Short Stories

Reunion

"Mom! What are you doing?" I yelled as my mother came up from behind and blinded me with a piece of cloth.

"Oh, you'll see soon enough, dear!" She quipped, tying the blindfold securely with a knot. I smirked in her general direction. 

"Laura! Let's go!" I heard my dad yell to my mom from downstairs. I was dragged by my wrists down the stairs, out the door, and stuffed into a car. 

"Jeez people, what's going on?" I demanded, outraged at such inhuman behavior. My parents only giggled (yeah giggled) from the front seat. 

The car ride seemed to stretch for hours. Of course, I was blind and couldn't anything for shit. My mom was humming along to the radio as my dad kept the beat by beating the steering wheel. 

"Ohh, we're heeeere!" Mom crowed excitedly. I was still confused as fuck so I just tilted my head. I heard the car door open. 

"Come on, Ava!" My dad's strong hand took my elbow, guiding me somewhere. We started walking and I could hear quite the commotion around me. I heard sounds of engines and of.... planes?

"Mom, Dad, are we at the airport?" I inquired. I heard my parents chuckle.

"Maybe." Dad said. I pursed my lips. After a while, it seemed, we stopped. It was then that I tore the blindfold off. 

"What. Is. Happening?!" I gasped. "Is Grandma coming for a surprise visit?" My parents threw each other mysterious looks. 

It was then that I turned to face the terminal. A steady swarm of people were gushing out of the terminal. 

"There they are..." Mom whispered. I glanced at her curiously, but I understood why she suddenly had tears in her eyes when I looked back at the terminal. 

My heart stopped. Blue eyes connected with my brown ones. 

Blake. 

My best friend. 

Three years ago, they moved to France for his dad's business. He and I had been calling every week ever since. We had not seen each other in person. 

We were inseparable. Blake was overprotective. I was too. We had sleepovers as little kids, hung out a lot, and were always up to something. 

But my whole world came crashing down when he told me he was moving to Europe. We were 11 then. 

We didn't want to let go when we gave each other our last hug and tearfully promised to call each other every day. 

We were now almost 15. Our birthdays were on the same day. Also, they were tomorrow. I didn't realize I was crying until I brushed the tears away. 

I broke into a run. Blake dropped everything and sprinted towards me. 

We crashed into each other's arms, both of us crying. He picked me up and spun my around before setting me down and burying his head in my hair. 

"Ava... I've missed you so much..." he said, gasping. I only cried harder, tightening my arms around his neck. 

"Blake... Blake!" I sobbed. I was faintly aware of the cameras flashing and the videos playing around us, but I could only focus on my best friend. 

He pulled away slightly so he could look me in the eye. His eyes looked even more like the ocean with tears swimming around in them. 

"I didn't know you were here!" He exclaimed. I laughed. 

"I didn't know I was coming! My mom blindfolded me and drove me here without explanation! This is the best surprise ever!" I pulled him in for another hug and I heard him sigh contentedly. 

"Ava... do you know why I'm here?" Blake asked. I gave a muffled no. He pulled away again. "I'm here to stay!"

I pulled back, shocked. My brain couldn't comprehend what he just said.

"To... stay?" I stuttered. A tear ran down Blake's face. 

"Yeah. I begged my dad to make it for our birthdays so we could celebrate our 15th together!" He explained. 

"Oh my god"-- I broke off and clung to him. I was full on sobbing if you didn't know. Blake hugged me tighter. His sandy blonde hair mixed with my brown locks. 

I heard sniffles coming from the adults as they watched us. 

"Ava!" Two voices rang out. I pulled back from Blake to see James and Julia, his younger twin siblings.

"Hi guys!" I exclaimed, allowing the two nine year olds to hug me. "I missed ya!"

"We missed you too! You're so big now!" Julia said. I laughed. 

"You too! You're so tall!" I exclaimed. I then went and hugged Blake's parents. 

"Happy early birthday guys!" My and Blake's parents shouted in unison. Blake and I looked at each other and grinned, getting emotional once more. 

"I'm so glad you're back, B." I said. Blake only wrapped his arm around my shoulders. 

"Anyone up for some pizza?" My dad called. 

"YES PIZZA!" The twins yelled, causing everyone to laugh. 

"Pizza sound a-mazing." Blake said. I nodded in agreement. We then walked out of the airport, piled into our car, and made our way to a pizza place. 

As I sat beside my best friend, I could only think about how grateful I was to my parents and how no one could POSSIBLY ruin my good mood now. 

The End.