It had been a long time since you last thought about Lip Gallagher and even longer since you last saw him. Every now and then you’d hear about some sort of development in his life through mutual friends or social media, but you didn’t purposefully keep up with him. It was a shame, I suppose? You two used be close. But, either way, you hadn’t thought much about him.

Which was likely why you were so surprised when you caught his silhouette out the corner of your eye. It couldn’t have been him… could it? No Gallagher had ever been to or cared about the idea of college. However, when you glanced back a second time and saw that irritating smirk that curled around a cigarette, you quickly realised it was actually him.

Your breath hitched but you barely noticed it — mind already running through the possibilities of the small talk you should avoid if he happened to notice you. Y’know, the basic trying not to show too much interest while still showing just enough to not seem completely emotionless. For all you knew, he could’ve forgotten you!

He hadn’t, though. Not for a single second. So, when his eyes locked onto your own, he almost dropped his cigarette. Quickly, he pushed himself off the table he was leaning against and tried to fix his posture. He mentally cursed himself — he probably looked like a bumbling fool!