1

"Troubled times
Caught between
Confusion and pain, pain, pain
Distant eyes
Promises we made
Were in vain, in vain"
-Journey, Separate Ways

I walk down the busy London street as cars zoom by. It's so early in the morning that the sun hasn't even come up and my eyes sting from makeup and the fact that I woke up just a few minutes ago. It's absolutely freezing and I'm glad I wore a vest top and a jumper under my thick coat. I keep my head down, careful not to attract too much attention, but also studying everything around me. Liam walks right next to me, so close that every so often I feel his arm brush mine.

At the moment, we're both walking to Starbucks, where we both have a part time job. I met him when I applied for the job. The owner of the location, Dan, was out sick, so he put Liam, the manager, in charge of my interview. And we've been practically stuck at the hip ever since.

I'm completely zoned out of the conversation, but I know that Liam's rambling on excitedly about some footy game he saw last night. I, personally, couldn't care less about football, or any sport for that matter, but I always like to seem interested because it makes Liam happy. But football is the last thing on my mind.

My blue eyes flicker back and forth, sweeping the streets for a sign of him. Every time I see a head of curly hair, my heart stops, before I scold myself for still being so wrapped up in finding himafter three months of living in London with no indication that he even exists. I'm starting to think he was just a figment of my imagination all along.

Sometimes I wish I was beautiful like a model, so that I would turn heads when I walked down the street. Surely then, he would be able to spot me easily through this crowd and we could finally pick up where we left off. I have so much to tell him. I have so much to ask.

Harry has always been the only constant in my life. I can't even remember a time in my past when I couldn't call him just because I got lonely or tell him about how some kid picked on me at school and have to refrain him from beating the bully to a pulp. So, naturally, being without him was like being without a, very large, part of myself. A hole in my chest; something was missing.

"Heather!" Liam suddenly yells in panic from beside me.

I jump from shock and flail around as he pulls me roughly by the arm. "What?!" I hear the sound of a car horn blaring in my ears, long and loud, and a red Audi swerves around me.

"YOU ALMOST GOT HIT BY A CAR!" Liam yells, letting go of my arm now that I'm safe with him on the sidewalk and throwing his own up in exasperation. I can tell by the look on his face that he was scared shitless.

I'm bewildered for a moment. "I did...?"

What a stupid question! Of course I did, I saw the car for Pete's sake!, I mentally scoff at myself.

"YES!" He shouts at me. I cringe at the loud sound. "You need to be more careful, you could've been seriously hurt, love." He says with stern force.

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry." I gush. He raises a brow, waiting for an explanation to why I acted so reckless and walked in front of a car. "I-I was just...thinking." I settle on the poor excuse.

His face hardens. "About him, huh." He rolls his eyes. I hate the way he says 'him', as if it's the most disgusting word.

I don't answer. Instead, I keep walking and pretend like he didn't say anything at all. He keeps long strides next to me, easily keeping up. "I'm right, aren't I?" He pushes.

"What does it matter." I bite back.

"It matters a lot! You keep looking around everywhere, like your life depends on finding him, not paying attention to anything. I see that look of hope in your eyes when you see a black Range Rover, or a guy with curls or RayBans. I know what you're doing, you're looking for him!" His voice seems to get louder with every word, and to make matters worse, it starts raining.

Ducking my head, I hug my coat tighter around my shivering frame and walk even faster. "So?!" I yell, getting defensive. He doesn't understand why I can't just let him go.

I keep up my brisk walk until I hear Liam's footsteps cease. "So I don't want you to get hurt when you realize you can't find him. This is unhealthy, Heather, and either emotionally or physically, this is going to get you killed." I squeeze my eyes shut before I turn around to glare at him. He knows that this is a touchy subject.

"And what if I do find him?" The question comes out as more of a statement. Like a demand or challenge, maybe both.

"The what will change?" The question takes me slightly aback. I consider it for a second, eyeing everything around me with a glare. My lips press into a tight line and I look up at the falling droplets, thankful it hasn't turned into a thunder storm, before looking back at my current best friend. I blink away the drops that fell on my face before answering.

"I haven't thought that far yet." I mean to sound strong and confident, but I fail miserably. I sound broken, my voice cracking a couple times. However, he doesn't soften this time.

"Exactly." His hair is now drenched from the rain and water droplets splatter all over his trench coat. "You never think."

At first I expect him to storm ahead to the coffee shop, which is only a few meters away. But Liam, being Liam, walks up to me before giving me a sympathetic look and taking my hand in a friendly gesture, leading me forward.

As we approach the Starbucks, we say nothing, and I take the opportunity to study his face. The traits that are usually innocent and lovable in a way similar to a puppy are now distraught, brow furrowed and lips pressed into a thin line in thought. It doesn't look right on him, to say the least.

It looks as if a million thoughts are running through his brain at the same time. And knowing him, none of them are concerning himself. My anger and hurt at his previous statements dissolves and all I can do is think of a way to bring that cute, warm smile back to his lips. But I've never been a goo on-the-spot thinker.

He opens the door for me and I utter a timid appreciation before going in first. The immediate, strong scent of coffee invades my senses, overpowering my stress and comforting me, as strange as it may sound.

I turn to Liam to see him still deep in thought, but the warmth of the shop was getting to him as well, and I smiled when the small creases which formed on his forehead smoothed out. His honey brown eyes refused to meet my dull blue ones as he walked behind the counter into the back, signing in to put the fact that he was here on time on record.

I really want to do something to mend the tension, but I can't think of anything no matter how hard I try, so I decide to give up and just let him sulk for a bit. Besides, I've done nothing wrong and he'll most likely be over it by the end of the shift. So instead, I sign in as well and pull on my apron that says 'Starbucks' in big letters before going to quickly, but thoroughly, wipe down tables before we open. I'm a bit of a neat freak, and besides, if I were a customer I would like the table I sat at to be clean.

When I'm convinced that all the tables are nice and clean to start the day, I look around to make sure that everything is in place. A few of the instant coffees on the shelves have fallen, so I rush over and arrange them perfectly in their spaces. Liam is getting the coffee maker all set up for me because it never works when I do it and spots me out of the corner of his eye with a smirk. "Still OCD, I see." He jokes. I smile, he got over it quicker than I thought. But that's Liam, he couldn't hold a grudge if his life depended on it.

I roll my eyes and retort a playful, "Still nosey, I see."

He chuckles and leaves me to be 'OCD' in peace. I decide to sweep up the small shop, even though people will probably just track more dirt and debris from outside anyway. But I don't care, I just want to make sure everything is perfect when we open. Mostly because any form of filth drives me crazy, but also because I've been hoping to get a promotion soon, so Liam can't give me a hard time about how he's a manager, which makes him 'superior', though I know he's only joking with me.

When I finish up, I can see the glow of the sun through the glass window taking up most of the entrance wall., and the world is brightening up. I smile to myself and go behind the counter to the left where the machines are to wait for the opening. Only a few minutes now. Dan usually stops by about ten minutes before opening to make sure that everything is in order. And just as the thought crosses my mind, he's at the door and walking in.

I rush around to the front counter to say hi.

"Hey everyone!" He exclaims cheerily. We're lucky we're such an efficient staff, because I've seen how he can blow up at people, especially new recruits, if they don't make an effort and give it their all. He's a no-nonsense type of boss. But also very nice. He really cares about this shop with all his heart, and I respect him for that.

A random string of happy 'good morning!'s chorus from all around the coffee shop.

"Wow! The place looks amazing. Who cleaned up?" I blush and try my best to sink into the wallpaper (I hate the spotlight), but as usual, Liam will have none of that.

"Heather did, Dan." He says proudly, hugging me from the side. I glare up at him, only for him to flash me a cheeky grin.

"Well done, Heather! I might see a promotion in your future." He winks. I laugh, but the other workers send me glares, apart from Liam of course, who is obviously proud of himself.

When we finally opened, Dan left. I let out a sigh of relief. Not because I don't like him, because I like my boss very much, but because I always felt pressured to be perfect when he was around the workplace.

I shake off the stress and immediately go to work behind the counter, taking the orders from the writing on the cups and making them with ease, apart from the fact that Kate's handwriting was really hard to read. I hand the finished lattes and frappes and various coffees to the designated customer. About an hour later, the rain stopped, and the sun came out fully, displaying a rainbow in perfect view from the window. I sighed happily, my previous worries of it turning into a thunder and lightning storm gone. I can handle rain just fine, it's the thunder and lightning that scares me to death.

"Another order, Heather!" Kate says, placing the cup on the ledge for me. I have a hard time reading her sloppy, slanted, but beautiful, handwriting. When I finally make out 'java chip mocha frappe', I get straight to work.

I fill the containers with the ingredients and press all the right buttons and in a flash, it's done. I spray the whipped cream and coat on the caramel and chocolate before walking over to the counter and leaning over it.

"Here you are, erm..." I feel incredibly rude for not reading the name first, and mentally facepalm before turning the cup to look for the name. Before I can find it, a voice I would recognize anywhere exclaims a surprised, "Heather?!"

I look up and there she is, gorgeous as ever with her hair perfectly styled and a confused look on her tanned face.

I look down at the cup in shock and there it is, in black Sharpie. The name of his mum.

"Anne?!"