She looked up, her heart skipping a beat as she saw him-Noel. Standing there, looking just as he had the first time they had met, his expression unreadable but his eyes locked on hers.
For a moment, she wasn't sure what to say. A thousand questions raced through her mind, but none of them made it past her lips.
Noel smiled, that same roguish, crooked smile that had once made her feel weak in the knees. "Surprised to see me?"
"A little," Amélie admitted, her voice steady despite the rush of emotions swirling inside her.
He stepped closer, leaning against the counter with that easy confidence she remembered all too well. "I know it's been a while. I've been thinking about you."
Her heart fluttered, but she kept her expression neutral. "Have you?"
Noel nodded, his gaze never leaving hers. "Yeah. I couldn't get you out of my head."
Amélie felt a flicker of hope, but she wasn't ready to let herself fall back into old patterns. She had spent too long trying to move on, and she wasn't going to let herself get swept up in him again so easily.
"What are you doing here, Noel?" she asked, her tone soft but firm.
He paused, as if weighing his words carefully. "I don't know, to be honest. I just... I couldn't stop thinking about you, about us. I know I'm not good at this-at relationships or whatever you want to call it-but I couldn't just let it go."
Amélie stared at him, unsure of what to make of his sudden reappearance. Was this genuine, or was it just another fleeting moment, another attempt to relive what they had shared?
"You left, Noel," she said quietly, her voice betraying a hint of the hurt she had felt. "And I had to pick up the pieces. I can't just... do that again."
He nodded, his expression softening. "I know. And I'm sorry. I really am. I never wanted to hurt you, but I didn't know how to handle it. I'm not great at sticking around, you know?"
She bit her lip, fighting the emotions that threatened to surface. "So why are you here now?"
Noel hesitated for a moment before answering. "Because I don't want to lose you. I'm not saying I've got it all figured out, and I'm not promising some fairytale ending, but... I want to try. I want to see where this goes, if you'll have me."
Amélie's heart raced, torn between the part of her that still longed for him and the part that had learned to guard herself. She had spent so much time convincing herself that she could move on, that what they had was nothing more than a brief moment in time. But now, standing here, with Noel in front of her, asking for another chance, she wasn't sure what to do.
"Why now?" she asked softly, her eyes searching his. "Why did it take you so long to come back?"
Noel sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Because I'm an idiot, alright? I didn't realize what I had with you until I was away from it. I've been doing this rock-star thing for so long, I forgot what it's like to actually want someone for more than just a night. You made me remember that, and it scared the shit out of me."
Amélie swallowed hard, her chest tightening at his words. She had wanted to hear this from him for so long, but now that he was saying it, she wasn't sure if she could trust it.
"I don't know, Noel," she said finally, her voice shaky. "I don't know if I can go through this again."
He reached out, gently taking her hand in his. "I'm not asking you to forgive me overnight. I'm just asking for a chance-a real chance this time. No running, no disappearing. Just you and me, seeing where this goes."
