***

Luke felt like he had just punched himself. What was wrong with him? He should have just gone over to Ellie's place when he had first reached. Now it was probably too late. She would never speak to him again. How could he prove to her that he really had missed her? Especially since he had more than missed her. He was almost on the verge of crumbling.

Luke wondered whether to get her a gift, but Ellie had never been materialistic. He thought of various ways to make up to her but gave up at the thought of each of his feeble ideas. Presents Ellie loved, but not those from people she didn't like. She was as stubborn as they come, one of the many things he found attractive about her. He decided he would talk to Mrs. Allen, Ellie's mother and see what he could do. Luke regretted ever thinking Ellie didn't need him. She did, she had made that clear. He felt a sort of strange satisfaction at the thought that Ellie still missed him even after two whole years. Would it have been different if he hadn't moved away? Probably. But things never played out conveniently. Perhaps him moving away would finally let him expose his feelings. He would never have admitted how much he liked her if he had stayed. Everything happens for the best really, he thought to himself, even the saddest of it all.

Then he suddenly remembered that Ellie's eighteenth birthday was only a week away. What could he get her that made up for his mistakes and brought them closer? Something special of course. He hunted through his stuff in his bedroom, finding boxes of old photographs, fairy lights and string. He knew exactly what to do.

So immersed was he in his new occupation, he did not notice how late into the evening it was.