Disclaimer: I do not own anything IaHB related. I mean, seriously, I don't. And I have never met any of the cast, etc. Whatever. ;)
Here we go:
Tyler was half way across the gym floor when he heard the scream. Normally, such a noise would have stopped him in his tracks. Normally, he would have looked around, searching for the person who obviously was in some sort of trouble. They must be if they were screaming, right?
This time, though, the scream did not even break his stride. He didn't turn to see who had made such an awful noise because he knew with all certainty that it had to have been Heather. She had finally lost it. The thought of how red her face must be made Tyler smile.
Heather was not important to him. She was a snob, as he suspected she had always been. He knew that leaving her at the refreshments table like he had was not exactly gentleman-like. But, Tyler didn't care. He had other things on his mind.
He strode across the gym with only one goal in mind- to find Val. After all, he had come to the reunion to see Val. Nothing, not Heather nor Lean Dean, was going to stop him.
Tyler had been ready to give up on his chances of being with Val when Dean had beaten him across the gym floor to her. He had been ready to just chalk the experience up to bad luck and go back to his life- without Val. But, seeing Jamie and Caitie had made him realize how important Val really was to him. And how important it was that he see her soon.
She was still seated at the table where he had seen her last. The only difference was that Dean was nowhere to be found. Tyler stopped walking and just stared at her for a minute. She sat alone, staring out into the endless couples across the gym. A smile played on her lips and she tilted her head to one side as if she were pondering some deep mysterious thoughts.
She was beautiful. Tyler had never in all his life met anyone that was as beautiful as she was at that moment, just sitting there casually. A part of him just wanted to watch her, to not bother the peace that seemed to surround her sweetly. He just wanted to stay where he was and stare at her and memorize every detail of the way she looked. That way, when the reunion weekend was over with, he would be able to carry away her image in his mind.
But, his feet seemed to have other plans for him as they carried him closer to the table. He wondered vaguely if she had been disappointed when Dean had gotten to her first just a short time before. Had she wished it had been me, he asked himself. And he truly hoped with all his might that the answer was yes.
.....................................................
Val placed her elbow on the table in front of her and rested her chin on the palm of her hand. She sighed as she glanced around the gym, looking for a friendly face. Everyone seemed so busy talking with other people.........except her.
Her eyes grazed over Hank and Melanie, who stood smiling shyly at each other like a couple of sixth graders. She smiled. Of course, she recognized Melanie from different magazine covers. And Hank...... Well, Val thought, breaking into a full-fledged grin, he'll never know what hit him.
"Man, she sure has changed, hasn't she?" A voice behind her said quietly and she could have sworn that her heart skipped a beat.
She turned around slowly, trying to make it look as if she were not too interested in who was behind her. She did not want to give away the fact that she cared what Tyler had to say. He was at the dance with Heather, wasn't he? Why was he wasting his time talking to her then?
"Yeah," she replied, looking into Tyler's blue eyes. "She has. A lot of people here have."
"Yeah," came the soft reply. "Can I sit down?"
As if on autopilot, Val motioned to the seat across from her, which had just recently been vacated by Dean. She watched as Tyler sat down across from her and made himself comfortable.
And then suddenly neither knew what to say. They stared at each other, both wondering why it was that they had come to the reunion in the first place. Maybe this was a bad idea, Tyler thought.
Val smiled, trying desperately not to show her true emotions. Before coming to the reunion, she had not been sure what would happen when she saw Tyler again after so long. She hadn't been sure how she would react to seeing him. It was just so difficult seeing how she had felt so strongly for him before! And he hadn't written her at all since graduation. They had had no contact with each other whatsoever. Now, though, was a different story. Here he was, sitting across from her like he had so many times in high school. What was she to say?
She wanted to say something to start off a conversation. Val wanted their conversation to be friendly and light, as it had always been in high school. She didn't want to have to think about the tension that seemed to be growing between them all too quickly. No, she just wanted things to be as they were before, when they had been such good friends.
"So, I didn't realize you and Heather were so close," she started, hoping it would break the strange barrier of silence that had been erected between them.
"What?" Tyler asked, extremely confused. He and Heather were anything but close. Right now, Tyler was pretty sure that Heather would tend to agree with him. Where did she get an idea like that, he wondered briefly.
"Well," Val started, hoping she didn't sound like she was prying. As a matter of fact, though, she was. "I saw you two.......together......and she had her hand on your arm. So, I just thought that you two had...um...gotten together."
Tyler laughed. So, that was where she had gotten such a crazy thought. And how wrong she was. She was so far off the mark, that it was almost comical. There was no way that he would ever be with Heather, not when Val was sitting across from him looking like a perfect angel.
But, there was something else going on as well. Val had seemed different when she had started to talk about Heather. This amused Tyler greatly. Was it possible? Did Val seem jealous? If anything, Tyler knew, Val did not have to be jealous of Heather. Between the two girls, there was absolutely no competition as to whom Tyler would want to be with.
"Heather and I are not together," he informed Val, still laughing a bit. "We just saw each other at the hotel tonight and decided.....no, more like, she decided, to come here together. That's all."
"Looked like you two were pretty cozy," Val murmured under her breath, as she looked out at the other couples who were starting to dance to the music.
Tyler stopped smiling and looked at Val closely. Oh, he had heard what she had said under her breath and it bothered him greatly. Why should Val care who he had come to the dance with anyway? He had thought that his explanation of how he had ended up as Heather's date would have been enough. But, Val still seemed perturbed about something. Yeah, she's really one to talk, he thought.
"Well, what about you?" Tyler demanded, drawing Val's attention back to him. He leaned forward in his chair. "You and Dean seemed to be real friendly over here, talking like you guys were old friends."
"We are old friends."
"Yeah, but not as good of friends as you and I were," Tyler retorted harshly.
Tyler sat back in his chair and watched as hurt crept its way up into Val's eyes. He hadn't meant to be so harsh with his words. It was just.....well, seeing her with Dean had not exactly been a bright spot on his evening. "I mean, we are good friends," he amended slowly.
Val smiled slightly, not sure where to go with their disastrous attempt at conversation.
"So what has Dean been up to?" Tyler asked. He really didn't care what Dean had done since high school. But, Tyler wanted to hear Val talk. And if she talked about someone that she obviously cared about, then..........
"College, wife, three kids," Val said.
Tyler smiled, his first genuine smile of the evening. "Really?" He asked.
"Yeah," Val replied, happy that their new conversation seemed to be taking on a bit of a lighter tone. "He has pictures in his wallet and everything. He's a very proud daddy."
"Well, then where is his wife?" Tyler asked, scanning the gym for Dean and his apparent spouse.
Val smiled. Was that relief she had seen when she had told Tyler about Dean being married? Or was it her imagination?
"She was supposed to come. But at the last minute, the babysitter got sick. So, she told Dean to go without her."
Val looked at Tyler. Tyler looked at Val. Suddenly, as if on cue, both Tyler and Val burst out laughing. The tension that had been an immovable wall between them just minutes before, rushed away, leaving their old friendship behind in its wake. And, perhaps, something new.
"You're not with Heather," Val said, smiling at the person she had thought about since graduation too many times to count.
"And you are not going to end up with Lean Dean," Tyler added, shaking his head at his own stupidity. How, he wondered, could he have ever thought that she would end up with Dean?
Val shook her head no and they both laughed again. It was too much. All this time they had thought that they had been growing away from each other. Val with Dean and Tyler with Heather. Little did they know, those thoughts had only succeeded in making them even more determined to see each other.
"We are so pathetic," Tyler commented, and Val smiled at him. God, she was beautiful.
"I know!" Val exclaimed. "I thought that you and.........well, it doesn't matter what I thought."
Tyler sat quietly, looking at the girl before him. So many thoughts were running around in his mind that he had almost missed Val's last comment. Almost. He simply waited for Val to meet his gaze before saying a word.
"Are you relieved?" He asked slowly.
Her eye's glittered with excitement and a blush started to form on her cheeks. "I...well.....maybe." She finally admitted before looking back down at the tabletop.
Tyler grinned. In his opinion, it couldn't get much better than it already was. So Val was happy he wasn't with Heather. Good, he thought. This is very good.
"Listen, Val, remember when I didn't ask you to homecoming that one time back in high school?"
She nodded, as it had been a sore spot on her mind for the last few years. Val looked up to find Tyler looking at her intently.
"Well, since I never asked you, I never got to dance with you. And I was kind of hoping I could fix that tonight." Tyler added shyly. Why did it seem so hard to ask Val to dance with him, he wondered. She was the same old Val, wasn't she?
Well, maybe not.
The smile slowly faded from Val's face. Dancing? She had strictly sworn to herself that she would not dance with him. After all, dancing would only succeed in bringing them closer together. She didn't want to get close to him again, did she? After the reunion, they would each go their separate ways, never to hear from each other again until the next reunion. Val didn't want to be hurt if Tyler never called or wrote to her again.
She looked out across the floor again, searching for any way to stall the moment. Val knew that Tyler was waiting for her answer, but at that moment, she had none to give.
Her eyes flicked across a couple, standing over to one side of the gym, staring at each other intently. It looked as if they were in their own little world. Even from where she was, Val could see a slight smile touch Caitie's lips as she stared up at Jamie. Val wondered what her friend was thinking at that moment. Was she wondeing if she would ever hear from Jamie after the reunion? No, Val thought, knowing Caitie, she was probably not thinking anything of the sort. In fact, it looked as if Caitie didn't give two hoots about what would happen later on. It looked as if all Caitie cared about was the present.
Val smiled and looked back at Tyler, who sat across from her, waiting patiently for her answer. His blue eyes looked at her hopefully.
And then Val thought of Kiandra and the bet that they had made before Val had left for the reunion. How had Val's friend known what she would face when seeing Tyler again after so long?
"I bet you five dollars that you end up dancing with him," Kiandra had said.
"Five dollars," Val murmured, smiling at Tyler.
"What?" He asked, leaning forward in his chair a bit.
"I said I'd love to dance with you," Val answered.
Sure, it did occur to Tyler that that had not been what she had said, but he did not question it. He didn't even think about it. All he did was stand from his chair slowly, his mind in a haze. It was really happening. Val was really there with him. And they were going to dance, just like they should have all those years ago at the homecoming dance.
As Tyler clasped Val's hand in his own and they walked towards the dance floor, Val had only one thought. Easiest five dollars Kiandra has ever made, she thought.
..................................
Jamie squeezed Caitie's hand in his own and smiled down at her. Slowly, his other hand came up to cup her cheek in such a soft touch.
"Caitie," he breathed before leaning forward and touching his lips to her own. Such a simple kiss, but it set off a flurry of fireworks in Caitie's stomach. Oh boy, she thought, I am so glad I came to this thing. She closed her eyes, thoroughly enjoying the sweet contact between Jamie and herself.
Jamie pulled back slowly and rested his forehead against Caitie's. He smiled, not believing what had just happened. Could he have really just kissed her? Wow.
"Caitie," Jamie whispered and Caitie opened her eyes.
"Hmmm?" She asked slowly, not wanting to break the absolute bliss that seemed to envelope them at that moment.
"Let's dance."
.........................................
Melanie blushed and sighed inwardly. So, she had not judged wrong when it came to Hank. Sure, he might think she was pretty, but she had the distinct impression that he cared for her because of more than just her looks. As he had said just seconds before, there was more to her than just a pretty face. So much more.
"Are you still a horrible dancer?" Melanie asked, smiling.
Hank laughed. Oh, so she remembered that too, eh?
"I can hold my own," he answered, issuing the not-so-subtle challenge.
Melanie raised one eyebrow and then laughed. "Well, Doctor Beecham, let's see what you can do."
"Alright then," Hank said, as he reached for Melanie's hand.
Together, they walked to the dance floor.
..........................................
Three couples dancing amidst their classmates from high school. Of course, for those three couples no one else existed except for the person that they were dancing with. There were no business meetings or deadlines to worry about. All there seemed to be in the crepe paper decorated gym were three couples, in their own little worlds.
This is not the end, although I will admit it does sound kind of final, doesn't it? Well, I was planning to do more with this fic. After all, this did start out as a Tyler/Val fic. Plus, Tyler has something to give Val, which was mentioned in the first chapter. So, tell me what you think, k? Review, please. Thanks lots.
Here we go:
Tyler was half way across the gym floor when he heard the scream. Normally, such a noise would have stopped him in his tracks. Normally, he would have looked around, searching for the person who obviously was in some sort of trouble. They must be if they were screaming, right?
This time, though, the scream did not even break his stride. He didn't turn to see who had made such an awful noise because he knew with all certainty that it had to have been Heather. She had finally lost it. The thought of how red her face must be made Tyler smile.
Heather was not important to him. She was a snob, as he suspected she had always been. He knew that leaving her at the refreshments table like he had was not exactly gentleman-like. But, Tyler didn't care. He had other things on his mind.
He strode across the gym with only one goal in mind- to find Val. After all, he had come to the reunion to see Val. Nothing, not Heather nor Lean Dean, was going to stop him.
Tyler had been ready to give up on his chances of being with Val when Dean had beaten him across the gym floor to her. He had been ready to just chalk the experience up to bad luck and go back to his life- without Val. But, seeing Jamie and Caitie had made him realize how important Val really was to him. And how important it was that he see her soon.
She was still seated at the table where he had seen her last. The only difference was that Dean was nowhere to be found. Tyler stopped walking and just stared at her for a minute. She sat alone, staring out into the endless couples across the gym. A smile played on her lips and she tilted her head to one side as if she were pondering some deep mysterious thoughts.
She was beautiful. Tyler had never in all his life met anyone that was as beautiful as she was at that moment, just sitting there casually. A part of him just wanted to watch her, to not bother the peace that seemed to surround her sweetly. He just wanted to stay where he was and stare at her and memorize every detail of the way she looked. That way, when the reunion weekend was over with, he would be able to carry away her image in his mind.
But, his feet seemed to have other plans for him as they carried him closer to the table. He wondered vaguely if she had been disappointed when Dean had gotten to her first just a short time before. Had she wished it had been me, he asked himself. And he truly hoped with all his might that the answer was yes.
.....................................................
Val placed her elbow on the table in front of her and rested her chin on the palm of her hand. She sighed as she glanced around the gym, looking for a friendly face. Everyone seemed so busy talking with other people.........except her.
Her eyes grazed over Hank and Melanie, who stood smiling shyly at each other like a couple of sixth graders. She smiled. Of course, she recognized Melanie from different magazine covers. And Hank...... Well, Val thought, breaking into a full-fledged grin, he'll never know what hit him.
"Man, she sure has changed, hasn't she?" A voice behind her said quietly and she could have sworn that her heart skipped a beat.
She turned around slowly, trying to make it look as if she were not too interested in who was behind her. She did not want to give away the fact that she cared what Tyler had to say. He was at the dance with Heather, wasn't he? Why was he wasting his time talking to her then?
"Yeah," she replied, looking into Tyler's blue eyes. "She has. A lot of people here have."
"Yeah," came the soft reply. "Can I sit down?"
As if on autopilot, Val motioned to the seat across from her, which had just recently been vacated by Dean. She watched as Tyler sat down across from her and made himself comfortable.
And then suddenly neither knew what to say. They stared at each other, both wondering why it was that they had come to the reunion in the first place. Maybe this was a bad idea, Tyler thought.
Val smiled, trying desperately not to show her true emotions. Before coming to the reunion, she had not been sure what would happen when she saw Tyler again after so long. She hadn't been sure how she would react to seeing him. It was just so difficult seeing how she had felt so strongly for him before! And he hadn't written her at all since graduation. They had had no contact with each other whatsoever. Now, though, was a different story. Here he was, sitting across from her like he had so many times in high school. What was she to say?
She wanted to say something to start off a conversation. Val wanted their conversation to be friendly and light, as it had always been in high school. She didn't want to have to think about the tension that seemed to be growing between them all too quickly. No, she just wanted things to be as they were before, when they had been such good friends.
"So, I didn't realize you and Heather were so close," she started, hoping it would break the strange barrier of silence that had been erected between them.
"What?" Tyler asked, extremely confused. He and Heather were anything but close. Right now, Tyler was pretty sure that Heather would tend to agree with him. Where did she get an idea like that, he wondered briefly.
"Well," Val started, hoping she didn't sound like she was prying. As a matter of fact, though, she was. "I saw you two.......together......and she had her hand on your arm. So, I just thought that you two had...um...gotten together."
Tyler laughed. So, that was where she had gotten such a crazy thought. And how wrong she was. She was so far off the mark, that it was almost comical. There was no way that he would ever be with Heather, not when Val was sitting across from him looking like a perfect angel.
But, there was something else going on as well. Val had seemed different when she had started to talk about Heather. This amused Tyler greatly. Was it possible? Did Val seem jealous? If anything, Tyler knew, Val did not have to be jealous of Heather. Between the two girls, there was absolutely no competition as to whom Tyler would want to be with.
"Heather and I are not together," he informed Val, still laughing a bit. "We just saw each other at the hotel tonight and decided.....no, more like, she decided, to come here together. That's all."
"Looked like you two were pretty cozy," Val murmured under her breath, as she looked out at the other couples who were starting to dance to the music.
Tyler stopped smiling and looked at Val closely. Oh, he had heard what she had said under her breath and it bothered him greatly. Why should Val care who he had come to the dance with anyway? He had thought that his explanation of how he had ended up as Heather's date would have been enough. But, Val still seemed perturbed about something. Yeah, she's really one to talk, he thought.
"Well, what about you?" Tyler demanded, drawing Val's attention back to him. He leaned forward in his chair. "You and Dean seemed to be real friendly over here, talking like you guys were old friends."
"We are old friends."
"Yeah, but not as good of friends as you and I were," Tyler retorted harshly.
Tyler sat back in his chair and watched as hurt crept its way up into Val's eyes. He hadn't meant to be so harsh with his words. It was just.....well, seeing her with Dean had not exactly been a bright spot on his evening. "I mean, we are good friends," he amended slowly.
Val smiled slightly, not sure where to go with their disastrous attempt at conversation.
"So what has Dean been up to?" Tyler asked. He really didn't care what Dean had done since high school. But, Tyler wanted to hear Val talk. And if she talked about someone that she obviously cared about, then..........
"College, wife, three kids," Val said.
Tyler smiled, his first genuine smile of the evening. "Really?" He asked.
"Yeah," Val replied, happy that their new conversation seemed to be taking on a bit of a lighter tone. "He has pictures in his wallet and everything. He's a very proud daddy."
"Well, then where is his wife?" Tyler asked, scanning the gym for Dean and his apparent spouse.
Val smiled. Was that relief she had seen when she had told Tyler about Dean being married? Or was it her imagination?
"She was supposed to come. But at the last minute, the babysitter got sick. So, she told Dean to go without her."
Val looked at Tyler. Tyler looked at Val. Suddenly, as if on cue, both Tyler and Val burst out laughing. The tension that had been an immovable wall between them just minutes before, rushed away, leaving their old friendship behind in its wake. And, perhaps, something new.
"You're not with Heather," Val said, smiling at the person she had thought about since graduation too many times to count.
"And you are not going to end up with Lean Dean," Tyler added, shaking his head at his own stupidity. How, he wondered, could he have ever thought that she would end up with Dean?
Val shook her head no and they both laughed again. It was too much. All this time they had thought that they had been growing away from each other. Val with Dean and Tyler with Heather. Little did they know, those thoughts had only succeeded in making them even more determined to see each other.
"We are so pathetic," Tyler commented, and Val smiled at him. God, she was beautiful.
"I know!" Val exclaimed. "I thought that you and.........well, it doesn't matter what I thought."
Tyler sat quietly, looking at the girl before him. So many thoughts were running around in his mind that he had almost missed Val's last comment. Almost. He simply waited for Val to meet his gaze before saying a word.
"Are you relieved?" He asked slowly.
Her eye's glittered with excitement and a blush started to form on her cheeks. "I...well.....maybe." She finally admitted before looking back down at the tabletop.
Tyler grinned. In his opinion, it couldn't get much better than it already was. So Val was happy he wasn't with Heather. Good, he thought. This is very good.
"Listen, Val, remember when I didn't ask you to homecoming that one time back in high school?"
She nodded, as it had been a sore spot on her mind for the last few years. Val looked up to find Tyler looking at her intently.
"Well, since I never asked you, I never got to dance with you. And I was kind of hoping I could fix that tonight." Tyler added shyly. Why did it seem so hard to ask Val to dance with him, he wondered. She was the same old Val, wasn't she?
Well, maybe not.
The smile slowly faded from Val's face. Dancing? She had strictly sworn to herself that she would not dance with him. After all, dancing would only succeed in bringing them closer together. She didn't want to get close to him again, did she? After the reunion, they would each go their separate ways, never to hear from each other again until the next reunion. Val didn't want to be hurt if Tyler never called or wrote to her again.
She looked out across the floor again, searching for any way to stall the moment. Val knew that Tyler was waiting for her answer, but at that moment, she had none to give.
Her eyes flicked across a couple, standing over to one side of the gym, staring at each other intently. It looked as if they were in their own little world. Even from where she was, Val could see a slight smile touch Caitie's lips as she stared up at Jamie. Val wondered what her friend was thinking at that moment. Was she wondeing if she would ever hear from Jamie after the reunion? No, Val thought, knowing Caitie, she was probably not thinking anything of the sort. In fact, it looked as if Caitie didn't give two hoots about what would happen later on. It looked as if all Caitie cared about was the present.
Val smiled and looked back at Tyler, who sat across from her, waiting patiently for her answer. His blue eyes looked at her hopefully.
And then Val thought of Kiandra and the bet that they had made before Val had left for the reunion. How had Val's friend known what she would face when seeing Tyler again after so long?
"I bet you five dollars that you end up dancing with him," Kiandra had said.
"Five dollars," Val murmured, smiling at Tyler.
"What?" He asked, leaning forward in his chair a bit.
"I said I'd love to dance with you," Val answered.
Sure, it did occur to Tyler that that had not been what she had said, but he did not question it. He didn't even think about it. All he did was stand from his chair slowly, his mind in a haze. It was really happening. Val was really there with him. And they were going to dance, just like they should have all those years ago at the homecoming dance.
As Tyler clasped Val's hand in his own and they walked towards the dance floor, Val had only one thought. Easiest five dollars Kiandra has ever made, she thought.
..................................
Jamie squeezed Caitie's hand in his own and smiled down at her. Slowly, his other hand came up to cup her cheek in such a soft touch.
"Caitie," he breathed before leaning forward and touching his lips to her own. Such a simple kiss, but it set off a flurry of fireworks in Caitie's stomach. Oh boy, she thought, I am so glad I came to this thing. She closed her eyes, thoroughly enjoying the sweet contact between Jamie and herself.
Jamie pulled back slowly and rested his forehead against Caitie's. He smiled, not believing what had just happened. Could he have really just kissed her? Wow.
"Caitie," Jamie whispered and Caitie opened her eyes.
"Hmmm?" She asked slowly, not wanting to break the absolute bliss that seemed to envelope them at that moment.
"Let's dance."
.........................................
Melanie blushed and sighed inwardly. So, she had not judged wrong when it came to Hank. Sure, he might think she was pretty, but she had the distinct impression that he cared for her because of more than just her looks. As he had said just seconds before, there was more to her than just a pretty face. So much more.
"Are you still a horrible dancer?" Melanie asked, smiling.
Hank laughed. Oh, so she remembered that too, eh?
"I can hold my own," he answered, issuing the not-so-subtle challenge.
Melanie raised one eyebrow and then laughed. "Well, Doctor Beecham, let's see what you can do."
"Alright then," Hank said, as he reached for Melanie's hand.
Together, they walked to the dance floor.
..........................................
Three couples dancing amidst their classmates from high school. Of course, for those three couples no one else existed except for the person that they were dancing with. There were no business meetings or deadlines to worry about. All there seemed to be in the crepe paper decorated gym were three couples, in their own little worlds.
This is not the end, although I will admit it does sound kind of final, doesn't it? Well, I was planning to do more with this fic. After all, this did start out as a Tyler/Val fic. Plus, Tyler has something to give Val, which was mentioned in the first chapter. So, tell me what you think, k? Review, please. Thanks lots.
