Splash

21 • in which myles makes a choice

Hope you guys like it.

She loves me.

Serena loves me.

Serena Stewart, the single most perfect girl on planet Earth, loves me.

And I didn't say it back.

Why didn't I say it back?

Why am I such a fuck up all the time?

After prom night, she hasn't said it again. I wouldn't expect her to, either. But, damn, hearing those words come out of her mouth gave me chills. It made me solidify what I had been thinking all along.

I was so in love with Serena Stewart.

I loved her so much it hurt. I wanted to spend every second with her, I always wanted to touch her, to talk to her. Her laugh was my favorite sound, and her eyes were my favorite sight to see. I could get drunk off her eyes. The way they changed from blue to green in a certain light. When they were bright blue, it was like staring into the Pacific Ocean. When they were bright green, it was a forest of gold and blue specks. But it wasn't just the color. It was the way they lit up when she talked about something she was passionate about, they way they crinkled at the corners when she laughed, the way that never for a single moment were they ever dull.

It was the way that she looked at me differently than everyone else.

I don't know why I didn't say it back. I was so shocked when she told me, I was so dumbfounded that this girl could possibly love me in even the slightest way that I loved her, I didn't know what to say.

So, of course, being the dumbass that I was, I just didn't say anything.

Thankfully, she hasn't brought it up or acted weird around me. It was now June, and graduation was last week and I barely remember anything. Everyone already knew what college they were going to, had Facebook messaged their roommate, and started picking out dorm decorations.

Except me.

I had been waitlisted at USC, but thankfully I got in. I got my acceptance letter a few weeks ago, and I have never seen my grandfather so happy before. My whole family, along with Serena and Noah, were there when I opened it, and it was like I won the lottery. It was like a dream come true for all of us.

But then there was Serena.

We had barely talked about college, and what our futures would hold when we went our separate ways. We didn't want to spend the whole summer sulking over the fact that we would be separated once fall rolled around. Obviously I wasn't going to Wake Forest, and she wasn't going to USC. Last time I checked, they were on opposite sides of the country. She was beyond proud of me for getting into USC, but I could tell that she held a little bit of sadness behind those sweet eyes. She wasn't the clingy type, and she would never want to force me to go somewhere, which is why she probably assumed I was going to USC.

But I didn't know yet.

I had visited Ohio State a while back with my dad, just for the heck of it, and I had absolutely loved it. I loved it so much more than I thought I would. It was different, new, exciting, a complete change of pace from Southern California, and I liked it.