[h1][right][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/588109950006329429/604805290386259986/lucas_header.png[/img][/right][/h1][table][row][/row][row][cell][img]https://media.giphy.com/media/ldaKHA83EtwhG/giphy.gif[/img][/cell][cell][center][color=2e2c2c]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━[/color]

	

[sup]
[color=dcdcdc][b][color=a9a9a9][i]W[/i] a y  D o w n  W e  G o ,  P a r t  I[/color][/b]
[b][color=a9a9a9]location:[/color][/b] Crystal Hill Station → Europa Inn & Suites → P. Johnson's
[b][color=a9a9a9]interacting with:[/color][/b] Kayleigh Hawkins
[b][color=a9a9a9]◂◂  II ▸▸[/color][/b]  [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLNNegUZ-F0][color=dcdcdc]Breathe  — Catie Turner[/color][/url][/color][/sup][/center][/cell][/row][/table][indent][color=dcdcdc][i]Why did I decide to come back?[/i] Lucas asked himself after he saw the 'Welcome to Delton' sign surrounded by rocks and some colorful flowers. He looked away from the bus window and tried to suppress the memories of his departure. The music playing in the background helped a little but didn't thoroughly crush it. It got worse once the bus stopped at the Crystal Hill Station, the bus station on the edge of town. He started to remember that painful day. But instead of confronting it, Lucas began to walk towards the inn rather than wait for a ride. It was bittersweet to be back home. That was when he started to wonder about his parents and siblings. Where were they? Are they still living in town? Have they changed in the years Lucas has been absent? However, he already knew the answers.

After walking for ten minutes, Lucas finally arrived at the Europa Inn & Suites. It wasn't the best hotel in town, but it had decent reviews. No one or two stars on review sites. Just mostly three and even four stars. Also, it was cheaper than the premium hotels. He approached the receptionist about the reservation and got a keycard. Then, he headed towards his room on the second and immediately collapsed onto the bed. The original plan was to take a quick nap before tonight's event. However, he heard stomach growling and knew that he needed to eat something good. With help from his phone, Lucas began searching familiar-sounding places that he often went to eat. For the most part, they still reminded opened.

That was when he saw that P. Johnson's didn't shut down. Lucas always liked their breadsticks and their "secret sauce" (it was just a copy of another restaurant's sauce with extra ingredients). There were more options, but he didn't want to overeat. So with the breadsticks in mind, Lucas got up from the bed and left the hotel. Because the restaurant was only a few minutes away, he decided to walk instead of getting a ride. It was around this time that he thought about the other students. How many of them were still here? How many are planning to attend the reunion? He was deep in thought that nearly caused him to walk past P. Johnson's. The parking lot was filled with cars, but that didn't matter to Lucas. 

Once inside, Lucas got in the long line and waited for his turn to order. At that moment, someone stared at him as if they were trying to recognize him. Lucas didn't know because he was on his phone, waiting. It wasn't until that someone got his attention with a simple question. [color=a9a9a9][b]"Are you Natalie's brother?"[/b][/color]

Lucas hesitated to answer because he didn't know how she would have responded. But, he took a deep breath and slowly answered. 

[color=a9a9a9][b]"Yeah, I am..."[/b][/color]

Upon a closer look at the person, Lucas immediately realized that he was talking to one of Natalie's close friends, Kayleigh Hawkins. In high school, she was the treasurer for the student council and well-liked by everyone. Natalie hung out with her whenever possible until both of them graduated. She got accepted to a nearby college while Kayleigh was admitted to UCLA. She moved across the country shortly after getting the acceptance letter. Now, she was back for the reunion.

[color=a9a9a9][b]"Wow, life's been treating you good."[/b][/color] Kayleigh said happily, referring to his overall appearance compared to his high school years. [color=a9a9a9][b]"I can't believe that it has been years since I last saw you. How are you?"[/b][/color]

[color=a9a9a9][b]"I have been doing well. Boston has been treating me well enough. Got a decent place and a stable job. How about you?"[/b][/color] Lucas said with a faint smile.

[color=a9a9a9][b]"I am nearly there to getting my degree in economics. Hopefully, I get work as a market research analyst for some company in the area."[/b][/color] Kayleigh answered and saw that she was next to retrieve her order. She then realized something and turned to Lucas in an instant. [color=a9a9a9][b]"By the way, when's Natalie coming to town? It has been a while since we last talked."[/b][/color]

Lucas looked down to the ground at the mention of his sister. Honestly, he didn't know if she was coming or not to the reunion. In fact, the last time that he saw her was on the night of his departure for this town. He sighed and said quietly, [color=a9a9a9][b]"I don't know. It has been a few years since we last talked. Sorry."[/b][/color] 

[color=a9a9a9][b]"Wait, I thought that Natalie was living with you?"[/b][/color] Kayleigh asked confusedly.

[color=a9a9a9][b]"No..? Who told you that?[/b][/color]

[color=a9a9a9][b]"Natalie."[/b][/color] Kayleigh answered while heading towards the nearest table with her snacks. Lucas followed her and listened to her. According to her, Natalie explained that she was staying over at her brother's place in Boston. But that was a lie. Lucas asked what his sister said about him. Kayleigh said that she didn't mention him other than giving a reason why he left Delton. She said that he went to Boston to visit relatives. The reveal that she was lying about his departure left Lucas disappointed and upset. He looked down at the table and thanked her for telling him.

[color=a9a9a9][b]"No problem."[/b][/color] Kayleigh responded while she finished up her snack. [color=a9a9a9][b]"If I see her, I will talk to her about it. Can I get your number so I can tell you what she says?"[/b][/color]

[color=a9a9a9][b]"Of course."[/b][/color] Lucas answered and pulled out his phone. He gave her his number, and the two of them talked for a bit longer. She brought up that somebody found the senior capsule and they were planning on opening it up here. Lucas didn't know about it until now since he deleted his social media accounts after leaving for Boston. But it was a coincidence that the event was taking place here. The two of them talked for a few more minutes until her phone rang again. She rolled her eyes and got up from the seat. 

[color=a9a9a9][b]"Oh god. I forgot to get dinner for my brothers. It was nice talking to you. I will text you later on."[/b][/color] Kayleigh walked out of the bar, leaving Lucas to be alone. He took a moment to hide all of his emotions. The music playing in the background helped a little. Then, a waiter brought him his order and some water. Lucas slowly started to eat his breadsticks while feeling anxious. Being in Delton was supposed to be a good thing for his health according to his friends and therapist. However, at this moment, he regretted listening to them.[/color][/indent]