Reunion P. II

The parking lot is filled to the brim with cars outside of the building that Beau gave him the address to. It takes Everett three laps around the lot before he finds a spot that he can claim. Beau was ahead of him, but drove past the space, so Everett assumes he either didn't see it or is being a gentleman and letting him have it.

Once parked, Everett checks his phone to see if Beau has successfully found a place to park yet. When he sees that he has no new notifications, he takes the time to observe the building in front of him. 'The Clubhouse' is boldly displayed in bright red, blocky lettering high up above the entrance. He recalls Beau mentioning that this is a new bar/restaurant that just opened a couple months ago.

The sun is going down and there are people outside smoking and socializing. Indistinguishable rock music is playing lowly through outdoor speakers that Everett can hear even with the car doors and windows shut. He closes his eyes for a moment and takes in the bass gently vibrating the car as he sits patiently.

Tap-tap-tap

Everett jolts in his seat and his head whips to look at the noise outside of his window. His heart races, but he takes a breath of relief when he sees it's just Beau standing next to his car. Feeling silly about this reaction, he shakes his head and exits the vehicle.

"Sorry for scaring you," Beau apologizes, but clearly doesn't mean it if his amused smirk is anything to go off of.

Straightening out his shirt for something to do, Everett brushes off the comment. "Whatever," he mutters. Beau chuckles at him and his attempt to cover his embarrassment.

They weave through parked cars and pass by the people smoking outside. Beau was behind him during the entire walk, but strolls in front of him to hold the door open for Everett when they arrive at the entrance.

"After you." Beau smiles and gestures for Everett to walk inside.

Nodding in thanks, Everett makes his way through the doorway. Once in the building, he glances over his shoulder and sees Beau come up behind him. The warmth of Beau's front radiates onto Everett's back. He's both surprised and comforted by Beau's closeness in an atmosphere like this. An atmosphere filled with their former peers.

Everett's heart begins to race again.

Beau is sticking with him right now, but what happens when they start talking to their friends from high school? He can't help feeling, once again, like this entire thing was a bad idea.

He's about to suggest that he and Beau just leave when Beau suddenly seems to spot something in the distance. The taller man places his hand softly on Everett's lower back and guides them in the direction that his eyes are set on.

They weave their way through the crowds of people, similarly to how they did in the parking lot with the cars. Everett recognizes many faces during their journey to the other side of the room. Everyone looks older, obviously. It's been over five years since he last saw these people at graduation—it feels surreal seeing them all congregated here tonight.

Everett is still scanning the area when he feels Beau suddenly bring them to a stop. "Remind me what their names are again?" Beau's lips are close to his ear as he whispers the question causing Everett to shiver.

Turning his head, Everett spots the group of people Beau is asking about. A couple feet away from them are some of Everett's old friends from high school. He is genuinely shocked that Beau knows who he hung out with back in the day. If anything, he was under the impression that Beau only knew of him because they were neighbors and didn't make any observations beyond that.

"Oh, wow," the words leave Everett's mouth involuntarily. "Uh—the short guy in the button up is Zhiyu. The girl in the glasses is Sarah and the blonde one is Gwen. Dante and Rome are the twins.... I honestly can't tell them apart right now."

Beau nods along, still staring at the group that hasn't noticed them watching them from afar yet. "Okay, I think I got it," he says as if he's trying to mentally memorize the names just supplied to him.

A hand returns to Everett's lower back as Beau starts to walk closer to the group. "You want to talk to them?" Everett asks as he resists Beau's pull.

"Yeah? We're at a school reunion.... We're all supposed to, like, reunite-" He cuts himself off with his confusion at Everett's question.

"You weren't friends with them?" Everett retorts.

Beau simply shrugs at this. "You were, though. Do you not want to talk to them?"

Eyebrows raised in astonishment at this conversation, Everett clears his throat before responding. "No—I want to talk to them.... Let's head over, then," he suggests in an uncertain tone, not quite convinced that this is happening right now.

"Fine, lead the way," Beau says and follows him over to the group.

The five of them are each holding a drink and laughing as they stand at a high top next to a window. Gwen sees him first. "Everett!"

"Hi," Everett smiles timidly in response with a wave. Gwen meets him halfway and gives him a quick hug.

"I didn't know you were gonna be here! What's up? You need to fill us in on everything!" She is clearly excited to see him again.

"Hey, man," one of the twins greets him with a smile as well. "Where have you been all these years?"

Everett makes sure to acknowledge each of them and takes note of their current appearances. It seems that all of them, much like himself, really grew into their looks and gained confidence since high school. They weren't super close throughout their adolescence, but they were each other's safe spaces during times that they needed to socialize rather than just sit and learn back in the day.

"You all remember Beau," Everett reintroduces him to the group.

Sarah and Zhiyu give each other a look at this while Gwen checks her phone. One twin takes a sip of his drink, but the other decides to try to be friendly.

"Hey, Beau," the unidentifiable twin says with a forced smile. "How are you doing, man?"

Beau seems grateful to have one person actually attempt to talk to him. "Not too bad. Remind me—are you Dante or Rome? I've never been great at telling twins apart." He is evidently putting effort into making the vibes positive during this conversation.

The twins' eyes widen in surprise. Either they are caught off guard by Beau knowing both of their names or by the fact that he is actually trying to be civil with them.

"I'm Rome," Rome introduces himself before pointing at his brother, "That's Dante."

"Got it. Don't change your shirts or else I'm screwed," Beau hesitantly jokes with them.

They don't exactly laugh, but they do huff out some air in slight amusement. The others are also tuned in now, wanting to see how this unfolds.

"You two are friends?" Zhiyu asks with a raised eyebrow. Sarah shuffles closer to him and he places a hand on her waist.

Huh—Everett thinks to himself—I never thought those two would end up together. Good for them.

Everett is about to respond, but Beau ends up answering first. "Yeah. Everett helped me out a lot a couple months ago. I stayed at his place for a while. I'm back in Columbus now, though, living with my mom and brother."

This was Everett's fear. Beau is actually being open about their friendship.

"How did you meet up again after school?" Gwen has put her phone away and seems invested in whatever is going on here.

"I was a drunk mess at a bar in Everett's town. He recognized me and made sure I didn't get arrested."

How am I supposed to move on? Why is he being so honest?

"I'm surprised you don't have a drink in your hand right now," Dante comments dryly. "You really didn't go to many events sober from what I remember."

Glaring at the twin, Everett steps in. "A lot of teenagers got drunk at dances." Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Beau. His ex doesn't look taken aback by Dante's rude statement, but surprised by Everett defending him.

"To be fair," Gwen intervenes, "I also remember Beau being drunk or high in most classes and after school events."

Everett is about to argue again, but Beau steps in this time. "Yeah, I was definitely a piece of shit. It's no wonder I didn't graduate with the rest of you," he admits to the people around the high top.

"Have you thought about getting your GED?" Zhiyu asks sympathetically. Everett remembers his friend hating conflict. Obviously, he is trying to avoid any big confrontation from occurring at this social gathering.

"I have, actually," Beau responds bashfully while scratching the back of his head. "I'm attending courses right now to prepare for the four exams that I'll have to take to get it."

Looking up at him with wide eyes, Everett wonders why Beau hasn't mentioned this to him. Was he embarrassed? Is he afraid to fail them so he wasn't going to tell Everett just in case? Either way, he feels terrible that Beau didn't feel comfortable telling him about this.

Sarah has an impressed look on her face as she smiles at Beau. "That's great, Beau! Good for you!"

"Thank you," Beau responds with a short, tight-lipped smile.

The group warms up to their new additions and catch up on each other's lives. Everett fills them in on the divorce and where he is living in Sinting. The twins are studying law at Columbia University. Dante has recently proposed to his girlfriend and Rome is planning on proposing to his soon. Zhiyu and Sarah have been engaged for a year and plan on marrying in North Carolina next spring. Gwen is currently going through the veterinary medicine program at Ohio State University and is enjoying the single life.

Everett is relieved that they are no longer attacking Beau, but instead actively talking to him and asking him genuine questions.

"Dude!" Dante chortles as he and Beau reminisce on something that happened in high school. "I totally forgot about that!"

There are tears in Beau's eyes from laughing so hard. "Yeah, man. Me and my buddies really thought it was a good idea to get on the loudspeaker and blast that fucking dumbass SoundCloud song."

The uncensored, amateur song includes incredible lines such as I get so much pussy, call me an old cat lady and brushing my teeth with lean, you bitches don't know what I mean. Beau and his friends at the time thought the best way to advertise this beautiful piece of art was to hijack the room in the school's office with the intercom to play it in full.

"Gwen, look!" Sarah shouts all of a sudden. They all turn their heads in the direction that Sarah is avidly pointing.

"Oh. My. God." Gwen breathes out dramatically. "Drew Franklin! C'mon, Sarah—you're gonna be my wingwoman tonight."

The two ladies start to walk away from the table, Zhiyu following after his fiancée.

The twins move around the table as well. "I think we're gonna try to find some other people too," Dante tells Everett and Beau. His brother looks around the venue and seems to spot someone of interest. Before walking away he looks at them and smiles. "It was so great seeing you again, Everett. You too, Beau. I'm happy we all got to catch up on everything."

They say their goodbyes and then it is just Everett and Beau again.

"That was really nice," Everett confesses to his ex. He can't help the grin and blush that make their way onto his face as he stares up at the handsome man.

"I'm happy you're having fun," Beau responds, looking thrilled at Everett's words.

Everett comes dangerously close to responding with something flirty when they are interrupted.

"Beau Coleman? Is that you?" A bright, melodic voice rings out.

A petite woman with cherry red hair and straight, white teeth struts over to them. Beau moves a bit to let the alluring woman into their bubble. Almost immediately, Everett feels embarrassingly jealous and self-conscious by her presence. He looks up at Beau and sees the exact moment he recognizes her.

"Sloane?" He asks, shell-shocked at seeing his ex-girlfriend. The former cheerleader has drastically changed her appearance, but still looks stunning. She dyed her blonde hair red and now has bangs that frame her heart-shaped face. Her porcelain skin is no longer painted with orange spray tan and she wears an adorable black dress instead of the revealing crop top and short-shorts that she previously adorned. The biggest change, however, are the sleeves of tattoos that artfully wrap up both arms.

Her pouty lips, coated in lipgloss stretch with her wide smile. "I was not expecting to see you here tonight."

She pulls Beau into a brief hug and looks over at Everett. Big brown eyes grow larger at the sight of the small man.

"Everett, right?" She asks him, her smile not wavering.

He is pretty sure the two of them had never spoken in all the years they went to school together, so it's surprising that she knows his name at all. "Yeah, it's nice to see you again." Everett stretches a hand out to shake, but she bypasses it and instead pulls him in for a hug as well.

Even the perfume she's wearing smells heavenly.

Him and Beau had a great run, but Everett fears that this is the moment that Beau finally cracks and dismisses him. Surely he'll want to shoot his shot at his gorgeous ex-girlfriend.... Right?

"I lived with Everett for a couple months, we're really good friends now. I think you two would get along," Beau blurts out. He seems flustered and has a slight blush on his cheeks and ears.

Everett's legs feel like jelly and he can feel himself melt at the statement. For no reason at all, his ex-boyfriend told his extremely attractive ex-girlfriend that they used to live together. He immediately established with her that they are friends—that they are close.

"Oh?" Sloane says with a tilt of her head. The smile on her face remains, but turns a bit teasing. "I didn't think you were friends in high school? I'm glad you've connected post-graduation."

Along with the floaty feeling that's washed over him is a much more dire need that he has to address. "I hate to interrupt, but I need to use the restroom. I'll be back out in a little," Everett informs them. He doesn't have an ounce of worry leaving Beau there with Sloane. While he's aware that they are broken up and Beau can do whatever he wants, Everett suspects that nothing but friendly conversation will happen between the two of them.

-

"So...." Sloan smirks up at her ex. "You're hanging out with Everett, huh?"

The blush on Beau's face grows even more. "Yeah. We're friends."

Sloan giggles at this before looking down at her manicured fingernails. They aren't long, but they have a layer of deep red, gel nail polish on them.

"What have you been up to?" Beau asks her, wanting to hear how her life has turned out. It has been very interesting seeing the different life paths everyone has taken in the last five years.

Picking at a nail, Sloane hums in contemplation. "Let's see.... I went to Penn State, majored in electrical engineering, met my girlfriend, moved to Portland-" Beau's eyes widen and he coughs in surprise.

"Girlfriend?" He repeats what she said.

Laughing at his reaction, Sloane nods her head. "Yeah—I met my girlfriend, Emma, in my last year at Penn State. She's from Portland and I got a decent job offer there so I moved out west to be with her."

After a moment of pause, Beau mumbles, "Me too." He gazes over his shoulder where the bathroom is and looks back at the woman in front of him.

"You too, what?" Sloane questions with a perfectly raised brow.

Beau cracks his knuckles nervously and lowers his voice as he responds, "I'm also gay."

"No shit!" Sloane howls with a clap of her hands. "What are the chances?"

Skittish about this reaction, Beau shrugs his shoulders. "Better than anyone would've thought."

"So you and Everett have something going on then, right?" She accurately guesses. Placing her hands on her hips she seems curious about their dynamic. "Not to be invasive or anything, I was kind of getting that vibe from both of you anyway."

"Oh, no. Uh-" Beau sputters out, eyes looking wild.

Sloane doesn't say anything, instead she waits for the man in front of her to find his words. She still has a feeling she is right, but she isn't going to push for any more information if Beau doesn't want to disclose it.

He cuts off his own stuttering with a sigh. Lowering his voice, he gets closer to Sloane and says, "We were together for a couple months, but I fucked up. I'm trying to prove myself to him right now."

Understanding falls over Sloane's face. She looks very sympathetic as she whispers, "Beau.... You've always had trouble with relationships-"

"I'm in love with him. I've never regretted messing anything up more in my life."

"Jesus Christ," Sloane mutters. "You're really serious about him, huh?"

Beau nods his head, satisfied that she finally gets the gravity of his situation while simultaneously feeling exhausted as he remembers the state of his and Everett's relationship.

"If it's any consolation, that guy has stars in his eyes when he looks at you," she tells him earnestly. Beau shakes his head at this, trying to not let himself become too hopeful. Sloane feels pity for her ex-boyfriend—he really was an asshole when they dated, but he seems to have changed drastically since then.

Still shaking his head, Beau says, "Thanks, but I think I went too far. I'm just trying to have a friendship with him at this point."

Before Sloane can tell him what she's noticed from their short conversation, Everett returns from the restroom. They talk a little longer with Sloane and Everett filling each other in more on their own lives. After a couple minutes, they wrap up their conversation and go their separate ways.

"It's getting late, Beau," Everett says in Beau's ear over the gradually increased volume in the establishment. "Do you want to head out soon?"

Beau's heart sinks. He isn't ready for Everett to go home, but he can't keep him in Columbus forever. "Yeah, let's get out of here."

Everett's feather-light touch hovers over Beau's forearm as they push their way through the mingling crowds so they don't lose each other. Beau wishes he could just interlock their fingers and push his way through the people in their way. He can't do that, however, so he instead goes slow so Everett can keep up with him as they dodge their former peers.

The door is within eyesight.

"COLESY!"

Freezing in their spots, Everett looks up at Beau. He's not sure how this is going to play out.

"Hey, man," Beau doesn't move to dap up the group of his old football friends. He turns to face them, but still stands tall next to Everett.

Winny, Marco, Daws and Ryan are grinning at them like sharks about to attack their prey. Everett wants to step behind Beau to disappear from their line of sight, but it's too late to do that and he doesn't want to give them any ammunition to make fun of them right now.

"Still hanging out with Fowler, Colesy? Didn't know you two were crossing swords like that," Ryan jokes maliciously. The other three men roar with laughter at this.

Beau grimaces and replies, "Could say the same thing for this foursome. Not a woman in sight, boys." Everett bites the inside of his cheek to keep himself from smiling at that remark.

"I heard that there's one woman who's no longer in Fowler's sight. Isn't that right, bud?" Marco's crooked teeth flash in Everett's direction after making the foul statement. He didn't think that the immature bullying would continue this blatantly at a reunion that is taking place five years after graduation—it's ridiculous.

He wants to ignore the comment, but Beau's body stiffens and he knows that the man is going to respond. "Eat shit, Marc. What the fuck kind of question was that?" Beau is seething, which surprises Everett. He could tell it upset his ex, but not this much.

"Chill out, dude. You were the one who told us all that shit about him," Winny says with narrowed eyes and arms crossed over his chest.

Unfortunately, Everett already knows this information thanks to Finn. Beau doesn't seem too shocked by this comment either, so he wonders if Finn talked with him about what he told Everett in the park that night.

"I was being a drunk dumbass," Beau counters. "You guys are just fucking dumb."

He places his hand, once again, on Everett's lower back. "Let's get out of here," Beau grumbles to him before leading them out the door. Unfortunately, they're unable to leave peacefully considering the former football players are shouting after them as they go.

"Why'd you even come here? You didn't even graduate, you fucking loser!"

"Goddamn homos—go suck dick!"

Beau gently pushes Everett out the door to get him away from the yelling as soon as possible. They silently walk to Everett's car and stand outside when they get there.

"Well it was fun until the end," Everett tries to joke with a forced smile.

Beau's looking down at the gravel of the parking lot below his feet. He shakes his head and continues to not speak.

"Thank you for sticking with me tonight. It really means a lot to me," Everett whispers, taking a step closer to the downcast man. He rubs a hand up and down Beau's arm, hoping to comfort him as well as coax some words out of him.

Shaking his head, Beau keeps his gaze on the ground when he finally chooses to respond. "You shouldn't be thanking me. I said some fucked up shit about you." His voice sounds thick with emotion. "Thanks for coming out here, Rett. I won't make you do it again."

"Beau-" Everett attempts to interject, but Beau drags him into his arms. The hug feels like a goodbye. Like a final goodbye.

"Have a safe drive back," Beau whispers into the top of his head before turning around and disappearing into the clutter of the parking lot.