Hi again. This chapter is really getting into the meat of the storylines (B/D reunion, B/K possible romance, Jim/Dylan conflict), so I hope you enjoy. The next chapter will focus on Iris' arrival.
Disclaimer: I do not own Beverly Hills, 90210 or any of its characters.
The silence in the car had been tangible. Brandon wasn't quite sure what to say. He couldn't bring himself to glance in Kelly's direction. Usually Brandon was smoother than this. He hoped that he was looking calmer than he felt.
He hadn't planned on kissing her. In fact, before that evening, he had wanted a platonic relationship. Kelly was in a fragile state. Then there was the fact that relationships within their friend group had always caused waves. He couldn't let his guard down and drag everyone into another mess, especially while Kelly was recovering and on the rebound from Dylan and Jake.
Yet—the kiss would have felt natural, he knew. He had been thinking about it for a while. Kelly wasn't the craziest person for him to date. After all, everyone always expected them to get together despite all odds. Why did it always seem like the group was expecting a Kelly and Brandon union?
Maybe it was inevitable, Brandon thought. Maybe everyone else is just seeing what Kelly and I are choosing to ignore. Then there was his encounter with Emily and the feelings that were hidden away over a year ago. Who would have thought that Emily Valentine would be coming back now, at this juncture?
"Brandon, don't we turn here?" Kelly interjected, her voice putting an end to an endless trail of thought.
"Yeah, sorry. I don't know where my head is." Brandon said, feigning a smile. He couldn't really smile at this moment. Something prevented him from being at ease.
"It's fine. Listen, I hope that you don't feel weird about tonight," Kelly raised her eyebrows. Brandon felt somewhat relieved.
"There's nothing to feel weird about, I guess," Brandon said, as he turned onto Hillcrest.
"As far as I'm concerned, that is the least weird thing that has happened this week," Kelly grinned. Brandon relaxed as he pulled into his driveway. "So, I'm definitely taking you up on the ice cream."
"Good, because I could use some about now," Brandon said, pulling open her car door and taking her hand. There was a moment where they just looked at each other in anticipation. Brandon helped her up and they moved towards the front door.
Cindy was sitting at the kitchen table, doing what looked to be a crossword puzzle when they came in. She smiled at Brandon and seemed surprised to see Kelly. She rose from her seat immediately.
"Kelly," Cindy said, smiling in that genuine way of hers. "It's so good to see you." She walked over to Kelly and gave her a hug.
"It's really good to see you too," Kelly grinned, lingering a moment in the embrace. "I've missed it here."
"You know you're always welcome," Cindy said, moving towards the freezer. She pulled out two cartons of ice cream. "Now sit down. I'm dishing it out, whether you like it or not."
"Mint chocolate chip please," Kelly chirped. "And some whipped cream if you have it."
"What will it be for you, Brandon?" Cindy asked, knowing the answer before she asked the question.
"Rocky road, like every time for the past eighteen years of my life," Brandon quipped, smiling good-naturedly.
"I figured as much," Cindy said, as she scooped out Kelly's dish. She squirted whipped cream on Kelly's ice cream and slid the bowl towards her.
Kelly took an eager bite. "I think it's been a full three months since I've ice cream."
"Jeez, how do you even survive?" Brandon asked in disbelief.
"Mostly with chocolate," Kelly smiled.
"How can chocolate even compare to the goodness that is ice cream?" Brandon said dramatically.
Kelly shook her head, still smiling. "Excuse me, have you ever tried chocolate? Have you ever had a truffle?"
"Manly men don't eat truffles," Brandon joked.
"Then you should have no problem," Kelly took a bite of her ice cream and mischievously looked to Brandon.
"Hey, watch his ego. It's fragile," Cindy was scooping out another serving of mint chocolate chip for herself.
"That's how you defend me? You say my ego is fragile?" Brandon's bright blue eyes were wide in mock disbelief.
"Well, it's true," Kelly beamed.
Brandon was about to respond when the trudging sound of footprints on the stairs signaled his father's arrival. Jim, in his burgundy bath robe, rubbed his eyebrows, seemingly half asleep.
"You're home late," He said to Brandon as he glanced at the clock. The large green numbers read 1:15.
"We were at Steve's party," Kelly said, the smile disappearing from her face. Jim had instantly wrecked the good mood of everyone involved. He didn't have to say anything to do it either. It was the unasked question that filled everyone with anticipation.
"Was your sister there too?" Jim asked somberly.
"Yep, Bren was there," Brandon answered, trying to sound upbeat and failing miserably.
"Don't tell me she's sleeping," Jim said, leaning against the kitchen counter. Everyone knew what was coming next.
"No. She'll be back in a little while," Cindy chimed in, still working on her ice cream. "She approved her plans with me."
"Oh. Do those plans have something to do with one Dylan McKay?" Jim asked.
The silence in the air was saturated with dread.
"Please Jim. Don't do this tonight," Cindy said, somewhat defeated.
"Why do you insist on protecting him every time, Cindy? I have tried to reason with Brenda. I have tried to let the situation be. I have tried to reason with Dylan. Nothing seems to work," Jim's face became angry and his eyes narrowed.
"Dad, I hate to jump in here, but doesn't Brenda's happiness mean anything to you? She's happy with Dylan. Mom knows that, I know that." Brandon said, already regretting that he said anything at all.
"Brandon, I respect that Dylan is your friend, but he's not a good influence on Brenda. I am just trying to protect Brenda here. It seems like Dylan is bent on hurting her at every turn," Jim folded his arms.
"Dylan really loves Brenda," Kelly said weakly. "I should know. I dated him."
"With all due respect, Kelly, you, more than anyone, should know the capability that Dylan has for hurting other people," Jim replied curtly, looking down.
"It's true that Dylan has made some mistakes and, at times, he can be a real bastard. He does love Brenda, though. He cares about Brenda," Kelly said. The truth did hurt, but she felt that, in some tiny way, she might be giving something back to Brenda.
Jim stayed silent. Brandon, seizing the opportunity, stepped forward.
"Dad, even if you were able to separate them, Brenda is not going to just forget about him," Brandon said. "She already considers you an obstacle."
"You know, Brandon, I've had it up to here with everyone's attitude concerning Dylan. I'm looking out for my daughter's best interests and, in return, all I get is resistance from every single one of you," Jim interjected, raising his voice. "Do you think Dylan is going to start being the model boyfriend for your sister? Do you think he's going to get on the straight-and-narrow now? Please."
"Jim, this is not the time," Cindy had become tense and irate.
"As soon as Brenda comes back, I'm letting her know that she's not to go out at all for the next two weeks. Hopefully that will give her some time to think about what's important here," Jim's voice was icy. Cindy glared at him as he climbed back up the stairs.
No one spoke for a minute. Kelly looked down at the counter and to her melting ice cream. Brandon took another bite for stamina. Cindy propped her head on her arm and sighed.
"Excuse me," Cindy said, breaking the silence. She rushed up the stairs, visibly angry. Brandon, seeing that nothing good could come from this, stood up, motioning for Kelly to follow him.
"Jim, was that really necessary?" Cindy's voice reached the foyer.
"Let's take you home," Brandon said, his voice quiet. They exited the door before they had the chance to hear Jim respond.
In the darkness, the brightness of the television screen and the face of Gloria Swanson drew the wandering eye in. Dylan and Brenda were, however, lying on the couch, only half-paying attention what was on the screen.
Brenda was lying on top of Dylan, her lips locked on his. One of Dylan's arms was wrapped around her waist and the other was firmly positioned on her ass.
"We should stop," Brenda said, looking towards the screen.
"We should," Dylan said, caressing her cheek. He kissed her passionately. She returned the kiss, placing her hands on his hips.
"I like that dress, but I'd like it better off you," Dylan said, in that hoarse, sexy way of his.
"C'mon, Dylan, you know I have to be back soon," Brenda moaned.
"You and I both know that this is going to happen sooner or later," Dylan tightened his grip on her. "Preferably sooner."
Brenda pulled away, gazing into his eyes. She rose from her position, throwing her heels to the side. She watched the screen absently.
"Something on your mind?" Dylan asked, pulling himself into a seated position.
Brenda paused. "You know how Kelly was with Brandon at Steve's party tonight?"
"Yeah, I recall," Dylan watched her as she fidgeted with her bracelet.
"I'm kind of, sort of trying to put them together," Brenda said, glancing nervously towards Dylan.
"Brandon and Kelly?" Dylan repeated. "I guess I never thought of them as a potential item before. They always seemed to have a brother-sister thing going on, from what I can tell."
Brenda bit her lip. "It's just that Kelly has always liked Brandon and Brandon has always had a thing for Kelly. I thought that now would be as good a time as any."
"Bren, I have a feeling that this wasn't just about your aspirations to start your own matchmaking service," Dylan said, looking towards her expectantly.
"Maybe not. This may sound kind of silly. Maybe I feel like Kelly would be less of a threat if she was with someone else—especially someone as secure as Brandon," Brenda couldn't believe she was being so blunt with Dylan.
Dylan looked down, before meeting Brenda's eyes once again. His sultry, thoughtful stare could always rile her up. "Brenda, it's great if you want to set up Kelly and Brandon. I just want to be clear that I'm not going back to Kelly. I'm with you, Brenda. I meant it when I said I choose you."
Brenda sighed, getting up and pacing around the room. "It's hard for me to trust again. I love you, Dylan. I just want to make sure that the same thing doesn't happen again."
"It's not going to," Dylan stood up, meeting her in the center of the room. "I understand it's going to take a while for you to trust me again. I'm going to show you that you can, though."
Brenda looked into his eyes, sensing something distinctly genuine. She couldn't be sure, though. She couldn't just stop watching out for herself. In the time since Kelly and Dylan had started dating, she had built up a great deal of resilience.
"I just need some time. It's not going to happen overnight," Brenda said, taking his hand. "I do know that I want to be with you."
They shared a moment of warm silence, as Brenda stepped towards Dylan. She gingerly touched Dylan's chest, starting to unbutton the white cotton shirt he wore under the sport coat now haphazardly hung over a dining room chair.
Dylan's eyes followed her every step of the way. As his shirt fell to the ground, he put his arm on the back of her head and pulled her towards him.
Brandon and Kelly emerged from the car silently. They approached her door, still trying to figure out what to say to one another. Kelly reached for the key in her clutch, hesitating to go inside.
"Thanks for standing up for Brenda, Kel," Brandon was shifting his weight. "I want to apologize for my dad's behavior. No one should have to see that."
"Please Brandon. You're not the only one with an inappropriate parent. Besides, standing up for Brenda is the least I can do," Kelly said, finally making eye contact with Brandon. "My only concern is that's just the beginning of a bigger conflict."
"I'm just hoping my mom was able to settle him down. There's no way that Brenda is going to stay locked up in her room for two weeks," Brandon said. "That means I'm going to have to deal with the ladder way more than I anticipated."
"What ladder?" Kelly asked, suddenly smiling.
"The ladder that I use to help Brenda sneak out," Brandon laughed. "It's way less cliché than you think."
"So that's how she was able to get to the Bel Age," Kelly grinned in spite of herself. "I guess I have you to blame."
"Yeah, that and the magnetic pull between Dylan and Brenda," Brandon snickered.
"She is so lucky to have a brother like you," Kelly said, starting to open the door. "If I asked Silver to help me escape he would probably roll his eyes and go back to watching The Real World."
"All I know is that if I ever need anything, Brenda is going to owe me big," Brandon replied jokingly.
"Do you want to come in for a second? I think there are probably more hors d'oeuvres if you're hungry," Kelly gazed to him expectantly.
"I really shouldn't. I think I should go pick up Brenda and fill her in on Jim's temper tantrum," Brandon said, knowing that he'd much rather take Kelly up on her offer.
"C'mon. Just one tiny plate," Kelly prodded with a grin.
"Let's take a rain check on that," Brandon said, the feeling of anticipation growing between them.
"I had fun tonight," Kelly said, biting her lip.
"Me too—more than I have had in a long time," Brandon replied, savoring the moment.
"I guess this is goodnight then," Kelly's smile had started to fade.
"Yes, goodnight," Brandon said, still maintaining eye contact with her. Brandon, leaning in towards her, brushed his lips with hers on an impulse. Kelly returned the kiss as Brandon's hand came to rest on her cheek.
Brandon pulled away from what seemed a mutual attachment. "We should do this again sometime." Brandon said as Kelly waited on her stoop, confused as to what just happened.