Chapter 1:

1995

"Hey, Chris." Jason whistles while waving his hand in Christian's face. He turns around and chuckles, grabbing a fry, scooping an unnecessary amount of ketchup onto it and popping it into his mouth. "If you like her so much then just go up and talk to her." Christian makes eye contact with Jason and scoffs.

"Yeah like she'd ever go for a guy like me." Jason rolls his eyes and leans back on his chair, putting his feet up on the table.

"You need to stop doubting yourself man. You're a good looking guy, and she's smokin hot-"

"-You better be talking about me or they'll be trouble mister." Gail, Jason's girlfriend says as she approaches in her apron. Jason gives Christian a look that he laughs at and grabs her waist.

"Of course we were talking about you baby. You're the only girl I look at." She giggles and leans down, giving him a short kiss.

"Yeah like I believe that." She turns to Christian and smiles. "As long as he comes home to me every night he can look at all the girls he wants." She glances at her watch. "Thank god! It's my break." She slumps down onto a chair and pushes Jason's feet off the table, giving him a glare. "So, what are we talking about?" Jason sits forward and eyes Christian.

"How Christian is in love with a girl but he won't talk to her." Christian raises his hands up and shakes his head at him. Gail sits up straight and looks around.

"Which one?" Christian sits forward and gestures to Jason.

"Look I don't love her ok? And she's the one on the balcony." He mutters to Gail and she cranes her neck so that she can see her. She turns back to Christian grinning wildly.

"Anastasia? You like Anastasia?" She practically shouts at him in an excited and high pitched voice.

"Why don't you shout a little louder I'm sure the people across town didn't hear you." Christian mutters irritatedly. Gail laughs and reaches forward, grabbing his cheeks in one hand and squishing them together.

"Aww, don't sulk sweet cheeks." He bats her hand away and she takes a fry, eating it quickly. "It's only because I know she has a crush on you too." Christian's head flies up and his eyes practically bulge out of his head. She smiles and giggles happily. "I knew you loved her!" Christian looks over to the balcony, and he sees her tuck a small strand of hair behind her ear, and she glances down and bites her lip, smiling at whatever the person she's with is saying to her. And then, in one moment, she glances over to him, and when their eyes make contact he find himself gazing into sky blue eyes, and is suddenly paralysed by the amazing feeling he has in his chest. Could this girl be anymore beautiful? She smirks at him and turns back to her friend. Christian realises that Gail has been talking to him the whole time. He shakes his head and looks at her.

"Sorry, what?" She stops talking and tuts at him.

"I was saying that she's in my English class, she sits behind me, with Kate? Kate Kavanagh?" He nods and gestures for her to continue. "Well, I overheard them talking and when I turned around and asked them who they were talking about Kate said Christian Grey. I thought, well hey, that's you! And I know you so I asked them what they were saying about you and Kate told me that Ana thought you were cute. Then Ana looked down and started blushing, saying that it was only a little crush. But I'm pretty sure if you asked her out she'd definitely say yes." Christian couldn't hide the delight on his face as he rose out of his chair and went to walk over to her. He got a few feet then turned back around and sat down again.

"What are you doing?" Jason says. "Go talk to her!" Christian sighs and gets up again. He can feel his heart racing as he approaches the girl that he's stared at since he started school again. She laughs as he gets closer and his heart skips a beat. What a beautiful sound. He gets closer and closer until he could almost reach out and touch her when he feels a rush of cold in his face. Three boys from school have just thrown a milkshake onto him. He splutters looking up, and the boys howl with laughter. He wipes his eyes and looks one of them in the eye, he lifts his fist and goes to punch him but he feels a hand on his chest. He looks down and sees the girl, she looks up at him for a beat then turns around.

"Man, what is wrong with you guys? Why do you think that this is ok?" One of the guys laughs.

"Come on Ana it's only a bit of fun." She clenches her fists and pushes him back.

"For you maybe! Jesus Jack why do have to be such an asshole!" The guy she called Jack just looks around to see the whole diner silent, watching him being told off.

"Well what do you want me to do? Lick it off him?" He smiles and laughs again.

"Just apologise and be on your way." He hesitates. "Do it!" Jack looks up at Christian and shakes his head.

"Sorry." He mutters. Ana walks towards him.

"What? I couldn't hear you!" Jack sighs and looks at Christian again.

"I'm sorry." He says louder and Ana nods.

"Great. Now fuck off." Jack looks around again and then at his friends who nod too. They give Christian one last look and leave, then Ana turns around. "Jesus I'm so sorry, they can be real class A pricks sometimes. Well, most of the time. You need some help?" Christian couldn't believe what was happening. Not only had this beautiful girl just defended him, she's now talking to him. He forgets to answer and she giggles. "You don't know how to talk to girls do you?" He looks down at her and laughs nervously. "It's ok, I can do all the talking for the both of us, come on." She grabs one of the napkin containers in one hand and then takes his hand, walking confidently outside. He couldn't believe that this was what being touched felt like, the only touch he felt was rough, and it hurt, but this one was soft, and it sent tingles all up his arm. She sits down on a bench and he joins her, then she grabs a few napkins out of the container. She doesn't give them to him, instead, she turns to him and starts wiping the milkshake off his face. As she's cleaning him he looks at her. This was the closest he had ever seen her and he couldn't believe how perfect she was even this close up. Her light freckles were scattered across her nose and under her eyes and that made her look even more beautiful. Her eyelashes were long and thick, and the almond shape that they were made the colour of her eyes stand out even more. Then his eyes moved down to her full lips, they were gorgeous, as was she. She looks at him and slows down when she's cleaning him. "You have the most beautiful eyes." She says, looking at him as if in amazement. She was referring to his striking grey eyes that he inherited from his mother. He didn't like to think about her, and the fact that he looked like her angered him deeply, he was nothing like her. Christian smiled and looked down.

"That was my line." He says quietly. He wanted to seem confident but when he looked at her all his words left his brain. She chuckled lightly and lifted his chin so that he was looking at her.

"He speaks! Jeez I thought you were a mute or something." Christian laughs and she smiles lopsidedly at him. "Well go on." He looks at her confused. "Do it, ask me out." He raises his eyebrows in shock and she laughs. "Well come on, it was coming wasn't it? I like you, you like me-"

"-How did you know-"

"-Oh come on Christian you may be mysterious but you don't subtly stare." He looks down and blushes and she sits back. "It's not a bad thing you know." He peers up at her through his copper hair.

"It's not?" She shakes her head and smiles brightly.

"No! At least you're not one of those guys that doesn't show his emotions. Man, they're annoying." She turns to him and slaps her hands on her thighs. "Right ok. Meet here, Friday at seven?" Christian looks up at her.

"Uh, sure." She smiles and leans over to him.

"Great. I'll see you then." She kisses his cheek then bounces off back into the diner. Christian lifts his hand up and slowly touches the spot where she kissed him, as though if he touched it too quickly the tingling feeling would leave him. He couldn't believe it. She knew he liked her, and better yet, she liked him! He was in a daze, and he couldn't wait for his date with Anastasia Steele.

2015

Ana wakes up and yawns, she glances around her room and edges her feet out of the bed, taking the hairband out of her braid and dragging her hands through it to make it wavy. She puts on her slippers and walks downstairs and into the kitchen. She sees Jamie, her son, sitting and enjoying a bowl of frosties. She stands in the door and tuts at him. "You know I told you not to eat those. They're too full of sugar." He smiles brightly at her and shakes his head.

"Then stop buying them." She walks forward and wraps her arms around him, stroking his hair.

"I'm afraid that you'll leave me if I stop." He wriggles out of her grasp and turns to her.

"Mom, I'm not going back to dad's. But I am going to college and you have to accept that." Ana sighs and nods. The thought of Jamie going back to his dad's house wasn't the worrying thing, it was the fact that his bimbo of a wife would be there, with her bimbo daughters. Jose and Ana had married in 2003, they had met in college and started dating. But two years after they moved in together they found out Jamie was coming, so Jose proposed and she said yes. Not because she loved him, because it was safe, and she knew she'd never see the one she wanted again, but that was against her rules, to think about him. She couldn't think about him anymore, not after what he did.

"I know, but I don't want my baby to leave the house." She holds his head and kisses his cheek and he struggles to get away from her.

"Mom!" He says, laughing. She lets him go and makes herself some tea. The house phone rings and she huffs, putting down the kettle and picking it up.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Anastasia Rodriguez?" She frowns, she hasn't been called that for three years.

"It's Anastasia Steele, but yes it is, can I ask who's calling?"

"My apologies Ms Steele. My name is Alexandra Wyndham, I'm Mr and Mrs Sawyer's executor." The woman pauses before she continues. "I'm calling to regretfully inform you that Luke Sawyer passed away in the early hours of yesterday morning." Ana's mouth dropped open. She couldn't believe it. He had been there for her when she needed someone the most. He had been there with Emily, and her divorce. She felt a lump in her throat and a tear fall down her cheek. She wipes it away quickly and sniffs.

"Right, wh- how?" She whispers hoarsely.

"He had been suffering from terminal lung cancer for a few years, he was told a year ago he had two months to live, but he hung in there for a while." She almost says it fondly, she obviously knew him before hand. Ana hears her clear her throat. "I was told to inform you because in his will he has given you his home in Wichita Falls." Ana's eyebrows raise. She wasn't surprised that he had given her something but she was surprised that he didn't give it to Christian. "He says in his will that he wants you to come down and clear out his house before the funeral. From the third of July to the eighth. Would this be a good time for you?" Ana thought for a moment.

"Tomorrow is the third."

"He wanted it done as soon as possible." That was very like Sawyer. He wouldn't like her dwelling on it for too long, and Jamie would be at his dad's for three days out of the five so she would have to ask Jose to take him for a couple more days. She rubbed her face with her free hand and sighed.

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Great, I'll need you to come by my office on the fourth so that I can go through his will with you. Ten am if that's ok." She nods and wipes her eyes again.

"Yep, that's fine. See you then."

"Brilliant. Thank you. And Ms Steele?"

"Hm?" There's another small pause.

"I'm extremely sorry for your loss. He was a good man." More tears spill down Ana's cheeks and she doesn't move to wipe them away this time.

"He was a brilliant man. Thank you. Bye." She hangs up and leans against the wall, feeling her chest constrict as she sobs. She hears the floorboards creak and she turns, see if Jamie standing looking worried.

"Mom? Are you ok?" She looks up at him and shakes her head, holding her arms open, Jamie walks forward and hugs her, while she cries for one of her one true friend.

A/N - Hi guys! So this is an idea for a new story that I wanted to try. The storyline and structure is quite like The Best of Me, and I wanted to see how our favourite couple could fit in the place of the two main characters. It's obviously not a copy, I just liked the idea. Let me know if you want more or something else:)

Sophie x