I've Changed

special 2

"I can't wait to meet your high school friends again." Theo says before Sofie dramatically steps out of the Uber. She drags herself outside and groans annoyingly—the feeling's mutual.

"Do you know how much it took to get away from them? Four fucking years I'll tell you." she adjusts her outfit.

"Was it that bad?" Alex asks from beside Eric. She innocently looks at all of us and we give an awkward grin—the word 'bad' is an understatement. "You've been complaining about them for a long time." she stresses with a worried expression.

"They're the ones who fucking messed up Ellie's life and you all know I'm a ride or die for her." Theo tries to calm her down. I laugh at her exaggeration but we both know the lengths—way beyond death—we will go for each other.

"True," I shrug. The Uber leaves us in the middle of the lawn. We prepare to enter what can either be a moment of closure or a nightmare.

"Why are you so calm?" Sofie asks and I keep my mouth closed. I've been getting mixed emotions throughout the day. I don't know if I should be excited or nervous, which I'm both in the moment.

"Yeah, why are you so calm?" Eric asks.

"Maybe because I don't care as much as I would have before?" I convince myself to this specific reality. Recently, it has been my answer once I've heard from Jae that Conrad invited us for a high school reunion. We were all hesitant—Sofie, Eric, me, and primarily Jae—while Theo and Alex had no clue to what was going on.

They're such sweet souls.

After our class graduated, Conrad sent an invitation to all of us. We originally planned on declining his offer, kindly may I add, until we realized 'how bad could it actually be?'

"How bad could this be?" Theo says with so much enthusiasm that I wish to have. Although, in all honestly, it makes me anxious.

I've moved on from that part of my life, yet it's so hard to completely let go of it. The memories with the wrong people—the ones who've taught me my firsts and lasts.

I'm still trying to figure out whether to regret everything or to be thankful for the experiences. For them helping me explore the outside world, getting me out of my comfort zone, confronting my parents, and so on. Accepting my faith is baby steps towards improvement. Maybe that's why I want to see them again? To assemble the broken pieces.

"Horrible," Sofie mumbles as she looks at the two story house in front of us. Conrad seems to be doing well because his mansion tells us likewise. "What did he even study?" She gapes at it.

"I think politics." Jae steps next to me and throws an arm over my shoulder. "Are you okay?" He whispers in my ear, leaving a delicate kiss on my lobe. He always checks up on me. I simply nod as I don't want to say something that'll worry him even more. He's already stressing over agreeing to the invite.

"Let's get this over with." Sofie drags Theo behind her. Eric and Alex follow them too. As I step ahead, Jae pulls me by my hand and halts my movement entirely.

"We don't have to do this." he says. "I can call the Uber, we can go back to the penthouse, and have the night to ourselves." he gives me a dimple smile. The one where he persuades himself out of a situation—I know him too well.

"That sounds lovely." I look up, noticing how his eyes sparkle with anticipation. I kiss the corner of his lips, laughing at his adorable pout when I pull away too soon. "But I don't want to leave our friends alone. Plus, Malcom wouldn't be too happy with us interrupting his night alone in the penthouse. We agreed to do this together."

"I-I'm just—I don't fucking know."

"Scared? Worried?" I furrow my brows. I take his hands in mine and I can tell how clammy they are. He's usually not this nervous for other social settings, I'm more of the type. He even claims to be the more confident one in the relationship—his words not mine. "Are you okay?"