"Oh, we finally see you again," Boston Ray greeted as soon as he entered the Yolo.
"Looks like it." Ray pulled Boston into a friendly hug.
"Sand is getting drinks, do you want some too?" Nick turned to Ray and gave him a friendly smile. Ray shook his head, he wasn't thirsty yet.
"How is the therapy going?" Longtae asked, putting an arm around Ray's shoulders.
"Well, very well, actually. Last session was tough, but that was to be expected." Longtae patted Ray on the back with a satisfied look on his face. He didn't need to say that he was proud of his friend, he was pretty sure Ray felt that way too.
"Where's Summer?" Ray looked around, trying to see if he had missed her.
"She's helping Sand carry the drinks, they should both be back soon." Boston cocked his head. "What's up? Jealous?" He asked, grinning when he saw the look on Ray's face. He rolled his eyes.
"Shut up." Boston raised his hands with a grin and then turned to Nick. A short time later, Summer and Sand came back and gave everyone a drink.
"Oh Ray, if I had known you were coming too, we would have brought you something," Summer apologized.
"It's not that bad, everything's fine." Ray gave Summer a friendly smile.
"Should I go get something else with you?" Sand turned to Ray.
"It's really okay, everything's fine, I can go alone, you don't have to..." Sand put a hand on Ray's shoulder.
"But I want to." He smiled at Ray. "Come on," Sand took Ray by the hand and pulled him behind him to the bar.
"A, um, what would you like to drink?" Sand turned to Ray, scratching his chin in embarrassment.
"A Virgin Pinacolada, please." Yo nodded at Ray with a smile and then started making the drink for Ray.
"And what are you drinking?" Ray glanced at Sand's glass.
"Non-alcoholic beer." Sand took a sip. "After all this shit, I don't dare touch alcohol anymore." Ray raised an eyebrow.
"So we're both sober?" Sand nodded in agreement.
"Looks like it." He smiled at Ray. "And maybe that's not so bad, what do you think? Designated drivers? And nurses for our drunk friends?" A satisfied smile formed on Ray's lips.
"Doesn't sound so bad, does it? To be honest, I have no desire to drink at all anymore, considering how much it has actually destroyed in my life."
"Your drink." Yo placed the Virgin Pinacolada on the counter and Ray paid.
"Thank you, Yo." Ray paid and then turned to Sand. "Shall we go back to our friends?"
"Have a nice evening," Sand said, putting an arm around Ray.
The friends had a wonderful time together. It had been far too long since they had celebrated together as a group and now they wanted to take advantage of it. There was a lot of laughter, everyone had time to talk to everyone and it just felt good to be with friends.
Ray and Sand were standing together outside the Yolo, smoking a cigarette, when Ray's phone rang. He picked it up and looked at the display.
"Black?" Sand asked when he saw the look on Ray's face. He nodded. "Answer it, maybe he would like to come over too."
"Are you sure? I can also just say that I don't have time." Sand shook his head.
"I also want to get to know him better, and to do that I have to meet him more often, don't I?" He gave Ray a gentle smile. "Tell him."
"Okay," Ray answered the call. "Hey Black...I'm at the Yolo...yeah with the others...do you want to come over?...No, I swear he didn't...I promise you...you can ask him yourself...okay." Ray held out his phone to Sand. "He wants to talk to you."
"Uhm okay..." Sand answered the phone a little confused. "Hello Black?...Yes Ray understood that correctly...no no one here is mad at you...it's okay...yes it was my idea...are you coming?...okay...do you want to talk to Ray again?.. see you...yeah...bye." Sand hung up and handed Ray his phone back. "He'll be there in about 20 minutes." Sand grinned at Ray. "Should we wait for him out here or go back inside?" Ray looked at Sand, a dreamy smile on his lips. Sand didn't have to do that, but the fact, that Sand was willing to come to terms with Black and even wanted to have a basic friendship with him, just because he was someone important to Ray
"You play drums?" Summer looked at Black with wide eyes, she was a little drunk, but not too drunk to have to go home. Black nodded, shy, he rarely talked about his hobby and was sure that not even Ray had known about it. "This is so fucking cool, wow." Summer's eyes widened. "I love playing bass, but I can also play guitar, which was one of the reasons why Sand and I got along so well." She laughed and took a sip of her drink. "Oh my God, that made me think of something." She tapped Sand and Ray on the shoulders. "Guys?" The two turned to their friend. "Can you remember the concert?" Sand and Ray looked at each other confused, they had absolutely no idea what concert Summer was talking about. "The Parking Lot concert...uhm you guys were there together." She grinned at Ray. "You were wearing a thrifted shirt or something, I can't remember exactly." Sand seemed to suddenly realize what Summer was babbling about.
"Oh I remember. The day before my birthday, the concert was great, the evening after, not so much." Sand scratched his head. "You were absolutely not on my radar at the time." Summer had to laugh.
"You were more busy eye fucking Ray, if I remember correctly," Summer took another sip. "I approached you because I actually wanted to end up with Ray." Ray looked at Summer in shock.
"Are you serious?" He had to laugh now too. "I can hardly remember the concert, I just remember how proud I was that Sand had chosen this shirt for me." Ray ran his hand through his hair.
"So Summer first hit on you, only for you to indirectly rebuff her because of Sand, she forgot about you, then Sand noticed her in Yolo, they got together, only for her to lose to you, Ray?" Black shook his head. "You two idiots really are truly soulmates, huh? No matter what happens, you will always find your way back to each other. Love must be beautiful." He had a wry smile on his lips. "I'll play drums at your wedding, but Summer has to play bass." Black had his arms wrapped around Ray and Sand's shoulders from behind. "Right, Summer? We do that." Summer clinked glasses with Black.
"Deal, we'll play at Sand and Ray's wedding...we just need a singer." Her eyes fell on Sand. "Why not?" Sand raised an eyebrow.
"What do you think?" Summer shrugged, smiling slightly.
"Wouldn't it be fun if we started a band?" She giggled. "We call the band the ex-lovers and a fuck buddy, or something along those lines." Summer took another sip of her beer. "It would be a little funny, wouldn't it?" The thought occurred briefly, drunk thoughts, but it should stick with sand for a while.
It was supposed to be one of many evenings where the friends met, had fun together and finally bonded again. Mew and Top were also there from time to time, and Black was now an integral part of the group, accepted by everyone, even if Nick still viewed him with a certain skepticism.
Summer and Ray got along brilliantly after a three-hour conversation accompanied by Dr. Ayan had met with each other in order to eliminate every last bit of bad blood between them. The friends were again what they should have been from the beginning, a found family in which everyone felt comfortable.
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Fragments Of Love Series Part 2: Healing Love [ SandRay - Only Friends ]
Fanfiction"We got this, you and I. We will win this battle together." "Promise?" "Promise!" The Second Book in the Fragments of Love Series