The lunch date seemed inescapable now that William had alerted his sister to our whereabouts.

I gathered up my things and walked toward the café at a rapid pace, hoping that putting some space between us would give me time to calm my nerves. I could have turned heel and left, walked home, and locked myself in my room until he understood that I didn't want to spend time with him. Doing so would leave him alone in the company of my friends. I wasn't sure that I trusted them not to share embarrassing stories about me if I didn't keep them under control.

Lewis didn't hesitate to keep pace with me. He tried to put his arm around my waist. I knocked his hand away deftly. Even if he had a crush on me, it didn't mean that I was interested in him, or that he had any right to claim me just because another guy was hanging around. I was a person, not a toy for them to bicker over.

William strolled after us at his leisure. I was already up the ramp and getting a hug from Bill while they were still walking across the sand. Knowing that Cassidy would be inside helped me to steel my nerves. She didn't take crap from anyone and wouldn't hesitate to put paid to any misbehaviour from the others if I signalled her for help. I dumped my board in the rack by the door and hurried in, darting around the tables until I could wrap my arms around her and hug her gently.

'Hey, what's this for?' she asked.

'I just found out. Congratulations!'

Cassidy laughed, 'Oh, that! Thank you. I thought I would see you in here yesterday. Were you busy with your Dad?'

'Oh God... About that? There's a guy coming in that I know, and he doesn't like me much. Please don't give him any ammo or anything, okay? And save me if I need it. Please? Please?'

'I'm not going to spill any secrets. Don't worry. I've got your back.'

'Can you make sure Olly doesn't, either?'

The man in question poked his head around the door. His hands were damp and covered in suds. Oliver didn't work full time in the café like Bill and Cassidy, but he helped whenever he could. His best friend was Bill's grandson, and he saw the place as his second home.

'Behave,' Cassidy warned her husband.

'Oh, he isn't capable of that,' Bill said as he hobbled in. Cassidy helped him into his usual chair, and he patted her hand gently in gratitude. His granddaughter Abigail had been helping at the café, but she was off at university herself and was hardly ever home. Had I not been off at a boarding school, I'd have offered to fill some of her shifts. I had a mind to ask if Bill needed my support over the summer.

'I can behave if I want to, old man. I just don't want to, that's all.' Oliver winked at me playfully. The others came through the door noisily. Eric didn't hesitate to sweep Cassidy off her feet and kissed her cheek. Cassidy didn't mind all that much. Eric was a regular and relatively harmless. Oliver looked about ready to vault over the counter to rescue her. Given he was in his place of work, he settled for warning, 'Take your hands off my wife, man. Don't think I won't snap your board in two.'

'Killjoy.' Eric set Cassidy back down. 'Still not ready to divorce him? It's fine, I'll wait.'

I always forgot just how strange my friends were when we were apart for so long. At least I could rely on Eric to remind me the moment that I got home.

I grabbed William's wrist and tugged him further into the room. I pointed out each person. 'Oliver, Cassidy, and Bill. This is William,' I said. 'He went to school with me for a while.'

'Ohh, I should have known.' Eric clapped him hard on the back. 'Rich boy, huh?'

'Guilty as charged,' William said. 'It's nice to meet you all. My sister Amanda will be along shortly, and a friend of mine.'

'Is your sister cute?' Eric asked.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. 'Jesus Christ, Eric. We're going to get you neutered if you don't learn to chill around girls.'

'I was blessed with this stunning body, and it is my duty to share it with beautiful women.'

'Kind of like how it's my duty to share my fist with the faces of idiots?' I asked.

'Ouch,' Poppy laughed and punched my shoulder gently. 'Nice one.'

'My girls,' Eric said to William. 'They're so witty. And so violent. Gets me all tingly.'

'You say that like it's a good thing,' he replied.

'I like them feisty.'

'And we like you silent,' Cassidy quipped.

'Awesome,' I laughed. She slapped the palm of my hand triumphantly when I held it out to her.

William smirked at me. 'And this is how you spend every day?'

'Only the days I'm around these idiots,' I said. 'Something wrong with that?'

'Not at all. It's good to see you acting like a normal person.'

'Excuse me,' Oliver said, 'there's nothing normal about us. You take that back, now.'

'What are we taking back?' the same woman I'd seen the previous day asked as she joined us.

Amanda was beautiful, and I had no problem saying it. Her hair was fair blonde, and her lashes were long and thick, framing her bright blue eyes perfectly. With such long legs and a slender waist, it was a wonder she wasn't working as a runway model or something. She was dressed casually in pale blue jeans and a white blouse. Her hair was curled gently at the ends and fell just past her shoulders.

'That I asked if you were cute, when I should have used the word radiant,' Eric said.

Max mimed being sick and Oliver said aloud, 'I think I just puked in my mouth a little.'

'Uh - Amanda?' William indicated that I was the one she was meant to meet. She approached to shake my hand. 'This is Beth.'

'Yes, I remember you telling me. It was a shame you had to run off yesterday. I wanted to hear more of your piano playing.'

'Sorry, I should have asked before -'

'It's fine. Henry explained. And we weren't angry, so don't worry so much. My brother has told me a lot about you, so I feel like I know you already.'

'He told you about me, and you still want to talk to me?' I laughed nervously. 'Wow, you're brave.'

'It was only good things.'

'Then it was all lies,' I said.

'It wasn't,' William interjected. 'And it wasn't all good. I told her about you slapping me.'

Amanda whispered conspiratorially, 'That was a good thing. Trust me.'

'I thought so, too,' I whispered back.

'Didn't you say you had a friend coming along, young man?' Bill asked.

'Yeah, where is he?' William asked his sister.

'Relax. He was just taking a picture on the terrace. Look, there he is.'

I was torn between wanting to hug him and wanting to hit him in the face. Charlie hadn't changed much since I'd last seen him. He beamed at me when our eyes met and the events of the past months seemed to melt away. Of all the people who might have come to spend time with William, I hadn't thought it would have been him. It was difficult to be angry at him for hurting Jenny after all this time. I wasn't pleased that he'd given into William's suggestions of her not being good enough so easily, but it hadn't been his decision to move away. That was down to his parents. After all, we were all kids who were still at their mercy until we left their houses. If they hadn't wanted him to stay in the school, he'd have found it difficult to defy their wishes.

'Beth, it's been forever!' Charlie hugged me like we'd been apart years rather than months. I patted his back awkwardly, aware that I was getting sea water all over everyone who'd dared make physical contact with me. He let me go and didn't look bothered by it in the least. He observed, 'You look like you're well. Are you here on your own?'

'On her own?' Max asked Poppy. 'What the hell are we?'

'Shush,' Poppy hissed back.

'The girls are all in Italy on the school trip,' I said. 'I couldn't afford to join them, so I'm stuck with these losers.'

'Ah. Well, this is a great place to spend a couple of weeks. So, these are your friends?'

'Guys, this is Charlie. Charlie, this is - well - everyone. Introductions take too long, sort it out yourselves,' I said. 'Olly, can I get the most sugar laden milkshake you have back there?'

'It'll go straight to your hips,' he teased.

'My foot's gonna go straight to your nuts if you joke about my weight,' I warned. 'I'm a paying customer, you know?'

'I know, I know. You need to calm down that attitude of yours,' he said. 'You can't solve all your problems by kicking them.'

'I can try.'

'You shouldn't be lecturing anyone about that.' Cassidy rounded the counter so she could forcefully encourage her husband back out to the kitchen. 'Guys, sit down out on the terrace. I'll come take your orders in a second.'

I glanced at William, and the boy spared me a smile.

This was a sight I never thought I'd live to see; William Darcy smiling, like a normal person who wanted to spend time with normal people.

If that wasn't one of the signs of an impending apocalypse, then I didn't know what was.