Chapter 5: Waiting for Tonight
Brenda sighed and threw what must have been her third rejected outfit on the bed, sitting down on the edge of the mattress with a huff. Nothing looked right, and she was getting dejected. She wanted to look amazing, so much so that she would stop Dylan in his tracks.
She had finally gotten in touch with him a little bit after she and Brandon had arrived home, and as suspected, Dylan had indeed ditched school to go surfing. A mental health day, he had called it, and he had assured Brenda it was no big deal. But she couldn't help but worry that his complete lack of interest in his education and his utter lack of concern for what his frequent absences might be doing to his academic record would eventually catch up with him. She had been relieved that he had finally agreed to register for the SATs, but she knew the battle wouldn't be won until he was actually sitting in a chair taking the test.
Brenda stood and stalked to her closet again, flipping past the meager selection of dressy outfits that she had. She sifted through them again, pulling out a flowy peasant blouse with a plunging neckline. She held it flush against her body, wrinkling her nose at the reflection staring back at her. The neckline would serve its purpose to give Dylan an eyeful, but overall, the shirt really wasn't that fancy or stylish, she deduced regretfully. She tossed it behind her, adding to the pile of castoffs mounting on the comforter.
The phone rang shrilly and cut into her impending wardrobe catastrophe. She dove for the receiver, hoping she could get to it before Brandon did.
"Hello?" she said breathlessly.
"Hey, Bren, it's me."
"Kelly, hi," she replied, flopping onto her stomach, pushing the unwanted clothes further down the bed to allow herself more space. "What's up?"
"Not much," she admitted. "I just felt bad that I, uh, had to go so abruptly at the end of our talk at lunch today, and I wanted to make sure there was nothing else you wanted to chat about before your big date tonight." Brenda smiled.
"Thanks, Kel. Actually right now, I'm having a crisis of fashion," she lamented, narrowing her eyes in the direction of her woefully-misrepresented closet. Kelly giggled.
"Can't decide what to wear, huh?"
"Not that I can't decide," Brenda complained. "Can't find anything even remotely appropriate. My clothes are so…lame," she finished.
"Well, you're welcome to come over here and pick through my offerings if you think you have the time," Kelly offered. Brenda snickered.
"Kel, we're hardly the same size. You've easily got a few inches on me, height-wise, and I've got a few more pounds to drop to get closer to you," she sighed. "But thanks for the offer."
"Please, Brenda, you look fine. But you know, Jackie still has a lot of her modeling stuff in our spare closet, some pretty flashy stuff, and you're about the same size she was when she was strutting her stuff." Brenda sat up, a grin spreading on her face.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah," Kelly replied. "I mean, some of it is pretty hideous, right out of the 70s, but there are a few choice pieces, especially some great little black dresses." She paused for a moment. "Tell you what. I'll bring them over to save you some time, is that okay?"
"Yes!" Brenda cried. "Kel, that would be awesome! Thank you so much," she bubbled.
"No big deal," she answered breezily. "Let me raid the closet, and I'll be by in, like, fifteen minutes?"
"Perfect!" Brenda exclaimed.
"See you in a few." Brenda squealed and hung up the phone, dancing around the room giddily.
"What are you so happy about?" Brandon stuck his head in the slightly-ajar bathroom door. Brenda stopped spinning and stared at her brother.
"Nothing you'd care about," she said smugly. Brandon rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, you're probably right." He pushed the door open wider and leaned in the doorframe. "All ready for the big night out?" His eyes wandered to the heap of clothes on her bed.
"Not really, if you must know," she replied, crossing to her closet door and sliding it shut.
"What time is Dylan picking you up?" he changed the subject, not really wanting to risk Brenda launching into a tirade about how bad her clothes were and how much she needed new ones.
"He'll be here a little after 6. He said he made a 7 pm reservation, and he wanted to leave time for any traffic getting down there."
"Yeah, I guess it is Friday night," Brandon agreed.
"What time's your party?"
"Don't ask me when it actually starts," he laughed. "I got orders from Steve that we should plan to arrive around 9." Brenda chuckled and shook her head.
"Isn't Steve the party master," she mused. Brandon grinned.
"I tried to explain to him that no one would care what time we arrived, and fashionably late is really a relative concept, but he was pretty adamant." He shrugged. "It's easier not to argue with Steve and just let the chips fall."
"So true," Brenda nodded. "Bran, if you really don't want to go to this party, why go?"
"Again, it's that Steve thing. It's easier not to argue, and you know, the Kings aren't even playing tonight. If Dad would spring for satellite, I could have watched the North Stars, but he's stuck in the 57-channels of basic cable."
"You and your stupid hockey," she frowned. "Anything is better than sitting home with Mom and Dad on a Friday night."
"It's not that I'm not all for having a good time," he began. "But I haven't had the best track record with parties since we've been here, Bren, and really, partying with random strangers is usually worse."
"They won't all be strangers," Brenda called over her shoulder as she strode towards the bathroom to begin re-applying her makeup. "Kelly and Donna are going." Brandon paused, processing what Brenda had just said. He did remember Steve pointing out that Kelly was going, and he also remembered Steve's supposed "foolproof" plan for winning his ex-girlfriend back. He smiled to himself at the thought, and Brenda caught him smirking.
"What?" she demanded, setting down her eyelash curler as she turned to face her brother. "What's so funny?"
"Tonight might not be so bad," he demurred, leaning against the counter. "I'm pretty sure Steve's going to make an ass of himself trying to plead his case to Kelly."
"What?" Brenda stifled a laugh. "Is he insane? Kelly wants nothing to do with him."
"I know that, you know that, most of West Beverly knows that, but someone forgot to tell Steve." Brandon met Brenda's eyes in the mirror, and both burst out laughing.
"Someone forgot to tell Steve what?" Brenda and Brandon both turned to see Kelly standing in the doorway that led to Brenda's room, a stack of black dresses draped over her left forearm.
"Wow! That was fast," Brenda marveled, taking the dresses from Kelly. Kelly slid her eyes towards Brandon, giving him a coy smile as she looked back at Brenda.
"Yeah, well, I figured you needed to get moving, and I have to get back home to make myself presentable for this party tonight." She glanced at Brandon again. "Are you going, Brandon?" she asked offhandedly, fixing her eyes on him once more. He noticed at that moment just how blue they were, and how she managed to hold his gaze, almost like a spell.
"Uh, yeah, I am," he nodded, looking away to break the eye contact. "Steve convinced me to go." Kelly's face clouded over at the mention of her ex.
"What were you guys saying about him when I walked in?" she asked suspiciously. Brandon sighed, glancing at Brenda for help, who was nonchalantly lining her eyes with a kohl-colored pencil.
"Ask Brandon, Steve's his friend," Brenda replied, smirking at Brandon in the mirror.
"Steve's got this stupid idea that he's going to get you alone tonight at Tom's and convince you what a mistake you made dumping him," he confessed, watching an amused expression cross her pretty face.
"Dumping Steve is the only thing I know I've done right in my life the past two years," Kelly declared, shaking her head in disbelief. "God, when is he just going to take the hint already?" Brandon shook his head.
"Apparently, you're a hard girl to get over," he replied, quoting Steve verbatim.
"If he dated other girls, that might help," Kelly sighed. "But he's too dense to realize that, and girls aren't exactly lining up either."
"Kel, I'm going to go try these dresses on," Brenda interrupted. "You coming?"
"In a minute," she replied, gaze never leaving Brandon's. Brenda rolled her eyes and closed her bedroom door, leaving her brother and Kelly alone in the bathroom. Brandon was acutely aware of the tight proximity, although Kelly was still standing nearer to the door leading to Brenda's room. "Brandon, can I ask you a favor?" she asked, taking a step closer to him.
"Sure," he replied uncertainly, his eyes searching hers.
"Please do your best to keep Steve away from me tonight," she pleaded gently. "I actually really don't want to have to hurt him more, or cause a scene, but things never end well when Steve starts drinking and then waxes nostalgic on what might have been." She lowered her eyes. "I know you probably think I'm heartless, the way I act around him, but there's only so much I can take. When you don't love someone back the way they deserve to be loved…" she trailed off, and Brandon noticed how vulnerable and sad she suddenly looked. She glanced back up at him, wide eyes fringed by the blonde bangs just brushing her brows. She really was the most beautiful girl Brandon had ever seen.
"I can try, Kel," he replied, wondering why he had chosen to shorten her name so casually. He liked the way it sounded.
"Thanks, Brandon," she smiled pensively. Without warning, she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his cheek, just barely grazing the skin before she turned and reached for the knob of Brenda's door. "See you later tonight," she added, her smile slightly more seductive as she slipped inside Brenda's room and the door closed once more. Brandon touched his palm to his cheek where Kelly's lips had just been, shaking his head absently as he headed to his own room. He leapt onto his bed, settling down to stare at the ceiling, contemplating what Kelly had just asked of him. The logistics of her simple request were anything but, he realized.
Keeping Steve away from Kelly for an entire evening was an insurmountable task. Steve was hyper-sensitive when it came to her, and Brandon knew that any interference he tried to run on her behalf would be met badly. Yet, on the other hand, he didn't want to disappoint Kelly, and he did feel sorry for her that she always got put in the position of having to be dragged through the past. Her plea to him was revealing; Brandon had actually never thought her to be heartless, and he empathized with her struggle to keep Steve at arm's length without hurting him more.
It wasn't unlike his situation with Andrea. Brandon was well-aware his friend had a crush on him; he wasn't completely dense. But he felt the need to keep her at arm's length without calling attention to it or forcing himself to confront any feelings he did have for her. Andrea was a great girl. She was smart and funny, and she was pretty in her own bookish way. She was also strong-willed and opinionated, and she liked to be in charge. Maybe it was old-fashioned, but there was a part of Brandon that felt a guy should be able to take care of his girl, and that would never ever fly with Andrea.
He heard giggling come from his sister's room, and a few minutes later, he heard a car's engine revving. He glanced out his window to see Kelly backing her red BMW out of the Walsh's driveway before speeding off, no doubt heading back to her house to get party-perfect.
Turning his mental attention back to Andrea, he figured the nice thing to do would be to call and acknowledge the offer she had made that afternoon. He picked up the phone, thought for a moment, conjured up Andrea's grandmother's number and dialed. He waited as it rang several times, crossing his fingers that Andrea answered and not her Grandma Rose. The woman was sweet enough, but she could talk. And talk.
"Hello?"
"Andrea, hi," Brandon breathed a sigh of relief.
"Brandon!" He could hear the pleasant surprise apparent in her voice.
"I just thought I'd call and say thanks for the offer of the movies tonight, but I'm gonna be heading to that party at Tom Hartman's with Steve," he told her, waiting for her reaction.
"Oh," she replied simply, her voice devoid of any emotion. Several moments of silence followed. "That's okay. I probably wasn't going to go anyway. Grandma Rose is having her bridge group over, and I might have to fill in for one of the ladies."
"That sounds fun," Brandon lied smoothly. "Anyway, it would have been fun, I'm sure. Maybe we can go another time." He paused. "You'd never consider coming to Tom's?" He heard Andrea muffle a loud guffaw.
"Hardly, Brandon. Those are exactly the kind of people I was telling you about today when we got talking about Student Council. I can't imagine watching the pretty and the popular get sloshed and do stupid things is a good time."
"Yeah, well, I'm doing my friendly duty to Steve," he reminded her. "He's got this stupid idea that he's going to win Kelly back, and I'm supposed to try to keep him away from her." There was another period of silence.
"Kelly's going to the party?" Brandon didn't think it was really a question. "Figures."
"She and Donna said they were going to be there," he answered. He could tell from the clear shift in Andrea's tone that she didn't care too much for Kelly Taylor. Or she was harboring a healthy dose of jealousy towards the pretty blonde, he decided, remembering the looks Andrea was giving her the other day when he and Kelly had nearly colliding as he and Andrea left the Blaze office.
"Did you give any more thought to my suggestion that you run for Student Council?" she asked hopefully, changing the subject abruptly.
"No, Andrea," he replied truthfully. "Not at all. I'll give it some thought this weekend. I promise."
"Okay," she said, disappointment coloring her voice. More silence.
"I should go get ready for this party," he sighed, sensing an awkward tension growing in the span of the short phone conversation.
"Have fun," she replied. "Have a good weekend, Brandon. Remember, Student Council President…" she hedged, sort of singing the last part. Brandon rolled his eyes.
"I'll think about it. Bye Andrea." He replaced the receiver and sighed plaintively. Student Council was actually the last thing he wanted to have to think about all weekend long. But Andrea was like a tenacious pit-bull when she wanted something, and he knew she wouldn't let up until he had announced his candidacy and collected the necessary signatures to run. Heck, she'd probably do the petition for him.
So he wondered, with some amusement, why she didn't pursue him with more fervor.
"Can I get your brotherly opinion on something?" Brenda called from her room, interrupting his thoughts. He headed towards her room, stopping in the doorway as Brenda turned away from her mirror to face him.
"Be honest," she warned, shooting him a knowing glance. "What do you think of this dress?" Brandon furrowed his brow and studied his sister carefully. His eyes swept over the simple black dress hugging Brenda's frame, a row of fringe skimming her thighs at the hem of the garment.
"I'm no fashion expert, but it works on you," he complimented her simply. Brenda pursed her lips and gazed back into the mirror, placing her hands on her hips expectantly as she cocked her head and stared.
"It's not too…" she trailed off, searching for the right word to describe her feelings about the dress.
"Too…?" Brandon coaxed, trying to get her to elaborate. She shook her head.
"I don't know," she frowned. "Kelly brought over all these dresses from when her mom modeled, and she swears this one is back in style. And she raved about how it looked on me. But…"
"But….?" Brandon hid a smile, again trying to persuade her to finish her thought.
"But what if she was just being nice, you know, telling me how great I look cause she's my best friend and all?"
"Bren, you're paranoid," Brandon laughed. "I don't know Kelly as well as you do, but she's pretty straightforward with how she feels about stuff. I'd actually expect her to tell you like it is. So if she said the dress works, I'd take her word for it." He smiled. "Dylan's going to love it no matter what you wear."
"I guess," she sighed, her fingers combing through her bangs carelessly. She shot a quick glance at the clock, and a look of panic crossed her face.
"God, Dylan's going to be here in like twenty minutes!" she cried. "I didn't realize just how long I'd been agonizing over this." She spun on her heel and darted towards her closet, dropping to her hands and knees to dig through a pile of shoes. "I guess it's gonna have to be this dress." She froze, a pair of black strappy heels in her left hand. "Was that the doorbell?"
"I, uh, didn't hear anything," Brandon replied, listening carefully. Then faintly, he heard the sound of his mother's voice drifting upstairs from the foyer.
"Brenda!" Cindy's voice called. "Dylan's here."
"Ohgodohgodohgod," Brenda shrieked, hopping on one foot as she attempted to fasten the strap of her heel on the other. She swatted at Brandon, her eyes wide. "Go, stall him, please!" Brandon rolled his eyes at his sister's usual melodrama, but he gave her a tight smile.
"Sure," he agreed, striding into the hallway and down the staircase.
"Brandon, my man," Dylan greeted him, extending his hand to slap Brandon's own outreached palm in welcome.
"Good day off?" Brandon raised an eyebrow at his friend. Dylan grinned sheepishly and nodded.
"Much needed. The waves were perfect today," he replied, a contemplative smile crossing his face. "I know your sister was annoyed when I told her, but I just had to be by myself today. There were some dad issues last night," he added.
"Your dad's back in town?" Brandon knew Jack McKay flitted in and out of Beverly Hills more than a transient, and it was all under the guise of his business. Dylan was living in a hotel suite, for crying out loud. Brandon himself had yet to meet the elder McKay, but from what he knew, Dylan had a tumultuous relationship with his old man.
"He was supposed to be back this weekend," Dylan shook his head. "And he called last night and said he's staying in Mexico a bit longer, and he expects me to come down there to see him instead." Dylan leaned against the railing, his eyes staring past Brandon into the Walshes' living room.
"You mean this weekend?" Brandon asked, surprised. Dylan nodded.
"Yeah."
"You going to go?" Brandon knew Brenda would be none too happy spending a weekend away from her boyfriend. Dylan sighed.
"I don't know, man," he started. "Usually my dad's more trouble than he's worth, but we do always have a good time down there together. It's tempting. I'd probably have to miss school for a few days, though. It'd be a waste to get down there tomorrow and come back home Sunday."
"How many days have you missed so far this year?" Brandon couldn't resist asking. He knew Dylan's attendance was none of his business, but he was absent frequently.
"I dunno," Dylan replied. "Enough to get a warning letter from the guidance office, not enough for them to sic the attendance officer on me. There are only a few months left." He paused. "So is your sister ready? I know I'm early, but I heard there was an accident tying up Wilshire towards Santa Monica. I might take Olympic instead."
"Ah, she was just putting on the finishing touches," Brandon lied, knowing Brenda was probably rushing around frantically upstairs.
"Cool," he nodded. "You have plans for the evening?"
"Yeah, going to some party with Steve," Brandon sighed. "Not really my cup of tea tonight, but I promised him."
"Is that the one at Tom Hartman's? He usually throws a decent party, from what I've heard," he added. Brandon knew it would only have been through hearsay that Dylan would have known about social events at West Beverly. He was hardly the kind of guy who felt the need to show up at most teenage parties.
"It'll be whatever it is, I guess," Brandon decided.
"Well, at any rate, there should be some decent girls there," Dylan grinned. "Just work that Walsh charm, and you'll probably get lucky."
"I'll keep that in mind," Brandon said dryly. "I'm actually supposed to keep an eye on Steve. Kelly's worried he's gonna try something."
"Those two are like a soap opera," Dylan mused. "And Steve Sanders doesn't know how to take a hint." He leaned towards the stairs and called, "Bren? You coming?"
"In a minute! Almost ready!" came the muffled reply. Dylan shook his head, smiling.
"She fails to realize it wouldn't matter if she was wearing a paper sack," he smirked. "That's the beauty of caring about someone else." Brandon nodded, but he made careful observance that Dylan did not use the word "love." Could have been intentional, he thought, but it could have also been Dylan's way of avoiding mentioning that sort of detail in front of his girlfriend's brother. Either way, he wasn't going to ask.
"You really think you're going to keep Steve away from Kelly?" Dylan asked.
"I told her I'd try," he replied, shrugging.
"The White Knight routine?" Dylan raised an eyebrow, his lips playing into a smile.
"The what?" Brandon queried. Dylan's smile widened.
"Nothing, man," he shook his head. "It's just Kelly's always been pretty good at defending herself when it comes to Steve's lingering advances." Brandon knitted his brows, considering what Dylan was implying.
"What are you saying?" he asked, feigning ignorance.
"Nothing," Dylan replied. "None of my business."
"No, no," Brandon began. "You definitely meant something. Spill." Dylan leaned closer and lowered his voice.
"She's a beautiful girl, man. You couldn't really ask for more than Kelly Taylor. And she deserves a stand-up guy for once."
"Oh, she's pretty alright," Brandon agreed, picturing the blue-eyed blonde again. "But I'm not interested in Kelly," he said slowly, noting how unconvincing the words sounded as they rolled off his lips. Dylan shrugged.
"She's interested in you," he said bluntly. "And Kelly doesn't usually give up when she wants something." Just then, Brenda appeared at the top of the stairs, cutting the conversation short, and for that, Brandon was thankful. Dylan sucked in a breath and let out a low whistle of appreciation.
"You look amazing," he whispered as she reached the bottom of the stairs, taking her hands and kissing her lightly on the lips. Brandon suddenly felt like an interloper, so he began to climb the stairs.
"You two have a nice evening. Drive carefully, man," he called down to Dylan, giving Brenda a quick smile that she didn't catch as she was gazing adoringly at her boyfriend.
"Will do," Dylan replied.
"Night Brandon," Brenda echoed, eyes still on Dylan. "Mom, Dad! We're leaving!" Within seconds, Jim and Cindy Walsh were in the foyer, and Brenda knew instantly that her parents had been hanging around the kitchen, just waiting to say goodbye.
"Hello, ," Dylan said politely.
"Hi, Dylan," her father replied curtly. He leaned forward and kissed Brenda on the cheek. "Curfew's at midnight."
"Da-a-ad," Brenda pouted, giving her father a petulant look. "One a.m.? Just tonight?"
"Twelve o'clock," Jim affirmed. Dylan slid his arm around Brenda's waist.
"I'll have her home by then, I promise," he smiled. Jim looked skeptically at his daughter and nodded.
"Have fun honey," Cindy beamed, hugging her tightly.
"We will, thanks Mom." Brenda reached for the door and ushered Dylan outside, her parents stepping towards the open door to huddle in the threshold, watching them make their way to Dylan's car.
"You really do look incredible," Dylan whispered, his breath hot on her ear, sending tingles down her spine as he opened the passenger door for her. She slipped inside, and he slammed the door, crossing around to his own side.
"I missed you today," she confessed softly as he settled into his seat, and the engine purred to life. He placed his hand on the gear shift and locked his eyes on hers.
"I'm here with you now," he pointed out, his voice husky. Brenda smiled and shivered again. The breeze in her hair as Dylan pulled out of the driveway, she gave a little wave to her parents and felt a thrill of anticipation shoot through her as they sped off down the road.
The night was theirs, she thought with a secretive smile.
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Author's Note: Okay, so I had also planned on getting inside Kelly's head as she got ready for the party, and Andrea's reaction to the phone call, and the angle I'm taking introducing nerdy David Silver (ha!) into the mix, and then I realized this chapter hadn't "shifted" once from the action at the Walsh house, and I decided to leave it at that. Chapter 6 had been planned as the party & B/D's date, but that might have to wait til Chapter 7 so I can get the other plots laid out.
I rewatched "Stand (Up) and Deliver" this weekend for inspiration, and I was appalled to remember how much I hated the awful angle the writers took for Brenda in her cry for attention via Brandon's run for president. Season 1 Brenda's only act of rebellion was dating Dylan, IMO, and she never would have considered dropping out of school and being a stand-up comedienne for a second. Not when she was riding Dylan about SATs and college. And that whole campaign thing wrapped up so neatly and pathetically. So I'm definitely rewriting that.
As always, reviews are fuel for creative fire…hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and Santa was good to y'all. ~Court~