Leveling Playing Field



Main Characters- Reese Durkee and Lenora Adams (Len)

Supporting Characters - Kay, Miguel, Charity, Simone, Jessica, Ivy, Julian, Eve, Chad

Special appearance - Luis and Ethan

Reese meets someone who helps him change his looks so that he can get the girl of his dreams but is she right for him? That same person will also have an impact on the lives of Eve and Julian.



Rated: R at this point for language might go up depending on where I take it.



I don't owned any passions characters or the show because if I did there would be no need for me to write fan fiction because everything I wanted to happen would have by now. Beside, I'm broke as a joke and they all belong to NBC.



Chapter One



Walking down the halls of school waiting for Kay, Reese pushes up his glasses in anticipation. He has something to ask her. He wants to take her on a proper date. He has never asked her out on date except when he took her to the school prom and most of the time she spent with Simone. Reese hopes that a date with just the two of them would give them the time they needed to get to know each other better.



He spots Kay walking briskly down the hall talking to Simone. They are always talking to each other like they are plotting a conspiracy. Sometimes Reese wonders what is going on between the two young women but he'll never ask. As Kay gets closer, Reese straightens his shirt and takes a deep breath. However, Kay wheezes past him, after briefly grunting in his direction. Reese turns quickly and walks briskly to catch up with her. Just before he taps her shoulder he hears her say, "Miguel belongs with me."



Reese's hand falters and he stops moving. Kay and Simone disappear around a corner. Reese swallows slowly and tries to think of a reason for Kay's comment. In the back of his mind, the fear that he has carried that Kay really loves Miguel starts creeping forward. Then he thinks about Miguel and Charity and tells himself that it is not possible. Kay is happy that her cousin has found love with Miguel. Miguel is in love with Charity and Kay knows that too. But he heard what he heard and in his heart he knows what it means.



It isn't like he didn't suspect something. He notices how much effort Kay takes to impress Miguel. Her behavior towards Miguel is damn near close to obsessive. She is nice, friendly, and sweet to Miguel. But towards him, she is mean, impatient, and barely tolerant. She is only nice when it serves a purpose and usually that purpose is to get closer to Miguel.

Reese stares at the floor a moment longer and then shakes his head. Kay could have been talking about anything. I shouldn't jump to conclusions. He thought. He quickly walks around the corner and eventually comes across Kay, Simone, Miguel, and Charity. They are talking about going to the book café. Reese notices the adoring looks that Kay is giving Miguel and suddenly feels sick.



"Hey, Reese. We're going to the café. Want to come with?" said Miguel.



Reese thought to agree but he catches the annoyed look on Kay's face and declines.



"No thanks. I have to go get something for a project I'm working on," then hoping against hope he says, "Kay, you want to come with me?"



Kay stops Miguel before he agrees for her, "No. No but thanks Reese. I rather go to the book café, if you don't mind. Come on guys" She turns and leaves. Miguel gives Reese a sympathetic look, which Reese resents. Reese watches them leave before he takes off in the opposite direction.



He went to the old bookstore in town looking for a sci-fi book he had heard about on the internet. He has been riffling through the shelves to no avail when a woman comes into the aisle. Because she comes into the aisle unexpectantly, Reese jumps slightly and bumps into the bookshelf, knocking over a few books. The woman looks at him like he is an idiot and begins to pick up the books. Reese collects the ones that she misses and shelves them. Then he turns to her.



"Sorry about that and thanks for the help," he mumbles.



"That's okay dork," she has a smooth voice with a hard edge to it. She puts the remaining books on the shelf. Then she continues looking on the shelf herself.



"What did you call me?" Reese said annoyed.



The woman rolls her eyes and then turns to him, "I called you a dork because that's what you look and act like. Am I wrong?" She sneers at him.



Reese already upset by the days events gets really pissed, "Look, I'm no Dork. Just because I like sci-fi…"



"It has nothing to do with sci-fi. It has more to do with the fact that you nearly knocked down this bookshelf," she turns away from him again and resumes her search.



Bitch! He thinks. "Well, you didn't need to insult me," Reese said and slammed a book into the shelf. A second later he finds the book he is looking for and pulls it from the shelf. As he walks by, the woman glances in his direction.



"Good book," she says returning her attention to the shelf.



Reese slows a bit. He looks over his shoulder at the woman and from this angle he realizes that she is attractive. He also notices that she has several sci-fi books under her arms.



"You like sci-fi?" he asks tentatively.



"Uh, duh…I mean I am looking for sci-fi books to read," she sighs and shakes her head.



Reese tired of being treated like crap lashes out at her, "Well, excuse me for being civilized. You know, there is no need for your attitude. I was just trying to be friendly." He turns away and goes to the cashier. After paying, he rapidly walks out the store and storms down the street. He is halfway down the block when he hears quick footsteps. A few seconds later the woman from the store is beside him.



"What do you want? I don't need any more insults from you," says Reese trying to walk away from her.



"Hey, slow down kid," she said with tired breath.



"I'm not a kid," said Reese without slowing his pace.



"Fine you're not a kid but slow down. Okay, look I'm sorry I was so rude to you back there."



Reese stops walking and waits. A second later the woman is next to him breathing hard.



"Damn, make a sista work to apologize don't you?" She shakes her head and pulls out a cigarette. She lights it up and takes a long drag.



"Smoking is the reason you're out of breath now," said Reese with a disapproving frown on his face.



"Yeah, but I need my weed, if you catch my drift," she said with a bright smile.



Reese is in a loss for words. Standing in front of him is a very attractive woman. Rather a woman with a change of clothes and different make-up would be a looker. She is a tall woman, probably just under his height without the boots. Her caramel skin glows under the sunlight. She has almond shape eyes and the color of them is a deep hazel. Her full lips are covered with dark lipstick. She wears her dark hair in short twist. Big hoops hang from each of her ears and a silver chain is around her neck. She has several silver rings on her fingers and her short nails are painted a deep purple. She wears a plain black t-shirt and denim jeans with black boots. Her shirt is hanging out of her pants but he could still see the chain hanging on her side. She didn't appear too thin but she isn't thick either. He wonders about the size of her chest when her voice snaps him out of his thoughts.



"My name is Lenora but people call me Len. What do I call you?" she said taking another drag out of her cigarette.



"Uh…Re…Reese," he stutters bringing his mind back into focus.



"Nice to meet you Reese," she said and started walking. Reese follows.



"So why are you trying to be nice to me now?" he asks after a moment. Now that he is over his initial shock, it is easier to communicate.



She shrugs, "I guess because you made a point. I was rude and I had no reason to be. Besides, I can't help but respect the fact that you bought an Octavia Butler book, and a good one too."



Reese pushes up his glasses and turns to her slightly, "You've read her?"



"Of course. That's my girl. One of the few black sci-fi writers out and a sista to boot. Plus her stuff is way deep. I have all her books. How did you get wind of her?" She tosses the butt on the ground and grinds it out with her left heel.



"In an internet community. Someone mentioned her and I decided to try it out. I'm always looking for something diff…" his voice drifts off.



They have made it to the book café and Reese spies Kay talking to Miguel. He watches her lean over him, trying to get his attention and then he notices something new. For the first time, Miguel is actually responding to her. Every time Kay did something like that before, Miguel usually didn't react to it. Somehow, something changed. After witnessing the moment, Reese quickly walks away towards his home.



"Hey! Hey Reese, wait up," Len skips up a couple of steps and catches up with him. She grabs his arm and Reese stops moving.



"Hey! What's going on with you? What just happen?" she forces Reese to look at her.



"Nothing. Just forget it. It was nice to meet you, Len," he jerks away from her and starts to walk away. However, Len catches up with him again.



"Look, are those your friends back there? Is she your girlfriend?"



Reese sighs, "Yes they are my friends. And yes…" he thought about it a moment and then said, "well technically, Kay is not my girlfriend but we did go to the prom together."



Len raised her eyebrows a moment and stares at him, "Okay," she says slowly, "So what just happen? What made you upset?"



Reese stares at her trying to think about whether or not to tell her about his feelings for Kay.



"Reese you can tell me?"



"Why because you decided to suddenly treat me with respect?" he says and starts walking off.



"No, because I might be able to help." She catches up with him again.



"Why would you do that? I'm just a 'kid', a 'dork'." He glares at her, "I don't need you making fun of…"



"Look 'kid'," she uses her fingers like quotation marks for kid, "I want to help because I can. You look like you could use a friend and I know I sure could. Besides, what's the harm in it? I might be able to give you some insight because I am a stranger to the situation."



Reese thinks a moment and finally makes a decision, "Okay but we have to go back so that I can show you who I'm talking about."



"Fine. You can point them out and then you can tell me your story on the way to the meeting I attend every Tuesday."



"What meeting?"



Len smiles at him, "It is a meeting for sci-fi freaks like us. Interested?"



"Sure," he says with a smile.



"Good. Now lets see the players in your saga."



They went back to the book café and Reese pointed out everyone of importance. Then they left, heading to the sci-fi meeting. On the way, Reese told her about his feelings for Kay, what he overheard, and finally his suspicions. Len listen intently, feeling bad for the guy. She knew that he is in a losing battle because from what little she saw in the book café, the girl Kay is really into that Miguel guy. And Len has to admit, Miguel is fine and compared to Reese, he is a God.



"Well Reese, I'm sorry that happen to you. It happens to the best of us."



"I just keep trying to think of what I did wrong. I mean for a while I really thought Kay liked me."



"Really?" Len says surprised.



"Yes really," Reese said annoyed, "Why do you sound surprised?"



Len wants to be tactful but she is a loss as to how to do it so she just shrugs and says, "We're here."



"Where?"



"At the meeting. It called the sci-fi club. I know, I know, it doesn't sound too impressive but the people here are all right."



They go to the community college in town and attend the meeting. A hour and a half later it is over. Reese is excited from the experience. He was able to get into some very good discussions and learn a lot of cool information. He also got to observe Len more and he realize that she is a strange person and that he knows absolutely nothing about her. By the end of the meeting he resolved to find out more.



"That was a great experience Len, thanks for taking me."



"Not a problem," she said with another cigarette in her mouth. Reese shakes his head and does something bold. He snatches the cigarette from her mouth and tosses it.



"You little shit!" she is appalled and rushes over to where he tossed it. She picks it up and wipes it clean. She is about to put it in her mouth but thinks better of it. She places it back in the pack. After pocketing the pack, she turns on Reese pissed. "What the hell did you do that for!"



"You shouldn't smoke Len. Cigarettes are bad for your health," Reese said slightly afraid. Len looks like evil incarnate.



"Dammit, that is not an ordinary cigarette," she hissed.



"Well, what are they…"



Len grabs his arm and drags him to area off the sidewalk that looks secluded.



"It is my special brand. They are cigaweed."



Reese frowns at her, "Ciga what?"



Len drops her head a bit and rolls her eyes, "Cigaweed. You know, dope."

Reese's eyes bulge for a second, "You're smoking weed. That's illegal."



"Give me a break," she walks off and Reese follows.



"Where did you get those?" he says in a loud voice.



"Could you please turn off that loudspeaker of a mouth of yours," she shakes her head, "I made them myself."



"Really?"



"Yeah, really. What? Now you don't want to talk to me?" she said with her eyebrows arched.



Reese thought about it for a moment and then says, "No. I mean, I want to keep talking to you but…"



"There are no buts. Conversation over."



They walk in silence for a little while and then Reese's curiosity gets the better of him.



"Do you sell it? You know on the street?"



Len throws her head back a bit, "Reese, please don't be a child."



"I'm just asking. I mean you know about me and I know nothing about you."



Len stops walking and turns to him. Reese stares back at her and waits. Len reaches forward and pushes up his glasses.



"You really ought to get contacts," she walks pass him to a bench. She beckons him to join her.



Reese gets over his odd feeling of surprise that she touched his glasses and takes a seat next to her.



"What do you want to know?"



"Well have you lived here all your life?"



"Reese you know the answer to that question. No I haven't. Look, how about I tell my story and if you have any questions then you can ask okay?"



"Cool," he said leaning back to get comfortable.



"Okay, I just moved here this past summer. My aunt brought me back here after I got in trouble in Chicago for selling my product. I got probation and my aunt got permission to move me here. She figures it would give me a chance to start again. So we moved. She works at the hospital as a nurse and as part of my probation, I take courses at the community college."



Reese nods and then asks, "Where are your parents?"



Len looks at the sky and in a low voice says, "Dead. They died four years ago in a plane crash." She looks back down on the sidewalk.



Reese feels bad for her and says so. Len grunts and waves it off. Reese thinks for a second and then asks, "Why Harmony? I mean when I think about relocating, Harmony is the last place that comes to mind."



"Yeah well, you're right about that but my parents and aunt use to live here. At the time I was real young. They moved when I think I was three years old," she looks at the watch on her arm, "Hey I have to head home. Want to come with me?"



Since he didn't have anything else to do, Reese agreed. They walked back slowly and Len told Reese about her life in Chicago. How she graduated near the top of her class but on the side she sold weed to make a little cash. She started selling to help out her aunt but once her aunt found out what she was doing, she became pissed and started making plans to get her away from the bad element that she hung around. Len got caught on a Sunday afternoon selling to some chick. The police brought her in and the next day she got a lawyer that made a killer deal for her. She took it because the evidence against her was overwhelming and a trial would have been a waste of time. A month later they came here with the court's blessing. So every Thursday she has to see her probation officer and talk to him about her progress. However she never has to do a drug test because when they tested her blood after she got locked up, she didn't have a trace in her system. Using that as an indicator that she was only a seller and not a user, she got out of doing random drug testing.



That is as far as she got by the time they arrived at her place. She lived on the opposite side of town from Reese and his friends, near the 'bad area'. They go into the house and Reese hated to admit it but he is mildly surprised. It is quite cozy in the house. Nice furniture, a good entertainment system, nice painted walls, everything. Len notices his shock and comments.



"What? Thought we were poor because of where we live? Truth is my aunt used to live here long before it got this way. She moved back into the same house that she left all those years ago. Ironic ain't it. Besides it is cheaper to live here," she mumbles something else about kids from the suburbs but Reese didn't catch it all. "Come on Reese."



Reese looks up and notices that Len is climbing the stairs to the upper level. He quickly follows behind her. They get to the top and make a slight left. Len opens another door and they go up another flight of stairs. They are in a room/attic and it is obviously Len's. It looks like a tornado has spun through one part of it while another part is organized.



"Still unpacking," Reese guessed.



"Good guess Sherlock," Len said with a smile.



"Thanks Watson," Reese stated sarcastically. As he looks around he notices a picture of Len and two other people. He picks it up and stares at it. He reaches over and shows her the picture, "Those your parents?"



"Yeah. My father was some big time executive and Mom was an accountant. They died coming back from a much needed vacation. They should have kept their asses home," she bends over and picks something up but not before Reese notice the angry look in her face.



"Len it wasn't their fault that they died," he said trying to be helpful.



Len looks up at Reese and shakes her head, "Yeah I know but I'm still pissed so forget it okay?"



"Okay," agreed Reese. He is about to place the picture where he found it when he decides to take another look at it. Upon closer inspection he notices that Len doesn't look like either of her parents.



Len is waiting for him to notice that she doesn't share one family resemblance with her parents. A second later Reese's head moves slowly in her direction and she smiles for him.



"What have you discovered?"



"You're adopted?" Reese looks at her confused.



"No, well not exactly. Have a seat, it is now my turn to tell you a long story."



Reese takes a seat on the bed and waits for her to get comfortable on the floor.



Len sighs and begins, "When I was born my mother was the happiest person in the world. So happy that she put me up for adoption. The mother who raised me also gave birth and she was happy too but what she didn't know was that her child had died after the birth. At the fine Harmony hospital, there was a baby switch by an idiot nurse, and my parents went home with me instead of learning of the death of their own child. Everything was fine until I got sick and had to go to the hospital. The doctors were doing a routine test when they discovered a discrepancy. My blood type didn't match any of my parents. After a big to do, they learned they gave them the wrong baby by mistake and that my real mother thought her baby had died."



Reese's eyes are bugged, "Wow. That's incredible. Do you have any idea who your real mother is?"



"Not really. Right after the discovery, my parents decided to move me to keep me away from the controversy. I think they really didn't want the birth mother to make any claims. However, I found the medical records that the doctors had given my parents about my birth mother so that I can get proper medical treatment when necessary. They had blacked out her name but I got the first part. I believe her name is Eve or Eva, something along that line," she again shrugs.



Reese's mind is whirling and then he says, "I know an Eve. Dr. Eve Russell. She works at the hospital here."



Len looks up at him, "Really? Dr. Russell's name is Eve?" Len begins to think while Reese jumps up excited.



"Do you know Dr. Russell?"



"No. I just heard her name because my aunt mentioned her. But then again the way she mentioned her, it was as if she was shock to find her at the hospital working as a doctor."



"This is great. You could ask her if she is your mother…"



"Hey slow your roll there mate," said Len standing up, "My aunt doesn't want me to ask anyone anything. Beside my aunt told me that my real mother was a jazz singer."



Reese turns to her and says, "Well there is a jazz club in town but the woman who knew the most about the people in it is dead. She died a while ago. At the time she was helping Chad find his own family."



"Chad? Who's Chad?"



"He works at the school and the book café. He is a friend of mine too. He has been looking for his parents since he got here. Maybe you can talk to him too…"



This time Len is thinking and then she gets an idea, "Look, you introduce me to this Chad and point out Dr. Russell for me and I'll help you."



Reese looks over at her again, "How?"



"I'll help you get a fighting chance with Kay," she said thinking that his chances are slim to none but at least they are better than zero.



"How would you do that?" Reese stares at her hopefully.



"Reese it's simple. I'm going to introduce you to the new millennium."



They made a deal and Len tells him that she will spy around him and they are to meet again on Thursday after he gets out of school.



"What about your appointment with…"



"Don't worry. It will be over long before then. Just meet me at the old bookstore. I have a couple of plans in mind.