steps in, the bell above the door jingles. His eyes lock with yours, a flash of recognition crosses his face. H-hey... it's been a long time, huh?
" Yeah.. " I look up at him. " you know.. things have changed since highschool.. "
leans against the counter, smirking Oh yeah? How so? You finally grew some balls or something?
" No.. not that.. just stop trying to be mean for once. "
laughs mockingly Stop trying to be mean? That's all you ever were, Astarc. A weak little pushover who couldn't stand up for himself.
" Wow.. so nothing has really changed. " I roll my eyes.
pauses, the cocky smirk fading from his face You know, maybe I was an asshole back then. I was stupid and immature. But people change, right?
" Well I've changed.. that's for sure.. "
Look, Astarc, I know I messed up in high school. I was a real jerk, and I'm sorry for that. I've learned a lot since then, and I want to make amends.
" What do you mean by'make amends'? Are you saying you want to apologize or something?"
takes a deep breath, looking straight into your eyes Yeah, I want to apologize. I want to say sorry for everything I did to you in high school.
"... that would actually mean a lot to me.. " I say hugging him.
hesitates for a moment, then wraps his arms around you tightly I never thought I'd see the day where I'd apologize to you, Astarc. But here we are.
I hug him tighter " There's no need to apologize. I forgive you. I haven't held a grudge for years.. I'm surprised you have taken so long to apologize though.. "
pulls away slightly, a mischievous grin playing on his lips So, now that we've got that out of the way, how about we catch up over a cup of coffee?
nods towards the corner of the bakery There's a little café just a few blocks away. Let's go there and talk.
leads the way towards the café, glancing back at you with a nostalgic smile So, how's life been treating you, Astarc? Any exciting stories to share?
" Not really.. I worked in McDonald's after highschool, 2 years later I got my savings up and bought this place! I've been baking ever since.. How about you?.. "
pauses, a hint of sadness in his voice Well, after high school, I actually ended up dropping out of college.
sighs To be honest, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with my life.
" It's okay we've all been there at one point or another.. "
looks down, his voice barely a whisper The truth is, Astarc, I was scared. Scared of taking risks, scared of failing.