Three Years On

Chapter Three

So you get to find out how Debby reacts now :D :D This one's dedicated to Brontosaurus for voting on like all my chapters and leaving a really lovely long comment on the last one :D see, when you give me long comments you get dedications, so comment please :D

Enjoy!

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     Michael was worried she might never speak. They stood there, staring at each other in shock, with Alfie and two girls standing by watching. It felt like he and Debby were the only people in the world, though hundreds surrounded them.

     Michael tried to swallow the lump in his throat and say something, but it seemed that time was frozen and he just couldn’t make the words come out. Finally Alfie cleared his throat and whispered loudly in Debby’s ear, ‘Who is this guy?’ He drawled out the word ‘is’ as if it was disgusting, as if Michael was disgusting.

     It was like a spell breaking, Debby’s face lit up and she ran to Michael, throwing herself on him.

     ‘Michael! What are you doing here, stupid?’ she cried, hiding her face in his shoulder.

     Michael pushed her away slightly so he could look her at her face. They stared at each other, and Debby’s eyes filled with tears.

     ‘I have no clue,’ he told her. ‘I just needed to come.’

     She nodded. ‘I understand. I missed you too.’ She took deep breaths to control her threatening tears, then turned back to her friends.

     ‘Taffy, Bronwyn, you remember Michael,’ she said to the two girls, then moved over to Alfie. ‘Alfie babe, this is Michael, he’s… an old friend of mine.’

     Alfie snaked his arm around her slender waist protectively, and gave Michael a glare. ‘Nice to meet you Michael.’

     ‘Wow, I just can’t believe you’re here,’ Debby said, unable to remove the grin from her face.

     Michael shifted his feet, not sure what to say. This wasn’t exactly what he had expected, he had been preparing himself for the worst- Debby getting angry that he’d come- or the best- Debby falling into his arms and asking him to make everything back to how it was. Instead he got an in between; she was pleased to see him, but as friends.

     ‘Yeah,’ he managed. ‘I just wanted to pay an unexpected visit. Do you think I could drive you home?’

     She shrugged. ‘I guess, you wouldn’t mind Alfie?’ she asked her boyfriend.

     ‘No, of course not,’ he replied, without much feeling. ‘I suppose you guys have a lot to catch up on. How long has it been?’

     ‘Three y-‘ Both Debby and Michael started at the same time, but their eyes caught and they stopped.

     ‘Uh, yeah, it’s been three years,’ Michael finished. He could almost see some kind of understanding spread across Alfie’s face as he digested this information, and Bronwyn and Taffy giggled excitedly.

     ‘So girls, I see you’re just as giggly as the last time I met you,’ Michael said, turning to them.

     ‘Yeah, we aren’t great at growing up,’ Taffy joked.

     Michael looked at Debby again, and she smiled. ‘Well, since I’m driving Debby home, we should probably go.’

     ‘Oh… yeah,’ Debby agreed, not breaking eye contact with him. For a couple of seconds they just stood there, staring at each other some more, each unable to believe that the other was really there, then she gave herself a little shake and turned to Alfie.