listen before i go - jack will

twenty-one.

JACK WILL

i wake up before y/n does, so i choose not to wake her up. i slip out of bed and walk into the kitchen to get a glass of water. it's late by now, so my mom and jamie are sleeping. i head back to my bedroom, but come across y/n's laptop on the kitchen table.

i sit down and open the computer, only to read some of the poetry she'd been working on. instead i come across an email from some school called 'La Petite Academy'.

"-would like to offer you a full-ride scholarship to our Prep School in San Francisco, California,"

that's the only sentence i choose to read. "she applied to a school in California?" i say to myself, as i close her laptop and walk back into my bedroom. "hey, when did you wake up?" she asks me tiredly. "uhm- not too long ago. water?" i reply, handing my water to her. she nods and takes a sip, as i sit down next to her.

"is everything alright?" she asks me, rubbing my shoulder. i nod, and lie back down next to her. "are you su-" "i'm sure. i'm tired, could we go to sleep?" i cut her off, and i can tell i've hurt her feelings a bit. "uhm- yeah, okay," she sighs quietly. "goodnight jack." she whispers, putting her head on my shoulder. "goodnight." i reply, as i shut my eyes and try to fall asleep.

Y/N

jack's upset with me.

i don't know what i did, but it must be serious since he didn't say "i love you" after he said "goodnight". i know i might sound like i'm thinking too much about it, but he always says "i love you" when we're going to sleep. i try to push it aside for now, since we both need some sleep.

i wake up the next morning, and jack isn't in bed anymore. i sit up on his bed and sit with my head leaning against his headboard. i sigh before getting out of bed, and getting some of my clothes out of one of my boxes. i change in jack's closet, and when i come out of his closet, jack is rushing in and out of his bedroom.

"jack, are you okay?" i say quietly, stopping his pacing. "yeah, i just can't find my phone." he stammers, as i look passed him and look at his dresser. i walk towards it and pick up his phone, turning around to hand it to him. "oh- sorry..." "jack, what's going on?" i say, picking his hand up.

"nothi-" "jack." i cut him off, and he sighs. "you got accepted to a school in california. why wouldn't you tell me that you applied in the first place? do you not like being here?" he says quickly. "i- i didn't think i'd actually get in." i reply, feeling my face grow hot.

"i'm sorry, jack. i don't even think i want to go. i didn't know it was in california until after i got the acceptance email." i explain, and he sighs. "it's a really good school, huh?" he asks and i shrug. "and a full-ride? that's crazy." he says quietly, scratching the back of his neck. "yeah, i guess. what're you getting at?" i ask, and he sighs.

"this is a really big opportunity for you y/n. and if it's something you want to do, i don't want you to miss out on it because of me. i'll be proud of you no matter what." he spoke. "jack, it's all the way across the country." i reply, and he nods. "i know. i just don't want you to put me ahead of what you want. you deserve the world, and i know this would be a great thing for you." he says, his voice breaking a little.

"so, you think i should go?" i ask, and he shrugs. "if that's what you want." he opens his arms, and pulls me into them, hugging me tightly. "jack, i don't want to leave you." i whisper, a tear dripping down my cheek. "trust me, all i want is to be with you. but i love you too much to let you miss out on this opportunity." he says, kissing my forehead. "so... that's it?" i sigh, looking up at him, "i'm going?"