they did stay for the sunset, they left right after [for clarification].
i think this is the longest chapter i have written so far... but it's good [i hope]
Chapter Six
Though she didn’t hear his words, she saw Vaughn’s hand and grabbed onto it. “Thanks,” she said as he helped pull her up. He has a firm grip.
“No problem.” She has really, really soft skin. As he stole a concise glance at her, he smiled.
The minute they both bent down to pick up their shoes, a ringing sound erupted from Vaughn’s pocket.
Pulling the silver flip phone out, he checked the LCD screen and saw that Weiss was calling. He put the phone back where it was.
“Aren’t you gonna get that?” Sydney asked while she began trudging back towards the boardwalk. Using the time to her advantage, she put her sunglasses back on her head. Why doesn’t he want to answer his phone while I’m here? Then, it hit her like a ton of bricks; a grand piano fell on her head. It’s his girlfriend. I am so naïve! Of course someone as fun and good-looking as Vaughn has a girlfriend!
Trailing her he effortlessly answered, “Nah. It’s just my friend, Weiss. I’ll call him back later. He won’t care.”
A weight was lifted from Sydney’s shoulders. It was just his friend. His guy friend. Needless to say, she was relieved.
“Actually, Weiss lives on our street,” he informed. “His house is three down from mine. The tan one.” Making his way to the wooden planks and holding onto the railing he added, “I think you’d like him. I can introduce you to him sometime, if you want.”
“Sure. I’d like that.” The “flips” and “flops” of their flip flops were now bouncing off the concrete sidewalk. “It’s my turn, isn’t it?”
“Yup.” Vaughn made a right turn and Sydney followed. “Make it a good one.”
A good one? I know, ‘Do you have a girlfriend?’ Ha! Like I can ask him that. “Did you have fun tonight?” she asked sincerely.
Her question took him by surprise. “Yeah, of course I did. Did you?” His eyes darted to look at her while she answered. He felt his heart pound as he awaited her answer.
“Yup.” Her smile reassured him instantly. “I had a really good time.”
“Good. I’m glad I was able to help your boredom situation.” He turned onto Clear Water Lane – their street. “And mine.”
This time it was her heart which pounded eagerly. Syd opted to walk up to the fence at the end of her driveway to say goodbye to Vaughn.
“So, I guess I’ll see you around.” Vaughn gave a little wrist wave. “G’night.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you.” It wasn’t like she was expecting something like a goodnight kiss, but she was looking forward to more than a basic ‘bye’. Watching him start to walk over to his front door, she realized that she wanted a definite time for when she’d next see him. “Vaughn?” she called out hesitantly.
Curiosity got the best of him. Pivoting around on his left foot, he asked, “Yeah?” obviously interested in what she was going to say.
Sydney Bristow all of a sudden felt shy, which was something that seldom occurred. “I was, um, thinking, that, maybe – I mean if you want to – maybe, we could, uh, do something tomorrow. You know, go on the boardwalk, or something?” If he wasn’t standing there looking at me, I’d be chomping away on my nails until I bit them all off.
Turning to face her completely, he walked a little closer to the fence she was standing by and smiled at her. “Sounds like fun. Is,” he paused while he pondered what a good time to meet would be, “One forty-five good for you?” God knows I’ll be sleeping in until at least 12. I’ll need time to shower and eat.
Good, he sleeps in late too. Nodding, she said, “It’s perfect.” She smiled back. “I’ll see you here tomorrow at one forty-five.”
“One forty-five,” Vaughn confirmed.
“Night, Vaughn.”
“Night, Syd.”
Each of them, on their way to their house, had a thousand-watt smile plastered on their face.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Closing the door, Sydney could not escape the level of elation she was experiencing. She sighed contentedly in addition to leaning against the door.
“Sydney? Are you hungry?” her father asked walking into the hallway that led from the kitchen into the living room. “What are you so happy about?” he asked, noticing her much-more-pleased-than-earlier facial expression.
s***. I saw his car in the driveway and I still came in this way. Telling him that I spent the last couple of hours with a boy is not a good idea. Especially since Vaughn lives next door and there’s no way I can warn him in time. “Because I had fun. What’s for dinner?” she tried to change the subject as she found her way to the kitchen and sat down.
However, his interest was not abolished. “Fun doing what? We’re having spaghetti.”
Jack made the small trip back into the sunny yellow kitchen.
He won’t let it go, will he? She chose to tell him the truth, but left Vaughn out of it. “I took a walk on the beach and watched the sunset. It was beautiful.”
“That’s nice. You didn’t get lost, did you?” he asked, concerned. Jack knew that he wasn’t around enough, so on the rare occasion he actually spent time with his daughter, he tried to be as parental as possible.
“Nope,” she answered as she spooned a dollop of some marinara sauce on her angel hair pasta.
“That’s good,” Jack replied, doing the same. The remainder of the dinner went unexpectedly well. Neither of the Bristows brought up anything that could be argued about.
“I’m gonna go upstairs and call Francie. I’ll see you in the morning?” The last part of her statement was a question because sometimes Sydney woke up to her father gone and he didn’t come back until long after she was asleep, or worse, days later.
“Actually, sweetheart,” Jack, seemingly troubled, began. “I have to leave early tomorrow. But I should be back by eight.” He was trying to be a good father despite his time-consuming job. By coming home around eight p.m. he was making an improvement.
“Okay.” Syd could tell he was making an attempt to be around her more, so she didn’t start a squabble. In any case, she was in way too good of a mood to care. “Goodnight, daddy.” She kissed his cheek.
Hugging her he said, “Goodnight, sweetheart.”
Scrolling through her white i-Pod and playing the song “On a High,” by Duncan Sheik, through the stereo speakers was the first thing she did when she reached her room. It was one of the occasional times she was happy her dad sometimes tried to buy her love with new electronic devices. She began singing along as she shut the door and closed the blinds.
“I'm on a high, on a high/There's nothing more to it./We are the sea and the sky/And the blue that runs through it, yeah./And there are some who say there are so many things I need/So I run or I fight and I crawl or I scream and I bleed/And I bleed, And I bleed….”
She then proceeded to change out of her bathing suit and clothes into a pair of purple and blue paid shorts and a yellow tank top to sleep in. Turning the volume up a bit, she continued singing and added her signature flow-y “this-is-too-good-to-be-true” happy dance.
“I'm on a high, on a high/And there's nothing more to it./I have the sun, it's a star/Why should I refuse it?/And there are so many reasons I could give you why I should be down./There's not enough money or time and my love you're not around/around, around./It's a lie it's a lie - don't you believe it./If you're fine then you're fine - it's all how you see it./Oh, there never will be no conspiracy of happiness….” All the memories she had of Vaughn flooded her mind. And her smile just grew wider. Before she dialed Francie’s number, she pressed the ‘repeat’ button. The song just made her feel so good about her day and she didn’t want to forget about it for even a millisecond.
“Hey, Syd!” Francie answered her phone cheerily. “What’s up?”
“Francie! Oh my god, I have so many things to tell you, I don’t even know where to start.” Nosiness became her, and she peaked through her blinds to see if she could see into Vaughn’s room, if his bedroom window was even visible from her’s.
“You seem happy.” She listened closely to the noise in the background on the line. Instantly she recognized the song as “On a High,” AKA Syd’s good mood dance song. It meant she met a guy. “I want details. What’s he like?”
“How… how did you know I met someone?” Am I really that readable? Peeping out of her window, she observed that all the Vaughn Residence’s windows on the wall of the house that she could see had their blinds shut. At least I tried, she sighed internally.
“Syd, come on. You’re my best friend. We’ve known each other forever. I think I know how you get when you meet someone you like,” she enlightened. “That and you’re playing your happy dance song.”
Chuckling, Sydney laid stomach-down, elbows up on her bed. “His name is Michael. Michael Vaughn.”
“Michael Vaughn,” Francie repeated. “What does he look like?”
“Aren’t we nosy?”
“Hey, you’re the one that brought him up. And you’ve left me alone with Will for a month. I need something to work with. Now, tell me!” She was very interested in knowing what a potential boyfriend for her best friend was like, physically and personality wise. “Please?” she dragged out the “E” sound.
“Okay, okay. Sheesh, you don’t have to beg. He’s,” she stopped to really consider how to describe Vaughn, besides the obvious choice, ‘perfect.’ “About, I don’t know, six foot. Maybe six foot one,” she started. “He has dirty blonde, almost light brown hair. It’s short, but not, like, buzz-cut short. It’s kind of spiked messily in the middle.”
Pondering for a moment, Francie seriously replied, “Good, good. I’m getting a mental image here….”
“Fran, no offense to you or your imagination, but you couldn’t visualize Vaughn in a million years. He’s just so… I don’t even know how to describe him!” she smiled, and was sure Francie could hear even though she didn’t see it.
“Vaughn?” Francie quizzed.
Sydney responded immediately with, “Everyone calls him Vaughn.”
“Oh. Okay… continue.”
Acting as if the disruption never occurred, “And his eyes – they’re green – but not ‘normal’ green. They’re this grayish green sometimes, but others they seriously look like emeralds or something and then once in a while when he smiles they almost look blue,” Sydney explained knowledgably.
“It sounds like somebody has a crush.” Francie heard Syd’s satisfied sigh.
“Yeah, I know. I do. I mean, it’s crazy. I’ve known him less than six hours and I feel completely head over heels.”
“Well, since he doesn’t have a girlfriend-” she was about to suggest what they should do on their first date, but was cut off by Sydney.
“Uh, about that...” she started to explain
“What?! He has a girlfriend?!” Francie yelled disappointedly, and shocked, on the other end. Already, she was planning how to convince this Michael guy that he needed to break up with his girlfriend and go out with Sydney, because there could possibly be no better person than Sydney.
Holding the phone away from her ear to avoid having a headache, and then returning it to the pillow she was using as a perch, Sydney sheepishly admitted, “I don’t know if he has a girlfriend, Fran. I didn’t ask.”
Rubbing her eyes, as if it removed the stress, Francie, relatively annoyed, shouted, “Why the hell not?”
“Fran, come on. I just met him. I didn’t want it to be like ‘Hey, I’m Sydney. Do you have a girlfriend?’” Sydney clarified turning over on her back.
Dreamily, Francie retorted, “I would’ve, if he actually looks the way you’re describing.”
“That’s the difference between us. When you like a guy, you let him know at first meeting. I’m not like that. But, oh, trust me; he doesn’t look the way I’m describing. Hell, my description has nothing on him. He’s… so much better that I could ever try to portray.”
“Whoa. Syd, are you sure Michael’s not a mirage or something? I mean, is it possible to like someone that much after knowing them for only a little bit?” She was worried that Syd was getting too carried away too fast, because, as of now, they didn’t even know if Michael had a girlfriend. She was looking out for her friend and just didn’t want Sydney to get hurt.
Francie’s remark dampened her mood. “What’s with you? One minute, I can tell, you’re planning our first date, the next you think I’m making Vaughn up.”
“Syd, I just don’t want you to get hurt!” she defended.
“I know. And thank you for caring. It means a lot to me, it does. But…,” she trailed off, not knowing what to say. Staring at the white ceiling she added in a hushed tone, “Either way, I think he likes me back.”
“Really? That’s good. That’s more than good. It’s fantastic. It’s great!” She tried to be more supportive of her friend by becoming more excited for her.
“Speaking of great, that’s how he said I looked.” Sydney smiled confidently and proudly.
“Sweetie, I don’t know what that ocean air has done to you, but when a guy says you look great, it means he likes you.”
“I know, it’s just… you had to be there. He was so sweet…” she trailed off again.
“You didn’t finish with the details,” Francie encouraged.
“Well, he’s… he’s so cute.”
“Wait, hot cute or goofy cute?”
“Hot cute. He has a great personality. We like the same music. And he’s funny, and smart… and tan… and just… wow. He’s wow,” she giggled. Francie joined in.
“So, he’s ‘wow,’ huh? When do I get to meet his royal ‘wow-ness’?”
Their giggling became full-out laughter. “Actually, on the ride up here, my dad said you and Will can come visit for two weekends. You’ll definitely meet him when you’re here. I promise.”
“Nice. I’m totally coming as soon as I can.”
“Good because I miss you already.”
“So, aside from meeting Vaughn, what did you do today?”
“Umm, after unpacking, even though it was around six, I wanted to tan because I had no idea what to do, and I wasn’t up for TV or anything like that. But the chair was being stupid. Anyway, that’s when I met Vaughn. And we went to and walked on the beach. We were there for the sunset. Fran, it was so beautiful.”
“Wait, back up.” Confused, she asked, “Vaughn just walked into your backyard and introduced himself?” All of a sudden, she was worried that Michael Vaughn was not the type of boy her friend should go out with.
Laughing quietly, Sydney corrected herself. “No, I forgot to tell you, he’s my next-door neighbor. There’s a chain-link fence dividing our backyards, so you can see into the other’s. He came outside, noticed I was new, because he comes here every summer, and introduced himself.”
“For a minute I thought Michael might be some sort of stalker! I was really worried!”
“Come on, you’ve known me practically your whole life. I would never go out with a guy like that.”
“Syd, you just said that you’d never go out with a guy like that. You’re not going out with Michael.” Francie pointed out.
“Damn. I didn’t even realize I said that. It totally just… came out of my mouth.” All of a sudden, Sydney was nervous. “Oh, god, Francie, what am I going to do? We’re going to go to the boardwalk tomorrow to hang out. What if I let something like this slip again?”
“So what, would it really be that bad if you let it slip?”
Running the scenario through her mind, Sydney decided that, if anything, letting it slip out would help, not hurt, her situation. “No, it wouldn’t.”
The girls gossiped some more, and Francie described her day with Will. Before they knew it, it was really late, and they said their goodbyes. Sydney took one last look out her window. She knew that from the moment she woke up until one forty-five tomorrow she would be antsy. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Yeah, I’ll see you.” It wasn’t like she was expecting something like a goodnight kiss, but she was looking forward to more than a basic ‘bye’. Watching him start to walk over to his front door, she realized that she wanted a definite time for when she’d next see him. “Vaughn?” she called out hesitantly.
Curiosity got the best of him. Pivoting around on his left foot, he asked, “Yeah?” obviously interested in what she was going to say.
Sydney Bristow all of a sudden felt shy, which was something that seldom occurred. “I was, um, thinking, that, maybe – I mean if you want to – maybe, we could, uh, do something tomorrow. You know, go on the boardwalk, or something?” If he wasn’t standing there looking at me, I’d be chomping away on my nails until I bit them all off.
Turning to face her completely, he walked a little closer to the fence she was standing by and smiled at her. “Sounds like fun. Is,” he paused while he pondered what a good time to meet would be, “One forty-five good for you?” God knows I’ll be sleeping in until at least 12. I’ll need time to shower and eat.
Good, he sleeps in late too. Nodding, she said, “It’s perfect.” She smiled back. “I’ll see you here tomorrow at one forty-five.”
They like each other so much and they just met.
The end of the summer is going to be hard for the.
Thanks for the pm.
And for letting me be an addic.
:surf:
Totally amazing!
I can't wait until Francie gets there and meet Vaughn and Syd has to tell Vaughn she's singel so he can make his move hopefully
PS I didn't get a PM I think it's cuz you have written Syd_Vaughn and not
Syd_ Vaughn (it's a space between the underline and V)
Totally amazing!
I can't wait until Francie gets there and meet Vaughn and Syd has to tell Vaughn she's singel so he can make his move hopefully
PS I didn't get a PM I think it's cuz you have written Syd_Vaughn and not
Syd_ Vaughn (it's a space between the underline and V)
Hey...ive jus been catchin up on my readin of this fan fic and im totally addicted!!!!!!! thats all i can say seriosly...so plz can i hav a pm and and i wuld be honored if u wuld add me on ur addicts list as no 27...lol ...thankx
angels_fire_99
Hee - they are so cute -and I can totally understand Syd's inability to accurately describe he that is Michael Vaughn. Looking forward to the boardwalk trip!
Hey...ive jus been catchin up on my readin of this fan fic and im totally addicted!!!!!!! thats all i can say seriosly...so plz can i hav a pm and and i wuld be honored if u wuld add me on ur addicts list as no 27...lol ...thankx
angels_fire_99
OMFG! I really like this fic already. Its sooo cute how she talked about Vaughn to Francie. Its sooo adorable
And how they watched the sunset together....awww :cloud9:
I can't wait to see how the day with them goes
PLEASE add me to the addicts list as well! Thanks!
And i hope you update soon
