Linger

S E V E N T Y - F O U R

I missed him. 

I couldn't even deny it anymore.

I missed him so much. 

I missed his voice. His touch. His smile. His laugh. 

I missed everything about him. 

But I couldn't believe I did. I still saw him everyday. It hadn't even been that long since we had actually spent time together.

The difference this time though was that we had grown closer than ever. 

Talking to him every night was a reflex. Studying with him came naturally. 

This past week though has been filled with lonely nights in my room, staring at my notes, trying to make sense of the scribbles I had written hours earlier. 

"She found the one and that's all the matters." 

I snapped myself out of my thoughts to realize we were now at the field. It was the following Saturday and most of us met here at the Blue Jackets soccer game for our senior project. 

However, none of us knew what that actually meant, so we had made ourselves comfortable on the grass underneath a booth. 

"Wait, like, you found the guy?" Alice asked Kelsey.

"No, dress!" Kelsey exclaimed next to me. "I found the perfect prom dress!" 

"I don't know what's more difficult - finding a dress or finding a date." 

"At least the dress makes you look good." 

"And it won't break your heart," I added. 

"Is this where the doughnuts are?"

We all looked up to see a group of young boys in Blue Jackets jerseys holding up a few dollar bills. 

"Wait, there's doughnuts here?" Kelsey perked up. 

I stood up, shaking my head at the kids. "There's no doughnuts here. They're at the booth over--" I nodded to the other side of the field where Daniel's pastry booth usually was set up . . . however, the space was empty. 

"Where? Where?" the kids asked excitedly, peering around the field. 

"Johnny, come on! It's time to go!" a mom called out, gathering the young boys. 

"But my game didn't even start yet!" 

"I don't think there's going to be a game today, sweetpea." 

I knitted my eyebrows in confusion as I watched them walk away before glancing toward the field. 

A few players stood at the center, talking in a huddle. Others sat on the grass, stretching. 

"There isn't going to be a game?" Chelsea turned to us. 

"No, there should be a game. There's always a game." I nodded, keeping my eyes on the field, scanning for any sight of Daniel. He should be here by now, either for our senior project or his pastry booth. He was always here on time and prepared. I couldn't remember a game where he wasn't here . . . 

. . . probably because he was mainly the reason I came here.

"Since there's no doughnuts here, do you guys wanna get lunch after this?" Kelsey spoke up. 

"Oooh, we could get frozen yogurt too!" Sophia gasped. 

I instantly perked up at this. "I'm in!" 

"Me too!" Alice exclaimed next to me.