❝I had all and then most of you
Some and now none of you
I don't know what I'm supposed to do
Haunted by the ghost of you❞

The Night We Met | Lord Huron

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"Pretty cool, huh, Topanga?" Elena smiled proudly as she turned to her best friend only for her face to fall when she saw it was Shawn sitting next to her, "Oh."

"I thought it looked cool," He said earnestly with a smile as he glanced at the wedding gift she'd chosen for Lydia and George.

"I don't give a damn what you think, Shawn," She snapped dryly, making him wince. "Why are you always following me anyway?" She asked with furrowed brows, just now realizing how he seemed to always be wherever she was recently.

He grinned at her. "My mom always said to follow my dreams," He shrugged cheekily.

She let out a dry laugh. "Jokes on you, my mom always said I'm a nightmare."

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"I believe a person is responsible for her own destiny and can be anything she wants. If she wants it bad enough and she never, ever gives up," Topanga told the class confidently.

Stuart, their relatively young new professor, clapped his hands. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it for Topanga Lawrence! The next president of the United States."

"Uh, everybody, that makes me the first lady," Cory said proudly, "See how secure I am in my sexuality?"

"Now, come on, Topanga," Stuart arched a brow, "You really believe all the Little Mary Sunshine stuff?"

She nodded without hesitation. "Yes, I do."

"So do I... To a point," He added quickly before turning to point at Shawn, "Shawn!"

"Stuart!" Shawn called back, for once actually paying attention in a class.

"Nice haircut!"

"Thanks, eight bucks," Shawn said proudly.

"Looks like it," Stuart teased, "Now Topanga just spouted a philosophical belief, what is it?"

"Free will."

Stuart's eyes widened comically as he pretended to be shocked. "Hey, he's a big deal with the new hair!"

Shawn chuckled. "She's in charge of her actions and therefore creates her own destiny," He explained.

"Good hair and good answer," Stuart nodded, "You believe her?"

"In my experience, you don't bet against Topanga or you get your butt kicked by Elena."

Stuart chuckled as he glanced at Topanga and Elena. "I don't doubt it. So, Elena, you believe her?"

"No," Elena said simply.

"And why is that?" Stuart implored.

"Sometimes we can want something more than anything and we can try everything in our power to make it happen or to make it work. But we can't control everything and not everything is in our favor."

"I like that," Stuart nodded with a smile, "Talk more," He demanded.

"It's like what if two people want the same thing and then only one of them got it? Is it because that person just wanted it more or is it because they didn't have the same opportunities? You can want something more than anything but not have a way to make it happen no matter how hard or how much you try."

"Sounds like you're talking from experience, Elena?" Stuart wondered.

She shrugged, deciding to throw him a bone. "I wanted a mom real bad. But it didn't matter how bad I wanted it or how hard I tried to get it because I didn't."

Stuart's face fell in sympathy. "Oh, I'm sorry for your loss."

"No, no," She waved him off and shrugged casually, "I had one, she just sucked."

Stuart decided to focus back on the debate, turning to Cory. "Now how about it, Romeo? You buy what Juliet is saying?"

Cory nodded. "Yeah, I do. I think you have to have at least some control over the things that happen to you."

"Really?" He hummed, "Cory Matthews wakes up one morning. He kisses his lovely wife. He leaves his nice suburban home and then he gets hit by a bus."

"I'll miss ya, buddy," Shawn joked with a chuckle.

Cory shook his head. "No, I don't get hit by a bus," He said decidedly.

"Why not?" Stuart asked.

"Because I use the crosswalks, I memorize the bus schedules, and if I got a wife like Topanga, I ain't leaving the house!" Cory laughed.

"Bus hits you anyway," Stuart shrugged, "Now, what's that called?"

"Fate," Elena answered, "It doesn't matter if you stay in or go out, your life is predestined and there's nothing you can do about it."

Cory's brows furrowed. "So you mean that bus is gonna drive right through my house to get to me?"

"If I'm driving it? Yes it is," Elena joked with a smirk.

Shawn chuckled. "I'll miss ya, buddy."

"Alright, guys, we gotta get out of here," Stuart dismissed the class, "Now, uh, I read your papers. And most of 'em were bad. This isn't high school, anymore, free up your minds! You're smarter than these," He complained as held up the papers.

"Shawnie, Shawnie!" Cory grinned excitedly as they walked out of the class, "This guy is awesome. I mean, I have been waiting, like, a thousand years for a teacher like this."

Shawn nodded. "Yeah, high school was amateur night. He's not like Feeny at all, he treats us like equals. Feeny was like a parent. This guy's a friend," He smiled.

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The guys were sitting in the student union, having just finished a game of pool. They were currently talking about the weird sludge growing under Shawn's bed.

Well, all of them except for Eric.

He was sitting with his arms crossed and his face in a scowl. "I. Don't. Like. Him," He said sternly, interrupting their conversation.

"Who?" Jack asked in confusion as he looked around the room.

"That new professor, Stewie," He shrugged, not even caring to remember his name.

"Stuart?" Cory chuckled incredulously when his brother nodded, "You don't know him, Eric," He brushed him off, "He's a very cool guy."

"Look, Cory, I have a gift, okay?" He said sternly, "I know people and I'm telling you, I have a feel for these things, okay? This guy is no Feeny. This guy couldn't even clap Feeny's erasers."

Shawn rolled his eyes. "You know, Eric, sooner or later you're gonna have to cut this cord from Feeny and see what else is out there."

"I'm telling you, if there's one thing I know, it's people, okay?" He insisted, "I've lived among them. I'm telling you, it's like a fifth sense."

Jack's brows furrowed. "You mean sixth sense," He corrected.

"No, dude, that's smell," Eric huffed, "You gotta be lucky to get that. Anyway, this Stanley guy..."

"Stuart!" Jack interrupted loudly, clearly reaching his breaking point with Eric's eccentricities.

Eric waved him off carelessly. "Stuart guy, I'm telling you, he's bad news. You trust me."

"Eric, he's a real nice guy, okay?" Cory said earnestly, "He even offered to help Elena with her essay outside of class."

Eric's eyes widened in shock. "What?!" He yelped loudly, making Jack wince since he was sitting closest to him.

"Yeah, I saw him in the dorms," Cory shrugged, not seeing the problem, "He said he was close by so he figured he'd go over Elena's essay with her."

Eric jumped out of his seat hurriedly and glared at his brother. "You left Elena alone with him?!"

Before any of them could say anything else, Eric was running out the door.

"Move! Move!" He yelled as he roughly pushed past students and professors, "My Pebbles needs her Bamm-Bamm!"

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"Hey," Stuart knocked on the open door to Elena and Topanga's dorm, "I was in the neighborhood and, uh, we talked about going over the paper, so... okay?" He smiled warmly as he held up Elena's paper.

Her brows furrowed, having thought no one cared about their students this much except Feeny. She smiled and shrugged. "Great, sure, thanks."

"Alright," He smiled at her before turning to Topanga apologetically, "Topanga, I don't have your paper, but we can discuss what I remember?" He offered.

Topanga shook her head and waved him off. "Oh, no, that's okay. Don't worry about it."

"We were actually on our way to the Student Union," She explained offhandedly, "Why don't you go down there and I'll meet you down there when we're done with my paper?"

Topanga nodded and grabbed her jacket as she made her way out of the dorm.

"Is that you?" Stuart asked as he picked up a photo from Elena's desk.

"Yeah, that was at Disneyland," She smiled at the memory of their high school trip.

"So you were always beautiful, huh?" He chuckled as he set the photo down, "No awkward phase."

Elena paused at his words, wondering if she was reading too much into it. She was going to wish she did soon enough.

She smiled sarcastically and scoffed. "Unless you don't count having electric blue hair awkward."

"Whoa, no way! You have to show me that later," He said with wide eyes before he sat down at her desk, "Sit down. Elena, this paper was too good to fizzle out on the conclusion. You're too smart for that! Here, look. 'It is possible to cross the line morally, and yet not cross the line actually.' Now, that's vague. I don't know what you're talking about," He pointed out.

Her brows furrowed. "Why? I mean, the paper was on morality and ethics, and I was just saying that there are definitely gray areas," She explained.

He smiled knowingly. "Yeah, I know what the paper's about, because, you see, I assigned it," He chuckled as he moved to sit next to her on her bed, "I just want you to be more specific. The devil's in the details. I'm sitting here with you, for example, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm your teacher. And I find you attractive," He said it so casually that it had to be just a hypothetical to teach her what he meant, "But we're talking about the assignment. Now, have I crossed a line?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so, no."

Stuart moved in closer to her, looking into her eyes much too piercingly for a teacher to look at his student. "I'm your teacher and I think you're attractive. And now we're not talking about the paper. Have we crossed a line?" He asked softly, his voice becoming husky.

Elena was confused at his sudden proximity and the weird look in his eyes. She frowned as she looked at him in disbelief. "What?"

He set his hand over her own, which were in her lap. "Okay, what if I said to you that I think about you? And I'd like to see you more than on Tuesdays and Thursdays..." He trailed off before dropping the sultriness for his usual bubbly tone as he held their hands up, "See where it gets gray?"

When Elena only stared at him in stunned silence, he gulped nervously and dropped her hand. He stood up from the bed and picked up the photo again.

"When did you go to Disneyland?" He asked casually, trying to lighten the tension.

"Two summers ago," She said uncomfortably as she watched his every move like a hawk.

He nodded before sitting next to her again. "Okay, one more. We're adults. And, uh, I'm telling you that I'd like to get to know you better," He said softly as he reached out to move her hair out of her eyes before he began playing with her hair, "And that's what I'm gonna do," He said decidedly as if it was his sole choice to make.

Elena's breathing was getting heavier and she roughly pushed his hands away from her. "Stuart, you're making me uncomfortable. I want you to leave," She said sharply.

He smiled at her and shook his head. "That's not what you want."

"What?" She scoffed as she glared at him.

He chuckled and rolled his eyes affectionately as he cupped her cheek and stroked her cheekbone, "Drop the coy act, Elena. You told Topanga to leave," He reminded her as if it was obvious.

"You knew something was going to happen. You wanted something to happen just as much as I do. And it's like Topanga said, if we want something to happen so bad then we'll make it happen. And I want you bad enough to make it happen," He said darkly as he pulled her face closer and leaned forward to press a kiss against her neck before she could even realize what he was doing.

He pulled back and went to kiss her only to pause when he heard someone screaming her name. He stood up and moved to the door to close it only to have Eric push against it and shove his way into the dorm.

Eric glared threateningly at Stuart and squared his shoulders. "So, you make house calls for all your students, Stanford?" He asked harshly.

"Only the ones who deserve it," Stuart chuckled so casually as if nothing was wrong as he turned to gaze at Elena.

Eric quickly moved to stand in front of her and block his view of her.

Elena was frozen in shock as she took in everything that just happened and what he'd just said. It felt like he was saying she deserved what had just happened and what would have happened had Eric not saved her. She let out a shaky breath she hadn't even known she'd been holding until she felt her eyes sting from the lack of oxygen.

"Why were you closing the door?" Eric asked bluntly.

"What?" Stuart asked, his resolve beginning to waver as Eric's glare began to make him nervous, "Uh, it was getting loud out in the hallway and I wanted us to be able to focus," He bounced back creepily too well.

"No one was out in the hall," Eric pointed out pointedly, his voice low and threatening.

Stuart gulped and managed a tight smile. "Guess they cleared out by the time you got here," He shrugged as he stood up, "Hey, I'm gonna leave you two alone. Uh, Elena, we'll finish this later."

Eric continued to loom over him threateningly until he was out of the dorm. Once he was gone, Eric immediately dropped his cold demeanor and rushed to Elena worriedly. "Ladybug?"

Elena was still stunned as she played with her rings absentmindedly since it had become second nature to her whenever she was feeling less than sure of herself. "I didn't like him being here. I didn't like it at all," She said quietly.

Eric's hand itched to wrap around her to comfort her but he paused. "Is it okay if I sit next to you?" He asked first instead.

Elena let out a shaky breath before she launched herself into Eric's chest, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

Eric immediately started stroking the back of her head as his other arm rubbed comforting circles around her back. And this time, Elena didn't feel uncomfortable, she felt safe.

"What's wrong? You okay?" Eric asked softly, wanting to let her tell him at her own pace.

"Thank you," She whispered out hoarsely, still processing what happened and what could have happened.

"Hey, it's Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm forever," He joked warmly, trying to make her feel better.

"Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm," She repeated almost like she was in a trance and she held onto him tighter, taking solace in knowing that, if nothing else, one thing would never change– Eric.

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Cory froze in shock when he turned the corner near the student union and found Elena sobbing into her hands on a bench. 

"Lena, what's wrong?" He asked slowly, fearing the worst as he tried to think of what could have happened.

Elena looked up at him, mascara running down her face and her body wracked with sobs.

She'd been on her way to the student union, having decided she was just going to lock up the incident with Stuart in her Dungeon of Sadness and ignore it and him. She figured she could just power through it and ignore it like she did with most things and it had been working so far.

Until she reached the doors of the student union and caught a glimpse of Stuart inside playing pool with a group of students. Her heart had clenched in fear and her hands started shaking and she bolted. And she hadn't stopped running until she found a secluded bench to fall onto. Her head fell into her hands as the memories of that night swirled to the front of her mind and started giving her a headache.

It seemed her Dungeon of Sadness needed to have the locks changed.

Her lips quivered as she looked up at Cory and opened her mouth to explain.

"...He did what?!" Cory exclaimed in disbelief, his face quickly morphing into fury.

Elena had just finished detailing to him exactly what had happened in her dorm room with Stuart. She hadn't even told Eric yet even after calming down. She tried and she'd tried to tell Topanga too but the words just wouldn't come out no matter how hard she tried to force them out. Cory was the only one she'd been able to tell the full story to with all the details.

Cory sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her in a protective hug as tears started streaming down her face.

"I-if Eric didn't come in when he did," She gasped out through sobs as her body shook, "He would have... I don't know what would have happened," She let out a strangled noise as it got harder and harder to breathe as panic set in, "I was so stupid! And he... he-"

"Shh," Cory kissed the top of her head and rubbed her arms calmingly, "You're not stupid, okay? You did nothing wrong. Nothing. He's a scumbag," Cory's words were harsh when he started talking about Stuart.

Elena seemed to get lost in her head as Cory continued her rant, her thoughts getting the better of her.

"Hey, hey, hey," Cory cooed as he turned Elena to face him, knowing exactly where her thoughts were going, "Look, I know it could have been a lot worse but it wasn't. I know it's scary to think about what would have happened if Eric didn't come in but he did, okay? Eric came in and nothing else happened."

Cory knew Elena was reliving the moment she'd explained to him and she was picturing what would have happened if Eric's fifth sense hadn't saved her. If he was being honest, his mind had been running rampant with the same thoughts but he couldn't let her drown in the what-ifs. He was going to be her anchor and keep her from drowning just like she'd done for him all these years.

Before they could say anything else, Shawn ran up to them. He was breathing heavily and panting. Eric had told him what happened and he immediately dropped everything and ran around Pennbrook looking for Elena.

"Shawnie," Cory immediately stood up and held his hands up to soothe him, "Calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" He snapped heatedly, glaring at his best friend as he pointed to Elena, "Look at her!"

Shawn pushed past Cory and crouched down next to Elena, grabbing her hands in his and bringing them up to his lips to press a soft kiss. "Are you okay?" He asked warmly.

She looked down at him, meeting his eyes, and paused. She didn't know. For once she couldn't lie and say that she was and that scared her. Because of all the things she'd been through, she'd always been able to lock away her feelings in her Dungeon of Sadness and pretend she was fine until she believed it like she made everyone else around her believe.

She let out a pitiful whimper before shaking her head desperately and falling into him with a choked sob.

"I'm going to go get her some water," Cory said softly as Shawn clambered onto the bench to pull Elena to his chest so she was more comfortable.

Shawn squeezed Elena tightly and whispered soothingly into her ear and her body slowly stopped shaking, her cries quieting into sniffles every now and then.

Shawn kissed the top of her head and tucked her under his chin. "I'm going to kill him," He said darkly and it came out as a promise more than a threat.

Before he could say anything else, their attention was drawn to the entrance of the student union as they heard a commotion.

"Looks like Cory beat you to it. Literally," Elena frowned when she noticed campus security dragging him out of the student union.

"Congratulations," Stuart called after him as he held a towel up to his bleeding nose, "You just got yourself kicked out of college."

"Mr. Matthews?" Mr. Feeny called out in shock, as he took in the scene.

"He made a move on Elena," Cory glared at Stuart, "On my best friend, my sister. He used his power and authority to take advantage of her. And he told me that there was nothing I could do and that he was never gonna stop. So I did something. This guy knows what he did, okay? and he deserves what he got."

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Cory landed himself a whole one-day suspension for punching Stuart and Stuart was now on very thin ice with Dean Boulander as she was considering his future at the school or lack thereof.

"Why didn't you come to me?" Shawn asked quietly and he winced when the question was out in the open because he was almost scared of the answer.

Elena sighed. "Because I needed to feel safe and you don't make me feel safe anymore, Shawn."

Shawn felt like she'd slapped him. Actually, he wished she had because he was sure that would have hurt a hell of a lot less than what she'd just said. "Elena, can't we at least be friends again?"

"No," She shook her head, "I don't want to be friends with you. I can hate you or I can love you for the rest of my life, those are the choices as far as I see it and right now I can't love you. And I hate that it's because of you that I can't love you and that makes me want to hate you. But I can't! And that makes me want to hate you even more," She scoffed. 

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〚𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄〛

It took me forever to decide what to do with this episode and then I lost motivation entirely for a while but here we go! There are only three chapters left before we start season 7 and I am determined to finish this book. 

The ending was rushed but I hope you guys still liked it. Please let me know what you guys thought and please comment. A big part of my lack of motivation is because I've noticed how big of a difference between votes and comments there are recently. 

Also, I know a lot of you caught the little Kermit Hart easter egg in the season graphic. So... what do you guys think will or want to happen with him?

Have a great day and stay safe ♥♥