I held my face in one hand, leaning on my desk on my elbow. I sighed and glanced at the clock right as the bell rang, signaling the end of school. As quick as the wind, I grabbed my bag from the floor and slung it over my shoulder, pushing through the other students to get out. I shoved my way through the hall and walked up to my best friend's locker just as he set down his books inside of it and closed the locker door. He jumped as he realized I was standing so close. He just shook his head and grinned.
"What is it this time?" He asked.
"Mrs. Makenna is the fucking worst," I complained. "She can go suck a dick and fucking die in a hole."
"Ah, the math homework strikes again," he joked. I smacked the back of his head as we turned to walk down the hall together. He laughed. "I'm kidding. Do you want help?"
"No, no, I understand the material, I just hate it," I said. "God, I swear, if it weren't for my mom, I'd have dropped out in year eleven."
"But aren't you glad you didn't?" He asked.
"Shut up with your logic and let me whine at you, Brian," I said, rolling my eyes. "God, you always make points and state facts and make me see from a rational perspective."
"Something bugging you?" He asked.
"I've had a terrible day, Bri," I said, pushing open the door and holding it open for him.
"Well, I'm about to make it worse," he stated, trailing his long fingers down the railing and avoiding eye contact as we trekked down the front stairs to the courtyard.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I've found this uni," he started. I bit my lip, not liking where this was going. He stopped walking down the stairs, so I stopped a step below him. He was already much taller than me, and I felt smaller next to him than I ever had before. "I really want to go."
"Where?" I asked. My voice came out a little shaky and I saw his heart shatter in his eyes as he realized the anxiety he was giving me.
"Imperial," he said. "Right in London."
"Oh," I said simply. I turned away from him and started down the stairs again. He followed, skipping a step to say on the same level as me.
"That's it?" He asked. "You're not going to yell at me or anything?"
"Why would I yell at you, boy?" I asked, looking straight ahead and not meeting his gaze. "I'm just doing what you do, with all your stupid logic and facts and things."
"What?" He said, puzzled.
"Y'know, that thing where you're all like 'I totally understand, and while I may be upset or I don't get why or whatever, your decisions are your decisions and I have no right making those decisions for you,'" I imitated. He took me by the shoulder and stopped me once we reached the base of the stairs, turning me around to face him.
"Well, that's not like you," he said, smiling a little. "And it's a bit frightening, to be honest. You're the one gets emotional and tries to take over, not the one who tries to stay calm all the time. Are you upset?"
I bit my bottom lip and looked down at my feet.
"Yeah," I mumbled.
"Aw, love, I'm sorry," he said, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into a warm embrace. "I know how much you want to stay with me forever."
"I thought you said you were going to study abroad with me," I said, muffled by his shirt as I slowly returned his hug. "We were going to go to California and live by the beach and sunbathe all the time and-"
