History Doesn't Repeat Itself

Chapter 4

I feel like a teenager again—having my mom drive us while we just sat there, doing nothing.

We were seated at the backseats of my mom's car since she insisted that she would give us a ride to Willow's place which was only a few minutes away. Which was a relief since I now had a fear of getting in a car accident. Though it was still possible, my mom is one of the safest drivers I know.

I wasn't all that uncomfortable sitting next to Gale even if my mom kept glancing at us through the rearview mirror, but I did sort of notice that he was very tense. He was breathing heavily and fidgeting with his bracelet a lot, glancing out the windshield and scanning the road every few seconds. He looked like he had a lot on his mind and I can't blame him. I invited him to a party with people who—I think—he doesn't know much about. He was a pretty confident man, having the balls to ask me to go on a walk even though I barely knew him so I never really thought about him as a socially-awkward person. Let alone a guy who would be nervous when going to a get-together with only a small number of people.

A left turn and there we were, at Willow's driveway. I hop outside, holding the door open when I saw my mom looking my way.

"Hey, sweetie, just text me when you need me to pick you up, alright?" Mom says.

"Yes, ma. Thanks for the ride!" I say. "We won't take long." My mother knew that what I said was a lie. All of my little hangouts either end up in me sleeping drunk on Willow's couch or waking up inside the backseats of Willow's car while she drives me home.

We slowly make our way into the massive porch and up to the door as I curl my hand into a fist to knock.

"Hey, is my hair okay?" Gale says, making me pause my hand in the air.

"Wow, this is the first time I've heard you talk since the day started," I say. "And yes, your hair is okay. Perfect, actually."

He flashes a smile and gestures to the door, wanting me to knock on it.

Before I could hit the top of the door with my knuckles, it suddenly creaked open.

"Hey man!" Dan says as he opens the door fully, flashing a smile at Gale. "Long time no see."

I remember how Dan looked, but I never remembered how tall he was. The man was a giant, having a height of—I think— 6'4, maybe 6'3 if he was barefoot and bald.

He had long brown hair which he used to tie into a man bun, but I guess he got sick of it and decided to get a mullet.

"Hi!" I say, sheepishly, getting overwhelmed by the two massive men beside and in front of me.

"Hello, Christy." He says with a look that was telling me that he was going to say a lot more than a simple hello. "I'm Dan." Of course. "Willow's husband, your friend. nice to meet you. . . again. We met at uni and—"

"I remember you, Dan," I say with a small laugh. "Calm down."

"Oh," He smiles, "That's a relief, I prepared a whole introduction. Good thing you remember me. It saves me the trouble of rambling on and on about stuff that you already—" He pauses and flashes a smile, realizing that he was doing exactly that—rambling on and on about stuff I already knew. "Come in, come in."

Dan was still the talkative type, he could ramble on and on for hours talking about spaceships and he would find a way to keep it interesting.

We step inside and I see Willow running down the staircase, lunging at me when she reached the bottom.

Her eyes looked like she didn't sleep last night, but she still looked as fresh as ever. I guess that's an awesome ability she had. I remember having a theory about her.