Do you feel lucky?

Sean Yun · Feb 05, 2020, 05:36 PM

"Oh yeah? I was born here too! Never left." Sean laughed slightly. Once he had some pretty big dreams of his own to leave town, to make it in a big city. He was a natural-born extrovert and an entertainer, so he wanted to be an actor. But little towns like these, they dug their claws in pretty deep. The longer Sean stayed, the harder it became to leave and—well, the rest was history, as they say.

He accepted a glass of water but didn't drink it right away, though he thanked her politely anyway. Sean wasn't much of a water-drinker, unless it was flavored by something. Plain water was sort of boring. However, not to seem rude, he sipped it and continued looking at the pictures hung up on the wall.

"We might've gone to school together. Although... I wasn't in class much." He laughed again—he was more likely to skip out with Logan or be caught sleeping in the library than to sit there in class. Or, if he was there, he was napping way in the back. "How old are you?"

Hana Choi · Feb 09, 2020, 04:25 PM

A muted chuckle escaped her when he mentioned never leaving and laughed in spite of himself. Although she felt very passionate about her hometown and had no particular intention of leaving it again, she knew that others did not always feel the same way she did. Not everyone found happiness in nothingness the way she did. She loved the quiet and she adored nature. Here, she was close to both.

Once he had accepted the water, she turned to look at the same pictures that had gotten them onto the topic of school and growing up in Hazleton. She had to bite her lower lip to mute the bright smile that these images influenced in her. They were such warm memories.

"Twenty four," she answered. That cat-like curiosity grabbed at his words and chewed on them for a moment. Ordinarily, someone might have asked what year she had graduated, but he had leapt for her age instead. She wondered why, but had no particular theory. Maybe it was nothing and she was fixating in a desperate attempt to figure him out.

Turning her gaze back toward the photos, Hana figured this was the perfect opportunity for a second gentle prod at whether Sean knew Logan. She pointed first to the photo of her book club.

"I spent most of my time here, but I was also one of the dorks that hung out for hours afterschool on the bleachers doing homework..." Yes, she really did mean homework. Occasionally their teenaged conversations would head another direction. I mean, there was always some athletic team practicing and giving them an alternate topic.

"That's where I met my neighbor actually. Logan." Her bright smile turned his way, analyzing his features for any reaction to the name.

Sean Yun · Feb 13, 2020, 10:18 AM

"Oh yeah?" Huh. Same age. That put her in the same approximate time frame as when Sean had gone to school. There were always kids graduating a little early, a couple graduating late--himself included, ahem--so asking for a graduating year didn't mean much. But if she was about his age then they definitely would've gone to school at around the same time.

"I was... not a dork but not a jock either." He grinned; not that one would think it to look at him now, but he used to be pretty skinny. He was one of those guys who slept a lot, ate a lot but somehow couldn't put on muscle to save his life. It was only as he grew older and learned how to weight train and how to eat the right kinds of things that he bulked up.

At the name Logan though, his grin cracked into a full-on laugh. "Oh shit. Lo? Well I guess it was only a matter of time before you met him. Did he hit on you?" His eyes twinkled.

Hana Choi · Feb 15, 2020, 03:21 PM

Jackpot

For once her wild assumptions were right. She had actually managed to put a social puzzle piece together and learned just a little bit more about her friend. Internally, she laughed at herself for not understanding sooner. No wonder Logan had given her looks when she innocently mentioned coming to visit the club. How embarrassing! There was no chance he was hiding it from her intentionally. He invited her to visit, after all. He probably meant to surprise her. And, the shock of her life that would have been too.

Her thoughts choked up when Sean asked if Logan had hit on her. There were a few moments where she suspected, but she had cooled off. Like always, she probably was jumping to conclusions too quick. After all, with her new discovery of exactly where he worked for his living, he could have just been trying to make sure her potential significant other would not be upset with him inviting her to such a place. It was an innocent assumption, at least.

Forcing her smile back into place and letting out an awkward laugh, Hana finally answered Sean's question leaning against the shelf with her shoulder and avoiding eye contact by gazing at her photos.

"I've known him since high school. If he was going to hit on me, he probably would have done it back then." Though, she probably wouldn't have noticed anyway. "Were you guys friends in school?"

Sean Yun · Feb 19, 2020, 06:31 PM

"Oh yeah, we were best friends. Still are."

Well. Sort of.

Things were complicated, unfortunately; Sean didn't know where they were at the moment with respect to their relationship but he thought that the 'friend' part of best friend still held. If he was dying of cancer or something, the first person he'd call would be Logan. Any time he saw something hilarious or witnessed a weird phenomenon--those were more than common in Hazleton--Logan was the first one he told. Or at least, the first one he thought to tell, although lately things were a touch strained.

And really, whatever happened between them was just... a fleeting thing. Sean didn't think it warranted losing a whole lifetime of being friends over; that hardly seemed like a fair trade. He imagined Logan felt the same way, or at least he hoped that was the case. They had weathered a hell of a lot of trouble in the span of their friendship and there was a kind of comfort in knowing that probably crazier shit had happened that didn't push a wedge between them.

"But anyway it's weird you knew him and I didn't know you. I'm pretty sure we were in the same friend groups."

Hana Choi · Mar 01, 2020, 02:13 PM

If Hana's face was not already lit up from recent events, it would alight now. Not only did this man know Logan, work with him, went to school at the same time as them, but he was Logan's best friend? Hana regretted not being closer friends with Logan - realizing that she had no idea whom his best friend was or that he was this stinkin' handsome. Then again, she would not have had the courage to approach him back then anyway.

"Wow," she gaped in amazement and let her eyes wander up the wall as if following a balloon into the clouds. They only returned to look him square in the eyes after she had a moment to take a deep courageous breath.

"I cannot believe what a small world this can be. I just can't fathom how I could go four years without noticing. You don't have a face one could easily forget."

Wait... Was she hitting on him now? Following the comment, warmth rose to her cheeks once more. If he was in the same friend groups as her, he was bound to be a personality she would get along with. How exciting that, so soon after moving back to Hazleton, she would fall into friendships so quickly. She knew this was the place she wanted to live. The comfort here was beyond anything she had ever felt.

Pushing back the lump threatening to choke her speech, Hana swallowed and gestured toward the door.

"I was about to go for a walk when you arrived," - except she ran into a cat that has clearly run off in fear of him. "If your... friend isn't responding, do you want to go with me? We could catch up more about old HazleHigh gossip slash post graduation life."