Anna thought she was in a fairytale.

She had met the love of her life in High School, the amazing Hans Westerguard.

Charming, handsome, sweet and kind; he was everything she had dreamed in her prince charming.

She had gotten into her dream college, but went to a smaller one to be closer to him.

She had found a decent, cheap place to live, but moved into his larger, more expensive apartment to be with him.

She loved her job as a waitress, talking and chatting with her customers, but left it to make him happy.

"I'm just worried about the guys Anna," he had said, "that's all. I'm just jealous."

She had believed him, and had nearly screamed "YES!" when he got down on one knee a month later.

She stopped going out with her friends unless he was there.

She stopped talking to her friends all together because of him.

"I just don't trust them Anna." He had said, but really, he didn't trust himself.

She had bought the dress for him, had a date picked and a place reserved that fit his schedule, had the food chosen that he specifically like, picked the friends only he approved of; had done it all for him.

It had been a fairytale…it had been.

Anna sighed pulling into the familiar gravel parking lot.

It had been years since she had visited this park; hell, it had been years since she had been home period.

She frowned at the thought, instinctively looking to her ring finger were a "promise", a dream, her fairytale, her "happy ending", had once sat.

But now, the ring was gone, so was the bastard who gave it to her, and now here she was. Back home and wondering what the hell the next step even was.

Taking a deep breath, she looked away from her finger and climbed out the car.

She had always wanted to leave it all for the big city. The idea of it had always fascinated her when she was a little girl. The magic of it all; the people, the business, the glowing neon signs, the possibilities, the night life.

But the people weren't always the kindest, businesses played too many games, glowing neon signs became an annoyance, the possibilities cut short after each failed interview and the night life became a drag.

The hustle and bustle was only so exciting for so long and after a while, she had begun to miss the silence and easiness of her hometown.

Anna smiled, feeling more at home than she had in years. She may have thought she had escaped the little town but really, she never could.

The autumn air was cool and crisp, the leaves just beginning to turn into the many tones of yellow, red and orange. The old "meet up" bench still sat, now a bit rustier than Anna remembered, right on the edge of the lake. A few ducks still remained and floated around, enjoying the peacefulness.

Burt must have already ended his hot dog season, that or had stopped selling them all together, because his usual spot was bare. Though the cement was still a bit black from where his grill sat. Miss Glenda must have already done her midafternoon stroll, for there was no sign of the familiar yellow track suit anywhere in the park. A few children chased after each other, throwing leaves in the air, rolling into the pile they made, their parents watching from afar and chatting.

Anna sat on a nearby bench, closing her eyes and leaning back as she just took it all in.

God, she really had missed this place.

"Anna?"

Anna looked up to find a familiar curly headed man standing in front of her, smirking as he took his headphones out of his ears. "Sven?!"

"Holy shit!" They both laughed as they hugged each other. "What are you doing here? What has it been...4 years?"

"Almost 5, but who's counting?" She smiled, so happy to see a familiar face.

A few more hugs and 2 laps around the lake, and it was as if the years hadn't passed.

"I'll be honest; I never would have pinned you as a teacher?"

"Oh, such little faith."

"More like you are just not at all serious enough for the job."

"Ha, I'll give you that." Sven chuckled, "but you will be happy to know that I have learned to become serious when it is needed."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really."

"Hmm, I'll believe it when I see it."

"And what about you, Miss Delle," Anna didn't miss the emphases on the 'Miss', "What exactly are you going to get into?"

"I…" Anna looked up at the sun, and breathed a laugh, "I don't know. I honestly have no idea what I am going to do and you know what's funny?"

"What?"

She looked at him, "I'm actually happy to not know. I'm excited to see what happens. I am happy that my day has no set agenda. It's just…wide open to do anything, and I'm…I'm actually happy." She paused for a moment, "Is that weird?"

Sven smiled at her, "The city has changed you Anna Delle."

"More than you know." She murmured, her smile falling slightly.

"Have you seen anyone else yet?"

"No not yet. I just got in town yesterday, my apartment isn't even really unpacked yet said for a few things. I was supposed to unpack it all today but, I needed some air."

"Well, maybe you should go explore downtown a bit. Get familiar with it all again. Maybe you'll run into some people, some old friends."

"Maybe…" A name immediately popped in her head, "Sven…is…is Kris still here?"

Sven simply smirked, "Go downtown and see for yourself."

Of course the coffee shop was still there, how could she have forgotten. Bulda had always said she would never give up that shop no matter what happened.

It may have had a new paint job (a sunset orange that made the building pop among its' deep red bricked neighbors) and a new sign (still Pappy's Coffe, just a bit more decorated), but it was still the same coffee shop that Anna had once spent all her free time in.

Maybe he worked the back? Maybe he helped Bulda with the pastries? Or maybe Cliff with the cleaning and managing?

But of course, of course, Bulda had him working the front and Anna stopped dead when she walked through the door, the bell announcing her entrance.

His back was to her, but she could tell from here that the years had been good to him. His hair was still just at his shoulders, just short enough to not need a haircut but long enough to sometimes cover his eyes when he leaned forward enough.

The customers didn't look at her, minus the little girl in the booth beating her heals on the bench, as she slowly walked to the counter.

There was no reason to be nervous, it had only been 5 years since she left…and 3 since they last spoke.

Did he hate her?

Did he despise her?

Would he demand she leave?

Would he even speak to her?

Probably not. He wouldn't want to. Why would he? She had left him, deserted him, broke all contact with him for some douchebag.

She looked to the floor and began to turn and head for the door when,

"Hi, sorry, I didn't see you there what can I—"

Fuck.

"…Anna?"

FUCK.

She closed her eyes, and turned to face him.

God, the years hadn't been just good to him, they had been amazing to him. He looked exactly the same, minus the bit of scruff that covered his face. His shoulders were much more muscular, along with his arms which Anna fought so hard to not stare at cause Holy shit they were so BIG. His eyes, his eyes were still the same chocolate brown…and still soft and kind.

Even now.

"Hi." She finally said, smiling.

For a moment, they simply stared at one another and then he smiled at her.

Had his smile always been that cute?

"It's…uh…it's been a while." And still completely bashful.

"Yeah, yeah it has."

He hesitated for a moment, "You just passing through?"

"Oh," Anna bit her lip, "No, actually I'm…I'm moving back."

His eyes widened a bit, "You are? What about the grand ole city life you wanted?" He said with a slight smirk.

She chuckled, "Yeah, it wasn't exactly what I thought it was. The idea was great but…it just wasn't meant to be."

Her smile fell a bit, and she tried to recover quickly, looking up at him with a forced smile. But he didn't miss a thing, he never did, and his brows furrowed in concern at the sadness in her voice.

She watched as it all clicked in his head, see the question coming and quickly dodged it, "So, you're the barista, huh? How good are your Mochas?"

He blinked at her, hesitated, and then "Uh, pretty good I'd say."

"Better than Pappy's?"

"Close to it I would say."

"Oh really?" She crossed her arms, smirking at him, "Does it have plenty of chocolate?"

He smiled, "More than enough for your sweet tooth."

"Well," Anna said, taking a seat in the bar stool, "I'll just have to be the judge of that."

He chuckled, "One perfect Mocha coming right up." He turned back to get to work and Anna smiled as she lightly tapped on the legs of the stool.

It was good to be home.