DISCLAIMER: I don't own California Dreams or any of the characters. I do own the character of Kelsey.
Sly heard the elevator doors open and saw his cousin exit.
"Hey, Mark," Sly said, getting up and giving his cousin a man-hug.
"Hey, cuz. Any news, Jake," Mark asked, barely noticing Matt sitting on the couch.
"No, although the doctor told mom he would have the test results back this afternoon, so if anyone is a match, we'll know," Jake said.
Mark sat down on the chair and noticed Matt. He looked at Sly who introduced them.
"Mark, this is Matt Garrison," he said.
"Matt. Kelsey's Matt," Mark asked.
"Yeah. That' s me," Matt said, reaching his hand out to shake Mark's.
Despite the fact that Mark disliked everything that Matt had done regarding Kelsey, he shook his hand.
"Did you come to help," he asked.
"Sly said Kels was sick so I came on the next plane to see if I can help," Matt said.
"That's nice of you," Mark said, getting up and looking at Kelsey through the window. He noticed her stirring on her bed and excused himself to go and see her.
"That was…interesting," Matt said.
"He's worried about Kelsey. He really loves her and the thought he might lose her is really tearing him up," Sly said.
The three men looked at the couple in the room, each saying a prayer that a match would be found for Kelsey.
"Hey, Kelali. Are you feeling any better than this morning," Mark asked.
"A bit," Kelsey said, staring at Mark.
"What," he asked her, sitting in the chair by the bed and taking her hand.
"Something's on your mind. And don't tell me it's nothing. Are you worried about me, because I told you not to because everything is going to be fine," Kelsey said.
"Of course I'm going to worry about you. But that's not what's on my mind. Matt's outside with Jake and Sly," Mark said.
"Matt's here? Why," Kelsey asked.
"He found out you were sick and came to help," Mark said.
"Sly must have called him," she said.
"You want to talk about it? You've never given me the full story about what went wrong with you two. I'm actually happy things didn't work out because I wouldn't have you if they had," Mark said.
"You don't want to hear that story. It's not a very good one," she said.
Seeing that her boyfriend wasn't going to give up, Kelsey took a deep breath and launched into the tale of her and Matt.
Matt Garrison and Kelsey Bradford had been friends since kindergarten. Kelsey had stayed with Matt and his sister, Jenny, while waiting for her aunt and uncle to pick her up after her parents were killed.
When Kelsey and Matt entered high school, Matt wanted to form a band. The band featured himself, his friends Tony and Tiffani and his sister, Jenny. Matt had asked Kelsey if she would be in the band and she'd agreed because she was Matt's best friend.
Matt had been secretly in love with Kelsey for months. He hadn't known how to tell her, but apparently his secret wasn't a secret to anyone in his family. His brother, Dennis, often teased him about Kelsey. Jenny was appalled that he liked her best friend. His parents thought it was sweet because they'd been friends for so long. Sly eventually figured it out when he asked Matt why he'd broken up with Randi Jo.
"It just wasn't working out, Sly," Matt said, trying to avoid giving the real reason.
"Matt, you were dating one of the hottest girls at PCH. Why would it not work," Sly asked.
"Look, I can't be with Randi Jo if I don't love her. It's not fair to her. She deserves to find someone that can share those feelings," Matt said.
"That is lame, Matt," Sly said.
"Fine, she wanted me to pick between her and my friends," Matt said.
"You broke up with Randi Jo because of me? Matt, I didn't know you cared," Sly said.
"You're an idiot," Matt said.
"Well, it couldn't be because of Tiff or Tony. So, why would your friends be a bother? The band? Oh…I get it… She wanted you to not be friends with Kelsey while you two were together. Randi Jo was actually threatened by quiet, petite Kelsey," Sly said.
"She didn't like that Kelsey and I were so close. I couldn't turn my best friend away," Matt said.
"You'd dump me in a heartbeat, but not Kelsey? Oh…my…god! You're in love with Kelsey? You ended things with Randi Jo because of Kesley," Sly said.
"Yes, Sly. I couldn't dump Kelsey because I do care about her, OK," Matt said.
"Matt, maybe one day you'll learn," Sly said.
"What's that," Matt asked.
"You made a horrible mistake leaving Randi Jo for Kelsey. A horrible mistake," Sly said before leaving Matt's kitchen.
Kelsey had arrived at the same conclusion, that she was in love with Matt. However, she knew he was with Randi Jo and didn't want to tell Matt because, if they broke up after her confession, it would be her fault. She didn't want to be responsible for that.
One afternoon, Kelsey and Matt were working on a project for their home economics class. They were supposed to pretend they were married and had to find jobs, a place to live, buy a car and create a household budget for the class.
Matt had made a joke about him and Kelsey being married.
"Guess you didn't get the pick of husband's for the project did you," Matt asked. He knew the teacher assigned the couples the way she wanted and deliberately tried to keep couples that were dating apart. Kelsey and Matt had been paired up by the teacher and Matt was secretly grateful.
"There's no one I'd rather be married to for a class project than you," Kelsey said. "Although, I was worried she'd pair me with Sly," she added, shuddering visibly.
They were sitting on the floor of his bedroom searching the classified ads for jobs, apartments, cars, furnishings and such.
Since the project was about being married, they started talking and acting like a married couple.
Matt's mom had entered the room and set Matt's clothes and clean towels on his bed. Kelsey saw the opportunity to have an argument with her 'husband.'
"Why does your mother always do your laundry? Am I not capable of doing it for you? I am supposed to be your wife," she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Mom always gets my shirts nice and soft and my jeans aren't itchy," he said.
"Oh, so I wouldn't do as good a job," she said, feigning injury.
"I'm sure you would, but mom wants to do this for me," he said, approaching his 'wife' and tipping her chin with his finger.
"If this is going to work, you're going to have to let me do some of those chores for you. We have to actually act like we're married," she said.
"Really," Matt said, his eyes twinkling.
Kelsey looked into his eyes. The dark orbs that she knew quite well, but at this moment they were foreign to her. She couldn't interpret what they were trying to tell her.
Before she had a chance to think more on the subject, Matt took her face in his hands, brought his lips down on hers and kissed her.
A timid kiss. A kiss to test the waters; see what would happen.
When he pulled away, Kelsey opened her eyes and looked at him. Swallowing, she licked her lips. She needed to know what that meant to him.
"Are you trying to make the project more authentic," she asked, hoping the project had nothing to do with what had happened.
"No. I've been wanting to kiss you since, well, forever and this seemed like a great opportunity," he said.
Kelsey smiled. She put her arms around his neck and they shared another kiss. This one much more passionate than the first; a lot less timid.
"What if I hadn't kissed you back," she asked, in between kisses.
"Than I would have said it was for the project and left it alone," he said, smiling.
Kelsey smiled back and they shared another kiss. Then, Sly entered the room.
"Oh my! What are you doing," he said, shock at finding his oldest friends kissing in the doorway.
Kelsey immediately pulled away from Matt, grabbed her backpack and rushed down the stairs. Matt heard the slamming of his front door. He started after her, but was pulled back by Sly.
"What are you doing," Matt asked.
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Sly answered.
"Look, I didn't plan it, but it happened and now I have to go and assure her that it wasn't a mistake, that you won't make a big deal about it and that I do like her…a lot," Matt said.
"You don't just like Kelsey, you love her," Sly said, cringing at the use of the l-word.
"Fine, I do love her. I'm going to go after her," Matt said, rushing down the stairs, much like Kelsey had a few minutes ago.
He stood outside on the sidewalk and tried to figure out where she would have gone.
Kelsey nearly ran to Sharkey's. When she reached the boardwalk, she slowed down, willing her heart to comply. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She and Matt had shared a kiss. Well, not A kiss, but several kisses.
Kelsey was in shock. She had cared about Matt as more than a friend for so long that she didn't know if she could forget what happened between them.
She entered Sharkey's and found her good friend and Matt's sister sitting in a booth, talking to Mike Stewart.
Kelsey rushed in, grabbed Jenny's arms and pulled her into the booth at the back of Sharkey's.
"OK. What was that," Jenny asked, clearly upset that her friend ruined her conversation with Mike.
"Mike will wait. I have something HUGE," Kelsey said.
Jenny eyed her friend. "It's guy related," Jenny said.
"Yeah. I kissed Matt or he kissed me. I don't know, but we kissed each other," Kelsey said, stammering on the words.
"You kissed Matt? My brother Matt? You're best friend, Matt? Ew," Jenny said, horrified by the thought.
"Yes, to all three. You know how much I like him as more than a friend. I don't know how it happened but it did. Although, I'm not sure exactly how Matt feels. Sly apparently thinks it's not a good idea," Kelsey said, slumping back in the booth.
Jenny was about to open her mouth when she noticed her brother enter the restaurant. "Why don't you talk to Matt. It looks like he followed you," Jenny said, slipping out of the booth and heading back to Mike.
Matt spotted Kelsey, despite her attempts to hide in the booth. He sat down across from her.
"Why did you run away," he asked.
"Sly's reaction just about said it. It's not a good idea," she said, failing to meet his eyes.
"Kels, you don't feel that way. I certainly don't," he said.
She looked up and caught his brown eyes with her hazel ones. "You mean that," she asked.
He nodded his head. "Kel, I've wanted to do that for a long time and, I'm sure Jenny and Tiff and everyone else we know will give their opinion, the only one I care about is yours," he said.
He got up and sat next to her in the booth.
She turned and faced him. He took her hands and rubbed the tops of them with his thumbs. "Kels, I don't know where this will end up, but we have to try," he said.
"Yeah, we have to try," she said.
They smiled at each other and shared another kiss. The couple didn't notice the rest of their friends gathering by the door watching them.
"Look at that. Another bright, intelligent woman making the wrong choice," Jenny said.
"I think it's sweet," Tiffani said.
"You would. Why would a great girl like Kelsey pick Matt," Tony asked.
"Disgusting. I've been friends with her as long as he has and she didn't kiss me," Sly said.
"Maybe she does have taste and standards," Jenny said.
"You guys are being mean. Kelsey and Matt make a cute couple. Besides, we've all heard them talk about the other so this isn't news to us. Let them have their time together," Tiffani said.
They watched them kiss again.
"That's enough," they all said and raced to the booth the couple was sharing. Sly sat next to Matt while Tony, Jenny and Tiffani crammed in on the other side.
"Anything you two want to tell us," Jenny asked.
"Yeah. Anything new," Tony asked.
Matt and Kelsey looked at each other.
"Well, Kelsey and I are going out to a movie," Matt said.
"Great! What are we seeing," Sly asked.
"Well, you can go and watch the birds on the beach. MATT and I are going to the movies, ALONE," Kelsey said, glaring at her friends.
Matt shoved Sly, who landed in a heap on the floor. He exited the booth, offered Kelsey a hand and the two walked, hand-in-hand out the door.
"Are we going to let them go alone," Sly asked.
"Sly, Kelsey wants to date Matt. Nothing we can do about it," Jenny said.
"He just better be careful," Tony said.
The four friends got up from the booth and headed out the door.
Kelsey and Matt had weathered the storms that were misunderstandings and Jake. Jake had been really tough on Matt, promising him bodily harm if anything were to happen to Kelsey. 'You make her cry, I'll make you cry,' Jake had said.
Kelsey had scolded Jake about his threat and Jake had apologized, but Matt was still afraid of him.
They had survived Jenny moving to Rome, Sam moving into her room and Jake dating and then, breaking up with Tiffani. They had been together for nearly two years when, unbeknownst to Kelsey, Matt's dad was offered a teaching position at a college in New England. Matt hadn't wanted to leave. Even going so far as to try to convince his parents to let him live with Sly for the last two years of high school. He didn't want to leave his friends and he didn't want to leave Kelsey, but he didn't want his parents to leave either.
His parents weren't happy with his plans and told him they might consider letting him come back, IF he tried things in New England first. Matt had six weeks to break the news to his girlfriend. The one person who never turned their back on him and was always his cheerleader. He didn't know if he could do it.
He kept Kelsey away from his house as the big packing got underway. Sam had moved in with another family and Kelsey had assumed that Sam wanted to room with a family that had a daughter.
They spent a lot of time at Kelsey's house, Jake being away on his various 'dates.'
The last week Matt was in California was a magical week for Kelsey. It was the beginning of summer break and they had spent a lot of time together, walking on the beach and hanging out at Sharkey's.
Two days before he left, Matt had arranged for a romantic picnic on the beach to watch the sunset. Tony had given Matt the keys to a cabana that was usually used during the day so he and Kelsey could have some privacy.
Matt built a small fire and they had a meal with pizza. It was the same meal they had shared on their first 'real' date.
They watched the sunset and, when the fire had died itself out, found themselves in the darkness under the stars. Matt gifted Kelsey with a necklace. The necklace was a gold key with a diamond heart. He told Kelsey he held the key to his heart. Kelsey loved that romantic gesture.
Throwing caution to the wind, the two gave each other something no one else would ever have. Not really planning it would happen, but prepared for the possibility, Kelsey and Matt made love on the beach. The first, and only, time for the couple.
They spent the rest of the night in the cabana, sleeping and holding each other. When Matt heard Kelsey's even breathing, the gravity of the situation came to the forefront of his mind. Kelsey didn't know, but Matt was now afraid to tell her he was leaving. The thought that he had used her for sex was the last thing Matt wanted her to think, but she did.
PRESENT
"Two days later, Sly shows up at my house with a note from Matt, explaining everything. I felt horrible and used," she said, looking back up at Mark.
"You never told me about the time you slept with Matt. I mean, you told me you did, but I didn't know anything else. I can see why that would sour you on the whole experience," Mark said, angry at Matt's casual attitude about what transpired between the two.
"Mark, I want to share that with you, but I want it to be special. I hate what happened with Matt and I, but I can't take it back. Now, finding out he's here, just has me all confused," she said.
"Confused," Mark asked.
" I'm in a hospital bed, having a conversation with you, but you're wearing gloves and a gown and mask. I'm waiting to find out if I'm going to make it to graduation and now, my first love has swooped back into my life. I think I have a right to be confused," Kelsey said.
"Yes you do. But I'm here for you. I love you," Mark said.
"I love you, too," Kelsey said, leaning her head on his shoulder, Mark having moved to the bed to hold her.
Kelsey closed her eyes and went to sleep. Mark listened to her quiet breathing and tried to keep his emotions under control.
He didn't know what was going to happen, but he knew he couldn't lose Kelsey. Not to this disease and not to her past. He wanted to make her happy.
Mark gently untangled Kelsey from his arms and quietly left the room. He put his gown in the hamper and threw his mask and gloves in the trashcan.
***Oh, Mark's mad at Matt. How will this revelation affect everyone involved?*** -mereditholiver