It's Cliché

• Seventeen •

This is a really short chapter, sorry! But next is the epilogue and it's going to be really long I promise!

Livvy

Harry and I had an okay rest of our senior year. It wasn't anything extraordinary, but it was decent enough. Everything really started to go downhill about a week before prom.

I felt Harry slipping away from me. Prom made everything worse, we couldn't seem to agree on anything, where we wanted to take pictures before the dance, whether we wanted to get a limo with our friends or not. Everything caused an argument.

I couldn't pick a dress and that stressed me out because I had no idea what I was going to wear. Harry came with me but I still couldn't find anything I wanted.

I was searching through a local dress shop's online catalog two days before the dance when Harry burst into my room. "Livvy, we have to talk."

I closed my laptop and set aside. "What's wrong?"

"I-I...um, uh..."

"Harry just tell me." I said.

He then pulled out a white envelope from his back pocket and handed it to me. Inside was a one way plane ticket to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

"Harry?"

"You aren't going to Duke with me. You're going to Rio, just like you had first planned. You need to follow your dreams."

"Why?" I eventually got out, "I thought you loved me?"

"Livvy I do, I love you so so much. That's why I have to do this. You leave the day after prom. Please take the ticket and go."

"You're breaking up with me."

"I'm so sorry Liv. I have to let you go." Harry had tears in his eyes as he left my room.

I wiped away my own tears and ran to my window to see him stop half way across the street. He fell to the ground in tears as I did the same in my bedroom.

"Liv honey, calm down." my mom had came up a few minutes after Harry left and as soon as she saw the plane ticket laying on my bed she knew what had happened.

"I love him mom. How can he let me leave?"

"Because he loves you just as much. He knows you need to see the world like Gramps did, and he knows you need to do it alone."

"He broke up with me!" I sobbed.

"I know sweetie. It hurts so bad but you'll get better, trust me."

• • •

Two days later and I didn't leave my room once. I had packed and unpacked my two bags multiple times but now they sit packed by my bedroom door, ready for me to take to the airport the next morning.

I didn't want to go at first but my mom had told me sometimes you have to be away from the one you love. Gramps told me in his letter to me that love will teach me many things and I just had to believe that I would learn something out of this.

My phone kept going crazy with all the messages from people containing pictures of them and their dates getting ready for prom. I hated that Harry and both were missing the last thing we could do with all of friends but we weren't together anymore. What could I do?

I thought that I couldn't do anything until my mom came into my room and pulled my homecoming dress out of my closet. "Put it on and get ready."

"I don't have a date mom." I had told her.

"So? Why don't you tell me the real reason you aren't going?" my mom had a knowing smile on her face.

"I don't want to be there without Harry."

"Then why don't you do something about that?"

On that note my mom left my room and left me with two choices; stay in bed my last night in the country, OR go have one last night with the love of my life.

I chose the latter.

In record time I had on my dress and my hair and makeup was done. I went across the street where Anne opened the door and greeted me with a hug and a smile.

"He's up in his room sweetie." Anne told me.

I smiled at her in thanks and walked up the familiar stairs to Harry's bedroom one last time and knocked on his door. It was obvious that he was shocked when he saw me ready for prom, but he was more shocked when I said, "Will you go to prom with me?"

• • •

Harry and I showed up to prom very late. We missed half of the dance but we didn't care, we had one more night together and we planned on enjoying it. We didn't think about my departure the next morning but instead the fun we had that night. Harry dropped me off at my front door and gave me one last kiss as he slipped a folded piece of paper into my palm.

"Whatever you do, don't read it until the plane has taken off."

• • •

I did as Harry said and waited until I was on the plane and it had taken off before I read the paper. It turned out to be Harry's letter from Gramps.

Dear Harry,

I'm not entirely sure where to start. There's so much that I want to say to you but I suppose I'll start out by saying that I've always considered you as my own grandson and I want to thank you for always being there for Olivia. I know that you are in love with her and you probably aren't quite sure of it but you'll realize it, probably before her since she's so stubborn.

I don't want to tell you how to do things with my granddaughter but I guess that's what I'm going to end up doing because she is one of the most important people to me. I know you have wonderful intentions but you and Liv are both quite stubborn, she has you beat in this category though.

I know you two are going to fight a lot but you can only be TRUELY mad at someone who you care very deeply about, remember that. I want you and her to be happy together. Now pay attention to what I'm saying next because it might be the most important part of this letter.

Liv wants to travel the world. Yet she also wants you. She's not going to know how to choose so she's going to pick you. I know she should because you two are meant for each other but she needs to chase her dreams Harry. You have to let her go because she's going to come back to you.

It's going to be hard but you need to let her go. Let her go explore the world, but don't follow her. She needs to chase her dreams all on her own. You'll be afraid to let her go because you won't know if she'll come back but I promise you she will because she loves you just as much as you love her.

When you're letting her go, don't focus on her leaving, focus on her coming back. Focus on how she will come running into your arms and you will kiss her. Kiss her to tell her that you have missed her and you are happy to have her back. Kiss her like she's the best thing you've ever seen because she is. Kiss her like there's no other place you'd rather be. Kiss her silent. Kiss her stupid. Kiss her until she forgets how to count and when you ask her what 2+2 is she'll say your name.

Then, while she is catching her breath, you tell her how you never once stopped loving her, not even for a second, and you never will stop loving her. Tell her you want to marry her. Tell her how you feel. Nothing will ever beat that feeling of getting her back, but in order to get her back, you first must let her go.

-Gramps