by Lily Graison
Megan laughed, shaking her head. "You don't have any wrinkles now, you goof."
"Well, maybe not, but they're hiding there, just under the surface. I can feel them," Paige laughed studying her photo.
"Do you see it, Paige?" Kim asked, butting in-between Paige and Megan. Kim let out a slow laugh before she shook her head. "Its kind of ironic, don't you think?"
"Yes and I still can't believe how young I was," she smiled. She stared at the photo, Kim's snickers causing her head to turn and look at her curiously. "What is so funny, Kim? Have you already found the bar or something?"
"No, I just think it's kind of hilarious, is all," she said staring at the photo.
"What?"
Kim turned, looking at Paige before looking back at the photo. "Uh, that!" she said loudly, pointing to the picture.
Paige bit back a remark before pointing to the badge on Kim’s shirt. "And like that isn’t?"
Kim looked at Paige before giggling louder. "Geez Paige, do you not see him!"
"See who?"
"Your stalker!" Kim stated loudly, pointing to the boy in the picture before laughing and walking off.
Paige turned back to the photo, looking at the others who were slightly out of focus before she finally saw whom Kim was talking about. Sitting in the row over from where Paige sat in the photo, was Colin.
She smiled while looking at him. He had to have been the shyest person she'd ever known. The day he had asked her to the prom was the first time he'd ever said anything to her other than his daily "Hello Paige."
She instantly wondered if he were there and found herself looking around the room, scanning the faces of her old classmates. She shook her head, finding the action silly, before looking back at the photo.
Paige leaned her head to the side, looking closely at the boy in the photo. Colin looked different than she remembered. She wasn't sure what it was at first, but on closer examination, she realized his glasses were in his hand, not on his face. She couldn't remember ever seeing him with them off.
She smiled thinking he really wasn't as bad looking as everyone made him out to be, especially with the glasses off. Sure his clothes were a little on the dorky side and his hair was… well, unmanageable, but other than the exterior, he wasn't bad.
She studied his features, trying to imagine what he would look like now. Most everyone looked the same, other than a few extra pounds here and there and she pictured the man he would be today.
She imagined his hair different. The unruly curls finally managed and away from his face so everyone could see him. The blue in his eyes were bright and the longer she stared at him the more familiar the face became. The smile on her face slowly fell away as she took in his features.
The hair that curled wildly on top his head seemed to pull away from the sharp lines of his cheekbones she'd never really paid much attention to before. His lips were full, the bottom much thicker than the top and she leaned in, looking into the photo and her heart seemed to quicken in her chest when she looked at his eyes. He was looking directly at the camera, almost as if he were looking at her. His eyes looked familiar, like one's she'd seen recently.
Suddenly a set of shocking blue eyes registered in her mind and her mouth gaped open. She stared at the photo before she shook her head. "That's impossible," she mumbled to herself, staring in disbelief at Colin. "It can't be."
Paige blinked. She shook her head, trying to clear it before looking back at the photo.
When the Class President announced dinner was being served Paige never moved. She stood there, staring at the photo. She barely acknowledged her peers moving about the room and heading for the dining hall.
"You ready, Paige?" Megan asked, coming to stand over by her friend.
Paige stood stock still, her breaths quickening, still staring at the photo.
"You know, if you like that photo so much, I bet they'll let you have it." Megan said, grinning. "What has you so intrigued with it anyway?"
"Colin," Paige said, flatly.
"Colin?"
"Right there in living color," Paige said, pointing him out.
"Wow. I bet he'd be tickled shitless if he knew he actually had a picture with you and him in it."
"Oh, I bet he would," Paige said harshly. She continued to stare at the blue eyes she felt herself drown in every time she looked into them. She could see it so clearly now.
She knew why Simon knew her name. He knew her.
"Well, come on," Megan said, taking Paige's arm and pulling her towards the door.
* * *
Simon took a long draw from his smoke, staring at the building and trying to build enough nerve up to actually get off his bike and go inside. He knew Paige was in there, waiting just inside the door somewhere, and the moment of truth was close at hand.
He'd been sitting in the parking lot for over ten minutes trying to go over exactly what he would say when he saw her. He knew she wasn't going to be happy at first, but hoped after a little explanation of why he hadn't told her who he was from the beginning; she would see things from his perspective and not castrate him on sight.
Sighing heavily, he stood, throwing his cigarette to the ground before he straightened his shoulders and walked confidently toward the building. The nervous feelings in his gut churned slightly when he reached the door before grabbing the handle and pulling it open.
"Hi, welcome to Riverdale Highs class reunion. Would you please sign in and find your badge," Melissa said cheerfully when Simon walked through the door.
Simon looked over at her before he reached into his pocket, pulling his ticket out and tossed it on the table as he walked by.
"Hey, wait a minute, you need to sign in!" Melissa yelled, standing from her seat. She watched his retreating form before glancing at Tracy.
"Who the hell is that?" Tracy asked, a huge smile on her face as she watched the black clad figure walk down the hall.
"I don't know. He didn't look familiar."
"I'll say," Tracy said, grinning, "I sure as hell would have remembered him."
Melissa sat back down, her eyes still riveted on Simon before he rounded the corner and was out of sight.
"Hurry, look and see who hasn't shown up yet. Maybe we can figure out who he is," she said giggling before she and Tracy dove into the remaining name badges, trying to find the classmate they hadn't recognized.
***
Simon walked slowly down the hall, stopping at the large easel sat up to hold all the information on the planned events. He scanned the schedule, seeing they were to first report to the lobby, where they would meet till everyone was accounted for before they would enter the dining room. He noted the time and saw that the meet and greet was over before glancing at the printed floor plan.
Looking down the hall and turning, he headed for the dining area and to the woman who would probably hate him forever.
* * *
Paige allowed herself to be led down the hall, her mind going a thousand miles a minute while she tried to process the information in her head. Her logical self kept saying it wasn't possible, but the reasonable side, kept seeing the sharp features that graced his face, the full lips she still had trouble forgetting and the piercing blue eyes that seemed to pull her into a place made for her and her alone.
The low rumble of voices barely registered when Megan guided her into the dining hall and towards their table. Kim's loud voice carried over the chatter in the room. Her heated protest about the seating arrangements gained the eye of almost everyone in the room.
"You are not sitting there," Kim said, loudly.
"Sorry sweetheart, but this is my seat," Travis said, grinning.
"Well, just because you have to sit at our table, doesn't mean I have to sit beside you," she said, before going over to the other empty chairs.
"They're assigned, Kim," Courtney said, rolling her eyes at Kim's behavior.
"Like I care," she said, looking at the name cards at each setting.
Megan fou
nd her seat, sitting down beside Heather as Paige found hers and sat too.
She looked up when she heard voices and her anger vanished. She was suddenly face-to-face with the one person she didn't want to see again.
"Hey, Paige."
Her old high school flame, Lance, gave her his all too familiar hundred-watt smile before pulling out his chair, sitting down quietly as his date grabbed the chair next to him.
"Hey Lance," Paige said, trying not to stare but finding it difficult not too. The whole table seemed to calm down immediately.
She knew she would run in to him again and dreaded it from the time she received the announcement of the reunion. But looking at her old high school sweetheart, she felt absolutely nothing. He wasn't even as good looking as she remembered.
She wondered how'd she feel seeing him again and now that he sat two chairs over from her, he was just a guy who held memories to her past. Nothing more.
He stared back at her, and a slow smile began to form on her face when she realized she'd been worried for nothing. No remaining feelings were there unless she counted her remorse at losing so much sleep when they'd broken up. Her friends were all in a tizzy at the time. It just didn't look right if one of the most popular was without a steady beau.
She almost rolled her eyes at her last thought. Her friends, although she loved them dearly, were the shallowest people she had ever known.
Kim walked around the table before grabbing the chair beside Paige. She sat down between her and Lance's date, smiling before looking down at the place setting. Her eyes widened, a small grin curving her lips before saying, "You know what? I think my seat was just fine."
Paige watched her stand back up and walk around the table, sitting down between Travis and Heather. She leaned over, whispering something to Heather before they burst out laughing.
Reaching over to the place setting next to her, Paige picked up the name card and felt her heartbeat once again quicken at the name of the person assigned to sit beside of her. Colin Gregory was printed on the card. "Remind me to find the person responsible for the seating arrangements before we leave," she said hatefully, flinging the card back down and slumping back in her seat.
* * *
Simon stood in the hall, reading the seating arrangement before glancing at the last few people walking into the dining hall. He couldn't believe his luck. Okay, maybe luck was being a little too optimist. He knew whoever made the seating arrangements had done this out of pure spite.
No matter, he thought. She was where he was headed anyway.
"This is it," he said softly to himself. This was the minute he'd been dreading since first laying eyes on Paige back at the club.
Taking a deep breath, Simon let it out slowly, straightening his shoulders before turning and walking through the door.
* * *
"Holy shit, Paige! That man is turning into a regular stalker!" Kim said, grinning.
Paige turned her head, looking over her shoulder and she clenched her jaw when she saw Simon walking toward them. It really was him. She tried to convince herself she was wrong but as he walked across the room and held her gaze, she knew better.
"Hell, if my stalkers looked like that, I wouldn't feel the need to have them locked up all the time," Heather said, smiling as Simon approached the table.
"No doubt about that one."
The girls all smiled when Simon finally made it to the table, pulling the chair beside of Paige out and sitting down.
"Hey Simon, you aren't following Paige, now are you?" Kim asked. "Not that she would mind, would you, Paige?"
Paige sat staring at Simon, unable to look away. She could see it clearly now, the quiet shy boy that used to blush every time she smiled at him.
The look in his eyes wasn't the same as it had been earlier that day. His entire demeanor was different. The badass, cocky man she'd met the day before, was gone. Now, he was Colin, just wearing Simon's clothes. The insecure boy who followed her around finally emerged, and she felt her anger wavering slightly as she looked at him.
"How did you get in here anyway?" Kim asked, staring at Simon.
"Through the door," Simon told her, tearing his eyes away from Paige and looking at the others.
"How'd you find us? You left the store before we did."
Simon ignored their questions, looking back over at Paige. He stared at her for a few minutes, turning in his seat slightly before saying, "Paige can I talk to you… in private? There's something I need to tell you."
"Yeah, something you should have told me two days ago," Paige snapped, her voice louder than she had intended.
Paige saw Heather and Kim both glance at each other, one of them whispering, "he said her name again," before Kim spoke up. "Uh, Simon, we've kind of been wondering how you knew Paige's name."
"He knew it because he already knew me. Just like he knows all of your names."
"Huh?" Heather and Kim both said simultaneously.
"Isn't that right… Colin?" Paige said, her head leaning to the side she looked at him. The anger resurfaced and she took a deep breath to try and calm down. She waited for him to deny it. Waited for him to tell her she was crazy and she never wanted anything more in her life.
When Simon sighed heavily and looked at her, she knew. "I wanted to tell you," he said softly, his eyes darting away briefly before he looked back up at her.
"Then why didn't you?"
"Wait a minute!" Kim said loudly, getting everyone's attention. "Would someone like to run that last bit by me one more time `cause it sounded a whole lot like you said his name was Colin."
"That's because I did," Paige said. "Girls, you remember Colin, don't you?"
Kim stared across the table at Simon for a few minutes before she giggled, the sound abruptly stopping before her eyes widened. "Colin? Colin Gregory?"
Paige nodded her head in confirmation before Kim laughed again and yelled, "You're Colin Gregory!"
The noise in the room vanished completely. Everyone in the dining hall turned to stare at them.
Simon sighed again, looking at Paige for a minute longer before turning towards Kim. "Yes, you remember don't you? Tall, glasses, the one you and your friends made a daily habit of torturing with your constant taunting."
Kim shook her head, looking at the others at the table before turning her attention back to Simon. "Colin Gregory? You're Colin Gregory?"
"Yes Kim, I'm Colin Gregory," Simon said irritated.
Kim stared at him for a few seconds before she laughed loud and boisterously, the sound bouncing off the walls around the room before she stopped abruptly and yelled, "No Fucking Way!"
* * * *
Chapter 13
No matter how upset Paige was at the situation, she couldn't help but be amused at Kim's reaction. The look on her face was priceless, her loud outburst sending the entire room into a frenzy of hushed whispers. There wasn't a person in the room that wasn't focused in on them… or more specifically… Simon.
The others at the table sat in stunned silence, each of them undoubtedly trying to grasp the concept that Simon, the guy they had all practically drooled over and made lewd comments about all weekend, was Colin. Every person at the table sat gob-smacked. They stared at the now completely transformed man sitting with them.
Paige looked around her, seeing every eye in the room on them before she looked back at Kim and said, "Kim, sit down."
Kim stared at Simon with her mouth gaping open, her eyes wide. She blinked a few times, finally looking over at Paige before she started to laugh.
Paige sighed heavily, looking around the room when Kim fell back in her chair holding her stomach. Her laughter rang out through the banquet hall and the longer Kim laughed, the madder Paige became.
"Heather, make her shut up before I hurt her."
No one moved. Paige gritted her teeth, listening to Kim before she saw Megan stand. She grabbed Kim's arm and pulled her from the chair before guiding her out of the room.
Pa
ige watched them go, noticing that everyone's attention was still on them. She rolled her eyes. It didn’t matter how much time past; people still gawked.
Looking back over at Simon, she noticed his entire demeanor had changed. The muscle in his jaw ticked, his fists were clenched tight, and his eyes were hard and cold. He stared down at the table, his body still and quiet. He'd sat there throughout Kim's whole hysterical laughing without saying a word.
He didn't look scared anymore. He looked angry as hell. And Paige felt horrible. She realized by the look on his face that what he'd just been subjected to wasn't anything he hadn’t suffered through before. Laughter, at his expense, all because of her. He spent two years being the butt of everyone's jokes for one reason or another. Now ten years later, he still was.
"Colin Gregory?"
Paige turned to Lance the same time Simon did and she wanted to slap her ex. After ten years he was still just as immature as her friends were. He sat there, laughing at Simon and she felt her heart break a little bit more for him. Why did they still do this? Treat him like he was… nobody.
She looked back over at Simon. She saw the same hurt look she witnessed more times than she cared to remember cross his face before his jaw twitched and he straightened in his seat. The pain in her heart for this man was nothing compared to the way he probably felt. Reaching out, she laid her hand on his arm just as he turned to her. "Simon."
"Forget it, Paige," Simon spat out hatefully, jerking his arm away. "I thought maybe ten years was enough time for you and your friends to get over yourselves. Apparently I was wrong." He stood and turned, walking away from the table.
"Simon wait," she said, quickly standing up from her seat and following him. She couldn't let him leave like that. She knew the hurt look on his face was once again her fault and she wasn't about to let it end like this. She wasn't the same girl anymore. She owed him something for all those years of torment he'd taken because of her, regardless of his motives in not telling her who he was. He deserved more than laughter and ridicule.
