Tears in the Rain
Disclaimer: Vince owns the personas, people own themselves.. I own pocket lint and the story idea.
Spoilers: Nope… it's A/U.
Rating: M.. upped to be on the safe side as there's some stuff that's not so happy ahead.
Summary: A high school reunion answers questions and stirs up countless memories. When all is said and done, can they survive the aftermath? Or has the drama only just begun?
Characters: Lita, Trish, Victoria, Dawn, Lillian, Stacy; Jeff Hardy, John Cena, Batista, Randy, Chris Jericho, Tyson Tomko, Triple H and Christian. Many others will also be making an appearance, but, my main characters are the ones previously listed.
Notes: I can't think of anything to say yet.. Thank you all for sticking with me! This story isn't over by a long shot, but… I know my writing can be tedious at times so…thank you!….that said, I'm sorry for the cliffy.
-x-x-x-
When Trish, Victoria and Dawn cornered her on the landing, the redhead had the distinct feeling that she wouldn't be going to bed anytime soon. Not that she was sure about getting much sleep that night anyway.. Thanks to a certain action and a few words with Trish and Dawn's cousin. That same cousin, just happened to be on the couch in her living room, which just happened to be one of the five places on the property that Lita liked to escape to. The first place, of course, was her bedroom…the second being the old tree house by the pond, the fourth was the loft in the barn and the fifth was the front porch. Of course, being on the couch in the living room didn't secure her much privacy.. But, aside from her bedroom, it was the most comfortable place in the entire house. Granted, the only person who really knew where the redhead liked to retreat was Jeff, and that was because he lived with her. But, Jeff was nowhere in sight at the moment, Lita presuming that he had turned in already. And while she really wanted to go to sleep, she knew that Trish and Dawn wouldn't be leaving until they had gotten the answers they wanted. The redhead wasn't quite sure why Victoria was there.. Since the dark haired woman had always been one to protest such girl talk sessions when they were growing up. Come to think of it, she and Victoria had always tried to weasel their way out of the girl talk sessions…even though they always happened at Lita's house and usually in Lita's room. Only this time around, instead of them being in the attic bedroom, they were situated in the master bedroom. The only person not present was Lillian.. Dawn perching on the window seat, Trish settled in the desk chair while Victoria was sprawled out in one of the bean bag chairs on the floor. As a result, Lita almost felt like she was back in high school…with the proverbial firing squad before her.
Lita took her time to change into a tank top and lounge pants, brushing out her hair as she exited the master bathroom. "Since I have a sinking feeling that whatever this is, can't wait until morning.." The hairbrush was set down on the nightstand, the redhead grabbing a ponytail holder before she flopped down on her bed. "Let's get this over with."
Trish raised an eyebrow at her best friend, "duh.. We want to know why you ran out at the reunion…and why John followed you."
Lita rolled her eyes, securing her hair into a high ponytail. "I thought this was just a high school reunion, not a complete trip back."
"You're avoiding the questions, Li.."
Lita raised an eyebrow at the brunette, "that's funny.. Because, I don't recall anyone asking me any questions."
Trish and Dawn exchanged a look, Victoria surprising them all by speaking first: "Alright, then what happened at that table that caused you to leave.. And why did John follow you out of there? Happy? That's two questions."
Lita shot the dark haired woman a look, "you're supposed to be on my side."
Victoria shrugged, "times change and I'm curious.. It really shouldn't be that big of a deal though, right?"
"Whatever," the redhead rolled to her stomach, a pillow supporting her forearms. "To answer that first part.. You all probably saw who was at the table.. He started talking about the one party after Spring break, Junior year."
Trish raised an eyebrow, "what does that have to do with anything?"
Lita hesitated a moment, her lips pressing into a thin line. "A lot that I really don't feel like talking about. The trip was fine, the week before in Italy was fine.. It was when we got back to Waynesboro."
"Fair enough," Dawn tossed her hair over her shoulder, "so why did--"
"For that, you'd have to ask him.. Because I don't know." She rolled her eyes at the incredulous looks she was receiving. "I honestly don't know, alright? So just leave it alone."
Trish and Dawn exchanged another look, the blonde woman smoothing down the front of her pajama top. "Okay.. Then I'd like to know, when did you and John get so close? I mean, you always complained about how much he would pick on you, tease you and whatever…and yet--"
Dawn motioned to a collage of pictures on the bulletin board. "He's in just about every picture that's up there."
"All of us are.." Lita pointed out quickly, "take a closer look Dawn, because it's all of us.. From field trips, class projects, summer camp… I think you get the drift, right?"
Dawn heaved out a sigh, "you're more exasperating now than you were in high school.."
"And this isn't high school," the redhead cupped her face in her hands. "We're adults, so what gives with the whole girl session?"
Trish shrugged, "maybe because it's been years since we were all together? Or maybe it's because, it seems that you've been keeping a lot out…and as your best friends, I think we deserve to know."
Lita buried her face momentarily in her pillow. "I'm guessing you three aren't leaving until you hear everything right?"
Dawn stretched out her legs on the window seat. "Well, we aren't asking for every little detail… we're just curious. Pretend for a moment, that we are back in high school…and that this is one of our weekly sleepovers."
"As if the reunion wasn't enough.." Lita shook her head, swinging her legs down off the bed. "If we're really going to 'pretend' then I'm getting something to eat.." She stretched her arms overhead, "and that means no going through my stuff while I'm gone."
-x-x-x-
Dawn, Trish and Victoria rolled their eyes at the closing door.. They really didn't want to invade her privacy completely, but one of their best friends was keeping secrets. And that just wasn't like her. In all of the years that they had known the redheaded woman, she had never really kept many secrets. Certainly there were a few… like her mother's ex boyfriend or the guys that she had dated outside of Tandem. But, they had found out about that eventually, so.. That left them to wonder, what else was she hiding? By taking a good look around her room, which they admitted, they had found it somewhat odd that she had decorated nearly one wall with pictures.. But then, maybe Lita was just as sentimental as all of them…possibly more so, but they really couldn't ask her without her being there. Whatever the case; Trish, Dawn and Victoria turned their attention to the picture wall.. Taking note of the yearbooks stacked carefully next to the desk along with the various certificates of achievement, trophies and diplomas arranged on a shelf. One picture in particular caught Dawn's eye…since it just happened to be from the second to last day at Jellystone during the Spring break camping trip. It had been one of the few prank-free moments of the break.. But right before the biggest combined prank of the break.
- Flashback -
Spring Break, Junior Year; Jellystone Camp, Luray, Virginia
The prank war had been going for approximately six days, ten hours and fifteen minutes.. Today was Friday, which meant they had one more day to pull off the final prank.. And so far, things were going better than they had anticipated. Of course, Jeff had a feeling that was because John and Lita were actually working together instead of against each other…and he knew from watching that their prank wars could be downright cruel. But, this time around, their combined efforts…and with the added help of fellow pranksters Victoria, Chris, Christian, Matt and himself…had resulted in Torrie and Stacy's hair turning a multitude of colors before Victoria decided on a hideous shade of green for Torrie while Lita had decided on an equally hideous shade of orange for Stacy. Each morning, the formerly blonde duo had woken up to a lovely combination of flour, water and feathers.. Lita and Victoria sneaking into Stacy and Torrie's cabin right after dinner to put frogs and worms in their respective beds. Dean Ross had inadvertently helped them, announcing that each cabin would be in charge of lunch preparation for one day during their stay. Jeff had immediately volunteered his cabin and Lita's cabin for the entire week.. The troublesome group taking extra time to prepare Stacy and Torrie's meals.. Victoria accidentally tripping one day, causing the tray of food she was carrying to fall all over Stacy and Torrie. That had started an all class food fight and Dean Ross threatening to put them all in Saturday detention when they returned to Tandem. Today, they were scheduled to have field games.. Chris pouring itching powder in the potato sacks that Stacy and Torrie were supposed to use while Lita and Jeff put dye into the water balloons.
"Alright," Jeff tied the last balloon he had been filling. "That's five balloons with red dye, five with green and five with blue, right?"
Lita nodded, sparing a glance to the buckets filled with balloons. "And six with black.. I think dumb and dumber are wearing all white for the field games … and we used permanent hair dye--"
Jeff raised an eyebrow, "which you really owe me for that."
Lita rolled her eyes, "Jeff.. You didn't even get it. We just had to use you as a cover story."
"That's my point," the then green haired teen rose to his feet. "I had to lie to Dean Ross so you and Cena could 'borrow' the Dean's car and sneak off to get the hair dye."
"Well what were we supposed to do? Hijack the Tandem bus?" Lita shook her head when Jeff snorted, "oh come on Jeff.. It wasn't as bad as the ski trip over Winter break."
"True," Jeff picked up one of the buckets, "I still don't know how y'all managed to do that without getting caught."
Another voice spoke up before Lita could explain, "that's because we've run enough from the Dean's or Headmaster McMahon.. We know what to do so we ain't gonna get caught."
Lita glanced over to the doorway, "are the potato sacks ready?"
John nodded, "yeah.. And the eggs have been replaced.. Stacy and Torrie have raw eggs, everyone else'll have the boiled ones."
The strawberry blonde nodded shortly, "good.. And I think Christian and Matt are taking care of phase three for Operation: Unleash Hell. After the field games are over, we're meeting in their cabin to get everything ready for phase four."
John thumbed to the field, "I overheard them talking about something when I was coming over here."
"Perfect," a smile graced Lita's face, the teen soon on her feet. "Well, we better get those buckets switched out.. Field games should be starting soon."
"I'll give ya a hand with that," John reached down, grabbing the handle a moment after she did. "Don't look at me like I'm thinking you're weak.. You've kicked my ass plenty of times before…I just figured that we could get the bucket out there faster."
Lita rolled her eyes, the two finally exiting the cabin. "You know something, I didn't really think you were going to help.. Don't get me wrong or anything, I'm glad you did but--"
John half shrugged, "it's no biggie.. I kinda owe ya after all of the help from the Fall and Winter terms."
"Rough times or whatever.." Lita paused to tuck back a few strands of hair. "It's not a big deal…even if it did mean that my homework was kinda doubled.."
He nodded at that, the two falling silent as they made their way to the set of orange cones designated for the water balloon toss. The bucket was set down next to the one that Jeff had brought out, the two teens exchanging a conspiring grin before walking away. The pair hadn't realized that Lillian Garcia was standing nearby, the familiar sound of a camera going off alerting the two to her presence.
Lita quirked an eyebrow, wiping her palms on her jeans. "What was that for, Lil?"
Lillian smiled, "I just wanted to make sure that I had loaded the film right. I'm sure you and Vicki will want some pictures to remember this crazy week by."
Lita could only shrug at that, a look tossed over to Christian and Matt as they approached. "Well?"
"All set," the blonde teen informed her first. "We almost got caught, but everything's set."
"Good.." the strawberry blonde jammed her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. "Then it's just getting everything else ready…this is the last day, right?"
Matt nodded, "yeah.. Dean Ross said we're having our day planned tomorrow and we won't find out about the schedule until tomorrow."
Lita had to roll her eyes at that, "I'm pretty sure he's planning a talent show or something equally stupid… maybe even a campfire with a sing along."
"We'll find out I guess," Christian smirked when Dean Ross approached the Junior class. "Looks like the water balloon toss is about to start.."
Just as they had predicted, Stacy and Torrie were both wearing white…and they had picked each other as their partner for the field game. Two teams down, Victoria and Lita watched on with slight interest, the dark haired teen grinning wickedly when Torrie picked up one of the hair dye filled balloons. The two, along with the rest of the trouble making party, had been unable to contain their laughter as balloon after balloon filled with hair dye exploded on the ground near them.. Or directly on them. Suffice it to say, after that event was over, Stacy and Torrie looked like they just had a really bad run in with tye dye. Which really wasn't far from the truth…but they didn't have to know that.
- End Flashback -
-x-x-x-
When Lita returned upstairs, Dawn sent her a questioning look. "So…why is this picture in the middle?"
The redheaded woman blinked, tossing a bag of chips to Victoria. "Can you be a bit more specific there Dawn?"
Trish nodded to the photo wall, "she's talking about this one.. From the Spring Break trip." The blonde woman pointed directly to the picture in question, Lita squinting her eyes to see.
"I don't know, I guess it just found it's way there when I was putting all of those pictures up."
"Uh huh," Trish nodded slowly, not really believing a word of it. "So who's this guy here?"
The redhead frowned slightly, "that would be Marcus.. He was a Freshman at the University of Virginia when we were Seniors at Tandem."
Dawn raised an eyebrow at that, "so why didn't we meet him?"
Lita rolled her eyes, "because.. Marcus was inadvertently driven off by two well meaning friends in Jeff and Matt.. I can't say for sure, but I think they told him I already had a boyfriend."
Trish smirked, "which wouldn't have been too far from the truth.." She shook her head when Lita shot her an incredulous look, "come on Li.. I'm really not believing that it was just by chance that you put that picture in the middle.. Or that this picture," she pointed to another from the cultural immersion trip to Italy, "was placed underneath it."
Lita waved it off without a care, "I'm not sure what you're getting at here, but--"
Dawn coughed, "didn't you find it odd that John signed up for Latin after 8th grade? Even though he was the one who complained the most about taking a stupid language like Latin? He stuck with that class up until graduation from Tandem."
"Just what are you two trying to say?"
Trish sent her a look that clearly read 'duh'. "Were you that blind? He liked you…a lot, I'm thinking, but he liked you."
"So? What does that have to do with anything?"
The blonde woman crossed her arms over her middle. "So, I'm curious…"
Lita rolled her eyes, flopping back down on her bed. "Trish, just spit it out."
"Did you like him? Even remotely?"
While Lita took her time to respond, Jeff was currently showing John the right vent to stand by. "Trust me.. This is the one.. It leads right up to her room."
John rolled his eyes, "aren't we a bit too old for this?"
Jeff snorted, "dude.. I've been listening in on them since my dad and her mom started dating. Me and Matt were usually banished to the living room and by accident, we found out that we could hear them from this vent." An eyebrow raised when Lita finally spoke, his gaze shifting over to John. "You kissed her?"
The dark haired man shrugged, "yeah…at the reunion dinner.."
The green eyed man did a double take at the redhead's next words. "And in high school? Dude.. Why didn't you just ask her out or something?"
Meanwhile, back upstairs, Dawn and Trish were gawking slightly, Victoria raising an eyebrow at the near blushing redhead.
Dawn shook her head, "you two…I'll have you know, that you two drove me absolutely crazy. I always had a feeling that he liked you, but for whatever reasons, he was just too stupid to do something about it. And don't even try to tell me that--"
"Ugh.." Lita raked her hands through her hair, "if it really means that much to you, Dawn…alright, fine. I admit, I liked him, okay? But I still don't see why that matters now.. We're talking about back then, you know…ten years ago?"
Trish rolled her eyes, "well if he just kissed you at the reunion, I really don't think much has changed… on his end anyway, so what about you?"
The redhead muttered under her breath about nosy friends, tossing a pointed look in the blonde's direction. "Like I told you when you got here.. I'm not looking for a relationship right now. I have way too much to worry about with teaching."
Dawn nodded slowly, "and they say Denial is only a river in Egypt.. Lita, you probably haven't noticed it.. And considering that you didn't notice it back then, I can't say I'm surprised. But, he--"
"I really don't want to hear it, Dawn." Lita held up a hand when it looked like Trish was about to say something. "Not from you, not from any of you. I have three weeks until school starts up again, three weeks that I need to use to prepare for the upcoming school year. And after this reunion weekend is over?" She let out a soft sigh, "I really don't feel like making any mistakes or getting involved with anyone if they aren't going to be around."
Trish raised an eyebrow, "so you're saying that you wouldn't date him because he doesn't live in the state?"
"Yes, that's what I'm saying… I really don't have that much free time, Trish, and yeah sure.. Maybe long distance relationships aren't that bad, but.. I don't want one."
Victoria arched an eyebrow, "why not? What's so bad about a long distance relationship?"
Lita bit her lower lip, "I'll explain some other time.. Look, I'm really tired and tomorrow is going to be really busy. I don't feel like falling off the ATV when we go to Amherst trails so, if it's alright with the three of you.. I'm kicking you out of my room."
Trish, Dawn and Victoria exchanged a look at that, but.. It looked like Lita was through for the night. Certainly, they wanted more answers from her, but, it could wait until tomorrow. It wasn't like they wouldn't be spending their time around her anyway so.. They separately figured they'd get the full story from her then. And back downstairs, Jeff scratched the back of his neck, a confused look on his face as he made his way quietly upstairs. Try as she might, Lita was having one hell of a time trying to sleep. The questions from Trish and Dawn, one little action from earlier.. The whole reunion in general. Even though she knew that tomorrow would be nothing short of busy, a restless redhead was soon wandering downstairs.. A blanket wrapped around her form as she slipped outside to sit on the back porch swing. She'd gone out there in hopes of finding some solace…not really expecting for anyone else to be awake. Which was why it was a surprise when the porch swing shifted under the weight of another body sitting on it. Hazel eyes warily glanced over, blue eyes meeting her gaze.
