✓ | DEAR FUTURE ME

049

"You work here?" Levi questioned.

"I got a job here a couple of months ago." She sighed. "They even got me training this new guy who got hired recently too. He's kind of an idiot though, but hey, employee discount."

"Oh, that's cool. I love it here." He forced a smile.

"Yeah, it's alright, I guess." Megan shrugged. It could be better if she were being honest, but she'd rather not make this night worse by ranting about it. "By the way, dinner's on me. I'll even buy you a milkshake too."

"What? No, no, we can split." Even when he was a little bad, Levi would forever be a gentleman. Sure, he wished that Megan would tell him it was okay for him to leave, but he would do the "right" thing and go through this date (if it was even considered a date now) no matter what.

"Levi, I broke your heart then dragged you here on Valentine's Day without realizing it. Let me pay so I can show you how sorry I am." She insisted. Levi couldn't argue with that, plus he knew Megan was stubborn, so he dropped the little argument and let her cover tonight's dinner.

"Well, I guess." Maybe it wasn't so bad that the timing of this date wasn't intentional, but Levi couldn't help but wonder about Skye and what she was doing right now. He'd like to think that she was happier than him right now and riding her bike around town, but he had it all wrong. Very, very wrong. This night had far more surprises in store.

•••

"Hi."

Skye's heart raced as Nikki opened the door. She scanned her every move from the not-so-quiet gasp escaping her lips to the way her eyes widened upon seeing Skye standing there in front of her. They hadn't been standing this close to each other in six months. Even as time flew by, they never forgot each other, and little did Skye know how long Nikki had been waiting for this moment to arrive.

As the moment of shock settled down, Nikki wrapped her arms around Skye out of nowhere, surprising her as she was expecting the door to slam in her face already. She returned the hug, of course, holding her former best friend tightly like it was the last time they'd ever see each other. It was a hug they would have shared that one night if they knew it would have been the last, but this one wasn't going to be.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you," Nikki whispered, a hint of shakiness in her voice as a drop of tears fell on Skye's shoulder. If only she knew this sooner then Skye would have made amends a long time ago, but she always found herself too stubborn to come crawling back. Nikki was just as stubborn, but the only difference between them is Skye was brave enough to knock on her door.

"Can we talk?" Skye said in her ear. As much as she would have loved to hug her forever, this conversation was six months in the making, and she couldn't stand to wait any longer.

"Yes, of course. Come on, come inside." Nikki let go of the embrace and stepped aside, eagerly motioning her to come in to finally talk after all this time.

Skye stepped inside, hearing Nikki shut and lock the door behind her. She noticed how awfully quiet the house was, surprised her parents hadn't come down and ambushed her already. The two girls then walked into the living room, a loud plop noise made as Nikki threw herself onto a lounge chair. "You can sit wherever. My parents aren't home."

"Um, I didn't think you'd be home, actually. Ya know, because of Victor and it being Valentine's Day and all." Skye awkwardly sat down on the couch, placing her hands on her lap as she didn't want to get too comfortable just yet. Now that she did think of it, why was Nikki home right now? Skye knew the reason why she wasn't out on a date tonight, but Nikki? Her reason was quite the surprise.