Silence ... Awkward Silence
The only sounds that could be heard as the two adults descended the rows of stairs were simple contortions of the planks underneath their feet. The atmostphere was heavy. Almost like all the good vibes Skylar felt earlier completely washed out.
True , she felt bad for both ... forgetting about Damian and the fact that she didn't tell him about Sebastian but how could she explain herself now?
"...are you mad at me , Sky?" Ah , this nickname.. How long has it been since she heard it ? Months, maybe even years. Thinking it over - did anybody else even use it?
Snapping out of it , the girl offered her response in a surprised yet guilty tone "Why would I be mad at you Damian ?"
"Well-I mean I uh .. you know I just kinda.. barged in .. I didn't really know what was in my head , sorry" The man offered with an apologetic smile , looking anywhere but in her eyes.
"Oh come on now , is the big badass Ashworth flustered?" She smirked , putting her hands in her hips and stopping abruptly. Guilt won't take them anywhere anyway. What else was there to do?mhm , bad jokes - lots of bad jokes.
"You'd wish" Damian threw back along with one of his signature winks while advancing to the living-room. 'They better be ready'
"As cocky as ever" Muttered Skylar with a sigh and tagging along.
Finally reaching her destination , the girl found herself in the huge , haunted-like room. But something was off - where did Damian go?
"Damian? ... I swear to god if this is one of your bad jo-"
Along with the multitude of sparks that suddenly lit the room , a surprised expression plastered over her features.
There , in the center of the room rose the 4 most important people in her life. Kyle , Damian and now , right next to him , his older brother. Finally , in the middlemost of the small crowd stood firmly none other than her best friend , Anne-Marie who wore her brightest smile while chanting along the festive song as well as holding Skylar's 27th aniversary birthday cake.
Halfway through the song the girl was already crying her eyes out. She couldn't believe that the kids from several years ago , who swore on their soul that they would reunite again just made their biggest wish come alive. That the teenagers who worked so hard to become someone to this day still didn't forget about the good old days spent together - about their friendship.
A single phrase ingraied in Skylar's mind-"Happy Birthday , Skylar! We love you!"...
'We love you!'
"I love you too guys! I love you so damn much!" The girl shakily declared sprinting and catching all of them in a warm hug.
Recovering as good and fast as she could our girl came to her senses once again , this time stopping in front of Dimitri: "It's been so long but I still can't believe you changed so much!" As it was kind of guessable , the older Ashworth brother -even with just one year ahead of her - was more like a fatherly figure to Skylar - more like the father she always wished she had.
"It seems I'm not the only one changed" He offered with a warm smile - "Look what a beautiful lady you've become!"He continued patting Skylar's head.
"Don't make me blush now" Sky smartly replicated.
Then it was Anne's turn to greet her ... in her usual style - more exactly? Jumping in her arms so fast and hard that they both stumble on the floor while letting out autistic screeches.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ARE RIGHT HERE LIKE HERE IN MY ARMS-I MEAN UNDER ME BUT THAT'S OK OH GOD LET ME HELP YOU STAND UP BEFORE I BREAK YOUR BONES I'M SO SORRY I LOVE YOU" The girl seemed relatively calm at first ha? Guess again.
"I love you too Anne but right now I would love to breathe too ...you ..know?"
"I'M SORRY I JUST-" Intrerupted.
"So, how's Aidan doing?" The short haired girl smirked
Anne.exe has stopped working.
If Skylar knew one thing about her friend it certainly was the fact that this question was another word of putting her brain in standby.
Then Kyle finally got a chance to speak to his own sister. Surprising yet true.
"Now I actually got a chance of comunicating with my own family -*ahem* smartass * ahem*- this is for you Skylar" The younger Lane spoke handing her a black velvet box. She looked at the box with a curious yet confused expression.
"This is from ... her" Their mother. His tone audibly held a hint of sadness , but the boy didn't let himself ruin the girl's mood."It should have been in your hands from some time now" He added , the corners of his lips moving upwards.
But she didn't let any tears flow. Instead , she smiled warmly "Thank you so much Kyle"and then hugged tight her younger brother. A strage looking silver key was delicately placed on the black silk inside the box. 'It's exactly what I expected her likings to be '
"I love it" Added the white haired girl before throwing the necklace over her head.
Next was Anne , and her present was absolutely mesmerizing - A pair of silver bracelets with their first tattoos engraved in the talisman. It resembled two hands holding their pinkie fingers. She remembered that moment. Their first meeting - 5th grade - 'Forever and always'.
"You couldn't have found something with a greater meaning than this - I love you so much" Said Sky while catching her in a bear hug.
Then Dimitri came up - A smaller and maroon box in his hand "Happy birthday smurf"
"I can't believe you remembered my obsession over silver rings" What she got out the little package was a pure silver ring that had a dragon twisted along its form . "Thanks mom , I love it" Came her comeback.
And finally Damian , who approached and smiled at her intensely , right hand behind his back.
"Close your eyes and give me your hand" He demanded , and who was Skylar to reject him? Once done , she felt something cold wrap around her wrist. 'A bracelet huh?'
"Open your eyes"
Yes, a bracelet , but not any bracelet - It was a silver chain with a lot of charms attached to it - game references more exactly - and she knew exactly what this meant. This were all the games they played together since they met and up to this day. From story-line games to shooting ones , every little detail was dangling against her warm milky skin.
"It's perfect" She spoke , never taking her eyes off the present , and proceeding to hug him stronger than ever.
"Then" Kyle's voice suddenly intrerupted them , frowning so hard his brows almost touching -action which of course got annoyed expresions from both Skylar and Damian-what about a good , old movie night? He continued , adopting a cheerful attitude and letting go of the girl.
"You make me remember why I threw you in the pool when we were younger" she laughed for herself.
Giving in and actually finding both the sitution and Kyle's reaction funny , our little group decided to finally take some time for themselves , spending the night laughing and revealing their life stories once again
...
like the good old days
