The Missing Years - a kissing booth fan fiction

Reunion

Noah

The carnival is Lee's idea. When I tell him I want to see Elle and will be in town for the meeting that Friday, he comes up with a plan to invite Elle to meet up with him and Rachel there. I organise to turn up soon after them and then he promises to make himself scarce. I kind of like this plan, because it gives me the chance to see her without any pressure.

I arrange to meet Ben and Jess for dinner afterwards so that I have an excuse to make a speedy exit. I don't want to ambush Elle with some big discussion right away, I just want to see her and see if she actually wants to catch up with me more another time. Or not. I'm trying to temper my expectations, but to say it's difficult is putting it mildly.

Since I read the letters Elle sent, I've gone from wanting to smooth things over for Lee's sake to wanting to see how Elle feels now. Lee told me she's been single for a few months and it's been long enough since my breakup with Hayley that I don't feel like anything new would be a rebound. Not that I'd exactly call anything with Elle new, but in a way it would be. I'm nervous as I park the car in the lot. Because I'm getting there well after the carnival started, I have to park quite a distance away. At least the walk might give me a chance to calm down.

Lee text me to say they're here, and I keep my eyes peeled for the three of them as I walk through the grounds, looking at all the booths. I round a corner and spot them. Elle's standing slightly apart from Lee and Rachel, all of them looking in the same direction at something I can't see yet. Lee told me she'd cut her hair, but even so she's still instantly recognisable to me.

Maybe she feels the weight of my gaze, because she looks up, half turning towards me. I see the moment of recognition on her face and I know. I still love her. I half laugh, and raise a hand in greeting. I watch the play of emotions on her face. Shock and something else I think is positive. I close the distance between us. "Hey Shelly."

"Hi Noah." She sounds unsure, which is unsurprising given our last interaction and my lack of response to her letters.

Lee and Rachel notice my arrival then and come over to greet me. I hug Lee and tell him it's good to see him, congratulating them again because I haven't seen them in person since he proposed. When I ask if they've set a date for the wedding yet, Rachel says they're thinking late May. Then things start to get awkward, and Lee takes a breath, looking between Elle and I, before making some lame excuse about going to get churros. You'd think since this was his idea he would have made a better plan, but he and Rachel leave and Elle and I are left standing with each other.

Standing in front of the kissing booth - WTF? That thing is still going?

"Wow," I say, unable to comprehend what I'm seeing.

"Can you believe this?" Elle asks. Apparently it's as much a surprise to her as it is to me.

"No! I don't even want to look at it," I laugh, suddenly feeling bashful.

Elle laughs, then sobers and says, "It's been a long time." That one small sentence holds a lot of gravity.

"Yeah," I swallow, unsure what else to say that could cover the reasons why exactly it's been so long, without going into things that are better left unsaid tonight.

Elle seems to have recovered a bit from the initial shock of seeing me and tries to keep the conversation going. "You look so businessy."

"Ah, I mean don't let the suit fool you, you know. I'm still a rebel." What am I saying?

"Oh?" Elle's eyebrows are raised.

I joke about leaving work early last week and she tells me my secret's safe with her. It's back to awkward again, but I can't keep the smile off my face.