Two Years

7.) O'Reilly's

"This place hasn't changed one bit." Maya stated in awe walking through the front doors of O'Reilly's Tavern.

The redhead took a few steps into the red carpeted entrance of the restaurant. Sounds of booming laughter echoed in her mind and she stood still for a moment, attempting to acclimate to the noise levels of the environment. Vivid memories of the nights she spent here with her friends came flowing back into her mind. Shawn was right, it was just as busy as ever.

"They say you shouldn't mess with perfection," Shawn responded after walking through the glass door behind her, "I mean seriously, look at all of this character."

He pointed at two men having a heated exchange in the bar area, seemingly threatening each other, while the bartender looked on, making almost no attempt to separate the two.

"No, I'll show you real character." Maya said with a slight grin, beginning to recall a certain memory from their high school days.

Shawn looked on quizzically as she walked forward to the empty hostess podium and discreetly knelt down in front of it.
After scanning the wooden surface for a moment, she spotted what she had been searching for.

"Here," the girl began, grabbing her friends arm and pulling him down to her level, "remember this?"

Shawn looked at where she was pointing, and his eyes lit up when he spotted the three small letters that where carved into the wooden surface.

"R.M.L," Shawn laughed heartily, "I forgot Ryan carved his initials into this thing."

"How could you forget," Maya asked while standing up, her friend following suit, "aren't you the one who dared him to do it?"

"Excuse me, that was actually Seth Headon. If I was going to use a dare to take advantage of Ryan, do you really think I'd have him do something so stupid?"

"So you consider stealing Mr. Bolan's Keurig and filling it up with toilet water to be, not stupid?" She responded, attempting to hide her amusement.

"Hey, that man was a sexist, racist, pig, and I regret absolutely nothing," he said rather pleased with himself, "I'm glad he was drinking fecal coffee for a week."

The two broke out into a fit of laughter. Anyone watching them would probably assume that the two were a couple, or at least close friends. Their first jovial moment together since they were reunited that morning was soon interrupted by a young raven haired woman approaching them with a smile.

"Good evening, I'm sorry to interrupt," the woman who appeared to be a hostess said at the podium in a perky tone, "how many in your group tonight?"

"Just two," Shawn spoke over the sounds of loud conversation and music, "any chance you have a booth available?"

"You're in luck, we just cleaned one a minute ago," she reached into the podium and pulled out two menus, "follow me."

The two followed and were seated in the back of the restaurant. Both Maya and Shawn noticed that the booth was not only in the least crowded area of the establishment, but also the dimmest.

"I like to give the couples some more privacy." The young hostess stated slyly with a wink before beginning to walk away.

"Oh, no. We're not-" Shawn quickly tried to say, but it went on deaf ears.

Maya was almost offended at how quick he was to deny that they were a couple. "I guess he's still not too fond of me." The blonde boy realized the awkwardness of the situation and began to play with the sleeve of his jacket, something Maya noticed that he had been doing a lot. There was an awkward silence, while both stared blankly at their menus.