A/N: Thank you for 1,130+ reads!! Just a random question while I'm writing for my Draco Malfoy fic, if you're a HP fan, what house are you in? Slytherin since day one over here :)
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liked by blakelively and others...
luckypenny my mood when long video conference calls are finally done! but it was good seeing my originals fam 💕 & don't let the top half of my outfit fool you, i was definitely wearing sweatpants 😂🤷🏻‍♀️

claireholt i was wearing sweats too 😂
↳ phoebejtonkin me too hahaha
↳ luckypenny great mind think alike! ☺️

random1 SO. PRETTY. 😍😍😍😍
↳ luckypenny thank you my love 💕

chalametsource ok i've worked it out and i'm pretty sure that luckypenny knows tchalamet. if she's friends with pauline.chalamet then she has to know him too right
↳ random2 they'd be so cute together!!

pauline.chalamet OoOoooh WOW 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
↳ luckypenny ☺️💕

~ third person pov ~

once they finished the video call and penny stood up from the desk chair, she realized it was already 2:00. as much as she was half dreading meeting timothée, she still didn't want to be rude and be late. but she also knew that she was definitely too dressed up, at least up top anyway, so she quickly went to her closet and found an outfit that was a little more casual. although it was the middle of january, it was still very cold in new york so she opted for something warm and casual.

penny quickly took off her makeup and just applied some concealer. she didn't want to seem weird and show up in leggings and a shirt, but also a full face of makeup seemed a little too much

when she looked at the time again, she saw that it was already 2:15.

not wanting to be any later, she quickly put on her shoes, grabbed her wallet and headed out the door. the bookshop / cafe was a short walk away and she ended up getting there in just under 7 minutes.

when she walked through the front door, a wave of nostalgia hits her. after discovering the place her freshman year of high school, penny used to go there all the time. now it was maybe once or twice a year.

"penny!" marcus, the shop owner, comes out from behind the counter and greets me with a bear hug. "i miss you, long time no see!"

"i miss you too!" penny smiles, genuinely happy to see the older man. "sorry i haven't been back in a while."

"it's okay, you're a big star! we watch your show every week. i might be a little biased, but davina is my favorite," he chuckles. "timmy said you guys would be coming by, upstairs is all yours. glad to see you both are friends again, broke my heart when you two stopped talking," he sighs, probably remembering when she came in trying to look for a new book, but actually ended up crying as she told him they were no longer together.

he seemed happy after that last sentence, and penny didn't have it in her to tell him that they're not actually friends again. after chatting for a couple more minutes, he says "you shouldn't keep your boy waiting!" and ushers her to the back room with the stairs that lead to the cafe's seating area.

for a second, she contemplates just going back home. but knowing it'll only cause more drama if she does, she take a deep breath and slowly makes her way upstairs.

right as she reaches the top step, her phone pings with a text from her lovely sister.

[ "use protection!" // "i'm going to kill you 🙃" ]

"penny," just him saying her name forced penny from her thoughts once again, and when she look up, they make eye contact.

"hi," she suddenly feels very nervous, but doesn't fully know why. she's standing in front of the boy who broke her heart, they went from being inseparable to not speaking at all literally overnight. so why does she have butterflies?

he stands up and gives her a hug, though unlike marcus, his is shy and unsure.

i miss this, she thinks to herself. fuck. why do i miss him?

they sit across from each other at one of the little small tables, and penny quickly hates how awkward things are. they used to be able to talk for hours and hours, or when it was silent it was a comfortable silence. now, they both hate this.

"why'd you do it?" penny is the first to break the silence, asking the question that's been at the back of her mind since they broke up.

"penny, i'm sorry i—"

she cuts him off. "no. i don't want an apology anymore, i'm long past wanting that. you said you wanted to talk, so let's be adults and just skip the bullshit where you pretend to be sorry."

"but i am sorry, i swear!"

"timothée," she can tell even just his name causes him to tense up. she always called him timmy, or t, from the day we met. "we were friends for years, then we started dating and i obviously thought you really liked me. we even said we loved each other. then out of nowhere, for me at least but you obviously planned it, you broke up with me. i know that excuse you gave me was a lie, it wasn't because you were going to be busy, because we'd already graduated and were both busy but we did just fine. so don't come here and say you're sorry. if you were sorry you would've at least given me a real explanation back then. now i just want to know why."

"i... i..." he's unsure of what to say, but now that she's there, owning has got plenty to say and has no problem filling the silence.

"do you remember teaching me how to drive?" she asks, not waiting for an answer. "i refused to learn when we were in school because we were in new york and people take the subway everywhere anyway, so there was no need for a car. but then you taught me when we were both home at the same time for christmas in 2015. and even though i didn't plan on driving whenever i was in new york, because i prefer the subway when i'm home, you got excited and said we'd both probably be in california a lot for work and if we could both drive, we could pick each other up from the airport."

they stay silent for a minute, remembering.

"not even a week after i got my license, we were both back to work and suddenly you broke up with me," she laughs, but there's no humor behind it. "did you know you were going to do it, back then?"

"no, i promise i didn't plan it."

"then why? because i know we weren't perfect, no couple but But you really had me fooled. i hadn't felt that way about anyone before, and you had me thinking i was special to you and that—"

"you were special to me. you still are. i was just scared, okay?" he lets out a loud sigh and puts his head in his hands.

"of what??"

"did i ever tell you what my first thought was when i saw you at school, for the first time?" he answers her question with another question.

"where is this going?"

"did i ever tell you?" he continues on when penny shakes her head no. "my first thought was that you're so fucking beautiful. i had dated before, but you know when you're not even a teenager yet, it doesn't really count. before you, my other 'relationships' probably couldn't even be considered relationships because we were so young and didn't even know anything. but i turned to whatever friend i was with at the time and pointed to you. and when i got home from school that day i told pauline i just met the girl i was going to marry. it didn't matter that we were only fourteen. and i never thought you'd be interested in me. it's why it took me so long to ask you out."

"you never told me that," penny looks down, now unsure of what to say. and she still has no idea what this is leading to.

"it's true, you can ask pauline. and then we became friends and i thought i was the luckiest guy in the world just because you talked to me. but i was wrong. i became the luckiest guy in the world when i asked you to be my girlfriend. i couldn't believe you said yes. and i got scared of how serious we were. suddenly we weren't just kids in high school. we were adults with big jobs and barely saw each other."

"so rather than talk to me about it, like an adult, you decide oh i'll just break up with her!"

"no that wasn't it and i..."

"you what?"

"i thought you'd get tired of the long distance and that you'd end up leaving me."

"oh i see. so decided to just beat me to the punch then."

"i know it sounds stupid."

"because it is stupid." she finally stands up, not wanting to hear another word.

"penny wait, please."

she reluctantly sits back down to hear him out. but after a moment of awkward silence, she speaks up.

"look, i appreciate you telling me why you broke up with me, and thank you again for the flowers, but i think we've said all that needs to be said. you didn't trust me or care about me enough to have a civil conversation about the future. you thought you were better off breaking up with me first because you were so sure that i was going to break up with you. i wasn't going to," she shakes her head sadly. "you know i was going to surprise you, that weekend?"

"what?" he looks up.

"yeah, we had two weeks off from filming the originals and i had coordinated with pauline, she made sure you didn't have any plans for the weekend."

"why didn't you come?" she can tell he regrets asking that question the moment the words leave his mouth.

"are you serious? why would i have? so that we could break up all over again, this time in person instead of over a phone call?" she throws her hands up, partly in frustration, and partly because she doesn't know what else to say.

"penny..."

"i really do appreciate you finally telling me. but you have no idea what that did to me. i was lucky i had two weeks off of work. for a long time i was heartbroken. and i thought about it everyday, going over every possible thing i could've done wrong. i was so sure it was something i did because you were this sweet, kind, perfect guy and you wouldn't just break my heart for no reason. i forced myself to stop thinking about it all the time. but now i know, and if i ever think about it again, now i know that it wasn't my fault. it was good to see you again, but i don't think i can be friends," penny whispers that last part as she stands up.

timothée stands up and takes a step toward her, but penny shakes my head, no. "don't. please. we both got closure, sort of. and i know you wanted to be friends, but knowing that you thought that little of me, of us, that you couldn't even talk to me about how you were feeling... i can't. i'm sorry. thank you telling me, but i should go."

and before he can reply, penny grabs her bag and practically back downstairs and out of the shop.

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