Our Love Was Like a Song

Five years. It had been five years since Penelope Carter last saw her high school boyfriend. The two parted at their high school graduation to pursue their own dreams. Penelope flew from South Carolina to Carolina to visit her father in Australia, a man she rarely ever saw after her parents’ divorce. After spending the summer with her father, Penelope chose to remain there and begin earning a medical degree. She was in the middle of doing so when it came time for her five-year reunion. The aspiring doctor dropped everything at the chance to go back home to see how everyone she cared about was doing.

There was no doubt that things had changed. Over the years, Penelope only ever kept in contact with August Owens and Lynette Krezica, keeping tabs on her friends. It was through Lynette that Penelope heard of Rayna’s life; however, those update were few and far between. Mostly, it was only ever August that Penelope kept in regular contact with. Based on the last update from Lynette, the Krezica twins had their own issues to deal with. She also discovered that the Krezica twins would not be attending the five-year reunion, due to some family issues that had arisen. Neither Penelope nor August knew what they were.

Aside from wanting to catch up with August about the past five years, Penelope intended on catching up with her ex-boyfriend: Jeffrey Knight. From the time she was a sophomore in high school, until her high school graduation, Jeffrey was her boyfriend. At Jeffrey’s insistence, the two broke up before they went their separate way; he to Washington, D.C. to attend Georgetown and for an internship at a Senator’s office; Penelope to visit her father and eventually go to medical school. It was heart-wrenching for young Penelope to lose Jeffrey, but Jeffrey had been quite insistent that the break-up occur, citing the chance to explore his options as the reason. Penelope intended on trying to win her ex-boyfriend back, seeing as she was still in love with him. She wanted him back.

Penelope Carter sat in her old bedroom, staring directly at her open closet as she decided what to wear to the reunion tonight. She needed to make him see that their break-up was a mistake. After a few minutes of contemplating, Penelope settled on a coral dress that reached her knees and a pair of gold heels. The young woman tossed her curly blonde hair into a ponytail and applied a light layer of make-up before grabbing her car keys and driving out to Cedar Hall, the same place that the senior prom was held. That was definitely an unforgettable experience. Aside from the fact that Lynette planned for the Jonas Brothers to perform at prom, it was also the last truly happy memory Penelope had of Jeffrey.

When the plans were made for the five-year reunion, Penelope specifically asked August—who was on the reunion committee—to hold it at Cedar Hall. Penelope wanted to recreate prom for the couple, for her and Jeffrey. She figured it was her one hope at getting Jeffrey back. August agreed to help her oldest friend; the two grew even closer during the past five years and Penelope shared all her fears with the girl regarding Jeffrey. It helped immensely that the Krezica twins were off in California, living in their own little world. Aside from a few sporadic updates from Lynette, not much was ever discovered regarding the life they—their friends—led. This left Penelope and August to rely on each for everything that they needed. Penelope’s boy troubles were a constant topic of interest for the two; now was her chance to do something about the love she gave up.

Upon dropping her car off with the valet, Penelope entered the lobby to find August standing. “Penny, my friend; we have a very serious situation,” August stated rather grimly.

“How?” her friend questioned.

“You really don’t want to know,” August insisted.

“What? Of course I do,” Penelope said.

“Fine. If you insist,” August mumbled.

The pair walked through a set of oak doors and into Cedar Hall’s ballroom; the same place the prom was held. Penelope smiled as she took note of the fact that the room had been decorated in the exact same fashion that it was five years ago for their prom. She smiled at that, but the smile soon faded when her gaze shifted to Jeffrey. On his arm was a pretty red-head. Her first thought was to assume the worst. “August, who’s that on Jeffrey’s arm?”

August winced. “You need to figure that out on your own.”

Penelope grimaced. See, that’s what I was afraid of. The mysterious red-head latched onto her ex-boyfriend’s arm freaked Penelope out and she hoped it wasn’t what she thought. She assumed the worst, but it might not even be the case. I can’t lose him. Not when I still love him. Penelope carefully approached her ex-boyfriend and the young woman on his arm. It would be awkward for the three of them should Penelope simply outright question her ex about this. This had to be approached delicately, as if Penelope didn’t expect to see Jeffrey. She nonchalantly walked by her ex, hoping he might notice her.

“Penelope!” she heard Jeffrey call.

Perfect, Penelope thought. He did exactly as I wanted. She turned to face her ex-boyfriend and walked towards. “Oh, hello, Jeffrey. I didn’t see you there. So, who’s this on your arm?”

Jeffrey grinned. “Oh, this is my fiancée, Morgan.” Penelope heart dropped. “We met while I was in D.C. Apparently, we were in the same political science class and hit off.” Her heart sank even further. “One day, about two months into the semester, I asked her out. We’ve been dating ever since. And, earlier this year, I asked her to marry me.” At that remark, Penelope’s already fragile heart shattered. Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes, yet Penelope refused to let them fall. She could not allow Jeffrey to see her tears.

“Oh. That’s nice,” Penelope replied.

The engaged couple moved on to reunite with others and Penelope went to confront her friend. “August, why didn’t you warn me that Jeffrey had a fiancée?” she asked.

“I tried to tell you,” August objected.

“You should have tried harder,” Penelope mumbled. She slumped down into a nearby chair and watched her ex-boyfriend as met up with all of his old friends to see how they were doing, introducing them to his fiancée. Now that Jeffrey and Morgan were out of earshot and out of sight, Penelope allowed the tears to flow. “How could he have moved on so easily?” Throughout the past five years, Penelope Carter refused to date any boy who asked, preferring to wait for Jeffrey. Waiting seemed rather pointless now; her one love—the boy she gave her heart to—was now engaged. The young woman huffed. “What happened to us?”

Her mind drifted to the last night she was truly happy: prom. While the Jonas Brothers were on their break, a DJ took over playing the music. Two of the boys stood around talking to Lynette and her date Chad; the third was dancing with Rayna. As the newly-crowned Prom Queen danced with the Jonas, Penelope couldn’t help but wonder if this was what Lynette had in mind when she suggested that the Jonas Brothers perform at prom. Rayna seemed somewhat happy at seeing the boys, almost as happy as Penelope was with Jeffrey.

A new song began and Jeffrey pulled Penelope out onto the dance floor. He pulled her close and the couple began to glide across the room. Penelope melted in his embrace, a wave of pure happiness enveloping her as the pair waltzed across the room. “I love you, Jeff,” she said happily.

“I love you too, Penny,” he replied.

Penelope often wondered how Jeff could have done something like this to her. Their relationship had never been stronger, yet Jeff initiated the break-up. It killed her inside to know that Jeff no longer loved her. “Five years can change everything,” she mumbled quietly as she watched the boy she loved kissed his fiancée loving. Whoever this Morgan was, Jeffrey obviously seemed to love her more. It almost seemed as if the relationship Penelope fostered with Jeffrey ceased to exist the moment Morgan stepped into his life. She was forgotten, cast aside like an old, broken toy. “What happened?” the aspiring doctor wondered. “How could things have gone so wrong in such a short period of time?” Penelope wiped away the tears and sniffed. “I still love him. I don’t know if I’ll ever stop.”

“For his sake, you may want to try,” August suggested.

“How can I do that though?” Penelope asked.

“Sometimes, when you love someone, you have to let them go,” August replied. “You must do so with Jeff. As much as you hate it, Jeff is happy. He’s in love with Morgan and that’s just the way it is. All you can do accept the truth; you’re never going to get him back.”

“I guess,” Penelope shrugged. As right as Penelope knew her friend was, she could not completely bring herself to accept that. Though Jeff could easily forget about her and move on, it was impossible for Penelope to forget about him. “I won’t forget,” she whispered.