First things first...

3 cheers for sthrnpanther06 - my first reviewer! Thank you so much!

I dedicate this chapter to one of my best friends Ayesha Ahmed! :D

Oh and by the way, the story is set in 2005/2006- same as the movie. Just incase anyone was wondering.

The person I imagine Skye to look like is Freida Pinto - because I love her!

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Apart from my OC's and bits of the story line.

Enjoy! :)


Chapter 2: A Fresh Start

It's been 9 years since Skye set foot in Ipswich, leaving on a rather bitter-sweet note. She remembers it like it was yesterday. Deciding at the very last minute to stop being so pig-headed and forgive the friends who hadn't really done anything wrong. The friends who she quickly lost touch with.

How was the little town going to react to the Ryan family's sudden return? People would definitely want an explanation. She hadn't even told her parents why she so desperately wanted to come back. They wouldn't be able to handle the truth. She could barely explain it to herself without sounding crazy, so she told them what she thought they'd want to hear. She missed home, leaving out the part that she needed to get as far away from that place as possible, before her nightmares became a reality, and what better place to go than the one she always felt safe in. She was quite surprised when her parents didn't even put up a fight. It was almost as if they were waiting for Skye to give the signal, the one that meant they could finally return home.

Thanks to Dr. Patel, Skye's heart condition had improved so much that she didn't even need treatment anymore. A miracle he called it. She had also just finished with her secondary education so really, there was nothing holding them back.

London had turned out to be everything she hoped it wouldn't. She wanted to hate it but couldn't find it in her heart to dislike such a magical place. She was quickly taken in by its rich history and vibrant way of life. After a couple months of being there, her old friends and old home become but a distant memory. She wasn't the only one to blame for that though. She tried to keep in contact but stopped after a while, what was the use in trying if the other end wasn't reciprocating? And that's exactly what happened. They stopped responding to her letters, emails and postcards, so she gave up. She can't say she blamed them though, she moved on with her life, so it was only fair to accept that they did to.

But sitting in the back seat of her fathers Range Rover, going past familiar scenery, she couldn't help reminiscing about all that time they spent together. She wonders how easy it would be to fall back into that life…a happy one.

Wait, what was she thinking? It's been 9 years! A lot can change in a year, let alone 9. It was safe to say she didn't even know them anymore.

But that didn't matter. All she wanted was a fresh start.


The drive from the airport to their old estate by the lake was only 40 minutes. Jake and Kate decided that they didn't want to sell it. Skye knew it was because they'd hoped that one day they could return to it. In the nine years that they'd been gone, the property had been rented out to various couples and families who vacationed in Ipswich. Jake had left this to Pogue's father Andrew to manage as he was the resident real estate tycoon.

As they pulled up to the front gate of the estate, Skye noticed that there were lights on throughout the house. Jake and Kate didn't seem to be bothered by this as they carried on searching for the remote for the gate.

"Eeer…why are the lights on?" Skye asked, fearing the worst. What were the odds that the house was being robbed just when they got back?

"Andy must have come by and put them on." Jake said, still fishing around for the remote.

Skye looked at her father in confusion. "Wait…so he knows we're back?"

Kate chuckled. "Well of course he does Hun. We had to call and let him know so he could stop advertising the house."

Skye was kicking herself on the inside. Why hadn't that occurred to her before? Did it mean that Pogue and possibly the rest of the guys knew she was back too?

She was too absorbed by her thoughts to notice her mother calling her from outside the car. "Skye!"

She looked up, realising that they were now on the other side of the gate, parked just outside the house.

Skye hopped out of the car and followed her mother to the front door. She stopped before going inside, trying to take it all in.

They were actually back.


After wondering around the house for a while, trying to suss out just how much had changed, she walked into the kitchen to find her father pouring three glasses of wine.

He looked up at her and smiled. "Come on, we're gonna have a toast."

Skye chuckled as she walked over to her parents and stood in between them. "And what exactly are we toasting to?"

Kate just smiled. "Isn't it obvious? She asked as the three of them shared a look before raising their glasses and taking a sip each.

Skye was never one for wine but she seemed to like it. "Mmm…this is good. Where'd it come from?"

Jake picked up a 'Welcome Back' card that was lying on the counter and handed it to Skye. "Liz and Andy. They also brought over a bunch of food, if you're hungry." He said while taking another sip of his wine.

Skye looked from the card in her hand to the stack of pots near the stove. "Actually I was thinking I'd have a quick shower, and if it's alright with you, take the car into town?"

Jake looked at his wife for conformation before answering Skye. "Yeah, I don't see why not. Just be home by 12. We've gotta go see Provost Higgins about your enrolment at Spencer tomorrow."

Skye looked at her watch, it was only 19:28. "Yeah sure. No Problem."

The flight from London to Boston was only 7 hours so she wasn't all that tired, plus her curiosity was getting the better of her. She wanted to see how much the small town had changed since her family's departure. After taking a shower she searched through her suitcases for a change of clothes. Not wanting to waste time she grabbed the first set she saw- plain white tank top, blue skinny jeans and a black throw over, matched with a pair of black platform sandals.

Once she was dresses, she didn't even bother doing her makeup or hair, running a brush through it was good enough- she wasn't trying to impress anyone. She walked back into the kitchen and straight up to her parents who were sitting side by side on the counter, before holding her hand out, signalling for her father to hand over the keys to the Range Rover. He did so with a stern look that probably meant something along the lines of "Don't crash it!" Once the keys were firmly within her grasp, she smiled, kissing them both on the cheek before running towards the front door. Kate and Jake heard a "Love you!" just before the door slammed shut.


Skye drove around aimlessly for about an hour, trying to see if she still knew her way around. She made her way down familiar streets, looking at the shops as she passed by, but one in particular caused her to smile excitedly before stopping the car and getting out. She walked up to the quaint building nestled between an antique store and dry-cleaners. There stood Joe's Ice-Cream Parlour. Skye was overjoyed to see that it hadn't changed one bit, unlike some of the other buildings in town that seemed to have undergone modernisation.

"I wonder who runs it now…" She muttered to no one in particular.

Skye was suddenly snapped out of her daze by a noise. Looking around, she was sure she heard something, like a twig being snapped in half. "It was probably nothing" she thought to herself. Ipswich was a pretty safe place, but that was back then. Even though she couldn't imagine anything bad happening here, she wasn't going to take any chances. She thought it best to get back in the car and keep driving until something else caught her eye, so that's what she did.

After another hour of just driving around, she was ready to give up and head home when the distant sound of music caught her ear. What was that….a party? She glanced at the time behind the steering wheel- it was almost half past ten. Once again she let her curiosity get the better of her as she followed the music. It lead her to a narrow street that was jam-packed full of flashy cars. She searched for a spot to park that would allow for an easy get away if needed. Upon seeing one, she noticed it was beside a 2006 Silver Ford Mustang. Once she was out of the car and had it locked up securely, she took a minute to admire the Mustang, whoever owned it sure did have taste. Her eyes wondered to its customised licence plate and she immediately felt butterflies.

'Danvers'

"Is this Caleb's car? Well of course it is idiot, unless his parents developed a taste for fast cars and loud music!" She thought as she unconsciously smacked her own head. It could only be his- the boy did have a thing for Mustang's.

She dragged herself away from the car and up the street to finally see where the music was coming from.

Nicky's!

How could she have forgotten about this place? She spent most of her childhood trying to get Nicky himself to give her a job and he always insisted that she was too young. "Come see me in 10 years kid." She remembered him saying once.

"Oh well, it's now or never!" she thought as she walked in.


Just her luck, the door creaked when she opened it...Great. Everything went quiet and only the sound of the Jukebox could be heard as almost all the heads in the room snapped up from what they were doing. The guys looked her up and down while the girls huddled together to share their opinions with each other. Guess it didn't matter which country you were in, some thing never change.

Skye rolled her eyes and made her way to the bar, ignoring the people that glared at her as she passed them by. She took a seat on an empty bar stool and a large tattooed man approached her from behind the counter. "What can I get ya Darlin?"

She eyed Nicky knowingly. The man had put some weight on but seemed to be wearing the same type of clothes he did back then. "Soda float please."

He gave her a curious look before heading into the back to make her drink. While waiting, she turned around and scanned the room.

"So Mr Danvers…which one might you be?" she muttered under her breath.

"Looking for someone?" She heard from the spot to her right. She spun around on her stool to see a semi-good looking blonde guy leaning against the counter, grinning at her.

"Depends who you are." She said in her politest voice while putting on a fake smile. There was something about the guy that irritated her. He exuded this over cockiness that she found highly unattractive.

He continued to grin at her. "For you gorgeous…anyone!"

"Ergh, Perv!" She thought as she turned towards the bar to see Nicky coming back with her drink.

"Here's your drink Darlin…and go away Aaron." He said smiling at her then turning to the boy standing next to her.

Aaron gave Skye a look as if to say "Well?" She just ignored him and carried on staring at her drink, a small grin forming on her lips. He threw his palms up in defeat and walked away. So that was Aaron Abbott huh? Why was she not surprised?

She looked up at Nicky and smiled genuinely. "Thanks for that."

He chuckled at her and gave her that curious look again. "Trust me, it was my pleasure…You look familiar but I'm sure I haven't seen you in here before. "You new in town?"

Skye could feel butterflies again. "I guess you could say that…Got in today from London."

Nicky's eyes widened just a bit before they travelled to her drink. "London huh….you know, it's been years since someone's come in here and ordered a Soda Float."

Skye felt herself become a bit hopeful, Nicky was so close. "They always were my favourite." She said smiling at him and taking a sip of her drink.

Once again Nicky's eyes widened, this time in realisation. Without a word he left Skye and went over to the pin board, pulling off what looked to be an old photograph and stared at it for a minute before looking back at her. He walked back over and placed the photo on the counter.

It made her giggle. There she stood, in between four boys. They were all smiling. "I remember that day, it was the last time I was in here." She simply stated before looking up at Nicky.

He was laughing and shaking his head. "My God…Layla Skye Ryan, you little shit!

She pulled her index finger up to her lips. "Come on now Nicky, we've gotta keep this on the down low. No one knows I'm back!"

He nodded his head towards his office, indicating for Skye to follow. Once she stepped inside, he pulled her into a bone crushing hug.

"…cutting off circulation here Nicky."

He set her down. "Well, can you blame me?"

She laughed at the older man and was about to ask him how he was when someone walked into the office. He looked to be about Skye's age with brown floppy hair and baby blue eyes…she knew those eyes.

"Oh man, I'm sorry to just barge in Nicky, but Aaron and Reid are going at it again!" He said in frustration, pointing his thumb in the direction of the commotion.

Nicky let out a groan before pointing at Skye and leaving. "You, don't go anywhere." And with that left Skye on her own with the unknown boy.

She gave him a once over. Damn, he was hot...Wait! Did he say Reid?


Tyler was a bit embarrassed after Nicky exited the room. He noticed the girl checking him out and cleared his throat. Her eyes immediately met his and her cheeks began to colour. He didn't want to make her feel awkward so he thought it best to introduce himself. "Hey I'm sorry about that, my buddy gets a little carried away when it comes to betting. Nicky's usually the only one who can hold him back….Oh um, I'm Tyler by the way, Tyler Simms. He said holding out his hand.

Skye smiled at his name, letting out a nervous laugh before shaking his hand. "I'm….Mia…Patel, and don't worry about it, Nicky and I were just catching up." She said lying through her teeth. She was definitely going to Hell for this.

Tyler nodded his head understandingly. "Wow, she's gorgeous! There's also something about her…" He thought, returning the smile. "So…how do you know Nicky?"

Skye had to think fast. She wasn't prepared for this. "Um…he's a family friend." It was the best she could come up with at the time.

Tyler raised his eyebrows at her hesitation, but decided to let it go. There was definitely something familiar about her. He just couldn't put his finger on it. She shifted her weight from one foot to another, looking for something else to do other than stare at him.

A loud crash caused them both to hurry out of the office to see tables being kicked over as Aaron was escorted out of the bar by Nicky. Tyler just shook his head like it was an everyday occurrence, and then turned to Skye or Mia in his mind. "Hey, can I get you a drink?"

She was about to say yes when the clock on the wall caught her eye, it was 23:25. "Thanks, but I should really be getting home, maybe some other time."

He smiled and nodded his head. "Does that mean you're gonna be in town for awhile?"

She chuckled and gave him her best smile while walking towards the door. "Something like that. I'll see you around Tyler."

He gave her a small wave and turned back to his friends, who had, unbeknownst to both Tyler and Skye, witnessed their entire interaction.

Skye walked out the door to see Nicky heading back inside. "And where do you think you're going? Unless I'm mistaken, you've got some explaining to do."

She tilted her head to the side and grinned before hugging him. "Don't worry Nicky, I'm not going anywhere."

He returned the hug and let her go, watching her walk away until she was out of sight.


"Who was that?" Caleb asked as Tyler sat back down.

"Mia Patel…says she's an old friend of Nicky's." He answered

Reid smirked at this. "Nicky has friends?"

They all laughed at Reid, knowing he wasn't actually being serious. Tyler then shook his head thoughtfully. "I don't know man, he seems to know her, but there's something about her…I can't seem to figure out what it is though."

Pogue looked at him questioningly. "Something as in….?"

Tyler thought about Pogue's question for a moment before answering. "Familiar."

"Her name doesn't ring any bells….But wait, Patel? Haven't we heard that name from somewhere before?"

They all took a minute to consider Caleb's question.

"Well shoot boys…I think there's a bigger picture here." Reid stated casually.

Pogue who already knew where Reid was going with this, decided to humour him anyway. "Oh yeah, and what's that?

Reid slapped Tyler on the back and smirked. "Baby Boy's in love!" He said, referring to him by his nick-name.

"Dude…whatever, lets just play some pool." Tyler said before getting up and heading towards a vacant pool table.

Their game was about to kick of when they noticed 'Mia' re-enter the room and walk straight up to Nicky, looking slightly pissed off as she spoke to him.

Tyler was curious so he decided to go see what the problem was…assuming that there was one. "Mia…hey you okay?"

She looked at him and let out a long breath, one she seemed to be keeping in while she ranted to Nicky. "Hey, yeah I'm fine. It's just some jackass parked their stupid Ducati in front of my car and I can't get out."

"Woh there…Stupid is a strong word, especially when you're using it to describe a Ducati" She heard a deep voice say from somewhere behind her. She looked around to see the guy in question walking towards her. He looked half serious, half amused as he approached.

Tyler chuckled. "Mia, this is my buddy Pogue. He's the jackass with the Ducati."

To say Skye was surprised was an understatement, and not because she had just come face to face with another of her former best friends, but because of his appearance.

He was the polar opposite of Tyler who, with his dimples and overall boyish good looks came across as slightly shy and guarded. There was no denying he was very attractive, but Pogue on the other hand was a different kind of attractive. More built, showing of his muscles in a tight v-neck t-shirt and leather jacket. That with the combination of his longish light brown hair gave him a sort of bad boy surfer look. Skye was very impressed, to say the least.

She was so distracted by her thoughts that she barely noticed Tyler's hand waving in front of her eyes, trying to get her attention. "Oh sorry, just spaced out for a minute there."

He just chuckled at her. "That's okay, I sometimes have that affect on girls."

Funny thing was she believed him, even if he wasn't being serious.

Pogue then cleared his throat and folded his arms across his chest in mock seriousness. "So what was that about my stupid Ducati?" He asked, putting a little more emphasise on the word 'stupid'.

Skye let out a nervous laugh and was slightly at a loss for words, still trying to take in his appearance. Plus, his insanely big arms were proving to be quite the distraction. "Um your Ducati? Oh yeah….it's um…..it's blocking me in. I thought about just knocking it over, but decided against it, wouldn't wanna scratch the paint on my car." She had regained a bit more composure and felt like winding Pogue up, just like the good old days.

She saw him flinch at the though of something happening to his bike...Ah, boys and their toys. "Oh shit, yeah I'm sorry about that, kinda lost track of time in here and forgot to move it."

Skye couldn't find it in her to be even a little bit mad at him anymore. "No it's fine really…I might have overreacted a bit. It's just a bit frustrating when you have a curfew and…" But she was cut off by someone.


After waiting 20 minutes for their friends to return, Caleb and Reid decided to see what the hold up was, and sure enough they found their answer when they saw them standing at the bar, both focused on the girl talking.

That didn't stop Reid from interrupting their conversation nonetheless. "Sorry to break up the party fella's but I thought we were having a game." He said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Excuse my friend. He forgot his manners at the pool table." Caleb said politely to Skye.

She was beginning to become overwhelmed. The two new additions to the group didn't need introduction. She knew who they were from the moment they appeared. Out of the four of her former best friends, Caleb and Reid resembled their 8 year old selves the most. While they had both sprung up considerably, Reid was a bit more on the skinny side with the same bleach blonde hair, but it worked for him, whereas Caleb, just like Pogue, sported big arms and what she could only assume, was a full on six pack behind his white wife beater. Their distinct facial features had become more defined, but still allowed her to recognize them right away. There they stood- all four of her friends. She knew who they were, but they still had no clue who she was. That made he her just a little bit sad.

She soon snapped out of it, realising that they were all staring at her with mixed expressions. She looked at Caleb's warm eyes, remembering him speak last. "Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have distracted them for so long."

Reid instead spoke up. "Ahh they were probably having more fun here anyway. I'm Reid by the way, and this strapping young gentleman to my right is Caleb. He said sarcastically.

She laughed. He was always good at doing that.

She thought for a second about revealing her true identity, but decided against it, figuring it would make for a funny story later on. "I'm Mia."

She noticed Nicky smirking as she shook both their hands. He was having way too much fun at her expense.

Reid used their moment of contact to make his move, taking a small step closer to her. "You know, Mia was my grandmother's name. You kinda remind me of her."

Skye burst out laughing. "Does that line actually work?"

He just shrugged his shoulders and winked at her. "It was worth a try."

"Wow…well as fun as this has been, I've really gotta get going so if it's not too much trouble…" She said before trailing of not wanting to sound rude, then turning to Pogue.

He seemed to have caught the hint as he pulled out the keys to his bike. "Sure. No problem. I'm gonna head off now anyway so I'll walk you out."

The two of them said their goodbyes to the rest of the group and headed towards their vehicles.

"So how far do you live from here?" Pogue asked, wanting to start a conversation so that he had a reason to look at her.

Skye thought she'd get a bit more teasing in there before they parted ways. "Why…you planning on paying me a late night visit?"

That sounded a lot like flirting to him. Well if that's the way she wanted to play it. "Answer my question and maybe you'll be lucky enough to find out."

She could feel those damn butterflies again. Why won't they just fucking stay still?

Luckily they'd reached their destination and she was quick to unlock the door but Pogue beat her to the punch, opening it for her. She eyed him curiously before getting in and buckling up. She reached out to shut the door but he was still there, leaning against it.

Once he saw that she was all set to go, he winked at her. "Drive safely." He said before closing the door.

She just smiled shyly and nodded her head, the butterflies toying with her ability to speak. She watched him get on his bike, put his helmet on and speed off, leaving her there to release a breath she'd been keeping in since he looked at her in that way. After a minute or so of cooling down, she finally made her way home.


It took Skye 20 minutes to get home without any traffic. She returned the car to its previous spot, opened the front door and headed straight for her bedroom. Once she was within the confines of her room, she stripped down to her tank top and underwear, not having the energy to switch the light on, let alone search through her suitcases for pyjamas.

She was about to pull the covers back and get into bed when she felt someone grab her from behind, placing their hands over her mouth and eyes.

Panic instantly registered within Skye's mind and without thinking she elbowed whoever it was behind her, in the gut and threw them over her shoulder onto the floor.

Those Kung Fu lessons finally paid off.

She was about to kick the figure on the floor when it suddenly spoke up. "Jesus Skye, Stop! Stop! It's me!

Skye recognised that voice and immediately went to turn the lights on. Her eyes took a minute to adjust, but once they did she saw a pale, bleach blonde girl hunched over, clutching her stomach. The image almost brought Skye to tears. "Jesus, Annie?"

The girl in question looked up at her with a weak smile. "Surprise..."


Well there you go kids...chapter 2! I hope you liked it. I do admit its abit dry but I needed it to kind of build up to Chapter 3.

Anyways, here's a few things to think about for chapter 3...
- Who's Annie?
- When will the guys find out about who 'Mia' really is?
- What made Skye leave London?

That's all for now. As always, if you have any questions, comments, criticisms or suggestions, you know what to do...R&R!

Until next time...
Siran :)