Changing You ✦ The Sequel

Chapter 22 {R}

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✦ RILEY ✦

"Can you believe school starts again in less than a week?" I mumbled with a sigh, inching closer on the wooden pier so I could lean my head on Zach's shoulder.

I felt his body slink down as he released a long breath. "I'm trying really hard not to think about it," he said.

I silently related to that, as I looked out onto the lake in front of us.

That beautiful lake we had found in the middle of a forest almost two months ago, that we had stumbled upon completely by accident when we had needed it the most, that had become our favourite spot from then on, and was now coated in a magical mixture of orange and red in the glow of the setting sun.

I knew he felt the same way I did.

He felt it, too. That floating, confusing feeling time leaves behind when you lose track of it.

The weeks had flashed by faster than the blink of an eye, the days slipping right through our fingers and nearly blending together through their speed.

Three days ago, Jack and I had come home from our road trip.

We had been on our way for two weeks, visiting Daniel and Lexa in Portland first, then Corbyn in L.A. and eventually Jonah in Princeton.

It had been a paradoxical experience, to say the least.

One that was filled with so much happiness but came with such a bitter aftertaste that it left me feeling dizzy. I still couldn't fully wrap my head around it.

It had been more than great to see them, more than a relief to be with them again. To laugh with them again, to see that they were doing well.

And they were.

I had been struck by surprise when I first laid eyes on Daniel, standing in the doorway of his new house. A sight that had left me so shook I had frozen on the spot and gaped at him without saying anything for nearly a minute, and I hadn't broken out of my stare until he had engulfed me in the tightest hug.

It was as if I had gone back in time.

The ocean blue colour of his eyes was crystal clear again, cleared of trouble, of worry, of pain, lighting up miraculously as he smiled. The dark circles that had been resting underneath the last time I had seen him had faded almost completely back into their original colour, matching his skin tone again.

His shoulders and arms were toned, muscled, and his posture was strong. He looked fit, healthy. Less pale, more tanned. More alive.

More like himself.

This was the best friend I remembered.

The one that could talk hours about something he was passionate about. The one that got excited over the littlest things, who smiled a smile so bright it made the entire room light up, who was either singing, humming, whistling, or making literally any kind of music at any time, wherever he went.

It had been such a long time since I had seen him like this, that I almost hadn't recognised him.

But God, was it good to finally have him back.