A/N: Here we go a meeting between former friends. Was a little rushed on it so sorry if it is lacking in some parts. I'm going to start putting dates in the chapters to make it a bit easier to follow time wise in the story. Not much more than that to say. Enjoy.

No Account- I was excited for their meeting too and Hayden has a great deal of secrets but you have to wait to find out what they are.

CB73- Challenge made and accepted. There are a great deal of things for Ashley to learn about this new Hayden but that is not going to stop her. She has to wait to see and hear about those as do you too.

Squall321- Glad to hear from you and that you are enjoying the story.

Surayo- Heather and Rebecca now what makes Ashley tick and can get her out of any funk. Hayden as many secrets that have yet to be revealed to everybody and Ashley will certainly be surprised.

Thanks to the reviews and be sure to leave one yourself, as you can see I read them all.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Mexican ;p

To my Fiancee who is away for her last semester of college. I love and miss you.

Disclaimer: I own nothing... sadly

October, 20th, 2019

Ashley pulled up to the Longboat at 11:45 Sunday morning in preparation for her meeting with Hayden. All weekend she had been rehearsing what she wanted to ask him and how she would not let herself be taken by surprise. She got out of her blue Honda Civic and walked toward the front door. There were a few other cars in the parking lot including a black Subaru WRX, a Dodge Dart, and a Chevy pickup. She figured that they had to belong to people who were already in the restaurant. She pushed through the front doors and looked around to see if she could find the host. A girl around her age with brown shoulder length hair, green eyes, and just a bit taller than herself came up to her from the back.

"Hello, I'm Madison. Just you today?" She asked sweetly.

"For now, yes, I have a…I'm meeting someone later on so when he gets he will sit with me his name is Hayden." Ashley answered back.

She didn't know what to call Hayden and calling him a friend felt strange and unearned. The hostess turned her head back and forth as if she was trying to find someone. A small smile broke out across her face as she seemed to find what she was looking for before she turned back to Ashley.

"That wouldn't happen to be the Hayden you came to meet, is it?" She asked as she pointed over to a corner booth and the far end of the restaurant.

Ashley turned her head and followed the girls finger to a see a familiar head of Auburn hair and green eyes staring with focused determination at her. She nodded to the hostess and made her way over to Hayden. Her goal of not being taken by surprise was already down the drain and she didn't expect Hayden to get here before she did.

As she made her way over to him their eyes never strayed once they locked on one another. Ashley was able to take in her former friend once again and couldn't believe how well the years had been to him. Before she knew it, she was at the booth and sitting down across from him. The background noise from the kitchen and the few other patrons in restaurant were the only things that kept them from falling into complete silence.

Ashley kept staring at Hayden and tried to recall everything that she had wanted to ask him when she got here. The surprise of him waiting for her instead of the other way around threw her mind for a loop and now she had to come up with things on the fly and that was not what Ashley wanted to have happen. With her thoughts in a maelstrom she reached out and grabbed onto the first one she could grab which just so happened to be a perfect way to break the ice.

"So…how did the tournament go?" She asked hesitantly.

Hayden didn't answer right away which gave Ashley time to chastise herself. She was supposed to come in here with confidence, and she just started off everything sounding like a shy and timid girl. She took a deep breath and silenced her nerves, she came here with a goal and she was going to achieve it.

"It could have gone better. The team took second overall but I lost in the heartbreak round." Hayden answered coolly.

"Heartbreak round?" Ashley asked before she could stop herself.

"Yeah, in wrestling if you lose once you are put in the consolation bracket and go for third place. Well there is a round or a match that you must win in order to get to the placement matches. So, win and you get a medal, lose and you are done. Hence the name heartbreak round." Hayden explained.

Ashley nodded her head as she listened and was able to put this bit of information away in her ever-growing database of wrestling info. However, she kicked herself mentally as she realized what she had just asked and how he must still be sore about that fact. Steeling herself she pushed on and kept her eyes.

"I suppose there is no use in beating around the bush is there." Ashley stated.

"I would prefer to cut to the chase." Hayden replied evenly.

"Alright fine. Why didn't you come up to me when you came back? Why did you stop writing letters to me? We are…were…fuck I don't know what we are anymore but I know that we were friends and I figured that would be worth something to you, because it was worth something to me." Ashley fired off.

Her voice got more heated as she asked her questions and the walls that held in her emotions started to crumble and everything flooded forward. Anger, sadness, confusion, joy, she felt them all at once and while she expected the feel this way she just didn't expect confusion to be the leading one. She just wanted to know more than anything why Hayden had seemingly cut her out.

She waited for Hayden to answer and was growing more and more irritated by the moment. He didn't answer, he didn't show any kind of emotion, looked as though he was bored. This stirred the fire inside Ashley even causing her to place her hands on the table and lean in closer to him.

"Answer. Me." She seethed out through her teeth.

This finally got a reaction out of Hayden as the disinterested look in his eyes faded away and a look of hurt and fiery rage replaced them. Ashley wanted to back away as the look was terrifying to see on Hayden, but she held her ground and refused to back down. She was a Hofferson and they were scared of nothing.

"I could ask you all the same questions. I never stopped writing you letters, I sent one every week just like we promised we would. Eventually I stopped getting responses, but I never stopped. Once I moved back here I stopped writing because I figured that we would be able to pick up where we left off. I guess I had changed in those years because day one of school you walked right past me." Hayden answered back in a low voice that oozed rage and forced Ashley to sit back in her seat.

Hayden was staring a hole through Ashley and she couldn't help but wonder when did he get that look. The Hayden she remembered could never hurt anyone but this Hayden looked like he could kill if he wanted to. Shaking her head and gathering her thoughts she remembered Hayden's responses and the confusion set in even more.

"What do you mean you continued to write me? I haven't gotten a letter from you in years, and how could I have walked right past you? Why didn't you stop me?" Ashley asked as she furrowed her brow in confusion.

"I don't know how much clearer I could make that Ashley. I wrote to you and got nothing back, and day one I came back you walked by me." Hayden answered back in a cold, menacing voice.

Ashley was still trying to wrap her head around everything. If he had been writing letters to her every week like he said then why didn't she get them. She would have written back in a heartbeat. He was her friend and had helped her when they were younger more than a few times and when his letters came in the mail they were always a highlight of her day. She looked at Hayden with the same determination from earlier but with a softer gaze as she could see the pain and sorrow in Hayden's eyes.

"I don't know why I didn't get your letters. I would have written back in a heartbeat. But even if I walked by you in school why didn't you stop me." Ashley asked again.

Hayden's eyes glazed over as he stared not at Ashley but over her shoulder into nothing. He seemed to be recalling something from his time away. Ashley had to wave her hand in front of him to get him out of his stupor. He shook his head and let a wall fall over his eyes, a familiar one that Ashley had seen on Friday. He looked down at the table before looking back toward her but not meeting her eyes.

"A lot happened when I was away Ashley. The friends I thought I made… the things that happened to me because of them and the fact that they ditched me. I had written a little bit about it in the letters and hoped to hear back from you. But it looked like you had ditched me too so I thought it was the same thing all over." Hayden replied in a low voice.

His eyes flicked up to meet hers and the fire in them had returned and Ashley hated being on the receiving end of that gaze.

"Don't fucking judge me for shit you know nothing about. I had to deal with these things on my own." Hayden seethed out.

Ashley was reeling from this new bit of information. She figured something had to have happened to Hayden but nothing like what he was making it out to be, to the point that he thought she had ditched him.

Hayden was still staring at her with all the rage in the world but there was a slight flicker in his eyes that showed her the pain that was underneath, and perhaps a certain longing for…something. He seemed to have a hard time trusting people especially her, but Ashley had come here with a goal and she was going to get it.

"I don't know what happened to you Hayden, I'm sorry that you think I ditched you, I'm sorry for whatever happened to you while you were away. I want to help you but only if you want and let me. But I came here with a goal in mind today and if you remember anything about me you'll remember that when I set a goal I achieve it. My goal coming here today was to become your friend again and I won't leave until we come to some kind of agreement. You aren't the only one who could have used their best friend these past years." Ashley answered back confidently with a smile.

Hayden stared at her in shock. He didn't know what to think but here was Ashley wanting to be his friend again after years of no contact. Though from the looks of things through no real fault of her own, if his letters weren't reaching her she had no reason to think he wanted to stay in touch. But still looked at her with a wary eye, his past experiences forcing him to look at her with suspicion even though he didn't want to.

"Why would you want to be friends with me again?" Hayden asked carefully.

"I've wanted my friend back for years. When I saw, you come out onto the mat on Thursday my mind was flooded with memories of the past. I remember everything that we used to do and how we would hang out all the time, I want that back again. Heather and Rebecca are great for almost everything but you were my first friend and I don't want to lose you again. I want to be your friend again and we have a lot of time to make up for wouldn't you say." Ashley smiled at him.

She never missed a beat and said everything with confidence and pride. She wasn't ashamed to say what she thought and what she felt and she wanted Hayden as her friend once again. It brought back another memory, one that was just before Hayden left, she couldn't remember which one of them said but she could remember that one of them said. There will always be a Hayden and Ashley. And that felt right.

Hayden let out a small chuckle as he looked up at her for the first time that day with a smile, not just on his face but in his eyes too. He looked like the Hayden that Ashley remembered and the one that she wanted around more often. She could see that she had gotten through to him even if it was just a little bit, she would take it and would not stop until she got her friend back 100%.

"I should know better than try to fight with you when it comes to a battle of wills. Yours is almost as strong as mine. I might still be hurt and a little angry at you Ashley but I want my friend back too. When you walked past me sophomore year I thought that we were done, guess the Fates have given us a second chance and I won't argue. Just don't expect things to be the same as they used to be, I've changed and in some ways, you may not like." Hayden warned her.

"I'll take my chances Haddock." She quipped back hoping he would see what she was doing.

"So, you will Hofferson, I'll be sure to bring it." He fired back with a smile.

Ashley smiled both inside and out as Hayden caught on just like she hoped she would. She extended her hand across the table and held it there as she waited for Hayden to shake it. It took amount but Hayden shook her hand and they both smiled.

"If you ever talk to me like that again I will have to follow up on that punch I owe you Haddock" She said with a devious smirk.

"I'd like to see you land it Hofferson." Hayden replied with his smirk.

They pulled away and brought up the menus that had been laid out for and decided to order lunch. Ashley couldn't be happier as they enjoyed their lunch, with their friendship rekindled it was looking like a wonderful senior year.

A/N: So Ashley got what she wanted but has to wait to hear what happened to Hayden. Where will they go from here? Tune in next time to find out. Be sure to leave a review I read them all, peace.