Collision Course

Chapter 17: A Reunion of Sorts

At first, all I could feel was panic. Uncontrollable, suffocating panic that made me want to thrash about and scream until my lungs cracked. It was that night all over again. My breathing threatened to become shallow and raspy, struggling to take in air and replenish my growing fear. The scissors were so close to cutting the string, fraying the edges of the rope until the panic stopped.

I had no reason to be afraid. Not of the hand encasing my mouth, not the accented voice right beside my ear, not even the look of utter shock and rage that had taken over Wes. I knew who this was and they posed me no threats whatsoever.

As if lightning had struck me, I whipped around to face the pale ginger that had been my savior throughout childhood. The hand previously around my mouth came to rest at his side causing no immediate danger. He was right in front of me and I couldn't believe it.

"Richard Samuel Gordon! What have I told you about sneaking up on people!" I yelled with a grin stretching the skin of my cheeks. It was quite painful but definitely worth it after not having seen the familiar face in years. The feeling of waking up from a dream surged through me and I lunged at him.

A hearty chuckle came out of his mouth when I crashed into him out of nowhere. He had to have been somewhat expecting my sudden act of affection because we only stumbled slightly. His arms wrapped around me tightly and I clutched him back just as tight, refusing to let him slip back across the world again.

"Gosh Short Stack, would'a thought you were tryin' ta kill me if I didn't know ya already." His voice was muffled due to his face being shoved in my head of blonde hair. Our arms were practically glued together like we both couldn't stand to let each other go again. It was painful enough the first time, again would be sacrificing my heart to a pack of savage dogs.

I sniffled, trying to hold back the tears that filled my eyes. "I should be killing you right now. You left me here, you stupid oaf. And what have I told you about calling me Short Stack, Ginger-bread Man," I retorted into the sleeve of his zip-up sweatshirt. He laughed again but this was more out apology than real laughter. It was as if he was trying to tell me all the times he said sorry while being miles away into this one embrace.

We finally broke away from each other after seeing the made rush of students dim down to a few stragglers. Large smiles accented both of our faces, sets of teeth making appearances. I didn't care about the odd looks we were receiving or the sneaky whispers thrown between girls. It was just me and my best friend again.

Ric had changed quite a bit since the last time I saw him. He still looked relatively familiar, the same bright red hair but now cut longer, the same dark blue eyes that were almost grey, and the same ghostly skin that burned easily in sunlight. But he was taller now, almost a head more than me, the freckles that danced on his nose and chin had increased in number, and he seemed more tense, as if everything around him were a lion ready to pounce. Whether he was still the same Ric I knew three years ago was yet to be determined.

I opened my mouth to say something about his sudden reappearance but was cut off by the star crossed lover. She was walking along the side of the blonde boy when recognition took over and she broke free. Ric didn't even suspect the sudden crash into his figure, sending him stumbling forward. I took a step back, letting myself slip back into the shadows.

"Ric!" She shouted, encasing him in a suffocating hug from behind. A chuckle escaped his lips as he turned around to properly hug his other childhood friend. The brown head of hair Lily accentuated was buried in the shoulder of his frame.

"It's good to see you, Lil." We both had the habit of calling her that nickname; albeit he adopted it from me. Their embrace lasted for longer than I expected and the sour look of the blonde boy behind them said he thought so too. It looked as if he was ready to blow steam out of his ears and rip them apart, but held on by the thread of their new relationship.