The school halls buzzed with the usual morning chaos. Lockers slamming, friends catching up from the weekend, teachers already looking stressed. Ella walked with Lily, half-listening as her friend went on about the student council meeting. Lily was always complaining about the board, but she also lived for it.
“So, Mr. Green’s probably gonna make us stay late today, and I swear, if he says one more thing about how we’re not ‘prepared enough,’ I’m going to scream," Lily ranted, her arms flailing as she spoke.
Ella nodded along, her mind elsewhere. She couldn’t shake the weird feeling she’d had since waking up. The dream of Ethan wouldn’t leave her alone, and now she had this gnawing feeling like something was going to happen. But what?
“Hey, are you even listening to me?” Lily said, waving her hand in front of Ella’s face.
“Yeah, yeah. Mr. Green sucks. Got it,” Ella said, shaking herself out of her thoughts.
Lily raised an eyebrow. “That’s not what I said, but close enough.”
As they walked into their classroom, the noise level dropped a bit. Ella took her usual seat by the window, Lily beside her. Sophie Willer, their other friend, was already there, her head down on the desk.
“Sophie, did you seriously sleep through the bell again?” Lily asked, nudging her.
Sophie lifted her head, her blonde hair a mess. “Huh? Oh, yeah, probably. Did I miss anything?”
Lily rolled her eyes. “Just another day of you being clueless.”
Ella chuckled, but her attention quickly shifted when she saw their homeroom teacher, Mrs. Carter, walk in with a boy she didn’t recognize. He was tall, had dark hair, and looked kind of familiar, but she couldn’t place him. The class immediately quieted down, all eyes on the new kid.
“Alright, class, settle down,” Mrs. Carter said. “We have a new student joining us today. Everyone, this is Ethan.”
Ella froze. Ethan? No, it can’t be...
The boy smiled awkwardly and gave a small wave. "Hey."
Ella’s heart raced, her mind spinning. It had to be a coincidence, right? There were a million Ethans out there. But then their eyes met, and she knew. It was him. Ethan. Her Ethan. The boy who’d left six years ago. The boy she’d dreamed about over and over again.
She didn’t know what to do. Her stomach flipped, and her hands started shaking under the desk. She wasn’t ready for this. She wasn’t ready to face him. Not now, not like this.
Mrs. Carter continued talking, but Ella didn’t hear a word. Her mind was stuck in a loop of disbelief. Ethan was back. He was right there. In front of her. And she didn’t know what to do with that.
---
The rest of the day went by in a blur. Ella couldn’t focus on anything. Every time she tried to pay attention in class, her eyes would wander back to Ethan. He sat a few rows ahead of her, and she found herself staring, trying to make sense of it all. He looked different, older, taller, but there was no doubt in her mind that it was him.
Lily noticed something was off. “Okay, what’s up with you today? You’re spacing out, and it’s not even lunchtime.”
Ella swallowed hard, trying to act normal. “Uh, nothing. I’m just... tired.”
Lily narrowed her eyes. “You sure? Because you’ve been acting weird ever since we got here.”
Ella forced a smile. “I’m fine. Promise.”
But she wasn’t fine. She wasn’t even close to fine. She kept replaying that moment in her head, when Ethan had looked at her. Did he recognize her? Did he remember her at all? Or was she just a distant memory from his past?
By lunchtime, Ella couldn’t take it anymore. She needed air. She grabbed her lunch tray and headed outside, leaving Lily and Sophie behind. She found a quiet spot by the school garden and sat down, taking deep breaths. She hadn’t even realized how much seeing Ethan again would mess her up. It was too much. Too fast.
“Ella?”
Her heart nearly stopped when she heard his voice. She looked up, and there he was, Ethan, standing right in front of her, holding his lunch tray. His eyes were wide, and he looked as unsure as she felt.
“Ethan,” she breathed, barely able to get the word out.
He gave her a small smile. “I thought it was you.”
Ella blinked, her mind spinning. “You... remember me?”
“Of course I do,” he said, sitting down next to her. “How could I forget?”
She didn’t know what to say. All this time, she had been thinking about him, dreaming about him, and now here he was, acting like it was no big deal. Like they were just picking up where they left off. But for her, it wasn’t that simple. Not at all.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Ella finally managed to say.
“Yeah, it’s... kind of crazy, right?” Ethan said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.”
“Me neither,” Ella said softly. “You just... left.”
Ethan’s smile faded a bit, and he looked down at his hands. “Yeah. I didn’t want to, you know. My parents just... it wasn’t my choice.”
“I know,” Ella said quickly. “I know that. It’s just... I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”
There was a long silence between them. The kind that makes you feel like there’s too much left unsaid.
“I’m sorry,” Ethan said quietly. “For leaving. For everything.”
Ella swallowed hard, her throat tight. “It’s okay. I just... I didn’t think you’d ever come back.”
“Neither did I,” Ethan admitted. “But here I am.”
They sat there for a few more minutes, neither of them really knowing what to say. It was strange, having him here again. Everything felt different, but also, somehow, the same. Like no time had passed at all.
---
By the end of the day, Ella still hadn’t fully processed it. Ethan was back. He was here, at her school, in her life again. She didn’t know what that meant, or what would happen next, but one thing was for sure: things were about to get complicated.
Ella couldn’t get through the rest of the day without feeling like she was stuck in some kind of dream. The kind of dream where everything’s too real, too fast, and you don’t know how to wake up. Seeing Ethan again, it was everything she’d imagined, but somehow completely different. It felt like everything from their past just hit her all at once, but also… it was like they were strangers now.
She kept her distance in class, staying quiet while Lily went on about the student council and Sophie slept through half the lesson. Ella didn’t dare look in Ethan’s direction again, but she knew exactly where he was. She could feel his presence, even from a few rows ahead. It made her stomach twist with a mix of excitement and nerves.
When the final bell rang, Ella packed up her stuff slowly, hoping to avoid any more awkward run-ins. She wasn’t ready for a full conversation with Ethan yet, not when she could barely wrap her head around him being back. But as she stepped out of the classroom, she heard his voice again.
“Ella!”
She froze, her heart racing, and turned to see Ethan jogging up to her. He looked almost the same as he had back when they were kids, just older, taller. But the way he smiled at her, it was so familiar, like nothing had changed between them.
“Hey, you leaving?” he asked, stopping beside her.
Ella nodded, trying to keep her voice steady. “Yeah. I’ve got a meeting with the student council, so I’m kind of in a rush.”
Ethan tilted his head, his smile fading just a little. “Oh. You’re in the student council?”
“Yeah,” she said quickly. “Well, my best friend Lily is. She’s the secretary, and I help out sometimes.”
“That’s cool,” Ethan said, nodding. “I didn’t know you were into that kind of stuff.”
Ella shrugged, avoiding his gaze. “Yeah, a lot’s changed.”
Ethan looked like he wanted to say something else, but before he could, Lily appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Ella’s arm.
“There you are! Come on, we’re gonna be late,” Lily said, not even noticing Ethan standing there.
“Uh, yeah, I’ll catch up with you later,” Ella said to Ethan, giving him a small wave as Lily dragged her down the hall.
“Who was that?” Lily asked as soon as they were out of earshot.
“Ethan,” Ella mumbled, glancing over her shoulder to see him walking in the opposite direction.
Lily stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide. “Wait. THAT Ethan? The one we we played with since we were kids?”
“Yeah,” Ella said, feeling her cheeks burn. “He’s back.”
Lily stared at her for a second, then burst out laughing. “Oh, this is gonna be good. You’re freaking out, aren’t you?”
Ella groaned. “I’m not freaking out.”
“You’re totally freaking out,” Lily said, grinning. “And I don’t blame you. I mean, Ethan just shows up out of nowhere after six years? That’s like something out of a movie.”
Ella didn’t respond, her mind racing. Lily wasn’t wrong, it did feel like a scene straight out of one of those cheesy romance movies. But this wasn’t a movie, and she had no idea what was going to happen next.
---
By the time they made it to the student council meeting, Ella was mentally exhausted. She sat in the back, zoning out while Lily went over the agenda with the rest of the group. Khian was there, of course, sitting at the head of the table with his usual serious expression. He was the president of the council, after all. He didn’t have time for anything that wasn’t important.
Lily was talking a mile a minute, flipping through papers and throwing out ideas for the upcoming school festival. Ella could barely focus, her mind still stuck on Ethan. She hadn’t even told Khian about him yet. What was he going to say? He’d probably be all cold and logical about it, like he always was. He never understood why Ella couldn’t just forget about Ethan. To him, people came and went, it was no big deal. But for Ella, it was different. Ethan wasn’t just anyone.
“Ella?”
She snapped back to reality, realizing everyone was staring at her. Khian had his eyebrow raised, looking annoyed.
“Are you paying attention?” he asked in that stern, older-brother tone of his.
Ella nodded quickly. “Yeah, sorry. I’m listening.”
Khian didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t push it. “Good, because we need everyone focused for the festival. It’s coming up fast, and we can’t afford to slack off.”
Lily chimed in, her usual energy on full display. “Right, we’ve got a lot to get through. Decorations, budget, volunteers—oh, and we still need to finalize the list of performances.”
Ella felt her stomach drop at the mention of performances. Ethan used to play piano at every school event back when they were kids. He was good at it like really good. She wondered if he still played.
As the meeting dragged on, Ella couldn’t shake the feeling that things were about to get complicated. Ethan was back, and nothing felt the same anymore. How was she supposed to focus on anything with him around? And what was she supposed to do with all these feelings that had come rushing back?
---
After the meeting, Ella stayed behind to help clean up. Khian was still going over some papers when he finally spoke.
“You’ve been off today,” he said, not looking up from his work. “Something going on?”
Ella hesitated, then decided to just rip the band-aid off. “Ethan’s back.”
Khian froze, his pen hovering above the paper. “What?”
“He’s back. At our school,” Ella repeated, her voice quiet.
Khian slowly put his pen down and looked at her, his expression unreadable. “Ethan... your childhood friend?”
Ella nodded, feeling a lump form in her throat.
Khian didn’t say anything for a long moment, just stared at her like he was trying to figure something out. Finally, he sighed, leaning back in his chair. “You should be careful.”
“Careful?” Ella asked, frowning. “What do you mean?”
“You haven’t seen him in six years,” Khian said, his tone serious. “People change. He’s not the same kid who left. You can’t expect everything to be like it was.”
“I know that,” Ella said, a little defensive. “But he’s still Ethan.”
Khian didn’t look convinced. “Just... don’t get your hopes up, okay? You don’t know what he’s been through, or why he’s back. People come back for all kinds of reasons.”
Ella didn’t know what to say to that, so she stayed quiet, picking at the edge of the table.
Khian’s words echoed in her mind as they left the school. She knew he was just looking out for her, like he always did, but it didn’t make it any easier to deal with. Ethan was back, and no matter how much Khian warned her, she couldn’t help but hope maybe things could go back to the way they were.