Can't You See Me?

Years passed before I saw Mikey again. 15 years to be exact, but it's not like I was counting. I was still upset from what he'd said to me, but then quickly caught myself because I was the one who needed to apologize. The morning after when I sobered up, I still remember everything that I did and said. I stopped drinking that night and I eventually stopped smoking as well. I left the town before graduation and had my diploma mailed to me. I just wanted to leave everything behind.

I met a nice girl at the city I moved to and we began dating, and upon finding out she was pregnant, we married quickly. Come to find out that for the first 6 years of our marriage, she was cheating on me with a very good friend at the time. We split and I won full custody of my two little girls. I decided to move back into my hometown and have my kids attend the same school I did. After a few years of living there, in their eighth grade yearsl, I took them to their open house so I could meet their teachers. When we arrived at their English class, I'd never been so terrified of someone. We made eye contact and his eyes noticeably widened in shock before going go his usual neutral demeanor.

"These are my two little girls. They'll be in your class this year," I said as calmly as I could. He looked from me to my girls and then back to me, before slowly standing up and extending his hand.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Michael Way. I look forward to having your daughters in my class," he said. His voice had become a lot stronger and his face became more handsome. I took his hand and shook it.

"Frank Iero. This is Cherry and this is Lilly. Yes, they look very much alike, so be careful because they are quite the troublemakers," I chuckled as I pulled my hand away.

"Daaaad," they whined in unison. This caused Mikey to smile.

"They no doubt got that from you. Anyway, I can tell the difference, so it's not a problem," he said. I didn't miss the first sentence he quietly said, but I made no move to acknowledge it. After all, did I have the right to hug him too tightly again? No, not after all these years since I disappeared without a word a little more than 15 years. We stayed for a little while longer, discussing what would be going on in the class and he seemed confident.

As we drove home, Cherry chimed in her two cents.

"Do you two know each other, daddy?" I smiled at my ever so observant girl. Now it was time for Lily, who would be just as spot on.

"Yeah. They're in love," Lily said like it were old news. I nearly slapped foot on the break.

"In-in love?" I managed to choke out.

"Yeah, daddy, you only looked at each other. Is he the old friend you keep pictures of hidden away in your closet?" Wow. They sure were blunt. Did they get that from me as well?

"Ah, um, yeah. That's him. Um, we left on a bad note about 15 years ago. This is my first time seeing him in that long because I left this town without anyone knowing all that time ago."

"You should become friends and start dating," Cherry said. Lily hummed her agreement. I sighed.

"After what I did and said, I'm surprised that he didn't punch me in the face before introducing himself," I laughed. I remember the good hook he had.

"Well, it's a start, isn't it?" They said. I gave a thoughtful look. Maybe we could try being friends again and catch up. I want to know if he has kids and so on. He could even be married, but I wouldn't care because at least he and I would be friends again. I could only hope. After all, you can't just disappear on someone for 15 years, come back, and magically expect them to be okay with it. I needed to do a lot in order for him to forgive me, because even if he looked fine with me, he could still be holding it in. I knew Mikey well enough. He still seemed like the same worried, stoic individual that he'd always been, but maybe we could be friends again.

Notes

This could totally be a full story ;D
Enjoy!

-OAIF <3