Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, except for the ones I make-up. They all belong to Disney (if they decide to keep it), and any other company that owns 'In a Heartbeat.' The song "I Knew I Loved You" is by one and only - - - Savage Garden. This song practically tells the whole story, don't you think? I don't own MTV as well (like that was a shocker :) Anyway, the last chapter is here *sobs : (* I hope you guys like it.
A/N: This chapter happens the day after Hannah and Hank's story.
Initial Attraction
All's well that ends well - Chapter 12
(The following morning)
Hannah woke up at the loud sound coming from the radio on her alarm clock. Normally, she would just hit the snooze button and go back to bed. This morning, however, did not have any effect as such whatsoever. All that was evident was the smile on her face. The night before, she just had the most amazing, yet inexplicable encounter with Hank.
"Hank," she whispered to herself.
On regular basis, saying the name seemed just like saying any other name. This time, as the words jump off the tip of her tongue, she could feel thrills going through her body.
"Who would have thought?" she said to herself as she turned of the radio and headed for the bathroom to freshen up a bit.
After a few refreshing minutes, Hannah finally got out of the bathroom. She turned on her stereo and selected a random CD. As she was getting ready for her routine morning jog, the pleasant sound from the stereo was replaced with an ear-splitting static. Heading towards the system with hands covering both ears, Hannah reached for the volume dial. As her fingers were only a mere millimeter away from the dial, the static seized abruptly, making her pull her hand away as a reflex. All of a sudden, the CD changer moved to another CD, and a certain song started to fill the room…
Maybe it's intuition
But some things you just don't question
Like in your eyes, I see my future in an instant
And there it goes,
I think I found my best friend
I know that it might sound
More than a little crazy
But I believe...
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
The song brought a smile to her face. It was one of her favorites.
"I must have listened to this a thousand times," she whispered to herself. "But only now do I understand what it truly means."
She turned off the stereo and headed for the door with a portable CD player in hand.
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(That afternoon)
Caitie found herself standing in front of the Lanier porch, ringing the doorbell. This time of the day, Caitie would usually be either at home, writing or making art, or she would be hanging out with Jamie.
"My James Timothy," Caitie said absentmindedly.
A coughing noise from the person in front of her caused Caitie to look up.
"Brooke!" she said in a cracking tone. "I was just…I didn't…you didn't hear…it's not what you…"
"Spare me the details," Brooke said as she let Caitie in. "You're not the only one who's acting strange around here. Take my sister for example. She must have said Tyler's name fifty times with that same dreamy look you had moments ago."
"I didn't have a dreamy look."
"Sure, and the sky is green."
Caitie ignored her comment and asked for Val's whereabouts.
"Where's your sister?"
"In the living room."
"Thanks."
Caitie easily found her way to the living and spotted Val sitting comfortably on the couch.
"Hey!" she greeted her as she positioned herself next to her. "What are you watching?"
"MTV."
"Why do you watch this?" Caitie asked.
"It's cool."
"OK…well, why don't we stop watching this for a minute and talk?"
"What do you have in mind?" Val asked after turning off the TV.
"Remember that curse that you made up and made me do?"
"How could I forget?"
"Well, I opened the box."
"And?"
"It's Jamie!"
Val's jaw almost dropped. Caitie handed her the piece of paper that she wrote on.
"It is Jamie," said Val. "Actually, I have something to tell you as well."
"What?"
"I opened mine too."
"Is that good or bad?"
"It's Tyler!"
"Are you serious?"
Val, in turn, handed her the piece of paper that she wrote on.
"His initials are TPC?"
"Tyler Parker Connell."
"Who would have guessed?" Caitie said with a smile. "And the whole J.T. Waite thing. It turned out that Jamie's middle name is…"
"Timothy," finished Val.
"How did you know?"
"It's a long story," Val said with a smile. "I'm so glad you brought this up. You're probably the only one who would understand. And Tyler."
"Same here with Jamie. What's really funny though is that in a way, he wished for me as well."
"Tyler told me the same thing. This is just so unreal."
"But it is, isn't it?" said Caitie.
"Yes. It is."
Val grabbed the remote and turned the TV on again. Caitie rolled her eyes and was about to leave, when a familiar tune caught her ear.
"Are you leaving already?" asked Val, whose eyes are still glued on the TV.
"Actually, I might watch this one," said Caitie.
The video for "I Knew I Loved You" was on…
There's just no rhyme or reason
Only the sense of completion
And in your eyes, I see
The missing pieces I'm searching for
I think I've found my way home
I know that it might sound
More than a little crazy
But I believe...
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
After a few minutes later, the video ended.
"You probably didn't like that," said Val. "Do you want me to change the channel?"
"No. Actually, I might have just found a new favorite song."
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(Later that night)
Tyler, Hank, and Jamie were at the station doing inventories and reports. Hank and Tyler were sitting across each other, while Jamie sat at ease on the couch with both feet on the table. Beside his feet was the radio. "All the Small Things" by Blink 182 was on. Everyone was basically minding his business. And everyone seemed to be content.
A few songs later, a ballad started to flow out of the radio and creep into their ears. Ordinarily, whenever ballads or slow songs come out of the radio, any of the three would automatically turn it off. This time was the exception, for no one dared to move.
A thousand angels dance around you
I am complete now that I've found you
Hank pretended that he did not find anything significant in the song at all. He just put his head down and continued to focus in his work. 'As much as I seem to like this song, I should not say anything. I mean, what would Tyler and Jamie say? They'll probably tease me.'
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
Tyler cautiously looked up from his papers to see if anyone is watching him. He immediately put his head back down when he noticed Hank look up. 'Why isn't anyone turning the radio off, or even changing the station? Are they trying to trick me? This isn't funny at all. And it doesn't help when I actually…I actually…like it. It couldn't be truer. Every word practically screams Val. OK, just act as if you're not paying attention to it. Focus!'
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
Jamie shifted uncomfortably on the couch. He glanced towards the others to see if anyone is observing him. He quickly turned his head down when he saw Tyler move his head. 'At least the song is almost over. Why are they not even turning it off? Are they even listening to it? Is this a practical joke? Good song. Bad timing. The only good thing about this is that it reminds me of Caitie. Just try to act cool. I mean, no one would really think that I would listen to these things, right?'
The three continued to act as if the song is not on. Out of the blue, Alex came into the room and asked for Val.
"Val, could you do me a fa…" he began saying but stopped when he did not see Val at all. "I'm sorry. I just thought Val would be here."
"Why would you think that?" Jamie asked as he straightened himself from his seat. "Val had the day off."
"Well, that slow song just came on, and I thought Val was here since she's the only one who listens to those. I guess I was wrong."
Alex tried to hold back the laughter that was forcing its way out of his mouth. 'I guess they're not so macho after all.'
"No, no!" Hank yelled out. "You weren't wrong. It was just…um…Tyler?"
"Yea," he said. "You know…the radio was on…and uh…um…Jamie?"
"Well…the radio…Val…Val just came over to pick some things up. Yea. That's right."
"Yea," said Tyler. "She just came to pick up some papers."
"And when you came in, she just walked out of the door," added Hank.
"Yea," said Jamie once again. "Directly out."
"Then why was the song on for a long time?" asked Alex.
"Val wanted to listen to it," said Hank. "Right Tyler?"
"Anything for Val," he said.
"All right," said Alex. "I guess I'll leave you guys alone."
After Alex left, Jamie turned off the radio.
"Basketball anyone?" he asked.
"Yea/Sure," said Hank and Tyler, respectively, as the three headed for the court.
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The End! What did you guys think? I had fun writing this. I hope you had fun reading it as well. Thanks to everyone who reviewed this fic! I promise there will be more to come. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182
