AN:

I'm so touched by the response to this story so far. I can't wait for you to read more. This may be one of my favorite fics. This chapter mostly sets up chapter three. But a lot of important things still happen in it. Hopefully you enjoy it. Good news I plan to work on City Lights this weekend.

~Kelly~

PS

My site is back up and running new domain is

embersimagey dot com

Chapter Two

‟Brenda I'm back!" she called up the stairs. Her errands had taken longer than she planned. No matter how long they lived in LA she'd never get used to the traffic. Cindy half expected to find her daughter sitting on the couch watching TV. She suspected that Brenda wasn't actually sick. Her daughter probably just wanted a break from class. She had done something similar herself a few times. Not getting a response she frowned. Hopefully she hadn't left the house to see Dylan. Although given the last few weeks she wouldn't be surprised. Heading up stairs she immediately noticed how quiet the whole house was. ‟Brenda? Honey?"

The empty bedroom was the second sign something was wrong. Going down into the kitchen Cindy noticed an envelope on the table. It was obviously from Brenda. Opening

Dear Mom & Dad,

I want to start off first by saying I love you both very much. I'm sorry for hurting you. That isn't why I'm this. But the truth is I also love Dylan. No matter how hard dad tries to keep us apart it's not going to work. I will always choose him. He is the first person.. the only person really to not compare me to Brandon. It's almost impossible to live up to the perfect image you have of him. Especially knowing I'll never measure up. That's why I'm leaving with him for awhile. I don't know when we'll be back or even where we're going but trust Dylan to figure it all out. Please don't be angry with my decision I'm just doing what I think is right.

Love,

Brenda

Cindy collapsed into a chair as she read the letter again. She knew that Jim was being tough on Dylan but she mostly understood. He just want to protect Brenda from being hurt by the younger man. Their relationship was so volatile. Not that she always agreed with all his decisions. It was obvious that Dylan loved their daughter deeply. Even more importantly Brenda loved him in return.

There are had been so much conflict and tension because of Brenda and Dylan's relationship in the last six months. However things had gotten better recently. Or at least she thought they had. Apparently Cindy had missed something very important. Brenda running off had completely blindsided her.

Setting aside the letter she headed towards the fun. The only thing she could think of at the moment was calling Jim. Maybe he could come up with some kind of plan. The moment he answered the phone she said. ‟Jim you need to come home right now. Brenda's ran off with Dylan."

‟What do you mean they ran off?" he demanded to know already gathering his things. Jim knew that his daughter was unhappy with him but this was totally unexpected. It wasn't like Brenda to be so reckless.

‟She's not here and there's this letter..."

‟I can't believe..." he trailed off giving it some thought. If Dylan had run off with Brenda it actually cleared a few things up. Iris had asked to change the trustee on Dylan's account. She claimed it was to calm everything down but now he had to wonder. Letting out a sigh he said, ‟I'll be right there."

After ending the call with her husband Cindy was at a loss what to do. This was so unexpected that she had no idea how to react. The initial shock was starting to wear off , worry and anger had taken it's place. She couldn't believe Brenda was do something so irresponsible. What was she thinking? This craziness was exactly why they'd been so resistant to her dating Dylan again. He was a decent guy but he encouraged they're daughter to not act like herself.

Reaching for the phone again Cindy dialed another number. There were only a few people that might know where they had run off to. The chance Dylan had confided in Iris was small given how rocky their relationship was. But the other woman should at least know what was happening. ‟Iris this is Cindy."

‟Hello Cindy. How are things in Beverly Hills?" she asked glad to hear from her friend. Frankly she had been worried since Dylan's call last night. It was obvious her son was up to something, Iris only wished she knew what it was.

‟If you had asked me that a few hours ago I would have said fine," Cindy muttered half to herself. Despite still holding the letter in her hand she didn't want to believe it was true. ‟However Dylan and Brenda have apparently decided to run away."

Iris was actually speechless for several moments. Obviously Dylan had been playing this when he called last night. It was time like these Dylan reminded of of his father. She had to wonder what was going through his mind. Or even if he was thinking at all. ‟My that is upsetting." she finally managed to get out. ‟Did either of them say why?"

‟Brenda left some note but it doesn't make any sense at all." Cindy said defended them despite the fact Iris hadn't read the note. It hurt just to think about what Brenda had written. How could her daughter believe those things? ‟I just don't understand what the two of them were thinking." she said finishing with a long sigh.

‟Me either. Of course I rarely understand what Dylan is thinking," Iris said honestly. This was the very last thing she ever expected. Or at least very close to it. ‟Is there anything I can do? Should I come to Beverly hills?" she asked not sure what else to do. Could be headed almost anywhere. Hopefully they wised up quickly and returned home. Of course the damage was already done. Iris could only imagine Jim's reaction to all this.

‟No stay in Hawaii," Cindy insisted after giving it a moment's thought. Something just occurred to her, ‟They may turn up at your house eventually. I'm not even sure what we're going to do yet. Jim is coming home from work so we can figure out what to do next."

She shook her head at the idea. Of course it would be just like Dylan to turn up here with Brenda. If that happened she had no idea what her reaction might be. Letting out a sigh she said, ‟Well let me know if I can be any help."

‟Of course. I'll keep you updated. I'm going to call and get Brandon out of school. If anyone knows anything it's him." Cindy said half hoping her son knew something. There was a good chance Brenda or even Dylan had confided in him. If that was the case maybe this part could be over quickly. Jim wasn't likely to let this go any time soon.

‟That makes sense. Let's hope they haven't gotten far."

‟Or they regain their senses and come home," Cindy said hopefully despite having a bad feeling. She had a strong suspicion that this was far over.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

‟Hey Brandon. How was the weekend?" Donna asked as he joined them on the lawn. Lunch was one of the few chances they all had to catch up during school.

‟Quiet," he shrugged leaning against a tree. Truthfully it had been kind of nice. Brandon loved his sister but the drama was something he could do without, ‟Brenda was off with Dylan in Baja."

‟Wait your parents agreed to this?" Steven butted in to ask. He couldn't believe that Jim and Cindy would agree to something like that. Especially given how opposed they were to Dylan at the moment.

‟Not exactly."

‟Oh man. They're so lucky Jim didn't find out." David chimed in shaking his head. He shouldn't have been surprise that his friends would do something so crazy. Of course this was Dylan they were talking about. The guy was known for doing crazy things. His reputation was legendary.

‟Don't I know it. Especially since I was covering for her."

Steve laughed at his admission, ‟You're either really brave or crazy."

‟Funny Steve."

Andrea approaching the group kept Steve from replying. ‟Where's your sister?" she asked obviously annoyed with his sister. Andrea took school very seriously. Of course so did Brenda despite how is appeared most of the time, ‟We were supposed to meet and study."

‟Stayed home. Said she was sick."

‟So the trip went well then?" Andrea asked joining the rest of the gang on the grass. Studying was clearly not going to happen.

‟I guess so," Brandon shrugged, ‟There's no way I'm asking for details."

‟You know Dylan isn't here either." Kelly pointed out after they all had a good laugh at his reaction. Poor Brandon it must suck to have your best friend in a relationship with your sister.

‟Maybe they're both sick."

everyone rolled their eyes at the comment. However Steven was the only one to point out how naive it was, ‟Do you really believe that Donna?"

‟Maybe you never know."

One of the assistant principles approaching the group prevented any more discussion. ‟Mr. Walsh your parents want you to go home." she said bluntly. Coddling the high school students just wasn't her style.

‟Did they say why?"

Mrs. Bell shook her head at the question before saying, ‟Just that it was important."

‟Sounds ominous," Donna mumbled breaking the almost eerie silence. They were all worried about what might be going on.

‟I'll let you know what's going on." Brandon promised before rushed off.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

‟You ran away with Brenda? Is that my surprise?" Iris yelled at her son. They had shown up only about ten minutes ago. She was excited to see them both despite all the anxiety they had caused her. Taking a deep breath she said, ‟Well that explains wanting to change your trustee."

‟Hello to you too, Iris." he said giving her a half smile. Dylan could be very charming when he wanted to be. It was how he typically got out of trouble.

‟This isn't funny, Dylan. What were you thinking?"

‟That I love her," he answered honestly. It was something he knew Iris appreciated. Besides he had no reason to hide how he felt about Brenda. ‟Jim was determined to keep us apart and I couldn't take it anymore. We were in Mexico and I don't know it felt right.

‟Marriage isn't an easy thing," she reminded the couple softly. It was easy to understand their side of things. She had been young and in love once. Hopefully things worked out better for them than it did her and Jack.

‟I know but we both want this to work. Please don't hate me."

Iris let out a sigh at the hopeful look on their faces, ‟I could never hate you. Either of you."

‟Thanks Iris. I'm sorry my parents called you. We didn't want to worry you needlessly," Brenda said regretfully. She didn't expect her parents to call Iris of all people. At least she wasn't angry with them yet.

‟They're very worried about both of you."

She frowned at the idea. Brenda should have known they would be worried. It was a big part of why she left them that letter. ‟I didn't mean to make them so upset that you don't understand how bad it's been the last few weeks. I just couldn't deal with it anymore."

‟I understand. So what's your plan now? I know it's not to hideout here."

‟No it's not. I haven't thought it all out though," Dylan admitted reluctantly. He stayed up most of the night trying to come up with a better plan. If nothing else Brenda would want to know something ‟I was thinking we'd do some traveling. Let things calm down before going back."

‟And school. I'm not letting the two of you completely ruin your lives," Iris muttered half to herself. It felt weird trying to be the voice of reason is situation.

‟So you'll help us?"

‟Maybe. You can stay here a few days while I decide but only on the condition Brenda calls home," she said holding up a hand when Brenda started to protest, ‟You don't have to tell them your here but at least them know you're safe."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brandon probably broke several laws on the way home. He was truly worried about what was going on. His parents had never insisted he miss school before. Obviously something was very wrong. It could be practically anything.

Parking the car he raced into the house. Both his parents were sitting on the couch and his mom had been crying. ‟Did someone die?"

‟Not yet," Jim muttered half to himself. Reaching for Brenda's letter he passed it to their son. ‟Did you know about this?"

It only took a moment for him to read the letter. Brandon immediately frowned at the idea. This was the last thing he expected to walk into, ‟I had no idea," he promised solemnly. Although the news cleared several things up for him. Especially Brenda's behavior from last night.

‟Are you sure one of them didn't say something?" Jim pressed insistently. He found it hard to believe that neither Brenda or Dylan confided in his son. The three of them were too close for him to totally buy that.

‟Yeah I think I'd remember them talking about taking off. I mean Bren's done some crazy things but this is…" he trailed off and ran a hand through his hair. Brandon had to wonder what the two of them were thinking. There was no way he could see this ending well. ‟I would've tried to talk her out of it."

Cindy let out a long sigh. The fact that Brandon didn't know anything was disappointing. However it wasn't totally unexpected. It just made finding them more difficult. ‟I know. It's just we're really worried here. They could almost anywhere by now."

‟What are you going to do? Call the police?" Brandon asked a little worried for his friend. Dylan had screwed up but he didn't deserve to be in jail.

Jim shook his head at the question. He'd already spoken to an officer with little luck, ‟She's seventeen the police won't do much more than take a report." The news had been frustrating but not unexpected. Especially since Brenda had left a note saying she was running away. There wasn't a high priority for the cops to hunt down a seventeen year old runaway.

‟So we just wait? That doesn't seem productive." Brandon complained as he joined his mom on the sofa. This whole situation seemed like a surreal dream. Except he knew that there was no waking up from this nightmare.