you again (landon)

[carter alyssa noble]

Her fingers crossed the keyboard of her laptop, fervently typing her notes into a more legible format. Her article had to be emailed by five. She had a deadline. That was the only thing Carter Noble really hated about journalism. Thankfully she was almost finished. She'd have this done and sent with plenty of time to spare. Then she could sit at home, pollute her lungs and watch teenagers enjoy a Friday night from her balcony.

Then her computer went blank.

Well, maybe she wouldn't be enjoying a Friday night. She might as well kiss her job goodbye. "Shit!" Her voice was quiet but frantic as she tried to revive her laptop. She should have bought a new one when she had the chance. Oh God, she thought, please have saved, please have saved...

[landon james hart]

Landon walked into The Coffee Grind, looking to grab a quick cup of black coffee before getting back to work. The office was on lunch break, so he had a little while before he needed to officially get back. It was early in the day, so Landon walked in and stood behind one girl in line. If there was one thing Landon didn't like, it was waiting in a long line forever for coffee. Thankfully, The Coffee Grind was small and locally owned, so he never had to wait long. He actually liked the coffee here and that was saying something since smaller restuarants usually didn't have a good, strong cup of black coffee. The waitress handed him his coffee in a take-out cup and Landon turned around to add a packet of sugar when he heard someone exclaim from the other side of the room. Looking up, he was shocked to see the person it came from.

Carter Noble. The one person he hadn't seen in twelve years...since her high school graduation and death of her best friend Norah Prinsen. Twelve years had come and gone so quickly. He had spent the first year looking for her, but never could...no matter how hard he looked. She had disappeared off the planet as far as he was concerned. But he never gave up hope that she would come back into his life. Walking over, he sat down across from her. "Computer problems?" he asked, giving a faint smile. "I know an easy fix that can save whatever you were working on easily." Being a lawyer had taught him to find some way to retrieve whatever he had been working on before a computer crash. It was a piece of cake now.

[carter alyssa noble]

Carter pressed her finger against the power button, holding it down, praying that it would restart under her fingertips. She did not have time for this. She didn't have time to acknowledge the person who sat down across from her either. At least not right away. She knew who it was. His voice hadn't changed much. Spinning her laptop around to face him, she sighed. "Have at it." It wasn't like anything could go wrong now.

And once she was convinced he was buried deep in fixing her computer, Carter finally looked at him. God, he was beautiful. Even after twelve years. He hadn't changed much... His hair was shorter, skin darker, face aged a little. He had stubble. Not much, just enough. Carter approved. Twelve years had done him very well. He was still built too, at least as far as she could tell. He was in a business suit. What did he do? And here she was, in yesterday's makeup and a pair of ripped jeans. She didn't even know he was still in town. She'd been back for two years and had neither run into him, or run into talk about him. Whispering Woods was not that big of a place. It seemed sort of unnatural.

Her eyes landed on his left hand after a sparkle caught her eye. A wedding ring was around his finger, and she faltered. Of course he was married. Did she really expect him to wait around for her, never knowing if he'd see her again? No, no. She didn't. Her eyes drifted down to her own left hand, bare. No shining diamond to say she was taken. That was her own choice. She wasn't a relationship kind of girl. Her longest lasted six months. She didn't even lose her virginity until college. She wondered if he had children. "Who is she?" she asked in a small voice. Carter had always been quiet, unless she really knew someone. She didn't know him anymore.

[landon james hart]

Landon smiled a little as Carter handed him her laptop after attempting to reset the power. He had seen this so many times before with his own laptop and that of co-workers that he knew exactly how to fix it. While he looked down at the computer, he took out the battery for a few moments before sticking it back in and flipped the power switch back on. When the screen lit up, he got into the main screen and accessed the documents on the computer. A few clicks of the mouse and he pulled up her last document that wasn't saved, which looked like an article she was writing. He had heard through the grapevine that wandered through town that she had become a reporter of sorts, but never knew for what or if she wrote or broadcasted. The years she had spent away had been good for her though, as she was still as beautiful as he remembered her being. Her hair was a little shorter than it was in high school, but framed her face beautifully. She was still just as tall and dressed a little differently, more adult. But the one thing that never changed were her eyes...the same striking blue he always loved about her.

His attention was diverted from the computer when he heard Carter ask who someone was. It dawned on him that she was referring to the wedding band he was wearing. "Eleanor Richland," he replied, looking up at Carter. "It's Hart now, but she was a year older than you...if I remember correctly. We've been married about eight years now." Landon had spent the first year after Carter leaving trying to find her and when he didn't, he went to finish college and law school. He began dating Eleanor a year after he returned and two years later, they were married. Landon had never once regretted his decision to go after Carter, knowing that she was the one he truly wanted to be with, but he did regret not looking longer. Eleanor was a good person, but she wasn't Carter. And she wasn't exactly faithful either. There were tons of issues with their marriage that just complicated things even more, but he didn't want to tell Carter that right off the bat. "What about you...seeing anyone?" he asked, figuring polite conversation wouldn't kill them.

[carter alyssa noble]

Eleanor Richland? He married Eleanor Richland? Carter tried not to gag, and just barely held back the urge to yell YOUR WIFE'S A BITCH, but she didn't think that saying that after only three minutes with him would have been a good thing. Maybe she wasn't a bitch to him. But more than likely, she probably was. If Carter remembered correctly, and she did, Eleanor was on the cheer squad the same year Carter and Norah got kicked off for vandalizing the football field. Of course, they were allowed back on when the administrators finally listened to their alibis, which were solid. Carter was still sure Eleanor had done it and blamed them, since she wanted the position of Head Cheerleader, which Norah proudly called hers. And Eleanor just didn't like Carter, so that would have been excuse enough to blame her. What a trip though, Landon marrying that broad. If Carter wasn't so appalled, she would have laughed.

But instead of gagging or yelling or laughing, she just shook her head in response to his inquiry about her marital status. "No. No one." Now she was fighting the urge to say don't you know me better than that?, but then she realized no, he didn't know her. He had twelve years of not knowing her. And she'd changed so much. She knew that. The accident changed her in more ways than one. Most of that was her own decision to change. She didn't wanna be that girl anymore. Carter had lost her very idol on a warm night and the best way to honor her was to turn into her, right?

She felt awkward sitting there after answering his question. She didn't want to talk about his relationship with someone else or her non-relationships. Actually, she would have been just as happy not speaking at all. She didn't wanna get 'chummy' with her old friends. That was not what she'd returned to Whispering Woods for. She tried to avoid the people she knew as much as humanly possible. Of course, she ran into Landon's cousin quite a bit, but she'd made Leanna promise not to breathe a word of her return to anyone, let alone Landon. Leanna, most likely remembering what had happened, nodded, though she told Carter she had better do it herself. Carter knew she was right, but she couldn't, so she just sort of hid from him. "So, uh..." she said lamely, "you look good." Oh, perfect, Carter. Way to make things less awkward.

[landon james hart]

Landon could tell by the look on Carter's face that she was shocked at his choice of a bride to marry. Most people were when he married her, but they didn't see the changes in Eleanor that Landon thought he had then. In retrospect, he probably was just blinded to the things he didn't want to see in her, thinking she had changed for the better. That was something love did to people. It blinded them to the reality that everyone else saw. He was seeing that now in hindsight. The saying 'hindsight is always 20/20' was really biting him in the ass now. But that was beside the point to him. He was moving on with his life and separated from his wife, at least for the time being. They had been separated for the better part of a year and no one really knew or said anything outside of their families. His parents were "disappointed" in him for his life choices and told him to patch things up with his wife, unaware of how serious things were between himself and Eleanor. They knew nothing about the abortion years ago or how she'd cheated on him more than just the one time they knew about.

Those thoughts were pushed aside as Carter said that she wasn't with anyone. He'd known her long enough to know that she didn't date in high school. For years he wondered why that was, but knew enough to know that she wasn't brash like Norah was when it came to guys. Carter was reserved and kept to herself, which was one of the reasons he felt drawn to her in the first place. When she went on and said that he looked good, he gave her a small smile of appreciation. It wasn't often that he got compliments from people, so he felt privileged when a friend gave him one. "Thanks," he said, smiling at her and turning her computer around to show her it was fixed. "You look really good too." He didn't feel awkward complimenting her when it was the truth. Most guys would lie right out their ass, but he wouldn't do that to Carter...especially when it was the truth. "Where did you go...after you left?" he asked, looking at her. He needed to know, especially since he'd gone looking for her.

[carter alyssa noble]

Right, right. Of course he would as where she's been after complimenting her. A way to butter her up to get the answer? No, not from Landon. It wasn't intentional and Carter knew that, but she couldn't help but think it. It made her slightly irritated, if she was to be completely honest with herself. Who was he to ask that? It wasn't any of his Goddamn business. It wasn't like he tried to find her or anything. She looked at her computer screen, thankful that the article was still there, and she saved it. She couldn't afford for her computer to crash again. Then she closed her laptop. "I needed to get away. Where would you have gone?" Carter shoved the computer into her bag. She needed to get out of here. Landon so close, after so many years... It wasn't good for her. She needed to be alone. She was good at alone.

Slinging the strap of her bag over her shoulder, Carter stood up. "I have to go," she partially lied. It was the truth, she couldn't stay, but she didn't have to go. "See you around..." She hoped not. She couldn't handle seeing him again, happily married to his bitch of a bride. It hurt enough as it was. Funny after all these years how she was still so in love with him. Carter turned to the door and stepped toward it, not wanting to be in the same vicinity as him for much longer.

[landon james hart]

Landon had spent the better part of a year or more looking for Carter, coming up empty everytime. He had gone to Seattle, California, New York, and everywhere he could think of that she would go to write, but wound up at a dead end every time. People told him he should give up less than a month into his search, but he wasn't going to give up on the one person that he really cared about most, especially after what she'd gone through in losing Norah. Part of him prayed to get a sign from Norah, anything that would lead him to Carter. He wanted to make sure she was alright and wanted to be there for her, but nothing ever came to him, so he had to come back and finish school after a year of searching. However, he'd always held out the hope that he would find her one day and made a point of looking into the major papers whenever he went on a business trip, hoping she was working for one and could track her down that way. But he never had any luck. Twelve years of hope and waiting to hear something had finally ended in a coffee shop they both frequented when they were younger.

When she started to pack up and said she had to go, he recognized the look on her face right away. Twelve years hadn't dumbed his senses down about Carter. He knew her well enough to know she was panicking and backing away from the situation. Landon was good at reading people's body language too, since he was a lawyer and his job was technically to see through bullshit. Standing up, he began to walk out with her. "Hey, what about we grab lunch tomorrow and catch up?" he suggested, knowing that she would probably turn him down anyways, but it was worth the shot. Carter ran away from things like that and always had, even when they were in high school. It didn't take a genius to figure out what kind of home life she'd had growing up, which was one of the many reasons Landon had looked after her in the first place. The other was, he had fallen in love with her all those years ago.

[carter alyssa noble]

Shit, shit, shit. He was following her. Did he have to follow her? Of course he did. It was Landon, for God's sake. After all these years, did he still know when she was lying? He knew everything about her then. He knew nothing about her now and he still knew? That shouldn't be a surprise. Carter tried to ignore the pounding in her chest as she left the building, Landon in tow. He was asking her to lunch. A date? No, it couldn't be. "You're married, Landon." She looked across the street. If this was Detroit, she would have flagged down a cab. But Whispering Woods was safe to walk. Damn. A cab would have gotten her away faster.

"Besides," she breathed. Did he know how much he was killing her? She would hate herself for the rest of her life for doing this. "I don't have time." Lie. "I have errands to run." Lie. "And I'm not here to get intimate with people I used to know." Bam. There it was. She heard the shattering of her heart echo in her ears. Could he hear it? Part of her wished he did. She didn't look to see his reaction. Instead she took off in the direction of her apartment complex. Would he follow? Would he care to?

[landon james hart]

Everything about this moment was not something that Landon was expecting. He never thought he'd run into Carter at a coffee shop, much less in their hometown after twelve years of never knowing where she was and what happened to her. That, along with everything else happening in his life, was not something that Landon had expected at all. He had just wanted to settle down and have a normal family life. Nothing dramatic or crazy, like his wife cheating on him more than once with different men. And an abortion that ended the life of his daughter. That was something that he would never forgive her for either...especially since she hadn't even told him she was pregnant in the first place. But that was over and done with...they were separated now and Landon had been debating whether or not to even try getting back together with Eleanor. She had ruined so many lives with her decisions that Landon didn't know if it was worth it to put the broken mirror back together again, especially considering he had tried before only to get cut again.

When Carter quipped that he was married and said that she didn't have time to even catch up with him, stating that she didn't come back to get intimate with people she used to know, Landon got the message loud and clear. She was taking off again, but Landon wasn't going to let her get away this time. She meant too much to him as a friend and he couldn't lose her twice. "Car!" he called out, catching up to her. "If you think I'm asking you on a date...that's not what I intended. I'm sorry if I offended you in that way. I just wanted to catch up because you're my friend and I haven't seen you in twelve years. Is that a crime?" He wasn't even going to bring up the fact that he was separated, on the verge of a divorce from his wife. That would look bad and he didn't know how Carter would react to that statement. Well...that wasn't entirely true. He knew that she would be offended he brought it up after she reminded him he was married. That was the Carter he knew and remembered from all those years ago.

[carter alyssa noble]

Landon was hot on her tail. She could feel his eyes on her back and him trying to explain himself. Carter didn't want to hear it. She ignored him for a few steps, wondering why she really did come back. What was her real reason, if not to see him again and try things out? But she'd lost her chance. She skipped town and he went and fell in love. She shouldn't be surprised. She wasn't. Disappointed maybe. But it was her own fault. He wasn't to blame. But he said something... and that set her off.

Carter stopped dead in her tracks and whipped around to face him. "Offended?" she asked, incredulous. "Offended? I wish that was it!" Then she paused. Had she given too much away? Was it obvious now, her affection for him? Fearing he may have caught on, she steeled herself against her emotions and spoke again before he got the chance. "Landon, I told you. I don't have time, and I'm really not here to get to know anyone. I'm sorry, but that includes you." She felt her heart get crushed again at her own words. There was nothing more she wanted than to meet him and remind herself why she felt the way she did about him. But that was hazardous. She couldn't take the chance, face the risk. She took a deep breath, and very calmly spoke again. "Goodbye, Landon." And then she once again, turned on her heel and started walking again.

[landon james hart]

Landon knew that it had been a mistake in not looking for Carter longer than he had. It had been the hardest thing he'd ever had to do in giving up the search the way he had to, but he never had given up the hope that someday he'd run into her again. As she said that she wasn't offended, it took Landon back a little bit. She wasn't offended by the idea that he could have been asking her on a date, which set off a little alarm in his mind. Did she feel for him? Her best friend Norah had told him once in high school that Carter wasn't the kind of girl to go off and tell someone she liked him because she just wasn't like that. And Norah had known her better than anyone had then and probably would now. There were times when he wished that Norah were still around, especially when it came to Carter. She knew exactly what to say to keep Carter from panicking and running away, like he figured she was doing now.

When she continued and said that she didn't have the time and that she wasn't here to get to know anyone, including him, he was somewhat offended that she could easily just cast him off when they had been friends before. Then again...time changed people. He knew that for sure because he wasn't the same guy he'd been in high school in some ways. Back then he'd been a stereotypical jock that liked to hang out, party, and have a good time...but now he was a responsible adult with a good job. But there was still that part of him that liked to have fun too. As Carter turned to walk away again, he knew that he couldn't just let her go. Not again. "Why are you always running away?" he called out, knowing she would hear him. He honestly wanted to know why she was always running away from him and from everyone in general. After Norah died, it was like the rest of the world didn't exist for Carter and Landon wanted to know why.

[carter alyssa noble]

Carter froze, and for a moment, her heart stopped beating in her chest. Who did Landon Hart think he was, calling her out like that? Carter's eyes drifted down to the sidewalk beneath her feet, but she didn't really see anything. His comment cut her deep, so very deep, and she knew it was true. Spinning to face him, she discovered he hadn't moved from his spot, so she marched toward him. A gust of wind came up from behind, sending Carter's hair in a frenzy and she knew she must look like a madwoman.

She stopped directly in front of him, bringing her hand up and poking him in the center of his chest. "Who do you think you are, Landon? I'm not the same girl I once was, so don't even pretend you know me. You don't. I haven't judged you in the least, so don't you dare... Don't. You. Dare judge me. You don't know a thing about me, or what I've gone through. So don't you act like you know. Because you don't. You don't know anything." Carter's words were meant to burn, and she wondered briefly if they did. It was the sharpest tone she'd ever used with him, and despite not liking it, she knew it had to be done. Standing her ground, she didn't turn and walk away. Instead, she stared him dead in the eyes, daring him to challenge her.

[landon james hart]

Landon knew that he had struck a chord for Carter by calling her out on running away, but he needed to know why. He had searched for her for so long without answers or so much as a glimpse of her and now, twelve years later, here she was in the very town she had run away from. He knew that after Norah died, she shut herself down and left without so much as saying one word to him, which cut deeper than anything anyone had ever done to him before because he cared for her. He thought that she trusted him too, but that wasn't the case apparently. Carter shut down and left, not talking to anyone about anything. He didn't even find her at the funeral, which he knew she would have been at because Norah was her best friend in the world. But when he couldn't find her after a year of searching, he knew that she didn't want to be found.

As Carter poked him in the chest and went off on him about how he didn't know her anymore and didn't get to judge her because she hadn't judged him, Landon stayed silent. He let her say her peace before looking her right in the eyes. "You weren't the only one that lost a friend that night Carter. Norah was my friend too. But I lost you too," he said, never breaking eye contact with her. He knew that this was the most time they had spent together in twelve years, but it didn't matter. Landon still cared for her as much now as he did then. "I'm not judging you. But I looked for you. For a year, I looked without so much as a glimpse of you. You never called me to let me know you were okay, so I could assume that you were gone too. I lost two friends after that night because you shut me out. You didn't talk to me when I told you before that I would always be there for you." Landon cared for Carter. And that hadn't changed. Period.

[carter alyssa noble]

The way Landon was staring back at her scared Carter. Like he was reading her soul through her eyes. She always knew her eyes gave away too much of her emotions. It was like wearing her heart on her sleeve. Hearing Landon spill his own soul to her was breaking her heart even more than it already was. She had no idea he looked for her. She had no idea how badly she hurt him when she left. She should have realized that he's lost two friends that night. But no, Carter had been too busy thinking of herself. She felt her eyes fill with hot tears that threatened to spill over.

She was taken aback. She didn't know how to respond to that. Unable to look at his eyes anymore, Carter dropped her gaze. It didn't matter how soft his eyes were on her own. The connection she had to him was too strong, too frightening. "You're right." she whispered, barely audible. "You were always right. I ran away. I'm such a huge fuck-up." She looked back up at him, knowing her tears were streaming down her cheeks now. "I'll just go. Get out of you hair. That way you don't have to think about me anymore." Without so much as a goodbye, Carter turned back around and headed toward her apartment building. Landon was better off without her in his life anyway.