The Seven Year Promise

The following mornings would start with the same routine, the same elevator ride down, the same subway train. Shawn and Lizzy were already accustomed to their commutes. He heeded Lizzy's advice by turning down his music or leaving one ear open as well as looking both ways. When the parents found out about their children riding the same train each morning, they were relieved since Lizzy's mother was worried about her daughter riding the train alone.

"It's not safe out there for a girl, you know," she would say.

Lizzy would roll her eyes and made her point loud and clear. "You know, you wouldn't have to be so worried if you let me drive to school."

When the topic came up, Shawn would often groan in annoyance to his parents. "Mom! Dad! I don't need a babysitter," he grumbled. Then, he would storm off to his room to work on his school work. Once he was finished, he'd work on his music. The rules of the household were to focus on school first and then music would come after as per an agreement with his parents.

Then, before they knew it, Lizzy would be graduating high school and would be heading off to a university later that fall. She chose to attend a nearby university because her parents could not afford to send her elsewhere. She had to make the most of it. Shawn, who was upset that his days with her were limited, decided to not speak to her for a few days. Lizzy had to admit that she was a bit hurt by the cold shoulder but knew he was upset and didn't want to make him talk about it. He'll come around, she told herself.

It was only later when she had come to realize why he was upset with her. Around the beginning of the school year, they developed an unlikely friendship and became inseparable. Lizzy had a tough time in school making friends since kids were mean and the friends in her life tend to come and go. Although, there was only one constant in her life, and that was Shawn, or "Shawnathan" (pronounced like Jonathan), as she preferred to call him as a joke. As much as he expressed his annoyance to her, deep down Shawn secretly liked it when she called him by that nickname. It was like their own little inside joke. He was like another younger brother to her. Sometimes, he felt more like a brother than her own brother, who she constantly butted heads with. The only difference was Shawn actually listened to her, such as following her advice or even doing what's asked of him with no questions asked. He even let her listen to his iPod on the train ride to and from school. And when she got too tired, he would take off his sweatshirt and turn it into a makeshift pillow so that she can lay down on his shoulder. And he would often play a slow song so for her so that she'd have a peaceful sleep. Lizzy smiled at the fond memory. It was at that moment when she decided to go see him.

It was Saturday, which meant no school, which meant that he couldn't avoid her forever. Shawn sat on his bed, strumming his guitar while staring at the wall. When she told him she was leaving, he felt his heart break into a million pieces. Was this what getting your heart broken felt like? How could she do this to him? Angry, he continued strumming his guitar with brute force causing one of the strings to break. Grunting in frustration, Shawn stood up ready to throw the instrument on the ground but stopped when he saw her staring at him in disbelief.

Lizzy cleared her throat. "Goodness, Shawnathan, there's no reason for you to take it out on the guitar," she said in a playful tone. "I mean, the poor thing didn't do anything wrong."

Shawn put the guitar down. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Your mom let me in," she said casually taking a seat across from his bed.

"Well, I don't want you here."

Ignoring him, Lizzy reached into her bag for her phone. "Are you hungry? Let's order something. My treat," she offered.

He sighed in annoyance, then walked over to snatch the phone out of her hand. "Leave," he demanded.

"Hey!" she shouted, glaring at him. "What the hell is your problem, Shawn?"

"I told you to leave!" he shouted back.

Lizzy blinked, clearly stunned by this newfound harshness of his. She knew that it was only a phase, teenage angst was what it was, but the way he was treating her was hurtful nonetheless. "Fine," she managed, keeping her voice steady. "If that's what you want, then I'll leave."

As she grabbed her things and turned to leave, he shouted angrily. "Good! Leave! Don't ever come back! I never want to see your face again!" He quickly regretted it when she turned around, charging towards him towards him.

"Alright, you little shit!" she snapped, cornering him.

In a quick moment, she grabbed a fistful of his hair. Shawn let out a cry in pain. As much as he wanted to fight back, he knew better than to fight back with a girl of all people. At that point, he had nowhere else to go. He found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place: his bed and Lizzy, who was pretty much livid at that point.

"I've had just about enough of you and that attitude of yours. Now I don't know what I did wrong but I know it's nearly not enough for you to be such a disrespectful little prick." She yanked harder at his hair. "I'm not leaving until you apologize to me."

"AHHH..." he yelled out in pain.

"So, do you have anything to say for yourself, Shawnathan?" she said, tilting his head back so that he could look her in the eye.

After a moment of biting his tongue, the pain was unbearable. "I-I-I'm s-s-sorry," he stuttered.

"I'm sorry. I don't think I heard you. Could you repeat that again?" she responded, leaning closer so she could hear him properly.

"I said I'M SORRY!" he cried out in defeat.

"Is that all?" she asked with an evil smirk. When he nodded, she finally released him. "Finally, I mean, was that so hard?"

He groaned in pain, massaging his scalp. "I've been a jerk," he admitted.

Lizzy frowned, then took a seat right next to him. "Yeah, you kind of were," she agreed then softened. "But I get it. I know why you're upset." She turned to face him. "Shawn, just because I'm leaving to go away to college doesn't mean I'm leaving forever. I mean, I'm here for the rest of the summer plus there are holidays. And besides, you make it seem like I'm going away overseas when really the school is right in the city so I can just come by on the weekends."

He chuckled, realizing she was right and he overreacted. "Right," he said.

"I mean, the only difference is I won't be able to ride on the subway with you," continued. "And no more trips to Taco Bell after school. And I'll be living on campus. You can always come to visit me too! If you'd like..."

He chuckled once again, nodding. "Okay."

She beamed, "Great!" she chuckled, then turned to him. "And about your head... I'm, uh, sorry about that."

He turned to her, sneering. "Yeah, you should be."

With an amused grin, she nodded. "To be honest, I actually enjoyed hearing you cry out like a little bitch," she remarked, bursting into a fit of giggles.

He glared at her, tossing a pillow at her. "Gee, thanks," he remarked drily.

Once her laughter subsided, she spoke again. "So are we cool? Like, can we still be friends?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yes, we can still be friends."

"Aww, Shawnathan, come here!" she beamed, suddenly pulling him towards her for a hug.

He laughed airily, returning the embrace. "I'm gonna miss you," he confessed. His eyes glossed over and he was glad that Lizzy couldn't see him at the moment.

She patted his back from behind. "Likewise, Shawnathan," she replied, her own eyes glossing over as well. "Likewise." After a long moment, she broke away from him. "Okay, I don't know about you but I'm starving. How about we order some takeout?"

He smiled and nodded. "Sure."