Deep Blue Something

[impy]

Fandom: SVH
Title: Casual Observer
Word Count: 753

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   He watches her for awhile before deciding whether or not to go over and check on her. They've never exactly been friends and probably never will be, but the last time he saw that look on her face was the day her mother left. Not that they've ever discussed that. In fact, he's pretty sure she doesn't even know he was there that day.
  Still, she has the same look now that she had back then and for reasons he doesn't want to begin to understand, he can't stand there and do nothing.



   It wasn't hard to piece together what happened. All year long he's had a bet going with Pfeifer to see who could guess when the slumming of Lila Fowler would be over. For once, it looks like Pfeifer won.

  He watched Matthews walk away looking as if someone had kicked his puppy, stolen his ice-cream cone, and told him Santa wasn't real all in one fell swoop. And then, while trying hard not to feel like a stalker (he preferred 'casual observer'), he watched her stoically refuse to cry.

  He just can't figure out why they broke up. His dark blue eyes narrow as he tries to figure out whether this is really important or not. Deciding it's not, he brushes the sand off his body and slowly walks over to the ridiculous Oriental rug she insists on using as a beach blanket. He gives her plenty of time for her to look up and chase him away. He also gives himself plenty of time to change his mind.

  Neither happens and he finds himself at her side faster than he'd intended. Without saying a word, or asking permission (not his style), he sits down next to her and trains his eyes on the ocean.

  "So, there's this boring party my father's dragging me to this weekend and I still haven't settled on a date," he says casually, as if he hasn't just witnessed the second biggest heartbreak in her life.

  He can almost hear the way her eyebrow arches at his opening and he bites down on the inside of his cheek to keep from smirking. Even when she's trying desperately not to cry, Lila is incredibly easy to rile up.

  "You haven't decided or the girls in this town finally realized what a pretentious little snot you are?" she asks sweetly.

  "I'm going to ignore that because obviously the sun has gone straight to your pretty little head," he says before adding, "I was thinking we could go together, actually."

  She snorts, unable to stop herself. "Right. You and me on a date. Like that'll ever happen."

  He turns to look at her. "What's so crazy about that? We are the two best looking people in Sweet Valley," he points out. "Besides, I'm tired of those idiots over in Bridgewater thinking they're better than we are when we both know we have more money than most of the members of their club and unlike them, our parents didn't have to buy our faces. It's infuriating. I wouldn't even go but my father's threatening to take the Porsche. And let's face it, Lila. There won't be a girl there who could even hope of holding a candle to you."

  He's laying it on a little thick but he's found that this approach works best with Lila. It also helps that he means every word. Lila drives him crazy, but she's easily one of the prettiest girls he's ever known.

  Lila smirks to cover the very real smile that this unexpected compliment elicits. "True. Very true. I am stunning," she says with a perfectly straight face.

  He throws his head back and laughs. "That you are, Fowler. That you are."





  An hour passes as they sit there making small talk, discussing details of a party neither particularly enjoys, and then they lapse into silence as the sun sets out over the ocean.

  Quietly, Lila asks, "How much did you see?"

  He glances over at her and offers a shrug. "Enough."

  "Oh."

  "It's his loss, Fowler," he says after a few minutes.

  She shakes her head. "It's not like that."

  "It never is." With that, he pulls himself to his feet and dusts himself off. As the sun sets behind him, he turns and offers her his hand.

  She looks up at him and realizes that something has changed between them, or maybe she's just discovering something that was always there.
  Without second-guessing herself, she reaches out and takes Bruce's hand.


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Characters/Pairings: Lila/Ken, Lila/Bruce
Notes: This is another one that went through three rounds of writing/rewriting to figure out which way worked best. Which, at the end of the day, really just seemed to depend on how grumpy I was feeling at any given time. :P
   Growing up, I think I always pegged Lila/Bruce as the obvious endgame of the series, even moreso than Liz/Todd, precisely because it took them until SVU to hook up in anything other than a brief mention or two in the early SVH books as something that happened Previously. Which means it's highly likely it happened sometime during her sophomore year but I'm going to stretch with continuity and throw it in as the summer before her junior year.
  I should probably have resisted the urge to have Bruce have a history with Lila more than their constant feuding, but this is how this story is going down and I'm going to stick to it.


Challenge #3, done!

Comments

[luxken27]

:D :D :D :D :D

ZOMG!! I love the idea of Bruce & Lila having even more of a past than was previously hinted at. He was there when her mother left?!!?! Now I must know this story!

You have completely and totally pegged Bruce here - so cool, so deliberate, so him with that attitude [Without saying a word, or asking permission (not his style)]. YES.

And please, Frannie threw out any semblence to canon continuity with her horrid sequel that I think you're well within your rights - and it actually makes more sense! - to let your headcanon meander in this direction. I can definitely see how a dalliance with Bruce right after losing Ken would wet her appetite, but spoil any potential, actual relationship between them.

Love this!!