As Landon approached the table, she couldn't really process that he was actually here, let alone less than two feet away. She wasn't prepared for this reunion at all. She wasn't sure she ever would have been. He stopped short at the table with a smile. "Hi guys, I'm back."
"Hey, man." Raf stood as the dark-haired boy pulled him into a bear hug. The twins looked on curiously as she looked for a excuse to quickly escape. An escape she couldn't find quick enough.
"Hope." Landon was now standing next to Raf, looking down at her with a unsure smile.
"Landon...hi." She did her best poker face, not wanting to betray her own thoughts but with the way Raf was currently staring at her…she wasn't hitting the mark. Maya cocked a brow at the sudden awkward tension while Landon shuffled his feet. She slowly rose and reached over to give him a quick hug that was more of a pat on the back than anything. She cleared her throat as she reclaimed her seat, still feeling everyone's attention on her.
"Uh, so how've you been?" She internally cringed at how loaded that causal question sounded.
She smiled tightly. "Good, how was your trip?"
His eyes trailed over her with a smile. "Great. I, uh was able to um, clear my head and you know...all that sort of stuff."
She nodded slowly, shooting a side glance at Raf, who seemed to find interest in the wall on the other side of the cafeteria. "Cool."
He smiled nervously, scratching the back of his head, "So uh, what about you? Slayed some monsters lately?"
She ignored Ethan's confused face at the mention of monsters. "No, actually. It's been eerily quiet for awhile."
Landon's brows rose in surprise before nodding. "Well that's good, that's really good..." She ran her tongue over her teeth slowly as it became painfully quiet at the table, eyes suddenly finding the table.
"I'm Maya." The brunette vampire suddenly said leaning forward with a smile before gesturing to Ethan. "And this is my twin brother, Ethan. We're new."
Landon blinked as if he was just noticing the twins' presence. "Oh, uh, hi. Welcome, I'm Landon."
Maya eyes bounced between Hope and Landon for a moment, to Raf and then back to Landon. She eyed him with mirth. "So Landon, you and Hope here used to date or something? Because this entire exchange has been incredibly awkward to sit through."
"Maya." Ethan gritted through his teeth, pinching her thigh under the table. She squatted him away, staring up at Landon expectantly.
Landon opened his mouth, taken back, but nothing came out as he clearly didn't know how to respond. His eyes shifted to Hope as she had an answer to give. Instead, the tribrid suddenly rose to her feet, grabbing her bag.
"I forgot I have somewhere to be right now." Rafael frowned up at her.
"Oh, well-" Landon began but she quickly turned on her heel to leave. She knew he wanted to talk to her, but she wasn't ready to speak to him. Hell, she wasn't even ready to see him. She knew Rafael wouldn't appreciate her ditching him but she had to get out of there.