Chapter 16

Vince POV

"What's taking them so long?" Gretchen asks from across the table. I look over her and shrug not having a clue where Mike and Gus were.

"Do you think they'll actually come? Mike looked a little uncertain after he invited us to get together." She says as she glances out the window looking for any sign of our two missing childhood chums.

"They'll be here Gretch. Mike always kept his word and I'm sure that hasn't changed" TJ tried to reassure her. I try to hide my grin as he says this. God he falls back into being our leader quickly. We're getting together once after years of never doing anything and he is already trying to keep everyone cool, calm, and collected.

With perfect timing I see Mike walk into Kelso with …….. Holy shit is that Gus? The guy standing beside Mike is huge. I'm tall standing at about 6 foot 3 but this guy looked like he would be almost a head taller then me. His hair is in the same hair style that Gus used to keep his in and the glasses are still there. Watching him for a moment I realize that he still does look a lot like he used to but he has grown confidant.

Noticing that they're looking around for us I stand up and wave. Gretchen turns around and gives one of those high pitch squeals girls give when their excited (god I didn't even know Gretch could make that sound) and shoves TJ out of the booth. People look over at her in puzzlement then turn back to their ice cream as she throws herself into Gus's arms.

Gus grins down at her and laughs. "I missed you guys too" He finally says after Gretchen pulls away blushing knowing she just made a fool of herself and sits down again. TJ by now has picked himself off of the floor and smiles at Gus and greets both him and Mike who is grinning and shaking his head at Gretchen.

"Sorry were late, the plane was a little late getting in" Mike says as he takes a seat next to me and Gus pulls up a chair. We all sit there looking at each other not sure what to say or do now. I look over at TJ seeing if he has any ideas how to break this awkward silence but he looks just as uncertain as the rest of us. So much for our fearless leader. Alright Vince it's up to you.

"Damn Griswald, I hate to say it but you're huge. Have they got you playing basketball at your school" I ask trying to think if I heard his name come up with any of the schools around here.

He laughs at my comment but shakes his head "It's funny I was shrimp all through elementary school and the minute I hit high school I started growing. But no matter how tall I get I still can't sink a basket to save my life much to the coach's disappointment." Everyone laughs and the awkward silence is broken. We begin to talk about what were up to now and about things from our past.

"Hey is that Menlow?" Gus asks as he looks out the window. Turning I look and sure enough there's Menlow looking helplessly down into his cars engine and every once in awhile looking toward a truck parked next to him.

"Yeah that's Menlow. And the guy in the black truck over there is Lawson" TJ answers him. I look into the truck and sure enough Lawson's sitting in there with a couple of his friends laughing.

"Poor Menlow. God when is Lawson going to grow up" Gretchen sighs as she looks over at Menlow.

"Anyone know anything about cars?" Mike asks as each one of us shakes our heads except TJ.

"I know a little but probably not enough to help" Gus answers.

I look over at TJ and notice something has caught his attention behind me. Turning around I look out the window and see Elli making her way to Kelso's. She is once again wearing a pair of jeans and a slightly baggy red top. Her hair is tied up in a messy pony tail and there are colorful splotches in it as well. I look back at TJ and see he is now staring at her not paying any attention to what's going on around him. Grinning I shake my head he has got it bad and she isn't even his normal type.

"Hey Earth to TJ. Want to stop staring at Elli and see if we can help Menlow out" He doesn't even glance at me.

"Um….. Vince I don't think we need to help Menlow out" Mike says as he is now staring out the window.

Looking back at Menlow's car I see Elli push him out of the way and him go to the drivers side. I watch in amazement as she leans over the engine and starts messing around not caring that she is getting her clothes and hands greasy. After fifteen minutes of tinkering she stands up and Menlows car fires up. They talk for a moment and as he drives off. I watch still shocked as she glares at Lawson then makes her way inside.

"Wow, who's the girl?" Gus asks as he looks over to where the little spitfire just entered. I stop listening to the conversation and stare at her. God there was something familiar about her. The only girl that I have ever known to have that kind of no regard for her looks was Spinelli.

"Has any one else noticed how much Elli acts like Spinelli" Gretchen asks as she also regards Elli from across the room. Elli who is now seated scans Kelso's and her eyes light up she turns away and reaches for her bag.

"Actually I have" I pipe up looking back at Gretchen and see that TJ is also nodding slowly as is Mike. Gus whips around in his chair and tries to get a better look.

"How so?" he finally asks.

"Well its little things I guess. She stands up to Lawson which is unusual for anyone since he isn't very stable any more. But Elli doesn't have any problem getting him to leave her alone. The strange thing is I think he's almost afraid of her and the only person I have ever seen get that reaction out of him is Spinelli" I answered Gus trying to keep the aw out of my voice.

"The first time I met her she looked at me as if she was expecting me to know her and I noticed she gave both of TJ and Vince the same look. Not to mention that when most girls see Lawson they begin to primp and flirt before they find out he's an ass but Elli swore and looked like she was preparing for battle. Then there's the fact that when we were in the library talking up our old pranks she was laughing along with us like she was remembering them as well" Gretchen piped.

"She sat with me Gus, no hesitation nothing just came right up to me and asked if she could sit. No one does that. Everyone looks at me and thinks that I'm dangerous but she acted as if she new for a fact that there was no way that I would hurt her. She also keeps calling me Mikey" Mike whispers softly getting all of our attention. I stared at him for a moment as I began to feel ashamed.

How could I have treated him like every other student? I knew for a fact that Mike had the soul of a poet and couldn't hurt a fly to save his life. And even though I didn't treat him like a huge freak I also didn't talk to him. God what a lousy friend I turned out to be. I look at Gretchen and TJ and see that they are both looking just as ashamed as me.

TJ looks over towards the booth that Elli is sitting in and finally back at us. "She runs every morning"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Gus asks "I don't remember Spinelli really being all that into just plain running?"

"No you don't understand. Every morning she runs to my neighbors house and just stops at the drive way and looks up at the house almost like she's stuck in a trance." TJ continues.

"Okay call me dense but I still not following" I pipe up then look at Gretchen who has gone pale.

"Guys my neighbors house is Spins old house"

Silence follows that statement as we all absorb that little tidbit.

"But it doesn't make sense if it is Spinelli then why wouldn't she be running up to you guys saying that she's back? I mean it's not her fault that she had to leave. And why pretend to be someone your not? It just doesn't make sense" Gus finally says breaking the silence.

"You know what gang I think it's time for operation truth" TJ says after awhile and grins a grin that we all know well it was the grin of the prankster prince.