I want to start out by apologizing that I haven't update this story for the last two week. I could give you excuses, but I doubt anybody cares. So, I'm sorry and hopefully that won't happen again.

Clare

I woke up to my obnoxious alarm clock spitting out high-pitched beeps at me. Sighing to myself, I rolled over and started hitting every button my hand made contact with until I didn't hear the noise anymore.

Blinking my tired eyes open, I saw it was only 10 am. I still had two hours to get ready and arrive at the station. I felt kind of nervous. It had been quite a while since I had seen Bullfrog and Cece, and frankly, I missed them. They were always so kind and supportive of me, but since we hadn't talked since Eli and I broke up, I was worried that they might view me differently.

After resting my eyes for another five minutes, I yawned and stretched before standing up and walking to the bathroom. I did my business, showered, got dressed, fixed my hair, and even put on a bit of makeup. Even though they had seen me plenty of times without any makeup on and my hair tied up, I wanted to look nice for our first meeting in over a year.

I put on a simple floral dress and cardigan before I headed downstairs. Quickly checking the clock on the oven I sighed in relief when I realized it was only 10:45. I stuck some bread in the toaster and hopped up on the counter while I waited for the bread to pop out crispy. I looked around quietly, distracting myself from the slow toaster when my eyes found a small note taped to the fridge. Hopping down, I walked over and read it.

Clare-

Good luck today! I hope you have fun! There's some money on the table if you need to buy lunch.

Love you!

-Mom

I smiled and rolled my eyes and ripped the note off the fridge, throwing it in the trash can. I found the $10 laying on an empty place mat and stuck it in my purse.

The bread jumped out of its slot accompanied with a loud beep. I slightly jumped and rushed over to put my toast on a plate. Sitting down at the table, I poured honey over my toast and ate it.

Putting my plate in the dishwasher, I noticed that my mom and Glen had both driven to work today, leaving me without a car. I washed my hands and wondered if I should call Alli. She had a Volkswagen Beetle, but I didn't want to disturb her. Knowing Alli, she was probably still asleep.

I didn't want to burden anybody, so I called a cab. As I waited for the cab to arrive, I put on some flats and occupied myself by scrolling through all the apps on my phone. As I was playing Connor in Words With Friends, I glimpsed the cab pull up on the curb.

I rushed out the door and hopped into the taxi, telling the driver where I needed to be.

"Oh, I love that station! Do you mind if I put it on?" The driver asked me.

"Sure, go for it.," I told her while putting my phone into my purse. She turned on the car's radio and Bullfrog's voice was booming through the speakers. I smiled to myself and felt my body warm up. I missed Bullfrog with his loud, scratchy, deep voice. I missed the way he'd call me Clare-Bear, despite my hatred for that nickname, and I missed the big hugs he'd engulf me in whenever I showed up at the Goldworthy's residence. He was like a father to me.

Arriving at the studio, I handed the driver my money and stepped out of the car while hearing her singing along to some familiar tune. The taxi drove off and I was left standing near the front door of the small building. I took a deep breath and made my way through the door.

"Clare!" Cece called at me and ran over in her high-heels to hug me. She bent down and threw her arms around me as I patted her back. "Bullfrog's just getting ready to go on air," she told me, pointing back at the glass room he was sitting in,"so I was thinking we'll start easy on you and you can start filing through some copyright agreements." Cece told me while leading me into a back room filled with filing cabinets. I recognized the room as the secluded place Eli and I would sneak off to to have quick make out sessions while we were stuck at the studio all day.

Smiling to myself, I listened to Cece describe my task. "Think you can handle it? I'll stay and help you, we can catch up!" She told me as she moved the two folding chairs near a cabinets.

"Sure. Thanks for the job. It'll be nice to actually do something productive this summer." I thanked her.

We talked and filed for what turned out to be five hours. I was too busy laughing and talking to realize so much time had passed until Cece mentioned it, " Oh wow, we've been doing this for five hours! I'm not sure about you, but I am starved."

"Yeah, I'm a bit hungry. Thanks again for the job. You can just text me with my schedule." I said while pulling out my phone and starting to dial for a cab.

"Any chance you want to come eat dinner with us?"

My first thought was about how awkward that could be, but I had just spent the last five hours with Cece and it was barely awkward, so maybe dinner with them wouldn't be that bad. Besides, I still hadn't talked to Bullfrog. "Well, I don't know. I should probably get home..."

"Please, Clare?" She begged, grabbing my wrist and pulling me towards the main entrance of the studio.

"I guess I could." I smiled at her.

"Great! We'll just wait a few more minutes until Bullfrog is off, then we can go. Did you drive here?"

"No. I took a cab"

"Okay, we'll give you a ride home after dinner." She let me know as she took out her phone and send a short text to someone.

We talked mindlessly for a few more minutes until the next host came in and Bullfrog came out to greet us. "Clare-bear!" He called while engulfing me in a tight hug.

"Hi Bullfrog." I replied laughing.

"Clare's going to eat dinner with us." Cece filled him in.

"Good, we need to catch up." He said flinging an arm around my neck and leading me out the building towards their car.

"Sweetie, you can sit in the front. I'll go in the back." Cece opened the car door for me.

"Thanks, but you take the front seat, I insist." I said while getting in the backseat. Cece put up a small fight, but let me go in the backseat.

The drive was filled with laughter and Bullfrog's loud voice. I thought we would eat at a restaurant, but I found out I was wrong when the car was going on the route back to the Goldworthy's house. Instantly, I gulped and started getting nervous. I would have to face Eli, without being aware of what I had said the previous night. On top of that, Cas would probably be there too.

Pretty soon, we were pulling into their driveway.

Eli

Cassie and I had been watching tv for pretty much the whole day. We were both still in out pajamas and we had no plans to actually get dressed. We were watching Futurama reruns and snacking on potato chips.

"We need to go out some night and have fun. I want to meet new people and go to a party or something." Cassie started complaining to me.

"Maybe sometime soon. Maybe Adam and his brother will throw a party. They used to quite often in high school. We'll see." It was harder to find a party during summer now that we were all in college and barely kept in contact with our old classmates. Maybe I could call Jake and Mo and we could find a party or something. I hadn't talked to Jake much since Clare and I broke up and I lost contact with Mo shortly after that.

"Well we need to go out and do something. I'm losing my mind here. I love you, but I can't stand being cooped up." She continued, obviously wanting to do something.

"Okay, I'll check out what's going on tomorrow, but let's just relax tonight." I replied, taking a sip of beer.

"Why don't we throw a party?" She continued questioning me.

"Because I don't want to have to deal with the mess." I stated, knowing how messy and disgusting parties could be. I had thrown a few parties, but I always had help. There was the new-york style party I planned with Adam and Clare and Clare's surprise 17th birthday party with Fiona.

"Fine. But there better be at least one night that I can't recall when we go back to school." She threatened me.

"I'm sure there will be." I told her as my phone vibrated. I unlocked the screen and saw a text from Cece.

Dress nicely. We have a guest coming over for dinner.

I replied, asking her who it was, but I received no reply.

"Cassie, apparently somebody is coming over for dinner, so we're supposed to get ready." I said as I got up and saw her roll her eyes at me calling her Cassie. I grabbed her hand and helped her up and we headed up to my room to start getting ready.

Pretty soon, we weren't dressed up, but we weren't in our pajamas anymore. I was wearing a simple grey v-neck with jeans and Cassie had on a red v-neck and black leather shorts. She was putting on large earrings and bracelets when we heard the car pull into the driveway.

"Ready to go?" I asked her.

"Not yet." She replied, fixing her wavy hair as she came out of the bathroom. I sat down on my bed as I waited for her. She took a seat next to me and started lacing up her combat boots.

We heard the front door open and my parents chattering voices.

"Do you know who it is?" Cassie asked me.

"No idea," I replied, noticing she finished lacing her boots. "You ready now?" I asked as she nodded and gave my lips a peck with her own, right red lips. I stood up, grabbing Cassie's hand and together we started down the stairs.

Clare

We walked into the house and I was thankful that Eli and Cas weren't there as soon as I walked in. I followed Cece into the kitchen and she started taking out ingredients. "You still like Fettuccine Alfredo?" she asked and my heart warmed up at the fact that she still remembered my favorite food.

"Yeah, but don't feel the need to make it because of me. Make whatever is easiest."

"No, no. You're the guest."

"Would you mind if I use the bathroom?" I asked.

"Not at all, sweetie. You know where it is."

I left the kitchen and went to the bathroom. I wasn't surprised that I still knew the floor-plan. After all, I had spent plenty of time here. As I was washing my hands, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and felt my face whiten. I looked at myself in the mirror and started scrunching my hair, trying to revive it.

Not only am I going to have to face Eli, but I'm going to have to talk to Cas. I was nervous about what she was going to do to me after our previous run-in.

Once the couple reached Cece in the kitchen, I heard Eli question who the guest was, and where they were. I took a few deep breaths to prepare myself while my knuckles turned white from gripping the sink's edge so tightly. After looking at my reflection one last time, I turned around and exited the bathroom. From the kitchen, they couldn't see me approach, so I used my last few moments of peaceful solitary to brace myself for shouts directed at my face.

Eli

"But seriously, who's the guest? And where are they?" I asked once we reached Cece.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough. Cas, would you like to help me place some cups around the table?" Cece pulled out some glasses from the cabinet and I knew this guest must have been important. Cassie sluggishly took the glasses and started placing them near the plates that were laid out. When she was finished, she took a seat next to me at the island while we watched Cece cook.

I felt the presence of somebody before I heard the padded footsteps. I turned around almost in sync with Cece and Cassie. And my eyes met with the familiar blue ones that quickly looked down.

"Clare?" I whispered mainly to myself. Her eyes returned up and she gave me a faint smile.

"Hi. Nice to see you guys again." She obviously lied, looking at Cassie. I could feel Cassie's pursed lips and raised eyebrow.

Clare laughed and I gave her a questioning look.

"I like that shade of lipstick on you." She giggled and her eyes lit up.

I immediately knew she saw my face change colors in embarrassment because she laughed louder. I brought my hand to my lips and started wiping away the remains of Cassie's kiss from only minutes ago. Her giggles died out and we were all left in an awkward silence. Luckily, Cece decided to intervene, "Clare is our guest, if you haven't picked up on that." She walked over to Clare and grabbed her hand, only to turn around and drag her behind the island with her, so they were both now facing me and Cassie.

"Dinner will be ready in about 10 minutes, it looks like," Cece said checking the timer on the oven "so Eli, maybe you'd like to go get Bullfrog?" She asked me.

I got up and went upstairs to knock on my parent's door. "Bullfrog, dinner will be ready soon." I warned him and received an "Okay" as a reply. I walked away and headed back down the stairs to rejoin everybody in the kitchen.

Cece was laughing and Clare was sheepishly smiling at something that had been said while Cassie was wearing a fake grin, which appeared more like a grimace.

"Eli, can you get the wine out?" Cece asked of me when she noticed my return. In reply, I walked over towards the refrigerator and started pulling wine out of the top shelf. I set them on the table and leaned against it while everybody chattered and waited.

When we heard Bullfrog's loud footsteps coming down the stairs, Cece started pulling the noodles off the stove and the rest of us found seats at the table. I sat next to Cassie and right in front of Clare, who was going to be by Cece. Bullfrog sat at the head of the table and Cece brought the food to the table. We all started piling our plates and fell into a comfortable silence.

Clare must have had her legs crossed and was swinging her foot above the ground like she always used to because it met with my shin and I looked up at her. Her eyes shot up too and her face fostered the usual blush. I smiled at her for reassurance that everything was alright and no harm was done.

"So, Clare-Bear we've barely gotten to talk today." Bullfrog ignited the conversation.

"Yeah, I was hoping we'd get to talk more." Clare replied, smiling up at Bullfrog.

"Well, we can talk now! How's college life going for ya? Get any cops called on any wild parties yet?" He asked as I heard a snort from Cassie.

"Oh yeah, definitely. You know me, little miss crazy." Clare said with sarcasm seeping through then my parents and her started laughing.

"Oh yes, Clare is so crazy. Did I ever tell you guys about that time that her, Adam, and I went to one of Drew's parties? Clare got so wasted that we couldn't take her home because Helen would have killed her, so we brought her back here and she started pretending my bed was a boat and...yeah." I laughed and finished awkardly because I didn't really want to inform everybody in the room that we had had sex that night. Clare laughed and her cheeks turned slightly pink. She had always been such an easy blusher.

"Trust me son, we know. We heard you guys that night." Bullfrog stated laughing as I choked on my water and Clare's face turned crimson.

I was about to make a retort when Cassie spoke up, "Clare, what's your boyfriend's name again?" She asked with a strange sadistic tone in her voice.

Cece responded before Clare even had a chance. "Oh my God! What?! We were talking for five hours and you never mentioned him?! Is he a good guy?"

Clare smiled and tucked a curl behind her ear. "Yeah. He's helped bring me out of my shell a bit, but every so often he's respectful of my wishes to just stay in and read."

"How long have you guys been dating?"

"Not all too long. We started going out in October."

"What's he majoring in?"

"Business. He wants to go to Law school after he graduates."

Before I could even process what I was doing, I asked a question. "When are we going to get to meet him? I mean you've met Cassie, so now I feel obligated to meet Zach."

Clare turned towards me and gave me a somewhat vague answer. "Soon, possibly. He's supposed to come visit.

The conversation of Zach eventually died down. He sounded nice enough, but there was something that annoyed me about it all. Perhaps it was just jealousy. It was weird to think she had moved on from me. And even though I had a new girlfriend, I wasn't in love with her and we didn't have any of the chemistry Clare and I had. It was just strange to think that all the emotions she once had for me, she now has for him.

Throughout dinner, Cece kept smiling fondly at Clare. I knew she missed her. They used to be so close and Cece was excited about Clare actually becoming her daughter. But that all fell apart.

Dinner passed fairly quickly with a lot less awkward moments than I originally thought. Pretty soon we were all putting our dishes into the dishwasher and getting ready to say goodbye.

"You know what, we should watch a movie!" Bullfrog suddenly declared. Cece nodded her head and agreed. They looked at Clare, awaiting her answer. She looked hesitant and I wasn't sure if I wanted her to accept or decline the offer.

"We could watch Batman. You like that movie, don't you?" Bullfrog asked her. I mentally cursed my parents. Those movies were our movies. Ours, belonging to me and Clare. Our high school and college days consisted of cuddling on my bed or on the couch watching them and quoting back and forth.

"Yeah, if we're watching a comic book movie, I'm out. Night." Cassie called, kissing he hand and placing her hand on my cheek rather hastily before running upstairs.

"Well, how 'bout just the four of us? Just like old times, huh?" Once again, profanities ran through my head directed towards Bullfrog.

Clare looked slightly uncomfortable. "Um, I should probably get home. Thanks for the offer though."

"Alright, maybe next time." Cece comforted her. "You need a ride, don't you? Let me go grab my keys and we can head out." She said and went to go find the car keys.

Bullfrog gave Clare a big hug and kept repeating how glad he was that she was working at the station. He eventually headed towards the kitchen when Cece called for him to help her find the misplaced keys. I was left alone to say goodbye to my old friend.

I put my hands in my back pockets and smiled. Surprisingly, she closed the few feet between us and threw her arms around my neck. "It was nice seeing you again, Eli. Hopefully we can hangout more."

"Yeah, it was great." I told her as we stepped away. "Once again, I'm sorry about Cassie the other day... and today... and the future."

Her laughter prompted my smirk and I hoped I was forgiven for Cassie. "And no, don;t worry, she doesn't hate you. She's like that to everyone." I winked at her, repeating the words to her again, only this time she was sober. She held her smile, but she looked a bit confused.

"When we were at the club the other day, you asked me why she was so mean to you. If she hated you." I reminded her. Her face fell and she started to look worried. I gave her a questioning look.

"What else did I say?" She questioned and looked scared. It was time to mess around with her a bit.

"Oh, not much. Just how instead of her being jealous that we used to date, you should be the jealous one because I 'love' her now." I summarized her words and put air quotations around the word love to emphasize how it wasn't a term I'd use for Cassie's and my feelings for each other. "And that you were happy when I texted you." I smirked, but deep down, I really hoped I didn't ruin any potential for us to get back on a friendly level. Hopefully, she knew I was just messing with her.

Just then, Cece came out into the living room, jiggling the keys in her hand to let us know she found them. Clare looked scared and I just winked at her, trying to let her know that everything was fine and I was just playing with her. "See you later, Clare." I said.

"Goodbye, Eli." She said before leaving with Cece. I only hoped it wasn't truly a final 'Goodbye'.