In Front of My Eyes (Ansel Elgort Fanfiction)

Chapter 1

October 2013

Lara walked in the café Rialto's, a sling bag over her shoulder, covered by her wavy brown hair that had grown a couple inches in length since last year,  and chose a seat while listening to the current singer. She hadn't gone to open mic in forever and was ardently desperate to sing again. Her simple white t-shirt was no match for the Pittsburgh night air, but the café was considerably warmer. Her jeans and brown moccasin boots helped a little, but she regretted not grabbing a grey sweater at the last minute. 

Her phone vibrated, indicating a message from someone.

How's Chicago? -Ansel

Years of friendship never ceased. Although they hadn't physically seen each other, and technically they’ve only had two skype video calls in the past four years, Lara had gone through every single Violetta this and Shailene that and Theo James this and John Green that, while he'd been through each Dan and Zoe and Mom and College. They had each other in the back of their minds -- except a little more important than that, and not quite as forgotten.

Actually, it's Pittsburgh now. Apparently my mom got the wrong location, by 74km. How's NY? –Lara

Lara had planned to pick something up from her mom's sister's house but clearly miserably failed, because both she and her mom forgot that her aunt moved away two months ago. Having been greeted by an empty house is not the best thing in the world. She did, though, manage to go earlier today and get the thing -- a childhood scrapbook that they made -- and even convinced her and her husband to come over to New York next month. 

As the bartender walked up on stage to offer open mic sessions, Lara heard another text buzz in. She ignored it but vowed to check later, volunteering herself for the stage. She walked up on stage and grabbed the guitar that the bartender offered, propping herself up upon a small but tall stool.

As she looked around the café, she saw locals' faces sitting on small tables -- a bit like Starbucks, but with more food and less comfort. She stared at the wood floor briefly before taking a deep breath and starting.

"Good evening, everyone. My name is Lara Tamblyn, and tonight I'll be singing "Please Don't Say You Love Me" by Gabrielle Aplin. This is my first gig in a long time, so enjoy.", She said nervously with a smile. As she neared the chorus, she gained the slightest bit of confidence and began to sing louder, clearer. 

Just then, she saw four tall figures walk in the café. One of them was definitely a girl, judging from what she wore, but she had a pixie cut with lighter brown hair than hers. Lara focused her gaze on someplace else but noticed them taking a seat somewhere in front. She continued the song, looking around the room. As she reached the bridge, her eyes caught the four people who recently entered the bar, and realised that she knew them. It was John Green, Shailene Woodley, Nat Wolff, and none other than Ansel Elgort. Lara had forgotten that filming for The Fault in Our Stars was in Pittsburgh.

Ansel flashed Lara a smile and pointed to his phone, indicating that she should check it. She gave him a smile and made a note to approach them after she finished the song, but something tells her he'd approach her, too.

After she finished, Lara was met by happy applauds and congratulations. She stepped off the stage to make way for the next person and walked over to Ansel, barely containing her excitement. She looked down at her phone to see the text he'd sent, smiling at the message.

Meet me at Rialto's? I'm arriving with a couple of friends in three minutes. -Ansel

"Ansel!" Lara exclaimed, the both of them embracing each other in a tight hug.