70 : Backflash
Slowtime as other threads get finished and I enjoy my summer vacation.
Baltimore, Maryland
September 4, 2008
Twenty years later
Northwestern High School was still alive at seven o'clock at night, long after its students had all gone home. It was the twenty-year reunion for the class of 1988, as evidenced by someone having found a 'best of the 80's' CD and playing Wang Chung's "Dance Hall Days" at a particularly loud volume.
Between realizing it had been twenty years since she graduated from Northwestern High and the horror of playing prep-school mom with a bad blonde dye job the day before, Stark was starting to feel all of her almost thirty-seven years. She hadn't bothered with the fifteen-year reunion, well into her FBI career and completely disinterested, with her one-track mind and all. The ten-year? She'd been in her second year and dealing with her sister's death. This one, however, she had no good excuse not to go to, so, she had relented and decided to go. Kevin had graciously loaned her his house in Balmer, being that the Orioles were on a road trip, so at least she got to poke around how the better half lived. His two-story monster of a house put her tract home to shame, and she had already raided his ice cream stash, but he'd known she was going to do that.
Never mind that it felt incredibly weird for this to be her first actual, real date with her partner and best friend turned boyfriend. Their first real date and he was going to be subjected to flashbacks of her from twenty years earlier. Nor did she know how to talk to her old high school friends. Somehow 'I'm an FBI agent who investigates aliens' didn't seem to be good conversation. She'd attempted to dress up for the occasion and had decided she would stay near her partner, not get too deep into what she did for a living, make polite conversation and then sneak off as quickly as possible. Smoothing her dress down, and fixing her hair, she walked with her partner into the gym.
What she saw was like a blast out of her past and not the 'Victor and Tonya's anniversary party at that cheesy seafood restaurant' cute kind of past. She hadn't seen some of these people in years; not at least since she'd joined the Bureau. Yet it was surprisingly easy to peg them all. Her friends were all still around. There was Todd Brecher, who had been head of the debate team, looking like he'd gone on to something important. He had been a lawyer on the Mock Trial team when Stark was the police witness. He'd been saying he was going to be a big-shot prosecutor, maybe U.S. Attorney, and maybe he was with the way he was dressed.
Christian Marcello, the joker and the nerd, Davon's best friend, who had dragged her to a few parties in his day. He could never get a date, so she was the next best thing. He'd had a thing for her once, but wasn't going to swipe his best friend's girl. She hoped maybe he'd actually found somebody, because he was a nice guy.
Davon Hunter was looking particularly sharp, and there was a wedding ring on his hand, which made Stark smile to herself. Davon was a class act. Originally from Louisiana he'd been saying he was going to be the star center for the New Orleans Saints. It hadn't happened that she knew of, but she knew something big had to happen for him.
And that particular flash of blond hair? Definitely Thea Sullivan, her high school best friend and the girl everyone tended to love. Hopefully they wouldn't be too upset that she had missed the previous two reunions.
"Gang's all here," she found herself saying, and couldn't help but smile. They were good people, after all. She just hoped that she still fit in. That she didn't completely humiliate herself in front of the man she loved. And that, for the love of God, they didn't make her sing this time. Just the mere thought of that made her pink. John would probably dump her for that one.
No sooner had she had that thought in her head than she heard someone having spotted her. "As I live and breathe," Davon commented, crossing the room to pull her into a hug. "Wow. We'd sort of given up hope at ever seeing you at one of these things."
"Well, I've been kind of busy over the last couple of years," she commented. It wasn't a lie but it wasn't exactly true either. Not that she couldn't have gone if she would have really wanted to. "Did my time as a city detective, now I'm with the FBI." John would note she had very obviously not specified where.
"FBI? Damn, and I thought I'd made out well for myself. And you look even better than I remember you." A small smile. "And obviously a woman of your caliber didn't come alone," he teased. "I'm not seeing a ring on your finger so I'm guessing boyfriend, right?"
She had to laugh. It was hard to figure out what the right term was when he was everything to her. "Right. Davon, I want you to meet my better half, in every sense of the word, John Doggett. John, this is Davon Hunter. Back in high school, one of my best friends." He had also been her high school boyfriend, but it hadn't lasted very long and seeing as they were both with other people, she decided not to mention that.
Baltimore, Maryland
September 4, 2008
Twenty years later
Northwestern High School was still alive at seven o'clock at night, long after its students had all gone home. It was the twenty-year reunion for the class of 1988, as evidenced by someone having found a 'best of the 80's' CD and playing Wang Chung's "Dance Hall Days" at a particularly loud volume.
Between realizing it had been twenty years since she graduated from Northwestern High and the horror of playing prep-school mom with a bad blonde dye job the day before, Stark was starting to feel all of her almost thirty-seven years. She hadn't bothered with the fifteen-year reunion, well into her FBI career and completely disinterested, with her one-track mind and all. The ten-year? She'd been in her second year and dealing with her sister's death. This one, however, she had no good excuse not to go to, so, she had relented and decided to go. Kevin had graciously loaned her his house in Balmer, being that the Orioles were on a road trip, so at least she got to poke around how the better half lived. His two-story monster of a house put her tract home to shame, and she had already raided his ice cream stash, but he'd known she was going to do that.
Never mind that it felt incredibly weird for this to be her first actual, real date with her partner and best friend turned boyfriend. Their first real date and he was going to be subjected to flashbacks of her from twenty years earlier. Nor did she know how to talk to her old high school friends. Somehow 'I'm an FBI agent who investigates aliens' didn't seem to be good conversation. She'd attempted to dress up for the occasion and had decided she would stay near her partner, not get too deep into what she did for a living, make polite conversation and then sneak off as quickly as possible. Smoothing her dress down, and fixing her hair, she walked with her partner into the gym.
What she saw was like a blast out of her past and not the 'Victor and Tonya's anniversary party at that cheesy seafood restaurant' cute kind of past. She hadn't seen some of these people in years; not at least since she'd joined the Bureau. Yet it was surprisingly easy to peg them all. Her friends were all still around. There was Todd Brecher, who had been head of the debate team, looking like he'd gone on to something important. He had been a lawyer on the Mock Trial team when Stark was the police witness. He'd been saying he was going to be a big-shot prosecutor, maybe U.S. Attorney, and maybe he was with the way he was dressed.
Christian Marcello, the joker and the nerd, Davon's best friend, who had dragged her to a few parties in his day. He could never get a date, so she was the next best thing. He'd had a thing for her once, but wasn't going to swipe his best friend's girl. She hoped maybe he'd actually found somebody, because he was a nice guy.
Davon Hunter was looking particularly sharp, and there was a wedding ring on his hand, which made Stark smile to herself. Davon was a class act. Originally from Louisiana he'd been saying he was going to be the star center for the New Orleans Saints. It hadn't happened that she knew of, but she knew something big had to happen for him.
And that particular flash of blond hair? Definitely Thea Sullivan, her high school best friend and the girl everyone tended to love. Hopefully they wouldn't be too upset that she had missed the previous two reunions.
"Gang's all here," she found herself saying, and couldn't help but smile. They were good people, after all. She just hoped that she still fit in. That she didn't completely humiliate herself in front of the man she loved. And that, for the love of God, they didn't make her sing this time. Just the mere thought of that made her pink. John would probably dump her for that one.
No sooner had she had that thought in her head than she heard someone having spotted her. "As I live and breathe," Davon commented, crossing the room to pull her into a hug. "Wow. We'd sort of given up hope at ever seeing you at one of these things."
"Well, I've been kind of busy over the last couple of years," she commented. It wasn't a lie but it wasn't exactly true either. Not that she couldn't have gone if she would have really wanted to. "Did my time as a city detective, now I'm with the FBI." John would note she had very obviously not specified where.
"FBI? Damn, and I thought I'd made out well for myself. And you look even better than I remember you." A small smile. "And obviously a woman of your caliber didn't come alone," he teased. "I'm not seeing a ring on your finger so I'm guessing boyfriend, right?"
She had to laugh. It was hard to figure out what the right term was when he was everything to her. "Right. Davon, I want you to meet my better half, in every sense of the word, John Doggett. John, this is Davon Hunter. Back in high school, one of my best friends." He had also been her high school boyfriend, but it hadn't lasted very long and seeing as they were both with other people, she decided not to mention that.