Breaking Barriers - S.R.

15

Spencer was out of town yet again, but for an entirely different reason this time. After one too many incidents at the care facility his mother was currently living in, he finally agreed to go see her. I was hoping he would be able to get things straightened out soon, because I know how stressed he's been lately and this was only adding to it. I offered to accompany him, but he insisted on going alone considering the reason for his visit in the first place. I understood, this wasn't exactly a normal family visit. He's been in Las Vegas for the last three days and I was really starting to miss him.

I figured I would take his absence as an opportunity to spend some time with Dean and Sophia, who I haven't seen lately. As per usual, Dean and I agreed to walk to a restaurant a few blocks from our apartment building together and meet Sophia there. As soon as I heard him knock on the door, I grabbed my stuff and headed out as he waited in the hallway.

"So where's lover boy this time?" Dean asked, as we made our way to the restaurant.

"Vegas, visiting his mom." I replied.

"Oh, I assumed it was for work. Why didn't you go with him?" He asked curiously.

"It's not really that kind of family visit. It's...complicated." I muttered.

He nodded in understanding but was nice enough not to push me for further information. We made small talk for the rest of the short trip to our dinner destination and I realized how much I had missed my friends the last couple of weeks. We used to do so much together, seeing each other multiple times a week. I had been so consumed with Spencer that I didn't even see it happening. I guess that's what love does to you sometimes.

As we approached the restaurant, I spotted a familiar figure standing outside the entrance and hesitated in my steps, placing a hand on Dean's arm to catch his attention. He stopped talking and looked at me.

"Is that Miles?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah. I invited him. I hope it's okay. I was talking to him yesterday and he said you guys had sort of worked things out and were okay now."

"He did?" I looked at him in confusion and he nodded slowly.

"Was he wrong? If you're uncomfortable, I can go talk to him." He offered.

"No, it's okay." I finally said, after a long pause.

Dean eyed me cautiously for a moment before nodding in agreement. Miles smiled at us as we approached him, giving a semi-awkward wave. He was dressed to the nines as usual.

"Hey." I returned his smile, doing my best to hide the small amount of discomfort I felt.

As always, Dean jumped in to handle the situation by striking up a conversation about some baseball game last night. I let out a breath of relief as the attention was pulled away from me and stood quietly to listen until Sophia arrived.

"I know, I know, I'm late, but I'm here now! I had a shoe emergency, and my car is in the shop, then I almost missed the Metro--" Sophia's rambling stopped quickly as she looked up from digging through the contents of her purse and noticed Miles. Her eyes darted to me, looking for some form of approval of the situation and I forced a small smile. "Oh, hey." She finally greeted him.

He smiled in amusement back at her. "Hi, Sophia."

"Let's go get a table." Dean suggested, leading the way into the bar and grill.

As we were walking towards an open table to sit down, it hit me. I never ended up telling Miles that me and Spencer were an actual couple now. A wave of discomfort washed over me as we approached the table. I maneuvered my way around everyone to make sure I was sitting by Sophia and she smiled, patting my knee. I knew she could sense my apprehension about Miles being here.