Disclaimer: Do not own any of the characters or Higher Ground, although i wish i owned Scott!
And i know it's been like what, 8 years? but i jsut found higher ground [on and and got addicted, so please, if you love it like i do, R&R!
The rain pattered on the window loudly, drowning out the tv. He sat up and shut it off lazily, not moving from his couch. He thought years ago, when it had all been so hard and somehow, he had gotten over it, hadn't he? The problems hadn't vanished but he had worked on it. It was late at night and she was in his thoughts yet again, he thought to call, but knew he didn't have her number, he wished for a fraction of a second that he had stayed, forgotten everything, but then, where would be now? Certainly not here. He looked around his messy apartment and a large sigh left his lips. He had to snap out of this, it wasn't the worst day, he'd had so much worse and it wasn't nearly the best, but somehow, after all the years, he still missed her. Suddenly having an idea, he rose up from his couch, for what seemed to be the first time in years and walked around the room, pulling his jersey over his head and throwing it lazily into the laundry basket. As he walked to his bedroom, he picked up things, mostly clothes, off the living room floor and stored them away in their appropriate places.
Upon reaching his bedroom, he seemed to have forgotten what he came for and sighed, knowing that he should call his father, although they hadn't seen each other since his graduation. His mind flashed back to the memory.
"You'll have fun"
"I know" he replied lazily.
"Well, this is it, you've done great, you really have"
"I know" he replied again and without even saying more than "goodbye" they had parted roads forever, sure they had called each other and spoken, but nothing more. It seemed a distant memory.
He shook the memory out of his head and picked up his phone, listening to the dial tone, waiting for nothing but not able to call. He placed the phone back onto it's receiver and jumped as the phone rang, is if cued. He picked it up and tried to answer.
"Hello?"
"Hey Scott, how's the knee?" He recognized his coach's voice right away.
"think you can play this Friday?" He counted in his head and suddenly, the darkness looming over him vanished and he could hear the crowds, see the lights smiling down on him.
"Yes sir, I'll be at practice tomorrow" and with that the coach thanked him and the conversation ended. He crawled back to his couch and slumped on it, listening to the rain and thinking about the place he wished he had never left.
It was in the few moments that they got alone together, the kids were about the campus, doing what they usually do, socializing, talking, learning, but these moments were for them. She was standing with her back to him, fixing herself a coffee, he jumped up, ready to pitch his idea to her.
"A what?" Sophie asked, freezing before putting her sugar into her coffee.
"A reunion!" Peter called ecstatically as he wrapped his arms around her. She nudged him away so that she had room to stir her coffee.
"I don't know, Peter, It'll be hard to get in touch with everyone and I think that -"
"Hank says he can find a way for Kat to get down, they still keep in touch you know and I know we can find some people, it'll be great" he edged her on.
"It does sound tempting, but who do you think will come?" she asked
"Scott, Shelby, Ezra, Juliet, Daisy….well, I could go on, Please Soph?" he got down on his knees and pretended to beg.
"Fine!" she shouted out, laughing. He stood up, pecked her on the cheek and ran to call everyone he knew. She drank her coffee, watching him run off and laughing, gazing at the ring on her finger, a smile spreading across her face.
The Jazz music played softly in the background as both girls dove into their reading. Alyssa hadn't finished that Psychology essay and her roommate was just reading, waiting until she had to go meet him at the café. The phone rang and without moving her eyes from her computer and the line that she had just written, Alyssa picked up the phone. She asked a hello and then passed it back over her head, not turning to her roommate.
"Phone call for you" Alyssa shouted out but her roommate didn't move.
"who is it" she asked, not moving her eyes from her book.
"Some Horizon thing" Alyssa said, still holding out the phone to her.
"um, alright" Juliet replied sceptically, getting up from her bed and taking the phone.
"hello?" She asked, sounding happy, and why shouldn't she be?
"Juliet, Hey, Peter here, I hope you remember, just calling to let you know that 2 weeks from now, we are planning a Horizon Reunion, we'd love if you could come!" A familiar voice proposed.
"Oh, ok, I'll see" She replied, already making up her mind to go.
She had strolled down the street to the café, since they had planned to meet that night anyway, it wasn't hard when he only lived 20 minutes away, at a neighbouring college, she remembered that she had called him at midnight one day and he had rushed over, to see if she was ok, she knew she loved him, but she just couldn't take the step, she wasn't ready to, although she knew he was. They were close enough to be boyfriend and girlfriend, but they had never had an official date. She tapped her fingers on the table as her food arrived and waited for him. He entered and saw her, at their table, immediately and he came over and she pitched the idea to go.
"Nah, I dunno Jules!" He replied
"Come on, Auggie!" She begged, holding his hand over the table in the café.
"fine, it'll be fun" he replied and she smiled. "Now eat your fries" She nodded, diving into the fish and chips.
He was gazing out at the window, waiting for the phone to ring, instead of thinking to call him, he had missed it, but he had sent the gift, he still felt the guilt though. He rose up to make himself a coffee and the phone rang, hoping it was him, he answered without thinking, knowing in his heart that it was not possibly him.
"Scott?" he asked
"No, sorry, this is Peter Scarborough from Horizon, how are you Mr. Barringer?"
"Oh, I'm alright, please call me Martin" he answered, his son acting as a paper weight.
"alright, Martin, I was wondering if I could speak with Scott" Peter requested and Martin felt it burn. Even as Peter asked, he realized that Mr. Barringer had mistaken him for Scott.
"He doesn't live with me, but I can pass on his number"
"Yes, please, that's fantastic" Peter answered
And he recalled the familiar number to him, after moments of pleasantries, the conversation ended and he returned to his frustrating thoughts of calling his son.
Nothing moved near the 7/11 on the corner of the road and the girl inside was not moving either. Motionless, she was trying not to think of him, trying not to cry, but she knew she wouldn't, she flipped through the fashion magazine and looked at the dresses, thinking back to the 'MORP' tears tried to reach her eyes but she shoved them away, repressing her depression into anger. She was exhausted and it showed on her face, she had spent all day studying for her upcoming midterms. She sighed, rubbing her cold hands together and trying to gather heat, wrapping her fleece around her. She thought back to him again and she shook him out, trying not to think of the only boy that had ever really loved her, but had he? She knew she loved him, but they had never said it and she wished she had. Her mind flashed back to the last time they spoke together.
"Shell, come on, it'll be fun!"
"Scott, you know I can't, it's just not possible, I don't have a way, I don't have the money"
"I'll come pick you up, I'll drive you here and back, please, Shell?"
"It's not possible, I would feel so awkward coming to your high school just for your prom and it-" he cut her off angrily.
"Please, Shell, why not?"
"I just can't do it Scott, I can't bear to see you for one night and know I'll never see you again, we'll have to say goodbye, we're going to the opposite coasts for college, it just doesn't work and I know you can say that you will, but you don't want to change colleges, so please Scott, stop edging me on, I just can't do it, I can't stand to say goodbye to you again"
"Alright, call me when you change your mind" he replied and hung up.
They hadn't spoken since, it had been years…maybe too many. She sighed again and her cell phone rang on her side, she picked it up.
"Ya?" the sorrow changed to anger immediately and her tone showed it, whoever it was, was about to get scared away. She hated it, she hated being away from him and she hated that she had never called, they had lost touch, lost phone numbers and lost all hope of ever being in love properly.
"Shelby, It's Peter from Horizon and I just want to let you know that we are having a reunion in 2 weeks time up here, we really hope you can come"
"Is Scott coming?" she asked suddenly, before she could stop herself and then she covered it up "don't tell him I asked"
"I don't know yet, I haven't had a chance to speak with him yet" Peter recalled "and I wont tell him, don't worry, I hope to see you there"
"I'll be there" she replied, trying to smile rather than cry "It's been a while since I've seen my sister"
The field was green and the bright blue sun shone down on them as they ran about the field. He panted hard, resting his arms on his knees, sighing.
"Great Practice!" A few yelled, patting him on the back before retreating to the change rooms and he smiled, he heard his cellphone ring and rushed over to answer it and as he did, wiped his face with a cloth and took a long drink of his water.
"Ya? Scott here" He called, wondering who it was.
"Scott, it's me, your dad, I just wanted to apologize for not calling you on your birthday, it was a business trip, look for your gift, it's coming in the mail, also, I received a call from Peter from Horizon, just to let you know"
Ya, thanks dad" Scott replied, in neutral ground for once. He was happy today. Finally happy, still thinking about her, but happy.
"Did he say what about?" Scott asked and his father replied
"No, but I passed along your cell number, he might call in the next few days" Scott nodded, his happiness faded and horrific, untrue thoughts of Shelby dying or being hurt entered his mind, he stifled a sob.
"Bye" and with that, he hung up, tears starting to fall from his eyes. He blinked them away and staring again, his rounds, running around the track, picking up speed as the tears blinded him.
"I love you" He whispered out as the wind slashed his face. As he ran around the track, tears dazing his path, he thought of all their moments and came crashing back to reality when he heard his phone go off, a few paces from the bench. He dove into his back and finally recovered the small Nokia, answering an unidentified number.
"Scott, it's Peter from-" but he cut across, not letting him finish.
"Is she alright? Is she alive?" He gasped and his heart seemed to stop as he waited for the reply.
"Shelby?" Peter asked and answered quickly. "Yes, she's fine, why, have you heard something?" Peter asked, starting to get worried and finally, Scott breathed again.
"No, I didn't, I haven't," he heaved a deep breath as the rain started to slash against him. "Heard from her, my father said you called and I guess I got worried."
"Oh" Peter thought for a moment before replying "She's fine, I was calling to let you know that we are having a Horizon reunion in 2 weeks and we really hope you can come," and Peter quickly added "she said she'd be there"
"Did she ask about me?" Scott asked, getting wet from the increasing strength of the rain.
Peter paused a moment and wondered how to answer, not wanting to lie to Scott or break his promise to Shelby.
"She mentioned you" He replied and quickly changed the topic back "so, we'll see you there?"
"Ya" Scott replied, immediately "I'll fly down" His tears stopped and he smiled and began to run a few more laps of the field, getting soaking wet but not caring at all.
He was wearing pants and an undershirt, flicking through the different dress shirts as she sat by the mirror, adjusting her hair and make up. They had to attend this party, although neither wanted to go. "Should I wear the green?" he called over his shoulder to her.
"no" she replied, without even looking up.
"well, I can't decide!" he cried out, flicking through the suits again. "but at least one of us looks good" he said, coming and sitting on the bed, by her dresser. She came over, still hooking a large earring into her left ear.
"Oh, thanks!" she replied, giving him a quick kiss. "No, go put on the blue one, it suits you"
"Alright" he replied, getting up and going to the closet, ready to pick up the faded blue shirt.
"Oh and Ezra?" she asked, still sitting on the bed, he turned and nodded, buttoning up the shirt.
"not too much cologne this time, you almost killed me last time" she teased.
"Come on, death by cologne? Ya right, Daze" he replied, finally ready, they both set out to the party that they both were reluctantly going to.
They arrived at the party shortly after and were soon dreading having come, their 'supposed' friends were all drinking and talking about this and that, already, it was not their type of scene.
"want to go home and rent a horror movie?" she asked and he nodded
"I thought you'd never ask, Dear" he joked and just as quickly as they had come, they dashed out before anyone saw them. On their way back, the phone ran and Daisy picked it up in the car as Ezra kept driving home.
"Hello?" she asked and her 'friend' answered
"Daisy, dear, are you coming to the party at the Hotel tonight?" she asked and Daisy quickly lied.
"No, it seems that Ezra has come down with something and I'm jammed with work, I think maybe another time"
"oh, alright" the voice replied and Daisy hung up, finally relishing in the fact that they didn't have to attend a party in which they didn't belong.
"Guess what?" He asked, jumping onto the bed beside her as she flicked through the channels on the tv.
"What?" she said, uninterested.
"Horizon is having a reunion!" He shouted out and got her attention, she shut of the tv and looked at him.
"So, I take it from your enthusiasm, that we are not going?" she asked sarcastically.
"haha, very funny Dais!" he replied, giving her a quick kiss on the head before climbing onto his side of the bed.
"Is Shelby going to be there?" she asked, turning off her light and also retreating under the covers.
"Peter didn't say" Ezra responded and slowly fell into sleep as Daisy stared at the ceiling, thinking about life and friendship. It hadn't been that bad, they still spoke to each other, but she had last seen her a year ago.
The restaurant was illuminated beautifully with the candles, against the dark night, they sat across from each other, pigging out on cheesecake and drinking coffee. Daisy looked over to Shelby, who looked exhausted and stressed, not happy, not like she had been years ago.
"Are you taking?" Daisy asked suddenly
"No" Shelby said, looking up "Why would you think that?" she asked, offensively.
"You just look tired and depressed more lately" Daisy answered, taking a chunk of the blueberry cheesecake onto her fork.
"No, well, Tom and I didn't work out, you know that, he didn't understand, they never do" Shelby replied, and also took a bite of her own New York cheesecake.
"Scott did" Daisy whispered in response and Shelby looked up again, a mix of sorrow and anger in her eyes.
"Daisy…." Shelby started but her friend cut her off.
"I knew it, you told me over the phone, months ago that you didn't still think about him, you do, don't you?"Daisy asked, trying not to get Shelby too worked up, but it couldn't be helped.
"Think about him? No!" Shelby replied and Daisy smiled, sipping her coffee and then Shelby continued talking and Daisy noticed the sarcasm. "No, I don't think about the only boy that's ever treated me with respect, that I've ever loved! That cared enough about me to give up his future, no I don't think about him at all, not every day, not when I rock myself to sleep, wondering what I did wrong. No, I don't' even care about him at all, and I wish he had never called me after he left Horizon!" She spat at her friend and then switched out of the sarcasm just as fast "If I needed therapy, Dais, I'd go for it, thanks a lot, until next time" she got up, took her things and stormed out of the restaurant, anger hiding the tears below and on her way back, riding the bus, the tears fell from her eyes freely, but no one there understood or gave a hug. Daisy had made a mistake and she had dreaded it, she should have never mentioned Scott, never mentioned drugs or anything that set Shelby on her emotional roller coaster, but she had, and now they hadn't spoken for a year, which was just too long for them to be not speaking. It was too late now, Shelby had moved homes and numbers, because of rent fees, Daisy knew she could find her through the university, but a part of her, was afraid to say sorry, to admit her mistake, even though Ezra urged her to.
They sat around the table, the three of them, discussing and planning, the weekend was approaching fast, those past 7 days had gone by with a blur and he had called so many people to come, he was glad that they would have such a healthy turnout.
"I think first, we should all sit around in a circle and announce what we've been doing for the past few years and then we can just go onto some social activities and some climbing, out-doors actives too, if people are up to it and then, we can all tour the campus and just some basic things." Kat suggested and Sophie and Peter both nodded.
"We could have a football game or some sort of game" Sophie suggested and Kat nodded in response.
"Is Scott coming?" She asked and they both turned to Peter.
"I think he said he'll fly out" Peter recalled, since he had called so many and wasn't even sure who was really coming anymore.
"Alright, that'll be good, some sort of events and at the end maybe a dance or something, just to see how everyone else has changed and is getting along with their lives"
"That'll be fantastic!" Sophie called. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go check on this year's cliff-hangers, we have their solos this week"
"Alright" Kat and Peter chimed, continuing to discuss the weekend's events.
