Run to Me

Chapter 3: Reunion

Mandi's POV

Robin held my arm tightly linked in his the entire walk to the little deli he was ordered to pick up food from. Every now and then, he would shoot me one of those killer smiles that always made me have to return the favor, but for the most part, we just continued to talk about our lives since the last time I visited Australia in the summer of '64. I always remembered the Gibb boys to be very mischievous. Their poor parents must have been pulling their hair out based off of what Robin was telling me.

"And then, the whole oven exploded! Like, literally exploded! We had to have a new one installed, and I spent the remainder of my weekend scraping bits of lasagna off of the walls. Regardless, that was the last time Mum ever asked me to heat up dinner." He chuckled, swinging open the door to the deli and ushering me inside. I let out a horrendous sounding laugh as I followed him to the counter.

"Man, I need to give Hugh and Barbara a huge hug when I see them next. Putting up with you demons must have been a nightmare." I joked as Robin playfully punched me on the shoulder. He smiled, glancing up at the menu.

"Would you like anything, Muscles? I've got to get a whole army load of food to get us through this recording session." I shook my head.

"I think I'll just pick off of you and Maurice." He rolled his eyes jokingly and started to place an order big enough to feed the whole town of Southampton. If one thing hadn't changed, it was my best friends' appetites. Feeding them was like feeding an endless black hole.

*

By the time we reached the recording studio, I could feel my whole body tingle with excitement. My heart beat hastily with anticipation as I followed Robin up the stairs. He was chatting away happily about their current album they were working on, Trafalgar, his arms carrying a bulging bag of sandwiches, until we stood outside the door to where the guys were recording. He turned to me with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Get down." He said. I must have had quite the confused expression, because he giggled and pressed on my head. I kneeled down to the floor as he opened the door.

"Stay there," he whispered, walking into the studio as I trailed behind on my hands and knees. "I've got a plan." Uh oh. Plans of his never ended well. Robin strutted into the control panel and set the sandwiches on a nearby table. I stayed on the ground, but craned my neck slightly to try and get a look at what was going on. I couldn't help the humongous grin that spread over my face. The guys were barely even recognizable as the two doofuses I spent most of my childhood with. Barry stood at the microphone, his headphones around his neck, singing about a broken heart in that incredible falsetto I had grown to love so much. His shaggy brown hair hung loosely around his eyes, the beginning of a scraggly beard budding around his chin. He had become quite the stud, I must admit. And Maurice, oh my sweet little Maurice. He sat at the piano, his bony fingers cascading across the keys ever so delicately. His headphones were propped up on his ears, his golden brown hair hanging down by his shoulders. He had a full beard, believe it or not, and was deeply concentrated on his music. There was guy I didn't recognize who was on the drums, and another one on guitar. I guessed that they were the band Rob had been telling me about. The four of them were in mid-song, until Robin interrupted, banging on the glass window. He pointed to the food, which was my cue to duck under the table again. Barry, Maurice, and the two mystery men unhooked themselves from their mics in a hurry, nearly running each other to get to their lunch. Singing and playing instruments all day must really work up an appetite.

"Thanks, Rob. I'm absolutely starved." Barry said, reaching into the bag and pulling out the sandwiches. He passed them out to everyone before unwrapping his and taking a huge bite. I sat cross-legged underneath them, every little movement they made rattling above my head. They conversed for a little bit, shoving each other about, until Robin cleared his throat.