Chapter 2: "Seven Minutes Of Heaven"
Val rolled over in her bed and
opened her eyes to the bright morning sunlight shining through the window. She
groaned and buried her face in the comforter, not wanting to have to face the
day.
Or Tyler.
Yes, Tyler was
really what she was scared of. It wasn't easy to break with someone you truly
cared about for five years and then come back and see him, particularly if you
still cared and he was broken-hearted over another girl and all anybody wanted
to be were friends.
Well, she
wanted to be more, but if he cared about someone else, it meant he didn't want
to be more. And being more would break her heart again—it was certain.
Love equaled
heartbreak.
Her mind spun
with puzzled thoughts, her eyes filling with tears that poured into the blue
quilt. Valerie Lanier never cried—except over Tyler Connell.
Tyler Connell,
Tyler Connell, Tyler Connell. Everything boiled down to Tyler Connell.
"I hate him,"
she mumbled into the duvet. Caitie, who had apparently risen early and already
eaten breakfast, chose that moment to walk in with a tray in her hands.
"Hate whom?"
the brunette asked, all too sure of whom Val was bestowing her annoyance on.
"Tyler," said
Val, voice muffled. Caitie frowned for a moment, her dark hair coming out of
its purple clip.
"Well…I
brought you breakfast." Admittedly, Caitie had never really liked Tyler as a
good friend, though she had never disliked him. He always been caring towards
her best friend when they dated in high school and although she had thought he
was sort of annoyingly perfect and overachieving, she had never hated him. They
had just sort of led two different lives linked by Jamie being on the squad and
Val being her best friend and his girlfriend.
Now, though,
she was quickly growing to dislike him. The story of their breakup was slightly
blurry…well, a little more than slightly, but that was beside the point…--Jamie
had heard Tyler's side of the story, Caitie had heard Val's, and when the
rebels put the two together, they didn't match. Tyler said he wanted to just
make sure she realized reality was reality, not break up; Val said he said he
didn't want to see her anymore. Either way, he had put her friend in pain for
five years and that meant she disliked him.
"Thanks," Val
said with a weak smile, taking her face out of the comforter and squinting
against the light as her eyes adjusted.
"So. Tell me
why you hate him," Caitie invited, sitting on Val's bed and putting the tray on
the blonde's lap.
"I don't," Val
said morosely, picking at her toast. "That's the problem."
"Um, right,"
Caitie agreed. "The problem." Val cracked a small smile, picking up the piece
of toast that she had been torturing.
"Well, see, if
I hated him for breaking up with me, there wouldn't be a problem, because then
I'd live happily ever after. It wouldn't really be the same as having him live
happily ever after with me, but at least I wouldn't be heartbroken after
five years. But since I don't hate him and I'm still in love with him, I have
to live with the fact that he doesn't even like me anymore." Val put her
toast down and pushed the tray towards Caitie. "I think I'm going to be sick if
I eat."
"Have you ever
thought that he might still like you? Love you? Did you read the Time article?"
"Melissa read
it," Val said dully. "Tyler's infatuated with someone. I don't know who."
"Read the
article. Yourself. All the way through." Caitie took the tray from Val. "You
might be surprised, and I guarantee you it'll change your outlook."
"Why, who is it?"
Val was curious, and even if it killed her, she wanted to know.
"Well,
actually, it's—"
People knock
on doors at very inconvenient times.
Caitie looked
through the peephole and unlocked the door. "Hey Jamie."
"Hey."
"Val is in a
state of depression. Don't mention Tyler," Caitie whispered into his ear. He
nodded and went into the bedroom.
"Hi Val!" he
said cheerfully, hoping that five years out from under the bleachers didn't
make him sound like an overachiever.
"Hi," she
said. "I hate men."
That was a
shock. Neither Jamie nor Caitie had been expecting Val to say that to Jamie's
face, but neither of them recognized the surprise of it with a comment.
"That's
wonderful," said Jamie, ignoring the strangeness of the insight.
"Yeah. They're
low-down, good-for-nothing creeps," Val explained, nodding. Caitie and Jamie
looked at each other. Val caught the glance. "Well, except for you, I guess,"
she amended. "Tyler's a creep, anyway."
"Which
explains why you're still in love with him?" questioned Jamie. Caitie glared
and elbowed him in the ribs.
"That's not
the issue," Val informed them. Caitie and Jamie exchanged another look before
Jamie changed the subject.
"So, anyway, I
came to see if you guys"—he corrected himself at Caitie's Look—"I mean,
girls—wanted to come see a movie or run around town like crazed maniacs before
the formal."
"Yeah," Caitie
said readily. Val looked back and forth between them before agreeing.
"Sure. Now
butt out so I can get dressed," she ordered Jamie with a small laugh. He grinned
and escaped through the open door.
I have seven minutes until you go
Seven minutes to make you mine
Seven minutes to let you go
Seven minutes, one minute at a time
Tyler Connell
was much the same as he had been five years before.
His hair was
still blond, his eyes were still blue, he was still an overachiever…he still
loved Val… Nineteen million dollars and a cell phone company were the main
marks on the outer shell of an otherwise familiar person, but those main marks
accounted for a lot of people's views of him.
Right now,
though, the only person whose view he cared about was Val. He wanted to see
her, see her face, see that she was still the barely reachable goddess she had
always been. Of course, by now she was probably an unreachable goddess, but she
was still a goddess and that was what counted.
"You're a
god…and I am not…and I just thought that you should know…because you're a
god…and I am not…and I just thought I'd let you know…" He had been listening to
the radio too much today, because Vertical Horizon was firmly implanted in his
mind and what was in his mind was echoing from his mouth as he flipped through
Pay-Per-View.
Runaway Bride.
Fine. Normally he wasn't a big fan of romantic comedy, but right now he needed
some comedy in romance because his own love life was nothing to laugh over.
"Except," he
noted, "love isn't that easy." Tyler watched it until when they split up, then,
almost angrily, slammed down on the channel clicker.
"Now they're
going to get back together, of course," he said to himself as he stared at the
blank screen, "but not everyone gets back together."
Tyler Connell
would never admit that he cried then, but he did cry. Tears gathered in his
eyes and bloomed over, dripping onto his skin. He grabbed a Kleenex from the nightstand
and wiped his face quickly.
No, love was
not easy.
They said love was so simple
Well why did they lie
Because I am so hurt
I have seven minutes to die
He looked
around. Seven minutes since he came and he still could not see her. She was
probably running late or in some distant corner of the crowded gym decorated
with blue and green streamers, but right now he was desperate—absolutely
desperate—to see her and he was not going to wonder about what torture Fate had
decided to inflict on him now.
"No, I am," he
commented to the girl hanging out near him, asking him random questions. He had
no idea what the former question was, but…
"You're
engaged?" Monica Komini asked, brown eyes wide. He looked at her, then shook
his head to clear his mind.
"I have to—to
go get a drink," Tyler told her, excusing himself and walking to the
refreshments table. He had a headache for some reason.
"Um…hey,
Tyler." The familiar voice surprised him and he spun.
Yes, Val was
still a goddess. Her golden hair was twisted up and beaded pins were pushed in
to hold it, with a few strands coming undone to dangle invitingly on her neck.
The dress looked like it had been custom made for her figure with a slit to the
knee and relatively low neckline that bared all the more tanned skin.
"Hey," he
replied. God. Five years had seemed like thousands and thousands, but now it
suddenly felt like no time had passed at all—he and Val were here, looking into
each other's eyes helplessly.
"So…It's,
well, good to see you," she said, tearing her eyes away from his and looking at
the floor.
"You want to
dance?" he asked suddenly. Her head jerked up.
"What?"
"Do you want
to dance?" Tyler repeated with not the slightest notion what he was doing.
"I—I
mean—I—sure," Val surrendered. There was no choice…and she wanted to. She
admitted it. She wanted to. She didn't want to be just friends, but there was
no choice anymore. Friends were friends, and when one friend had a girlfriend,
then they were just friends and that was all.
Her hands slid
onto his shoulders. Tyler glanced at her left hand and saw the flash on her
ring finger.
"You're
engaged?" he inquired, thankful it wasn't two flashes and he hadn't been
invited to the wedding. Val looked at him quite strangely, then followed his
eyes to her ring finger.
"No," she
laughed, "not at all. I guess I was just absent-minded when I put it on. And
then Dean was talking to me…and he didn't say anything about you or dating. I
guess that's why." She slid the ring off of her finger and put it on her right
hand.
"Oh. Okay."
Tyler smiled at her words, taking her wrist and putting it back on his shoulder
gently as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Val looked at him
curiously with an unspoken question in her eyes.
"It really is
great to see you," she said nervously, "but Tyler…I think that we have to—" She
was cut off by Tyler.
"I'm more
scared than you are," he told her, pressing a finger gently to her lips that
were parted slightly in surprise, "I'm so much more scared. Don't scare me
more."
Val knew
exactly what he was going to do as her head tilted with another question
towards him. It was wrong, it was stupid, it wasn't going to help anything, and
it was going to complicate matters until it was a tangle of vines and brambles
that no one would dare attempt to unknot. But she was going to let him do it,
and she would listen to the sound of silence with the utmost interest.
His fingers
traced an exotic pattern on her neck and cheek as he kissed her, gently
massaging her muscles until she was too relaxed to do anything except return
the kiss.
"I," Tyler
whispered, breaking contact, "have been wanting to do that for the longest
time."
Val stared at
him disbelievingly, then shoved him with surprising strength into the crowd. "I
hate you!" Val yelled, looking like she was about to cry as she ran off.
"Val!" Tyler
had no idea what was wrong, what he had done, but he knew if it made Val upset
then it was bad. It couldn't be the kiss, could it? She had definitely kissed
him back…but perhaps that was reflex. He ran after her, dodging people and
tables as he struggled to keep sight of a blonde moving quickly through the
crowd.
He broke
through the door of the gym into the hallway and looked around. Val was a very
fast runner, but he had known that. Even in dark blue Unlimited sandals, she
had had practice running from cheer practice to a call, and the talent had kept
itself up until today. Tyler stopped, stood absolutely still.
Footsteps.
Fast, running footsteps that sounded like heels heading towards the south exit.
The park. The
school had been built immediately next to a small park that was accessible by a
door near the south exit. Tyler ran.
Seven minutes to catch you
Catch you before you fall
Seven minutes to make you trust me
Seven minutes is all
Her figure was
huddled on a bench, her head buried in her knees as she sobbed.
"Go away,
Tyler," she sniffled, breaking into more tears. "Leave me alone."
"What'd I do
now?" he asked. "I'm not going to go until you tell me what I did."
"You said you
wanted to do that for a long time," Val reminded him.
"Well, I did!
Look, Val, I am hopelessly in love with you and sure, you don't feel the same,
but I can't help it, okay? I never meant to break up with you! All I wanted was
to make sure you knew that things were going to change, not change things! And
then you wouldn't talk to me or answer my calls and I couldn't exactly explain
because if I sent you a letter you'd burn it! I love you but you wouldn't
exactly let me tell you that, then, would you?" Okay, so now he was begging and
his heart was breaking into impossibly tiny bits, but at least he had gotten it
off of his chest.
"What about
Isabelle? And the Time article? The girl you're infatuated with?" She couldn't
give in, she just couldn't. It was too easy to surrender, put up the white
flag, die and then get beaten.
"Did you even
read the article?"
"Why does
everyone ask me that?" Val cried. "No, Melissa read it and I don't know who
you're infatuated with and I'm not sure I want to!"
"It was
you, Val! I'm infatuated with you! For once, Hank and Joel Stein got
their facts right because I am obsessed with you! Okay? Isabelle is a
family friend! She was desperate! I have been 'infatuated' with you for
five long years! And before, while we were dating!" yelled Tyler.
"Well, you
can't just kiss me and expect everything to be okay, Tyler! What if I didn't
feel the same way about you?" Val jumped off the bench and stood inches from
Tyler's face, shouting. "What I didn't believe that you didn't like Isabelle?"
"Then I'd
bloody well do this!"
How the
shouting match had turned into a kissing contest was inexplicable, because one
moment they were yelling and the next their lips were engaged in the deepest
kiss either of them had ever experienced, even counting five years ago.
"Um…whoa,"
said Val, for once un-composed and un-sure about seven minutes later as they
drew away for breath.
"Do you believe
me now?" Tyler asked with his fingers wrapped gently around her jaw. Val looked
at him with an expression laced with need and hurt.
"I think so."
There was a pause in the air. Val tucked her head onto his collarbone as he
moved his hands to around her waist to let her rest against his chest.
"We never got
to finish our dance," Val whispered to him, listening to the distant strains of
music from the gymnasium.
"Let's make up
for it now," Tyler said softly.
Seven minutes in your arms
Is all I want, all I need
Seven minutes of heaven
Is all I want, all to see
Seven minutes of heaven
Before I have to go
And let go of all seven
As gracefully as I can show
"I wonder when
they're going to run out of songs," Val remarked to Tyler two hours later, her
arms around his neck as she looked over his shoulder with closed eyes.
"When
everyone's so drunk they actually notice they've played the same song four
times," Tyler said with a smile.
"Tell me a
story," Val said sleepily, joking. "Tell me a fairy tale."
"Once upon a time there lived a
gorgeous goddess whom no mortal could reach," Tyler began with a grin, "but
there was one mortal who thought he could reach her. So he built wings and he
tried to fly so that he could reach her…"
"But he flew
too close to the sun and burnt up?"
"No. But he
flew too close to reality and got scared. And then he flew down to ground and
he didn't try to fly again for five years." Tears welled in Val's eyes. "But
when he tried to fly again, he flew as high as he could to make up for lost
time. And he finally got to touch the goddess's skirt. But then he was so happy
that he flew too close to the sun…and then he got burnt up."
"It was
supposed to be a happy fairy tale," Val informed Tyler, letting her tears fall
onto his suit. "Not a sad true story."
"Well, then
the mortal put all his ashes back together again and he was his own self again
and he had done it all for the goddess."
"Then the
goddess kissed the mortal and it turned out he was actually a god in disguise,"
finished Val. She turned her head and kissed him, long and sweet. "You want to
go back to the hotel?" she asked, blue eyes anxious as they looked into his
own.
"Are you
sure?" Tyler inquired slowly, not sure if he was reading her question
correctly.
"Positive."
"All right."
There are seven minutes
Seven minutes, seven minutes
Left
I have seven minutes
Seven minutes, seven more minutes
Until I go
Gods don't play with mortals
Mortals cannot fly
But I have seven minutes to prove that wrong
Seven minutes to make you mine.
TA DA. Thanks, Aricraze, for reading this. Well, you don't
know you've read it yet because I literally JUST sent it, but thanks anyways.
*grin* Yes, I know it sort of defies the point to have a beta reader and then
post it before the beta reader has even read it, but hey, that's me. Makes no
sense whatsoever. Anyway, hope ya liked it. And yes, I may have to change the
rating slightly, those who understood what they meant by going back to the
hotel. Which was most of you, and if not then, then certainly now. I'll try to
have the next chapter out soon…in which we'll have fun with Matchbox 20!
Originally I was going to use "Kiss Me" in this chapter with alterations in the
text, but I'll use it in a later chapter. It'll fit better. Bye!
-----Ivy