Todd Wilkins was home after a long night at the bar. Usually he worked days, but was forced to work a double when a waitress quit. He knew he needed to hire help, but with his finances in trouble he knew he couldn't afford it.

He was still living in the crappy apartment from when he was in college. Todd knew he needed to move, this place was notorious for being a party apartment for SVU students. He only lived here because Frankie's was just a few blocks away. When he was younger this place never bothered him. Now, he wanted nothing more than to have a quiet place.

Plus side rent was cheap. No wonder college students lived here. When Todd heard the heavy metal bass playing, he knew he was in for another long night.

The sun came much to early for Todd. He didn't want to get out of bed, but he had chores to do. He had grocery shopping, he had to vacuum, do dishes, clean the bathroom, the list went on. He should really hire a maid. But his bank account said otherwise. He got up and groaned when he saw his place. This will take hours.

An hour later Todd was finished vacuuming. The bar wasn't open till four, but Todd had to do the books today. It was already noon. He still had to buy groceries. He took a shower and after he got dressed he went out. While shopping, he saw Alice Wakefield. Great. He liked Alice, but didn't feel like talking to her at the moment. He wasn't sure if she knew about the twin's fallout about him, and he wasn't about to find out. When she saw her waving at him, he groaned silently, but gave a small smile.

"Todd! Oh Todd! Hi! How are you these days?" She chirped.

"I'm doing alright, Mrs Wakefield.''

"Alice. You are a grown man now. You can call us old people by first names now."

"You're not old, Mrs...Alice."

She giggled. Todd couldn't help himself, he smiled when she blushed. She still looked fantastic. She took real good care of herself despite being in her fifties.

"Todd. I was wondering if I can invite you to dinner. And old friend of yours is coming to town and is staying with us. The twins won't be able to make it, but Steven, Billie and little Austin would be there. It will be this Saturday."

Todd hesitated. It was Saturday night. One of the busiest nights of the year. It was the beginning of the NBA season. Todd usually hired extra help during these times, especially during the Superbowl or any major playoffs. But he found himself working during those times. Ever since his father's company went bellyup, Todd's been helping out his parents by sending them money every month.

Mrs Wilkins kept telling Todd it wasn't necessary, but Todd was stubborn. He knew his mother worked her ass off paying off their debts since Mr Wilkins wasn't able to work. The depression of losing his job turned him to the bottle. He was in AA now, but the damage was done. They were even worse off then before his dad's promotion. They were now living in a small apartment. It was actually nice, but Todd knew his dad was depressed about having to start over again. His mom, thank god, still kept her job.

Todd graduated a full year after his friends, except for Liz. She sent Todd a congratulations email from London. Todd was glad to see that email. Ever since SVU, and the night with Jessica, he was sure Elizabeth hated him. They still talked, but only because they still shared the same circle of friends. Todd still at the time played basketball at SVU, only because his scholarship required him to play basketball.

He was in danger of losing that scholarship, only because he made that idiot decision to drop out. What the hell was he thinking?! Frankies was fun, but it was just a job. He needed a college degree to have a real career. He was only gone a month and a half. He realized then he was just lost. His ex, cellist Dana Upshaw cheated on him with her fling, Tom Watts. Then after he threw her out, he became impressed by the whole "working man" lifestyle, he quit college to become a "real adult." God, looking back at his younger self, he would have smacked him.

Real life was hard. His parents were right. He had a vision of the future, and it wasn't good. No reputable company would hire him without a degree, even owning Frankie's would be unrealistic. Without a good job or savings, no bank would give him a loan. It took him a year longer to graduate but he did it. He used some savings he had to put a down payment on Frankie's.

He and his girlfriend, Cassie met when he was interviewing for managers. He was busy attending college classes for extra credit and needed extra help. This was while he was still attending SVU. When she walked in, he was impressed by her resume. She was in her third year at OCC, and needed a job to pay for grad school. They ended up dating after a few months. The relationship was great for a few years until the recession. Cassie was scared, especially when Todd was forced to lay off half the staff. No one was coming to the bars anymore. Most businesses in the area were boarded up. Cassie and Todd were fighting. When Cassie announced she was moving back to Dallas, Todd knew their relationship was over.

He was depressed about his relationship, but was also worried about Frankie's. His business wasn't pulling as much customers in as it used to. When his best friend Winston called and told him he wanted to take Todd and AJ Morgan to the newly built Dairy Burger. Todd reluctantly agreed. He needed to take his mind off things. When he and his friends arrived he was amazed to see Elizabeth, his old girlfriend.

She was so beautiful. Todd admitted he had a crush. Her hair was still long, but was no longer in a ponytail. If it wasn't for the book it would have Jessica. Her, Winston and AJ had a good talk. Todd couldn't help it, he still was attracted to Elizabeth. They slowly started dating, but it wasn't serious. They just wanted something to distract themselves from the facts they both got dumped.

They only "dated" for a few weeks. Neither one was interested in having a serious relationship again, that was in the past. But their relationship was slowly getting more physical. So when Winston called and told Todd there was a impromptu high school reunion party at Lila's mansion. Todd agreed. He closed Frankie's for the night, it was a slow night anyways.

It was just like old times. Todd was laughing and joking around with old friends. Winston was still the biggest goof around. Ken Matthews changed, but was more cheerful than high school. When Olivia died, he went into a deep depression. With intensive counseling, he was now a lot better, but wasn't the same person in high school. He had a good talk with his old basketball buddies and almost forgot about his date.

Elizabeth was at the punch bowl having a polite, but stilted conversation with Amy Sutton. Amy was yapping Elizabeth's ears off about her new fiance, Nicolas Morrow. They used to be friends, back in middle school, but when Amy moved away then returned to Sweet Valley at sixteen, her whole personality changed. She turned into a stuck up snob.

Amy kept shoving her ring in Elizabeth's face. She kept bragging how Nicolas proposed to her after two years of dating. Elizabeth was nodding politely, but she knew Amy cheated on Jeremy, her ex with Nicolas. Amy and Jeremy were serious, and even engaged after a year of dating, but Amy broke it off when she admitted they were rushing things.

Nicolas and Amy started dating after that and when he proposed, Amy didn't hesitate and said yes almost immediately. She wanted a huge wedding, and was looking for bridesmaids. She wanted Lila to be her maid of honor and Jessica, Cheri, Gina and Heather to be her bridesmaids. Elizabeth asked why Melissa, her best friend wasn't in the bridal party, but Amy uncomfortably admitted she didn't want Melissa "ruining" her aesthetic by altering her gown to hide her surgical scars with her surgery after her cancer tumor removal.

Hearing that Elizabeth politely told Amy she needed to go back to Todd. God. Amy was worse now than high school. She would have thought she matured after working at the youth crisis line, and dating Barry, but she never changed. Seeing Todd she asked him if she can stay with him for awhile just to avoid Amy. He understood, many of their friends went out of their way to avoid Amy.

Todd was thinking about his dad and his bar. His bar was struggling, and he was stressing out about his bills. When Elizabeth asked him what was wrong, he simply said he was tired. When Elizabeth pushed, he spilled out his guts and told her everything. His parents, his bar, his relationship, everything. Elizabeth was sympathetic, but to cheer up Todd, she told him things could be worse.

Immediately, she knew that was the worst thing to say. She tried to explain, that Todd didn't lose his bar, and was still attending college, and his parents weren't homeless. Todd looked at her with fury. He swore at her and stormed away with Elizabeth trying weakly calling after him.

He went out to the grounds and ran into Jessica. Jessica was startled to see Todd. Todd wasn't expecting you see anyone there since the mansion was full of people. Seeing the bottle Jessica was drinking, he asked her for a sip. After an hour they were lamenting about their lives. Todd and his financial woes, and the possibility of Jessica losing her dream job.

Todd found himself flirting with Jessica. They had a very brief fling in high school, only a week, but it was special. When he returned, neither one wanted to hurt Elizabeth by dating. They were drunk and reminiscing about their brief "relationship" when Todd suggested they go upstairs to have more privacy since the party was spilling into the grounds.

They went upstairs in one of the guest bedrooms. What happened next wasn't supposed to happen. Todd and Jessica were in the middle of a drunken tryst when Elizabeth walked in. Todd and Jessica never forgot that look on Elizabeth's face. She looked like someone died. Her face was more devastated then back in college when Todd was with Lauren Hill. She immediately ran out.

Both Todd and Jessica sobered up. They both hurriedly got dressed and chased after her. But Elizabeth was gone. Jessica took a taxi home since Elizabeth took the jeep. When she got there her sister was gone. Elizabeth left a note to her parents that she needed to return to England ASAP. Jessica tried to track her down, but Elizabeth blocked her number.

Both Todd and Jessica had a long talk after that. They agreed to never talk again, unless it was absolutely necessary. Todd kept his distance after that. He stayed away from the Wakefield's. Even when Steven sent him a invitation to his wedding, Todd declined to come. He knew his sisters would be there, and he didn't want to further damage their fragile sisterly relationship that was slowly repairing itself.

Nowadays Todd kept to himself. He still talked to his friends, Winston, Ken, AJ, and Mark. His college friend and ex roommate Mark Gathers in Sweet Valley University. Mark was doing great now. He was playing with the the Sacramento Kings. After the scandal at Sweet Valley back in freshman year, Mark took a break from college. He transferred to Pasadena and went to college there.

He joined their basketball team with strict conditions. He was on probation for a year, but allowed him to play. He was drafted in the NBA and was now a successful star. Oddly enough he dated Todd's ex, Lauren. They broke up shortly after, but Todd laughed when Lauren begged to take Mark back after he was drafted. Mark refused. They were just casually dating.

According to the tabloids, Mark was dating some actress from Hollywood. They seemed happy. The last time they talked, Mark said he was thinking if breaking things off. Neither one wanted to take the relationship further. Plus, his career at the NBA kept him busy. Todd just said to enjoy his life and to hire a financial planner. Mark said LOL but he agreed to take his advice. Too many former and current pro players were broke or deeply in debt from excessive spending.

Todd everyday wondered what will happen if he kept playing basketball. But he never regretted his decision to quit. He tried his hand at football in his senior year at SVH, then returned to basketball after basketball season began. He took his studies seriously, especially when he met Gin Yung, but after she died, Todd fell into grief.

He and Elizabeth were dating again, but only because she was confused about her relationship with Tom Watts. When he saw Gin Yung at her hospital bed, is when Todd realized too late she was the one. When she died, Todd fell into a deep mourning. His studies went down, but he still shouldered on. Even now he missed Gin Yung. He missed her everyday. Even with him worrying about his bank account balance, every year he left orchids, her favorite flowers every year on her gravesite. Once on her birthday and on their anniversary.

Dana. That was Todd's other serious relationship. They met at SVU, but didn't run into the same social circles. They got together when Tom Watt's Dana's boyfriend went running back to Elizabeth. Dana was depressed and her and Todd had friendly relationship. They fell for each other suddenly. Todd and her had a fast track relationship, and Todd genuinely cared about her. They moved in together, but when Dana cheated on him with Tom Watts, is when Todd dumped her.

That relationship wouldn't have worked anyways. They were too different. Even if Dana didn't cheat, her mental health issues would have drove them apart. They didn't speak, but the last time Todd checked, she was dating her friend Guy. According to her Insta, she was playing in the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

"Todd, we would love it if you can come. Suzanne Devlin is our guest."

Suzanne. She and Todd were dating back in Vermont. When Todd moved back is when they broke up for good. At first Suzanne was a spoiled snob, a stereotypical rich girl, but after she got sick, is when she changed.

"I love to Alice. Can I bring anything?"

"Just yourself. Suzanne is thinking of moving back to Sweet Valley. Her father called and asked Ned and myself if she can stay with us while she looks for a place. Did you know she is the CEO of MS Foundation of Southern California for Young Women? She founded it a few years ago. Now it is doing wonderfully, thanks to Suzanne's tireless work ethic."

Todd smiled at the thought of seeing Suzanne again. He admitted he had no clue what she was doing these days but was intrigued. Todd wondered how Suzanne was now. The last time they talked was at the airport in Vermont before Todd left. They broke up, but tearfully agreed to not to contact each other again. It was too hard. Now, Todd needed something to wear. He was afraid to see Suzanne after all these years. He wondered if she was the same sweet girl back then.