Maria DeLuca (readyourpalm) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2020-04-01 19:08:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, liz ortecho, maria deluca |
Who: Maria DeLuca and Liz Ortecho
What: Reuniting
When: After This
Where: Local coffee shop
Rating/Warnings: PG/None
Status: Complete
Maria was so thrilled to be seeing Liz immediately after getting back in the city and seeing her mom. Her mom basically told her to get out of the shop and stop hovering, so she was going to give her a few hours alone and then stop by afterwards. She set to texting Liz and arranging a coffee date at one of their favorite places back in high school. She had seen Liz sporadically over the years since they were both so close to each other in New York and Boston, but there had also been too much time apart and she needed all the best friend time.
She arrived at the coffee shop and ordered their favorite drinks to surprise Liz with. Once they were ready she brought it over to a couple chairs and waited for her friend to show up. She was completely ready to get all the latest gossip and find out what was going on in Orange County since Liz came back.
When Maria had texted her, Liz hadn’t expected her friend to say that she was back in Orange County and it was an even bigger surprise to find out that she wasn’t simply passing through. Luckily now that the world appeared to be going back to normal, Liz had plenty of free time to be able to make plans with Maria so that they could catch up.
Liz reached the coffee shop not too long after Maria did and barely had to look around for a moment before she spotted her friend; there was simply something about her that made her stand out no matter what the situation was regardless of how empty or crowded a room was, “Maria!” She grinned as she headed towards the table Maria had chosen.
Hearing her name called made Maria look up and the moment her eyes caught sight of Liz she stood up with a large smile. When Liz got closer she reached out and enveloped her friend into a tight hug. “Oh my god, I’m so happy to see you. I’ve missed you so much since you left me all alone,” she let go of her friend and reached over to slide the coffee over to her, “Got your favorite.”
“Miss Liz Ortecho, spill all the tea already. What the hell has been going on here in Orange County? I drove by our old haunts and a bunch of them have changed into new places and I got a little sappy in my car. I especially want any tea that involves boys for you,” Maria took a sip of her drink and waited excitedly for Liz to start talking. She was going to go straight for the important stuff first.
Liz returned the hug, her arms wrapping tightly around Maria as well. It had been awhile now since she had seen her best friend and she was beyond happy that she was back. “I’ve missed you too.” She smiled at Maria as she was released and took a seat at the table, taking the drink, “Ooooh, thanks.” She picked up the cup and took a sip as Maria began talking.
“Well, that’s what happens after ten years. Some things change.” Liz recalled having the same feeling when she had returned to Orange County almost a year ago. So much had changed that it had taken her a little while to get adjusted, “And as for boys….you remember Max Evans?” There wasn’t too much to tell yet, but she knew Maria would never forgive her if she didn’t at least give her what crumbs there were.
“Hey now, let’s not talk about how long ago that was. Time is a construct,” Maria teased with a smile. It was weird to see things that they considered essential back in high school disappear. She was going to have to find a few new places for her favorite foods, “And oh my god, yesssss. You always thought he was cute and I thought he was too quiet. Are you guys dating?” Maria was quite interested in this now as she leaned forward to find out more. Max was not her type, but she always thought he and Liz would have made a cute couple if Liz hadn’t been dating Kyle.
“Right? I honestly can’t believe I was in Boston for ten years. The time felt like it went by so fast.” Liz took a sip of her drink as she thought back to her life in Boston and tried to decide if it was better than the last year had been or if being home was better. “I did think he was cute, but of course Kyle had that whole, sexy football player thing going.” No one could fault Liz for falling for Kyle, but she could also admit that she’d been a little attracted to Max in highschool, “We’re...talking. We’ve kissed. I don’t think you’d really call it dating though cause we haven’t had an official date yet. We were going to go out for dinner last month, but then the world went crazy.”
Maria gave her friend a playful eye roll at the mention of Kyle having a sexy football player thing. “That was totally your one stereotypical thing in high school being attracted to the football player, but I can’t say much else because I was digging the broody artsy guys,” Liz definitely had an interesting choice between Kyle and Max and Maria had only been slightly disappointed that she picked Kyle back then (although she was sure he was fine now). Then came Liz’s confession about Max and she gasped aloud, “OH MY GOD. Seriously?! You’re kissing Max and you didn’t even text me? You’re in a friend time-out, however, I do think maybe I should organize a mass hang out with everyone and that’ll give you guys a good excuse to spend time together.”
Liz laughed, enjoying Maria’s reactions, “We kissed once. In December. I didn’t think it was anything because it was under mistletoe. I thought he was just following tradition,” Although really if she thought about it, she knew that it had felt like more than simply a friendly kiss because of a silly tradition, but at least now she knew the truth, “That’d be fun. Although, he is coming over for dinner soon. I figured it would be better than going out to eat because we can just hang out without any interruptions.”
“Oh my goodness, that is soooo romantic, Liz,” Maria was the type of girl that had a secret soft spot for Hallmark Channel movies and always wished for a happily ever after for herself and her friends. Liz and Max finally figuring out their feelings for each other was delightful, “And that’s so cute. You’re definitely going to have to give me updates on what happens with you guys.”
“You will be the first person I tell if and when anything else happens.” Liz knew that she would not be able to keep anything from Maria now that her best friend was actually in town. Because even if she didn’t tell her, Maria would keep asking, “You came back at the perfect time, Maria.” She smiled and took a sip of her drink.
“Damn right, Liz,” Maria couldn’t help but chuckle and look triumphant. She was excited to finally be in the same location as her best friend after too much time apart, “Well, get ready for me to lean on you for whatever issues I have with my mom. I have a ton of appointments set up for the next couple weeks, so I’m going to need you to help me relax. I will probably request at least one spa night in.” That was simple enough and Maria just wanted to know that she could count on Liz to help make sure she didn’t spin out of control.
“You can lean on me for whatever you need, Maria. You know that.” She reached across the table and placed a comforting hand atop her friend’s. “And after the last couple of weeks, I could definitely use a spa night.” Liz had almost forgotten what it was like to pamper herself. “I’ll bring the wine and you can take care of the spa stuff.” She smirked across at her friend.
“I appreciate it,” Maria said with a solemn note in her voice. Liz was the only one who really truly knew her mother and the relationship she and Maria had. She flipped her hand over so she could properly give Liz’s a squeeze, “And that sounds like a good plan to me. I’ll make sure to pick up a few things at Target and we can plan for this in a couple weeks. Now, any other gossip I need to know about?”