Author's Note: So, this story takes place a few months after Toni's death. There are not a whole lot of similarities between this story and what actually happened on the show. I don't like the storylines from Season 6, so I just pretended that they didn't happen. Brandon, Kelly, Donna, Steve, and Valerie are in this story, but only as side players, they do not have a storyline of their own, save for their involvement in the Brenda/Dylan line. Please let me know what you think!
A Difficult Kind – Chapter 1 – Dylan shows up in London a few months after Toni's death to get a little comfort from an old friend
Brenda had just finished with rehearsal for the new play that she was cast in and was walking toward the exit of the theatre when she saw him.
Dylan was standing just inside the door to the theatre, holding his motorcycle helmet in one hand, and just staring at her.
Her heart broke the moment she saw his face. She quickly walked over to him and put her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.
'Hey, Bren,' he said softly. She didn't say anything to him, just held onto him until he eased up his grip around her waist. She pulls back from him and smiles.
'Let's go,' she says.
Dylan had called her a few weeks after Toni was murdered. He told her that he had left Beverly Hills and was traveling around and that he may need a place to hide out for a while. She offered her apartment as a home away from home to him, feeling the need to give him a place where he would feel safe. He had accepted her offer and told her that he would be arriving in London within the next month or two.
Dylan handed her his helmet and climbed onto his motorcycle. She joined him and directed him back to her apartment.
After getting settled and making some coffee, Brenda joins Dylan on her couch.
'Thanks again for letting me stay with you, Bren. You don't know how much I just needed to be away from all of that,' he says to her, sipping his coffee.
'It's not a problem, Dylan. You know that I will always be here for you. You can stay as long as you want. I may be out touring for a week here and there, and you are certainly welcome to join me on the road, but you can hang out here too,' she explains to him.
He produces a weak smile and says, 'Thanks.'
Brenda tells Dylan what she has been doing since not returning to Beverly Hills. He sits on her couch listening to her telling stories of the people that she's met and the shows that she's worked on. He realizes halfway through their conversation that Brenda had definitely grown up since the last time he actually saw her. She is confident and happy with the decision that she made a few years ago.
'Dylan, I just really wanted to say that I'm sorry for not coming back as I said I would. I never really got a chance to tell you that and explain what was happening at the time,' she says.
'Bren, I'm kind of glad you didn't come back at that point. I mean, you wouldn't have wanted to see me like that anyway,' he admits.
Brenda smiles at him and gets up to pick up her ringing phone. She talks to the person on the other end as he watches her.
She is laughing and flirting with whoever she is talking to and he immediately feels that jealous pang. He tries to shake it off and almost laughs at himself and the way he always seems to feel when she's around him.
'Sorry, that was a friend of mine,' she says.
'Bren, I'm not keeping you from anything, am I?' he asks her.
'No, of course not, Dylan. Did you want some more coffee?' she asks him and gets up to get herself a refill.
'No, I'm fine. Actually, I think I need to lie down for a while, I'm exhausted.'
'Oh, okay, well, let me show you to the smallest room on the planet,' she says with a smile.
He gets up and grabs his bag. He follows her down the short hallway and into one of the rooms.
She flips the light on and he sees a bed and a dresser, but not much else in this tiny room.
'It's perfect,' he says.
'Well, let me know if you need anything. The bathroom is right next door,' she says.
'Thanks, Bren,' he says. He puts his bag down and his arms around her.
'Have a good nap,' she says, breaking the embrace.
She walks back to her kitchen and begins to wash the dishes that are sitting in her sink. She finishes up in the kitchen and sits down at her table to read over the script for the new play she is in.
She wraps herself up in reading over the play several times and making notes about her character that she doesn't notice that a few hours have gone by and Dylan is up and standing in the living room watching her.
She looks up briefly and gasps.
'Oh, Dylan, you scared me,' she says putting her hand to her chest.
'Sorry, Bren, I didn't want to bother you. You look like you're really busy,' he says.
'Just making notes for my character,' she says and pauses. 'Are you hungry?'
Dylan looks down at the ground, thinking about her question. 'Actually, I think I am,' he says with an uncertain tone.
'Dylan, have you been eating?' she asks him with a serious tone. She looks him up and down and realizes that he's definitely lost some weight since the last time she saw him.
'A little bit here and there,' he says sheepishly.
Brenda gets up from the table, grabs her keys and her phone, puts her shoes on and stands at the front door.
'Let's go,' she says.
Dylan puts a pair of shoes on and follows her outside. They walk down the street to the corner and into a pub called The Dog & Duck.
'Brenda, my darling, I was wondering if I'd see you tonight!' the man behind the bar exclaims.
'Hi Aiden, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine from California. This is Dylan,' she says.
Aiden sticks his hand out to meet Dylan's outstretched hand. 'Nice to meet you, Dylan. Well, kids, have a seat and I'll bring over some menus,' he says.
Brenda walks over to one of the tables in the corner and sits down.
'Come in here a lot, Bren?' Dylan asks with a smile.
She returns his smile and says, 'It's just convenient.'
Aiden brings over a few menus and asks what they'd like to drink.
'The usual, I presume,' he says to Brenda. Brenda immediately gets a nervous look on her face that Dylan definitely notices.
'You can drink around me, Bren, it's not a big deal,' he says to her.
'It just feels weird to be doing that. I'll just have tea this time, Aiden,' she says.
'Me too,' Dylan says.
Dylan notices the strange look Aiden gives her as he walks away to get their drinks.
'Bren, it's really okay. I'm fine with it,' he says, trying to reassure her.
'I'm sorry, Dylan, I can't do it. Maybe one day, but not today,' she says.
Brenda's phone beeps loudly and starts to vibrate on the table. She picks it up and looks at the name. She could not cover the look on her face as she read the name on her phone fast enough for Dylan not to catch it.
'Who is it, Bren?' Dylan asks her with concern.
She silences the phone and shakes her head. Brenda looks over at Dylan.
'It was Brandon. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that he's calling me looking for you,' she says to him.
'Why would he be calling you looking for me? I didn't tell them where I was going or anything,' Dylan says.
'Dylan, listen, I have a confession to make,' Brenda starts. 'I haven't talked to Brandon in almost six months.'
Dylan displays a look of shock on his face and can't seem to shake it off. 'What do you mean you haven't spoken to Brandon in six months? That's ridiculous. He was giving us updates about what you were up to, so how is it possible that you haven't talked to him?'
'He was getting those from my parents,' Brenda admits. She doesn't really want to go into why she hadn't been talking to Brandon with Dylan right now.
'Look, I'll explain it all to you later, but that's how I know that this probably has something to do with you,' she says.
'It could be anything, Bren. I mean, one of your parents could be sick or something,' he says.
'I just talked to my mother yesterday. They are not sick and the only thing that has changed between now and then is you showing up. I'm not the smartest person on Earth, but I can put two and two together,' she says to him.
'Maybe you're right, but I've been gone for a few months now. Why don't you listen to the voicemail and see.'
Brenda looks at the phone blinking with a new message. She stares at the phone as if it had personally offended her. She reluctantly picks up the phone and dials her voicemail as Aiden brings their drinks over.
'I'll have the usual, Aiden,' Brenda says while holding the phone up to her ear.
While Dylan orders, she listens to her brother's message.
'Bren, it's Brandon. Look, as much as I'd like to keep this speak no evil thing going, we're all really worried around here and we need your help. You don't have to call me back if you don't want to, but please call Kelly or Donna or even Steve. You know I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't really important.'
'What did he say?' Dylan asks as she puts the phone back on the table.
'It was really kind of vague. He just said that they were all really worried and needed my help with something. I have no idea what the hell that means,' Brenda says.
'Let me listen,' he says. She puts her password in for her voicemail and hands the phone over to Dylan.
He listens to the message, furrowing his brow the entire time.
'You're right, that is really weird. He sounds so indifferent, I can't tell what the problem is,' Dylan says.
'The indifference comes from the fact that he had to call me, I'm sure. Whatever, I'll call someone later,' she says.
'I can tell that you really don't want to talk about what happened between you and Brandon, but you do realize that you will have to tell me sooner or later, right?' he says.
Brenda smiles and nods at him. They eat their dinner and Dylan asks Brenda how she likes living in London.
'It really is an amazing city to live in. I'm kind of glad you're here actually, because I think that there are parts of London that you are absolutely going to fall in love with that you might not have even known they were there,' she tells him.
'Really?' he asks skeptically.
'I swear, I'll be able to show you at least one or two places that you didn't even know existed,' she says confidently.
'I might have to take you up on that,' he says as their food shows up.
They finish their meal and walk back up to Brenda's apartment.
'Are you still tired?' Brenda asks him.
Dylan shakes his head. 'Why?'
'Well, one of my friends is a street performer and he is performing down in Covent Garden tonight. I was going walk down and see his show,' she says. 'Do you want to stay here or come with me?'
'I'll come with you,' he says quickly.
She nods at him and begins to walk down the street.