"What the fuck did you just say?" An almost hysterical Joe asked the barman who was being far too friendly for his own good.

We had arrived at Stacy's chosen bar at the same time and found Evelyn waiting inside for us. Let me tell you, for someone that didn't want to be there, she'd sure dressed up nice! I'm pretty sure it was a new top that she was wearing but I can't be sure.

The bar was just a couple minutes walk away from Union Street, the busiest street in Aberdeen's city centre. We hadn't been here in years because when we used to go out regularly, it was a bit expensive and posh for us. Since we were last here, it had been bought over and re-branded as "The Spiritualist" and was now more of an upmarket cocktail bar. A far cry from the simple pubs we were used to drinking in. Nowadays we preferred a comfy seat and being able to hear one another over loud music and fancy drinks, but Stacy chose it so who was I to deny her this?

"I said we have IPA, craft beer, pale ale or lager," The smiling barman replied, oblivious to the fact that Joe was already pissed off with him after just thirty seconds.

"Speak English man! God damn it I just want a normal beer!" He yelled.

"Two lagers please," I smiled, squeezing in between the two to defuse the situation.

"Coming right up," The well dressed employee smiled. He was like one of those characters in a video game who only had a set amount of lines that he would say, regardless of the situation. We could have asked him to go and snort lines of cocaine on the kerb outside the police station and he would have probably said "Yes sir."

We got our mystery beers and joined Evie at the table she'd commandeered for us.

"I obviously don't know her at all but I'm still not surprised that Stacy chose this place," Evie said, sniggering at Joe's scowling face.

"I take it she doesn't know that it it's not really the same place that it was when she left for Glasgow?" He asked me, as if I would know.

"I didn't know it was a different place! So I wouldn't blame her for not knowing!" I laughed. "Every time I come into town, something's closed down and reopened as something else. It's impossible to keep track."

Looking around at the summery colours, fake trees and hanging lights, I realised just how not me this place was.

"Do you not think this bar looks like one of those places that the snobby people get their picture taken in for Instagram? Like you see that one picture of the night out and that's all?" Evie said, seemingly reading my mind.

"Definitely," I agreed.

"Do you think that actually happens?" Joe asked. "Like they come out, get a social media post and then leave. The night out is a lie!"

"It would be funny but I doubt it," I smirked.

Then, as if by magic, we heard a group of girls screaming and shouting. We looked over and saw them all snapping photos of each other with their complicated looking cocktails. Once done, as if we'd pre-arranged it, they got up and left, either to find another bar or to go home.

"But then again, I'm not that smart," I conceded.

Our laughter at this ridiculous situation was short lived though. Joe and I faced Evie and the wall behind her, so couldn't see anyone else coming into the bar. But when Evie suddenly stiffened and sat bolt upright, I just knew that Stacy had arrived. Turning round, my suspicions were confirmed. This was it.

She looked amazing in a short white dress and matching heels, she was showing plenty of her small frame. It may sound weird but it was definitely working for her. This was totally different the school uniform I'd always seen her wear when we were younger. He nose was exactly as I recalled but her green eyes were darker than I remembered. Topping the perfection off was shoulder length hair the colour of the darkest autumn leaf, letting me know that the shitty artificial lights at work were doing her a huge disservice.

When I was at school there were loads of pretty girls that I'd had a crush on but this moment right here reminded me that Stacy Sinclair was always the one.

I'd actually put a shirt on for once but was still feeling underdressed.

Her chirpy voice said hi to us all and she sat next to Evie and even hugged her, much to my friends shock. She asked everyone how they were and what they'd been up to that day. I was pleased that she seemed to be making an effort.

Joe and I both explained that we had been to watch our local football team, Aberdeen, play before we'd nipped home for dinner and came out again for drinks.

"Did they win?" Stacy asked. It's kind of a running gag around town. Sometimes Aberdeen are good, sometimes we suck ass. There isn't often any middle ground.

"They did actually! So a happy day for everyone!" I smiled, tapping my glass against Joe's as a toast.

"What about you Evelyn? Were you out enjoying the sun today?" Stacy asked.

"Oh, no. Unfortunately I had to work today," She sighed in response. "I think it was too hot for me today anyway."

Hot weather is hard to come by over here but when it does finally arrive, it can often be searing. At least to us Scots anyway.

"Aw are you joking? I absolutely love the sun! Like, so, so much!" Stacy gushed.

"Well one day its gonna blow up and kill everyone on Earth," Evie said, presumably intending it to be under her breath but somehow we all heard it over the pulsing music.

The statement hung in the air for a while with no one really sure how to respond. Finally, Evie spoke again.

"Sorry. I don't know why I said that."

"God, you two really are space nerds aren't you?" Stacy laughed.I kinda didn't want to get onto the subject because Stacy had made it clear that she wasn't all that into it and this night was supposed to be about her. Joe though, had other ideas.

"Are you kidding? It's actually nuts how they've both not got bored of all the mystery yet. They're just a couple of geeks! Tell us a fun space fact, just quickly," He insisted. We both tried to avoid it but the two of them peer pressuring us was just too much. Who knew that Joe and Stacy would get on so well!

"Ok what should we go for?" I asked Evie but she just shrugged so I decided to go solo. "Ok so you know how Mercury is the closest planet to the sun?"

"I do now," She grinned as she finished her vodka drink.

"Well you'd think it'd be the hottest one right? But actually it isn't."My audience looked interested but it was hard to tell if they really were. Someone else certainly was though.

"Venus is!" Evie piped up. "It's the second planet from the sun but because of its atmosphere, the suns heat basically doesn't escape the planet once it gets there."

"Yeah it's basically a giant, flaming greenhouse!" I cried, now unable to hide my own excitement. "And on Venus a day lasts longer than a year!"

"That's right! Because of how long it takes to rotate compared to how long it takes to go around the sun!" Evie finished.

"Yeah, we are nerds," I laughed.

 Stacy was smiling and her cheeks were a lot redder. I didn't know if it was the alcohol taking quick effect, her thinking I was cute or something else entirely. But when she spoke next, I feared the worst.

"Oh my god, you two are so cute! I can't believe you aren't together!"

I choked on my beer and I swear Evie spat her drink back into its glass. What was she thinking! Me and Evie? No way!

"We're just friends," Evie assured her, the first one of us to recover themselves.

"But why though?" Stacy persisted. "I think it'd be great!"

"We just don't feel that way. Right?" I shrugged.

"Right," Agreed Evelyn.

This was a nightmare. People always mistook the two of us for a couple but why did it have to happen now?

Quickly changing the subject, I offered the table another round of drinks, which they all gladly accepted. Joe came to the bar to help me with the order while I heard Evie ask Stacy which girls from school she was still friends with. Obviously she was happy to talk about anything else too.

"Cheers for not saying a word over there!" I spat. "You could have bailed us out there!"

"Sorry dude but that was funny as fuck. The girl you want to be with, wanting you to be with another girl? Amazing!"

"You're a tosser."

"Whatever dude. You'd laugh if it was me! But seriously, it's going well. She's pretty cool. I could actually see us all being friends," He told me.

"But can you see me and her being anything more?"

 "I dunno. If you keep buying her drinks then you're definitely on the right track."

Who knew the way to a girl's heart was actually through alcohol.

I bought the hugely overpriced round of drinks and took mine and Stacy's drinks while Joe carried for Evelyn and himself. When we arrived back at the table, I was surprised to see the two girls laughing together.

"What are you ladies gossiping about?" Joe asked, cautiously.

"We were just reminiscing about the boys at school we had crushes on!" Stacy laughed.

What the fuck! This surely wouldn't end well. How could Evie let this happen?

"Do you guys remember Josh Nicholls? Ugh I loved him so much in first year!" Stacy's version of memory lane really wasn't serving me well. I was at a crossroads here, if the conversation continued this way, would I confess to her my feelings, if she didn't already know, or would I deny everything. If it was just the two of us then it would be a no brainer, but Evie and Joe were kind of a strange intangible here.

 "He was such a knobber," Joe said, oblivious to my inner turmoil.

"Yeah I know that now!" She answered. "But at twelve it's pretty hard to tell. You think everyone is perfect at that age."Amen to that."Evie told me she used to fancy Eddie Williams. I don't even know who that is," Stacy said, looking to us for answers.

"Oh yeah I remember that guy!" I recalled. "Didn't you two actually go on a date?"

"Technically yes," She answered. I was amazed that she had suddenly become so open. I was definitely putting it down to Stacy's magic powers. Let's call it her gravity for topical reasons. "But back then, a date was basically just walking around the streets together. He walked me home and hugged me and we accidentally touched hands once. I don't miss those days in the slightest."

Unfortunately the heat finally came onto Joe and I. My friend was very open about his massive crush on Lauren Hepburn. I guess that now he was married, he didn't really have anything to lose.

Joe had been infatuated with Lauren for about three years before she basically told him that he was hideous. It was super brutal, but that's school right? He swore off girls forever but three weeks later he began dating Samantha Chan. They were forced to sit together during maths and somehow hit it off. Who falls in love over math? Anyway, they dated for two years before she dumped him and that was basically all until Angie came along.

"What about you Michael?" Evie asked mischievously. She knew exactly what she was doing.

"Ummm," I started, still not sure what to do. I started to cover a couple of girls I'd crushed on but then pretended I couldn't remember anymore. "It was a long time ago, you know. I'm sure there was a few others. It's hard to remember everyone," I risked a sideways glance at a closely watching Stacy.

"Well I'm glad you remembered me at work," She winked.

I started to sweat. I felt like I was thirteen again. How could this happen?

"Maybe we should go . . ." Joe muttered.

"That's a great idea!" Stacy cut Evie off just as she was about to agree. "Let's drink up and go somewhere else! Is Tonic still open?" She asked.

I was a little disappointed in her for once. You can tell a lot about people by the bars that they like.

"Technically, yes," I replied.

The bar was still open, but like this one, it had been renamed. It was allegedly a re-branding but everyone knew the real story. Someone once got thrown out for being too drunk but the bouncers were way too heavy handed and the guy hit his head on the kerb and died! So we're all ninety-nine-per-cent sure that it was a publicity thing.

Even after hearing this horror story, Stacy still wanted to check out her old haunt, so naturally I backed her up. I knew that I was being a bit of a twat going along with everything she said but no one seemed to mind. So we finished are drinks and went to the next bar.

*

We actually had a pretty decent time in the former snob haven, which just goes to show that it really is the company that makes a good night out. Stacy and Evie continued to get on and were constantly going to the bathroom together. Meanwhile Joe and I always seemed to be the ones buying the drinks. I did feel that things were going well but I had very little time alone with Stacy. Any time I did get, was constantly being interrupted by loud music and people that recognised her. I guess that's the downside to barely aging.

That and she was texting on her phone a lot of the time too.

With all of this in mind, I knew now what I needed to do.

"We should do this again sometime," I told her as we walked towards the taxi rank. Unfortunately we were going to opposite ends of town so we couldn't share a car home. Amazingly though, Joe was going the same way. I was so jealous. At least I could share with Evie. Anything to save money right?

"Absolutely! I had a great time! I'm sorry I wanted to go home. I know it's only midnight but I'm shattered. You can all stay out though," She apologised. She had complained that her feet were sore but thankfully hadn't taken off her heels and walked up the road barefoot like the other drunk girls on Union Street.

 "Are you kidding? This is the latest I've been out in months! I guess we're all getting old," I grinned.

"Speak for yourself!" Evie yelled. She and Joe were walking behind us, giving Stacy and I some time to talk relatively privately on the busy street.

"Maybe next time we could do it . . . you know . . . just the two of us. Save on the interruptions!" I shouted back so Evie knew who I was referring to.

"Are we being dumped? I am offended," The drunken Evelyn cried. Thankfully, Joe kept her distracted for the next few minutes.

"Are you asking me out Michael?" Stacy asked, her eyes shimmering with mischief.

"That depends. If you say yes then I am. If you say no then you really have drank too much," I joked. Ah if teenage Mike could see me now.

"Well I definitely have drank too much!" She laughed before turning to me. I'd timed it perfectly as we'd now reached the taxi queue, which was extremely short because it was only midnight. "But yeah. That sounds like fun," She smiled before wrapping her arms around my neck and giving me a tight hug. My heart rate increased before I saw her hugging Evie and Joe too. "I guess you haven't forgotten everyone after all, huh?" She teased me with a knowing smile.

So she did know about my feelings in school! I mean, I wasn't exactly subtle but still! I was just glad that not mentioning her during the earlier crush conversation hadn't dented my chances.

"I'll talk to you at work on Monday. Come on Jojo!" She said, summoning her fellow passenger. He definitely wasn't going to live down that nickname anytime soon.

We all said our goodbyes and got into our separate taxis, and that was the last I heard from Stacy until I went to work on Monday.

 My taxi driver dropped Evie off first, which was a relief. I'd tried to engage her in some conversation but she was so drunk that she kept falling asleep. All she managed to coherently say was "I just want you to be happy."

It was very sweet but I doubted she would remember it in the morning. We got to her flat and I got the driver to wait while I walked my friend up to her floor and made sure she got in her home safely. Once I heard her door lock, I got back in the car and headed home, happy knowing that things finally seemed to be getting exciting for me.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Phew! So ends the longest chapter of the book so far. I could have split it in two but I didn't want to interrupt the flow of what was a very fun writing process.

So what did we all think? I really got to put all of my hometown knowledge to good use here as all the places mentioned are real, and so are the stories behind them!

We're starting to really get into the thick of the story now so I hope everyone is having a good time reading it. If you are, then let me know! Its great to hear from you!

Now . . . who is ready to enter this geography class we keep hearing about . . . ?