"Knock-knock! Open the door!"
She hurried toward the muffled voice. "I'm ready, I'm ready!" The door swung open under her hand, and she smiled up at him. He chuckled and flicked the tip of her nose. "Why so anxious? You make me feel like I've been neglecting you."
She pulled at his sleeve. "Come on, let's go!"
They went to the fair first. The bright colors dazzled her, and she dragged him from stall to stall. She stopped at an accessory stand, exclaiming at the hot pink scarves and neon green headbands and shiny white bracelets, blushing when the vendor asked Harry if he wanted to buy something for his girlfriend, and secretly wishing he would buy her something to substantiate the assumption that the storekeeper had made. After she ecstatically sniffed non-too-subtly at a popcorn stand for the millionth time, he rolled his eyes and walked away, returning with two bags of it. She smiled triumphantly and pulled him over to a stall selling stuffed animals. He followed with an amused look on his face, watching her poke and prod at a green frog pillow, rub a downy duckling, and squeal over a plain brown teddy bear. She held it up for his inspection, excitedly telling him about its soft fur, adorably proportioned head, and chocolate-y eyes "filled with character." He had to drag her away to the next stand.
After eating lunch, they went to the park. She bought two popsicles, one lime green and one blue raspberry, and gave him the raspberry, laughing as his lips turned purple. The sky was blue, the grass was green, and the park stretched out and out and out around them. Perfection, she thought.
"Oh, fountain! Fountain!" She pointed excitedly to the center of the park, where a massive stone Poseidon sat forward in his chariot to command his sea-horses as they swelled through the spray of sea foam and water. They climbed onto the edge. Each made a wish before throwing his and her penny into the clear water to join the glittering coins on the fountain's bottom. He jumped back down and reached up to help her. She shook her head and made a twirling motion with her finger. When he turned, she jumped onto his back.
"Oomph! Hey, I don't remember offering you a piggyback ride," he teased.
"You owe me one, remember? Keep walking." Contented, she rested her head next to his, only moving to smack his arm occasionally when he complained about her weight.
Too soon, it was nighttime. They sat on the front steps of their building, looking up at the dark sky in companionable silence. Stars, so many stars. He turned to look at her.
"Hey," he said softly. "I've got something to tell you."
"What is it?" she asked.
"Well," his gaze returned to the sky. "There's this girl I like…"
Heart pounding, , she stared at him, at that swatch of hair forever falling into his eyes and that crooked smile, and managed to whisper, wide-eyed, "Who?"
He hesitated. His gaze went to her, then returned to the sky. "It's getting late. I'll tell you tomorrow." He grinned cheekily.
"Hey! That's not fair! You can't just leave me hanging like that!"
He chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Come on, let's go in."
Once inside her apartment, she sat down on her bed. She held up her hands, fingers spread apart, and slowly brought them together to interlock. Folding them together, she sighed, then flung herself onto her back, arms outspread. If only.
"Knock knock knock! Open the door!"
She hurried to open the door, a wide smile on her face. "Hey! Are you going to tell me-" She stopped short at the sight of Harry, a wide smile on his face, leading another girl by the hand. Pretty, she thought numbly. Elegant, graceful, feminine. Things she wasn't. Of course. What had she been thinking? She pasted on a smile that she hoped looked sincere, though it felt like a plastic grimace.
"This is the girl I was talking about," he said happily. A frown of confusion temporarily marred his brow. "Why are you dressed like that?"
"Oh, umm…y-you told me that I was going to meet her today, so I…I wanted to make a good impression." He nodded in easy acceptance.
She spent the rest of the day trailing a little bit behind the two lovers. When they got back to the building, she hastily excused herself and went into her apartment. She held up her hands, fingers spread apart, and slowly brought them together to interlock. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Salt water blurred her vision as she lowered her hands.
She went to her desk and pulled out a piece of paper.
(Flashback)
"We have received notice of your wish to defer admission for this year. It is our hope that you will choose to continue your education with us next year."
She wondered if she had done the right thing.
Harry cried out in his sleep, and she hurriedly went to him. As she smoothed his brow, her hesitation disappeared. He needed her to stay.
She supposed…he didn't need her anymore.
As he stepped out to get the mail, he noticed a pink paper heart taped to his door. He smiled and looked to her apartment. He peeled it off, scowling when it ripped a bit down the middle. When he unfolded it, a picture of them fell out, her smiling brightly up at him as he grinned into the camera.
As he turned to the paper in his hand, his amusement turned to confusion.
Dear Harry,
May good fortune follow you and happiness smile over you. Goodbye.
He shoved open the door to her apartment. Standing in the midst of a pile of boxes was…not her. This stranger regarded him with a mixture of anger and disdain.
"You must be Harry."
He nodded, heart in his throat. "Where is she?"
"You! You have no right to ask that. You broke her, and if you think I'm stupid enough to tell you where she is, you're crazy!" Her eyes flashed with fury.
"But-"
"Get out!"
What was happening?
Hundreds of miles away, she shifted her backpack on her shoulders and breathed in the crisp, fresh air with a sad smile on her face. A new start.