Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Higher Ground characters in my story. All rights are reserved to whoever owns the show now. Yada, Yada, Yada. I'm sure you get the picture.
Summary: Scott and Shelby are forced to go their separate ways after they graduate from Horizon. Can fate bring them back together?
Category: Romance/Drama
Rating: I'll just say PG-13
Author's Note: First off, I want to apologize for the long delay. I'm still working on this fic and I promise, I will finish it. I can't promise speedy updates though and for that, I'm sorry. I'm really busy with school work and it's going to be demanding a lot of my time. School does come first, but I will get another chapter out to you in time. Until then, I hope this can hold you over. LoL.
Second Chances
Chapter Six: Disappointing Expectations
He stood, alone, near the refreshment table, not daring to take his eyes off of the entrance door. As the minutes ticked away, Scott found himself becoming more and more nervous. Tonight was the night. After ten long, miserable years, he was going to be reunited with the only woman that he could say he ever loved. He was eager to see how she had changed; how she had grown up. Scott wasn't expecting a lot with this arranged meeting. He wanted so much just to hear her voice again. That, in itself, would have been enough for him.
"What are you looking for, meat?" Auggie approached Scott with Ezra. He had been watching Scott for the last half hour and not even once had his eyes wavered from the entrance. Obviously, he was waiting from something .. or someone important. But what Auggie knew he was waiting for wouldn't show up. He had thought that he made it clear to Scott that she wasn't going to be here.
"Shelby." he stated simply, his eyes not even acknowledging his old friend's presence. Right now it didn't seem important. He didn't want to take the chance of looking away and missing her walk through the door.
Ezra's eyebrows furrowed in question. "I thought we discussed this already, Scott. Shelby isn't going to be here. She's not even at the reunion." It had to have been denial that Scott was facing. What else would make him believe that Shelby was going to show up when she wasn't even there?
Scott shook his head. "Your wrong, Ez. She is going to be here."
"How are you so sure?"
Scott chanced missing Shelby as he turned to face his friends. In order to explain the events earlier that day, Scott was going to need to give Ezra and Auggie his undivided attention. "The girls came to me today. They told me that Shelby had come after all. They told me that if I came tonight, they would make sure that Shelby came as well." he smiled at the thought of her. "I'm going to see her again. And she's going to be beautiful. I know it."
Both, Ezra and Auggie, were shocked. They hadn't expected Shelby to show up at all, but were equally glad that she had. This reunion wouldn't have been the same without her being involved. They all were apart of Horizon, and they all needed to be apart of the reunion.
But more importantly, they were happy for Scott. He was going to see Shelby again. Maybe there was still hope for them yet. He obviously still loved her and that could only mean that she still loved him. Their latter days at Horizon were spent together. They were so much in love then. Love that strong doesn't just go away. The two of them needed to know that more than anything.
"Then for your sake, meat, I hope this all works out. I hope she does come and I hope that you do get that second chance to be with each other." Auggie patted Scott on the shoulder before walking away with Ezra. Scott needed to be alone right now. All he wanted to do was concentrate on Shelby's arrival. They didn't want to be responsible for his distraction.
Scott felt himself tense when he spotted Julliette, Daisy, and Katherine enter. It was the moment of truth. Would she want to see him after everything that had happened? It was going to be hard to talk to Shelby, that was a given. She wouldn't be as open to rehashing the past as he was. She never was.
His hope fell, however, when they were about halfway between him and the door, and Shelby was still nowhere in sight. His disappointment and confusion must have been obvious because Daisy, Katherine, and Julliette quickened their pace to get to him. They had to explain. Granted, he wasn't going to be much happier after their explanation, but he needed to know anyway.
"Where is she?' his voice was panicked. "Dais, where is she?" he asked again when they didn't answer. Scott's heart dropped deep into the pit of his stomach as he caught the look on their faces. He didn't need to know much more than what their faces were telling him. Shelby wasn't coming.
"I'm sorry, Scott." her sympathetic gaze met his hesitantly. It was hard for her to even look at him. They had promised him that Shelby would be there. They didn't come through on that promise. They had tried everything they could think of, but nothing worked. Shelby knew he'd be there. She just wasn't ready to see him. "We tried, Scott. We really tried, but she just wasn't ready. Not yet. She couldn't see you. It still hurt too much." his shoulder sagged. It wasn't easy to hear that the love of his life didn't want to talk to him, but he thanked Daisy for her honesty anyway.
"No!" It had been minutes before Scott suddenly burst out. He wouldn't accept that. He couldn't. He needed to be with Shelby and as much as she tried to fight it, she needed to be with him too. It wasn't going to be easy, but Scott was going to prove that to her. "I'm not going to give up on her, Dais. I can't do that. I love her too much to do that." he pushed passed them in pursuit of the door.
Julliette was tempted to stop him and asked what he planned on doing, but she decided against it. She already knew the answer, after all. He was going to rescue the love of his life, in a sense, except the villain keeping her hostage was herself. It was going to be a difficult battle, she thought, but Scott could win it.