"Liam Tucker, you give that back!"

"Or what?"

"Or...or I'm gonna tell!"

"No, you won't." The confidence oozed off of him as he held my stare, calling my bluff.

"I will, I mean it!" I huffed, crossing my arms and stomping my feet.

"Nah, you won't. And you wanna know why?" He leaned toward me, pulling on my pigtail. "It's because you like me."

My mouth dropped open and in the same moment, the annoying nine-year-old who had stolen my cookie and held it hostage, pushed it right in my gaping mouth. My eyes went wide and then narrowed in on his smug look. He looked ridiculous with his dirt-stained cheeks and messy hair, and I wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk off his face.

I bit my cookie and chunked the rest at his head, but he ducked just in time, missing the assault. I eyed my now ruined cookie laying in the dirt and looked back up to see mischief sparkling in those emerald eyes.

"Guess what?" He leaned closer, the smell of strawberries and chocolate chips on his breath tickled my nose. "You missed me."

"Yeah. So?"

"So now you gotta kiss me."

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The sound of my alarm clock blaring woke me up. I punched the annoying thing off and groaned, pulling the covers over my head. The dream of a memory long ago slowly slipping from my consciousness.

Ugh, just five more minutes.

The pull of my covers and a slap on my butt had me rolling over and cursing under my breath.

"Rise and shine!"

"Seriously Kat? Was stripping me of my essentials necessary?"

My way too bright-eyed, chipper, bronzed best friend quirked her eyebrow at me. "Your essentials?"

I reached down and pulled my sacred blankets back up around me. "Yes. These are commodities this early in the morning."

She shook her head and nodded to my nightstand where a mug was placed. "I brought you coffee as a truce."

She doesn't play fair.

Sitting up, I reached over and grabbed the cup, bringing it up to my lips for a sip. It was a warm, creamy, sugary sip of perfection. "You're lucky this is a great cup of coffee. You are forgiven." I took another sip then stood up, putting it back on my nightstand. Turning toward her, the heavy realization of what today meant settled on me. "Oh, Kat, what am I going to do without you?"

"Sleep till noon most likely." She teased, as I pulled her in for a hug.

I was driving back to a place that still managed to hold my heart, even after all of this time. I had moved from Georgia when I was fourteen and only recently went back that past Spring for a tour of the University where I would be spending the remaining two years of my education. I had always wanted to attend the University of Georgia, and when I was accepted straight out of high school, I was beyond thrilled.

But life had other plans. Plans that forced me to stay in South Carolina to take my basics at a community college instead, with the plan to transfer after. And while I was disappointed to wait, that meant two more years with my best friend and roommate Katrina.

Now I was leaving, and I wasn't sure how.

"You know I'll be down to see you! You couldn't get rid of me if you tried. But at least now, you won't have to do the long drives just to see Aaron."

That was a definite bonus to moving back. When I had met Aaron in Georgia during Spring Break, I had been touring the college. We had been taking turns driving back and forth in the four months of seeing each other. We weren't officially going out, more like getting to know each other and seeing how things went with the knowledge that I would soon be attending college with him. He was a year ahead of me, finishing up his senior year, while I was going into my junior year.

"True. But you know I would trade him for you any day."

"Dang right babe." She winked, giving me another slap on the butt before walking toward the door. "Get dressed. I'll make you breakfast before you have to leave."

To anyone looking from the outside in, they might suspect me and Katrina to be in a relationship together, but that's just how our friendship was. She was the eccentric, artsy, wake up before the crack of dawn to do yoga in the park type, and while I would like to say we were the Ying to each other's Yang, I was my own contradiction. I was an organized bookworm with a need to be punctual while simultaneously craving spontaneity and hating early mornings. Whatever each of us was on our own, we managed to fit together seamlessly.

I headed over to my closet to grab the only outfit I hadn't packed. I threw on the tight-fitting gray tank top and black yoga pants that I had chosen for the day's long drive and headed to the bathroom to finish getting ready.

When I walked into our small apartment kitchen, a toasted bagel with cream cheese was already waiting for me on a plate. I grinned at the nostalgic gesture. Katrina and I had first met when we were sixteen and both of us went to buy the last bagel at the school's cafe'. What started as a heated argument--we both get pretty crazy when it comes to food--ended in a bagel truce as we split the delicious bread and decided right then and there that we would be best friends.

And we have been ever since.

"I don't know if it feels right eating this. Should we have a mock fight first?" I teased.

"Only if you're not gonna share half."

I laughed, handing her one of the slices and licking the cream cheese off my finger. "Thanks for this. I wish I could stay longer."

"Me too babe. Are you sure you don't want me to tag along for the drive and help you get settled into the dorm?"

"I'm sure. I don't want you to have to worry about catching a bus back. But you'll be down for my birthday, right?"

"Of course! No way I'm missing my best friends 21st birthday!" She took a bite of bagel then cleared her throat. "So... Liam Tucker?"

I nearly choked on the bite I was attempting to swallow. "What?"

"You were saying his name in your sleep."

I covered my face with my hands and groaned. "I did?"

"Mm-hmm. Have you been thinking about him a lot?"

Yes.

"No. I think it's just the fact I'm going back home, you know. And Liam...he was a big part of home to me." I sighed and shook my head. "But that was a long time ago."

"Does he still live in Georgia?"

"I wouldn't even know." I sighed, playing with a piece of crumb on my plate. "But it doesn't matter. Like I said, we were just kids. It's weird I was even dreaming of him."

I waved her off, changing the topic to her and her boyfriend Chase who was moving in next week to be her new roommate. This was a big step for them, considering Chase's mental breakdown could be heard across town when he first found out Katrina had her own drawer at his place. He had said something along the lines of, "Men don't have lady products next to their boxers." Katrina, being the amazing girlfriend she is, kindly removed his boxers and gave them a new home on the floor. He quickly saw the error of his ways after two days of "relations" probation. 

If you catch my drift.

He rightfully apologized and even gave her another drawer. That was months ago, however, and since then, he has become quite the attentive, googly-eyed boyfriend. Though if you ask him, he'll plead the fifth. 

While on the subject, we talked about what my dorm room would look like and what my new roommate would be like.

"Nothing like me!" Katrina said, and I agreed because, truthfully, no one could compete with her.

When it was time for me to leave, Katrina helped me carry some of my bags, setting them down next to my blue Jeep. I placed my purse in my passenger seat and threw my bags in the back before turning to face her.

"I'm going to miss you! Text me as soon as you get there." She pulled me in for a hug, and I hugged her back tighter, not ready to leave her yet.

"I'll definitely let you know. I'm going to miss you too," I smiled, pulling apart, "but I will see you soon." She nodded, wiping a tear from her cheek, causing another round of hugs, leading to what I like to call a proper Southern goodbye.

You see, in the South, we have stages of goodbye. It consists of several rounds of saying goodbye following more talking and hugs as the person slowly makes their way to leave. It is kind of like how Aloha means both goodbye and hello in Hawaii--you never know which goodbye is the real deal, and in our case, we didn't want any of them to be the real one. But with a friend like Kat, a regular 3-and-a-half-hour drive to hang out was nothing.

When we finally finished our goodbyes, I rounded my Jeep. Hopping in, I started it up and waved one last time as I pulled out, heading toward a place I never truly left behind.

 What's up Wattpad Fam? 👋 It's amazing to see some of ya'll again. Thanks so much for reading! I hope you join me in the following chapters as we find out more about Maddie and perhaps, the boy from her dream... 😘 

Don't forget to support me by hitting that star! I'll do a plank for every one hit...okay, so maybe I'll eat a slice of pizza for every one instead 🤷‍♀️