Chapter Text
A sigh escaped Ashely as she got out of her blue ford focus and straightened out her dress as she closed and locked the door to her car. She was dreading tonight. A large part of her didn't want to come to the high school reunion, it was mainly just a glorified dick waving competition after all. Everyone showing the other up about how well the other was doing and driving down the self esteem of others even more. She shook her head as she looked at the building in question. She was only here because she had nothing better to do, and to steal a few drinks and bites of food before heading home. She took a deep breath and walked towards the gymnasium with a purpose.
She walked past a beautiful brand new black corvette which made her groan at first glance, it wasn't until she saw the red Autobot logo on the back of it along with the license plate reading ‘ROLLOUT’ did she stop and chuckle to herself.
“Okay. Maybe tonight won't be such a bust after all.” she surmised, a small grin pulling at her lips as she walked into the large room being greeted happily by several much older staff members, who were glad to see her.
Inside was a slight mess, there were several people in the middle of the floor dancing and clearly drunk far too early in the evening, and scattered about were several smaller groups of adults who were either chatting amongst themselves, or gossiping louder than they should have given the tight space they were in. Ashley looked around and saw a few familiar faces, all of whom she didn't care for. She saw the former head cheerleader, who had clearly been trying to keep up the appearance of perfection even if it was clear it couldn't be further from the truth. A few of the football team still looked the same, some even looked better, whereas others had really let themselves go. Some of the people here were clearly parents, and had a look about them like they had been through war. But, a good amount of them seemed happy and that made Ashley smile. She was glad a few of the couples had survived and flourished through the years. A couple from choir classes were happily mingling together and walking amongst the groups, though it seemed they were just here to show their face and leave.
She chuckled lightly to herself. Some things never changed. She looked around and sighed for a brief moment before going to get her food and drink before finding a nice corner to hide in for a while. With a little groan she got the overcooked burger and a drink before being a wallflower and just listening to the gossip.
A pair of women walked by looking both annoyed and flustered as they looked back towards a large group where a few bits of laughter could be heard. “It is so unfair. How is it that a nerd gets all of the luck and comes here in that car, then acts like he owns the place?” she asked grumbling as she sipped a glass of wine.
The other woman shook her head and sighed, looking over at the group. “He is just popular because he has money now.” she commented doing the same, and sipping her drink. “It wont last.”
Ashley chewed her burger for a moment before she poke up to the two women. “You mean the corvette in the parking lot?” she asked curiously. “The guy who owns it is over there?” she asked, glancing at the group curiously.
The older looking of the two women nodded and huffed. “Yeah, fucking smartass.” she grumbled, looking at the large group and walking away.
Ashley looked at the group and hummed. She finished her burger and got up to investigate. Whoever this guy was, she was curious. It wasn't everyday a nerd came around here and stirred up shit like this. She was determined to see this guy and give him a handshake out of respect for doing so well in life.
Weaving in and out between people as she maneuvered her way towards the large group which seemed to be dispersing slightly. As a few of the people cleared, she started to get a better view of the mystery man. It was an odd sight. He wore relatively formal wear for what this was, but it was all colored in nice graphic designs that made him pop out a bit. However it wasn't until Ashley was a few feet away did she loudly gasp at who the mystery man was. “Jack!?” she said in shock seeing her childhood friend.
Jack jumped a bit at his name being called before turning and blinking a a few times at the sight. “Ashley?” he asked, smiling as he moved towards her and giving her a big hug. “Holy shit, I wasn't expecting to see you here.” He commented looking her over.
She smiled into the hug and took a step back looking at him appreciatively. “I could say the same for you.” she smiled, giving him a small playful nudge. “What are you even doing here?” she asked curiously. “I thought you moved to Massachusetts for your scholarship?” she asked, not having seen him in years.
He smiled at her. “I did. And then I moved back here just a month ago.” he explained simply. “Dad hasn't been feeling well, and I can basically work from anywhere so it wasn't too big of an issue.”
She made a face at his words. “Is he okay? I didn't know he was sick.” she asked worriedly, knowing his father all too well.
He let out a little sigh and nodded, giving a little smile as he did so. “He will be fine. He is as stubborn as a mule, so I expect him to get through it without too much issue.” he told her, taking a little breath before changing the subject. “So what have you been up to? You are looking well, hope all is good since the last time I saw you.”
Ashley nodded and gave him a little smile as she moved along with him talking as they walked. “Things are going well for me.” she started, nodding a little as she looked over at him. “Been going through the paces as it were. Got a pretty decent job as a secretary for a business firm, so I can't complain too much, other than the occasional long days.” she shrugged. “And the overtime is nice.” she smiled. “What about you, mister-so-rich-everone-and-their-sister-is-jealous?” she teased, seeing his keys dangling off of his side and jingling them.
Jack laughed and shook his head at that. “I have a good job, yes, but I'm not that loaded. I don't have a house with fourteen bathrooms.” He smiled, chucking at her. “And i got the car because I always wanted to drive a Hotwheels car and that was the closest option i could do, besides building my own.” he chuckled.
“And the Autobot logo? How does Optimus feel about that?” she teased. He giggled and smirked. “He really doesn't mind since I helped make him.” He smiled widely at that, like a little kid.
Her eyes went wide. “What?! How? Explain. Now.” she demanded.
He laughed, putting his hands up in surrender. “Calm down, firefly. It isn't like I worked on the movies or anything, though that would have been cool, but I did help come up with some of the practical effects for some of the cars in the movie.” he shrugged lightly. “Really wasn't that hard.”
“So… you did work on the movie?” she asked curiously.
He shook his head and sighed a little. “Uh no. damn words.” he grumbled taking a moment to think before he spoke again. “Myself and some friend at MIT came up with a model of how it could be done practically. It would have cost a metric fuck tom of money but it could be done.” he explained, looking a bit flustered.
She smiled softly at him, seeing the look on his face. She was glad he was still his old nerdy self. “Ah, gotcha.” she chuckled. “That sounds way cooler than what i have been doing, so it guess in the grand scheme you won.”
He waved a hand at her and stopped as he looked over at her in their usual hangout spot just out of the cafeteria. “Please. I stopped caring about winning or losing when I got into college.” he told her seriously. “I am successful, yes, but that doesn't mean I won. I just worked really hard to get where I am now.” he told her with a smile.
She nodded and smiled back at him. “Amen to that. Though given some of the bitches in here, they would think otherwise.” she chuckled, gesturing inside.
“Please.” he waved a hand and chuckled. “They never grew up, and are now jealous that their looks didn't get them through life.” he commented, getting a few guffaws as some women walked by. He shook his head and shrugged. “Like I said, jealous, and they know it is the truth.”
She smiled and nodded once. “You really did grow up since I last saw you.” she chuckled softly. “It has been a long time since we watched Saturday morning cartoons and ate frosted flakes.” she giggled.
He laughed and nodded, reminiscing on the past. “Yeah. those were the days.” he chuckled once. “We aren't like we used to be, watching anime after school and helping each other with our homework.” he laughed.
“I think you would be the one, once again, helping me with my math homework.” she laughed. “And I still watch anime. That hasn't changed.” she smiled up at him.
He smiled and chuckled at her. “Glad to know some things haven't changed.” he smiled and went quiet for a moment before commenting. “We will have to get together again in the near future and do some more catching up.” he told her seriously. “It has been too long, and hanging out with a friend sounds wonderful.”
She nodded and took out her phone from her purse. “Yes, on all accounts.” she agreed. “Let's exchange numbers and plan for a date where we can hang out and have fun.” she smiled. Jack took out his phone and the two exchanged numbers quickly before he spoke. “Sounds good. It will be a bit before I have time to hang out, still getting stuff moved in and all that, but I will let you know when I have time.” he smiled.
Ashley smiled back and nodded. “Sounds good, bookworm.” she teased, giving him a small hug and pulling away a moment later. “It is good to see you again. I can't wait to hang out.”
He smiled and did a little flourish with his car keys as he gave her a small hug. “See you soon.” he waved smiling as he remote started the corvette and hopped in. He made a little wave and roared the engine as he took off home.
She waved and smiled as he drove off, shaking her head at him as he tore off out of the parking lot. “That nerd.” she sighed wistfully. She started walking back to her car, not bothering with the rest of the shit show that was going on behind her. The sounds of yelling getting louder by the moment. She quickly got into her car and drove home to her apartment. She stopped for a proper meal, and smiled to herself as she looked at her phone. She was glad to have a friend again after so long. It would be nice to have someone to talk to about all the things that troubled her. Things seemed to be getting better.
Ashley got home and smiled as she locked the door behind her. Things had gone well tonight. And the prospect of the future seemed bright. Soon she would be hanging out with her best friend again.
Jack got home and put the keys down and sighed into the mostly empty house. It was lonely here at the moment, but he hoped things would get better. He looked at his phone and smiled at the Ashley's number, seeing ‘firefly’ there as the nickname. He was happy to see Ashley after so long. And it was nice to have a friend in what was essentially a new place. He had been gone for so long, and after a decade, the whole place seemed different. He let out a little sigh of relief. Things were going to be better here.
A few weeks later.
Texts went back and forth between the two for the last few weeks on a near daily basis. It was like the old times. Chatting with each other well into the night, once again ruining each other's sleep schedule. They both thought it was funny, if not a little annoying that not much had changed in the last few years.
How is it, you always manage to do this? Jack texted, yawning as he saw the clock, it was tomorrow and knew that waking up was going to be a chore.
Ashley sent a shrugging emoji. I don't know. Lack of sleep and proper self control? I'm just too much fun? Could be a plethora of things. She replied, chuckling a little to herself as she did so.
He shook his head at her text. I blame the lack of self control.
Rude. she replied with a grumpy face.
Oh, please. You know its true. You impulse bought several games in high school.
Games you liked. She replied with a smile, letting out a yawn.
He sighed and nodded. Fair point… doesn't change the fact that it is true.
Ashley nodded and sent another grumpy emoji. Fine. she waited a moment before sending another text. Are you done moving in yet? I thought we would have hung out by now.
Jack blinked a few times before he looked at his phone and replied. Oh yeah, I just finished up today. Was going to let you know earlier, but the discussion about movies sidetracked me.
Sorry, not sorry. So when are we hanging out then? She let out a yawn, cuddling up in bed as she awaited his reply.
He thought about it for a few moments before replying. Not this Friday, but next Friday? Does that work for you?
She looked at her calendar for a moment and chuckled as she replied. Isn't that your birthday?
He looked quizzically at the calendar and chuckled. Oh, yeah, lol. With everything going on I totally forgot about that.
She sent a laughing emoji. No worries. I will be there, just name a time and place and I'll come by. Might actually just take the day off. Hadn't had a day off in a while.
Thank you, you don't have to do that. He smiled at the text, sending another one a few moments later with his address. If you do end up taking the day off, I would say be here earlyish. That way we can make a day out of it and just sit back and chill. He offered, letting out a much longer yawn.
I'm in! She replied with a smile. It will be the best birthday in years!
He chuckled and shook his head. Thanks, firefly. Now I am actually going to try to sleep. It is tomorrow and i have a meeting with a client in four hours.
Sorry! Sleep well. Night. She replied pouting, not realizing that it was so late.
Night. Jack replied, turning off his phone and actually trying to get some sleep before he needed to be up.
Ashley turned off her phone and sighed to herself slightly. She didn't realize it was so late. Hopefully Jack wouldn't be too screwed for tomorrow. She closed her eyes and yawned as she started winding down for sleep. She started thinking about what to get him for his birthday and wanted to get him something nice. She would figure it out tomorrow, sleep first, plans later.