Given half a chance

Prologue

" Good .you ?"

" Great. " He says with a sly smile . The fact that he has changed is now confirmed by his smile. The Alec I knew was never capable of smiling like that . Can three years change a person so dramatically ? Has Sebastian also change like Alec ?
And I ? Have I also changed in these years ?

" Have you met the others yet ?" I shake my head " not yet. "

" When did you return ?" He leans forward placing his folded elbows on the table. For some reason , His dark brown eyes lacked the warmth I was used to .

" Today ." He narrows his eyes at me ." Am I the first person you are meeting then ?" I nod my head . His brows shoot up in what seems like surprise . I frown. " Why ? What happened ?"

" I didn't expect that. You coming to meet me on your very first day here. We both know you were way more close to Sebastian and Catherine than me. " He shrugs. I look down at the hard and cold granite .

" Does anyone even knows that you are back yet ?" His voice is skeptical , like he doesn't know what to expect next . I force myself to look back into his brown eyes. " My family knows , of course. "

He chuckles. " Anna , you know I am not talking about your family. But anyways " he sighs audibly " to what do I owe the pleasure ?"

I have expected this question. Actually , I  expected a much subtler version of this question because I never thought Alec , the polite and always shy Alec will be able to be so sharp and straight to business .

I don't know if cantonville is hell-bent in making me regret my decisions ? But now I am not regretting , I am dreading this.

" Will you believe if I say I came here to meet you ?"

" I would three years prior from now."
But not now. Not after three years. I was wrong. Three years can change a lot. And it has changed a lot .

" I certainly can't blame you for that."
I readjust myself in the seat. I feel like I am slipping . This conversation with Alec is slipping . My present is slipping.

Not sure how to get to the point , I vaguely tried to ask Alec about what I really want to know . " Have you been in touch with others ."

" Who exactly are you talking about ?"
He asks it as if he knows which others I am asking about. " Your other highschool friends ." I failed to specify . But he catches my intention and sighs. " I haven't been in touch with Sebastian and Catherine since highschool. "

Somehow his reply manages to soothe me. I am not the only one who lost contact with her friends. Unlike me Alec may not have chosen it . He may have just fallen out of touch with them . But still , at least he won't be able to Blane me for committing something he himself has not been able to avoid .

" Since you are here now and your parents have been here all along , I bet you have heard about the controversy regarding Sebastian's company. " My eyes snapped to Alec . His face is completely neutral. No signs of hate or disappointment , sympathy or sadness . It's hard to tell whether he believes in these news or not . His eyes roam all over my face searching for something .

" I have. Do you believe them ?"  He raises an eyebrow at me . " It doesn't really matter what I think. "

It does. It does to me. I need to know .
" But I am sure you have an opinion . And I need to know that opinion of yours. "

He frowns. I stare at him intensely. He blinks and says in an incredulous tone
" I don't know. I want to believe them . But knowing Sebastian .... " He trails off , frowning down at his intertwined hands on the table.