The air was cool as I took a step out of my flat. It softly blew against my bare arms; I was only in a tank top and some denim shorts due to the nearing summer. My key rings clinked together as I locked the door behind me and I smiled weakly at the dangling miniature LP record I had received from Noah before I had moved.

We had relocated south to Stamford - away from my north eastern roots and away from him. My mum had insisted on moving further south but I knew the first place Zach would search would be right at the other end of the country.

Soon after, I had 'lost' contact with him. I knew that talking to Noah would only create a loophole, allowing Zach to find me.

My eighteenth birthday swung around so fast it didn't even feel real. How could two years have already passed? All I wanted to do was find Zach, and tell him I had waited for him. I was finally eighteen and we could be together. Yet, every attempt at finding him was useless. Karen had clearly used all her power to block any contact information being leaked. I was distraught, but my mother and Aunt Pat insisted that perhaps it was for the best.

That weekend, Alyssa had come to visit me for my oh-so-exciting eighteenth party and met the few friends I had allowed myself to meet in college. First up was Lachlan, who used his Glaswegian heritage to lure and charm any girl who had a soft spot for his Scot accent - thankfully Alyssa was immune...I think. Then there was Imogen, who kept to herself, collecting any games and comics she could find and last but not least, Oscar - his father was a Wilde fan, so naturally had named his son accordingly.

Despite their best efforts, it was clear I had no desire to abuse my new adult status and get ridiculously drunk. The whole thing was like a poorly executed charade, a charade I had to go along with - so I did - I got so out of my mind on vodka, cider and various other cocktails I was almost in another universe dancing to ACDC's Back in Black.

Another year went by, and contact with Alyssa was minimal at best. She didn't have the money or the time to keep visiting, since she was in university like me, and had found her own set of friends. After a few more months, we just stopped speaking altogether. I never held it against her and we still had each other as friends on every social network site we used, but I knew we would never be as close as we were.

A year through my Classical Civilisation course and after Alyssa and I had stopped speaking, Imogen and I had decided to find a part time job, for the days we didn't have classes. I needed the extra money to furnish my dump of a flat - I was sleeping on a single mattress on the floor since my rickety bed frame had decided to break in half as I was sleeping on it - and she needed the money for her ever increasing game and comic collection.

After applying for at least twenty part time jobs, we were finally accepted at a pub in town called The Pegasus. I was part of the bar staff, and Imogen had bagged herself a waitressing position. For the first time in three years, the constant presence of him had begun to fade from my mind. The fourth year passed, and I still kept myself busier than ever.

My boots hit the pavement quietly as I sauntered past the different houses. A tinny rendition of the Bloodhound Gang rang out from my side and I hastily dug my hand into the brown leather satchel that hung from my right shoulder and curled my fingers around my phone before swiping the screen to answer.

"Louise?" Imogen's small voice echoed from the small speaker. It was still strange hearing my full name out loud so often - after moving to Stamford, I had decided to introduce myself as Louise, nothing more, nothing less. I wanted to leave Lou behind. All I ever thought when my mother called me that after that night was the way he screamed my name and begged me to wait. It was constant torture. So I left it in the north east, along with everything else.

"Phil wants me to do an extra shift tonight, doesn't he?" I sighed, clicking my tongue as I trod across the solid squares beneath my feet, playing a game with myself to avoid the cracks in the concrete like I was five years old again.

"Yeah, it's getting busier again because it's summer." She elaborated, her tone twisting into annoyance. "I have to work again tonight too. It's getting to a point where we're not even part time anymore. We've worked every day since the beginning of last week, and we both have class tomorrow morning."

"I know, but on the bright side, at least we have the extra money." I pointed out, convincing myself that the additional money was enough to keep me happy, even though I had been exhausted working nights for the past week and then studying during the day.

Phil was a nice enough man, even with his balding head, broad back and scarily stern grey eyes. He was usually fairer to us than this, but I knew he was struggling to keep up with the business and we kept trying to convince him to hire another person so we could catch a break. Oscar already had a job at Waterstones since his dad was the manager and Lachlan was too wild to be trusted behind a bar because he drank like a fish, and if he was a waiter I knew he'd only spend his shift chatting up girls when he was supposed to be working.

"I suppose." She agreed reluctantly. "I do need the extra money to save up for the PS4 and the Wii U."

"Gen, haven't you already got the Xbox One?" I asked, amused.

"Yes, but I need to have every next gen console." She insisted. "You know the new Zelda game is coming out sometime this year, I need to be ready-"

"Okay, okay, okay." I cut her off; before she went on a huge tangent about every game she wanted which would actually take forever. "I'll meet you there, give me five minutes, I'm halfway there."

The best part about my dump flat was because it really was close to the university campus which gave me an half an hour in bed.

"Wait, you're halfway there already?" she squeaked. "I just got out of bed!"

"I'm pretty sure we've already established the fact I live around the corner from the university." I chortled. Suddenly I heard a loud giggle, and thumps on the other end of the line.

"Sorry! I was supposed to get up earlier but my brother knocked the alarm off. Be there in fifteen! Get off my games! Isaac-" she yelled, and the line went dead.

I moved the phone away from my ear, slipping it back into my bag and laughing to myself. Isaac was her thirteen year old brother, who made her life a living hell. It was no wonder she was always late for work, university and anything else that came up. She still lived at home, since she preferred to spend her money on games rather than supporting a flat.

"Good morning to you gorgeous." The attempt at a charming Scottish greeting fell on deaf ears and I turned to face Lachlan, who was walking backwards at my side in acid washed jeans and a leather jacket. He had an old school look about him - but it was totally put on of course. He lived with his grandmother, who was trying to force him to go to etiquette lessons since she had lived in Stamford all of her life, and often struggled to comprehend his Scottish slang. He refused, and therefore dressed the way he did as another form of rebellion.

"Morning." I retorted blandly.

"Well, don't you look overjoyed to see me!" He laughed, taking a drag from his lit cigarette and blowing the smoke out into little rings from his lips. "I have so much talent it physically hurts."

"Please tell me you're not going to attempt to smoke on campus again." I groaned, spluttering as I accidentally breathed in the smoke.

"Attempt? I'm going to succeed baby, and reel in all those girls who have a thing for the bad boys!" he cracked a wink at me, combing a hand through his black curls and flipping up his leather jacket collar like he was a member of the T-Birds from Grease.

"Just so you know, I'm cringing badly here and so will all the girls on campus." I notified him.

"You're only cringing because you know you're secretly affected by this accent." He chuckled, plucking another cigarette from the box and tucking it behind his ear.

"No, that definitely confirmed it. Cringing. Badly." I deadpanned.

"Fine." He huffed as we got to the edge of the road in front of the campus, dropping his cigarette and stamping it out underneath his high tops.

I looked both ways meticulously, making sure no cars were even close before I decided to cross the road. I learned from my mistake last time. As for Lachlan, he had already crossed the road and was eyeing me suspiciously as I hurried across to meet him.

"Being cautious is normal you know, but aren't you a wee bit too cautious?" he questioned, laughing slightly but I could see in his forest eyes that he was silently concerned.

"Maybe." I agreed, shrugging his comment off as we walked through the gates.

Oscar was waiting on one of the benches, an open book in his hand. We strolled over, neither of us having said a word after the road comment, and our light haired friend looked up from the page he was previously concentrating on. He had a strange mixture of brown and blond hair, but his stubble seemed to grow in more brown than blond. He was dressed in a plain grey polo shirt and some beige shorts.

"What the fuck are you wearing?" Lachlan joked.

"Summer attire, my friend." Oscar stood up proudly.

"You do realise it's pretty hot today, and when you sweat in grey it'll show up straight away?" Lachlan pointed out.

"That's why I brought something called de-o-do-rant." Oscar spelled out, patting his backpack smugly.

"Deodorant only hides the smell, Os. Antiperspirant is the one that actually stops you sweating so much." Lachlan countered, grinning.

"Oh fuck off, it's not even that hot, I won't sweat." Oscar snapped.

That was the current thing between those two - Lachlan would plant the bait, and Oscar would go for it without question. It was a game Lachlan loved to play, but he eventually gave up on Imogen and I, so Oscar had became a continuous target.

"Breathe, people, breathe. We've only been here five minutes." I sighed, attempted to cool down the atmosphere.

As if on cue, an Imogen-like shape was running towards us at high speed, her straight black hair flailing around her face. She arrived at our feet from ten metres away in about ten seconds, which was a record for her.

"What did I miss?" she gasped.

"Nothing, they were being goons again." I rolled my eyes. "We'll see you later, our Classics lesson starts soon. Don't kill each other."

"Walk on, darling. Just means I get to look at that arse when you go." Lachlan drawled, and I glared at him, storming ahead. I was walking so fast that I suddenly heard a breathless voice behind me.

"Wait for me!"

My heart lurched, and I swung around quickly to attention. It only took a second to realise that it wasn't him, it was Imogen and I stilled, trying to look casual as she caught up.

"Are you okay?" she frowned. "You look a bit pale."

I forced a smile. "I'm fine, just tired off last night's shift."

But I wasn't fine. I was waiting. After four years, I hadn't dated a single soul. I refused to move on; I was twenty years old and in constant limbo. I was a fool. Four years later and I was still waiting.

Because he told me to wait for him...so I did.

________________________________________

Hello!

Since this was in demand so much, I decided to post the first chapter. Let me know what you think about the new 'Louise!'

Thanks so much for your support!

- R x