AN: Jonna: Thank you for the detailed review! I always appreciate hearing from one of my favourite writers on here - your opinion means a lot! It's so nice to hear that you appreciate the artistry of the story regardless of how it will turn out. I so love hearing from you! And yes, it's a complete mess :DD This story is nuts! Haha
Tob2008: HAHA I'm so glad you like it!
Open Up
You must think that I'm new to this
But I have seen this all before
I'm never gonna let you close to me
Even though you mean the most to me
'Cause every time I open up, it hurts
Dylan woke up on the couch to excessive noise. He rubbed his eyes and caught Brenda cleaning the house.
"Bren do you have to do that now?" He mumbled, trying to sit up.
"Yes some of us don't want to live in this mess." Bren said sharply. Dylan couldn't think straight with the vacuum running.
"Well it's really loud." Dylan groaned, rubbing his eyes again. He was exhausted. "Bren, just leave it, I'll do it for you later."
"Shouldn't you be waking up anyway?" She warned, finally turning off the vacuum.
"...I didn't sleep well." He muttered.
"Well, I'm sure you've got stuff to do... underwear to return." She continued before heading into the kitchen.
Dylan sighed, "About last night... can we talk?" He got up and followed her in the kitchen, but she remained with her back to him, as she began washing the dishes.
"Bren..." He called but she ignored him. He took a deep breath and walked over to her, now standing at her side, looking directly at her.
"Bren... stop." He pleaded again. As she ignored him once more, he suddenly grabbed her arms and pulled her away from the sink, "Look at me!" He yelled. She reluctantly faced him.
He looked into her eyes and could see how angry she was, and his face softened. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He cried out.
"No." She hissed, pulling herself out of his grasp and shoving him off. "Don't be sorry for me." She turned back to the dishes, and shook her head, "It's my fault... I let you get away with it. Even back then, I blamed Kelly for you choosing to be with her. At least at that time she felt bad, at least there was some remorse for lying to me. But you were gonna do what you were gonna do. And the worst part is, you knew you'd get away with it. You knew that I would take you back in a second. Why shouldn't I expect that you thought you could get away with it again?"
"Bren, I... I am sorry but... of course I feel bad. I was trying to be good, for you, for Jim." He reasoned
She scoffed at his response, "You didn't try hard enough."
"Hold up!" He raised his hand, "Hold on a second... I know what I did was wrong, inexcusably wrong. But you're not completely innocent here. Not now or then. You've cheated too, and I never gave you shit."
"Yeah! right!" She turned to face him, "Exactly, you didn't even get mad. You weren't even jealous. You didn't care that I kissed someone else."
"Of course I care, don't be ridiculous. I love you - you're my son's mother!" Dylan flailed his arms up in the air.
"Yeah... " Brenda's voice was now quiet. She took a deep breath and looked him dead in the eye. "...And yet that still wasn't enough to make you reconsider before you fucked her."
She stormed off into the bedroom. Dylan stood there, and looked at the floor.
Thomas noticed Pamela and James talking by her locker. They seemed happy, chatting away like old friends. When she finally grabbed her last book and headed off, Thomas walked up to James.
"Guess you're friends again." He breathed out. James turned to face him.
"Something like that." He shrugged.
"...But at the party you said nothing was going on between you two." Thomas observed him.
"And you said you'd stay away." James replied curtly. He then observed Thomas. "Did you change your mind?"
"Maybe." Thomas said ever so quietly
"So did I." James warned before walking off.
"Brenda." Dylan pleaded again, once she came back out from the bedroom.
"Tell me, Dylan. How long?" She turned to face him.
"What?"
"That night... did you let enough time pass between us? 'Cause you know it's at least an hour for eating and swimming."
He sighed, feeling ashamed of his actions the other night all over again. After 17 years of being with her, he still never prepared for her sharp wit.
"Bren, those details are not gonna help anything." He drawled
"Oh and you are the go-to person for conflict resolution." she said sarcastically.
Just then James opened the front door. They both stood there, looking at him.
"Hey." James observed them. "Everything okay?'
"Everything's fine." Dylan spoke hesitantly
"How was school?" Kelly asked
"Good." Pamela chirped, joining her mother on the couch.
"Oh by the way, you never told me how the beach was yesterday! Did you have fun?"
"Yeah... I'm glad James and I are friends." Pamela smiled to herself.
"Good." Kelly smiled softly. "...What about the other one?"
Pamela paused. "..After what he said to me... I don't plan on making amends any time soon."
Kelly slowly nodded and began to head out of the living room.
Pamela observed her, "You're not limping."
"Huh?" Kelly breathed out anxiously
"You don't have a sprained ankle." Pamela looked up at her, "Why did you lie?"
Kelly let out deep breath, "It's complicated." She looked at her daughter with pleading eyes, but Pamela wasn't going to back down.
"Why was Dylan here?" She began to question and Kelly tensed up. "Come on, mum. I come home to find him in your bedroom, picking out your clothes while you're in the shower..."
"Pam. It's not what you think." Kelly huffed
"Then what is it?" She probed. Kelly sighed before coming back to join her on the couch.
"Mark and I broke up..." She began
"Really?" Pamela's eyes widened
"Yeah. Turns out, he wasn't a very good guy." Kelly looked at the floor, "Dylan... he knew that. And I don't know why he stopped by, but I'm glad he did. He was there for me, okay?" Kelly's voice was low. Pamela nodded, trying to comprehend it all.
"Okay." She pondered. But once Kelly got back up to leave, Pamela called to her once more. "But I just have one more question."
Kelly turned back to face her and sighed again, with a quick nod.
"...You still love him, don't you?" Pamela asked
Brandon came to join Thomas at the kitchen counter.
"Listen... about the other night. At the party..." Brandon began. Thomas let out an exasperated sigh in response.
"I want to talk to you about it." Brandon insisted
"There's nothing to talk about." Thomas groaned
"Tommy..." Brandon spoke in a warning tone. "Look, if you really like this girl, go for it."
"What?" Thomas crinkled his forehead
"After what you said, you gotta risk it. Even if it doesn't work out. It's better than wondering what if. It's the best closure."
"I don't know." Thomas sounded doubtful, "James seems to still have feelings for her. I don't wanna get involved."
"-I know." Brandon cut him off, he understood completely. "I've been there. I know what it's like to go up against someone you love. And I was up against your uncle Dylan! And trust me, it's almost impossible to compete when Dylan comes after your girl."
"Ah the Kelly thing." Thomas rested his elbows on the counter.
"Yeah... And even though it didn't work out, I have no regrets. And maybe I would have, if I decided to shy away from the fight."
"You're encouraging me to go after Pam? After you went nuts when you found out about this summer..." Thomas didn't understand his dad's change of attitude at all.
"If you do actually love her, then yes. You gotta know. And you're a lot like your uncle Dylan, you don't give up easy." Brandon squeezed his son's shoulder.
"I think it's time you and I had a talk, Dylan." A college-aged Brandon stormed into Dylan's house once he opened the door.
"Yeah, I'd say so." Dylan rubbed his knuckles under his chin.
"Did you sleep with her?" Brandon now stood right in front of him. "Valerie saw her leaving your house." Dylan remained silent, looking right at him effortlessly, which made Brandon scoff. "Fresh outta rehab, and you've already pounced on her."
"I'm just doing what I gotta do." Dylan decided
"And to hell with me, right? So much for our friendship."
"It's nothing personal." Dylan shrugged.
"What do you mean it's not personal, you went after my girlfriend behind my back!" Brandon barked
"I learned from the best." Dylan retorted
"Give me a break." Brandon groaned. "You were broken up." He defined.
"You knew better than that." Dylan said firmly. "...I know you love her, Brandon. But me and Kelly, we're connected... In a way that you will never understand."
Brandon scoffed, shocked at the audacity. He shook his head and stormed out.
"What are you doing?" Dylan followed Brenda into the bedroom, away from James.
"I'm calling Brandon." Brenda began dialing.
"Why?" Dylan asked
"I'm going to ask to stay there for a while." She huffed
"No." Dylan grabbed the phone off her. "Please, stay here. I'll go to a hotel even. Just please let's sort this out alone without getting other people involved."
"Other people are already involved, Dylan. You brought Kelly into this." She folded her arms.
"You brought Rick... That doesn't mean we can't do this just the two of us. For Jimmy." He pleaded
"Don't talk to me about James. I'm the one who put our family first. I'm not the one who acted on my impulses." her voice began to raise
"Alright, alright. You're right." He insisted, urging her to keep her voice down. "But please stay." He spoke in a soft drawl.
She took a deep breath and finally looked at him. "Fine... you're staying on the couch."
"Hey Mark!" Steve walked into the TV station.
"Hey Sanders." Mark remained at his desk.
"About the news story -" Steve began until Mark looked up at him. "-Whoa what happened?" Steve got a good look at Mark's nose.
"You didn't hear..." Mark groaned
"Hear what?" Steve was surprised
"Kelly and I broke up." Mark carelessly moved around papers on his desk.
"Oh I'm sorry to hear that." Steve sounded apologetic. He pulled at a chair and sat down.
"Not as sorry as I am." Mark scoffed before pointing to his nose. "This... is the work of Dylan McKay."
"Dylan?" Steve was shocked. "What do you mea- Dylan did this to you?" His eyes widened.
"I don't know why." Mark shrugged, "I just opened my door and all of a sudden, I get his fist."
"Jesus!" Steve shook his head in bewilderment.
"He must have tracked me down in a jealous rage..." Mark sighed, appearing perplexed.
Kelly sat on her sofa with a wine glass when Pamela went to bed. She still felt numb, trying to ignore the trauma of the other night. She hoped to never see Mark again. But Dylan was another story. She was grateful he was there the next day and grateful that he took care of her. But it didn't take away her pain.
You never know when the last time you kiss or the last time you make love is actually going to be the last time. She just hated that their last moment of passion is forever tainted with her saying I love you and not hearing him say it back.
Her mind continued to search for happier times. Any memory that would work as a distraction.
"Hi Jackie." Dylan grinned once she opened the door.
"Dylan, you look great!" Jackie smiled at Dylan in his bowtie.
"Thanks. Is she ready?" Dylan asked
"She'll be down in a sec." Jackie assured. "So when are you two heading to Berkeley tomorrow?"
"We've got an early flight in the morning." Dylan tried not to sound too excited about Kelly and him spending the next couple of nights alone, without her having to head back home. He was even more grateful that Jackie allowed her to stay with him tonight so that they could enjoy prom and then wake up together and head straight to the airport.
"Alright. Well, have fun." Jackie beamed
"Thanks." He nodded.
"Hey handsome." Kelly called out. Just then Dylan looked up, and on the staircase was a vision in white. Kelly was the perfect blend of Marilyn and Grace Kelly. Dylan had to pick his jaw up from the floor.
"Wow, Kel. You look perfect." He pulled her in for a kiss once she made her way to him.
"Ready to go?" He finally asked after nuzzling into her neck.
"Bags are packed." She chirped, pointing towards her suitcase and large carry-on bag.
"I'll get 'em." Dylan went to pick up her bags to take them to the car for her.
"David's already at Mel's, so I guess we should get going." Kelly turned to Jackie and hugged her goodbye.
"Quick question... " Dylan turned to Kelly after she hugged Jackie. "Are we moving to Berkeley?" He joked, carrying her overpacked luggage.
She rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"Finally." Dylan spoke once they left the BelAge and were in the car. "Let's go straight home and get some shuteye before the flight."
"Yeah..." Kelly sighed
"Excited?" He glanced at her
"Yeah... It's just - I'm worried about Donna." She rested her head back on the seat.
"She'll be okay. I'm sure it'll all be resolved by the time we get back." Dylan assured, squeezing her hand.
"I hope so." Kelly drawled.
"So..." Dylan and Kelly were snuggled up on the couch in the PJs. "What did Steve say when he cut in?" Dylan's voice expressed his annoyance.
"He just asked if we were happy." Kelly smiled, resting her head on his chest. Dylan began to play with her hair.
"What did you tell him?" He asked suspiciously, teasing her.
"Yes." She beamed up at him, and he kissed the top of her head.
"...What about you and Brenda?" Kelly hesitantly asked
"Same thing you were doing... " Kelly looked down but Dylan cupped her chin, forcing her to face him. "Making peace." He assured. She smiled at him and he smiled back before hugging her tightly.
"Oh my god, Dylan. Come here!" Kelly called from the balcony after they had checked into the Fairmont Hotel.
"What?" He ran out
"Look at the view from up here. It's incredible!" She gasped
"Yeah, it is." He agreed, not taking his eyes off her.
She then turned to face him, noticing his gaze on her. She was flattered yet coy.
"So what do you want to do first?" She giddily began
"I gotta head to Berkeley in a couple hours." Dylan wrapped his arm around her waist.
"When do we get to go on the cable cars?!" She asked impatiently
"We will." He laughed, admiring her enthusiasm. "We'll do it all."
"And Chinatown." She reminded.
"And Chinatown." He promised, grinning.
"Okay." She chirped, smiling at him. He couldn't stop looking at her with a big smile on his face.
"Let's go." He decided, holding onto her.
"Where?" She seemed confused
"To have breakfast in bed." He insisted
"We haven't ordered anything."
"I did." He smirked, "A kingsize bed and some quality time alone with my girlfriend."
He lifted her up, sweeping her off her feet.
"Dylan!" She gasped playfully as he carried her to the bed.
He put her down and slumped himself over her, kissing her passionately.
"Hold on to your memories." Kelly drawled, "Because it's all over now."
But every time you hurt me, the less that I cry
And every time you leave me, the quicker these tears dry
And every time you walk out, the less I love you
Baby, we don't stand a chance, it's sad but it's true
I'm way too good at goodbyes