ALWAYS • J. HALSTEAD

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"I knew I did from that first moment we met. It was... not love at first sight exactly, but - familiarity. Like: oh hello, it's you. It's going to be you."
-Mhairi McFarlane; You Had Me At Hello

Missy Peregrym
as Jennifer Wilson

Jesse Lee Soffer
as Jay Halstead

Jennifer Carpenter
as Lisa Wilson

Jennifer Wilson and Jay Halstead were inseparable. At the young age of seven, they quickly went from neighbors to best friends. The two stayed this way up until the summer after their senior year of high school. For as long as he could remember, Jay's heart belonged to Jennifer. He never brought it up in fear of damaging the great friendship that they had but those feelings were always there.

Their last year of high school, Jennifer meets a guy named Arnold and is instantly swept off her feet. Naturally, Jay disliked Arnold. It was more than just jealously though. Jay knew that Arnold was unfaithful but after being manipulated by Arnold, he decided to keep it a secret, regardless of how shitty it made him feel. He thought he was protecting Jennifer from the pain of knowing the truth.

Jay wasn't able to keep that secret long. Jay decided to enlist in the Army and he couldn't fathom the thought of leaving without telling Jennifer everything. Things didn't exactly go according to plan. When Jay tried to confess his feelings, Jennifer revealed that Arnold had proposed to her and she said yes. Jay was frustrated and heartbroken. The argument they got into that night was their biggest argument to this day. Without having told his friend how he feels, Jay temporarily cuts Jennifer off.

A few weeks into Jay's first deployment, Jennifer received an email from Jay apologizing about the way things ended. He was hoping to reconnect. They both try their best, but between Jay being deployed and Jennifer struggling in college, they slowly drift apart. Multiple emails a day turn in to a couple emails a month. The emails stop altogether when Jennifer moves to Michigan with her husband, Arnold.

Several years pass but Jennifer still lives deep inside Jay's heart. The former friends had reconnected once again and it just reminded Jay how much he truly cared for this girl. Jennifer's world is turned upside down when she discovered that Arnold had gotten another woman pregnant. Jennifer wasted no time packing her things and leaving him for good. She was going to have to move back home to Chicago and start over. Her plan was to stay with her sister, Lisa, until she could find a place of her own. Jennifer and Jay were talking daily now, it was as if no time had passed. She already had a job lined up, thanks to an old friend. Despite the fact that Jennifer was going through a divorce, she was the happiest she has ever been. It seemed like everything was going according to plan.

However, nothing could've prepared Jennifer for just how much her life was going to change.

or

in which the one that got away returns.

"You're my could've been,

should've been,

but never was,

and never will be.."

dedications: spiridakos bIueworld -stfurose monaghanboyy cerpent
and anyone else who has a soft spot for Detective Halstead 🤓

this story does contain mature content including swearing, alcohol and drugs, mild sexual content and murder.