That's a picture of Ronnie. Enjoy!
Around noon, I was still in Central Park with Ronnie. We were just leaving the natural history museum when my phone rang. Leo had called me. I told Ronnie and answered the phone. "Hey Leo." I greeted. "Hi Aria. Where are you?" Leo asked me. He called me Aria, not princess, I noted with disappointment. He hadn't called me princess ever since Prudence had arrived. "I'm at Central Park with my friend Ronnie. We're staying out for lunch." I told him. "Just you and Ronnie?" Leo asked. "No, Alan will be joining us. Look, if you have plans with Prudence, don't cancel them. I'll be fine. These two will take good care of me." I assured him. "Cool. At least join me and Prudence for dinner. She's flying back tomorrow and she really wants to talk to you." Leo said. I felt myself begin to give in. Dinner with Prudence was the last thing I wanted, but I couldn't bring myself to hurt Leo.
"Can I bring Ronnie and Alan with me?" I asked. "Yeah. Bring them along." Leo said. I said bye and ended the call. "What's happening?" Ronnie asked me. "You, Alan and I are joining Leo and Prudence for dinner." I said. "Excuse me?" Ronnie said, giving me a look. "Please Ronnie! Prudence is flying back tomorrow and yo won't have to do this again." I pleaded. "Fine." Ronnie sighed. "I spoke to Alan. He's going to meet us at the restaurant in fifteen minutes. You want to start walking?" Ronnie asked. "Sure." I said. I took in the amazing scenery as we walked. I had googled pictures of Central Park when I was back home with papa. It looked like a large green patch in the middle of a concrete jungle.
We left Central park and I spotted Alan across the road. A large smile came over my face. It was always a pleasure to see him. Ronnie and I crossed the road and I ran to hug Alan. He was still the same- tall and nerdy with a bush of curly hair on his head. He had definitely built a bit of muscle since I last saw him, but his personality was the same. "Oh my god, hi nerdy!" I exclaimed. He hugged me tight and twirled me around. "Long time, your highness." He teased as he set me down. "And look! The tomboy is here too!" He said and went forward to hug Ronnie. "No need to act so weird Al. We meet almost everyday." Ronnie rolled her eyes but hugged him nevertheless. I watched with a small smile because I knew that Ronnie had always had a thing for Alan, but never had the guts to say anything.
"Man, it's so nice to be together again." Alan said and I grinned. "Yeah, it is." I said. We held hands and went into the restaurant. After we sat down and ordered, Alan asked, "Why such a sudden and hasty get-together though?" "It's complicated." I said. At the same time Ronnie said, "It's hilarious." I glared her but she continued to talk.
"Remember that meanie Aria used to moan about in school? The reason she shifted schools? Well, apparently he's her neighbour right now and she's got this huge crush on him. But he has a girlfriend and he wants Aria to spend time with him and his girl, which Aria can't bear to do. So we're helping her avoid him." Ronnie summarised. The way she said it, it made me sound like a conceited freak. "Oh...I get it now." Alan said. "And you're coming with us to meet him tonight. For dinner." Ronnie added quickly. "I am...what?" Alan asked confused. Ronnie explained that I didn't want to go alone and I wanted them there, to have my back.
"Dude, I got a date tonight." Alan said and my heart sank. "You didn't have one when I met you last night?" Ronnie glared at him. "Yeah, because I planned it this morning." Alan said while I said, "You met him last night?" Ronnie seemed caught between both our questions. "Okay, Alan, you're gonna have to cancel. And Aria, I ran into him last night. I didn't meet him on purpose." Ronnie clarified and I nodded. I thought I heard Alan mutter something under his breath, something like, she ran into me alright, but I dismissed it.
"Alan I understand if you don't want to come. A date is important. You should go." Said as the waiter placed my meal in front of me. "No, he should cancel." Ronnie said angrily. She glared at Alan, who glared right back. Apparently Ronnie won, because he broke eye contact and said, "I'll cancel. It's just one night, right?" He shrugged. "Yay!" I cheered and lightly clapped my hands. "So where are we going for dinner?" Alan asked. "Some club called Blue." I said, reading a text I had gotten from Leo just minutes ago. "Ooh awesome. We can dance." Alan said. "So what are you wearing?" Ronnie asked me. "I don't know." I answered honestly.
"Okay, so how's this plan? I have to run back to uni in half an hour. So I go back, complete my classes. Till then you can go shopping, get Aria an outfit. Then I can pick Ronnie up and you can come with lover-boy and we'll meet you at the club?" Alan suggested. I saw no problem in it, except that I would be in the same car as Leo and Prudence, but I had to brave it. "Sounds good." I said and Ronnie nodded.
We didn't talk about Leo for the rest of the meal. We spoke about their life in New York and how I was adjusting to the fast-paced life. Twenty minutes later, I was hugging Alan outside the restaurant as Ronnie stood to the side. Alan said goodbye and headed back to university while Ronnie and I got ready to go shopping. It was about to be a potentially disastrous night, and I wanted to be ready for it.