After school, Hollyn went to The Lark Cafe where she knew Will's fiancé, Hayley, worked. She hadn't seen her since she got back and she was looking forward to catching up with her. Hollyn opens the door to the cafe, holding it up for an older woman who had been walking out. She smiled friendly at her, telling her to have a good day after the old woman thanked her before she walked inside the cafe. The smell of coffee and freshly baked goods filled the air and she smiled at the familiar cafe. She missed this place a lot.

"Hollyn!" Hayley's excited voice brought her attention. She smiles brightly at Hayley, who stood behind the counter. "You're finally back! Will told me you got back not long ago, I'm glad you finally came. Get over here." She walked around the counter and Hollyn grinned, hugging her back when Hayley embraced her.

"It's good to see you, Hayls." Hollyn said, pulling away. She smiles apologetically. "I'm sorry I haven't visited, I was unpacking and settling in. Everything is so much different here than it is in France. Kinda hard getting used to the time difference."

"It's alright, Holly. I'm just glad to see you." Hayley smiles. "Do you want your usual?" She asked, walking back behind the counter.

"Yes, please. And Cole's usual too, I have to take my dad's truck to the auto shop so I figured I'd bring him his drink." Hollyn explains, raising her eyebrow at the knowing look on Hayley's face. "What?"

"You and Cole have been hanging out a lot, haven't you?" Hayley asked, smirking a little as she put in Hollyn's order.

"Yeah, we're best friends." Hollyn answers, furrowing her eyebrows. "And I've been gone for a long time, so of course we've been hanging out." She didn't understand what Hayley meant by that. She and Cole had always hung out.

"Mhm, okay." Hayley laughs, shaking her head. "Whatever you say." She teases. Hollyn rolls her eyes, her face turning a bit red as she gets her wallet out. "No, don't. It's on me."

"Oh, Hayley, thank you, but you don't have to do that." Hollyn shakes her head. She didn't want her to spend money on her. She smiles warmly at Hayley's generosity but also felt a pang of guilt. It had been a while since she'd seen her friends, and she didn't want to burden them with her presence, especially financially. "I appreciate it, really, but I insist on paying. I don't mind."

Hayley chuckles, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "You always were stubborn, Hollyn. But if it makes you feel better, how about you pay for Cole's drink, and I'll cover yours? Think of it as a welcome back present."  

Hollyn nods, relenting with a grin. "Deal. Thanks, Hayls." She handed over the money for Cole's drink and watched as Hayley prepared their orders with practiced ease. Before she put her wallet away, she had left money in the tip jar, then leaned against the counter, waiting for the drinks. She was a little confused by the questions Hayley had asked her. Was it weird for her and Cole to be spending a lot of time together? No, she didn't think so. They've been friends for years and she hadn't been here for a year so they missed each other which would explain them hanging out a little more than normal. It's not weird. She didn't think it was weird.

"Here you go." Hayley's voice pulled her from her thoughts, and she turned around to face her.

"Thanks, Hayls." Hollyn smiles, taking the tray of drinks. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see ya, Holls. We need to hang out sometime and catch up, I wanna hear all about your trip to France." Hayley grinned.

"Definitely. I'll call you later." Hollyn giggled, smiling at Hayley before she left the cafe.

After she left the cafe, she went to the auto shop where Cole worked. She parked her dad's truck in the parking lot and got out, bringing the two drinks with her. The truck was old, but still ran great. Well, most of the time. It did break down on occasion.

When she walked in, she saw Cole was working under a car and he was wearing his coveralls. He was also covered in oil, and his hair was a mess. She walked over to the car, smiling a little.

"Hey, Coley." She greeted, catching his attention.

Cole moves out from under the car, smiling at her, his eyes lighting up at seeing her. "Hey, Holls. What's up?" He asked, wiping his hands off on his overalls.

"Not much. Thought I'd stop by." She said, handing him a drink.

"Oh, thanks." Cole smiled, taking a sip of the drink.

"And I'm here to drop my dad's car off." She added, earning a small laugh from him.

"Figured." Cole chuckles. "So, you staying long? Do you need a ride home? I mean, my shift will be for another hour, but if you want to wait I'll take you home." He offered, wanting to make sure she will be safe on her way home.

"I mean, I don't mind waiting. But only if you want me to." She said with a shrug. "If not, I can just walk home or something." She didn't want to be a burden or anything. She figured he'd be tired after his shift, so she didn't want to make him drive her home if he didn't want to.

"Of course I don't mind. It's no problem." Cole assured her with a soft smile.

She smiles back and nods. "Okay, cool. Thanks." She appreciated him offering. He always made sure she was safe and she was thankful for that. "I'm gonna go sign in and I'll probably wait in the lobby so just let me know when you're done."

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you in a bit." Cole nodded and she sent him a smile before heading to the front of the building. She walked inside, smiling at the secretary and signed her name on the sheet and went to sit down.

"Hey, Holly Berry you're back!"

She smiles at the familiar voice and glances over to see Tony, the owner of the auto shop. She's not surprised to hear that nickname either. Almost everyone calls her that and she's not even sure how it started, but it has and she's accepted it.

"Yeah, hey, Tony. It's great to see you." Hollyn got up with a smile, chuckling when he pulled her in for a hug.

"So how was France? I bet you had a good time." Tony asked with a grin while they pull away from the hug.

"Yeah, it was great. Really fun. But I'm happy to be home. France was great but nothing beats home." Hollyn says with a chuckle. She smiles at im. "It's also good to see you, Tony."

"And it's great to have you back. Now I won't be hearing about you all the time." Tony chuckled, rolling his eyes a little.

"What do you mean?" Hollyn asked with confusion. She wasn't sure what he meant.

"Your boyfriend is a chatty one." Tony explains with a laugh. "He just won't stop talking about you and asking about you and wondering when you're gonna be back. And now that you are back, I won't have to listen to him anymore. Finally, peace and quiet." He joked, grinning at her.

"Wait, Cole?" She asks with surprise and he nods in response. "He's not my boyfriend. He's my best friend, Tony you know that. Besides, he's dating someone, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Right. How could I forget?" Tony says with a frown. "He talks about her too. She doesn't come in often though. Or really at all. I don't like her."

"I don't like her either." Hollyn agreed with a sigh.

"Oh, well, I'll let you get back to your day. Have fun and be safe, okay?" Tony said, giving her a small pat on the shoulder. "We'll be sure to get your dad's car fixed and we'll let you know when it's done."

"Okay, thanks, Tony. It was nice talking to you." Hollyn smiled.

"Nice talking to you too, kiddo." He replied with a smile before he went back into the garage.

She sits back down and pulls her sketchbook out of her bag, flipping to a clean page. She's not sure what she's going to draw, but she'll figure it out. She starts to lightly sketch out the outline, not really knowing what it is, and then she looks out the window that showed the garage. She noticed Cole working and she smiled. That's when it hit her. She knew what to draw. She quickly turned her attention back to her sketchbook and started drawing the outlines. Once the outline was done, she started shading and coloring. She occasionally took some sips of the coffee she had gotten, and every now and then she looked out the window, watching him work and getting ideas from it.

"Hey, Holly Berry, I'm off." Cole said, coming into the lobby. "I just need to change and then we can go-" He raises his eyebrows when he noticed the drawing she was working on. "Is that me?" His lips curled up into a smirk, watching as she quickly hid the sketchbook, her cheeks turning pink. "Wow, Holls, I'm flattered. You think I'm good-looking enough to draw, huh?" He teased.

"Shut up." She mumbles and puts her sketchbook and supplies in the bag. "Are you ready or not?"

Cole chuckles at her flustered reaction, shaking his head. "Yeah, just let me change and we can go."

"Okay." She nods and takes her bag. "I'll wait outside."

"Okay." Cole grins, and he watches her leave. He was only teasing, but he didn't expect her to actually draw him. And the way she was blushing, he had to admit it was pretty cute. He went back to the changing room and got changed into his regular clothes and went outside. "Ready?" He asked, seeing she had been leaning against the wall by the door.

"Yeah, let's go." Hollyn smiled and pushed off the wall, following him to his car. She sent him a thankful smile when he opened the door for her. "Thanks, Coley." She said, getting in.

"Of course, Holls." He replied, closing the door. He goes over to the driver's side and gets in, starting the car and backing out of the spot. "Also thanks for the drink, if I didn't say that before. You didn't have to get me one, but I'm glad you did."

"Anytime." She smiles and leans back in the seat, closing her eyes. "Wake me up when we're there, okay?"

"Why, you tired?" Cole teased, side glancing at her as he began driving.

"A little, yeah." She said, nodding. "I stayed up late last night."

"Doing what?" He asked curiously, glancing at her again.

"Drawing." She answers, opening her eyes a little and looking at him. "I had an idea and I wanted to get it down before I forgot."

"Yeah, I remember when you got ideas for drawings you had to draw them or at least write them down quick before you forgot them." Cole chuckles. "I've seen you do that many times. Especially if we were talking and you'd get distracted and you'd write down whatever came to your mind."

Hollyn grimaces, her face turning red out of embarrassment. She didn't realize how much it happened. She didn't mean to do it, but sometimes when she's thinking and her brain gets going, she can't focus on just one thing. Especially if she's listening to music and she has a thought, she has to get it down so she won't forget it. It was annoying and embarrassing.

"Hey, it's fine. I'm not making fun of you or anything." Cole reassured, seeing the embarrassment in her face.

"I know." She said quietly, nodding her head. "Still. I didn't realize how much I did that."

"Really? Come on, Holls. I remember once when we were in sixth grade, you were writing in your journal and I asked you a question and you were so focused on writing that you didn't hear me. Then you finally looked up at me and you didn't even remember I had been talking." He said, chuckling. "You apologized a bunch of times."

"Yeah, well, that was when I was a kid and had no impulse control. I mean, I still don't really have an impulse control but it's better...I think." Hollyn shrugs, smiling a little. "But I'm sorry. If it was annoying, I didn't mean for it to be. It's just my brain is always going a mile a minute and I have so many thoughts and ideas and they all come at once and I just need to write it down."

"Don't apologize, Holls. It was never annoying." Cole assures her, shaking his head. "I think it's cute." He added, smiling a little.

Hollyn's cheeks flushee again and she looks out the window in hopes of hiding her blush. "Thanks. "She mumbled, leaning her head against the window and closed her eyes.

Cole's smile widens at seeing her flustered. "You're welcome." Noticing her laying on the window, he reaches over the seat to grab his jacket and set it on her. "Here. You can use it as a pillow instead of laying on the window."

"Oh, thanks." Hollyn smiled a little, ignoring the way her heart fluttered. She leaned forward, grabbing the jacket and placing it behind her head.

"Of course." He replied and drove the rest of the way in silence.

He keeps his eyes on the road and occasionally glances at her, smiling softly. He doesn't understand why he felt his stomach flip when he saw her smiling at him. Maybe because she looked really cute and it made him happy. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He couldn't be thinking like that. He was with Erin (he had that one night with Olivia but that was not to be mentioned to anyone, plus a few others and he tended to flirt a lot) and she was his best friend. 

She was a great friend, and a very pretty girl. And she had a wonderful personality, and she was kind and funny and smart and- He mentally scolded himself for thinking that way. She's his best friend and she's been his best friend for a long time. He's never thought of her in that way before. But why did his thoughts keep going back to her and the smile on her face and her adorable giggle? Why did he feel that weird feeling in his stomach when she looked at him a certain way? He didn't know and he couldn't figure it out.

Hollyn wakes up when she felt the car stop. She's a little confused at first, looking around. "Where are we?" She asked, yawning and rubbing her eyes. They weren't at her house, they were in the middle of nowhere near a river.

"I wanted to show you something. Come on. And put this on, it's cold." Cole answered, handing her his jacket before he got out of the car. She hadn't brought her jacket today since she didn't think she would need it. She underestimated the weather.

Hollyn nods, and gets out, slipping the jacket on. It was a little big on her, but she didn't mind. She liked the warmth and it smelled like him. She followed him down to the river, smiling a little. She remembered she and Cole used to come out here and hang out a lot. They haven't been here in a long time.

"Remember this place?" Cole asked with a smile, turning to look at her.

"Yeah, I do. We used to come out here all the time. But what did you want to show me? You're not gonna kill me are you?" She jokes. "I mean, we're in the middle of nowhere, it'd be the perfect time."

"Well, now you've ruined the surprise." He says, dramatically sighing and she chuckles. "No, seriously. I found something and I wanted to show you. Well, two things. Here, sit down." He sat on the rock and pulled her down beside him, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"It's a little cold, Cole." She said with a laugh. "What is it you want to show me?"

"Close your eyes." Cole tells her her, and she gave him a skeptical look. He chuckles a little, smiling reassuringly at her. "Trust me." He urged.

"Alright, fine." She sighed and closed her eyes, her lips curving up in a smile.

Cole pulls out the bracelet he had been working on for a couple days and held her hand, placing the bracelet in her palm. "Okay, you can open your eyes." He said, smiling a little.

She opens her eyes and looks down, her eyes widening when she sees the bracelet in her palm. Her lips forms a grin, her heart fluttering as her face turned red. "Cole, did you make this?" She asked, picking the bracelet up and examining it. It was a charm bracelet, with three charms on it. There was a paint brush, a guitar, and a book.

"Yeah, well, I know how much you love painting, reading, and playing guitar, so I thought you'd like it. I wanted to get you a welcome home gift, and yes, I realize it's a little late, but-"

"I love it." She cuts him off and hugs him tightly. "Thank you, Coley. I love it so much." She says, pulling away and slipping the bracelet on her wrist. She smiles at the silver bracelet, her thumb stroking the charms. "I love it. A lot. So, what was the other thing you wanted to show me?"

"Come on, I'll show you. Stand up." He stood up, holding his hands out. He was relieved that she loved the bracelet. He spent a few nights trying to get the details right on the charms. And the whole time he was doing it, he had a smile on his face. He didn't know why he felt so happy about doing this for her. He's bought her presents before, and he's always loved seeing the smile on her face, but he's never felt the way he did when he was working on the bracelet. He didn't know what to make of the feelings he was having. He decided to just ignore them and not think about it.

"Why? Are you gonna push me in the water?" She asked with a small laugh, taking his hands and standing up. 

"What, no." Cole chuckles. "I'm not going to push you." He pauses before adding with a smirk, "Maybe." She giggles and rolls her eyes, but she still stands, taking his hands and letting him help her up. "Come on. It's not too far."

"Okay." She nodded and pulled away reluctantly. She fell in step by him, their shoulders brushing against each other. He took her a little further, and eventually they come across a big oak tree.

"It's a tree, Cole. What about it?" She chuckles, rolling her eyes. "Are you sure you're not trying to trick me? Because I swear if you push me in the water, I will kick your a**."

"Okay, first, ouch, and second, no, I'm not gonna push you, I already told you that." Cole chuckles, smiling with amusement. "And third, do you see that carving?" He asked, pointing to the tree.

Hollyn narrows her eyes, leaning closer to get a better look. Once her eyes adjust to the caring, her lips curling up into a soft smile. She almost forgot she and Cole had carved their initials into the tree when they were younger. It's still here.

"I remember this." She whispered, touching the tree, her finger tracing the H+C.

"Yeah," Cole smiles softly, leaning against the tree. "What, weren't we like, in middle school? Seventh grade? Or eighth? We came out here and carved our initials in the tree."

"Yeah. We were in seventh grade." She corrects, chuckling a little. "It was after you got a bad grade on your math test so I suggested we go for a ride and we ended up here. I suggested we should carve our initials in the tree to cheer you up and it did." She grins. "I remember you had trouble with it and I had to finish carving the rest of it because you couldn't do it."

"Hey, hey, that's not true." Cole says, putting his hands up defensively, his lips curling up into a smile. "I did most of it."

"You did not, I had to finish." She insists, poking him in the side. She had a small smile on her face as she looks at him. "But you're welcome."

"Okay, whatever." He chuckles, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and kissing the side of her head. "Thanks, Holls."

"You're welcome, Coley." She whispers, hugging him back. "And thank you for the bracelet. It's beautiful."

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it." Cole smiles. "We should get back, you probably want to go home, huh? It is getting late." He murmured. He didn't want to leave yet, he wanted to spend more time with her. But it was getting dark.

"Yeah, just let me take a picture of this." Hollyn smiles, pulling away from him to pull her phone out of her pocket. "Actually, let's take a selfie." She added, pulling up her camera.

"Alright." Cole sighed dramatically, pretending he was annoyed with it when he wasn't. His lips curved up when she giggled, he loved hearing her giggle. He put his arm around her and held her phone out so it showed them both in the frame. He had offered to take the picture since he was taller than her and could see more of them. Cole took the selfie, both of them smiling into the camera. Hollyn had held up a peace sign, and she was resting her head on his shoulder.

"This is a good picture." She comments, smiling and taking the phone from him. "Thank you." She said, glancing at the selfie. It was at the perfect angle with their initials behind them.

"You're welcome. Now, come on, let's get you home." Cole smiled at her and walking back to the car with her. Their shoulders brushed as they walked and at one point they started playfully pushing each other after Cole had playfully bumped into her.

When they got back to his car, Cole opened the door for her, and she thanked him before getting in. He closed the door and got in the driver's seat, starting the car and beginning the drive back.

"So, how is Jackie doing with you guys?" Hollyn questioned, looking over at him.

"She's still getting adjusted to being here, I think." He replied, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Yeah. I know. That's understandable. I'm sure it's a big change for her. I'm sure she'll get used to it." Hollyn smiled softly.

"Yeah. Hopefully. It's weird, I guess. Having someone else living with us. But, I'm sure we will get used to it soon." Cole shrugged.

"Yeah." Hollyn agreed with a small smile.

The rest of the drive was mostly quiet, with the occasional comment from either one. The silence wasn't awkward though, it never was with them. Once they pulled up in front of her house, Hollyn got out and handed him his jacket.

"Thanks again, Coley. For everything. And for showing me our initials on the tree. And for the bracelet. I love it." Hollyn says, looking at him with a thankful expression. She loved that he remembered the initials they carved in the tree, and she loved that he gave her the bracelet. The fact he made the bracelet himself made it even more special. It was a very thoughtful gift, and she'd always cherish it. "Thanks for driving me home." She added with a smile.

"You're welcome, Holls. It was fun, I missed hanging out with you." Cole replies with a smile, putting the jacket on. "I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" He asks, leaning over to kiss her cheek. Her cheeks flush when his lips meet her cheek and she smiles a little as she nods. "Cool, see you tomorrow." Cole smiled at her, waiting for her to walk inside and close the door behind her before he pulled out of the driveway and went home.

When Hollyn had gone inside, she set her bag down, and walked upstairs to her room, falling on the bed. Lottie follows her and jumps on the bed with her, licking her face. She laughs and scratches behind the dog's ears. "Lottie, stop." She laughed, trying to get the dog to stop licking her. When Lottie finally stops, Hollyn laid on her side, stroking the dog's fur and looking at the bracelet on her wrist. She smiled softly, her heart skipping a beat as she reached her free hand over to touch her bracelet, running her thumb along the charms and the engraving of their initials.

"Oh, Lottie, I'm so screwed."

A/N cole is starting to have feelings for hollyn ! you guys, i love him & hollyn so much, they're so cute