Disclaimer: I own nothing Disney related. Just a fan and all that. No suing, please, because that would be really crappy.
I suggest that you read the other parts first. Then this part might make more sense.
Please, please, please, please, please review!


His eyes were brown. Of course, Caitie had known that for years and years. Yet, for some reason, tonight they looked different. Better. More amazing. How was it possible, she wondered, to suddenly find yourself lost in a pair of eyes that had never affected you before? Caitie pondered this as she stared deeper in to the depths of brown before her.

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

Jamie searched Caitie's face intently. He was looking for a sign, any sign at all that Caitie felt as strange as he did. Sure, Jamie had had girlfriends since graduating from high school. Yet, none of them were like Caitie. That had been the problem, Jamie realized after every relationship had ended. The girls Jamie had dated in the past had not been Caitie and so, they had never lasted.


But, now, after so long, she was there before him. Jamie couldn't figure out what to do next. One thing was certain, though. He definitely was going to stay in contact with her from now on.

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

A loud smack startled Caitie and she jumped, inadvertently pulling her hand out of Jamie's grasp. Jamie took a step back and shook his head as if he were just coming out of a trance. He looked back at Caitie slowly, knowing that the connection between them had been severed. He sighed somewhat disappointed that their moment had been ruined.

But, then again, doubt did creep up into his mind. Was he crazy? Yeah, he really liked Caitie and all that, but he hadn't seen her in years. What if she didn't feel the same way? What if she had changed?

Her face was turned partially away from him, looking at someone across the punch table next to where they stood. A small smirk played on her lips. Jamie wished that she would look back at him so he could see her eyes. Eyes never lied about how someone was feeling.

Jamie followed Caitie's gaze, wondering who had captured her attention. Across the table, stood Heather, her face entirely too red. She stood close to the table, one hand on it for support as she breathed heavily. She looked like she was angry enough to commit murder. Next to her on the table, her cup of punch lay broken, where she had slammed it down. The bright red liquid seeped out of the glass, down the sides of the white tablecloth. Jamie could just imagine how much angrier Heather would be when she found out that her dress was now soaking up some of the fallen punch.

Apparently, Caitie was having the same thought because she broke out into a full-fledged grin. She glanced at Jamie and he returned her smile.

"Maybe we should leave this area," he said grabbing her arm and steering her away from the punch table before Heather really got mad.

As soon as they were out of hearing range, Caitie broke out into laughter. "Oh, that was too good," she said. "I guess I'm glad I came to this thing after all."

"I'm glad you came," Jamie said quietly, staring at her.

Caitie froze and stared at Jamie, wondering what he was thinking. She still could not believe what had happened between them just minutes before. Had it been a joke, she had wondered at the time. Or had Jamie been serious as he stared at her?

The whole thing had unnerved her to the extreme. She had come here only to convince herself that she had only had a small silly crush on Jamie, nothing more. But, she had not expected this to happen. She had not expected to feel something she had never really felt before.

And how, she thought, did he expect her to respond to a statement like the one he had just made? What was he expecting her to say?

Caitie looked away from Jamie, feeling the strange tension between them crackle like electricity. It had never been this way with Jamie before. They had always been so comfortable around each other. They had never had any trouble finding things to talk about. Yet, as they stood there, both staring out at the dance floor, talking seemed impossible.

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

Jamie scanned the gym, his eyes passing over people but not really focusing on any of them. His mind raced a mile a minute. He knew now that he should not have said what he did. He should have let things go lightly as they always had when Caitie and he had been in high school. Heck, in high school he had become a pro at pretending that he didn't like Caitie any more than a friend. But, this time, things were different.

Jamie didn't want to push Caitie. For all he knew, she could only want him as a friend. But, was he ready to accept that? Like hell, he thought, feeling nervousness creep into his stomach. He wished with all his might that he could just push the nervous feeling away and never deal with it again. As far as he was concerned, there was absolutely no reason to feel nervous. This was just Caitie. He'd known her for way too long to be nervous around her. Yet, he felt that way all the same.

Think, he commanded his mind fiercely. He had to say something, to save any chance they might have at conversing that night.

"I read your book," Jamie mention casually, glancing at Caitie.

She turned to him, her eyes wide with surprise. "You did?" She asked. It was, in fact, a surprise to her that he had read something she had written. Since graduating, Caitie's whole life had been her writings. To know that Jamie cared enough to touch on her little world really meant something to her. Of course, she thought, if he read the book, there's a good chance he saw the dedication.......

"Yeah," Jamie said. "I liked it a lot. And the dedication was nice. Thanks."

He could see the first page of the book so clearly in his mind. Of course, over the years, he must have glanced at it at least a million times. Whenever Jamie had been going through a rough patch or had simply had a bad day, he would take out his copy of Caitie's book and flip it open to the first place. And he would read the few sweet words out loud to himself. "To Jamie: For never giving up easily and for being one of the greatest people I know. Wherever life has taken you, I hope you are happy." The words, themselves, had always made him feel better. But, knowing that they had come from Caitie had always warmed his heart.

Of course, he would not tell her how his copy of her book was so worn from reading that the cover had been taped on. It wasn't as if Jamie had been careless when he had bought the book. No, it was just the simple fact that he had read it over and over again, pouring over the words that had flowed from Caitie's pen. In a way, Jamie supposed it made him feel closer to Caitie even when they had not seen each other for years.

"Yeah, well," Caitie remarked. "It was the truth. Of course, I could have told you that in person if you had called me once in a while."

"I was busy," Jamie responded, a grin starting to form on his lips.

"And these places where you were busy, they had no phones? No paper and pens for writing poor worried friends?" Caitie retorted in her usual sarcastic manner.

Jamie laughed softly, happy that the lines of communication seemed to be open again. He felt more relaxed, as if everything was back to normal. Now if he could only get rid of the sudden urge to reach out and touch her hair. He bet it was soft. It hadn't escaped his attention that it seemed to shine under the gym lights.

"So what have you been up to, Jamie?" Caitie asked, looking up at him from her shorter stance. "I mean, what has Jamie Waite been up to since high school?"

"I guess you could say I have my own business," Jamie started, and Caitie looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to go on. " I run a year round camp for kids with cancer."

Caitie felt her eyes go wide and she slowly smiled. Jamie Waite ran a camp for sick kids? Why did that seem so like him? Sure, on the outside, Jamie liked to portray himself as the sarcastic rebel. Yet, Caitie had always known that when kids were involved, Jamie melted on the floor.

"That's really, really cool, Jamie," Caitie said, realizing not for the first time exactly why she loved him so. "What made you decide....."

"Peter," Jamie said, and then he stopped. He took a deep breath and then continued. "Well, not really Peter. It was his daughter, Kelly. She was three when she got cancer." Jamie looked away from Caitie, unwilling to let her see the unhealed pain in his eyes. "She was so full of life, you know? Even at that age, she loved everybody and everything."

"What happened?" Caitie asked, not really wanting to hear the answer to her question. She had an awful feeling that she already knew the answer.

"She died a year later. The cancer....it was just too much for her little body."

"Oh Jamie," Caitie breathed. She had had no idea that Jamie had suffered such an experience. Obviously, his niece had meant the world to him.

Jamie looked back at Caitie, allowing her to see the pain in his eyes. "K's Camp. That's what we call it. In honor of Peter's little girl."

"Jamie," Caitie started and she reached out to touch his arm.

Yet, as she reached out, the strangest thing happened. At the same time that she reached out to put a supporting hand on Jamie's arm, something in Jamie's mind snapped. He was tired....of everything. Talking of Kelly had made him realize that he shouldn't, couldn't, wait to deal with his feelings for Caitie. They were there and he needed to deal with it. So, as Caitie reached out, Jamie reached out too. The result? Jamie found her hand in mid air. Their fingers intertwined tightly and even in their wonderment, Jamie and Caitie both held on tightly.


Hank glanced over Melanie's shoulder, his eyes coming to rest on Jamie and Caitie. Oh boy, he thought, they're doing that staring thing again. Hank smiled, thinking how crazy those two were. Nothing like that would ever happen to him, Hank knew. No, he'd never act so silly where love was concerned. He would be smooth. Very smooth.

And then Hank made the mistake of looking into Melanie's eyes. His legs turned to Jello again.



Hank, it seems, has got it bad. Okay, I hope that the next part will be out soon. Don't forget to review, K? Thanks!