banana fish - angel eyes

part fourteen

To distract you from what just happened and trying to get your mind off things, Max invited you to a cafe which recently opened; located in the middle off the city. It was already evening, you two were sitting there to talk a little about the times with Ash.

Since you were not in the mood for food at the moment, you just ordered an iced coffee and weren't disappointed. The drink was simple but refreshing. You toyed with the straw, sipping slowly on your drink. "Thank you for cheering me up, old man." There were some things that you didn't want to talk about with your friends. No particular reason, you just didn't want to.

Max was glad that he was able to brighten your day. "It worked didn't it?" He on the other side, did order food for himself. Honestly, he was a someone who you could talk about anything with and always seemed to have the best advice. "It did. Thanks again."

"How's college going (Y/N)? You know I how proud I was when you got accepted at an ivy league school? I bragged to everyone about it." Max wanted to change the subject since you two had been only talking about Ash the past few weeks.

You worked your ass off to get into college and weren't even sure if you would get accepted anywhere, let alone at an ivy league school. Actually, you always were an successful student who got A's only. Unfortunately, you missed a lot of school a year ago because of the events that happened. The hard work you put in paid off, as you had an incredibly high GPA in the end.

"How cute. You bragging about your smart daughter." you grinned at him. Both of you chuckled. "How's Jessica? I'm so glad you two are back together. Oh and how's Micheal?"

Jessica was the big supportive sister you never really had. Being there for you when you needed her, unlike your actual sister. Max and Jessica have not yet remarried, but they were living together again. "Everyone's good! They really miss you, why don't you come over sometime? Micheal's always asking."

"Sure." you jokingly agreed. "Just for him and Jessica though." Actually, you weren't joking, since you really wanted to see the two of them again. "What are they feeling? Especially after hearing the news.."

Max let out a sigh as he looked out the window. Micheal, his child was just too young to understand, but he sure was upset when he found out that Ash was gone. "..I'd say it's been a rough couple of weeks." You stared at your coffee as you nodded in agreement. "Yeah." This child has seen and experienced more than most. Hopefully he will be happy again, you thought.

"Eiji seems to be getting better, right? Better than the last time I saw him at least." Max asked you. Was that really the case? Eiji seems to be getting worse with each passing day. Well, he has become much better at hiding his feelings.

"He's.. getting there. I'm the one holding the group together basically. They can't do anything alone, like always." You gave him a response with an attitude, in a joking way. "Sorry, did the mean girl (Y/N) come out of you again?" Max added.

Even though you didn't feel proud of it, you used to be somewhat of an mean girl. You never cared about how you had treated others, always being manipulative and acting like you were better than everyone else. Everyone in high school wanted to be like you, whether it was because of your beauty or your intelligence. There were reasons why you behaved the way you did, and they had to do with your past experiences, how they have shaped who you are today.

That's probably why a lot of assumptions were made about you. People have thought that you were a certain type of person, based on the things that they knew. Well, do you regret how you used to be? Not really.

"Maybe." you replied, smirking. "God things were so much easier back then though.."

"Ha.."

"I'm kidding. I actually was a difficult person at the time. There was still so much less to worry about.. It was so easy." You sighed deeply. It was definitely easier back then. You had a clear understanding of who your enemies were, now you have no idea who you're up against.
Max lifted an eyebrow. "You and Ash being involved in gangs, and Golzine with half of New York bothering you is what you call.. easy?"