What Happened Then

02 | A Perfect Storm

Ami looked to see Rachel freezing in her seat at the sound of his voice.

I hope she would be alright, she thought.

Everyone else in the room turned to welcome the three guest that joined the birthday party late. It was Taylor and Liam, who went to a dance together, and Seth, who drove them over because it was snowing hard outside.

Ami rose up from her seat and went to greet them. 

"You guys made it here safely!" said Ami, greeting them each. 

"Happy birthday!" said Liam to Ami, as they hugged.

"Thank you! It's so good to see you again, Liam!" said Ami. She then went into the kitchen to grab more chairs. When she returned, she noticed that Seth took her seat, Taylor and Liam sat together, which meant that Rachel was gone because Taylor was sitting at where she sat.

I guess she wasn't okay with it, thought Ami. She rejoined the chatting group on the other couch. Soon after, Rachel descended from the stairs and returned to the room. She went to the bathroom, thought Ami. Noah, noticing Ami's return, offered his spot, which was on the same couch as Ami, but it was a seat right next to Hudson. Rachel thanked him and Ami noticed a sign of relief from her face as she sat down. 

Maybe Noah knew, or he noticed something was up, because the spot that he switched with Rachel to sit at was a lot closer to where Seth was sitting at.

Knowing that Rachel was not okay being in the same room with Seth, and the fact that Ami was able to catch on, Ami also knew that Seth must have noticed as well. She sneaked a glance at Seth, and she was right - his face looked bad.

Oh no, she thought, he must be feeling guilty about what happened after sensing that Rachel wasn't okay being around him.

"Everyone, thank you so much from coming to my birthday party!" said Ami, "Since most of you here are older than me, I would love for each of you to give me an advice for turning 23!"

***

Ami lay in her bed, exhausted, but unable to sleep. She stared into her ceiling in the dark, with thoughts and memories overflowing her head. Her body protested, but her mind persisted. 

She was grateful for the people that had stopped by to wish her a happy birthday, and to those who stayed after as well. She loved the homemade birthday cake by one of her housemates. She was glad to see Liam again, and that he wasn't awkward around her, even though she broke up with his older brother. This way, she still felt connected to their family, she had the opportunity to meet during Christmas when she was still dating Seth. It was such a full day, filled with blessings, one that she wouldn't exchange anything in the world for.

However, she also hoped that she was successful in distracting everyone in noticing the awkward tension between Rachel and Seth, by turning their attention to her. When the room got quiet, she would throw out different questions for people to answer, or share a funny story of herself.

She genuinely wished the best between those two friends. She wanted Rachel to be able to feel comfortable around Seth again, as she herself was able to be. Seth seems to be comfortable around Ami as well.

They had their moments, just the three of them, when Ami and Seth were dating. Rachel, most of the time would also be alongside with them on an adventure, for she was both Ami and Seth's best friend. Some common friends may think that it's weird, for they knew that Seth used to like Rachel, but now Ami dating Seth, but to them, it was probably the most natural the three of them had coexisted together before. It was effortless. Somehow, unexplainable as well.

Who would've thought that the three of them would end up the way it is today?