Always

"It's real, Kyler. Some people don't get their happy endings. Some lovers don't end up together in any life." She paused, her voice softening. "It's just the way the world is."

She sighed a breath. "The ending to Romeo and Juliet was something the world would want, right? A sad ending for the rest but a happy one for the lovers." She picked at a loose thread on her sweater. "I don't like stories like that. I don't want a story like that."

I found myself reaching out and took us both by surprise when I gripped her hand in mine. "We don't have to be what the world wants us to be, Luna. We can be whoever we want to be."

***

Going into his senior year, Kyler knew things were going to change. But never in a thousand years had he imagined them to change the way they did.

He had never expected to sneak out late almost every night just to see her. He had never expected to be dancing under the stars, with her clutched in his arms. He had never, ever expected for his heart to pound so furiously every time she was around. And he had certainly never expected the girl next door to change his life forever.

But she did.

And it all started when Kyler Anderson crossed paths with the gorgeous new girl.

***

"We can write our own story, with our own endings." I whispered. "Fuck the world."

She smiled a hesitant smile. Then grinned. "Yeah." She whispered back. "Fuck the world."