#adxrations

Malachi hadn't been expecting to see Ophelia here, but he supposed that that was his mistake. He'd met her at a similar kind of event, after all, a gathering of society's elite where the ballerina had been the center of attention. So, it should have been less surprising to see her here now, brushing elbows with some of those same elite. Still, laying eyes of her, even masked, had all but knocked the air from his lungs.

He'd tried to stay away, to keep his mind on the task at hand, but had found himself drifting closer and closer until he stood close enough to be in earshot. "You're not supposed to be here," Malachi heard himself say. He groaned and tried again. "I meant, I wasn't expecting to see you here." That statement was no better than the first. "Let me start again. Hello. It's been a while since I've last seen you. Guess I'm a bit surprised to see you, though maybe I shouldn't be."

Charley'd thought an awful lot about Ophelia over the last twelve years. How his feelings had managed to sneak up on him. Whether it'd been right to run off like he did. Why he still hadn't gotten over her. What he'd do if he saw her again.

But whatever he'd imagined, it definitely wasn't stopping short halfway through a crosswalk so a group of university students crashed into his back, sending him tumbling head-over-guitar-case to sprawl at her feet. "--Hi," he managed, once he'd caught back his breath and his wits. Then, to the student who'd gotten tangled up with him, he said, "I'm so sorry," as the kid's friends pulled them both to their feet. Once the group had gone on, Charley asked Ophelia, "How've you been?"--as if he wasn't still standing in the middle of the road, with car horns starting to blare warnings.