Chapter 1 – Lets Start Over

Michelle hurried through the corridors, her heels clicking against the floor and bouncing around the plain white walls. She was late. Really late. On her first day of term. Walking into the room she felt 20 pairs of eyes staring at her, what should have been unnerving was actually satisfying. This group of students she had taught for the past three years and her speciality was Media Journalism. She tucked a strand of shiny red hair behind her ear and smiled at the students waiting patiently for her. Luckily they were all hard working, striving to get to the end of their degree just like she had done some years ago.

The first lecture was painless, having a catch up with her students over one of their projects due in a month's time. At the end of her lecture, one on her students John approached her. "I'm interviewing an athlete for my project." He spoke quickly, clutching onto his notebook and bag.

"You do know that means I will have to supervise you?" Michelle brushed down her blouse and smiled at the young man.

"I know. Tomorrow at 12.30pm in the west corridor conference room."

"Great, I'll see you there." As he left she wrote the time down in her planner before she forgot. Smiling she picked up her bag and headed out of the room, a meeting with her boss was next on the agenda.

Michelle loved her job and she was glad to be back. She usually spent the summer doing private tutoring, just for the extra cash. The day went by quickly, and at 5pm, it was like she hadn't even been away for the summer. Gathering her papers from her desk she put them into her bag and left the room. Her night was going to be the usual; lesson plans and a glass of red wine. She loved her job; meeting the vast amount of different people, young students who had either yet to figure out their path in life or who had everything sussed out to the T. It didn't matter to her, she was making a difference and that's all that mattered. So her plans for life hadn't exactly worked out how she had thought, but she couldn't complain. Maybe one day she would return to being a reporter, but for now she was happy where she was.


Letting her gaze wander over her shoulder to the door again she let out a sigh. Fearing the worst, she figured this guy wasn't going to show up. She wasn't at all surprised, celebrities tended to skip things like this and go for things that would provide them with an ego boost.

"He will be here." John reassured her but Michelle knew he felt the same way she did.

"What's his name?" Michelle hadn't probed into who he would be interviewing yesterday; to be honest it didn't matter. She was only there to observe John.

"Wade Barrett." John tapped his pen against the notepad in front of him.

"Well, Mr Barrett is already in my bad books."

"I hope you're not going to stick me in detention." Michelle's heart stopped. She would recognise that voice anywhere. Maybe she was going mad, hearing things she shouldn't be. "Sorry I'm late." Nope, that was definitely him. Maybe he won't recognise you she thought. She glanced over her shoulder, her heart raced and her mind blurred. Stu Bennett. One of her best friends from her time in the UK during her semester studying overseas. They had vowed to stay friends even when she had returned to the US, but over time the letters and calls had stopped. It didn't surprise her, they had both moved on with their own lives.

John stood up to greet him and they shook hands. Michelle took the time to take in the sight of him. His usually unruly hair slicked back meticulously with gel. He was big, once skinny and tall, now wide and filling out his black suit perfectly. His crisp white shirt had a few buttons undone, the smooth tanned skin underneath peaking out. Her eyes narrowed as a tall blonde sauntered in after him, checking her watch and typing something into her blackberry. She figured she was his assistant; some things never change she thought.

"Take a seat, man. Thanks for doing this." John's voice sounded in Michelle's head but everything else was a blur. Stu looked at her, or better yet looked right through her.

She watched from her seat at the interaction between the pair. Stu was formal, keeping eye contact with John who was trying to keep his cool. Stu turned to look at her but she flicked her gaze down to the pad of paper on the desk, the blush crept to her cheeks slowly. Having nothing to write she doodled on the paper pretending to write something important. Glancing up, Stu'd focus was back on John, answering the various questions asked. As soon as she heard 'WWE' her heart raced and pride soared through her body. He made it she thought.

Trying to focus on John and the task in hand was proving hard. Stu's voice was mesmerising and now and then his gaze would float to her. "What do you miss most about England?" John's question had Michelle on the edge of her seat. She knew the standard reply; family and friends, probably the footy.

"Friends and family." Of course she was right, she flicked her eyes up and instantly met Stu's, they burned through her as he spoke his next words. "Sometimes you lose contact with people who mean a lot to you, and even though you haven't spoken to them, it doesn't mean you've stopped thinking about them."

Michelle blinked a few times, trying to think of anything but the words that had just come out of Stu's mouth. For the rest of the interview she focused on John, making notes about his body language, use of words and anything else she needed. Before she knew it, both John and Stu were stood up, shaking each other's hands and exchanging pleasantries. Her job was done. The blonde was at Stu's side again, talking a mile a minute at him. This was her chance to get out, go to her office and drown herself in comfort food. Picking up her notepad and bag she made her way to the door where John had just left.

"Wait!" Michelle threw her head over her shoulder, her eyes hitting Stu's wide chest. He spoke to the blonde, asking her to leave the room for a moment. She gave Michelle the once over before stepping out of the room.

"I'm sorry Mr. Bennett, is it? I have a lecture to teach." Looking anywhere but his eyes she wanted to get away from him.

"You don't remember me?" He slowly reached to touch her elbow, wanting to make sure she was real.

"Should I?" She quipped back, unsure why she was being such a bitch to him but then she remembered. The letters and phone calls had stopped. And an even bigger kick in the teeth, he had been living in the US for 3 years with no attempt to get back in touch with her.

"You really don't remember who I am?"

"Look Stu-"

"So you do remember me."

"Of course I remember you." She smacked him in the arm, now angry that he has so easily stopped contacting her so easily. "Why the fuck would I forget? I'm not you." She took a deep breath, trying to restrain herself from battering the giant Englishman in front of her.

"You look amazing." A smirk crept onto his face as his gaze swept over her body, head to toe. Subconsciously her arms crossed over her chest, shielding her body from his intense stare. He looked amazing too; mouth watering in fact.

"I have to go." Stu moved to block her path, she tried to step around him but he moved to stop her again.

"Drinks?" He spoke quickly, catching her off guard.

"What?"

"Tonight, meet me for drinks. We can catch up."

"We wouldn't have to catch up if you had kept in touch."

"I know, and I'm sorry. Please?" His eyes softened a little and Michelle felt herself giving in. If she said no she would be just as bad as him.

"Fine." He grinned and pulled out a pen from his pocket. Taking the notepad from her hand he wrote down his number and the name of a pub.

"Is eight okay?"

"Erm, yeah." Michelle took her notepad back as he handed it to her.

"Great, I can't wait." His gaze swept over her one last time before he took a step back then turned to walk out of the door. Michelle let out a breath she didn't know she was holding; she didn't know what to think and she wasn't a big believer in fate.

A/N – So this is a story request for cenachick1981, it's taken a while to write and post but I hope you enjoyed the first chapter :). Lou x