Reunion
Disclaimer: The characters and brand are not mine.
Tanya gazed out the window of her rental car at the familiar landscape as she crossed the town line into Angel Grove. She smiled wistfully at the things she recognized: houses, restaurants, city hall, the park….
She let her thoughts wander from long ago back to the present, trying to recall exactly what her friends had been up to recently. She remembered that Tommy had finished his doctorate and was now a professor at a university… which one, she wasn't sure. Katherine had moved east and was training service dogs. Jason had enlisted in the army and was now coming back home. She would have to remember to ask him what his plans were. Rocky was still in Angel Grove as far as she knew, and Adam….
Her stomach fluttered for a moment as she pictured the angelic face with the long dark curls and the shy, boyish smile. Adam had had a harder time letting go of the old days. He'd been called back into battle to help TJ and Carlos's team and his sense of honor and loyalty had kept him returning for more. He'd taken longer than the others to finish his undergrad degree and after that he'd decided to take some time and travel. Tanya had admired him for that, for getting out on his own, far away from what was familiar and comfortable. In a way, she supposed that's what she'd done as well when she'd signed her record deal in Tennessee, but somehow she was never alone and had never really had time to think about it.
She blinked in surprise as her arrival pulled her away from her thoughts. Her eyes widened in delight at the sight of her old high school and the corners of her mouth tugged into a smile. A million memories flooded her mind as she parked the car in a newly paved lot.
She tugged her bag over her shoulder as she walked around the school to the old Youth Center, marveling at the fact that the center was the only thing that had even remotely changed appearance in the years since she'd set foot in this area.
A momentary wave of apprehension washed over her as she stopped in front of the door to the Youth Center and she tugged on the handle with a sigh.
The brightly colored walls and the many tables and chairs that were organized neatly in front of a wide open space were surprisingly similar to what she remembered despite having been remodeled several times over. She glanced briefly at the Juice Bar, smiling widely at the kind faced woman who was busily serving drinks and her head snapped to her right when she heard her name.
She turned to see a table of her old friends and laughed as a tall blonde woman ran up to her and embraced her fiercely. "Hi, Kat," she said softly as she eagerly returned the embrace.
Jason kissed her lightly on her cheek before grabbing her bags and placing them somewhere off to the side. He introduced her to Trini and Zack, who each hugged her warmly as if they'd known her forever.
Tommy ruffled her hair playfully and patted her on the back affectionately.
"Tanya!" Rocky placed his hands on her waist and she squealed as he whisked her up into the air, swinging her excitedly before setting her down.
"I missed you too," she laughed as she joined them at the table, Rocky pulling out a chair and gesturing for her to sit.
"It's been too long," Kat said, squeezing her hand as she took the seat next to her.
Tanya nodded her agreement. "Where's Adam?" She asked, hoping her voice sounded casual.
Kat shot her a knowing look, one eyebrow raised, and her face flushed slightly under her friend's gaze.
"Oh, he and Aisha went to help Bulk with some last minute best man stuff. You know how that goes. Nothing much has changed around here," Rocky informed her with a grin.
"Can you believe that out of all of us, Skull is the first one to settle down?" Kat said as she bit back a smile.
The group laughed loudly.
"It's Eugene now," a clear voice said in a mock warning tone and she whirled around to see his jovial face and bright eyes standing behind them, next to a tall woman with dark skin and long hair who he proudly introduced as "Stephanie."
They all got up from their seats to greet and congratulate the happy couple and Tanya's heart skipped a beat when she noticed Bulk, Aisha, and… Adam coming up behind Skull and his soon to be wife.
There were more hugs, kisses and reminisces as Tanya watched Adam grasp each of the boys' hands tightly and embrace the girls briefly.
Finally, he was in front of her, smiling that same boyish smile. "Hey, Tanya," he murmured softly, pulling her against him and wrapping her up in his strong arms.
"Adam," she breathed, hugging him back.
It took her a moment to remember to sit back down at the table and she was slightly disappointed when he chose a seat on the other side, between Zack and Rocky.
Her expression brightened when Tommy returned to the table a moment later with drinks for everybody and she didn't know why she was a little surprised that he had remembered everyone's favorites.
The group of old friends talked and laughed long into the night and her heart felt so full as she was once again reminded of what it felt like to laugh until you cried. She spent time with Trini and Zack, trading stories from days long gone and even let Tommy and Jason drag her into the open space of the Youth Center. Once serving as the room for many a dance class or sparring session, it had now been turned into a dance floor and loud upbeat music was pumping through the speakers.
"This has been so amazing," she said genuinely, returning to the table where Kat was sitting with Aisha. Rocky and Adam were leaning against the wall nearby.
"It sure has," Kat said. "I missed you guys so much."
"Me too," Tanya admitted with a contented smile.
"So where are you staying?" Katherine asked.
Tanya gestured with her hand. "Just a hotel on the outskirts of town. I wasn't planning on staying for too long after the wedding."
Kat shook her head. "Nonsense. You should just cancel your reservation and stay at my parents' with me and Aisha."
"Yeah!" Aisha enthusiastically agreed. "It'll be so fun, like a sleepover!"
Tanya rolled her eyes, although her wide smile betrayed how excited she was at the suggestion. "All right, I guess. If you're sure your folks won't mind."
"Of course not," Katherine said, clasping her hands together. "Oh, please say yes."
"Okay," Tanya said with a nod.
Aisha clapped loudly and the boys walked over to the table, with Rocky tugging on Aisha's shoulder and prompting her to go with him.
Kat glanced up at Adam and Tanya and winked at her friend before politely excusing herself.
"Just like old times," Adam said, his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah," Tanya said. "I forgot how much I missed this place, these people," she added, gazing out at the crowd.
By now the energy in the air was winding down and the big group on the dance floor had become smaller, more intimate groups of friends standing around talking quietly and lazily.
Tanya looked up at Adam. "Do you want to get out of here?" she said on a whim.
Adam's eyes met hers. "Um…. I don't have a car here yet," he replied.
She shook her head. "I'll just drive you home later on."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Alright," he agreed. "Wanna go get some coffee?"
She wrinkled her nose. "I'm not really a coffee person. We could still go for a drink though."
He shrugged. "I was never big into alcohol."
"Oh." She looked down at her shoes.
"There's a frozen yogurt place down the road…" He offered.
"Okay," she said with a grateful smile. "Yeah. That sounds great."
He smiled, holding out his arm. "C'mon. It's pretty close. We can walk."
She slipped her arm through his slowly, only glancing behind her briefly at their friends before taking off.
Outside the air was getting cooler, with a slight breeze and she was surprised to see how dark it had gotten.
He shoved his hands in his pockets, matching his steps to her own.
They walked in silence for awhile until they got to the place that Adam had mentioned.
"I'm so glad these places have gotten really popular," she commented, smiling sweetly as he held the door open for her.
They filled their cups and she made a move to pull out her wallet, but Adam swiftly handed the young girl behind the counter some bills.
"Thank you," she said softly.
He waved it off, gesturing for her to sit.
"So, you're staying in Angel Grove for awhile?" She asked.
"Yeah. I'm looking at apartments, but I kind of want to stay close while I'm here."
"What have you been up to?"
"Different things. Tommy asked me to teach a P.E. credit at his college this semester, and I'm helping Rocky set up his dojo. We're thinking of going into business together."
She smiled. "I can definitely see you guys being successful together. You always did make a great match."
He smiled back, pushing his hair behind his ear and for a moment she wished she could do it for him.
She tried not to stare while taking in his appearance; the crisp black and green button down shirt opened at the collar, the slightly overgrown black locks (although admittedly much shorter than the last time she'd seen him in person), and the slightly sun-kissed skin.
"California's been good to you," she murmured softly.
He blushed. "I haven't really been back that long. Only a month or so."
"Oh," she said. "Well, still…"
He stabbed his spoon into his cup, picking out the cherry bits.
"It's kind of weird, being back," she said after awhile.
"I know what you mean," Adam agreed. "It's like I've been away for longer than I was here, but it still feels like we never left in some ways."
Tanya said softly, "I missed everyone."
Adam nodded.
"I missed you," she added quietly.
He stared at her silently for a moment before reaching across the table and taking her hand in his. "I missed you too, Tanya."
"It's been far too long," she said. "Like, how many years since I visited you at UCLA?"
He was quiet, chewing on the end of his plastic spoon. "I saw one of your shows," he said quietly after a long period of silence.
"What?! When?" She leaned forward, not sure if she'd heard him correctly.
He shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Awhile ago."
"And you didn't come backstage? Or text me? Or anything?"
He shook his head. "It was just a spur of the moment thing. I happened to be in Nashville one night when you had a show. It wasn't a big deal."
"It's totally a big deal!" She exclaimed, pointing the round end of her spoon at him. "Next time you better say something!"
She thought for a moment. "Besides," she said, a little more quietly. "You're basically the whole reason I'm even doing this in the first place."
He smiled. "You're exaggerating."
"No. I'm not," she insisted. "If it wasn't for that video back in high school and you encouraging me to even get up on stage in the first place…."
He ducked his head down, stuffing his napkin in his cup. "It's getting kind of late," he said. "We'd best get back."
Once they were out the door, he offered her his arm again and she hoped she wasn't holding on too tightly. She directed him to her rental car in the parking lot of the Youth Center and they mostly drove in silence.
All too soon, she was pulling up in front of his parents' house and reaching across the seat to hug him goodbye.
"Where's your hotel?" He asked. "Not too far, I hope."
"I'm actually staying at Kat's."
"Good." He smiled, apparently very happy with that answer.
"Beach tomorrow," he said. "Rocky and I are barbecuing. Don't be late."
"I won't," she promised, watching wistfully as he headed up the walkway.