A twist of events leads Dylan to make a choice that he isn't entirely sure about, hurting more people in his path than he realizes at the time. One phone call changed the direction of Kelly's life. One opportunity allowed Brenda to try and fix her future. And one decision left Dylan with more questions than answers. But what happens after his choice is made? What will occur after the dust finally settles? A different take on the triangle. Season 3 AU starting from 3x19. D/K endgame. other pairings include Brenda/Dylan, Jake/Kelly, Brandon/Andrea, David/Donna
I'll only hurt you if you let me
Call me friend but keep me closer (call me back)
And I'll call you when the party's over
- when the party's over billie eilish
Dylan didn't know how he ended up here.
Sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, a bag of ice covering his bruised knuckles. His girlfriend, or soon to be ex-girlfriend, was glaring daggers at him while his former friend sat across from him with matching bruises and a similar ice pack resting on the parts of his body that were turning purple.
"What are you even doing here?"
"I'm here because I care about her."
"A little too much don't you think? At least your girlfriend does, with the way she's glaring at you to death."
"Fuck you."
"How did all of this happen anyway? If you care so much about her why didn't you do anything? Your little gang is always preaching about loyalty and unconditional support, where was any of that when she was dying in front of you?"
"Why didn't you do something? Aren't you supposed to be her boyfriend, her partner in crime? Or were you too busy making sure you weren't being snitched on for screwing an underage girl."
"At least I was there for her. You all practically deserted her, threw her aside like she was nothing. Some friends you are."
His head snapped up when he heard footsteps. A doctor came out, looking solemn as he stopped in front of the group of young adults. "Did someone already come and break the news to you guys?"
"What news?"
"Oh, I apologize. I thought you had heard. The girl they brought in here tonight didn't make it."
Kelly Taylor held up dresses, one red and one black, and looked at her reflection as she contemplated what to wear. It wasn't everyday she was invited to a welcome home party at the Bel Age hotel for a convicted criminal. Upon a knock on her door, she set down the clothes and rolled her eyes, assuming it was her stepbrother David. "You've lived here long enough to know that you don't need to knock anymore." Feet shuffled and the doorknob turned.
"Hi Kel." The voice standing in the doorway belonged to that of Brenda Walsh. Her once best friend seemed almost nervous to be in her room. "I was just coming over to see if you heard about the party that Dylan's dad is throwing?"
"Yeah I was just deciding what I was going to wear. How about you?"
"So you really are going?"
"Well yeah, he invited me. He invited everyone actually but David has to study and Brandon is working. I forget why Steve said he couldn't make it."
"I just didn't realize you and Dylan were that close. You guys just went out that one time right?"
"I'm still sorry about that. I didn't set out to steal him from you or anything. You guys broke up and then he asked me out."
"And you just had to go out with him? Did you even take my feelings into consideration?"
"I didn't even want Dylan okay? I wanted Jake. But this summer sucked and he dumped me and then my mom noticed that I was moping around the house the past few months so I figured that going out with Dylan, trying to get my mind off Jake would get her off my back." She was moping around the house early on in the semester, only it had little to do with Jake. It wasn't the whole truth, but she was trying to be honest with Brenda. She didn't think telling the brunette about how deep her feelings for Dylan truly ran would go over smoothly. For all Brenda knew, Dylan randomly picked Kelly to go out with, they had a lousy date and nothing more happened between them.
"So it was just a rebound thing? Because you missed Jake? Kelly you could have picked anyone to go out with, so many guys would have been glad to take you on a date."
"I didn't want just any guy, only one."
"I get it. I'm still hurt over what you guys did, but I get it. That guy that I met in Paris, he was just a rebound too. I picked a guy who couldn't have been more different than Dylan because I missed him. You picked someone a little too similar though don't you think?"
"I guess in my brain, if I couldn't have Jake, then at least I could have a date with the next best thing, pathetic right? I know it's not logical or fair but that's what happened."
"This summer easily could have been you and Jake and me and Dylan double dating." Brenda mused aloud, letting out a laugh before clearing her throat awkwardly.
"So about tonight-"
"My dad won't let me and I was hoping we could blow off this whole thing and hang out? Like old times." This sudden announcement had Kelly raising an eyebrow, almost stunned that Brenda was giving up a night at a hotel with Dylan.
"Really? Do you mean it?" She knew the two still had a lot of issues to work out, but if staying home meant maybe having a real shot at repairing their friendship, Kelly couldn't really pass that up. Her friendship with Brenda was one of the thing she missed the most these days.
"Of course. The party doesn't even start until like 8 and by then we can be deep in some ice cream and a Christian Slater flick. Plus all this fighting over a guy is silly. Didn't we agree that we wouldn't let any boy come between us again?"
"Yeah, we did. What happened to us? When did we become these girls who are willing to drop everything for Dylan McKay?"
"What do you say? I'll run home, pack a bag, and you make the popcorn and get the movie ready?"
"Sounds perfect Bren." The two girls smiled at each other, Brenda leaning over to give Kelly a quick hug before she made her way towards the door. "This is going to be a good night for the both of us, I can tell."
Kelly smiled in response, nodding her head with a chuckle. "Just hurry back okay?"
Brenda did stop at home to gather a few of her things, but she wasn't heading back to the Silver-Taylor household. In between doing her makeup and slipping into a black dress she had laying around in her closet, Brenda picked up her phone, opened the phonebook and stopped when her eyes landed on the name she was looking for, and dialed.
"Jake Hanson?"
"Yes, who is this?"
"This is Brenda Walsh. I'm a friend of Kelly's. You worked on her mom's house last spring. I think we should talk."
Dylan sighed as he swished the ice in his glass around and passed on the hor d'oeuvres that were being passed around. The only people at this so-called party were the staff, his father, his father's girlfriend, and him. He sort of understands why Jack isn't so popular, but he still expected some of his friends to show up and support him. He was just about to call it a night when he saw her. A smile broke out on his face as he set his now empty glass aside and he stood to greet her.
"Bren, thanks for coming." He gave her a quick hug before looking at her up and down. "You look stunning. I was beginning to think nobody was going to bother to show up."
"You know Brandon would have if he didn't have to work."
"Right and David just had to study? I forgot what Andrea's reason for bailing was."
"Well I'm here. My dad isn't thrilled, but being here and supporting you is more important. My dad won't come between us anymore."
"Is Kelly's coming? I could have sworn she told me she would be here."
"I don't think she's gonna make it Dylan. She didn't call you back?"
"No, why can't she come? Don't tell me she suddenly cares more about her art grade than she does about her friends?" He scoffed, shaking his head as he tried to mask his disappointment. For some reason, he pictured this night going very differently. He pictured blonde hair and a red dress. He and Kelly would finally give things between them a real shot.
"I dropped by to pick Kelly up and I saw Jake's motorcycle in the driveway." She hadn't, but she figured it was only a matter of time after she went on and on about how much the blonde had missed him. Some people just needed a little nudge in the right direction.
"Jake?" Dylan furrowed his eyebrow in confusion. The last time Dylan even heard Jake's name in conversation, Kelly told him over the summer that they had ended things.
"Yeah I guess she had just been feeling pretty lonely these days and she even told me that she missed him. Maybe she called him to come by or something."
"On the night of my dad's party? I still expected her to show up."
"I guess she felt that Jake was more important. She has always had a thing for him though right? It's not too crazy to think that maybe she wants to give things another shot."
"I've been thinking a lot about second chances, or in our case maybe fourth or fifth chances." He did say he was going to eventually pick between the two girls. Plus going back to Brenda was great. He was comfortable with her, safe. It felt familiar. Nice even. "I want to be with you Brenda. If you'll have me."
"Are you only saying this because Kelly isn't here?" Dylan knew in his heart that maybe at least part of that was true, but he flashed her a smile and laughed.
"Maybe."
"Dylan."
If Brenda was mad at his remark, she didn't show it. Instead she smiled back at him. As far as she was concerned, he made his choice. He had chosen her. She wasn't about to question that.
"Look all I know is that you showed up. I think we just needed time apart you know? I had to do a little soul searching by myself, to really look at my life and figure out what I needed."
"And did you find what you were looking for?"
"I just needed you." Dylan attempted to smile as he grabbed two glasses and handed one to Brenda.
"To second chances."
"To second chances."
"Speaking of second chances, let me reintroduce you to the new and improved Jack McKay." With that, Dylan and Brenda walked up to Jack and started talking. Dylan tried to ignore the feeling in his gut, the one that said something was off about the night.
Kelly had tried calling Brenda, but she wasn't picking up. She thought about going over to see Dylan, but looked down at her pajamas and decided against it. The party was probably over anyway. Maybe Brenda was right. Fighting with her best friend over a boy wasn't going to solve anything. Dylan would pick one of them and someone would be left heartbroken. She tried to convince herself that she would be okay with either outcome, that Dylan and Brenda were meant to be together and she was simply a speed bump on the path to a future they were destined to have.
A knock broke her out of her thoughts and Kelly audibly groaned before reluctantly answering it.
Her face momentarily fell in shock as she saw Jake on the other side of her porch. "What are you doing here?"
"I had a project a few houses over. Happened to be in the neighborhood."
"Right, and you drove your bike? Wouldn't you need your car and all your tools? And what kind of job hires you at this hour?"
"Some of us don't get to hang out all day at the Peach Pit okay?"
"I haven't had the best year okay? My mom's getting divorced again, my baby sister is now getting bounced around, and for the cherry on top she's thinking about selling our house. You'll have to forgive me if I don't want yet another man coming in and out of my life whenever he pleases." Kelly purses her lips in response, not needing another reminder of their age difference. She had heard plenty of remarks about it during the summer. "Now why are you really here?"
Jake ran a hand through his hair before cracking a small grin. "Alright, maybe I wanted to see you."
"Was that so hard to admit?"
"Extremely. I once told you that dropping out of your life wouldn't be so easy, remember? Turns out it isn't. I can't stop thinking about our last conversation. The way I treated you."
It wasn't a moment that Kelly was proud of. Throwing herself at him before getting rejected. She ended up crying to her mother that same night. "I should have known that you weren't the commitment type. Dylan did warn me and then seeing that other woman at your place, well maybe you were right in thinking that we wouldn't have worked."
"That girl was just a friend. An actress I hired to get you to break up with me." Jake admitted, bracing himself for one of Kelly's dramatic reactions. He was expecting tears, maybe the door slamming in his face. He didn't expect her palm across his cheek.
"You asshole. Why the hell would you do that? You knew how I felt about you."
"Felt?"
"Yes, I felt. As in past tense." Her heart and her mind were currently at war. She felt like she was being pulled in two different directions.
"You're lying."
"Sometimes you have to lie to yourself just to keep life running smoothly. You told me that."
"Are you, like, seeing someone or something?"
"No." At the moment she wasn't. She was supposed to be seeing Dylan, wanted to be seeing him but as always their timing sucked. "I'm supposed to go to this party they are having for Dylan's father. We kind of had something over the summer. Guess I really get around." A bitter chuckle fell from her lips as Jake's gaze softened.
"You were fine being some dirty little secret for Dylan? A fling? You're better than that."
"Am I? Or does my reputation not precede me after all?" It felt strangely comforting to get this off her chest, to admit it to someone other than David. "It's over now, but for a minute I thought, well I guess that doesn't matter now. I wasn't enough for you or Dylan."
"Kelly you are enough. So much so that I might get in trouble for what I'm about to say. You scare the shit out of me okay? You know what you want and you're determined to get it. You're sexy as hell, you are able to somehow know exactly what I'm thinking and that made me intimidated. Because all those feelings you had for me, they weren't as one-sided as I led you to believe."
"They aren't?"
"Maybe it was easier to try and convince you of all the reasons why we don't work instead of admitting to myself all the reasons why we do." He smirked and her heart skipped a beat.
"You didn't even give us a real chance." Like how she didn't give Dylan a real chance, like how she told him to go back to Brenda repeatedly. The irony was painstakingly obvious to her but she shoved down those thoughts. "Was that all you came here for? To stop feeling guilty and let me down easy again?"
Jake shook his head, his eyes darkened, even in her PJ's she was stunning. "You're really gonna make me work for this huh?" He couldn't help but tease. A glare was the only thing he got in response so he continued.
"I came here to convince you to give me another shot. A real one. I want you Kelly Taylor and I don't care who knows it." The words were like music to her ears. All she wanted was someone to love her, someone who wanted to hold her hand and take her out on dates.
"What about the age difference?" A beat and then she inquired again. "All your friends or the people that live in your building?"
"Don't care. Screw them if they make a fuss. Take a page out in the school paper. I don't give a damn about what anyone else thinks. Only you." He leaned down and kissed her, softly at first but then more passionately.
She hated herself for giving in, for still getting weak in the knees if he so much as looked at her. He pulled away and let out a breath.
"So what does this mean for us?"
"I want you to have all those teenage experiences okay? You should be going to prom or enjoying ditch day or whatever it is seniors do in high school. I just don't need all the drama that comes with it."
"And I'm coming to realize that all of that is overrated. I want to do more than plan a stupid dance or volunteer for the yearbook committee."
"You won't complain a few months down the road that you resent me for making you skip your chance to be elected Prom Queen?"
"I don't need to be Prom Queen Jake, I just need you." This time when he leaned in to kiss her, she let him, her back pressing up against the door and her fingers curling around his leather jacket. When they finally broke apart for air, Jake tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I'm not making a fool of myself here am I?"
"No, you just picked yourself a challenge, that's all."