Disclaimer: I don't own them, except for the kids!
Changing Seasons, Part 11
Randy sighed as she sat out on the porch of the main house. A book was lying on her bare stomach as she sat by the quiet pool. She heard footfalls and craned her head to see who it was. "Veronica."
"Randy," Veronica said as she sat down in the chair next to her. She looked out at the water as well. "You think we should talk."
"About last night? Sure why not," Randy replied as she sat up in her chair. "I already got a stern talking to from my dad for smacking you."
"Well you do resort to physical means and you aren't light on the smacks. You hit hard," Veronica said mildly as she brushed her golden hair back over her shoulder.
A slight smile crossed Randy's lips. "I figure that you're a Yuy, you can take a little punishment. You usually hit back."
"That's true. Us Yuys and Maxwells are always in competition over something," Veronica smirked.
"And the Maxwells always tend to get the better of the Yuys in the end," Randy answered, smirking back.
"You only wish," Veronica snorted disdainfully.
"Well that means you have throw in the Changs too. Wufei always pushed Leigh, Merin, and Jet into being competitive," Randy remarked wryly as she placed her hands behind her head and leaned back. She looked out of the corner of her eye at the other girl. "And especially with any Maxwell."
"Wufei only wants his kids to best a Maxwell because your dad has spent years driving him insane," Veronica said drolly as she also leaned back in her chair.
"And it really sticks it to him that his oldest daughter is in love with one," Randy snickered, but then her expression sobered a little. "But I don't think Leigh is even talking to my brother now. He's moody and I already caught him sneaking a case of beer in his room."
Veronica wrinkled her nose. "That doesn't sound good. Does he always do that?"
"Sneak beer? No. But the temperamental part? Yes. He's always like that when he's in a mood not to be reckoned with. But the drinking part is new, even for him," Randy said, as a worried look crossed her face. "And I don't even think my parents know what's going on really. All they know is that Jonathon and Leigh broke up almost two weeks ago."
Veronica made another face. "That really doesn't sound good."
"You're telling me. You know how volatile a Maxwell temper is, couple it with alcohol and you want to be running in the opposite direction," Randy said seriously.
Veronica shivered at the mental picture she drew up. "Damn, makes me glad I'm not a Maxwell."
A wry smile crossed Randy's lips. "And now what did you want to talk to me about?"
"About you and Donavon," Veronica answered as she looked back at Randy. "What exactly is going on between you two?"
"I'm not a hundred percent sure to tell you the truth, but I know that he loves me. He loved me so much he let Miles step in. He thought that his brother was what I needed," Randy said as she closed her eyes.
Veronica's lips twisted in a rueful smile. "Then he started dating me, to get over you." She sighed. "The things men do to get over a certain woman."
"I didn't know anything until he told me Ver, honest. I didn't know I was his reason for dating you in the first place and then for breaking up with you," Randy admitted.
"I know that now, but still it would have been nice of him to tell me the real reason instead of covering it up with what he told me," Veronica said as she absently scraped her thumbnail with the other one.
"But you know how he is. He never wants to hurt anyone and he didn't want to hurt you."
"That's understandable. I know he doesn't like to cause anyone pain, but you know I still wish hadn't lied to me."
"If we couldn't cause each other pain, it wouldn't be love. It is very hurtful, as I should know. But you know Ver; it wasn't like you did date a multitude of guys afterwards. You've always had the boys follow you around."
"Only because they were all scared half to death of your dad after Bobby told them about the shotgun. And they were pretty intimidated by my dad as well."
"Any boy would be intimidated by your dad," Randy said with an amused smile. "Just like they see mine. And they probably see Trowa, Quatre, Wufei, and Zechs the same way."
"They see every guy as a potential threat to their dear little girls," Veronica said in a sing song voice. "But you know, it didn't stop any of your brothers from dating certain girls."
"It's only because they've seen my brothers grow up. They know them pretty well considering," Randy said knowingly.
"And Donavon, the golden good boy besides his sainted cousin Damien. You know they're family just by that," Veronica snorted. "He's the one guy your dad's ever trusted with you, maybe Vaughn, but you know that he's a fair haired wolf in sheep's clothing. And Donavon's always been your closest friend besides me. I just find it hard to believe that he never told anyone and no one ever noticed."
"There's a lot of things we don't always notice about each other. You know way back when I was about ten or eleven I had a crush on Donavon. I never told anyone that either and my crush lasted up to my sixteenth birthday. I dismissed it as a hopeless, school girl's crush."
"You had a crush on him and you never told me!" Veronica exclaimed loudly.
"Hey! Quiet down, I don't want Vaughn to hear or him to hear," Randy hissed.
"But I still can't believe you never told me," Veronica pouted she crossed her arms. "But why did you dismiss it as a hopeless school girl's crush? You went from one brother to the next."
"True, but I don't know, maybe I realized that nothing would ever come of it because I didn't want to lose him as my friend if I ended up breaking his heart or he ended up breaking mine. And Miles wasn't him. He was different and I thought that's what I probably needed. Someone who was as wild as Jonathon and Chris, not as staid as Donavon or even my brother David."
"But you saw how well it went for my sister and your brother."
"But it didn't go well with Jonathon and Leigh. I know she loves him, and I know he seems to love her, but they never seem to meet on a common ground without one of them blowing up at each other and breaking it off. And David has Kellie and they're as normal as you can get," Randy explained as she leaned forward in her chair. "But you know Donavon was good to you."
"He was a good boyfriend. He was always the gentleman. You know I couldn't even seduce him. His morals are that strong and steadfast. He doesn't even look. Although I would say this, he was a damn good kisser, but even when he kissed me sometimes, it felt odd, like he wasn't really all there. His mind was somewhere else," Veronica said as she sat up as well in her chair. She looked back up at Randy. "And now that I know, he was probably thinking of you," she admitted ruefully.
A compassionate smile creased Randy's lips as she looked over at the blond across from her. "I don't think he did that all the time. He must have liked you enough to stay with you for six months. And he probably was thinking of you when he kissed you. He thought I was lost to him."
"And now?"
Randy shrugged her shoulders and an uncertain look came into her eyes. "I don't know. He only declared himself yesterday. I'm still kind of processing that through."
"You know what I think though?"
"What?"
"Maybe subconsciously, you always wanted to be with Donavon and that's why you chose his brother since they do look enough alike. You used a substitute for the real thing. But I think even you say you were over that crush, I don't think you ever did. I think you've always been in love with him and you just never knew it."
"That's a psychological way of putting it," Randy laughed softly, but it soon faded, as her face became serious again.
Veronica sighed as she swung her legs over the side of the chair and faced Randy. "The reason I'm saying that is because, you've had less dates then even Mira and Isabella have. You don't have any experience with men other then the ones that you were raised with. And even though you're one of the baddest girls of them all, you have the least experience in all the areas pertaining to men."
"Except kicking their ass," Randy supplied cheekily. "But I know enough about men. I have three older brothers, almost notorious for trying to date every girl in Saint Augustines and the Sanc kingdom. I know exactly what goes on inside of a guys' head."
Veronica sighed and shook her head. "You got me on that point, but I'm just saying, you aren't well acquainted with the rules of love and dating like the rest of us are."
It was Randy's turn to sigh and shake her head. "So my second choice wasn't as good as my first, so sue me."
"Personality wise, no, but looks, I would have to say yes. Miles was a hottie," Veronica said truthfully.
Randy rolled her eyes. "You would think something like that Ver. You were always the boy crazy one."
"And you were the one who probably made them think impure thoughts while they could only think of innocent ones about Carin and I."
"Oh, I'm sure there were a fair number of guys that had impure thoughts about you two. I couldn't have them all."
"But you did. You always seemed to be the one all the guys wanted to hop into bed with. I mean look at you and then look at me. I'm a fair skinned with gold hair. I look like an angel and you look like you really are Death's Handmaiden."
"Have you ever heard what Vaughn's said about you?" Randy asked, smiling wickedly.
"No."
"He said if there was one girl in the whole world that he wanted to go to bed with, it would be you."
Veronica's mouth fell open with surprise. "You're kidding me!"
"Nope. He said that when he thought I wasn't paying attention. So, you can have Vaughn instead of Donavon. They're related, so they can't be that different. Except in temperament."
"And how come you never wanted Vaughn?"
"Too much like me. We both tend to have our minds in the gutter," Randy replied brazenly.
Veronica burst out laughing at Randy's admission. She fell back in her chair, holding her sides.
"I knew that you would get a kick out of that," Randy said dryly as she observed her friend. "So are we cool about the whole Donavon thing?"
Veronica sat up, finally able to control her laughter down to snickers. She took a deep breath. "I guess so. I mean after you told me what Vaughn said, I should probably start acting on it." A smirk that only a Yuy could seem to accomplish, crossed her lips. "Thanks for the tip Maxwell."
"Just don't tell him that I told you," Randy said as she stood up and stretched. "Well, I'm going for a walk in the gardens. I'll see you later Ver."
"Later," Veronica said as she watched her close friend walk off. She leaned back, placing her hands behind her head, looking up at the porch roof. She would admit that she was jealous of her raven-haired friend. They were only three weeks apart in age, they were raised together, had almost done everything together, but there had always been a healthy competition between them. It was almost like their fathers' friendly rivalry, except in a different form. It had always been how to get the most guys, who was the better athlete, and who was smarter then the other. And sadly enough, Randy excelled in most athletics thanks to three older brothers and she was a total brain, close enough to be almost considered a genius by most standards. That's where she had always beaten her. Guys was a little different since Randy rarely dated, but it was more of who could get the most guys to drool over them. And she had beaten Randy on that point, however, only by the narrowest margin. Carin had taken away some of that from both of them, when the three of them considered it an all out war. And since her and Carin hadn't been able to beat Randy in sports and school, they made sure that she wouldn't win all the guys too. She sighed again, closing her eyes. "Well congrats once again Randy, you deserve as good a guy as Donavon. He's probably exactly what you need."
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Donavon had watched Randy's conversation with Veronica. He wanted to talk to her, wanted to be with her, wanted to kiss her again, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming all that had happened the other day. He flushed a little when he thought about what he had done.
"Why don't you go talk to her?" asked Jonathon from his seat in the darkened room.
Donavon turned to look at him. "I didn't know you were in here."
A slight smile tugged at Jonathon's lips. "I was thinking. Or brooding. Whatever you like to call it."
"And why are you brooding?" Donavon asked as he sat down in the chair across from the older boy.
"Because I'm thinking about how much I've totally screwed up with Leigh. Again."
"How did you mess it up this time? If I may ask?"
"Call it stupidity. Call it being cowardly. I more then just messed it up. I blew it out of the water completely. The one woman that I actually cared about enough to say those three little words to, and I can't even get them past my lips when it matters."
Donavon's mouth rounded in a small O.
Jonathon observed Donavon's reaction with fleeting amusement. "You don't have to say anything because I already know what you're thinking. How could I not tell Leigh that I love her? Well I'll answer that for you. Because I'm probably scared shitless. I never had to confess feelings that deep before for a woman. And it genuinely scares me. I never told anyone besides my mother and my own sister those words. But they're family."
"So you can't express those feelings towards Leigh even after as long as you two have been together?" Donavon asked softly.
"I have, but only to myself and to her when I know she can't hear me. It's just very hard to say them to her when she's looking at me and I know I've broken her heart by not saying them, but I just can't seem to do it. I've tried to so many times, but the words never seem to come and I end up hurting her," Jonathon replied sadly. "And it makes Wufei dislike me even more because I'm hurting her. He already didn't like me dating her in the first place since he didn't want a Maxwell dating his daughters. He says we're all too much like our father."
"But why do you really think you can't say them to her when she's right there in front of you?"
"Because I probably feel like I'm being put on the spot and I don't want to trip over the words when I say them to her. I want her to know exactly how I feel about her and the fact is, I can't without breaking into a cold sweat and feel like my throat is clogged." Jonathon closed his eyes before looking back up at Donavon. "That's why I'm saying you should go after my sister. I know you love her and I know you've said it to her. And I think that she might love you too. Get her to admit it right away and you should tell her again how you feel. I know you won't screw up."
"How do you know I won't mess it up?" Donavon asked quietly.
"Because of who you are. And now that you're feelings are already known by her and everyone else. You'll tell her because you've never had any trouble telling her anything except that you loved her. But now you can tell her and you won't trip over the words. You're not a screw up like I am."
"You're not a screw up Jonathon. Some people are always going to have a harder time admitting deep feelings. Has Leigh ever told you that she loved you?"
"Yes, she's told me," Jonathon replied dejectedly as he raked his hand through his chestnut hair. "But it's more then just having a hard time admitting deep felt feelings. I don't know what it is, maybe being a Maxwell has something to do with it, but it's our damnable pride. We have so much of it. And Randy is the worst one of them all besides dad. After her is me. Chris and David didn't have as much as a problem with it."
Donavon didn't say anything. It was tactful not to since the state that Jonathon happened to be in. He sighed and leaned back in the chair.
Jonathon looked at the Barton sitting across from him. "Go on and tell her Donavon. She's just as confused and she needs you. And you need her. And I know that you'll give her what she needs and love her, as she deserves. Go after her Donavon and tell her how much you love her. You won't get a second chance to."
Donavon nodded his head and stood. "Thank you Jonathon. I hope you…well you know."
Another slight smile quirked Jonathon's lips. "I know. Go find my sister."
Donavon nodded his head once again and ran out of the room in search of Randy.
Jonathon rolled his head back on the chair and stared at the carved ceiling above him. "Good luck to you Donavon. Give Randy exactly what she needs." He sighed and let his head drop to his chest. "Too bad I don't take my own advice. And Leigh might really be lost to me for good this time."
A/N: Here it is, I finally finished this installment! Hope you all enjoy! XOXO!