Unconventional

Chapter 1: Reunited

                              Year: 2014

     
      The saying, "Expect the unexpected", is such a simple concept that holds so much truth to it. Everyone pretty much knows that life can throw you curveballs at any given moment, but no one is truly prepared for when it happens. If you would've asked me a couple of months ago how'd I react when I saw Aaron for the first time since he made his exit out of my life those few months ago, I probably would've given you a smart response describing a scenario where I would come out on top. I guess that's part of my control issues. I have to come out on top no matter what. So when I walked through my front door to see a curveball, in the form of my bespectacled "friend" sitting in my living room, laughing and joking with our other friends, you can imagine the mental stumble that overcame me.

It's amazing how the idea of time changes when you're experiencing a traumatic moment. Everything seems to slow down dramatically as your brain is in disarray trying to grasp what's currently happening. I'm pretty sure I was only standing in the doorway for 30 seconds, if that, if I really want to be honest, but you couldn't tell me at that moment that I wasn't in a frozen state for 30..whole..minutes. I couldn't seem to control my slackened jaw, and I felt a rush of numbness fill my body as my eyes took in the scene before me. Had it not been for the prior "situations" I probably would've smiled at how sentimental it was. It was like a snapshot of our Junior/Senior year with only a few slight differences.

Harley and Shaniqua were sitting together on the love seat, being loud and obnoxious as ever I might add, laughing at what I was sure to be some memory of our past experiences, or probably at the expense of someone they were talking about at the time. In his usual spot in the basic chair next to the love seat sat DJ, with his face scrunched up in disapproval at whatever Harley and Shaniqua were laughing at. He was the first to notice my arrival, and I immediately saw his eyes gleam in excitement at the mess he knew that was about to occur, his expression slowly starting to resemble a child's face on Christmas day. A quick glance to my left showed me that the occupants of the sofa were where my true interests lied. Sitting in the middle of the sofa, somewhat off-center as she seemed to be distancing herself from the other person on the sofa, was my best friend, Krystal.

She was being her typical goofy self, and at the sight of her laughing at the cackling twins, I immediately knew that she was somehow behind this fiasco. In the midst of her laughter, she made eye contact with me and laughed even harder, nearly falling on the ground. This pretty much confirmed my suspicions. At last, my eyes looked passed her, and towards the person my brain was screaming not to look at, but who my bothersome emotions wanted to see oh so much...Aaron. It was like he never left. Sure, most people don't go through dramatic changes to their physical being in the timespan of two and a half months, but it was seriously messing with me of how familiar he still was. I caught him in the middle of a laugh, his slightly big pink lips spread out in a grin, exposing his teeth that've always been dwarfed in comparison. He was in one of his typical stances, sitting down and leaning towards the rest of the group, with one of his hands clutching at his phone. Nothing about his outfit stood out to me, a simple black t-shirt and jeans, but I wasn't surprised to see he still donned his gel wristbands he's worn since I met him all those years ago. Like I said before, it was like he never left. I quickly took my gaze off him, my emotions going overboard with the plethora of things I was feeling, and refocused on Harley and Shaniqua. "Surprise!", Harley  exclaimed, his bright white teeth beaming at me. "Look who's here!" 

For a fraction of a second I shot daggers at him, but I quickly schooled my features to something more neutral. Harley's comment seemed to motivate Shaniqua into goading me as well, as she gave me the same stupid grin Harley did. "Artemis, aren't you excited about this reunion? Isn't it so unexpected?" I didn't even try to hide my contempt this time, and simply stared at her. I suppose Harley was "confused" by my lack of happiness, and with a sheepish grin, looked around in a basic manner before muttering to Shaniqua, "I don't think he's too happy, Tree." She let out one of her famous shrieks, hitting Harley on his muscular shoulder, before burrowing her mouth in her blouse to hide her laughter. Krystal who had been carrying on the entire time, finally managed to say something. "Artemis, you remember how you set me up back in November?" Her tone was teasing, and I immediately knew she was referring to Aaron's trip to our hometown of Orlando, a trip I intentionally didn't tell Krystal about just to see the reaction on her face when she walked in my house, and saw Aaron sitting calmly in my living room. The moment then was one of glee for me, but looking at Krystal's face I could see that she still held some resentment towards it. "Got em'!"