Was I surprised at how good Roman looked? A little.

Though, I don't know why I was. He looked the same, yet he looked vastly different. Like in the year since I've been gone, he turned from a teenager into a man. His jaw was more defined, and I could see his muscles had gotten better even through the black material of his suit. While when I knew him, his face was smooth, it wasn't now. There was light stubble covering his chin, perfectly suited to his face. He even looked a little taller, if that was possible.

I wondered if I looked different. Had I changed? Was I different? I felt different, that's for sure. I no longer felt like the weak girl that Jesse had turned me into. I was different, and I wondered if Roman would notice.

He didn't look to me, and I don't know whether I was disappointed or relieved. I knew I would be seeing him today, and I had been wondering about what our interactions would be for days. It was hard for me remember that Roman had been a stranger to me for much longer than he had been someone in my life. Yet, he was someone at such an important time in my life, I think I knew he would always be someone to me.

But I'm not sure what kind of someone he was. And more importantly, what kind of someone was I to him?

Was I simply the girl he had known when she was a mess? The girl that had caused him trouble? The girl that was on the same lake as his brother the night he died? Had he forgotten about me? Does he look back and wonder why he bothered? After all, I seemingly left without another look back. I didn't even contact him. I thought about it, of course I did. But I didn't. Not even a single phone call.

I looked back towards Clara when I realized I had been fixated on Roman for longer than I should have. She was already staring at me, a sly smile on her face like she had predicted my reaction.

"What?" I asked her, trying to blink away the blush that was rising to my cheeks.

"Oh, don't what me, Lilly," Clara giggled out, "let's go say hi."

"Why don't we get something to drink first..." I started to protest, but I guess it fell on deaf ears because Clara had already grabbed me by the hand, she was pulling me in a way that I didn't think her small frame was capable of. I was concerned she was going to pull me right out of my heels.

Samuel and Roman didn't see us approaching at first, their heads were turned to each other, seemingly deep in conversation. Samuel is the one that spotted us first, his grin that I remembered so well coming to his mouth. He elbowed Roman, who looked up towards us.

His eyes went straight to me. Those blue eyes that I could never forget, they hadn't changed. They were the same, the constant in the chaos. They widened, only for a second, before they relaxed. His mouth grew into an easy smile, and his flicked his chin in greeting. He didn't seem nervous at all, he didn't seem to be wondering about me the way I was wondering about him.

"Well, look who finally showed their face," Samuel let out as we closed the distance between us. His hand went instantly around Clara's waist, like it belonged there.

"Hi Samuel," I said, smiling in return. I hadn't realized I missed his presence, the way he always seemed to know what to say. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," he beamed, before he pressed a kiss to Clara's face. "Couldn't have done it without you."

"Oh?" I laughed, not understanding what he meant. I purposefully glued my eyes to him, not wanting to look at Roman. Well, that's a lie. I wanted to look at him, I was just too chicken.

"Of course, you and Roman," Samuel answered, a twinkle in his eyes. "Speaking of, you remember Rome right?" He asked, as he clapped Roman on the back.

I forced my eyes to travel to Roman, trying my best to smile like my heart wasn't beating as fast as it's ever beaten. His eyes were already focused on mine, his easy going smile was gone however. He looked as serious as ever.

"How could I forget?" I asked, my voice a tad higher than it should be. Roman's mouth twitched downwards at my words, like something about them bothered him.

"Lilac," he nodded as he said my name. I think he was about to say something else, but he was interrupted by a hand being snaked around his back.

I followed the hand, finding a gorgeous girl in a baby blue dress. It hugged her curves perfectly. Her blonde hair was tied into a tight ponytail, and her eyes were blue. Not as blue as his, but blue enough.

"Hi," she purred out, "I'm Mandy."

I don't know why I was disappointed to find he was here with someone. But I was. Maybe it made me realize on what I had missed out on, what I had given up. It stung, like a wasp had somehow gotten inside of me, stinging me in my heart.

"Well, I had better take my date to the dance floor," Roman said, completely unaware of the bitter taste that had taken hold of my mouth.

I nodded, turning back to Clara as Roman and his date walked away. She was looking at me strangely, not with pity or with guilt. She was looking at me curiously, like she was trying to gage my reaction.

I didn't have time to say anything before I felt a tap on my shoulder. I didn't know what to expect as I turned around, but a part of me wasn't surprised to find Khalil. I was taken a back for a moment, seeing the Khalil I had known before everything happened. He looked healthy again, he looked rested.

"Been a minute, Lilly," Khalil said, causing me to smile.

"Khalil," I greeted him. "It has been. How are you?"

"I'm good. You know, I'm better anyways. How are you doing? You look... wow, you look beautiful Lilly," Khalil said, his eyes draping down my body. "Do you want to dance?"

"Yes," Clara barked out from behind me, "yes, she does."

I turned back, finding Clara's eyes as she narrowed them at me. She was gesturing to the dance floor with her hand, in a not so subtle way, her head bobbing in that direction.

I stared at her for a second, rolling my eyes.

"I guess I do," I said to Khalil as I turned back towards him. I placed my hand in his, and he led me towards the dance floor.