." "Phil…you’re her boyfriend. It’s logical he’s going to be that way around the person closest to Chloe." "Hope that’s all it is. I really don’t want to lose him as a friend." They took the garment bags to the truck and hung them up before doing one last errand at Salem Place. They walked to the cart on the corner and picked up something Shawn’s dad had added to their list as part of the deal for letting the guys have the truck to run their errands. When the item was ready Shawn started to turn with it in his arms but stared at something that had caught his eye. Philip noticed his friend’s hesitation about leaving the cart. He followed Shawn’s eyes until he realized what he was looking at. "Why don’t you do it?" "Do what?" "Get her one." "Get who one…my dad’s already done that for Mom." "I’m talking about one for Belle…as if you didn’t know. Come on….what’s the harm?" "I don’t think so…" "…look, if you’re strapped for cash…I’ve got enough on me….you can pay me later." "No, I’ve got the money." "Then do it." Shawn looked at Phil, the cart and back at Phil. "Okay. Fine…whatever…" Phil patted him on the back as encouragement while Shawn paid the cart vendor the money. They got back to the truck with only minutes to spare on the meter. Shawn drove Philip to his home after filling up the gas tank (a part of the deal, also, for being allowed to use Bo’s beloved truck). Philip got out of the truck taking his garment bag and the card he had bought for Chloe. "The next time I see you, I’ll have the most beautiful girl at the Ball on my arm or at least she should be after all that gook she had on her face today." "Yeah, I know. When I first saw Belle, I thought I had my holidays mixed up and it was Halloween. See you there, Phil, and I can’t wait to see why you picked out that color cummerbund and bow tie but you’ve got guts, I’ll give you that." "You’ll see….you’ll see. Later, dude." Phil closed the door of the truck, tossed a quick wave and headed up the driveway of his home. Shawn drove around the circular driveway of the Kiriakis mansion and headed home to shower, shave and get ready to escort Belle Black and Mimi Lockhart to the Sweetheart’s Ball. to be continued...
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