Pathetic

"...pathetic.

You're pathetic, Shawn. Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic, pathetic, pathetic,

pathetic!"

The dingy young man opened his eyes, body gently shaking from side to side. There was a calming purr in the background and the sound of zooming objects billowing past, along with the familiar feeling of plushy fabric against his spine."I really am," he murmured, "pathetic..."

"Look who's awake, Juna."

Shawn's gaze found itself resting on the eyes of a hatted, young woman looking back at him. A curl of hair was lopped over her face. She gave off an air of reservation, but also no-nonsense seriousness.

"Stay put, sir," a steady voice warned as Shawn sat up. He looked around. It was the interior of a police car.

The woman had turned forward in her seat. Meanwhile, the driver offered him a brief sideways glance.

"As of right now, you're being taken to the station," he stated curtly.

Shawn's eyes widened. The blue-uniformed man coolly began going over what was expected of him there and a brief idea of what to prepare for. Apparently, his Miranda Rights were already accounted for.

What... what happened? The unkempt man stared down at his hands. His head tried playing back the events from earlier, most of it engulfed in a blur.

"You got that?" The male officer severed his thoughts.

"What..." Shawn breathed out shakily. "What did I do?"

The officer shook his head before striking up his partner. "Looks like he's playing the innocent dog now, Juna."

"What happened? What did I do?" Shawn repeated, trying not to panic.

The officer didn't reply at first. Then he explained, "You're being taken in for the battery and **** of numerous store patrons, along with personnel, in addition to indecent exposure in public." He paused before tightening the corner of his lips. "Considering the exchange we had just before you went ****, your intent towards Juna was pretty clear as well. But here's some forewarning, and off the record; if you so much as look at her suggestively, I might not be able to help it if I physically suppress you. Is that clear?"

"Who?" Shawn's thoughts still remained clouded.

"Jeez," the officer uttered, "I swear, I don't know what's worse, this guy having the acting chops of Lorne Malvo or him really having an amnesiac episode right now."

"Gabe," the woman supposedly named Juna finally spoke, her voice toned with a quiet but resolved certitude, "I highly doubt that was a professional thing to say."

"Don't worry, Juna," her car-mate assured, "I'm just letting him know where he stands. After what he did to you, it's just a preventative measure, and a harmless one at that." He gave her a quick look before returning to the road. "Trust me. Once you've been on the job for a while, you'll know how it gets with these kind of guys."

Shawn wasn't listening to the man's words, receding into his seat, his heart seized in his chest with a forceful pounding. His mind was racing. All he could remember was that strange encounter at the restroom... with that strange, psycho woman.

Juna... Shawn realized that the officer was referring to his partner, and that he had disgruntled them in some way. He looked forward, staring at the back of her seat. Did... did I really do something to that officer? With a shake of hair, Shawn tore his eyes from the seat. The look she had set upon him earlier, under that kitschy police hat, was an unreadable one; was it critical? Resentful? Dismissive?

"Shawn.... STOP!"

Like a bolt of lightning, Shawn suddenly remembered Tulip, and her own horrified expression. He threw a hand over his mouth. His cousin... he had assaulted his own cousin.

And... battery? Indecent exposure?

He still had trouble remembering everything, but some of it came back to him in a fierce puddle of images. The security-man, his cousin, the clerk. But for some reason everything after that was mostly black. He... he faintly remembered getting on top of one of the counters. But then his body tensed, fell to the floor, and the next thing he knew, he was getting pummeled by a tall, angry blonde man before losing consciousness.

Or at least, he thought he did. Was there more that he might have forgotten? The male officer, who went by Gabe apparently, was currently convinced that Shawn was, as far as he was concerned, just putting on an act. Did that mean it wasn't clear that he might have been under some chemical influence during the fiasco at the store? Was he behaving like a fully conscious, distinct person under his own free will? Gabe even claimed that he talked with them. But how could he, if he was in an impaired state of mind?

Shawn felt his capacity for thought waning. Even as a mixture of guilt, fear, and anger filled him, he could only sit back in the seat and try to satiate his pulsing head. He was in no position to analyze anything now. But... that woman. It all went downhill after his encounter with that woman. Whatever happened... it was because of her! He knew it was! It had to be.

It had to.

In the meantime, all he could do was place his head against the window as he closed his eyes shut and tried to ward the ache of his head away. Shortly afterward, he was back in black, Tulip's pure face spanning across his mind.