Aspen sat at the table in a cozy, dimly lit restaurant, nervously glancing at the entrance. He hoped the others would arrive soon. The first to arrive was Vinny.
"Aspen!" Vinny exclaimed, immediately hugging him.
"Wow... You look great," Aspen smiled, taking in Vinny's appearance. Her long black hair framed her face, and she looked healthy and confident, standing around 5'6".
"How dare you be close to my height," Aspen jokes, as they both sit down.
"So, what are you doing?" Aspen asked, facing Vinny with a curious smile.
"Well, I'm trying to be an actor, but I'm a psychologist," she nodded. Before they could continue, Sebastian walked in. He had changed, his hair grown out a bit, with some facial hair, and he wore a button-up shirt and jeans.
"Here comes lover boy!" Aspen called out, making the three of them laugh as Sebastian joined the table.
"Wow, uh, Jordy, you look different!" Sebastian tried to start a conversation, but Vinny just awkwardly blinked.
"Uhm... I'm Vinny," she lowered her voice. Sebastian just blinked, confused. Aspen looked away, sensing the awkwardness. It was silent for a good minute before Vinny rolled her eyes and held her hair back on her forehead, making it look like she had a shaved head.
"Ohhhhh! Vinny! How have you been?" Sebastian finally recognized her, choosing not to comment on her transition. Having gone to an all-boys school, he knew that people change.
"I'm pretty good!" Vinny nodded, relieved. Just then, Jordy walked in.
"Uhm, hey guys..." she said, sitting down as everyone applauded.
"It's Rockstar Jordy!" Aspen put his hands out, and she replied with a snicker. She looked at Vinny, and they made eye contact for a good moment. After a small while, Jordy smiled.
"How have you been, girl?" she asked. Vinny's eyes widened.
"O-oh, yeah, I'm good!" She was surprised that Jordy knew, but her facial shape hadn't changed much, and Jordy was very perceptive.
"Should we order?" Vinny asked around.
"No," Sebastian suddenly said. Everyone looked at him. "Athien. We have to wait for Athien." He crossed his arms, and everything went quiet.
"Really? You called Athien?" Jordy asked Aspen.
"There's no way he's coming," Vinny sighed.
"Sebastian's right. Let's just... wait," Aspen said, hoping against hope that their friend would show up.
After a while, in the middle of a conversation where they were all enjoying themselves, Athien walked in. The second he did, Sebastian bolted up to hug him.
"Woah, warm welcome, huh?" Athien jokes. No one could see him because Sebastian was in the way, but when they pulled apart, everyone saw him clearly. His hair was still black, longer, and more curly. His figure had changed; he had lost weight. Not that he was chubby before, but now he was quite slim. He wore jeans, a white tank top, and a black leather jacket, looking like the quintessential Arctic Monkeys fan.
"Woah... You look amazing," Sebastian smiled. Everyone then stood and went to hug Athien.
"We didn't think you would come," Jordy chuckled. Athien just stared at her for a moment, then remembered.
"Oh my god, Jordan!" He flung into her arms, holding her tightly.
"It's, uh, good to see you guys again," he said, his voice softening. They all settled back at the table, the atmosphere charged with a mix of nostalgia and anticipation. Vinny, sitting next to Athien, patted his back.
"I'm glad you made it," she said sincerely. Athien nodded, a small smile playing on his lips.
"I couldn't let you all face this alone." The group sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, just taking in the presence of one another after so many years. It was a reunion they had all needed, even if the circumstances were dire.
"So, where do we start?" Athien finally asked, looking around the table at his old friends, feeling a sense of unity and strength they hadn't felt in years.
"Wait, so, you're not a comedian?" Sebastian laughed. Aspen nodded.
"I'm a lawyer!" Everyone around them laughed.
"Let's all just admit we are surprised Athien isn't married yet! All that talk about love and romance, you'd think he would be married by 17!" Aspen pointed at Athien, who put his hands up as if surrendering.
"I changed my mind on the whole thing! I don't need someone to always be up in my space love-bombing me!" Everyone cheered and clapped.
"Sebastian, what did you do after boarding school?" Athien smiled. The group went quiet, these two finally talking.
"Well, I'm a pretty big baker. Just came home from a trip all around London doing catering and stuff." Sebastian smiled.
"Pretty strange how I was the one who became an author and not you, with all those stories you wrote all the time!" Athien chuckled.
"The poem..." Sebastian focused on Athien, who just stared back.
"I'm sorry, what poem? I moved kind of far and I forgot a lot of things that happened." Athien smiled.
"Forget it... You just wrote a really good poem back in the day." Sebastian lied. Athien seemed to forget. During dinner, they were all chatting and laughing, talking about old times. Athien wasn't quite focusing on it, but he noticed his red wine was starting to turn into a balloon, growing in his glass.
"Uh... What's that...?" Vinny pointed at Athien's drink. They all started and immediately remembered.
"A red balloon," Aspen gulped. He quickly grabbed his knife and tried popping the balloon, but it wasn't working. The knife somehow wasn't stabbing through.
"Everyone! Go to a corner!" Aspen shouted. The group backed up into the corners of the small room in the restaurant, hoping, praying. The balloon grew bigger and bigger, almost the size of the table. Suddenly, it popped, releasing all sorts of insects and small animals—flies, wasps, spiders, snakes, rats, all sorts of things. Everyone screamed, calling out 'what the fuck' and other expletives. One of the waitresses opened the doors.
"Is everything alright?" she asked, and the creatures were gone. The group stood in stunned silence, their breaths heavy. The room looked exactly as it had before the balloon incident, except for the palpable fear hanging in the air. Aspen broke the silence.
"We need to get out of here. Now. Let's go back to my place. We need to figure out what to do next." Everyone agreed, quickly gathering their belongings and heading for the exit. The night had taken a dark turn, and they all knew their reunion had become something far more sinister than they had anticipated.
YOU ARE READING
IT au (Self insert)
FanfictionHeyy im bored and on the side ive been writing some short self insert stories, thisll be a short series as well, just publishing these in case people that actually care abt my acc want to read smth.
