"Do I wear the orange peplum top with the stretch jeans or the red dress?"
Abby holds both clothing items up back and fourth as she stares in the mirror with squinted eyes and a tilted head.
She notices Kevin's eyes only go to the floor though as he ignores her imperative prompt…
"Why are those here?"
She turns to see he's glaring at her ebony shade heels. They're almost shiny enough to be a mirror and they're tall but not in a freakish way.
"Um, they're shoes? They go with both outfits, look!" She holds them up to both,
"Now, which is better?!?"
Kevin blinked hardly as he looked up and down.
She didn't seriously bring those to wear, did she?
"Um, Abby."
"What?"
He nods to the five inch heels that look ready to suffocate skin.
"Why the hell do you have those, you can't wear them!"
"Uh, there's no rule against pregnant women wearing heels. Besides, I got them a size up in case I swell."
Kevin gets up from the guest bed and walks up to his wife, lightly shaking his head.
"The doctor said you can go as high as three inches as long as it's not a long time, look at those things! You could also fall over, not safe at all!"
"Hon, I'm really good at walking in them, can practically run-"
"That was before you got pregnant! No, you're not wearing them. We're stoping by Target on our way there." He gently but firmly grabs the heels from her hands.
"But Kev, I-"
"Nope, you can wear them again in a few weeks when the baby is here."
Abby rolls her eyes as she puts them away,
"You were okay with driving me hours away after our traveling window but my adorable shoes are out of the question?"
"There are stops on the streets to calm an ambulance, once you've fallen on the floor from those things the damage is there."
Kevin drops her shoes by her suit case as he shouts by the long mirror next to the bathroom,
"Plus, we'll get to be with Beth and Harold at the same time!!!"
Abby smiles at that reminder, and all of the sudden the shoes were an afterthought.
"And my vote is for the dress!" He walks back to the dresser for his phone as Abby takes her turn to the mirror.
"Really?"
"Yea, it's hot." He winks and she grins at the gesture, but focuses back to the mirror.
"Ughh, why does it matter, I look huge in both of them anyways because I am." She groans at her reflection as she brings both options to her side to see that her belly is very much notable and far out.
"Hush, you look adorable and you know it." Kevin smirks as he grabs her waist from behind.
"An adorable whale?!? In that case yeah, sure."
"Just a few more weeks princess, then it'll go down. But tilll then I'm enjoying you like this." Kevin rubs her belly and kisses her cheek, causing Abby to turn the color of the dress hugged by her fingers.
"You know I could wear them and every few minutes you could carry me-"
"Nope, I'm not getting crushed." He rubs her shoulder and goes to get his phone.
"WOW, YOU'RE SO FUNNY!" Abby shouts as Kevin smirks at his own remark,
"I love youuuuuuuuuuuuu…."
"Whatever jackass, just get me cute sneakers or whatever at Target."
"Define 'whatever'."
"I'm already cringing at your dad jokes."
…
Bardo Lane, the nicest hotel in town- and destination of the highly anticipated gathering of former students at O'Grady high.
Accompanied by tall palm trees, a cream base for the outsides walls, a garden of azaleas and peonies, and a nice rail leading to the main entrance, no one could deny the quality setting Mr.Perfect choose for the event.
"Oh of course Philip got the most extra location," Kevin rolled his eyes, for he could still hear the pompous prep's notable voice in his ears.
"Hey, I think it's nice." Abby responds, gazing at the gold lights glowing from glass windows.
" Oh, shall we find him first thing and have the two of you perform a ballroom dance? Just for old times sake? " Kevin mocked his voice, putting his hand to his heart with the other up to the sky- or top of the sliver Coupe, that was.
"Be nice, this a reunion, not a retelling," Abby scolds as she rolls her eyes in amusement.
"He better not hit on you-"
"Childish much?!? I bet Philip is married to some sophisticated, trust fund socialite in several fancy mansions around the country. Besides, I'm not exactly in a getting hit on state at the moment."
"Are you kidding me, your boobs are watermelons and your hair is silkier than a Bratz dolls, an actionless priss like that will cream himself just looking-"
"I'm your wife having your baby, no one in their right mind would trace their eyes in such a direction." She turns her head to her window, fixated on something Kevin couldn't quite guess.
"I'm just glad this is for our class only, not any of those freshies who'd swoon over the mention of brain fart."
Kevin makes the same sly face he often made when thinking of a scheme or snarky remark.
"Are you telling me you felt threatened by freshmen, Abby?"
"No, they were just annoying!"
"How?"
"All freshmen are, you know this!!!"
"Not worse than him."
"Yes, he was obnoxious and no one liked him, especially me, but we're going to go in there and be nice to everyone ."
"Even Brooke?"
"Fine, we'll try to be nice to everyone."
"Ugh, you're right, maybe he's actually cool now who knows-"
"BETH!!!!!" Abby screamed in Kevin's ear as she unbuckled her seatbelt and slammed the car door behind her, walking as fast as a pregnant woman could.
Kevin turns to see his old friend next to a light teal Toyota; hair still colored with a crystal around her neck, he could feel her natural essence from about a mile.
He gets out to shout at Abby to slow down, and she attempts to ease into her pace, but it's not very needed as Beth is sprinting right at her.
"ABBY!!!!!"
" BETH!!! "
" ABBY!!! "
" BETH!!! "
The women in their late twenties shouted and squeaked as if they were the same sixteen year olds at a sleepover.
Beth attempts to hug Abby the best she can considering her bump, and she sees Kevin coming up with a wave.
"HI KEVIN!!!" She squeaks again, grinning ear to ear.
"Beth, it's been too long." Despite speaking in his typical surfer-just don't care-type tone, seeing his friend after what felt like a decade itself was a gift from the high school gods.
Beth lets go of her friend's arm,
"Oh my goodness, you're huge!" She kneels down and touches Abby's belly as she giggles with joy.
"Thanks a lot, Beth." Abby deadpans with a smile on her face.
"Oops, sorry, that was rude wasn't it?"
"You're alright."
"Hey," Kevin walks next to his wife and puts an arm around her, followed by a quick arm hug to Beth.
"Hey! How have you guys been?!? I'm so happy you could come, with the baby and everything!"
"It took some convincing," Kevin turned and smiled at at Abby,
"The princess wasn't thrilled at seeing former brain fart fan girls again."
"Oh please Kevin, only freshmen thought your garage band was all that!"
"Like how Pete Klesko only remembered your name after you responded to it during attendance?"
"You know, I bet he does still have those biceps."
"And writing songs about his mommy."
Beth smiles at the bickering,
"At each other's throats, these kind of things remind us that people never change!"
"Yeah, like how you're still a tree hugging weirdo!" Kevin responds, followed by a light nudge from Abby.
"Ignore him, he's still stupid!"
"Yeah, but you're still crazy about it."
"You got me there," she sighs as she quickly pecks his lips.
"Oh, I always knew you two were meant for each other, if only your high school selves could see-"
Beth was cut off by a voice the three knew all too well.
"So, when does class start?" The three turn to see him.
Harold. Their Harold. In the white suit he wore to Beth's notorious (not really notorious due to the weirdness's toll on memory that day) party. He took a dark pair of shades off as he flashed his snow colored teeth.
Kevin broke his typical state and bolted over to his best friend as if he were being chased by his older brother for stealing his weed and fun magazines. (totally not a past memory he's used to)
Beth and Abby follow as they gleam at the sight of Harold and Kevin's reactions to each other.
"THERE'S MY GUITAR PLAYER!!"
"UM, YOU'RE MY DRUMMER. I WAS THE LEAD, REMEMBER?"
"YOU SAY THAT LIKE YOU WEREN'T OFF TASK HALF OUR PRACTICES!"
"Harold!" Abby and Beth both embrace him as he covers them both with his arms.
"Hey girls, you guys look great!"
"Uh, says you, Mr. Talk show star!" Abby points to his ensemble,
"You're killing this by the way."
"I just hope the other guys aren't too mad you've out dressed them," Beth continues as she and Abby both grin at the suit that still fits like a glove.
"Really? Don't you know by now guys don't care about that kind of thing?" Kevin responds as Harold playfully looks to the sky.
"You tried to come in jeans and a t shirt!"
"This isn't prom!"
"It's the first time you're seeing people in years, you want them to see you're not a class cutting punk anymore!"
"Hey, speaking of class cutting, later I was thinking we could all leave like an hour early and go around town for a bit to see our old spots?"
"Oh I don't know," Beth speaks in a sing songy tune,
"Won't the big tv star need some type of security?"
"Beth, you sound like my mother." Abby cuts in, staring her in the eyes playfully.
"Guys, I'm not George Clooney or Toby Maguire, it's fine!" Harold laughs as he notes his friends clear awe of his presence.
"Is it true Ellen Degeneres says you copied her?!?" Abby asks as Beth drops her bottom lip.
"What now?"
"Oh Ellen says I stole her entire stick, which is bs, because if it were good enough to copy why do people in her crowds try to trade tickets with mine?"
The four all boost in laugher. It had been what seemed like several life times since they did such, and it felt like a fresh dose of nostalgia.
"I'm having such a good time!" Beth adds, smiling to the sky.
"We haven't even gone in though," Abby starts,
"It's been like two minutes."
"I know, I'm just so happy we're all together again!"
Everyone smiles in union, for there was no denying the feeling with such context.
"Yea, I feel like we always text but we haven't all been in the same place for years." Kevin mentions as he scrolls through his photos on his phone,
"I mean, our last picture as a group was at the premiere of Harold's show!"
"Yea, it's great we're all doing things in life, but it's good to be together again." Harold says as he takes in the sight of his dearest friends.
The four stood in the satisfying silence; the blank sound of not saying much but being with people you love so their company is all that makes the moment. Everyone was hoping in the back of their minds that this wouldn't be the last time in goodness knew how long, but they were grateful regardless.
"Are you guys….. ready to go in?" Abby asks as she motions to the building.
"I am!" Beth agrees, nodding to the statement.
"That works for me."
"Let's knock them dead!"
The four head towards the building. They go in, explain their reasoning, and are lead to the room of the event, greeted by the one and only:
"Why, the gang is back together!"
Annoying, pompous, arrogant, know-it-all, lame ass Philip greeted the four.
Kevin sighs, and he believed it was soft but Abby gives him a brief glare that suggests otherwise.
This is gonna be a long reunion.