Light On

A Face To Call Home - Pt. 1

Jude sat on the bench outside the large gym, his head hanging low, fidgeting with his fingers. Being back in his old high school brought back a lot of memories. Some happy, some weirdly random. Some reminded him he had lost his mother during his senior year.

"Are you ready to play?"

The sound of her voice made him perk up instantly and he could've sworn he'd heard angels sing when he looked up and saw her face.

"Sam! Hi!" he stuttered, standing up immediately and pecking his old friend's cheek and giving her a warm hug.

"You look great, J! I've got to go, but I'll see you inside... Everyone's freaking out over you being here!" she smiled, rubbing his arm up and down quickly before giving him a pat on the back and being on her way, saying hi to everyone she encountered.

Samantha Byrd looked even more beautiful than she did ten years before, if that was even possible. Her once long brown hair had a lighter tone to it and it was now slightly shorter than it once was. She had ditched her Doc Martens and her band t-shirts, but she was still Sam. Good old Sam. His friendThe same girl he had a huge crush on for years. The one that got away.

"You really need to get it over with, buddy." the curly-haired man heard someone say from behind him, making him turn around to find his best friend, shaking his head in disapproval. "It's been what, fifteen years?"

"Come on, man... I just broke up with my girlfriend." Jude rolled his eyes, putting his hands in his pockets.

Noah's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and a giddy smile crept up on his lips.

"Clark!" he yelled out to the young woman approaching them, looking through her purse. "Pay up, doofus!" the redhead demanded, making his girlfriend groan loudly.

"Did you bet on how much time my relationship would last? Again?" the taller man huffed, annoyed at his friend's lack of sensibility.

"Sorry, dude... I just really love making money at your expense. Plus, April's going to have to wear a clown nose for the whole day because of this." Noah shrugged in response. "Look, as I see it, this is your chance. From what I've heard, she's pretty much single. You're single. When was the last time you two were single at the same time? That's right, probably before you were sixteen. This is how it's going to go down: you finally get it over with this weekend and we all live happily ever after. I promise it won't hurt." he added, giving him a thumbs up.

Jude looked at him baffled, incredulous at his honesty and how forward he was about this particular subject. The four of them, Sam, Jude, Noah and April were basically inseparable when they were young, and Noah was particularly invested in helping set the other two up, but the curly-haired man was too shy to act on his feelings and Sam... Was Sam. Beautiful. Talented. Grade A student. Incredibly oblivious.

"You're really annoying, did you know that?" he conceded, sighing and wrapping an arm around April's shoulders, kissing the top of her head. "Hey, you."

"Don't mind him, J. You know how he is." Noah's girlfriend chuckled. "Let's ditch him and you'll tell me if we did good with the decorations." she winked, both walking away from the redhead.

"I heard that! Go get her, Harper! I need to check if I locked the car!" they heard him say.

The curly-haired man chuckled nervously, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach.

God, Jude... Get it together, man. he thought to himself, trying to shake away the feeling that he was inevitably going to make a fool of himself. The two friends walked into the gym, heavily decorated for the dinner that was going to be held that night. When Samantha spotted them, the wonderful smile that decorated her face grew wider.