Five years had passed since that night under the old oak tree. Ethan and Liam had grown taller, their voices deeper, their faces etched with the lines of adolescence. They were no longer the carefree boys who shared secrets and dreams under the summer sky. Life had taken them on different paths, their friendship fading into a distant memory.
Ethan, now seventeen, was a star athlete, his days filled with training and competitions. He was popular, surrounded by friends, but a part of him felt empty, a void that no one else could fill. He often found himself thinking about Liam, wondering what he was doing, how he was feeling.
Liam, on the other hand, had become a quiet observer, his days spent lost in books and music. He had retreated into himself, his heart still carrying the weight of that unspoken confession under the oak tree. He had tried to move on, to forget the feeling, but the memory of Ethan's hesitant smile, the way his eyes had met his, haunted him.
They hadn't spoken in years, their lives intertwined by a silent agreement, a mutual understanding of their unspoken feelings. But fate, it seemed, had other plans.
The day Ethan received his acceptance letter to the prestigious university, he also received a call from Liam. He hadn't recognized the number, but the voice on the other end was unmistakable.
"Ethan? It's Liam," he said, his voice hesitant. "I got accepted too. We're going to be at the same university."
Ethan felt a surge of excitement, a flicker of hope rekindled in his heart. Maybe, just maybe, this was a chance to reconnect, to finally understand what they both felt.
YOU ARE READING
Maybe This Time
Short Story"Maybe This Time" is a heartwarming story about two young boys, Ethan and Liam, whose friendship blossoms into a love that they are too afraid to acknowledge. Their journey is a poignant exploration of first love, the complexities of coming to terms...
