The Reunion

I had no intention of moving my feet to inch closer to the hallway. If anything, I would do everything I could possibly do to postpone the inevitable reunion for as long as possible. Naturally, fate - or should I say, Charlie - had a different plan in mind.

Her bony fingers latched onto my wrist, giving it a good tug while she looked at me with urgent eyes. "Come on, then! Time to wrip off that 'ole bandaid."

Tossing my head back, I released a sigh. She was right. It was best to get this over with as quickly as possible and move past whatever awkwardness there may or may not be.

Begrudgingly, I followed Charlie and Liam down the stairs, stopping short as I reached the top of the staircase. A wave of relief washed over me upon sighting Jonah and Rachel. Two of our old friends. I'd forgotten they too would be present during this little reunion of ours, the dreading thought of seeing Nick again seizing every free moment of my consciousness.

Charlie had already flung her arms around the two, hooking one arm around either one of their necks to squeeze them together. "I have MISSED you lot! Did you know that? Well, if not, now you do." She pressed a kiss against Jonah's cheek and then Rachel's.

Jonah and Rachel had both enrolled at John Hopkins' medical program after high school. Like Charlie and I, Jonah and Rachel had grown closer over the years while growing apart from the rest. Mindboggling, the power one's geographic location has over friendships.

"What are ya doin' all the way up there, Aggie?" Jonah piped up, peering up the staircase, "get your ass over here, you twerp."

I laughed bashfully. Jonah had a way with words, did he not? Hobbling down the staircase, I smiled modestly at my friends. "Hey guys, glad you could make it." And then, the hugging commenced.

"You have no idea," Rachel replied as she released me from her tight embrace, "after we landed we heard a bunch of the flights out from Boston were cancelled! Could you imagine? We would've missed out on our first day of skiing lessons together! How have you been anyway? I love what you've done with your hair." Rachel pulled at one of my ombre-colored locks.

Smoothing down the strand she'd pulled at, I smiled. "Thanks. Gotta stand out if you want to make it on the news."

"Oh right!" Jonah chimed in, arm slung around Charlie's shoulder, "how's that going for ya? I heard you had an interview at the BBC the other day?"

I nodded. "I'll hear back from them eventually. So, keep your fingers and toes crossed for me, Joe."

Holding up both his hands, revealing all his fingers crossed he grinned smugly. "I got'cha covered, sweetheart."

"Well, if Aggie doesn't land the job now, I don't know how she ever will." Charlie strode into the center of the hallway, spinning around on her heel. "Oh, you guys remember my brother Liam, don't you?" She pointed to Liam, who had remained on the sidelines while we refamiliarzed ourselves with our friends.

"Oh yeah, totally." Rachel's eyes lit up at the sight of the tall ginger. "How could I forget?"

Furrowing an eyebrow, I glanced from Rachel to Liam. Back in high school, Rachel had always been rather ... promiscuous, for the lack of a more flattering term. But never had I ever imagined she'd have had a thing for Charlie's older brother. That was just ... wrong?

All Liam did was return Rachel's advance with a tight grin. "I was just about to fetch these two some take-out I have in the kitchen. You're welcome to join. I reckon there's enough for everybody."

"Sounds like a plan." Jonah looked a little too excited. "The food in the plane was total garbage. I could eat a horse right about now."

"Please don't." Rachel sent him a glare, which Jonah blissfully ignored.

Entering the kitchen, I was surprised to see its classic interior, which stood in sharp contrast with the sleek, modern furniture I'd admired before, in other areas of the chalet. The cupboards were all painted in a cadet grey color, with copper handles that had turned slightly green over the years. In the middle of the kitchen stood a large, mahagony dining table with baroque chairs lined up on each side, one chair situated at the head and end of the table.

Liam made sure to warm up the Chinese takeout he'd gotten in town while Rachel and Charlie busied themselves to set a couple of plates out on the table.

"Hey Agnes, d'you mind grabbing a few bottles of bubbly? They're down in the wine cellar." Liam requested, shooting a stray glance over his shoulder at me.

"Yeah, absolutely." I answered, a litle surprised to hear this chalet also came equipped with a freaking wine cellar. Blimey. How much did this place cost if you didn't get the friendly discount? Then it struck me that I had absolutely no idea where this wine cellar might be.

Liam seemed to be way ahead of me. "Take a left. First door on your right will lead you to the cellar."

I smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks."

"Hey, I'll come with ya. Between the five of us, you might not be able to carry all of those bottles by yourself." Jonah said, trailing behind me as I set off to search for the wine cellar.

"You reckon we'll get totally smashed tonight, then?" I asked, turning left to see the door Liam had referred to and opening it. A cool, humid breeze of air blew past me. In the dark, I blindly felt to find the light switch.

"Well, a boy can dream, can't he?" Jonah quipped. I didn't have to look at him to know he had his signature smirk plastered across his face.

Click.

A warm glow of light illuminated my path down the stairs and into the wine cellar. A few, rustic wooden planks nailed to the wall housed dozens and dozens of bottles. I didn't even really know where to begin or what everything was.

"Wow." Jonah muttered, being the first to grab a bottle and skim its label. "I imagine this will probably get us through the first couple 'o nights, what do you think, Aggie?" He patted me on the shoulder playfully.

Snickering, I too, grabbed a bottle and tucked it under my arm. "Honestly Joe, if this doesn't do the trick, I don't know what will."

"You nervous about seein' Nick again, huh?"

I stiffened at the mention of his name, holding my breath for a moment too long. "A little," I admitted shamefully, daring a glance in Jonah's direction, "is that as pathetic as I think it is?"

Jonah pressed his lips together, eyebrows furrowing as he shook his head. "No way. 'Course not. I mean, you guys went out for a long time. And now he's the big hotshot in Hollywood and not to mention he's bringin' his new bird along. I honestly wouldn't have blamed you if you found an excuse to skip out on this 'lil reunion of ours."

Leaning back against the wall, I looked down at the bottle I'd retrieved. A cabernet sauvignion from 2008. "Yeah," I croaked quietly, "you know how Charlie is. I'd have to be in a hospital bed, to have her be alright with me skippin' out on this."

"Hey," Jonah stepped closer to me and put his hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze, "I'm glad you're here, Agnes. Wouldn't be the same without you."

Jonah had his sincere moments. They were as rare as they were sweet.

"Thanks, Joe. Appreciate it." I smiled weakly at him.

"Now, c'mon," he turned on his heal to launch himself back up the stairs, "let's get wasted."

The table had been set and everyone had taken their seats. Two vacant seats left, one next to Liam and one next to Rachel. Jonah seized the latter chair, which left me to sit next to Charlie's brother. The Chinese take-out wasn't spectacular, but the wine definitely made up for it. The first two bottles were emptied within the first serving, which required us to return to the wine cellar a handful of times. By the end of the meal, it was safe to say that everyone was ... well, pretty smashed. There's really no other way to put it.

"And then he just looked at me and said: 'Sorry love, but I'm gay!'. Isn't that hysterical?" Rachel cried out, the wine in her glass sloshing around dangerously as she swung it around, making large hand gestures while she spoke.

Everyone burst out into laughter. Laughter that died out prematurely. As I was still letting the last giggles slip from my lips, I looked around the table, dazed and confused as to why everyone had stopped laughing so abruptly. That was a funny story, wasn't it? Hysterical, actually.

I was quick to follow everyone's gaze to the door opening, already feeling Charlie's heavy eyes on me once mine finally settled on what everyone had been looking at it.

"Looks like you guys got the party started without us," Nick said, smiling widely to reveal a perfect row of pearly white teeth, his arm slung around a petite brunette who stood beside him, "guess it's time for us to catch up."

I swallowed hard, setting my glass down on the table gently.

Crap.