Mike raised his eyebrows at her. “Do you think that would have made much of a difference?”

She made a face, seeing his point. “Maybe for like, a day.”

“Yeah. They’re assholes. Eventually, hopefully, life will set them straight.”

“Karma’s a bitch.”

“Exactly.”

When he smiled down at her, his hand warm around hers, she had to remind herself he was just doing this to be nice. To protect her from the assholes. After all, she was just a freshman, and he was a senior.

But it still felt nice to hold his hand.

1

It didn’t surprise Ellie that holding Michael’s hand brought up a whole host of memories. Although they’d both changed a lot since high school, somehow holding his hand still felt the same. Like he was cradling her fingers against his, there for support and strength, there to protect her.

The whole rest of her freshman year, he’d ridden the bus, and every day she’d sat next to him. They’d become friends. He didn’t have a girlfriend that entire year - and even though she’d had a huge crush on him, she’d still hoped it wasn’t her fault. She would have felt pretty guilty if he’d missed out on having a girlfriend just to protect the little freshman girl on his bus; but she’d always been too scared to ask. Scared, embarrassed, whatever. He hadn’t gone to prom, although she’d dreamed about him asking her, despite knowing it was a silly dream. When she’d asked if he was going, he’d just shaken his head, but his shoulders had stiffened in a way that made her think he was uncomfortable about the question, so she’d immediately changed the subject.

Then he’d gone off to college, and in the days before social media, they’d lost touch. Her cell phone plan in high school hadn’t included texting or calls for a long-distance friendship. Besides, as a college student, would he really have wanted to keep in touch with a sophomore in high school?

Although, if he had, maybe she wouldn’t have made such stupid choices.

As if he could sense the sudden tension gripping her, Michael’s thumb swept over her skin in a comforting manner. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see he was studiously watching the choral concert, but somehow he’d known.

Pushing thoughts of the past away, Ellie focused on the present. It was a pretty good present after all.