Our Hearts Unveiled

Chapter Two: Meeting Up Down Memory Lane

Gwen was just a little nervous about reaching out to Duncan's parents again, she had no idea what they would say to her after all this time. She knew that they didn't dislike her, or at least she hoped that they didn't, but still, it would seem a little odd for her to get back in touch with them, especially now that she was no longer together with their son.

Gwen decided that, of the two of them, she was going to reach out to Duncan's mom since she had been slightly closer with her back when she was still seeing his family often, although she was still very anxious about typing out her initial message. Gwen stayed focused on what she wanted to write though and after analyzing it through many times, she finally took a deep breath and hit send:

"Hey, I know it's been a while since we've last talked and you must be very busy right now, but I heard that Duncan's getting released soon and I just wanted to know how you and the family have all been, especially with such a huge event like that going on."

Gwen quickly switches tabs on her laptop out of fear, temporarily softening her feelings on the decision she had just made. But moments later, Gwen hears the sound of a new message notification and switches back tabs, seeing the following reply:

"Gwen!! It's so good to hear from you! Yes, it's been very hectic lately, we've been planning a big welcome home party for him and everything. If you'd like, we'd love for you to come! It'd be this upcoming Saturday, so I know it's a little last minute of an invite, but I'm sure that Duncan would love to see you. I know that you two didn't end things that well, but I think it would mean a lot to him if he got to see you again. Let me know if you'd want to or can come and I can send you further details!"

Gwen felt a flutter in her stomach. A party wasn't exactly what she had in mind, but she could probably find the right time to get Duncan alone that night to talk. She knew that she would be able to rearrange her studying time to go out for just one night too and letting her family know that she wasn't able to do their usual weekend get together wouldn't be the worst thing, especially with her reasoning. After some careful consideration, Gwen accepted the invitation:

"That sounds like it could be a lot of fun, I'd love to go!"

As each day grew closer, Gwen became more and more agitated about the party with dozens of concerns starting to crowd up her mind: 'What if this was a terrible idea? I might ruin the mood of the party by just being there. What if I steal his show by just being unexpected? But Duncan's mom probably has already told a couple people that I would be there, what if she's told him that I'm going to show up too?'

She wondered all throughout the rest of the week, trying to tell herself that the party wasn't going to be as big of a deal as her thoughts may have implied, 'Stop worrying so much,' Gwen told herself, 'Everything's going to be alright.'

The night of the party had arrived quickly and Gwen was in her dorm getting ready, butterflies fluttering all around her inside. She tried focusing more on the positive side of things to help calm her nerves like catching up with Duncan's family again, she hadn't seen them in years and it'd be nice to see what they've all been up to. Also, she hadn't had a good night out like this in quite some time, being tied up with school and all. Even though she wasn't a big fan of parties, maybe one with a special occasion like this could be something that she can handle.

She was still curious how Duncan was going to be like too, since he was the reason why she was going to be at this event at all. What would he think of her now? What would he say to her after nearly two and a half years? He never really had much of a way with words, but Gwen still had appreciated his attempts and he could even work up to say something very thoughtful at times when given a moment to think.