Shawn took a couple deep breath, focusing on the air flowing in and out of his lungs in an attempt to ignore the tension that had washed over him. His whole body was screaming at him to follow Juliet, but he knew that she was right. Following her everywhere she went is not going to work and it was better for him to learn how to fight this new urge right away. After five minutes of focusing on his breathing, the tension in his neck began to loosen slightly. The need to follow her was still at the forefront of his mind, but he now felt more confident in his ability to resist. Leaving the closet, Shawn walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. His eyes sought out the pineapple that he bought earlier that week, hoping that eating his favorite food would help settle his mind. Shawn let out a groan of frustration when he picked up the spikey fruit and held it in his hand. Pineapple has always been his comfort food, it never failing to make his mouth water and his stomach grumble. To his complete frustration, Shawn had no reaction to the food that was once his favorite.
Shawn let out a long sigh. Pineapple has long been his go to food, but now all he felt was indifference as he held the large fruit in his hands. That’s just one more thing to add to his growing list of changes in his life. Dejected, Shawn placed the pineapple back on the counter and turned slightly so he could rest his back against the counter. Pulling his phone out of his back pocket, he used his thumb to light up his screen. 7:37. It was defiantly earlier than when he normally wakes up, but he figures that his best friend should already be awake and ready for the day. Got a case. Meet at Psych in 15 minutes he texted Gus quickly before slipping his phone back into his pocket. Pushing off the counter, Shawn walked across their small living room to where his shoes laid by the front door, bending down and slipping them on quickly. He reached over and flicked the lights off before marching out the door. His motorcycle sat parked along the street of their house, his helmet left strung across the handle bars. It took his brain a second to process that he was already standing by the seat, the normal 8 second walk to the street done in one. He’s going to have to be more careful about his movements. The Chief was clear on her threat to kick him out of the station if he didn’t keep his new abilities in check. His mind was still focused on his frustration with the pineapple and his control over his speed must have slipped. Slowing his movement, Shawn swung his leg over the seat and sat down, his hand flipping the ignition switch while his foot kicked the motorcycle to a start. Foregoing his helmet, not that he needed it anymore anyway, Shawn pushed off the curb and pulled into the street.
The drive to the psych office took longer than expected, early morning traffic often bringing him to a standstill, so he wasn’t surprised to see the blueberry parked outside the office when he finally pulled in. Killing the ignition and pushing the kickstand down, he hopped off the bike and walked to the door of Psych. Gus was already sat at his desk when Shawn walked in, his friend slouched in his chair as he typed away on his computer. “Gus!” he screamed, cracking a smile as he watched his friend jump completely out of his chair and spin towards him, the small cross from the day before held out in front of his chest. “Shawn, you know you’re not supposed to scare me like that. You never know how many more vampires are out there.” Shawn’s shoulders drooped a little at his friends’ words. “Sorry buddy” he replied as he reached up to scratch at his head gently. Gus noticed his friend’s standoffish mood immediately, fear beginning to creep up his body. “Shawn, are you ok?” He smiled grimly before signaling to Gus’ chair with his hand. “You might want to sit down Gus. I don’t need you passing out when I tell you.” Gus started at Shawn, taking note of his tense shoulders and furrowed brow before slowly sinking back down is his chair.
As Shawn retold the events of the previous night, he watched as Gus’ face morphed into that of confusion and fear, before settling on horror. When he finally finished his explanation, the room fell into a long silence. Gus opening and closing his mouth, his words continuing to die on his lips. “Look” Shawn began, finally breaking the tense silence. “I’d understand if you want me to stay away for a while, but come on buddy, isn’t this a little cool! Think of all the opportunities this opens up for us!”. Shawn’s voice sounded confident and excited, but Gus could hear and see the underlying fear.
“Dude,” Gus finally spoke. “You better not get any ideas about drinking my blood. You can steal my cloths and take my money, but that is where I draw the line.” Shawn clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in mock annoyance, however his whole body relaxed at his friend’s blatant acceptance of the situation. He could tell Gus was still internally panicking, but he appreciates the man’s absolute loyalty to their friendship. Shawn’s phone buzzed in his pocket, announcing an incoming text. He reached down and slid the phone out of his pocket, flipping it over and lighting up the screen. 486 Flanders Creek Lane the text read, his girlfriend’s name appearing at the top of his screen. “Jules sent us the address. You ready to go?” Gus nodded his head and turned his body to shut his computer and pull his coat off the back of his chair to put on his body. When Gus went to walk past Shawn, he reached out and gently grabbed his arm to pull Gus to a stop. “We’re good?” Shawn asked hesitantly, releasing his arm. Instead of answering, Gus made a fist and held it out to his friend. Shawn grinned and formed a first to lightly fist bump his friend. Now that that was all settled, Shawn led the way out the door and walked towards the blueberry while Gus held back to lock the door. Once settled in the car, Gus took off towards the address Juliet gave them.
The drive was quick, the house located not that far away from the Psych office. When they pulled up to the house, the crime scene was already taped off and multiple squad cars lined the street. Shawn jumped out of the car as soon as Gus parked, forcing his friend to jog after him to catch up. Buzz was standing at the edge of the tape, his hand waving them over once he caught sight of the pair of friends. “Buzz, my man! How are you doing buddy?” Buzz grinned wide as he clamped the psychic on the shoulder. “Hi Shawn, Gus! I’m doing pretty good. It’s working up to be a pretty hot day today, but Francine stopped by earlier to bring me some of her iced tea so im feeling much better!” Shawn smiled at the tall man. “Im glad Buzz. We don’t need you passing out on us.” Shawn made a move to duck under the crime scene tape but was stopped by Buzz positioning himself to block his path. “Sorry Shawn, but I got orders to keep you outside” Buzz said apologetically. “But Buzzzz. Jules asked me to come so don’t worry.” Shawn pulled out his phone and showed Buzz the text he got from Juliet. After reading the message, Buzz looked back at the house then back at the pair hesitantly. “I don’t know Shawn, Lassiter was pretty clear…” Shawn shoved his phone back in his pocket and waved his hand dismissively. “Come on Buzz. Jules wouldn’t have sent me the address if she didn’t want me on the case. Lassie’s just being his normal grumpy self.” Buzz laughed before finally stepping aside and lifting the tape up for Shawn and Gus. “Ok guys, go ahead. If Detective O’Hara wants you here, then there shouldn’t be a problem.” Shawn slapped the man on the back before ducking under the tape, Gus following close behind. “Thanks Buzz!”
As he was walking up the path to the house, Shawn noticed a sweet smell emanating from the opening of the building, so he took a deep breath and held it as they entered. Of course, a crime scene means that there’s going to be blood, so this is another things he’s going to have to learn to deal with. The door opened up into a large living room, the furniture and massive Tv on the far wall of the room indicating that the victim was wealthy. Shawn took a second to study the room, his eyes flickering between each object of the room, attempting to find anything that seemed out of place. To the left of the tv was a window, the glass pulled shut and the lock appearing to be clamped down. Shawn studied the window for a second more, about to dismiss it, before his eyes glanced down and noticed a small pile of dirt collected on the hardwood floor beneath the window. His eyes followed the trail as it led away from the window and into the adjacent kitchen, which by the flashing lights and quiet chatter coming from the entryway, Shawn assumed the victim would be found. “Come on Gus, im feeling a psychic revelation coming on” Shawn said excitingly, flashing his friend a huge grin before throwing himself in the direction of the kitchen. Shawn began to take a large breath as he stepped into the room, preparing to make known what the “spirits” have just shown him, but the words died on his lips immediately as the sweet smell from earlier filled his lungs, causing him to take a step back as if he’d just been hit in the face. Shawn’s eyes widened in horror as he took note of the condition of the room. The kitchen, which was once a pristine white, was now painted red with their victim’s blood. In the middle of the room lay the body of a small female, her blonde hair completely soaked with the large amount of blood pooled around her head, the large gash on her neck crusted crimson with the blood that had spilled out of her slit throat. While the blood pooled around the victim’s body was to be expected, the blood smeared on every surface of the room was not. It was clear that the murder was not one of passion, but instead showed obvious signs of rage. Whoever killed the woman made a long cut across her throat, deep enough to sever major vessels and cause a large amount of blood loss. The killer than took the time to smear the victim’s blood over every surface they could reach, including the floor, cabinets, counter, dining table, and appliances.
Across the room stood Lassiter and Juliet, plastic shoe covers wrapped around their shoes as they stood next to the dead body and were talking quietly with an excited looking Woody. It was the deep growl that pushed its way out of Shawn’s lips that finally drew their attention away from the dead body to the two men standing at the entrance of the large kitchen. Shawn could feel the two detectives staring at him, but he couldn’t get himself to tear his eyes away from the dark pool of blood laying by their feet. A painful burn began to form at the back of his throat as he continued to fill his lungs with the sweet smell that surrounded him. His whole body tensed as he felt his control start to slip. “Spencer! What the hell are you doing in here” Lassiter growled out as he marched over to Shawn and clamped his hand down on his shoulder. “I don’t know how you two idiots got in here, but you need to leave.” Lassiter attempted to pull Shawn away from the victim but was shocked when Shawn’s body didn’t budge. Lassiter released a surprised gasp as Shawn quickly moved his hand up and grabbed the hand clamped on his shoulder, his finger’s painfully tightening around the detective’s hand. Lassiter tried to pull his hand away, which caused Shawn to tighten his grip. “Sweet Jesus Spencer!” Lassiter cried out as he felt fingers creak painfully under the pressure.
It wasn’t until Shawn felt something warm grip his arm that he was brought out of the haze that he had fallen into. Shawn blinked his eyes a couple times as he tried to reign himself back in. “Shawn, can you hear me? You need to let go of Lassiter’s hand, you’re hurting him.” Finally Shawn became aware of the death grip he had on Lassiter’s hand, quickly dropping it as if he had been burned. Lassiter took no time to take a large step away from the psychic, his eyes narrowed in a hateful glare. Soft fingers on his face brought his attention away from the lanky detective and back to the woman standing next to him, her brow furrowed in concern. “Come on sweetheart, you shouldn’t be in here” she said softly as she pulled him away from her angered partner. Unlike last time, Shawn followed Juliet willingly as she led them out the kitchen and down a long hallway adjacent to the living room, finally stopping when she pulled them into a small bedroom and closed the door behind them. Shawn wasted no time and pulled Juliet into him, her arms quickly wrapping around his waist as she pressed her cheek into his chest. He leaned down and stuck his nose into the top of her hair, taking in her scent as he tried to force his body to relax.
“God Jules, I’m so sorry” Shawn sighed into her hair while he tightened his arms around her body.
“No, im sorry Shawn. I should have texted you and warned you. This isn’t your fault” Juliet rubbed her hands up and down his back in a comforting pace.
“Isn’t it? I promised Lassie I wouldn’t hurt him again, and that’s exactly what I did. If I can’t control myself after seeing a little blood, I don’t know how im ever going to be able to do this.”
Than hands on Shawn’s back paused and Juliet pulled back a little so she could look up at him. “A little blood? Shawn, almost all of that women’s blood was smeared across that entire kitchen. I wouldn’t consider that a small amount. Im actually surprised you held yourself together the way you did.”
“That’s the problem Jules, I didn’t hold myself together. I was so caught up in the smell that I didn’t even realize I was hurting Lassie until I heard you. That’s not ok”
“No Shawn, that’s not ok” Shawn’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “But that’s why we’re going to figure out how to make this easier. You said that your head cleared when I was near you, so maybe I’ll just stay close to you when you come to crime scenes for the time being. Or maybe you should feed more often, especially right before coming to scenes.”
“Jules, no. This whole mess is on me to figure out, not you. Im not going to use you just to make my life easier.”
“You wouldn’t be using me, Shawn, I want to help. You’re more important to me than my job so don’t even try to use that as an excuse. If it makes you feel any better, I can talk to the Chief and see if we can work something out, but you need to get it through that thick skull of yours that I would do anything for you because I love you.”
“I don’t deserve you” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.
“Yes, you do” She whispered back, her hand reaching up to gently cup his cheek. “Now come on, I’ll walk you outside and you and Gus can head back to the station while we finish up here. We’ll meet back up with you once we’re done.” Juliet stood on the tip of her toes and pressed a soft kiss to Shawn’s lips. Leaning back down, she reached out and laced her fingers with his and pulled them out the bedroom and back towards the living room. When she started walking towards the front door, Shawn tugged on their laced hands and pulled them back in the direction of the kitchen. “Shawn, what are you doing?” Shawn glanced back at his girlfriend, her brow furrowed in confusion and concern. “I want to take one more look before I leave since I didn’t really get the opportunity before.” He paused at the entrance of the kitchen and turned slightly so he could better face her. “I think ill be ok if you stay next to me. If it gets to be too much, I promise I’ll leave.” Juliet studied his face for a few seconds before nodding her head slightly. She unlaced their fingers and turned her body so that their arms were pressed up against one another. Shawn shot her a grateful smile before taking a step into the kitchen.
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