High School Reunion

Turning around I was more than shocked to see Brian standing there. He wasn't alone though. A little white ball of fur was with him, it's tail wagging happily as the little dog looked up at me.

"Hey B." I smiled. He took a few short steps to enclose the space between us and pulled me in for a hug. I hugged him back and did not remember him looking this good back in high school. "Who's this?" I asked pulling out of his arms.

He bent down and picked up the dog so we could get a better look at each other. "This is Pinkly."

"She's so cute." I held my hand to pet her and before I could even touch her her little tongue darted out of her mouth and she licked my hand. "I think she likes me."

"I think she does too. You in town for the reunion?"

"I sure am." I told him.

"I'll probably see you there." I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I'm Matt's plus one. Val's sick and can't go."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I was really looking forward to seeing her."

"Yeah she was pretty pissed. She really wanted to see you too. So um, how's life been treating you? I'm sure you tore up New York City with Tristan when you got there."

"Yeah about that.." I started. "I ended up not going."

He tilted his head as he looked at me. "How come?"

"I didn't get in."

"Y-you.. what?!" He looked incredibly shocked. It was the same look that most gave me when they found out I didn't get in. Had I not been crying while reading the letter I probably would have had the same expression. "Why the fuck not?"

We walked a short distance before sitting down since I had a feeling that this conversation wouldn't be over any time soon. Not that I wanted it to be. It was nice to talk to someone of the opposite sex and not only have them listen to what I was saying but be interested in it as well. I didn't really have that with Mike anymore. It seemed like there were a lot of things that I didn't have with him anymore and the worst part was I didn't know if I cared if I did or not.

I went on to explain to him the rejection letter I received as well as the acceptance letter that I showed up a few months later. To this day I wonder if I made the right decision by not transferring. In a way I think I did. I mean I was already getting job offers before I even graduated. I was able to save thousands of dollars just on tuition alone and I was still close to my family and friends. The only thing I really missed out on was having four seasons a year and even that didn't bother me all that much.

"I'm really sorry Jen. I remember how much you wanted to go there."

"I did but looking back maybe it was good that I didn't. I mean I have a great job. I'm still close to home. I--"

"You're getting married?"

I followed Brian's eyes down to my hand and smiled softly at him. I couldn't quite read his expression. It was mix of things. Disappointment, anger, and jealously. Had Nicole been right? Did Brian Haner Jr really have feelings for me when we were in high school? Did he still have those feelings now? I had my doubts. This wasn't the same Brian I knew when I was a teenager. This Brian was Synyster Gates. Lead guitarist of Avenged Sevenfold."Yeah.. I've been engaged for two years."

He broke his gaze from my ring and looked up at me. "Two years? This dude does plan on marrying you right?"

"We did set a date."

I knew where this conversation could easily go and I really wanted to avoid it if I could. It was the same one I'd had with Tristan and Nicole and one I'd been having with myself for months. Glancing at Brian's hand I noticed there was no ring and figured he wasn't married or just didn't wear his ring. A lot of guitarists didn't. I could count on one hand how many times I had seen Brad with his wedding ring on.

"I'm sorry if I sounded like an ass but.. two years seems long for an engagement."

I sighed. He wasn't wrong. It was long even for a couple that had already planned everything out. "Yeah well the wedding isn't for another year and a half."

"You need to dump this douchebag and find someone else. Any man that makes you wait that long to marry him doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as you. Wait, aren't you engaged to Mike Shinoda?"

I nodded. "I am."

"I don't really know the guy but I have heard shit. None of it good. You know if Jimmy were here he'd be telling you to run for the hills. I know I haven't seen you since we graduated but.. you don't look happy. You don't light up when you talk about him or your engagement. The only thing that shines is that ring on your finger. All I'm saying is don't do something you'll regret later. If you aren't happy now you won't be five years from now. Your happiness should always come first." He paused to take a breath. "Anyway.. I should probably get Pinkly fed and shit. So I'll see you tomorrow night?"

"I'll be here."'

Brian smiled at me before getting up and walking away with Pinkly. I sat there and watched him letting the words he just said soak in. He was right about a lot of things. I wasn't happy. I wasn't a lot of things anymore. Mike's behavior wasn't helping either. One of us was going to have to make the first step but did we try to fix whatever problems we were having or let each other go and move on?

With a sigh I got to my feet and headed back towards my car to make the very short drive from here to my dad's.



The rest of my Friday was spent at my dad's just catching up and relaxing before Tristan came over for dinner. We were able to have some time just the two of us and I told her how I had been feeling lately. Normally she would just be extremely blunt much like Nicole but she told me if that if I was having any second thoughts that I shouldn't be going through with this wedding. The gut is never wrong and it would be better to end it now than end up divorced in a couple of years. Mike and I really needed to sit down and talk about everything because if he was having the same thoughts that I was then it was time to go our separate ways.

Saturday morning I woke up and nearly forgot where I was. My dad hadn't really done much to my room. Maybe some new bedding and some paint on the walls but he had let me pick everything out. To him this would always be my room and he would never make a single change unless I okay'd it first. I had one quick meeting this morning with the class officers before we planned to decorate the hall at the hotel. Our class president Heather Minick was the hotel manager at the Hyatt here in Huntington. She was able to get one of the ballrooms for free for the reunion which saved us a ton of money. Money we ended up using to hire a DJ and photographer. The hotel had their own bartender and caterer but the packages offered wasn't what we wanted. We weren't doing an open bar. Instead we decided to offer seven kinds of drinks. Sparkling water, two kinds of soda, two signature cocktails and two kinds of beer. As for food we wanted only a few kinds of snacks in case anyone had the munchies. French fries, fruit salad cups, and chocolate mousse cups. We really didn't need more than that.

The decorations weren't anything crazy. Our class secretary Amanda Webber had a banner made which two of the hotel staff hung up for us. Our vice president Kyle Robinson had hired theDJ who happened to be his best friend and been told to play music from the 90's as well as any music that was created by anyone in our class. I wasn't sure how well that would go. It would either be great or a huge disaster. I was the class treasurer and had been the one to handle the money for everything. We didn't spend the entire budget thankfully but a good chunk was gone. We were having a canned food drive which would help us add more money to the budget.

Once everything was done and we could leave I decided to just walk the property. It amazed me how beautiful it was. We didn't have a dress code for tonight but I still wanted to look nice. Mike of course had called right when the meeting was starting and wanting to know what I was wear. He said he wanted to match me. I told him I would text him cause I was busy and couldn't talk. He wasn't too happy about that. The truth was I wasn't sure what I was going to wear yet. I had brought three possible outfits. Since the reunion was inside it didn't really matter what I wore. However it was suppose to get down into the low 60's after dark so I was either going to wear pants or bring a jacket. I texted Mike to let him know my options. All I got back was..

'You are wearing a dress not pants'

Now he was telling me what to wear. I was surprised he didn't say a specific one. I was going to wear whatever I wanted and there was nothing Mike was going to do to stop me.



Glancing at the clock up on the wall I gave a frustrated sigh. Mike was late. Very late in fact. He was suppose to be here a hour ago so we could go out to dinner with my dad before the reunion. My dad had made a reservation at my favorite restaurant, The Market Broiler and we needed to be there in fifteen minutes or we would lose our table. A lot of times on Saturday's Mike would go to the studio with Brad to go over things for the new album. Today was no exception but usually if he was going to be late he would call to let me know.

Just as I was about to give up hope I heard my phone ringing. It was Mike.

"Hello?"

"Hey babe, sorry I'm running late. We got held up at the studio and I'm just now getting out of there. I'm not gonna make it to dinner."

I sighed. "How long will it be before you get here?"

"It's gonna be a while probably. I still have to go home and shower. Why don't you go to dinner with your dad and I'll meet you at his place when you're done?"

I nodded even though he couldn't see me. "Alright."

"I'll see you soon."

The line went dead without even an I love you. I can't say I was surprised really but he was trying to hurry. I guess I could give him that. My dad and I then went out for dinner. It was nice to spend time with just him not that I hadn't been doing that already. They had put us in a corner in the back so no one would bother us and we enjoyed a very peaceful meal. When we arrived back home Mike still wasn't there yet but he texted saying he would be there in about ten minutes. Those ten minutes passed and still no sign of Mike. It wasn't until another ten minutes passed before Mike finally pulled into the driveway. When he got out of his Escalade he was carrying his clothes in his hands. He wasn't even dressed yet. Opening the door for him he kissed me on the cheek and said a quick hello to my dad before running up the steps to my room. My dad just looked at me with a raised eyebrow and I told him I would explain it to him later. By this point we were now late by at least twenty minutes. I guess it wasn't a big deal really. I was just hoping we would have at least been on time.

"I'm so sorry." Mike said as he raced down the stairs fully dressed. He gave me a kiss and said a real hello to my dad. They chit chatted for a few minutes before we finally left. "Where is this thing at again?"

"The Hyatt on PCH. It's on the east side of town. Trust me you can't miss it."

I knew Mike wasn't going to let me drive so I hopped in on the passenger side. The first thing he did when he got into the drivers seat was tell me how he noticed I wasn't wearing a dress before starting the SUV. I was wearing a skirt but I guess my outfit was a bit too casual for him. Mike thought we needed to make an entrance. That was actually the last thing I wanted. I was never a spotlight kind of a girl. I always preferred to be 'behind the scenes'. Being popular wasn't something I wanted either but I think the only reason I was became of my last name. I pretty much got along with everyone and I had an army of people around me that would take care of anyone that tried to fuck with me. They knew I would do the same for them.

When we finally arrived Mike took my hand just before we walked through the doors of the ballroom. I could feel many sets of eyes on us and it made me feel a bit uncomfortable. I hated being the center of attention. There were clearly Linkin Park fans in my class because I heard a few people whisper 'Holy shit that's Mike Shinoda!'. I had a feeling Mike was going to be in his glory tonight. He was going to treat it like he was at a meet and greet and he was the star of the show. While he was signing an autograph I managed to slip away and headed over to my girls. Casey ran over and hugged me when she saw me.

"I am so happy to see you!" She said in our tight embrace.

"It's been too damn long Case. How are you? How's Sage?"

"We are absolutely wonderful."

We talked for a minute before I was being pulled in for more hugs. Everyone was here except for Haylee and Rachel. Haylee had gotten sick just days before the reunion and Rachel couldn't get time off from work. Emily who I hadn't seen in years gave me a tight hug before showing me the diamond engagement ring shining on her finger. I was so happy for her. I had yet to meet her fiance but he was off getting her something to drink.

"BUTTERFLY!!!!!"

I would know that voice anywhere. Suddenly I saw a head tearing through the crowd. With his height and jet black crazy hair you couldn't miss him anywhere. I braced myself for impact when Jimmy Sullivan came fully into view and swept me up in his arms. He spun me around a few times before setting me back onto my feet.

"Hi Jimmers."

"I missed you so fucking much!" He said as he pulled me back into his arms and hugged me tight.

"I missed you too."

Over his shoulder I could see a few others walking in our direction. One was Brian, one was Zack Baker and the last was my high school crush, Matt Sanders. Nicole had been right Matt was a lot hotter than he had been in high school but as hot as he was I had no feelings for him now. One by one they said hi to me and when it was Matt's turn he gave me that dimpled smile followed by a hug. Matt had never hugged me before. He barely even spoke to me. I just sat gazing at him any chance I got back then.

Brian offered to take pics of me and the girls with various phones and cameras. We were posing for what seemed like twenty minutes when we all froze at the voice behind us. A voice that none of us wanted to hear again.

"What's up bitches? Got room for one more?"

Slowly turning around we all came face to face with the one person none of us wanted to see. Courtney Mariano. She gave us a sweet innocent smile that we knew was anything but. We agreed to do one picture with her in hopes that she would leave us alone. She squeezed herself in making sure she was right by me and put her arm around my waist.

"Glad to see you Jen. Have missed you."

I gave her a fake smile before turning my attention back to the camera. I heard Brian chuckle before taking the picture. Satisfied Courtney left to get something to drink while Brian handed Nicole her camera. Glancing at the photo the only person smiling had been Courtney. Nicole deleted the photo with a satisfied smile. I vowed to spend the rest of my evening avoiding Courtney as much as possible.



Mike had been putting on a show all night. Several of my classmates had wanted autographs or photos with him. They would then come up to me and tell me how lucky I was. I watched as he made his way over to the bar and got himself a beer. This hadn't been the first one either. The only things I was drinking was the ice cold glass of Sprite in front of me.

"Hey Jen could I talk to you for a minute?"

Looking up I saw Matt staring down at me. What could Matt Sanders want to talk to me about? Nodding I watched as he sat down in an empty chair at the table.

"What's up?" I asked extremely curious as to what he wanted.

"Well first off. You look great. Very happy for you and Shinoda." He started. I went to say thank you but he kept going. "We are currently writing our next album and I know how hard you are to book. We want you to build the sets for all of our singles on the upcoming album as well as our next tour." I watched as Matt pulled a stack of papers out of his jacket pocket and placed them down in front of me. "You do amazing work and we want to hire you before anyone else gets a chance to. I promise nothing will interfere with your wedding whenever that is. We'll make sure we can work around it. Read over the details and let me know what you think."

I couldn't believe this. The first time I get to have a real conversation with Matt Sanders and it's because his band wanted to hire me? I was beyond pissed off. I didn't even get to tell him that I was. He basically dropped these papers in my lap and went off to have another drink. Jimmy plopped down in the chair Matt had just been sitting in, a big smile on his face but that smile faded when he saw the look on mine.

"What's wrong Butterfly?" I said nothing as I practically shoved the papers at him. I had never been mad at Jimmy in my life but now I was furious. He looked over them before looking up at me. "Who gave these to you?"

"Your singer did."

"Matt? Why would he do this?"

"It's pretty black and white there James. You were hoping I would come tonight so you could hire me to work for you."

He shook his head. "No, I was just hoping to see you. I swear I don't know anything about this." He began looking around frantically probably to find Matt when Autumn rushed over to the table.

"Jen, your fiance is a fucking pig. He tried to feel me up after I came out of the bathroom."

I studied Autumn's face as I got up from my seat. She had never lied to me the entire time I've known her. She would have no reason to lie to me. It was only then when I looked over her shoulder that I saw Mike with Courtney. They were in a corner that they thought no one could see them in. She was smirking up at him as his free hand made it's way up her leg to her thigh. I made my way towards them with Autumn hot on my heels. It wasn't until I got closer that I could hear part of their conversation.

"I had such a great time with you tonight Mikey. You sure know how to welcome a girl home."

"It was my pleasure baby and as soon as I drop Jen off at her dad's I am all yours."

"I can't wait."

Mike hadn't been at the studio with Brad earlier. The reason he was late is because he'd been off having sex with Courtney and from the looks of things I don't think it was the first time. They sure weren't acting like they had just met. Stopping dead in my tracks I just stared at Mike with tears in my eyes. I knew we had been having problems lately but I never thought he would actually be cheating on me. Mike jumped away from Courtney when he saw me. A look of shock written all over his face

"Babe, I didn't see you there." He moved closer and tried to wrap his arm around me but I jumped back. "What's wrong?"

"I heard about your great time earlier Mikey." His eyes widened and looked like a deer caught in head lights.

"Jen I swear it's not what you think. It meant nothing."

"That isn't what you said earlier." Courtney said with a smirk. By now the other girls had come over to find out what was going on. Casey pulled Nicole back as she started after Courtney.

"How long has this been going on?" I asked looking at Mike. Before he could say anything Courtney spoke.

"With me or the others?"

"Others?"

"Jen I.." Mike trailed off. I backed away from him and pushed my way through the girls. The nearest exit was one of the doors that led out to the courtyard. I knew everyone there had been watching. I knew they had been listened and I knew they could see me crying. I didn't care. All I cared about at that moment was getting the hell out of there.