…………………

"Josie." Corrine rushed forward and flung her arms around her in welcome. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see the apartment. Do you live here?" Josie said.

"No. It's Lucas's." Corrine told her.

They both looked over at Lucas, who hadn't moved since Josie had first walked in.

"Lucas." Josie said softly. She began to walk toward him, and both were reminded of the day she had come back from her alternate timeline. Just like then, Lucas was too shocked to move. She stopped in front of him and whispered, "I really missed you."

Neither of them noticed Corrine pulling Marshall toward the door.

Hesitantly, Josie hugged him. He was so much taller than her now she had to wrap her arms around his waist since he wasn't bending to accommodate her height.

He seemed to snap out of his trance and patted her on the back awkwardly. She pulled back slowly. "You look good Lucas."

He ran a hand through his hair self-consciously. It was a lot shorter than the last time he'd seen her, more like it had been when she'd disappeared. And his former roommate's addiction to Lysol had forced him to get contacts to avoid the residue on his glasses that kept getting in his eyes.

"I almost didn't recognize you."

"You look exactly the same," he said, finally finding his voice, "just as beautiful as ever." An uncomfortable blush rose in her cheeks and he added, "And I think you've grown a little."

She smiled and punched him lightly on the arm. Her height had always been a touchy subject and the joke to cover his blunder was just what they needed to break the tension. He returned her smile.

"So this is your place?" she asks, walking over to the window. "Great view."

"Yeah, that's what everyone says."

"So, am I going to get a tour or what?" Josie asked him.

Everything in him was screaming that this was a bad idea. He had been trying so hard to get Josie out of his system. If he let her move in now, he'd never get over her.

But that look. The one she always gave him. He couldn't say no to it and she was giving it to him now. She was gazing up him with complete trust in her big brown eyes and he felt himself melt just like always. She had to know that he couldn't refuse her anything when she looked at him that way.

"Sure, but as far as I'm concerned, the room is yours if you want it."

"Really?" Her voice held a disbelieving tone, but at his nod her face broke into a huge smile that he couldn't help but return.

"Thank you." she cried and flung her arms around him again. "You're the best. I'm going to go get my stuff from my aunt's right now. I do have a bed right?"

"There's one in there, but if you don't like it…"

"As long as I don't have to stay with my aunt tonight, I would sleep on the kitchen floor." she said. "I'll be back in an hour. You can time me."

She left and Lucas stared at the door long after she'd gone wondering if he'd just made the worst mistake of his life.

…………………

"I can't believe you're letting Josie move in here." Marshall said for the third time since he'd gotten there. It had been two hours since Josie had returned with her stuff and he and Corrine were helping her unpack.

"Marshall, what did you want me to do-she needs a place to live." Lucas defended, an annoyed tone creeping into his voice.

"But here? You and I both know this is a bad idea."

"I couldn't say no." he whispered.

"Why not? You said no to everyone else."

Lucas grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the kitchen so they couldn't be overheard. "Josie isn't just someone else. Not to me."

He turned away and ran his hands through his hair distractedly. "God, I just want this to all be over. Once and for all."

"And you think that's going to happen with her in the room next door?" Marshall asked.

"Don't you think I've asked myself the exact same questions? What will it be like to have Josie here? What if she starts dating someone? What if Vaughn shows up at my door? What if…what if I realize that I'm still in love with her?"

Lucas paused after he uttered the last word. He hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"You…?" Marshall began.

"Yeah. I do." he admitted and walked back into the living room.

…………………

"This is bad."

Corrine looked at Marshall as they walked back to campus and sighed. "I know."

"You realize what's going to happen? It's gonna be Blake Holesy all over. I don't think I can watch Lucas go through that again." Marshall looked ready to jump out of his skin he was so nervous.

"Marshall," Corrine stopped him and took his hand, "we can't exactly force Lucas to kick her out."

"She's going to break his heart. Again. We can't just stand by and watch that happen."

She smiled sadly. "We have to."

…………………

Lucas knocked lightly on Josie's door. It was open, but he didn't feel comfortable just waling in the way he had back at school.

She looked up from her unpacking and smiled. "Hey."

"You settling in alright?"

"Yeah." She looked at him quizzically. "What happened to the contacts?"

He pushed his small wire-rimmed glasses up on his nose. "They were starting to bother me."

"Much better than the ones you were wearing the last time I saw you." she said teasingly.

He smiled at the mention of his large plastic glasses. It meant she had actually noticed when she came back, despite everything that had been on her mind at the time. Then he mentally kicked himself for thinking that way.

"You need any help?" he gestured to the boxes scattered around the room.

"No need." she picked the one off her bed and tossed it to the floor. "That was the last one. At least until my mom gets here this weekend."

Lucas couldn't really think of anything else to say, so he decided he better head off for the sleepless night of looking at his ceiling that was awaiting him. "Well, I'm just gonna call it a night. If you need anything…"

"I know. And thanks again. It really means a lot." she smiled at him warmly and he felt his heart lurch.

He headed to his room and flopped onto his bed, acutely aware that there was just one wall separating his headboard from Josie's. Sleepless nights looked to be something he needed to get used to.

…………………

A/N: Sorry it's so short. I'm a little pressed for time. The next one will be longer and the plot will start to fully kick in. Oh, and just for reference's sake, I had the image of Michael in 'Life With Derek' in mind when I started this.