Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. All I have is this story and the characters that I made up. They belong to Disney and Alliance Atlantis and so forth. Thanks to all that reviewed so far.
Parent Trap
The minor detail
Tyler took a deep breath and tried to find a word to say…anything.
"How are you, son?" Mr. Connell said before Tyler can utter a word.
"Son?" Tyler said before realizing he was talking about him. "I mean, I'm, I'm fine."
"It's good to see you again. Do you like the car?"
"The car? Oh, the car. It's OK."
There was a moment of silence, and Val was in the middle of it. 'This is a disaster. What a night this has been!'
"Tyler," she called out. "I should just go."
"No, no, wait," Tyler said as he returned his attention to Val. "I'll give you a ride."
Without saying a word to his father, Tyler took Val's hand and led her to the car. He immediately turned on the ignition and left the driveway, leaving a very confused Mr. Connell alone. Val glanced towards Tyler, and immediately, she sensed that something was wrong. His eyes were focused on the road, and he gripped the wheel of the car so tightly, it would have been out of air if it were alive. Val decided against saying anything, and just stared outside the window. When they reached the Lanier driveway, Tyler slowly parked the car. Val got out and was surprised that Tyler followed her to the door.
"I had a great time," Val told him.
"I'm really sorry about what happened earlier," Tyler apologized.
"What for? You didn't do anything wrong. Besides, I'm fine."
"That was my dad."
"Really? I didn't even notice."
Tyler smiled and gave her a kiss.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he said. "Good night."
"Good night," she replied, but she noticed the small hint of gloom in his eyes. "Tyler, are you all right?"
"Yea. I'm fine."
"Are you sure? Your dad just came back and all."
Tyler noticed the concern in her voice, and the last thing he needed was for Val to worry.
"Val, I'm fine. I can handle him."
Val still didn't look convinced.
"If anything comes up, I'll call you, OK?"
"OK."
"Bye."
"Bye."
After Val entered her house, Tyler deliberately walked slowly to his car in order to prolong seeing his new visitor once again. When he finally arrived at his house, he came in the backdoor, but everyone was there…even him.
"Hey son!" Mr. Connell greeted.
Tyler gave him a fake smile. He looked up and saw a very confused William and his mother, who still looked surprised.
"I have a great news. I'm staying here for a few weeks."
"Great!" Tyler said. "I better get to bed."
Tyler hurried to his room and closed the door shut. 'This is going to be a long few weeks.'
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Another school day has started. Bound to the academic team for the rest of the semester, for Jamie, nothing could get any worse. And it was because he opened his mouth. After years of living with him, he should have mastered it by now, but he fell in his trap once again. 'I should have known.'
"Mr. Waite!" called a voice from afar. 'It does get worse. Now she's following me.'
"Hello Mrs. Lowry," greeted Jamie.
"I heard that you decided to join the team."
"More like tricked into," he said under his breath.
"Your mother might have told you already, but you're in charge of the literary language vocabulary category."
"I know," he said dreadfully.
"I'm sure we'll have a blast," she said cheerfully.
"Very," he said with the most fake smile he had done.
"I thought you would never join. This is like a dream come true. I've finally turned a student around."
"It's more like a nightmare," Jamie said after she left.
In that same second, the late bell rang, and Jamie could hear Carlson's footsteps as he headed towards him.
"I'm cursed. Doomed. Done for."
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Hank came out of his last class when he saw Marianne pass him by.
"Marianne!" he called as he fought through a crowd of people to get to her.
"Hi Hank!" she greeted. "What's up?"
"You didn't finish telling me last night."
"About what?"
"You know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about your dad."
"What about him?"
"You tell me. You said your dad might hate me. And then last night you said something about your dad being something, but you had to go so you didn't finish."
"Can I tell you later?"
"I want to know right now," Hank said in a surprisingly demanding tone, earning him an angry look from Marianne. "Pretty please?"
"OK, but only because you said please," Marianne smiled. "My dad is just overly strict. He intimidates most guys. I don't want you to be like the others and just leave me because they are scared of him."
"Who said I'm leaving you?"
"That's what they all said," Marianne told him. "I really want him to like you as much as I do."
"Well, maybe not that much," Hank joked as Marianne playfully punched him. "I promise I won't be intimidated by him. I've met a lot of strict and intimidating people in my days."
"I hope so," she said.
"So is that it?"
"That's basically all the major details."
"So, how many is this 'others' we're talking about?"
"Hank, you're such a guy."
"Come on, just give me a ball park."
"It's definitely lesser that a ball park. Now I really have to go to class. I'll see you at lunch."
"Bye," Hank said as he went to his class as well.
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Val and Caitie were the first people to arrive at the cafeteria. While they waited for the others, Caitie asked Val about the night before.
"How was the dinner with his parents?"
"It was OK."
"That's it?"
"Well, basically. It was all great until…"
"Until what? Did he break up with you?"
"No, no," Val said disapprovingly. "His dad came back."
"William?"
"No, his real dad from California."
"Was there a fight?"
"No, but he was really shocked. I'm a little worried about him."
"Well, at least there was no fight like the last time you had dinner with his family."
"At least."
Just then, the rest of the group arrived and sat on their seats.
"How did it go last night?" Val asked Tyler.
"What happened?" asked Hank.
"My dad returned."
"Oh," Hank said. "How was it?"
"We didn't really talk," said Tyler.
"How long is he staying?" asked Marianne.
"For a few weeks."
"Same here. My dad just came back as well."
"My parents are divorced," Tyler informed her. "So, where is your dad staying?"
"At our house," Marianne replied uneasily. "Where's you dad staying?"
"At our house as well."
"That sounds like fun," Jamie commented.
"Yea. Fun."
Hank decided to change the topic.
"Marianne, what about that dinner at your house?"
"I almost forgot. Are you free tonight?"
"Luckily, I am."
"The dinner is at my house. I'll pick you up since you don't know where I live yet."
Jamie choked on his food and laughed at the fact that Hank didn't know where Marianne lived, but that's not the only reason. Somehow, Marianne told Val and Caitie about the whole ordeal, and Caitie told Jamie at one of their random conversations.
"Is there a problem Jamie?" Hank asked suspiciously.
"Nothing. I just choked on this fry."
Hank nodded and turned back to Marianne.
"What time?"
"Is seven OK with you?"
"Seven it is."
"And try to dress up nicely."
"I'll remember that."
The six students continued eating, before the rang and it was time for them to leave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hank waited patiently…or impatiently near the front door of his house. It was almost seven, and he's scared as heck to meet Marianne's dad…whoever he is. Hank jumped at the sound of the doorbell. As expected, Marianne was at the front door. The only thing that confused Hank was that she was a little bit…dressed down.
"What are you wearing?" asked Marianne at Hank's black and white tux.
"You said to dress nicely."
"I did, but I didn't say dress up for prom."
"I'll change if you want."
"Never mind. My dad hates it when people are late."
"If you say so," Hank said as he mentally cursed himself.
As he quietly sat on the passenger's seat, Hank was surprised at the familiar surroundings.
"I haven't been to your house, have I?" Hank asked.
"I'm pretty sure that you haven't."
"The place looks so familiar."
As they turned right, Hank noticed the street name. 'Dried Earth Boulevard? Why does that sound so familiar? Maybe I heard it on the news.'
"We're here," Marianne said as she parked the car.
Hank looked at the house number. '3427? Have I been here before?'
"Hank?" Marianne said. "Are you OK? Come on!"
"Yea…I'm coming."
Marianne rang the doorbell, and Hank shifted slightly on his feet as he waited for the door to open. As the doorknob turned, someone familiar came into view, and it was not only familiar to Marianne's eyes.
"Dad, I would like you to meet Hank."
"You!" Marianne's dad said angrily. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh dear God heaven almighty," Hank said.
"Did I miss something here?" asked Marianne. "Have you two met?"
"Marianne, you told me all the major details," Hank whispered. "But I think you forgot to tell me the minor one."
"Hank, this is my dad," she told him with an apologetic look. "General McLemore of the U.S. Army."
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First off, I have to hand it to Ivy Leaves for the terrific guess. Good job! I just didn't say anything because I didn't want t ruin it for everybody. I hope I surprised some of you people. Anyway, I hope you liked it. I only have six more days of school left and then I can write all I want. Don't forget to review! I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182
