Chapter Two

Stacey slid into a booth at the Rose Bud, slightly out of breath.

"Sorry! Sorry," she said, running her fingers through her hair, trying to neaten up.

Across from her, Mary Anne and Gordon grinned at each other. Next to her, Claudia giggled.

"What?" Stacey asked, annoyed. She hated being the butt of the joke.

"Nothing," Mary Anne and Gordon said at the same time, causing Stacey to roll her eyes. Claudia cleared her throat.

"How did yesterday go?" she asked, raising an eyebrow seductively.

Stacey frowned, remembering saying good bye to Sam. "How do you think it went?" she said glumly, "It was awful. He's gone," she stated, looking down at the salt shaker she had picked up.

Stacey felt Claudia place a hand on her arm, and looked up. Her friends weren't smiling now, but looking at her sympathetically. Stacey put the shaker down, and shook her head, "I'm sorry, you guys. I didn't mean to take it out on you. It's just that…" she frowned, not really wanting to voice her worries. Her friends would just tell her she was worrying over nothing that Sam loved her, and everything would be okay. And if she disagreed, they'd keep going around in circles. It just wasn't worth it.

"It's hard, being away from him. I miss him already," she said, biting her lip.

Gordon and Mary Anne exchanged a look, one which she tried to ignore. Those two knew nothing about being separated from the one you loved.

"Anyway," she said, before anyone else could say something, "we'll e-mail, and he's going to call me tonight."

She picked up a menu, and quickly changed the subject before anyone else could say a word, "what time does Erika get back?"

Claudia answered straight away, "this afternoon, at three," she said excitedly. Claudia had missed her best friend like crazy, and couldn't wait to see her.

"You're coming with us to pick her up, right?" Claudia asked Stacey.

Stacey nodded, "yeah," she replied, thinking, it's not like I have anything better to do.

She immediately felt guilty. Erika was her friend too, and she hadn't seen her since summer began. She was looking forward to seeing her; it's just that Erika returning reminded her Sam was gone. But then, to be fair, pretty much everything did.

Taking a deep breath, she fixed her face into a smile, "is Howie coming?" she asked Claudia, who scoffed.

"Like he'd miss it. I'm sure he's there already, waiting for her," she said, giggling.

"I'm still so jealous," Mary Anne sighed, "a summer in Paris. Even if she did spend the whole time baking."

Gordon nodded, as usual, agreeing with Mary Anne, "I wonder if she got me the beret I asked for," he said, just as the waitress came over to take their orders.

Once they had been placed, Stacey sat back, fiddling with the straw in the water glass the waitress had put down, "you don't think she… met anyone, do you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mary Anne looked surprised, but Gordon grinned, "like a hot Frenchman?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Stacey laughed, but Claudia was shaking her head, "she didn't. The e-mail I got from her two days ago was full of Howie this, Howie that," she frowned, "those two are more joined at the hip than Stacey and-" She froze, like a dear caught in headlights, and shot Stacey an apologetic look.

Stacey ignored this remark, instead casting a quick glance around the restaurant. Spotting some familiar faces across the room, she grimaced, "Ew, Gray alert," she said, wrinkling up her nose.

Seated across the room were Alan Gray, Cary Retlin and Pete Black, laughing as they shoved food in their mouths and talked.

Claudia leaned over her, peering past Stacey, "Alan's not that bad," she said, defensively.

"Claud, you guys broke up over a year ago. He may have been okay then, but he doesn't seem to have changed any, and still appears as immature as an eight grader," she said frankly. Claudia shrugged dismissively, and Stacey stole a look at Mary Anne for support, and was surprised to see Mary Anne still staring over at the boys table, appearing to have not heard anything that had just been said. She shot Gordon a look, and he grinned at her, before clicking his fingers in front of Mary Anne's face.

She came to quickly, looking at him surprised.

"What?" she asked innocently.

Gordon and Stacey broke into giggles, with Claudia looking confused.

"Nothing Mare," Gordon said, wrapping an arm around his best friend, and kissing the top of her head.