AN: Well...hello there. To those of you who have stuck around, thank you. I know it's been a while and I'm very sorry for that. I wish I could fully explain where life has led, but...it's a lot and all that matters is that we're back.

For those of you who are new...welcome. I want to come back strong and I want to finish what I started. Hopefully...this could be the Start to Something...new. =)

Ricky couldn't keep his hands off of her and that's the way he liked it. After they found each other, he immediately whisked her away without so much as a glance back at the confused expressions donned by his brother, his ex-girlfriend, and his friends. He just got Amy back and wasn't about to share her, no matter how much he loved his brother and friends. He led her out of the room before anyone could protest and pulled her outside toward the baseball field, beneath the shade of a giant oak tree. Thankfully, no one seemed to be occupying the spot and the P.E. classes had been moved inside because of the residual heat from summer. With the two of them left alone it was only a matter of time before his lips found hers.

Kissing her was like coming home. Since returning to California he had felt out of place and like he couldn't get back into the groove of things. But now, with her in his arms, her lips against his, he finally could relax. She was here, with him, going to the same school. The possibilities that came with all those facts only served to excite him more. He felt her giggle against him as her hand snaked up into his hair and he returned the smile, nipping at her with the same disbelief and delight. "I can't believe you're here," he breathed between kisses, sliding his hand up to her knee so that he could drape her legs across his lap.

She laughed again. "Trust me, the feeling is mutual." She pulled away first and settled into the crook of his neck. The feel of her breath against his skin gave him goose bumps and he smiled into her hair.

"What are you even doing here? I mean," he pressed another kiss to her temple. "not that I'm complaining, but…"

She sighed into him and he felt her lips moving against his neck as she turned to stare up at him. "My mom is traveling across Asia for work and brought Ashley with her, I decided to stay with my dad instead."

It was a simple explanation, but there was also so much unsaid. She had moved to California and didn't tell him. "Why didn't you text me? Let me know you were coming?"

Amy sighed and closed her eyes as he stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I wanted to. I actually planned to call you this week, but I was afraid."

"Of what?"

She opened her eyes and leaned into his touch. "That it would be too soon. We talked about seeing where things were when you came back to New York, so I was afraid that seeing you before then would ruin that."

He pursed his lips and shook his head. "No. God, Amy I've been dying to talk to you since I got on the plane coming here. I've been waiting to hear from you for months. I've been going crazy!" He detected a slight tinge of color rising to her cheeks and he bit back a smile. "I'm telling the truth."

She glanced up at him and smiled, "I know you are."

His smile slowly turned into a sly grin. "Did you miss me?"

Amy bit her lip, but didn't respond. Instead she leaned forward and kissed him languidly, drawing out their connection to the point where he was aching for more. He didn't even realize her pushing him back against the tree and drawing herself closer until she pulled away and they were chest to chest. He was in a fog and only registered her teasing smirk as she tilted her head to the side, "I did."

He chuckled back a groan and shook his head, "You're going to be the death of me." Amy laughed and sank back to his side. He turned to follow her as she went and reached a hand to brush back her hair. "But at least you're here to do it. I'd rather spend my last days with you than spend them wishing you were here."

"Mm," Amy sighed. "Well, don't go anywhere any time soon, I just got here after all." Her smile was contagious and brought about light laughter between the both of them. They continued to talk and tease until the bell rang, signaling the end of free period.

Amy felt as though she were walking on air, just like Ricky, she was pretty sure that she must have dozed off in Spanish because the feeling of Ricky's hand in hers was something out of a dream. But as they approached her next class and he pulled her close to place a tender kiss on her forehead, she decided that it didn't matter. She could be in a coma for all she cared. "I'll pick you up after class."

She smiled, "Okay, see you then," and slipped into her class, finding a seat beside the window. She bit her lip trying to stifle the wide smile that was threatening to break her face in half, but was finding it very difficult. The sound of desk legs scraping the floor caught her attention and she turned to find both Grace and Alice suddenly at her side. "Okay, so what the heck, how do you know Ricky Underwood?" her stepsister squeaked, Alice nodding in agreement.

Amy blushed and pushed her hair out of her face. "Um, we met over the summer. Boykevich Butchers sponsored a charity event for the afterschool program I volunteered for and my best friend Mariah is his foster sister…so we met and…got close?"

Alice scoffed, "Got close? Don't you mean got intimate?"

"Alice!" Grace scolded, "Don't be so crass." She turned her attention back to Amy. "So…then what? You two are…dating?"

Amy pursed her lips and dropped her gaze. She shrugged, "I guess so. We were dating up until he left, but we had kind of put it on pause until he came back to New York next summer. Except…now I'm here so…" she suddenly realized that they had failed to talk about what this meant for them, if this meant they were picking up where they left off. But that also brought about the question of if that relationship would change. She was here now…there was less of a time limit on it. So, did that mean something more? She sighed. "I don't know yet guys," she admitted. "We haven't had a chance to talk about everything."

Grace and Alice both looked at each other and Amy raised her brow, "What?"

Grace opened her mouth to speak, but then hesitated, "It's nothing just…be careful Amy. Ricky is a nice guy, but he's got a history."

Alice nodded, "I've known Ricky for most of my life and he has a heart of gold, but he also has a flirtatious streak and the girls he's dated in the past have been a little on the crazy side. I would just be careful."

Amy felt something inside of her break a little and the high she had felt before class was slowly slipping away; but she shook her head. "Ricky and I have talked about all of that and…don't worry. I'll be careful. Thanks for your concern."

She didn't want to talk about it anymore. This was one of the things that she would have to talk to Ricky about because it would be unfair to make assumptions based on what everyone else said. And besides, she didn't really know any of these people. They might all have good intentions, but she didn't know them or have a reason to trust them over Ricky or Mariah or anyone else back home who had encouraged their relationship, even Grace. No. This was the moment to stick to her gut instincts, which were telling her that talk outside of her relationship with Ricky was gossip and that was only going to tear them down before they even had a chance.

Soon enough the bell rang and all conversation stopped from there, but as a soft buzz came from her phone, she glanced at the screen to see a text from Ricky that read. "Hey…you're really here right?" She chuckled and glanced at the teacher before shooting a quick text back.

"Yes. And I can't wait for class to be over."

Ricky was waiting for her outside of class and his hand quickly sought hers out as she exited. She laced her fingers through his and smiled. "Hey, how was class?"

He shrugged and weaved their joined hands up over her head so that his arm rested across her shoulders and he could bring her closer to him. "It was alright, hard to pay attention though. I still can't believe you're here."

She chuckled and placed a gentle kiss on his hand. "Believe it."

He laughed and steered her through the crowd. He asked where her locker was before leading them in that direction and made small talk along the way. Grace had already given her a tour of the campus, but listening to Ricky give his anecdotes of different classrooms and different parts of the school made her smile. It was great to finally see in person the setting of all the stories he had shared with her back in New York. When they reached her locker, she untangled herself from him and reached for her lock. He leaned against the lockers beside her as she put her books away and took the time to look at the few pictures she had put up on her locker door. "You don't have a picture of me up there," he playfully complained, pouting when she turned to him.

She giggled and shook her head, reaching for her phone and holding it out to him. He raised a brow at her as she adjusted her binder in her arms. "The code is 9511," she said with an encouraging smile.

Ricky swiped the unlock screen and entered the code; a smile slowly slipping onto his face. Amy's background picture was one of them from a BB office dinner that Nora had taken. It was a formal dinner where Ricky had to wear a suit and Amy a nice dress and they had joked that it felt like they were going to prom. Ricky even bought her a corsage and Nora forced them to pose for some cliché prom poses. But this one shot in particular, Amy had loved enough to put on her phone background. They stood close, his cheek pressed against her forehead and her hand placed gently on his chest. And he couldn't help but smile. He pulled out his phone and handed it to her. "8910."

Amy followed suit and swiped open the phone. She bit back a smile and shook her head as she saw the same picture of them smiling back at her. "Amazing," she laughed before leaning forward to press her lips to his. He welcomed her kiss and wrapped an arm around her waist. When she pulled away, Amy suddenly realized there were eyes on them and she looked around the passing crowd.

"What's wrong?" Ricky asked, gently rubbing up and down her back.

She didn't respond right away, confused as to who had been staring at them, when her conversation with Grace and Alice came to mind and she suddenly realized that there were quite a few girls throwing them askance glances as they walked past. "I feel like people are looking at us."

Ricky raised a brow and looked around. "Who?"

Amy pursed her lips and sighed. She shook her head. "No, never mind. It's just me being paranoid. I've never really been the PDA type of girl, so it's probably just me." She couldn't be sure that girls were looking at them. She shook off the feeling and instead focused her attention on Ricky. "So," she sighed. "It's the end of the day…would you give me a ride home?"

He grinned down and pressed his forehead against hers. "For you? Anything."

"Wow, you really didn't waste any time, did you?"

The two turned to find a girl staring blankly back at them. She had dark wavy hair that fell gently on her shoulders and stood with her hip cocked to one side as she looked them up and down. Ricky sighed deeply as he slid his hand down into Amy's and the girl tilted her head toward him. "Well? Aren't you going to introduce me to the new girl, since you seem to be so well-acquainted after one day?"

Amy saw Ricky's jaw clench and she squeezed his hand encouragingly before reaching out her own. "Hi, I'm Amy. And you are?"

The girl zeroed in on her, but Amy did not shy away, she simply put on a polite smile and held her ground. The girl reached up and took her hand. "I'm Zoe Camden. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Amy sighed before sliding back to Ricky's side. "Ricky's mentioned you before."

Zoe snorted and rolled her eyes. "Really? Between when? Lunch and fifth period?"

"Actually, Amy and I met over the summer in New York. We've been dating for the past two months."

Zoe's brow wrinkled. "And you…followed him here?"

Amy shook her head. "Actually, no. I didn't know Ricky went to this school, I'm here because I moved in with my dad and my step-mom. You know Grace Bowen? She's my step-sister."

"How convenient," Zoe scoffed. Ricky rolled his eyes and slipped his arm around Amy.

"More like fate, if you ask me," he responded, eliciting a look of shock from Zoe.

"Fate? A little on the sappy romantic side, don't you think Ricky?"

He shrugged and met Amy's gaze with a smile, "Maybe. But you'll be hard-pressed to convince me otherwise. Anyway," he turned back to Zoe with a pointed look and nodded at her. "We'll be seeing you, Zoe."

"It was nice meeting you!" Amy told her with a sweet smile before they walked away. Once out of hearing range she cast a side glance over at Ricky. "So…that's Zoe Camden, huh?" He, at least, had the decency to look embarrassed as he nodded.

"Definitely not one of my finest transgressions."

Amy snorted as they exited the building and Ricky led them to his car. "I don't know what you're talking about. I thought she was lovely." They reached his jeep and turned to face one another, Ricky reaching for her bag and books to place them in the backseat.

Amy watched him with interest as she leaned up against the door of the car and took him in. He was still as she remembered, rugged and handsome with an air of arrogance that could be both infuriating and incredibly attractive. Once he had gotten her things situated, he mirrored her stance. "You know," Amy started, "Some of the other girls warned me about you. Said you had a…reputation I should be cautious of."

Ricky sighed and nodded, his smile dimming slightly. "This is true," he admitted, "I do have a history. A life before you." He reached for her hand and drew her a little closer. "But that's exactly what it is, Amy. History. And a life before you. Everything after meeting you has been different. I'm different."

Amy smiled up at him and nodded, "I know." And with that she leaned forward, kissing him sweetly as his arms snaked around her once more.

A rough cough pulled their attention away from each other and they turned to find Ben leveling them with a curious glance. "Been one heck of a first day, no?" The two laughed and Ricky pulled away from Amy, stepping toward his brother.

"Ames, let me formally introduce you to Ben, my brother."

Amy smiled and reached out a hand. "It's nice to meet you, Ben. I've heard a lot about you." Ben humored her with a hefty handshake and a dubious nod.

"Likewise, Amy. I've heard quite a lot about you. Non-stop really, so I'm glad you're here so that this guy can stop sulking."

"Alright, alright," Ricky said, waving his brother off. "No need to get into the details. She's here now and that's all that matters." Amy and Ben shared a look, before she slipped her arm back around Ricky.

"If it makes you feel better," she teased, "I was sulking too. But Ben's right, all that is behind us now." Ricky couldn't keep the smile at bay and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Ugh," Ben groaned, half in jest and half not, "Guess I'll have to see which is worse, sulking Ricky or romantic Ricky." Amy giggled as Ricky playfully punched his brother's arm.

"Come on," he said, leading Amy towards the passenger side of the car. "Ben and I will drive you home."

As the three climbed in to Ricky's jeep, a pair of eyes watched them with a hurt, but steady gaze. The sound of their easy conversation and laughter faded away as they drove off.

AN: Merry Christmas =)

Only Us - Dear Evan Hansen (Original Broadway Cast Recording)