Getting back to Mat, he had just arrived at Sam's house (there was a car outside). He knocked on the door, and was opened by Sam's grandmother.
- Welcome, young Mathias!
- Hello!
- Come in, come in. Samantha is inside.
Mathias came in. In the living room were Sam's grandfather, her and... Christopher. They were sitting on the sofas there (there was also a low table in the center) and I don't think I mentioned them at the beginning of this... But never mind. Her grandma went to the kitchen after making Mat come in.
- Good morning!
- Good morning, Mathias. - Grandpa replied.
- Hello Mat! - Sam greeted him cheerfully.
- Good morning to you. - replied Christopher.
- Oh... Hi Christopher! See you after years. - Mat said to him, and approached him, sitting next to him, on the same sofa. Chris noticed his left hand. - And how are you doing?
Christopher looked uncomfortable, and Mat noticed that.
Ah, also, Christopher was now working with his father at the company. I think I mentioned this already...
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- No, you didn't... I think. - Eliah said.
- Eh... I don't remember... - said Alaya.
- Aren't you two paying attention!? Oh, well. Let's continue... - I said.
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- Ah, sorry, sorry... So... How are you doing? - he said this after moving a little away from him. - When did you arrive?
- Christopher arrived two hours ago. - Sam told him. - But...
- Just when he arrived, Andrew disappeared. - said his grandmother, and laughed a little, who had just brought a cup of tea. - Here you have, Chris.
- Thank you, Grandma. - Christopher replied.
- What my grandmother said. - said Sam. - Although I didn't quite understand why...
- It must be because of his personality. - said Grandpa. - Andrew was always very shy, and he never had many friends, so seeing his older brother after all these years can be a little... Complicated for him.
- Yes, you can't judge him for that. - Christopher said.
- But to just disappear like that, out of nowhere, is... It's a little rude, don't you think? - said Sam.
- It is. - said Christopher, and added. - But it doesn't matter.
- Yeah... Well... Ah, that's right! - exclaimed Mat.
- ? - all of them.
- I came to tell Sam something. - said Mat.
That was obvious, why else would he visit his girlfriend's house? Ah, Christopher knew about that.
- Oh, so... - said Grandma. - Come on out and have a chat then.
- Right now? B-but... - said Samantha, she was about to mention Christopher, but her grandmother went on.
- It's okay, you can talk to him later, there's time.
- B-but... - said Sam and at that moment she thought: "Wait, shouldn't she have said no, since I can always talk to Mat and not Chris? Besides... Christopher's changed quite a bit and he's really nice to talk to now."
When Sam went to town, Christopher was still distant and cold to her, but now? He treated her as someone very close, and Sam was happy about that.
- Just go. - Christopher said. - You should make the most of your time together, life doesn't last forever.
- ? - everyone.
- ...Tsk
- O-okay. - Mat said.
They both went out. They went for a walk for a while.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
- And what was that you wanted to tell me? - asked Samantha.
- Oh, well... - Mat said, and thought at that moment: "Should I say it up front or not? Nah, it doesn't matter." - Tomorrow is our second anniversary and...
- What, it's tomorrow? - Sam said. She seemed... Being surprised by that. - Really?
- Well, yeah, wait... Don't tell me you... You forgot, didn't you?
There was silence for a few seconds.
- ...I'm sorry. - That was the only answer Sam gave her.
- ...It's okay. - Mat said. - It's not like forgetting about it is something... You know.
- Something what?
- You know?
He changed the subject in a not-so-subtle way.
- ...I don't know. - Sam replied.
- Uh... Well... About our anniversary... Would you like to go to the amusement park in the city?
- What? Really? Yes, I want to go! This would be my first time going to one, since I never went when I was little; besides, when I wanted to go once, my parents didn't want me to, and... - she was silent for a few moments. - But well, I do want to go!
- Ok.
- When are we going? - Samantha asked, excited.
- What? Well... Tomorrow, because it's the 28th and it's our anniversary. - Mat replied.
- Is it really? Time flies by... And it scares me a little.
- Why is that? - Mathias asked.
- Because... Well, you know. We're not immortal and that.
- Oh, I understand, I understand. But... We shouldn't worry about that, not for now. - Mat said, smiling, and added, stopping smiling. - Although...
- Yes... Life can end in the blink of an eye, in an instant...
- True...
- But it doesn't matter! Let's stop talking about depressing things. - Sam said.
"B-but if you started it... Oh, well."
- And so... Sorry me for asking this now, but... How are you doing with your book? - Mat asked.
- My book?
- Yep.
- Ah, well... About that... Mmm... - Sam seemed a little embarrassed. - I got stuck writing a part of it, and well... I haven't written anything all day... Wait, I didn't write last night either.
- Really, can I help you with something? - Mat asked.
- Huh? Well... I don't know. It's a conversation between two of my characters, so...
- Let me help you, please. - Mathias begged.
- ...That's fine. - Sam told him and started to give him the context of the conversation.
They kept walking for a long time, talking about Sam's book (in the end it did help him... A little), until they reached the park and met up with Erin and Andrew. After that, at lunchtime, they went back to Sam's house and she stayed there. Andrew didn't go with them and better went to lunch with Erin, because he didn't want to see his brother, but Erin took her to the cafeteria where, for some reason, Nicole was still working. Really, she was just helping out for those days.
Oh, and to put them more in context... Those two didn't study at all... Ah, I'm talking about Andrew and Nicole. Andrew... He was in college, but... He withdrew from it after his first midterm. The reason? He didn't like being around a lot of people and feeling pressured. Poor thing... Oh, and Nicole was also in that university, studying another career (which I think you already know what it is), and she withdrew at the same time he did... Mmm... Suspicious. Ah, don't believe it, she had come back from the city because it was a weekend to visit her family. But the Andrew thing is true.
Mat returned home at lunchtime as well. After that, he got to thinking about what else to do to make their second anniversary more... Memorable... Hmm? Well. He started thinking about whether to give her something as a present and... He remembered that Sam still had the necklace he had given her when they were kids, so he decided to make her a new necklace, much better than the one he had made when they were kids.
He finished making it in the evening, an hour after dinner (it took him a long time thinking whether to make a similar design or a different one, plus he didn't use his powers, among other things). The necklace he made was, so to speak, an improved version of the previous one... And yes, in the end he did do that. It was almost nine o'clock.