RE FALLING IN LOVE

Leone had just arrived at the party, after promising her best friend that she would make time to show up. She wasn’t interested in showing up at this high school/college reunion party just to see the faces she wasn’t acquainted with during those years of schooling.

But her best friend just had to force her to show up, and even the so-called best friend was absent. They were meant to arrive together two hours ago but Danielle White was late, having dropped an excuse that she had an important thing to do at her father’s company.

Leone didn’t care about that, her father’s company could go up in flames and she wouldn’t care. All she wanted was for Danielle to show up. If she had to go through this overbearing reunion, her best friend must be by her side.

Leone walked straight to the bar and motioned to the bartender to get her two shots of whiskey on the rocks. She was going to do her absolute best to avoid everyone here and leave when she feels she's spent enough time there.

Having swallowed what she was given, she faced the crowd of people she used to call her classmates from years ago. She wasn’t that bad with faces, she recognized a lot of them from the hallways or the morning assembly each time she had to stand and face them.

It didn’t mean she used to talk to them, she was just used to some faces she used to see regularly.

“Hey, Leone. Glad to see the woman that is on every front page can grace us with her presence.”

She recognized this person as John, a dude that used to be on her basketball team then. They were nothing more than teammates and never really had conversations outside their tournament sessions.

Leone only nodded towards the man with her empty glass raised and tipped towards him and he laughed. There was no need to exchange words with him, she was going to be out of this place very soon.

“Hey, everyone!” John proceeded to yell, drawing everyone’s attention to him and Leone, to the woman’s distaste. “See who showed up tonight. It’s Leone Martin!”

What Leone tried to avoid was already happening to her. Her classmates began to flock around her, questions were thrown left and right about why she didn’t converse with them since graduation.

They had a reunion before this, but Leone had clearly expressed her desire not to attend. It was a surprise the snobbish woman changed her mind this time.

Leone was very repulsed by the crowd that was beginning to form around her. She just wanted her space and now she wished she turned her best friend’s proposal down in the first place.

She was so used to saying no, why was it hard to say no when Danielle asked?

Murmurs about how she was always the hot topic on the news every week could be heard amongst them. Some even tried to use her success and popularity to their advantage by requesting assistance of all sorts.

“If you excuse me, I have to use the bathroom.” Leone pulled away from the crowd and walked to wherever the restroom was. She needed her space badly and probably needed to wipe herself down from whatever they would have used to touch her.

After washing her hands, Leone decided to take her time in the bathroom and wait for the waiting crowd for her to find something better to do, like start their reunion party.

She picked her phone up and sent an angry text to Danielle. Leone was never going to do that shitty best friend of hers any favors for the next few months as a punishment for making her go through this tonight. Heck, she might even ghost her till the end of the year, if she wanted.

“I hate your stupid ass so much. Do not talk to me till the end of the year.”

Leone cursed when she realized she didn’t bring her cigarettes with her tonight to pass the time away in the bathroom. She didn’t have games on her phone because she never had time to play with anyone.

Sighing in defeat, Leone finally stepped out of the restroom and was glad that everyone had gone back to doing whatever they did in groups. She stood in the dark, away from the lights, and watched as an old classmate hosted the reunion.

The woman that Leone recognized as Estella, an ex-girlfriend of one of her clique members, was laughing as she read from the card in her hand, as everyone cheered.

“Like come on guys! It’s so refreshing to see you all again, even though we were all together last year. I remember how we all used to argue a lot, get into fights, especially those of you that were wanna-be bullies, and rat each other out.” Estella walked around. “Even Leone showed up and excused herself, not a surprise, but have you guys seen Amy?”

Leone wasn’t paying attention to whatever they were saying, her focus was on the second batch of drinks she had ordered as she stayed in the background so that no one would see her. But when that name was called, she paused in her actions and glanced back at the small stage Estella stood on.

Her eyes danced around the small crowd, trying to find that woman named Amy. She never thought of all places to bump into that person again, it was at the high school reunion she didn’t plan on attending.

“I know a lot of you were in love with Amy back then because of her innocent looks and dimples as deep as the ocean, and most of you hated her because she was friends with the people you looked up to. But I’m going to show off that young teenager tonight.” Estella came down from the stage and walked towards one of the tables that were clustered with many others. “Presenting my best friend, Amy Waters.”

Everyone gave a hoot as Estella succeeded in pulling her best friend off her seat and the spotlight shone on them. Leone’s eyes widened at the female, surprised at the glow-up compared to what she used to be.

Amy Waters was trying to free herself from her best friend but was unsuccessful. As she tried to go back to her seat, the women at her table didn’t let her and the young woman laughed along with them.

She never kept in touch with Amy, despite what they used to be those years, and she wondered if Amy still remembered her. Not realizing when she stood up from the barstool she sat on, Leone left the darkness she was in and was visible to everyone.

And just at that moment, Amy looked up after bending to adjust her dress and her eyes saw a frame stand away from them. Her eyes widened upon recognition and the laugh on her face disappeared.

Their eyes locked and people could see that Amy’s facial expression had changed. They followed her eyes and everyone gasped, surprised that Leone Martin was still at the reunion.

Most importantly, Leone Martin and Amy Waters were in the same room.

With Amy in her sight, the past that Leone had wanted to forget and act like that chapter never happened to review itself all over. After everything that they had gone through up till where they parted, she would always blame Amy Waters, because the woman should have just let her be instead of entering her life and causing her pain.