"𝙞𝙛 𝙞'𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙬𝙣 𝙃𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙥 𝙢𝙚."

Dakota stood there frozen while Shawn had his arms crossed on her bed.

"Are you gonna answer the question or stand there like a deer in headlights?" Shawn asked.

Dakota sighed. "for your information, I wasn't harassing her."

"Well, she told me otherwise," Shawn said.

Dakota rolled her eyes. how brainwashed can he be?

"well, your girlfriends a liar." Dakota set her bag down on her chair. "what'd she even tell you?"

"she told me she was just trying to eat some lunch with friends then you came up to her booth and started yelling at her. She was crying when she called me." Shawn explained.

Davie deserved an Oscar for how well she made Shawn believe the things she said.

"And you believed her?" Dakota crossed her arms.

Shawn nodded. "of course you did." Dakota scoffed.

"Well, she's my girlfriend." Shawn said. "yeah, we'll, your girlfriends a fucking liar." Dakota said.

"then please, tell me what actually happened." Shawn scooted toward the front of her bed.

"I was at Chubbies studying and I saw her at the pool table...with a guy." Shawn's cold expression changed.

"he kissed her." Dakota said. "your lying." Shawn stood up.

"Believe me or don't I don't care. but it's the truth. the night of your birthday party she was in your room with a guy too." Dakota said.

"she wouldn't do that to me. She loves me." Shawn said.

"if she really loved you, she wouldn't be cheating on you," Dakota said.

"you're just saying this so I break up with her," Shawn said.

Dakota crossed her arms. "why would I care if you break up with her or not?"

"cause it's obvious you have some kind of problem with her. you have since you met her." Shawn said.

"cause she's a bad person Shawn. if you were so brainwashed you would see that." Dakota said.

"you have been such a bitch to her since you met her. you're a bitch, in general, you always have been. god, I don't know why I was so obsessed with you. you only care about yourself and you never do anything for other people."

"you don't know anything about me," Dakota said through her teeth.

"I know you, Dakota." Shawn stepped toward her.

"you are a self-obsessed girl who doesn't care about what's she done to others as long as she gets what she wants," Shawn said.

"and don't give me that dead mom sob story as an excuse."

Dakota froze and so did Shawn.

he was surprised by what he said but he didn't take it back.

that was Dakota's final straw.

calling her a bitch was one thing but talking about her mom...was another story.

Dakota's expression turned cold. tears began to form in her eyes.

never in a million years would she imagine Shawn would say something like that. especially after what he did for her.

suddenly she slapped him across the face.

"get out," she said, pointing to the door.

"Dakota..."

"get the fuck out right now." Dakota's face was hot. she tried not to cry in front of him but she couldn't help it.

Shawn turned around and walked out of the room. once the door was closed Dakota broke down.

she lay on her bed and hugged her pillow. She cried into it.

she hated Davie for turning Shawn into the person is he now.

but most of all, she hated herself cause deep down...she couldn't hate Shawn.

even after what he said she couldn't hate him.

that night Dakota cried to sleep. She didn't change her outfit. She didn't take her makeup off.

she just cried and fell asleep.

the worst way a person can fall asleep.
__

Dakota woke up the next morning and her crying had made the pillow wet in some
areas.

she had the worst headache and her eyes were red and puffy.

she walked over to her dresser mirror and started taking her makeup off. she didn't wanna walk downstairs and have her dad ask her why she looked like she had been crying all night.

once her makeup was off and her face looked less puffy and red, she took her clothes off and put some sweats on.

when she walked out of her room and into the living room. her dad was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper and drinking a coffee.

Shawn was nowhere to be found.

"hey, morning pumpkin," Johnathan said.

"morning." Dakota managed to get a smile out.

she sat down across from her father. he noticed something about her had shifted.

"you okay?" he set his newspaper down. Dakota nodded, tracing her fingers along the lines that were imprinted on the table.

"There's some bacon left over. Hunter basically ate everything else before he left." Dakota looked up.

"where'd he go?" she asked. "don't know." her father stood up.

"he just said he'd be back later." he set his coffee.

"want some?" her father showed her the plate of bacon.

Dakota looked at the plate. eating felt nauseating right now. She wasn't in the mood to eat.

"I'm okay." her dad shrugged and put the plate down.

"Hey, Dad." Dakota looked up to face her father.

"do you think I'm a bitch?" her dad's face softened.

"of course not." Johnathan walked towards Dakota and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I think you are a very caring person. sure you might have an attitude that you definitely get from your mother, but a bitch? no. you are not a bitch."

"Lately I've just been feeling like no one has ever seen me as more than just a pretty face. I barely have friends at school 'cause apparently, I'm a bitch." Dakota said.

"aren't you like the queen bee? I'm sure you have plenty of friends." Jonathan said.

"They aren't my friends. they just worship me. I want real friends. I want a best friend." Dakota said.

"what about that Topanga girl? I see you guys talk in class sometimes." Jonathan asked.

her dad was right. Topanga had been there for Dakota whenever she needed her. Dakota worked so hard to push people away cause she was afraid of getting hurt, she was pushing away the one person who would never hurt her.

Topanga.

"you're right." Dakota stood up. "where are you going?" Johnathan asked.

"Topangas," Dakota said. "I'll be back before dinner. I promise." Johnathan nodded and turned around.

Dakota suddenly ran up to her dad and hugged him. "I love you." he hugged her back. "I love you more pumpkin."

she let go of her dad and walked out the door.
__

when she got to Topangas house she rang the doorbell. Dakota was still in an oversized Mariah Carey shirt and gray sweatpants.

finally, Topanga answered the door. "Dakota, hey-" Before Topanga could finish her sentence Dakota threw her into a hug. which took Topanga by surprise.

"Are you okay?" Topanga asked. Dakota nodded. "I'm sorry."

Topanga pulled away from the hug. "sorry? For what?"

Dakota felt her face get hot again.

"you've been such a good friend to me and you've always been there for me when I needed you. I tried so hard to push you away cause I was scared of hurting you or getting hurt. but now I realize that I shouldn't be scared cause a friend like you is forever."

Topanga smiled. She always thought that Dakota wasn't this icy bitch everyone put her out to be. She always knew there was good in Dakota.

"Dakota I will always be there for you when you need me. you are my best friend." she smiled when Topanga called Dakota her best friend.

"you're mine too."

Topanga sighed. "so how'd your conversation with Shawn go last night?"

Dakota looked down at the ground. "that bad huh?" Topanga asked.

Dakota sat down on the couch. "he basically called me a lying bitch and took Davie's side. the worst part was he told me that I always use my mom's death as an excuse."

"what'd you say?" Topanga asked. "I slapped him and told him to get out. we haven't talked since." Dakota said.

"That was not okay of Shawn to say. you aren't the bad guy here so don't let him make you feel like one." Topanga said.

"I just hate myself 'cause I can't hate him. even after everything he said. I can't hate him. I don't even know why?" Dakota said.

a smirk formed on Topangas lips.

Dakota tilted her head. "what?" she chuckled.

"come on, Dakota." Topanga raised her eyebrows.

"What?" Dakota asked, more serious now.

Topanga rolled her eyes. "the reason you don't hate him is that you love him."

Dakota's eyes widened. "no. no, no, no. I do not love Shawn."

"why else would you care about him so much? why else would you not hate him? it's so obvious." Topanga said.

"no. If I'm in love with Shawn Hunter, then slap me-" Topanga suddenly slapped Dakota across the face but not hard.

"ow! What the fuck!" Dakota rubbed her cheek.

"Sorry, but you told me too," Topanga said.

Dakota sat there, rubbing her cheek. She thought about how Shawn has been there for her. he's always loved her she was just too blind to really see it.

Shawn didn't just like her cause she was pretty. he liked her cause he knew deep down she was more than that. She was intelligent, funny, and just a good person to be around.

that's when she realized.

"holy shit."
__

Dakota came back home later that day. her father was grading papers on the coffee table while watching re-runs of The Fresh Prince of Bell Air.

"there you are." Johnathan turned to face Dakota.

"there's dinner on the stove if you want some." Dakota shook her head.

"I ate at Topangas. but thank you." Johnathan smiled.

"where's Shawn?" Dakota sighed.

Johnathan's face turned into a frown.

"uh, yeah." Jonathan stood up. "about that, uh, you see..." Johnathan sighed.

"Just spit it out, Dad," Dakota said.

"Chet's back in town." Dakota's eyes widened. "Shawn found out today. he moved back in the trailer park."

Dakota's heart shattered. "what?"

"Shawn moved out."

Dakota knew why Shawn had moved out.

it wasn't the cause of her father moving back in. He loved living here. it was because of Dakota.

he wanted nothing to do with Dakota.

END OF CHAPTER