Chapter 2

"Maggie?" He voiced in disbelief, his eyes widening in recognition.

A giddy smile took over my lips, and I couldn't help the excitement that was bubbling inside. "Hey Kian," I said, for the lack of being able to come up with any other coherent sentence.

He was a little tanner now, like he'd finally been getting enough sun. I'd always tease him about being a recluse, although that wasn't really true. He was definitely taller, a little more muscular, probably went to the gym thrice a week kind of body. He really wasn't anything too special, but I felt an indescribable happiness at seeing him.

Kian ran a hand through his hair, and let out a short laugh out of pure disbelief that I was standing there. He took a small step back and looked at me again, I'm not sure why, maybe he thought a different angle would make me disappear? But I was still very much still there, and I waved my fingers at him, my smile staying on.

Before I knew it, in three quick strides, he'd pulled me into a bear hug. My arms immediately latched around him in response, and I smiled into his shirt, welcoming the familiar smell of his cheap deodorant.

"Fuck," he breathed into my hair, his arms wrapping tighter around my small body.

"It's really nice to see you too," I replied, pulling back a little to look at him clearly. His hazel eyes were a lot brighter now, almost glittering in the setting sun. He seemed to be happier than he used to.

"I'm sorry, this is crazy. I didn't think you'd actually come here," He looked lost as his eyes ran across my face, taking in my features. "You've gotten prettier," he felt the need to mention, holding me at an arm's length, his eyes not-so-subtly running down my body.

I rolled my eyes.

"You've gone blind with all that hair covering your eyes." I pulled at the dark strands that were partially blocking his view, and our eyes met.

He pulled his hair back with one hand, reaching down and touching his forehead to mine. He looked straight into my eyes as he said, "nah, still pretty." I was slightly dazed for a moment as his soft breath hit my lips. But only for a moment.

"Urgh! Gross," I pushed him away, gagging in pure reflex, "Holy shit, you reek of garlic. I'm going to throw up."

"Oh, that's probably my lunch." He chuckled at my disgusted expression, putting his arm around me and ruffling my hair like I was a dog. "I've missed you so much. I forgot how cute you could be."

"Kian, I'll fucking kill you. Stop." I tried to push him off me, but the guy was at least 20 pounds heavier than I remember. I didn't have much of a chance, so I gave up easily.

"Oh, guys," Kian turned around as he suddenly remembered we were in company. His arm stayed around me as he turned, pulling me with him. It didn't make me happy, but I kept the curses to myself as he introduced me to his friends, "Say hi to my ex girlfriend, Margaret Reed. Isn't she cute?" He was grinning ear to ear, and I didn't really blame his friends for looking confused. "Oh, and call her Maggie. She'll bite your dicks off otherwise."

I wanted to give him a dirty look, but I restrained myself for the time being, knowing I'll have time to beat him up later.

The three of them looked between us, and the blond one decided to speak first, "Uh...okay. Hi, I'm Austin," then he pointed to the Asian guy who greeted me with a smile, "this is Park, and this here, is William," Austin gestured to the nerd looking dude in glasses. Actually, the glasses might've been the only thing nerdy about him. William was the hottest of the three. Easily.

"Hey," I gave them a friendly smile, trying to think up topics of conversation off the top of my head. "What year are y'all in?"

"Oh, Noah and I are sophomores," Park spoke, his dark eyes meeting mine, "and these two idiots are freshmen, same as you I suppose."

"Ah, yeah," I tucked a few loose hairs behind my ear. "I just got here today, so I'm still trying to figure the place out."

"I wouldn't mind showing you around," Park suggested, and I didn't read into his intentions until Kian complained from beside me.

"Dude, stop flirting with her," he had a sour expression on his face, his eyes narrowed at his friend.

"Huh, why?" Park asked innocently, but I didn't miss the slight smirk playing on his lips., "I thought she was your ex."

Kian's eyes just narrowed further, and he was about to say something when Noah grabbed Park and Austin by their arms and dragged them off towards the dorms. "We'll see you later, Kian." He called over his shoulder, then he looked back to meet my gaze. "You too."

Austin, who'd broken free from his grip also turned around, "we expect an explanation!"

"Yeah, yeah," Kian waved them off, halting when he saw my face. "What's wrong with you?"

I had a hand on my chest, a faraway look in my eyes. "William acknowledged me. I'm oddly touched."

He rolled his eyes, grabbing my hand and pulling me back towards the main exit. "We're getting coffee."

***

I set my cup down on the table, handing him his drink, before taking the seat opposite from him.

"Aww, you remember my order," he cooed, noticing I didn't have to ask him what he wanted to get.

I looked at him like he was stupid. "It's a simple cappuccino, I couldn't forget if I wanted to."

He gently placed his cup on the table, and his demeanour had changed all of a sudden. "Did you... want to?" He asked hesitantly, his eyes set downwards. Kian was a master of this art, bringing up serious topics out of nowhere like that. "Forget, I mean."

I thought about my answer for a few seconds before replying, I knew this is where we were going to get serious. Even the walk here had been all fun with our idle talk about the courses we were going to take. We had to talk about everything that happened at some point, and I guess now was as good a time as any.

"I didn't, actually. I think...we might've not been ready for a relationship at that point in time, especially with everything that was going on. Things kind of went to shit, but that didn't mean I loved you any less. You were still one of my closest friends, and I really did enjoy most of the time we were together. So no, I wouldn't want to forget that, ever." Saying it out loud to him felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Just how long have I wanted to tell him this?

He finally looked up at that, a bittersweet smile on his lips, "I feel the same. I really did miss you a lot, you know?"

I quirked an eyebrow accusingly, "no one said you couldn't call."

"But-" he saw my expression, and quickly averted his gaze. "I just didn't know if you wanted that. I wanted to call, but what if that just caused you more trouble, you know?" He visibly hesitated, but continued nevertheless, "I mean, I'm sure you took the test."

My heart felt heavy at the reminder, and I swallowed the feeling that I was somehow betraying Tylor by meeting Kian like this. I pulled my bottom lip into my mouth, sighing. "I did. I've been dating him for about six months now."

He looked into my eyes, a sombre expression gracing his features, "How is it going? He better be treating you well, by the way."

I breathed out a laugh at his warning, "he is, he is. He's really good to me, and it's going great. I was always sceptical about the whole compatibility test thing, but he really turned out to be good for me. I think it's what I need."

He smiled, a smile that made my anxiety seem foolish. "I'm glad. Congratulations."

"Thanks," I smiled back, genuinely touched that he was happy for me. "What about you?"

"Well..." He pulled his lips into a thin line, sighing before he continued, "so I met this girl a year ago, and we've been on and off since then. I'm not really sure where it's going though, I can never really tell with her."

I frowned, "I don't like the sound of her. Do you, you know, love her?"

"I-" he paused, sighing again before he continued, "I don't know. I think at this point, I just want to love her so everything doesn't feel like a waste. But do I really? I'm not sure."

My lips pulled into a frown. He looked so sad, it made me want to hug him again. But instead, I reached over and took hold of his hand, squeezing it once. "Just don't let her break you, okay? If she's not good for you, let her go." I paused, realising something. "I'm sorry, I know that's rich coming from me..."

He shook his head, "it's fine. I've moved past what happened between us already. Let's just be friends, yeah? I don't think I could take pretending to be strangers again."

I nodded vigorously, wholeheartedly agreeing with that statement. The time I had to pretend I didn't know him were probably some of the worst times of my life.

He chuckled at my response, "I'm glad you feel the same."

"So..." I placed my free hand on the table, facing upwards. "Friends?"

He took my hand almost immediately, making a pact with me as we usually did when we were younger. "Friends."

He suddenly lifted his hand, looking like he was contemplating something. I was just about to ask him what when he spoke, "as long as you pay for the coffee. College has me on a tight budget."

I gave him a disbelieving look, really reconsidering whether I wanted to be friends with him after all.

"Hey, you were the one who broke my heart, the least you could do is buy me coffee." He was pouting, and well, he wasn't exactly wrong.

"Fine," I dragged the word as if pained me, but really I was sure this was the best deal I could've gotten. A cup of coffee for all the bullshit I put him through? That's a hell of a bargain.

Plus, he looked like such a kid as he grinned at me. "Thanks, Maggie." I really couldn't be mad if I wanted to.

I just hoped it would stay like this. This was nice.

Just friends.

No more, no less.