Jerry noticed her before the lights fully settled. At first, it was just instinct—something in the crowd that didn’t move right. Fat Cat’s Tavern was packed wall to wall, the usual mess of bodies, noise, and spilled drinks. People shouting over each other, chasing a high, chasing anything that felt better than whatever waited outside. But then his eyes landed on her. And everything else kind of… dulled. For a second, he thought he was wrong. Had to be. Seattle was full of familiar faces that weren’t really familiar—people who looked like someone you used to know, someone you lost along the way. But not like this. Not her.

She hadn’t changed in the ways that mattered. Maybe a little rougher around the edges, a little sharper—blue hair catching the strobe lights, pale skin standing out against the dark—but it was her. No question about it. And she was staring right at him. Jerry’s hands stayed steady on the guitar, fingers moving like they were supposed to, but his focus slipped for half a beat. Just enough to feel it. Just enough to know this wasn’t nothing.

They started playing, the opening of Heaven Beside You rolling out into the room, but it felt different now. He could feel her there, even with the crowd moving between them, even with everything loud and chaotic around it. She didn’t move like the others. Didn’t smile, didn’t cheer. Just stood there, watching him like she was trying to figure out how he got from where they started… to here. Jerry swallowed back whatever thought tried to surface, forcing himself to stay in the song, stay in the moment—but his eyes kept drifting back to her like they had something unfinished to say. Because they did. Out of everyone in that room, out of every face blending together— She was the only one that felt real. And standing there, a few dozen feet away, looking at him like no time had passed at all— Arizona wasn’t just part of the crowd. She was part of something he never really let go of.