perfectly wrong | ethma

twenty five

graduation was over. my parents were taking millions of photos of me with my friends. i was happy, truly.

ethan left me alone for the rest of the week. it seemed like everything was going back to normal. he hardly made eye contact with me. him and jen were becoming very friendly again which bugged me a lot honestly, but i'm the one who ended it. i have no say in how he chooses to heal from the breakup.

i make contact with ethan as he smiles for a picture. i smile a bit and then i look down and see his hand around jens waist. she was giggling and kissed his cheek for the picture. my heart sank and my smile faded completely.

he looks at jen and then back at me. his hand slips away from her waist and he goes to move towards me but is pulled back in.

"you okay?" i hear from behind me. josh is standing there as he watches my heart break.

"oh, me? yeah, i'm.." i gaze back over at ethan for a moment. "i'm fine. i'm good."

"you sound very convincing," sarcasm laced in his voice. "hey, i heard you got into berkeley. that's really exciting! i remember you talking about wanting to go there since you were young."

i tuck a piece of hair behind my ear and nod. "yeah, i'm really excited for it. riley got in too, so it'll be fun."

"someone else from our grade got in," josh says with a smile.

my heart sinks. "yeah, i heard ethan got in too. but, i know he has football scholarships lined up to other colleges so who even knows if-"

"i'm talking about me." he points to himself. his smile is full and wide.

my eyes widen and my smile grows. "oh! that's amazing, josh!" i jump and pull him in for a hug. "see, i knew you were secretly good at school." i tease as i lightly punch his arm.

he chuckles. "so," he sighs. "maybe i'll see you around?"

i nod. "yeah, definitely."

"cool," he says before he gets pulled away from the football seniors. ethan included in the group. grayson is in the very back of the crowd and i tug at his sleeve instinctively.

he turns with a wide smile and it fades when he sees me.

"hey," i say softly as i wave.

"hey," he grips his cap tightly between his hands.

"how've you been?" i make small talk.

this is weird.

"fine." he's being short with me.

"so what happened with jen?" i ask. i feel nosey, but i'm curious.

"you have no right to ask me anything,"

he's mad. i get it.

"you're right. i'm sorry, uh.." i sigh. i begin to shake slightly from being so nervous. "i'm sorry. congratulations!"

i turn around and i see the cheer squad waving me over for more pictures.

"emma!" he calls out. i look over my shoulder at him. "i miss you."

i turn my entire body to face him.

"you are my best friend and i feel like it's unfair what you did," he begins to let it all out. "our friendship may not have meant that much to you, but..." he takes in a deep breath. "it meant everything to me."

"i miss you, gray." tears fill my eyes. "i'm so sorry. i... i'm sorry. our friendship means so much to me and one awful day just.." i sigh as a tear drops down my cheek. "i can't believe i shut you out like that especially after everything you went through. i'm so sorry."