Chapter 19- Taunting Bonds

[] A M E L I A []

My eyes widened in surprise, and I did a double take as I stared at him. He looked older than I last saw him, more mature even, but he still had the hint of child-like innocence in his eyes. He was speaking to the class about English Literature, something I knew he was passionate about since high school.

My breathing hitched and I found myself slumping deep in my chair. He hadn't noticed me yet, and I hoped he didn't at all. I held my breath for the rest of the class, hoping he wouldn't see me, and if he does, that he wouldn't recognize me. The latter would probably work.

As soon as he finished the lecture, everyone clapped and waited a minute before packing their things. I followed, eager to get out of here as quickly as possible. I packed away all my belongings hastily and slung my bag over my shoulder. As I turned around to face Leo, I found him already staring at me.

"What's wrong?" he suddenly asked.

I frowned and shook my head.

"Nothing."

He frowned back.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

I nodded quickly. He gave me an unsure look and sighed.

"Alright then, Moonie. Whatever you say," he muttered, brushing past me.

I sighed and followed after him down the ramp. Hopefully, his height could block John from seeing me. As we made it to the door, I suddenly rammed into Leo's back, since he had abruptly stopped.

"Oh wait Moonie," he said, turning around to face me. "I have a question for Benny real quick."

He then went past me to head to the stage, where Professor Benny was packing away his stuff. I soon realized that looking after Leo was a mistake, since my eyes landed on John, who was also on the stage speaking to some students. He looked relaxed and carefree as he spoke, making me wonder how much he had changed in the last few years.

Just as I was about to turn back around, John's eyes landed on my own. My eyes widened and I stared at him shock.

For a moment, I was transported back into the time when he used to own a locker only ten away from mine. I used to walk by him every day, saying a bright 'Hello' and he used to reply the same. But that all changed four years ago. Then, he wasn't there anymore. And neither were the people that connected us.

I snapped back to reality and found myself still staring into those bright hazel orbs. His mouth fell agape as he stared at me from the stage. Suddenly, he said something to the students, and before I knew it, he was making his way toward me. Unsure of what to do, I quickly spun around and started walking in the direction of the door. However, before I could reach it, a shadow blocked my path. I gasped with surprise and took a step back. I looked up, my eyes connecting with John's.

"Amelia?" he asked, his voice almost identical to as it was four years ago.

I stood frozen in my spot and he continued staring at me in surprise.

"It really is you," he muttered, his eyes trailing over my features.

Before I could respond, I felt another presence behind me. The smell of the misty cologne was all too familiar, and I didn't have to turn around to see that it was Leo who was behind me.

"Let's go, Moonie," he said.

As if just sensing the atmosphere he had walked into, I felt Leo tense behind me. He slowly walked around me and came to a stop beside me. John eyed him and then gave him a small smile.

"John Adams," he said politely, extending a hand out for Leo to shake.

Leo eyed it and to my suprise, he crossed his arms over his chest, not shaking his hand with John.

"Leo Kennedy."

John let out a pursed smile, and then turned his attention back to me.

"It's been a while Lia. Can we grab a coffee?" he asked, saying my old nickname as if he had never stopped.

A small wave of nostalgia hit me and I had the sudden urge to agree to his offer. However, before I could, Leo cut in and spoke for me.

"She doesn't have coffee at this hour," he blurted.

I turned to him shocked, but he was only staring at John with a neutral face. However, John wasn't even phased.

"Oh. Then how about lunch?" John asked, still looking to me for an answer.

Before John decided to blurt something out that could get me in trouble, I turned to Leo. He was still staring John down, and before things could get out of hand, I grabbed Leo's upper arm to get his attention. He finally looked down at me with a questioning gaze.

"Leo, go join the others at the café. I'll catch up with you guys in a bit," I said.

His eyes widened at my words, but before he could say anything, I turned to John.

"Let's go."

And we left, leaving Leo standing in the same spot with a frown on his face.

* * *

[] L E O []

I burst through the doors of Coffee Rush and headed to our usual table. I didn't have time to see who was already here, since my mind was too precoccupied with a certain brunette.

Moreover, I was mortified with how she turned me down.

'Who the heck does Amelia think she is? I was only trying to look out for her! And who the heck was that Adams' guy that she was all googly-eyed over?' I thought.

Only now noticing the stares directed at me, I looked up around the table. Andre, Jamal, and Gemma were staring blankly at me.

"What?" I grumbled.

Andre spoke first.

"What's wrong?"

I rolled my eyes.

'What wasn't wrong?'

I didn't bothering his question, and instead, grabbed a cup and the water pitcher, and poured water out for myself. I downed it in one go and let out a breath after.

"Where's Amelia?" Gemma asked.

I turned to her with a glare.

"She left with some guy," I said.

Gemma furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Who?"

"Some Adams guy. I don't know," I said, waving it off.

"Wait, is that why you're so cranky?" Andre questioned.

"I'm not cranky!" I exclaimed.

Andre rose a brow at me and I slumped in my chair. I glowered at Andre.

"I'm just annoyed at what she did. You should've seen her with the guy. She was literally fangirling over his perfectly quiffed brown hair and his freaking suit-"

"Wait a second..." Gemma said.

We all turned our attention to her and were surprised to see her watching me worriedly.

"Adams... as in John Adams?

I rolled my eyes and threw my hands in the air.

"Great! You know him too. What is he? Some sort of celebrity?"

Andre and Jamal snickered at me, while I glared at them. I turned back to Gemma, curious to see what she had to say about the guy.

"Of course I know him. We all went to the same high school," she said.

I slumped in my chair.

"Oh," I muttered stupidly. "No wonder she left with him."

Gemma suddenly turned to me with a desperate look. Surprised by her reaction, I sat up straighter in my chair and faced her.

"Where did they go?" she asked.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I don't know if she's comfortable around him."

* * *

[] A M E L I A []

I let out a breath and took in my surroundings. We were in another cafe on campus, which wasn't as pretty as Coffee Rush, and definitely wasn't as calm. However, it was still okay since I didn't hope to be here for long.

We were sitting as far away as possible from the crowd, at a table near the window away from the rushed students and the cashier. John was sitting across from me, scrutinizing my every move. I sighed and finally mustered up enough courage to look at him.

When I looked up, I saw him smiling at me. Somehow, I found myself smiling back.

"How have you been, Lia?" he asked warmly.

I nodded.

"Good. How about you?" I mumbled.

"I'm good, too."

This was good. We were having a normal conversation. Nothing too deep. This was great. Perfect even.

"Why were you running away Amelia? Do you dislike me that much that you couldn't say hi?" he suddenly said, a twinge of sadness hiding behind his smile.

I slumped in my chair. Instinctively, I looked down and started pulling at my sleeve.

"I couldn't see you yet. I'm sorry," I meekly said.

From my peripheral vision, I saw John's hand reach across the table, landing softly on my own. I tensed at his action.

"You have nothing to be sorry about Amelia. In fact, I'm sorry. I left so quickly and never looked back. I guess I was just too hurt," he softly said.

I looked up to him, surprised with his apology. His long overdue apology.

"Why are you here Amelia? I thought you said you were never going to leave," he said, his smile completely replaced with a look of confusion.

I looked down at his hand that was resting on mine.

"There was nothing left for me there."

A few tears escaped my eyes, and he squeezed my hand tighter in response.

"I'm sorry Amelia," he whispered.

I looked up and noticed his own eyes were turning red.

We sat there for the longest time, the two of us thinking of the same thing, yet not saying a word.

For the first time in four years, I was forced to face this. I had to unleash my demons, and pour them out for someone to see. However, I didn't expect that someone to be John.

But on the other hand, I couldn't imagine it being anyone else.

"She wouldn't want to see you like this, you know," he said after a long moment of silence.

And there it was. The reason we were all here in the first place. The reason John left, and the reason why I changed.

I pulled out of his grasp as if it burned. Surprised, John stared at me open-mouthed.

I couldn't be here now. I wanted to leave.

Memories started flooding through my mind, and I had the urge to run from here. I needed to go.

I got up abruptly, and John followed my movements.

"What's wrong, Lia?" he asked, holding his arm out toward me.

I shook my head at him, my movements feeling disoriented. He slowly reached out to steady me, but before he could, someone grabbed a hold of his wrist, ripping it away from me.

It all happened too fast.

One moment, John was reaching forward to help me, and in the next, he was nearly thrown away from me.

I gasped and looked up, just in time to see Jamal grabbing John by the collar. John let out a grunt and Jamal took a step in front of him to block his view of me.

"What the hell?!" I heard John yell.

I gasped and grabbed onto Jamal's shoulder. However, seeing as he was nearly double the size of me, he barely budged.

"Jamal! What are you doing?" I said, nudging his shoulder.

In front of him, I saw John giving me a horrified look.

"Jamal, put him down," I said again, giving his shoulder one last pull.

Jamal turned his head to look at me and sighed. At last he put John on his feet. I breathed out a sigh of relief and headed over to him. John let out a few coughs and I rubbed his back as he struggled for air.

"Jamal, why would you do that?" I asked incredulously.

He shrugged and pointed to something behind him.

"It's better than him getting his hands on this guy."

I frowned and turned to see what he was pointing at. To my surprise, Gemma, Andre, and Leo, stood a few feet away from us. Gemma had her face set in a frown, and Andre looked downright stressed with what was happening.

Leo, on the other hand, was a whole different story.

His jaw was clenched, and the rest of his body was just as tense. He wasn't giving much away, but his eyes gave away everything.

He was raging.

I stared at him in confusion and he held my gaze intently. For a moment, everything else seemed to disappear as I tried to figure out what his eyes were telling me. It's as if there was a storm brewing in his eyes. A storm so big, that it nearly drowned me in its wake.

The sound of someone clearing their throat made me finally break Leo's gaze. I turned to face John, who I had momentarily forgotten about.

"I'm sorry, John. They're just a little... protective," I said to him, grimacing at my own word choice.

It isn't every day that a twenty year-old woman gets called protected.

"Yeah, no kidding," he said, rubbing his neck.

It was then that Gemma, Andre, and Leo, finally walked closer to us, forming a little circle with of all of us. When John's breathing returned to normal, he looked up and gave a once over to the little crowd we formed. Instinctively, his eyes found Gemma.

"Gemma? You're here too?" he asked, a little confused, but excited.

Gemma slowly dropped her frown and nodded at John. In return, he grinned and held out a hand for her to take. She gave it a hesitant shake, and then fell back into her spot between Andre and Leo.

"How have you been?" he asked politely.

"Good. I've been really good, John," Gemma responded, her voice still strained.

"And you two are...?" John trailed off, eyeing Jamal and Andre.

Andre was first to speak.

"I'm Andre, and this is Jamal," he said, pointing between him and Jamal.

John nodded and lastly turned to Leo.

"And we've obviously met."

Leo scoffed in response. John only smiled lightly in response, somehow finding humor in this situation.

"So, I'd love to stay and chat with you guys, but I have a flight to catch," John said, eyeing his watch.

I frowned.

"You're leaving?" I asked, trying not to sound disappointed.

He nodded tiredly.

"Yup, you know how I love my travelling. I'm heading out to Toronto tonight, but don't worry, I'm back home next week for a while after that. Visit when you have the chance," he said sincerely.

I nodded, and to my surprise, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. It took me a moment to realize that I was being hugged by John. It had been years since we last met, and now he was hugging me. But somehow, his embrace was so familiar, that it didn't feel uncomfortable.

Slowly, I found myself hugging him back.

"Lia," he suddenly whispered in my ear.

I nodded, letting him know that I was listening.

"They're quite the keepers. Your friends, I mean."

I peeked over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of all their faces. Gemma looked less guarded now, and was staring at us with a soft look. Andre and Jamal had their arms crossed over their chests and continued staring down John. Leo was still gazing at me intently, his hands fisted by sides.

Somehow, I found myself smiling into John's shoulder.

"Thanks, Johnny."

I finally pulled away from him, smiling slightly. He patted his pants down and faced the rest of the group.

"It was nice meeting you all. Take care of her, will you?"

I scoffed at his words and the others simply nodded.

Soon after, John waved goodbye, and started heading for the door. As soon as he left, Gemma stumbled over to me and desperately grabbed my arm.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

I nodded and Gemma breathed out a sigh of relief at my answer.

"I hate him," Gemma muttered, staring after the door.

I gave her a confused look. She shrugged and blatantly said the words I had been telling myself all these years.

"He left when he was needed the most."

I sighed in response.

"He left when he had the chance. And I think that was his defining moment," I said, staring after the door too.

Gemma's eyes widened at my words, and she looked down, processing what I had just said. This realization only came to me when I actually sat down and spoke to John as I did. If we never met, I never would've known that he somehow found himself again. He finally regained what he lost through the incident we all faced.

Question was, would I be able to do that, too?

Suddenly, the clearing of a throat brought Gemma and I out of the trance we had been in. We snapped our heads up, and only then remembered that Leo, Andre, and Jamal were still standing there. I awkwardly turned to them and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear nervously.

Before anyone could say anything, Leo spoke directly to me.

"What was he? An ex or something?" he taunted.

His words took a jab at my heart and I frowned. Seeing this, Leo's hands unclenched slightly and his eyes softened.

I sighed and looked to the door, frowning as I realized that I probably won't be seeing John for a long time.

"He was just an old friend."

And it was then, that the madness in Leo's eyes finally simmered down.