The Reunion (Aura and Novacaineforthepain)

[Aura]

Scarlett Jacobs


Ten years ago: http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af130/rubberchickensoffear/tumblrl83328kun01qc9a40_zpsa8ad5145.jpg


Now: http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af130/rubberchickensoffear/male_vampire_zpsa1d42135.jpg


(Don't feel like you need to put a before and after picture. I just had a certain actress in mind for Scarlett and I just happened to find and like both pictures)


- - -


Scarlett glowered when she first noticed the town sign growing larger in the distance. She had realized how many negative feelings she harboured for this tiny dot of a town. She felt a sick feeling in her stomach when she noticed the inky outlines of the park's distant trees come into focus... it was unnerving driving up to the sleepy town of Flintwood. It was all all so frighteningly familiar that it almost felt that she was driving straight into the past.


She shuddered at the thought. This trip was about her future. She had seen his name in the paper recently, he was doing things, making money... namely being a real somebody and she had taken note. It didn't help that he had been extremely good-looking when he had broken up with her... or had she broken up with him? Her lips pulled down in a slight frown as she tried to remember exactly what had happened... ultimately she decided that it didn't matter. There was no doubt in her mind that what they shared wasn't gone.


Scarlett pulled into the hotel that she had reserved before driving out. It wasn't spectacular, but it was nowhere near being shady or a dump. It was just completely unremarkable, not that it mattered. Flintwood only had the one hotel. Even if she had wanted a choice, she wouldn't have found one.


After she had checked into the hotel, she changed into her favourite little black dress, checked herself approvingly over in the mirror, and then left. She had left early... but somehow she was still late. She frowned in the mirror checking over his make-up critically. She was nervous... and she had a right to be. What if time had changed him? What if the electricity that always existed between them was gone? Worst of all was the idea that maybe the electricity was gone... but only for him. What if he was married?


Why did she care so much, anyways? She had gotten along the last ten years fine without him! She shouldn't feel like there were knots and butterflies in her stomach. Or knotted butterflies... wasn't she just here to see if she could latch onto an old flame as he was flying to the top? It was all about the money... he was successful now, she reassured herself as she pulled into the crowded parking lot. She was late and she sighed getting out of the car before smoothing her tight dress back into place. She hadn't intended to be so late but it was just like old days. Scarlett Jacobs had always made an entrance.


She sucked in a breath before pushing the doors to the gym open. She hoped the reunion would go well.


@Novacaineforthepain

 

[Novacaineforthepain]

Nathaniel "Nate" Parker


Then:

Now:

Nathaniel stared critically into his mirror, taking note of every imperfection, comparing in his mind the image in front of him to the man he had been just 10 years ago, leaving high school. He thought he had aged pretty well, but still he worried, in that entirely superficial and uncontrollable way one does when about to be surrounded by the people he had grown up well. He was a good man and had made a very respectable and ambitious start in this life, "you have nothing to worry about" he told himself.


He tossed his hair, one last time, and straightened the cuff links of his suit before turning briskly and leaving his bedroom. He heard Sarah, his wife, call to him as he made his way down the stairs, "Must you really go tonight Nathaniel?" she said, appearing at the bottom of the stair case, blocking his path to the door. "I don't feel well" she said with her hands on her hips "and when I said that I didn't want to go I wasn't implying that you should go alone, what am I supposed to do all night while you are out with your old football mates being hit on by cheerleaders who never grew up?". He sighed, placing his hands in the pockets of the slacks of his charcoal grey suit, "Honey, nothing like that is going to happen, it's just a small reunion for our year, its been ten years, they probably don't even remember who I am" he said somewhat annoyed that he was having to defend himself on this "besides, I sponsored the event, so it hardly seems appropriate for me to not even turn up for a quick drink". "I will be home as quickly as I can, promise" he said, lightly kissing her on the forehead as he moved past her, exiting out the front door.


As he made his way out onto the garden, he turned to admire his house, it was a big beautiful white Victorian era home, with a front veranda that led out onto a cobbled pathway and terrace. The terrace was surrounded by a garden lush with roses and a freshly mowed lawn that Nate had never once trimmed. In the center, stood a large water fountain, it's trickling, the only noise that could be heard at night. Hedges ran along the perimeter of the block, shielding him from the outside world with the only exit in the form of a double archway in the center of the hedge, entwined with ivy and blood red roses that led out to the rest of his property. It was a beautiful home, but he couldn't help but wonder, did he need all this? it was so...grandiose for just the two of them. His job as a movie director had set him up with a very comfortable lifestyle that was certain and he was lucky that when not shooting a particular project in the city, he was able to retire out here to his little slice of country to relax and recover from the high speed lifestyle of Hollywood. All that he had to admit, his penthouse suite was beautiful too, in its own way, when you could see clear across the city at night, lit up like a Christmas tree. Coming back to reality he headed out of his garden, the stones crunching underneath his dress shoes as he walked to his car, parked outside the garage. He opened the door of his Roll's Royce Phantom and climbed inside, relaxing into the comfortable leather seats. This car was his pride and joy, and he was actually looking forward to the long drive back to his home town and high school, as it would provide with him some much needed 'alone time', away from Sarah, just left to his own thoughts. With a smile back on his face, he turned on the car, he sang along as music poured from his high end speakers and he pulled out into the night.

 

[Aura]

Scarlett had been expecting far more than she found. It turned out that she wasn't going to make a dramatic entrance as everyone was busy hugging and reminiscing about their 'glory days'. It turned out that the whole thing was probably going to be a lot quieter than she thought it would be... especially since the last time she had seen these people they had all been on the cusp of adulthood at seventeen or eighteen years old and now most of the faces she saw were lined and exhausted. Most people were sitting quietly chatting at tables with their family or milling around the refreshment table awkwardly.


A plump woman made her way over to Scarlett and with a smile she said hello with a polite (but necessary in Scarlett's case) reminder of her name. Mary Sue Johnson... well now it was Mary Sue Bowler which Scarlett found out as the woman enthusiastically told her. Mary Sue quickly caught Scarlett up with the last ten years of her boring life before directing her over to the name tag table.


Scarlett moved away from Mary Sue feeling more out of place than she had felt before their conversation. Had she known Mary Sue? Was she supposed to remember the woman? She felt a little uncomfortable at the thought. Maybe Mary Sue had been a quiet shadow in her high school years before blooming into a social butterfly, it really just depended if the other woman was greeting everyone else in such an intimately detailed way. Scarlett really hoped that her brief conversation of Mary Sue wasn't an indicator for how this evening would go. What if she didn't recognize or remember anyone?


She found the table and clipped her name tag around one of the thin straps to her dress, "Scarlett Jacobs", it read in plain text and she scanned the other name tags at the table. There were a number of blank ones for guests, but she was disappointed to notice that the girls who had gotten married had their maiden names in brackets to help identify them. Hers was just 'Jacobs'. She had never been married though there was one man she thought that she would marry. If that dream had been more than entertained her name-tag might have read "Scarlett Parker (Jacobs)" instead. But that hadn't been anything more than the silly dreams of a love-struck high school teenager... and besides, she noted as her eyes found the one with his name on it, she was still intending for that to be a possibility.


Again, the thought made her nervous considering how many things could go wrong... but she steeled a breath. His name-tag was here meaning that he had confirmed through E-mail earlier that he intended to be here. There was no harm in trying, at the very least. Scarlett made her way to the drink table and poured herself a cup of punch as she waited for anyone she recognized to walk through the door, including one person specifically.

 

[Novacaineforthepain]

Nathaniel pulled up outside the high school gymnasium, slightly later than he had intended, but he hadn't been in much of a hurry to get here. It seemed as though he got so little time to himself these days, between work and his marriage. The hour and half long drive here had been an absolute God-send. There was nothing better than driving down the highway at night, listening to music, he felt like the only soul on the planet. He didn't like it when people made a big deal of his job or success, especially around family and friends, it seemed like every time he met up with someone from his past the first thing they said to him was about money or his job. In fact, he had been hesitant even to come to this, especially after the organizer had mentioned the idea of him 'sponsoring' it. But here he was, "May as well make the most of it" he thought to himself as he walked over to the entrance.


As he walked inside, he couldn't help but wonder where the money he sent had gone, laughing to himself. It was a reasonably modest affair, tables, chairs, music, punch the usual, but he supposed it was fair to compare a reunion held in the gymnasium of Flintwood High to the glitz and glamour of LA. He never much cared for parties anyway, not since he had been... well... actually a senior at this very institution.


There were many and more unfamiliar faces mulling around inside the gymnasium, he knew it had only been 10 years but it felt like a lifetime ago. He barely even recognized 90% of the people here, and he wasn't sure if the strange looks he was getting back were because they didn't recognize him either, or they did, but as Nathaniel Parker, the rich director who made something of himself, not Nate Parker the senior of Flintwood High. Nathaniel moved towards the punch bowl, deciding he was definitely going to need a drink to get through this and was immediately spotted by Principal Rick Matthews, who had been principal back in his senior year and was responsible for organizing this 'event'.


"Hi there Nathaniel, how are you? good to see you, I'm so glad you could make it" Matthews said to him. He could hear the need for acknowledgement in his voice and he couldn't help but wonder what these people thought of him? he was still just a normal guy... he hadn't changed that much had he?. "Yes Rick, I'm good thank you, ah, it's certainly been a while" he replied, although his mind was elsewhere and his gaze was elsewhere still, searching the crowd for literally anybody to save him from this clingy version of his old principal...

 

[Aura]

When she poured herself a second glass of punch, Scarlett almost wished that someone had spiked it. Not likely as the children of her old classmates were various ages but all under ten and drinking the punch. She was only wishing this because she had grown certain that this was going to be a miserable evening. Between the first and second glass she had revisited the table of name tags only to find that only one of her old friends from high school had a nametag on the table. The rest of them probably thought that they were too good to return, or something equally snobbish... looking back on who she called her friends back before graduation she began to wonder how she had even counted them among her friends. She had probably liked all of the drama back then, but that sort of cattiness wasn't what she wanted to have tonight.


It was about halfway through said second glass when she noticed Nathaniel enter the gym and she nearly choked on the punch. It almost felt as if she had been slapped in the face and she laid the half-cup of punch down onto the table as she tried to reassure herself. Why was she reacting like this? Her heart was thundering and her palms felt sweaty as she took a moment to talk herself down into a calm state. It was strange how seeing his face felt like driving into town. Things had changed but they had stayed the same. She looked at his face and he could see an image of a man that conflicted with her memory of just a boy.


He was still cute, that much she had absolutely no problem admitting. Actually as she glanced over him she thought that maybe she could graduate him from cute to hot. The years had treated him kindly. She could still recognize the Nate that she used to know in his face and that relieved her. Scarlett shook her head slightly as if she could shake sense into herself. Why did it matter what he looked like or whether or not he was the same? She had a mission.


In her brief pause, Principal Matthews had swooped in on Nathaniel... she watched it feeling a slight edge of amusement. Good thing that she had paused to think because Rick had gone to Nathaniel in a way that made it seem like the poor man was a mouse to the Principal's hawk. It would have looked immensely pathetic and desperate if she had gone after him that way. As she moved towards him, she noticed that sentiment written on his face. He looked eager to talk to anyone else.


"Nate! Seriously, what have you been doing to that pretty little face of yours? You don't look a day over 50." she said as she approached him letting her smile tell him that she was joking with him. She had thought of a million ways to approach him, but decided to avoid anything too flashy or creepy. He probably was used to being around people who tried too hard to impress him.

 

[Novacaineforthepain]

He turned at the sound of her voice, a gorgeous little thing he noticed out of the corner of his eye, brunette, with piercing eyes. His own eyes, widened though he quickly recovered, when he recognised the woman that stood in front of him. "Scarlett... Wow, its been such a long time... Almost 10 years id say" he said with a laugh, "and yes the years have ravaged my features and left me a dried out a husk of the boyish, charming lad who once roamed these halls by your side, but alas, I work with what I have. You on the other hand, look incredible" he continued, maintaining eye contact, smiling at his high school sweetheart. If he was being honest, he hadn't thought much about Scarlett in a long time, but she hadn't left his mind for a good year after high school. She had been his first love, back in a time where his life had been more simple and more complex all at once. Back when he took photographs and made films because it was his passion, not his job, and he drove an old dodge, he had not the means to buy anything else. He used to pick her up on weekends, wearing that old leather jacket he had, and take her to see some indie film that she almost always hated. He smiled at thought of his past, he wasn't the kind of person to wish his wealth away and complain at how well things had turned out, but there was something beautifully simple about that time in his life. Coming back to reality he looked at Scarlett, "how have you been?" he asked.


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[Aura]

"Well, thank you. Some of us know how to take care of ourselves," she said with a smirk and she spun around slowly to let him have an opportunity to sneak in a good glance at her if he wanted to.


"Charming lad?" she laughed easily shaking her head, "We're talking about you right?" She had expected to feel awkward or for the conversation to be or feel forced, but talking to him was natural. She was beginning to remember how much fun he was to tease and how he always seemed to take it in stride or offer up something humourous in return.


And she shrugged casually before a wild sparkle appeared in her eyes, "You don't want to listen to me complain," she said with a quick laugh, "Guess what I do for a living? You'll never believe it."

 

[Novacaineforthepain]

His eyes drank her in as she spun before him, she had aged well, in fact there many ways in which she was more beautiful than she had been we had seen her last. "yes, you will have to tell me your secrets" he said with a smile, "unless it involves a lot of exercise and dedication, in that case im not interested" laughing as he spoke. The conversation was easy, like they had seen eachother only yesterday. He thought deeply for a moment as she asked him to guess what she did for a living, wondering, he came to realise he had absolutely no idea, the girl he had once known had a head full of wild dreams of far away places, but the woman that stood before him was a complete puzzle. "I have no idea" he replied honestly, "but if you're a police officer, everything im carrying is prescription, I swear" he said raising his hands in mock surrender.


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[Aura]

He never would see this one coming, "I'm a financial analyst." she laughed but at the absurdity of the job that she had chosen. Never had there been a person less suited for a job, "Can you imagine me sitting at a desk all day crunching numbers and talking about investments and stocks to my boss in some cubicle?" Yeah, she hated her job. That's why she thought that she needed to make a new investment... namely Nate.


"But what about you? I've seen some of your films and they're pretty good!" he probably had people telling him this all day long and if she knew Nate (and she thought that she did if he hadn't changed too much over the years) he probably hated being surrounded by people praising him all day long so she decided to add, "You'd be proud of me for being able to name some of the shots that you make from listening to you talk when you made me watch those movies where everyone was sad and nobody ever got a happy ending. It must be nice doing what you've always wanted to do, though I'm pretty disappointed that I didn't at least get a pity audition at least once though." She didn't aspire to be an actress by any means, but it had been a career that she had considered for a while... there had been many careers that she hadn't considered, though. She hadn't had any idea when she was younger but instead bounced from dream to dream.

 

[Novacaineforthepain]

"you're right, that is surprising" he said with a laugh. "but im glad you have made something of yourself, you dont need me to help you out, the Scarlett I once knew would have slapped me at the slightest hint of a pity audition" he said smiling. There eyes were locked as they spoke to one with a familiar ease that they had no right to possess, he had forgotten how beautiful she had always been, but as always, Scarlett had reminded him as forcefully as possible. "you look absolutely gorgeous this evening Scarlett, its really good to see you, but im surprised to find you here by yourself, or is your partner hiding around here somewhere?" he asked her honestly, she had never been available for more than a matter of weeks during high school, even if she wasn't taken, she had always had a plethora of suitors that followed her around like little ducklings. Even when they had been together, Nate had grown accustomed to her being pursued while he in turn was pursuing his artistic interests.


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