Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with any of the cast members of In A Heartbeat, nor do I have anything to do with the producer or anybody related to the show.

Tyler: William Strikes Again

            I was so excited for the barbeque thing, I was practically jumping around the house Saturday morning. "Tyler, calm down!!" my mom told me at around lunch time. My best friends all agreed to come a little earlier so they could help me set everything up. The entire football team and cheer squad was coming, along with the coaches too. Hank's entire family was coming too. I wasn't sure if Val was coming or not though. She said that she'd call me, but it was only hours before they were supposed to arrive and she hadn't called yet. It was kind of weird though because I had a crush on Val for the longest time but I never asked her out, doubting that she'd say yes. I asked Casey out the first chance I got and she said yes. At that moment, I wasn't sure what I felt for Val but I knew that I really liked Casey.

            "Tyler! The phone's for you!!" William, my step-dad called out to me. I hadn't even realized that the phone had rung. I picked it up, "Hello?"

            "Hey, Tyler?" a female voice said over the phone. I immediately recognized it as Val's.

            "Hey Val! What's up?"

            "Well, I just called to tell you that I'm coming to the barbeque and…" she stopped for a minute. I heard voices in the background. I knew that meant one of two things. Either that was her 12 year old sister Brooke or that was her and Jamie's best friend Caitie.

            "Tyler? Sorry. I'm coming to your barbeque. What time should I be there?" she said coming back, seeming to forget about the "and" that she added in there but I didn't care. She was coming and I was happy, "Um, 2:30. Is Caitie there with you?" I asked her.

            "Yeah."           

            "She can come too."     

            "Same time?"

            "Same time." I figured that I might as well invite Caitie so that Jamie would have someone to hang-out with. He really disliked the "jock crowd" as he called the people Hank, Val and I hung-out with at school. Come to think of it, he called us jocks too. I said good-bye to Val and hung-up. William came into the room, "Who was that?"

            "Val Lanier." I really tried to limit down my conversation with William as much as possible.

            "Oh, it wasn't that Casey girl?"

            "No."

The one thing I dreaded was the fact that William would be at the party. He would ruin everything and I just didn't want that. Especially not in front of Casey.

            At 2:30, everyone arrived. They were all talking to each other when they came in and when they saw me, they all said hi. Hank looked around, "So where is she?"

            "Where's who?" I asked him.

            "Casey."

            "She won't be here till later."

            "Oh." I looked over at everyone else. Jamie smiled at me and Caitie was looking at Val. I looked at Val too and she met my eyes. She sent me a small smile that seemed like it took a lot of effort. It was silent for awhile. Finally, Jamie said something, "So, Val, can you give me a ride home or what?"

            "Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure. No problem." She really seemed to be out of it and I wondered why.

            "Um, Val? Could I talk to you for a sec? Outside?" I asked her. I mean, I had been friends with Val for a very long time and it really bugged me that she didn't step into the barbeque with a happy attitude. She followed me and when I was sure everyone else wasn't listening, I turned to her, "What's wrong?"

            "Huh? What do you mean?"

            "You seem really distracted, Val. What's wrong? Is there something going on at home?"

            "No, it's just…well, have you ever wanted something so bad that you were willing to give everything up to get it?"

            "Um, I think so, yeah." What was she getting at?           

            "Yeah, well, that's what I'm feeling now."

            "Oh, I'm sorry."

            "No, that's not where it ends. You see, althought I want it so bad, I can't have it."

            "Is it another guy?"

            "Is it a guy? Yes it is."

            "Tell me the story."      

            "See, I've liked this guy for a long long time. Longer than you would imagine it's worth to be stuck on one guy. I was willing to give up my everything for him. Then, he asked this girl out the other day. He's truly happy about it. I'm not mad or anything. I'm happy for him. I'm happy that he found someone that he truly likes. I know now that he wouldn't of been happy with me. As long as he's happy with this girl, I'm fine."

            "Man, you've got it bad." I told her after a long silence. I felt like beating this guy to a pulp for tearing Val up like that. For making her feel that way.

            "I guess you could say that."     

            "Who is this guy?"

            "That's where I can't tell you anything. It is classified information. Only Caitie knows so that's that."

            "Okay." I said easily, but I still wished I knew so that I could beat this guy. Val totally did not deserve to feel that way. I gave her a big hug and told her, "I hope you find someone else that will make you really really happy."

            "Yeah me too."

            "And remember, I'll be here for you too."

            "Thanks." She smiled at me.

            We went inside and everyone helped get everything ready. Soon, the entire crowd starting slowly dripping in. Casey finally arrived, "Hey, Tyler." She greeted me with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. She was wearing my letter jacket.

            "Hey, Casey. Meet the rest of my squad from the station." I introduced her to each person. When she saw Val, she squealed, "Hey Val!! I didn't know you worked on this with all these hot guys. And you, the only girl. Man, I wish I were you!!" Val smiled, "Yeah, all these….hot guys…yeah, sure." Jamie pushed her and Hank pushed Jamie for pushing a girl. Casey giggled, "I'm surprised no one has made a move on you yet. I mean, you'd think these guys would have the brains."

            "Thanks, Casey. But lucky for you, Tyler never tried or… had the intrest to." Casey giggled. I thought about her last phrase, "had the intrest to". Of course I had the intrest to. I've always had it, but I knew Casey was right for me. She greeted Hank heartily since she knew him from the team too, but when she got to Jamie, she was a little more cautious, "Hey! You're from my History class huh?" Jamie nodded, "I think so." She laughed and Val, Hank and Jamie started looking uncomfortable when Casey started clinging onto my arm.

            "Hey, look! There's Robbie! C'mon, Jamie, I'll introduce you!" Val exclaimed. Jamie looked like Christmas had come early, "Okay!" Hank ran after them, "Wait for me!"

            It was really weird because Val had never jumped at the chance to talk to one of my team-mates because she dealt with their pathetic attempts to ask her out everyday and Hank wasn't too close with Robbie. And Jamie, wanting to meet a jock? I had to be dreaming.

            William came out with a basketball and I groaned. I explained the whole relationship between me and William to Casey and she smiled at me, squeezing my hand, comfortingly. William was trying to play Around the World with Val, Hank, Jamie, Caitie and another cheerleading but he ended up throwing the ball into the pool where it hit the head cheerleader on the head. She screamed and I groaned.  I stomped to the front of the house and sat on my porch steps. I saw Val look over at me and she looked as if she was going to come after me, but then Casey sat next to me. She put her arm around me and just sat there whispering comforting words into my ear. I knew then that Val would always be a friend, but nothing more. Casey, I knew, was right for me.