...And It's Blue

9

We reached the restaurant in no time. It was the perfect place for friends to hangout at so it did not seem suspicious at all. Aiden and I were to leave after some time so the other two could get some time for themselves and hopefully Ash would ask her out - and not bail out in the last moment – or maybe just get to know her better like we had planned.

We entered the dim lit restaurant, the loud music suddenly engulfing us in a trance. The place was crowded, all tables occupied. We bee lined towards the table Ashton had booked for us ahead of time. I spotted him and I pulled Aiden, who was still looking for them in the crowd, along with me.

"Slow down Lacey. What are you in a hurry for?" Aiden questioned and I realised that I had in fact been walking really fast for absolutely no reason. It was definitely not because I was losing my mind right now because I held his hand on instinct. My cheeks were warming up and I just wanted to reach Ashton's table as soon as possible but I also didn't want to let go of Aiden's hand so I slowed down.

We reached their table and I greeted Ashton before turning to the girl he was absolutely head over heels for and I could not blame him. She was drop dead gorgeous. Her long blonde hair perfectly complimented her. She was wearing a pretty sundress and had tied her hair in a ponytail.

I hadn't realised we were both just staring at each other, me just in awe of how pretty she was and her, I had no idea why she was staring at me like she had just seen a ghost.

"Lacey?"

Oh and she knows me.

"Oh my god it is you!" And she went straight for a hug. Did I have a really bad memory? Absolutely. But would I forget someone I knew? I doubt. "It's me Ava! You have not changed even a little. Wow. You still wear that ugly beanie"

I did not recognise my best friend. She had changed a lot unlike me but how could I not recognise her? I did not deserve to call her my best friend.

"Hi" I breathed out, still not believing it was Ava standing right in front of me.

"That's all you have to say? C'mon Lace"

"Uh the beanie is not ugly?" She chuckled and lightly hit my back.

"What is up with you? It's been so long we last met. How many years has it been? 6? 7? Well whatever it is. It had been long. I've missed you so much! There is so much to catch up on Lacey! You have no idea all the crazy shit that went down in New York. Crazy stuff I tell you" She caught herself before starting another sentence when she remembered we had company. "I'm so sorry for rambling. It's just been so long since I last saw Lace and I just lost it"

"That's alright" Ashton smiled at her. "Isn't she just adorable?" He whispered in my ears and I chuckled.

Who would've thought Ashton would somehow end up meeting Ava and then I would reconcile with my childhood best friend. It almost seems like all this was planned by someone but of course my life is not a novel and this all just happens to be pure coincidence.

We sat down on our seats and ordered our food. Aiden and I had just ordered drinks since we were leaving soon. Aiden received a call mid dinner and he excused himself to answer the call in private. I watched him walk away and wondered if it was his ex girlfriend. It could be. They seemed very close for exes.

I sighed and sipped on my drink, Ava's question completely going over my head. She shook me by my shoulders. "Earth to Lacey?" I looked and her and nodded my head. "I asked for your number"

"Oh okay" I took her phone and started typing in my phone number when Aiden returned.

"I am so sorry to cut this meeting short. I'm sure you would've loved to spend some more time together but I really need to leave now" He walked over to me seat and stood behind me. "Let's go shall we, love?" I stopped whatever I was doing and looked at him, stunned. What did he just call me? Am I starting to hear things now? Wow Lacey, get it together.

"Babe it's getting late. Stop spacing out and let's leave" He grabbed my hand and returned Ava's phone. Ava said something before I left and I think I told them something before leaving, I could not remember. My head was filled with the sweet nothings Aiden had just called me. He didn't mean it. He couldn't have.

"Lacey? Are you okay?" His voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry about that. I vaguely remember Ashton asking me to be your date for the evening so I thought-"

"That's alright. It just caught me off guard is all. Let's go" I walked away from him. Of course he hadn't meant it. I knew it and yet it somehow stung. I wished he would whisper sweet nothings and mean it but that was asking for too much.

He drove us to the park near our place.

"Why are we here?" I asked him and he shrugged his shoulders.

"It's nice at this time. I think you'll like it" he held my hand and we walked inside the park. We sat down on a bench and he let go of my hand, the warmth instantly leaving me.

"Do you come here often at this time?" I asked him and he shook his head.

"This is the second time. You might not believe it but I was quite the troublemaker during school" That did surprise me. He seemed like a brat, of course, but he definitely didn't seem like someone that would get into trouble.

 "One day I had gotten into a fight with these group of boys for a reason I don't remember. I was totally wrecked. It was 1 against 5, I had no chance to begin with but you know how teen boys are" He chuckled. 

"That was the first time I had come here after dark. While everyone at home was panicking about where I was, I was passing time here, listening to music and somehow everything calmed me down. I had forgotten about the fight. I had forgotten my face was busted. It was just me and my music at that time and somehow that also lead me to learning guitar and making music"

He hummed. "I don't sing however. That is my brother's job. I make music, he sings. We had actually planned on starting a band and it almost worked out but the drummer bailed last moment so we're still searching for one"

"That sounds really cool, starting your own band. You must really love music" I've always wanted to be good at something. I had tried so many things but the interest never lasted. I always gave up and I admired people that could follow their heart and be passionate about something.

He nodded his head. "I just realised we don't know much about each other. 21 questions?" he asked and I nodded my head. "I'll go first?" I nodded my head again and he asked the first question.

"What is your dream date?"