Begin Again

Ellie scoffed. "Don't wink at me. It's not charming, it just makes you look like a creep." She said, elbowing him lightly in the ribs. She was really only ever the one to be in a relationship in high school. There had only been a few, maybe two or three, and the longest one had only lasted about a year and a half, if she remembered correctly, but Sebastian had never really been big on the dating scene back then. She didn't know if he was now, it wasn't like she followed his life or anything like that, that would be weird, but he hadn't mentioned anyone as of late, so she supposed he was single too. "Yeah, I know you, and that's exactly why I'd never let you date my sister. Not that it matters now anyway, she has JT and I have the cutest niece in the world. You're out of luck, Stan."

Laughing and leaning away from the nudge, Sebastian's only response was to wink at her again, but to do so in an over-exaggerated way this time. There had been a few girls since he had left high school, but he always seemed to ruin it for himself in some way or another. The relationships would always be great in the beginning, and the girls were always fantastic... But none of them had lasted more than two years, for whatever reasons. None of his break up had been toxic though, both of them just seemed to agree it wasn't working... And all of them were still friends. He would always be a loyal friend to them as well, but it never crossed any boundaries with them. "Yeah, bet I could fight him for her." He laughed, a grin still prominent on his face. "Professional martial arts training you know."

Ellie laughed. "You're such a creep!" She said, shaking her head, an amused expression on her face. Ellie hadn't dated very much after high school. She had the occasional boyfriend, but none of the relationships were very serious or lasted more than a few months at a time. Something always ended up going wrong. She really didn't know why that was, though it always seemed to happen. "I'm pretty sure you don't want to take on JT, but be my guest." She shrugged her soldiers.

"Is he intimidating?" Sebastian asked with a small laugh. Ellie's family had always been so welcoming to him, that he couldn't help but love them as his own. They were like extended family to him... As soon as Ellie's mother had realised his family was struggling with anything, she was immediately there for them. "I bet he's not that intimidating. I'm gonna set him straight." He teased, a grin still ever present on his face. Laura always had a special place in Sebastian's heart, perhaps not in the same way that Ellie did, but it was there. "I'll have to get her daughter something..."

"He can be." Ellie said. "I don't find him intimidating though, but that's probably because he likes me." She shrugged her shoulders slightly. Sebastian and his mom had always been like family to her and the rest of her family. They were always invited over for holidays and BBQs in the summer, and their families were always there for each other. "Is that so?" She asked, punctuating her words with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not so sure that that's a good idea." She smiled at his later words. "Ava's a cutie. She looks exactly like Laura did when she was little."

It seemed odd to Sebastian, to think that Ellie's younger sister was now married and had a kid. In his mind, she was still in the awkward teenager phase of her life. It just went to show how life continued even when he wasn't around. "Well, if she grows up to look anything like her mother, she'll be a real heart breaker." It wasn't even a question of if Sebastian was going to buy her something to bring to thanksgiving, more a matter of what he was going to buy exactly. No doubt he would go overboard and spoil her somewhat.

"And what happens if she ends up looking even slightly like her aunt?" Ellie asked, punctuated her words with a raised eyebrow. "Choose your words wisely here, Stan." It was pretty crazy to her too that her younger sister was married and had a kid already. She supposed that was why her mom was always on her ass about settling down. Apparently it was okay when she was twenty-one, but not so much now that she was in her thirties.

"Oh," Sebastian cringed for a moment before taking in a deep breath, looking rather lost for a moment. "Well... Well then... I don't know, really?" He teased, not at all serious in his reply. In all honesty, Sebastian thought that anyone would be lucky to have a girl like Ellie as a girlfriend, or even a wife. But he could respect that maybe the right person just hadn't come along yet. It was the same for him. Though, it was significantly harder maintaining a relationship in the acting world... He'd learnt that much.

"You're such a jerk!" Ellie exclaimed, punching his arm lightly. "You're supposed to be like one of my best friends and you go ahead and insult me like that? How rude. I'm going to have to talk to your mother about this." She obviously wasn't being serious, though she probably would tell his mom that he was being mean to her just to be a pain in the ass. "I might reconsider, but you'll have to make it up to me."

"Ow!" Sebastian laughed, rubbing his arm where she had punched him. It was all clearly a joke, one that he wasn't about to take seriously anytime soon. "At least she'll have a great personality and a killer right hook." He joked, hand still rubbing where she had punched him. It hadn't hurt, at all, but he was still going to ham it up whilst he could. "Oh yeah? And how do you want me to make it up to you?"

Ellie rolled her eyes playfully. "Man up, Stan. I didn't hit you that hard." She said. She knew that he was joking, and really just hamming it up for as long as he possibly could. "I'm sure that you can think of something. If I have to decide what you need to do to make it up to him, it won't be nearly as effective." She truly had forgotten just how much she missed him, and missed this, joking around, laughing, and really just, all in all, having a good time.

"How about dinner?" He asked casually, barely thinking about the repercussions of asking his best friend out to dinner. What percussions would there be? They were just friends, and there was nothing wrong with the two of them going out for dinner... Or at least there wouldn't be if one of them wasn't an actor. The media would run with absolutely anything if they were given the chance... But Sebastian wasn't one to let that dictate what he did with his days. "Anywhere you want, on me."

Ellie was honestly a bit surprised by his suggestion. He was asking her out to dinner. She knew that there weren't any actual percussions, they were best friends, nothing more, nothing less. Two friends could get dinner without it meaning that something was going on between them, but Sebastian was more known now. People were bound to notice him, and they were bound to talk too. "You're supposed to be making it up to me, having to sit through dinner with you is more like torture." She teased.

"Ouch," He winced with a laugh, holding onto the side of the counter he was perched on. "That was the most painful rejection I've had since I tried to ask Brooke McKinney on a date..." It was something Sebastian could laugh about now, but back when he was a high schooler, it felt like it was the end of the world. It wasn't like he was the type of kid to ask girls out frequently... But the mental image of Brooke and her friends laughing at him was enough to put him off it for a long time. "I will set there in silence, and just pay for it at the end."

"I'm sure she's kicking herself now." Ellie said. She knew how hurt Sebastian had been when Brooke McKinney rejected him. It wasn't like she'd even attempted to soften the blow, she and her friends had laughed in his face and practically humiliated him. Ellie had almost punched her and broke that pretty little nose of hers, but Sebastian had stopped her before she could. Brooke was extremely lucky that he had or that Gucci purse of hers wouldn't have been the only thing that was fake. "I suppose dinner might suffice..."

"I was probably better off without her anyway," Sebastian thought aloud. It was true that at the time, he had felt utterly heartbroken. She was the first, and only, girl in high school he'd asked out since he moved to America. Looking back on it now, she'd been incredibly two-faced to him. When they were in class together, she had been all smiles and jokes... But as soon as she was around her friends, she turned vicious. Brooke was far from his mind though, and a smile soon came back to his face. "Yeah? Where do you wanna go?"

"Yeah, who needs Brooke McKinney anyway?" Ellie said, shaking her head. She'd never gotten along with the girl, though she'd tried putting up with her and her little group of cronies when she found out that Sebastian liked her. That had been a rather challenging task to say the least, and she was so goddamn lucky that Sebastian hadn't let her punch her pretty little face in that day. "I still think you should've let me punch her." A slight grin tugged at the corners of her lips. It wouldn't be the first time she'd punched someone because of how they were treating Sebastian, though he seemed much more likely to stop as they got older, her mom had probably told him she didn't want anymore calls from the principle's office or something. "Aren't you supposed to surprise me and take me to some fancy place on the Upper East Side? Or have you still not figured out what asking a girl to dinner usually entails?" She teased, punctuating her words with a raised eyebrow. "I'm kidding, I really don't care where we go. I'd be fine getting Shake Shack, though I think your trainer would hate me for letting you eat all that fast food." She laughed.

"Sometimes I think I should have let you too..." Sebastian laughed, reminiscing on Ellie's reaction to the rejection. He practically had to drag her away from the other girl, before one or both of them got sent to the principals office. Ellie's mother had always been worried about her daughter getting in trouble at school, but she wasn't the only one. "She wasn't worth your energy though." Ellie was always twice the woman Brooke was, even more perhaps. Ellie's question pulled another laugh from Sebastian, but this time he chewed his lip and shook his head, feigning some offence at her comment. "No, actually, I've never gotten past asking a girl out. They usually have to say yes for you to take them out." He joked, grinning at her once again. He had definitely been more successful in love since Brooke McKinney, though things between him and other girls often ended amicably. "Hey, if you want Shake Shack, you want Shake Shack. What my trainer doesn't know won't hurt him."

"My mom probably wouldn't have been all that happy if you did though." Ellie said, letting out a quiet laugh. She seemed to get into quite a bit off trouble at school. It wasn't because she was a troublemaker or anything like that, she just didn't like bullies, especially when they were picking on her best friend. "Nah, though I do kind of wonder what she's doing with her life now. There were a few times that I actually considered going to one of those high school reunions just so I could see what people like Brooke McKinney turned out to be." To be completely honest, it had just never felt right attending one of those without Sebastian by her side. He was someone who she'd never pictured loosing touch with, and she really was glad that she ran into him today. She'd missed him a whole hell of a lot. "That's because you're a weirdo." She teased, a slight grin tugging at the corners of her lips. "Alright, lets get Shake Shack then. There's one a block or so from here. We could get it to go, come back here, and maybe watch some Netflix. You still like Friends right? Because, if you don't, I'm disowning you as my friend and I will never speak to you again." She laughed.

"I can't imagine my mother would be too happy about it either..." The thought of Sebastian's mother coming into school in order to collect her son from the principal's office definitely wasn't a warming idea. He could imagine it now; her coming in, speaking in rushed and annoyed Romanian. "She would have dragged me out of that school by my ear." Of course, even though Sebastian wouldn't have been the one to throw the punch, she probably would have immediately checked that Ellie was okay before taking her son anywhere... Ellie held a very sincere place in his mother's heart. "Brooke? I can't imagine she's amounted to anything great... Not to be mean, but... She peaked in high school. A lot of that crowd did." It was something that he'd learnt over the years. The people who experienced mass popularity like Brooke burnt out quickly once high school was over... Everyone else moved on. "Sounds like a solid plan," Sebastian grinned, pushing himself off the counter top. "Oh, it would have been that easy to get you to stop hanging around me? I just had to stop watching Friends? Sheesh, you could have told me, Ellie."