[Daphne's POV]

I received a text message from Sophie, an old but good college friend of mine. It was a reminder text about the trip to Greece. A few months ago, I received an online invitation from Emmanuele, another old college friend of mine. He and his high school sweetheart were getting married in Santorini this summer. Of course, I said yes. The 2 of us were journalism majors, and we wrote for our college's student newspaper.

Shortly after receiving that invitation, I talked to my editor-in-chief about my friend's wedding, and how I'm heading out of the country for 2-3 weeks. My boss approved it, and I was going out of the country for those three weeks. I bought a round trip ticket an extra day earlier, so I could arrive at the same time as her friends. I packed up all the essentials and clothes that I'll be needing during this vacation. That included long dresses, club attire, comfortable pajamas, sandals, and 2-piece swimsuits.

On the day of the trip, I woke up extra early, took a cool and refreshing shower, and changing into some decent clothes. I ordered a rideshare car to Los Angeles International Airport. It took me 45 minutes to get to my destination. The first part of this Grecian trip was a 3-day weekend in Mykonos. Sophie decided to handle the hotel stuff and reservations for that part. She also mentioned that some of the guys are also joining them on this trip a few days ago.

1/2 hour and later, I grabbed a breakfast sandwich and an iced mocha latte with an extra espresso shot at a local coffee shop in the airport. I ate and waited at the designated area with my purse and carry-on bag. Since there were no direct flights to Mykonos, I had to fly to London first before heading to the Greek island. That's an 11-hour flight plus a 5-hour layover in the city. I wasn't going to arrive until 1 or 2 in the morning at the earliest.

"Flight BA 651 to London, UK is starting to leave from Gate 56," said a voiceover.

Tossing the sandwich wrapper and empty plastic cup in the trash, I grabbed my bags and followed the line towards the gate. I paid a little more for a business class seat, but the perks were worth it. But for now, I'm focused on catching ZZZs before arriving in London.

Fifteen hours of flights and a decently long layover in London, I arrived in Mykonos. It's 2 in the morning, and I wanted to get more sleep before breakfast. I don't know who is sharing a hotel room with me. Knowing my friend, Sophie, she had everything planned once the vacation destination got picked. While walking, I looked at a young man holding a small sign. It had her name and the hotel name written on it.

"You're Ms. Puente? I'm Kristos, your shuttle driver, and I'll take you to the hotel," said the young man.

From the airport to the hotel, it was less than a 10-minute drive. I checked in and took my key from the hotel receptionist. I found the room in a matter of minutes, and she brought the key out. I opened the door and much to my surprise, the lights were on. Sitting on the bed was a young woman with long reddish-brown hair.

The young woman said, "Long time no see, Daphne."

"Same here, Ninel," I replied.

Ninel asked, "How's life after college treated you?"

"Being a journalist is a pain in the ass, but my life is all good," I pointed out, "how about you?"

She responded, "I've been adjusting well since I moved to New York City for my new job."

More minutes passed, and I settled into the hotel room. After a long day of traveling, I changed into comfortable and loose pajamas and hopped into bed. I can imagine what kind of crazy shit that'll happen during our girls' trip. Tomorrow, the real fun begins for the 6 of us. I don't know what to expect from this summer vacation.

[Julian's POV]

"I can't believe I got dragged into this," I muttered.

I grabbed the bag of ice and placed it on my left eye. The one thing I hate about Mykonos, it's the clubs and bars. Emmanuele, an old but good college friend of mine, was getting married in 2 weeks in Santorini. Before the wedding, Wales helped planned a 3-day weekend here in Mykonos. Rather than doing a clichéd bachelor party, it's a college friends' weekend trip. Well, that was what Chao Xin called it when Wales brought it up. Emmanuele also invited him along with Wales, Klaus, Dashan, and Gingka. He also sent one to Ryuga and Kyoya, but they refused to attend the trip and the wedding for unknown reasons.

3 hours passed, and we got kicked out of a club. Most of us left unscathed, except for me. Some drunk idiot punched me in the face after Emmanuele confronted him. A fight broke out because of this, and club security kicked us out. According to Dashan, the bastard who punched me also got the boot after what happened. The weekend trip hasn't started, and we were going off on the wrong foot.

"Sophie is going to kill me if she finds out about the brawl," said Wales.

I replied, "I got punched in the face for something I didn't do, Wales. Sophie will know either way."

I placed the ice pack back into the mini-fridge. The swelling should go down for a bit, at least. I went to my bed, and I just laid there with my eyes wide open. For some reason, I felt restless these past few weeks. It wasn't about Emmanuele's wedding, but a reencounter with an old flame of mine from college. After Wales told Klaus and me about the girls coming to Greece, I didn't know Daphne will be attending the trip and wedding.

We went on a couple of dates during the fall semester of my senior year. It was a pleasant experience, and Daphne was a great person to date. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Our schedules didn't allow us for much alone time, and our relationship was short-lived. We broke up on our terms and accepted that we were better off as friends or even acquaintances. After I graduated, neither of us have kept in contact, and we drifted apart until now.

"By the way, have you sent your stuff to your new place in America, Julian?" Wales asked he changed the subject.

I replied, "Yes. Once the wedding is over, I'm heading to Los Angeles to settle in and begin working again."

"Didn't your father let you run one of the companies?"

"He did. I'll be running a media company that focuses on different media publications, including Muse Weekly Magazine."

Wales's expression changed from calm to curious once I mentioned Muse Weekly. While I knew about the new job, I began studying each media publication and learned about the main people who worked for each one of them. Seeing my friend's reaction, I had the feeling he knew something about the publication that I didn't know. At the same time, I felt exhausted, and we needed to wake up early tomorrow for breakfast. I closed my eyes and drifted slowly into a deep slumber.

The next morning, Julian woke up early and took a clean and refreshing shower. He poked on the bruise gently. It was still a bit swollen, but there wasn't much the Italian young man could do. At least the punch wasn't hard enough that he needed to go to a hospital. Julian was lucky that he didn't lose any of his teeth or go to a hospital. Sophie was going to murder them once someone tells the girls what happened last night. Julian knew he wasn't at fault for what happened in the club, but the incident itself was unavoidable.

He changed into a fresh set of clothes, and the young man picked up a pair of dark-tinted sunglasses from his nightstand. It was time to meet up with the others and have some breakfast. The blonde-haired man walked out of the bathroom, and he saw Wales, who was waiting for him.

"You know that sunglasses won't help once someone asks you to take them off," pointed out Wales.

Julian replied, "I know, but at least my eye looks a little better than last night."

While the ginger-haired man agreed with his friend's statement, he knows his friend can't hide his injury forever. But what was interesting was the Brit's reaction to Muse Weekly Magazine last night. Julian hasn't reviewed much about the American publication since he got the job. He suspected that Wales knew something about Muse Weekly.

"Is there anyone who works for Muse Weekly I should know about?" he asked his friend.

The Brit replied, "Yes. That person who works there is one of our friends."

Julian had a good idea who this friend was since there are two journalists in their friends' circle. He hasn't spoken or seen them in nearly four years. Leaving on good terms and being friends was one thing, but drifting apart for personal endeavors wasn't a surprise for him. After gathering his main belongings, the European men left their hotel room.

Moments later, Ninel and Daphne exited from their hotel room, donning floral dresses and sandals. Daphne added in a sun hat and dark-tinted sunglasses to complete her full look. While the girls were heading to the bed and breakfast spot, her friend spotted two familiar men leaving their hotel room.

"Julian! Wales! Over here!" exclaimed Ninel.

The guys turned their heads once they heard their names. Ninel and a petite young woman were standing outside their hotel room. Wales had no clue how his girlfriend planned the rooming arrangements for girls. As for Julian, his eyes focused on the woman on the left. Even with the sunglasses and hat, he knew who she was. Since they were heading to the same place, it's better to go there together.

Wales asked, "How's it going, Ninel?"

"Great despite having trouble adjusting to my current time zone," she pointed out.

As Ninel and Wales went forward with their conversation, Julian and Daphne awkwardly glanced at one another. It's the first time in four years they've seen face to face. Striking a discussion with an old flame wasn't easy. Julian had questions to ask her, but he doesn't know how to approach them. Daphne knew how close Emmanuele and Julian were during their college days. Seeing the man she dated in front of her, the journalist wondered what went wrong after the breakup.

Julian took a deep breath and said, "Hello, Daphne."

"Hi, Julian," she said.

"It's been four years since we've seen each other."

"After when you graduated with Dashan and Emmanuelle, right?"

"Yes. After that, I started working in one of my father's companies. How about you?"

"After graduation, I began a summer internship with Muse Weekly. I relocated to Los Angeles for it and eventually got a full-time job offer once that's over."

"So, you've lived in America for about three years?"

Daphne nodded. Their conversation was brief, but the awkward silence returned. She didn't know what else to say. The woman felt uncertain about where to go from there. Their lack of communication and willingness to move on was almost like a broken record. In other words, it's like history was repeating itself. Daphne was happy to see the Italian man after such a long time.

Julian watched as the young woman went from relaxed to ambiguous in seconds. The young man may know what triggered Daphne's sudden change of emotions. Rather than bringing it, he kept quiet and moved onward. Daphne walked a few feet behind the Italian man until they arrived at the bed and breakfast spot. A small smile curled from his lips once he saw more familiar people. It's more with the girls than the guys since they all met the night before.

Sophie looked at the sunglasses-wearing man before shifting her emerald gaze towards Wales. An irritated pout formed, and the blue-haired French woman glared at him. Like Julian told him last night, it's impossible to hide that kind of news from Sophie. He had no clue how his girlfriend found about the fight. The British man took a small but deep breath and stared directly at her. Wales never lied to Sophie once in their relationship, and this was no exception.

Wales admitted, "Yes, we got involved in a fight last night, and we got kicked out."

"We'll talk more about this late," respond Sophie.

After a successful breakfast at the hotel, everyone went their separate ways for the rest of the day. For Julian's time off, he planned a yacht cruise around Rhenia and Delos Islands. The Italian man originally planned on going alone, but things changed. He found out that Daphne bought a ticket for the same yacht cruise for today at breakfast. Julian told her to meet him at the shuttle stop. That was about 45 minutes ago.

Julian watched as a familiar young woman head towards where he was. Her outfit hasn't changed much, but she needed to get some stuff from her hotel room. Shortly after the young woman's arrival, a hotel shuttle bus slowly drove up to where they stood. The driver inside of shuttle opened the door for them.

"After you," politely said Julian.

Daphne responded, "Um... Thank you, Julian."

She walked up the stairs and took the first available seat near the window. Julian walked into the vehicle. Julian followed and sat in an empty spot next to Daphne. The light brown-haired woman didn't mind sitting right next to her old flame. It's a coincidence that the Italian man got a ticket for the same yacht cruise. Like her, Julian had no idea Daphne planned her day off by going on the same yacht cruise.

He's okay with spending mutual time with an old friend for good times' sake. What the man isn't certain about was if he wanted to rekindle a spark they once had. Julian acknowledged what went wrong when they dated the first time around. The Italian man had other things that he had to prioritize. He did that to Daphne every time something came up years ago.

The ride from the hotel to Mykonos Old Port was quiet. Neither of them talked during the small amount of time on the bus. It was about nine in the morning when they embarked on the yacht. Daphne gazed around and saw staff members getting ready. Julian and herself were the only ones on the small boat, which is awkward. He didn't want the staff to misinterpret their presence as a couple. With 30 minutes left, it's enough time to talk about themselves and this whole situation.

Watching the clear blue sea from nearby, Daphne was amazed by how beautiful it looked. It had been nearly a decade since the last time she went sailing on the Aegean Sea. Growing up in Greece, her relatives would take her and her cousins out to sea on boat trips like this. She loved it when the gentle sea breeze caresses her hair. Even though she was doing a touristy cruise with a friend, she wanted to have fun.

A few feet away from Daphne, Julian stood there, staring at the azure sea in front of him. Watching the waves move gently relaxed the young man. Weeks prior, the Italian man shifted his focus on moving to America and his new job. The stress came from learning his new position and studying the small companies under the Konzern Family conglomerate. Even as a child, he's an all work-no fun type of person. He excelled in everything he participated in, including academics.

Being carefree was pretty non-existent until he dated Daphne during that one fall semester. For the first time in a long time, he had fun like an ordinary college student. It ended up short-lived, and he returned to the same cycle of all work-no fun for 4 more years. Even if it was for a few weeks, he's glad that his friend invited him to Greece for the wedding. Despite getting punched for no apparent reason last night, the Italian man needed a long-deserved vacation of some sort.

Julian wasn't surprised about when he found out that Emmanuelle invited her to the wedding as one of his guests. He's glad that he got the opportunity to reunite with a college friend from their group. But at the same time, old feelings from their past relationship returned out of the blue. What he wanted was not to put her in an awkward position and tell about these feelings he had. He glanced directly at Daphne, which she responded with a similar look.

"Daphne, we need to talk," said Julian.

She continued, "To talk about us... I agree since we never discussed what went wrong with our friendship after graduation."

"After graduation, I became hyper-focused on work and maintaining my family's companies intact for 4 straight years. I never talked to anyone within our friend group, apart from Wales, Sophie, and Klaus, for self-evident reasons."

"I can't blame you for prioritizing your family and work because you were the type of person some people admired like myself. After college, I shifted my focus to moving to America for my internship, and later on a full-time job. We never kept in touch because of our professions getting in the way."

Under those sunglasses, he closed his eyes. A thoughtful expression settled in. The young man agreed that his. Well, their problem was prioritizing work over personal relationships of any kind. All Julian wanted was for his family's businesses to succeed. Daphne desired to become a better journalist and move forward from where she was now. At the same time, she didn't want to lose the man who encouraged her to become a hardworking person again.

Daphne asked, "Do you want to start all over again, Julian?"

"As a friend, or are you expecting something more?" he wondered.

"Both, but I do want to start as friends and see where it goes from there," she explained.

Julian wasn't against the idea because it's an opportunity to see how different this new relationship was going to be. He acknowledged his flaws and mistakes from their past relationship. Maybe there'll be a day when a new spark ignites. For the time being, the Italian man wanted to enjoy the rest of the day with Daphne.

Honestly, I never expected to write a 3K+ word one-shot since it's the first one in a long time. I wanted to test a new writing style with this summer-like story. Also, it's an opportunity to play around with a different romance concept that isn't as straightforward as my previous works. It's a reunion story between old flames in college trying to re-establish a connection. I'm considering to sequel one-shot even though I never did this for a contest fic like this.

Like I always, read and review and have a great day!

From,

Cosmic Crow (or C.C.)