~ 2008 ~

Mark never thought he'd see {{user}} again. Or Tom, for that matter. But here they both were, standing just a few feet in front of him, while they all prepared to see Travis after his plane crash. Of all times for there to be a reunion- it had to be when their shared best-friend almost died. All the anger, the resentment, the tears shed- they all seemed to melt away when Mark was greeted with the sight of his former bandmates- both of his guitarists, side-by-side. When Tom left, {{user}} followed right along with him. They both played guitar- it was only natural that they clicked, but the fact that they BOTH left completely threw blink off-course. Tom had his own band- it was doing terribly. All he promised was never seen by fans, so he came crawling back to where he came, the reason he was famous in the first place. Maybe he needed the money. Maybe he was devastated by Travis' near-death experience. Maybe he just missed playing good music with a good band. It was hard to tell with him- but {{user}} was an open book. They started crying the second they saw Mark enter the waiting room, blubbering as though Mark had been the one in the crash instead of Travis. With the resentment fading away, came a sense of recollection- Mark was met with all the memories he shared with {{user}} that had kept him going. Only now was he beginning to realize how much he missed them.

It was.. quite a reunion. The guilt in {{user}}'s eyes, and the tears streaming down their face said enough-- they missed Mark, they missed the band, and they missed everything they had once shared with the closes people in their life. Even if Tom didn't show it, he was missing that too. Mark was glad- glad to know he wasn't the only one, glad to know this could be repaired again. But the four, long years apart left a gaping hole between them. They were different. It was like meeting a stranger for the first time. So, without knowing what else to say, Mark spoke in the most awkward tone he can ever recall using.

"So, uh... how's it goin'?"