I was going to college.
I had been hiding this from no one, except the person I cared about most in this world. My girlfriend, Nora.
I was really REALLY scared about how she would react. I lived in LA with her, but the college I was going to be traveling to in less than a month was in New York. I decided that I needed to tell her, no matter how much it hurt either one of us.
I pulled out my phone and called her. She picked up almost immediately. “Hey, Jupiter!” she said, sounding happy. I smiled at the sound of her voice. “Hi, Nora! Do you want to meet for lunch today?” I asked her, getting to the point. I could practically hear hear her smile. “Yeah, sure!” she replied.
“Okay, cool! Meet me at the boardwalk?” I said. “Alright! I’ll see you then! I love you!”she said affectionately. My smile disappeared. I thought of everything that would change as soon as that faithful day when I left for college and moved on to the next stage of my life came around.
“Uhh, Jupiter? Are you still there?” Nora’s voice made me snap back to reality. “Oh, sorry…I love you too…!” We hung up. I collapsed onto my couch with defeat.
“Oh god…what have I gotten myself into…”

One hour later, I was standing on the boardwalk, waiting for Nora to appear. I fiddled with my blue necklace that I had gotten on a trip to the mall before I had asked Peridot out for the first time. I remember the day like it was yesterday…

*flashback*

I stood at the register, hoping for them to hurry up so that I could get to Nora in time before her shift started. I paced around while they took their sweet time scanning the one thing that I had gotten, a bright blue necklace that I hoped that Nora would like on me. They finally handed me a small bag with the necklace inside. “Your total is-,”The cashier started to say.
“OKAY, OKAY, I GET IT! THANKS A LOT, JUST HURRY UP! I HAVE A BEAUTIFUL GIRL WAITING FOR ME!” I shouted. This was the only day that I felt confident enough to actually ask her out, and if I didn’t get to her before her shift, then I would lose my chance.
I paid quickly and ran out of the mall to my car. I drove over to her neighborhood as fast as I could. I paused in-front of Nora’s door, panting. I rang the doorbell. “Noraaa,” I said. “Can…I…come in?” She answered the door with a smile on her face. “Hi, Jupiter! What brings you here?” I reached up to touch my necklace.
Nora tilted her head, then grabbed my shirt and pulled me closer. She gingerly touched the necklace. I could feel her sweet, soft breath on my cheek as she examined the necklace.
“I’ve never seen you wear this before,” She whispered. “Is it new?” Her voice so close to me sent shivers down my spine. “Y-Yeah,” I stuttered. “It is…”
Nora looked back up at me. Our eyes met. Her breaths were shaky, as if she was nervous. But to be honest, mine were too. I reached out to touch her cheek.
A red blush appeared on her cheeks.
I slowly leaned forward. My nose touched hers. “Is this okay?” I asked softly, brushing my thumb over her bottom lip. She closed her eyes as her lips parted. “Yes…” I smiled. I leaned even closer and touched her lips to mine…

*flashback end*

“Jupiter. Jupiter? Jupiter!”
I refocused and saw Nora standing next to me. “Oh, hi, Nora,” I said, turning away and wiping away the minimal tears that came out of my eyes from thinking of that day. She tilted her head. She grabbed my hand and pulled me closer, just like on that day. Tears welled up in my eyes again. She wiped the few tears that leaked out of my eyes gently with her thin, pale finger.
“Jupiter, what’s wrong?” she whispered to me. I let out a small sob. “Nora, I-I…,” I started to say. She cupped my face in her hands. “Yes?”
“I’m going to college in New York in 2 and a half weeks…”
She blinked in disbelief. She backed away from me. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!” she asked me, her hands curled into fists. I could see some tears of her own brimming in the corners of her aquamarine eyes. I stepped closer to her. “Nora, I’m so sorry-”
“You should have told me! Who else knows?!”she asked, stepping away. I decided that I shouldn’t lie anymore. “Everyone…”
Nora’s tears came out like waterfalls. “Really, Jupiter?! REALLY?! You’re going to be gone for 4 years in a couple weeks, AND YOU DIDNT EVEN THINK TO TELL YOUR GIRLFRIEND!!!”
I also started crying. “Nora, I-I did think! I was just scared to lose you…”
“WELL YOU DONT HAVE ANYTHING TO BE SCARED ABOUT ANYMORE!! YOU’VE ALREADY LOST ME!!!”
She stormed off, making a gesture with her hand that I won’t repeat. It took me a moment to register what had just happened. When I did, I sank down onto the boardwalk, thinking about how stupid I was for letting this amazing thing go.

2 days later…

I drove over to Nora’s house, a silver ring in my pocket. I listened to some really depressing music on the way. For some reason, it made me feel a little bit better. I had been really messed up the last couple days, because of what had happened on the boardwalk. I parked on the side of the road and walked up to her door. I took a deep breath as I thought about all of the things that had happened during in our relationship that I didn’t want to lose. I knocked on the door lightly. “Nora,” I said.
“Go away, Jupiter.”
The sound of almost no emotion in her voice made my heart hurt. “Please, just…hear me out…” I heard her sigh. “Fine. But if you waste my time or make me cry even more than I have been for the past two days, I’m not speaking to you ever again.”
I know it’s horrible, but it kind of made me happy that she still showed some emotion towards me, even if it was sadness. She opened the door.
The sight in-front of me was shocking. My girlfriend was usually all clean and tidy, but she looked like a mess. Her jet black hair was disheveled and tangled, and I could see faint bags underneath her gorgeous eyes. She wore an oversized T-shirt and baggy sweatpants, an outfit I had only seen her in when she had the flu.
“What the hell are you looking at,” she asked dryly. The world came back into focus. “Nothing, s-sorry. I came to apologize-”
“No. I’m not accepting your apology. You hurt me bad, Jupiter. Really bad.” she said, going over to sit on the couch that was littered with tissues.
“Nora, please.” I pulled out the ring from my pocket. I had it sized especially for her, since none of the models were slim enough for her fingers. I went over to sit next to her. “Nora, I love you. Even if you break up with me, that fact won’t change. To show that, I got this for you.”
I placed the ring into her slender hand. She pulled it up to her eyes. She turned it around, and sideways, and every direction you can think of. She turned back to me with tears in her eyes. She smiled at me. “You made me cry, you idiot, ” she said, laughing. My eyes got watery, but I smiled along with her. I pulled her into a hug, both of us now crying fully.
“I’m sorry. I was being irrational and stupid. I was an idiot to think that I could ever survive without you,” she told me.
“I’m sorry too. I should have told you that I was going to college. I keep letting my fear get in the way of everything,” I replied.
“Hey Jupiter? I just want to let you know,”Nora said, “that you’re not getting rid of me anytime in the duration of 4 years or more. You’re completely stuck with me.”
“And you know what?” I replied with a smile on my face. “I’m happy to be stuck with you.”