A/N: Ya know, I noticed last night that the song title of the Lillix song that I was refering too in the first chapter is titled It's about time, not it's about life. Oh well, I like this title and I'm too lazy to change it. This title's good and better in my opinion.
As I walked the like twelve steps from where I stood to where Dad and Jennifer stood, I silently begged everyone around me to take a sudden interest in me and demand that I talk to them immediately and save me from the dreaded conversation. No one did. Note to self, work on the silent cry for help thing cause right now you suck at it.
I put on a fake smile when I reached Dad and Jennifer. I didn't care what anyone said, I was never going to call that woman Mom or Mommy or Mother or any other reference to her being my new step mom.
"There's my Sydney." Dad said, proudly.
Don't hit him. Do not hit your dad, Bristow. It's bad to hit your dad. Yes but hit and sense smacking are two completely different things. "Hey Dad." I said, quietly, willing someone, anyone to come to my rescue. "and Jennifer." I added, even quieter, noticing the look Dad gave me.
"Please call me Mom, honey, as I am your mother now." Jennifer said in her annoying, high pitched voice. I wonder if she purposely talked like that or if God had cursed her with that voice. If He knew what her living had done to my life, I hoped that He had cursed her.
"I have a Mom." I answered, more pointed than I had originally intended, "and you're not her."
"Sydney," Dad scolded.
"It's alright," Jennifer said, quickly. "She doesn't have to call me Mom if she doesn't want to." If she expected me to be grateful to her for saving me a tongue lashing for talking to her rudely, she was sadly mistaken. "How about Jen for now, we can handle that can't we, honey?"
Yeah, as long as you don't call me honey any more. I balled my hand in a fist behind my back. I wasn't going to punch her but at least this way I could imagine it. "Sure, Jen." I answered, digging my nails farther in my flesh.
Jennifer smiled, "Since we're going to be apart of each other's lives for awhile, Sydney. I want you to know that you can always come to me if you need anything."
Don't call her fat. Don't call her fat. You'll be damned to hell if you call her fat. Screw it, I can call her fat if I want. No, I take that back. I can't. Dad would literally have my head on a platter if I did that. And quite frankly, I want to live to graduate from high school so I can leave this God-awful town. I don't want to die living in this town for my whole life. I somehow managed to smile wider, mind you that it was completely fake, "Okay, thanks Jen. I appreciate it."
Dad smiled proudly. Apparently my good manners were making him very proud of me. Just great. Now there will be more stories of how his Sydney is such a good mannered girl.
Kady appeared in front of us suddenly. "Hey Dad, Jennifer. Do you mind I steal Sydney for awhile?"
Dad nodded, "Sure Kady. We'll talk later, Sydney."
"Yes, later." Jennifer echoed like a Goddamn parrot.
I smiled, politely at them both and nodded, "Okay." Kady didn't wait for them to say any more before she pulled on my arm, dragging me through the mass of people. "You are my life saver." I whispered.
"Thank me with money." Kady whispered back with a smile. She lead us outside the reception hall where I got my first breath of fresh air all freaking day. "So did you have the talk?"
I nodded, as Kady and I walked arm and arm down the street. Oddly the street was packed to the brim with cars but not a soul was in sight. "The I'll-always-be-there-for-you talk? Yep."
Kady chuckled, "She gave it to me yesterday at the rehearsal, that you conveniently weren't at."
Yeah, that's why I forgot that today was the wedding and not tomorrow. "Yes, my crap paying job saved me from yet another meeting with Jennifer."
"You could always quit, ya know." Kady said, referring to my comment on how badly my wages sucked. "I could get you a job anywhere. I have connections, you know."
I laughed, "I know. But no thanks, dealing with babies is something that I can actually do."
"You can do lots of stuff, Syd."
"Yeah, like what?" I asked.
Kady paused, obviously trying to think of something that I was good at besides taking care of babies. "Well, you're a great friend to Francie."
"Who has a baby," I pointed out.
"Alright, you can stand on your head longer than anyone I know."
I laughed. "And where would I get a job where I had to stand on my head?"
"The circus," Kady suggested. She let go of my arm and did a little twirl or dance or something. "I can see it now. The Amazing Sydney Bristow. Watch as she stands on her head for hours upon hours on end." Kady announced loudly to the empty street, complete with her hand balled into a fake microphone.
"Oh yes, I will be the star of the show." I said, sarcastically with a roll of my eyes.
"Well, if you want to be the star, you could always become a clown." Kady suggested.
"A clown?" I asked, wondering if she was actually serious. She was. Oh my God, a clown. She actually thinks that I would be a clown. I guess I can't blame her, she doesn't really know me all that well. It's not like she's home all the time. I never had had that close relationship with my sisters, like you couldn't tell. And my only real friend was Francie and well, Francie's a little too happy and chipper and preppy for my taste. I wanted to tell Francie everything, I really did. But I knew she wouldn't get that I didn't like every little thing in my life. I just wasn't that kind of person. So, I kept those thoughts to myself. How could Francie be so happy like that with a six month old baby is what I wanted to know. I'm good with babies for some odd reason, but I could never be that chipper if I had a baby waking me up constantly in the night. I would love the kid and all but I need my sleep. Interrupt my sleep and I go medieval on your ass.
"Yes, a clown with a red nose and bozo hair."
"Bozo hair?"
"You know that bright red hair that clowns have." Kady said, reaching for a handful of my hair, "You would look good with bozo hair. You should dye your hair like that."
I laughed, "Now I know you're crazy."
Kady shrugged, "Maybe." She was going to say more, I could tell but her cell phone started ringing. She gave me a sympathetic glance before pulling her phone out of the top of her dress. I was shocked to say the least but it was Kady. She did things like sticking her cell down her dress so she wouldn't have to go without it. "It's Brian." She said, reading the caller ID.
I knew that that meant. Kady would much rather talk to her boyfriend of the week than her younger sister, "Take it." I said, saving her the grief of having to ask me if it was alright if she answered, though she didn't really give a damn if it was. "Really," I said, reassuring her that I was fine.
She smiled, "Thanks, I'll see you back inside okay."
I shook my head, "No, I'm going to go home. Any more of watching Dad and Jennifer and I'm going to be sick."
Kady laughed, "Yeah, okay, I'll tell them that you weren't feeling well and had to go home."
I smiled at her, "Thanks."
"No prob, that's what sisters are for." She said, finally answering her phone and flouncing off in the direction of the reception.
I waited until she was out of sight to continue walking but I didn't go home. Instead I wandered around the ridiculously boring town. In the pink puffy dress from hell. I wandered around town in a pink dress. It was quite possibly the absolute the stupidest thing I have ever done.
Although, according to my parents, when I was like two, I would walk up to the fridge and point to it and yell "juice!" That's what they say I did and they swear it was the funniest thing any of their daughters did as children. Aimee would coo and be adorable. Kady would smile and try to walk or stumble in her case, away at all times. Me, I would go up to the fridge and yell "juice!" They tell that story to everyone. They even told it at my twelfth birthday party to everyone who came which was half my class. For two freaking years I was "juice!" girl. Yeah, the "juice!" thing was the stupidest thing I ever did. The wandering in the pink dress pulled a close second.
I went into Toddy's market and wandered in the aisles until I thought they would toss me out on my ass, so I picked up a two-liter bottle of Dr. Pepper and one of those multi-packs of Milky Way bars and proceeded to the register. Unlike Kady, I had managed to get through the entire wedding with a small coin purse on my wrist. I had stashed twenty bucks in it in case I decided to run. I pulled out the twenty and waited patiently for the cashier to count out my change, which was a lot.
"What's with the dress?" He asked, finally handing me my change.
I took the bills and small coins before answering with a fake smile, "I just came from my dad's second wedding. He married the biggest blonde bimbo in the world."
The cashier laughed. The nerve of him. I was about to punch him when he explained, "My mom remarried last year and I had to wear a purple tux."
Now it was my turn to laugh. "Now that is funny." I grabbed the plastic bag with my purchase in it. "My name's Sydney, by the way."
"Eric." He said, with a short nod, "Do you go to Jefferson High?"
"Unfortunately."
He laughed again, "Yeah, I thought you looked familiar. Well, see you around Sydney."
"Will do, Eric." I answered, clutching my bag closer to me as I made my way out of the store. I would bet my Milky Ways that I would never talk to that boy again. But if I lost that bet and you tried to take your prize, I would personally see that you ended up six feet under. Nobody touches my chocolate and gets away with it. I would steal the chocolate back away from a baby even, including Allison.
Mom's writing this crazy book about the challenges of raising a teenager and all their temperaments. And since Kady and Aimee are no longer teenagers, guess who that leaves as her guinea pig. Me. Mom took every outburst, mood, and problem and turned it into another chapter in her book. That thing is probably a hundred chapters by now. I don't even know why Mom is writing a book about teenage psychology, she's an English Lit teacher for Christ's sake. Write a damn book about English, Mom, and stay the hell out of my life. Of course, this thought went unvoiced. That would mean a week's grounding and another chapter in the damned book. And I didn't really want to give her another reason to punish me with another chapter about me. But I wanted to say it. Badly. More than I wanted to call Jennifer fat.
A/N: The "juice!" thing that Sydney was talking about was something that I used to do when I was little. I would honestly go the fridge and yell "juice!" at it. I think I loved juice a little too much. Oh, and her obsession with chocolate is shared my me as well. All kinds of chocolate, especially Milky Way bars. Mmm, my stomach's growling just thinking about it.
x3Tinkerbell07- hehe, I love writing stories with plots that no one's really ever done. And I have yet to see a Syd/Vaughn fic based off How to Deal. Another reason why I thought this would be a good story.
Heidi- Thanks and I am continuing.
Maeve of the Nile- Vaughn's coming soon. I can't say exactly when but soon. I can't wait for him either. : )
angryapplepie- Love the name by the way. But that's because I love all kinds of pie. I am a very wierd person.
cg's-gal-72689- Well, considering I'm a teenager, I would assume the sarcasm and wit it very teenagery. Anyway, glad you like it.
daisyduke947- Michael's coming. This is a S/V fic after all. I kinda feel bad for her as well but like I said in the summary, she's a firm believer that love doesn't exist. Maybe it will change, maybe it won't. Can't say. It's a secret. hehe.
Hannah- I like both the movie and book. And I'm going to continue.
largemarge416- I like the movie and LOVE Alias. Me glad that you like my story.
morriseylover- Okay, Jack remarrying is part of the plot I've got lined out.. I considered making it so Irina was the one to cheat and then remarry but for some reason I went with Jack. I want to see them together, too. I'm a Jack/Irina shipper and proud of it, so you can imagine how hard it was to write this with them split.