On My Own

”Jerbear!” I shouted when he opened the door. Jeremy laughed and allowed me to wrap my arms around his middle. I hugged him tightly and he rubbed my back. “We haven’t seen each other in a full week!” And this was probably the last time we were ever going to hang out.

“I know,” he told me. “Did you remember to wear comfortable shoes?” Jeremy glanced down at my shoes and grinned at the flats. “Perfect. Let me go get my camera.” I nodded and walked into his house. While he went to get his camera, I went to his kitchen and got myself one his step-mom’s delicious pickles and a can of orange soda. “Of course you go for the pickles.” I grinned at Jeremy.

“Of course! Shelby makes the most ah-mazing pickles I have ever had,” I laughed. “Are you ready to go?” Jeremy nodded. I bit into the pickle and glared when the flash went off. “I said you could take pictures of me around LA, not in your kitchen eating a pickle.” Jeremy smiled and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. “Are we walking the whole way?” Jeremy nodded so I tossed my keys onto the table. I pulled out my iPod and cell phone out of my purse and put them in my pocket. I put my purse next to the keys.

Jeremy led the way out of his house and held the door opened for me. “So, I just want you to be yourself and walk around. You can even put your iPod on if it makes you act cuter,” he said. I stuck an earphone in my ear and shuffled my iPod. Take Me There by Rascal Flatts came on. I twirled on a light post and gave Jeremy a small smile. I walked on the curb and spun around in a circle. I peeked over my shoulder before taking off and plopping down on the neighborhood entrance.

His camera was going off like crazy. Jeremy was taking a billion pictures of me per second. He wanted every single moment captured. He had a project due when he started his photography classes in two weeks at the community college and I was his subject. Jeremy loved using me as his subject for his projects.

When Jeremy caught up with me, I took off towards downtown. You Make Me Feel by Cobra Starship started and I ran up to Jeremy. I grabbed his hand and we ran down a hill together. Jeremy lifted his camera and took a picture of us. We crossed the street and entered the shopping district. I ran into a store and Jeremy followed.

Jeremy took photos as I tried different hats and glasses on. I saw a pair of glasses that I knew I was going to come back for tomorrow and grinned at Jeremy. “Cute,” he chuckled and then snapped a picture. I put the glasses back and took off. I ran out of the store and Jeremy followed. Mine by Taylor Swift started playing and I ran back to Jeremy. He took a picture of me charging at him before I tackled him onto his back. My face hovered above his and he snuck his camera up to take a picture.

“You’re obsessed,” I giggled. Jeremy gave me a grin and leaned up, pressing a quick kiss against my lips. I laughed and started running again. Jeremy chased me through the crowded streets, his camera snapping away. I ran into an ally and climbed up the fire escape. The sun was almost set. Jeremy followed me up and we climbed up on the top of the building. I put my iPod away and leaned over the railing. “I love it up here.”

Jeremy put his arms around my middle from behind and rested his head on my shoulder. “I’m looking into getting an apartment. You could move in with me. I could give you anything you wanted.”

“Jerbear, we’re amazing, best friends,” I whispered. He sighed and squeezed me tighter. “How about I think about it?”

“The offer’s always going to be there,” he told me. I nodded and turned in his arms. I pecked my best friend’s cheek before buying my face into his chest. “Would you like to spend the night?”

I nodded because I owed him one last night. Because tomorrow I was going to be gone and had no plans on returning, I could give Jeremy one last night. He had been there through everything, so leaving my life behind with him would be the best way to leave. He was the one who cared about me the most.

Slowly, we climbed back down the fire escape of Twenty-One and Jeremy took one last picture of me before we headed back to Jeremy’s house. We went into the kitchen and found some food for dinner. After we ate, Jeremy and I headed into his bedroom. Jeremy put The Polar Express on for me and started going through pictures from today.

My phone hadn’t gone off since I got to Jeremy’s house. My family didn’t care. But I already knew they wouldn’t. At some point, Jeremy and I fell asleep in his bed and I was grateful for him being there with me. It was nice to know someone would miss me when I was gone.

The next morning, I drove my car to club Twenty-One and headed back to the store I had been in yesterday and bought the glasses.

I double checked my paper for punctuation and grammatical errors. I checked the spelling on my paper. I wiped under my eyes and sighed. Matt gave me a confused look from his desk. I pointed to my paper and walked up to him. I stapled my paper and gave it to Matt to read before sitting back at my desk.

Matt had assigned a paper on the hardest thing we’ve ever done and leaving Jeremy had been one of the hardest things I think I’ll ever do in my life. Matt’s classroom door opened and I wanted to ask for my paper back because I was pretty sure the two police officers, principal and one of my best friends were here for me.