Disclaimer and A/N: They still aren't mine. I still want Christopher Ralph
for Christmas. Nothing else new has happened in the two minutes that I went from writing this author note from the last one I wrote. Oh, except--this chapter almost made me cry when I was writing it--and then my best friend called, and he was like--What's wrong?! Gah! I hate it when that happens! Anyway...without further ado...
Matchmaking 101 4/??
"Tyler, I'm not kidding give me back my report!" Her older sister's voice floated past Brooke's ears, and she rolled her eyes, snorting softly.
"I really wish that they would flirt on their own time." She remarked to Hank, who was sitting across from her, his feet propped up on the table as he worked on his own set of never ending reports.
"You think their bad here, you should see them at school." Hank laughed, shaking his head.
"Real bad?" Brooke wanted to know, grinning.
"Oh yeah. If I get caught in the middle of one more longing look, I'm going to throw myself off a cliff or something. I don't know how they manage to keep a 4.0--in the classes they have together, their to busy studying each other to bother listen to the teacher!" Hank laughed, shaking his head.
"And I thought Catie and Jamie had it bad for each other." Brooke giggled, watching her sister try to snatch her reports back from the laughing Tyler.
"Oh, trust me--Val and Tyler have nothing on those too." Hank assured her. "For awhile there, I thought they WERE together."
"Really?" Brooke asked, curiously.
"Yeah." Hank agreed, turning back to his reports, his brow furrowing in concentration.
"Hmm." The younger Linar sister murmured to herself, looking back down at the magazine she was reading.
'How We Fell In Love' written in bold pink letters with lots of tiny little heart etched around it caught her attention and she began to scan the article, only half-reading it, while the other part of her brain listened to Tyler and Val giggle and laugh and flirt.
'We were just friends, until three of out mutual buds thought we would make a good couple.' Brooke blinked, and turned her entire attention on the article in her hands, a small grin pulling at her lips.
"This could work." She thought out loud, reading the rest of the blurb.
"What could work?" Hank asked, looking up from his reports. Brooke smiled broadly at him, and turned the article around to show him.
"This!"
@-}--)---
"SO, where are we going again?!" Catie yelled over the roar of the engine, the cool wind whipping her long black hair behind her.
"Lover's Leap!" Jamie called back to her, his voice barely audible as the wind carried it away from them.
"Why are we going there again!?" Catie demanded loudly, tightening her hold on Jamie's waist and leaning with him as they took a sharp right curve.
"You'll see!" Jamie laughed back to her, gunning the engine to increase their speed. Catie bit back a sudden urge to scream and hung on tighter, pushing her fear out of her mind. Riding through the streets of Kingsport on the back of a motorcycle was one thing, she decide, but driving up a winding mountain road is something else ENTIRELY.
After a few more minutes, when it came apparent that they had reached a fairly straight stretch of road, Catie allowed herself to relax slightly, taking in the beautiful scenery that surrounded her.
The narrow road was lined with trees, their leaves bursting with golds, browns, oranges and reds. A few evergreens dotted the area, their stark green needles a sharp contrast to the lovely colors of fall. Catie watched the trees flash by, melding together into a rush of color.
She placed her cheek on his back, watching display with wide eyes, and silently rejoiced that she had let Jamie 'talk her into' coming out her. Whatever Jamie wanted to show her at this 'Lover's Leap' couldn't possible compare with the ride up her, she decided.
She was wrong. Catie gaped at the scene that unfolded around her, as she stood on the edge of a sheer cliff. Some seven hundred feet beneath her, a lake, feed by a tiny creek, loomed. Jagged rocks stuck up from the deep blue waters, and the Gothic girl leaned out to look again, amazed by the picture that had been painted around her.
She and Jamie were standing in a perfect semi circle clearing of trees, boulders looming some three feet above Jamie's head. They twisted and dipped, twirling together into a strange pattern.
"Jamie." She breathed softly. "This place is...wow..."
"I know. I love it up here." Jamie told her softly, looking out over the land with eyes that were to sad and to dark to really belong to him. Catie blinked in surprise, and reached out to touch his shoulder softly, drawing his gaze away from the scene around him to her.
He let a small, sad smile pull at his lips and he placed his hand over hers, squeezing gently.
"What is it?" Catie asked softly, stepping forward. She almost put her arms around him, but stopped herself, sensing that it would somehow not be appropriate.
"My father. He use to bring me, and my mother and sisters up here--a long time ago. It was his favorite place to go...he use to tell us the story of how this cliff got it's name. My little sisters all thought it was so romantic; I just thought it was stupid." Jamie was rambling now, and he knew it. Shaking his head, he pulled his thoughts away from that subject, dropping his hand and turning away from Catie. "Look, never mind. Let's just go, okay?"
"No." Catie told him firmly, her tone of voice catching him off guard. There was something... sad and angry and soft and caring and completely un-Catie like in her voice. Turning back to face her, his heart nearly skipped a beat.
The drive up the mountain was a long one, so the sun was nearly setting by the time they had gotten there. The colors of the setting sun now matched the ones of the trees--brilliant scarlet streaks and gold and orange hues shone in the sky, the plain blue overshadowed by the explosive light that the disappearing light always left with.
The waning light caught Catie in it's rays, illuminating her like an angel fallen from heaven. Golden rays flashed through her dark hair, catching and sparkling the light golden highlights that decorated Catie's hair, and weren't normally visible. Her eyes, normally a dark hazel, were now nearly as green as the evergreens that sparkled in the tree line, and her skin looked rich and soft as satin in the gentle golden hues of light that were rapidly disappearing.
"Catie..." Jamie breathed softly, averting his eyes from her face, studying the space of ground that separated them.
A space that was rapidly disappearing as she moved toward him, her strides slow but determined. Almost like he was a wounded animal that she was going to help, but she wasn't sure if he would run or not.
"Jamie...I've know you for nearly five years, and I don't think that I've ever heard you talk about your family. Not once. What's your mom like? What's your dad like? What are your sisters like, and how many do you have? I don't know ANYTHING about your family." Catie told him, the realization bubbling to the surface of her mind as she said the words.
Jamie swallowed and continued to stare at the ground, as if not looking at her would take away the questions that she was asking him--questions that he didn't want to answer.
"Jamie...please." Her voice was softer then he had ever heard it before, and his heart began to bang against his chest again. He swallowed hard, and looked up into her beautiful, questioning eyes.
That was his undoing.
Running his fingers through his hair, he sighed, and opened his mouth to answer his questions. Instead of words however, a soft sob caught in his throat, and slammed his mouth closed so tightly that he nearly cracked his teeth. Hot tears, tears that he hadn't noticed before, welled up in his eyes, and he hurriedly blinked them away. However, instead of dissipating like they should of, they splashed down his cheeks. Turning his back to Catie he bit down on his lip, trying to get a handle on his emotions that were run roughshod over his control.
Catie blinked and moved forward slowly, until she was standing right behind the young man. She reached out to touch his shoulders lightly, her fingers curling around his upper arms. Slowly, she forced him to turn around and face her.
Tears slipped down his cheeks unchecked, and she lifted a hand to his face, brushing away a tear that had lingered to long on his cheek. Before she could think better of it, she stepped even closer, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his face down into her shoulder. He shuddered in her arms, his own slipping around her to pull her even closer to his body, holding onto her as if she was his last hope.
"Shhh...shhhh...it's okay..." Catie whispered to him, holding him as close as she dared. Her heart hurt in her chest to see him like this, and she silently cursed herself for forcing an issue that he so obviously did not want to talk about. "I'm sorry Jamie..."
"It's not your fault." His words were whispered into her hair, soft and sad. "It just...hurts."
"What..." Catie stopped herself before she could ask, mentally kicking herself for her slip up.
"My father." Jamie choked out by way of an answer. "He...he died, six years ago."
"Oh Jamie...I'm so sorry...I didn't know." She whispered into his ear, her heart going out to him.
"In a car accident. He flipped his car and it landed in a ditch. He died three days later...I wasn't there. I don't know where I was...I don't remember. But I wasn't there Catie. I wasn't there with my mother and my sisters when my dad died!" Another sob tore out of his throat, and Catie tightened her hold on him, tears slipping down her own cheeks.
"Oh Jamie..." She whispered, pulling back a little so she could look him in the face. "I'm so sorry..."
"I never got to say goodbye." Jamie whispered, swallowing so hard that his Adam's apple bobbed. "It was like...I don't..."
"Jamie..." Catie whispered to him, reaching out to cup his face in her hands. "Oh Jamie...I'm so sorry."
He bowed his head slightly, and she meet him half way, gently touching her forehead to his, and wrapping her arms around him as best she could.
"Thank you." Jamie whispered to her.
"Anytime." Catie whispered back, a hint of a smile pulling at her lips.
for Christmas. Nothing else new has happened in the two minutes that I went from writing this author note from the last one I wrote. Oh, except--this chapter almost made me cry when I was writing it--and then my best friend called, and he was like--What's wrong?! Gah! I hate it when that happens! Anyway...without further ado...
Matchmaking 101 4/??
"Tyler, I'm not kidding give me back my report!" Her older sister's voice floated past Brooke's ears, and she rolled her eyes, snorting softly.
"I really wish that they would flirt on their own time." She remarked to Hank, who was sitting across from her, his feet propped up on the table as he worked on his own set of never ending reports.
"You think their bad here, you should see them at school." Hank laughed, shaking his head.
"Real bad?" Brooke wanted to know, grinning.
"Oh yeah. If I get caught in the middle of one more longing look, I'm going to throw myself off a cliff or something. I don't know how they manage to keep a 4.0--in the classes they have together, their to busy studying each other to bother listen to the teacher!" Hank laughed, shaking his head.
"And I thought Catie and Jamie had it bad for each other." Brooke giggled, watching her sister try to snatch her reports back from the laughing Tyler.
"Oh, trust me--Val and Tyler have nothing on those too." Hank assured her. "For awhile there, I thought they WERE together."
"Really?" Brooke asked, curiously.
"Yeah." Hank agreed, turning back to his reports, his brow furrowing in concentration.
"Hmm." The younger Linar sister murmured to herself, looking back down at the magazine she was reading.
'How We Fell In Love' written in bold pink letters with lots of tiny little heart etched around it caught her attention and she began to scan the article, only half-reading it, while the other part of her brain listened to Tyler and Val giggle and laugh and flirt.
'We were just friends, until three of out mutual buds thought we would make a good couple.' Brooke blinked, and turned her entire attention on the article in her hands, a small grin pulling at her lips.
"This could work." She thought out loud, reading the rest of the blurb.
"What could work?" Hank asked, looking up from his reports. Brooke smiled broadly at him, and turned the article around to show him.
"This!"
@-}--)---
"SO, where are we going again?!" Catie yelled over the roar of the engine, the cool wind whipping her long black hair behind her.
"Lover's Leap!" Jamie called back to her, his voice barely audible as the wind carried it away from them.
"Why are we going there again!?" Catie demanded loudly, tightening her hold on Jamie's waist and leaning with him as they took a sharp right curve.
"You'll see!" Jamie laughed back to her, gunning the engine to increase their speed. Catie bit back a sudden urge to scream and hung on tighter, pushing her fear out of her mind. Riding through the streets of Kingsport on the back of a motorcycle was one thing, she decide, but driving up a winding mountain road is something else ENTIRELY.
After a few more minutes, when it came apparent that they had reached a fairly straight stretch of road, Catie allowed herself to relax slightly, taking in the beautiful scenery that surrounded her.
The narrow road was lined with trees, their leaves bursting with golds, browns, oranges and reds. A few evergreens dotted the area, their stark green needles a sharp contrast to the lovely colors of fall. Catie watched the trees flash by, melding together into a rush of color.
She placed her cheek on his back, watching display with wide eyes, and silently rejoiced that she had let Jamie 'talk her into' coming out her. Whatever Jamie wanted to show her at this 'Lover's Leap' couldn't possible compare with the ride up her, she decided.
She was wrong. Catie gaped at the scene that unfolded around her, as she stood on the edge of a sheer cliff. Some seven hundred feet beneath her, a lake, feed by a tiny creek, loomed. Jagged rocks stuck up from the deep blue waters, and the Gothic girl leaned out to look again, amazed by the picture that had been painted around her.
She and Jamie were standing in a perfect semi circle clearing of trees, boulders looming some three feet above Jamie's head. They twisted and dipped, twirling together into a strange pattern.
"Jamie." She breathed softly. "This place is...wow..."
"I know. I love it up here." Jamie told her softly, looking out over the land with eyes that were to sad and to dark to really belong to him. Catie blinked in surprise, and reached out to touch his shoulder softly, drawing his gaze away from the scene around him to her.
He let a small, sad smile pull at his lips and he placed his hand over hers, squeezing gently.
"What is it?" Catie asked softly, stepping forward. She almost put her arms around him, but stopped herself, sensing that it would somehow not be appropriate.
"My father. He use to bring me, and my mother and sisters up here--a long time ago. It was his favorite place to go...he use to tell us the story of how this cliff got it's name. My little sisters all thought it was so romantic; I just thought it was stupid." Jamie was rambling now, and he knew it. Shaking his head, he pulled his thoughts away from that subject, dropping his hand and turning away from Catie. "Look, never mind. Let's just go, okay?"
"No." Catie told him firmly, her tone of voice catching him off guard. There was something... sad and angry and soft and caring and completely un-Catie like in her voice. Turning back to face her, his heart nearly skipped a beat.
The drive up the mountain was a long one, so the sun was nearly setting by the time they had gotten there. The colors of the setting sun now matched the ones of the trees--brilliant scarlet streaks and gold and orange hues shone in the sky, the plain blue overshadowed by the explosive light that the disappearing light always left with.
The waning light caught Catie in it's rays, illuminating her like an angel fallen from heaven. Golden rays flashed through her dark hair, catching and sparkling the light golden highlights that decorated Catie's hair, and weren't normally visible. Her eyes, normally a dark hazel, were now nearly as green as the evergreens that sparkled in the tree line, and her skin looked rich and soft as satin in the gentle golden hues of light that were rapidly disappearing.
"Catie..." Jamie breathed softly, averting his eyes from her face, studying the space of ground that separated them.
A space that was rapidly disappearing as she moved toward him, her strides slow but determined. Almost like he was a wounded animal that she was going to help, but she wasn't sure if he would run or not.
"Jamie...I've know you for nearly five years, and I don't think that I've ever heard you talk about your family. Not once. What's your mom like? What's your dad like? What are your sisters like, and how many do you have? I don't know ANYTHING about your family." Catie told him, the realization bubbling to the surface of her mind as she said the words.
Jamie swallowed and continued to stare at the ground, as if not looking at her would take away the questions that she was asking him--questions that he didn't want to answer.
"Jamie...please." Her voice was softer then he had ever heard it before, and his heart began to bang against his chest again. He swallowed hard, and looked up into her beautiful, questioning eyes.
That was his undoing.
Running his fingers through his hair, he sighed, and opened his mouth to answer his questions. Instead of words however, a soft sob caught in his throat, and slammed his mouth closed so tightly that he nearly cracked his teeth. Hot tears, tears that he hadn't noticed before, welled up in his eyes, and he hurriedly blinked them away. However, instead of dissipating like they should of, they splashed down his cheeks. Turning his back to Catie he bit down on his lip, trying to get a handle on his emotions that were run roughshod over his control.
Catie blinked and moved forward slowly, until she was standing right behind the young man. She reached out to touch his shoulders lightly, her fingers curling around his upper arms. Slowly, she forced him to turn around and face her.
Tears slipped down his cheeks unchecked, and she lifted a hand to his face, brushing away a tear that had lingered to long on his cheek. Before she could think better of it, she stepped even closer, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his face down into her shoulder. He shuddered in her arms, his own slipping around her to pull her even closer to his body, holding onto her as if she was his last hope.
"Shhh...shhhh...it's okay..." Catie whispered to him, holding him as close as she dared. Her heart hurt in her chest to see him like this, and she silently cursed herself for forcing an issue that he so obviously did not want to talk about. "I'm sorry Jamie..."
"It's not your fault." His words were whispered into her hair, soft and sad. "It just...hurts."
"What..." Catie stopped herself before she could ask, mentally kicking herself for her slip up.
"My father." Jamie choked out by way of an answer. "He...he died, six years ago."
"Oh Jamie...I'm so sorry...I didn't know." She whispered into his ear, her heart going out to him.
"In a car accident. He flipped his car and it landed in a ditch. He died three days later...I wasn't there. I don't know where I was...I don't remember. But I wasn't there Catie. I wasn't there with my mother and my sisters when my dad died!" Another sob tore out of his throat, and Catie tightened her hold on him, tears slipping down her own cheeks.
"Oh Jamie..." She whispered, pulling back a little so she could look him in the face. "I'm so sorry..."
"I never got to say goodbye." Jamie whispered, swallowing so hard that his Adam's apple bobbed. "It was like...I don't..."
"Jamie..." Catie whispered to him, reaching out to cup his face in her hands. "Oh Jamie...I'm so sorry."
He bowed his head slightly, and she meet him half way, gently touching her forehead to his, and wrapping her arms around him as best she could.
"Thank you." Jamie whispered to her.
"Anytime." Catie whispered back, a hint of a smile pulling at her lips.