Lauren and I

(Keith’s POV)

I can’t believe it! After all these years of thinking about her and wondering if I would ever see her again to apologize for what I did to her, here she is, right in front of me.
“My, this is awkward.” Lauren mutters as she starts to twiddle her thumbs around, something that she always did when she was nervous, uncomfortable, or scared.
“Awkward being the understatement of the year.” I mutter under my breath. She must’ve heard me because she said to me,
“So, I see you haven’t outgrown that infamous wit of yours.” I have to laugh at that.
“Yeah, but I do recall that that was one of the reasons that you fell in love with me.” I stated as I rubbed my hands together and then put then on my thighs, something that I myself did when I was nervous.
“Yeah…” she trails off with a faraway look on her face. We sit there on silence for a minute, neither of us knowing what to say.
“So, this is where you ended up? Boston?” I finally question. She looks up at me and says,
“Yeah, this is where I ‘fled’ to I suppose.” She put air quotes around the word fled. Guilt stirs in me because I know that I am the reason for why she left both her family and friends.
“Do you like it here?” I ask quietly.
“Well, I certainly miss home, but the city is great! It offers everything that I could possibly need and it suites me.” She says with a small smile. I raise my eyebrows at that. The Lauren that I remembered was always just like me; hated the city and preferred the lay back country way of living.
“Never thought that I would live to hear the the day that Lauren Curtain said she liked the city.” I told her with a small smirk. She lowers her gaze from my face and focuses on her thumbs, which were once again twiddling, though this time they were in her lap.
“Yeah, well people change.” She mutters softly.
(Lauren’s POV)
“So, what are you doing here in Boston?” I ask after a few moments. Keith flips his shaggy hair out of his eyes and says simply to me,
“Work.” I look at him in shock and say to him,
“You got a job? Wow! I never would have thought that you would actually get a job. Now, what do you do? Wait, let me guess Um, do you do business stuff? Or are you like a lawyer or something? It must be a job like that if you are traveling here for work.” He laughs to himself and says,
“All your guesses are wrong. I would never damn myself to one of those jobs, because, unlike you, I haven’t changed. I am one of the singers in the music group Celtic Thunder.” He told me. I look at him with disbelief as I thought back to all those fights that we would have with each other about our futures and how music was just not the right way to go for him and that it should just remain to be a hobby. But, he proved me wrong as he now told me about how popular this group was in the states and how much of a success it has been.
“Wow Keith, congratulations. I never would have thought that you would have gotten somewhere with music. Wow.” Was all I was able to say when he was finished telling me about the career that he had cut out for him.
“Thanks. Oh, and I should add that on top of that that I am doing my own solo stuff and I should have a solo album out sometime next year.” I nod in amazement as I think back to yet another memory, one that I haven’t visited in a while. The night Keith had first told me that he loved me.
“Do you still surf?” I ask. He smiles, as if just maybe he was remembering the same memory and says,
“Yeah. And I must add that I hope you’re not.” I laugh at that and say,
“Trust me, after nearly dying that night I am completely petrified to go anywhere near a surfboard.” He laughs at that and just says ‘good’.
“How’s your family doing?” I ask, curious to find out since me and his family had always been close.
“They’re doing good. Me ma and pa are still together and in the same house as they always have been in, Rebecca is pursuing her dream to become a singer as well and is at some fancy college to do so. She actually comes and tours with me sometimes when I do my own stuff apart from Celtic Thunder. And me gram, well, she’s great, as always. Always asks about you, wondering how you’re doing and stuff. You always were her favorite out of all the girls that I have dated.”
“Keith, I was the only girl that you have ever dated.” I say with a laugh. A laugh that is quickly droned out as I think,
‘We’ve been broken up for a long time, surely he’s found another girl in that time.’
“True, you were the only girl that I have ever dated, hence, you being her favorite.” He says dully, taking me out of my thoughts. I look at him with shock and I don’t say anything. The silence between the two of us is interrupted when his cell phone goes off. He gets up and leaves without saying a word to me. Even though there is quite an amount of space between where he is currently standing and where I remain, I can hear him answer his phone.
After a couple of minutes he comes back and says,
“I have to go and get ready for my show tonight. Um, if you wanna come, it starts at seven.”
“I don’t have a ticket and you didn’t fail to mention before that you sold out.” I told him, shocked that he would even suggest that I go.
“Laur, I am one of the performers, just go around back and I’ll get someone to let you in. Here,” he says as he goes through my bag and takes out my phone. He adds his number to my contacts and then continues by saying,
“Text me when you get there. And make sure you go around the back by where the buses are. If you would like to go that is.” He rushed out that last part.
“I’ll think about it. Bye Keith.” I say as I get up and put my coat on, reminiscing back to all those times where he would help me put my coat on and then I found myself going through wishful thinking and hoping that he would help me now.
“Bye Lauren, I hope to see you later.” He says as he heads towards the exit.
“Maybe.” I call after him. “Just maybe.” I mutter to myself.