Change (Patrick Kane)

32: Old Friends

It was a bright Saturday afternoon, and I was sitting in me and Natalie's apartment alone. Natalie was out getting groceries and the team had a practice right now.

I received a text from Ally, asking if I wanted to go out. I replied yes, and that I would bring Natalie along as well. I quickly got ready and told Nat once she got back.

We were meeting Ally at a sandwich place not far from our apartment. "Okay, I'm ready," Natalie announced as she came out of the bathroom from fixing her makeup.

"Great, let's go," I said. Together we walked to Nat's car.

We arrived at the cafe in five minutes. I spotted Natalie in a booth at the back and made my way over, with Natalie trailing behind me.

"Hey girls!" She exclaimed while getting up from the booth to give us hugs. "Is it okay that I invited some old friends to hang out with us?"

"Of course!" Natalie replied. We sat down and ate lunch while making casual conversation.

We were meeting Ally's friends at the Willis Tower so we began to make our way over there.

"Ally!" Someone yelled as we got to the doors of the building.

She quickly whipped her head around to see who was speaking to her. "Rebecca? Oh my god!" Ally ran over to a group of two boys and a girl.

Natalie and I awkwardly trailed behind her while Rebecca and Ally reunited. "Oh, Rebecca, these are my friends Natalie and Delilah," she introduced us. We gave her a small wave.

"Hey guys. This is Ryan and Shawn," Rebecca introduced us to the two boys with her. Shawn's arm was wrapped around Rebecca so I guessed they were dating.

"Me and Rebecca are old friends from high school," Ally explained.

"Nice to meet you guys. Let's go up to the top," Ryan suggested with a grin, gesturing to the building in front of us. He flicked his brown hair to the side and walked inside with the rest of us following.

We went up the elevator, and the employee inside told us some facts about the building. We got to the top and looked around. "I know I've been here before, but it's way higher up than I remember," Nat said as she looked out the window.

I walked to the edge of the window and looked down at the bustling city below. Everything looked so small. I started to get a little dizzy from being this high up and backed away from the window.

I lightly ran into someone behind me and immediately turned around to apologize. "I'm so sorry," I said to Ryan.

He still had a smirk on his face as he said, "No worries, babe."

Something about him made me a little uncomfortable, but he seemed like a nice guy.

After a few more minutes, we all left the Willis Tower and decided to go look around some shops.

I talked a little more with Rebecca and got to know her. She was really friendly and nice. We exchanged numbers and continued looking around the jewelry shop we were currently in.

I admired a small charm bracelet. It was thin and silver, with a small heart pendant on it. I checked the price tag and saw that it was only $15.

I was about to grab it off the rack when someone's arm swooped in and took it. I glanced up to see Ryan's brown eyes staring down at me. "Let me buy this for you," he offered with a wink.

"Uh, that's okay." Dang, does this kid know when to quit?

He leaned in a little closer. "I'll buy it for you." With that, he turned on his heel and walked to the register.