Meant to Be

September 10th

Ella didn't cross paths with Bucky for the rest of the week, she didn't walk past him in the corridor or spot him in the cafeteria. The only time she saw him was in lessons, but he always seemed to arrive last and leave first, so she didn't get a chance to speak to him. She hated to admit it but she had been looking out for him. On Friday she hung around by her locker after school in the hope he'd appear, but still nothing. She knew it was silly, she had Christian. She didn't know anything about him, save what few things Nat had told her, but she couldn't get him out of her mind. He'd taken up permanent residence.

She couldn't work out what it was. Yes, he was gorgeous enough for her jaw to hit the floor the first time she saw him, but it was more than that. She just wanted to get to know him, wanted to talk to him again.

She drove home, dropping Wanda off on the way. To her relief, the discussion focused on Nat's birthday, it yet again provided a welcome distraction. She should've had the usual Friday swim practice, but she didn't have any competitions coming up and she wasn't in the mood to be shouted at by the coach, she'd wait until next week to face his wrath. Instead, when she got in she went straight upstairs to change into her running clothes.

She pulled on a pair of black leggings and dug through her wash basket to find a sports bra. She made a mental note to do a wash when she got home. Once she'd found a pair of headphones and her trainers she checked the weather. It had been hot and humid all week but there were clouds overhead and it finally looked like the weather might break. She collected a jacket just in case the heavens decided to open while she was out.

She made her way back through the empty house and locked up behind her before standing on the drive and scrolling through her running playlist until she found the song she wanted. She made sure her phone was on silent and set off. She also wasn't in the mood to hear from Christian, how could she be when another boy was living rent-free in her head.

She was 20 minutes into her run when raindrops started to fall, she briefly considered turning home but within seconds it started to pour. She was soaked through before she could decide so she just carried on along her usual route. She ran through the outskirts of the town, the houses were sparse and separated by open green fields, which gave her a sense of freedom

She was on the home stretch when she finally looked at her phone. Four missed texts from Christian. She didn't need to read them to know he was trying to make plans for the evening. Friday was their night. He'd pick her up from swim practice and they'd go out. Food. A movie. Sometimes they'd just go on a drive.

She came to a stop and replied.

Out on a run. Need to clear my head. Raincheck?

He replied within seconds.

Okay, let me know if you need anything

She liked Christian. He was kind, thoughtful, and dependable. All the nice things. The idea of dating wasn't one she'd given much thought to, while all the girls were out trying to find boyfriends she just ignored it, she had too much going on in her life to spare the time or energy to date. But Christian had asked her to homecoming in freshman year, and she'd started dating him and just...never stopped. She didn't have to worry about him cheating, not spending enough time with him, or remembering things like their anniversary. So she went through the motions with him. Let him call her his girlfriend. Brought him home to meet her parents. And then before she knew it, it had been a year, and she realized she couldn't remember the last time he'd made her laugh. She wasn't sure he ever had.

She knew she probably shouldn't be with him. She didn't need thoughts of Bucky to make her realize that. But it was easy, comfortable, familiar, and she'd just kind of accepted that after almost two years she'd ride it out until college.