Begin Again

It had gone without question that Sebastian would be there for Ellie whenever she needed him. Whether it was something minor like a homework crisis, or something even more major, Sebastian was going to be there for her. His own mother always remarked that she felt like she hardly saw him when Ellie's grandmother had passed away. As soon as Ellie told him, he was round her house to comfort her. He ended up doing mundane things for her entire family, like washing the dishes or bringing them groceries whilst they went through the difficult process of planning the funeral. He was willing to give them their space as well, knowing that they probably just wanted to be amongst themselves at the time... But he had still been right by her side when the funeral came around. It was probably one of the worst times he had seen Ellie in, but he was there for her without a moments hesitation. Truth was, he loved her. Whether that was as a friend, or more. "Oh, well thank you." Sebastian laughed down the phone, leaning against the entryway to the kitchen as Ellie had before. "See, your mom says she always knew I was going to be so handsome."

"Don't feed his ego, mom!" Ellie said loud enough so that she knew her mother would hear her. A quiet laugh escaped her lips moments later. She'd missed this, and Sebastian, more than she'd really ever realized. It wasn't like she wasn't busy over the course of the last decade. She was plenty busy, so she had quite a lot to distract her long enough to, for the most part, keep her from thinking about her old best friend. Though, there were some instances when she had found herself thinking about him. Usually it was because her parents or one of her siblings mentioned him one day, or she'd see him on TV or something. It was only in passing here and there, but it wasn't like she'd never thought about him.

Sebastian laughed down the phone, shaking his head. It was a shame that so much had come between over the years. Things just kept getting in the way, and at times it had even been hard for Sebastian to keep in contact with his own family, let alone anyone else. In recent years, he really had been swept away in it all. These things, and it wasn't an excuse, just happened. "Uh..." Sebastian hesitated for a moment before turning and stepping into the kitchen. "No, no I'm not at the moment..." It was all general small talk, about what he had been up to, if he had anything interesting planned, if he was seeing someone... Sebastian had had his fair share of relationships over the years, and whilst there was always going to be something in the media, he'd never really been particularly open about it all.

Sebastian laughed down the phone, shaking his head. It was a shame that so much had come between over the years. Things just kept getting in the way, and at times it had even been hard for Sebastian to keep in contact with his own family, let alone anyone else. In recent years, he really had been swept away in it all. These things, and it wasn't an excuse, just happened. "Uh..." Sebastian hesitated for a moment before turning and stepping into the kitchen. "No, no I'm not at the moment..." It was all general small talk, about what he had been up to, if he had anything interesting planned, if he was seeing someone... Sebastian had had his fair share of relationships over the years, and whilst there was always going to be something in the media, he'd never really been particularly open about it all.

Ellie knew that Sebastian's life was kind of hectic. He had a lot going on, so she wasn't really upset that they lost contact with each other for ten or so years. After all, a phone worked both ways, so she could have easily tried reaching out with him more than she did. She was determined to make things work this time around though. She didn't want to lose contact with him ever again. She'd missed him a whole hell of a lot in the last decade, and she was realizing that now more than ever. "Quit pestering him, mom!" She called over, knowing that her mother was probably being a bit nosy and asking about whether or not he was seeing someone.

It wasn't even like Sebastian had been too lazy when it came to getting back in contact with Ellie. Becoming an actor actually made navigating social media much harder. Phone numbers became a thing of 'need to know' basis. He had heard a few horror stories of people's phone numbers leaking, and his agent was pretty strict on making sure that didn't happen to him. His number was changed, and very rarely handed out. If people needed to contact him, they went through his agent. Sebastian would have loved to maintain contact with the people he knew before success, but there seemed to be very strict guidelines in place. He let out another laugh, covering the mouthpiece of the phone for a moment. "It's fine, Ellie." He called back before returning to the conversation with her mother.

Ellie didn't want to dwell too much on the past. Sure, she and Sebastian had lost contact for nearly a decade now, but that didn't have to matter and it really didn't seem like it mattered either. She felt like they were kind of just picking up right where they had left off. Their friendship felt exactly like it had ten years ago, something that she was honestly pretty relieved about. If there was one thing that she had always cherished in her life, it was her friendship with Sebastian. They'd been through thick and thin together, and she'd always been able to rely on him when she had no one else to turn to. Needless to say, it was nice having him back in her life, and hopefully it would be for good this time around. "You're too nice." She said, walking into the kitchen.

He shook his head at Ellie, a smile on his face still. All of this felt so normal to him, and for that he was grateful. If he had bumped into her, and things had felt awkward between them, he'd have no idea what to do. It would have broken his heart, to think that they may have drifted too far apart. It didn't feel like they had even spent time away from one another. If Sebastian had to describe it, it would be like instead of facing Ellie and talking to her over the years, they'd merely been stood back to back... Now they were allowed to turn around and talk to one another again. It was strange, but he didn't want to let it go either. Leaning back against a counter for a moment, Sebastian hoisted himself to sit up on it, the heels of his shoes lightly thumping back against the surface. "No... I just haven't found the right one, I guess..." He mused, eyes still following Ellie around the kitchen.

"Don't shake your head at me, you know I'm right." Ellie countered, a slight grin tugging at the corners of her lips. Things felt exactly like they used to. It was strange how easily they could fall back into how things had always been with their friendship. It was like no time had passed at all, and that was something that Ellie was extremely grateful for. Sebastian wasn't the only one who would've been left heartbroken if time had caused them to truly drift apart. He meant so much to her, maybe more than she even realized herself.

The conversation with Ellie's mom soon died down to small talk, and promising her that he would indeed attend her thanksgiving dinner, and that he would bring his mother along with him. Being back in New York, it was like being back in his old life again without a moments hesitation. Sure, he wasn't an awkward teenager anymore, and he'd finally gotten his break with Marvel, but nothing felt that much different to him. "Alright, I'll be there," He promised, a smile still plastered across his face. "Want me to hand you back to Ellie?"

Ellie busied herself around the kitchen as Sebastian continued to talk with her mom on the phone. She couldn't help smiling when she heard him promise to be there for Thanksgiving dinner. It would be just like old times. Really, everything felt like old times right now. Spending time with Sebastian, knowing that he and his mom would be at spending the holiday with her family like they used to. It was nice, and certainly something that she had missed. Maybe her mom wouldn't pester her about bringing a date home now that Sebastian would be there. She hoped that that was the case, though her mom seemed to pester her more and more about it every single year.

"A dish?" Sebastian laughed slightly at the request, though it was always polite to bring something along to thanksgiving. It was going to be one of the first times Sebastian would actually be cooking something himself though. When he was younger, he would always help his mom with the dishes she wanted to take along... But never had he made one himself. His mother had just told him what to buy, and what to do. "Uh, sure, I can bring something... Don't expect it to be great, but I'll try my best!"

Ellie was glad that she'd run into Sebastian at that coffee shop. She was really starting to realize just how much she'd actually missed having him in her life. After all, he was her best friend. And she was glad that time didn't seem to impact their friendship in the slightest. It was almost like they were picking up straight from where they'd left off. It was nice.

"Alright, alright," Sebastian laughed, glancing across at Ellie as his heels lightly bounced off the face of the counter. "I'll make sure of it... Yeah, okay... See you soon." After a moment, he pulled the phone away from his ear, pressing the disconnect button just to be on the safe side. Sebastian was massively relieved that it felt like no time had passed between himself and Ellie, and her family for that matter. They had always made him feel so welcome, and it only felt right that they were back in his life once more. "Well your mother is as charming as ever."

Ellie laughed quietly. "I'm glad you were here when she called. If I was by myself she would've bugged me about bringing a date or something." She said, rolling her eyes slightly at the thought. She knew that her mother meant well, and only wanted her to be happy, but did that mean that she had to constantly ask if she was seeing anyone? "I guess it doesn't really help that Laura's married now with a kid...I mean she's younger than me, but my mom was pressing the issue before that." Apparently she wanted more grandkids.

"Well, who's a better date than me?" Sebastian grinned, throwing the phone up and catching it in his hand again. Ellie's mother had always been quite... forward about wanting her daughter to settle down, from the moment she'd started showing an interest in boys. Marriage had always seemed like a big thing for her family... But her next statement still took him by surprise. He widened his eyes slightly, mouth dropping. "Holy... Laura's married? Like, Laura Laura?" He asked, holding his hand up to indicate how tall her remembered Laura being. "Little Laura?"

"Who said you were my date?" Ellie countered, punctuating her words with a raised eyebrow. She smiled soon after though, unable to help doing so. For as long as she could remember, her mom had been talking about marriage and children. It was just a subject that seemed to be brought up more and more as she got older. "Yeah, a year and a half ago. Just had a little girl in June."

"Me," He chimed back, mimicking her raised eyebrow with a smirk. "I am your self proclaimed date." It wasn't unusual for the two of them to take the position of 'date', and they had often been confused for a couple throughout high school. Ellie had been Sebastian's first choice for prom, or any similar occasion. But there had always been a strange bite to the events when they agreed to go 'as friends'. "Damn," Sebastian laughed after a moment. "Here I was hoping I could ask her out this thanksgiving..."

Ellie groaned. "So I'm stuck with you by default then?" She was only joking of course, she didn't really mind. Sebastian had always been Ellie's date. It was never something that either of them really had to discuss, unless of course one of them was in a relationship, but when they were both single, they were always each other's dates. That was why so many people thought that they were a couple, she supposed it made sense, they were kind of attached at the hip, but she'd always thought it was kind of weird. He was her best friend, that was it, but now that didn't really seem as weird anymore. "That was never going to happen, mainly because I wouldn't let you ask my little sister out. Like ever." She laughed.

"Afraid so." He grinned, winking at Ellie playfully. Throughout high school, only one of them had ever had relationships... And it hadn't been Sebastian. He wasn't sure if it was because girls thought he was in a relationship with Ellie, or maybe they were put off by how close he was to her... That, and he'd never really been interested in anyone. Since his acting took off, he had had a few girlfriends, but nothing that had ever really stuck. "Why not?" He pouted, mock offence returning to his face. "I'd be a great match for little Laura. You know me!"