Memory Lane

17 / fixed arrows

It wasn't long after they began their search that they stumbled upon Sachi and Hunter in the kitchen. Colette and the others were there too, though the conversation stalled as they entered. Avoiding her friends' gazes, Scarlett turned her attention to Sachi.

Sachi barely turned her body at the sound of her entrance, but as soon as her eyes caught onto Elliot's, she seemed to light up. Setting her drink down, she dove across the room in a second, leaping into Elliot's arms. He had the sense to catch her before she fell, and Sachi squealed into his shoulder as her face buried into his neck.

A few seconds passed before Elliot gently set Sachi down onto the kitchen tile, her arms still wrapped around his neck. "I can't believe you're here," Sachi gushed. "I mean – I knew you were coming, but oh my God, I missed you so much."

Scarlett looked past them to find Hunter beaming. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen him with such a bright grin, but it looked like his cheeks were aching from the force of it. When Sachi finally detached herself from Elliot, Hunter was the next to greet him. Their hug wasn't as gentle as the ones he gave her; rather, it was a quick embrace followed by a string of questions.

"Holy shit," Hunter said. "What are you doing here? Did you both plan this?"

"With a little help from me," someone interrupted before Elliot could answer. Everyone in the room turned in the direction of the voice, and a slight shock went through her at the sight of Erin leaning against the kitchen doorway. Her blonde waves bounced as she cocked her head, a smile teasing her lips.

"Erin!" Sachi shouted. She barreled past Scarlett to slam into Erin, who had her arms wide, anticipating a hug. "I can't believe you're here!"

Erin laughed with no small amount of amusement. Their gazes met over Sachi's shoulder, and the moment she stepped away from Sachi, Scarlett found herself wrapped in an embrace. "Hi, Scarlett," Erin said, her voice like bells. "It's wonderful to finally meet you in person."

"It's great to meet you too," Scarlett said. It was amazing how quickly everything had shifted. Yesterday, she'd been freaking out over the arrival of one of Hunter's friends, and suddenly, all of them had appeared. But the original worry had vanished, replaced with overwhelming excitement. It was all worth it to see the beam on Hunter's face – not to mention it was wonderful to finally meet the people she'd spoken to, but never had the chance to formally meet.

Once Erin pulled away, she reached forward to pat Hunter's shoulder. "Sorry for dropping in on you," she joked. "In hindsight – it wasn't the best of ideas."

"Shut up," Hunter said, the corner of his mouth quirking up. "I'm glad you're all here."

As the initial bubble of excitement had vanished, Scarlett stole the opportunity to introduce Elliot and Erin to her friends. A small part of her relished in the way Victor gaped when they were referred to as "Hunter's best friends from back home." Though the tension was obvious, Erin was a master at weaving past it.

"Well, I'm in the mood to dance," she announced. Sachi stepped over to her immediately. "Scarlett"—her head lifted at the sound of her name—"would you like to join us?"

She answered with a brilliant smile, allowing Erin to loop her arm in hers. She didn't catch Victor's face as they started to leave, but she knew that he was likely fuming. Before they could take more than two steps, Elliot used his arm to block Sachi's path.

"Wait," he said. "Is that my shirt?"

Sachi looked down at the graphic T-shirt she was wearing. It had Deadpool's logo covering the majority of it, and she'd tucked it into a pair of jean shorts. It wasn't a fancy outfit by any means, but she made it work. "Yup," she said cheerily, looking back up. "Do you mind?"