The two weeks leading up to Stephanie's trip back to America were sadly uneventful. Stephanie wasn't allowed back at the Royal Academy anymore (to play her violin, at least), so she had pretty much resigned herself to not practicing anymore for the duration of her stay in London. However, Lydia seemed determined to help Stephanie continue to practice, despite her unfortunate situation – she went and bought a bunch of soundproof foam panels and put them all over the walls of her guest room so Stephanie could play her violin without bothering the neighbors. Stephanie suspected Lydia did that because she felt guilty about Stephanie getting kicked out of the Academy, even though Stephanie didn't blame her in the slightest. However, she did appreciate being able to practice in the apartment during the day without having to worry about the neighbors complaining.

But then there was Kyle, and Stephanie just felt completely lost. He had barely spoken to her since that day in the Royal Academy, and she wasn't sure what to make of that. She knew they hadn't exactly been on speaking terms since their fight over two weeks ago, but Stephanie had thought that maybe he wanted to try to make up with her since the incident with Chloe in the performance hall. He had passionately defended Stephanie's honor at that time, and she honestly appreciated his words at the time, but his radio silence since then bothered her.

Has he changed his mind about me?

Stephanie maintained the silent treatment with him until a few days ago, where she broke down and texted him what time her flight was leaving from Heathrow in the hopes that he would at least come by with Lydia and say goodbye to her. He merely texted her back a 'thanks for the info', but didn't follow up with anything else. Stephanie would be lying if she said she wasn't hurt by that.

He was clearly distancing himself from her. The thought was depressing, but Stephanie forced herself to remember that the two of them were never going to work out anyway. Perhaps this was for the best.

It had to be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The morning of Stephanie's departure dawned bright and early, and thankfully there didn't seem to be any typical London rain clouds in the sky as the sun peeked over the horizon. Stephanie's flight was leaving very early in the morning, but Lydia had promised to go with her to the airport despite the early hour. Lydia didn't have a car, so the two of them loaded Stephanie's luggage into a cab they had booked before they drove off toward the airport.

"I can't believe your London trip is actually over," Lydia said, leaning her head against the back headrest and yawning widely. "Oh, 'scuse me," she apologized, covering her mouth. "I'm not used to waking up this early."

"At least you get to go home and go back to bed after this. I have a seven-hour flight to look forward to," Stephanie stated, fighting a yawn as well. "I doubt I'll be able to sleep on the plane."

"Too bad you can't practice on the flight," Lydia joked, and the two of them laughed at the idea of Stephanie taking out her violin and practicing on a crowded plane.

"If only," Stephanie grinned. "I know I've said it already, Lydia, but thank you for everything you've done for me after Chloe got me kicked out of the Academy. You didn't have to cover your guest room walls with soundproof foam so I could continue to practice, but it was very nice of you anyway."

"Oh please, it was my pleasure," Lydia brushed off. "I've been meaning to soundproof one of the rooms of my apartment for ages now – you just gave me the excuse to finally do it."

"Well, now you can practice your own violin in the peace and quiet of your apartment," Stephanie pointed out. "Maybe I should do that at my place... if I had a place to go back to, that is."

"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Lydia said sympathetically. "Your mum lives in Boston, right? I'm sure she'd love to take you in."

"As much as I love my mom, I'm not super keen to go back and live with her again after I've been on my own for so long," Stephanie pointed out, grimacing.

"Have you forgotten that you've bummed at my flat for the past three months?" Lydia joked, and Stephanie couldn't help but giggle.

"And I deeply appreciate it," Stephanie said honestly. "Seriously Lydia – I loved staying with you all summer."

"You know, you're always welcome back here Steph," Lydia said sincerely. "I know I wouldn't be the only one who'd be happy to see you stay here in London, at least for a little while."

Stephanie knew she was referring to Kyle, and her heart dropped. "I don't think that's true."

"It is true," Lydia insisted. "Kyle would be an idiot if doesn't see that."

"Well, I guess he's an idiot then," Stephanie muttered, grimacing as she turned her gaze out the window. "He hasn't said a word to me in days."

Lydia was silent for a few moments. "I'm sorry, Steph," she said sympathetically. "I was really hoping you and Kyle could find a way to... you know..." she let out a sigh. "I guess it wasn't meant to be."

Stephanie didn't say anything as she continued to gaze out the window, watching the streets of London pass them by.

The cab finally arrived at Heathrow Airport, and the cab pulled up to the terminal behind a line of taxis and ubers. Once stopped in front of the correct entrance, Lydia helped Stephanie take her suitcases out of the trunk before they made their way to the doors.

"Hold on," Lydia said to the cab driver before turning back to Stephanie, her eyes suddenly bright with unshed tears. "I guess this is goodbye, then."

Feeling her throat lock up with emotion, Stephanie moved forward and wrapped her arms around her friend, and Lydia immediately hugged her back. "I'm really gonna miss you, Lyds."

Lydia let out a laugh that almost sounded like a sob. "Don't make it sound like this'll be forever," she said, sniffling. "I know that we'll see each other again soon."

Stephanie swallowed before giving a tremulous smile. "I know we will too."

The two of them hugged for another minute or so before they finally separated. Stephanie picked up her suitcases and made her way through the doors, giving one last look and a smile toward her friend before finally heading inside.

After checking in her largest suitcase, Stephanie made her way toward security check with her carry-on bag and violin case in hand, following the signs pointing her in the correct direction. The crowds of people around her thankfully weren't too dense, so she hoped going through security wouldn't take too long.

Stephanie finally made it to security check, and her heart sank when she saw the long queue of people, waiting to go through the metal detectors. She sighed before stepping into the nearest line, and waited as it moved forward at a snail's pace; she checked her watch, and felt thankful at least her plane wasn't leaving for about an hour.

Twenty-five minutes later, Stephanie finally made it through security check and began to head toward her gate, moving her way through the crowds of people heading toward their own destinations.

Stephanie finally arrived at her gate, happy that only about half the seats seemed to be filled. She began searching for an empty area where she could set her things down, and she noticed one man sitting alone near the window, looking over at her and smiling. Stephanie nearly collapsed in shock.

"Kyle?!"

Stephanie couldn't believe it, She thought for a moment her eyes were playing tricks on her. But Kyle was really here. At her gate. At the airport.

He's here for me.

"Stephanie," Kyle greeted her, smiling as he got up from his seat. "Fancy meeting you here."

Stephanie could only stand and stare at him in silence as he walked toward her, not noticing that passersby were probably looking at her strangely. But she didn't care... all she could do was stare as Kyle walked up to her. He acted as if meeting her here was the most casual thing in the world.

"Kyle... wh-what are you doing here?" Stephanie finally stammered out when he was close enough to her. "I haven't heard from you in weeks!"

"I'm sorry about that, Steph," Kyle said sincerely. "Part of my reason for staying away was out of my control, but it was also because I wasn't sure if you wanted to see me again."

Stephanie shook her head. "And so that's why you're making a grand gesture here at the airport?" she asked, gesturing around them. "Am I in the movie Love, Actually or something?"

"No, although that is an excellent film," Kyle smirked, and Stephanie rolled her eyes. "No, I'm here because I'm going to go to America with you."

For the second time, Stephanie was completely speechless. She could only stare at Kyle, unsure if what he said was what she heard. "Uh... what?" she finally eeked out.

Kyle grinned fully at her, looking pleased at her shocked expression. "Just what I said: I'm going to America with you." He gestured to his bags set down nearby. "For the wedding, at least. I'll be your plus-one. I had to make all the arrangements with the Academy and with my manager, so I'll be missing the rest of my masterclasses for the summer semester. That was most of the reason why I was so absent as of late."

Stephanie blinked, still in a small bit of shock. "And... you just decided this? Without consulting me first?"

"Well, in my defense, I wanted it to be a romantic surprise," Kyle said, shrugging innocently. "Aren't women supposed to like that sort of thing?"

Stephanie gave him a hard look. "Depends how she feels about the man in question, I suppose," she said in a clipped voice.

Kyle looked immediately chastised, and he gazed at her with such a sincere look in his eyes, it made Stephanie's heart clench involuntarily. "Steph, I wanted to apologize to you," he said, his voice earnest. "You were absolutely right to turn down that position in the string quartet, and I'm sorry that I wasn't able to see that sooner. Whatever you choose to do with your music career, whether you want to pursue it or not, I know that you'll make the right decision. And I hope that you'll be able to find it in your heart to forgive me for what I said to you."

Stephanie gazed at him, her resolve melting as she smiled. "Well, how could I not forgive you after saying all that?"

Kyle smiled back, looking relieved. "I was hoping for that reaction, I'm not going to lie."

Stephanie let out a giggle. "I suppose I should say sorry too. I know that you were just trying to look out for me and help me reach my full potential as a musician. I know I tend to get in my own way sometimes – I'm sorry for getting so angry at you."

"You're more than forgiven," Kyle said honestly, taking a step toward her and placing his hands on her hips. "I hope that we can put all that behind us now, so we can enjoy a nice trip to America together?"

Stephanie smiled, slipping her arms around his neck. "I suppose we can. As long as you know your place now."

Kyle laughed. "With you? I never know."

Stephanie shook her head with a smile before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his lips, and he didn't hesitate to kiss her back.