Auhtor's note: Okay, so I'm warning you now that not much happens in this chapter. Consider this an intro chapter to things that are soon to come.  Thanks to all those who reviewed, I truly appreciate your opinions!         

Sophie and Peter talked late into the night, struggling to keep their rising feelings of guilt at bay.  They had been avoiding the topic of the Cliffhangers for weeks, (or had it been months?), hoping that with time they would fade into the recesses of their minds and eventually disappear.

            "Maybe we can fix this," Peter suggested.

            "Peter it's been years since they've graduated.  They aren't our responsibility anymore," Sophie argued softly.

            "So we're just supposed to give up?  Just because their parents no longer put those kids' lives in our hands?" 

            "No, because they aren't kids anymore.  They're grownups, Peter.  They can take care of themselves!" 

            "Sophie, I want to help them." Peter said, rubbing his forehead as he leaned back against the headboard of their bed.

            "How are you going to do that when they're miles away?" Sophie questioned tiredly.

            "We'll have a reunion," Peter decided.

.

            Peter and Sophie had split up the list of Cliffhangers to make the calling go faster, and pretty soon everything was set.  All of the Cliffhangers had eventually agreed to come, some with more hesitation than others.  It was definitely going to be an interesting weekend.

            Friday arrived quickly, and it seemed like no time at all before the Cliffhangers started to arrive. 

            "She looks so different," Sophie whispered to Peter as Daisy walked towards the admin building, pulling a suitcase behind her.

            "I hope you're not saying anything too mean," Daisy smirked as she hugged her old counsellors.

            "No, not at all, Daisy.  We were just remarking on how grownup you look."  Peter replied as Sophie laughed nervously.

            "I guess my work clothes make me look a smidge wiser," she shrugged as she glanced down at her dress suit.  "I didn't have time to change after work."

            "Come on, let's get you settled in." Sophie smiled.

            "What, no drug searches or shuns?" Daisy asked sarcastically. "I'm disappointed in you guys."

            The counsellors just laughed and led her towards her old building.

            Shelby was the next to arrive, but she wasn't by herself.  In the car seat she carried in her arms was a small baby, wrapped in a soft yellow blanket. 

            "This is Ava," she said quietly, showing the small child to Sophie and Peter.

            "Oh, Shelby!" Sophie exclaimed excitedly, "she's beautiful!"

            "Thanks," Shelby smiled sadly, a shadow passing quickly over her face.

            Peter and Sophie glanced at each other, fully aware of the sadness in Shelby's eyes.  Where had this baby come from? Why was Shelby so sad?

            Auggie was next to return, and he stepped out of a taxi wearing a paired of jeans and a red hoodie.  A duffel bag was slung over his shoulder.

 "Auggie! How are you?" Peter asked as he pulled the young man into a quick hug.

"I'm holdin' up alright." Auggie replied calmly.  He had a darkness in his eyes that Peter hadn't seen in years. 

"Okay, well why don't I take you to where you'll be staying?" Peter asked, as Auggie followed him in the right direction.

            Juliette and Ezra both arrived at the same time.  Ezra was accompanied by a quiet young woman with a kind smile.

            "This is Amy." Ezra introduced her somewhat proudly.  "She works with me at the Counselling Center in town." Ezra explained to Peter, Sophie, and Juliette.

            "It's nice to meet you," Juliette smiled and hugged the blonde.  Amy smiled in return as they made their way onto the campus. 

            Scott was the last to arrive, accompanied by his beautiful girlfriend, Melissa.  Scott parked his jeep outside the admin building and climbed out hesitantly.  It had been two years since he had come back here…two years since the funeral.

            "Scott. It's so good to see you." Peter hugged the young man and was surprised at how much Scott recoiled.

            "It's good to see you, too." Scott replied, barely able to meet his counsellor's eyes.  Instead he turned to Sophie.

            "I'm glad you could come." Sophie smiled at him, raising his chin and forcing him to look her in the eye.

            Scott nodded, and introduced his girlfriend.

            "This is Melissa, my girlfriend.  Melissa, meet Peter and Sophie, my, uh, old counsellors."  It was obvious that the topic was difficult for him to talk about with Melissa, and Peter wondered how much Scott had told her about his past.  From the way

it appeared so far, it didn't seem like she knew very much at all.

            "It's nice to meet you," Melissa smiled stiffly.

            "Well, it's time for dinner, so why don't we get you settled in." Peter broke the tension, leading the couple away.

            Dinner was not the traditional cafeteria food that the Cliffhangers had expected.  Instead they were taken outside to have a picnic in the gazebo they had spent so much time in as teenagers.  They had been told to meet there at six.

"I thought it would be nice to enjoy the last few moments of summer." Peter explained to Daisy, the first to arrive for dinner, with a hopeful shrug.

"I can see right through you, Peter.  This is to get us to bond over times passed." Daisy stated wryly.

"You're always one step ahead, aren't you?" Ezra smirked, joining them in the gazebo.

"Ezra!" Daisy exclaimed, pulling her friend into a close hug.

"Somebody is slightly peppier than I remember," Shelby laughed as she placed Ava, who was in a carrier, on the bench of the gazebo to hug her friends. 

            "Look what we have here!" Daisy smiled down at Ava, and then at Shelby.

            "She's gorgeous," Juliette smiled as she entered the gazebo, closely followed by Auggie. 

            The group surrounded the baby playing with it and emitting the sounds that humans seem to make around babies, no matter how much they claim they don't like children.  No one dared to ask the question that was burning in each of their minds.  Who was the father?

            Scott was the last to arrive, with Melissa clinging to his hand.  The group seemed to make her uncomfortable as the couple approached the gazebo.

            "They're not criminals, you know." Scott assured her as they stepped closer.

            "But they were at one time."

            "They were troubled, Melissa, not dangerous."

            "What were your troubles?" Melissa questioned. 

            "Scott!" Juliette practically squealed, unable to help herself at the sight of the young man she hadn't seen in years.

            The group seemed to charge out of the gazebo, hurrying to greet their old friend.  Scott's eyes found Shelby, still standing in the gazebo, and he froze.  The world seemed to stop around him, moving in slow motion as Scott's eyes met Shelby's.

            Scott hugged each of his friends, muttering a somewhat friendly greeting without taking his eyes off of Shelby.   Time had made her more beautiful, but reality had pushed her back down.  He could sense her loneliness from twenty feet away and he would have done anything at that moment to erase the pain from her eyes.

            The group finished their introductions and settled into the gazebo to each dinner.  Scott and Melissa squeezed themselves into the empty space next to Shelby. 

            "Hey," Scott said quietly, being careful not to let himself touch her.

            "Hi," she answered, glancing at Melissa and then back at Scott.

            "Alright guys, let's get this meal started," Peter spoke up before anything else could be said.

            There was a quiet tension in the gazebo as the cliffhangers ate their meal and chatted amongst themselves.  They chose their topics of conversation carefully, steering their friends away from anything that might reveal any of the secrets they had burning inside.  It looked like it was going to be a long weekend.