When Sydney Sherwood was thirteen, she fell in love. She was utterly enamoured with Carter Pearson - the cute, enigmatic, brilliant fourteen year old who lived across the street. But, after only a few months, Carter and his family disappeared, leavi...
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When I woke up early the next morning, the first thing I did was check my phone. This in itself was nothing unusual, but I didn't normally feel these butterflies as I checked my notifications. There was a missed call from my Mum and a text back from Carter.
Ridiculously, I felt nervous as I opened the message.
I'd love to - how's lunch time today for you?
Smiling to myself, I checked my timetable, as though I didn't already have the week's schedule memorized. My day was blank after a class in the morning.
I texted back in approval and clambered out of bed, still buzzing a little with disbelief at it all. Sleepily, I shoved a t-shirt, some jeans and a jumper on. Tucking my phone into my pocket, I headed out of my room.
In the kitchen, Maya was already sat at the table, sipping a mug of coffee with a selection of textbooks and notepads splayed out in front of her. Bare faced, with her dark hair tied up in a messy bun from which a few stray curls had escaped and glasses propped on the bridge of her nose, she didn't look anywhere near as intimidating as when we first met.
"Did you hear from Carter?" she asked without looking up from her work.
Last night, Carter unexpectedly becoming part of my life again was the main topic of conversation over dinner. Alice insisted that it was unbelievably romantic - a second chance for two lovers torn apart too soon. Maya said she needed to see a picture of him in order to decide whether he was hot enough to be worth the effort, so I promised her I'd get a photo next time I saw him.
"He wants to meet up this afternoon," I replied. "God, I hope it's not awkward."
Maya gestured to the pot of coffee on the work surface, telling me to help myself, then added, "Doesn't sound like it will be. I mean, you got on pretty well yesterday."
She was right. Sure, it was a shock, and the presence of his friend didn't exactly help, but our interaction wasn't forced. Just like when we first met, all it took was a minute of introductions before it was like we'd known each other all our lives.
I filled up my travel cup with coffee and grabbed a cereal bar from my cupboard. Eight-thirty lectures meant caffeine took priority over food.
As I walked across campus to my class, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out to see a text from Carter, suggesting we meet at twelve o'clock, at the same coffee shop as before. Approaching my building, I quickly sent back my approval, then shoved my phone into my bag. I had not studied my ass off to get here only to let some boy distract me now I'd made it - no matter our history or how cute and charming he was.
***
"Sydney!"
I heard Carter before I spotted him in the coffee shop (was this place always so crowded?) so I headed towards the sound of his voice. He was sat at the same place as yesterday, only this time the spot opposite was for me, not Kyle. On the table were two cups of coffee. A small smile crept onto my face.
