Been There Before

Ella rolled her eyes, looking at her best friend that she had known since elementary school. “Kristina, I don’t get why I have to go to this stupid thing!” she exclaimed. “Really, what high school has a five year reunion anyways?” she asked.

“Our high school does,” Kristina replied. “And, you have to go. I need my best friend there so we can make fun of all of those people who used to make fun of us in high school. The ones that told us we’d go nowhere. Because you know we’re going to go there, and they’re all going to have jobs at McDonald’s, and we’re living the lives we always dreamed of. And, they are all going to be so envious of us,” she told her, a smile spreading across her face.

“Um, Kristina, they might be envious of you, but not me. I mean, you’re in law school right now, and you’re dating Valtteri Filppula of the freaking Detroit Red Wings,” Ella began. “And, me, I’m an art curator and I’m dating no one,” she continued, sitting down on the couch, staring at the invitation to the reunion that was sitting on the coffee table in front of her, almost as if it were mocking her.

“What’s so bad about being an art curator and not dating anyone?” Kristina asked her as she picked up one of her textbooks, throwing it into her bag.

“Let’s see here,” Ella started. “Everyone in high school used to make fun of me and my love of art. I’m pretty sure I’m not going to impress anyone by being an art curator. And, not going to this thing with anyone is going to give them more to make fun of me for. I mean, I never dated in high school, and I still don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Is that what’s keeping you from going?” Kristina asked, looking up from her notes that she was trying to study. “Not having some guy to go with?” When Ella didn’t answer, Kristina continued. “If that’s the problem, I’ll find you someone to go with,” she said casually.

“You mean you could find someone to pretend to date me?” Ella asked, not sure how she felt about the fact that she was contemplating having someone pretend to date her at the reunion. Was she really that shallow and cared that much about what people thought about her?

“Sure, I’ll just ask Val if he can get one of his friends to do it. I’m sure he’ll have no problem finding someone. I mean, everyone thinks that you’re hot,” she added with a smirk.

“Shut up,” Ella told her. “And, thank you,” she added.

“No problem. Anything to get you to go with me. I mean, who else would make fun of Bianca Jenkins with me?” Kristina asked, referring to one of the girls they had graduated with. Bianca was the stereotypical head cheerleader who used to make fun of both Kristina and Ella all throughout high school.

“Oh God, I hated that bitch,” Ella muttered. “Do you think she became a model like she always said that she would?”

“Hell no,” Kristina said. “I bet you she’s working at McDonald’s right now,” she said with a laugh. “But, we’ll find out for sure next weekend. I’ll see you later. I’ve got to get to class, and then Val and I are going out tonight. But, I’ll talk to him about finding you a guy, okay?” she said, and Ella nodded her head, watching as Kristina left the apartment.

The following day, Ella sat at the kitchen table as Kristina walked into the room. “Hey, El, Val knows someone that’s going to be your date for the reunion,” she told her.

“Really? Who?” Ella inquired, setting the newspaper she was reading down and focusing all of her attention on Kristina, waiting to find out who her date was going to be.

“I don’t know,” Kristina shrugged her shoulders.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Ella questioned. “How can you not know who’s going to be my date? How do you know it’s not going to be some crazy person?” she asked, starting to freak out, thinking about all of the possibilities of who it could be.

“El, please, Val’s picking the guy out. You know he’s not going to pick some crazy person out for you. He’ll find you a good guy,” Kristina assured her, and Ella nodded her head, knowing that she was right. There was no way Valtteri would set her up with someone that she wouldn’t get along with.

***

Ella paced back and forth around her living room, waiting to find out who her date for the night would be. For some reason, Valtteri had kept quiet as to who her date would be, something that had caused Ella to become even more anxious for the night. “Ella, will you please sit down,” Kristina begged, glancing up from the television.

“Okay, put yourself in my situation,” Ella told her. “You know you’d be freaking out right now if you’re waiting on some blind date to take you to your freaking high school reunion!” she exclaimed. “Admit it!” she told her as there was a knock on the door.

“Let me get that,” Kristina said, quickly getting up off the couch and making her way to the door, opening it. “Thank God you’re here,” she said, giving Valtteri a kiss before looking behind him to see who Ella’s date was. For some reason, Valtteri wouldn’t even tell Kristina, saying that he wanted it to be a surprise for Ella, and he knew that if he told Kristina, she’d go straight to Ella and tell her. “Good choice," she added with a smile, ushering him inside.

Ella spun around to look at the doorway, waiting for her date to step inside. “Jimmy, you’re my date?” she asked with a smile on her face when she saw Valtteri’s teammate, Jimmy Howard, step through the door. She and Jimmy had clicked instantly when they had first been introduced by Valtteri, and they had become fast friends, though they didn’t hang out very much now that the season was over. “How much did Val pay you to take me tonight?” she asked with a small laugh.

“Nothing,” Jimmy assured her. “I offered to take you,” he told her, smiling down at her.

“Thank you,” Ella said sincerely, as the four made their way out of the apartment.

As they began walking towards the entrance of the building where the reunion was being held, Ella started to slow down, reluctant to walk inside. “El, come on!” Kristina urged.

“Go ahead. I’ll be there in a minute,” Ella told her. Kristina looked at her curiously, not knowing whether Ella was ready to run away from the place the first chance she got or not, but she eventually just nodded her head, grabbing Valtteri’s hand as they walked inside.

“You okay?” Jimmy asked, standing beside Ella. He looked over at her, but she refused to look at him, keeping her focus on the ground.

“To say I was unpopular in high school is a complete understatement,” she began after a few moments of silence, still refusing to look at Jimmy. Five years later, Ella was still embarrassed by all the things that had happened in high school, especially how much she had gotten made fun of. “Kristina was pretty much my only friend, and I never dated. Ever,” she added emphatically. “I just don’t want to go in there and feel like I’m back in high school and hear them say all kinds of things about me. I’ve been there before, and I don’t want to go back,” Ella explained, finally looking up at Jimmy. “That’s kind of why you’re here tonight, too. I didn’t want to come here without someone as my date. I know, I’m kind of pathetic.”

“Ella, you’re not pathetic,” he assured her. “And, I don’t know why you weren’t popular in high school and why you didn’t go out on dates, but you’re not the same person that you were in high school. You’re now this amazing person who’s an art curator and is friends with the Red Wings,” he added with a smile.

“People don’t find art curators interesting at all. And, the only reason I’m friends with the Red Wings is because Kristina’s dating Val,” she told him.

“Ella, you don’t give yourself enough credit. Come on, let’s go on in there. I’m sure Kristina’s wondering where you are anyways,” he said, putting his arm around her, guiding into the building. As soon as she stepped inside, she felt everyone stare at her, and she sunk into Jimmy’s side a little more, not liking being the center of attention at the moment.

Kristina walked up next to her, handing her her nametag as she whispered, “So, I might have been a little wrong when I said that Bianca was going to be working at McDonalds.”

“What do you mean?” Ella asked, but she immediately understood when she saw Bianca walk in front of her. Bianca looked even more beautiful than she did in high school, and it was very possible that she was a model. She had a handsome man on her arm, and she was flashing her perfect smile towards everyone. “Great,” she muttered.

“What?” Jimmy asked as Bianca walked over, seeing Ella and Kristina with two professional hockey players.

“She was the worst one,” Ella said quickly, hoping he understood what she was talking about. Jimmy nodded his head, putting his arm around her shoulders, hoping to calm her just a bit.

“Ella, Kristina,” Bianca began, reading their names off the nametags, obviously not recognizing them. “It’s so good to see you two again!” she exclaimed, pulling both of them into a hug. Kristina and Ella quickly glanced at each other, wondering what exactly was going on. “Introduce me to your friends,” she smiled, motioning towards Valtteri and Jimmy.

“Well, this is my boyfriend, Val,” Kristina told her.

“And, this is my friend, Jimmy,” Ella said, deciding not to lie about her relationship with Jimmy. She couldn’t really figure out why she had thought she needed to have a date in the first place. She saw Jimmy, Kristina, and Valtteri all glance at her, but she shrugged it off.

“Your friend?” Bianca questioned.

“Yeah, my friend,” Ella nodded. “So, who was that guy that you brought?” she asked.

“Oh, that’s my boyfriend, Evan,” she said nonchalantly.

“Okay, well, I’m going to go see who else is here,” Ella said, wanting to get as far away from Bianca as she could.

An hour later, she found herself separated from Jimmy, and she looked around the room, trying to find him. She finally saw him on the opposite side of the room, being cornered by Bianca. Ella swallowed her fear, walking over to them. As she got closer, she could hear their conversation, something that made her stop dead in her tracks, a few feet away from them.

“So, what do you say we get out of here,” Bianca said seductively.

“Didn’t you come with your boyfriend?” Jimmy asked her.

“Oh, I can drop him in an instant. Especially for a Red Wings player,” she winked t him, and Jimmy bit his tongue from saying the wrong thing.

“Sorry, but I came here with Ella,” he told Bianca.

“That freak?” Bianca questioned. “You could have such a better time with me tonight. Besides, she said herself that you two were just friends. So, it’s not like you’re obligated to stay with her all night or anything. Come on, we can leave right now and have some fun of our own.”

“Yeah, I know that’s what she said,” Jimmy told her, and Ella listened on, wondering what he meant by that statement.

“Don’t tell me you actually have feelings for her,” Bianca told him.

“And, if I do?” Jimmy asked.

“Then you’ve got some problems. I mean, come on. Why would you want her when you could have me?” Bianca questioned.

“Because I actually like Ella,” he told her, and Bianca scoffed, quickly walking away, as Ella made her way over to Jimmy. “How much of that did you hear?” Jimmy asked shutting his eyes, praying that she hadn’t overheard any of it.

“All of it,” Ella admitted. “But, you didn’t mean any of that, did you?” she asked him, biting her lip. “You were just saying that to get rid of her, right?”

“Is that what you want?” Jimmy asked, avoiding answering her question.

“Is that what you were doing?” she asked, knowing they were just going around in circles.

“Ella, I like you,” Jimmy said, coming right out and telling her.

“But, why?” she asked, truly confused as to why he would like her.

“That’s why!” Jimmy told her. “Because you’re so innocent. You’re smart, and you’re beautiful, and you don’t even see that in yourself,” he said.

By this time, a small crowd had formed around the two of them, with Kristina and Valtteri standing in the front, listening to their every word. “I like you, too,” Ella smiled. “You never see me as this boring person that everyone else does. And, you actually show interest in my work, and you don’t just look over me.”

“Will you guys just kiss already?” Kristina called out. Ella spun around to glare at her, but Jimmy caught her arm, turning her back around towards him, leaning down and kissing her.

As they separated, Ella looked up at Jimmy, smiling. “You know, I think I was wrong about high school reunions. They’re not as bad as I thought they’d be,” she laughed, pulling Jimmy’s head down until their lips met once again.