UNDER THE LONDON STREETLIGHT ✨

CHAPTER I The first thing Amelia Carter noticed about London was that the rain had absolutely no respect for her plans. It had started five minutes before she stepped out of Heathrow Airport, falling from the grey sky in a steady curtain that made everything look slightly blurred. Amelia stood beneath the airport entrance, clutching the handle of her suitcase with one hand and holding her phone in the other. Her flight had been almost eight hours. Her luggage was heavy. Her feet hurt. And she had absolutely no idea what she was doing. “Welcome to England, Amelia,” she whispered to herself. A gust of cold wind immediately hit her face. She frowned. “Very welcoming.” She pulled her jacket tighter around herself. At eighteen, Amelia had imagined her first day in London very differently. In her imagination, she would step out of the airport looking confident, her suitcase rolling perfectly behind her while some magical soundtrack played in the background. Instead, she looked like a tired girl who had spent most of the flight trying to sleep while sitting beside a man who had snored loudly enough to qualify as airport machinery. She checked her phone again. Mum: Have you arrived safely? Amelia smiled. Amelia: Yes. I'm outside. I'm okay. Another message appeared almost immediately. Mum: Call me when you get to your accommodation. Amelia sighed. She knew her mother would probably call every few hours for the first week. Maybe every hour. She understood, though. This was the first time Amelia had ever travelled this far from home alone. She had received a scholarship to study at a university in London, and although she had dreamed about studying abroad for years, the reality was beginning to feel much bigger than the dream. She looked through the glass doors at the unfamiliar city beyond the airport. London. A completely new country. A completely new university. A completely new life. Amelia took a deep breath. Then she picked up her suitcase. “Okay,” she whispered. “Let's do this.” Two hours later, Amelia was standing outside her student accommodation, staring up at a tall brick building. She checked the address on her phone. Then she checked the building. Then her phone again. “This has to be it.” She dragged her suitcase through the entrance. The receptionist gave her a warm smile. “New student?” Amelia nodded. “Very obvious?” The receptionist laughed. “A little.” Amelia smiled awkwardly. After completing the necessary paperwork, she received a key card and was shown to her room. The room was small, but Amelia loved it immediately. There was a bed beside the window, a study desk, a wardrobe, a small bookshelf and a tiny kitchen area. She dropped her suitcase onto the floor. For several seconds, she simply stood there. Silence. No familiar voices. No family members walking around. No sounds from home. Just rain tapping softly against the window. Amelia walked toward it. London stretched beyond the glass. Cars moved along the wet streets. People hurried beneath umbrellas. Buildings stood close together, their windows glowing warmly against the grey evening. She smiled. “This is really happening.” She opened her suitcase and began unpacking. After nearly an hour, she had managed to arrange only half of her clothes. She was exhausted. Her phone rang. “Mum.” Amelia answered. “Hi, Mum.” “Amelia! Finally! I was beginning to think your phone had disappeared.” “I've been unpacking.” “Are you inside?” “Yes.” “Door locked?” “Yes.” “Have you eaten?” Amelia paused. Her mother immediately noticed. “Amelia.” “I'll eat.” “You haven't eaten.” “I had food on the plane.” “That was hours ago.” Amelia laughed. “I'm fine, Mum.” “You better be.” They talked for almost twenty minutes. When the call ended, Amelia placed her phone on the desk and looked around her new room. For the first time since arriving, she felt slightly lonely. She sat on the bed. Maybe she had been too excited to think about it before. Everything she knew was thousands of kilometres away. Her family. Her friends. Her familiar streets. Her favourite food. Her old bedroom. Everything. She reached for her pillow and hugged it. “You wanted this,” she reminded herself quietly. She had wanted independence. She had wanted adventure. She had wanted a chance to become someone beyond the girl everyone knew back home. So why was she suddenly afraid? A knock interrupted her thoughts. Amelia looked toward the door. Another knock. She stood. “Coming.” She opened it. A girl about her age stood outside, holding a mug. She had dark curly hair tied into a messy bun and a bright smile. “Hi!” “Hi.” “You're new, right?” Amelia nodded. “I'm Sophie.” “Amelia.” “I know.” Amelia blinked. “You know?” Sophie laughed. “Your name is on the accommodation list. Don't worry, I'm not secretly stalking you.” Amelia laughed. “That would have been concerning.” “I brought you tea.” She held out the mug. Amelia looked at it. “Why?” “Because you're new, it's raining, and everyone deserves tea on their first night in London.” Amelia accepted it. “Thank you.” Sophie leaned against the doorframe. “So, where are you from?” Amelia told her. Sophie immediately looked impressed. “That's really far.” “I know.” “Are you nervous?” “A little.” “Good.” Amelia raised an eyebrow. “Good?” “It means you're normal.” Amelia laughed. Sophie smiled. “Come downstairs later. A few of us are ordering food.” Amelia hesitated. “I don't really know anyone.” “Exactly. That's why you should come.” “I might.” “No.” Sophie pointed at her. “You will come.” Amelia laughed. “Okay.” “Seven thirty.” Sophie turned around. Then she suddenly looked back. “Oh, and Amelia?” “Yes?” “Don't trust the coffee machine downstairs.” “Why?” “It hates everyone.” Before Amelia could respond, Sophie disappeared down the hallway. Amelia closed the door, smiling. Maybe London wouldn't be so bad after all. At 7:30, Amelia found herself sitting around a table with six other students. There was pizza in the middle. Music played softly from someone's phone. Everyone was talking. Amelia listened more than she spoke. She was learning names. Sophie. Daniel. Maya. Ethan. Lily. And then there was him. Noah Bennett. Amelia hadn't noticed him when she first entered the room. He had been sitting near the window, quietly scrolling through his phone. He looked around twenty. Dark hair. Brown eyes. A calm expression. He wasn't trying to attract attention. In fact, he seemed perfectly comfortable avoiding it. Sophie leaned toward Amelia. “That is Noah.” Amelia glanced at her. “Okay.” “He's studying architecture.” “Okay.” “And he's terrible at replying to messages.” “Why are you telling me this?” Sophie grinned. “No reason.” Amelia rolled her eyes. “Stop.” Across the table, Noah suddenly looked up. His eyes met Amelia's. For one strange second, neither of them looked away. Then Noah smiled. It wasn't a huge smile. Just a small one. But something about it made Amelia's heart beat slightly faster. She looked down at her plate. Definitely the jet lag. That was all. Later that evening, Amelia stepped outside to get some fresh air. The rain had stopped. The streets were quiet. She stood beneath a streetlamp, looking at the city. “Can't sleep?” She turned. Noah stood a few metres away. “Not really.” “First night?” “Yeah.” He nodded. “Mine was terrible.” “Really?” “I got lost.” Amelia laughed. “You got lost in your own accommodation?” “No. London.” “That seems worse.” “It was.” They both laughed. Noah walked closer, stopping a comfortable distance away. “You'll get used to it.” “I hope so.” “You will.” “How do you know?” He looked toward the city. “Because London has a strange way of becoming home when you least expect it.” Amelia looked at him. For some reason, those words stayed with her. “That's a nice thought.” He smiled. “Maybe.” A comfortable silence settled between them. Then Noah looked at her. “So, Amelia.” “Yes?” “Why London?” She thought about the question. “Because I wanted somewhere completely different.” “Different from what?” “Everything.” He nodded slowly. “Then you've definitely come to the right place.” Amelia smiled. Neither of them knew it yet, but that conversation would become the beginning of something neither had planned. Something complicated. Something beautiful. Something that would change both of their lives. And Amelia had no idea that the boy standing beneath the London streetlight would eventually become the person she trusted most. But for now, he was simply Noah. And she was simply the new girl who had arrived in London with one suitcase, a scholarship, and a heart that had no idea what was coming.