Second Chance [Four/Tobias]

Two

ᴀᴠʏᴀɴɴᴀ

I was taken aback by the sudden offer.

Christina seemed like a nice girl.

I look at the unpacked boxes and shake my head. I have to get back to them.

But who misses a chance to make new friends on the first night?

I shower and change.

I was thoughtful enough to carry few spare clothes.

Mike said he'd meet me later.

A little while later, I knocked on their door.
——

ᴛᴏʙɪᴀꜱ

"Hey, Tobias," Zeke grins.

I look at him, "What?"

"You know, I was thinking... It has been five years since you last went on a zip line. When are you going again?" He grins.

"Never," I answer.

"Oh, come on, Four," Shauna smiles.

I shake my head, "No, thanks."

Zeke punches my arm and laughs. "Say whatever. I love how you react."

I give him a look.

"What? It's true."

Christina, Cara, George and Caleb are on one corner, talking about God knows what.

Zeke, Amar, Matthew, Shauna and me are here talking about everything.

It has been a while since one of these meetings and it's nice to see all of them back.

"Also, I wanted——" Amar begins but he is cut off by the sound of the doorbell.

"I'll get it!" Christina runs, a little too enthusiastic as I just stand up.

"What's up with her?" Zeke whispers to me.

"You'll see," I smirk.

As I expected, it was the new girl.

She walked in, uncertain and I can see she was surprised by the number of us.

The whole room fell silent but they all had smiles on their faces.

"Everyone, meet Avyanna. Tobias's new neighbour," Christina grins.

Everyone just stares blankly.

I almost laughed.

"Hi," She smiled.

"Hey." It was Zeke first. "Zeke."

"George."

"Shauna."

And so each one introduced themselves.

The girl had a sort of relief in her eyes.

Christina pulled her to the old corner where they all were talking before.

I find her amusing. She seems like a quiet person but has so much to say.

I look over to their table to see them talking cheerfully. I look away and turn to Amar.

"You were saying?"

"Ah, yeah. I forgot. I'll tell you later."

I laugh, Amar was always forgetful.

Zeke raises his eyebrow at me and I do the same. He shrugs and smiles.
——
ᴀᴠʏᴀɴɴᴀ

"So, where are you from?" Christina asked me.

I look down. If I tell them I'm from a goddamn experiment, they'll never believe it.

"Europe," I say. That isn't a lie. They didn't ask where I was born.

They don't question.

"Europe? That's cool. Where in Europe?" Caleb asks.

"I used to work all over it," I answer.

"Okay, enough about work and things." Christina rolled her eyes. "Avyanna, can I take a moment to appreciate how wonderful that cake is?"

I laugh, "Glad you like it."

"You made it?" She asks.

"Nah, I bought it." I admit making others laugh.

"What do you work as?" Cara asks.

"I'm still searching for one, actually," I nod.

"Oh, do you have something in mind?" She asks.

"Not really," I shrug.

"Wait, Avyanna, would you like working in an office?" Christina asks.

"Sure, why?"

"You see, I used to work in an office that relocates people from the fringe to the city. Now that everyone who wants to is relocated, they relocated me." She laughed and continued. "I work in Chicago Water Department now. It controls water supply. It could use you."

"Seriously?" I gape at her.

"Yeah, I mean if you want to," She shrugs.

I grin, "I would love to."

"Great," She smiles.

"Since....when are you both such good friends?" Caleb stared at us both.

We shrug and smile.

"Very well, then, I have to go," I stand up.

"Already?" Cara grins.

"Yeah, I'll come again though," I nod.

"You better do," George smiles.

I make my way to the other group.

"I'll see you all later," I wave.

Zeke gives me a thumbs up and Amar lazily salutes. Tobias gives me a small wave back.

With that, I walk back to my apartment, with new friends.
.
.
.
My alarm beeps at six.

I pull the curtains apart. Bright sunshine fills the room.

It has been years since I saw Mike.

He changed over time. Everybody does. But in his case, I fear it's negative.
——
ᴀᴠʏᴀɴɴᴀ

Few weeks after that, I went for an interview at Chicago Water Department.

They were very happy to take me in, much to Christina's excitement.

I called Mike again, today. No answer.
——
ᴀᴠʏᴀɴɴᴀ

It was one fine evening.

Someone knocked. It wasn't like Christina or Tobias or any of the others because it wasn't soft and short.

I opened the door.

Mike stood there, tapping his foot against floor, arms folded.

"Hey, How are you——"

"Do you know how many times you called me?" He asked.

"Huh?" I stare at him. He didn't even come inside.

"Five," He frowned. "Listen to me, Avy, listen carefully. Chicago, the experiment, the factions, I want to leave them all behind. And...I can't have you with it."

He gives me a brief hug, which seemed more of a formality than affection.

"Goodbye," He nodded and left before I could even process what he said.

Mike, my best friend of years, my escape companion.

So, this is how our friendship ends.

I clench my jaw, take my purse and walk out to the nearby bar.

I don't remember much after that.
——