Disclaimer: No I'm not affiliated with Lucy or Ian. Duh.
This is a Lucian story. If you don't like the pairing please refrain from reading.
Chapter 1
The Things We Lost In The Fire
Ian Harding adjusted his sunglasses for the thousandth time as he walked into a coffee shop one chilly November morning. Paranoia was an understatement. He was already running late, and the chance of being recognized by a swoop of teenage girls wouldn't exact help him. He did understand that sunglasses in November looked a little ridiculous, but considering that he had to be to work in ten minutes, they were his only option for a disguise.
New York City wasn't where he figured to find himself at 32 years old. He was an actor, a lucky actor, whose career had all but grown wings and flown after the conclusion of Pretty Little Liars. The end of the show, though saddening and bittersweet, had opened up so many doors for him that it was almost hard to believe. He'd landed his first starring role in a film- a blockbuster, actually. One thing led to another and Ian found himself a very highly requested actor- perhaps one of the most in Hollywood right now.
The coffee shop smelled like cupcakes and cinnamon; a welcoming smell at 8 a.m. Ian lined up behind a skinny blonde woman, who was busily tapping at her iPhone. He thought about his order and decided on the blueberry crumble muffin to pair with his latte, and then pulled his debit card from his pants pocket in preparation to order, glancing at his watch in the process. He tapped his foot nervously, feeling anxious about how late he was going to be. Ian hated being late to anything- but he couldn't function without breakfast first. He was caught between a rock and a rock.
Although the physical strings to PLL had been long cut, there were heartstrings that made him yearn for those days again. He missed the days that he barely had a million twitter followers; the days where the only people who recognized him in public were the devoted fans of the show. He missed the days when he wasn't busy all the time, and most importantly, he missed the days his beloved Lucy Hale worked alongside him.
Three years had gone by since he'd seen her last.
He couldn't say that ultimately he still wasn't over their separation. The three years had yes, come with the inevitable heartbreak that came with letting her go, but the years had also allowed him to grow. Forcing himself to focus on something besides Lucy had allowed him to focus on his career, his interests and his future. He realized that he couldn't rotate his world around one relationship, and as the months passed, things improved. Wounds healed. He moved on- well, sort of.
As he stepped up to order, his eyes caught the display case one last time to finalize his decision. His eyes landed on a cronut, and he sighed, heart swelling, appetite fading. On second thought, he only wanted the latte.
It was still the little things that were what got to him. Even though he knew he had to be over her, he missed said little details- the way her tiny hand used to fit in his, the way she felt the need to Instagram candids of him in embarrassing situations. He missed her caffeine dependency and he missed her short lived cronut obsession. As hard as he tried to convince himself elsewise, there were days when he just missed Lucy.
Things were okay for him now, even if he didn't want to admit that. Sure, he knew deep down that she still would always have a hold on his heart, but he liked to think he was healed. That he wasn't broken like he expected himself to be. Sometimes he convinced himself that splitting with Lucy Hale had been the best decision of his life. But that thought only came when a personal pep talk was ongoing.
Ian's New York move had been unexpected. When the opportunity for the role in his new movie had arisen, Ian decided that moving to NY for the filming process would be the best bet. Living in New York had also been a dream of his for a while; after Pretty Little Liars had ended, he had been a little desperate to get out of LA. He'd found himself a nice, humble apartment in the city, and was anticipating his new life there. Ian had moved in three days ago.
The barista handed Ian his latte, and he thanked her curtly. After paying, he glanced at his watch and turned to make a hasty exit. As he sped towards the door, his sunglasses suddenly slid down his nose and created a blind spot in his vision. Just as he got through the door, he felt his body slam into someone.
"Jesus, I'm sorry." Ian said, shoving his glasses back into place as he backed up. His latte had fallen to the ground and sloshed all over the sidewalk. So much for breakfast.
"No, it's my fault." Said the person, and Ian looked up to find it was a woman. She had curly red hair and bright green eyes. "Here, let me buy you another coffee." She reached into her pocket, and Ian instantaneously made a move to wave away the money.
"It's really okay," Ian smiled, bending to scoop up the empty cup from the ground. A second voice greeted his ears, and as he stood back up he found someone else beside the woman he'd bumped into.
"Hey Gina! I guess we're going in the same direction-" The new person said cheerfully, obviously meeting the red headed woman by coincidence. It seemed like a ridiculously impossible strike of fate, (one that Ian had a hard time believing), but as he turned his head towards the two woman his heart went up into his throat.
It couldn't be.
The second woman froze, meeting Ian's sunglass covered eyes. There was a dumbstruck expression on her face, and she broke eye contact almost instantly as if she were shy or afraid of him. Few people knew his face well enough to know it with sunglasses on.
"Lucy?" Ian asked, voice more of a gasp than a word.
The first woman, Gina, took the tension as a cue to leave and said a prompt goodbye, then hurried off into the coffee shop. Ian and Lucy stood there, both too shocked and too uncomfortable to say anything. Ian decided to break the silence; this coincidence was far too large to ignore.
"It's been a while." He said softly, eyes absorbing her face for the first time in three years. He cheeks were rosy from the cold and her eyes weren't lined in black pencil as he remembered them to be. She only wore a light smear of pink lipstick and a touch of mascara, but still her natural beauty made her the loveliest thing the eyes could see.
Lucy nodded her head once, scratching at the back of her neck awkwardly. "A while indeed."
"What're you doing here in New York?" Ian saw the hesitation and doubt in her eyes as he continued to speak to her; he wondered if she'd moved on at all in three years. Seeing her here now was completely surreal- he hadn't even willed himself to look at a photograph after their split. He'd felt too guilty and it hurt too much. She really felt like pinching his arm- was he really speaking to her? How could this be?
Lucy sighed and pursed her lips in thought. "I live here now."
Ian smiled sadly. "Me too."
"Really?"
"I just moved into that building." He turned and pointed towards the luxury apartment building across the street. "It's for a movie. I'm not sure if this arrangement is going to be permanent, but," He tapped his teeth together.
Meanwhile, Lucy was staring at him with the saddest eyes he'd ever seen. It literally felt like someone was sitting on his chest to see that longing in her expression. All the emotions he'd blocked out for so long were on the verge of coming back in a flash flood all at once. Ian suddenly missed her so much it was crazy.
"Ian, I really have to go-" Lucy began, pulling her phone from her pocket to check the time. Ian had forgotten all about how late he was.
"Then can I take you out? So we can catch up?" It was impulsive to ask her such a thing, but he hadn't been able to stop himself. He missed her so much and he wanted to get to know how she was doing. Maybe he didn't deserve it after the way things had ended between them, but maybe they could potentially get to know each other as friends again. Or even at least just acquaintances that didn't treat each other like strangers.
"I don't think that's a good idea," She began, and Ian let out a soft sigh. Of course she wouldn't say yes- they were ex-girlfriend and boyfriend now. She probably was dating someone else, and it who ever wanted to go to dinner with their ex? That was awkward. But nevertheless, Ian wasn't going to let the opportunity slip that easily.
"Please?" His voice was gentle. "It won't mean anything. We spent a solid five years together, Luce-" Ian's eyes widened as he realized he'd accidentally used one of her old nicknames. It was just out of habit- it felt natural to call her by her nickname. "And it seems like the right thing to do."
Lucy bit her lip. Her eyes found the concrete sidewalk, and then his eyes again. Letting out a soft breath, she muttered a word Ian thought he'd never hear her say. "Alright."
Ian found himself lost in her eyes then, a smile stretching over his lips. A twisting sensation began in his stomach as he grew giddy. But then Ian's own fear of being too pushy took over, and the short swell of confidence he had not moments ago boiled over and dissipated. He looked at her nervously, then added quickly, "I mean, only if you want to. I shouldn't have made you feel obligated like that-"
"Ian, it's fine." Lucy interrupted him, flashing a small smile. He noticed then that her hair, which was pulled back into a loose ponytail was a slightly reddish colour. He liked it.
"Okay," Ian pulled out his phone. "We could swap numbers..?"
Lucy reached into her pocket and fished out her iPhone, but then noticeably flinched and dropped it back into her pocket. She'd noticeably tensed and it looked as if she hadn't wanted him to see her phone.
"Here- I'll just text myself," She took Ian's cell and went to work tapping on it. "My phone's been acting weird lately. Got to go get it looked at." She handed him back his phone. "I'll just save you the trouble."
Lucy forced a chuckle and shifted her feet, which were covered in a pair of leather boots. "So, are you headed to work?" She tried to converse, rather awkwardly, Ian noticed.
Ian jumped all of a sudden, realizing that now he was ridiculously late for work. His heart started pounding.
"Um, yeah. Speaking of, I have to be there-" He glanced at his watch. "Now."
"Okay," Lucy said, biting her top lip. It was a habit for when she got nervous or disappointed. Ian remembered it sadly. She always did it when they were going to be apart, years ago. He suddenly had to fight the urge to hug her. "I guess I'll see you..?"
"Tonight?" Ian suggested.
Lucy's face fell slightly. "I can't tonight. Tomorrow?"
Ian nodded eagerly. "We could go to dinner?"
Lucy smiled. "I'd like that. It was nice seeing you, Ian."
"It's been-" Ian pursed his lips, debating on whether or not to mutter the next few words. "Too long."
Lucy looked at him sadly. Her hazel eyes looked tired, and Ian for the first time noticed the bags underneath them. "Yeah." She licked her lips. "It's been much too long."
They shared a brief goodbye before they went on their separate ways, Ian shoving his hands into his pockets. By then, his mind was lost in the messy thoughts he'd been bottling up for so long.
Pretty Little Liars had ended off with a bang in both Rosewood and LA. Ezra had proposed to Aria. Toby died, for real. It turned out that Emily, the weakest link had been on the A Team all along and to no one's shock, Ali hadn't died. The actors, on the other hand, had gone their separate ways as well, but the group still stayed in touch.
Lucy and Ian had officially announced their relationship by the start of the fifth season. They were rooted on by thousands of teenage girls, and Ian seriously thought that maybe he had a shot at spending forever with her. Ian Harding loved Lucy Hale with everything inside of him. He couldn't put it into any other words than that. He'd just really, really loved her, plain and simple. And that's what made leaving her so hard, especially after the fight they'd had before they split.
As well as the final seasons of PLL, Lucy had also released her first album. Her music career took off, and almost overnight, all her dreams came true. It was when the show ended though that had sent their relationship downhill.
She began touring- and with Ian's busy schedule and her busy schedule, the pair were barely ever together. The days they did spend together were sacred; almost unbelievably wonderful. No matter how worth it it seemed when they actually were together, the space was unbelievably hard on both Lucy and Ian. It felt like they were slipping more and more away each day they spent apart, and it began to take a toll on their relationship.
The final straw had been the day Lucy was offered a second record deal. It was her dream to keep doing this; making music and sharing it with the world. Ian pushed her so hard to sign the contract- to go after her dreams, but Lucy had been persistent on giving it up. She was literally willing to put her career and her dream on hold to keep their relationship. And Ian knew in his heart that, despite her protests, to let her do that was nothing but selfish.
A fight broke out that night between them; one that was ironically about trying to keep the relationship the dispute was about. One thing lead to another, and as midnight rolled around, whatever love they had for each other had disappeared. Lucy called him everything foul her vocabulary had to offer- why, there really wasn't a reason, and he yelled so much his voice finally gave out. The fight had been a little one-sided on the cruelty level. (Even as angry as he was he never would have had the nerve to call her anything rude.)
By the end of the night, they weren't even sure why they were so angry, but Ian had been so caught up in the moment that he'd told her point blank they were finished. He packed his bags at three in the morning and just left- neither had even said goodbye.
The only thing that kept him from going back the following day was that fact that if he did, there was no way she'd ever sign a second record deal.
That was the last time he'd spoken to her, and the last time he'd seen her. He didn't allow himself to acknowledge anything she did. He refused to look at photos, read articles about her- the whole nine yards. It was too painful and he couldn't bear it to see her with any other man, even though he'd told her during their fight she could find someone else to yell at. Ian hadn't even allowed himself to see if she'd released another album; something that now, he was deeply ashamed of.
Three years had gone by, in which Ian had let himself peel Lucy Hale out of his life in every way. He had blocked her out so ferociously that even the memories deluded themselves into images he couldn't tell existed. But if meeting her on the sidewalk in New York City was a twist of fate that had to hold more meaning than just coincidence. Perhaps, even after the fight and the three lonely years, there was still something there. Something holding them together. Maybe there was a chance that they really hadn't lost each other after all. Tomorrow night would give these answers, and tomorrow night could potentially patch up the things they'd lost in the fire.
But little did Ian Harding know how much tomorrow night would change his life.
So there it is folks, chapter 1. I hope you liked it! I can't wait for this story to unfold, and I hope you're ready for a ride. I'll update soon, depending on response, and the next chapter is full of angst, let me tell you that. But I promise it will all be worth it. Just hang on tight! This story is dedicated to Kate, Emmalee, and Courtney. Love you!
I'm HaleStorms26 on twitter, and I'll tweet about updates and stuff there, so don't be afraid to talk to me!
Please review! Reviews make me write!
