A/N: Okay, so I realize that I have had a lack of updates with this story. It's just that school is starting up again soon, and I have lots more stuff to do lately which unfortunately is taking away from my time writing. The only real time I have to write is like at midnight and then I'm tired and the chapters always turn out like crap, so I have to go and rewrite them so y'all don't totally hate me because the chapter sucks. And reviews totally help me focus on the story, especially if you give me tips and stuff, so thanks to everyone who has. I appreciate it.
I stepped into Sherman's office, half afraid that he was going to jump out of nowhere and scare the living crap out of me. But then I remembered that he was the principal. There was no way he would do something that stupid or funny. I mean, come on, he's the freaking principal. They like define the phrase boring-as-hell.
"Ah, Miss Bristow, come in, don't be shy."
I resisted the urge to tell him why I was hesitating cause that would make me sound like a complete idiot and sat down on one of those annoyingly hard seats that make your butt numb after like five minutes. "Did I do something wrong?" No time for awkward small talk.
"No, no. I just wanted to talk to you."
Uh, oh, that doesn't sound good. Does he think I witnessed something? Like Vaughn starting the fire? "About what?" Wow, I sound really calm.
"It's come to my attention that..." He paused. He had to pick then of all times to pause. What the hell is wrong with you?! "...that your father remarried over the weekend."
That's it? That's all he wanted to talk to me about? For that I got pulled out of class? Okay, so that's not actually a bad thing and if I didn't, I wouldn't have had that conversation with Vaughn. I nodded, "Yeah. What about it?"
"Well, if you want to talk about it, I'm here." He sounded like Jennifer. Everyone was starting to sound like that bimbo. Is it just my imagination or is she like taking over the world with her echoing and stupid talks that I didn't give a damn about?
I stood to leave. One thing I didn't need was another talk about how life will still go on even though my parents are split up and one's remarried. God knows, I'd had enough of them. "Well, thanks for the offer but I think I'm gonna pass."
"Alright, and Sydney, if you ever need to talk, you know where my office is." I gave him the expected smile and nod and opened the door. "Oh and could you send in Mr. Vaughn for me?" I kept from laughing and nodded. Then I left.
"Sherman wants to see you," I said to Vaughn, walking past him.
"Oh, I see how it is, he sends the girl to sweet talk me into going into his office. Smooth, very smooth, sneaky too."
I laughed and shook my head, "I don't think that was his plan."
Vaughn shrugged, "Well, if it was, it was a damn good one. He knows I can't resist what a pretty girl tells me to do."
I think I blushed, actually blushed at something Vaughn said. Trying to save face, I said, "See ya around, Vaughn." Yeah, he had said that to me earlier but I couldn't think of much else to say.
"You too, Sydney," He answered, walking into Sherman's office, conveniently leaving the door open so I heard a snippet of what Sherman said to him.
It was something like, "Well, well, well, Michael Vaughn, starting fires now, are we?"
"No sir, we're not cause I don't refer to myself as we and I'm pretty sure that you weren't there." True, that statement just busted him but I think he said it for my benefit. I laughed the entire way back class.
()
"Hey Fran," I greet Francie as I sat down at the table next to her at lunch, "And hey there Allison." I tickled the baby's chin earning me a few giggles before turning to my lunch. It didn't look edible. Like at all. School food was not something you wanted to eat at all much less five days a week like I did. I sometimes wondered why it hadn't killed me yet.
Francie for some odd reason, always ate lunch with Allison. She would actually go to the daycare center and pick up her daughter just for our forty-five minute lunch period and then return her and go to her afternoon classes. I think it has something to do with Francie missing Allison's father, Charlie.
"Hey Syd, could you do me a favor and hold Allison while I get some lunch?" Francie asked.
I smiled, "Sure," I took Allison from Francie's lap and cooed at her in my signature baby talk. Allison laughed and grabbed my hand with her little one and stuck my left pinky finger in her mouth, "Okay, then you eat that, I'll eat this." I pointed to my lunch. "Somehow I think you got the better end of the deal."
I started picking at my lunch which I think was supposed to be macaroni and cheese when I felt someone set their tray down next to me and sit. "How many people do I have to bribe to get decent food around here?"
I smiled. I knew that voice. I had just had a conversation, well two with that voice. "I don't know but can I get in on the deal?"
"Oh, greedy are we, Bristow?" Vaughn laughed, turning his head towards me. And for some odd reason it didn't sound weird when he called me 'Bristow'.
"Just a little bit," I answered, pushing the stuff they called food around my plate with my plastic spork. Sporks are an interesting invention. They're like spoons but they have these little prongs in them like forks but you can't really pick anything up with the prongs and it's impossible to eat food like soup with a spork. It's the most genius and aggravating thing ever.
"So, whose kid is that?" He asked, pointing to Allison in my lap.
"Francie's," I answered, bouncing Allison in my lap a little, making her giggle.
"Oh, right, Charlie's girl. Good man, that Charlie, the world is sorely missing his presence. So what's her name?"
"Allison," I replied, and as if on cue, Allison smiled cutely.
Another person set down their tray across the table and Vaughn said, "That's my friend Eric, by the way." He lowered his voice, before adding, "Watch your food, he tends to just take it."
"I heard you, you know, Mike." Eric answered. "Hey Sydney, right?"
"Yeah, Eric, the purple tux guy, right?" I answered, earning me a glare from Eric.
"Whoa, hold the phone," Vaughn lifted up his hand like he could actually stop time by doing that, "You two know each other and you wore a purple tux? Dude, how come the girl gets to hear about it before me?"
"We met at the store on Sunday, she was wearing a bright pink puffy dress," This time Eric earned a glare from me, "And you answered your own question. Of course I'd tell the girl before you. You're not that nice to look at."
"You wore a bright pink puffy dress, Bristow? That's interesting, very interesting, I see much blackmail potential in that," I smacked Vaughn in the arm, lightly of course, so he turned his attention to Eric, "And that hurt. I am hurt right here." Vaughn pointed to his chest, which I assumed meant his heart.
"I didn't know you had one of those, Mike." Eric answered, chowing down on his lunch like it didn't look like it would kill him ten years early.
"Double hurt, man, totally uncool." Both Vaughn and Eric laughed. Men. That was one thing I didn't understand. "So, let's get back to Sydney here wearing a pink puffy dress. Are there pictures?"
"None that I'm giving to you," I replied, without thinking about it.
Vaughn grinned. Oh crap, totally wrong answer. "Oh, so there are picture of you in said dress? Very interesting."
"Don't you dare do anything," I threatened him by holding up my spork and jabbing it at his face.
He put up his hands in mock surrender, "Oh, no, she's got a spork. Everybody duck. Run for your lives. Call the coast guard and the marines, cause you always have to call the marines."
I jabbed the spork at his face a final time, "I mean it, you do nothing."
"Whatever the pretty girl says," Vaughn answered.
"Stop doing that." I ordered, quietly.
"Doing what?" Vaughn asked. Either he wanted to hear me say it or he was just that stupid. I would put my money on the latter.
"Calling me pretty," I answered, finally taking a bite of my food.
"Hey, I only speak the truth. Isn't that right, Eric? No lies have ever come out of this fabulous mouth."
"Except for the one you just told. Fabulous mouth? Yeah, right." Eric answered. He was just about done with his food and I could see him eying mine. I pushed the tray in his direction and he grabbed it eagerly like a five year old with ice cream.
"Thanks man, I appreciate the support." Vaughn said, sarcastically.
"Anytime," Eric said through a mouthful of food.
I grimaced at Eric's wide open mouth full of food and turned my attention back to Vaughn, "It's not true."
He opened his mouth to say more but Francie came back and sat down next to me. "Geez, Syd, I can't leave you alone for ten minutes and you already have guys flocking to you." Gee, thanks Fran, totally not helping with what I'm trying to convince Vaughn.
"I, uh, I mean, they, uh, just, came over." I stumbled over the words like a teenager meeting her favorite movie star. True, I am a teenager but come on, Francie's not a movie star. Why the hell was I stuttering? Vaughn started smiling like an idiot, again.
Francie laughed and reclaimed Allison, "I was just kidding, Syd. Although, I do know Vaughn. He only goes where the pretty girls go and I don't think he was interested in Allison."
Gee, Fran, think you could shut up? "He might have been." Good, no more stuttering and fumbling with words. Plus one for me, too bad the rest of them had like a twenty point advantage over me.
"He does talk for himself, ya know." Vaughn put in. I turned my attention back to him. "Okay, so he thinks that you are really pretty and so is Allison but he's also not into the whole robbing the cradle thing and in this case, it's literal. So, in his continuing effort to date only the really pretty girls, he thinks that you should go with him to the party this weekend."
I tried not to laugh at him referring to himself in the third person. "What party?" Oh, wrong answer. Now, I really sound stupid.
"I know this guy, he doesn't go to our school, like Marcus or something like that, we just call him Dixon and he throws the best parties ever. You totally have to come."
You know those points about what I hated about parties? Well, they started to go out the window when he asked me to go to a party with him. The drinking thing? Easy, just don't drink anything at all at the party. No one to go with? Duh, I'd be going with Vaughn and probably Eric. That's two, count 'em two, people to go with. Nothing to wear? I can borrow something from Kady. She'd have something that would fit me. The headache part? Well, that one was a little trickier, but I could find a way around it.
What is the matter with me? You don't go to parties for a good reason, several in fact. And now just because Michael Vaughn is asking you, you're willing to ditch everything you believe in to go with him? He's just a guy. Guys aren't that important. And it's not like anything could come of it. Even if we did start to date, it would just end up with one of us, most likely me, getting hurt. You know what they say, 'the best relationship is one that never happens'. Or was it that 'the only good Indian was a dead Indian'? I'm not really sure. It's something along those lines, though they are completely different things, Indians and relationships. Unless you're dating an Indian, of course.
But look at those eyes. He has the most gorgeous green eyes ever. In the history of the world, there has never been a pair of fabulous green eyes like his. And that cleft chin. It is so adorable. You can really notice it when he smiles. And I love it when he smiles.
Listen to yourself, you don't get all swoon-like about a guy. And what is this love crap you're talking about? Love doesn't exist, remember? Your parents and Dad and Jennifer the bimbo and Aimee and Jeremy and Kady and her infinite number of boyfriends and Francie and what happened to Charlie, prove all that. Come on, you know that you're just going to get hurt if you continue whatever this is with Vaughn.
Yes, but what can one date hurt? It's not like I'm going to start falling for the guy after one date and it will be at a party, no less. Remember parties, they aren't really the best romantic atmosphere.
"Uh, Syd, are you okay?" Vaughn seemed kinda worried when I snapped out of my train of thoughts. "Cause you haven't said anything in like a really long time."
Yeah, out loud, I had an entire freaking conversation, no argument with myself in that time. I smiled at him, "Of course. I'd love to go."
He flashed me a smile, "Great. I'll pick up at seven, Friday."
"Okay," I answered. There you go with that love crap again. What did we just talk about? Oh, shut up, I'm driving myself insane with this. I am going to the party with Vaughn. End of story.
neptunestar- The comment where he called her 'the' sydney bristow, he was talking about like how Syd kinda has a reptation for not getting into trouble, unlike her little non boyscout like friend, Vaughn.
x3Tinkerbell07- hehe, I like making people guess what's going to happen, though I try to have foreshadowing hints placed throughout chapters and usually these hints don't make any sense untilt the thing they're foreshadowing is made clear.
cg's-gal-72689- Well, he acts like he thinks he's my mom. If my brother actually started thinking that he was my mom, I would be scared, very, very scared. You can never leave the topic of loving Vaughn alone, at least I can't. Get me started and I'll like never stop. So I'm going to stop myself now.
angryappliepie- I have no idea if the Jedi Mind Trick does work. I'll have to try it the next time I get in trouble and let you know if it does.
Lil Aussie Alias Chick- Um. I guess you could say Vaughn was popular. I did put it in there somewhere in the last chapter that Vaughn was the kind of guy that hung out with everybody. And no, Syd's not popular. She has friends but not a whole lot, ya know. So yeah, hopefully that answered your question(s) and you're right, I do have to come to Australia sometime. I want to so badly.
morrisseylover- Yeah, well, now he is the trouble maker, in a sense and he's gonna stay that was, because I have a strange attraction to bad boys, as I assume most girls do. And the thought of Vaughn being a trouble maker is very drool worthy. I love that scene where he asks "how come you never call me Michael?" so cute!
Padfoot n' Moony- Um, yeah, there's Eric for ya. He's funny. And Jen is coming back into the story soon but keep in mind, she and Jack just got married. It is funny to have Sydney being mentally tortured by her.
dolphingurl1- Good luck at your new school. I remember what it's like to be the new kid and it officially sucks. And if your day was sucky, I hope the new chapter cheers you up and if it was fantastic, then more good things are happening. And yeah, Vaughn kind of reminds me of well, me. Although I haven't started any fires, yet.
Scary-girly- Okay, have Syd beat up someone? I can do that. That sounds very good. Thanks for the tip and about the How to Deal thing, I'm just using the basic idea and maybe a few scenes but that's it. Promise.
mandi- I have a dry sense of humor too, welcome to the club. And it's supposed to be funny. Well, sorta but you know.
Kyla- hehe, now Syd and Vaughn have new titles, the troublemakers. hehe. I love it.
hi- Thanks and yeah, the update thing is explained in the my author's note at the beginning of the chapter.
genevra- Yes, Sydney's mother is Irina. So when Sydney says "mom" she's talking about Irina. The sad thing is, I can see Jack marrying someone like Jennifer too. ::shrugs:: great minds must think alike.
moni- Vaughn's always cute and funny or in my little twisted world he is but then again, in my world, Vaughn is MINE and not Syd's, though I think they are perfect together. hehe, I have a a very weird mind.
largemarge416- Dude, everybody loves Vaughn and if you don't I wonder about your sanity. Sorry if I offend you by calling you dude, old habits die hard. Vaughn's better as a trouble maker in my mind. But that's just my opinion.