By BillieK26

Evangeline had just left the diner when she saw John’s cousin, Shannon, in Angel Square. She looked really depressed. That was odd for Shannon. She was one of those teenagers that had the attitude that she could take on the world. Evangeline was concerned.

"Hi, Shannon"

"Hi, Ms. Williamson."

"How are you?" Evangeline asked with concern in her eyes.

"I’m fine."

"Well, you don’t look fine," she replied, "I know we don’t know each other well, but would it help to talk."

"I don’t know."

"Do you want to try? Or is there anything else I can do?

"Are you sure you have time?"

Evangeline smiled, "Sure I have time."

Shannon went through her spiel of what had happened without mentioning River’s name. When she finished, she looked at Evangeline with a look of uncertainty, "I’m a horrible person."

"No, you’re not a horrible person. You just want to be loved. The problem is you can’t trick people into loving you. You have to let them choose."

"So, what if they don’t notice you? What do you do then?"

"There’s nothing wrong with dressing nice and looking pretty and having a great conversation with a guy, but if he’s with someone else he needs to make the decision if he wants to stay with her or if he wants to try something new. You can’t wait until she’s away and try to make him forget, it’s likely he’s not, if he loves her, and you end up getting hurt."

"I know. That’s what John said when I talked to him about it a couple of days ago," Shannon said.

At the mention of John’s name a hint of smile crossed Evangeline’s lips.

"What do I do now?" Shannon asked with tears in her eyes.

Evangeline pulled her into a hug.

"Well you have to be patient. The right guy for you is out there. You just have to remember that you can’t force him to like you. You are worth more than that. If he doesn’t like you, it’s his loss."

"Ms. Williamson..."

"Please, call me Evangeline."

"Evangeline, are you and my cousin John involved?" Shannon asked as she leaned back.

"Where did that come from?" Evangeline asked looking into Shannon’s eyes with a slight frown.

"I’ve just heard some rumors about the two of you."

"What kind of rumors?"

"Just, that the two of you were together now. I talked to him a couple of days ago and he didn’t mention it to me."

"That’s probably because the rumors aren’t true. John and I are just good friends. Why did you ask the question?"

"I just think that you would be really good for him. I want him to get over Caitlin and move on with the rest of his life, instead of standing still. He has so much to offer and he’s just wasting time. I know that you are Mr. Gannon are not together any more and I think it would be great if you were with John. Anyway, thank you for talking to me," Shannon said.

"You’re welcome. I hope I helped."

"It did help to talk to you. Thanks, again," Shannon said, before smiling at someone behind Evangeline.

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John had observed Evangeline and Shannon for a few minutes before disturbing them. Shannon had her head resting on Evangeline’s shoulder. She looked at peace comforting the girl. There was another facet of her that he had briefly experienced himself when Kathryn was killed. She could be so many things to so many people. He didn’t even know that she knew Shannon, but here she was taking care of his cousin like they’d known each other forever. Just one more thing to endear her to him, he decided as he walked over to the bench where they sat.

----------

"Hey, John," the teenager said.

Evangeline looked over her shoulder with a smile.

"Hey, kid. Evangeline. What are you two up too?"

"Talking about woman stuff," replied Shannon.

"Oh, I’m sure that is something I wouldn’t understand."

"You’re probably right," Evangeline responded with a smirk. She looked back at Shannon before inquiring, "Are you better now?"

"Yes, I’m better. It just hurts."

"I know, but the pain will go away. Just give it time. If you want to talk again, give me a call," Evangeline said as she passed Shannon a business card with her work and cell phone numbers.

"Are you sure you have time to talk to me?"

"I’ll make time."

"Thank you."

"You’re welcome. Now, don’t you have some work to do at the Love Center?"

"Yes, I’ll call you sometime?" Shannon said in a tentative voice.

"I’d like that," Evangeline said with a smile.

"Okay," Shannon smiled, "Bye, John."

Evangeline turned back to John with a smile, "How are you?"

"I’m fine. What was all that about?"

"Just girl talk."

"Okay. I didn’t know that the two of you knew each other."

"We met months ago when I did a lecture at the University. She’s a pretty cool kid, insecure, I think, but she has potential."

"Well, I appreciate you taking the time to talk to her."

"It’s not a big deal. She needed someone to talk to and I was here. She’ll be fine."

"Well, I’m glad that it was you that was here. She could do a lot worse," he said with a grin.

"Well, thanks. I’m just glad I could help."

"Me, too."