The moment Morgan walked through The Brew's doors — a little rusted by age but quite classy nonetheless — she knew that she was in for a big surprise —
A surprise in the form of Chase, Eric, and Killian, that is.
Well, I guess that's another thing off the checklist, thought Morgan.
The three now men got up to greet Addie (she walked in before Morgan) but soon stopped in their tracks the moment their eyes landed on Morgan, who, unprepared for such an abrupt reunion with the people she used to know, smiled and waved apprehensively, inwardly cursing her parents out for not helping her develop her social skills when she still had the chance.
Despite her giddy excitement at being able to see the three once again, she couldn't help but notice they're one man short — where on earth was Archer?
Now, that's a name she hadn't heard in a while. Archer, who had played such a huge role in her teen years, the Archer who had taught her what was love and what wasn't, who knew to step out of the way to make way for one great love even though he'd be left out in the dark — where was he?
Surely he couldn't have fallen out with Addie? He's her brother. That couldn't happen, could it?
Morgan resisted the urge to ask about Archer. She didn't want to sound like her old self who was all Archer this, Archer that. Besides, it'd be extremely rude to the other three — after all, she is pretty glad to see them again.
It was a while before any of them said anything, but Killian, with his brown as ever hair, emerald-green eyes, and now sporting a stubble on his chin, was first to break the tension and say something besides hit her with shock-filled eyes and agape mouths, of which Morgan was very grateful for.
"Well, I'll be — if it isn't Morgan Darhk."
"In the flesh," she replied in a meek voice. She truly hoped that none of them had held any grudges against her and her decision to leave — she really didn't think she had it in her to apologize profusely and explain her side twice in a day. Although, if she had to, at least one explanation would suffice for the three men standing in front of her, eyeing her with bewildered looks.
Silence settled over the five. If you looked at the group from an outward perspective, no one could've guessed that they all used to be good friends.
Nobody said a word, too afraid to address the elephant in the room, too afraid to resume good relations since, as much as they all refused to admit, Morgan's leaving ruined dynamics and killed good relations.
And Morgan had the funny feeling that Eric was mad at her. She noticed that despite the surprised looks he gave her, he hadn't exactly looked her in the eye yet.
The only noise that really existed was the low buzz of conversation created by the few other customers around.
Morgan looked around — it seemed like the years hadn't been too kind to the establishment; majority of the tables remained empty, tables that used to be filled by young and bright students who favored this place for first dates and study meets; the lights no longer shone as bright as they used to, as though changing out the old bulbs proved to be an expense they couldn't spare; and most noticeably of all, the pure sound of laughter and smooth conversation that once comforted Morgan, made her feel a little less lonely, was no longer around — killed by the relentless ticking of time.
"Yeah, a shame, isn't it?" Addie remarked, placing a gentle hand on Morgan's shoulder. "The Brew's no longer the place favored by students."
"Funny how times change, huh?" This was the first time Morgan had heard Chase speak in a long, long time.
Morgan nodded in agreement. If this was taking her so long to wrap her head around, then how would she even begin to react to her friends' life changes? There's bound to be some.
Eric had been pretty quiet this whole time, but the moment his eyes landed on little Nick, who'd been hiding behind Morgan, his gaze softened. He strode forward, bent down, and cooed in baby talk, "Who's this little guy?"
Nick, feeling that this was his cue to talk, his in into the conversation, beamed proudly. Though not exactly answering Eric's question, he said, grinning, "I'm six!"
"He's Trevor's," said Addie, jerking a thumb towards the little boy.
Gasps echoed across the room, all coming from the three men who had no clue Morgan had a kid — with Trevor, nonetheless. The two other tables with guests turned to look at Morgan's party but, uninterested, soon turned back to their own conversations.
"You — You —" Killian seemed to have lost the ability to form concrete sentences as he pointed a shaky finger at Morgan.
"YOU HAVE A KID?" Eric bellowed frantically, attaching his two hands on either side of Morgan, shaking her as though the action would wake him from this dream he was having, because there was just no way the girl he knew all those years ago has a kid at the ripe age of 23.
This time, the other customers' eyes turned to them and stayed on them, shamelessly trying to stick their collective noses up in the five's business. Clearly this was more interesting than what they had to talk about with their company.
Morgan quickly guided Eric to take a seat at the table they were at before she and Addie arrived, and the other four, including little Nick, followed suit.
"Lower your voice, E," whispered Morgan, surprised at how quickly the other customers' eyes had shifted to them — but more than that, she was surprised at how smoothly and effortlessly the old nickname had slipped out of her mouth. E.
She wasn't the only one taken aback, too, as Eric's jaw dropped ever so slightly, but this was quickly replaced with a subtle, soft smile.
"That's crazy — he looks just like him. He's like a little Trevor."
Morgan didn't know why, but she liked hearing this.
"Wait, if you're six..." Chase trailed off as he pointed a finger at Nick. He screwed his face up, with the air of someone thinking really hard, his eyebrows knitted together, his nose scrunched up. Finally, he relaxed his face and raised a finger like he had just solved a very complicated math problem.
He turned to Morgan. "That — that would mean that you were pregnant throughout our senior year —"
Morgan smiled sheepishly, the memories of her trying extremely hard to hide the then increasingly evident baby bump flooding back. "Yeah, I was."
"That's bonkers," remarked Killian with awe glowing in his emerald eyes. "Trevor's swimmers must've been crazy good to have gotten you in one go —"
"In one go?" echoed Addie with a loud scoff. "Tell me, who phrases stuff like that?"
Morgan soon found herself laughing because Addie was right — no one phrases it like that. It suddenly occurred to her how much she's missed the playfully weird boy; he's made her laugh more times than anyone else back in their high school days.
At that, Morgan cleared her throat like she was about to make an important announcement. There was a wicked sort of glint in her eyes — that she was sure of — and a tiny, crooked smile made its way to her tired face.
She shrugged as if what she was about to say suggested nothing. "Well, you know, Trevor was a talented, gifted guy. Not only was he well-versed in the art of sports —" she wiggled her eyebrows, swept up in the moment "— but he was also gifted down there."