If this was a coincidence, it was one hell of a coincidence! Surprisingly, everything was pure coincidence—except Finn and Nina’s presence, as Old Mrs. Pierson had arranged that.
As for Max’s defense...
"So, you’re saying you were on an ocular visit to find your team’s new training ground?" Lily asked.
"Yes." Max nodded. "Since new players were arriving, I decided to improve our training program. One of the things was finding a camp where they could focus on their training. Dean suggested this place the other day and told I should check it out."
He paused, glancing at the faces around the table. "Now, I kinda know why he did it." His gaze landed on Finn. "It’s making up for stealing, my friend. That’s the reason I’m here. I had already visited the site, so I was only here for a couple of days, and I kinda like the food in this restaurant. That’s why I’m here. I didn’t know I’d run into familiar faces."
"Are you sure that’s the only reason?" Slater asked suspiciously, only to earn an elbow poke from Jas.
"Slater, you are popular, but I don’t think there’s any reason for him to stalk you," Jas said quietly. "Can you please not pick a fight?"
Slater was still squinting before he shrugged, casting Jas a look. "Fine."
"Still, isn’t this a little too much of a coincidence?" Nina mumbled, seeing that they were now a big group. She hadn’t expected this when Finn told her about this trip.
"Fate has a funny way of gathering friends in the sa place!" the optimistic Lily clapped happily. "Let’s think on the brighter side! Ginnie and I ca here, and although we were having fun, we couldn’t help but think about our friends! But now, our friends are here! It’s like magic!"
"Now that you ntion it, Nina kept ntioning Penny every ti she saw sothing nice." Finn quickly added, knowing Nina would now stop missing Penny since she was here. "I don’t mind spending so ti with her friends."
Penny, Lily, and even Ginnie flinched a little. Their noses scrunched up as they looked at Finn, unsure if they were looking at the sa person they knew. Finn, although aware of the reason behind their reaction, simply flashed them a mild smile.
"Goodness, he’s scaring a bit," Lily mumbled to Ginnie. "Ginnie, tell you and I are looking at the sa person, or am I hallucinating?"
Ginnie shook her head, eyes still on Finn. "I’m afraid we’re looking at the sa man."
"I don’t like this." Slater crossed his arms over his chest. "This is my vacation with my sister."
"It’s just your vacation with Jas," Mark corrected, giving Slater a knowing look. "As far as I rember, she didn’t even know you’d be here."
"Shut it."
"Oy, oy... co on, you two." Jas, who was seated between Slater and Mark, panicked a little.
"Never mind that!" Penny leaned over the table and reached for Nina’s hand, sandwiching it between hers. Her mouth stretched from ear to ear until her eyes appeared like re slits. "Nina, you’ve got to see Grandma’s house! You can’t miss it! It’ll be a haven for you; I’m sure of it!"
A look of surprise briefly washed over Nina’s face before it was replaced with a bright smile. "I also saw a restaurant that serves a castle made of pudding! Let’s check it out later!"
"A castle... made of pu—pudding?!" Penny’s eyes twinkled, imagining that wobbling little sweet thing lting in her mouth.
Zoren and Finn, on the other hand, could only let out a faint smile. Even so, they smiled as they watched their won happily reunite and talk so excitedly. Well, Penny had also ntioned Nina a few tis last night, and Nina had been thinking of Penny and even took pictures to send her later.
Both n just enjoyed the look on their won’s faces. Even though they weren’t looking at them, they were more than pleased to savor this mont.
As for Mark, Slater, and Jas, the first two just kept bantering while Jas was on the verge of crying.
"Can you guys fight if I’m not between you two?!" Jas pleaded, but to no avail.
Soon, the lunch they expected to pass quickly and in peace turned into a full-blown al with friends. Each of them had their own conversations, with Nina and Penny talking nonstop, Zoren and Finn watching them, Lily and Ginnie teasing Max, and Slater and Mark debating while Jas just wanted to evaporate.
Despite their different focuses, the atmosphere at the table was lively and fun. It almost looked like they were a group of friends who had pre-planned this trip together.
However, this stopped when they suddenly heard soone.
"Oh, ho... what a nice coincidence this is." The conversation at the table halted as the voice approached. Zoren’s and Penny’s faces imdiately darkened as they recognized who it was, even before they checked.
Slowly, everyone at the table shifted their attention to the person approaching them.
There, was a man in an unbuttoned printed floral shirt, shorts, slippers, and shades covering his eyes. He stopped a few steps away from them, his mouth curving into a smirk.
"R—Ray?" Max’s face crumpled, watching the glitter shine around the ever-dashing Ray.
"I didn’t know—" Ray’s opening remarks halted when a hand suddenly appeared behind him, placing itself on his cheek and shoving him aside.
"Get out of the way," Hugo hissed, brushing off Ray as he reached the table. He stopped when he noticed there were quite a few more people than he expected. "Huh? Uh? Eh?! Everyone! What are you—hey, Max, what the hell are you doing here?"
Ray gasped and glared at Hugo. "Hey, you can’t just push people—" Again, he couldn’t finish his sentence as another person ca from behind him and pushed him aside.
"It seems everyone just decided to take a vacation around this ti of year," said Atlas casually, as if he hadn’t just deliberately pushed Ray further from them.
"First Brother!" Nina perked up. "I didn’t know you’d be here!"
"Nina, good to see you." Atlas nodded at her, but then his eyes fell on Finn, and they instantly turned ice cold.
Finn’s smile cracked a little. "You don’t like , huh?"
"Not at all," Atlas replied without a second hesitation before he casually found a seat beside Zoren. Classic Atlas.
Hugo also joined the group, feeling his stomach grumble since he was unaware his First Brother didn’t know the aning of "break" when working.
anwhile, Allen, who also joined the group, sat beside Finn, as that was the only vacant seat. He turned to Finn and chuckled, lowering his head as he whispered, "Don’t worry, Mr. Davis. My boss not liking you isn’t really surprising—he dislikes everything that breathes. So, don’t take it to heart."
"That’s a really an thing to say," Nina mumbled. "But it’s true. If anything, it’s a good thing he dislikes you, because if he hated you, that’s an entirely different problem."
As the group resud their chats, Ray gasped in disbelief. He looked around, and they were all acting as though he didn’t exist!
How was this fair?!
Fortunately, Benjamin arrived shortly after to save the day. Ray was able to join the group right after he was squeezed dry, to tell the truth about why he was there. And obviously, he was there because he heard Zoren was on vacation.
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