Okay, this here is a short chapter, only about 3500 words I think, but it was fun to write and that's what I need for this story: more fun. I've been dragging my feet with this, drowning in angst, so I thought I'd revisit some of the silliness I had going in the first story. Hopefully you guys enjoy it too!

To everyone still reading and reviewing, thanks for sticking this one out with me. I know I only ever update sporadically and that it probably irritates some of you, but I hope you can forgive me and still enjoy these last few chapters despite it! Thanks for all the kind words and encouragements to go on, I do appreciate it.

Senior Year: The Reunion.

Chapter 15: Saturday Nights Alright (For Fighting).

Spencer's point of view.

Oh how I wish right now that I was anywhere else on this planet. Why you might ask? Why would I rather be stuck in traffic during rush hour or waiting for a root canal? Because currently I'm at the bottom of what you'd call an old school pile up. There are limbs everywhere, an elbow stuck uncomfortably in my ribs and I'm pretty sure someone face is squished up against my butt.

How did I get here? How did my life suddenly turn into a slapstick comedy that would make the likes of Jim Carry, at least in his Dumb and Dumber days, proud? How did an officer of the law fall so far and so hard that she hasn't just thought about doing something so juvenile as giving someone a wedgie, but actually went ahead and did it? My story, let me tell you it...

I was having a good time finally, having escaped the wonderful date my brother set me up on and actually getting to spend some time with Ashley. It was relaxed up in the gallery, we were just talking and sharing a drink, not rehashing our past for the first time. So of course something had to happen, but I was a little tipsy and a lot hopeful and apparently that combination makes me turn stupid, because I didn't see it coming. Oh no, I was completely oblivious of the fact that trouble was leaning against the bar and throwing back his seventh brandy of the night. Yup, while I was trying my hardest to find some common ground with Ashley, Aiden Dennison was at the bar getting plastered.

He was also keeping an eye on the dance floor, because shortly after Carmen and Kyla hit the floor a-waddling, he spotted them. From there on out, things escalated quickly. I'm still not sure how everything got out of control so quickly, but I'm an honest enough person to admit that if I hadn't over reacted, maybe things wouldn't have been so bad. Thing is I did, over react that is, when I heard Carmen shout at Aiden to get his hands off her. For a second or two I just went to a very bad place, remembered a night that was pretty much burned into my memory, you know? It doesn't excuse the fact that I went in with the proverbial guns blazing, but it does explain it.

But my culpability ends there, because after I ran over and bodily removed Aiden from Carmen's proximity, everybody else went fucking crazy! It was too late to be the voice of reason then, so I kinda got swept away with the flood of stupidity and rather blundered attempts at violence. Guess if I had to do it all over again though, I still would have run over and body checked Aiden into another galaxy. It was kinda fun you see. Though for you to understand why he deserved it, I need to tell you a few things.

See, back in high school, Ashley always believed Aiden to be this big, dumb, harmless teddy bear. She thought he was simply too stupid to see what had happened right in front of him, that he didn't have a clue that Kyla and Carmen had had a thing, a passionate, romantic, emotional thing. Me? I didn't share that opinion. He and Kyla had been dating a month or so when I just realized that he wasn't as clueless as Ashley thought. It was the way he held her in public, how he pranced around with Kyla in the classes they shared with Carmen and practically tried to drown her in kisses and drool. He was purposely stacking his claim on Kyla whenever Carmen was within a hundred feet of the couple.

At first I thought it was just his clumsy way of trying to keep Kyla, but later I think he just kinda got off on flaunting it. He was stung by the fact that Ashley, who I guess was his first love, turned out to be gay. Maybe he felt responsible for that, maybe that was why he got such joy out of rubbing it in Carmen's face that he'd turned a girl straight again. Either way it was a screwed up, hurtful thing to do to Carmen in those last months, hurting her everyday to boost his frail little ego.

So no, I don't really regret planting his sorry ass on the floor, I simply regret that it seemed to set everyone else off. Everyone else being Madison, Glen, Ashley, Cindy and Mindy the vapid and bi-curious twins, as well as half the graduating class of 1998. And of course Kyla, whose mother bear instincts kicked in because of all those baby hormones. Boy, did they ever kick in! I don't think you understand a mother's need to protect what she perceives as her family, until you see her shove a woman's head into a bowl of peanuts rather forcefully, all the while yelling like she was Xena the freakin' Warrior Princess! Actually, that part was kinda scary. I'm never, ever, pissing of a pregnant lady, because I might end up with peanuts stuck up my nose and a split lip too, just like Aiden's wife.

Anyway, back to the part where I tackled Aiden and all hell broke loose. I was just starting to get up, my poor wrist back to throbbing with pain, when someone started beating me about the head with what turned out to be a clutch bag. It was actually a pretty nice bag, all black suede with these little glittery things worked into the corners, but the fact that it kept impacting with first the back of my head and then my face, pretty much made it lose it's appeal in my eyes.

"Get off my husband! Get off him, you crazy bitch!"

It was at this point that one of those nice sequence things almost removed one of my eyes. Thankfully Carmen seemed to recover a bit from her panic and she stepped forward, taking the woman by the shoulder and pulling her away from me. Only to get an elbow in the face and a gushing nose bleed. Chaos as you might expect, erupted. Kyla was there in a flash, hand grabbing a fist full of hair and yanking for all she was worth, Ashley came in swinging the minute Kyla was involved, but before she could reach her sister Madison decided to join the party by getting in her way trying to reach me.

"She's crazy, she threatened to shoot me! Maybe she's got a gun!"

So Ashley did the only thing she could to shut Madison's crazy screaming, she tripped her and sent the angry woman sprawling, getting dragged down in the process. Then suddenly I was on my feet, an angry Aiden in my face and Glen showing up with his version of the cavalry: Mindy and Cindy.

"Jesus, would you all stop! Aiden, I didn't mean to..."

I didn't get out a word more than that, because Aiden got bumped from behind by one of the wonder twins and crashed into me, making me almost fall back on my ass, but I was stopped when Glen managed to reach out and steady me.

"Don't touch my fucking sister, Dennison, or I swear to God I'll kick your ass!"

Needless to say that after what happened to Clay, Carmen and myself, Glen has become very protective. He was seeing red, a little drunk and confronted by a pretty damn big guy pushing me around. Still, it was Aiden that threw the first punch, because Glen was smart enough not to start it.

At this point I gave up and let whatever sanity I'd been clinging to slip away. I turned to find Madison practically pounding on Ashley, Kyla trying to throttle Aiden's wife and Carmen trying to drag Kyla off the poor woman.

Instinct took over and I walked over to Madison, ignoring years of training on the force and not putting her down cleanly, but leaning over and taking a hold of part of her dress and her thong beneath it, yanking up for all I was worth. The squeal she gave was pretty satisfying, as was the look on Ashley's face when she realized what I'd done, but it was knowing that I'd finally done the one thing I had fantasized about doing for the last months of my Senior Year that really filled my chest with a warm, accomplished feeling.

"I have to tell you Madison, I've wanted to do that to you ever since I was eighteen years old and the wait just made it better. Hope I wedged that prejudiced stick a little deeper up your ass in the process, you small minded slut!"

Then a few of Madison's old cheerleading cronies joined the party and I went down like a ton of bricks, 'cos some of those chicks? Let's say it looks like they didn't just eat too much McDonald's, they actually swallowed Ronald McDonald himself. It didn't help that Cindy and Mindy decided to lend me a hand and jumped into the body heap, simply adding to the pile of people on top of me.

So here I am, trapped underneath a bunch of ex-cheerleaders and a set of twins that has me wondering if they had to actually share a brain between them, probably a minute away from getting smothered to death. It doesn't help that I can clearly hear that around us the hall has turned into a battle ground, with seemingly anyone who ever held a grudge over something that happened back in high school, taking the opportunity to get their own back.

"You slept with my girlfriend behind my back, you pig!"

"You cheated me out of that spot on the team, dickhead!"

"You got me pregnant and ran away, you asshole! I hope your balls rot and fall off!"

"Everyday for four years I had to listen to you calling me a fat, ugly geek, well honey, whose fat and ugly now, huh? And that Ferrari parked out front? Yeah, the geek part worked out pretty well for me thank you very much. So think about that next time you climb into your little Honda and drive to work at Wal-Mart!"

"Crabs, you gave me fucking Crabs! And the sex wasn't even good!"

And so it goes, accusations being shouted and the sound of fists and palms making contact with flesh accompanying it sometimes. God, what a way to go, getting crushed while listening to grown men and woman revert back to petty children, shoving each other on the playground. Okay, so maybe five minutes ago I gave into my own inner petty child, but I'm over that now.

And oh God, what the hell is happening now? If this is Madison grabbing my ankle and not so gently pulling me out from under this screaming, scratching pile of bodies, I'm going to really loose it, I swear!

Of course it's not Madison, lucky for her, but Ashley that I see when I finally roll onto my back, taking large gulps of air to celebrate my freedom. She's got one hand restraining Kyla and the other still firmly wrapped around my ankle, her eyes big as she just stands there and stares down at me.

"Uhm...nice underwear, Spence."

It's Kyla that alerts me to that fact that yes, I'm actually flashing my panties to the entire graduating class. Well, those who aren't too busy beating someone else up to notice anyway. I scramble up and shove my dress down, hating that tonight of all nights I decided to wear the gag gift Carmen bought me last year for my birthday, a little blue G-String that had a sexy police officer with cuffs dangling from her fingers on the front, boldly proclaiming "OFFICER SEXY!" above the picture. Oh curse novelty underwear, curse it to hell!

"I suggest we get the hell out of here before we discuss Spencer's underwear choices any further, okay?"

Ashley was twitching as she spoke, looking around at the various wrestling and verbal shouting matches around us the whole time and it reminded us all that there were more pressing matters than my underwear indeed. Like Carmen still dripping blood from her nose and Ashley's blackening eye. Madison really does pack a punch by the looks of it, but something tells me Ashley gave as good as she got by the small, smug smile she gives when she catches me looking her over.

"Right, let's get a move on. I think I'm five seconds away from having a full on panic attack and I'd rather not do that in public."

The tone in Carmen's voice immediately sends me into motion, brings my mind into focus and I step towards her, taking her hand.

"Come on, I've got you. It's alright, I won't let anyone hurt you, okay? I'm here now, it's safe."

Carmen's face is pale and she's sweating, her body quivering minutely as she swallows. I haven't seen her this way in a very long time, but I remember well enough how this goes, how if I let it go any further she's going to be a mess within the next few minutes. It got so bad once when this guy in a bar came on really strong that my mom had to give her a shot to put her out. She's the strongest person I know, but sometimes even she gets thrown back into a place where there's nothing but terror for her. I can't even pretend to understand what it must have felt like when she got raped, what she went through in her mind that night, but I know it was horrible. The look on her face tells me she's right back there now, what with everything that has happened tonight. With everything that I helped start up...

God, I just keep on hurting people, don't I?

"Yeah, yeah I know, but can we just hurry and get out of here? Please?"

Kyla seems to come out of her rage induced fog, immediately reaching for the obviously distressed Carmen, but I shake my head at her quickly. She understands, I can see that, but she doesn't look happy that she can't reach out and touch Carmen right now. As much as she wants to, it would be a bad idea. Carmen needs space now, needs to feel less threatened, and having someone hold her and make her feel trapped isn't going to help that. That's why I let go of her hand and simply start leading the way towards the door.

Outside in the parking lot, the air is cool and breezy, a few stars managing to twinkle in the clouded sky above us. It's blissfully quiet and I can see Carmen's shoulders dropping slightly, can see some of the tension seep out already. I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief myself to be out of there. Carmen catches my eye and nods once with quiet gratitude in the small action. I just smile back.

"Does anyone else hear that?"

I watch as Kyla stands, head cocked to one side and brows drawn together in concentration, as she seems to strain to hear whatever it is she heard again. Then I hear it, a soft, rhythmic thumping sound coming from somewhere in the parking lot before us.

"I don't know, sounds like a banging sound?"

Kyla nods her head at Ashley, confirming that it's the noise she heard and I'm surprised when we all walk towards the sound in curiosity. Somehow I end up getting pushed to the front of the pack, Ashley off to my left as Kyla and Carmen follow behind us. When I turn back and look at Kyla questioningly, she shrugs.

"What? If that's Jason Voorhees coming back from the dead again you're better equipped to deal with that then we are, right Officer Sexy?"

Ashley snickers at that, but stops abruptly when the sound of a low, seemingly pained groan clearly reaches us.

"Oh God, I was joking! I just jinxed us, didn't I?! Oh God, Oh God, Oh God..."

I shuffle around uncomfortably for a second, watching as Ashley bites her lip and Carmen goes pale again, all the while listening to Kyla curse herself for bringing up fictional serial killers in a dark, deserted parking lot.

Oh grow up, Spence! This is not some horror movie where the pretty girls are ripped apart by the bad guy because they were too dumb to run when they should have! We're four grown woman of reasonable intelligence and this is real life, so pull it together.

"Kyla, calm down. It's probably nothing, maybe someone having trouble with their car or something. You stay here and I'll go check quickly and then we can go on our way."

I can't just walk away, because I am a cop after all and if there is something going on, I can't walk away and risk anyone getting hurt because I didn't at least check it out. So I step forward and just smile when Ashley falls into step next to me wordlessly. We're halfway down the parking lot when I spot the car, the sounds coming cleared and louder and my adrenaline surges when I clearly hear a woman's voice.

"Uh, Spence? I don't think..."

I don't stay to hear what Ashley has to say, I just sprint my way over towards the car as images of a woman getting strangled or beaten flashes through my mind. So I'm in full cop mode when I charge right up to the car and fling open the door, only to be greeted by the sight of painfully white buttocks and...well...balls.

Hairy, disgusting balls. I think I might throw up for the second time in two days...

"What the hell?! Lady, close the fucking door will ya!"

I'm still blinking in surprise and horror when Ashley strolls on up and stops next to me, biting her lip in an obvious attempt to keep from bursting into laughter.

"Well, I was about to say I don't think the sounds mean anyone is in trouble, Spence, but I guess you saw that for yourself now, huh?"

Then a red head peeks out the door and I almost swallow my tongue when I recognize Ellen Short from my math club days staring up at me. On closer inspection I realize that Mr Hairy Balls and White Butt is actually Tristan Marks, who played on the basketball team with Glen and Aiden. Well hell, who'd have thought they'd end up screwing in the parking lot on the night of our High School reunion?!

"Uhm...sorry, I thought...well, I guess...uh...sorry."

Then I simply slam the door shut again, almost flattening Ellen's nose in the process, and back the hell up from the shag wagon.

"Don't say a word, if you do I'm gonna hurt you, understand?"

Ashley seems to take my warning to heart, because she's back to biting her lip even as her nose crinkles up with mirth and her brown eyes practically gleam with humor. It seems like every drop of blood in my body seems to rush to my face and I'm pretty sure my cheeks are bright enough to light up the parking lot. God, where's a good rock to crawl under when you need it, huh?

Then Kyla and Carmen are walking up to us, both looking curiously at my red face and the smirking Ashley.

"What happened? Why are you all...tomato looking?"

I don't know what to tell Kyla honestly, not really liking the idea of them knowing what an ass I just made of myself, so I just push past them, muttering as I go.

"'Cos balls are really scary looking, okay?"

That's when Ashley finally loses it and almost cries she's laughing so hard, leaving Kyla and Carmen standing there bemused as they watch me walk away. I find myself thinking that it might be better to go back inside the to the Royal Rumble that's probably still in full swing, but that idea is quickly shot down when I finally register the sound of a police siren heading our way.

Right, of course, someone called the police and with my luck, it would be some officer I know. I'd never live it down if it came out that I ended up in a school brawl, wearing a fancy dress and in high heels no less.

"You know, if I wasn't pregnant and well on my way to being the size of a whale, I'd suggest we run away fast at this point."

I turn to Kyla and give her a quick once over, taking in the protruding belly and the bloated feet in her low heeled shoes, nodding my head as I come to a decision.

"We'll just run slowly, okay?"

Then we're off, laughing loudly as we jog in the opposite direction of the now flashing lights and head into the darkness, all of us probably remembering the first time we all ran away from the police together on the night of Aiden's party .

Hell, that night was the start of a lot of things: the initial spark of attraction between Carmen and Kyla, Ashley realizing that she had more than friendly feelings toward me on a bathroom floor of all places...

Yeah, that was quite a night and I can't help but wonder if tonight would turn out to be just as eventful.

- - -

Alright, if you enjoyed it, I'm glad. I was aiming for that after all! So tell me what you thought. Did this silly chapter help redeem this story, or helped it sink a little quicker?

Also who do you want next: Ash, Kyla or Carmen's POV?