Shadows From the Abyss

Tre put his wineglass down before picking up his cigar and lighting it. He blew a smoke ring, smiled, and looked at his wife sitting on his left and his son sitting on his right. This was how it was supposed to be.

"Alright, tell me about this boyfriend of yours, Shawn."

Shawn raised an eyebrow, caught slightly off guard by his father's sudden interest. He picked his phone up out of his lap and started scrolling through his photos. "Well, his name is Art, he's 24, former army guy, and absolutely precious," Shawn finally found his favorite picture and handed his phone over.

"Oh he's so cute!" Sara gushed, "When did you two start dating?"

"Almost a month ago," Shawn smiled, sipping his wine.

"And I haven't gotten to speak to him yet why?" Tre smirked, handing his son his phone back.

"Because your timing is terrible,"

Tre just shrugged and picked his cigar back up.

"How'd you meet?" Sara asked.

"One of those stupid dating apps."

The trio was interrupted by the sound of the smoke detector blaring inside, followed by Mike and Dave laughing and Billie yelling 'Oh for fuck sake I'm cooking you stupid thing! Shut up!'

"I'm gonna go see if he needs any help," Sara said before getting up and disappearing inside.

"So how long are you staying?" Tre asked his son after a pause.

"I think five days?"

"Good. I need to borrow you tomorrow or the next day."

"Sure, what for?"

"Well, your birthday is coming up next month. When your Mom and I found out we were having you, she set up a college fund and got some amazing interest on it. She put any spare money she could in it and the only rule was it was either for college or when you turned 19 it was all yours."

"How much is in there now?"

"Uh I last checked it a few months ago and I think it was around $270,000."

Shawn's jaw dropped and he gripped his wine glass tighter.

"On one condition," Tre said sternly, seeing the look on his son's face, "before I sign that over to you, you have to talk to my accountant and actually listen to him. Invest a decent chunk of it so you don't blow through it in two years and then are shit out of luck."

"Jesus Christ....how?"

Tre rolled his eyes, knowing his advice was falling on deaf ears. "When I sold the penthouse, I split the money between the three of you. When your Mom sold the Jag, she put all the money in there. Every month, I know she put at least twenty in there. Like I said, she was smart about it and got amazing interest. Plus Billie and I have been adding to it every year. And I know when Mike sold the townhouse he put a chunk of that return in there."

"Fuckin hell."

Tre sighed, slouching down in his seat a bit. "I know I wasn't always a great parent to you, kid. And I fucking hate that."

"I mean, you're at least trying to make up for it now so that's good I guess."

Tre rolled his eyes. "A few months doesn't make up for years of bullshit."

"Can we please have this talk later?" Shawn offered, not wanting to kill his buzz. "I love you. And I'm glad we're actually being honest with each other but I'd like to not slip down the mental slide."

Tre forced a smirk. "That's fine, bud, whatever you want."

The patio door opened and Sara and Joey strolled out. Sara reclaimed her seat beside her husband and Joey placed a hand on Shawn's shoulder.

"Tryna join the cool kids club upstairs?" Joey asked, a grin on his face and a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Suuuure," Shawn said, slowly standing up. Either they were about to go smoke or something was up. "Let me get a top off real fast."

The pair entered the house and the wall of smell coming from the kitchen welcomed Shawn. He opened the fridge and pulled the bottle of wine out and topped his glass off, looking at Billie, Mike and Papa Dave who were hanging out by the oven talking about music. "So what are we having?"

"Thanksgiving in May," Billie smiled, folding his arms and leaning against the counter. "Ham, baked mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole-"

"That's the most white people menu I think I've ever heard," Joey snickered.

The smile fell from Billie's face as he cut his eyes to his oldest son. "And you will shut up and eat it and like it or you'll get nothing."

The front door opened and Brixton and Ruby came running into the kitchen and hid behind Mike.

"I got options," Brittney called out as she pushed the front door closed with her foot and walked back into the kitchen carrying three round tin containers.

"You have fifteen minutes before I better see butts in seats," Billie said to Shawn and Joey before they vanished up the stairs.

"Perfect amount of time to get hungry," Joey grinned, pushing a bedroom door open. Ramona, Stella, and Jake were all waiting patiently. And then there was Gloria sitting with Stella. "G, out."

"Let me finish this please," Stella replied, continuing the braid she was putting in Gloria's hair. "Rubber band, Mona." She tied the braid off at the end and smiled. "There ya go."

"Alright now get the hell out," Joey said, opening the door wider. Once she was out the door he pushed it closed and locked it. "Gentlemen, the game is spades," He grinned, reaching over to the dresser and grabbing a joint and lighter.

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Shawn coughed. "This hits like shit, man." He offered it to Jake who just shook his head as he plucked a random song on his guitar.

"It does what I need it to do though," Joey replied, reaching out and taking the joint from Shawn. He took a hit and coughed before suddnely kicking out at Jake's foot. "You're out of tune."

"And you're an asshole today," Jake replied, kicking back at his brother.

"Children, behave" Ramona smirked as Stella finished her braid.

"Ooh, Shawn has long hair!" Stella smiled brightly, getting up off the bed and sliding down beside Shawn. "Can I braid your hair?"

"I'd really rather you not,"

"Just let her do it, she's on a roll." Ramona said, taking the joint from Joey. She took a hit and immediately regretted it. "Get this bullshit away from me," She choked, handing it back to him.

"I'm telling you guys, it's gonna hit you in a minute and you won't be sayin anything about how poorly it hits. I'll prepare myself for the thank yous." He took one final drag before handing it back to Shawn. "You can finish it. Happy early birthday."

"That's right, you hit 19 next month," Ramona smiled. "So what are we doing for it?"

"We aint doin jack shit," Shawn coughed, taking the last hit of the joint before putting it out on the bottom of his shoe. "I, on the other hand, will probably spend it alone doing nothing."

"No! You only turn 19 once! And we're gonna make it count, dammit!" Ramona protested.

There was a light knock on the door. Joey took a breath and leaned back and unlocked the door. "Sup?"

The door opened and Brittney poked her head in. "Dinner's ready...please put cologne on. That weed's loud as hell."

Ramona was the first to stand up. "Well, I feel fine."

"You gotta give it a minute," Joey replied before helping Shawn to his feet. "By the time we have dinner you'll be starving. You're welcome."

Jake rolled his eyes as he and Stella walked out, leaving the three idiots to prepare for their high to kick in.

"Still can't shoot webs from my fingers, Joey," Shawn smirked after two minutes.

"Fuck it, let's go downstairs."

The trio went downstairs and as soon as they rounded the corner into the kitchen, they were met with a glare from Billie. He knew. But he didn't say anything. He instead gestured them to hop in at the end of the serving line behind Dave, who was clearly past tipsy.

Joey glanced over at Jake, who was trying to contain his laughter as they entered the dining room. "Shut up. Don't say a damn word."

"Have you seen your pupils? They're the size of the moon." Jake snickered as his brother sat beside him. "Keep your shit together and maybe Dad won't destroy you."

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The high finally hit Shawn as Billie was giving the toast. One minute he was sitting at the table listening to Billie's beautiful speech about how glad he was everyone was finally together and how although someone was missing, she was there in spirit, causing everyone to get misty eyed, especially Papa Dave. Then Shawn blinked and suddenly he was in the sunken place from Get Out, feeling like he was watching the world around him through a TV screen far away. "Oh no," He whispered.

Joey leaned in. "Did it just hit you too?" He whispered.

The two slowly turned their heads and looked at each other, their pupils huge, eyes wide with surprise. They slowly turned the other way to look at Ramona, which felt like it took two minutes as Billie explained the concept of a silent dinner in the background. Ramona was fascinated with her spoon, turning it over in her hands, examining every inch of it. When she finally lifted her head, her pupils were so dilated you could hardly see the whites of her eyes. "Whoa," She whispered.

"I told you," Joey smirked.

Shawn looked across the table slowly, feeling like his head was huge and if he moved too quickly he would fall out of his chair. His father was sitting across from him, and it was painfully obvious he knew they were sky high. Shawn blinked slowly and snapped out of the sunken place, suddenly back in reality. He shifted his eyes down to his plate, which was suddenly the size of a penny on a tiny table miles below him. Oh shit, this wasn't good. He hadn't been this high in years. He cut his eyes up again to look at his Dad.

Tre put his hand over his mouth and tried to hide his amusement. Poor Shawn was losing his shit and way higher than he had prepared for. Oh God don't laugh at the poor bastard. He glanced down and figured he'd be nice enough to get Shawn something to drink other than wine. He shook his head before silently excusing himself to the kitchen to grab him a glass of water.

"How high are they?" Billie's voice came from behind him.

"Oh they're just soarin and flyin,"

"For fuck sake," Billie sighed, leaning against the kitchen island and putting his head in his hands. "The one night I needed these idiots fuckin sober,"

"They'll be fine in an hour," Tre shrugged before heading back to the dinning room.

Billie looked up at the ceiling. "The one night I would like you to be around and I don't get shit from you?" He said quietly, waiting for some sort of other wordily response, but got nothing. "I love you, but thanks for nothing."

Tre put the glass of water on the table in front of Shawn and leaned down, gently pulling Shawn and Ramona closer. "Drink water. You'll be okay in an hour. Enjoy the light show," He said quietly. Oh God, what the hell did that mean? He walked back to his seat and sat back and watched. Dinner and a show, what could be better?

"Are they okay?" Sara whispered.

"They will be," Tre smirked, watching as Shawn and Ramona passed the glass back and fourth, trying not to panic as they scanned the table, trying to keep their heads still.

Shawn looked around, not sure what to think as everyone's skin changed colors. Mike and Brittney were green, the younger kids were all purple, Sara was yellow, his father orange, Jake and Stella were grey, Dave was navy blue, and Billie was bright fire engine hot red. He looked down at his hand, which was radiating rainbow hues. He looked at Ramona and Joey, who were the same moving rainbow. The sound of forks and spoons scraping plates was deafening. It was so fucking quiet but little noises were as loud as a freight train ripping through the room. His teeth were vibrating. He looked down and his plate was empty suddenly. Oh what the hell?

He looked around the table, but everyone was back to normal. Was this how The Weekend felt? That's an intense way to live. Was he overthinking things? There was a bead of sweat on his glass that he watched form on the rim and slowly slide effortlessly down to the bottom. Was he freaking out? How much time had passed? Did everyone know he was fucked up? Okay, overthinking leads to freaking out. Calm down, Shawn. Get control for once.

He looked up at his father, hoping to get some sort of comfort or support from him. It took a few seconds but Tre finally lifted his head, a look of concern on his face. 'Calm down' He mouthed.

Shawn nodded and took a deep breath before looking up. But instead of the light above him or the ceiling, he saw the entire universe. Shooting stars, galaxies and entire solar systems. He gasped and tried not to yell. Holy shit. Jupiter glowed brightly overhead, a meteor shower pouring down just past it.

Tre heard a gasp and looked back up in time to witness Joey, Shawn and Ramona all staring up at the ceiling in awe and amazement. He smirked and learned over to Billie. "They've discovered space travel,"

"Oh for fucks sake," Billie mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. Did he let them ride it out or try to snap them back to reality? "What do we do?"

"Let them ride the wave. They seem to have gotten past the scary part."

Shawn finally was able to pull himself away from the cosmos overhead and looked back at the table. Everyone was having dessert. How long had he been zoned out? Oh shit, he was time hoping. He made eye contact with Brittney, who just raised an eyebrow. She was well aware he was out of it since she was the one who found them but oh, she had no clue how high they had gotten. And there was no way he could describe it to anyone. Especially not his little sister. She'd be pissed if she knew he hadn't been appreciating her silent dinner the way it was intended.

******************************************************************

"So how did dinner go?" Art asked cheerfully after Shawn Facetimed him.

"I'm not sure. Joey fuckin smoked me out and we got way too high."

"God damn," Art laughed. "Only you, babe. Good job. Are the adults pissed?"

"Well, that's why I'm outside hiding out hoping no one opens that door."

As if a middle finger from God, Shawn heard the front door open and close behind him. He tensed up, hoping it wasn't an enraged Billie Joe behind him.

"Oh shit, is this the boyfriend?" Joey's voice was a relief to hear. "Hi Boyfriend!"

"Is your Dad full of anger and hatred?" Shawn asked as his step brother sat on the front steps beside him.

"Well, all the musicians in the household disappeared downstairs so he'll be too elated from a giant jam session to stay angry for too long."

"Why aren't you down there with them?"

"Your Dad told me to kick shit. They're probably gonna all smoke and talk about how terrible we are."

"Hey babe," Art interjected, "I'm gonna let you go, but I'll call you tomorrow morning before work, okay?"

"I can fuck off if you need some time to talk," Joey offered.

"Nah dude you're good. I gotta head to bed, I'm working a double tomorrow,"

"Alright, sleep well babe," Shawn smiled, taking a long look at Art. "I lo-fuckin hell! One day, God dammit!"

Art laughed and smiled. "When you're sure you mean, you can say it all you want, okay?"

"I'm holding you to that."

"Alright, night sweets,"

"Night," Shawn ended the call and sighed.

Joey smirked. "You love that boy, don't you?"

"Pretty sure I do,"

"How sure is pretty sure?"

The door opened again behind them. Shawn turned, expecting Ramona or Jake, but instead met the cold glare of his step father. "Shit."

"Did you really think you two could avoid me the rest of the night?" Billie asked coldly as he walked down the steps and stood in front of them. He lit a cigarette and took a drag before turning and looking at them. "G hasn't told me she hates you yet but I'm sure I'll get an earful at bed time."

"If you're gonna yell at us can I at least bum one first?" Shawn groaned.

"You can have one after I'm done," Billie smirked before going back to being angry. "I can't fucking believe you two. Did you really think no one would notice?"

"I didn't think it would be that potent," Joey sighed. "This is my fault, so don't yell at him."

"Where did you get it from?"

"I bought it before I came up,"

Shawn zoned out, Billie's voice becoming muffled in his ears as he watched the cigarette burning between his fingers. He missed smoking a lot. It was always the easiest way to come back down after a panic attack and an easy out from social situations you didn't want to be in. But Mama K was allergic so he had to give it up for her sake.

"Shawn!" Billie's voice rang sharp in his ears.

"Fuckin what?" Shawn snapped, annoyed.

Billie's eyes narrowed before he finished his cigarette and heaved a sigh. He fished the carton out of his back pocket along with his lighter and dropped it in his step son's lap before walking up the stairs behind them and going back inside.

Joey looked at Shawn. "The fuck just happened?"

"I got what I want," Shawn smiled, lighting up. He took a long drag and exhaled slowly and happily. "Fuck, I missed nicotine."

"Do you and my Dad hate each other or something? Because the last person I saw shut him up like that was your Mom."

"Hate is a strong word. More like....disdain."

"What happened?"

"More shit than you need to know about."