"Crap, holy mother of fricken crap, crap, crap, crap!"
The door to apartment 13B slammed shut in a fury, causing a loud boom to echo through the hallway. A pair of bare feet raced down the hallway, taking the stairs two at a time, blonde hair flying everywhere.
The blonde skidded to a stop right in front of the exit to the apartment complex. She quickly put on her tennis shoes and then ran out of the building as if it were on fire.
"Crap I'm late, crap. Ah, damnit and my car is in the shop! Urg I'm late, crap I'm so late!"
19 year old Andie Harper was never the early type, never the one to get up on time just to get to work on time, but that didn't mean she didn't freak out when she was late. As she sprinted through the streets of Philadelphia she kept telling herself how late she was, and how dead she would be.
The block and a half felt like a marathon to Andie. She ran into the Starbucks and literally jumping over the counter.
"Late."
"Shut up." Andie said as she slipped off her jacket, a tingle running down her spine from the chill in the air she had just been sprinting in.
"So why shouldn't I tell?"
Andie looked up at her fellow employee, Mark Johnson, first friend in Philadelphia, first real pain in her butt. What could she say though, when she had first moved from Chicago to Philadelphia it was scary and Mark befriended her.
"Please." Andie said as she took a hair tie off her wrist and tied her blonde locks up in a ponytail.
"Is that seriously the best you can do?" Mark asked as he rolled his eyes.
"Take it or leave it." Andie said with a shrug.
"Andie, you know you have to be here at one, I mean most people are up and ready by nine in the morning so why is it so-""I was up and ready by ten but I had this major paper I had to work one and I just got caught up."
Andie smiled sweetly at Mark as he raised an eyebrow at her. Mark was just about to say something when the door opened, sending in a blast of cold air.
"Customers, talk later." Andie said with a wink.
"Hey babydoll."
"Why hello random customer." Andie said with a smirk.
"Oh come here."
Strong arms wrapped around Andie's waist and pulled her small frame towards him. Their lips crashed in a sweet kiss, only interupted by Mark's clearing of his throat.
"Sorry babe, Mark is being a grump today." Andie said as she seperated from the blonde haired pretty boy.
"No problem, he is always like that anyway, huh Marko!?" Brad yelled.
"Ya Brado." Mark said as he rolled his eyes.
"Brad be nice." Andie said, playfully hitting her boyfriend in the stomach.
"Sorry baby but he always seems to have a stick permanetly stuck up his ass." Brad said with a chuckle.
"Babydoll is fine, sweetie is fine, just please don't call me 'baby' and Mark is a nice guy so just stop." Andie said as she walked away from Brad and toward a waiting customer.
"Oh yes the secret life of Andie and why she hates being called baby, huh baby?" Brad asked, jumping over the counter.
"Brad, one-stop, two-get out of the work space!" Andie said as she tapped on the counter.
"Can I get a Venti Mocha Frappacino." the grey haired man said to Andie.
"Why yes sir you can." Brad said as he wrapped his arms around Andie's waist.
Andie tensed up and gave the customer a polite smile.
"Sure, just give me one minute." she said.
"You should totally leave early." Brad said as Andie got out of his grip and walked over to the corner.
"I just got here, and I was late I can't just leave, so can you please just, ya know? Give me some space?" Andie asked, trying not to sound too rude.
"Fine Ans, whatever you say." Brad said as he hopped back over the counter.
Andie was tempted to yell out to Brad to please not call her Ans, the last time anyone had called her that was four years ago, when she was fifteen. She bit her tongue though and watched him exit into the cold winter air.
Andie sighed and leaned back on the counter, dropping her head to stare down at the tile beneath her feet. She sometimes just couldn't understand why she put up with frat-boy-Brad. Andie hated to think that it was because she was afraid of heartbreak, but that was the truth, she didn't want to end it with Brad for the fear of heartbreak.
"Ya know, if I ordered a Venti Mocha Frappicino and the pretty blonde girl who took my order just walked off to the corner with her boyfriend, I would be pretty pissed off, wouldn't you?"
"Sorry Mark, now please back up off me." Andie said as she pushed past Mark.
"Things not going well in lover land I take it?" Mark inquired.
"Brad can just be such a-""Jerk, pompous ass hole, ignorant retarded party boy?"
"Ya." Andie said with a smile.
"Eh well eventually he will get tired of you as well, so no worries." Mark said, patting Andie on the shoulder.
"Thanks, geez I sware I feel so loved right now." Andie said sarcastically, taking Mark's hand off her shoulder.
Another cold blast shot through the coffee shop as more customers entered.
"Now get to work." Mark said, walking away from Andie.
Andie smiled and started walking towards where the customers were.
"Hot cocoa."
"Same here!"
"I sware dude it's time to grow up and drink coffee already!"
"If my two younger siblings can drink it then so can I!"
"How may I help you?" Andie asked, bounding to her spot.
"Three hot chocolates, one Grande black coffee."
"Ok then that will be..."
Amber stopped mid-sentence. Her hazel eyes finally looked up to see the four male customers standing before her. Her heart froze, her hands quickly got clammy as she stared in shock.
"That will be?" Kevin asked, cocking his head to one side.
Andie shook her head, snapping out of her thoughts. Maybe they didn't recognize her, maybe these last four years have wiped the Jonas' memory clean of that little Miss Andie Harper they all knew.
"16.74" Andie said softly, avoiding all eye contact.
Kevin handed her the money but before she could walk away Joe spoke up.
"Woah wait, you look familiar."
Andie looked at Joe as he pushed Kevin and Frankie aside.
"Andie!" he yelled and attacked her in a hug.
"Ya, it's me." Andie said with an small fake laugh.
The room seemed to get stuffy and very uncomfortable as Andie gave each of the Jonas boys a hug, well each of the Jonas boys except Nick.
Nick Jonas gazed at the blonde that stood before him. Her smile seeming the same and her prescense lighting up the whole room. The nineteen year old boy mentally struck himself for not noticing her earlier, for not leaving as soon as he entered, for having to see her again.
"Hey Nick." Andie said softly, forcing a smile onto her face.
"Hey." Nick said coldy.
His tone was like a bullet hitting Andie straight in the chest. The bitter cold outside did not even slightly compare to the way Nick seemed to look at her, like she wasn't even there, like he resented her. Something so different, yet so the same killed Andie inside as she looked at Nick.
"Oh c'mon lets not be like this! It's been what? Three years?" Joe asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Four." Nick said.
"Exactly! Four years, so you two broke up, now four years later we can all be buddies again!" Joe said, slinging an arm around Nick.
"Not really." Nick said, getting out of Joe's grasp and walking out the door.
"Can I get my hot chocolate now?" Frankie asked impatiently.
"I'll get it." Mark said, severly annoyed at Andie's lack of work today.
"Don't worry about him Andie." Kevin said with a shrug.
"Ya, you should come to the show tonight, maybe things will be better there." Joe suggested.
"Be right back." Andie said, slipping off her apron and heading out the door.
A cold wind hit Andie right in the face, shivers going up and down her body. Her bare arms quickly formed goose bumps as she had forgotten her jacket inside.
"Nick!" Andie called as she ran up to Nick, who was pacing back and worth a few feet away.
His head snapped up as he froze and watched Andie run up to him.
"What was that all about?" she asked, trying to keep her teeth from chattering.
"What?" Nick asked, as if he had no clue what Andie was talking about.
"That in there, you treated me like I don't exist!"
"Sorry." Nick said half-heartedly.
"Do I detect bitterness in your voice Nick?" Andie asked, raising an eyebrow.
Nick didn't respond, but just gazed at her, his eyes scoping out every single part of her. Her beautiful hazel eyes, her soft gorgeous hair, her sweet angelic lips.
"If you are mad at me for what happened four years ago and are trying to make me feel bad for what I did, well it's not gonna happen. Things ended and you tried to bring back all this old stuff, if anything it is all your fault!" Andie spat at Nick.
He snapped out of his trance, shocked by Andie's words.
"My fault for what!? Loving you, caring about you? Why were you so scared!?" Nick asked, trying to refrain from yelling.
"Scared!? I was fifteen Nick! Fifteen! I could barely decide what I wanted to eat for breakfast yet alone decided what I wanted for myself, for my love life! Yet some reason you thought I could handle a strained relationship, newsflash-I couldn't! Sorry to break it to ya, but it was hard ok?"
"Liar." Nick said with a smirk.
"Excuse me?" Andie asked, taken back by this.
"You knew what you wanted. Remember, you wanted to be a scientist, teacher, an actress, you knew." Nick said.
"You remember that?" Andie asked, her anger slowly falling down and old memories and all the love, hurt, and joy filling her up.
"Of course, four years doesn't erase memories, it just dulls of pain of them." Nick said with a shrug.
"I better get back to work." Andie said as she turned on her heel and started walking back towards the entrance to Starbucks, just as Joe, Kevin and Frankie exited.
"Hey, ummm I can't go tonight, I'm going to a party with my boyfriend." Andie said to Joe, nice and loud too, just so Nick would hear it, and he did.
"Oh, well we will be in town part of tomorrow so maybe catch ya later?" Joe asked.
"Maybe." Andie said before walking past them.
"What you two talk about?" Kevin asked as he approached Nick.
"Doesn't matter." Nick said.
For some reason Nick thought that maybe Andie still missed him. Nick thought that maybe he could keep a girl hooked for four years after their breakup, but he was wrong. Andie had a boyfriend and seemed much happier with Nick Jonas out of her life.
Music blared through the Omega Tao fraternity. Alcohal seemed to be lingering on everyone's breath as the party seemed to just now start taking flight.
"Excuse me, sorry, pardon me." Andie said, squeezing through the crowd of drunkards.
"Hey pretty darlin." Brad said as he took Andie's red cup out of her hand and took a swig.
"Coke? C'mon lovely live alittle!" Brad said, obviously drunk.
"I'd rather not." Andie said as a random person bumped into her, causing her to stumble a bit.
"What!? We're all twenty-one here arent we!?" Brad yelled out.
A chorus of 'ya's, 'hell ya's and other things were shouted out, but muffled a bit by the pounding music.
"Brad, you are, I am nineteen." Andie said, screaming just be heard over the music.
"Nineteen? Well damn you are hoooottt." Brad sang with a laugh as he grabbed Andie's hand and pulled her through the crowd.
"Brad, where are we going?" Andie asked.
Brad soon plopped down on the couch on the other side of the packed room and pulled Andie down to sit on his lap.
"Well isn't this fun." Andie said, tapping her leg.
"Fun is just starting." Brad said as he pulled Andie down and kissed her sweetly.
The sweet kiss made Andie smile, the music faded away, and she felt this old warmth inside of her.
The sweet kiss soon turned into rough passion and reality hit Andie like a ton of bricks. She realized who she was really kissing, and that for that one sweet second she had felt that warmth and longing for that old flame.
Andie pulled away and stood up off of Brad.
"Where ya goin baby?" Brad called out.
"Out, out of your life, out of this place, just plain out." Andie said as she started walking off.
"Oh and before I forget." Andie said walking back over to Brad.
She lifted her drink over his head and poured it on him.
"Don't call me baby." she said and then threw the cup on the ground and left.
Andie never expected to feel this. Her mind was racing of thoughts of what would now happen. She had forced herself to get over Nick Jonas. She has spent a few months crying over him but then she decided that he was not worth it, that she shouldn't have to go through that. Seeing him today turned her simple life upside down. She had been happy with Brad, now she longed for Nick's sweet kisses. She had been happy with the past, now she felt the pain all over again. She had moved on, she had grown up, she was not fifteen anymore, now she was stuck on the past and felt lost.
Fate had seemed to be cruel to Andie, sending her the love of her life and then snatching it all away from her. Yet as Andie walked the Philidelphia streets at eleven o'clock at night, fate had pity on poor Andie. Her heart was breaking all over again, and fate sent her her gaurdian angel to try to put her back together again.
Andie walked down the sidewalk, harsh winter air boaring right through her jacket and freezing her to the bone. She had no clue where she was going, Brad was suppose to give her a ride home so Andie would just be walking until she either saw a taxi approaching or found a bus stop.
Neither of her two options seemed to be happening and the freezing weather drove Andie into the nearest building.
Andie walked into the nearby restuarant named 'Nick's'. She leaned up against the wall closest to the door, not wanting to attract any attention to herself, or get kicked out of that matter. As Andie stood there, warming herself up a person walked past her. A person not surrounded by his three brothers but alone, a person who Andie knew she should just leave alone.
Andie watched Nick leave the restaurant, yet she did nothing. She couldn't, what would she say? Was she really prepared to say what she felt?
Her hazel eyes never left Nick Jonas, and soon he caught her eye. Their eyes locked as a small smile came to Andie's face. Nick didn't move but stayed there, staring into her eyes. It was just like the first time they met, yet it meant so much more.
Andie broke the gaze only to exit the restaurant.
"So, what are you doing here, I thought you had a show?" Andie asked, placing her hands in her jacket pockets.
"I thought you had your boyfriend." Nick said, coldness still evident in his voice.
"I thought so too." Andie said, biting her bottom lip and turning her gaze down to the sidewalk.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be, Brad was a jerk, I guess I just never realized it till now." Andie said with a shrug.
"Not about that, well I guess about that too, but more about what I did to you." Nick said.
Andie looked up at him, he couldn't stand keeping eye contact with her so he stared right above her head, allowing the words to flow freely from his mouth.
"I'm sorry for not realizing how you couldn't handle the long distance thing, I'm sorry for trying to get back together when that's obviously not what you wanted, and I'm sorry for now, for bringing back all this old stuff." Nick said.
"It's not that I didn't want to get back together, it's that...I just didn't want to get hurt again." Andie said.
"Did I really hurt you that badly?" Nick asked, looking Andie straight in the eye.
"No, if anything I was the happiest when I was with you. I always had that butterfly feeling in my stomach, and the world would just fade when I was around you. It was so nice, but stupid me thought it was too good to be true and I got scared." Andie admitted.
Nick stared at her. He stood there and simply stared Andie straight in the eye. You can always forget someone that you liked, but never someone that you loved. Nick loved Andie, Nick loves Andie. Four years made him doubt it, four years apart from her made him numb, four years of wondering 'why?' made him crazy, but right there, at that very moment Nick wasn't wondering.
Emotion overwhelmed Nick as he swept Andie up in his arms and kissed her like they had never been apart. Kissed her like he would never kiss anyone again. Andie didn't fight it because she had been longing for it just as much as Nick had.
"I love you so much." Nick breathed as they parted for air.
Andie pressed her lips up against Nick's enjoying every minute of the sweet kiss.
"I love you too." Andie breathed, placing her hands lovingly on each side of Nick's face.
"I sware this time baby, I sware that I will never let you go." Nick said as he pecked Andie on the lips.
"Never let me let go." Andie said with a smile.
"Never baby, never." Nick said before kissing Andie's cheek, then forehead, then nose, then finally kissing her sweet lips.
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