Hello, I've been trying to make this story a weekly upload, so here is the next chapter.

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-AGA-xx


ROCKY START. CHAPTER 5


Before I talked to her for the first time in 2 years I saw her once before, shortly after moving back in the city. I was staying with my parents to avoid her on purpose, you'd think that in a city this big and filled with people it would be hard to meet someone randomly in the street. It was fall, the cold winds had come sooner this year and the days were becoming shorter. After being away for so long I wanted to do everything I loved about New York, go to Joe's Pizza Place, get a croughnout from that corner in the 87th street, go for a run across Washington Bridge, watch the fall sunsets and go to Topanga's for a bulochki.

One day, returning from Billy's house I saw the small coffee shop Maya and I would go to if we skipped the last period at school. It was really nice and the food was delicious. I decided to stop by, after watering my mouth just by thinking about the carrot cake they served. When I came in, the place was packed, a long line was in front of me but I had my head set on that cake and a cup of coffee. I quickly checked around the place to see if any seat was empty and I saw her, she was in a table with some friends I didn't know, I could only see her back but I was certain it was her. What were the odds? I didn't know what to do in that moment, I was panicking. 'Should I go speak to her?' was what I thought, but I wasn't sure if I was ready for that. What would she do if she saw me? I couldn't do it, but at the same time I couldn't stand there and do nothing about it. After all this time she was finally at my reach and I couldn't talk to her, I wouldn't know what to say.

"Sir? Excuse me, sir?" I turned gaze away from Maya to the cashier lady in front of me, apparently I had advance to the head of the line. "What are you having?"

It took me a few seconds to understand what she wanted. "Oh, sorry... Umm... Can you give me a cup of black coffee with one sugar and umm... A carrot cake to go."

"Sure" I looked at Maya again, I had to do something, I could go to her and just say hi, let her know I'm back in the city, I mean it's been two years. No, I'm crazy. "Anything else?"

"No..." I tell the cashier. "Wait... Uh do you still serve the pecan pie with the white chocolate sauce?"

"Yes, we do" she answers me. This was Maya's favorite pie, she would tell me about it nonstop until I would bring her here or take her a slice to her house.

"Great, can you prepare me a slice? But it is for that blonde girl over there, can you take it to her?"

"Okay... Is that all?"

"Yes, can you give me a napkin?" She very nicely hands me the piece of paper.

"That'll be $17.32." I give her a 20 and tell her to keep the change, I write a note for the cake while I wait my order. Another woman comes with a brown bag and a plate with the pecan pie on the other hand.

"Here you go sir" she gives me the bag "I was told the pie was a special delivery" she smiles playfully at me.

"Yeah, can you go give it to the blonde who is sitting in that table over there?" I point towards Maya and look at the employee to make sure she knows who I'm talking about.

"Of course" she gladly replies.

"Also this note..." I hand her the paper, she is about to leave but I stop her. "Oh, if she asks don't tell her who it came from. Thank you so much."

"Sure thing, sweetie." She slowly walks away heading to Maya's table as I make my way out of the place and disappear in the crowded street.


Fall was creeping around the city and I loved it. I could wear my big sweaters again, boots and to be honest I didn't need to shave my legs as often. The trees were getting naked and we were assigned to draw fall leaves and flowers for my workshop. Me and my friends had a tour around different parks, collecting leaves, taking pictures of the trees and flowers around us. We ended our little field trip with empty bellies and I knew a great spot just a block away, this was my favorite coffee shop. I just couldn't tell Topanga, still I had only come here with one person, it was our little secret spot.

We discovered it our sophomore year, Brandon had cheated on me and I had found out that day and I felt too angry to go back to class, but of course Ranger Rick followed me and told me he couldn't let me leave alone. We walked senselessly for hours, he carried my bag the whole time, then when the sun began to come down I complained that I was hungry and we entered this small coffee shop that was just ahead. The next day Brandon came in with a swollen eye, he apologized and never talked to me again, I knew it had been Lucas. That day I found out he still had feelings for me and I realized I did too.

Afterwards it became our thing, every time I was tired or just sick of school he would bring me here or every day he felt like exploding I invited him to that spongy carrot cake he loved. When we fought he would bring me my favorite or when I was in bed suffering with monthly cramps he would sneak in with a chocolate cupcake in his hand and stay with me to watch a movie or catch me up with that day's assignment.

Me and the girls entered the place and luckily found a table near the window so I could watch the city change colors when the sun sat. We ordered our coffees and then we read and reread the menu to figure out what to eat. It had been a while since I had been here so I wasn't sure what to order, I remembered so many amazing dishes that I didn't know where to start.

"What are you guys getting?" Camille asked.

"I don't know! Everything looks so good!" Lee answered. "Maya, what should we try?" The whole group looked at me expectantly.

"I don't even know what I'm having! But literally everything is good." I kept rummaging through the menu. But I wasn't sure if I should ask for my old time favorite or should I order the new tiramisu cake.

"Excuse me miss" a waitress said next to me with a plate in her hand. She placed it in the table. "This is for you."

"I didn't order this" I explained to her. She smiled at me.

"A man ordered it for you, he also wrote a note." She handed me a folded napkin and left the table behind.

I finally looked at the plate in front of me and my heart stopped. It was a pecan pie drizzled with white chocolate sauce, my favorite. It was from him. I stood up quickly and studied the shop looking for Lucas but he was nowhere to be found. My friends were staring at me with perplexed faces and I sat back in my chair.

"So Maya, who sent you that?" Camille said with a playful grin. The rest of them widened their eyes and nodded.

"I don't know..." I lied.

"Well? What did the note said?" Andrea asked eagerly.

Shit, I almost forgot about the note. I opened the napkin slowly, immediately recognizing the writing. It was definitely him.

'hey... I couldn't bring myself to say hello, but I hope this makes up for it. I'm sorry...'

I stayed silent looking at the napkin, taking in every trace of the pen. Camille, who was sitting next to me, grabbed the note and read it aloud for the table. I quickly stole it back and read it one last time 'I'm sorry...', I kept looking at it.

"Aww, he didn't leave a number or anything?" Lee asked.

"Nope, what a loser, who does that?" Camille responded.

"That's exactly my point! Nobody does that anymore, I would've given him a chance. What do you think Maya?"

She caught me off guard staring at the little note, so I put it in my bag and returned to the conversation. "Oh, umm... I don't know... It's too cheesy for me." I said, taking a bite of my pie, it was delicious, just like I remembered.

"See!" Camille said as Lee rolled her eyes.

"I don't know guys, I'm with Lee on this one, I would kill for a guy that was that thoughtful..." Jessie stepped in. Thoughtful described Lucas perfectly, he had always been. I couldn't help but think how he was. After two years away, he is back in the city, I wonder what I would've done if he had said hello.


Unlike my first not encounter with, the second time I saw her near me I actually said hello. This happened post-operation, I had been a week out of the hospital and Billy insisted me on coming to a college party to celebrate. I was still using my cane so he picked me in his car and drove me there, he waited me as we walked to the house and made sure I had a place to sit if I got too tired.

The house was big, it was packed, people were drinking, dancing, playing 'Stacks', there was a pool outside, but I was quietly sitted on a couch of the living room, next to a couple that were definitely having a good time. Billy came back with a beer for me which I gladly took, he left me alone again, but not long after that two beautiful girls who had maybe a little too much to drink came up to me giggling.

"Are you Lucas Friar?" One of them asked me, laughing and dancing to the beat of the music.

"I am" I said, nodding my head so they could understand me over the loud music. They looked at each other and laughed some more.

"You are like a war hero" the shorter one said. "Yes, and you are like so hot" the other one finished. I don't even know what my face looked like at the moment I just wanted to get out of there. "Would you like to come with us?" This certainly caught my attention, I raised a brow and questioned the reality of the moment and if I should go with them. I looked around for Billy to see if he could rescue me or if I should just roll with this. I took my cane and got off the couch with a small sting in my abdomen, when I straighten myself was when I caught a glimpse of her. It happened very fast, I saw her just for a second but I knew it had been her. This time I had to find her.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Billy came quickly to my side. "Who are them?" He said pointing to the waiting drunk girls.

"I'm sorry ladies, my friend and I have to go somewhere else, but thank you for the offer." They left the room without a care in the world.

"What was that? What offer?" Billy asked confused. But I didn't have time to explain I had to go and look for Maya, before she left the party.

"Maya is here" I told him.

"Oh man, I had no idea she would come."

"I need to talk to her" I said, taking my cane and heading towards the hall I had seen her go through.

"What? You are going to talk to your ex? Are you drunk?" He asked me, checking my pupils in the process.

"No, man" I pushed him away and kept walking "This is something I need do". He nodded and stayed behind as I made my way through a crowd of drunk people.

"Yo, you're that dude who got shot! Awesome!" I heard someone yell at me, a couple of people asked me to take a picture with them. I moved as fast as I could, but my breathing would harden and I had to stop and take a break. When I entered the kitchen she was fixing herself a drink. She looked so hot, she was wearing shorts so I could she those legs that went on for miles, her hair was messy and I loved it. I was speechless and thought about turning around and leave, but I couldn't do that again. I took a deep breath and went for it.


"Maya?" A familiar voice said behind me, all the little hairs in the back of my neck stood up. I slowly turned around, my eyes confirming my fear, it felt like a ghost was standing in front of me. The last time I had seen him was in the hospital, laying on a bed, half dead. I felt the sudden urge to hug him, but that was probably the alcohol in my system speaking. What was he doing here? I then noticed he was supporting himself on a wooden cane and some concern invaded me.

"Lucas" was what I managed to say, even though I was thinking of a million other things to say.

"Hi" he said, with a half smile. He had bags under his eyes, he looked tired, so he probably wasn't sleeping well or the meds were making him sleepy. But if he was on meds what was he doing drinking in a party.

"Hey..." I awkwardly responded. "What are your doing here?"

"Billy brought me..." He scratched the back of his head, clearly uncomfortable by the situation. I noticed he had a small bandage in his bicep, maybe I stared a bit much because he covered it with the sleeve of his shirt again.

"You look great." I felt the need to tell him, he lifted his eyes to meet mine, he had that hypnotizing look in them, where I could feel myself falling, getting lost in his thoughts.

"Thanks." He said with a full smile, I don't know what was so debilitating about him, his scent, his eyes, his low voice, that smile, that made my legs weak. "I saw you and um... My mom... She told me that you visited me at the hospital... And I just wanted to thank you, I uh.. I appreciate it."

"No, of course. Uh... You really scared me." I said, looking back at him, he clenched his jaw and swallowed hard. I had a zip of my drink and he leaned back on the counter, using his hand as support.

"I'm sorry..." he said after some seconds of silence, looking directly into my eyes.

"You don't need to say sorry." I replied.

"But I do." I knew that he was answering to my previous comment, but I also knew him too well to understand that he meant to ask for forgiveness for everything. I wasn't mad at him, not anymore, but a part of me wanted to be, because being angry at him was easier than admitting to myself that I still felt the same way when I was around him. I remained on my feet, looking back at him, without a clue of what to say.


"Hey Maya! Are you here?... Oh, sorry! I didn't know you were busy." A guy came saying into the kitchen.

"David!" Maya answered, my heart felt heavy and tainted by a shade of jealousy. "This is Lucas" she said. I turned to him with the help of my cane and stretched his hand.

"Hi Lucas, wait... the Lucas that got shot?"

"David!" Maya spat with a dangerous look in her eyes.

"Oh, sorry" David replied and took a step back. I told him it was fine and an awkward atmosphere settled in the kitchen. "Maya we have to go, Camile is here."

"Oh, okay, I'll be there in a sec" He nodded and left the room. "I'm sorry about him, he is just a friend from college." She made a pause and looked at her shoes really quick. Am I supposed to say something? She lifted her head and looked at me again "I should go, they're waiting for me."

"Yeah, sure" I smiled at her "Bye, see you later."

She left the room for a second, then her head appeared in the door frame. "Thanks for the pie" she said before leaving the party. I laughed for myself and felt a relieve in my chest. She wanted to make it clear that David was just a friend and she liked the pie thing. I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the party.


Another chapter gone! Thanks for reading, comment, follow, like, if you like!