POV: Greyson
I almost didn't see her.
She was sitting five rows away from me and I almost didn't see her.
When I walked in, I was so distracted by my tardiness that I quickly scanned the room before sitting down. It wasn't until I got up to stand by Cartwright that I heard a noise and looked in her direction.
The girl searching through her things seemed so familiar to me. Like a word that's on the tip of your tongue. When she sat up, she caught my eye so briefly before looking away. I was about to look away as well when I caught sight of the tattoo on her inner wrist.
It was a bird. A Lark.
If her sleeves hadn't been pushed up I wouldn't have taken a second look. I would have lost her all over again without realizing it. That tattoo made me look a little closer.
Her hair was darker, and I realized that was the feature that initially threw me off. Her hair used to be golden and sun-kissed. Now it was dark, with highlights of blonde scattered throughout. Her lips were fuller. Stretching into a plush line that made me bite my lip. Her eyes were what concerned me. Mia was our sun and her eyes always had a spark of curiosity and joy. I couldn't find that spark anywhere, and I felt my hands form fists in my pockets.
It was her. Emilia, Mia, Lark. Our Lark.
The memories of the last time I saw her came rushing in and I almost didn't hear Cartwright ask me to say a few words before I sat down. I can't even remember what I said. All I could think about was her. Sitting so close, but feeling so far away still.
When Cartwright finally dismissed the class, I immediately stood up to approach her. She was talking to the guy next to her and the smile she gave him felt like a punch to the gut. The first time I get to see her smile in almost ten years, and it wasn't for me.
They both started to walk towards the door when I called out her name. The name only we called her. Lark. I could tell she heard me because her shoulders stiffened slightly and her footsteps faltered. But she kept walking. As if she didn't hear me.
When I tried again, hoping Mia would catch her attention, she finally stopped as I caught up to her. The boy she was with stepped up next to her and looked at me as if I was invading his territory. The jealously I felt at that moment threatened to choke me.
"Sorry man, this is Emily. I think you got the wrong girl". His voice was like nails on a chalkboard to me. When she finally met my eyes I knew that she remembered me. I could see it, but she still just shrugged and walked away.
Why is she calling herself Emily? Why is she ignoring me?
None of this made sense. Lark would never forget us, and judging by her tattoo we still meant something to her. Something permanent.
I walked out after them and watched them walk away down the sidewalk. It took everything in me not to chase after her.
I could not lose her again. None of us could.
I took out my phone to text the group chat that Colt had started six years ago when we found each other again.
Greyson: She's here. Lark is here in New York.
I sent the text and waited for their responses. I knew Luka had classes today as well so I assumed he would be the first to respond. Surprisingly, I got three replies within a minute.
Luka: Is this a joke?
Colt: Where is she?
Aidan: If this is another false alarm I'm going to kill you.
Ever since the four of us found each other again, we've made it our mission to find Mia. We weren't us without her. There were three times before when we thought we had found her. It just turned out to be girls that looked like her from afar.
Greyson: This isn't a joke, this isn't a false alarm. She was in the class I'm a TA for. I almost didn't recognize her, but she has a tattoo on her wrist. It's of a Lark.
The responses came slower this time. I imagine they were all trying to process what I just told them.
Aidan: It is her. It has to be.
Colt: Where is she?
Luka: I can't believe she's here after all this time.
I could practically feel their emotion through the words on my phone. Lark was and is our everything. She made us a family. To think the four of us had almost given up on ever seeing her again made my chest ache.
Greyson: She left the class with some guy. He looked like he wanted to punch me when I tried to talk to her. Something is wrong though. She's calling herself Emily and even though she heard me call her Lark and Mia, she refused to respond. It felt like she wanted me to be unsure.
Colt: Everyone back to the loft. I'm canceling my meetings for the rest of the day so we can figure out what to do. We can't let her go again.
Luka: I have to go to my last class or I could get dropped from it for the semester. Just catch me up when I get there and I will keep an eye out for her on campus.
The guys sent various affirmations and agreed to meet back at our shared loft as soon as possible. Even though we had all changed in the years we were separated, we still had a connection to each other that would never break.
I just hope Lark still feels the connection too.