"Kellin?"

The second I hear that voice is like I'm being punched in the gut.

I look up from the book I was checking out and all the air leaves my lungs when I confirm my suspicion of who it is, but I try really hard not to let it show.

"Oh my gosh, it is you," he walks towards me and suddenly I find myself standing in front of Vic Fuentes.

Holy. Shit.

I've lost count of how many years it's been since we last saw each other, but it's definitely been a long, long time. He looks different now, grown up. His hair is much shorter than how he used to carry it, barely reaching his chin now, and his cheeks have gotten a bit chubby. But it's like his essence is still the same. He's kept his nose ring. And his clothing style is definitely the same. Snapback, cotton t-shirt, battered jeans, pair of Vans. Signature Vic style.

He smiles at me and I don't know how, but I smile back.

"I– Oh my God," I stammer out, internally shaking my head at how long it took me to reply. "Vic, hey."

"Hi!" He tries to come in for a hug but I hesitate and he stops himself, then feeling bad for rejecting him, I go for the embrace again despite this being awkward enough.

We hug for half a millisecond and I hold my breath.

"I can't believe this, it's been what, fifteen years?" Vic asks as we pull away.

I laugh a bit to decrease my discomfort and nod. Wow. I think it's really been fifteen years. That is a lot of time.

"Yeah, I think so," comes my reply. I'm still smiling. I don't know why. It was always easy to smile around him, I guess. "How have you been?"

"Oh you know, work, family, usual stuff." He says nonchalantly, waving his hands around. "I was just looking for something new to read, and there you were."

"And here I was," I chuckle and internally shake my head again. "What were you buying?"

"I was deciding between these two," he shows me the two paperbacks in his hands and I nod. I've read those two. Both are amazing. I'm glad he still has good taste.

"Go for Murakami, you won't like the other one it's too slow-burn for you," I say without thinking my words through. He laughs and leaves the book I called slow back on the shelf.

"Sorry, I mean, I don't know what you read now or..." I try to fix what I said. That was a too personal comment for someone you haven't seen in more than a decade.

"That's alright," he says and smiles at me. "I was leaning towards this one anyway."

"Great," I reply quickly and nod my head. I'm nodding way too much. "I think you're going to like it."

"Right, I'd forgotten how you've probably read all the books in this library," he teases and I almost, almost, blush.

"Not all of them," I retort. "Maybe 75%, give or take."

He snorts and I laugh too, earning ourselves a dirty look from the lady at the checkout counter.

"But seriously, read that one it's going to blow your mind," I say finally. He looks at the cover and turns it around.

"Yeah, I think I will." He agrees and looks up at me again. "What were you going to get?"

I show him the hardcover in my hand. "I wanted to read a new release best seller, and I think this one could be it."

"Seems cool," Vic says reading the cover. "If you judge it by the cover."

"Yeah, I might keep looking, though."

I could feel the conversation dying now which makes me glad. I don't know what else to talk to him about. Actually, I could ask him a million things, but it feels like I lost the ability to form words.

I always thought I'd knew what to say to him if I ever saw him again. Obviously I had no idea what I was thinking. Nothing could've prepared me for this moment. I guess running into your ex boyfriend is bound to be awkward no matter what.

"Well, I'll leave you to it then." Vic says, still with that golden smile of his. "It was so nice to see you again, Kellin."

I smile at him and nod. "Yeah, you too, Vic. Take care."

He gives me one last smile and walks on the opposite direction, and I finally let go of the breath I didn't know I was holding.

Holy shit. Those are the only words running through my head right now. Holy shit. Vic Fuentes, my high school boyfriend from literally a life-time ago.

This was definitely weird and uncalled for, Universe.

I shake a head a bit and try to compose myself. I really thought I'd never, ever see him again. But here he was. Here. In this library. In Michigan. Wow. Okay. I'm making a big deal out of this, when it clearly isn't. I'm just surprised, I guess. I mean, what are the chances of being back home at the same time that he is? This is insane.

Trying to avoid further thoughts, I leave the book back on the shelf and walk to the next aisle, focusing once again on the task at hand.

Okay, this one is way more up my alley. The Horror and Thriller section. I really want to find something that will have me hooked from beginning to end and at the edge of my seat the whole time I'm reading it. It's been a while since I read one of those and I clearly need the distraction.

My head keeps going back to Vic, though. It's chilling how I don't know anything about him anymore. As he doesn't know anything about me either. Just how different is he now? Personality wise I don't think much has changed. Or at least I hope not. He was always so kind and strong willed, but I don't think I remember much about our time together anymore.

He's probably married now or something. He always wanted a family. He did mention family when we talked. I didn't think to check for a ring on his finger, though. But why would I even do that? And why am I thinking about this?

I shake my head again and sigh. I'm being stupid. Let's just not think about this ever again and focus on the books. Okay. I can do that.

So after I spend at least twenty minutes debating on my choice of books I finally settle for a novel and head to the checkout counter, glad to have finally accomplished my mission of the day.

When I reach my car in the parking lot, I check the time on my phone before opening my door. And I don't know what comes over me but something makes me glance to my right and of course, I look up just in time to see Vic Fuentes again.

He's walking towards... me? What is he doing? I brush the hair out of my eyes and frown. This wind, I swear. He keeps walking to me, and I truly don't know what to do. I feel frozen in place and I wish I could just get in the car and drive away like any normal person would, but I can't and I don't.

And I think he must have noticed my face scrunched up in confusion because he gives me a loud laugh and points behind me.

"My car's right there," he yells, his keys in one hand and a bag on the other.

I instantly turn around and look at the black car parked a few spots down from mine and I frown deeper. God, I'm so stupid. Thank you Universe, again. I look back at him and shake my head.

"Of course," I say and I don't have to yell because he's in front of me again. "For a second there I thought you were going to say something to me."

He laughs, but makes no sign of walking away. "You looked like you wanted to throw up."

I glance away and shake my head again, hoping that my blush isn't that noticeable.

"Yeah, well, who knows what you were going to do."

"Absolutely nothing," he smirks and I roll my eyes. Who is this guy? Literally. I don't know a thing about this person, yet he is so extremely familiar all at the same time and it annoys me so much. "Did you buy your book?"

I show him the bag in my hand and nod. "Yeah, finally I did. Did you buy yours?"

He pulls up his own bag and smiles. "I got your rec and a few more as well."

I nod not really knowing what else to do. I look around for a bit and I can feel his stare on me. I wonder what he's thinking about right now. Do I look different to him? I don't think I've changed much since high school. At least not drastically. Now I definitely dress better and my hair is a little more tamed. Other than that, has something really changed about me?

"Hey," he catches my attention. "Want to go get coffee?" He glances at his watch and shakes his head. "Or what about lunch?"

My eyebrows shoot up. "Oh," I manage, mostly because now I really don't know what to say. Lunch? Do I want to have to lunch with Vic Fuentes?

"Only if you're not busy or anything," he chimes in and I shake my head.

"No, that's alright, it's Saturday after all." I reply and mentally face palm myself. I've never been the greatest liar. "Lunch sounds cool."

I guess we're doing that.

"Great! Where should we go? Wait, is Johnnie's still running?" He asks, as if I knew. I'm only back home because I'm visiting my sister and I've been back in Michigan for a total of two days.

But a wave of nostalgia rushes through me at the mention of our favorite diner when we were in high school. We used to go almost every day. He would always manage to convince the waitresses to give us extra fries with our orders and that always cracked me up. They all had a crush on Vic. You could see that from a mile away. He knew that, I knew that, they knew that. And I always prided myself thinking how they could never have something on him. He only had eyes for me. Or that's what he claimed anyway.

I shrug. "We can go find out."

He smiles again. "I'll lead the way," he says as he walks away towards his car. "I think I still remember the address." He jokes walking backwards.

"Alright," I chuckle and open the door of my car, throwing the bag on the passenger seat.

At least he didn't offer to take me or anything. I don't think I could handle being alone in a car with him again. Too weird. Too many memories.

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A/n: heyyy! Here, have some 2020 Kellic (in reality this is set in like 2024/2025 but yeah). If you haven't watched the movie this is based on, well you're in for a trip. I twisted some things to fit the story, but I still hope you like it. And I hope I don't make you sad, this whole story is kind of sad. Sorry in advance.
Thank you for reading!💞