At the age of 27 and working for a company like Disney, Amy had already done her fair share of traveling and suffice it to say; she was far from fearful of flights. This time around, however, the circumstances were slightly different; thanks in great part to the man seated next to her. And certainly, she hadn't made any effort to contact this man since their high school graduation nine years ago. But that didn't mean that she had forgotten anything... still, it hadn't been all that bad.
Early Spring - 2000 – Baltimore, Maryland
Nearly 18 years old, Amy couldn't wait for graduation. In fact, the redheaded teen was probably looking forward to graduation more than anything-- including her upcoming 18th birthday. For one, graduating meant looking ahead to college but before that; it meant one last vacation with her best friends Trish, Maria and Mickie. Unfortunately, before they could plan for that … they still had to endure the graduation ceremony and the dreaded Senior Prom. Or, at least in Amy's case, it was a dreaded situation. For convenience sake, and because the system always seemed to work, the redhead would be attending Prom with her arch nemesis and ever present thorn in her side- Phillip 'PJ' Brooks. Thankfully this would be the last dance she would ever have to attend with him; Amy ever grateful for that fact.
"Amy, your friends are here!"
"Be right down mom!" Amy sighed, sweeping her hair into ponytail. Today they were all going to pick out their prom dresses; Maria and Trish more excited about the prospect than Mickie and Amy, but that was to be expected.
"Don't stay out too late, honey."
"I won't mom, I promise." Flashing her friends a quick smile, Amy grabbed her messenger bag from the coat stand. "Let's get this over with already."
Trish rolled her eyes, waiting for the redhead to buckle her seatbelt. "It's Prom, Ames, try to act a little more enthused."
Maria grinned from her spot next to Mickie, "yeah seriously you two-- lighten up!"
Mickie snorted, "easy enough for you two to say, the two of you actually like this stupid dressing up crap."
"Exactly," Amy put in as Trish backed the car out of the driveway, "when have Micks and I readily agreed to go dress shopping--"
"Or any type of shopping."
"With the two of you?"
Maria shook her head, "well at least this will be the last time right? Or for formal wear anyway because then we'll have to pick out our dresses for the graduation party that Trish and A.J's parents are throwing."
Mickie sighed, "I just can't believe it's already been fourteen years."
Amy grinned, "I can't believe we haven't tried to kill each other yet."
"That's just because P.J isn't going with us," Trish sent a sideways glance to the redhead in the passengers seat, "you know Ames, he really isn't that bad—"
"Fighting a losing war, Trishers." Amy tapped her fingernails against the window, "we have tried to get along and it works, so long as he's not attempting to speak to me and doesn't touch me."
Mickie kicked the back of Amy's seat none to gently, "if Phil really bothers you that much, I know of a few guys who would love to take you to the Prom."
Amy wrinkled her nose, "I've already turned them down, Micks... as annoying as he can be and as much of a pain in my ass as he is... I guess, it just wouldn't seem right."
Maria giggled, "now if you two would just stop fighting with each other, maybe then you'd realize how much you actually like each other."
"Yeah, right!" Amy exclaimed indignantly, "I like him as much as I like a pop quiz."
The playful argument ensued for the duration of the short trip from their neighborhood to the mall. The argument a common occurrence between the four girls, had become more common place since they'd started high school four years ago. Amy and Mickie had always been quick to argue that, just because Chris was dating Trish and A.J was dating Maria, didn't automatically mean that the redhead had to date Phil or that the brunette had to date Rob. But, it just worked out that way whenever they were making plans for a school dance or something similar. Everyone paired off, no one was left out. All was balanced, if not a little violent.
Present Time – San Jose, Costa Rica
Of those in the bridal party, Mickie James had arrived first; but that was also due to the fact that she was currently working in San Diego and therefor, had the shortest distance to fly. The brunette knew that Maria was flying in from Baltimore, Victoria was flying in from Las Vegas with Trish and Chris, Trish's cousin Kelly would be flying in from Seattle and Amy was flying in from Orlando. And while she was at least acquainted with Kelly and Victoria, Mickie couldn't wait to see Amy and Maria again. They did try to meet up at least four times a year, just to catch up and for a needed break from the usual hustle and bustle; but this past year had been more difficult. Amy had been extremely busy, Mickie was between jobs, Trish was tangled up in wedding plans and Maria... well, they weren't quite certain as to what was going on with Maria.
"Mickie?" A voice whispered from behind the brunette, "Mickie James, is that you?"
The woman in question turned, removing her sunglasses as she blinked in shock. "Maria Kanellis, what the hell happened to you?"
"Shh!" Maria hissed, "keep it down, Micks. We're in the middle of baggage claim!"
"I don't give a damn." Mickie frowned as she took in her friend's appearance, "you're too skinny, 'Ria."
Maria sighed, "that's fashion, Micks. And you know it."
The brunette shook her head, "this isn't fashion Maria, this is a problem. You're practically a walking skeleton."
"It's not that bad all the time, Mickie. I just had to shed a few pounds for the most recent photo-shoot, otherwise I was going to lose it to--"
"It's not worth it, Maria." Mickie held up a hand when Maria opened her mouth to argue, "look … I promise I won't bring this up again but only if you promise me that you'll find a new job. I get that modeling pays well but it's not worth it."
Once Maria had promised, Mickie backed off; the brunette assisting her friend with collecting her luggage from the carousel. And they'd just finished loading Maria's suitcases when Victoria, Kelly, Trish and Chris sauntered into the baggage claim area. It wasn't long after they arrived that A.J, Scott, Lance and Alex also arrived, nearly completing the wedding party. In fact, the only people missing were the maid of honor and the best man...
"Ames should be here any minute," Trish glanced down at her wrist watch, "she sent me a copy of her flight itinerary and baring any delays, her flight should be touching down soon."
"Phil said he was flying out of Houston," Chris mentioned casually, "something about his latest assignment being there."
Mickie seated herself on a stack of suitcases, "what is he up to these days, anyway?"
Chris chuckled, "freelance journalism. Music industry, mostly, but this most recent job was covering a video game convention."
Trish sighed, "Amy is about ready to quit her job, she works for Disney still, but after she finished up that one graduate program; they switched her to a different department."
Maria opened her mouth to say something when the sound of arguing voices reached their ears. And not only were they arguing, but it was a very familiar set of voices arguing.
"I saved you from a landslide of baggage and this is thanks I get?"
"I didn't ask you to save me, asshole. I don't need you to save me!"
Amy and Phil, still oblivious to their companions, continued to argue as they made their way into the baggage claim area. Trish and Chris exchanged worried looks, Mickie, Maria and A.J observing with sheer amusement. Somethings, it seemed, never changed.
