When We Were Young

When Brian decided to visit Jimmy’s grave, he left the house without saying anything to Michelle. She probably though he was going to get drunk at Johnny’s or something and normally, he probably would’ve done it afterwards, but that wasn’t a normal day. He thought he wouldn’t find anyone at Jimmy’s grave that night, it was way too late even for the fans and yet someone was there. At first he couldn’t see who it was and was tempted to turn on his heels and leave, but when he got closer and recognized the familiar voice, his heart stopped beating for a moment.

“I miss you, Jim.” He heard.

Nancy.

He stood there, completely frozen. She was there. He was mistaken, she wasn’t the bitch he thought she was. He watched her get up and slowly walk towards him, but he couldn’t do or say anything; when he finally his mind could process something, all he could say was her name.

“Brian.” She said.

Brian.

Hearing his name coming from her mouth was the most beautiful sound he could ever hear. He thought he would never hear it again. He smiled and without saying a word, he wrapped his arms around her. He felt her tense up under his hug, so he slowly pulled away, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

I shouldn’t have done that, he thought.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered and he noticed that she shook her head.

“Oh no, it’s fine.” She said, “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“I’m surprised to see you here.”

“I was about to say the same.”

Brian nodded a little and scratched his head, not really know what to say or do. Nancy, on the other hand, wanted to disappear. That was not how she thought she would see Brian again after so much time.

“I, uh–I think I’ll go and leave you, well, do whatever you wanted to do.”

Brian shook his head. “No.” He said, “I mean, I just came here to talk to him, you know.”

Nancy nodded and looked down at her cigarette, realizing that it was out. “I came here for the same reason.”

“I figured. I mean, I heard you speaking to him.”

“Did you hear something?”

“Oh not much, just saying that you miss me. I do, too.”

Nancy let out a sigh of relief but he barely heard it.

“Look, will you give me five minutes? We could go get coffee, if you want. We could, I dunno… Talk.”

Nancy was taken aback by his words, definitely not expecting him to asking her out for a coffee. Not at almost midnight. She was about to decline the invitation when he started speaking again.

“Do you remember Sandra’s? That diner–”

“We used to visit a lot at night?” She finished off his sentence and he smiled. She remembered that.

“Yeah, that one. It’s still open, we could go there. Like the old times.” He suggested, “Unless you’re busy, of course.”

“No, I’m not. I’ll come.” She said, “I have my own car, so we could meet up there?”

“Yes, absolutely. Thank you.”

Nancy simply nodded and gently squeezed his forearm before grabbing her bag.

“See you, Jimbo.” She whispered before heading towards the parking lot.

Brian watched her walk away and when he finally couldn’t see her anymore, he threw his hands on his head, taking a deep breath.

“Jesus Chris.” He whispered. “Did you see her?” He asked, as if he was speaking to Jimmy.

“She’s back… Fuck.” He rubbed his face with his hands then lit up a cigarette. He couldn’t believe that he’d just spoken to Nancy after more than three years. It felt like a lifetime. Maybe it was. So many things have changed, so many things to catch up with…

Brian drove to the diner and smoked three cigarettes in the meantime. He was nervous as fuck. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but he was and apparently his cigarettes weren’t helping him at all. He was tempted to grab the bottle of Jack he was kind of hiding in the back of his car, but he chose not to, not wanting Nancy to think he was some sort of alcoholic. Michelle thinking that was enough.

After parking his car, he looked around but didn’t see Nancy around, so he walked inside and it didn’t take him long to find her sitting at a table. The place wasn’t really crowded, just like he remembered and the same went to Nancy. Now that there were lights he could notice how she was exactly just like he remembered, if not even more beautiful. Her hair was shorter and lighter than he remembered, but that face, those eyes, those lips… They were the same.

He sat down in front of her and smiled at her, without saying a word. It was the first time he genuinely smiled since Jimmy’s death and he wasn’t sure how to feel about this.

“Do I have something on my nose or something?” She asked and he smiled again, shaking his head. “Then why are you looking at me like that?”

“No reason. Just… Noticing how much you’ve changed.” He answered, “Not much, to be honest.”

Nancy smiled and tilted her head to the side, looking at him. She would’ve lied if she said she didn’t look him up on the internet every once in a while, but seeing him in person was much different. He looked different. His hair was shorter, there was no eyeliner under his eyes and he looked like he had lost some weight. But he still was the Brian she remembered, the same Brian her daughter got the looks from.

“Stop giving me that weird look.”

“Sorry, just noticing how much you’ve changed.” She said, using his own words. “A lot, to be honest.”

He chuckled and was about to open his mouth when the waitress came up to them. It was the old Sandra and when she noticed who was in front of her, she couldn’t hold her excitement. She still remembered the first time they walked into her diner.

“Run, get inside!” Brian yelled as he followed Nancy, who was running in the parking lot, towards that diner. It was called Sandra’s and neither of them stopped there before and they probably wouldn’t have stopped if it wasn’t for the awful rain and clouds that were covering that summer day in Huntington Beach.

“Jesus, what the hell is going on with this weather?” Nancy asked, moving her wet hair away from her face and looking down at her sundress that was now completely wet. “Ah, great.”

“I like what I see, although I won't mind taking that dress off.” Brian said with a smirk and quickly winked at her.

“What a weather, huh?” A woman in her mid-sixties said, quickly glancing out of the window before turning her attention to them. “I’m Sandra, what can I give you?”

“A towel, maybe? Or dry clothes?” Brian asked and Nancy rolled her eyes.

“Please, excuse him. He’s incredibly rude.” She said, making the woman chuckle.

“Oh, dear. If he’s rude, then all the men I get to see everyday are angels.” She commented and chuckled before handing her a towel. “Here, dry off a little. Take a seat and I’ll be right back.”

Brian and Nancy sat down at a table, unaware that, that place would become their place.

Notes

Here's part two of three. Brian and Nancy finally met after over three years! What do you think is going to happen next? I hope you enjoy this chapter!

A huge thank you to Avengedlover, Hollie and unholy confessions;; for commenting the story. I really appreciate it <3