Love Comes Back

Chapter 1

-Londyn-

My footsteps echoed as the rubber soles of my sneakers hit the pavement. It wasn't until I heard the sound of tires crunching against rocks that my head snapped up. As my vision focused and colors spun around before settling in place, I could make out the distinct sound of car doors slamming shut. Voices spoke in short bursts. Curiosity dawned on me, and I froze, eager to see what was happening. A huge, orange UHAUL sign was plastered on the side of the truck sitting in the driveway and the brown boxes set on the pavement were a dead giveaway that someone was moving in. But...who?

 I took a few more steps, careful not to make any noise, and craned my neck. The front door of the house swung open at that moment, and I saw only the back of a white tee shirt. Then he turned around. 

And my heart sank.

The truck had taken them all away. Everything. That stupid truck.

I had come home from school after getting dropped off by the bus. I skipped down the road with my flats pounding on the pavement. It was then I had finally looked up at the corner of the street before continuing. That's when I saw it: a white truck in the driveway of Jay's house. What was that? Did Jay's dad get a new car? I giggled at the idea of him dropping Jay off to school in it. That would be embarrassing. I bolted towards the car, skidding to a halt when I reached my house. I burst in, swinging open the front door so wide that it bounced off the wall.

"Jay's parents got a new truck!" I exclaimed, proud to share news that no one must have known yet. 

Mom had came from around the corner, with dark circles under her eyes. "Yes, sweetie, we know," she croaked.

Little did we know, that truck would never come back.

It took him a second to notice me. His eyes were still forest green, like they were all those years ago. Except...everything else about him had completely, absolutely changed. His face was defined with angles and shadows, and his hair was a golden blonde shade with streaks of brown in it. It was tousled, like he'd run his fingers through it again and again. He finally fixed his eyes on me, and it might have just been my thoughts running wild, but I could've sworn I saw something flash in them. Then a mask of confusion covered his features and I felt a burst of embarrassment as I realized I'd been staring. He strode down the steps, and before I could move, he was walking across the driveway, getting closer and closer. I would've stepped away if I could, but I was conveniently planted to the ground. Ugh. Here goes. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Hey."

My heart skipped a beat.

"Hi," I breathed. I could feel cartwheels happening in my chest.

"So," he started, his gaze studying my face carefully. "I'm new here. My name is Jayden."

It took me a moment to register what he'd just said, and when I did, disappointment washed over me like a wave. 

I wanted to yell. Did he really not recognize me? Maybe he had a concussion? Maybe he'd experienced a severe car accident that made him lose his memory? He couldn't have forgotten me. There was no way.

"Are you gonna, you know, say anything? That's kind of how a conversation works," he smiled, amusement lighting up his eyes. I grew more and more frustrated with each word that came out of his mouth. Finally, I grinned.

"Yeah, hi! My name's Londyn. Welcome to the neighborhood!" I beamed, with as much fake enthusiasm as I could muster. Again, something flashed in his eyes and his jaw clenched before he responded.

"Nice to meet you, Londyn. How long have you lived here?"

Another triumphant smile crossed his face and I had to take a deep breath to steady myself.

"My entire life. What about you? Have you been here before?" I bit my lip unconsciously, something I tended to do often when I was nervous. His eyes drifted down to my mouth, and they lingered there for a second longer than they should've. When he met my stare again, something had replaced the lightheartedness in them from before. It looked familiar―was that sadness?

"...That's none of your business," he said, his voice suddenly dropping to a quiet tone. His grin from before was muted. In fact, it almost looked as if he'd plastered on a fake smile. I pretended to be upset, my lips forming a pout.

"Wait, so...you get to know about me, but I don't get to ask you anything?" I huffed in exasperation. He hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Yup. Exactly."

I rolled my eyes at his response, and he chuckled. 

"Look, here's the thing about m-" he began, but before his sentence could be finished, I stumbled forward. 

His hands automatically placed themselves on my forearms to steady me. My heartbeat pounded in my head, it's rhythmic pattern getting faster and faster. 

"Sorry," I mumbled, my skin burning with embarrassment. My face was most likely scarlet red at this point. I tilted my head up slightly, my face parallel to his. His eyes were filled with concern, brows furrowing as he gazed down at me.

"Are you okay?" he questioned, worry coating his words. I managed to move my head just barely enough to look like I was nodding. 

Then I realized something. 

His hands were still lightly gripping my arms. 

Awkward silence filled the gap between us as I contemplated how to let him know this. I could hardly think, though. I was too busy being distracted as I stared into his eyes;  emeralds with specks of blue in them. Our faces were so close that we were breathing the same air. So I shifted away.

Hello and welcome!! This is the first chapter of our first story, as you can see. We hope that you all can enjoy this piece of writing as much as we did writing it, haha! Feel free to comment any ideas that we should incorporate into this story later on. Stay tuned! We update once a week, most likely on Sundays.