The first thing Imani heard the next morning when she finally woke up was her annoying ringtone blaring throughout her dorm. She was annoyed, wondering who the hell could be calling her so early in the afternoon. Her head was pounding as she blindly looked for her phone. Imani swore right then and there to never even look at another drink.

When she finally found her phone, she groaned before looking at the caller id. It was her mom. She took a deep breath before answering the phone.

"Ma?"

"Nawa oh (Wow!), so Imani, just because you're at school, you can't call me?" Her mom said through the phone.

Imani laughed. "Hi, mommy."

"That's more like it! How are you doing, my daughter?"

Diana Odo was a loud and charismatic woman. Even after being in America for so many years, she still kept her thick Nigerian accent that Imani loved because it reminded her of home. She was a no-nonsense type of mother who was proud of her daughter. She loved that Imani could talk to her about anything. However, because she worked so many hours a week, she always tried to make time for Imani. Weekly phone conversations like these were very important to her.

"It's good. My classes are going great and I love it here."

"That's good! My baby is growing up fast, oh. Just yesterday you were our little girl and even though you still are, you've also grown into a beautiful young woman."

"Aww, thanks mommy."

"Speaking of my little girl, your father and I were cleaning out the attic and we found a class photo from your primary school days! You look so adorable honey! I'll send a picture."

Imani's phone pinged a couple seconds later with a notification from her mom. She was super young in the pictures. Most of them were picture day photos where her face was super glossy due to the amount of Vaseline on her face. She looked happy in those. Her cheeks were round and she had a couple missing teeth in her smile.

When Imani scrolled to the last attachment, she paused. It was a class photo. She recognized her second grade teacher and some of her classmates too. A smile broke out on Imani's face when she finally found herself. She was sitting next to this boy who leaned on her with a smile...

Why did he look so familiar?

"It seems like just yesterday. I remember how sad you were when you had to transfer out of that school. You kept going on about your best friend and how you couldn't leave him. What was his name? Devin? Dante, abi (right)? Derek? No..."

Imani looked back at the picture, her brain working to remember this little boy. And then it finally hit her.

The smile. The dark brown hair. The beautiful green eyes.

Oh my gosh, it's-

"—Drew! Yes! That was his name! You missed him for the longest time even after you left."

Imani felt like she couldn't breathe. Drew was her Andrew Stone.

She looked at the photo again. She was sitting next to him, her hair in small braids with beads at the end that framed her chubby cheeks. She remembered Drew being obsessed with them, always looking for a way to play with them or touch them just to hear the sounds they made. He sat beside her on her right, his arm around her shoulder as he leaned into her with the biggest smile. He had a couple of missing teeth but the smile was the same. It was really her Drew.

"Hello? Imani? Can you hear me?"

Imani's memories from back then washed over her like a wave. She remembered how she and Drew became good friends right after she was assigned to tutor him. She remembered how everyone generally stayed away from him - hell, even she did up until that point. But once she got to know him, she became protective of him. He was great. He made her laugh. He fought her bullies even when most of the fights started because someone was bad mouthing Drew. She remembered how much fun they had together.

And then things went to shit.

Her dad had lost his job later that year right around the holidays and could barely afford to pay for her school. They tried to make ends meet. Imani would sometimes miss out on lunch because she couldn't afford it. She stopped wearing her nice clothes because they had to sell them. She remembered praying that her dad found a job so she wouldn't have to leave.

However, things got more and more difficult for her parents and they ultimately decided to pull her out of the school. She cried like a baby when her parents told her she couldn't go back. She wanted to be selfish and get angry with her parents. But she couldn't. She knew better. She had to make sacrifices for her family and couldn't afford to be selfish. She had to sacrifice her friendship with Drew so that things could work out for her family. She had to be strong.

Imani could feel her eyes sting with unshed tears. Damn it! She wished she had told him before she left. She wished she had given him her number so they could have remained friends. But she was a coward and didn't want to see him cry. At least that's what she told herself. The truth was she didn't want to cry. She didn't want to look weak in front of the boy that had depended on her. Her student.

"This girl! Imani Esosa Odo! Are you hearing me?" Her mom yelled through the phone.

Imani quickly wiped away at her eyes before answering. "Yes, mom. I have to go, I'll call you back.

"Okay, oh. Abeg (Please), greet Jade for me. And call me later! Bye."

She said her goodbyes to her mom before hanging up the phone. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the photo. She wondered if Drew remembered her. And if he did, why hadn't he said anything?

Imani sat up from her bed with a start and her eyes fell on the leather jacket she had borrowed from him yesterday. She decided to return the jacket and confront him. She was going to ask if he remembered her and if he decided to give her a wrong answer...

I'm gonna kill him

~*~

It was Sunday afternoon and Drew was doing what he always does on sundays; sleeping in.

He was exhausted from the previous night and had woken up earlier in the morning to work on a couple of assignments that were due the next day. He needed the extra hours of sleep.

He was laid comfortably in his bed when he heard three loud rasps against his door. So much for sleeping in.

He stayed completely still. Maybe they had the wrong dorm. He closed his eyes, hoping to get back to sleep but when the knocking continued, he sat up from his bed angrily. It was the middle of the day and no one ever really came to visit his dorm, especially at this time.

He got up, cursing the person who was on the other side of the door. Whoever had interrupted his sleep had better have a damn good reason to. He quickly threw on a shirt and some joggers before walking to the door. When he looked through the peephole and saw it was Imani, his lips tugged into a smile. She knocked again.

"Okay, okay. Don't getcha panties in a twist." He said before opening the door. He leaned against the frame, smirking down at her.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, Imani?" He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her.

Imani stood in front of him looking completely annoyed. Her eyes held a fire in them as she glared at him and Drew didn't know if he found it menacing or adorable. She had her arms crossed over her chest and her foot was thumping against the ground as time went on. It made him wonder if he was in trouble and if so what he could have possibly done.

After a minute-long staring contest between the two, Imani rolled her eyes and stepped into the dorm. When Drew closed the door behind her, she immediately whirled on him.

She plastered a fake smile on her face. "How are you, Drew?"

"Um, I'm fi—"

"—Or should I say Andrew Stone, the guy I was friends with in freaking elementary school?" She pointed an accusing finger at him.

Drew didn't say anything to her for a moment. She was mad at him but he was over the roof at the fact that she had finally remembered him.

Drew couldn't help the wide smile forming on his lips. "You remember?"

"So you knew this whole time and don't tell me!"

"Well, I just assumed that you probably didn't rem-"

"You freaking jerk! Why didn't you tell me!" Imani yelled and punched Drew in the chest.

She continued jabbing at him and Drew laughed at her weak hits. It was cute that she thought she could do any real damage. Imani didn't appreciate his laughter and continued to kick and punch him until they both lost balance. Drew fell back on the floor and Imani landed on his chest hard. She could feel his chest vibrate with each pained chuckled that left his mouth.

"How did you find out?" Drew looked up at Imani.

"My mom called me earlier and sent me photos from picture day. Then she went on about my old friend Drew. At least someone told me." She hit his chest a final time.

"Hey! For what it's worth, I thought you wouldn't remember me even if I tried to make you remember." Drew chuckled. Imani rolled off his chest and sat up beside him while he remained on the floor.

"Ugh, I hate you."

"We both know you don't, sweetheart." He smiled smugly at her.

Imani couldn't deny that so she just glared at him, getting more frustrated. A moment passed by until Imani spoke again.

"I can't believe you're Drew." She whispered softly, "How could I forget you?" She looked down at her palms.

Drew turned to face her and when he noticed her frowning, he took one of her hands in his, rubbing his thumb against it in circular moments to comfort her. He didn't want Imani blaming herself for not remembering. It wasn't her fault. She gripped his hand back tightly. He waited patiently for her to continue.

"You know, when I left, I tried everything to find you." She looked him in the eye. Drew felt his heart thump rapidly against his chest.

"Really?"

"Yea, it was stupid." She laughed at herself, "I wanted to call but neither of us had phones and I never even got your number. I was so sad that I didn't get to tell you I wasn't going back after spring break." Imani was playing with Drew's fingers in her lap as he laid beside her to distract herself from crying.

She couldn't believe that the little boy who would follow her around the playground had grown into the Drew laying down beside her at that moment. But when she thought about it, it made sense. Their eyes crinkled the same when they laughed, their big toothy grin. And what made it worse was that he had remembered her this whole time and she completely forgot about him.

"Why did you leave in the first place?" Drew asked.

Imani released a shaky sigh before answering. "My dad had lost his job earlier that year. We couldn't afford it so I had no choice but to leave."

Imani was holding onto his hand tightly, like she didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"Well that explains it. I just thought you wanted to get away from me but then again, who wouldn't want to see this pretty face everyday." Drew wiggled his eyebrows and made a face that reminded her of Flynn Rider from Tangled. It made her laugh.

"Y'know, after you left, I was sad as hell. I had no one to talk to or bother. I wondered what you were doing and if you liked your new school. I wondered if you would remember me if I saw you again." Drew looked up at the ceiling before turning his eyes back to her.

"I missed you."

Drew looked into her eyes with an intensity that she felt her eyes water. It scared Drew at first. He had never seen her cry, even when she fell and got the nastiest cuts and bruises when they were younger. She always put on a brave face for everyone around her. She quickly wiped away her tears.

Imani felt like such a bitch for ever forgetting him. She looked over at Drew and smiled. She secretly vowed to make up for lost time.

"I missed you too, D."

Drew noticed her eyes glistening again and sat up to wipe them. He didn't want to see her sad, especially when he felt so fucking happy. She had finally remembered him. It didn't fix everything but it gave him hope that they could go back to the way they used to be. His big hand cupped her cheek and he found himself loving the way she leaned into his touch with a bright smile. He returned the smile and made a promise. He would never leave her again.

"It's good to have you back, Ms. O."

~*~

Sorry for the late post y'all! But ahhh the part y'all have been waiting for 😭! Thank you guys so much for the support so far! And over 600 reads?? Y'all are amazing! Don't forget to vote!💗