The Ending They Should've Gotten - Monty and Winston

Part 24

"Oh god." Winston said as he and Estela walked into the building. "I already hate it."

Estela chuckled, "What are you talking about? We just got here, give it a minute."

Winston shuddered, "I told you I'd give it a chance, but this is just depressing."

"What do you mean? People are dancing and having fun. It's the exact opposite of depressing." Estela said as she pointed to everyone in the middle of the room.

"Them being happy just reminds me of how upset I am." Winston said.

Estela sighed, "Wow. You really are depressed." She tried to say in a joking tone, but Winston just nodded in agreement.

"I'm gonna go see what this place has to drink." Winston told her, then began walking away in the direction of the 'bar'.

Estela watched him leave, until she heard people approach her. She turned around and there stood Diego with Charlie at his side.

"Hey." She greeted, then looked behind them, "Where's Monty?"

Diego looked confused, "You didn't get my text?"

"No. What text?" She asked, reaching for her phone.

"Uh oh." Charlie said as Estela saw the message she hadn't read yet.

"What does 'we might have a problem' mean?" She looked back up at Diego and Charlie who were looking at each other with concern.

"Is it anything that's going to affect the plan?" She wondered. "Cause if so, we should probably fix this before Winston gets back."

"Wait. Winston's here?" Diego asked in a panicked voice, his eyes frantically searching the room.

"Yes?" Estela confirmed questioningly. "That was the plan, right? Get them both here."

Charlie pinched the bridge of his nose, "Yeah, that was the plan, but we may not have exactly done our part."

It was Estela's turn to look panicked, "What do you mean? Is Monty not here?"

Diego shook his head, "We tried convincing him! I've never even heard Charlie talk that much, but I don't think it worked."

"Fuck. What are we gonna do?" Estela asked both of them.

"Well, you didn't tell Winston about the plan, did you?" Charlie asked.

"Of course not." Estela said.

Charlie nodded, "Okay, good."

"How is any of this good?" Diego asked.

"Because, we can just pretend that this was the plan. We have a fun night with Winston and just try to cheer him up. He'll never know." Charlie suggested.

Estela shrugged, "That seems like our best bet right now."

Diego let out an exasperated sigh, "This isn't how tonight was supposed to go."

"I know, but-" Estela was about to say when Winston reappeared, holding a cup of what looked like sparkling cider.

"Hey guys." Winston waved at them with his free hand.

"Hey!" They all said in unison, way too enthusiastically.

Winston looked at them questioningly, but didn't say anything about it, "So what's up?"

"Nothing!" Diego spoke up. "Just super excited to spend tonight with my best friend." He poked Winston in the shoulder.

Winston squinted his eyes, "I'm your best friend?"