Disclaimer: No, I still do not own any of this stuff. It all belongs to Disney or whoever.
In one of my reviews for "Ode To Jamie and Catie," I was asked to write a Tyler/Val fic. So, this is my honest effort towards one. Hope you like it.
This fic is set a few years after graduation. Everyone has gone his/her separate ways.



I can't believe I am doing this, Val thought to herself as she threw another pair of jeans into her suitcase. It had been so long since she had been in Kingsport. There had been no point in ever going back after all of her friends and her parents had moved away. But, now she was going back.

The invitation to the reunion still lay on her dresser where she had placed it the night before. It promised 'tons of fun' and 'lots of reminiscing with old friends'. Sure, it sounds like fun until you actually get there, Val thought.

No, she had not been planning on going to the reunion until she had been sitting in her last meeting of the day the day before. The vice president of Val's company had been droning on about something unimportant and Val had simply slouched in her seat and stewed over whether or not to go to the reunion. Of course, the real question on her mind was whether or not Tyler Connell would be there. And did she care?

Throughout high school, there had been something between Tyler and herself that had bordered their friendship. It wasn't something that either of them had tried to capture, but it was there. Val had to admit to herself that she had really truly liked Tyler as more than a friend. And at times, she could have sworn Tyler felt the same way about her.

At graduation, Tyler had promised to stay in touch with Val. But, years later, she was still waiting for the first letter or phone call to come through from him. She had lost hope after a while of ever hearing from him.

And now the reunion had come up. Val's main reason for not wanting to go was obvious. She didn't want to run into Tyler there and have the same feelings between them. Or what if they didn't feel the same? Wouldn't it be awkward? Wasn't it better to just stay away and live with the memories of high school?

Val had left all of her innocent aspirations behind her as she had left Kingsport. She had gone to college and had graduated with honors. Now, she was the president of her own successful business. Her life was all figured out. She didn't have time for distractions. Therefore, she didn't have time for a class reunion and Tyler Connell. Right?

Val sighed as she threw another shirt into her suitcase and remembered how the meeting had seemed to go on forever the day before. It had given her enough time to remember:

How Tyler had stayed at the hospital with her for hours on end when her dad had had his heart attack.........The time Tyler had given her the ugliest knickknack in the world as a good luck charm.........how he had always helped her with her algebra.................how he had always been there when she had needed him.................the dance that Val was so sure that Tyler was going to ask her to. What a surprise and disappointment it had been when he had asked Heather to it. Val had ended up staying at the EMS station that night, pretending that she couldn't care less that Tyler was probably dancing with Heather.

It was about the time that the Vice president started talking marketing figures that Val had gotten the idea to go. At first, she had shrugged it off, telling herself that she didn't want to see Tyler. Didn't want to live the past over again. But, a little nagging voice at the back of her mind admitted that she was a bit curious to see what had happened to Tyler. What would he be like years after she had last seen him?

I missed the homecoming dance that year because I didn't want to see Tyler with Heather, she had thought grimly. But, I can't keep sitting out on things just because of Tyler. Why sit at home and do nothing when she could go and see all her old friends again?

No, Val had thought, I can still go and have fun. I don't need Tyler Connell to be there to have fun.

And that is what had started it all. The invitation had stated that there would be a formal dance on Friday night and then a dinner on Saturday. Val had no problem dressing for the dinner. She could just wear one of her smart business suits. The problem came, though, with the formal dance. What to wear? After work, Val had gone on an emergency shopping trip. She had tried on dress after dress, wishing that she had not put off her decision to go for so long. Two hours, and a few shopping bags later, Val's wallet had become empty. But, she had a dress that she knew looked good and shoes to match.


Presently, Kiandra, Val's roommate walked into Val's bedroom and flopped down on Val's bed.

"So, are you going to dance with him?" She asked as she eyed the over-packed suitcase that Val was trying in vain to close. She knew the story behind Tyler and Val. Kinadra just wished she could be there when Val and Tyler saw each other for the first time after so long. Oh yes, it would be interesting to see what happened.

"Kiandra, I am not going to dance with him. I mean, he probably won't even remember me."

Kiandra snorted back her laughter and eyed her friend closely. Was that a hint of nervousness in her usually calm friend? "Yeah, right," she retorted. "From what you've been telling me, there is no possible way he could forget you."

Val shook her head, not allowing herself to feel any pleasure at the mere thought of Tyler remembering who she was. "Well, I won't dance with him. It would just be too weird."

Val finally got her suitcase to latch and then dragged it off its position on the bed. She started out of the room, lugging the heavy suitcase behind her.

"I bet you five dollars that you end up dancing with him," Kiandra called from her position on the bed. "And I bet you ten more that you end up spending the whole reunion with him."

"You're on!" Val called from the living room. She smiled as she thought of how easy it would be to win that bet. After all, she didn't have time for distractions, especially from Tyler Connell.

..............................

Tyler Connell checked into the hotel at exactly 5:00 P.M. on Friday night. The dance didn't start until eight, so he knew he had time to kill. He stood in the lobby of the hotel, debating how to kill that extra time. He could go over to the old EMS station and see how much things had changed. Hadn't he heard that one of Alex's daughters was working there now? Or he could just go visit Alex for a while.

Tyler was so deep in his own thoughts that he didn't hear his name be called once and then twice. In fact, he didn't even know someone was approaching him until a perfectly manicured hand rested on his shoulder, making him jump.

"Oh Tyler, didn't you hear me calling you? I must have called you a few times now."

Tyler turned around slowly, knowing whom the voice belonged to and dreading to see its owner.

"Heather," he said, a light smile on his face.

"Oh Tyler, its been too long," Heather said, throwing herself at Tyler and enveloping him in a hug. Tyler prayed it would be over soon. A few seconds later, Heather stepped away, brushing an imaginary tear out of one eye. "We have so much catching up to do," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him to the chairs in the lobby.

Tyler mentally groaned. So much for his visit to see Alex. Tyler tried to listen as Heather rambled on about what she had been up to for the last few years. Frankly, Tyler really didn't care. The only reason he had come to the reunion in the first place was because of one person. Val. Just thinking of her sweetness gave him a slight tremor. He had never stopped thinking about her since they had graduated. Now, he was there to see how she was doing and to give her something. Something that he had collected over the last few years. He hoped she would be there at the dance later on that night. He just couldn't wait to see her.

"Tyler, we simply must go to the dance together tonight," Heather said, touching his arm again.

"Um.....yeah, okay," Tyler returned, his mind not even comprehending what he had just complied to do. All he could think about was a certain blond haired girl he had had a huge crush on in high school. Yeah, he hoped Val was at the dance.

.................................

There were two elevators in the hotel. The hotel prided itself on the fact that the elevators were always clean and ran without any delays. But, on this particular night, the elevators were working too well. One opened its doors to the lobby just seconds before the other one. Val stepped into the elevator and pressed the "up" arrow with her index finger. At the same time, Tyler stepped out of the other elevator with Heather and headed for the front door of the hotel. Both Val and Tyler were oblivious to each other as they went on their own separate ways.

..................................


Tyler was not having fun. As soon as they had entered the crepe paper decorated gym, Heather had pulled Tyler over to where her friends stood. And he had listened as they had gone on and on, criticizing what everyone looked like that night. He turned away as one of Heather's friends made another rude comment about what someone was wearing. I know that guy, Tyler thought of the comment's victim, he was a great football player in high school.

Tyler wished he could see Val at that second. With Val, he knew, he would have had fun. They would have danced and laughed. It would have been great, Tyler thought sullenly as he gazed around the gym. Everywhere he looked, couples were having fun. I wish Val were here, he thought.

"Tyler," Heather said, pulling on his arm. He looked back at her expecting her to make some other obnoxious comment about someone they had known in high school.

"I'm thirsty," Heather announced grandly. "You can get me some punch."

"Um........okay," Tyler mumbled, surprised that Heather had turned out to be such a snob. She had always seemed so nice in school. Sure, she had seemed a bit flighty at times, but nice.

Boy, was I wrong about her, Tyler thought as he crossed the gym to the punch table. He was glad to get away from Heather and her snotty friends for a few minutes. If I had known how she really was, Tyler thought, I never would have agreed to come with her tonight.

Tyler reached the refreshments table and selected two cups of punch- one for Heather, and one for himself. He sighed as he turned around and started back across the gym to Heather's side. Just a few more hours, he thought glumly.

And then he saw her. She stood almost in the center of the gym, her eyes darting around the room as if she were looking for someone in particular.

Tyler froze, his jaw dropping open at the sight of her. For the most part, she looked the same as he remembered her. Was it possible that she could look more beautiful than he remembered her being? She was dressed in a light blue dress with those little straps that were named after some kind of pasta. Tyler could never remember the name of those kinds of straps. Her hair was pulled up behind her head, allowing a beautiful view of smooth shoulders to meet Tyler's eyes.

Tyler sucked in a ragged breath just to make sure he was still alive. Man, he couldn't take his eyes away from her! It was funny how in just the space of a few seconds, Heather, the dance and everyone in the gym had disappeared. The only people left were Val and himself, it seemed.

And then she looked in his direction. Her eyes found his and she smiled, her facial features softening. Tyler just about died on the spot. Why didn't I ask her out in high school, he thought scolding himself.

"Here," he said, shoving the two cups of punch into the hands of a couple of girls who just happened to be walking by at that time. They both looked at him as if he were truly crazy. But then they followed Tyler's gaze and saw who he was looking at. Both girls snickered and moved on with their cups of punch. Everyone knew how much Tyler and Val liked each other. And everyone had wondered why they had not ended up together in high school.

Tyler was just about to take a step towards Val when a movement out of the corner of his eye stopped him. He looked over to his left and found that he was not the only one who had noticed Val standing there. The person who had noticed Val had not changed in the way of looks either. Lean Dean looked the same and had already started his way across the floor to Val.

No way, Tyler thought. There is no way he is getting to Val first this time.

Tyler started across the floor towards Val, determined to make it there before Lean Dean got there.

Catie Roth, who had just gotten to the reunion herself, stood near the punch table, watching as both boys discreetly raced each other over to where Val stood. "What fools these mortals be," she murmured, wondering who would get there first.



Sorry it's kind of short. Please, please, please review. I am debating whether or not to keep going with this one. I thought (if I do keep it going) I'd finish the part with Tyler and Val and then have Jamie and Caite reunite. Then perhaps I'll do something with Hank. So please let me know what you think. Jeez, it seems so much easier to write about Jamie and Catie for some reason. Thanks!