Disclaimer: All the characters in this fanfic belong to Disney and any other company that owns the series 'In A Heartbeat', except Mr. Harriman and Blake Wilson.
Scenes from the previous episode…
"How would you like to go out for dinner with me Friday night after the football game? We have that night off. I mean, if it's all right with you?" he asked Val, practically begging her to go.
"That sounds great," she replied, giving him one of her famous smiles that he just couldn't resist.
"OK. Pick you up at 7?" he inquired with a trace of merriment in his voice.
"I'll be waiting then," she said.
As the two went into the station, there was a new feeling in the air. As he walked along side Val, Tyler couldn't be anymore happy,…and relieved. 'This is just the beginning of my new life!'
If he only knew how he couldn't have been more wrong…
To be continued…
No One Else but You: "He stood me up!"
As much to his dismay, the week went by rather slow. Tyler couldn't believe it's still Wednesday. It had only been a couple of days ago when he finally asked Val out. Well, sort of anyway. Now that he thought about it, he just wishes that Val didn't realize that the friend he was referring to was Jamie, and that the other one was Caitie. If she did make any sense out of it, let alone told Caitie or even Jamie, he'll be dead without even having a chance to meet Val for their date. Nonetheless, those tiny little shadows of problems couldn't get the sunlight out of him.
The day still went on slowly. What was only two hours seemed like forever for Val. Two days ago Tyler asked her out. She can't believe that this long-awaited dream of hers has finally come true. As she thought about the way he managed to ask her, she can't help but give a small laugh.
"What are you laughing about?" asked Caitie with suspicion.
"What?!?" she exclaimed, a bit surprised.
"What are you laughing about?" she asked again.
"Oh, nothing. It was nothing," she replied, hoping that Caitie didn't see her blush.
Caitie just rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the teacher.
'He was so cute! He was so nervous, and…'. Val continued to daydream when a though suddenly popped to her head. 'Wait a minute, Tyler said something about a friend of his liking mine. Did he just say that for the heck of saying something, or was he telling the truth? If he was, could he be talking about Caitie? And if it was Caitie, whom could he be talking about? Is it Jamie?…'
"Val, what is the Pythagorean Theorem?" asked her math teacher
"It's gotta be him!" she yelled out.
Everyone burst out laughing. The teacher on the other hand, was not amused.
"Val, what has gotten into you?" asked Caitie, a bit worried.
"Umm, could you repeat the question, Mr. Harriman?" asked Val politely, a bit embarrassed.
"What is the Pythagorean Theorem, Ms. Lanier?" he asked with impatience in his voice.
"A squared + B squared = C squared," she replied accurately.
"Good," the teacher commented.
As the teacher continued on his lesson, Val's thoughts returned to what she was thinking about. 'It has to be Jamie. Who else could it be? Besides, I think they both like each other anyway. Maybe it's time for Val to shoot some arrows around.' She smiled as she thought about her plan to get them both together.
As the bell rang, Val and Caitie picked up their stuff and headed for their next class. As they walked down the hall, they came across Tyler and Jamie. Tyler and Val just looked into each other's eyes, and gave a knowing smile. They didn't need words to be able to talk to each other. Meanwhile, without Val recognizing, Caitie took a quick look at Jamie. 'He looks so good in that leather jacket. And his eyes…' Her thoughts were cut off when she noticed Jamie looking at her, and she quickly diverted her gaze.
Tyler was headed to the cafeteria with Jamie. In the halls, he saw Val heading towards his direction. When they met up, he just looked at her straight in the eyes and smiled. She smiled back. 'Gosh, she's pretty.' At the same time, Jamie was also looking at a certain someone. He saw Caitie walking alongside Val. He caught her eyes on his, but for some reason, she diverted her gaze as though surprised to see him. 'What's up with that? She was looking at me first. Does she know?'
Friday finally came. It was a big day, not only for Tyler, but also for Kingsport High as well. The Regional Championship Football game will be held later that afternoon. The school has not been able to get to the finals since 1993. If they lose, this will be the last game of the season. If they win, they're going to the State Finals. A lot of people will be there. It's not an easy game though. They're against the number one team in the region, the undefeated Hamilton Golden Bears. With their star player and captain, Blake Wilson, leading them, it's not going to be an easy feat to overcome.
It was still 3:30, and the bleachers are already full. Almost everyone in town was there for the anticipated game. The marching band was already there. The cheerleaders were up and ready to go. And the Kingsport Cobras football players were already warming up in their home field. Tyler and Hank practiced together. Val went up to them to wish them luck.
"Good luck guys!" she said, already in her cheerleading outfit.
"Thanks. We need it," replied Tyler, the team's captain and star running back.
"We need all the luck we can get," added Hank, the team's quarterback.
The score was knotted at 17. When Hank passed the ball to Tyler, Blake Wilson, one of the opponents, grabbed it for an interception. As Blake rushed for the touchdown mark, Tyler was just on his tail.
"Try to catch me now, Connell," he taunted.
Tyler, although angered, didn't bother to counter his remark. Instead, he just kept on chasing him. Unfortunately, he didn't succeed in catching him. Blake already made the touchdown. A huge wave of boos crept throughout the crowd. Hank went over to Tyler.
"It's OK buddy. We'll catch them sooner than you think," he said as words of encouragement.
Blake headed for Tyler. A mischievous smile on his face, he deliberately bumped on Tyler as he passed him.
"You're going down, Connell. You and your sorry-ass team," he stated. "And if you ever try to stop us, you're gone, Connell. That I promise you," he said as he handed him the ball and left, laughing at him.
As he watched the opposing team try a field goal, he kept hoping that their kicker would miss. It would be their only chance of winning, with 5 minutes left in the game. The kicker kicked the ball (duh!), and it went high up, heading straight for the goal. Tyler looked on, as he watched the ball, thinking that it's over for them. He turned his back, and didn't even bother to look. Suddenly, the crowd was cheering. Apparently, the ball went straight, but only it went under the goal.
"Looks like we still might have a chance after all," he said quietly to himself as he went to huddle with the rest of his teammates.
"OK Tyler, what's the plan?" asked one of his teammates.
"Hank, Coach said we have to do the Swithcheroo play," he told him.
"Well, I guess we have no choice. Hamilton expects you to catch the ball, and me to throw," he replied. "OK, let's do it," he continued.
"1,2,3,…COBRAS!!!" roared the team, and they broke the huddle.
The Cobras set up their play. Tyler, got the ball, and was ready to pitch it to Hank. Before he could throw it to him, he was blocked by one of the opponent's defense lineman. "Great. Come on, Tyler…think.' Without even knowing what he did, Tyler rushed and headed for a touchdown. The crowd was on their feet, as they watched Tyler near the end zone. It seemed like no one was out to catch him, when out of nowhere, Blake Wilson was already running towards him for a crash collision.
"You're not going to ruin this for me, Connell. And I wasn't kidding before," he told him as he was about to tackle him.
At that moment, Tyler knew that Blake will jump on him. He knew that he was a few feet away from the end zone. Running out of options with no time to think, Tyler, with all his might, leaped over Blake, as he tried to tackle him, but missed. Tyler didn't even know how high he was in the air until he landed on his back, and scored a touchdown. The crowd went wild, and all of Tyler's teammates gathered to him. Hank pulled him up.
"That was great, man. I am really impressed," he said with a sure sign of joy in his voice.
"Well, somebody's got to do it," he replied, nearly out of breath, but was far from getting tired.
As the crowd watched the Cobra kicker go for a field goal, Tyler, Hank, and everyone on the team, in the stadium, watched as the ball went up in the air,…got closer to the goal post,…and went in.
A huge scream filled the stadium. The Cobras won the game by a point. Everyone was now up on their feet, and headed towards the players to commend them for a job well done. Everyone was so excited about the win. Tyler couldn't even believe they won. He searched for Val, but couldn't find her anywhere. He then saw Caitie, Brooke, and Jamie heading towards him.
"Where's Val?" asked Tyler.
"Congratulations, Tyler!" exclaimed Brooke.
"That was tight! Did you see how high you were up there?" said Jamie.
"What's your problem? You just won the Regional Championship, and all you could say is 'Where's Val?" remarked Caitie.
"Where's Val?" asked Tyler again, as if he didn't hear a single word that they said.
"She went home to get ready for your big date," responded Brooke.
"That's great. Tell her I'll see her later, OK?" Tyler told Brooke.
"Sure. No problem," she replied.
Tyler went back to his teammates and celebrated their huge victory.
Val was just about finished getting ready. She can't wait for their date. She was happy for Tyler in winning the game. She heard from Brooke that he was named as the 'Most Valuable Player' of the game. Val was really excited, and nervous as well. As she looked at the time, it said 6:30. 'He should be here any time soon.'
It was thirty minutes past seven, and Tyler hasn't shown up yet. Val was getting worried. 'Maybe he was just running late, that all.' Val decided to call Hank to ask if he knew where Tyler was, but he wasn't home. As the clock ticked, and time flew by, Val had seemed to have given up. It was already nine o'clock. Val was almost at the verge of bursting into tears. 'How could he do this to me? How could he let me wait like this? How could he hurt me this way?' All of a sudden, the phone rang. 'If this is you Tyler,…' She was really upset and frustrated, and it showed in her tone.
"Hello!!!" she answered the phone.
"I'm sorry to bother you!" replied Caitie. "Wait a minute, Val, is that you?" she asked, pretty stunned for she thought she was on a date with Tyler.
"Yes, this is me," she managed to say. She couldn't hold it anymore, and she broke down in tears.
"Val? What's wrong? What happened?" she asked, feeling sorry for her friend.
"He stood me up, Caitie!" she choked. "Tyler Connell stood me up in what was supposed to be the best night of my life," she went on. "I trusted him," she cried.
"I'm so sorry, Val. I don't know what to say," she stated, not really knowing what so say to her friend. "If he stood you up, then maybe it wasn't meant to be, you know," she added.
"Yea,…look, I need to be alone right now. Could you call me later? I don't really feel like seeing or talking to anybody right now," she told her friend.
"Sure. Whatever you want. Bye," she replied, and then hung up.
After the celebration, Tyler got home, cleaned up, and got ready for his big date. He had a surprise gift for Val, and he put it inside his jacket to not forget it. A little while ago, he was on his computer and was chatting with Hank online just to pass the time. He wished him luck. He needed it. As he looked at his watch, it said 6:35. He left his computer on, and left an away message saying: I'm out right now. I'll probably be back between 9 and 11 o'clock. I'll talk to you guys later. Go Cobras!!! ~ T.C. After that, he left the house and headed for Val's.
While he was driving, he noticed a car in the middle of the road. There was a man laying unconscious on the ground. As an EMT, he was obligated to help the guy. As he got out of his car and proceeded to help him, the man just stood up, and looked at him with a smile on his face that meant it was just a set up.
"It's nice to see you again, Connell," said a young man behind him.
For Tyler, time must have seemed to have stopped. The voice was all so familiar to him. He knew very well who it was, and he knew that it was a bad sign. As he stood there for what seemed like a minute, thoughts ran into his mind. '…I have a friend, who likes your friend…Pick you up at 7?…"if you ever try to stop us"…' Tyler slowly turned around and got a look of his persecutor's face. 'Connell……you're gone, Connell……you're gone,……gone……' He felt a sudden blow on the head, and everything just turned black, like he was engulfed by the night…
Val locked herself up inside her room. It was eleven o'clock. She hasn't stopped crying since she had a talk with Caitie. Up to this moment, Val still didn't get over what happened. She knew it was too good to be true, but she hoped it was. 'This was Tyler Connell. The nicest, generous, understanding, loving, most perfect guy she has ever met. Was she just blinded by his looks?'
"Tyler," she whispered softly as she stared outside her window to the bright full moon. "Why?" she continued, and drifted again to another cry.
To be continued… (once again, I'm sorry J …I don't know when I'll be able to put up the continuation of this story. I have a bunch of test to study for. Let me know what you think. Feedbacks are really appreciated. Who knows, with your word of encouragement, I might be able to finish the story faster J )