Reconnect

Flashback I

"Hi, Cole!" Rue called out, running over to Cole who was waiting for her at an amusement park.
"You finally showed up on time. That's a first," he said, clapping his hands sarcastically.
"Ha ha, really funny," she grumbled, standing close to his side.
"And yet you still love me," Cole purred evilly, bending down to kiss Rue's cheek.
She blushed as she rolled her eyes. "And you're still annoying. Now, can we just go and have some fun today?"
"Suppose that's what we are here to do," Cole laughed to himself, taking her hand in his as he began to lead her through the amusement park.

Cole and Rue would plan adventures together and would grow closer with each one they took. They shared laughter with each other, and also tears. There were times they would not talk to each other, but those periods seemed to blur once everything went back to normal... Until Rue disappeared. Cole would still send her messages of things he would find funny and he would say good morning each day. After a while he finally gave up. He told himself that it was easier to forget about Rue rather than hold onto the relationship they once had.

They both hated titles of what they were to one another, but it was clear to others that they were an item. Lacey, especially, would make fun of them whenever the three were out in public.

One of the old adventures they took as a friend group was traveling to Pennsylvania to stay there for four days. Lacey had picked the two of them up in her car before the trip. Cole sat in the passengers seat to keep Lacey focused. They had been best friends for years, so he knew how to keep her from getting distracted. Lacey wasn't known for being the best at driving, Cole wasn't sure how she even managed to get her license. Despite this fact, she was the only one who had a car.

Cole spent most of the ride navigating Lacey with the paper map she had tucked away in the back of the passenger seat and communicating back and forth with Rue, who was stuck in the back seat. The trio played various road games to pass the time. Eventually, Lacey had to quit because it was too distracting. She was never a good multitasker.

Finally, the group had made it to their hotel in Pennsylvania. They were all extremely tired, but they hauled their luggage up to their room anyway knowing too well that they would be too tired to get it in the morning.

They had purchased a room with two beds, so they had a decent amount of space. Cole lugged his bags over to closest bed and went back to help the girls with theirs. Once all the bags were inside, Cole pulled the covers over himself and closed his eyes.

He woke up in the morning to the light filtering through the sheer beige curtains that hung limply on the rack above the window. Lacey and Rue were still fast asleep in the other bed. He got up and pulled the covers up to make the bed. He unzipped his suitcase and grabbed a white graphic tee, some loose black ripped jeans, and a belt.

After Cole had finished getting ready, he opened the door and met his two friends. They looked like a mess. Lacey had somehow managed to steal the whole blanket and was snoring loudly. As for Rue, she was laying diagonally across the bed, and her hair, which was in a ponytail was all messed up.

He let out a quiet chuckle and made his way over to their bed. He reached over Lacey, who was sprawled out across the bed, and tapped Rues shoulder. She jolted up, and her gaze averted from Coles face down to Lacey. She grinned and looked back up to Cole, who was laughing uncontrollably. Cole grabbed his phone from his nightstand and snapped a photo. Rue shook Lacey to get her to wake up. Laceys eyes shot open. She sat up and stretched, letting out a yawn.

"Good morning sleepy heads. Ready to find some sort of café and get something to eat?" Cole asked, grinning at the two before walking across the room to open the curtains, allowing the morning sunlight to come streaming into the room. Rue and Lacey squinted as their eyes adjusted to the sudden change in light.
"Rude awaking, dude," Lacey hissed slightly as she glared across the room at Cole.
"Eh, don't care. I'm just trying to get you two up and ready so that we can get some food. I would happily leave you two here while I go get something to eat, but I don't feel like being mean at the moment," Cole sighed.
"I would have thanked you if you had just left us here to sleep," Lacey groaned, falling back down into her pillow.
Rue giggled at the two, shaking her head as she rolled out of bed. "I'll go get ready first to give Lacey time to fully wake up," she offered, heading into the bathroom with a fresh pair of clothes that she had grabbed from her suitcase.