Cara's POV
God, I didn’t want to be here.
Not in this venue. Not in this dress. And not especially surrounded by my old enemies from highschool.
If I could’ve just skipped out on the whole reunion thing, I would’ve. But Lily, my best friend, insisted.
“Come on, Cara. It’s just one night,” she said, dragging me out of my apartment and into her car.
The worst part was that this was my last night in this country. After years of avoiding this town, building a life away from high school trauma and everything that came with it, I was finally leaving.
New job, new everything. I was finally achieving the dreams I had worked my entire life for.
Tomorrow morning, I would be on a plane to a new city, starting fresh.
And If I’d had my way, I would’ve quietly slipped out of the country without looking back. But Lily, with her persistence, had convinced me that this reunion—this night—was important.
She said it’d be fun. She said it’d be cathartic. But she didn’t get it.
High school was a nightmare I was happy to forget. The taunts, the whispers, the teasing... all of it had faded into huge insecurities.. The last thing I wanted to do was walk back into that world, even if it was just for a night.
I wasn’t that awkward, shy girl anymore, though. That much was certain. But still, the thought of facing my old classmates—most of whom had probably not thought about me since graduation—made my stomach churn
I glanced at my reflection in the glass.
God, I looked good.
The dress stuck to my body in all the right places. I’d spent hours picking it out, and even though it felt a little too much—too revealing, too for a night like this—I had to admit I looked like far more better than my highschool self.
Even Lily, who'd spent the last two days hyping me up, couldn't wipe the impressed grin off her face when she saw me.
“See? You’re going to kill it,” she’d said with a wink.
I didn’t feel like killing anything. But I did feel something different. Something new. Something I didn’t have in high school. Confidence.
I could do this. I had to do this. It was a matter of pride. I was no longer the nerdy loser who sat at the back of the classroom with a book, pretending to understand the jokes being made at me.
I had made something of myself. I had built a life for myself—away from the small town, away from the people who made me feel small.
It was time to show them.
“Ready?” Lily asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she pressed the door open, holding it for me. She was already the life of the party, she had this charm that always made her the center of attention.
“Do I have a choice?” I said, forcing a smile.
She chuckled, pushing me forward, and we stepped into the room.
The ballroom was buzzing with chatter and laughter. The scent of many perfume and cologne hung in the air.
I scanned the room, feeling many eyes on me. I didn't recognize most of them, which, admittedly, was probably for the best. They had been ghosts to me, and I had been one to them.
Except for him.
I froze for a split second, As I spotted a familiar face slid through the crowd. I could spot him from a mile away. Even now, years later, he still had that same effortless confidence. That same aura of a man who could walk into any room and own it.
God, why was he here? Of course, he was here at the reunion. High school was the where we’d spent so many memories— where I’d first fallen for him. Ethan. My ex. My first love.
He was the quarterback, the golden boy, and I was the nerd, always sitting in the back of the classroom, with my nose buried in books.
He was the one who defended me when the world was cruel, the one who stuck up for me even when it meant taking on the bullies.
But we were just kids, and kids don’t always know what they need. We’d loved each other, but the world pulled us in different directions, as it always does.
I hadn’t seen him since graduation. Not once. I blocked him out of my life completely after we broke up. And yet, here he was, sitting in this room like he was still the same Ethan—the boy I used to know, the one I thought would be my forever.
I hated that I still remembered it. The way he’d held me in his arms after our first kiss behind the bleachers, the way he’d always found a way to make me laugh, even when I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere. But then we had parted ways, and the memories had become bittersweet.
I could still hear his voice calling out my name, telling me not to leave, but I had left anyway. I had chosen my future over him, and now here we were—two strangers in a room full of shared history.
“Is that… Ethan?” Lily’s voice broke through my thoughts, and I looked up to see her grinning.
“Of course,” I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest.
Lily wasn’t paying attention to my discomfort. “Wow. He looks… great,” she said.
Great? Really? That’s what she had to say about him? After everything?
