"The One" – Part 84
Summary and additional notes in part 1.
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! Keep 'em coming ;-) More of Gretchen's party in this chapter, and there's plenty of fluff. Enjoy!
This is not related to my Degrassi timeline fics. (See my Author's profile for details!)
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Degrassi!
-oOo-
Fiona and Tami shared another hug.
"I'm so sorry," Tami told her again. Their conversation had been short and straight to the point.
Fiona smiled at her. "I'm ready to move forward if you are." She wanted to put an end to the drama! She was humbled by Tami's honesty about her past heartbreak and was thrilled that she seemed genuine about making amends.
"I am!" Tami affirmed with a smile. She felt infinitely lighter, now that she knew things between her and Fiona were going to be okay. She thought things between them were damaged beyond repair after all the disparaging remarks she made in the past month about Fiona and her new relationship.
"Good!" Fiona had been so mad at Tami, but as they talked she realized she didn't want to stay angry. She was willing to be the bigger person and to forgive.
From across the room, Gretchen smiled. She was happy that her roommate and her former roommate had finally buried the hatchet! Now if only she could get through to Beth…
"Do you want this glass?" a familiar voice asked her.
"What?" she asked distracted.
Her younger brother, Pete, smiled at her. Like her he had wavy black hair and dark eyes. Unlike her, his hair was cropped short. "I got you some more wine," he told her.
She turned to him and grinned. "Thanks Young Pete," she said as she took it from him.
He frowned. That's how she referred to him around her friends, since there was already a Pete in their group! The other Pete was British, so he wondered why they couldn't refer to them by nationality. He didn't mind being known as American Pete, but at 25 he didn't think he was young!
He followed her line of sight and smirked when he saw Fiona and Tami. He thought they were both hot! "Girls hugging," he grinned.
Gretchen sent him an annoyed look. "Can you try to not act like a frat boy for just one night?"
Her brother chuckled. "Okay." He watched as two people walked over to her friends. One was a woman, he recognized as Simone, and the other was a guy with brown hair. The dude seemed to be around his age.
"Who's that?" he asked curiously as the guy sat on the arm rest, right next to Fiona.
"Oh, that's Adam. He's Fiona's new boyfriend," Gretchen told him.
Young Pete crinkled his face. "What?" he blurted out confused. "She dates guys?"
Gretchen laughed heartily. Every straight guy she knew who also knew Fiona had the same disappointed reaction! They all responded like they missed the boat, as if they all had a chance and found out too late. Their faulty leaps of logic were absurd, but it was entertaining to watch!
-oOo-
"There it is!" Simone said with a huge grin. The cake had finally been brought out.
Fiona, Adam, Simone, and Tami moved through the crowd as they went to join the Nona, Raul, British Pete and the rest. The owners of company that published Gretchen's book said a few words before handing the mic over to Gretchen.
She was overwhelmed by the support as everyone in the room applauded.
"I, uh… don't know what to say!" Gretchen laughed. "Thanks so much! I'm really glad that you all came out tonight to celebrate this milestone with me. As many as you know, I've been taking pictures since I was a little girl. When I was six I found my father's old Polaroid camera and every since then I've been hooked!"
Everyone laughed.
"This book was both incredibly frustrating and incredibly easy to work on," she noted with a wry smile. "A lot of it was working on instinct. I didn't have overthink taking pictures, lining up shots and angles, or using different camera filters. Editing myself, and knowing when 'less is more' – that was hard to do! I appreciate the input from Rodney and Shane." She glanced over at the two men.
Rodney was a tall guy, with short salt and pepper hair and black framed glass. Shane was of average height, and wore his balding light brown hair cut very low. Almost in a buzz cut. Both were in their forties. They smiled warmly at her.
"Also, the feedback from friends was invaluable," Gretchen stated. She glanced over at her closest friends. Debbie waved, which made her chuckle. She then met Fiona's eyes and the two friends nodded at each other. "Some of you braved the crazy streets of New York with me as I found subjects for this book. And even conversed with pirates!" She paused to chuckle.
"I really appreciate every word of encouragement because it helped me to keep pushing forward, and check off a pretty major life goal from my list – publishing a book!" Gretchen finished.
Everyone clapped enthusiastically.
Following her words they cut the cake. It was a large Coconut cake with the image of Gretchen's book cover on top.
Fiona looked at Debbie and Tomás as they waited while holding dessert plates. "You two definitely outdid yourselves!" she complimented them.
They laughed.
"Hey, I helped too!" Pamela chimed in.
"Right, she was our tie breaking vote," Debbie stated. She leaned over and gave her girlfriend a quick kiss on the lips.
"Well, the three of you rocked it!" Gretchen happily noted as she approached her friends. She had taken a few bites and already knew she was going to grab seconds. And possibly thirds!
They all laughed.
Several minutes later everyone had cake and they were taking it easy.
"So when did you and Adam get here?" Gretchen asked Fiona.
Her friend smiled. "We got here before the speeches," Fiona answered playfully.
"I know, I saw you with Tami earlier," Gretchen revealed. She took another bite of cake. "So you guys are cool now?"
Fiona glanced over at Tami. She was locked in conversation with Pamela, Raul, and Nona. "Yeah, we're good."
Gretchen smiled. "I'm glad to hear that."
"Me too," Fiona said sincerely. She took a sip of her water before digging in for another forkful of cake.
"Now to work things out with Beth," Gretchen stated. She had to admit, that was going to be quite a project!
Fiona rolled her eyes. "I tried meeting up with her today. She was no-show."
"You told me," Gretchen reminded her. "And she wasn't here tonight."
Fiona frowned. "Do you know what's up with her?" she asked.
Gretchen shrugged. "I think she probably needs more time." She received a brief text from her roommate shortly before the event began. Beth told her that she just wasn't up to coming out tonight.
Fiona looked away. She was trying her hardest not to get annoyed. Her eyes settled on Adam. He was excitedly talking with Simone, Tomás, and Debbie. She wasn't sure what about.
"So anyway, guess who else apparently had a secret crush on you and is unhappy that you're dating Adam?" Gretchen asked an upbeat tone, switching to a much lighter topic.
Fiona chuckled. It was a running joke between them. She wasn't surprised that so many people had a reaction about who she was dating! It was rather predictable, as she dealt with the attention that her looks garnered practically all her life. "Who?"
"Young Pete," Gretchen told her.
Fiona laughed. "Your little brother?" From what Gretchen told her, he was a kind of a player but he seemed so reserved whenever they interacted. In hindsight, perhaps that was nervousness.
Gretchen nodded. "According to him, I was withholding relevant information!"
The two of them laughed. They both knew it would not have made a difference!
British Pete sat down next to them. "What's so funny?"
-oOo-
As the night came to a close Fiona was all smiles. She had a great time and was happy that she decided to come after all.
Adam snaked his arm around her waist. "You ready to go?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I am, but I kind of don't want to."
He smiled at her. "I know the feeling." He kissed her cheek.
Nona came up to them. "So tomorrow you guys are flying up to Toronto?"
The couple nodded.
"Meeting the folks, eh?" Raul said, attempting a Canadian accent. He failed miserably, causing everyone to laugh.
"I hope you're embarrassed, because I'm embarrassed for you!" Tomás snarked.
Raul lowered his head and again, everyone laughed.
"It's all good. I take no offense," Adam grinned. "We are the land of hockey and socialized health care," he asserted. "In Toronto we've got streetcars and instead of Starbucks there's a Tim Horton's on every corner – and it's how the world should be," he proudly proclaimed in jest.
"Oh no, those are fighting words!" Debbie fired back with a grin. Pamela quickly nodded, backing her up.
"Bring it on!" Adam chuckled.
"I'm putting my money on the Canadian," Pete declared. They all looked at the Brit. "What? They've got streetcars. Streetcars are pretty damn cool!"
The rest of them grumbled in mock protest as Adam and Pete bumped fists.
.
tbc
A/N: Canadian pride! Hehe! Last year I visited Toronto and seriously, every time I turned around there was Tim Horton's! Here in NYC, the only one I've seen is in Times Square…
To back up… Tami and Fi made amends! Yay! And, aww, Gretchen's speech was nice. Her brother – also named Pete? Hope that wasn't too confusing, lol – is a trip, hehe. And man, now I really want Coconut cake! *shrugs*
Don't be shy! Reviews = very cool ;-)
In the next chapter… It'll be Thursday in this story, which means… Adam and Fi are going to be heading to Toronto! We're one step closer to seeing Drew, Clare, Eli, Alli, and the rest of the gang all grown up! Btw, the next update to this story should be Sunday!
Off-topic: Well, I guess maybe not really. I re-read an upcoming scene in this story that takes place at Principal Simpson's party and it's rather hilarious! I don't want to spoil anything. But two words: word vomit…
And, this is *actually* off topic... But I am posting the final chapter of "The Wedding" soon! :D