...And It's Blue

9

We arrived at the restaurant quickly. It was the perfect spot for friends to hang out, so our presence wouldn't seem suspicious. Aiden and I planned to leave after some time to give Ashton and the girl he liked a chance to connect—or, better yet, for him to finally ask her out.

Entering the dimly lit restaurant, we were engulfed by loud music and a bustling crowd. Making a beeline for Ashton's reserved table, I inadvertently pulled Aiden along with me as he was still scanning the room.

"Slow down, Lacey. What's the rush?" Aiden questioned, noticing my hurried pace.

Realizing I was practically dragging him, I slowed down, though not wanting to let go of his hand. My cheeks flushed as I tried to compose myself. We finally reached their table, where I greeted Ashton before turning to the stunning girl he couldn't take his eyes off. I couldn't blame him; she was drop-dead gorgeous with her long blonde hair and sundress.

As we stood there, I noticed she was staring at me as if she'd seen a ghost.

"Lacey?"

"Oh my god, it's you!" She exclaimed and hugged me. Did my memory really fail me this badly? There stood Ava, my childhood best friend, transformed in ways I hadn't expected. How could I not have recognized her?

"Hi," I managed, still in disbelief.

"That's all you have to say? C'mon Lace. You haven't changed a bit, except for that ugly beanie"

"Uh the beanie is not ugly?" She chuckled and lightly hit my back.

"What's up with you? It's been so long since we last met. How many years has it been? 6? 7? Whatever it is, it's been too long. I've missed you so much! There's so much to catch up on, Lacey! You have no idea all the crazy stuff that went down in New York. Crazy stuff, I tell you." Ava paused, realizing she was rambling in front of company. "I'm so sorry for babbling. It's just been so long since I saw Lace, I got carried away."

"That's alright," Ashton smiled warmly. "Isn't she just adorable?" he whispered to me, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

Who would have thought Ashton would end up meeting Ava, and I would reconnect with my childhood best friend? It almost feels like this was planned, but of course, life isn't a novel; it's just pure coincidence.

We settled at our table and placed our orders. Aiden and I opted for drinks since we were leaving soon. During dinner, Aiden excused himself to take a call. Watching him walk away, I wondered if it was his ex-girlfriend; they seemed close for exes.

Sighing, I sipped my drink, completely missing Ava's question. She shook me by the shoulders. "Earth to Lacey?"

I snapped back to reality and nodded. "I'm sorry, what did you ask?"

"I asked for your number," Ava said with a smile.

"Ah, sure," I replied, taking her phone and typing in my number just as Aiden returned.

"I'm sorry to cut this short," Aiden said as he approached. "I'm sure you would've loved more time together, but I really need to leave now." He stood beside me. "Let's go, shall we, love?"

I froze, stunned by what he called me. Did I hear him correctly? "Babe, it's getting late. Stop spacing out and let's leave." He grabbed my hand and handed Ava her phone. I mumbled something to Ava before leaving; my mind was filled with Aiden's unexpected endearment. He couldn't have meant it... could he?

"Lacey? Are you okay?" Aiden's voice brought me back to reality.

"Yeah," I replied, trying to brush off the confusion.

Later, he drove us to a park near our place.

"Why are we here?" I asked.

"It's nice here at this time," he said, squeezing my hand as we entered. We found a bench, and he let go of my hand, leaving me strangely cold.

"Do you come here often at this time?" I asked, trying to make sense of everything.

"No, this is only the second time. You might not believe it, but I was quite the troublemaker in school," he chuckled. 

"One day, I got into a fight with a group of boys for a reason I don't remember. It was 1 against 5, I had no chance, but you know how teen boys are," he continued. "That was the first time I came here after dark. While everyone at home was panicking, I was here, listening to music. Somehow, everything calmed down. I forgot about the fight, forgot my face was busted. It was just me and my music, which eventually led me to learn guitar and make music."

He hummed, "I don't sing though, that's my brother's job. We planned to start a band, but the drummer bailed last minute, so we're still searching."

"That sounds amazing, starting your own band. You must really love music," I said, genuinely impressed.

He nodded, "Yeah, I do. I just realized we don't know much about each other. How about a game of 21 questions?" he suggested.

"Sure," I agreed, curious where this might lead.

"I'll start," he said. "What is your dream date?"