Suburgatory : Ryan & Tessa Fanfiction

Chapter 1 : Guess who's back ?

The song above is the one I was listening to while writing this chapter. I'm putting it here in case you'd be interested in hearing it.
I was surprisingly very inspired so I hope you'll like it.

Enjoy your reading ! (Get it ? Enjoy your meal, so enjoy your... Nevermind.)
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She was coming back today. Not that he cared. How did he know you said? He overheard George Altman talking about it to his father. Okay, the whole truth was, the entire neighbourhood had insisted on organizing a 'Welcome back Tessa' barbecue and they wouldn't shut up about it.

Ryan hadn't being able to close an eye for days. He was anxious, nervous, edgy, furious and terrified. He hadn't seen her in years : how was she still able to make him feel this way ?

Love. No need to fool yourself you idiot. You love her and always have ever since you met her. Ugh ! I swear sometimes I feel like I'm only here to expose your inner feelings to a reader or something !

Stupid conscience ! Do not pay attention to it.

When she left, their goodbyes were... spectacular. They had made love. It was for the both of them their first time and for Ryan the best night, or day rather, of his life. They had connected in a way that was, to put in one word, outwordly. He had never felt this fulfilled in his life. At the time, the poor bastard had no idea he was in love with her. Yes, as surprising as it may seem, not every teenager knows they are in love when they are seventeen ! Tessa and Ryan had been in a weird phase in their six-month-old relationship : they kept fighting a lot because neither of them could figure out how they would stay together after finishing highschool. Tessa wanted to explore, to discover, to experience the world outside of Suburgatory. On Ryan's part, he wasn't ready to move away from his family, friends or what she and him had lived together. Moreover, he wanted to study in the United States, preferably in a college in the State. He had never been away from his hometown for a long time and frankly, didn't want to get used it. To him, leaving was out of the question. But not for her. Tessa had always been a free, brave, eager to learn and open-minded girl. She was head-strong, determined. When she set her mind up to something, no one could stop her. No one.

So she left.

Ryan couldn't clearly remember the first country she had visited after they had broken up, he knew it was Canada. She always used to talk about Canada. Canada, seriously ? How original is it to visit the country next door ?

He was aware that it was his fault that they had lost contact. He had been mad at her. Mad, enraged, furious and disappointed. Disappointed in her, for not waiting for him, not loving him enough to stay. Tessa had taken a piece of his soul with her when she left. But after a few years, he learned to live without it and she, slowly but surely, became a figure of his past. It had been hard, like most separations. No one had dared talking about her in front of him for months, years even.

Tessa and his sister Lisa were still friends, close friends. Sometimes, he could hear his sister talking on the phone at 1:00 am and he just knew. He knew it was her. Mostly because his sister was very... dedicated to making sure she'd sleep eight hours every night without exceptions and that she would never transgress any of her rules unless something major was going on. But also because she went all the way to the garage to talk. The garage was the furthest room away from his bedroom. One day, intrigued (and most certainly bored because why would anyone do that ?) by those mysterious calls, he had followed Lisa and had listened to the conversation. Something eerie fluttered in his stomach when he understood that the person on the other end of the line was Tessa. He had left after about a quarter of an hour, when the girls had started talking about her new 'love interest', Chad or Chaz... (not that it matters). This incident happened only a few months after she had left, and the poor Ryan had had a relapse in his recovery. How could she have moved on this fast ? Did their history mean anything to her ? Did she even care at all ?
He never told anyone about it. Instead, he kept it to himself and eventually learned, flourished from this difficult experience and managed, somehow, to move on. Ryan went on with his life, dated a few girls here and there, waiting for the one to come through, although he knew who he was truly aching for. When he saw that his way of coping wasn't working, he gave up. No, he didn't became a 'man-wh*re'. He simply surrounded himself with people he could count on as well as his thriving career. He graduated from Berkeley College and later, opened a travelling agency in Suburgatory. 'Travelling with Shay', though small and average, became quite successful in the town -Ryan still suspected his mother to be behind the sudden growth of clients- and he was soon able to earn enough to buy himself a cozy appartement not far from his workplace.

His life was back on track and she was now deciding to come back ? How unlucky was he !

The doorbell rang, breaking the pensive and shirtless man's train of thoughts. He put down the spoon full of cereals he had been trying to eat for the past hour.
"Ryan ! " He heard my mother's cheerful voice squeal. "Open up quick ! We need to get to George's to get everything ready for Tessa !"
"Calm down Mom !" replied angrily Lisa's voice. 'You're waking up the whole building and it's not even nine on a saturday morning."

Ryan sighed, put on a shirt and walked towards the door at the slowest pace possible. As soon as he opened the entrance, his mother barged in, with her furry, expensive coat and heavy perfume -his mother loved furry objects- , threw her hundred bags on the kitchen counter. "Finally ! What took you so long ? Oh Darling, look at you ! Have you even washed ? I bet you haven't. Don't worry, Mommy is going to fix you a bath right this instant !" Before he could even say a word, she had disappeared in his bathroom, in a whirlwind of colours and noise.

The young man, his head foggy with non-sleep, turned to his sister Lisa.  "What are you doing here ? I didn't think you even knew what mornings were." He went on, smirking like he always did.
"Oh stop it you jerk ! I wanted to be able to support you during this hardship. The parents keep forgetting about your relationship with Tessa but I don't. You know you don't have to go if you don't want to, Ryan."
"I'll be fine sis." He smiled warmly at his little sister. She was such a kind person at times. "It's been years, I can handle it."
"Great !" Lisa threw herself on the couch and started babbling about her husband Malik. Yes, his younger sister was already married ; it's a long story.
His mind slowly started to wander to dangerous places. Or to be precise, a very painful one : Tessa Altman.
He couldn't help but wonder how she looked like now, what she was doing, if she was in a relationship with this Chace (was it Chaz?) or another man. He knew for certain that plenty of men must have fallen for her, none could possibly be immune to her charms.
Her quirkiness, sense of humor and her ability to communicate with everyone around her, were huge parts of her character, but he couldn't deny that her looks were part of it as well. He had never been able to forget her strawberry blond hair, her sparly green eyes, catching every mouvement, every sound. Her perky, full and ruby-coloured lips that tasted like her favourite cherry lipstick. Her breathtaking smile was one in a million... Her smell was amazingly relaxing... Never before would he have imagined to be attracted to a flagrance...

Lavender and vanilla.

"What is ? Did you say something ?" Lisa's voice brought him back to reality. Panicking and frustruated to have been caught at such a moment, the flustered young man started to take his (full) bowl of cereals and other cookware back to the kitchen.
"I didn't say anything. Go on."
"So, as I was saying, Malik is taking me to this hotel, L'Hôtel des Amoureux. It's a French hotel and restaurant for newlyweds. I know we're not exactly newlyweds but it's the first time we are going to-"
"Ryan ! What are you doing ? I've been shouting like a crazy woman for the past five minutes ! What is it with you lately ?" his mother said, coming to the kitchen, irritated by his distracted behaviour.

An hour later, the trio arrived at George's house. Tessa's place, he thought, almost shivering with apprehension and exhilaration.
George came outside to welcome them, almost jumping up and down with happiness. "You guys are late ! Tessa has already arrived !" These words were enough to sent Mrs Shay to the same weird-but-dizzy-with-happiness state Mr. Altman was already in. Lisa was out of the car in a matter of seconds, and dashed towards the house whilst yelling her friend's name on top of her lungs. He had no idea his sister had this much of a voice. Her conduct actually reminded him of the time she got her first doll. His father Fred, annoyed by Lisa's daily demands, begs and cries, had decided to offer her a doll for her fifth birthday. He had put the perfectly wrapped present at her bedroom's door. She had came out running and-

"Ryan ? Is that you ?"

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Did you enjoy this first chapter ? Not to cliche or expositional ?

I'm letting you guys guess who said Ryan's name

Don't forget to vote and comment !

Kate May.