Summary: Jordan Walker is entering his freshman year of college. His girlfriend, Lydia Holland, is beginning her senior year of high school…two hours away from him. They've always had an incredibly close relationship, but they've also never faced anything like this year. When a series of trials and tragedies threatens the stability of their relationship, Jordan and Lydia are left wondering if the old adage is true…does distance make the heart grow fonder?
A/N: Well, here you go…first chapter of the sequel to Wanting Something More. If you haven't read Wanting Something More, you might want to. It's not necessary; this story can stand alone, but you'll have a better understanding of the characters, their history together, events leading up this story that I allude to, etc. For those of you that did read WSM, and have been awaiting this…hope the wait wasn't bad. I've had this chapter written since I posted the last chapter of WSM, but I wanted to get further before I posted it. I'm on Chapter 3 right now…I haven't had a lot of time to write lately. I'm writing the companion piece to WSM, from Jordan's point of view, too, and I'll be posting the first chapter of that soon, for anyone who wants to read it.
Chapter One: Faces from the Past
A shrill bell went off and the rest of my third block science class slammed their notebooks shut, jammed new textbooks into their backpacks, and zipped them up. I waited until the stampede was over before I even started to walk to the door. It was my first day of senior year, and like all my classmates, I was excited about my "last first day of high school". I just didn't have to trample my peers in order to get into the halls sooner. I didn't have anyone to go meet, so I could take my time finding my next class.
So far, my day had gone by fairly quickly. First block was twelfth grade literature, which was not my ideal way to start off the day, but it was only for a semester. Second block, I had weight training, which was a slacker class if there ever was one. Third block was physics, a class I hadn't wanted to take, but had been more or less forced to sign up for by my guidance counselor. I had first lunch, with my best friend Elaine Jacobs and another close friend, Sarah Bowman. Fourth block, I had French three…which I was definitely looking forward to.
As I joined the mainstream of students in the halls, I felt a hand on my arm. I turned and saw a petite, slender brunette girl standing behind me.
"Hi…" she said softly. "I'm really sorry to bother you…but um, I'm in your physics class…and I was wondering if you could tell me how to get to my next class. I just moved here…"
"I definitely know what that's like," I assured her, giving her a sympathetic smile as I glanced at her schedule. "I moved here my sophomore year. Oh, you're in my class next block, too!"
"Really?" she replied. "Great…so I can just follow you."
"Of course," I smiled. "My name's Lydia Holland, by the way."
"I'm Abbey," she said.
"That's my middle name!" I exclaimed. "But are you short for Abigail?"
"Yes," she groaned. "My parents cursed me…"
"It's not that bad," I replied. "I like the name Abbey…I think it's very pretty."
"Thanks," she smiled. "You know…it really sucks having to move away your senior year…"
"I'm sure it does," I replied, stopping outside room 431…our classroom. "This is it."
We went inside and took two seats next to each other, then continued talking. I found out she had just moved to Kentucky from Virginia when her father had taken a new job. She had two sisters, one who was a junior, and the other a freshman. She had been an oboist in her old school's band, while I played flute in concert band and was on flag line during marching season.
Our teacher, Renee Evans, or Madame Evans, passed out a survey…one of those "get to know your classmates" assignments. Abbey and I just surveyed each other, going down the list of typical questions ("Where were you born?") to some which were just bizarre, such as "If you were a musical instrument, which would you be and why?". Abbey and I got a good laugh out of that one.
"Wow, this stuff gets personal…" Abbey commented, looking at question #14. "Okay, Lydia, I have to ask you what it says…who was your first kiss?"
I grinned, remembering my first kiss…which had been less than a year before. "Jordan…" I replied.
"Oh, you're blushing!" she gushed. "Now you have to tell me all about him!"
I smiled. "He's my boyfriend…we started going out a few weeks before my birthday last year. And he came to my dad's with me on my birthday weekend, and we went for a walk really late one night…and at midnight, as soon as it was officially my birthday, he kissed me. He wanted to wait so that I really would be sweet sixteen…you know, sixteen and never been kissed?"
"How sweet!" she cried. "So you're still together?"
I nodded. "We broke up after we'd been together about a month…late October or so. I dated this other guy for about a week…that didn't last…and then I dated one of Jordan's best friends for almost two months. His name was Beau…he was a real sweetie, but he moved away just before Christmas. Then Jordan and I got back together, and we've been together ever since."
"Well…tell me about him!" she urged. "What does he look like?"
I pulled out one of our prom pictures from a few months earlier and showed it to her. "That's us…I really miss him."
"What? Where is he?" she asked.
"College," I sighed. "I haven't seen him in about a month…he left to get settled in at school two weeks ago…but I got back from our two-week band camp the day after he left. I've talked to him since then, of course, but I haven't seen him. He's not sure when he'll be able to come back and visit."
"I'm sorry," she frowned.
"It's okay," I shrugged, using my thumb to twist the band of the diamond ring I wore on my right hand. Jordan had given it to me, not as an engagement ring, but as a promise to stay true to me while he was away at college. I smiled at Abbey. "Okay, so who was your first kiss?"
She grinned and told me about a boy she had lived next door to, who had kissed her one day during their freshman year. We continued on with the survey, sharing anecdotes about some of the more colorful questions, then talked until Madame Evans began calling on pairs to share what they had learned about each other.
Abbey and I were the third pair to go, and after I had introduced her to the class, she reveled in telling them about me…including the details of my first kiss with Jordan. Most of the girls in the class gushed about how incredibly sweet it was…and the guys…well, they made comments about the kisses they'd seen after that night, and some alluded to other interactions between me and my boyfriend that they had been witnesses to.
We sat down and continued to whisper as other groups presented. The door opened and a tall, muscular boy walked in. He went over to Madame Evans and showed her his schedule, saying he'd just been put in this class. She directed him to a desk in the back of the room, and as he made his way to his seat, he passed by me and gave me a smug grin and said, "Hi, Lydia…" as he walked by.
All color must have drained from my face, because Abbey was giving me a strange, worried look when I turned to look at her. "Lydia, are you okay? An absolutely gorgeous guy just said hello to you, and you look as though you've seen a ghost."
I practically had. The second he'd walked into the room, my mind had taken me back to a night just under a year before. I'd been waiting for Jordan outside the locker room, and a guy had come up to me and kissed me, then ran his hands up my shirt. Jordan had shown up, pulled him off of me, and punched him. But then he'd threatened me…nothing had ever come of it, but I was still terrified of him. And now…he'd just walked right into my French class.
"No…I'm okay," I assured Abbey. I'd just met this girl today…I wasn't about to tell her what had happened with Blake Morris last year.
"So…you know that guy?" she asked, looking over at Blake. "He's cute…"
"Abbey, stay away from him," I warned her. "I mean it. He is not a good guy…I have a history with him. I'll tell you about it some other time, but for now, just trust me…"
"Okay…" she sighed. "But only if you introduce me to some good guys."
"I promise," I smiled.
We talked until the end of class, and I gave her my phone number so she could call me if she needed anything. When the bell rang, we started out to the parking lot together. Along the way, we met up with Jessica, her freshman sister, who told us that Lauren, the junior, would be waiting at the car.
As we got closer to my parking spot—at the far end of the lot, closest to the main road in front of the school—Abbey and her sister were still with me. "Where are you parked?" I asked.
"Number 322," she replied.
"You're kidding!" I accused. She shook her head, giving me a confused look. "I'm in 323," I explained.
"What a coincidence!" Abbey remarked, causing us both to laugh. "So you drive the green Explorer?"
I nodded. "That would be mine…"
"So, um, if that's your car," Jessica began, "who's the guy leaning against it?"
"What?" I shot her a confused glance, then glanced at my car. Immediately, my face was covered by a huge grin. "Abbey, would you do me a huge favor and carry my backpack to my car for me? It's not heavy…I know I must sound crazy, but would you please do it?"
"Yeah, I guess…" she replied slowly, taking my bag from me.
"Thanks," I said before I took off, running the remaining distance to my car. The guy Jessica had seen wasn't facing me when I reached the car, so I threw my arms around him from behind, nearly knocking him over when I hit him.
He spun around and wrapped his own arms around my waist, then picked me up and kissed me. "Hey beautiful," he said, grinning at me. "I've missed you."
"Jordan, I've missed you a thousand times more!" I exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me you were gonna be in town?"
"I thought I'd surprise you," my boyfriend replied. "I'd say it worked, huh?"
"Yes!" I cried. "I'm so glad to see you!" I kissed him a few times before he put me down.
"I just walked over from my house…I know you want to drive me home and then spend some time together, don't you?" he grinned.
"Of course," I answered.
"Lydia…I'm hoping that this is Jordan, and you didn't just throw yourself on some random guy," Abbey's voice came from behind me.
I grinned and took my backpack from her. "Thanks, Abbey. Yeah, this is Jordan. Jor, this is Abbey Carmichael. She just moved here…she's in my physics class and my French class."
"Hi, Abbey," Jordan said. "Nice to meet you."
"You, too," she replied. "I've heard many nice things about you from Lydia. She tells me you're quite the romantic…"
Jordan blushed and mumbled something under his breath, reaching for my hand. "Ready to go, babe?"
"Yeah," I smiled. "Abbey, I'll see you tomorrow. I have to catch up on lost time…"
"I understand," she nodded. "See you tomorrow. Have fun."
"I'll make sure she does," Jordan assured my new friend, gently guiding me to driver's seat of my car. He hurried around and jumped into his seat, and five minutes later, we were in his driveway and walking up to the front door. He unlocked the door and I followed him inside.
A Himalayan cat ran up immediately to greet us. "Hopey-cat!" I cried, scooping her up. Hope was sort of our cat…Jordan had bought her for me, but she lived at his house. I hadn't seen her since…the last time I'd seen Jordan.
Jordan put one arm around my waist and kissed my cheek. "Put the cat down," he whispered. "You can catch up with her later…right now, I definitely want to enjoy my girlfriend's company…without the cat."
I giggled and put Hope down, then shrieked as Jordan picked me up in one quick, swift movement. "Jordan!"
He laughed and carried me upstairs, then dropped me unceremoniously on his bed. He hopped onto the bed next to me, then kissed me softly. "I've missed you."
"Missed you more," I argued playfully. "How's college so far?"
"It's okay," he smiled. "My roommates are pretty cool, my classes aren't hard, and I can take naps between classes. I'm trying to get involved with the campus branch of FCA…I applied to the leadership team. There's just one thing I don't like…"
"What's that?" I asked.
"There's no you," he grinned, kissing me again. "There are a ton of gorgeous girls on campus, but none of them are you."
"Yeah…well, the guys I see are the same guys you knew last year…" I shrugged. "But you're mine, and that's the way I want it to stay."
"Good," he replied. He broke the somewhat serious mood by suddenly tackling me and pinning me to the bed. I knew what was about to happen and tried to get away, but I wasn't able to before he started tickling me.
"Jordan, stop it!" I pleaded. "This isn't fair!"
"That's what makes it so much fun!" he laughed. We wrestled for a few minutes before I finally gave up trying to fight him off. Instead, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his face close to mine. I pressed my lips to his, and almost immediately, his fingers left my sides and instead ran through my hair. I ended our kiss and he rolled off of me, admitting defeat.
"Yeah…I've definitely missed that," I said breathlessly.
"Me too," he grinned. "Know what else I've missed?"
"What?"
"Your smile," he replied. "And your eyes. I haven't been able to miss your voice…but every time I talk to you on the phone, I want to be able to look in your eyes and see your smile. I even miss the smell of your shampoo and that lotion you use…my roommate's girlfriend was over the other day, and she uses the same kind of lotion as you. It made me miss you so much…"
"You poor thing!" I cried. "But I know what you mean. I think I look at my pictures of you at least twenty-three times a day…and I came over here a few days after you left and stole one of your shirts…"
"The navy blue one you like so much?" he interjected. I grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I noticed that was missing," he continued, pinching me on the arm. "I was going to wear it for you today, but I couldn't find it…"
"Yeah…I have it," I smiled sheepishly. "I have a bottle of your cologne, too…"
"Oh my gosh, we're pathetic!" Jordan exclaimed. "We are such losers, Lyds…"
"I know!" I said with a laugh. "But I love you."
"I love you, too," Jordan leaned over and kissed me on the nose. I returned his gesture with a soft kiss and slid my fingers down his chest. Our intimate moment was interrupted with a loud meow, and Hope popped up onto the bed. She pushed her nose in between us and rubbed against Jordan's face until he acknowledged her presence with a quick pet.
"Do you remember the first time you saw her?" Jordan asked. "You fell in love with her…and I couldn't stand her…I hated cats…but you wanted her so bad…"
"And you surprised me and bought her for me," I smiled. "Do you remember the huge fight we'd had the night before we went to the mall and found her?"
"How could I forget?" he groaned. "You were so mad at me…and you didn't tell me for months that the whole reason you asked about me and Aubrey was because Blake Morris had told you I was going to use you just like I did her."
"Oh my gosh…" I said under my breath. I'd been so excited to see Jordan that I'd forgotten that Blake was in my class. I'd forgotten to tell Jordan…
"Lyds…baby girl, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice soft and concerned. "You just got this look on your face…what's the matter?"
"Blake," I whispered. "I forgot to tell you…he's in my fourth block class."
Jordan sighed and put his arms around me protectively. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry. Now I want to be with you every day even more…"
"I'll be okay," I shrugged. "I'm not going to let him ruin my life, or this time with you. You can't be with me every day, so I'm not going to let him interfere when I do have you right here."
He answered me with a gentle kiss.
A/N: Relatively short and uneventful chapter, I know. But I had to introduce Abbey's character, bring Blake back in…and then I * had * to have some Jordan/Lydia fluffiness. I missed writing about those two. So Jordan was a dork and drove a long way just to see her…not something he's going to be able to do very often…at least, not on Mondays. I had originally planned on writing this so that point of view switched with every other chapter, and Chapter 2 is indeed from Jordan's POV, but see…most of the plot is happening with Lydia. Not too much going on with Jordan, and I don't really want to spend every other chapter in some pointless, irrelevant to the plot anecdote about Jordan's evil history professor, but I * do * already have several key chapters planned where it's his POV, so while you may not see every other chapter as Jordan's POV, you will get to see through his eyes at times. Also, this story's title is really tentative. Some days I love it, other days I hate it. So if you have any suggestions, I'm open. I'm sure there's something else I'm forgetting, but if there is…I'll just put it in the next chapter. Let me know what you think so far…toodles! ~*Bri