I stared at John.

He stared at me.

I started laughing.

He carried on staring.

I slowly sobered up, slightly surprised.

He just carried on staring.

"Wait, are you serious?" I asked, the smile still not leaving my face. He just crossed his arms, making his biceps budge out.

"I'm Chloe." No reaction.

"Chloe Woods?" Nothing.

"The girl who laughed at you when you vomited on your favourite shirt in middle school?" Nada.

"We were best friends for around ten years?" Is this guy a statue?

I fumbled around in my bag, looking for my phone. "I have a picture of us somewhere, don't worry." I chirped, bringing out my phone and scrolling through my photos.

"Okay... This one is a bit old but-"

"I think you should leave, now."

I trailed off, looking up to see Maisie standing beside John with an unreadable expression on her face. My eyes narrowed slightly and the smile on my face turned sour.

"And why should I do that, Maisie?" I asked cheerfully, but with an undertone of a warning.

"We need to get to class." She responded flatly.

"I'll speak to you later." She added when I didn't reply, smiling slightly. I just glared at her. Her smile faltered slightly and she turned away with John who went on silently without a word.

I turned around, sighing. "Tobi, you can come out now." I said. Tobi appeared from a corner with a sheepish smile on her face.

"I'm guessing you heard all of that?" I asked. She nodded.

"I did warn you, Clo. John has changed." She told me as we walked to our class.

"Is he mute?" I asked, slightly concerned. What would make him turn mute?

She snorted. "No. The opposite, actually. I think he was just in shock to see you after a long time." She replied and I shrugged.

"I was only gone for two years." I reminded her. She gave me an incredulous look.

"If your best friend, since you were a child, suddenly disappeared with their family without a trace or warning, wouldn't you think of the worst case scenario?" She questioned, giving me a pointed look.

I winced. "Well, if you put it that way..."

"Exactly! You have to give him time and try to regain his trust." Ashe explained, smiling in satisfaction when I nodded.

I was definitely going to regain his trust.

But I wasn't sure about giving him time.

*****

"Johnny boy!" I called out, skipping to where he and his friends were boisterously laughing at something on a phone. They paused when they all went silent and looked at me, then at him, then me again.

"Um, hi?" I said, but it came out more as a question.

Suddenly, someone from the table abruptly stood up. He was massive, standing around 6'3 and had more muscles than a boy his age was supposed to. He was black with his curly hair in a low cut and a slit in it.

His piercing brown eyes that bored into mine. I forced myself to keep eye contact with him instead of running away when he took three, big bounding steps to stand directly in front of me.

"Chloe Woods!" He shouted, his deep voice booming through the massive cafeteria and he squeezed me into a massive bear hug.

When he released me, grinning, I took I better look at him.

At his eyes.

Then I realized.

"Brock Adams?" I exclaimed in absolute shock.

Brock Adams went to the same middle school as me, and he was that kid that everyone would pick on because of his thin, short frame and nerdy appearance. There was one time when I saw him get his books knocked down, and I immediately rushed to help him. From then on, I'd defend him against anyone who tried to pick on him and stick by his side which made us very good friends.

But now he was clearly the exact opposite.

"Brock!" I exclaimed with much more enthusiasm and wrapped my arms around him. He hugged me back, very nearly lifting me up which made me laughed. I pulled back, grinning.

"Wait, is that Chloe?"

"As in Amber's sister?"

"The black one?"

"She's white, dumbass."

"Damn, she's fine."

"Now, tell me where have you been for the past two years?"

The loud slam of a tray made everyone go silent and stare at the person who did it.

John.

Without making eye-contact with anyone, he got up and left the cafeteria with everyone's eyes on him. I was really confused.

What did I do to get him so angry? It's not like I was the one who denied knowing him for all my life.

Well, you did disappear when he needed you most without a single warning or sign for two years. My subconscious reminded me.

I sighed, knowing I was right. I was the one at fault, not him. I needed to apologise for being a horrible best friend. If we were still best friends.

*****

The next day, after an hour of online stalking when I got home, I was able to find John's Instagram and Snapchat accounts. I immediately followed and added him, hoping he wouldn't be petty enough to not do the same.

John had very few pictures posted, just as I remembered. However, one was a nice quality picture taken with the one and only Maisie.

The person who'd taken the photo must have been a professional photographer as they perfectly captured the intensity John's beautiful eyes looked at Maisie's stunning face. Maisie was laughing at something, slightly leaning over with her eyes shut tight and her perfect teeth showcasing. John was smiling at her with such a gentle expression; tears welled up in my eyes as I thought about how non-existent my love life had been lately.

I had so many questions to ask him. When had they become a couple? Had they always had a thing for each other? Were they truly in love? Why didn't anyone tell me about this sooner?

Well, I knew the answer to the last one.

I glanced at the time, deciding that I wanted to take a little stroll before it was dark.

You mean go to John's house and hope he still lives there so you can see him.

Well, you know what they say. You can take the person away from the stalkers but you can never take the stalker out of the person.

Anyway, I decided to freshen up a bit and change into comfier clothes. I picked out dark blue high-waisted jeans with a plain white crop top and a pair of trainers. I ran a brush through my hair and grabbed my phone, running downstairs.

My mum was out on her daily jog so I wrote a note saying I'd gone to take a look around the area and I'd be back before five. On my way out a stuffed my bag with a few snacks in case I was hungry and left the house, locking the door behind me.

My nervousness increased as I walked down to the secret place John and I had discovered when we were younger. What if I would find it deserted and cleared out? Or what if he wasn't there?

What if he was there with Maisie?

I shook my head at the thought, knowing John would never share something like that with anyone, just like I wouldn't. It was like sharing a family recipe passed down for generation with your friend, it just wasn't right.

As I was walking, I decided to bring a snack out from my bag, when I realised I'd unknowingly packed all of John's favourite snacks.

Huh. Creepy.

I finally arrived at the familiar, dirty garden that held so many memories. I looked at the broken swing set, remembering the time I fell off it and John carried me to help. I also remembered the time we were playing hide and seek, and John tripped face first into a puddle of mud. I had to carry him home that day.

Suddenly, I heard a cough and glanced around, spotting John sitting near a withered tree. He hadn't seen me yet, and I wanted to keep it that way, so I jumped behind a bush, feeling kind of creepy as I watched him. He was staring at a picture, and when I looked closer I could see it was of him and I when we were around fourteen years old, in my house. It was my birthday, Christmas.

And also the day when I got my first kiss.

I started smiling, thinking of this to be the perfect moment for me to say hi to him.

Then my phone ruined it all.

"Hello, Queen Champion Awesome Flabbatastic Amazeballs Chloe."

I'd realized I'd accidentally pressed on my home button to hard, and Siri must have thought I wanted her. But it was too late. John looked up. We made I contact.

I waved at him.

Before I could blink, a strong pair of arms were wrapped around my waist and I was squished against a chiseled chest. It took my a moment to realize that John was hugging me.

Wait a second.

John was hugging me?

"You remembered." He whispered.

*****