hey y'all! in an apology for my absence, i'm going to be doing 12 days of ficmas! these will be a series of 12 short stories posted during the month of december. i'm hoping to post 3 every week, but there will be at least 12 stories in total. i hope you all enjoy! (by the way, this fic was inspired by a song that i heard. you can listen to it here: /AHSvtG)

1993

When Jason heard the phone ring, he never thought he'd hear what he heard.

"I got in."

His girlfriend, Piper McLean, had gotten into the University of Texas at Austin. She was studying business and hoped to open her own car dealership. Jason knew Piper was smart and fully capable of thriving in Texas, but he never really considered the fact that she might leave him alone in California. Jason had applied too, but not early decision. Besides, Jason wasn't that great in school. He didn't have a good chance of getting in.

"Really?"

Piper knew that this was going to be a tough decision. UT was her dream school, and it had been ever since she'd been a little girl. She'd sit in her grandpa's living room and flip through the battered catalog from her father's application days. UT was where her parents met, and UT was where her mother abandoned her. Her father had been forced to leave Texas to come back to Oklahoma, but Piper wanted to finish what he couldn't. She wanted to experience the school, but she didn't want to do it without Jason at her side. Her best friend, Leo, had already gotten into the engineering program; Jason was the only missing link.

"Yeah. I just got the letter in the mail."

Jason's mind was going 100 miles a minute. What was he going to do if he didn't get in, too? Was he going to ask his girlfriend to abandon her dream school so the relationship would last? How would long distance work? Would she find someone better in Austin?

"Look, I'm happy for you. I'm really happy."

Piper knew Jason was lying. She knew he was worried; she was worried, too. What would the future hold for them?

"Things are going to be okay, Jason. Things are going to work out, you know? You don't need to worry."

"I believe you."

At the time, Jason believed. But when he got the rejection letter in the spring and the breakup call in the summer, Jason decided that he might be better off if he stopped believing in anything.