Extreme

6. Long Time No See

There, in the middle of the crowd, stood the man that ran, missing without a trace. After all the time, likely a year, he had finally been found. All safe and sound he seemed, smiling and laughing along with the others.

It felt like a betrayal to Dean.

Ever since the disappearance of his friend, Andrew, he had never been the same. He felt like everything then from his fading past was gone, all he had known and loved faded to dust.

And now, the past had finally returned.

As desperate as he had felt to see him, before pleading to the skies for the gods or whatever was above to stop. Just stop. He surprisingly felt angry, angered by the unwanted pain and the wasteful searching.

Andrew was so happy before he had left off, there seeming to not be a single worry from him. But once the night came and went, Dean and the others saw his stuff gone, lost from their sight.

Why did he run? Where is he now? Questions began to fill up in his mind, feeling as if Andrew was planning this for a long time. Why didn't he tell me anything? Did he not know I was there for him?

But one question lingered in the back of his mind loudly.

What was he doing all this time?

Family was a thought, as he only talked so little of them. But he could've had the decency of telling him where and when he was going rather than leaving him along in the dark when he needed him most.

Dean looked down, shaking away his thoughts. He was meant to be happy, already out there and giving him a welcoming hug. It made him smile, realising how much he truely missed him.

Yet, something felt off about Andrew and his unexpected arrival.

But shaking it off, Dean quickly wiped his hands down and left the kitchen, Busty tailing behind excitedly. He exited out of his house, made his way across the street and approached the uniting group. At first, they didn't notice his arrival.

"And so, this big zombie goes scratching at my face, and I was almost done, dead," Ollie goes on, telling Andrew of a story where he met face to face with a zombie so big he couldn't even see it's eyes amongst it's massively chubby face. "And so I-"

"I got out an axe and hit 'em three times in the guts, shooting 'em in the head to keep 'em down for good," Jason cut him off as he looked at him, adding his own story to the story they all knew was unreal. "You're welcome."

"That didn't happen. You weren't even there as you were cowering like a wimp far from from us. I had to kill him with Handy," Ollie corrected, eyes seething into his.

Andrew watched them with discomfort.

"Don't call it that, it's just weird," Jason said, cringing as he said that.

"You don't love a handgun until you try one," Ollie sang a little.

"Oh, don't think you're better then me at shooting shit, cause I am," Jason said, angrily. "Tell me when was the last time you actually put down a zombie bigger than your own body size."

"Guys, you're both good, okay?" Dean interrupted, catching the attention of them all.

"Oh, Dean, you're here!" Patrick beamed, thankful for the conversation to be put to an end. He gestured with his hand for him to come over, wanting to introduce him to Andrew. "Come, Andrew has returned."

Dean stared at Andrew, unsure of what to say. Unsure of what to even feel.

Awkward.

That was it.