reunited | Colby Brock

-1-

I squealed as Jen threw the large hoodie at me.

"Why do you still have Colby's clothes? You should wear it on the plane in case you bump into him," she smirked.

"Haha, very funny," I said, peeling the fabric off my head. "Just cause he lives in LA doesn't mean I'm gonna bump into him."

"You never know..." I rolled my eyes which set us both into fits of giggles. I put the hoodie on, reminiscing of our days together.

"It's been six years, get over him already," Jen said, turning around to continue packing for me.

"I am over him!" I protested, but even I wasn't very convinced. Jen reached under my bed and pulled out my 'secret stash' of food and stuffed it into my bag.

"It's not even a four-hour flight, there's no way I'm going through all of this!" I laughed.

"Share them with Jake when you get there, we all know how much he loves his candy."

"That's very true..." I said, pulling out a second box from thin air. We both laughed.

"Your Uber will be here soon," Jen pouted.

"We both know that my socially awkward ass will be on facetime with you right until the plane takes off."

"And the second it lands!" she reminded me.

"Of course, of course," we laughed.

I sighed. "I really can't wait to move in with Jake, I mean his YouTube is getting pretty big now so it should be really fun," I said with a twinge of sadness.

"Awe babes I'll miss you too, just know that your room is always available if you want to fly home."

I thanked her just as my phone pinged.

"That's the Uber," I frowned.

We took our time saying our goodbyes and I slowly made my way into the waiting car. I leaned my head against the window and plugged in my earphones. With a delicate finger, I traced shapes in the condensation on the window.

Six long hours later, I finally touched down in LA. My fingers tightened around my suitcase handle as I looked for Jake. A flash of pink caught my eye and I instantly recognised it as his hair. I jogged over and pounced on him. He yelled and spun around, shoving his camera in my face.

"Ellie!" he squealed as if he was a teenage girl.

"Jakey!" I retorted. He turned off his camera and pulled me into a hug.

xxxxxxx

I wiped my feet on the cheesy welcome mat. It was only 8 pm but I was exhausted. Jake pushed the door open and made the most inhuman noise which successfully summoned four boys. Jake said he had roommates but I didn't expect four. The four of them lined up and saluted in perfect unison as if they had rehearsed it for hours on end. I giggled and finally took a look at them. Jake walked along the line, introducing each one.

"This is Sam, he's twelve years old. Aaron is a bundle of joy," he said sarcastically, pulling a disgusted face. I laughed. "Here is Corey, he's a real toughy."

My eyes moved to the final person in the line. His eyes were still fixated on the ceiling in a salute. My mouth dropped open.

"Last but not least, we have-" Jake started.

"Colby?" He looked down at me for the first time since I entered the room. His face lit up. We ran over to each other and hugged. I missed the way his arms felt around me. My head still fit perfectly above his collarbone. We pulled apart and I looked down at my choice of attire.

"Well, this is awkward."

"That is my hoodie from six years ago, isn't it? What are the chances of that?" he laughed.

"So I see you two have already met," Jake shrugged. Sam, Corey and Aaron looked confused but didn't question us.

"Yeah, we uh, dated in high school," I said.

"We have so much catching up to do," Colby said, excitement and disbelief lacing his words. I stood there dumb and mute.

"Earth to Ellie?" Jake said, waving a hand in front of my face.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just- it's just that I thought, I thought I'd never see you again..." I said, my voice trailing off at the end.

"Aww," Colby said, stepping towards me with his arms outstretched. He pulled me into another hug and a thousand emotions rushed through me. It was as if nothing had changed. We were in that embrace for longer than I thought, as when we let go, Corey and Sam had left and Jake was watching Netflix on the couch.

"It's still kinda overwhelming," I admitted. "When you moved to LA and left me in Kansas I thought that was it."

"Well when you put it like that, I sound a right old fart," Colby laughed.

"You kinda were," I teased. "It took me till the start of college to get over you." He froze, a guilty look spread over his face.

"I get it," I said. "You forgot about me straight away and moved on. I know."

"That's not-" he started. Jake, noticing some tension rising, butted in.

"Hey Ellie, do you want me to show you your room?"

"Yes, thanks Jake," I said, not making eye contact with Colby. We headed up the stairs and Jake led me to the last door on the left. I thanked him and flopped onto the bed. I had had enough of that day already. I unzipped my suitcase and pulled out a pair of joggers and changed into them. The sheets looked so inviting that I stayed in Colby's hoodie and got straight into bed. I crossed my fingers under my pillow.

"Here's to a better tomorrow."

word count; 951

hope you enjoyed the first chapter, it's pretty sucky so I'll probably end up editing it soon. xo

-23 May 2019-