Bayside High
Out in the hallway waiting for the girls to arrive, the guys spent their time recalling nostalgic memories they shared together.
"Remember the time we pretended to have food poisoning so we could sneak out of school to catch a baseball game?" Zack chuckled as he brought up the crazy memory.
"Oh yeah, and Belding caught us mooning on television," Screech added, and they immediately burst out into laughter.
Looking back, they were some wild kids but at least they had the best stories to tell.
"I remembered him being so angry with us. We really thought we were slick back then." Slater shook his head while trying to regain his composure.
"Man, the amount of stress we gave him all those years," Zack reminisced.
"You mean the amount of stress YOU gave him all those years?" Screech pointed out with a teasing grin on his face.
"Yeah, he's right Preppy, his office was like a second home to you," Slater quipped.
A tiny smile appeared on Zack's face.
He knew he wasn't much of a good kid back then and probably should've been expelled a long time ago, but Mr. Belding was a patient and tolerant man.
In some strange way, he was like a mentor to Zack who was a part of helping him grow into the person he was capable of being.
Many wouldn't have wasted their time dealing with a kid like him but Mr. Belding saw his potential and worked with it.
Taking a look back made Zack realize how little he had appreciated Belding until this moment.
Before opening his mouth to express his gratitude towards Belding, Lisa and Jessie approached them.
"Whoa, look at these gorgeous babes this morning," Slater playfully woofed, which made the girls roll their eyes but cracked a smile on their faces.
"Down boy," Jessie quipped, and they all laughed.
Zack glanced at Lisa and their eyes locked, creating a noticeable energy around them as they smiled at each other.
Noticing the chemistry between them, the three friends shouted, "JUST KISS ALREADY!" and snickered to themselves.
Zack opened his arms and Lisa fell into his loving embrace.
"Awww," Slater, Jessie, and Screech sang as the couple hugged.
The couple looked at them and then at each other.
"They're crazy, aren't they?" Zack said to Lisa as he positioned his face close to hers.
"Yes, they are." She chuckled before meeting his lips which enticed her to kiss.
While they were lost in their own world, the others ended up having a conversation of their own.
"So Mama, are you ready for the big speech?" Slater grinned.
"Yeah, I was rehearsing it over at Lisa's house." Jessie nodded.
"But I'm still really nervous," she said honestly.
Screech went up to her and patted her on the back.
"I think you'll do great. I'm happy that you got to be Valedictorian." He expressed a genuine smile.
"Thank you, Screech, I really appreciate it," she said, and pulled him into a hug.
"I agree with him. After all these years of stress, hard work, and caffeine pills, you definitely deserve it, Jes…I'm proud of you," Slater shared.
Jessie was touched and a bit taken aback by his response.
She let go of Screech and walked up to Slater.
"You know, Slater, even though we haven't always gotten along with each other and shared different views, I just want to let you know that you have been a great friend, boyfriend, and first love all these years, and I'm really going to miss you," she said as tears pooled in her eyes.
Slater smiled and pulled her into his arms.
"I love you, Jessie," he whispered in her ear, causing her to radiate a smile.
Jessie pulled back as a thought came to mind.
"Since this is probably the last time we'll ever see each other again, I want to give you a small gift that represents a token of my appreciation." A smirk presented itself across her face.
"And what may that be-"
Within seconds, Jessie grabbed Slater's face and kissed him.
"OMG!" Screech screeched.
Zack and Lisa quickly parted after they heard Screech squeal and their eyes landed on their two friends.
The couple's eyes widened as they stared at Jessie and Slater making out, and then they looked back at each other, grinning like fools.
Slater was first caught off guard by the sudden action but seconds later, he melted right into the kiss.
Despite heading in different directions in their lives, he was certain that he was never going to forget his Mama.
The two eventually broke apart and were welcomed by an amused audience.
"What? Don't act like you've never seen two people kiss before," Jessie pouted.
Despite the collective laugh they shared together, the camaraderie between the friends didn't feel as complete as it should have.
"Hey guys, where's Kelly?" Screech pointed out after realizing she was still not at the school.
Lisa felt her heart drop to her stomach as murmurs fell among them.
"She's coming, she just didn't come with us," Jessie responded.
"Why?" Zack asked, confused, along with the rest of the guys.
Jessie thought about it for a second and then turned to Lisa.
"Yeah, you never told me why, Lisa?" she probed, and the gang's eyes fell on her.
Groaning internally, Lisa felt nervous and insecure about the unwanted attention.
She knew she was going to have to confront her problem eventually, but she wasn't expecting it to be so sudden.
Before opening her mouth to explain, Kelly unexpectedly joined them.
"Hi everyone, sorry I'm late," she said.
"Kelly!" The friends sang in unison and they quickly surrounded her.
Lisa's heart dropped a little as she heard her name.
It's been days since she last saw her and she didn't know how to react.
Kelly's eyes met Lisa's before quickly shifting her attention to her friends.
"What happened to you? How come you didn't want to ride with me and Lisa?" Jessie asked with a small frown.
Kelly lightly chuckled, "Because Gabe decided to surprise me this morning and offered me a ride," she said.
"Wait-your brother from the Navy?" Slater questioned, and she nodded.
As they were talking to Kelly, Lisa continued to gaze at her.
She still had no clue how to fix the mess between them but when their eyes connected for a brief moment, there was something in Kelly's eyes that sparked a hope inside Lisa.
A hope that brought confidence in getting her best friend back.
"I'm going to get a drink of water real quick," Kelly announced to the group before leaving.
Lisa watched as she walked away.
If there was any perfect time to talk to Kelly alone and resolve their conflict, now was that time.
Lisa didn't want to keep waiting to get her best friend back so when her friends weren't paying attention, she quietly slipped away.
…
The hair on Kelly's shoulders was flipped on the other side as she drank from the water fountain.
"Hey," Lisa said, from behind, causing Kelly to jump and choke on her water.
Lisa's eyes widened and she hit Kelly's back a couple of times.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," Lisa kept repeating.
"Oh my gosh, you scared me," Kelly coughed.
Lisa lowered her head while biting on her bottom lip.
"Sorry," she said, softly.
Kelly looked at her and sighed, "It's ok."
Both girls were silent for a moment, unsure of how to begin.
Kelly glanced at Lisa a few times before looking away; Lisa did the same.
Tired of the awkward silence between them, Kelly spoke.
"Lisa-"
"I don't want us not to be friends anymore," Lisa interrupted.
Kelly looked at her with a softness surrounding her eyes.
She wanted the same thing.
She wanted to forget the past and move on with Lisa remaining as her best friend.
"I know we haven't spoken much since Saturday but I really would like to talk to you to sort out this tension between us," she said timidly.
Kelly nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, we should," she said.
Feeling relieved, a tiny smile formed on Lisa's face.
"I noticed room 125 was open, maybe we could meet in there?" Lisa suggested, and Kelly agreed.
…
Back in the hallway where the gang stood, Lisa noticed her friends chatting about something and approached them.
"Hey guys, what's going on?" she asked, curiously.
"Well, while you were gone, Screech called Violet to bring her photographer cousin to take photos of us as memories, plus, he's willing to do it free of charge," Jessie explained.
"Awww, that would be so cute!" Lisa gushed.
"Yeah, it'll capture the final moments we have together as a group." Screech sniffled.
As soon as he said that, the atmosphere got quiet and sad.
That was really it for the friends.
No more crazy shenanigans, no more hanging out at the Max, no more high school memories.
They were growing up faster than they expected and were slowly leaving their childhoods behind.
After they graduate, they knew what was bound to happen next but couldn't fathom or desire the idea.
Clearing her throat to clear the heavy atmosphere, Lisa spoke.
"So when's Violet coming?"
Screech looked at his watch and then at her.
"In a few minutes," he answered.
A small smile emerged on her face.
She knew she could use that time to fix the issue between her and Kelly and for everyone to be happy before taking photos.
Feeling pleased with the plan, she went up to Zack and pulled him away from their friends.
"What's up?" He smiled at her.
Lisa grabbed both of his hands and started swinging them.
"Zaaack, my love, could you meet me in room 125 right now." She fluttered her eyelashes.
He pouted his lips and slightly narrowed his eyes.
"This sounds like a trap," Zack teased.
"Oh come on, it would only be for a few minutes." She brushed her body close to his, playfully trying to seduce him.
A light smirk appeared on his face as he bit his bottom lip.
"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt." He grinned.
Lisa wrapped her arm around his neck and kissed him.
"Great, you can go first and I'll be right behind you," she promised.
Zack touched arm before taking off with a smile on his face.
As soon as he was out of sight, Lisa went up to her friends.
"Hey, Zack and I will be back as soon as possible." She winked and then left.
…
Before walking into the classroom, Lisa took a deep breath in and closed her eyes.
The problem that faced them had to be confronted once and for all.
It was now or never.
She opened the door and noticed her boyfriend and best friend staring at each other with perplexity written on their faces.
Neither of them knew what was happening or about to happen.
"Hey guys," Lisa said, and they turned to look at her with the same perplexed expression.
"I brought you guys in here so that we can talk," she continued.
Kelly's blue eyes widened.
She immediately rushed over to Lisa and pulled her away.
"What are you doing right now?!" Kelly frantically whispered-yelled.
Lisa grabbed both of Kelly's hands and looked at her with sweet tenderness.
"Look, I know things have been bad between us lately, but I don't want it to be that way anymore. You are my best friend and you will always be that to me. I love you so much Kelly, and that's why I'm doing this. I just need you to trust me right now," Lisa genuinely expressed.
Kelly stared at her with sincerity in her eyes before she looked down at their intertwined hands.
She nodded.
"I trust you," Kelly said softly.
A small but sincere smile spread across Lisa's face as she heard those words.
Hearing Kelly say that touched her heart and gave her hope that everything would be okay.
Like a cliche scene from a movie, the two girls were grinning from ear to ear at each other.
"Not to interrupt this moment between you guys, but I'm still confused as to why I'm here," Zack questioned.
Lisa looked at him before glancing back at Kelly to receive her nod of approval.
"We have this unspoken love triangle between us and I think it's time we talk about it," Lisa stated.
Zack looked even more confused but when he eventually realized what she meant, he slowly looked at Kelly who avoided his gaze.
Zack then turned back to Lisa.
"So what's going to happen if we do talk?" His face shifted in a serious way.
"I don't know, we'll just see what happens from there," she said.
Zack didn't say a word but judging by his facial expression and body language, Lisa could tell that Zack was conflicted inside.
He walked up to her and grabbed her hands while looking deep into her brown eyes.
"Lisa, I love you so much, I'm begging you to not break up with me." He gently caressed her hands while searching her eyes.
Lisa took a brief glance at Kelly who looked heartbroken witnessing the scene.
Once again, she was back at two crossroads with her best friend on one side and her boyfriend on the other.
Lisa released an exhausted sigh, hoping that her plan would work out without anyone getting hurt in the end.
Soon, her eyes met back with Zack's.
"I'm not going to leave you, ok." She gently caressed his cheek.
"The reason I brought you two in here is so that we can clear the air with everything that happened between us," Lisa clarified the confusion.
She grabbed Kelly's hand and placed her in front of Zack.
"This is what really happened…" Lisa began.
"Back when you guys were dating, I had feelings for Zack and believed they were one-sided. At that time, I struggled with accepting them because you both meant so much to me as friends and I didn't want to disrupt the flow of how things were. The more my feelings grew, the more desire and jealousy I felt, but I stayed quiet to myself. Then, you two broke up which scared me because I didn't want my feelings to get out of control so I avoided and lied to you both. I didn't want anything to change and I certainly didn't want any drama to happen between us," she honestly confessed and then turned directly to Kelly.
"I-I didn't know that," Kelly stuttered.
"Well, now you do. I'm so sorry that I've lied to you this whole time. I had no intention of hurting you, Kelly. Zack and I unintentionally fell in love with each other. If I knew how much this would've affected you, I would've put my feelings aside and never acted on them because that would've been wrong…please believe that I love you, Kelly." Lisa sniffled as tears welled in her sincere eyes.
Right there, Kelly broke down crying.
The mixture of her tears and sobs revealed what she had been feeling for days.
Lisa tried not to cry despite a few tears escaping.
She had to be strong in order to finish her plan.
Zack, on the other hand, remained quiet but had a look of guilt on his face.
It was obvious that he felt bad for getting in between the girls who happened to be the two most incredible loves in his life.
When Kelly eventually regained her composure and wiped her eyes, Lisa continued.
"I don't like us fighting or being angry at each other. I want us to be able to move past this and still be friends until we grow old, have gray hairs, and be dumped into a nursing home by our kids." She broke out into a winsome smile which led to a chuckle.
A chuckle escaped Kelly's lips before she became serious.
"Lisa, I hope you can forgive me. There were a lot of things I've said and done that were not okay and didn't mean. You've always been a great friend to me and I'll never take that for granted," Kelly genuinely said.
Having cleared things up, the two girls firmly hugged each other and smiled with joy lighting their faces.
Lisa was happy that she and Kelly made up.
The last few days have been troubling and exhausting for her, but as she hugged her best friend, those burdens disappeared.
"I want you to be happy, Lisa," Kelly said, slightly releasing her grip from Lisa's back and looking into her eyes.
A beaming smile spread across Lisa's face.
Kelly then turned to Zack and walked up to him.
"Even though you've hurt me, I don't want us to leave here on bad terms, so I forgive you, and want you to be happy too." She nodded while grabbing his hand.
Zack lowered his head in guilt.
"Look, Kelly, I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you. I should've respected you and our relationship. I don't want you to be sad anymore because of me. You are an amazing girl and any guy would be super lucky to have you…I know I was." He gazed deeply into her blue eyes.
Kelly smiled softly at him.
"Thanks, that means a lot to me," she said.
Lisa felt relieved that her plan was going well.
A clean slate was what they all needed before graduating and moving on with their lives.
"Soooo…does this mean we're all good?" Lisa asked to officially confirm.
"Yeah," Zack and Kelly said simultaneously.
Eventually, the three of them laughed together in relief.
"You know, we should have a pre-graduation toast right here, right now," Zack randomly suggested.
"And what will we be toasting with?" Kelly wore a lopsided grin while her hand was on her hip.
"I don't know, water bottles?" Zack grinned, and Kelly jokingly shoved him.
"If we're going to do this, we should at least invite the others," Lisa laughed.
Zack wrapped his arm around her and walked her to the door.
"Well, since you suggested, I think you should do the honors of fetching them," Zack said in a playful tone.
"Fine, but you will have to fetch the water bottles." She turned to him with a large smile on her face.
Zack lifted her chin and lightly kissed her on the lips.
"You can count on me." He grinned.
…
Before telling her friends about the little toast in room 125, Violet and her photographer cousin appeared.
Lisa forgot all about the group photos and quickly turned around to grab Zack and Kelly while the camera was being set up.
As she was strolling in the hallway, she couldn't help but feel overjoyed by how everything was coming finally together.
She reflected on the good, the bad, and the ugly, and what she learned from those experiences was the value of honesty, friendship, and love.
Despite all the challenges Lisa faced over the past few months, she felt she had grown a lot from them.
Earlier, when Jessie was going over her speech, Lisa came to the realization that she didn't have to choose between her best friend or her boyfriend.
Instead, she chose both of them.
Collecting the necklace from her pocket, Lisa smirked.
"You have caused a lot of trouble, haven't you," she playfully teased the inanimate object.
Despite the problems the necklace may have caused, it forced Lisa to recognize and experience a love like never before, and she was grateful for that.
Although it would have been a lot easier if the necklace had never appeared in her life, she would have missed out on an incredible experience.
Lisa finally found someone who loved, appreciated, and cherished every part of her even when she felt like she didn't deserve it.
She gave her heart away, confident that it wouldn't be broken anymore because his love for her was way too strong to break it.
Smiling at that fact, Lisa was truly happy.
She put the necklace back inside her gown's pocket and headed straight to the classroom.
Upon arriving, Lisa opened the door, and the smile that was once on her face disappeared.
Author's Note: One more chapter to go!