Chapter Text
Why people thought they needed to do the whole high school reunion thing was absolutely beyond Fallon. Everybody would either be cocky as hell, thinking that everyone would be jealous of how far they’d come, or perhaps impressed that they didn’t fail — or they’d be a miserable wreck because their life fell apart. And those folks would probably be the ones getting drunk at the bar while everyone else mingled or danced or whatever people even did at a reunion.
She hadn’t actually been interested in going, but Liam was adamant that she should, if only to maybe reconnect with any of the positive influences she’d had back in school. With things as complicated as they were for both Liam and Fallon with their families, it was hard to find an outside person to confide in, and he wanted that option for her. Even if she decided she was too strong to actually take that chance on someone besides him or perhaps Sam and Monica. It didn’t hurt to have a wider circle of friends, in his opinion.
So she had agreed, albeit very reluctantly, to go provided he made sure he had the night free. He had put it on his calendar immediately and Fallon had all but forgotten it, choosing to let him worry about that so she didn’t have to wonder what her former classmates would inevitably have to say about her now.
The afternoon finally came around, and Fallon had pushed it so far from her mind that she had put together a plan to spend the evening at Liam’s house with the sole intention of taking him to bed and keeping him there. But when she came home from work she was surprised to find that he wasn’t cooking like he usually enjoyed doing. Instead, he was freshly showered and standing in the bathroom in a towel, steam still fogging the mirror as he tried to comb his hair into submission. The slight curl in the strands was fighting against him, but it just made his fiancée smile as she leaned against the door frame.
“Got a hot date?” She asked him cheekily, tilting her head and lifting an eyebrow in slight warning.
“I do,” he agreed simply.
Fallon frowned. That didn't make any sense. Not even a little bit. Liam would never... “Oh? With whom?”
He looked over at her and smirked. “Well, it’s this woman I met several years back.” His smirk just grew more amused as she narrowed her eyes at him. “Really clever, outrageously sexy-“
Fallon stood up straight, her eyes widening even as she somehow looked all the more furious.
“-and she runs her own publishing company.” Liam lifted an eyebrow, watching as understanding began to dawn on her face. He stepped forward, reaching for her hands, and smiled at her more softly. “Your reunion’s tonight, remember? You said I had to go with you.”
Fallon let out a groan and dropped her head backwards in what was essentially a whole-body eye roll. Liam chuckled under his breath and pulled her closer to kiss her neck, which made her melt against him instantly.
“Get dressed, Fal. We leave at six thirty.”
He pulled away and she whined, but did as he asked.
——————
She’d taken longer than she meant to just on picking out an outfit. It had to be something that said she was not to be messed with, and that she was successful and happy and not the arguably evil little girl she’d become after Christmas break her Sophomore year. Liam didn’t say anything about her deliberating, but when he caught the nervousness in her gaze, he made sure to offer a few little uplifting comments on their way out the door.
They arrived as fashionably late as Fallon could manage, but Liam tugged her along, picking up name tags for them and making sure she signed the book that she thought was decidedly stupid.
“Who’s taking it home, anyway?” She muttered even as she did as he directed her to. “Someone from the yearbook club?”
“Not sure,” Liam replied as he stuck his name tag on his shirt where it wouldn’t get covered by his tie.
Just as Fallon straightened up and he handed her a sticker of her own, which she of course grimaced at, she caught sight of someone behind him. They were staring at her, like they weren’t sure it was really her.
“Oh, god,” she muttered, ducking her chin when they started walking her way.
“What?” Liam looked around, as if afraid she was already headed for a confrontation. And maybe she was.
Fallon grabbed his hand, tried to escape, but heard her name and came to an immediate halt. She turned, tucking herself into Liam’s side like she could hide there, and offered a tight smile. “Robby,” she greeted.
Liam’s arm wrapped around her back and he gave her waist a little squeeze, and Fallon could only interpret that as some kind of confusion or maybe an attempt at solidarity on his part.
Robby Reid had been a little fling, in Fallon’s mental re-write of her high school years. But her mother had apparently thought they were enough of a thing to fend Jeff off when he came to pick her up for the dance. And after St. Barths... well, a small part of her could admit to being hurt a little, even still.
“You came!” Robby said, smile on his face. But then he paid more attention to the way Liam was holding her. “Who’s this?”
Fallon’s hand lifted to Liam’s chest and she lifted her chin just a little, pride evident in her voice as she explained. “Liam Ridley. My fiancé. He was hellbent on meeting my friends from high school. So, yes. We came. Liam, this is Robby.”
Liam extended a hand and Robby shook it, but his face was openly shocked. “Fiancé? I never pictured you getting married.”
Her scowl was instant and unstoppable. Of course he didn’t. Robby noticed, and corrected himself.
“Congrats. You two look, y’know, happy together.”
But really, they looked irked. Fallon was uncomfortable and livid, and Liam could read her so easily there was no way he didn’t see what was happening in her body language.
“Thanks,” Liam said for her, nodding. Then he looked to Fallon and put on his usual, adoring look that he wore when they were around people who challenged them or their relationship. “I’m still amazed that she ended up choosing me.” Fallon blushed slightly before he turned back to Robby. “Couldn’t be happier.”
Something uncomfortable lingered in the air until Robby excused himself to go talk to someone else. Once he was no longer looking their way, Fallon relaxed into Liam’s side, letting out a heavy sigh.
“What was that about?” Liam asked, lifting an eyebrow.
“I’d rather not get into it all where just anybody could overhear...”
Liam nodded, but looked around for a moment before something dawned on his face and he began pulling her along by the waist. He led her out into a section of the hotel’s ballroom which had been set aside for dancing, and much to her disapproval, opened his palm to her. “How about here?”
Fallon sighed again, but she didn’t want to go talk to people either, so at least dancing with Liam was safer. Even if she wasn’t actually very good at dancing. This was more about swaying and talking, anyway.
So they settled into a rhythm and Fallon took a few moments to figure out how best to explain without getting too visibly angry. Finally, she stepped a little closer to him and gave it her best shot. “So... I dated Robby in high school, but not for very long. It was after Alexis left. I was — well. I was a lot of trouble back then. More than I am even now.”
He smiled a little, holding back whatever comment was on the tip of his tongue. Fallon rolled her eyes at him, but kept on.
“It made me want Blake’s attention more than ever, and I definitely went about it the wrong way. We took a trip with Monica and some other friends, to St. Barths. I’d been there a lot before; it’s where I first picked up an interest in French. But it’s also where he cheated on me.”
Liam looked shocked, but Fallon was searching the crowd with her eyes. After a moment she tensed and subtly gestured with one hand towards a woman across the room. Blonde, curvy, flirting heavily with Robby and his friends.
“With her. And of course I caught them at it.”
“Then what?” Liam asked, brow furrowed in concern for her.
“I called for the plane and I left them there. Well. Monica came back with me. But everyone else stayed.”
Speaking of Monica, it occurred to Fallon that she hadn’t seen her friend yet. Maybe Monica had thought better of it all and decided to skip it. Fallon was pretty sure she should have done the same.
She didn’t realize she had zoned out again until Liam’s hand drew her in closer and he tilted his head to catch her eye. “That guy is clearly an idiot,” he told her firmly. “He has no idea what he’s missing, and honestly, based on his shock before, maybe he regrets it more than he could bring himself to admit.”
Fallon looked a little hopeful but didn’t reply. Instead, she just leaned forward and pressed her temple against his, letting him lead them in the dance a little longer. Her eyes closed after a moment, about when she thought she could feel the stares of everyone who had judged and hated her back in school.
In the end, she didn’t really spend the evening as Liam had hoped. Once they found Monica, she stuck to what she knew and didn’t branch further out. Liam all but told off Robby when he tried to ask Fallon to dance, though Fallon reached a hand to his shoulder to stop him. And then gave Robby a very firm No.
And by the time things started to wrap up, Fallon was leaning heavily on Liam’s shoulder, and he suggested they head back home. She agreed gratefully, said goodbye to Monica, and let him guide her out to his car and drive her home.
Around eleven, they were back in the bathroom, this time with Fallon combing out her hair after pulling on one of Liam’s shirts, while Liam brushed his teeth. It had all become a comfortable, familiar routine over the past year, and being in this companionable silence with him felt as simple and right as breathing. Eventually, she tugged him towards the bed and curled up against his side, snuggling up to him in a way that she used to make fun of.
She expected him to drift off right away, but instead he turned to look at her as she started to brush her fingers through his hair.
“You know... I can see how much he hurt you. Especially so soon after Alexis,” Liam said, obviously not meaning to rile her up or upset her any further. His tone was pure sympathy. “But the thing is... I’m so glad he didn’t manage to hold onto you.”
“Oh yeah?” She asked, smiling a little even as she tried to bite back how pleased she was. It wasn’t like he didn’t tell her how he felt or what he thought; of course he did. The writer in him made it easier, she supposed. But he was rarely as possessive as he’d been in front of Robby, and admittedly, she had really liked and appreciated it.
“Yeah.” He leaned down to brush his nose against hers before kissing her briefly. “I don’t know if I could’ve fought off him and Culhane.”
Fallon let out a sharp laugh, leaning back to shake her head at him. “Nice.”
“I mean, it’s true, isn’t it? You liked him. Seriously. Otherwise it wouldn’t have hurt so much.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “I thought I did. But I thought I loved Michael, too, until I met you.”
Liam’s expression turned sort of serious and heated, but he just asked, “So you’re admitting you were wrong?”
Fallon rolled her eyes again and just lifted herself up to hover over him, then leaned down to kiss him thoroughly. Partly to shut him up, but also to make sure he knew just how serious she was. A lot had finally made sense when she met him, and despite what he had actually intended, what she’d gotten out of going that night was much more important to her.