Author's Note: I own a lot of things in this world---about 1/10 of 'em
scattered all over my dorm room in a freezer-esque Midwestern state---but,
Alas! (cue sappy violin music) Woe is me; for I do not own "So Weird!" Oh,
the shame of it all!
Author's Note, Part 2: The prologue takes places approximately four years before the first chapter of the story. In this time frame:
Fiona had just finished celebrating her Sweet Sixteen and is now headed to the University of Washington (she graduated a year early, courtesy of Ned's Mobile School for Children of Musicians and Roadies and Managers on Tour), where she will be double majoring in Music and Journalism.
Jack is 18 and will soon be leaving for the University of Hawaii-Hilo to major in Oceanography and Photography (Hilo has one of the best Oceanography and Astronomy programs in the country, or so one of my friends said) in a few days.
19-year-old Clu has decided to change majors (like, dude, can you, like, totally see him as, like, a prolific philosopher?) and is now studying for a degree in Environmental Science. (Clu, to me, seems sensitive enough to care passionately about nature and is also the outdoors type.)
Carey is 20 and has now been promoted as the lead guitarist and co- songwriter for the Molly Phillips Band. He never met Callie ("Siren") or Tammy Faye ("Avatar") and has been pretty much single because someone happens to be too oblivious to his oh-so-subtle hints. Or so he thinks ;-P
Ryan Ollman (Fi's beauty and brains admirer from the episode "Second Generation") will show up in this story and at the ripe old age of 17, he is now the co-department chair for the Genetics Division at the University where he currently teaches; the fictional Pembrooke Institute in Washington state.
Oh, and neither Annie nor her panther exists in this story.
Now, on with the story.
AT THE AIRPORT
Sad, cerulean-hued eyes looked mournfully at the clock smack dab in the middle of the busy Colorado International Airport, silently cursing the seemingly fast movement of the hands of the clock. A mop of shaggy blonde hair the colour of rich honey stood testament to the numerous times a shaken and gel-and-mouse-slicked hand ran through it, tousling it, almost mindlessly, but with an odd sense of purpose.
"Hey, bro, are you okay?"
A pair of eyes---not quite as intense a cerulean hue---bore into Carey Bell's face and broke the trance he was in.
Clu Bell cocked his head and stood staring at his older brother, carefully taking in the sadness in his features. He hid a smile, a bittersweet one, knowing full well why his brother was melancholic and unusually silent. He wasn't quite the airhead everyone thought him to be, and Clu knew more about people and observed them more than he ever let on.
"Just tired," Carey lied, faking a yawn. "Stayed up late last night. Hardly slept. You know how that goes."
"So, uh," Clu began. "Mom and Dad, they already said their last minute goodbyes to Fi. Molly and Jack are off buying some gifts at that expensive electronics store. I just talked to Fi, you know? Hey, why don't you give that gift you got her?" He asked, motioning to the meticulously wrapped burgundy-and-gold box Carey held in his right hand.
Carey looked down and nodded, wanting to see Fi again, but at the same time, dreading the inevitable.
As he strode towards Gate G, Carey smiled softly as he caught a glimpse of a vision in white. From the back, Fiona Phillips looked like Cousin Itt with her incredibly long brown hair and petite stature. But he knew that from the front.
"Hey, Carey!" Fi smiled widely as she saw one of her best, dearest and oldest friends in the world.
"Fi, Fi, Fo," Carey teased. "Whatcha been up to?"
"Not much, just waiting for them to start boarding people."
Carey's smile abruptly left his face as the reality that Fiona was really leaving hit him full force. He weakly handed her the gift he had picked out for ages; the one he spent almost half a day choosing.
"What's this?" Fi's brows knitted as she looked up at him.
"Oh, it's just something I saw one day that I thought you'd like," Carey said in what he hoped was in a nonchalant tone of voice.
As she opened the delicately wrapped gift, tears began forming in Fi's eyes as she saw what was inside. "Oh, my gosh! Carey! Oh, gosh! This is."
"You like it?" Carey asked shyly, once again running his fingers through his unruly blonde hair. "I wasn't sure if you'd like it. I mean, I'm a guy and I don't really know what girls like and."
"Carey, this is gorgeous! Thank you!" Fiona stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed Carey on the cheek. "Help me put it on!"
Carey blushed as he felt Fi's soft lips on his face, but tried to control the surging emotions in him as Fiona held her hair up so he could fasten the 18-carat gold lariat necklace with an angel pendant.
"This is so beautiful!" Fiona looked up at him again, eyes shining brightly, and Carey fought harder to control his impulse to wrap his arms around her tightly, sweet her off her feet and kiss her with all the passion and emotion he had kept pent up all those years. In that instant, he just knew he had to tell her. It was now or never. Do or die.
"Fi, I want to tell you something. I."
"Fi, look what Mom and I got you!"
An excited masculine voice broke through the intense connection Carey and Fiona briefly shared, and a striking man of chestnut hair and turquoise eyes came barrelling down to where his only sister stood.
"You are totally going to love this! It's the newest version of Palm Pilot! Mom bought us matching Palm Pilots, so we could communicate with each other even when we have no computer access right that moment! You can check e- mail, do instant messaging."
As Jack rattled on about the features of this indubitably expensive device, an attractive, slim woman with deep mahogany hair streaked with intense amber walked over and wrapped her arms around her precious children, Fi and Jack.
"I can't believe my babies are growing up and are leaving for college already," Molly said, her eyes slowly misting over. "It seemed like only yesterday when."
"M-o-o-m," Fi and Jack said in unison.
"Oh, you'll get used to it, Mol," Irene Bell said as she, Clu and her her husband joined the group. "You really will."
"In fact, you'll appreciate the peace of mind once the kiddies are gone," Ned quipped in his trademark scratchy voice, bearded face softening into a smile.
"Well, Carey's still around, so I dunno about peace of mind," Clu couldn't resist adding in his two cents' worth.
"Thanks a lot!" Carey laughed, bopping his younger brother on the head.
"Flight 349 headed to Seattle Washington is now boarding."
The seemingly impersonal, robotic voice rang though the loud speakers, interrupting the joking mood of the bunch.
"First class passengers may now board. Passengers with infants or needing special assistance may also board at this point."
"Group hug!" Molly said cheerfully, trying to muster up a somewhat genuine smile through the tears that threatened to fall.
Vertically-challenged Fiona Phillips suddenly found herself in the centre of a 7-person bear hug. "Um, guys? Can you let me breathe?" She said it half-jokingly, half-seriously.
"Now boarding passengers in row 20-25."
"I guess that's me," Fiona said, her eyes misting over.
Carey watched quietly as Molly and Jack once again engulfed her in bone- crushing hugs. "Hey, my turn again."
Fi looked up at him and smiled, "I'm going to COLLEGE, Care-Bear, can you believe it?" she asked softly.
Carey just smiled, not wanting her to see the pain he was in.
"Hey, what was it you wanted to say to me?"
"I.Fiona, I."
"Baby, it's time to go," Molly interrupted.
Fi picked up her bags and took a deep breath. "Okay, mum. Oh, Carey, just e- mail it to me later, okay?" With that, she started heading towards the boarding gate.
'Wait! Don't go!' Carey's mind screamed, wanting to run after her, wanting to hold her and beg her not to go.
But his mouth failed him, just like his body. He stood there motionless, silent as the darkness of night.
Fi turned around, and for a brief second, Carey's hopes plummeted sky-high, hoping against hope that she changed her mind about leaving. Maybe just maybe, she reciprocated what he felt in his heart for all those years, maybe she knew, maybe she.
"I love you, you guys!" Fi called out cheerfully before handing her boarding pass to the lady, not knowing that her words broke Carey's heart.
'I love you, Fi." Carey's mind screamed silently. Fiona Kimberly Phillips walked out of the tour.and out of his life.
And there wasn't anything he could do about it.
Not a damn thing.
Author's Note, Part 2: The prologue takes places approximately four years before the first chapter of the story. In this time frame:
Fiona had just finished celebrating her Sweet Sixteen and is now headed to the University of Washington (she graduated a year early, courtesy of Ned's Mobile School for Children of Musicians and Roadies and Managers on Tour), where she will be double majoring in Music and Journalism.
Jack is 18 and will soon be leaving for the University of Hawaii-Hilo to major in Oceanography and Photography (Hilo has one of the best Oceanography and Astronomy programs in the country, or so one of my friends said) in a few days.
19-year-old Clu has decided to change majors (like, dude, can you, like, totally see him as, like, a prolific philosopher?) and is now studying for a degree in Environmental Science. (Clu, to me, seems sensitive enough to care passionately about nature and is also the outdoors type.)
Carey is 20 and has now been promoted as the lead guitarist and co- songwriter for the Molly Phillips Band. He never met Callie ("Siren") or Tammy Faye ("Avatar") and has been pretty much single because someone happens to be too oblivious to his oh-so-subtle hints. Or so he thinks ;-P
Ryan Ollman (Fi's beauty and brains admirer from the episode "Second Generation") will show up in this story and at the ripe old age of 17, he is now the co-department chair for the Genetics Division at the University where he currently teaches; the fictional Pembrooke Institute in Washington state.
Oh, and neither Annie nor her panther exists in this story.
Now, on with the story.
AT THE AIRPORT
Sad, cerulean-hued eyes looked mournfully at the clock smack dab in the middle of the busy Colorado International Airport, silently cursing the seemingly fast movement of the hands of the clock. A mop of shaggy blonde hair the colour of rich honey stood testament to the numerous times a shaken and gel-and-mouse-slicked hand ran through it, tousling it, almost mindlessly, but with an odd sense of purpose.
"Hey, bro, are you okay?"
A pair of eyes---not quite as intense a cerulean hue---bore into Carey Bell's face and broke the trance he was in.
Clu Bell cocked his head and stood staring at his older brother, carefully taking in the sadness in his features. He hid a smile, a bittersweet one, knowing full well why his brother was melancholic and unusually silent. He wasn't quite the airhead everyone thought him to be, and Clu knew more about people and observed them more than he ever let on.
"Just tired," Carey lied, faking a yawn. "Stayed up late last night. Hardly slept. You know how that goes."
"So, uh," Clu began. "Mom and Dad, they already said their last minute goodbyes to Fi. Molly and Jack are off buying some gifts at that expensive electronics store. I just talked to Fi, you know? Hey, why don't you give that gift you got her?" He asked, motioning to the meticulously wrapped burgundy-and-gold box Carey held in his right hand.
Carey looked down and nodded, wanting to see Fi again, but at the same time, dreading the inevitable.
As he strode towards Gate G, Carey smiled softly as he caught a glimpse of a vision in white. From the back, Fiona Phillips looked like Cousin Itt with her incredibly long brown hair and petite stature. But he knew that from the front.
"Hey, Carey!" Fi smiled widely as she saw one of her best, dearest and oldest friends in the world.
"Fi, Fi, Fo," Carey teased. "Whatcha been up to?"
"Not much, just waiting for them to start boarding people."
Carey's smile abruptly left his face as the reality that Fiona was really leaving hit him full force. He weakly handed her the gift he had picked out for ages; the one he spent almost half a day choosing.
"What's this?" Fi's brows knitted as she looked up at him.
"Oh, it's just something I saw one day that I thought you'd like," Carey said in what he hoped was in a nonchalant tone of voice.
As she opened the delicately wrapped gift, tears began forming in Fi's eyes as she saw what was inside. "Oh, my gosh! Carey! Oh, gosh! This is."
"You like it?" Carey asked shyly, once again running his fingers through his unruly blonde hair. "I wasn't sure if you'd like it. I mean, I'm a guy and I don't really know what girls like and."
"Carey, this is gorgeous! Thank you!" Fiona stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed Carey on the cheek. "Help me put it on!"
Carey blushed as he felt Fi's soft lips on his face, but tried to control the surging emotions in him as Fiona held her hair up so he could fasten the 18-carat gold lariat necklace with an angel pendant.
"This is so beautiful!" Fiona looked up at him again, eyes shining brightly, and Carey fought harder to control his impulse to wrap his arms around her tightly, sweet her off her feet and kiss her with all the passion and emotion he had kept pent up all those years. In that instant, he just knew he had to tell her. It was now or never. Do or die.
"Fi, I want to tell you something. I."
"Fi, look what Mom and I got you!"
An excited masculine voice broke through the intense connection Carey and Fiona briefly shared, and a striking man of chestnut hair and turquoise eyes came barrelling down to where his only sister stood.
"You are totally going to love this! It's the newest version of Palm Pilot! Mom bought us matching Palm Pilots, so we could communicate with each other even when we have no computer access right that moment! You can check e- mail, do instant messaging."
As Jack rattled on about the features of this indubitably expensive device, an attractive, slim woman with deep mahogany hair streaked with intense amber walked over and wrapped her arms around her precious children, Fi and Jack.
"I can't believe my babies are growing up and are leaving for college already," Molly said, her eyes slowly misting over. "It seemed like only yesterday when."
"M-o-o-m," Fi and Jack said in unison.
"Oh, you'll get used to it, Mol," Irene Bell said as she, Clu and her her husband joined the group. "You really will."
"In fact, you'll appreciate the peace of mind once the kiddies are gone," Ned quipped in his trademark scratchy voice, bearded face softening into a smile.
"Well, Carey's still around, so I dunno about peace of mind," Clu couldn't resist adding in his two cents' worth.
"Thanks a lot!" Carey laughed, bopping his younger brother on the head.
"Flight 349 headed to Seattle Washington is now boarding."
The seemingly impersonal, robotic voice rang though the loud speakers, interrupting the joking mood of the bunch.
"First class passengers may now board. Passengers with infants or needing special assistance may also board at this point."
"Group hug!" Molly said cheerfully, trying to muster up a somewhat genuine smile through the tears that threatened to fall.
Vertically-challenged Fiona Phillips suddenly found herself in the centre of a 7-person bear hug. "Um, guys? Can you let me breathe?" She said it half-jokingly, half-seriously.
"Now boarding passengers in row 20-25."
"I guess that's me," Fiona said, her eyes misting over.
Carey watched quietly as Molly and Jack once again engulfed her in bone- crushing hugs. "Hey, my turn again."
Fi looked up at him and smiled, "I'm going to COLLEGE, Care-Bear, can you believe it?" she asked softly.
Carey just smiled, not wanting her to see the pain he was in.
"Hey, what was it you wanted to say to me?"
"I.Fiona, I."
"Baby, it's time to go," Molly interrupted.
Fi picked up her bags and took a deep breath. "Okay, mum. Oh, Carey, just e- mail it to me later, okay?" With that, she started heading towards the boarding gate.
'Wait! Don't go!' Carey's mind screamed, wanting to run after her, wanting to hold her and beg her not to go.
But his mouth failed him, just like his body. He stood there motionless, silent as the darkness of night.
Fi turned around, and for a brief second, Carey's hopes plummeted sky-high, hoping against hope that she changed her mind about leaving. Maybe just maybe, she reciprocated what he felt in his heart for all those years, maybe she knew, maybe she.
"I love you, you guys!" Fi called out cheerfully before handing her boarding pass to the lady, not knowing that her words broke Carey's heart.
'I love you, Fi." Carey's mind screamed silently. Fiona Kimberly Phillips walked out of the tour.and out of his life.
And there wasn't anything he could do about it.
Not a damn thing.