I'll Never Be the Same

Time seemed to speed up and slow down all at the same time. The school year was winding down, which meant soon it would be prom, and before we knew it, graduation. The feeling was bittersweet among the members of the senior class. I tried not to think about the fact that soon I would have to leave this place, and start all over at college.

I had been accepted at a good school that was only an hour away from me. Becca was going there too, so I wouldn’t be completely alone once I was there. I had asked Darren several times where he was planning to go and he kept telling me he hadn’t really made any decisions soon. I was getting worried that maybe he didn’t get in anywhere or something else had happened that he did not want to share with me.

People at school had started to get used to the fact that Darren and I were dating now. There were less stares and whispers when we walked down the hallways together. But I could still tell there were people watching us closely, waiting for Darren to ruin everything.

Little did I know that Darren would “ruin” things in a completely unexpected way.

“I’m going to school in Michigan,” he said. We were laying on his bed, my head resting comfortably on his chest. His mom was working late.

“What?” I asked, lifting my head to look at him.

“College,” he said, brushing some hair out of my face. “I applied to this school in Michigan and got accepted.”

I blinked, looking at him and trying to fully comprehend what this meant.

“That’s really far away,” I finally said. Darren sat up slowly, pulling me up with him.

“I know,” he said. “But I don’t want to worry about it right now. We still have time to talk about it. I don’t have to leave until August.”

I nodded my head, looking down at the bed for a moment before looking back at Darren.

“I’ve been trying to think of how to tell you, and I figured just saying it would be best,” he said. “But seriously, we’re not going to worry about it. We’re going to have fun and enjoy the rest of school and then the summer.”

“Yeah,” I said, smiling at him. Wanting to change the subject for now, I said, “So, are you taking me to prom?”

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t tell you?” he said. “I’m taking someone else.”

I shoved him playfully in the shoulder and he laughed.

“Becca and I are supposed to go dress shopping this weekend,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Normally, I wouldn’t mind but she’s always asking questions about our relationship and it gets on my nerves.”

“You don’t like talking about me?” he asked.

“No, never,” I said seriously, before smiling at him. “No, she’s just… persistent, I guess is the word. I don’t know. I’ll get through it somehow.”

“I’m sure you will,” he said before leaning forward, kissing me softly. I smiled as he gently pushed me back on the bed, deepening the kiss.

I pulled away when he started pulling my shirt up.

“You’re pretty good at distracting me, you know,” I said.

“Oh, I do know,” he said, winking at me as my shirt was thrown to the floor. I rolled my eyes and pulled him down for another kiss, everything we had just talked about pushed to the back of my mind.