Anything Can Happen

Chapter 1

        "Wait did you just say Princeton?" Sam asked, eyebrows furrowed. He was trying to put the pieces together, trying to understand how his girlfriend could make such a big decision without even talking to him about it first. "Isn't that in New Jersey, like a million miles away?" He questioned, leaning forward on the wicker rocking chair and awaiting her answer.

        "It's not a million miles, only about a thousand from where you'll be." Kristen told him wincing slightly. She was trying to make the situation better but was obviously not doing a good job. A thousand didn't sound any better than a million at this point. Applying to Princeton was kept a secret from everyone. She didn't want to tell anyone, get all excited and get her hopes up and not get in. So she kept it a secret and waited to see what happened. Once she got in and told her family she knew she had to go. It was too great of a school to just turn down, there was no way she could say no.

        Her and Sam had talked about what would happen after high school all the time. They both would go off to Florida Gulf Coast University for soccer, both receiving scholarships from the school. It was a plan they had for awhile now and they were both really excited about it. Well until Kristen realized there was other options for her. Right now their plan had a very low chance of happening and Sam just couldn't come to terms with that. That was exactly how he imagined their future and he didn't want it to change. Usually people wanted to be single when they went off to college but Sam felt the exact opposite. He wanted Kris by his side the entire time. 

        "But you can't go there. What about our plans? What about us?" He asked her, his voice raising slightly with every word. He was not prepared for this when Kristen invited him over for dinner that night. He figured it would be a normal night, they would eat, and just hang out like usual. They did almost every night, it was normal for them. Now he knew why her entire family was unusually quiet throughout dinner. They knew about her decision and knew he would find out tonight. No one even told him. "Wait how long have you known about going there?" He questioned, getting more angry the more he thought about it.  

        Kristen looked down at her bare feet, swinging her legs slightly as she sat on the railing of her front porch. "About a month now." She admitted, not having the guts to look right at him. She felt bad about keeping such a big decision from him, and she could just imagine the look on his face. If she looked up she knew she would break right now, and she needed to be strong for the both of them right now. She had kept probably one of the biggest decisions of her life so far from the person she cared about most. Though to be honest there was just never a good time to admit that she was moving a thousand miles away. There was never a good time to tell Sam that everything they had planned was being thrown away all due to her. He had every right to be mad, considering she ditched their plans without even talking or telling him about it first.

        "People are starting to leave for college in two months, and you're just telling me this now?" He spits, jumping up from his seat to pace the length of the porch. "How could you just keep this from me?" He almost whimpered, coming to stand right in front of her.      

        "There was just never a good time to tell you, and I didn't want you to be mad." Kristen told him, realizing just now how bad that decision was.

        "Oh year well that worked." He breathed, rolling his eyes. "A thousand miles is a lot Kris. Are we going to be able to make it through that?" He was acting like she was a bad person for leaving. He was leaving North Carolina too, and she had every right to do what she wanted. She wanted to follow her dreams and go to the school she wanted. She needed her chance too and she felt like Princeton was just a better choice for her. 

        "Well plans change." Kris said, finally looking up at him. "I need to go to Princeton for me, just like you need to go to FGU for you, it's that simple. We can make it Sam, I have faith and so should you." She tested him, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "We'll see each other over breaks and visits. There's also this thing called cell phones that we can use." She attempted to joke, smiling halfheartedly. "People survive long distance relationships all the time."   

        Sam leaned against the railing next to her, sighing loudly and crossing his arms over his chest. As much as he wanted to admit that he had faith, he didn't. He knew as soon as they found new friends and did their own things they would grow apart. It would be neither of their faults, but just something that would happen. Not being with each other all the time would slowly ruin them. If they both went to the same school everything would be perfect. Princeton was a whole other story. They would be a thousand miles apart. Just that decision threw a wrench into all their plans and he didn't know how to fix it. He knew deep down their relationship wouldn't survive but he couldn't admit that to her, or even himself. So he played along, knowing they would pretty much have the rest of the summer and that's about it.

        And Sam had never been more right in his life. 

        They spent that last summer together, doing as many things as possible. Their goodbye's were heartfelt and sincere and they both vowed to not let the distance get in the way. Though that promise was quickly broken. They survived until about Easter of their freshman year when Sam just couldn't do it anymore. Sam tried hard to make their relationship work. He would stay home while his friends went out, just to get a chance to video chat or talk on the phone with Kris. He would text her as much as he could, just to know what was going on in her life, and listened to all the stories about her new friends and classes. But soon their phone calls happened less and less and the few times Sam had come up to visit he felt like an outsider, like he didn't know Kris at all. Just like he predicted, she had new friends, new surrounds, and there just wasn't a place in her life for him anymore. Sam hated to do it but he had to let her go, and that's exactly what he did. 

        Now four years later, both of them had returned home. They're ready to start their lives and get careers and homes and possibly even families in the near future. Will they find their way back to each other once again? Or was their past too much for them to get past?