SCHOOL OF LOVE

A/N: Thanksgiving special chapter…enjoy! I used some names of HG characters for the families' members… Thanks for the reviews of lissy86 (I'm glad you like my story, welcome!) and Ghostwriter (I appreciated your comment about how Scott reacted after Shelby told him 'no').

RATING: T (just to be sure)

CHARACTERS: Shelby, Scott, Wendy, Alice, Walt, Martin, Susan, Jess, Harmony, Mark, and members of the Merrick's and Barringer's families.

SUMMARY: AU. Shelby, Wendy, Scott and the others are all in high school. Walt still exists, but is slightly different in comparison with the show. Elaine happened but is now out of the picture.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the original characters. The others are completely made up; unless my subconscious worked on things I saw on TV or read in books…

CHAPTER 10

Two weeks later was one of the big days of the year, Thanksgiving.

That fabulous and special dinner when you see all the members of your family and share a turkey with them…what a crap… Here were the sarcastic thoughts of Shelby Merrick as she was looking at Jess and Alice dressing the table and Walt coming in and out of the kitchen in a hurry. They all looked like they were stressed and unfortunately she already knew things wouldn't go smoothly. They never did…

Shelby's thoughts went to wander about Scott and what he was actually doing but she pushed them away when the doorbell rang. It was time to face the whole Merrick family. Thank to God, the Blaines weren't about to be there too. The only person she was actually happy to see was her cousin Lucy with whom she always had a close relationship due to their close ages.

Alice made her way to the door, closely followed by her oldest daughter. When she opened it, there stood her two nephews Lance and David, and her niece, Lucy, accompanied by their parents-her brother Peter and her sister in law Sophie-. Everybody was bundled up, smiling brightly and carrying lots of packages. She welcomed them with a fake, bright smile and hugged each one of them as they entered the house by turns. Shelby smiled brightly at Lucy and hugged her tightly, both squealing in delight. "Happy Thanksgiving!" Walt, Jess and Mark joined the reunion and greeted them all too.

"Just...uh...put the presents with the rest of them by the tree." Alice said, noticing they were all having difficulties with holding their packages. Lucy handed some packages to Shelby and they went to put them with the others already placed. They were all going to exchange gifts tonight after the dinner. Alice knew Thanksgiving wasn't like Christmas but she had felt like having little presents would be a nice way to end the evening. Walt shut the door and followed them into the living room. Everyone sat down, either on the couch or on armchairs. "I hope everyone is hungry? I made turkey, mashed potatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, and beverages. Oh and also a small pie for dessert…" Alice enumerated enthusiastically and everyone smiled or laughed at her, already satiated only by the thought of her menu.

"You made all of this?" David asked slightly astonished she could do all of this whereas she couldn't even do breakfast without burning something. Alice nodded with a smile.

"Of course, my lovely daughters and this wonderful husband of mine helped me a little. But well, you know I love cooking." Alice answered, patting Walt's thigh with a smile.

"So, when are Grandma and Grandpa arriving?" Lucy asked with apprehension. It had been a while since the last time they had been reunited. Of course the elder Merrick were a nice couple, but well, they treated every grandchildren of them like they were five and it was really frustrating.

"They called a little while ago and they were in the traffic. They should be here soon, I think." Walt answered and Lucy nodded.

"Okay, cool."

"Why don't you go catch things up while we are waiting, children?"

"Am I still counting as a child?" Shelby asked and Alice just laughed at her daughter.

"Until I'm here as your mother, yes." Alice said with a laugh and Shelby sighed slightly. She took Lucy's hand in hers and led her upstairs, to her room.

"Great, c'mon Luce, we'll have fun together."

"Can I join?" Jess asked, not really wanting to spend time with the two little boys who would do better with Mark than her.

"Sure." Shelby answered with a small smile and Lucy rolled her eyes at her. "What?"

"I think Jess should just be fine with the boys. I have to talk to you about something involving an 'open' mind." Lucy coolly said and Shelby's head shot up at the last part of her sentence.

"Oh god, what did you do again?"

"C'mon, see you Jess." Lucy waved at her and Jess rolled her eyes, storming into her room and slapping the door behind her.

"Nice work." Shelby muttered and entered her bedroom, Lucy on her heels. They both sat on her unmade bed and Lucy opened her mouth to talk but Shelby cut her off before any sound could come out of her glossy mouth. "That was really rude Luce."

"What do you mean? Jess is only 14 and she shouldn't be involved in 'adult stories'." Lucy defended herself and pulled off her shirt. "Wow, it's so hot in here." She exclaimed, getting up and opening Shelby's closet to see if there were any new interesting clothes.

"This isn't the point. You could have been a little bit nicer." Shelby retorted and Lucy sent her a smirking smile, showing her the skirt Wendy had forced her to buy a little while ago.

"Yeah okay, I'll apologize later…So, do you have a boyfriend?" She questioned, pulling a pair of jeans and a red top out of the closet and undressing her own clothes.

"What? Uh… no." Shelby stuttered and Lucy frowned.

"Really? What about that hot boy that was there last summer?" She then asked and Shelby only shrugged.

"It didn't last more than two weeks but it wouldn't have worked anyway."

"How do I look?"

"The jeans are too tight, seems like your butt is ready to explode inside, sorry…and the top is okay but it isn't supposed to show that much of your breasts…you know you are well-endowed…compared to me…" Lucy rolled her eyes at her straightforwardness and pulled the clothes off of her.

"Um, okay, I have to tell you something but nobody knows okay? So keep your mouth closed." She said a bit excited as she sat back on the bed, pulling back her clothes.

"Sure."

"I have a boyfriend and he asked me to marry him!" She exclaimed, emphasizing the last part of the sentence. Shelby frowned and then laughed, thinking she was only joking. Lucy raised an eyebrow and she looked at her straight in the eye.

"You're not serious, right?" Shelby said with a nervous smile.

"Alright, I'm going out with him since almost 6 months and we're now en-ga-ged." She specified and Shelby's eyes went wide.

"OMG! Don't you think you should wait?" She cried and Lucy shook her head smiling at her cousin's shocked face.

"Why the hell? I'm happy with him and he's just hot and nice and funny. I am in love with him and I know we're soulmates."

"You're only 17, how can you be so sure he's the one?"

"I just know it deep in my heart." She answered with a smile and Shelby just shrugged.

"Do your parents know yet?"

"I plan on telling them with him." She stated and got up, taking her purse and pulling her promise ring out of it. "Look, isn't it beautiful?"

"Nice. When do you plan on announcing them the big new?" Shelby asked sarcastically.

"We don't know yet but I've planned every little thing, it's gonna be okay…I- sorry, is it your cell that is ringing?" She said stopping as she heard a ringing. It looked like a song but she just couldn't remember what the singer's name was.

"Yeah, just let me cut it off." Shelby answered and took her cell from her desk drawer.

"No answer it, I'm gonna apology to your sister while you do it."

"Thanks." Shelby smiled and saw the caller id. Looked like Scott wasn't having fun either.

"Hi baby…I was just thinking of trying to call you again… " She whispered in the phone as soon as Lucy exited her bedroom. She lied down on her back and closed her eyes at the sound of her boyfriend's hot voice.

"I'd love a glass too, Martin." Elisabeth said and everyone agreed with her. Her son nodded and went in to the kitchen, making two trips out, bringing everyone a glass while Scott took the bottles out of the fridge and uncorked them. The others just chatted and made small talk, reminiscing about their youthfulness and moments of fun for a few minutes. Everyone seemed to be doing well, except Scott who found that the conversation was particularly boring. He looked again at his cell and noticed he had missed a call from Shelby. He ran a hand through his hair and got up, leaving the room unnoticed by the others.

"Where's Scott? Why isn't he here yet?" Thirteen year old Juliet asked happily after a while, looking around the room as if he was hiding in some dark corner and no one had noticed that he was still there. Martin shrugged and continued his conversation with his brother.

"He saw you were here earlier and decided to skip the dinner before it was too late." Wendy said sarcastically. Elisabeth had to chuckle a little. Her granddaughter hadn't changed a bit since the last time she had seen her. Except for the fact that she looked more beautiful than ever.

"I'm sure he's fine, don't worry." Susan answered and Martin went to see if she could find his son.

"Oh...I was so looking forward to seeing him again and talk at least... okay, so I see him for a second, the time for him to greet me and then he disappears!" Juliet whined and Wendy laughed just a little. The girl was just exasperating.

"Why don't we go sit at the table?" Martin suggested before going in search for his son and everyone agreed. Grandpa Richard grumbled something about the champagne being not cold enough and linked arms with Wendy and Harmony on the other side. He looked strangely at Wendy, like he was scrutinizing her and finally let her walk him to the table.

"So, little girl, how old are you already?"

"Almost seventeen Grandpa." Wendy answered with exasperation. The man didn't even have Alzheimer and he couldn't even remember her name. Little girl, what a joke!

"I bet you have a boyfriend?"

"Actually… no." She replied after thinking about it twice. Even if her family would be aware of her relationship with Brian, she wouldn't tell the old creepy man. It wasn't his business anyway.

"Really? Maybe that explains better why you're dressed this way." He said, his words harshly hurting Wendy.

"What way? Is something wrong with my clothes?" She dryly asked and Richard rolled his eyes at her but before he could answer with a mean and rude remark…

"I like them, particularly this top. Where did you buy it? Or maybe you fashioned it alone? I seem to remember you used to do it before…" Juliet piped up and Harmony smirked at her sister with a knowing glance from behind their grandfather's back.

"You look like some cheap slut at the corner of a sinister street." He said harshly then sat on the chair Susan was holding for him. He pulled his hand on top of Susan's and stroked it slightly. "I bet it must be hard for you, being the rebound woman twice." Susan pulled his hand away, not believing her ears. "First Judith," He started referencing the woman who had been with Martin before he met her. "…then that Elaine chick I didn't even get to meet…"

"Richard, you are being incredibly rude to everyone here. So, either you calm down or I call a taxi for you and you go back home alone." Elisabeth said and Richard muttered something under his breath but nodded at her. His wife was the queen of ultimatums.

Martin walked outside in the garden. He had looked almost everywhere and Scott was nowhere to be found. He finally spotted him against the wall, his cell to his ear, quietly talking. "Yeah, I know sweetie… I'm not even sure about it." Scott laughed into the phone and Martin chuckled as he looked at his son. He was proud of him, really. He was more mature, less selfish, and he could tell that whoever was on the phone with him, the person was having a good influence on him. At first, he thought that it had been his summer camp that had made him a man…now he wondered if it wasn't just a girl… Maybe Susan was right after all; maybe he was really in love… "Yeah…I'll try…I don't know…maybe late in the night?" He suggested and grinned at her answer.

"Scott, you come please, we are taking the peg." Martin finally called him and Scott's head shot up at the sound of his father's voice.

"Coming!" He yelled back and Martin turned back inside, leaving him his privacy. Scott talked again for about thirty seconds and resumed his conversation. "Bye baby, see you soon…I love you too." He whispered on the phone, receiving a giggle from his girlfriend.

Shelby pulled her robe off and stood in the middle of her bedroom in her pajamas, and then sighed, hands on her hips facing the mirror. Scott looked up at her from his place on her bed and placed a hand under his head, slightly lifting it. "What happened?" He gently asked with a concerned voice. Apparently the Merrick dinner had been as hectic as the Barringers' one. Shelby walked over to the bed, and then climbed into it under the covers with him.

"Families reunions are always like that? I mean, we always fight over everything and nothing… We reunite like two times in the year and we can't help but argue, that's so sad, and depressive and totally stupid." She moaned and began doing circles on his bare chest. He chuckled a little and nodded softly.

"I don't know what to say. Mine wasn't better. Edward was a total ass again. But, that's no surprise." He said then switched off the light of the bedside table. Shelby closed her eyes and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I met him once. He was so rude and cold to me. He kinda freaks me out, I think. He like, checked me out like I was a piece of meat." She beefed and he let out a small laugh, the tension of the day fading.

"When was that? I don't remember."

"Uh, two years ago, I had come to your house to offer Wendy her Birthday present and it was hot so I was wearing something lighter than usual." Scott looked at her oddly and she continued chuckling. "Yeah, like a tank top and a skirt that went to the knee."

"He's never happy. I often ask myself how my father lasted out until he moved out at eighteen." Scott wondered and she shrugged thinking of it before answering.

"I think he just doesn't know how to act around you."

"He's just so different when my grandmother talks to him."

"Women power, I tell you!" She said with a smirk and relaxed against his warm body. "I'm so glad you're here tonight. Jess said some ugly things to me and to my cousin Lucy at dinner."

"What's wrong with her? You think she's like, doing her adolescence crisis?" Scott questioned her and she avoided slightly by answering beside.

"No, it's more important than that."

"What? Want to tell me more about it?"

"Look, I'm really tired; can we talk about all of this later? I need my sleeping beauty." She joked and he gave her a quick peck on the lips. She returned it and just groaned as he pulled away.

"No, you don't need it. You're beautiful even when you have those little bags under your marvelous indigo eyes." He said with a flirty smile and she leaned up, giving him another peck.

"Smooth talker." She smirked and kissed him again, longer this time. "I love having you with me…but how are you going to explain to your parents that you weren't in your house tonight?"

"Is it you way to tell me to leave because I am already in my boxers and…?" He began, joking around with a fake offended frown and she shoved him a little.

"Just shut up! And settle your watch for 7 am, we should be just fine." She patted his chest with the palm of her hand and he kissed her right eyelid as she closed her eyes.

"Actually, I better settle it for 5 am, Edward is probably going to wake everybody up early and make us go for a run." He stated, pressing on the buttons of his watch and settling the alarm.

"Is he mesmerized? The day I see Wendy running…" She trailed off, a smile on her lips at the idea of Wendy running. She could almost picture the funny scene…

"I better take my camera then." They both laughed a little and Shelby wrapped her arms tighter around his waist, and laid her head on his bare chest. "I love you."

"I love you too. Good night." He said and silence filled in the room until she broke it.

"It's strange. A year ago, I would have called Wendy instead of you. And now, you're like, my refuge. The one I talk to about everything." She whispered and felt him smile at her statement.

"I think it's pretty cool to have more than one people you can talk to." He answered thinking of Brian and their close friendship.

"Thank you for being here tonight. It means a lot to me." She admitted and he began stroking her hair, making slow and tender moves inside it. He could smell the vanilla fragrance of her shampoo in it and also on her pillow.

"Believe me, I wouldn't be anywhere else." He said then continued running his fingers through her hair until they both drifted to a peaceful sleep.

"Who was the cutie I spotted climbing out of your window this early morning?" Lucy asked as soon as Shelby re-entered her bedroom. She put her tweezers in her vanity case and pulled out her brush. Shelby closed the door with a troubled face and turned to her.

"Shut up before someone hears you." She said in a hushed voice. She resumed her combing her hair and ranged her toothbrush and toothpaste in a drawer. Lucy smirked at her and sat at the edge of the bed, eyeing her.

"I didn't get to see him close but from what I saw, he looked handsome. What was he even doing here? Did you fuck with him last night? Because I didn't hear anything, don't worry."

"Okay, first of all, I didn't 'fuck' with him, as you put it so elegantly…" Shelby began but was cut off by her cousin.

"I thought you didn't have any boyfriend? How could you lie to me, Shelby Merrick?" She asked quietly with a small smirk.

"Well, you're the first to witness that something is going on between us." She said and paused, facing her with a pleading look. "Do you remember my bestfriend Wendy Barringer?"

"Yeah…I liked her type…tell me it's not her, as a travesty?" She lamely joked and Shelby rolled her eyes at her.

"Ah, ah, really funny. It's Scott, her big brother."

"Why not tell?" Lucy asked, not quite understanding why they would go out in secret. Unless he was way older… "How old is he?"

"Seventeen. It's not the problem Luce. The thing is that he is her brother. You see, I kinda promised her I wouldn't go out with him. He's got a pretty bad reputation with girls and she doesn't want me to get used." She explained and Lucy frowned a little.

"So why are you going out with him if he's acting like a bastard?" Lucy asked not understanding her point.

"Because he has changed. He's not anymore the stupid, cold-hearted ass who only cares about sex and football. He's sweet, caring, passionate and loving…and just wonderful." Shelby answered passionately, a dreamingly look appearing on her face.

"Wow, you got it bad." Lucy replied and Shelby let out a laugh, looking at her through the mirror.

"You tell me. I just feel so strong for him, it's amazing."

"So, how long have you been going out with the guy?" She asked, as she continued combing her strawberry blonde hair.

"Uh, well, it's been almost a month. I know it's recent and all but…I'm completely crazy about him." She admitted softly and Lucy giggled at her, rolling over on her back with her hands upon her heart.

"I'm happy for you…it looks like we've both found the guy of our dreams."

"Stop being corny. It doesn't suit you well." Shelby teased her and her cousin threw a pillow on her, hitting her face. Shelby laughed and threw the pillow back. They were soon rejoined by Lucy's bothers and involved in a big pillow fight, the girls winning over the younger boys. Jess stood there watching them, feeling a pain in her stomach at the thought that Walt could be lured by so innocent children like those. She just couldn't even look at him without having this sensation of uneasiness and sickness.

Next: The first basketball game of the season for Shelby

Wendy/OC stuff

Please R&R!