Anna clattered around the little kitchen, bringing two mugs down onto the counter and casting her eye over the contents of the cupboards. Her friend seemed to survive on thin air. There were only a few bits and pieces here and there; a few lonesome-looking tins, half-eaten packets of biscuits and the odd jar of spice that had never been opened. She made a note to herself to do a thorough shop when she ventured out later on. Putting tea into one mug, honey and lemon mixture into the other, she hummed to herself as she waited for the kettle to boil. After the tell-tale click, she swiftly poured and stirred, clinking the spoons against the china. She smiled to herself, satisfied with her efforts, and carefully balanced the drinks in her hands as she padded into the sitting room. She arrived to see Gwen stretched out the length of the sofa in an oversized sweatshirt and pyjama pants, flicking through a magazine, her nose glowing red.

"How are you feeling?" she enquired gently, placing the cold remedy in its mug down on the table within Gwen's reach.

"Rotten, no thanks to you," Gwen replied, her voice hoarse. "Spreading your germs around here." There was a touch of jest in her words, just about noticeable. Still, Anna felt guilty.

"Aww, I'm sorry. I think when I stopped working, my immune system decided to crash too."

The morning after she'd headed out on the town, she'd woken up with a terrible sore throat; it felt very much like she'd gone to sleep on top of a barbed-wire fence. At first she put it down to the inevitable hangover but when that lifted, the cold kicked in full effect. A week later, she was feeling nearly enough back to normal and now had an obligation to nurse Gwen, who sulked much more than she did when unwell.

"I'll make it up to you by buying an everlasting supply of Lemsip and chocolate that you can look forward to once you get your taste buds back."

Gwen smiled as best she could under heavy eyelids. "It's good for one thing at least," she sniffled before she took a sip of the hot drink. "It was my day off tomorrow anyway but I called up and managed to switch shifts about." She smiled and then glanced towards a looming pile of textbooks and papers resting next to the sofa momentarily. "I should really be getting on with that assignment while I've got the time, but sod it. I can always get an extension. I can't face writing when my head feels like it's stuffed with cotton wool."

Anna perched on the arm of the chair opposite, cradling the tea in her hands. "From what I recall, you got some of your best grades when you were worse for wear."

Gwen poked out a pale tongue in response and Anna chuckled. She stared down into her mug, watching circles swirl round in the milky liquid thoughtfully while Gwen went back to the pages of her trashy magazine.

"I was wondering," Anna started, running her finger over the hairline crack that ran up the side of the china, "whether there are many shifts going in the café? I've been looking but apparently there are no PR jobs within a thirty mile radius, so I thought it was worth asking."

A deep frown covered Gwen's face as she glanced back up. "Oh god, Anna, don't do that to yourself. You'd be absolutely wasted there. Not to mention bored out of your skull."

"But I'm bored now, Gwen," she said insistently. "That's exactly why I'm asking. It won't be forever, just while I find something else. Hopefully that'll be sooner rather than later, but you never know." She was aware she was pouting out her bottom lip, looking rather imploringly at her friend. "Please?"

"Alright, I'll have a word when I'm back in."

Anna smiled brightly. "Thanks, you're a star. I just feel like I'm climbing the walls a bit, not doing anything. It's starting to drive me mad."

As she swapped the mug of tea for her phone, Gwen quirked her eyebrows upwards. "So I see." Hardly a few seconds passed with Anna scrolling through the device in studied silence before Gwen erupted.

"Anna, I swear to God, if you look at that thing much more…"

"What?"

She looked up from the screen, her voice going up several octaves high in defence. Gwen only shook her head fiercely and rolled her eyes at what Anna believed was a perfectly acceptable question.

"So you were with him for ten years, and he was sleeping with some bimbo behind your back. Big deal."

Gwen flung her legs off the sofa, planting her feet squarely into her slipper boots while she gave an exaggerated shrug of her shoulders. Now it was Anna's turn to roll her eyes, her expression setting to a shocked scowl briefly before it broke when she saw Gwen's lips curl into a smirk.

"It's no cause for you to be picking that up every five seconds, sitting here like suicide on a stick."

Anna looked to the side of her, half-smiling at Gwen's turns of phrase, before she tossed her head back defiantly, throwing the phone away from her in a swift action.

"It's been nine days. Nine days, Gwen. And there hasn't been so much as a text." She huffed in exasperation. "I mean, why hasn't he even called to see if I'm okay? To admit how much of a knob he is? 'Hello, Anna, it's Jez. I'm a knob. Please come home. I love you…' and all that rubbish." She sunk back against the chair for a brief moment before jumping forward again, throwing one leg over the other and waving her hand in front of her rapidly. "Oh, I don't care anyway. Bollocks to him. I'm over him."

Gwen clicked her tongue. "Oh, you're over him."

"Yes, I am. Completely and utterly over him."

"No, you're not."

"I am."

"You're not."

Anna's cheeks reddened in annoyance as she watched Gwen casually flick over the pages of the magazine lying on the chair.

"Gwen, I'm over him." Her voice sounded a little harder. "What do you mean I'm not? How do you know I'm not?"

Gwen let out a lengthened sigh, shifting on the sofa. "Well, two things really. You're still counting how long you've been apart in days, hours, and probably seconds as well."

Anna shot Gwen a pointed look, hoping desperately she wouldn't overhear the clock that was ticking away in her head.

"But the flashing red light way of telling you're not over someone," she went on, "is when you're still reading their horoscope in the hope they're going to get wiped out in some freak nuclear accident."

She'd only just noticed that her eyes had fixed themselves to the page of the magazine that was lying open.

"Smart arse."

Gwen laughed raucously. "What is he?"

"An arsehole." She saw Gwen's face crumple. "Oh, Taurus."

"Taurus…Taurus…" Gwen ran her finger down the page. "Ah, here we go. Well, shows how much I know. 'With Saturn in the ascendancy, you should be on the lookout for freak nuclear accidents just around the corner, and Anna says bollocks to you.' This guy's good."

They collapsed into peals of laughter that were so loud and went on for so long they were almost oblivious to the rap upon the door. Hearing the noise, Anna froze completely, her face draining of colour. She could only think of one person that it could possibly be. Speak of the devil.

"You get it," she barked at Gwen as she sprang to her feet instinctively. "No, I will. No, no, you." She hopped around the floor as if there were hot coals underneath her.

"I am not answering the door like this!" Gwen shrieked, running a hand the length of her to demonstrate.

Anna bent her knees a little, clasping her hands together in desperation. "Please, Gwen, you have to. Say that I'm out. You don't know where, or who with. Especially who with." Her frantic pacing came to a stop, and she looked at Gwen intently. "It won't be him anyway."

"Then it's alright if you go, isn't it?"

Anna tutted, stamping her heel against the carpet lightly, then relented. With each footfall into the hallway, she repeated the words like a mantra out loud, preparing herself.

"Bollocks to him, bollocks to him, bollocks to him…"

When she heaved the door open, her mouth hung open in an incredibly unattractive fashion. She certainly hadn't expected it to be him.

"Hello."

John smiled easily, taking a step backwards onto the driveway as if immediately aware she needed space to gather herself.

Anna managed to purse her lips together, moving them effortlessly into a smile after a moment. "Hello."

She brought her arms up, hugging them close against her in the fine breeze that was wafting towards her, and then tucked some of her hair behind her ear, not knowing quite how to act. This was all very unexpected. Though it was obvious and terribly rude, she couldn't stop her eyes from wandering the length of him. He was wearing a light beige mac, a navy suit with a slightly lighter blue shirt underneath. Shiny brown shoes lay at the bottom of his incredibly long legs. Anna had to work hard not to keep staring, and she felt quite ashamed when she raised them to meet his face again. However, he gave no sign whatsoever of having been aware of her rapt attentions, the comfortable smile still there like a badge.

"We've got to stop meeting like this." He laughed a little nervously, touching a hand to the back of his neck. Anna followed suit with a soft giggle, glancing down at the doorstep before she summoned the courage to look up again, their gazes colliding at the very same moment. "How have you been? I hope you didn't feel too bad after the other night."

Anna shook her head a little, the loose strand of hair falling back over her face. "Oh, no. Just a bit of a sore head, but I survived." She smiled to see him regarding her intently, still seeming anxious to make sure that she was alright. "I came down with a cold just after, but I've shook most of it off now."

His brow furrowed in concern. "It comes in threes. As long as you're feeling better now."

"I am. A lot better."

They stayed with their eyes locked on one another, only the sound of the wind and the low hum of passing traffic off on another street surrounding them. Anna searched the corners of her mind for something clever or insightful to say but found that she had absolutely nothing to offer. Yet while their silence was a little awkward, it was a nice kind of awkward.

As though a flashbulb suddenly went off above his head, he held out an arm towards her, a swathe of fabric folded in his palm.

"You left this in the cab," he coughed, holding her scarf out. "The other night. I didn't notice until I nearly tripped over it getting out." A little chortle came from him on reliving the memory. "I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get it back to you. I would have come sooner, but work's just run me into the ground the past week."

Anna smiled, touched by the thoughtful gesture. "It's alright, thank you. You really didn't have to bother, you know."

"Well, it's not really my colour."

He contorted his face in apparent displeasure to accompany the statement, and Anna began to laugh again. Feeling a little shy, she took the scarf up from his proffered hand, her shoulders shuddering a tiny bit when the pad of her thumb brushed the palm through the flimsy fabric. She jerked her head up, wearing another gracious smile and nodding towards him.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets, tapping the pointed toe of one of his shoes against the paving stone beneath his feet and glancing around. "I feel like I should have brought you something else now. A cup of soup, or something. Something that would be more use to you."

Anna giggled, wiping her feet back and forth against the mat. "It's fine, honestly. This is more than enough."

Once again, she'd gone totally blank. Oh god, Anna, think. It's not that hard. Her eyes were riveted to where his hands were covered, billowed in his trousers either side of him. They narrowed further, travelling along to catch the gleam of his belt buckle…Oh, Jesus, stop it! In an instant, they shot back up and she caught her breath a bit too fast. She could have sworn he was smirking at her, quite amused at her erratic actions.

"Um, and how is work? I mean, aside from being really busy, you said that…" She was babbling now.

"Not too bad," he uttered in a relaxed tone. "Just a few meetings this morning. I've finished for the day now, which is nice…"

Before he could finish, a shout came from behind the door, inside the sitting room.

"Bloody hell Anna, are you going to be there all day? I'm going to get hypothermia with that draught…oh, hello."

Gwen appeared at the door, biscuit in one hand, eyeing John from head to toe.

"Hello."

"I don't think I introduced myself the other night," she spluttered through a mouthful of crumbs, holding out her other hand to take his. "I'm Gwen. Anna's flatmate. Well, sort of. She's staying with me at the moment. This is my house. Well, not mine technically, but you know."

Gwen seemed to be having the complete opposite affliction as she talked at ninety miles an hour, and Anna wanted the ground to swallow her. She gave Gwen a gentle nudge on the arm, but she took no notice. John only kept smiling, not perturbed in the slightest.

"It's John, isn't it?"

"It is, indeed." He looked slightly puzzled to how she could have known, and Anna swivelled her head to her friend, equally perplexed. She hadn't mentioned any names.

Gwen grinned, shaking his hand. "Pleased to meet you, John. Properly, that is."

The three of them stood at the door exchanging awkward smiles, Anna attempting to subtly stare Gwen out until she got the hint to move.

After a few moments of silence, Gwen piped up, jumping onto her tiptoes. "You know, wherever you're off to, Anna would love to come as well."

Anna's mouth dropped open again, aghast. "Gwen!" she hissed.

Gwen held her arms out over either side of the doorframe, thwarting any protests. "She's been cooped up inside all week, complaining about it non-stop," she trilled cheerfully. "She's just dying to get out. She needs other company, someone who isn't full of the lurgy."

John looked back and forth between the two, his eyes settling on Anna with a questioning gaze. "If you're sure…?"

"She is," Gwen snapped. "Just give her an hour or so, and she'll be ready to go."

"Okay then," John made to turn back down the driveway, giving Anna another searching look before he left. "If you really want to."

Anna dropped her shoulders, nodding and smiling at him. "I could do with some light on my face. Before I turn invisible."

A smile lit up his features as he went from the door, and he nodded towards her. "Well, I'll see you then."

"You will."

As she shut the door behind them, Anna turned round, hands planted on her hips while Gwen continued to smirk.

"Gwen!" she exclaimed, nearly breathless. "What the hell?!"

"Oh, come on," Gwen tossed her head to the side. "You weren't going to make the first move, not while you're still hung up on Mr. Arsehole. Leave it to you, and you'd have gone round in circles for months."

Anna stood, still in shock at what had just happened quicker than she could get her head around, while Gwen bounced up the staircase.

"And now if Jez does turn up, I don't have to lie," she shouted gleefully over the banister. "I don't know where you are, and definitely not who with." She winked down at Anna before she scampered into one of the rooms above.

Well, it was a good alibi, she couldn't deny that. And if she was honest with herself, she hoped that the next hour would go very quickly indeed.

She sat straight against the red leather seat in the booth, her fingers playing with the edges of the menu, her eyes darting around the various neon signs that hung from the walls and ceiling. A slurping sound from across the table caught her attention, and she looked over to see John polishing off the remainder of his banana milkshake. Satisfied, he reclined back and smiled at her, faltering when he couldn't quite read her gaze. She pointed reluctantly to his upper lip, where a faint trail of milk lay sitting just above the curve. Without haste, he wiped the residue away with a serviette from the silver container on the table between them, and she giggled at his conscientiousness strokes.

"Gone?"

"Yep," she chortled, noticing that his cheeks had gone a little pink. "I've got to admit, I didn't really expect you to be the type to frequent an American-style diner."

John laughed, clasping his hands together underneath his chin, elbows planted upon the table. "I know, I know. Rob's wife brought us here a while ago, otherwise I doubt I ever would have set foot in here. She's from America, and she gets a bit homesick every now and then. It's not really much like the ones over there at all, but they do some pretty good stuff." He pointed a finger to the empty glass at the right-hand side of him. "Especially the milkshakes."

"I have to agree," Anna smiled, still tasting the sweet chocolate milk on her tongue, folding her hands over her full stomach contentedly. She noticed a particular twinkle in his eyes as he rested his chin upon one of his palms, leaning himself a little further across the table.

"What is it?"

He smirked at the confused expression on her face.

"Oh, nothing." He waved his free hand in the air. "I was just wondering, I suppose. What it was you did expect of me."

Anna coloured as his eyes pierced her, and she attempted to organise the million thoughts running round in her head. "I don't know," she began, "Just don't ask me to guess, because I'm rubbish at that." He looked a little disappointed. "I could ask you a few questions, if you don't mind?"

He smiled openly. "Fire away."

She contemplated, one particular thing that fascinated her firing up in her mind immediately.

"Where are you from? I can't quite place your accent."

"Ireland, originally. With Scottish ancestry." Somehow it all seemed to make sense now, his appearance, his demeanour. "Inbetween, I've been all over the place, so it's a bit of a mish-mash." A chuckle sounded from the back of his throat.

She was getting more confident. "Starsign?"

He raised his eyebrows in bemusement. "Really?"

"Yes," Anna laughed.

"Sagittarius."

She nodded, her eyes drifting down to examine his hands, the long, sturdy but simultaneously elegant looking fingers. Her gaze honed in on his ring finger, and her heart jumped when she saw that it was bare. No, it'd be far too intrusive, not to mention far too presumptuous, to ask that.

Her head flicked back up to regard him, and a smile that now seemed instinctive bloomed upon her. "Your job? You've spoken about it, but I've realised I don't actually know what it is." She saw his eyes narrow at her, and her lips quirked. "It's not a sore point, honestly."

His expression relaxed. "Just have one guess."

Anna rolled her tongue against her cheek and her eyes upwards, before relenting. "Umm," she drummed her fingers lightly on the table, "Something to do with writing? An editor, perhaps?"

"Very close," he wagged a finger towards her, looking impressed. "I'm in publishing. Head of a publishing company, to be precise."

"Wow," she breathed, "that's very cool."

Those long fingers of his extended, unfurled to brush away any notion of grandeur. "It sounds a lot more impressive than it actually is. I spend most of my time running around after authors, acting like their personal servant. It's quite the life."

He laughed, swatting invisible specks of dust before splaying his hands on the table top.

"This one author is really trying my patience right now. I've spent the best part of the last six months going back and forth to them, trying to dust up a load of fiddly details. They're insisting they're still not ready to go to print, despite the deadline being up a few weeks ago." He swiped one hand across the surface, sighing and shrugging his shoulders. "But what can you do? Just have to grin and bear it."

Anna's brow dropped in empathy. "Sounds trying. Clients can be a pain."

He nodded his head vigorously in agreement, and then lifted his gaze back to her, his irises sparkling anew. "It's funny, I just realised – that author is based in the same offices as your old company." A vibrant grin stretched across his face in recognition. "I've been virtually living there for half a year. It's strange that I hadn't seen you before."

"Well, it was just the base. If we had something on, I was hardly there," Anna explained. "So it's not too unusual." She licked her lips quickly, adjusting the sugar bowl on the counter. "Of course, you won't be seeing me there from now on."

"More's the pity."

His voice was a low rumble, and Anna felt her stomach contract as his hand edged further over the table. She glanced up to see him smiling reassuringly at her, not at all imposing. She doubted he could ever be that way. A wave of unplaced emotion, not quite guilt or even really doubt, rose up within while his unfaltering gaze warmed her.

"Look, John, maybe I shouldn't be here." Her words wavered a little as she said them, as though she hadn't really got them straight in her head yet. "I'm sorry. I'm not being fair."

She gulped in a breath, a fingertip picking up stray granules of sugar laying upon the table and her eyes trailing their course, before she gathered enough poise to look him in the eyes again. His gaze fixed upon her made her smile a little, and gave her the encouragement to go on.

"Under circumstances that weren't so messed up…if I hadn't just got out of a very long relationship…" she stumbled momentarily. "You're very nice, and funny. Gwen thinks you're cute."

"Wait, let me get this straight," he stuttered, "Gwen thinks I'm cute?" In a split second, he snatched up the menu that was lying by his side. "Great, I've just blown…hang on…£3.40 on the wrong girl. Typical."

Anna couldn't stop herself from chuckling, just a little nervously.

"Listen, Anna. Do you believe that things happen for a reason?"

She frowned, twisting her hands together in her lap.

"I'm not sure. I used to want to believe in fate, it seemed such a nice idea. But I'm not sure what I think about having no control over what happens in my life. That's more than a bit scary."

She let out a little sigh and lifted her eyes to the ceiling, the blinking neon sign at the side of her flickering in and out of her vision.

"I do think we're meant to meet certain people at certain times, though. It's happened to me with Gwen, and other people." The corners of her lips involuntarily curled upwards.

"There you go. I agree." John's voice was smooth, soothing, completely measured. "Sometimes we find ourselves plonked in people's lives when they just need to be cheered up a bit. We don't always know the reason why. In your case, it seems to be my job. I'll be honest, the fact that I find you moderately attractive just makes the job easier on my part." He smiled a cheeky grin, which softened in the next second. "It needn't be anything like that, you know. My intentions are completely honourable. I have no desire to overstep the mark."

She believed him resolutely, and relief washed over her as she sank back into the booth, her whole body relaxed. An easy silence fell between them, before she quirked up an eyebrow towards him.

" 'Moderately attractive'?"

He laughed. "Ah, I knew you were listening. Well, you know, lose the sad eyes, the droopy shoulders. Use that smile a bit more. Then we'd be talking."

Anna pursed her lips and scrunched her forehead in mock-offence, and then unfolded her arms, unable to keep up the pretence for long.

"You might get a smile if I can get another chocolate milkshake."

"M'lady, your wish is my command."

They walked side by side up the street, the sky above them turning a shade of dark lilac, Anna's hands laden with bags. The thought had only occurred to her as they were wandering through the centre of town that she had intended to go to the supermarket today, and though she hadn't managed to do the extensive shop she'd planned, she was equipped with enough. Glancing down, she smiled to see the colourful tulips carefully wrapped up in plastic poking from the top of one of the bags. She'd been admiring them while waiting in the queue and was very pleasantly surprised when John presented a small bunch to her when she'd finished paying, having sneaked off to another till. Because he still felt guilty about turning up unannounced on the doorstep, dragging her out when she wasn't a hundred per cent better, he said. And at least she'd be able to appreciate them properly now she'd regained all of her faculties.

Their synchronised steps came to a halt just outside the gate.

"Thanks for this afternoon, John." Anna shifted the bags in her grasp to run a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry for making you trudge around shopping. It's not the most thrilling way to end things."

He tilted his head to the side, causing the loose lock of hair hanging over his forehead to judder. "Are you kidding? Milkshakes, fries and the wonder of self-service checkouts? Afternoons don't get much better in my book."

She flashed a bright smile. "And thank you again for the flowers. You really didn't have to."

"It's not a problem. I wanted to." His own smile was now the mirror image of hers.

"They're lovely."

Once again, they stood facing each other, smiling and catching each other's gaze. Anna shifted on the spot, giggling almost inaudibly as she looked down at the pavement. She felt like she'd lived this moment a thousand times before, and yet thrilling jolts of electricity she'd never experienced coursed through her.

At the same time, they both opened their mouths to speak, and then laughed at the coincidence.

"You go." John held out a hand in the air, gesturing for her to continue.

She gave a small nod, biting softly on her bottom lip before she begun again.

"I was just going to say, it's been fun. I needed to get out of the house, and really, this did just the trick."

He smiled in a way that conveyed silently to her how glad he was to have been involved in turning the tide. One of her nails poked a small hole in the handle of one of the bags she was holding as she studied his expression.

"It's just, next time, I'd like it to be a little less impromptu."

She could see he was a little taken aback, swallowing his words before he managed to spit one out.

"Really?"

"Yes," she uttered confidently. "I am a walking disaster, after all. I don't know when I might need cheering up next. And seeing as it's your job, I think I should have your services to hand."

The cloud of disbelief lifted and he stood staring at her, wearing a grin that would surely split his face soon enough. Anna beamed back at him, the contact between them broken when his gaze dropped, scrambling around in his pockets and then patting his chest.

"I must have left my phone at work."

"It's alright, you can have my number." She carefully planted the shopping bags at her feet, got her phone and a receipt from her jacket pocket, and scrawled on the back. "Just text me whenever. I'm not going anywhere any time soon."

He folded the paper between his fingertips carefully before placing it inside his coat.

"I suppose I'll see you soon, then."

"You will."

She grinned, the smile staying firm on her face as he set off down the street, turning to stop, stand and then wave at her once before he carried on away.

Anna stopped, losing herself in a fragment of a daydream before she picked up the bags, went in the gate and unlocked the door. This day certainly hadn't come close to anything she was expecting. She chuckled to think of Gwen stretched out on the sofa, oblivious but full of questions. She'd decided that she was definitely going to cook a treat for dinner tonight.

A/N: No more randomness! Hopefully, this answers a few questions but poses some more too...

Thanks to everyone for sticking with this story. Lots more to come!