Everything To Lose
Chapter 1 - Time
A/N: Oh man. Oh man, oh man, oh man. I really didn't wanna post this yet, as I don't have any other chapters ready, but it's Valentine's Day, and I had to post something for you guys!! Hope you likey! In true fashion in this series, every chapter will be named after a song and there will be an excerpt for each one. This one is 'Time' by Chantal Kreviazuk. This is dedicated to my good friend, Christopher.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or the show they belong to. I only own the plot.
Summary: Cody and London have long been seperated, much to the dismay of their friends, Maddie and Zack. London is currently in a relationship with someone else. Can one vacation that they were all tricked into going on rekindle the love Cody and London once had? How will London's new beau come into play during this vacation?
!#$&()
"I've looked in the mirror
And the world's getting clearer
I'll take what you give me
Please know that I'm learning
So wait for me this time"
"Skyler Martin! Put that down right now!" London Tipton exclaimed to her seven-year-old daughter, who had just come downstairs holding a ball of clay. The young raven haired girl dropped the blue ball at once, looking confused.
"Someone's uptight," Skyler replied, crossing her arms. London chuckled.
"I know. I'm sorry honey, it's just that Jeff will be coming over soon for dinner, and I want the house to be really clean. Can you please keep your toys in your room for mommy?" London asked, stirring the contents of a pan on the stove.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. When will I see daddy again?" Skyler asked, sitting on the bottom step. London cringed at the word 'daddy', but forced a smile to her daughter.
"You'll see him when he gets back from Milan tomorrow," London sighed, turning back to what she was cooking to hide the pained expression on her face.
"Why did he leave us?" Skyler asked in a small voice, after hesitating. London turned to her daughter quickly and bit her lip before responding.
"Sweetie, he didn't leave you. He's always around when you need him," she answered, wearing a heartfelt look on her face. Skyler nodded instead of vocally prodding, for she knew her mother was in no mood to talk about whatever happened between them. But just then, Skyler had a thought.
"You never say you're divorced. Jared said his parents got a divorce," she wondered aloud, causing London to tilt her head to the side, wondering if she should go there or not. She decided there was no use in lying.
"Your daddy and I never got an official divorce. Technically, we're still married, just separated," she replied,making her way over to her daughter and sitting down beside her on the bottom step.
"So, you could still get back together if you wanted?" Skyler asked excitedly, staring up at her mother with wild eyes. London smiled sympathetically.
"I don't think that's gonna happen, baby," she said sadly, ruffling Skyler's hair. The gesture reminded her of Cody, and the way she used to do that to him. She couldn't even look at Skyler without thinking about him.
"So, when's the love of your life getting here?" Skyler asked boredly, as she normally did. It was no secret that she didn't exactly like Jeff.
"The only love of my life around here is you. And Jeff should be here any minute. Dinner's almost ready, so head upstairs and wash up," London instructed, to which Skyler complied.
Just as Skyler disappeared at the top of the stairs, London heard a knock at the door. She checked her appearance in the hall mirror crucially, feeling she could never measure up to the kind of women Jeff was used to. She didn't feel equal to him, as she once did with Cody. And there was that name again.
London groaned, annoyed with herself, and opened the door with a smile. On the other side, a man with hair as dark as London's and dark eyes to match stood, dressed in a brown leather jacket and dark pants. He greeted London with a kiss to the cheek, and trudged inside, looking around.
"Where's little one?" He asked, referring to the miniature version of London.
"Oh, she's upstairs. She should be down any minute, though," London answered, closing the door behind him.
As if on cue, Skyler bounced downstairs seconds later, seating herself instantly at the table to avoid greeting Jeff. Her brown hair hid her face as she leaned forward in her chair so Jeff could not see her eyes. For some reason, she didn't like him looking in her eyes.
"Hey there, Skye," Jeff said cheerfully, sitting down across from her.
"Hi," she simply said, forcing a small smile. She didn't want him calling her that. Only her mommy and daddy could call her that. Skyler looked hopefully up at London.
"Is dinner ready yet, mommy?" She asked, placing her hands in parallel positions on the table in front of her.
"Yep, it should be about done. You wanna help me bring everything in here?" London asked her daughter.
"Yeah!" Skyler answered excitedly, happy for any reason to get away from Jeff.
Minutes later, the two had carried in a large spaghetti dinner, complete with garlic rolls and water.
"Wow, this looks fantastic," Jeff stated, looking at London.
"Thank you," she replied with a smile. Skyler simply looked disgusted, and began fixing her plate rather than watch the two foolish adults.
Skyler began eating immediately, not bothering to wait for her mother or Jeff, as she wanted to get this uncomfortable dinner over with as soon as possible.
Just as London sat down, the phone began to ring. She sighed and got back up, unable to even start eating.
"Be back in a sec," she said. Skyler watched her mother go with wide eyes, knowing she'd be left alone with Jeff. She elected not to look at him.
"Why don't you run upstairs, and give your mother and I a bit of alone time?" Jeff said suddenly, receiving an confused look from the nervous child.
Skyler thought for a minute, and realized it was a way out.
"Okay, I guess..." Skyler trailed off, still slightly confused. She hopped up out of her chair and floated upstairs, elated that she'd gotten out of it that quickly.
Her mother was equally elated for different reasons. When she picked up the ringing phone, she got a pleasant surprise.
"Maddie?!" She squealed, before sturggling to contain herself. She hadn't heard from her good friend Maddie Fitzpatrick-Martin in two months.
"Hey, London! What's up?" The voice on the other line greeted.
"Not a lot, just having dinner with Jeff and Skye...you?" London replied, happily leaning against the wall next to the phone.
"Oh, not much. Just trying to get the grass stains out of Tyler's soccer uniform. But anyway, to the reason I was calling. Zack, Ty and I were planning a holiday trip to Aspen, Colorado to a ski resort there. We were planning to stay there until New Year's and just hang out, go skiing, ice-skating and do all sorts of fun things. We would absolutely love if you guys could join us. Please come?" Maddie explained, a sound of desperation in her voice.
London sighed.
"Geez, Mads, I don't know about that. New Year's is two weeks away, and you know Skye doesn't do well sleeping away from home," London replied, unsure of the plan.
"I'm sure she'll be fine with you there! Come on girl, we haven't done anything like this in so long!" Maddie responded.
London bit her lip and smiled slightly.
"Alright, I'll go. But under one condition: Jeff has to come, too," London replied, noting that Maddie's excitement had switched to disappointment.
"Oh, sure. I suppose he could come, too. Well, I'll fly up with you guys to show you where it is, and Zack'll meet us up there with Ty. He has some stuff to do before we leave. We'll go on Friday," Maddie answered, her voice a bit lower now.
London glanced at the calender, seeing that it was Wednesday, learning the big trip would be in two days.
"Got it. See you on Friday," London concluded, clicking her tongue from behind her teeth.
"Okay. Give Skyler my love!" Maddie instructed, before hanging up.
London hung up as well, clenching her teeth in a thoughtful manner. Just why did Maddie act so disappointed when London suggested Jeff come? Was there an ulterior motive to the vacation? London knew she wouldn't be able to shake the thought. She knew it'd be there in her mind for a while, but she tried her best to ignore it.
She headed back into the dining room, and found Jeff there.
"Hey. That was my friend Maddie! She invited the three of us to Aspen on a family vacation this weekend," London told him, sitting down in her chair.
"That sounds great," Jeff replied, having not touched his food since London left the table.
London smiled, before looking to her left and realizing Skyler was no longer down there.
"I think she got a little upset that I was here, and she stormed off upstairs," He lied, chuckling. London's mouth dropped open, she glared in the direction of the staircase. She lifted herself from the chair with ease.
"I'll set her straight," London said angrily, but Jeff caught her arm softly and pulled her onto his lap.
"Hon, just let her cool down. I'm sure she just wants to see her dad," he said softly, holding onto London's hand protectively.
"Well, that gives her no right to be so rude. I didn't raise her that way," London sighed, biting her lip as she often did when contemplating.
"Well, it must be hard on her. New guy, new situation. It'll take some getting used to. She just has to get her frustrations out, and it'll get better," Jeff clarified, convincingly. London still couldn't tell that he was lying right to her face. Instead, she smiled at him warmly.
"You are so great," she cooed, before planting a softly kiss on Jeff's lips. Hopefully, she'd be able to get through the following day when Cody came back to Boston as well as she'd gotten through this awkward dinner.
A/N: Well, that was the first chapter. Did you guys like it? I hope so! It almost made me sick to write London with another guy, because I so loyally ship Lody. LOL. But yeah, the next chapter should be interesting. Cody comes back from Italy and spends the day with Skyler and London! Uh oh...anyways, love ya! Ciao!
xoxo Trish