Hey all! So this is my first shot at writing fanfiction. I had ideas running around in my head for a while and I thought I'd finally start to write it all down. I'm living in the world in denial, so in my mind I still feel that Lexi is only gone temporarily to film her movie and will return as Kristina sometime in late winter/early spring. Even though I know it's a long shot, and it looks like it won't ever happen, this fic is what I envision if she does return and I hope you'll enjoy it!
Summary: Kristina Corinthos-Davis left Port Charles for New Haven six months ago. How is Kristina adjusting to life at Yale University without the man who gave her a friendship bracelet as a going away present? Meanwhile, Ethan Lovett is still in Port Charles but has finally found the love he had always longed for. Is he finally content, or is he missing his good friend whom he helped push away?
The first few chapters will focus on how Ethan and Kristina are living without the other in their respective orbits. Look for a shift in story in later chapters.
Disclaimer: All characters and past story lines are courtesy of General Hospital. I own nothing.
Chapter 1
Ethan was standing outside of Kelly's entrance door, suddenly feeling hesitant reaching for the door's handle. He peeked inside and did a quick search and spotted Molly. Ethan released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in and smirked to himself. It was just Molly, but a second before he had a distinct feeling that Kristina may have been back in town. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking. He couldn't explain it, but the fleeting feeling he had that maybe, just maybe she was home sent shivers down his spine—in a good way. Ethan may not have wanted to admit it in the past but he got along well with Kristina, well enough that he felt the burden of her absence, definitely missing having her around. She was his go-to person whenever he needed to release stress from issues he had that he needed to vent about. She was there. But since her departure to Yale six months ago they've had very little contact, and even though he knew it was for the best for the both of them, a little part of him sorely ached for their friendship to rekindle. Ethan was startled out of his trance when he suddenly felt a hand softly grab his forearm.
"Ethan, are you going to come inside or not," spoke the youngest Davis clan member. Ethan looked at her dumbfounded for a few seconds at Molly's cockeyed expression before she spoke again.
"You've been standing out here for the past five minutes," Molly informed amused. Ethan wanted to say something but couldn't seem to find his voice. Instead, he nodded his head and grinned before proceeding to follow Molly inside of the diner.
Molly took her seat at the counter, which occupied all of her textbooks and notepads, then removed her backpack from the stool adjacent so Ethan could vacate it. Ethan thanked Molly and joined her, then scanned the piles of homework she had lying around and grinned even wider. "You know, seeing you do your homework here reminds me of when your sister used to do the same." His eyes went distant for a split second before snapping out of it and diverting his attention back to the young girl next to him. "You remind me a lot of her, Molly." Ethan smiled at the now-fourteen year old who smiled in return at the comment.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Molly said appreciatively. "Kristina's very intelligent, hence why she's at Yale to begin with." Her smile wavered at this, and Ethan didn't fail to take notice.
"You don't seem to be too happy about that—her being away at Yale," Ethan acknowledged. He saw Molly fidget and picking at her nail polish, as if she was contemplating on how to respond. Instead, she just gave a shrug of her shoulders and opted to change subjects.
"So Ethan how's your new lady love?" Ethan was startled by the change in conversation and wanted to revert back to what, or rather who they were talking about. He wondered if he wanted to change back because Molly avoided his question about Kristina, or because he wanted to avoid talking about his girlfriend, Tricia. Ethan briefly mulled that over to himself before deciding to push the latter thought to the back of his mind.
"Molly, you didn't answer my question," Ethan affirmed.
"Neither did you," Molly spat back. Ethan was slightly appalled by her sudden attitude but watched as her face fell flat almost immediately, seeming to have regretted it. She looked back up at Ethan apologetically before reaching for her planner, pulling out a sealed, vanilla-colored envelope that was stuffed inside it. She held it in her shaky right hand before handing it to Ethan. Ethan took the envelope and read the address on the front of it; it was to be mailed to Kristina's dormitory.
"How come you haven't sent it yet?" Ethan asked curiously, with a hint of concern in his voice. Molly gazed at the packaged letter in Ethan's hand and shook her head furiously.
"Because she hasn't sent me one letter yet when she promised she would" Molly said, anger laced in her tone that didn't go unnoticed by Ethan. "Why should I write her one, right?" She shook her head disapprovingly at herself for writing one anyway.
"I mean, she can stay in contact with you but not her own sister? No offense, Ethan."
Ethan looked at her in bewilderment, shaking his head and raising his hands in defense at her presumed assumption. "No, Molly. I mean, no offense taken but she hasn't kept in touch with me either." Ethan was truly concerned now and his thoughts began to move in a fast pace, mostly wondering if Kristina was in some sort of trouble or hurt in any way. It wasn't like her to play silent Bob with him and her family. Ethan reached for his phone and began scrolling through his contacts until he reached the Ks. He gazed up at Molly who was now staring at him with her forehead creased in befuddlement.
"What are you doing?" Molly asked genuinely confused.
"What does it look like? I'm going to call Kristina and see what's wrong." Ethan was about to press the call button when he felt Molly's tiny hand reach his to stop him.
"Don't do that. I didn't mean to sound like she hasn't talked to me at all since she left. I just meant that she hasn't made the effort in trying to talk to me as often as she did when she was here," Molly explained. She had a frown on her face and tears sprung to her eyes.
Realizing that Molly was under the impression that Kristina was going to talk to her as often as she did when she lived here, Ethan sighed sympathetically and grabbed her hand that was clutching his, squeezing it reassuringly. "Molly, your sister is very busy with school work I bet. Don't take it personally, sweetie. I'm sure she's not doing it intentionally."
Molly swiped at a stray tear from her face and managed to crack a small smile. "I guess I understand. High school homework is already keeping me tied up," she pointed to the books still spread out on the counter. "I can't imagine how crazy college homework can be, especially if it's an Ivy League school like Yale!" Ethan and Molly both chuckled at this.
Ethan released Molly's hand and retrieved the envelope that lay in front of him, handing it back to Molly. "I honestly think she'll be thrilled to receive a letter from you. Maybe then she'll try to make more of an effort in finding time to write back."
Molly graciously took the envelope and thanked Ethan before stuffing it back into her planner. She gathered up her books and began to put them into her back pack, seemingly ready to leave. She looked back down at her half-eaten pie in guilt, as she always hated to leave food to waste.
"I really want to finish that, and I should, but I'm really anxious to mail this," she said, looking back at the planner clutched tight in her fingertips.
Ethan chuckled in amusement and waved his hand to send her off. "It's okay, I'll finish it for you…if you'll let me," he playfully pleaded with his eyes. Molly laughed and nodded her head in approval.
"Go ahead, have at it. Tell Tricia I said hello," and with that she went on her merry way. Ethan dragged the plate of pie in front of him about to dig in when he recalled a memory of Kristina and him eating pie off the same plate in this very same spot. She was preoccupied with her own family issues at the time regarding her newly-discovered step brother, but she selflessly gave her ear to listen to his own personal problems with Luke instead. Ethan blinked out of his trip down memory lane and placed his fork down, reaching for his phone to see Kristina's contact number still highlighted from a few minutes ago. He stared at it, visualizing her face for a minute as he contemplated dialing it…just to hear her voice. His thumb lingered over the call button when he heard a voice call him from behind.
"Hi handsome," Ethan heard her say and felt a kiss softly press behind his ear. He numbly dropped his phone in front of him and turned to see the face that matched with the voice; he soon realized it wasn't the voice of the girl he was thinking about just seconds before.
"Hi Tri-Tricia," Ethan stammered. He tried to recover with a subtle smile played across his features. "I didn't think you were meeting me until later."
The tall blonde stared quizzically at him before softening her features. "Honey, I told you I was getting out of work earlier today. Did you forget?" Her light blue eyes gazed directly into his brown orbs and he couldn't help but feel guilty for thinking of someone else—someone who he couldn't help but miss, but it's not like it was over an old flame. It was just Kristina, his friend, who he thought as nothing more than a friend—his too young of a friend.
"I'm sorry luv, I guess I did," he said with a light apologetic smile. Ethan quickly eyed his new girlfriend, who was wearing a form-fitting business suit that boded well with her curvaceous body, and had her blonde wavy locks hanging down over her shoulders. She was beautiful, and Ethan couldn't help but smile wider before placing a kiss to her soft pink lips.
"Hey, are you going to finish that?" Tricia asked, eyeing down the pie before looking back up at him with hopeful eyes, biting on her lower lip. Ethan looked at her hesitantly, and then hopped off the stool to walk around behind the counter to fetch a fork for her.
"Here," he handed the utensil to the giddy blonde. "We'll finish it together." He took his seat again and watched Tricia as she helped herself to the pie. It was almost like de ja vu, only it wasn't the petite, spitfire brunette he came to grow affection for across from him. Ethan muddled over the passing memory and dug into his half of the pie, visibly wincing at the thought of him tainting a moment only he and Kristina had shared together. But unlike the laughter and chatter he had with Kristina, Ethan and Tricia ate in silence.
Kristina stared at the blank document displayed on her computer screen; other than her first and last name, she had written nothing and found herself welling up in tears. She had this five page paper due at midnight and the time was already striking close to eight o'clock at night. There was no way she was going to get this done on time and that realization provoked her tears to come down more willfully. Kristina wheeled her chair away from her desk, hopping off it to retrieve a tissue from the bathroom. She flicked the light switch on, the light illuminating the tiny bathroom in spurts before finally coming on completely. Waltzing over to the sink she stared at herself in the mirror, wiping away her tracks of tears with a tissue, the action smearing her eyeliner. She didn't care, though; she had no plans to leave her dorm that night. Her procrastination already led her to miss a paper for this one class, and now she was on the verge of missing yet another.
Kristina made her way back into the room she shared with her roommate Alice, only she wasn't there for the night. Alice opted to skip out on the same paper Kristina has due at midnight to crash a sorority party with their friends instead. This was the first time Kristina decided against partying; after receiving her last exam grade she was in no need of failing another. But she wasn't doing herself any favors by staring at an empty word document, and that realization of failing again hit her like a ton of bricks. All she kept thinking about was the disappointment her mother and father will feel when they hear of her first-semester report. This made Kristina want to lie, reassure them that she's doing very well and passing all her courses with the highest marks in all her classes. But she knew that wasn't the way to go. With a resigned sigh she fell back on her chair, once again staring idly at her computer screen. Kristina ran her fingers through her hair in frustration before catching a glint of her bracelet in her eye.
Six months to this day, Kristina has not removed the blue crafted bracelet from her wrist. She extended her wrist out in front of her, brushing her fingers lightly over the friendly gift Ethan gave her as a going away present. She smiled fadedly at the memento and closed her eyes in content. Words couldn't express how much Kristina missed her Aussie friend, from his accent to his boyish smile to his wonderfully, chiseled body. She blushed at the last thought, realizing that no matter how much time passes she will never get over the attraction she has always had for him. Then just like that, her sweet, innocent thoughts of him turned into painful reminders she wished she could brush away just as easily as she thought of them. Kristina jetted her eyes open and reached for her phone; she thought if she called him then maybe those memories will finally disappear. But she knew deep down they probably never will.
Kristina had already scrolled through her contact list to the Es before she heard a knock at her door. She stared back down at her phone, Ethan's name and number highlighted ready to be dialed until she heard another knock at the door. Could it be fate telling her not to call? Kristina amused herself at the thought before walking over to the door. She looked through the key hole, a paranoid habit she took with her from back home, and flashed a smile at the boy awaiting to be welcomed in. Kristina opened the door to reveal her boyfriend Kyle Wallace standing with a bouquet of red roses.
"Thought I'd come to cheer you up a bit," Kyle grinned sheepishly. Kristina grabbed the flowers from his hands and thanked him with a sweet, chaste kiss on his lips. She pulled away and was headed to find a vase, unbeknownst to her that Kyle was left at the doorstep with his lips still puckered up.
"That's it? I thought I'd get more of a greeting than that, Krissy," Kyle teased before taking the couple strides needed to reach his girlfriend, pulling her into his arms lovingly and chuckling at her stunned face. Kristina stared at him with her mouth agape, her arms at her side not returning the embrace.
"What's wrong, babe?"
"You never called me Krissy before is all," Kristina told him, pulling away from his embrace to look him in the eyes inquisitively. She wondered why she was surprised, it's not like it's a hard nick name to come up with. But only a few people in her life had ever called her that, and one of those people was Ethan Lovett. She loved when Ethan would call her Krissy because outside of her brother and sister no one would call her that, and it was nice hearing it from an Australian accent such as Ethan's. She noticed Kyle studying her uneasiness on the nickname and reached forward to regain a hold of her hand.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was a problem. I'll just call you Kristina. No big deal, babe," Kyle said, stroking her hand with his thumb all the while.
Kristina stared down at the comforting move and began to shift her hand away. She remembered Ethan doing this same action to her several times before, and she didn't want to remember. She cursed at herself for acting this way in front of her boyfriend—all fidgety and uneasy whenever something he does reminds her of Ethan. Kristina couldn't tell him about her life back at Port Charles, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to. As amicable as it was leaving Port Charles for Yale, Kristina also agreed to leave for New Haven to get away from a world that she started to feel lost in.
Being at the hospital from her bone fragment surgery, she came to a conclusion that she needed to leave because it came to a point where Port Charles only held pain and heartache for her—pain and heartache she just couldn't bear taking anymore. She missed her siblings and her parents…and Ethan, sure, but even they were telling her to move on and to start living a better life. And so here she was, in front of her four-month old boyfriend Kyle in her dorm at Yale University; her hand still entrapped in his as his thumb idly smoothed circles on it in a calming gesture. She let her eyes glaze over from their hands to his face. His dark brown eyes were captivating as he let them fall on her admiringly. He had his usually disheveled sandy blonde hair combed in gel spikes and was wearing khakis and a polo shirt. Kyle was tall, blonde, and very good looking, Kristina couldn't deny that, but he wasn't as captivating as Ethan. Kristina found herself subconsciously looking down at his pants, hoping to see a chain wallet hanging out from its side pocket until Kyle's deep voice broke her from her reverie.
"You're quiet tonight, Kristina. Anything wrong," Kyle asked concerned.
Kristina shook her head and swiped at a tear she hadn't realized she let escaped. She took Kyle by the hand and led him over to her desk, where her laptop was still propped open with a blank canvas on its screen.
"I have this massive paper due at midnight and look how far I've gotten," Kristina pointed to the lack of work displayed, hearing Kyle chuckle lowly behind her.
"Babe, why are you even bothering? We had a date tonight to celebrate our fourth month together."
Kristina's eyes bugged out at this and cupped her hands to her mouth; she had completely forgotten about it. Her mind was on Ethan, once again, and she hated herself for still clinging to the man she deemed her hero once upon a time ago. Being miles apart hadn't cut the undeniable connection she felt towards Ethan, and there's times she wonders if he ever thought about her since she left Port Charles—if he even misses her.
"Oh my god, honey, I'm so, so sorry," Kristina apologized, looking down at the flowers from Kyle and sighed. "Four months. I hadn't even realized today was the 15th. Finals have gotten me tied up. I really should stay in to finish." Kyle didn't look too happy at this.
"Yea, like your really getting work done," Kyle replied sarcastically, pointing at the blank screen before them.
Kristina looked at him skeptically. "Well fine. Then I guess you better leave so I can start," she said bitterly. She slammed the bouquet of roses angrily to Kyle's chest and was all ready to motion him to the door when Kyle gently took her by the hand once again to calm her.
"I'm sorry. I just was really looking forward to our night and I was being selfish. Finals are definitely more important. We have the whole summer to ourselves anyways."
Kyle smiled at Kristina warmly before releasing her hand, reaching for his pant pocket and pulling out a tiny box with a red ribbon wrapped around it.
"This is for you, Happy Anniversary."
Kristina accepted the gift, but felt guilty for not getting Kyle anything. "Um, I really wish I had something for you but—"
"It's okay, babe. Having you is a gift in itself." Kristina laughed at this, calling Kyle cheesy but that she loves him anyways. Kristina opened the box, revealing a simple yet beautiful silver bracelet with a heart shaped pendant.
"Here, take that bracelet off you so I can put this one on," Kyle ordered, gesturing at the blue peeping out of Kristina's right sleeve. This prompted Kristina to reach for the blue bracelet on her wrist defensively, protecting it by pulling it close to her chest.
"No!" Kristina balked.
"Kristina, you've worn that thing ever since I've met you. Don't you think it's time to take it off? I mean, it's just a silly piece of string, right? Now come on, let me put this on you, please."
Kristina just stared at him wide eyed. She wanted to tell him why she couldn't take it off—or rather why she didn't want to take it off. She wanted to tell him right then and there that it was a friendship bracelet given to her by her best friend, her hero…the love of her life. She wanted to say everything she could to keep him from taking the bracelet off her himself. But she didn't. She just watched motionless, allowing Kyle to slip the 'silly piece of string' off her wrist to clasp on his anniversary gift to her in its place.
"See, it looks beautiful, babe. All that resistance for no reason," Kyle chuckled, his eyes gleaming. Kristina gave a small smile in return and looked at the dangling heart pendant hanging from the bracelet. It shimmered and glistened in the light; Kyle wasn't lying, it truly was beautiful. She stole a quick glance over at Ethan's discarded bracelet now lying carelessly on her bed, then took a double take at the one Kyle just gave her. Two years and counting of friendship versus a four month relationship; weighing these two options shouldn't be a no brainer in which is more significant. Then she thought of the last time she saw Ethan. He advised her to take a chance with a 'bloke' she would most likely meet and like at Yale. She promised him she would; she will and she is.
With that last thought, Kristina eyed Kyle devilishly and clutched the bottom hem of his shirt, moving it slightly upwards, revealing a sliver of his skin. "My paper can wait."