mountaineer68
Cadet
I wrote this like back in August and I posted it in the general forum because...umm....well I really don't know why, but someone said I should re-post it in here so I am. Umm Please read it! It has a sequel that i already posted in here....The Two of Us.
~Sydney
Title: Remember When
Disclaimer: I dont own any of it!
Author: Me
A/N: This is an AU. Everyone's in high school. Irina did die in a car crash, but she's Laura, and she really is dead. Vaughn and Will are brothers, and Syd has been their next door neighbor since she was born. Danny is still around. Sydney has liked him since they met, 5 years ago. Lauren is also in the story, but she isn't with Vaughn or anything. This takes place during Syd's freshman year.
Classifications: General Alias and some Romance Later on
Rating: umm PG maybe PG-13??
Status: Finished
Chapter 1
“What am I going to wear?!” Sydney shouted to Michael.
Michael sat on Sydney’s bed, watching her frantically search through her closet and dresser for the perfect outfit to wear on the first day of school.
“It has to be perfect!” She said.
“Syd—you’ll look good in anything,” Michael said, hoping that she didn’t take his remark the wrong way.
She found a pair of jeans and a tank top. “Oh! Oh! This is so perfect!!” She turned to Michael and showed him her outfit.
“That looks good,” he said.
“Oh my God!! I have to have a jacket too!!” She started to search through her clothes once again, now in search of a light jacket to match.
As Michael sat there, he thought I can’t believe I’m sitting here, just watching Syd pick out an outfit for the first day of school. I’m a guy. Why does she want my help? Well, she’s known me forever. I’m like her brother. She needs me now. Oh, fine, I guess I can manage.
Sydney finally finds a jacket and holds it up, screaming, “I can’t believe I found one! Michael—what do you think?”
He nods his head. “That’s great Syd,” he said with a smile, trying to seem as happy as she was.
“Ok—good.” She set down the outfit on a chair with a matching pair of flip-flops and put the rest of her clothes away. She sat down on the bed next to Michael. “I can’t wait!! Danny’s going to be at the same school! Can you believe it!!?”
“Yea, I guess so, but Syd—he’s bad news.” Michael and Will had always thought Danny wasn’t good enough for Sydney. They also knew stuff about him that Sydney was unaware of.
“I don’t know what you have against him, but he’s a really nice guy!”
“Syd! He’s not a nice guy! He’s two years older than you, and he has at least two girlfriends a week!”
“I don’t care what you--” Her phone rang, breaking the argument. She picked up the phone.
“Hello?”
“Syd?”
“Oh---Hey Will.”
“What? You expecting someone else?” he said, jokingly.
“No, never mind. Mike and I were just talking about Danny.”
“Syd, stay away from him—just for a while, ok?”
She sighed. “Ok, fine---I’ll stay away from him—if it makes you happy ok?!” She shouted, meaning that for both Will and Michael.
Will felt bad for saying what he did, and making her mad, even though he knew it was for her own good. “Well, my mom was wondering if you’ve heard from your dad yet. He said he’d be home today and call either you or her, and she hasn’t gotten a call yet.”
“No, he hasn’t called yet. Um, so am I staying with you guys?”
“Yea, it’s eight and he’s not back, so my mom said you should come over.”
“Ok, we’ll be over in five minutes.”
“Ok, see you soon.”
“Bye.” She hangs up, and turns to Michael. “Since my dad’s not home yet, I’m going to stay with you guys.”
“Ok—sounds good.”
She got a small duffle bag and packed a few things for herself.
Chapter 2
A few minutes later, Syd and Michael head over to Michael and Will’s house. Sydney put her stuff in the guest bedroom and then went into the family room to join everyone.
“Hi, sweetie!” Sarah greeted Sydney with a smile.
“Hey, Sarah!” Sydney said, and gave her a hug.
Michael and Will were on the couch across the room. “You guys want to watch a movie?” Will asked.
“Sure! What do you want to watch?” Sydney responded.
“How about Little Black Book?” Michael suggested, knowing that Syd liked that movie.
“Yea, that’s good,” Will said.
“Sure.”
As Will got the DVD out, the phone rang.
Michael picks it up. “Hello?”
“Michael? It’s Jack.”
“Oh, hey”
“Sorry, I didn’t call last earlier, the phones were out. There’s a storm here, and I won’t be able to fly home until Tuesday,” Jack told him.
“Oh, ok. You want to talk to Syd?”
”Yea, sure.”
“Here she is.” Michael hands Sydney the phone. “It’s your dad.”
“Oh, ok.” She holds the phone up to her ear. “Hey dad. How are you?”
“Good, but I won’t be able to come home ‘til Tuesday. Big storm. All the flights are canceled. Sorry, sweetie.”
She looks disappointed, but doesn’t let her voice show it. “Oh, ok. Well I guess I’ll see you on Tuesday. Love you dad.”
“Love you too, Sydney, bye.”
“Bye.” She hangs up.
“He’s not gonna be here until Tuesday…sorry.”
“Oh, it’s fine Syd. You’re here half the time anyways. It’s your second home,” Will said and smiled.
Michael couldn’t help but laugh, and so did Sydney.
Julie went into the kitchen, as Will popped in the DVD.
As they watched the movie, they all sat on the couch together. Michael couldn’t stop thinking about Sydney.
~Michael’s POV~
Why do I feel like this about her? She’s like my sister…I’m so protective, and that’s like an older brother, but there’s something more…..jeez…why does everything have to be so confusing…and complicated…..I love her…..more than just like a sister…but….I can’t...I’ve known her forever....
~Sydney’s POV~
I’m so glad I have such good friends like Will and Mike. Especially with dad gone so much. I don’t know what I’d do without them. There always here for me. They’re like the brothers I never had…..
~Will’s POV~
I hope Syd’s first day at high school goes ok. It’s so hard on her, not having Jack around a lot. And now he’s missing her first day of highs school. I’m just glad that she has friends….like Mike and I….
~2 Hours later~
“That was a cute movie,” Sydney said.
“Yea, it was good,” Will agreed.
They were all sitting on the long couch, covered in blankets.
Sydney yawned. “Oh, I’m tired.”
“Yea, me too.” Michael said.
They all got up, and went down the hall into their bedrooms.
“Goodnight guys,” Sydney said and hugged Michael and Will, before going into the guest bedroom.
“Night Syd.”
“Night.”
They all went into their own rooms and got ready for bed. Each of them couldn’t get to sleep right away. They all had something on their mind.
~Sydney’s POV~
I’m starting high school in two days…I’m starting high school in two days…what will it be like?...will people like me?...Will I make friends?...Danny’s gonna be there!
~Michael’s POV~
I swear—if that Danny schmuck hurts Syd at all—that’ll be the last thing he ever does…
~Will’s POV~
I hope Syd does ok with high school—with all the stupid jerks—well, she does have me and Mike there—with us, she should be ok…
Chapter 3
~Sunday Morning~
Sydney wakes up, and brushes her hair. Then, she goes out into the kitchen. Michael and Will are already out there, eating cereal. “Morning,” she says and smiles.
“Hey, Syd,” Will said
“Sleep ok?” Michael asked.
She smiles, “Yea, great. You?”
“Fine, just thinking about starting school.”
“Me too,” Sydney said as she poured herself a bowl of cereal.
“Everything will be great. You’ll fit right in,” Will said.
“Yea, I sure hope so,” she said and smiles.
~The Next Morning~
The alarm woke Sydney up at six, and now she was frantically running around, still half asleep, and trying to get ready in time for school. By seven, she was all ready and she went out into the kitchen to get herself a bowl of cereal. Michael and Will are already out there, eating cereal too. Julie is also helping everyone get ready by doing whatever she can. Everyone was so busy, that no one really worried about having a conversation. Everyone was worrying about getting to school.
Once it was 7:30, Will, Sydney and Michael all got into Michael’s red mustang and they drove to school. Sydney sat in back with Will and Michael in front.
Sydney sighed, finally being able to relax for the first time this morning. They now had about ten minutes to talk.
“Ok, so Syd—you know what classes you have and everything—right?” Michael asked, making sure everything was going ok so far.
“Yea, and I’ve got my locker number too.”
“Ok, good.”
“Once we get there, do you want us, or one of us, to help you get to your first class or find your locker?” Will asked.
“Um…no, I think I’m ok,” she answered.
“Ok, you sure?”
“Yup, I’ll be fine.”
Just as she said that, they pulled into the parking lot, and Michael found a parking spot fairly close. They all got out and went to get their stuff out of the trunk.
“And Syd, if you need anything or something goes wrong, you know my locker number right?” Michael asked.
“And mine?” Will added.
“Yea, I know both of yours,” she answered.
“Ok, good. See you later.”
“Bye”
They all went off on their own way. Sydney soon found her locker, and she started to put her books and binders inside it along with some pictures, mirrors, and magnets. She was off in her won little world, dreaming of high school and everything that was so great about it, when she saw Danny walking up to her.
“Hey Danny!”
“Oh, hey—Sydney? Right”
She nodded her head, like a crazed fan, too shocked to say anything. As she saw him open the locker next to hers, she said, “This is your locker?”
“It sure is. Why?”
“Oh, uh, never mind.” She smiled, embarrassed.
She looked into her locker, pretending to be busy, when Lauren Reed also walked up and unlocked the locker on the other side.
Sydney thought Of all people to be next to…I get stuck with HER. Lucky me…Now what is she going to do…torment me in-between classes too!?
Sydney tried not to make eye-contact, but Lauren immediately realized who Sydney was.
“Hello, Sydney,” She said in her accent.
“Oh, Hey Lauren,” Sydney responded, trying to sound nice.
“I had no idea we were both going here!” She smiled and started to laugh.
Sydney said, “ Yea—me neither!” She started to laugh too, but she was really thinking: What did she do know? Take some dumb blonde classes? Is she trying to be stupid or did she just lose a few too many brain cells over the summer…
Danny sees Lauren and smiles. “Hey Lauren,” he said calmly, acting very slick and cool. Lauren walked over to Danny’s locker, and gave Sydney the view of her back. Sydney was amazed that someone would actually do that without at least trying to be subtle.
Danny and Lauren kept on talking to each other, and Lauren kept on acting dumb, until the bell rang. Danny then offered to carry Lauren’s books for her and walk her to class. She gladly accepted. Danny slammed his locker door and it hit Sydney in the head. She looked around to see what it was, and realized that it was the door. As soon as she figured out what class she had to go to, everyone was gone, already in their classes, and she went off to find the Spanish room.
Chapter 4
When she got to the classroom, she opened the door hesitantly. Once she entered, everyone was staring at her. The teacher asked her, “Miss Bristow? Care to join us?”
“Sorry,” she mumbled, embarrassed. She took a seat near the back, along the side, trying to be out of the way.
She survived the rest of her classes, and went back to her locker for the last time at the end of the day. She tried to talk to Danny while he was there, but he completely ignored her, which made things worse. Then, once Lauren got there, he was showing off for her and still ignoring Sydney. Sydney thought: WHY did Francie and I have to go to different high schools?!
She was finally tired of having Danny ignore her so she tried to say something again, “So, Danny, you’re a junior right?”
He looked at her and said, “Yea.” He smiled for a second, and Sydney forgot all of the things he had done to her earlier with just that one, short smile.
Almost instantly, he turned away. It would have been obvious to any on-looker that he was mad that she had broken up his conversation with Lauren, but Sydney wasn’t going to believe that. She was too happy for that. Danny smiled at me!!! was all she was thinking for the next five minutes.
Off in her own little happy world, she picked up her back-pack and walked to Michael’s car. About five minutes after she got there, Michael and Will showed up. She was smiling, and they noticed.
“You’re sure in a good mood, Syd,” Will said.
“Yea, Danny has the locker next to me,” she answered.
Michael’s instantly worried, and for some reason jealous.
Sydney can sense Michael’s worry. “What? He didn’t do anything! Why don’t you trust him, Mike!?”
She threw her backpack in the trunk and then got in the car, leaving Will and Michael standing by the trunk, looking at each other.
After putting their stuff in the trunk too, they got in. The drive home was silent until Michael brought up the subject once again. “I just want to make sure that he respects you, Syd.”
“Well he does, and I don’t see why you have a problem with him.”
He’s now angry. “Damn it, Sydney! There are a lot of things you don’t know about Danny. I don’t want him to hurt you. If you get involved with him, something bad is going to happen. There’s no avoiding it”
Sydney didn’t say anything, and Will decided to stay out of it.
~Sydney’s POV~
Well, Danny’s nice to me. I don’t care what you say, Mike. Danny IS a nice guy, and I’m going to prove it to you. Just wait.
Sydney knew one thing: She was going to get Danny to like her, no matter what it took. And she sure didn’t care what Michael or Will thought about it. She was tired of being protected and sheltered by them. She was going to do what she wanted for once, without them standing in her way…
Chapter 5
The next week at school, signs for the first dance were being put up. Sydney saw one near her locker.
Yes! This will be perfect! All I have to do is get Danny to ask me to the dance! Mike and Will need to know that Danny really is a nice guy who respects me. If they still don’t believe me after this, then I don’t know what will make them believe me…, Sydney thought.
In a matter of seconds, Danny came walking up to his locker. Sydney didn’t want to ask him to the dance, but she had to get him to ask her. She smiled at him and said, “So, there’s a dance coming up, pretty soon, have you heard about it?” After she asked that, she felt really stupid, thinking Stupid! There’re signs all over the place! Of course he knows about it!
He put on a fake and cocky smile, but Sydney didn’t notice. “Yea, I heard about it. Why?”
She kind of looked down, but then she looked back up and met his gaze. She paused for a moment and then said, “Well, I was sort of wondering, if maybe you, you know, wanted to, uh, go, with me?”
He thought to himself Me?! Go out with a FRESHMAN?! Well, no one else has asked me, so I guess this is my option. Hey, it’s only the first dance. This can be my Good Samaritan dance. He laughed to himself, but not out loud, and then he quickly answered Sydney. “Sure.” He smiled at her, once again cocky and fake.
She smiled back, not saying anything.
“I’ll pick you up around eight on Friday?”
She nodded her head and answered simply, without thinking, “Yea.”
~Later that Day~
Sydney was at Michael and Will’s house. They were all outside when Michael decided to aks Sydney about the dance.
“So, did you get a date to the dance?”
Sydney smiled and answered happily, “Yea! I asked Danny, and he said yes! Oh, my gosh! Can you believe it?!”
Michael and Will looked at her and no one spoke for a moment.
“What? What’s wrong?” Sydney asked.
“Syd….that’s not…I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Syd,” Michael said.
She was angry now. “What’s so bad about Danny!? Why do you guys have a problem with him!? He likes me, ok!? You two are going to have to just live with it, because we are going to the dance, and there’s nothing you can do to stop us!”
She turned and started to walk towards the door and as she turned the door knob, Michael shouted after her, “Syd….wait…” She ignored him, and walked out the door and went back to her house.
Once she got to her house, she went up to her bedroom and lied down on her bad, mad at everyone. She couldn’t wait until Friday, when she got to go to the dance….with Danny. She was going with him, and no one was going to stop her.
Disclaimer: I don't own the song used in this chapter.
Chapter 6
~8:15 Friday Night: Syd’s House~
Sydney looked over at her clock, and it was after 8. He probably just stopped to get some roses or something. Don’t worry about it. She quickly checked in the mirror to make sure that she looked good, and then she went downstairs. As she sat downstairs, she was listening to the radio. They were playing “White Houses” by Vanessa Carlton.
It's alright and it's nice not to be so alone
But I hold on to your secrets in white houses
Maybe I'm a little bit over my head
I come undone at the things he said
And he's so funny in his bright red shirt
We were all in love and we all got hurt
I sneak into his car's black leather seat
She couldn’t help but think how this song related to her so well. She honestly felt better knowing that she had a date. She also felt that she was a little over head. She thought she was in love, but she found herself needing reassurance that she wouldn’t get hurt.
Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Sydney found Danny on the porch when she opened the door.
“Hey,” he said coolly, acting as if he was right on time.
“Hey,” Sydney answered with a smile, not wanting to make him mad. Not much else was said before they walked down to Danny’s car parked along the street.
To Sydney’s surprise, he didn’t open her door or anything. He just walked around to the driver’s door, got in and started up the car. Sydney got in, and there was an awkward silence between them.
It seemed to Sydney like he wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure how to say it. Finally, he told her, “I need to stop by a friend’s house on our way…..is that okay with you?”
She immediately thought No! I want to go to the dance! You were late, and now you want to go to friend’s house?! I don’t think so!, but instead of telling him no and risking their “perfect” evening, she told him that it was fine.
After driving down another block or so, Danny pulled the car over and got out. “I’ll be right back. You can stay here.”
She just nodded and watched him walk up to the door. She saw him go inside, and then ten minutes later, he came out. Now, she was really mad, but she didn’t want to ruin her chance to go to the dance with Danny, so she acted as if it didn’t bother her a bit.
Danny didn’t even apologize for making them late to the dance. He just ignored the fact that they were almost an hour late. When Sydney and Danny got there, Michael, Will, Sark, and their dates were already there. As Sydney walked in with Danny, she kind of smiled at Michael and Will with an “I-Told-You-So” look.
Sydney and Danny danced for about 30 minutes, before Danny spotted Lauren. He and Sydney were in the middle of a slow dance, when he suddenly told her that he was going to get himself some punch. But, he didn’t offer her any. She was somewhat confused, and even more so when he walked in the opposite direction of the punch table.
Michael saw Danny walking towards Lauren, and he saw Sydney standing on the dance floor all by herself, looking lost and confused. He then made the connection.
Danny finally got to Lauren, and he started to dance with her.
Danny was obviously unaware that Sydney was watching him the whole time. She felt like she was going to cry. But it didn’t stop there---Danny and Lauren then started to kiss each other. When Sydney saw this, she couldn’t help but cry. Not even a second later, she turned towards the door and started to walk quickly towards it, trying to get away from everyone.
Michael felt horrible, and he just wanted so badly for Sydney to be happy. He followed her out the door, and down the hall. Sydney continued to walk down the hall. Michael shouted after her “Sydney! Wait! Syd!”
She pretended not to hear him. She didn’t want to talk, she wanted to go home and cry all night, alone in her room. Her heart was broken, and she just wanted to leave.
Michael, being faster than Sydney, caught up with her, and put his arm around her from behind. “Syd…..”
She didn’t say anything. She just looked at him with sad eyes, red from crying. The skin around her eyes was black from mascara. She didn’t look like the real Sydney. The real Sydney was never this sad.
“Do you want to talk?” he asked her.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” she managed to say. There really was something to talk about, and she knew it. She just didn’t want to talk about it.
He just held her for a few minutes. After a while, she said,” You were right. Danny’s a jerk. If I had listened to you……this….this all would have never happened. He picked me up 30 minutes late. He didn’t open the door for me. He didn’t get me a flower. He stopped at a friend’s house and had me stay in the car. He didn’t even give me a hug. And now that he got here with a date, he forgets about me and goes to kiss that wh*** Lauren......”
She looked up at him, and she felt horrible. He wasn’t sure what to say. He just continued to hold her in his arms. That made her feel safe, and he knew it.
Without thinking, Sydney pushed her lips gently against his, and she could feel his lips pushing gently back against hers. They kissed for 10 seconds at the most, but it seemed like 10 hours to her. After she finally realized what they were doing, she suddenly pulled away, wide-eyed.
“Michael…..I’m so sorry…” She pulled out of his grasp, and backed away a few feet.
“Syd---” He took a step towards her, but she turned away, confused and ran out the door and into the parking lot.
“Wait Syd!” he shouted, but she didn’t hear him; she was already out the door.
Chapter 7
Sydney ran out the doors and into the parking lot. She didn’t stop running though. She pulled of her shoes and ran to the far edge of the parking lot. She stopped, and sat down on the ground, not caring about how it would ruin her dress.
She just let it all out. She started to cry and tears fell from her eyes. She couldn’t stop them.
Michael had walked out into the parking lot, and he started to look for her. After about fifteen minutes, he found her sitting alone in the dark, leaned up against a car.
“Syd---I’m so sorry.”
She looks down and says, “You don’t need to be sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
He sits down next to her and uses his finger to bring her chin up so that she’s looking at him. “Sydney. It’s alright. Everything’s going to be ok.”
She’s still crying. “I was so stupid. I should’ve listened to you. Why didn’t I just listen to you?” she asks, not expecting an answer.
“Because you didn’t want to believe it, Syd. I’m not mad. It’s ok.”
She leans in towards him, and he puts his arms around her. They are both in their own little world, so they don’t notice that Danny is walking around looking for someone. He sees Sydney and Michael.
“Now I don’t feel so bad,” Danny says.
Sydney looks up, surprised. “What?”
“Looks like it didn’t take you too long to find another guy.”
Sydney stands up and she walks towards him. “If you think that Michael and I are….” she said, not finishing her sentence. She glares at him.
Michael gets up too, fully ready to punch Danny in the face.
“I’ll just leave you two alone. I can see that you won’t be needing a ride home, Sydney. I’ll see you on Monday,” Danny said with a smirk. He then turned away and walked to his car before Michael or Sydney could get a chance to say something.
Sydney just turned in towards Vaughn’s chest and lays her head on his shoulder and kind of shook her head. After a few minutes, she brings her head up to Michael’s and gently rests her forehead against his.
They just gazed into each other’s eyes. They both wanted to kiss the other. They start to lean their lips in together, but Sydney suddenly pulled away from him. “We should probably be getting home”
Chapter 8
“Uh---yea, we should. I’ll go get Will. Meet you at the car?” Vaughn asked.
“Yea,” Sydney answered.
They soon, walked off in opposite directions, Sydney towards Vaughn’s car, and Vaughn of in search of Will. Sydney easily found the car, and waited outside until Vaughn and Will came back.
They all got inside, and there was an unusual awkward silence for the first half of the drive home. Will tried to start a conversation a few times, but Sydney and Vaughn quickly ended it. He finally gave up, confused about why Vaughn and Sydney were so unsocial.
After a short drive of 15 minutes that seemed like much longer, Sydney quickly left, barely saying good-bye before she went into her house, and Vaughn and Will went inside their house.
Sydney went up to her room. She changed into her pajamas and just went to bed. She wanted to go to sleep, hoping that she might wake up and realize that this was all just a dream.
Vaughn wanted to do the same that Sydney had done, but Will prevented that from happening. Vaughn was in the kitchen, getting some water before he went to bed, when Will came in and asked him about what happened.
“Hey—Mike? What happened with Syd tonight? You two were acting really weird in the car.”
He was automatically defensive, and didn’t want Will to know, because he knew that if they never said anything, it wouldn’t bother anyone. It just happened, and now it’s over. Vaughn thought. It won’t be a problem. No one needs to know, and no one ever will know.
“Danny was a jerk. But other than that…...I can’t think of anything.”
“You know—you’re not too god at lying,” Will stated.
“What do you mean?” Vaughn asked.
“Something else happened that you’re not telling me.”
“No—nothing else happened.”
“Obviously, you’re not going to tell me, so I’m going to stop asking.”
“That’s good, because there’s nothing for me to answer.”
“Night. See you tomorrow,” Will answered before going to his room and going to sleep. He would just have to keep trying. Michael wasn’t going to tell him, so he would have to ask Sydney.
Shortly after Will left, Vaughn went up to his room too, feeling guilty about not telling his brother what happened.
As he walked over to his window to close the blinds he saw Sydney sitting on the window bench in her room, staring at his window. He smiled at her and waved, and she practically jumped off the bench and went away form the window, shutting the blinds quickly. Vaughn’s smile disappeared, and he closed his blinds too.
Chapter 9
~The Next Morning~
Sydney woke up in her room, and saw on her clock that it was nine thirty. She got out of bed, and put her hair up in a pony. She was still wearing her pink and light blue plaid pajama pants and a pink halter top when she went downstairs.
She looked for her dad, but he wasn’t home. It’s Saturday. She thought to herself. He’s probably at work…I must have one of the only dads that goes to work on Saturdays. For once, Sydney was actually glad to be alone, to have the house to herself. Usually when her dad was gone, she wished that he was home. Today was different. She didn’t want to deal with anyone. She just wanted to be alone.
After getting a glass of orange juice, the doorbell rang. Sydney wondered who would be at her door at nine thirty on a Saturday. She cautiously walked towards the door, and looked through the peep-hole and saw that it was Michael.
Why is he here? Can’t he just leave me alone!? She thought to herself. Against her thoughts, she opened the door.
“Hey, Syd,” Michael said.
“Why are you here?” she asked, not worrying about being subtle.
“I feel bad about last night. We need to talk.”
“No. We really don’t. It was my fault and I’m sorry that it happened. Unless you really have something to say, I think we’re done.”
Michael was mad, but he could understand why she didn’t want to talk about it. “Sydney…”
“Michael. There’s nothing more to say,” she answered him abruptly.
“Syd—please. I really need to talk to you,” he pleaded.
“I’ll see you later,” she said as she closed the door. Sydney felt bad about doing that to him, but she didn’t want to talk about it, or even talk to Michael about anything for that matter. She went into the family room and watched an old romance movie, but she fell asleep in the middle of it.
A little less than two hours later, she woke up, and realized that it was almost one o’clock. Before she even got up off the couch, the door bell rang again. Why can’t people just leave me alone today?! Can’t I have some time to myself? She thought.
She decided not to answer the door, and go back to sleep. If it was really important, they could get in themselves. The people she cared about enough to deal with today had their own key. The door opened to her surprise and she heard a very familiar voice calling her.
“Syd?”
Chapter 10
At least it’s not Mike, she thought to herself, sarcastically. She closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep, hoping that maybe Will would leave, thinking she was really asleep. But, Will wasn’t going to leave without getting an answer from her.
He walked inside, closing the door behind him, and went into the family room, where Sydney lay on the couch, fully awake.
Will stood in front of the couch. “Syd?” he asked. “Stop pretending to sleep.”
When he said that, her face changed its expression, and he knew that she 3was awake. “Fine. You don’t have to answer me, but I’m going to tell you this. Something’s going on between you and Vaughn. I came to ask you what was wrong. I guess I’ll just go ask mike though, since you’re asleep and all. I’m sure he knows what happened. Bye.”
He walked towards the door, and as soon as she realized that he really was going to leave and go ask Michael, she suddenly sat up, and opened her eyes.
“Will? Wait.”
He turned around and looked at her. “What’s going on, Sydney?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I’ve got the time for you.”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Syd,” he replied as her walked over to the couch and sat next to her.
“It all started when Danny found Lauren…”
Chapter 11“Oh, Lauren…” Will said after hearing what Sydney had said. He almost immediately knew how this story was going to end, or at least he thought he did.
She looked down, not wanting will to know that Danny had hurt her, and he had been right. She was quiet for a moment.
Will could tell something was wrong. “Sydney? Are you ok?”
She looked up suddenly. “Oh, yea. I’m fine,” she said with a fake smile.
He could tell that something was bothering her, but he didn’t want to force her to tel him something she didn’t want to. “It’s ok if you don’t want to talk about it, but, just to let you know, I’m always here if you want to talk.”
She smiled at him. “Thanks, Will.”
“No problem.” After a short silence, he stood up. “Well I’ve got to go meet a friend in a little bit. I’ll se you later?”
“Yea,” she said. “Thanks for coming by.”
“Mike’s still around tonight in case you didn’t want to be alone.”
“Oh, ok. I’ll figure something out. Thanks,” she said and smiled.
“See you later Syd,” he said as he walked out the door.
Well, I guess it’s a good thing so I don’t have to be all alone, but Mike’s the last person I want to be with today…she thought to herself.
She sat there for a few minutes, thinking about what she was going to do when the doorbell rang. She instantly thought that it was Michael, but, to her surprise, when she opened the door, she was greeted instead by Danny with a box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers.
She smiled. I knew he wasn’t so horrible. she thought.
Chapter 12
~Sydney’s House~
“Hey,” she said with a smile.
“Hi, Syd,” Danny answered. He called me Syd. That’s got to mean something. Sydney thought. “I’m so sorry about the dance. Lauren was trying to get me back, and well, I just don’t know what I was thinking—I just wanted to tell you---”
“Oh, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” She replied, instantly taking any chance to get Danny back that she got.
He handed her the flowers the chocolates. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Syd. I’m so glad you understand.” He smiled and walked away from the door to get in his car.
Sydney didn’t have a chance to say anything, but she didn’t want to. She was glad to have him back, and she had completely forgotten how he had treated her two days ago. She went inside and put the flowers in a vase with water, and started to eat the chocolates.
~Danny’s Car~
He had just left, and started to drive down the street, toward a friend’s house. He pulled into the driveway, and walked up to the door.
Someone answered the door before he even had a chance to ring the doorbell. As soon as they saw each other, he was pulled into the house by his shirt.
“Hey,” a seductive, female voice said to him.
“Hey, babe. I missed you,” he said and then started to kiss her.
“Why did you have to leave?” she asked between kisses.
He pulled away for a moment. “I just had to get some guilt off my plate. You know that Sydney girl? From the dance?”
“Yea?”
“Well, I had to drop some stuff off.”
“Oh, ok. I’m glad you’re back,” she said and started to kiss him.
“Me too, babe,” he answered quickly, before they began to kiss again.
~Sydney’s House~
Sydney lay on the couch, watching a romance movie and she started to doze off, thinking about Danny and how wonderful he was. She was so happy to have him back, but, of course, she didn’t know what was really going on.
Chapter 13
Michael had been invited to a party, and he went over to the house around seven. He was standing around with his friends, including Sark. They were all bored, and they watched as other juniors and seniors danced in the middle of the family room.
Danny walked in a few minutes later, with his arm around a freshman girl. Michael didn’t recognize her, but he knew that it wasn’t Sydney.
“Julian? Do you know who she is?” he asked, motioning towards the girl.
Julian nodded and answered, “Yea, that’s Lauren Reed. She’s a freshman, and she and Danny have been hanging out ever since the dance last week. Why?”
“Because Sydney still thinks that she’s with Danny.” Julian looked at Michael. He had finally connected the dots. He had no clue that Danny was cheating on his cousin.
“He’s not gonna get away with this,” Julian said, angry.
Michael had the same look that Julian showed. They had finally reached their highest level of patience and forgiveness. They had tried to be nice to Danny for Sydney, but this was it. He was with Lauren, and Sydney had no idea.
~Later that Week Before School~
Michael, Will, and Sydney were getting out of the car. Will had just said bye and walked off towards his homeroom, when Michael stopped Sydney before she left too.
“Syd, I need to talk to you about something…or someone.”
She became worried as soon as she heard his words. “What do you mean?”
“Danny. I well. He was at a party on Saturday. He and Lauren…they were together.”
She didn’t say anything. She just looked away, because she felt like she was going to cry.
“I’m so sorry, Syd. I just. I couldn’t stand just sitting there and letting him hurt you like that.”
“You know what? Danny is NOT cheating on me. He’s just not!” With that, she left Michael, completely shocked, standing in the parking lot. The bell rang, and he finally walked towards his first class.
~Later that Day~
Sydney was walking through the loud and crazy halls, in her own world, still telling herself that Danny wasn’t cheating on her. He apologized. Lauren was trying to steal him back. It wasn’t his fault.
The only problem she really had was that she couldn’t figure out why Michael would lie to her. She only found one answer. That Michael wasn’t lying, but Sydney refused to believe that.
The bell that ended their break rang, and she headed towards her locker. She stopped when she heard two people in a side-hall kissing.
“Oh, Danny…”
“Mmm?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too, babe.”
Sydney recognized the voice. She didn’t even need to look. She started crying, and ran as fast as she could towards the door, and outside. She didn’t stop until she got to a house.
By now, she was sobbing and she walked up the steps to knock on the door.
Someone came to answer the door. “Syd?”
Chapter 14
“Hey, Josh,” she managed to say between sobs.
“Sydney, what’s wrong?” he asked and pulled her into his arms, and she didn’t stop him. She just wanted to be with someone that she knew wouldn’t ask her too many questions or be wanting to say ‘I told you so.’ That’s why she came to Josh.
“This boy…Danny. He’s a junior. He took me to the dance last week and left me,” she said before tears started to again well up in her eyes.
Josh didn’t interrupt. His expression showed that he was listening and his worried eyes told her that he cared.
“Michael told me not to, but….I just didn’t listen.”
“He told you not to what?” Josh asked, somewhat confused.
“He said that it wasn’t a good idea. He said that he….that he didn’t want Danny to….hurt me,” she said barely whispering her last few words. “But I didn’t listen. I ignored that, and I found out the hard way.”
Josh now understood why she had come to him. She couldn’t have possibly gone to Michael. He knew too much already. Josh and Sydney had known each other just as long as Sydney and Michael had. Josh’s dad and Sydney’s father worked together. They didn’t know what their dads really did, at least Sydney didn’t.
“Michael even told me that he and Julian saw Danny at a party with the girl…..Lauren.” She stopped to wipe the tears off her face. They were still standing in the threshold of the front door, with his arms around her.
“I refused to believe it. I was so stupid. Today….I….I heard them…kissing….in the side hall.”
“Did you look to make sure?” he asked, trying to help.
She looked down. “I didn’t need to look.”
After that, she closed her eyes and cried. He led her inside and they sat on the couch together for who knows how long, and all the while, Josh held her, just trying to make her feel better. They eventually fell asleep. Josh woke up to the sound of the phone and saw that it was two o’clock in the morning.
He thought to himself, Who the hell would be calling me now?
He answered it. “Who the hell is this?” he asked.
Chapter 15
“Hey. Josh?” he asked in an urgent tone.
“Yea. It’s me. Who’s this?”
“It’s Mike.”
“Oh, hey.”
“Do you know where Sydney is?”
“Uh…yea. She’s in my living room,” he said, glancing over at her sleeping. “Why?”
“Oh. Well, she ran out of school today before lunch. I’m not completely sure why, but I have an idea.”
“She came to my house around twelve. She told me about what happened, but just parts of it.”
“What did she say?”
“That you warned her about Danny, she hadn’t listened, and then she heard him kissing some girl in the side hall at school---uh, I think her name was Lauren or something.”
“I was hoping that she’d believe me before she found out for herself. I guess not.”
“She came to my house in tears, and she only stopped crying to tell me about what happened. Then she started to cry again and fell asleep later on. Then I just woke up. I think she’s still asleep.” he said seeing that she was still sleeping.
“Ok, well I’ll come pick her up.”
“No, that’s ok. She can stay here tonight. She’s already asleep and tomorrow’s Saturday.”
“No, really it’s fine. I’ll be there in five minutes,” he answered and hung up, rushing to his car.
“Ok?” was all Josh said into the phone even though no one was listening.
Michael got in his car and drove quickly to Josh’s. IN the meantime, Josh had woken up Sydney. He was going to tell her what was going one, but she still didn’t feel like doing anything.
She just kissed him. She didn’t want to deal with Michael right now. All she wanted was to be right here, not worrying about anything.
To her surprise, he didn’t pull away or try to stop her. They sat on the couch kissing, when Michael came and knocked on the door. Josh pulled away to answer it.
Sydney gave him a pleading look to ask him not to answer it, but that didn’t help her any, because after waiting a few minutes, Michael let himself in, losing his patience. He was shocked when he saw Josh and Sydney kissing.
Sydney heard the door open and turned around quickly only to see Michael’s angry face. He wasn’t about to leave her there, but he didn’t know what to do.
Sydney looked back and forth from Michael to Josh, and after a long minute that seemed like hours, she got up and walked out the door murmuring her quite goodbyes to Josh as she left.
“I just can’t believe you….” Michael said to josh before leaving and not waiting for a reply.
Josh didn’t even bother to answer. He knew nothing would help.
Chapter 16
After driving about half way back home without saying anything to each other, Michael broke the awkward silence.
“Sydney, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. You didn’t do anything,” she said without any expression.
He pulled over. “Syd—I wish you hadn’t had to find him.”
“Who? Danny? Yea, well me too, but it did. There’s nothing we can do about it.”
He was speechless.
“Can you please drive me home now? I would have been fine with Josh, but since you insisted on taking me home, could you at least do that?”
“Josh?”
“Yea, Josh. You know what Michael? I’m tired of you disapproving of my friends! I don’t see what’s so bad about me being at Josh’s house!”
“You kissed him, Syd!”
“So?! I don’t criticize you whenever you kiss someone! Do I?!”
“What were you doing, Syd? You don’t even know what you were doing!”
“Yes I do!” After she said that, she knew that she was lying. She stopped yelling and calmed down. “Just take me home.”
“Syd---”
“No.”
“I’m sorry about everything that’s happening right now, but you need to know that I’m here for you. I don’t know why you don’t understand that, but you need to.”
“I went to Josh’s house for a reason!”
“Oh, yea? What’s that?!”
“At least he doesn’t criticize me and say ‘I told you so’!”
“I don’t do that!”
“You don’t do that?! Are you serious?! What are you doing now?!”
He didn’t say anything.
“Let’s just go home.”
Without saying anything, he turned on the car and drove home.
As soon as the car stopped, she got out. She was close to tears.
Michael followed her. “Sydney—wait.”
She turned around and faced him. “What?!”
“I just wanted to…”
“What? Say ‘I told you so.’ ‘Danny really was a jerk,’ or something else like that, because you know, I already---“
He cut her off. “Sydney! Just….stop.”
She stopped and tears started to fall. She was quiet.
“I…I love you. I can never get you out of my mind. You’re more than just my neighbor or my friends, you’re so much more than that, and I love you. I always will.”
She could not believe how happy she was. At first she thought she was dreaming but then when they both turned in towards each other and kissed she knew that she was definitely not dreaming.
She pulled away after a few minutes. “I love you too.”
They smiled and continued to kiss. After what seemed like hours Michael pulled away reluctantly.
“Good night, Syd. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night.” She paused. “I love you,” she said with a smile.
“I love you too,” he said and smiled back.
They turned in opposite directions and each walked back to their own house as happy as they had been in a long time.
~Sydney’s POV~
I walked into my house as happy as I ever had been in my life. I went upstairs to shower and then I went to bed. As usual, my dad wasn’t home, but that’s ok. Tonight made up for all those times that he hadn’t been there.
I went to sleep with Michael in my head and in my dreams. I had finally gotten what I wanted after 14 years.
Michael loves me, I love him. We love each other…
~Michael’s POV~
As I walked inside, I was so incredibly happy. I had told Sydney how I felt and I had gotten quite a nice reaction.
I went to sleep that night with only Sydney in my mind. I dreamed about her all night long. I was so happy with everything.
I love Sydney and she loves me. I can’t wait until tomorrow…
Epilogue
The next morning, Danny showed up at Sydney’s door with flowers and chocolates once again, and she broke up with him, throwing the gifts right back at him. After that, he kept his distance. He is now without a girlfriend and Lauren is dating some senior who is failing all his classes.
Sydney and Michael stayed together through high school. The year that Michael graduated was especially hard on Sydney. He went to UCLA by choice so that he could still see Sydney.
Three years later, Sydney graduated and went to UCLA as well. Shortly after that, Michael proposed to her and she accepted. They moved into a house together and are planning on marrying next June.
-----------------------------
So that's it. Please tell me what you think!
Thanks!
~Sydney
~Sydney
Title: Remember When
Disclaimer: I dont own any of it!
Author: Me
A/N: This is an AU. Everyone's in high school. Irina did die in a car crash, but she's Laura, and she really is dead. Vaughn and Will are brothers, and Syd has been their next door neighbor since she was born. Danny is still around. Sydney has liked him since they met, 5 years ago. Lauren is also in the story, but she isn't with Vaughn or anything. This takes place during Syd's freshman year.
Classifications: General Alias and some Romance Later on
Rating: umm PG maybe PG-13??
Status: Finished
Chapter 1
“What am I going to wear?!” Sydney shouted to Michael.
Michael sat on Sydney’s bed, watching her frantically search through her closet and dresser for the perfect outfit to wear on the first day of school.
“It has to be perfect!” She said.
“Syd—you’ll look good in anything,” Michael said, hoping that she didn’t take his remark the wrong way.
She found a pair of jeans and a tank top. “Oh! Oh! This is so perfect!!” She turned to Michael and showed him her outfit.
“That looks good,” he said.
“Oh my God!! I have to have a jacket too!!” She started to search through her clothes once again, now in search of a light jacket to match.
As Michael sat there, he thought I can’t believe I’m sitting here, just watching Syd pick out an outfit for the first day of school. I’m a guy. Why does she want my help? Well, she’s known me forever. I’m like her brother. She needs me now. Oh, fine, I guess I can manage.
Sydney finally finds a jacket and holds it up, screaming, “I can’t believe I found one! Michael—what do you think?”
He nods his head. “That’s great Syd,” he said with a smile, trying to seem as happy as she was.
“Ok—good.” She set down the outfit on a chair with a matching pair of flip-flops and put the rest of her clothes away. She sat down on the bed next to Michael. “I can’t wait!! Danny’s going to be at the same school! Can you believe it!!?”
“Yea, I guess so, but Syd—he’s bad news.” Michael and Will had always thought Danny wasn’t good enough for Sydney. They also knew stuff about him that Sydney was unaware of.
“I don’t know what you have against him, but he’s a really nice guy!”
“Syd! He’s not a nice guy! He’s two years older than you, and he has at least two girlfriends a week!”
“I don’t care what you--” Her phone rang, breaking the argument. She picked up the phone.
“Hello?”
“Syd?”
“Oh---Hey Will.”
“What? You expecting someone else?” he said, jokingly.
“No, never mind. Mike and I were just talking about Danny.”
“Syd, stay away from him—just for a while, ok?”
She sighed. “Ok, fine---I’ll stay away from him—if it makes you happy ok?!” She shouted, meaning that for both Will and Michael.
Will felt bad for saying what he did, and making her mad, even though he knew it was for her own good. “Well, my mom was wondering if you’ve heard from your dad yet. He said he’d be home today and call either you or her, and she hasn’t gotten a call yet.”
“No, he hasn’t called yet. Um, so am I staying with you guys?”
“Yea, it’s eight and he’s not back, so my mom said you should come over.”
“Ok, we’ll be over in five minutes.”
“Ok, see you soon.”
“Bye.” She hangs up, and turns to Michael. “Since my dad’s not home yet, I’m going to stay with you guys.”
“Ok—sounds good.”
She got a small duffle bag and packed a few things for herself.
Chapter 2
A few minutes later, Syd and Michael head over to Michael and Will’s house. Sydney put her stuff in the guest bedroom and then went into the family room to join everyone.
“Hi, sweetie!” Sarah greeted Sydney with a smile.
“Hey, Sarah!” Sydney said, and gave her a hug.
Michael and Will were on the couch across the room. “You guys want to watch a movie?” Will asked.
“Sure! What do you want to watch?” Sydney responded.
“How about Little Black Book?” Michael suggested, knowing that Syd liked that movie.
“Yea, that’s good,” Will said.
“Sure.”
As Will got the DVD out, the phone rang.
Michael picks it up. “Hello?”
“Michael? It’s Jack.”
“Oh, hey”
“Sorry, I didn’t call last earlier, the phones were out. There’s a storm here, and I won’t be able to fly home until Tuesday,” Jack told him.
“Oh, ok. You want to talk to Syd?”
”Yea, sure.”
“Here she is.” Michael hands Sydney the phone. “It’s your dad.”
“Oh, ok.” She holds the phone up to her ear. “Hey dad. How are you?”
“Good, but I won’t be able to come home ‘til Tuesday. Big storm. All the flights are canceled. Sorry, sweetie.”
She looks disappointed, but doesn’t let her voice show it. “Oh, ok. Well I guess I’ll see you on Tuesday. Love you dad.”
“Love you too, Sydney, bye.”
“Bye.” She hangs up.
“He’s not gonna be here until Tuesday…sorry.”
“Oh, it’s fine Syd. You’re here half the time anyways. It’s your second home,” Will said and smiled.
Michael couldn’t help but laugh, and so did Sydney.
Julie went into the kitchen, as Will popped in the DVD.
As they watched the movie, they all sat on the couch together. Michael couldn’t stop thinking about Sydney.
~Michael’s POV~
Why do I feel like this about her? She’s like my sister…I’m so protective, and that’s like an older brother, but there’s something more…..jeez…why does everything have to be so confusing…and complicated…..I love her…..more than just like a sister…but….I can’t...I’ve known her forever....
~Sydney’s POV~
I’m so glad I have such good friends like Will and Mike. Especially with dad gone so much. I don’t know what I’d do without them. There always here for me. They’re like the brothers I never had…..
~Will’s POV~
I hope Syd’s first day at high school goes ok. It’s so hard on her, not having Jack around a lot. And now he’s missing her first day of highs school. I’m just glad that she has friends….like Mike and I….
~2 Hours later~
“That was a cute movie,” Sydney said.
“Yea, it was good,” Will agreed.
They were all sitting on the long couch, covered in blankets.
Sydney yawned. “Oh, I’m tired.”
“Yea, me too.” Michael said.
They all got up, and went down the hall into their bedrooms.
“Goodnight guys,” Sydney said and hugged Michael and Will, before going into the guest bedroom.
“Night Syd.”
“Night.”
They all went into their own rooms and got ready for bed. Each of them couldn’t get to sleep right away. They all had something on their mind.
~Sydney’s POV~
I’m starting high school in two days…I’m starting high school in two days…what will it be like?...will people like me?...Will I make friends?...Danny’s gonna be there!
~Michael’s POV~
I swear—if that Danny schmuck hurts Syd at all—that’ll be the last thing he ever does…
~Will’s POV~
I hope Syd does ok with high school—with all the stupid jerks—well, she does have me and Mike there—with us, she should be ok…
Chapter 3
~Sunday Morning~
Sydney wakes up, and brushes her hair. Then, she goes out into the kitchen. Michael and Will are already out there, eating cereal. “Morning,” she says and smiles.
“Hey, Syd,” Will said
“Sleep ok?” Michael asked.
She smiles, “Yea, great. You?”
“Fine, just thinking about starting school.”
“Me too,” Sydney said as she poured herself a bowl of cereal.
“Everything will be great. You’ll fit right in,” Will said.
“Yea, I sure hope so,” she said and smiles.
~The Next Morning~
The alarm woke Sydney up at six, and now she was frantically running around, still half asleep, and trying to get ready in time for school. By seven, she was all ready and she went out into the kitchen to get herself a bowl of cereal. Michael and Will are already out there, eating cereal too. Julie is also helping everyone get ready by doing whatever she can. Everyone was so busy, that no one really worried about having a conversation. Everyone was worrying about getting to school.
Once it was 7:30, Will, Sydney and Michael all got into Michael’s red mustang and they drove to school. Sydney sat in back with Will and Michael in front.
Sydney sighed, finally being able to relax for the first time this morning. They now had about ten minutes to talk.
“Ok, so Syd—you know what classes you have and everything—right?” Michael asked, making sure everything was going ok so far.
“Yea, and I’ve got my locker number too.”
“Ok, good.”
“Once we get there, do you want us, or one of us, to help you get to your first class or find your locker?” Will asked.
“Um…no, I think I’m ok,” she answered.
“Ok, you sure?”
“Yup, I’ll be fine.”
Just as she said that, they pulled into the parking lot, and Michael found a parking spot fairly close. They all got out and went to get their stuff out of the trunk.
“And Syd, if you need anything or something goes wrong, you know my locker number right?” Michael asked.
“And mine?” Will added.
“Yea, I know both of yours,” she answered.
“Ok, good. See you later.”
“Bye”
They all went off on their own way. Sydney soon found her locker, and she started to put her books and binders inside it along with some pictures, mirrors, and magnets. She was off in her won little world, dreaming of high school and everything that was so great about it, when she saw Danny walking up to her.
“Hey Danny!”
“Oh, hey—Sydney? Right”
She nodded her head, like a crazed fan, too shocked to say anything. As she saw him open the locker next to hers, she said, “This is your locker?”
“It sure is. Why?”
“Oh, uh, never mind.” She smiled, embarrassed.
She looked into her locker, pretending to be busy, when Lauren Reed also walked up and unlocked the locker on the other side.
Sydney thought Of all people to be next to…I get stuck with HER. Lucky me…Now what is she going to do…torment me in-between classes too!?
Sydney tried not to make eye-contact, but Lauren immediately realized who Sydney was.
“Hello, Sydney,” She said in her accent.
“Oh, Hey Lauren,” Sydney responded, trying to sound nice.
“I had no idea we were both going here!” She smiled and started to laugh.
Sydney said, “ Yea—me neither!” She started to laugh too, but she was really thinking: What did she do know? Take some dumb blonde classes? Is she trying to be stupid or did she just lose a few too many brain cells over the summer…
Danny sees Lauren and smiles. “Hey Lauren,” he said calmly, acting very slick and cool. Lauren walked over to Danny’s locker, and gave Sydney the view of her back. Sydney was amazed that someone would actually do that without at least trying to be subtle.
Danny and Lauren kept on talking to each other, and Lauren kept on acting dumb, until the bell rang. Danny then offered to carry Lauren’s books for her and walk her to class. She gladly accepted. Danny slammed his locker door and it hit Sydney in the head. She looked around to see what it was, and realized that it was the door. As soon as she figured out what class she had to go to, everyone was gone, already in their classes, and she went off to find the Spanish room.
Chapter 4
When she got to the classroom, she opened the door hesitantly. Once she entered, everyone was staring at her. The teacher asked her, “Miss Bristow? Care to join us?”
“Sorry,” she mumbled, embarrassed. She took a seat near the back, along the side, trying to be out of the way.
She survived the rest of her classes, and went back to her locker for the last time at the end of the day. She tried to talk to Danny while he was there, but he completely ignored her, which made things worse. Then, once Lauren got there, he was showing off for her and still ignoring Sydney. Sydney thought: WHY did Francie and I have to go to different high schools?!
She was finally tired of having Danny ignore her so she tried to say something again, “So, Danny, you’re a junior right?”
He looked at her and said, “Yea.” He smiled for a second, and Sydney forgot all of the things he had done to her earlier with just that one, short smile.
Almost instantly, he turned away. It would have been obvious to any on-looker that he was mad that she had broken up his conversation with Lauren, but Sydney wasn’t going to believe that. She was too happy for that. Danny smiled at me!!! was all she was thinking for the next five minutes.
Off in her own little happy world, she picked up her back-pack and walked to Michael’s car. About five minutes after she got there, Michael and Will showed up. She was smiling, and they noticed.
“You’re sure in a good mood, Syd,” Will said.
“Yea, Danny has the locker next to me,” she answered.
Michael’s instantly worried, and for some reason jealous.
Sydney can sense Michael’s worry. “What? He didn’t do anything! Why don’t you trust him, Mike!?”
She threw her backpack in the trunk and then got in the car, leaving Will and Michael standing by the trunk, looking at each other.
After putting their stuff in the trunk too, they got in. The drive home was silent until Michael brought up the subject once again. “I just want to make sure that he respects you, Syd.”
“Well he does, and I don’t see why you have a problem with him.”
He’s now angry. “Damn it, Sydney! There are a lot of things you don’t know about Danny. I don’t want him to hurt you. If you get involved with him, something bad is going to happen. There’s no avoiding it”
Sydney didn’t say anything, and Will decided to stay out of it.
~Sydney’s POV~
Well, Danny’s nice to me. I don’t care what you say, Mike. Danny IS a nice guy, and I’m going to prove it to you. Just wait.
Sydney knew one thing: She was going to get Danny to like her, no matter what it took. And she sure didn’t care what Michael or Will thought about it. She was tired of being protected and sheltered by them. She was going to do what she wanted for once, without them standing in her way…
Chapter 5
The next week at school, signs for the first dance were being put up. Sydney saw one near her locker.
Yes! This will be perfect! All I have to do is get Danny to ask me to the dance! Mike and Will need to know that Danny really is a nice guy who respects me. If they still don’t believe me after this, then I don’t know what will make them believe me…, Sydney thought.
In a matter of seconds, Danny came walking up to his locker. Sydney didn’t want to ask him to the dance, but she had to get him to ask her. She smiled at him and said, “So, there’s a dance coming up, pretty soon, have you heard about it?” After she asked that, she felt really stupid, thinking Stupid! There’re signs all over the place! Of course he knows about it!
He put on a fake and cocky smile, but Sydney didn’t notice. “Yea, I heard about it. Why?”
She kind of looked down, but then she looked back up and met his gaze. She paused for a moment and then said, “Well, I was sort of wondering, if maybe you, you know, wanted to, uh, go, with me?”
He thought to himself Me?! Go out with a FRESHMAN?! Well, no one else has asked me, so I guess this is my option. Hey, it’s only the first dance. This can be my Good Samaritan dance. He laughed to himself, but not out loud, and then he quickly answered Sydney. “Sure.” He smiled at her, once again cocky and fake.
She smiled back, not saying anything.
“I’ll pick you up around eight on Friday?”
She nodded her head and answered simply, without thinking, “Yea.”
~Later that Day~
Sydney was at Michael and Will’s house. They were all outside when Michael decided to aks Sydney about the dance.
“So, did you get a date to the dance?”
Sydney smiled and answered happily, “Yea! I asked Danny, and he said yes! Oh, my gosh! Can you believe it?!”
Michael and Will looked at her and no one spoke for a moment.
“What? What’s wrong?” Sydney asked.
“Syd….that’s not…I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Syd,” Michael said.
She was angry now. “What’s so bad about Danny!? Why do you guys have a problem with him!? He likes me, ok!? You two are going to have to just live with it, because we are going to the dance, and there’s nothing you can do to stop us!”
She turned and started to walk towards the door and as she turned the door knob, Michael shouted after her, “Syd….wait…” She ignored him, and walked out the door and went back to her house.
Once she got to her house, she went up to her bedroom and lied down on her bad, mad at everyone. She couldn’t wait until Friday, when she got to go to the dance….with Danny. She was going with him, and no one was going to stop her.
Disclaimer: I don't own the song used in this chapter.
Chapter 6
~8:15 Friday Night: Syd’s House~
Sydney looked over at her clock, and it was after 8. He probably just stopped to get some roses or something. Don’t worry about it. She quickly checked in the mirror to make sure that she looked good, and then she went downstairs. As she sat downstairs, she was listening to the radio. They were playing “White Houses” by Vanessa Carlton.
It's alright and it's nice not to be so alone
But I hold on to your secrets in white houses
Maybe I'm a little bit over my head
I come undone at the things he said
And he's so funny in his bright red shirt
We were all in love and we all got hurt
I sneak into his car's black leather seat
She couldn’t help but think how this song related to her so well. She honestly felt better knowing that she had a date. She also felt that she was a little over head. She thought she was in love, but she found herself needing reassurance that she wouldn’t get hurt.
Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Sydney found Danny on the porch when she opened the door.
“Hey,” he said coolly, acting as if he was right on time.
“Hey,” Sydney answered with a smile, not wanting to make him mad. Not much else was said before they walked down to Danny’s car parked along the street.
To Sydney’s surprise, he didn’t open her door or anything. He just walked around to the driver’s door, got in and started up the car. Sydney got in, and there was an awkward silence between them.
It seemed to Sydney like he wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure how to say it. Finally, he told her, “I need to stop by a friend’s house on our way…..is that okay with you?”
She immediately thought No! I want to go to the dance! You were late, and now you want to go to friend’s house?! I don’t think so!, but instead of telling him no and risking their “perfect” evening, she told him that it was fine.
After driving down another block or so, Danny pulled the car over and got out. “I’ll be right back. You can stay here.”
She just nodded and watched him walk up to the door. She saw him go inside, and then ten minutes later, he came out. Now, she was really mad, but she didn’t want to ruin her chance to go to the dance with Danny, so she acted as if it didn’t bother her a bit.
Danny didn’t even apologize for making them late to the dance. He just ignored the fact that they were almost an hour late. When Sydney and Danny got there, Michael, Will, Sark, and their dates were already there. As Sydney walked in with Danny, she kind of smiled at Michael and Will with an “I-Told-You-So” look.
Sydney and Danny danced for about 30 minutes, before Danny spotted Lauren. He and Sydney were in the middle of a slow dance, when he suddenly told her that he was going to get himself some punch. But, he didn’t offer her any. She was somewhat confused, and even more so when he walked in the opposite direction of the punch table.
Michael saw Danny walking towards Lauren, and he saw Sydney standing on the dance floor all by herself, looking lost and confused. He then made the connection.
Danny finally got to Lauren, and he started to dance with her.
Danny was obviously unaware that Sydney was watching him the whole time. She felt like she was going to cry. But it didn’t stop there---Danny and Lauren then started to kiss each other. When Sydney saw this, she couldn’t help but cry. Not even a second later, she turned towards the door and started to walk quickly towards it, trying to get away from everyone.
Michael felt horrible, and he just wanted so badly for Sydney to be happy. He followed her out the door, and down the hall. Sydney continued to walk down the hall. Michael shouted after her “Sydney! Wait! Syd!”
She pretended not to hear him. She didn’t want to talk, she wanted to go home and cry all night, alone in her room. Her heart was broken, and she just wanted to leave.
Michael, being faster than Sydney, caught up with her, and put his arm around her from behind. “Syd…..”
She didn’t say anything. She just looked at him with sad eyes, red from crying. The skin around her eyes was black from mascara. She didn’t look like the real Sydney. The real Sydney was never this sad.
“Do you want to talk?” he asked her.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” she managed to say. There really was something to talk about, and she knew it. She just didn’t want to talk about it.
He just held her for a few minutes. After a while, she said,” You were right. Danny’s a jerk. If I had listened to you……this….this all would have never happened. He picked me up 30 minutes late. He didn’t open the door for me. He didn’t get me a flower. He stopped at a friend’s house and had me stay in the car. He didn’t even give me a hug. And now that he got here with a date, he forgets about me and goes to kiss that wh*** Lauren......”
She looked up at him, and she felt horrible. He wasn’t sure what to say. He just continued to hold her in his arms. That made her feel safe, and he knew it.
Without thinking, Sydney pushed her lips gently against his, and she could feel his lips pushing gently back against hers. They kissed for 10 seconds at the most, but it seemed like 10 hours to her. After she finally realized what they were doing, she suddenly pulled away, wide-eyed.
“Michael…..I’m so sorry…” She pulled out of his grasp, and backed away a few feet.
“Syd---” He took a step towards her, but she turned away, confused and ran out the door and into the parking lot.
“Wait Syd!” he shouted, but she didn’t hear him; she was already out the door.
Chapter 7
Sydney ran out the doors and into the parking lot. She didn’t stop running though. She pulled of her shoes and ran to the far edge of the parking lot. She stopped, and sat down on the ground, not caring about how it would ruin her dress.
She just let it all out. She started to cry and tears fell from her eyes. She couldn’t stop them.
Michael had walked out into the parking lot, and he started to look for her. After about fifteen minutes, he found her sitting alone in the dark, leaned up against a car.
“Syd---I’m so sorry.”
She looks down and says, “You don’t need to be sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
He sits down next to her and uses his finger to bring her chin up so that she’s looking at him. “Sydney. It’s alright. Everything’s going to be ok.”
She’s still crying. “I was so stupid. I should’ve listened to you. Why didn’t I just listen to you?” she asks, not expecting an answer.
“Because you didn’t want to believe it, Syd. I’m not mad. It’s ok.”
She leans in towards him, and he puts his arms around her. They are both in their own little world, so they don’t notice that Danny is walking around looking for someone. He sees Sydney and Michael.
“Now I don’t feel so bad,” Danny says.
Sydney looks up, surprised. “What?”
“Looks like it didn’t take you too long to find another guy.”
Sydney stands up and she walks towards him. “If you think that Michael and I are….” she said, not finishing her sentence. She glares at him.
Michael gets up too, fully ready to punch Danny in the face.
“I’ll just leave you two alone. I can see that you won’t be needing a ride home, Sydney. I’ll see you on Monday,” Danny said with a smirk. He then turned away and walked to his car before Michael or Sydney could get a chance to say something.
Sydney just turned in towards Vaughn’s chest and lays her head on his shoulder and kind of shook her head. After a few minutes, she brings her head up to Michael’s and gently rests her forehead against his.
They just gazed into each other’s eyes. They both wanted to kiss the other. They start to lean their lips in together, but Sydney suddenly pulled away from him. “We should probably be getting home”
Chapter 8
“Uh---yea, we should. I’ll go get Will. Meet you at the car?” Vaughn asked.
“Yea,” Sydney answered.
They soon, walked off in opposite directions, Sydney towards Vaughn’s car, and Vaughn of in search of Will. Sydney easily found the car, and waited outside until Vaughn and Will came back.
They all got inside, and there was an unusual awkward silence for the first half of the drive home. Will tried to start a conversation a few times, but Sydney and Vaughn quickly ended it. He finally gave up, confused about why Vaughn and Sydney were so unsocial.
After a short drive of 15 minutes that seemed like much longer, Sydney quickly left, barely saying good-bye before she went into her house, and Vaughn and Will went inside their house.
Sydney went up to her room. She changed into her pajamas and just went to bed. She wanted to go to sleep, hoping that she might wake up and realize that this was all just a dream.
Vaughn wanted to do the same that Sydney had done, but Will prevented that from happening. Vaughn was in the kitchen, getting some water before he went to bed, when Will came in and asked him about what happened.
“Hey—Mike? What happened with Syd tonight? You two were acting really weird in the car.”
He was automatically defensive, and didn’t want Will to know, because he knew that if they never said anything, it wouldn’t bother anyone. It just happened, and now it’s over. Vaughn thought. It won’t be a problem. No one needs to know, and no one ever will know.
“Danny was a jerk. But other than that…...I can’t think of anything.”
“You know—you’re not too god at lying,” Will stated.
“What do you mean?” Vaughn asked.
“Something else happened that you’re not telling me.”
“No—nothing else happened.”
“Obviously, you’re not going to tell me, so I’m going to stop asking.”
“That’s good, because there’s nothing for me to answer.”
“Night. See you tomorrow,” Will answered before going to his room and going to sleep. He would just have to keep trying. Michael wasn’t going to tell him, so he would have to ask Sydney.
Shortly after Will left, Vaughn went up to his room too, feeling guilty about not telling his brother what happened.
As he walked over to his window to close the blinds he saw Sydney sitting on the window bench in her room, staring at his window. He smiled at her and waved, and she practically jumped off the bench and went away form the window, shutting the blinds quickly. Vaughn’s smile disappeared, and he closed his blinds too.
Chapter 9
~The Next Morning~
Sydney woke up in her room, and saw on her clock that it was nine thirty. She got out of bed, and put her hair up in a pony. She was still wearing her pink and light blue plaid pajama pants and a pink halter top when she went downstairs.
She looked for her dad, but he wasn’t home. It’s Saturday. She thought to herself. He’s probably at work…I must have one of the only dads that goes to work on Saturdays. For once, Sydney was actually glad to be alone, to have the house to herself. Usually when her dad was gone, she wished that he was home. Today was different. She didn’t want to deal with anyone. She just wanted to be alone.
After getting a glass of orange juice, the doorbell rang. Sydney wondered who would be at her door at nine thirty on a Saturday. She cautiously walked towards the door, and looked through the peep-hole and saw that it was Michael.
Why is he here? Can’t he just leave me alone!? She thought to herself. Against her thoughts, she opened the door.
“Hey, Syd,” Michael said.
“Why are you here?” she asked, not worrying about being subtle.
“I feel bad about last night. We need to talk.”
“No. We really don’t. It was my fault and I’m sorry that it happened. Unless you really have something to say, I think we’re done.”
Michael was mad, but he could understand why she didn’t want to talk about it. “Sydney…”
“Michael. There’s nothing more to say,” she answered him abruptly.
“Syd—please. I really need to talk to you,” he pleaded.
“I’ll see you later,” she said as she closed the door. Sydney felt bad about doing that to him, but she didn’t want to talk about it, or even talk to Michael about anything for that matter. She went into the family room and watched an old romance movie, but she fell asleep in the middle of it.
A little less than two hours later, she woke up, and realized that it was almost one o’clock. Before she even got up off the couch, the door bell rang again. Why can’t people just leave me alone today?! Can’t I have some time to myself? She thought.
She decided not to answer the door, and go back to sleep. If it was really important, they could get in themselves. The people she cared about enough to deal with today had their own key. The door opened to her surprise and she heard a very familiar voice calling her.
“Syd?”
Chapter 10
At least it’s not Mike, she thought to herself, sarcastically. She closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep, hoping that maybe Will would leave, thinking she was really asleep. But, Will wasn’t going to leave without getting an answer from her.
He walked inside, closing the door behind him, and went into the family room, where Sydney lay on the couch, fully awake.
Will stood in front of the couch. “Syd?” he asked. “Stop pretending to sleep.”
When he said that, her face changed its expression, and he knew that she 3was awake. “Fine. You don’t have to answer me, but I’m going to tell you this. Something’s going on between you and Vaughn. I came to ask you what was wrong. I guess I’ll just go ask mike though, since you’re asleep and all. I’m sure he knows what happened. Bye.”
He walked towards the door, and as soon as she realized that he really was going to leave and go ask Michael, she suddenly sat up, and opened her eyes.
“Will? Wait.”
He turned around and looked at her. “What’s going on, Sydney?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I’ve got the time for you.”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Syd,” he replied as her walked over to the couch and sat next to her.
“It all started when Danny found Lauren…”
Chapter 11“Oh, Lauren…” Will said after hearing what Sydney had said. He almost immediately knew how this story was going to end, or at least he thought he did.
She looked down, not wanting will to know that Danny had hurt her, and he had been right. She was quiet for a moment.
Will could tell something was wrong. “Sydney? Are you ok?”
She looked up suddenly. “Oh, yea. I’m fine,” she said with a fake smile.
He could tell that something was bothering her, but he didn’t want to force her to tel him something she didn’t want to. “It’s ok if you don’t want to talk about it, but, just to let you know, I’m always here if you want to talk.”
She smiled at him. “Thanks, Will.”
“No problem.” After a short silence, he stood up. “Well I’ve got to go meet a friend in a little bit. I’ll se you later?”
“Yea,” she said. “Thanks for coming by.”
“Mike’s still around tonight in case you didn’t want to be alone.”
“Oh, ok. I’ll figure something out. Thanks,” she said and smiled.
“See you later Syd,” he said as he walked out the door.
Well, I guess it’s a good thing so I don’t have to be all alone, but Mike’s the last person I want to be with today…she thought to herself.
She sat there for a few minutes, thinking about what she was going to do when the doorbell rang. She instantly thought that it was Michael, but, to her surprise, when she opened the door, she was greeted instead by Danny with a box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers.
She smiled. I knew he wasn’t so horrible. she thought.
Chapter 12
~Sydney’s House~
“Hey,” she said with a smile.
“Hi, Syd,” Danny answered. He called me Syd. That’s got to mean something. Sydney thought. “I’m so sorry about the dance. Lauren was trying to get me back, and well, I just don’t know what I was thinking—I just wanted to tell you---”
“Oh, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” She replied, instantly taking any chance to get Danny back that she got.
He handed her the flowers the chocolates. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Syd. I’m so glad you understand.” He smiled and walked away from the door to get in his car.
Sydney didn’t have a chance to say anything, but she didn’t want to. She was glad to have him back, and she had completely forgotten how he had treated her two days ago. She went inside and put the flowers in a vase with water, and started to eat the chocolates.
~Danny’s Car~
He had just left, and started to drive down the street, toward a friend’s house. He pulled into the driveway, and walked up to the door.
Someone answered the door before he even had a chance to ring the doorbell. As soon as they saw each other, he was pulled into the house by his shirt.
“Hey,” a seductive, female voice said to him.
“Hey, babe. I missed you,” he said and then started to kiss her.
“Why did you have to leave?” she asked between kisses.
He pulled away for a moment. “I just had to get some guilt off my plate. You know that Sydney girl? From the dance?”
“Yea?”
“Well, I had to drop some stuff off.”
“Oh, ok. I’m glad you’re back,” she said and started to kiss him.
“Me too, babe,” he answered quickly, before they began to kiss again.
~Sydney’s House~
Sydney lay on the couch, watching a romance movie and she started to doze off, thinking about Danny and how wonderful he was. She was so happy to have him back, but, of course, she didn’t know what was really going on.
Chapter 13
Michael had been invited to a party, and he went over to the house around seven. He was standing around with his friends, including Sark. They were all bored, and they watched as other juniors and seniors danced in the middle of the family room.
Danny walked in a few minutes later, with his arm around a freshman girl. Michael didn’t recognize her, but he knew that it wasn’t Sydney.
“Julian? Do you know who she is?” he asked, motioning towards the girl.
Julian nodded and answered, “Yea, that’s Lauren Reed. She’s a freshman, and she and Danny have been hanging out ever since the dance last week. Why?”
“Because Sydney still thinks that she’s with Danny.” Julian looked at Michael. He had finally connected the dots. He had no clue that Danny was cheating on his cousin.
“He’s not gonna get away with this,” Julian said, angry.
Michael had the same look that Julian showed. They had finally reached their highest level of patience and forgiveness. They had tried to be nice to Danny for Sydney, but this was it. He was with Lauren, and Sydney had no idea.
~Later that Week Before School~
Michael, Will, and Sydney were getting out of the car. Will had just said bye and walked off towards his homeroom, when Michael stopped Sydney before she left too.
“Syd, I need to talk to you about something…or someone.”
She became worried as soon as she heard his words. “What do you mean?”
“Danny. I well. He was at a party on Saturday. He and Lauren…they were together.”
She didn’t say anything. She just looked away, because she felt like she was going to cry.
“I’m so sorry, Syd. I just. I couldn’t stand just sitting there and letting him hurt you like that.”
“You know what? Danny is NOT cheating on me. He’s just not!” With that, she left Michael, completely shocked, standing in the parking lot. The bell rang, and he finally walked towards his first class.
~Later that Day~
Sydney was walking through the loud and crazy halls, in her own world, still telling herself that Danny wasn’t cheating on her. He apologized. Lauren was trying to steal him back. It wasn’t his fault.
The only problem she really had was that she couldn’t figure out why Michael would lie to her. She only found one answer. That Michael wasn’t lying, but Sydney refused to believe that.
The bell that ended their break rang, and she headed towards her locker. She stopped when she heard two people in a side-hall kissing.
“Oh, Danny…”
“Mmm?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too, babe.”
Sydney recognized the voice. She didn’t even need to look. She started crying, and ran as fast as she could towards the door, and outside. She didn’t stop until she got to a house.
By now, she was sobbing and she walked up the steps to knock on the door.
Someone came to answer the door. “Syd?”
Chapter 14
“Hey, Josh,” she managed to say between sobs.
“Sydney, what’s wrong?” he asked and pulled her into his arms, and she didn’t stop him. She just wanted to be with someone that she knew wouldn’t ask her too many questions or be wanting to say ‘I told you so.’ That’s why she came to Josh.
“This boy…Danny. He’s a junior. He took me to the dance last week and left me,” she said before tears started to again well up in her eyes.
Josh didn’t interrupt. His expression showed that he was listening and his worried eyes told her that he cared.
“Michael told me not to, but….I just didn’t listen.”
“He told you not to what?” Josh asked, somewhat confused.
“He said that it wasn’t a good idea. He said that he….that he didn’t want Danny to….hurt me,” she said barely whispering her last few words. “But I didn’t listen. I ignored that, and I found out the hard way.”
Josh now understood why she had come to him. She couldn’t have possibly gone to Michael. He knew too much already. Josh and Sydney had known each other just as long as Sydney and Michael had. Josh’s dad and Sydney’s father worked together. They didn’t know what their dads really did, at least Sydney didn’t.
“Michael even told me that he and Julian saw Danny at a party with the girl…..Lauren.” She stopped to wipe the tears off her face. They were still standing in the threshold of the front door, with his arms around her.
“I refused to believe it. I was so stupid. Today….I….I heard them…kissing….in the side hall.”
“Did you look to make sure?” he asked, trying to help.
She looked down. “I didn’t need to look.”
After that, she closed her eyes and cried. He led her inside and they sat on the couch together for who knows how long, and all the while, Josh held her, just trying to make her feel better. They eventually fell asleep. Josh woke up to the sound of the phone and saw that it was two o’clock in the morning.
He thought to himself, Who the hell would be calling me now?
He answered it. “Who the hell is this?” he asked.
Chapter 15
“Hey. Josh?” he asked in an urgent tone.
“Yea. It’s me. Who’s this?”
“It’s Mike.”
“Oh, hey.”
“Do you know where Sydney is?”
“Uh…yea. She’s in my living room,” he said, glancing over at her sleeping. “Why?”
“Oh. Well, she ran out of school today before lunch. I’m not completely sure why, but I have an idea.”
“She came to my house around twelve. She told me about what happened, but just parts of it.”
“What did she say?”
“That you warned her about Danny, she hadn’t listened, and then she heard him kissing some girl in the side hall at school---uh, I think her name was Lauren or something.”
“I was hoping that she’d believe me before she found out for herself. I guess not.”
“She came to my house in tears, and she only stopped crying to tell me about what happened. Then she started to cry again and fell asleep later on. Then I just woke up. I think she’s still asleep.” he said seeing that she was still sleeping.
“Ok, well I’ll come pick her up.”
“No, that’s ok. She can stay here tonight. She’s already asleep and tomorrow’s Saturday.”
“No, really it’s fine. I’ll be there in five minutes,” he answered and hung up, rushing to his car.
“Ok?” was all Josh said into the phone even though no one was listening.
Michael got in his car and drove quickly to Josh’s. IN the meantime, Josh had woken up Sydney. He was going to tell her what was going one, but she still didn’t feel like doing anything.
She just kissed him. She didn’t want to deal with Michael right now. All she wanted was to be right here, not worrying about anything.
To her surprise, he didn’t pull away or try to stop her. They sat on the couch kissing, when Michael came and knocked on the door. Josh pulled away to answer it.
Sydney gave him a pleading look to ask him not to answer it, but that didn’t help her any, because after waiting a few minutes, Michael let himself in, losing his patience. He was shocked when he saw Josh and Sydney kissing.
Sydney heard the door open and turned around quickly only to see Michael’s angry face. He wasn’t about to leave her there, but he didn’t know what to do.
Sydney looked back and forth from Michael to Josh, and after a long minute that seemed like hours, she got up and walked out the door murmuring her quite goodbyes to Josh as she left.
“I just can’t believe you….” Michael said to josh before leaving and not waiting for a reply.
Josh didn’t even bother to answer. He knew nothing would help.
Chapter 16
After driving about half way back home without saying anything to each other, Michael broke the awkward silence.
“Sydney, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. You didn’t do anything,” she said without any expression.
He pulled over. “Syd—I wish you hadn’t had to find him.”
“Who? Danny? Yea, well me too, but it did. There’s nothing we can do about it.”
He was speechless.
“Can you please drive me home now? I would have been fine with Josh, but since you insisted on taking me home, could you at least do that?”
“Josh?”
“Yea, Josh. You know what Michael? I’m tired of you disapproving of my friends! I don’t see what’s so bad about me being at Josh’s house!”
“You kissed him, Syd!”
“So?! I don’t criticize you whenever you kiss someone! Do I?!”
“What were you doing, Syd? You don’t even know what you were doing!”
“Yes I do!” After she said that, she knew that she was lying. She stopped yelling and calmed down. “Just take me home.”
“Syd---”
“No.”
“I’m sorry about everything that’s happening right now, but you need to know that I’m here for you. I don’t know why you don’t understand that, but you need to.”
“I went to Josh’s house for a reason!”
“Oh, yea? What’s that?!”
“At least he doesn’t criticize me and say ‘I told you so’!”
“I don’t do that!”
“You don’t do that?! Are you serious?! What are you doing now?!”
He didn’t say anything.
“Let’s just go home.”
Without saying anything, he turned on the car and drove home.
As soon as the car stopped, she got out. She was close to tears.
Michael followed her. “Sydney—wait.”
She turned around and faced him. “What?!”
“I just wanted to…”
“What? Say ‘I told you so.’ ‘Danny really was a jerk,’ or something else like that, because you know, I already---“
He cut her off. “Sydney! Just….stop.”
She stopped and tears started to fall. She was quiet.
“I…I love you. I can never get you out of my mind. You’re more than just my neighbor or my friends, you’re so much more than that, and I love you. I always will.”
She could not believe how happy she was. At first she thought she was dreaming but then when they both turned in towards each other and kissed she knew that she was definitely not dreaming.
She pulled away after a few minutes. “I love you too.”
They smiled and continued to kiss. After what seemed like hours Michael pulled away reluctantly.
“Good night, Syd. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night.” She paused. “I love you,” she said with a smile.
“I love you too,” he said and smiled back.
They turned in opposite directions and each walked back to their own house as happy as they had been in a long time.
~Sydney’s POV~
I walked into my house as happy as I ever had been in my life. I went upstairs to shower and then I went to bed. As usual, my dad wasn’t home, but that’s ok. Tonight made up for all those times that he hadn’t been there.
I went to sleep with Michael in my head and in my dreams. I had finally gotten what I wanted after 14 years.
Michael loves me, I love him. We love each other…
~Michael’s POV~
As I walked inside, I was so incredibly happy. I had told Sydney how I felt and I had gotten quite a nice reaction.
I went to sleep that night with only Sydney in my mind. I dreamed about her all night long. I was so happy with everything.
I love Sydney and she loves me. I can’t wait until tomorrow…
Epilogue
The next morning, Danny showed up at Sydney’s door with flowers and chocolates once again, and she broke up with him, throwing the gifts right back at him. After that, he kept his distance. He is now without a girlfriend and Lauren is dating some senior who is failing all his classes.
Sydney and Michael stayed together through high school. The year that Michael graduated was especially hard on Sydney. He went to UCLA by choice so that he could still see Sydney.
Three years later, Sydney graduated and went to UCLA as well. Shortly after that, Michael proposed to her and she accepted. They moved into a house together and are planning on marrying next June.
-----------------------------
So that's it. Please tell me what you think!
Thanks!~Sydney