Shawn is always accompanied by his best friend, Burton "Gus" Guster, who plays along with the charade, and the two are typically engaged in some type of humorous witty banter. They have been best friends since childhood. Despite this, Shawn often disapproves of Gus's relationships, sometimes because he feels threatened, as was shown when Shawn got upset that Rachael (Gus' current girlfriend) and she were spending so much time together. Shawn also sometimes believes Gus's girlfriend's to be a murderer. The main reason for his disapproval appears to be worry since Gus has grown increasingly forward and possibly mildly desperate to find a significant other, resulting in impulsive decisions which Shawn often comments on. Shawn has also thought that he needed to be included in things that Gus does with his girlfriends, as shown in multiple episodes, even in "Cirque du Soul" where he wanted to be included when Rachael and Gus were going to talk to each other after she came back when it was revealed that Max missed Gus.