Begin Again

"And like the klutz you are, you somehow managed to walk into the fridge." Ellie said, letting out a quiet laugh. Clearly Sebastian hadn't changed very much in the last ten years. That sounded exactly like something he would've done back then too. "You? A total badass? Yeah right." She laughed once more, shaking her head slightly. "When I think badass, you're the last person I think of. Hate to break it to you." Her tone was light and teasing.

"I'm telling you!" He exclaimed, still laughing as they walked. It was as though nothing had changed between them, and that they'd spent little to no time away from each other. Sebastian had always been disappointed that he lost contact with her, with everything that she meant to him... He wouldn't be who he was today if he hadn't had her support throughout high school. "I'm pretty handy with a knife now-a-days... A plastic one, at least."

Ellie laughed. "You're telling me, but I refuse to believe a word you're telling me." She said as they walked. She was really glad that things clearly hadn't changed very much between them at all. It was nice knowing that, even with the amount of time they'd been apart, everything seemed exactly as it had been before. "Am I supposed to be impressed by that?" She asked, quirking a brow in his direction.

"C'mon, Ellie," Sebastian whined jokily, stomping his foot like a frustrated toddler. "At least pretend to be impressed, just once. Just give my ego that." For a while in high school, he had often sought approval from Ellie. He liked to know if his English was improving, or if his accent was becoming easier to understand. Those small moments of praise were like moments of acceptance, and it was something that filled him with confidence and pride. To know he was improving was always encouraging. He no longer sought that approval like he used to, and now he was able to laugh about it instead.

Ellie couldn't help laughing as she watched her friend with an amused expression on her face. There was nothing about seeing a man pouting and whining like a toddler that wasn't amusing. "Sorry, no can do. Wouldn't want to inflate your ego too much." She said, grinning slightly. She knew that this conversation was anything but serious. Back in high school, he would constantly seek her approval, but she knew that that wasn't the case anymore.

Shaking his head, he laughed once more. There was always a positive energy surrounding Ellie, and the influence she always seemed to have over him. It was impossible to be sad around her, even when being sad was justified. Sebastian could still remember standing with her family, hugging her goodbye before she set off for England. He should have been sad, and thinking back on it, he probably was... But more than anything, he was proud of her. It was a massive decision, one that he certainly would have been unable to make. He was proud of her for following her dreams, and doing what she wanted, despite how desperately he wanted her to stay. "Enough about me," Sebastian grinned, looking to his friend. "Had any of your own ego inflating moments?"

Ellie couldn't help smiling as she heard him laugh. Without even actually having to look at him, she knew that there was a smile on his face. A smile that she knew all too well. Because, when Sebastian smiled, it captured his entire face, reaching his eyes and causing them to crinkle up at the corners. "Define ego inflating moments." She said, the smile still on her face.

"I don't know, moments that made you proud..." Sebastian shrugged, taking the plastic lid off his cup of coffee so he could take a sip of the liquid more freely. "Or moments that made you think 'I can't wait to rub this in Sebastian's face!'" There had to be something that Ellie was dying to tell him about, and Sebastian didn't want to make their first meeting in years all about him. He wanted to know what Ellie had done with her life, all the things she had accomplished in the years. She was always destined for great things, and now was Sebastian's chance to hear all about it.

Ellie let out a quiet laugh in response to his words. "Moments that make me want to rub them in your face, huh?" She asked. She really didn't have to think too much about what her answer to his question would be. While things had been pretty crazy over the course of the last ten or so years, there had been several ups and down, she could definitely say that there were some things she'd accomplished that she was extremely proud of. "I have my own studio now."

Hearing that Ellie had set up her own studio was incredible for Sebastian. All he had ever wanted for her was to see her succeed, and to be happy. She had provided so much support over the years, and he only ever hoped he could support her back somehow. "That's incredible!" Sebastian grinned, pride shining through his smile. "What kind of work have you been doing? Get any commissions?"

Ellie smiled. She knew that Sebastian knew how much that meant to her. He knew that opening her own studio was a dream of hers, and it was honestly sort of surreal sometimes knowing that she'd actually succeeded. She'd been living her dream for about a year now, and it really just didn't feel like that at all sometimes. "Yeah..." She said. "A lot of freelance stuff. I do get some commissions though."

"You should shoot me sometime," Sebastian smiled at her softly, a moment of realisation processing on his features. "With your camera, I mean. Don't actually shoot me." He laughed, proving that he was indeed still the awkward dork Ellie knew he was. Sebastian had always been the biggest fan of her work, even when she had hated it herself. Just as she had supported his acting, Sebastian had always done his best to support her photography.

Ellie couldn't help laughing at his words. "I knew what you meant, the clarification wasn't necessary." She told him, shaking her head slightly. There was a smile on her face. She was just happy that Sebastian hadn't changed. He was still the same awkward dork that he'd been ten years before. It was just nice knowing that some things would never change. "Though I don't really know why I'd want to shoot your goofy face." She was only teasing obviously. That was actually a good idea. She was always looking for models for her shoots. It would probably be a lot of fun working with Sebastian.

"Woah, it's not goofy." He scoffed, though he took no offence to Ellie's comment. Goofy was probably a good way to describe Sebastian. He always wanted to make Ellie laugh, and smile, even on days when it seemed like it would be impossible. He was the type of guy who always looked for something to be happy about, and for something that they could laugh about. "Okay, it's a bit goofy... But not as goofy as it used to be in high school!"

"It totally is!" Ellie argued, unable to help laughing. His face certainly wasn't goofy, but if there was one word that she had to choose to describe Sebastian, goofy was definitely it. "Alright, maybe it's improved slightly..." There was a wide grin on her face as they walked. It was only then that she noticed that they were almost to her apartment building. The walk seemed a lot quicker when she had someone to talk and laugh with.

"It's not totally goofy!" Sebastian laughed again, mock offence present on his face. It was so secret that Sebastian had gone to some lengths to approve his appearance as he became more and more successful in his career. "Look I even had my teeth fixed." He grinned widely at Ellie. "I'm taking that as a compliment, you totally want a bit of me now." He joked, a smirk on his face as he walked along with her. There had always been rumours about the two of them in high school, especially about their relationship... They did joke around a lot, and people probably saw it as flirting. But they had always just been friends.

"Alright, it isn't totally goofy. Relax!" Ellie said, soft laughter escaping her lips. She'd noticed the improvement in his appearance the moment she spotted him in that coffee shop. She'd never had a problem with how he looked back in high school, though she knew that he needed to look a certain way for certain roles, and she was sure that getting in shape was kind of inevitable. She rolled her eyes slightly at his later words, a playful scoff escaping her lips. "Yeah, that's totally it." She said, sarcasm dripping from her words. "Don't go getting a big head or I'm just going to ignore you." She elbowed him lightly as they walked. "This is me." She added, spotting her building.

One thing Sebastian hadn't really anticipated when he had begun acting was the demand for shirtless scenes. It had put pressure on him to change, and to shape up. If anything, for his benefit rather than anyone else's... Acting had brought a new wave of confidence, and positivity surrounding himself. Ellie had already seen all that good in him, but now he saw it too, regardless of how superficial it seemed. Jokingly, Sebastian slung an arm around Ellie's shoulder, laughing once more. "You're totally in love with me, and you always have been, admit it." He teased her, a sly smirk on his face. "Ah, I hope you realise I'm not letting you go in there until you admit it."

"Well, we're going to be standing here for a really long time then, so I hope you don't have to be anywhere." Ellie said, letting out a laugh of her own. She'd forgotten how much fun she usually had with Sebastian. They were almost always joking around and teasing each other. In high school, a lot of people found it hard to believe that they were just friends. They always confused their constant teasing and joking around for flirting. "I'm not in love with you, nor have I ever been. Sorry." She shrugged her shoulders slightly.

Sebastian had always been an affectionate friend. He would always draw on the back of Ellie's hand when he was bored, or pull her into hugs outside of lesson times. He'd even offer to piggy back her from class to class... Other boys teased him for it in school, and his willingness to carry her bag around for her should she ask. It was mostly because she was his first friend, and his first port of call when he had moved to America. He was an affectionate person with those he was truly close with... And he didn't care how it came across to other people. Ellie shrugging her shoulders did nothing to displace his arm, and he remained at her side as he slowly sipped his coffee. "Lovely day today."