Begin Again

[ I hope this is the thread I'm meant to post on, if not, oops ]

There seemed to be any time now where relaxing seemed possible. Marvel had been so determined to just sweep him up off his feet, and whisk him around during promotions... The movie offers kept falling into his lap. To be honest, it was nice to be back home. With Thanksgiving approaching, he was looking forward to spending time surrounded by loved ones. He was looking forward to some sense of normality for a while. At least in New York city, it was easy to blend in. He'd woken earlier than expected that morning, not used to being able to lie in bed instead of getting up to train, or read, or film. So equipped with the most normal looking outfit he could manage, Sebastian had resolved to take an early morning stroll around some familiar neighbourhoods.

[It is ]
Although Ellie had been living in Manhattan for about a year now, there were still times when the whole thing just felt both bittersweet and surreal. Bittersweet because she'd always imagined that, when she came here, whether it was a permanent move or just for a weekend trip, Sebastian would be by her side. And surreal because she was actually here. Manhattan was a place that they'd always talked about visiting someday. And, whenever they did talk about it, it was never "I" it was always "we". Because they used to do everything together. They were practically inseparable. And that was how things were from the moment she socked Joey Andrews in the face when they were twelve for poking fun at the accent Seb had at the time.

It had never been the plan to give up on his dream with Ellie. It definitely wasn't how he imagined things to go... He'd never really expected a break through in his career, and from TV shows to films, he'd been plucked from any life that he had imagined for himself in the first place. Now it just felt nice to have his feet firmly planted back on the ground, back home. No matter how long he spent away from New York, it always felt like home to come back to, like nothing had ever changed. It just disappointed him that he lost contact with so many people, and that he'd no longer see them every day. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to them, it would just be hard to find the time.

Over time, a lot of things changed. They got older. Personalities changed. Accents were lost. And crooked teeth were fixed with braces, but they had always been a staple in the other's life. Until about midway through their sophomore year in college. Ellie learned of a study abroad program that Rutger's was offering in London. It was another place on the list that she and Sebastian had come up with. A list of all the places they'd planned on seeing together. And Ellie was kind of hesitant for a while. She didn't tell Seb about the program right away, but when she did, he told her that she had to go. And she did. But things got crazy and hectic, as they always do in college, and with an entire ocean between them, and Sebastian's acting career picking up, it was hard for the two best friends to stay in touch. And now, nearly a decade later, Ellie found herself thinking about her old best friend. There were random things about the city that reminded her of him. Things that probably shouldn't have. But she didn't know how to stop those reminders from happening, and she simply tried to ignore them as best as she could.

There may have been many things about years in college that Sebastian had forgotten about, but the night Ellie told him she was going away on the programme was one that had always stuck with him. She had always been his best friend, the rough and tumble girl who didn't take shit from anyone. But for some reason, it hurt more than he thought possible. He remember sitting on her bed, one leg tucked underneath him as he watched her pace the room, trying to think of a way to tell him. She was nervous, and so was he. In his mind, they'd always be best friends. She'd be one of the first women on his arm when he walked down the red carpet, he'd promised her that. So to hear she was going away, it crushed him. He forced a smile, he acted enthusiastic and supportive. He was, he wanted the best for her... but at the same time, Sebastian didn't want to see her go. Waving her off at the airport, and that one last farewell hug before she disappeared through to her gate was enough to make his chest feel like it was caving in. So he threw himself into acting, and fought his way into a career. Now though, he was happy to be home. Dipping into one of his favourite independent coffee shops in Manhattan, Sebastian was looking forward to having a few normal days off. Time to spend with friends and family.

Ellie sort of wished that she'd made more of an effort. That she'd tried to make more time to call him.That she'd tried responding to his emails more frequently. That she'd just made more time for him in general. Because Sebastian had been her best friend. He'd been there for her through everything. All the ups and the downs in her life. And she'd been there for him too. But she'd let life get the best of her. She'd let life get in the way of one of the most important relationships in her life. But there was nothing that she could do about that now. It was in the past, and she wasn't someone who dwelled on the past too much. It wasn't like she'd likely be able to get ahold of him now. He'd probably gotten his number changed, and with his acting career really taking off, yes, she'd sort of followed what had been happening in his life, she doubted that his number would be listed in the phone book either.

Checking the time, she figured that she'd head home. She'd been in the studio for most of the day now, working out a couple of new ideas, and editing photos for a few of her previous shoots. She wasn't one of those people who were considered workaholics. She enjoyed her work, but she tried to add in some fun somewhere along the way too. So, she closed everything up and headed out. She took the subway uptown, like she did every afternoon, though instead of just heading straight to her apartment, she decided to stop into a coffee shop she found herself walking past almost every single morning and evening. She'd been meaning to stop in, but she just hadn't...until now.

Leaning on the end counter, Sebastian took a moment to think about what he wanted to do whilst he was in New York. See his mother, undoubtedly... Catch up with people, attend his old fitness sessions, maybe self-indulge in some shopping... There was so much to do, no matter how normal people saw all of it, he just couldn't wait. He didn't have any events to attend, any interviews to do, any comic cons to make an appearance at. He loved all of that. He loved meeting people who were as passionate about his work as he was, but the idea of normality for a while was probably the most exciting of it all. He straightened, idly tapping the counter top as he wanted for his coffee. He wasn't impatient, or trying to hurry anything. For once, he was just stood around, waiting. No one was whisking him away in front of cameras, or urging him to hurry up... He could just wait, and think freely. It was almost strange.

As Ellie waited for her coffee, her phone started ringing. Slipping it out of her pocket, she saw her mother's number flashing across the screen. She mentally cursed herself, realizing that she hadn't returned her mother's call from earlier on that week. Her mom had wanted to know if she'd be heading home, to Upstate New York, for Thanksgiving, which was the following Thursday. And she'd never gotten back to her on it. "Hey mom..." Her lower lip caught between her teeth as she waited for her mother to respond on the other end and probably ream her out or something.

It wasn't necessarily that Sebastian recognised her voice. It sounded familiar, but it wasn't an instant recognition... But hearing someone speak prompted him to look up, to glance over at who was talking. People watching, that's all it was. What he saw was more surprising than expecting. It had never occurred to him that Ellie would be back in New York, or that she would even be in the same area as him. He never truly realised what a small world it was... And he wasn't sure what the was supposed to do. Part of him wanted to run over, to sweep her up in his arms and spin her around like he used to... And part of him felt like he couldn't do that anymore, that it wasn't his place. It felt like some weird, bitter break up that he'd never moved on from. He had dated, he had dated plenty of girls since getting his break. Subconsciously, they were always compared to Ellie. Trying to figure out what he was supposed to do in that situation, he didn't quire realise that he was staring at her.

"Yeah, I know. I was going to call you--things have just been kind of crazy here..." Ellie admitted, a sheepish expression on her face. As she listened to her mother talk, she couldn't help feeling eyes on her. Glancing around the small coffee shop, she locked eyes with someone. Someone who looked extremely familiar. Someone who, even though she hadn't seen him years, she would recognize no matter what. For a brief moment, she forgot that she was on the phone with her mother. "Mom, I'll call you back in a few minutes, okay?" She didn't wait for her mother's response, hanging up the phone rather abruptly.

[The Gucci commercial with Chris just came on ]

[ Oh god, that commercial. ]

"Ellie," Sebastian finally spoke, straightening in his spot. There was no confusion or hesitation in his voice, just excitement at seeing his friend. Of course he would recognise her, now that they had locked eyes in that coffee shop. There was no way he could miss her, and in all honesty, it didn't feel like they hadn't seen each other in years... Not to him at least, there was just something about her that clicked for him. Other than her name, he didn't know what else to say; "Sorry I didn't call, I was busy crying and kissing boys on screen." He had no reason for not calling her, and now that he finally saw her, he realised he should have made more effort to stay in contact with her.

[I totally wasn't prepared for it at all. ]

Ellie couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that Sebastian was standing there right in front of her. She couldn't believe that, out of all the coffee shops in Manhattan, he happened to be in the same exact one that she was in at the same exact time. Hell, she couldn't believe that he was in Manhattan too. A place that they had both planned on going to together, and now here they were. Both in Manhattan, and both in this small coffee shop. At the same time. "Sebastian..." She breathed, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She was at a loss for words. Without thinking twice about it, she closed the short distance between them and pulled him into a tight hug.

[ It's a killer, that's for sure ]

It didn't even bother Sebastian that she hugged him so abruptly. His immediate reaction was to hug her back just as tightly, lifting her off the ground slightly as he did. It felt like such a relief to finally see her again, to know that she was okay. He hadn't stopped thinking about her over the years, wondering where she was or if she was doing alright... But there had always been things that got in the way of speaking to one another. Having spent his time shaking hands with professionals and constantly meeting new people, it was a nice change to be able to see someone he knew. Sebastian set her down and drew back after a moment, a wide grin across his face. "Look at you," He laughed softly, his hands going to cup her face gently. "Your hair grew out..."

Ellie let out a quiet laugh, a smile playing upon her lips, as he lifted her up off the ground. She honestly couldn't believe that Sebastian was really there. Such a small world it really was! She had always hoped that she would see him again, but she knew the likelihood of that actually happening was extremely small. Of all the coffee shops in all of the cities in the world...how did they both manage to be in the same one at the same exact time? "Look at me? Look at you! When did you get all muscly?" She poked his chest lightly.

Sebastian glanced down at his chest when she poked him, another small laugh escaping his lips. "You can thank Bucky Barnes and Marvel Studios for that..." It was since getting his big break that he'd taken care of himself more. More shirtless scenes had a higher demand for a more desirable physique... But it was the rigorous physical training that had bulked him up like this. It was no secret that Sebastian had gone through a complete transformation since high school. No one really ever expected him to look... Well, like this. "What're you getting?" He asked after a moment, looking back at the menu behind the counter. "It's on me."

"That's right, you're Mr. Bigshot Actor now." Ellie said, her tone light and teasing. While she may not have stayed in contact with Sebastian, she had noticed his increase in fame. It was kind of hard not to when she turned on the TV every once and a while and saw none other than her old best friend on some talk show. And that was pretty weird actually. The first time it happened, she was caught completely off guard. "I was going to get a chai tea latte, but you don't have to pay for my drink, Seb. It's fine." She told him, not even realized that she'd slipped right back into using the old nickname that she'd come up with when they were younger.

"Don't be ridiculous El," Sebastian grinned, pulling his wallet out from his back pocket. The nickname was one that he had missed, something that a lot of people didn't get to call him unless they were really close to him. Ellie must have been one of the first people to ever call him that. "Let Mr. Bigshot Actor treat you to a chai tea latte, it's the least I can do." The amount of times Ellie had bought him lunch, or a coffee, when he had spent what little money he had on getting to an audition or trying to get some decent quality headshot had been lost on him. He spent most of his time thanking her, and promising that he would pay her back for it one day. Now that he actually had the opportunity, he was going to.

Ellie smiled. "Alright, if you insist..." She said. She knew what he was doing. It was his way of making up for all of the different times that she'd helped him out when they were younger. The gesture was certainly a sweet one to say the least, though she had never really expected him to pay her back. She just never felt as though it were necessary. He was her best friend, so of course she'd help him out whenever she could. It was an unspoken rule for being a good friend that everyone already seemed to know about. Or so she assumed anyway.

"Trust me, I insist." Sebastian smiled, fishing a few bills out of his wallet to pay the barista. "When did you come back to New York?" He asked after a moment, genuinely interested in what had happened since they had lost contact with one another. They'd gone their separate ways, and not necessarily by choice... They had so much to catch up on, and Sebastian wanted to hear everything about it.