Being back in Repose felt even better than Raleigh had thought it would, on his loneliest days when he’d been on the other side of the world. Even breathing felt easier, and he’d noticed he was standing up straighter, carrying himself without the weight on his shoulder he hadn’t been able to name but that had faded away the closer he’d gotten to home.
After dinner with his moms, Raleigh had decided on a walk before heading back to his house. He’d wandered pretty aimlessly for a long while, just taking in all the things that were different along with everything that was just the same as he’d left it, a year ago. When he found himself in front the Mean-Eyed Cat, he shrugged to himself and pushed the door open to step inside, figuring he’d have a beer to two and then go back to his place in the forest.
The bar looked no different than the last time he’d been there, and he took a moment to just soak it in. There was suddenly a high-pitched shriek from the end of the bar, which made Raleigh startle. He - and everyone else - turned to look, but Ashley was already barreling towards him, and he barely had time to brace for impact before she collided with his shoulder. Luckily, she still hadn’t gotten any taller - not since tenth grade, when they’d all be fifteen and awkward and stuck in Repose, which had probably made it even weirder. In any case, her forehead hit his shoulder as she hug-attacked him from the side.
Laughing at the warmth of the welcome, Raleigh greeted her easily, let her fuss over him for a moment, and then escaped with the promise to catch up as soon as possible. Raleigh sighed in something like relief when she finally walked off, shaking his head slightly in amusement as he found a spot at the bar, keeping a seat between himself and the next man down.
“Sorry for the interruption,” Raleigh offered as he settled into the barstool, because he was certain that no one wanted to have had to heard that exuberant excitement in such a high-pitched tone.