R É U N I ON
A/N: Hello, y'all!
I've been at FFN for nearly a year now, but this is my first attempt at writing a fanfic. So... virgin attempt, this –HAHHAHAHAH! I've been devirginized! Ooooh la la, go me! I– Pardon.
Okay, well...being a first-timer and all; the plot's probably going to suck. So even if you do flame, make it a joke-y one, okay? -nods- I like jokes. Very much.
If you're able to insult me with a joke, I'll bow down to ya. And call you Mum (or Dad). And... write an ode to you. And... praise you to the high heavens.
But enough crap.
Anyway, I just hope that y'all are going to like this. Tell me if you spot any mistakes or pieces of plot that don't link!
Finally, big thanks to Adel and Lauren for their help, and for Hannah, my beta reader!
Hope you'll enjoy...
Prologue
New York, 2006
Fate has always been cruel to mortals.
Over the centuries, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos have made sport of the bumbling humans below them, laughing as they watch the mortals trying and failing to escape from the traps laid for them since birth. Cressida and Troilus, Helen and Paris, the murder of Caesar, the assassination of Ghandi, John Kennedy and so forth... the list of examples could go on and on.
He was no exception to this.
True, others may claim otherwise, that his life was –what's that word again?- ah, yes, peachy. The word had never failed to puzzle him; what on earth have peaches got to do with something that means "good" or "smashing"?
But he digressed.
Yes, his grandfather may have just died and left him a sizeable fortune –not that it made any difference, seeing how he was in control of it already before the old man's death, seeing as the latter was always "gorked out on his meds" (a term he was rather fond of). Yes, he himself may be a renowned and wealthy barrister, with gorgeous models clambering to be seen on his arm. Yes, he may own a jet-black BMW convertible –which he was driving now, by the way.
But so?
They didn't matter at all. After all, the excitement was in the chase, and they were easy prey. Suddenly his mind drifted elsewhere, to haunting green eyes. The one... thing in the world that, should he snap his fingers, would not become his. His foot pressed the accelerator with a little more force than necessary.
He wondered bitterly about her. It had been eight years since he last saw her... had she changed? Matured, grown more beautiful than ever? Or had she remained the same? What was her job now? And the most important question of all... was she married?
He'd bet his entire bank account that she was... and no doubt that Rico Suave was the groom. His fingers dug into the velvet-covered steering wheel as his thoughts went to his ex-rival. True, he may have conceded defeat to him nine years ago, but that didn't mean that he couldn't harbour some resentment towards the boy—or rather, man.
Perfect Jesse. He glared unseeingly at the deserted road stretching in front him. Sweet, kind, considerate, saintly Jesse. He could still remember the way Suze had gazed at Jesse at the senior prom eight years ago, and how he had hated it. Hated that unbreakable hold she had over him, that was so strong that even eight years later, he could still remember every detail of that beautiful, unattainable face.
He tried to hate her too, but to no avail. He loved her too much. Loved that spirit of hers, those green eyes and that—
His musings caused him to overlook both the ball lying in his car's path, and the little girl crossing the road to get it. By the time he noticed the toddler, it was nearly too late. He swerved his car to the left frantically, and missed the frightened child by a mere inch or so. But in doing so, his car crashed violently into the lamp post by the road, the sheer force of the collision causing the front of his car to crumple.
It was suddenly so bright for him, the light unbearable enough to make him flinch, and then it all condensed into cool, comfortable darkness. His torso slumped onto the steering wheel as he slipped down, down... into oblivion.
His car horn blared long and loud into the silent New York night.