Change of Heart (A One Direction & Emblem3 Fan Fiction)

Chapter 35

So... in the last chapter I left y'all hanging, eh? Now while I suppose that wasn't very nice of me, I'll have you know that it was all part of my devious, evil plan. So...without further ado, here's the next part!

Skylar's POV

They found me sitting in my suitcase, clothes strewn all over the room, staring blankly at the wall.

"Skylar?" Keaton sounded distracted. "What happened? Why'd you walk out like that?"

"They fired me." My voice was toneless, it was monotone. There was no feeling.

Just like how I was feeling right now.

Empty.

"What?" Wes was aghast. "They can't fire you! You're amazing!"

"I know." I didn't break eye contact from the wall. "However, I declined the offer to be promoted to band manager. So they fired me."

"Did they actually?" Drew asked, shocked.

"Yes, his exact words were 'Hand in your resignation like a good girl.' Which clearly means I'm fired." Now there was bitterness in my voice.

Keaton sat down next to me and put an arm around his shoulder. "What else?" he mumbled.

"If I had taken the job as band manager, our relationship couldn't, or wouldn't be allowed to be continued," I admitted.

Keaton's eyes narrowed. "That's not fair," he said quietly.

"Life isn't fair," I muttered. "Now, I should finish packing."

"Where are you going?" Wes asked. "You've only been here for three months."

"I know," I sighed. "I'm going back to Ireland to drop off all my stuff back home. Then I'm going to take a plane with a carry-on suitcase of a few days' clothing and supplies back to Toronto, where I'm going to apply for another job at TSN or maybe in New York at Simon and Schuster. Somewhere that I'm able to get better credentials to achieve the job I want." 

"But you have such an extraordinary list of credentials already," Drew insisted.

I winced. Your list of credentials is not good enough. "Not good enough, apparently," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"What about us?" Keaton asked, hurt evident on his face.

I leaned in and kissed him lightly. "If you want, we can maintain a long-distance relationship."

Keaton's eyes lit up. "You'd be willing to do that?"

I nodded. "Of course." He hugged me and I laid there for a minute, breathing in his scent and the familiarity of the situation. "I love you, Keats."

"I love you too," he murmured. "I really wished you didn't have to leave. But I'm not about to stop you."

"Thank you," I whispered, smiling slightly, but epically failing. I wasn't in the mood to smile, I wasn't in the mood to be happy at all. 

Today's episode with Management had shown me just exactly how hard it was to find a job you loved, and how hard you needed to work just to maintain that job. Also, that if you don't meet their exact requirements, your job is, to quote the cold man from the Head Office here: TERMINATED.

 "I'll leave you to pack," Keaton said awkwardly, leaving the room.

My plane left for Ireland later this evening, and I would arrive in Ireland in the early morning, around 6-ish. I had my trip all planned out; I'd spend a week in Ireland with my family, and then fly back to Toronto to see if my job at TSN was still available.