Author's Note: Thanks for reviewing, y'all. I really appreciate it. I have a longer, way more important AN at the end of this chapter.. Btw, this chapter takes place during the actual morp.







Music blasting.. People dancing..

Shelby watched her world pass her by. Among the people, she looked for Scott.

She searched for him in vain.

"God, where's Scott?"

The words left her lips, a wistful whisper she didn't think anyone had heard.

Daisy popped up beside her, in a way only Daisy could do. "Oh, he's coming," she said confidently, and grabbed some stale punch.

Shelby sank back, and leaned against the wall, just watching. Waiting.





Just one word occupied her thoughts.. Scott.

Scott, the one who could always make her smile. Unconsciously, a smile played on her lips as she thought about him.

It seemed like an eternity had passed since their estrangement. It would be the happiest moment of her life, when he came back to her.

Good things didn't happen to her often.. and Scott, was by far, the best thing that had ever happened to her. He was the one person who'd give up his future to be with her.. the one person who made her feel alive- the one person who made her want to be alive.





Some time later, a voice rang clear against the loud music.

"Shelby!"

Shelby turned towards the origin of the voice, suddenly full of hope.. But it wasn't Scott.

"Shelby," Peter repeated, once he had her attention. Shelby didn't bother concealing her disappointment.

"I have a message for you," Peter continued.

Shelby furrowed her brows. "You do?"

Peter nodded. "From Scott."

"Alright, let's hear it," she said, and moved away from the music, her pulse racing.

Peter took a deep breath. "He.. wanted me to tell you that.. he loves you," he managed.

Shelby eyed Peter suspiciously. "What?" she questioned. "What's going on?"

"Scott.. can't make it," Peter explained.

For a moment, Shelby merely stood, frozen. "He's not coming?" she repeated, motionless.

"That's right."

Reality came crashing down on her.

Scott's not coming.

Shelby closed her eyes, and a tear escaped onto her cheek. Angrily, she brushed it away. Her eyes snapped open abruptly, fury fleeting in them. "No..!" she screamed. "He has to make it!" Shelby turned against the wall to support herself, she felt like her knees were about to buckle from under her. Suddenly turning to Peter, questioning, her face tear-stained, she asked desperately, "Why can't he make it?"

"He lost his means of transport here," Peter responded.

Shelby shook her head, tears running down her face. "No.. God, no!" she whispered. "This can't be happening. You have to go get him!"

Peter shook his head grimly. "He no longer attends this school, Shelby. I can't just pull up in his driveway and take him here."

Shelby collapsed against the wall, tears cascading freely down her cheeks. Her make-up was now a mess, but the thought never occurred to her. All that she knew, all she could think about was.. Scott isn't coming.

She'd waited for him, all in vain. Months, she'd spent, full of hopefulness, full of happiness, knowing that soon, someday, Scott would come galloping to her rescue on his white horse, bring her to a place where they could be together.. Those months.. those moments.. now meant nothing.

She'd given up her happiness for his future.. And he couldn't even come to the morp.

Shelby put her head in her hands, and cried unabashedly. She didn't care.. Not anymore. She didn't have anything to care about anymore.. Not even Scott.

"God dammit!" she screamed.

She could discern Peter's voice among her sobs. "I'm sorry, Shelby."

How could he be? Shelby wondered angrily. How could he possibly know!

She'd loved deeply.. but she'd lost.

She loved him so much.. But he wasn't here. He wasn't coming. He wasn't ever going to come.

She thought about Scott.. the curls of his blond hair.. the cerulean eyes.. Did he know how much he'd just destroyed her? Did he know how much she'd invested in him, how much she counted on him being here? Did he know how she loved him more than life itself?

Shelby shook her head, unable to bring herself out of denial. This can't be happening, she thought to herself.

She knew that Scott knew how much she loved him.

How could he do this to her?!

Suddenly struck, Shelby stopped crying. Scott knew how much she loved him..

He wouldn't do this to her! she thought angrily.

He wouldn't do this to her.

With some effort, Shelby brought herself to her feet, and just ran.

She could heard Peter, calling after her. "Shelby!"

She darted inside Peter's office. Peter followed her inside.

"Where's the phone?" Shelby questioned him.

"Shelby..."

"Where's the goddamn phone?!"

Peter pointed to the edge of his desk. "Right there," he replied.

Shelby picked up the phone, and dialled Scott's number hastily.

She waited impatiently, listening to the phone ring. "Come on Scott, pick up the phone!" she said impatiently.

"Hello?"

It wasn't Scott, but it was something. "Hello, can I speak with Scott?" Shelby said hurriedly.

"He no longer lives here. Can I ask who this is?"

"It's Shelby. What do you mean he no longer lives there?!"

"That's all there is to it."

"Can you tell me where I can reach him?" Shelby asked desperately.

"I really don't know, and frankly, I don't care to know. Goodbye."

Shelby closed her eyes, discouraged as she heard the phone of the other line hang up.

She slammed down the phone herself. "His dad says he no longer lives there! What the hell is going on?!"

"Shelby, calm down," Peter said patiently.

Shelby turned to her headmaster, incredulous. "You expect me to be calm?!"

"Please try. Sit down."

Taking a deep breath, Shelby sat down. A stray tear ran down her cheek. "What's going on with Scott?" she asked, almost pleading.

"His dad kicked him out of the house, and is keeping him from coming here," Peter explained.

Shelby stared at Peter, completely stone-faced. Another tear ran down her cheek.

Would she ever see Scott again?!

Just a couple hours ago, she'd had a conversation with the other Cliffhanger girls.. She'd confessed that she thought that Scott was 'the one'.

Apparently not.

She was just about to leave, it wasn't like sitting there did her any good, when a knock sounded at Peter's door.

Daisy slowly ventured inside Peter's office.

"Shelby?" she said.

"What do you want?!"

Daisy saw the tears stained on Shelby's cheeks.. Heard the impatience in Shelby's response.. Something had to have happened. "You were making a lot of noise," she said.

"Scott's not coming," Shelby snapped.

"I'm sorry," Daisy managed.

Shelby's eyes were hurt, and angry. "Don't be," she said, and departed from Peter's office.

"Shelby.." Daisy called after her.

Peter's face was grim. "I think she needs some time alone."

Daisy nodded in agreement. "Yeah."







some time later..







"Erika!"

Erika turned when she heard her name called, clear as day that seemed to cut right through the music.

She set down her punch, and found her headmaster awaiting her.

"Yeah, Peter?" she said.

She noticed a small smile, barely noticeable formed on Peter's visage- a smile that held an almost deviousness.

Erika crossed her arms in anticipation.

She didn't notice the tall, lean figure a couple feet to Peter's right. Didn't notice how eyes so much like her own, were captivated.





Adrian stood beside her, but unlike Erika, he noticed the strangely familiar presence beside Peter. Noticed eyes with such eerie semblance it couldn't be passed off as a mere coincidence. The man's eyes, were however, hard and somehow sad.

Somehow solemn.

The man was fairly unkempt, his skin dry and rough, his knuckles cracked and bloody. The clothes he wore, although a casual style, looked like they'd never been worn.

Adrian met the man's gaze, and held it locked. There was an almost mutual understanding, a mutual harmless curiosity.



"I have someone here that I'd like you to meet," Peter continued, and beckoned to Darryl to come forward. "Darryl?" he said.

Erika watched in disbelief as a man in the shadows came into light. The light illuminated his features, features so much like her own.

It was like staring into her own eyes.

Erika grabbed Adrian's hand suddenly, suddenly finding herself slack-jawed, at a loss for words.

Holy shit, she thought to herself. Holy fucking shit..

She knew who he was. It seemed almost blatantly obvious.. and at the same time, absolutely unbelievable.

Still, all directions led to the same conclusion.

She'd dreamed of this day for all of her life. It was almost hard to believe that this was reality.. And not just another dream.

Or was this a dream? Erika wondered idly. She pinched herself, to assure herself that she indeed, subsisted in reality. If this was a dream, she thought to herself, she wasn't awakening.

She realized that she'd been staring slack-jawed for some time now.

"Oh my god," Erika managed finally, only to find that her throat had gone dry. "You're.. my father, aren't you? You're my dad.."

She saw that his facial muscles barely moved, stolid.

"Yes," he replied in a voice that was strikingly raspy, but soft.









Darryl Lavalier could barely believe his eyes.

The vision, the beauty in front of him, was his daughter. He'd spawned this beautiful child.

Straight blond hair that hung past her shoulders, the razor-sharp collarbones, slightly broad shoulders and all.. The strong, square chin.. The distinctive, angular features..

"My god," he whispered to himself. "You have my eyes. And my chin." Briefly, he touched her chin, if only to ascertain himself that it was real.. not just a figment of his imagination.

She was so beautiful, and he couldn't help but wonder what he'd missed out on, while cooped up in a real lock down for societal rejects.

"If I had known," he told Erika sincerely, "that I had such a beautiful daughter, it would have made the days.." Momentarily, he looked away, reminiscing. Painful memories. He brought his eyes back to his daughter. "..the endless days.. more bearable."

He watched as tears began to well up in her eyes, and she flung her arms around his neck.

It was like a shock to the system.. He couldn't conjure up the last time he'd been embraced freely.. The last time he'd been touched with affection of any kind. Being confined in a cell with everyone believing him to be a heartless murderer, not many dared come near him, let alone embrace him.

It was a moment before he'd realized that he was supposed to return the embrace.

He could feel her tears drift onto his shirt.

"You got out?" she asked, still clinging onto him, not daring to let go, should he drift from her grasp again.

"Yes," he said. "With a clean slate."

He felt a tear of his own stray onto his cheek, and it surprised him. Despite all that he'd gone through, it had been all too long since he'd last cried. He'd learned soon enough that crying got one no where.

But there it was, running down his cheek, into his scruffy beard.

It was joy, unlike any he'd ever known.

When it seemed his situation was hopeless, she'd believed in him- asking nothing in return. She didn't have to believe in him, but she had, regardless. When her mother had done all she could to extract him from their lives, Erika had persevered. For his sake.

It was almost too much.

He knew that he'd remember and cherish this moment for the rest of his life- holding his daughter for the first time, in what had seemed countless lifetimes.

When she finally let go, finally pulled away, their eyes were locked, unable to tear away.

"You can't imagine how much your letters helped me, kept me sane," Darryl told his daughter. "I'd given up hope until I first received a letter from you."

He'd spent over ten years, wallowing in his unjust prison sentence, hopeless, until her letters reached him. If not for the letters, he'd surely have gone crazy, or killed himself, put himself out of his misery.



Erika managed to smile through her tears. "I knew it," she told her father. "I knew not to give on you. I was getting worried when I didn't hear from you recently."

"I'm sorry about that," he said quietly. "The last few days have been a whirlwind."

Erika nodded. "I understand," she said tearfully.

"And who's this?" Darryl asked, beckoning beside her.

Erika turned beside her, to find that Adrian was still standing there, a glass of punch in his hands.

"Oh, this is Adrian," she replied, wiping a tear from her cheek.

"Nice to meet you," Adrian said courteously.

"Likewise," Darryl rasped.

He noted Adrian's studious, curious dark-eyed gaze, but didn't think much of it. Indifferent, he inhaled deeply, and seemed to relish the taste of oxygen in his lungs. "You would not believe how much cleaner the air is out here," he said, somewhat to himself.

He found Erika staring, solemnly, into his eyes.

"We have a lot to talk about," Erika stated evenly.

Darryl nodded. "Yes. We do."

Erika turned to Adrian, and took his hand in hers. "Adrian, I need a moment."

"Yeah," Adrian agreed, his gaze shifting from Erika to her father. "Definitely. I'll see you around later."

"Yeah," Erika replied, and gently released her hand. "Thanks, Adrian."

Adrian shrugged. "No problem," he said, and, grabbing his glass of punch, melted into the scenery.

Once Adrian had gone, Erika turned to her father again, her eyes questioning, curious.. grateful for his presence. "So.. does my mother know?"

Darryl visibly stiffened. Erika couldn't blame him.

"She has been alerted," he affirmed.

"What'd she say?" Erika asked.

"Nothing, really," he dismissed, his raspy voice taut. "I'm hardly surprised, though."

Erika's eyes darkened. "Yeah," she said, hardly surprised herself. "Neither am I. But listen, what she thinks, doesn't mean shit."

Under his breath, Darryl muttered, "More than you will ever know."



Erika's eyes wandered. God, was this really happening?

"I can't believe you're out, can't believe you're here with me.." Erika confessed, but her words came out rushed. "I've imagined my whole life what you might look like."

He turned to her. "So did I live up to your expectations?" There wasn't much humour in his voice. Humour would be too much to ask of a man who'd spent a quarter of his life wrongfully behind bars.

"Surpassed them," Erika replied. "How did you get here, anyhow? Weren't you within a state of here?"

"Yes," he affirmed. "I drove."

"All the way for me?"

"All the way for you," Darryl responded. "I know I haven't been there for you.."

Erika halted his words. "That's not your fault. Besides, you *were* with me, even if it was just in my heart. Even if I didn't have any memory of you.. Hell, you were still there. You were there for me more than my excuse for a mother ever was."



Author's note: This wasn't really a full chapter, but there's a reason for that. I need some feedback, I need some opinions.

I'm not really sure what to do with this story- so I'm pretty much leaving it up to y'all..

I could end this story with the next chapter. Or, I could prolong it, go into a deeper back story, and whatnot, and S&S's adventures, you know, whatever. The outcomes are the same, I just want to know if you think I should make it longer.. The only trouble is, that way, this story might never end. I'm already plotting out this huge storyline in my head involving Darryl Lavalier, Adrian and Erika. But it's like I said, this story is pretty long already, and I could write about nothing if I felt compelled to. If I do decide to make it longer, I don't know when, where or even if it will ever end.

So... What do you think I should do? I really don't know, honestly. And I'm starting my first year of high school in mere days, so I'll probably be swamped with homework, and I'm probably not going to have as much time to write.

Thanx in advance!