Sydney stopped in the bathroom after reaching the high school. She glanced and the mirror and almost gasped. She looked horrible. Her eyes were bloodshot and teary. Her nose was red. Her hair was everywhere. And somehow, her shirt had managed to twist itself almost all the way around. She looked like she had just come from a wake and had gotten laid.
Sydney straightened out her shirt and calmed her hair. Thank God, I didn't do anything special with it. Then she pulled out her concealer from her purse and applied ample an amount to her nose and the baggies under her eyes that were starting to form. She wiped at the tears and took a few deep breaths in an effort to calm her nerves and get rid of the bloodshot eyes. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she proceeded to the gym.
"Paige!" A fellow teacher and tonight fellow chaperone for the school dance, Remy called out and waved to Sydney.
Sydney waved back and made her way across the almost empty gym to Remy. The dance had just started and not many kids showed up right on time. That was just uncool. "Hey."
"What's wrong?" Remy asked, immediately.
Sydney let her jaw drop slightly at the blunt question, "Nothing." Liar, liar, pants on fire, hanging from a telephone wire. I need to get out more.
"Liar."
Please don't start saying the rhyme.
"Something's wrong, I can sense it."
"Nothing's wrong," Sydney insisted. Am I that transparent? I used to be so good at lying. What happened to that? Remy raised an eyebrow, so Sydney added a "really."
"Come on, you can tell me. It's not like I'm going to tell anyone."
True, one thing Remy could do was keep a secret. Sydney sighed, "Okay. Today is the anniversary of the day I meet Michael." Liar, liar, pants on fire, hanging from a telephone wire. Stupid rhyme, leave me alone!
Remy nodded. Sydney had told people that her lost love's name was Michael because well, it was. She just conveniently left out his last name. "Good or bad thing?"
"I haven't decided yet." And I haven't. It was perfect, to say the least, that night but I know that it will never happen again and well, that sucks. That sucks? I spend way too much time around my students.
"Why don't you go home? I can take care of the dance and you obviously are two minutes away from a mental breakdown." Remy suggested.
"I'm fine. I'm not going to start crying in front of all the students. I'll be fine." Liar, liar, pants on fire, hanging from a telephone wire. Bah, stop with the rhyme already. It's going to drive me insane.
"Okay, if you insist."
"I insist."
()
"Vaughn, dude, would you just wait for a second?"
Vaughn stopped his almost running pace and waited for Weiss to catch up with him. Come on Eric, move your butt faster. This is Sydney we're talking about. "Do you have to walk so slow?"
"Do you have to run so fast?" Weiss countered, finally catching up with Vaughn.
"Weiss, it's Sydney."
"I know, I know. You lucked out on the post office worker knowing who she was and that she's going to be at the high school tonight." Weiss suddenly thought of something, "You don't think that kid is stalking her, do you?"
"Were you even listening? He said that she was his teacher and that she was chaperoning the dance tonight." Vaughn answered, impatiently, as both men proceeded across the high school parking lot towards the well lit building.
"Okay, so I didn't hear that. What name did he call her again?"
"Ms. Waters." Vaughn replied, automatically. "She's an English teacher."
"Figures," Weiss muttered under his breath.
Vaughn threw him a look before being stopped by a teacher at the front door of the school. "Excuse me, sir, but students only."
Vaughn glanced over her shoulder, trying to see if he could get a glimpse of Sydney. But all he saw in the hallway behind the teacher was a bunch of students heading towards the gym. She must be in the gym. He pulled out his CIA badge and flashed it at the woman, "Agent Vaughn, CIA. I have to speak with Ms. Waters."
"What did Paige do?"
Paige. Paige Waters. Interesting choice in names, Syd. I would have figured you more as a Kate Jones. But then again, that would have been too obvious. Vaughn looked back at the woman, "I can't say."
"Then I can't let you in." The woman answered.
Vaughn considered pulling his gun on her and threatening her to let him in. He was that desperate to get to Sydney. "It's classified. I am only authorized to speak to Ms. Waters about it. Now if you don't mind, I would like to get in."
"Do you have a weapon on you?"
Of course I have a weapon on me, I'm a freaking agent of the CIA. "No." He answered. Liar, liar, pants on fire, hanging from a telephone wire. Man, I hate that rhyme.
The woman studied him for a moment before nodding, "Alright, and what about your friend?"
"What friend?"
She gestured behind him to Weiss. "That friend."
Oh man, now Weiss is pissed cause I forgot about him. Oh well, he can kick my ass after I talk to Sydney. "Ask him." Vaughn answered, slipping past the woman into the high school. Come on kids, move! Official CIA business here. Okay, maybe not, but it may as well be. I can pull a gun on people on official CIA business and I'm about ready to do that. Vaughn tried to push his way through the mass of high school students but was unsuccessful. He had to wait his turn to get into the gym just like everybody else.
Once in the gym, he immediately started searching for Sydney. Damnit, why do these freaking kids have to be so tall? Why can't Sydney teach middle schoolers? The majority of middle schoolers are not six feet tall. Unable to distinguish her by height, he started searching the heads for red hair like in the photo he had memorized by now.
He thought he had spotted Sydney three separate times before giving up on the red hair thing. Okay, Syd, you can't be this freaking hard to find. He considered asking one of the students if they knew where Ms. Waters was but none of the students seemed to show any interest in him or even acknowledge his presence.
Sighing, Vaughn made his way over to the refreshment table to get something to drink. Most likely the punch is spiked. But that's good, I could use some alcohol right now. He grabbed a cup of punch and took a sip. No, it wasn't spiked. Hmmm, kids these days must be getting soft. In my day, every dance you went to had spiked punch. In my day? God, I'm getting old. Say hello to grey hair, and wrinkles and hell. Hi hell!
He tossed the cup in the trash after finishing off the punch and proceeded to look around the dance again. And suddenly there she was. Near the east wall of the gym, stood Sydney talking to what looked like a fellow teacher. Sydney laughed at something the other teacher said and Vaughn swore that time stood still. He had found her. Finally, after three years of tirelessly searching, he had found her. She was still just a beautiful as he remembered her if not more. She still had those same dimples when she laughed.
Oh God, I've found her.
Without thinking, he yelled out her name. "Sydney!"
()
"Okay, new less depressing topic. What was your worst high school memory?"
"Besides school dances?" Sydney joked. "Um, that would have to be when my boyfriend broke up with me in front of everyone on Valentine's Day."
Remy made a sympathetic grimace, "Oh, that doesn't sound nice."
"Well, the guy was a jerk anyway." Sydney shrugged, "What about you?"
"Okay don't laugh."
"I won't." Sydney promised. Liar, liar, pants on fire, hanging from a telephone wire. That's it. I'm definitely taking next weekend off to visit my "relatives".
"Alright, one time I got dared to go up to the vice principal and kiss him on the cheek. So I did it because I do not shy away from dares. Little did I know that someone was taping the entire thing and the next day the tape was all over the morning announcements."
Sydney burst out laughing. Remy made a small protesting noise that sounded something like "uh" but didn't stop her from laughing. Sydney needed to laugh. She needed a distraction from what today was.
Then came the word that caused Sydney's smile to fade and terror to flash through her eyes.
"Sydney!"
She had never thought that she was hear that name spoken towards her again. For a split second, she hoped that the man that called out her name was referring to someone else before she remembered that none of the students at the high school were named Sydney. She had checked. She checked every year.
But there it was.
That name.
Her name.
No, her old name. She wasn't Sydney anymore. She was Paige. Paige Waters. Sydney Bristow didn't exist anymore. Or so she thought.
As she turned her head to see who called out Sydney, her heart stopped beating for a moment. It was him. He had found her. After three years of thinking she was free of her old life, she had been found. He still looked the same as he did three years ago when she last saw him, minus the hospital bed. He had those same green eyes that seemed to single her out and put her on display for the entire world, making her feel adored and alone all at the same time.
Her body began rebelling against her mind and started yearning for his body to touch hers. It wanted his breath on her neck and face and stomach. It wanted his hands on her sides and back and in her hair. But her mind overpowered her body's ability to move. She stood frozen, like a deer caught in the headlights watching him make his way towards her.
Oh God, he's found me.
And never before had she been so scared of any man. Especially Michael Vaughn.
A/N: hehe, cliffhanger!
Strawberry popsicle- Okay, I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say because I misunderstood what you were trying to say. Don't you just hate mix-ups? Anyway, I take total credit for sounding like a biotch, I just wasn't reading things right. I do appreciate critism, as long as it isn't negative and then I get mad, and your tip really did help me with focusing on the plot of this and some of my other stories. I feel really bad for my kinda nasty response before. And if you can accept my apology, I would gladly accept any critism you have, as long as it isn't negative but I've already said that. Really, I would. Again, I'm sorry for what I said.
TheUptownGirl- Of course, she still loves him. This is Syndey we're talking about. She's going to love him until the day she dies.
Dora- I'd cry over Vaughn. I'd drool over him too but then again, I've already drooled over him. Not something I'm incredibly proud of but I have no shame in admitting it.
Julia- hehe, human contact is wise and keeps me from going even more insane. Ha, he found her, betcha can't guess what's she gonna do.
cg's-gal-72689- I'm not good with tension either but I wanted to drag this out as long as I could. And that was about five chapters. hmm, definately not good with the waiting thing.
Fair Cate- Yay, you like the plance scene. I like the plane scene. No one else commented on the plane thing and I felt kinda bad and then you mentioned it and I was like "yay! someone else likes it!" So yeah, yay!
alexis- Thanks. I like the awesome comment. That make me very happy.
wicked-sista- Yeah, I think you read another of my fics too. I can't remember exactly which one either but one of them. I have so many, okay not really, I'm just really bad with remembering things.
Charmed-angel4- huh? what do you get? I have the worst memory ever, like in the history of the universe. I'm surprised I can even remember my name. Minor feat, I know but my memory is that bad sometimes.
spykid- Yeah, in my own little world, Vaughn never gave up on Syd and Lauren never existed and Syd never disappeared for two years. I think that's why all my Alias fics exclude the third season. No Vaughn giving up, no Lauren, and no Syd missing for two years. None. I hope the fourth season is good or someone is going to get an earful.
Erin- hehe, he found her. And soon. I know, I'm sounding a little wierd, okay a lot weird but I'm hyped up on a chocolate mocha at the moment. So very very hyper I am. Do you like mochas? I do! I love them! So good, I'm going to get another one. Many many mochas. Sorry if I'm scaring you.