Age is just a number, after all. (Morten Harket x Reader)

Age is just a number, after all. (Chapter 19)

Time moved on. Days went by. Then weeks. Then months.

You weren't doing bad but you would have been lying if you said that you were doing well.

The police had been trying to talk to you about trying to frame Jakob, but when they saw that you weren't willing to press charges, they reluctantly let go of it.

You spent most of your time studying, spending time with your family or bonding more with Caroline. You had managed to find some fun activities to do together, that made every second worthwhile.

The rumors about Jakob and Mr. Harket leaving the country appeared to be true.

You stopped by at their house more than once to check. Sometimes, you spent up to 2 hours scanning for signs of life – to no avail.

You could see the garden growing out of control, the dust piling on the window sill. There was nobody taking care of that house. It didn't appear to be for sale, though. It was just... empty.

The emptiness of that house resonated with the emptiness in your heart. Every time you would come to check, it would return. The weight of the situation felt like it tugged on you mercilessly.

You tried to keep yourself from visiting their house as much as possible, to avoid this horrid feeling. So over time, it became less and less. But it never stopped.

When you were alone, sometimes, you would close your eyes and remember your time with Mr. Harket. His sincere smiles, his warm embrace, his gentle ways. Just maybe, you thought, it might have been for the best for him to leave. These were the moments when you recalled his line, "Where is this going to go?". The thing you have had was most likely not going to go anywhere. You knew it and you were certain; he knew it too. You started thinking that leaving this place without notice might have been his way of cutting your ties in the best way possible – without any wasted words or unpleasant encounters. Just like turning a light switch off.

Admittedly, you tried to call him once, out of despair and in a rush of adrenaline – but only his mailbox answered. No matter when or how often you tried – only his mailbox would respond the same sentence over and over. So, you eventually gave it up.

It hurt you, and you were still sorry to cause trouble to him (unintentionally), but you started to understand. And you were sure you would come to terms with his disappearance. You would pick your favourite memories of him and you and treasure them in the back of your head, to recall them at times when you felt lonely.

You found it quite funny, that you were reading Romeo and Juliet in English class at this time. Even though the story was obviously different from yours and Mr. Harket's in many ways, it also had similarities. A love that could never be. You tried to sweeten the bitter tea by telling yourself that he left so "nobody would have to die", even though you knew that it was ridiculous to assume the whole thing would have ended in death – but you took it as a metaphor for a general bad ending.

As the months passed, your graduation grew nearer. Everyone was freaking out because of the finals. As much as you tried to avoid all the nervousness to get to you, you caught yourself feeling a little anxious about it too, every once in a while. You were doing fairly well in school, especially ever since you didn't have to worry about Jakob anymore, so there shouldn't be anything getting between you and your degree.

Caroline and you studied together quite often as the finals approached, and it turned out to be surprisingly fun.

When the finals were finally there, the air was tense. It seemed like everyone at school held their breaths and only exhaled when they had finished their exam.