The Original Four

Chapter 9

"So all four of them are back together again?"

"Yep," I reply. "Isn't it great?" The three of them nod their heads, but I can tell that something is bothering them. "What's wrong then?"

"Doesn't that mean the story is almost over?"

I knew it! I knew this story would grow on them. Neither of the boys were very interested in this story at first; it was just the girl and me. But now, all three of them are sitting in front of me, praying that the ending is further than it seems.

"Yeah. It does. But as we all know, every story has its own happy ending."

.

"That's crazy," Nick states as Kate tells him about the encounter with Daniel at the airport. The four are seated at their table, munching on focaccia bread over a nice glass of wine.

"Want to hear one even better?" Daniel says.

Nick throws his hands in the air. "Sure, why not? I doubt anything could beat what Kate just told me."

Olivia starts laughing, causing him to look over at her. "You're about to be proven very wrong . . . "

Daniel then begins retelling what happened a week later, after the incident at the airport, at the company. Kate watches Nick's facial expressions change from confused to shocked to dumbfounded. By the end of the short story, his eyes were wide and his mouth was hung wide open.

"Oh my god! But how? That's just- Wow," he says, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I know," Daniel laughs.

Nick and Olivia exchange looks with one another. "You know, both Nick and I always thought you two would end up with one another," she tells us.

Kate raises her eyebrows at Olivia. "Oh really. And how would you know this?" she questions. "Unless . . . You're a psychic!"

Olivia whacks her arm. "Shut up. And I don't know . . . There was just something about you two."

Daniel wraps his arm around Kate, pulling her close. "You know something?" he asks them. He gently lifts my necklace up to show them.

"Oh my god," Nick says. "It's the-"

"Necklace," Olivia finishes. "Kate, you kept it all this time?"

"I never go anywhere without it."

Olivia smiles over at Nick and holds his hand. "See what I mean? They're meant to be together." Kate turns at least two shades darker before she cowers back, hiding her face in Daniel's arm. "I just can't believe you kept this necklace after all these years."

"It's all I had left," Kate replies.

"Of what?" the three of them ask at the same time.

"Daniel?" Nick inquires.

She shakes her head no, a smile plastered onto her face. "No, of all of us. This necklace reminds me of all of the memories we shared, and all of the stories we've got to tell." She pauses. "This is just one of the reasons why I love you guys."

After that, The Original Four was closer than ever. They are and always will be the best of friends. Nothing could ever come in between them and replace what they had ever since their first few days of grammar school. They were best friends, and best friends don't turn on each other.