No Time Like Goodbye

Chapter 2- Dylan

"So, when are you going to tour Yale and look at dorms, again?" I asked again, hoping for a different answer this time. I don't really know what I was expected, Never, maybe, or even just a simple, I've decided not to go to Yale. 

 "June 30th," She replied once again, as she had the past six times I had asked. I nodded sadly, taking a deep breath and continuing to drive. Why had I expected her to change her mind? This was the importunity of a lifetime for her. She was never going to get this chance again.

But I knew why I had hoped she would change her mind, she would decide to stay. I had  hoped for that because I didn't want to her to go. I wanted everything to stay the same. Maybe that's why I was so, off, that day.

I could tell Hazel had noticed my silence, based on the way she kept looking at me. It was true, I was always the one who talked, and she was the one who listened. But all of the sudden, I was out of words. 

For the past eight months, I had been able to pretend this wasn't happening, that Hazel wasn't on her way to a brand new life with brand new friends, that I wasn't going to be left alone, stuck in a small, one-way town in Southern Virginia. 

We arrived at the restaurant, a small Italian bistro a block down from the courthouse, and I finally glanced at Hazel. She was looking out the window, lost in thought. Her honey blonde hair was falling into her face, slipping out of the loose braid she had pinned it in. She wore a tank top and jeans, simple flats adorning her delicate feet. Her eyes sparkled a misty grey-green, her lips set in a small, almost imperceptible frown.

"Hey, earth to Hazel, you coming?" I glanced back at her as I started getting out of the car. She was still sitting in the same position, staring out the window. She blinked and shook her head, almost as if she was deciding something. 

"Of course I am." She jumped out of the car and walked with me inside, the usual bounce in her step gone all of the sudden. But she smiled nonetheless when the front doors of the bistro opened and none other than Fahari Everest strode out to meet us. 

How does one describe Fahari Eleanora Everest? Think of a bubble. It's bright, it's bouncy, it's fun, it makes little kids happy, heck, it makes everyone happy, and it's, well, bubbly. That is Fahari. She didn't have a mean bone in her body, and she would go to any lengths to make someone smile when they were sad. I couldn't remember a time in the 5 years I had known this bright ray of sunshine that she hadn't been able to make me laugh, or smile. 

While Fahari and I may have dated three years prior, there was no awkwardness now, nor any ill will between us. It just hadn't worked. We had had a mature discussion, and came to the conclusion it would be better if we parted ways at that moment, under the mutual consensus that it would never work, rather than eventually arguing and ending both our relationship as well as our friendship at one time. 

"Hazel! Dylan!" She smiled and hugged Hazel first, then me. I didn't even have to force a smile as I hugged back, the sheer happiness of Fahari contagious. 

"Hey Fahari." My voice was somehow able to maintain my outwards happiness, but somehow Fahari wasn't to be fooled. She frowned a bit, the small down-turning of her lips a clear sign she knew I wasn't actually as chipper as I pretended. 

"Talk to me later, okay?" She whispered to me, and I nodded. There was one thing you needed to know about Fahari: she didn't take no for an answer.

"Now come on, guys! Ryan already got us a table." She grabbed our arms and started leading us inside. Hazel glanced at me and smiled a bit, obviously trying to cheer me up. I smiled back, lost in the way the sunlight bounced off her pale cheeks. 

God, I was going to miss her.