April 27th

Chapter 2a

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Two

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A wise woman once said, "There is only one kind of shock worse than the totally unexpected: the expected for which one has refused to prepare."

She was wrong. No amount of preparation or anticipation could have prepared April for the actual shock of seeing his all too familiar face for the first time since they broke up and it still became the worst kind of shock.

Even worse, he was just as she remembered him...except the color of his hair, that was different. Every other feature, however, had stayed the same. She trailed her line of sight down his tall, broader frame. So maybe not everything stayed the same. If this were two years ago, she would've smiled at him. Now, she couldn't even bring her lips to stretch.

"Javier?" Nathan's loud voice snapped April out of checking her ex out. "Thought I heard voices out here."

"Yeah, I just...wanted some air," Javier spoke, breaking eye contact with April for the first time that night. "Then I ran into..."

"April." Nathan gestured toward her with one hand, dismissively. "You remember her, right?"

Remember her?

Javier faced her again, giving a slow once over before responding. "Yeah, I do... It's uh...nice to see you again," he said, reaching out his hand.

That was all she got? It was nice seeing her? Just nice? What annoyed her even more than Nathan's degradation were the tears that began to itch her eyes as a result of the gut punch. She bit the inside of her cheek and forced herself to smile through it. She didn't take his hand for obvious reasons but nodded, standing with one foot on top of the other to hold all emotions in. "You too."

"Been a while, hasn't it?" He asked, smiling. It seemed their reunion was way more natural for him than it was for her. He stepped closer, prompting her brain to send a message to her feet.

She took a step backward, releasing her feet from her awkward stance. "Yeah, quite a while."

She bit the inside of her lower lip, shifting from foot to foot. She had tried to avoid this by looking for him first. If she had seen him come in, she would've had the upper hand, not him. She would've been the one smirking with her hands in her pockets, not him.

"Is it weird I feel like I should ask you to coffee?" he asked, still smiling like they were merely old friends reconnecting instead of two people who tore each other's worlds apart. To April, it meant one of two things: he had suddenly matured beyond reason or he was pretending.

Did she even know him anymore?

"I don't know, you tell me." Lucky for her, her voice came out collected, despite the earthquake in her body and mind.

"Do they even have coffee here? I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't. This place is deserted."

"That's...kind of the whole point of coming here," she said, even though she'd had the exact same thought early that morning.

"Yeah," Nathan supported, reminding them of his presence in their awkward conversation. "The team can't bond if there are luxuries at every cranny. By the way, we're all getting together in like an hour if you're up for it. Bring beers if you have them."

He nodded. "Yeah, course. I promise I won't be late a second time."

"You're actually lucky you're late, trust me," Nathan said, folding his arms. "You didn't have to witness what I did."