The perfect timing | completed ✔

『 Prologue 』

00| LEFT BEHIND

     "Goodbyes are hard. It is harder for the person leaving but hardest for the person left behind."
-Maddie

➢ 3 years ago....

"I CAN'T DO it!" I squeak, covering my face with my trembling hands. I can feel my heart furiously pounding against my chest. My face flushed into a dark shade of red. "C'mon Maddie...." Capella groans, face palming. She gives me an exasperated sigh and shakes her head lightly. "You have been practicing all day."

I slump slightly, my hands shaking a bit. Letting out a sigh, I mumble out loud. "But..what if I—" She places her hand on her hip and faces me. "What? Get rejected?" I give her a slight nod, letting a shaky breath escape my lips. "If he did reject you, well, we can always meet up at Maria's Parlor and stuff our faces with ice cream ." She says, a grin forming on her cheeks. The thought of the cold creamy dessert made her eyes twinkle. I sighed, nudging her on the arm. "Not helping." She cracks a small smile.

Suddenly, he walks past us. His dark brown locks bouncing a bit as he takes huge steps. His dark eyes scanning the room before landing on the exit. I turn to see Capella wiggling her eyebrows. "Capella~" I whine, tugging her sleeve like a five year old begging her mother to buy her candy.

I see him exit the school doors, the door shutting with a small squeak. "Whatcha waiting for?" She whispers, poking my sides. I jolt up in surprise, my eyes widening at the sudden contact. She pats my head, her lips forming into a wide grin. "Tell me everything." She shouts, shoving me to the exit. 'This is it Maddie' I took a deep breath. My sweaty hands grasps the metal door knob tightly before twisting it. 'It's either now or never.' Flashing one last smile at Capella, I walk out.

Upon getting out, I quickly memorize my 'confession speech' that I wrote earlier today. It was quite cringey but I hope I could pull it off. As soon as I finished memorizing, I quickly scurry over to our meeting spot. I was lucky I wasn't late because it'll be really embarrassing. Okay, play it cool Maddie. "Hey." I say, my lips curling into a smile. "Hey." He replies, giving me one of his signature smiles. The afternoon light illuminated a part of his face making him look more ethereal. Damn, I wish I looked that good.

I gulp slightly, stopping myself from staring at his face. He pats the bench, mentioning me to sit down. With a pounding heart, I sat down. Breathe Maddie. Breathe. It became quiet for a moment. I dig my fingers into my palm, leaving red marks. I couldn't calm my beating heart no matter how hard I wanted to. My heart rate increases as adrenaline rushes through my veins. "Ah, damn it." I curse under my breath.

'You can do it' I tell myself.

Clearing my throat, I look at his face once more. He looks at me.  "U-Uh...." I stammer, nervously fiddling with my fingers. "Yes?" He asks, his eyes baring into mine. Oh, shoot. "I have something I've wanted to say for a long time.." I mumble, averting my eyes on the ground. Strangely, the ground seemed more interesting now than earlier.  "Same." He says, moving down so that he could meet my eyes. I started to internally panic. Calm down...calm down..

"You first." I say. "No no. Ladies first. " He replies, making a dramatic bow before grinning cheekily at me. Seriously, can this guy not? If he continues I might get a heart attack because of how cute he is acting right now.
"You."
"You!"
"You."
"You."