The Elites

Still The One

"I tried, I tried to start again and find
Somebody
But I remember all the times and all the
Words we said, yeah
I can't get it out of my head"

"Still The One" One Direction

Four years later

I take another shot, wondering if I'll get drunk enough to find anyone in the club appealing. I'm currently studying at the University of Pennsylvania, I'm enjoying college but it's pretty full on.

I eye my roommate as she drunkenly hits on a boy. My roommate is a great friend, but she loves coming here to get drunk and to go home with a different guy every weekend. I'm not against that, it's just not the type of thing that I like to do.

I throw back another shot, wondering if it'll numb my heart and mind. I feel so lost, I'm doing well in college and I've found a part-time job at an animal shelter, but I feel like something is missing. I miss the feeling of pure happiness that I felt back in junior year, back when I was with Hope Flynn.

I get a moment of physical pain in my chest when I think about Hope. We saw each other in senior year when she came back for spring break but other than that we didn't talk to each other. I've heard from Ashton that she got into Colombia and gets on with her birth family. I didn't need Ashton to tell me that, she's gotten even more famous since the world found out she was kidnapped at birth. Last I checked, she had over four million followers on Instagram.

Hope's social media – something I check more than I should – is flooded with pictures of Wes and Ashton so it's safe to say the three are still close.

I glance at the dance floor. My roommate is leaving with a guy as she usually does. I'll probably stay for another hour then head home.

I come here to get drunk more than anything else. I'm not interested in a mindless hook-up and I haven't met anyone I've liked enough to enter a relationship with. I had an eight-month relationship with a girl, but we ended things five months ago as she met someone else.

"Can I buy you a drink?" a girl asks, taking the seat next to me. I don't pay her any attention.

"I'm not open for business" I say bluntly, not caring if I hurt her feelings. She'll find someone else here to hook up with and take home.

"Not even for me?" she asks. I'm going to give this girl a piece of my mind if she keeps bugging me. "That's a shame, you'll be missing out."

I freeze as I realize I've heard that voice before. There's only one person I know who says stuff like that. I turn to face her, my stomach turning to ice and my heart thudding. She has long chestnut curls that fall past her waist and stunning blue eyes.

"Hope?"

*Author's Note* Well, this is the end. Thank you to all my readers, I'm grateful for each and every one of you.