A/N: I apologize ahead of time for all the house-keeping in this Chapter! Gotta set up the backstory before I can dive into my devious plans... Hopefully you all enjoy it!

Tom Hiddleston was becoming a hot commodity. Gone were the days where the locals knew him only as the small-time actor in several Shakespearean plays, or in random movies most had never heard of (such as Unrelated or Conspiracy). Nope. Now, he was most commonly known as Loki from Thor or The Avengers. He was listed as number 2 in the World's 50 sexiest men. Number freakin' 2! But, more about that later.

Today, our story begins in a cool afternoon in London, England about 5 years ago…

I suppose I should start out with some sort of introduction. Who I am, where I'm from, etc. Well first things first, my name is Elaynah (pronounced ee-lay-na), and I'm born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, and am 28 years old. Everything in my life was simple. I had a boyfriend I could see myself settling down with, whom I had been with for almost 6 years. I was living on my own and working, and I knew what direction I wanted to take my life- or so I thought. I said earlier this story begins in London, but let me backtrack a bit.

When I was studying my undergraduate degree (about 9 years ago), I fell in love with Psychology, but I also enjoyed English and History. I hated all the papers that accustomed both of those subjects, so I took the lesser of evils and double-majored in English and Psychology and minored in History (specifically modern European History). I had no idea what I wanted to do after school finished, but I knew I wanted to pursue a higher education. A PhD always sounded so lovely…

And so, quite remarkably, that did happen. I was accepted into Regent's University in London to receive my PhD in psychotherapy and counseling studies. It was different, yes, than I had anticipated- however I had always had a soft spot for helping people and learning about them. I think that was part of the reason why I gravitated so heavily towards history- I wanted to learn more about the past to be able to better understand the future. And why London, you may ask? Didn't I have a boyfriend back home? Well, I had family in London and Regent's had actually sought me out to come to their school and I would have felt like a fool if I said no. And as for the boyfriend? Well, we'll get to that later (although, as you can imagine, moving an entire 8 hour time-zone difference away did not make for an easy relationship) but I digress.

So fast-forward some 4-5 years and I was returning to London to receive my actual diploma and walk with my fellow students (London does this wonky thing where you complete your program, but your graduation isn't usually until 6 months after- I know, it doesn't make sense to me either). The program at Regent's usually took students anywhere from 1-7 years to complete and I had completed it in a ripe 3 and a half years. I had worked my tail off, studied hard, and hardly ever took time to myself. Not to say that I didn't enjoy myself, I just enjoyed my studies more. ….

Did I really just say that?

Anyway. Since I was only going to be in London for such a short while, I stayed at my cousin's house and met up with colleagues of mine while she was ever away at work. I usually made a habit to meet up with one of my dear friends, Colin, almost every day. He seemed very excited to see me, and very excited to support me on my big day (my graduation). In fact, he had insisted that we meet at the local pub afterward to celebrate with drinks and celebratory speeches. I wasn't one for drinking for fun (hey don't judge, I hardly had time whilst being so busy with school), but I also wasn't someone who turned down her friends.

"To Elaynah!" The rest of the pub cheered, as Colin clunked glasses with me and sloppily took a drink of his beer. I laughed and took a sip of my own- I was all for having a good time but dreaded a morning hangover.

"So what's next on the big 'to-do list' for Doctor Elaynah Montgomery?" Colin asked, his British accent slurring by the minute. I shrugged slightly.

"I'm honestly not sure! I suppose start writing books or helping people or something." It felt so surreal to hear Colin call me 'Doctor' before my name, it was something I had dreamed about since I was a kid but never really thought it would come true.

"Oh bullocks!" I heard one of our friends, Andrew; yell from the right of me, "Elaynah always has a plan!"

"Not this time, Drew!" I called out to him while laughing, "I'm just going to see where the tide takes me."

"Hopefully the tide keeps you close to home." Colin commented, and I found myself shrugging once again.

"If by 'home' you mean Washington, then yes, maybe."

Colin shook his head in disagreement, "No, I meant here, in London."

I laughed, "Colin I'm not going to stay here! I don't have anything for me here. And besides, my life is back home…"

"You mean Jeremy is back home." He retorted quickly. I sighed, remember when I said we would talk about my boyfriend later? I guess it's later.

Jeremy was the guy that everyone wanted you to be with. Your family loves him, your friends think he's quiet, but genuine, and you've been together so long that people continuously keep asking 'when are you guys going to get married already?' Jeremy was soft, kind, and had a shy quality about him. He did anything and everything for me, and he loved me so much he could never do anything else in the world besides love me. He put his life on hold for me, always. He waited while I went to school in London and swore we would make it through. While he would try to visit every few months, it was almost impossible to maintain a connection with him when we were so far away and battling time zones. He worked full-time as an Engineer in Palo Alto, California, and I was spending my time split between London and home (in Northern Washington) looking for a job. It was hardly the romance anyone would write novels about. But the thing with Jeremy is that he was safe. He was comfortable. I could be myself around him; he was my best friend and confidant. Yet with everything else, it was just…fine. We clicked emotionally but physically…it was good. I won't sell him short. Most of the time I had really great orgasms that made me see stars and stuff. But the thing is, I felt like I was doing it just because I had to. Or for the routine of it. There was no spontaneity. I didn't feel like I wanted to jump his bones when I saw him or that I couldn't live without him. Don't get me wrong; the sex was definitely good here and there. But like I said- it was out of habit. It was convenient to be with him, because nothing better had come our way…

I feel awful saying that but I know that it's the truth. We were great for each other when we were younger. He had helped me through a lot of my personal problems with my family while I was in my mid-20's, and I had supported him throughout the beginning of his career and undergraduate life. I felt, though, that we were outgrowing each other. That we were only meant to be together for those few important years but the real thing was yet to come.

As of right now, Jeremy acts like we're together. He still sends me lovey texts about how he misses me, and we've Skyped here and there, but I think a part of him knows that when I come home for good, it'll fizzle out. He's invited me to move in with him, to hopefully progress the relationship and get engaged like we originally planned. And while a part of me does want that, another part of me is also telling me that this isn't it. That there's more out there for me. I loved him- I always had, and I always would. But I knew that my love for him was growing from romantic love to the love you have for a best friend.

So that's the story of Jeremy. Things are at a stand still, and I almost dread going down to California to see him. And so when Colin brought him back up again, I felt a mixture of annoyance, sadness, and everything else in between.

"Knock it off, Colin, you know that's not true." I replied, taking a deep swig of my beer. To hell with not having a hangover the next morning.