Tragic Kingdom (80s/90s imagines)

77: Heath Ledger

For accionewtscamander

It had been ages since you'd been to a party. Sure, in high school, you had been a recurring attendee of the house party scene. Nothing crazy, just some friends having some fun. (Maybe drinking a little.) But since then, you'd grown up and found a passion for your work life.

You pulled in front of the house at the address your friend had given you. There were a few cars in the driveway, a couple on the lawn, and as you walked up to the door, you could hear the music playing.

You saw him as soon as you walked through the door. If you thought it had been forever since your last party, it had been even longer since you two had been in the same room.

It was hard to believe that your childhood friend was now an international heartthrob. Well, not completely hard to believe. He had always had talent, even as a kid doing school plays. Though you had drifted apart long before he became a household name, you would never get over the pride of knowing him before he lit up the silver screen.

Heath held your gaze for a second before turning back to the friend he was talking to.

"Y/n, great to see you, babe." Your friend, Stella, greeted you with a hug. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Yeah. I know I've been busy lately," you apologized. "But I couldn't pass up a night off outside of my place."

"Oh my gosh, can you believe we stole Heath for the night too!" she gushed discreetly, pulling you into the kitchen. "He flew in to spend time with his family or something, and Greg ran into him and managed to convince him to come hang out."

"Oh, wow." You nodded, trying to match her enthusiasm.

As the party progressed, you left months of pent up stress ease out of your body. A little alcohol, a little dancing. You had forgotten what it was like not to worry about a deadline or whether your fish was alright.

You went to take a sip from your cup before realizing it was empty. "Hey, I need a refill. I'll be back." You held your cup up to illustrate your message to your friend since the music probably drowned you out.

You made your way back into the kitchen, which was surprisingly empty. A couple people at the table, drinking and talking. There was less making out now, you noted. It was nice being able to turn the corner and not interrupt someone. The rooms were still mostly off limits, though.

You opened the fridge, searching for your drink of choice.

"Whatcha got in there?" A voice came from behind you.

You moved some stuff around. "Uh.. a couple of beers. Some orange juice. Some cider." You pushed a Tupperware over. "Oh, and there's some Coca-Cola." You looked back at the inquirer.

That world-famous smile was directed at you. "I'll take a beer."

You handed one to him, before going to the counter for the other drinks. You poured yourself something, still feeling his presence.

"Y/n, it's been a long time," Heath commented, leaning against the counter next to you. "But you still look like you did way back."

You smiled, swirling your drink around. "Well, you know everyone here remembers you."

He looked down. "Ah, I guess."

"So, other than being on the walls of thousands of girls' bedrooms, whatcha been up to since we since talked?"

"Working." He laughed when he said it, but you knew it must have taken a lot to get to where he was.

"Yeah, I've seen you."

"Oh, yeah?"

"It was funny seeing you play a dark haired, bad boy, when I clearly remember the very friendly, blondie that left here." You gave him a side glance, taking a sip from your cup.

He cleared his throat. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

He tilted his head to the side, giving you that look. The you-know-what look. He used to give it all the time growing up. "What do you do these days? Greg said you stay pretty busy."

"I'm getting started at a marketing company," you sighed. "Boring work, but it pays. And my coworkers aren't too bad."

You both nodded, as if there was something to agree on.

You took another sip before looking back at him. "You talked to Greg about me?"

He shrugged, but you could see the smile he was trying to hide. "I've missed you. We used to be close."

"Boy, we were." You covered a giggle, as you recalled something. "Hey, remember when you were sick, but you didn't want to miss play practice, and-"

"Oh no," he groaned. "I threw up everywhere."

"I'be never seen that much puke," you chuckled.

By the end of the night, you two had made plans for the next weekend. And then the next one. And any other free time you found.

"I wonder why we lost touch sometimes," you admitted one day.

His expression was hard to read. "Me too, but then I remember that I just let it happen."

You shook your head. "It wasn't just you. I did too."

"I'd like if we didn't do that again." He put an arm around your shoulders and pulled you into his side.

Leaning into him, you sighed. "Me too."

A kiss and a promise to stay in touch when he left again got you through until his next visit. Letters, emails, and long distance phone calls became your new normal.

Heath visited you when he wasn't filming, and sometimes he flew you out to see him. You made it work.

I'm not feeling that ending, but I feel like it still works?? Idk yell at me if it's just a rlly bad ending. Thank you for requesting!! I hope you liked it!

Also, Ik I literally just said I probably wouldn't write very long ones, and I mean, this isn't super long, but definitely longer. Just don't listen to me for the most part.

M'kay.

~Mariah