Two Hearts, One Lie

Chapter 2

"Thank you...for wanting to meet with me," James says. "I... I just-it's been such a long time and I missed you and wanted to talk to you again. Y'know, catch up."

"Uh, yeah. It's no problem. I wasn't really doing anything before class anyway. Are you hungry?" I reply, fidgeting with the hem of my sweater, walking uncomfortably beside James. I'm not sure why I agreed to catch up with James for breakfast; I had to get up earlier than I would've for class and I didn't exactly have time to prepare what to say to him. I mean, I haven't seen him in 4 years, that should've been enough time to prepare. My stomach starts growling and I hope he doesn't bring it up, willing my stomach to quiet down. I cough, drowning out the whale noises brewing in my stomach.

"Are you hungry? Have you had breakfast?" He asks, smirking slightly, and my cheeks begin to burn, making me feel even more embarrassed.

"No, no. I'm not hungry. Unless you are, then we can get breakfast. That is if you want to though." I look up at him, not wanting to give away the fact that I'm hungry to the point where I'm starting to get dizzy.

"No, yeah, we can get breakfast. Come on, I know this really great spot. Let's go to my car." He walks me to his car and opens the passenger door. "Let me take your backpack and put it in the backseat." He says, guiding me inside with his hand before closing the door and getting into the driver's side. My heart lurches in my chest.

I'm glad I met up with him again. After talking with James on the phone last night, I had a long conversation with Gracie and Holly. I never really talked about the twins to anyone after they moved, but them being back really messed with my head. I had a long day and I needed to vent to someone; who better to rant to than my best friends? I barely talked about Drew, not wanting to get into him being the start of my nightmares, but I talked a lot about James. They came into my room like an hour after I ranted to them; they had come to the conclusion that I am in love with James. They're so wrong, it's actually insane. They both know I can't do that to Simon.

He parks and I go to open my door, the nervousness brewing in my stomach, mixing with my hunger. James stops me from opening the door, running to my side to open it again. He grabs my hand, leading me through the entrance of this cute breakfast place away from campus, Blue Stone Cafe. The menu is in the shape of a coffee mug, with endless choices of muffin flavors, and I'm overwhelmed. The ambiance here is so comforting and I feel like I've just walked onto a movie set. James is looking at me, watching me watch the cafe, in awe. I start to blush and quickly look down at the menu, pretending to figure out what I'm hungry for.

"What do you want to eat?" I look up at James, who is still staring at me. I'm being put on the spot. I'm anxious but I'm weirdly excited to be reconnecting with him.

"Oh." I look down, my eyes scanning the menu. "I'm not sure."

"Do you want me to order for you? I've been here before, and I think I remember what you like." He chuckles. God, that sound was so addicting. I look back up and see him smirking at me.

"Sure." I say, barely above a whisper.

We sit in that comfortable silence for a second before the waiter comes to our table, asking us what we're going to order. "I'll have a cappuccino and blueberry pancakes." James orders. "She'll have a mocha latte and chocolate chip waffles. Thank you." We sit there in comfortable silence, anxiously waiting to see who breaks it first.

It takes a long minute for me to find my voice again. "This place is so pretty." I say while admiring the walls, trying to look anywhere but James' face.

"I knew you would think so." James says, forcing me to look back at him.

I rack my brain, searching for a topic that can have James talking, doing something other than look at me. "So..." I start.