My Best Friend's Brother

14

It's been two weeks. We have grieved, we have set up countless memorials, we have been to countless funerals, we are back to school.

Some teachers are acting like it never happened but it is buried in their brains the same way it is buried in our own. Whenever someone drops a book we all jump, when we walk the halls we are huddled together and there is less talking in the cafeteria.

We are all changed forever, the final exams have been dropped, and almost half of the school has dropped out or switched to online schooling.

There are only a few more months of school and I plan on relishing in them because after that is summer which means the seniors graduate and that means Collins goes to college in some random state with random beautiful sorority girls and crazy drunk frat guys.

I was sitting in the last period of the day, English, on our fifth day back, in most of the classes we are carrying on as usual but in this class we are just watching movies for the rest of the year, the teacher even told us to just take it as a free period and that if we wanted to leave school early we could.

In the middle of the period I gathered my things and walked over to the teacher and informed him that I was leaving early. He dismissed me and I walked out of the dark classroom and into the bright hallway. I felt like a sitting duck in that room so I walked outside to the parking lot. It was mostly empty so I walked over to my car and sat down on the hood. Chloe was parked to the right of me and Collins was to the left of me. I texted them and they soon joined me outside, "Do you guys ever wonder what it would have been like if we didn't come to school that day?" Chloe asked and we all looked at her, "Sometimes." I say honestly and Collins stayed silent.

We eventually decided to go back to their house and relax for awhile since it was Friday.

We were just relaxing on the couch watching Family Guy when Chloe got a phone call. Gavin was on his way to pick her up to go hang out. So eventually it was just Collins and I, "What are we going to do?" I asked him and he lowered the volume of the television, "What do you mean?" He asked and I sighed, "When you go off to college." I explained and he sighed and took his arm off my shoulders and I scooter away from him slightly to be able to face him. "Well, we have two options. We can stay together and do long distance cause I'll be here on breaks and holidays and then you can try to get into the same college as me. Or we can...split...and try to work things out after college." He said and my heart felt caged. "What do you think?" I asked and he looked me in the eyes, his hand came up and sweeper hair behind my ear and pecked me gently. He pulled away so our faces were still close and rested his forehead against mine, "I don't know baby." I nodded and laid back down into his chest.

He turned the volume back up and I let my mind drift. Of course my first instinct was to keep him as my boyfriend but long distance was never my thing, I wanted him to have fun in college and not have to worry about how I was doing in high school and I wanted to enjoy my senior year without having to worry about how he was doing in college.

I made up my mind but decided to not talk to him about it until it was the right time. My eighteenth birthday was in one month so I decided I would talk to him about it then, that would be the best time.

Him and I continued to cuddle and watch TV until the sun eventually started to set so I decided I should get home before my mom started to worry. "I gotta get home soon but I'll FaceTime you later." I said and he nodded, we got up from the couch and he walked me out to my car, "I love you." He said and he kissed the top of my head, "I know you do." I said jokingly before kissing his cheek before crawling into my car. He laughed as he closed my door and walked up to his porch. I texted him that I loved him too before pulling out of his driveway and making my way home.

A/N: guys I'm so so sorry ab the slow updates and I know this is a short chapter and it's sort of a filler but big things are coming, I have plans for this book ;)