Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Him ❯ One-Shot

Him

 

“There's moments in your life that make you, that set the course for who you're gonna be. Sometimes, they're little, subtle moments. Sometimes…they're not. Bottom line is, even if you see `em comin', you're not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does. So what are we? Helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come, you can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts. That's when you find out who you are.” -Whistler, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

~**~**~**~**~**~

The alarm clock by Angie's bed buzzed early that morning, making her groan in annoyance as she tried to at least hold on to a bit of her dream. It had been a good one, but now it was just slipping away from her consciousness as she blearily opened her eyes to shut off her alarm clock for another five minutes of sleep.

But it was not to be.

“Angie, honey, wake up! We need to get going, it's your first day of high school and your father is making you breakfast as we speak. Lets get out of here and go get something edible, okay honey?” her mother, Rebecca's voice called through the door, not loud enough for her father, Roger, to hear. All ideas of sleep were lost. After all, if Dad was cooking, that meant the house would be in shambles within minutes, probably due to him accidentally mixing vinegar and baking soda into the pancakes again.

“Coming mom!” She said, leaping out of bed and haphazardly pulling on her emerald dragon shirt and a pair of black jeans. Running out of her room, still pulling on her red converse shoes, she banged on her little brother's door.

“Simon, time to wake up! Dad's invaded the kitchen again!”

Of all the days, he had to choose my first day of high school. Damn it, I'm gonna smell like smoke in homeroom. Everyone's gonna think I'm some kind of stoner or something, Angie thought grumpily, running downstairs and past her dad, who, sure enough, was looking curiously at the baking soda and vinegar, as though debating on whether or not to put them into the mixture. He looked up and noticed his daughter.

“Hey Angie! Come on in, I have some pancake batter that I'm about to finish. You can have pancakes this morning instead of that cold cereal that you've had all summer, okay?”

If Roger Deignan were slightly more observant, he would have noticed the horrified look that crossed his daughter's face for the briefest of moments. Fortunately, he was still just as dim in that respect as he had been in his younger days.

“Ah…I'm sorry Dad, but I have to get going. I'm meeting Sammy early at school today, and she said she was going to be bringing some food. Sorry Dad, maybe this weekend, okay?” Angie said, making up her lie on the spot. Frankly, she thought she did a good job. After all, she and her best friend and godsister Sammy often met before school started.

Roger sighed, looking slightly dejected, before answering his 14-year-old daughter, “Yes, I suppose that's fine, Angie. Enjoy talking with Sammy, okay?”

“Yeah Dad, I will. See you this afternoon!” And with that, Angie high-tailed it out of there, and not a second too soon, for as soon as she closed the front door, a small explosion was heard from the kitchen.

And…Dad blew up the pancakes. Oh well. It was bound to happen, I suppose, Angie thought, grinning a bit. Her Dad was never seriously injured in any of the explosions, but it meant that they'd be eating out until the kitchen was repaired…again….

Simon sighed, looking up at the house.

“It almost reminds you of our godmother with her cooking…good thing those two didn't get married,” he said sagely. Angie grinned. On occasion, her little brother could be good for some amusement. Especially this morning, since he hadn't had much of a chance to get ready after Angie's warning. He managed to get on his usual black T-shirt and denim jeans, but his curly brown hair was in disarray, as he hadn't the time to brush it before dashing from his room and outside before the explosion of the batter. Like his sister, he was quite tall, nearly reaching five-nine at the young age of eleven. Both had inherited their early growth spurts from their mother, who, at fourteen, had reached her adult height of six feet, two inches tall. Currently, she was standing in front of their car—a silver Volvo that Rebecca had splurged on following the completion of her first novel—her chin-length curly blonde hair swirling in the wind, as she hadn't had time to put it up that morning.

“What do you say we ask your father to breakfast with us? After all, he won't get much done in the kitchen this morning, I don't think,” Rebecca said, smiling knowingly.

“Can I just call Sammy? I'm sure she'd like some breakfast, too!” Angie said, her eyes pleading slightly, knowing her mother would give in to breakfast with the Senah family anytime.

“Well…I suppose so, Sammy. Invite Terry and Mike and the rest of them too, if you would. I'll go in and get your father.”

Ten minutes later, the ten of them stood in line at the local McDonald's, Roger still rather depressed about his once-again failed attempts at pancakes. It just wasn't fair. No matter how he tried, the pancakes always seemed to explode.

“Can I help who's next, please?” A somewhat drawling voice called out from behind the counter. The ten of them moved up and placed their order of seven egg McMuffins (for all the Senah's except Terry, as well as for Simon, and Rebecca) and three sausage McMuffins (for everyone else). Rebecca drove hers and Terry's children to the high school after breakfast was completed, and Sammy and Angie began their first day of their first year of high school.

~**~**~**~**~**~

Three years passed. Friendships were gained and ended, and the duo of Sammy and Angie was joined in their sophomore year by Mandy Wilson, a new girl from New York who had immediately taken a liking to Sammy's twin brother Damien. The two of them were voted “Class Couple” for the senior superlatives. Sammy's younger sister, Rori, came out as a lesbian when she began high school two years after the Devious Duo—err…Trio.

And then, with only three months left of their senior year, the unexpected happened. Seriously. It was crazy. Angie couldn't believe it, nor could either of her friends. But especially not Angie.

~**~**~**~**~**~

MCDONALDS—Saturday, 3 March 2008

Angie was alone in McDonalds for one of the first times in her life. Both Sammy and Mandy were sick and had left her to fend for herself for the next couple of days. Needless to say, Angie was kind of pissed. Add in the fact that she was going through PMS, and you have one homicidal high schooler.

After ordering her usual weekend lunch of 10-piece chicken tenders, she walked over to the soda fountain to get her drink. And, for the first time, she didn't pay attention to where she was going. And, of course, once can be enough.

Angie crashed headlong into someone, spilling her lunch all over the floor. Disbelieving her clumsiness, she knelt down and began to pick up her chicken tenders, which she definitely was not going to eat.

To her immense surprise, the person she had crashed into appeared in front of her, also picking up her lunch.

“Sorry about that, I'm a clumsy fool sometimes,” he said, smiling slightly. Angie looked at him in amazement. He was taking the blame? No way. Her pride wouldn't let him do that.

“Nah, it was my fault, I should have been looking where I was going,” Angie muttered, looking away from the boy. He looked to be about her age, with black hair that fell into his emerald eyes.

My two favorite colors…that's interesting that they both appear on him, Angie thought, her cheeks tinting a faint pink, And that he makes my least favorite color appear on me. Jerk.

“Can I buy you a new lunch, since I so carelessly spilled yours?” He asked earnestly. Angie noticed a faint accent.

“That's okay. I'll just pop back home and pick up something. Unless my Dad blew up the kitchen again….”

“I'll drive you! I mean…if you like,” he said excitedly, faltering at the end. Angie couldn't help but smile.

“Ah, but you see, my parents have told me since time immemorial to never get into a car with a stranger. So, I'd like to know your name, if you don't mind,” she said, taking on a mock haughty air, which lost some of its effect by her stifled giggles. The boy smiled a bit more broadly.

“My name's James. James Higgens. I just moved here from Halifax,” he said, helping her up.

“My name's Angie Deignan. I've lived here all my life. Welcome to Honolulu.”

“Well then, with the introductions out of the way, I suppose it is now safe for you to allow me to drive you home, isn't it?”

“I suppose it is, even though my house is about a block away,” Angie smiled at him. Despite her PMS and her friends both having the flu, this was starting to look like a good day.

~**~**~**~**~**~

No, that wasn't the crazy thing. The crazy thing comes a bit later in the story. But here's something that's almost as crazy. From the time Angie met James by that one little moment of inattention, it was as if their lives were set on a course; a new course, filled with incidents that would never have happened if Angie had paid attention on her way to the soda fountain.

More years passed. The trio—whoops, quartet!—went off to college together, all attending a college in western New York, making Mandy feel right at home again. After all, she had moved to Honolulu from Rochester, and now she was back, attending college at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

No, it wasn't here that the crazy thing happened. This is just to give y'all some background information. The crazy thing happened when Angie went to get her graduate degree from Harvard University. After all, she did inherit her Mother's intelligence along with her Mother's looks.

Of course the rest of the group went with her, although none attended the University. The four of them lived in a somewhat run-down old apartment in a neighborhood that was not the best. But it was cheap, and the University was only three stops away on the Boston T. Green line, of course.

It was late one night, and Angie's business class had finally let out. Two hours late. The rest of them were going to be so worried!

“Hey! Hey, Angie! S'bout time your class got out. What'd the professor do, fall asleep during the lecture along with the rest of you?” A very familiar voice called out from behind her. Angie turned and saw James running towards her, a very welcomed bottle of Mountain Dew in his large right hand, “Here, I brought you this. You look like you need it!”

“Thanks James. I do need this!” Angie said, opening the bottle, “How long have you been waiting?”

“Ah, only about three hours. Nothin' major.”

Angie looked at him in horror. He had waited for three hours, just to pick her up from class?!

“Any particular reason you chose to sit outside the classroom for three hours, just to pick me up to come home?”

“Eh, I felt a change coming. I don't know. Thought I'd take the initiative for once.”

James rarely acted first, preferring to allow life to toss him around in whichever course it chose.

“Initiative? Since when do you want to do that?” Angie asked, smirking slightly at the taller boy.

“Since now,” he replied, before stepping in close to Angie and giving her a brief, chaste kiss, “Now, Miss Deignan, how would you like to go see a movie with me this weekend?”