Chapter Text
Over the past few weeks, Shawn and Jon had settled into a nice routine. Shawn had (begrudgingly) agreed to a curfew of nine on weekdays and ten on the weekends and even agreed to a few chores. It felt… good to have so much stability and, well, normalcy in Shawn’s life for once.
The doorbell rang, and Shawn rose to his feet. Cory hadn’t mentioned coming over today, but it wasn’t too unusual for him to show up unannounced.
He opened the door to be met with- oh no. Shawn slammed it before he could even get a word out.
“Who was that?” Jonathan called from the kitchen.
Hastily locking the door, Shawn yelled back, “Uh- No one! Just- Just Jehovah Witnesses!”
“You slammed the door that fast on some priest?” Jon walked over. “Was that some girl from school?” His eyebrow rose in suspicion.
The doorbell ran again, now paired with insistent knocking.
“I’m opening the door now, Shawn.”
Half tempted to hide under the coffee table, Shawn braced himself.
The door opened to reveal a (now slightly befuddled) boy, who was probably around eighteen.
“Hi! Sorry, is Shawn here?”
Shawn scowled from out of his brother’s view.
Jonathan, still piecing together the situation, nodded. “You aren’t here to talk about our lord and saviour, then?
Jack blinked. “No.”
“Do you know who I am?”
“Also, no. I’m guessing that goes for you, too?”
Jonathan nodded.
“I’m Shawn’s half brother.
-
Jon sighed as he poured tea. Why wouldn’t Shawn have a half brother he had neglected to mention to him? The boy- Jack, sat awkwardly on the sofa, making very intense eye contact with the stack of newspapers and magazines on the coffee table.
Shawn was (for once) also very quiet, opting to stand instead of lounge on the sofa as usual.
It was going to be a long night.
He set the mugs down gently on the table, grabbing the attention of the brother's attention.
“So. What exactly is going on?”
Shawn spoke up first. “This,” Shawn spat with all the venom he could muster, “is my half brother, Jack. He’s from my dad’s first marriage, who ran of with some rich guy, and took him with her.”
So Chet had been married before. That was the least surprising element of this situation.
“And who are you?” Jack asked Jon.
“I’m Jonathan Turner. I am Shawn’s English teacher and current legal guardian.”
“Oh. What happened to my da- Chet?”
Jon didn’t know how to answer that.
“Why should we tell you?” Shawn demanded.
Jack looked a little defeated. Jon finally took inventory of him. He wore what looked to be expensive clothes, but he seemed to have been wearing them for a few days without changing. A completely stuffed backpack was on his back, and his hair- though recently cut- was greasy and unwashed. Most interestingly, there was a bruise in the shape of a handprint around Jack’s wrist.
Jon bit his lip. “Shawn. It’s late. How about you go to bed, and we talk about this tomorrow?”
“Fine.” Shawn really didn’t want to talk to this kid. He left quickly and without protest, throwing a glare at the back of Jack’s head.
The second Shawn left Jack became even more uncomfortable, clearly missing the luxury of some form of familiarity.
“Jack. I’m not gunna report you or anything; but I need to ask you, did you run away?”
The awkwardness melted away instantly to pure anxiety and nerves. “You- you can’t tell my parents, they would-” a quick glance and the bruise around his wrist, “they’d kill me.”
“I’m not going to tell them. I don’t even know their last names- also, you seem to be about eighteen.”
“I am.” Jack ran a hand through his hair. Just like Shawn did. Huh. “I’m really sorry for just bursting in like this- I thought Chet would be here. Uh- not here but around.”
“Mm. Okay. How about I get you a pillow and a blanket, and you sleep over here tonight. We can figure this out tomorrow, after we’ve all slept. Alright?”
Jack (evidently not expecting this) nodded. “Uh- okay, if you’re sure you don’t mind-”
“I don’t.” Jon looked him straight in the eyes. “You’re Shawn’s brother, you can’t be too bad.”
Jon stood up and went to collect blankets, tea sat on the coffee table long forgotten.