A/N: This chapter is in Imogen's pov and is more of a filler chapter. I promise the next one will be much more interesting and well better then this in general.
"Well, here goes nothing," Imogen whispered to herself before knocking on the front door of a house she barely recognized. Imogen took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she waited for someone to answer the door. After what felt like several minutes the door swung open revealing Natalie who looked several years older than she did the last time Imogen saw her.
Natalie smiled timidly at her daughter opening the door wider to let her in. "It's good to see you again, Imogen," Natalie said trying to not push for too much.
"You too, Natalie," Imogen said as she walked into the hallway. Natalie motioned for her to join her in the living room so she walked in and sat down on the couch hesitantly.
"So, um, how have things been?" Imogen asked trying to start a conversation.
"Same old. You know, working at the hospital and all the regular things. Not much has changed," Natalie stated as she sat down on the chair that faced the couch. "Where have you spent your time over the past two years?"
"Well, I travelled a lot. And if you're concerned about college courses and my future I reassure you that I kept that in mind. I've been taking various courses all over the country and what not," Imogen explained so her mother would not think she wasn't thinking irrationally.
"Well that's good to hear," Natalie stated clearly shocked but not really showing it. "So what's made you come back, exactly?"
"I've lived one of my dreams long enough and I thought it was time to settle. I can't exactly go my whole life moving around like that with unstable jobs and things of the sort. There's plenty of other reasons too but they're not as important," Imogen said plainly.
"I guess that's understandable. Good to see that you're thinking clearly," Natalie said. "You know she asked if I had heard from you so many times and she would constantly stop by to check on your father and to check with me to see if I heard anything about you."
"I didn't know that," Imogen stated simply.
"You should talk to her," Natalie said as more of a command than anything else.
"I already did. Thanks for telling me that though," Imogen said honestly.
"I thought it was important to mention. Anyway how's about we talk about how things are going to work now that you're back?" Natalie asked changing the subject to more important matters.
After a little more than an hour Imogen and her mom had come to a conclusion about living arrangements, college, and all the other things they needed to sort out. Imogen was going to move in temporarily with her mother until she could afford to move out and would have to get a job that would have flexible hours. Flexible in the sense that she needed to be able to handle doing some coursework at the university to complete her degree while still working a fair amount.
Somehow Imogen had managed to go from being free and wandering to being tied down in a matter of hours. She didn't entirely hate it but she didn't love the idea of it either. By the time they were done talking it was nearly time for dinner so she decided to put off finding a job for another day.
"Imogen? Come upstairs I want to show you something," Natalie called from the top of the stairs.
"Coming," Imogen said before running up the stairs to meet her mother. "What is it?'
"Well, you know how you were designing your room shortly before you left?" Natalie asked looking at her daughter who nodded in response. "I sort of went ahead, even after you left, and made sure it was finished according to your plans. I guess I was hoping that you'd come back sooner than you did," Natalie finished as she pushed open the door to what was supposed to be Imogen's room.
Imogen stood in the doorway shocked to see something she thought of so long ago finally completed. She had barely remembered all the things that she designed and seeing it gave her flashbacks of the days she spent planning and sketching them.
"It's perfect," Imogen said eventually when she was able to put words to what she felt. "Thank you."
Natalie simply nodded before walking out of the room and disappearing downstairs. Imogen walked around the room in awe taking in all the details she had wanted painted on her walls and the colors incorporated on certain designs. She threw herself back onto the bed and stared at the constellations of stars painstakingly painted on the ceiling. Before she knew it she had fallen into a deep sleep with her mind focused on Fiona and stars imprinted in her mind.
Imogen woke up early the next morning. Early as in 5am early but Imogen decided she might as well get ready for the day even though the sun had yet to rise. "Early bird catches the worm after all. Maybe I'll get lucky today," Imogen whispered to herself secretly hoping that it was true.
Imogen spent her morning walking around downtown applying for part-time jobs at a handful of places she used to like. She was a tad surprised that nothing in Toronto seemed to change at all. She walked into the Dot at around 11 when she decided she should apply there for the hell of it and also because she wanted some coffee. After talking to the manager and submitting an application she got in line to order.
"Can I get a latte to go please?" Imogen told the barista with a gentle smile. He simply nodded and busied himself with getting her drink which left her standing there waiting somewhat awkwardly when her phone started ringing. She took it out quickly and answered without looking at the caller id.
"Hello," Imogen said as she held the phone to her ear as she tried to hand the right amount of money to the barista. "Shit, sorry," Imogen said quietly when she nearly dropped the drink she had taken from the guy.
"Well hey to you too," a very familiar voice said on the other line.
"Fiona, hey. Sorry about that. What's up?" Imogen asked as she pushed her way through the door and back onto the streets of Toronto.
"Not much. I was just wondering if you wanted to go somewhere with me today?" Fiona asked.
"Depends, what'd you have in mind?" Imogen asked with a smile.
"I don't know. We could go for a walk, see a movie, talk, whatever," Fiona offered.
"Hmm," Imogen said pretending to think about it. "Sure,why not. When?"
"How about you meet me at my place in an hour maybe?" Fiona asked happily.
"Sure, sounds good. I'll see you then," Imogen said with another smile before hanging up and pocketing her phone. "Now what can I do to kill an hour," Imogen said to herself. She suddenly wished that she had taken her camera with her when she left the house that morning because taking pictures was always a good way to kill time. She thought about it for a minute but eventually decided that she did, in fact, have time to go back to the house and get her camera. She would have just enough time to get it and get herself to Fiona's house.
Once Imogen had gotten her camera and told Natalie she'd be out for the day she was taking her time getting to Fiona's house. She'd stopped several times along the way to take pictures of things that caught her eye. After stopping for the fifth time she checked the time to make sure she hadn't lost track of the hour she had to kill and was somewhat surprised when she realized she had about 10 minutes of the hour left. Imogen walked out of the side path she had ventured onto and made her way down a somewhat familiar street. Imogen forced herself to not stop and take any pictures only because she really wanted to be on time. She knew she needed to gain Fionas' trust back and being late, no matter how small that may seem, would not help her in that situation.
Imogen walked up to Fionas' front door knocking on it gently before taking a step back and waiting for the older girl to open it. Within a blink of an eye the door was open and Fiona was standing there with a huge smile on her face. The sight of the older girl made Imogen smile just as wide.
"Shall we go?" Imogen asked motioning toward the sidewalk.
"We shall," Fiona responded while stepping outside and closing the door behind her.
The two girls walked along the sidewalk making small talk for several minutes before they realized they hadn't decided on where they were going.
"So how about we go see a movie and then we can go for a walk or something," Fiona suggested when they noticed that they were already walking in the general direction of the movie theater.
"Sure," Imogen said simply playing with the camera strap around her neck. The girls quickly slid right back into a casual conversation and continued their walk to the theater.