A/N: Not mine. Well, the characters. But the storyline is. r/r please! And enjoy!
Music assaulted their ears as the front door of the house opened to reveal a mass of students sitting around, dancing to the music or drinking out of plastic cups. Julian subconsciously gripped Syd's hand tighter as she led him through the throng of people.
She stopped in front of her group of friends, who all yelled their greetings to both of them, because even though it was the first day that Julian had been there, Sydney's friends had adopted him into their group. He watched as Sydney kissed Francie on the cheek and whispered something into her ear.
"So, now that you're here we can get the party rolling," Will said laughing, coming up to stand behind Francie. "I don't know how many damn sophomores have come up to me asking me if you were here yet." Julian watched as he and Syd both made a face to which the rest of them laughed at.
"Don't you know that it's not a party if Sydney Bristow isn't there," she said in a mockingly serious voice, the tone implying that they should all know that. All of them laughed, and she smiled. "Either there or throwing it," she shrugged, stepping a bit closer to Julian.
Looking around the room Sydney spotted Vaughn standing with a group of his friends, he was staring at her, "Figures," she muttered and gave him the once over before turning her attention back to her friends.
"I don't think I've ever seen this many people here before," Francie told them all, looking around.
"It's the first party of the year," Sydney explained to Julian. "Usually it isn't this big," she shrugged, "But this is great, they only get bigger as the year goes on."
Julian gave her a smile and she thought that she would melt right there. God that was an amazing smile. She noticed Francie looking at her funny and blushed, "wanna get something to drink?" She asked him, smiling back at him, and without waiting for an answer he pulled her away from the laughing Francie and over to a table with sodas and water on it. Not to mention a bowl of strange looking 'punch'.
They both took a soda, laughing when they saw that they had the same one. Turning back to lean on the side of the table he looked at Sydney who was struggling to open her tab. "Here," he said and pulled the can away from her, opening it with ease before handing it back.
"I could never do that," she laughed taking a sip.
"Well, now you have me," he told her, opening up his own can. She chuckled and nodded.
"I guess I do," she said, laughter in her eyes. "I'm glad you came with me," she told him, still smiling. Was it his imagination or did she step closer.
He was now looking down at her, as she was rather short, it looked like they were going to kiss, but movement out of the corner of her eye startled her into pulling away and looking to see what was wrong.
Michael and Will were wrestling on the floor. Sydney gasped and ran over to where the fight was, Julian pushing his way after her. They easily moved out of the way for them, Sydney walked over to where Francie was frantically trying to get them to stop.
"He said something about you, Syd," she said, tears in her eyes. Not because Will was defending her, but because her boyfriend was in a fight. Julian noticed this, and decided that he needed to help.
He and another boy managed to pry the two off each other, Julian holding Will and the other boy holding Vaughn, keeping them away from each other. Sydney came up to stand in between them, "You want to tell me what happened?" She asked Will angrily after shooting Michael a very angry look.
"He was calling you a whore, right behind me, making it sound like you slept around," Will yelled, still trying to get back at Vaughn.
"Is that true?" She turned on Vaughn, the room was deathly silent, and it was never like that.
"Maybe," he shrugged nonchalantly.
"I can't believe you," she yelled at him, "I wouldn't even sleep with you!" She yelled, not caring that everyone was listening, "it doesn't make sense that I wouldn't sleep with my own boyfriend, of two years, had I been such a slut." She screamed at him, Francie was standing behind her, her arms crossed and staring Vaughn down.
Vaughn didn't have anything to say, instead he shrugged off the hands that her holding his arms and turned, stalking out the doors, his dim-witted jock friends trailing behind him, reluctant to leave the party.
Sydney was finally aware that all eyes were on her. Spinning around she looked at the crowd of people, "You can go back to the party now," She said angrily as she stormed out of the room and out a back door, Francie following her.
Julian had let go of Will the moment he had stopped fighting him. "Thanks, man," Will said, nodding to Julian.
"Yeah," Julian answered, casting a glance out to where the girls had gone.
"Come on," Will said and started to walk out towards the door. Julian followed quickly, wanting to be with Sydney.
They found the two girls out in the gazebo, sitting close to each other, their heads bent together and they were whispering.
Will walked up to them and sat down on the other side, "I'm sorry, Syd," he said softly, making the two girls jump. They both looked up with sad eyes, Sydney only nodded and Francie got up to sit next to her boyfriend, who put an arm around her and pulled her tighter.
Julian wandered over and sat close to Sydney, "It's alright," she sniffed, sounding like she had been crying. Suddenly she surprised them all by laughing, "We haven't even gotten through the first day without a fight," she said, giggling.
After it was stated the dismal mood was broken and they were all laughing.
"We've set a record," Francie said, "But if you ever are the one to break that record, I, personally, will kill you," he smacked him in the chest, making them all laugh again, and Will hold his chest where is beloved girlfriend had smacked him rather hard.
"Great way to start off the new year," Julian remarked sarcastically. "I think I might like it here after all," he added and grinned.
The three of them nodded, "And it can only get more interesting from here," Sydney and Francie told him at the same time, like they said it all the time, and then burst out laughing.
Will shook his head at the two and Julian just chuckled.
Inside the music was turned up louder and Sydney shrugged, "Let's go back to the party," she said quietly and stood. Francie and Will opted to stay there, some alone time, so Sydney held out her hand for Julian, which he took, and lead their way back inside.
Sydney had assured him that she was all right, but he could see that she was still upset about the fight.
When they got back inside nothing stopped, but Sydney could feel people looking her over, not even trying to hide the fact that they were talking about her and what had happened.
"Where'd I put my drink?" She muttered, sounding annoyed, which caused Julian to laugh. When she sent him a questioning look he shook his head.
"After all that," he waved his hand over the mass of people, "You are worried about where you put your soda." He shook his head and started laughing again.
"Very funny," she told him, hitting his arm lightly, even though she was beginning to laugh herself.
They went back to the refreshments, Sydney wanting a new drink. Again, he opened it for her, and hand it to her, their hands brushing.
Just then, Sydney's mood dropped. Not because she was sad. No. Lauren had decided to show up. "Hi," she cooed to Julian, ignoring Sydney.
"Hello," Julian replied frowning.
"I was just noticing you looked lonely." She remarked snidely. And Julian looked down and chuckled. Seeing that Sydney was getting furious.
Casually he slid him arm around her waist and pulled him closer to her. "Nope, not lonely," she said as he kissed Sydney's cheek, making her grin. "You however do look lonely."
Lauren stared at Sydney, for the first time. The let out an angry sound and turned to go away, Sydney's voice stopped her. "Oh Lauren?"
"What?" She demanded as she turned around.
"I'm sorry you can only get sloppy seconds, but I'm sure Michael would be happy to see you. He seems to like hanging out with sluts." Lauren stared at her for a moment before stomping off.
Sydney giggled and Julian shook his head, grinning. "That was fun," she said, looking up at him. She sucked in breath, suddenly aware of how close they were. Apparently he had noticed as well, as he had a strange look in his eyes.
Blushing she looked down and pulled out of his grasp, putting the soda can up to her lips. "I hate her," she muttered, trying to erase her mind of what happened.
"I could tell," he remarked dryly.
A while later Julian found Sydney talking to Will and Francie out by the pool. "Hey, are you ready to go?" He asked as he stepped up to them. It was near midnight, and the party had died down. He was going to need sleep.
"Yeah," she nodded, and flashed him a smile. Hugging Francie she whispered something in her ear that made her giggle. She also gave Will a hug, and thanked him for defending her good name.
Waving she and Julian set off towards his car. They were both quiet for a while, and then Sydney spoke. "Thanks," she said quietly, "For you know, coming with me, and pulling Will off of Michael."
"Don't mention it." He told her lightly.
"Nah, I mean it. You were amazing." She smiled at him. He looked at her and smiled.
The attraction was there, but he knew that she had just gotten out of a long relationship. He could wait for her.
They reached her house, their houses really, in a matter of minutes. Damn he drives fast.
"Thanks again," she said as they sat in front of her house, not really wanting to leave each other's company.
"For you, anytime," he told her.
She made to open the car door, but stopped, turning to him she looked at him for a second. Then she did something that surprised them both. Leaning over she gave him a small kiss on the lips.
Pulling back she blushed and looked down. "See you tomorrow," she mumbled and got out of the car. She all but ran up to her front door, and left him staring after her. When she got to the door she turned around a looked at him. She smiled a bit before disappearing into the large house.
Sighing, Julian ran his fingers through his hair before backing out of her driveway and into his own.
By the next day anyone who had not been at the party now knew about what had happened. Not that it was any surprise. For being a private school it was incredibly small, and word traveled fast.
Sydney ignored the looks that people were giving her. Not that it matter much to her. She was used to it. "Welcome to my life," she muttered to Julian who was walking close behind her.
Just then, another junior girl came up to her. "Hey, Syd." She said, and fell into step with her.
Sydney tried not to roll her eyes. "Hi, Katrina." She hoped she didn't sound to bitter.
"Did you, um," Katrina frowned and scratched her head. "Did you have a good time at the party last night?"
"Yes, Kat, tons and tons." She told her, and stopped at her locker. "Damn, I forgot, I have to go meet with the principal this morning. Actually, we both do. Sorry, Kat. I'll talk to later." She threw her books down into her locker and slammed the door shut. Making Kat jump.
"Oh, okay, I'll see you later, then." She smiled at them and walked off. It was amazing how some people just never registered that she had just been incredibly rude to them.
She sighed then leaned against her locker. "Sorry. But I can't always deal with her in the morning."
Julian nodded his head and gave her a knowing smile. "Come, we have to get to first period." He said, and winked, pulling her along by her arm.
They sat down in their first period class; they found themselves to be the first people in. Looking around the room she sighed. "One more year, after this one, and I'll be free." She said, and looked at him sadly, before putting her hands down.
"Oh, now, I'm sure all year won't be this bad."
"Yeah."
Sighing he sat in his seat, and pulled it closer to her, pulling her into his arms, and let her rest her head on his shoulder. "And besides, you have me, and Francie, and Will."
She nodded and yawned.
"Tried?" He asked, and smirked, letting her go.
"Yeah, dad was there when I got home, and yelled at me for being out so late. Then I could go to bed."
"I didn't know your dad was there." He offered, not having seen his car.
"His car was in the garage," she said, as if answering his mind's question. "I didn't know he was coming home." She shrugged and then smiled as the second bell rang and people began to file into the room.
"Now starts the fun," Ms. Anders said as she walked into the classroom. "None of that first day stuff anymore." She grinned and began to hand out books. Mice and Men, the book that traditionally got students all worked up. And many of them, having heard about it from seniors were groaning. Not Sydney or Julian. They had already liked it.
But that really didn't matter.
The day went on and on. And everyone was glad when that final bell rang. Who the hell ever thought of starting school on a Thursday was crazy. But it was now Friday and sure enough there was some party that was being planned.
On the way to the parking lot Sydney and Julian met up with Francie and Will. "Are you going to Kat's party tonight?" Francie asked Sydney, hoping she would say no.
To her relief she shook her head. "Nah, I'm probably going to spend the night locked in my room with some movies." She shrugged and then looked around at her friends. "Wanna come over. To share the misery that is my father?" She wasn't begging, she didn't have to, Francie and Will both knew her father.
"Sure," they all chorused even though Julian had no idea what her father was like. "Come over at eight?" She told them, before they separated going into different cars.
Sydney and Julian talked about all the people at school. Sydney, knowing most everyone, told him all about the people there. It was rather humorous.
"So, you'll come tonight?" She asked him as once again they were sitting in her driveway.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," she smiled as he said this.
"Good, I'll see you tonight," she gave him a big smile and got out of the car. This time she didn't run to the door, and when she got to the door she waved at him, and then disappeared into the big house.
"Dad!" she called out as she got inside.
"In here," he called.
Rolling her eyes, "Should 'a known," she muttered as she walked into his office.
"Some friends are coming over tonight," she told him, sitting in one of the big leather chairs that sat in front of his desk.
He set down his pen and looked at her. "Have fun, I'm going to Paris tonight,"
"Business," she sid along with him and sighed. "How long will you be gone?" She asked him, trying to keep her voice from telling him that she was angry he was going away so soon.
"About a week, maybe two," it had worked, he was completely oblivious to the fact that she was angry. "I leave in an hour."
"Well, have fun." She told him, forcing a smile as she stood. "I promised Francie I would go shopping with her. So I don't know if I'll see you before you go." She walked around his desk and placed a cold kiss on his cheek. "I'll miss you." She said, and left his office stomping upstairs to drop her school things off.
She grabbed her car keeps and went back downstairs, slamming the fron door behind her, as she walked around the side of her house and went to her car. The garage had been opened, by Annie she presumed.
But it wasn't like it mattered. Opening the door she slammed it behind her. Maybe it wasn't good for a person to go driving when they were angry, or upset, a great deal. But for Sydney it was one of the only things that could calm her down.
Sighing she turned on the car and back out of the garage, and then out to the street. Her friends were coming over at eight thirty. That gave her hours before she needed to go home.
Instead of going shopping, like she had told her father, she headed in the opposite direction to the park. The park had swings. And swings were good. She used to have a swing set in her backyard, before her mother had died, and they used to play on it all the time. Then when her mother got into that accident her father had taken away the swings and gotten her a nanny.
Parking the car she made her way to the playground. She watched all of the parents chasing their kids around the park. It made her a little sad, sure, mostly as she watched the laughing fathers with their kids. Sure lots of kids didn't have their fathers, just had never known them. But she thought that was a lot easier than growing up with one, who was never home.
Sighing she sat herself on a swing, and rocked her feet back and forth. The swings were one thing that could always keep her calm. Or make her feel better. Those and running. Those were her escape, sure it probably wasn't healthy to keep things inside, but they worked for her.
Leaning her head back she began to pump her legs, making her go higher and higher. She let the tear fall, and her flyaway hair hid them from the rest of the world. She wouldn't stop until she was done crying. And she had no idea when that would be, so she kept going.
Twenty minutes later she was done. Done crying, and her legs were tired.
Stopping the swing she jumped off and made her way back to her car. "Now, shopping," she muttered to herself as she got into her car. Looking at her cell phone, she saw it was ten minutes before her dad would be leaving for the airport.
She could make it home in five. Frowning she started the car, and started to drive on the road that could either take her home, or to the mall. When she got into the intersection she looked on the road home. And there was her father, with some woman in the front seat.
She knew he had a partner who went on all these trips with him, but she never knew it was a woman. Scowling at them she tried to keep back tears as she swerved into the lane going straight and headed towards the shopping mall.
She could hate him. Or so she told herself. Yes, she could be incredibly mad at him, and was most of the time, but she could never hate him.
By the time she had reached the mall she was considerably calmer, and she felt much better.
Parking her car far from the main group of cars she started her walk towards the mall. "Better cheer up," she told herself. And then she thought of Julian. She liked him, and last night she had kissed him.
"It's certainly going to be interesting."