Of Course He's Bad (HOLD)

x. missing you, part 1

"A little kindness can go a long way."

"Hey," I greeted nervously, my palms itching with sweat and anxiety mixed together. After the shock caught up with me, I froze at my own door. Then, I shook it off and realized how awkward Andrew must've felt as well.

He was either being generous and pretending not to notice or just had not been able to catch on, but he had a wide grin on his face. "Holly!" Andrew said joyfully, holding his arms out. The small grin of my own had been magnified by ten times, as I pulled him in for a hug. "I missed you," he said, burying my face into the crook of his light neck. Andrew was about 5"9, so about the perfect height for someone my size. That was something I loved when we had dated months before. So long ago, it felt like.

"How have you been?" I shrieked in joy, as I lead the boy to the living room couch. Yanking open the fridge, I grabbed two Arizonas - Andrew liked fruit punch, and I liked Arnold Palmers. He began telling me a story about a pool party as I cranked open the cans. I nodded in response, a natural grin fighting its way upon my face. The cool liquid mellifluously poured out of the can and into the clear glass of ice; I handed the cup off to Andrew as I joined him on the sofa.

"I miss Florida; the parties here are so...boring," I say truthfully. The parties in Miami were incomparable; it was almost like Rio de Janeiro, the one place I'd travel back to.

He chuckled, taking a small sip of the beverage, "The party life does get old with out you. Everyone back home misses you, you know." I nodded; that's all I can do, really. I know everyone misses me; they always message me the same words. And I miss them as well, but it won't change anything. I can't move back to Florida. Not any time soon anyways.

A comfortable silence filled the air as we exchange coy glances and listen to the words of the current show on the TV. "Speaking of home," I finally decided to ask, "what are you doing out here?" The smile on his face lessened, and I knew that I shouldn't have asked that.

Andrew, after a small gulp, replied, "My parents split up a little while after you left." Two devastating events in the same time span - how did he survive? I would be so lost if my parents got a divorce, or if someone that I loved left me to go live across the country. What if Tyler moved to New York?

"Aww," I whined, "Are you okay? What happened?" Before he could answer, I scooted over to his end of the couch, wrapping an arm around his neck.

We spent the rest of the day like that, speaking and comforting and laughing and enjoying the peace. Things like this made me miss Florida; my new life in California had been so hectic, and I hated it.

***

If I could keep a photograph of my parents' face when they walked into the house to see Andrew and me just chilling out like old times, I would've. Zach's first defense was to go bat sh*t crazy, especially since I was just in a long tee shirt and some shorts. But the most important point: he stopped when he saw Andrew. My parents, upon the sight of my ex, were ecstatic.

"Andrew!" Mom and Dad shouted in unison, dropping the bags in their hands. Andrew lightly shrugged off my arm, standing up with his arms out. They group hugged for at least a minute; and immediately after, Zach chatted Drew up for what felt like forever.

"Well," my mom grinned, "We brought Chinese!"

Andrew looked at me with wide eyes, rubbing his hands together in excitement. I laughed, grabbing his hand to guide him to the dining area. We sat by each other, then Zach and our parents across from Andrew and me.

The remainder of the night was well spent. The five of us ate dinner and talked, reminiscing and story-telling for what seemed like hours. Coincidentally, my parents purchased the largest serving of orange chicken - which was ideal since Andrew loves orange chicken more than he loved me. Almost.