You guys, I have been absolutely blown away by the reception to this fic. I cannot thank you enough. I am so excited for you to continue to read about Jay and Hailey's backstory! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy chapter 3!

I kept my promise to never forget but lovin' you's like lovin' a sunset

10k Summer Nights by Eighty Ninety

(June 2002)

Plain and simple, Hailey Upton does not like parties.

She hates crowds and dumb music, and she really is not a fan of bonfires where her hair and clothes still smell like smoke the next morning. But there's cheap beer and she is getting out of the house for a few hours, so when her foster brother, Tristan, tells her he knows where a couple of rich kids are throwing a party in the woods, she practically jumps at the offer.

She does not know anyone here besides her foster brother who is currently in some conversation with his own friends, but she does not particularly care. She barely even knows him, only having been in the same house for three months and she is not really in the mood to make friends here. She just needed an escape for the night.

They live with a creepy couple named the Wrights and Hailey swears they are two of the most peculiar people she has ever met. But they don't care where Hailey and Tristan are when and there is normally real food in the fridge, so Hailey supposes she can't complain.

Her eyes scan the party, trying to make out faces in the dark, and she finds it so ironic that a bunch of rich kids would want to spend their night in the woods. She always assumed that they would have big fancy houses to throw their parties at, but they must think there's something simple and quaint about a measly bonfire.

She notices girls with pretty dresses and long hair flirting with football players and there are people dancing near a few parked trucks. She chuckles from her spot near the fire, wrapping her flannel tighter around her body to keep her warm as she people watches. They all laugh like idiots, smiling and dancing like there's no tomorrow and it almost feels like a scene out of some disgustingly cheesy movie.

Until she sees him.

Her eyes get stuck on a boy with a fake smile plastered on his face, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans. Even from this far away, she can see the many freckles that decorate his face. And then, she catches a glimpse of those eyes.

They are bright green in the darkness and it's almost ironic because that's always what he was.

It's Jay.

She would love to say that she has not thought of him in a while, but she knows that's a fat lie. It's been two years since she saw him last, not even having the chance to say goodbye before she was whisked away to another home to start another life.

They were much younger when they last saw each other and she knows a lot has changed. She was only fourteen last she saw him, a child practically. Now, she's sixteen and she's grown up, both physically and emotionally. She's seen a lot in the past two years that she honestly wishes she hadn't.

And then there's him. He's not a boy anymore. She does some quick mental math and figures he must be about eighteen now and he must have just graduated high school a few weeks ago. She smiles at the thought because, at eighteen, they were supposed to run away.

Right now, they should be on a bus to Tallahassee, planning their new life.

But instead, she is watching him from afar at a party she does not want to be at, and she honestly does not know if she should walk up to him and say something or if she should let him continue on in peace.

He was the first real constant in her life after she got placed in the system and lost contact with her brothers. He was the first real friend she had in a long time and the first person who saw her, not just a kid with a garbage bag.

He was special to her, her safety in the chaos, and then she was ripped away from him too soon.

But here he is now, and it almost feels like the universe is dangling a carrot in front of her face.

She wants to go up to him, but she is not sure what she says. Sorry for leaving? Sorry for never finding you again? It feels cruel to say hi to him now knowing she will just have to say goodbye at the end of the night.

Her hand grips her half-filled solo cup as she stares at the ground and starts walking towards the table with the drinks, telling herself she will get water to calm herself down and then decide if she is going to say hi. She needs more time to think, to process the countless memories running through her head before she sees him.

And if she is honest with herself, she is nervous to say hi. She is nervous that it isn't real, that this is all a dream, and she is going to wake up in her too-small room at the Wright's house and it will be just another day she has dreamed of seeing her best friend again.

So lost in her thoughts, she does not even see the person standing in front of her, her body colliding with someone else's before she can process it all. Her drink spills on the stranger's side and she looks up in embarrassment, shocked when she sees who it is.

"Wow, you're really not happy to see me, are you?" he hums, eyeing her up and down knowingly.

"Jay, I-"

"If you're going to apologize, don't," he chuckles, the warm familiar sound of his laugh making her feel a little lighter. "I kinda snuck up on you. I saw you and wanted to say hi, but-"

"But I wasn't looking where I was going?" She offers gently and he just smiles.

'I was going to say you were thinking," he says graciously, and for a second, she feels relaxed, until she looks down at the wet stain on his gray t-shirt.

"Jay, I'm really sorry, I-"

He waves his hand before she can finish her sentence, shaking his head. "Consider it payback."

"For?" She draws out the word, shifting her weight to the balls of her feet and leaning forward.

Jay shrugs. "I don't know. I probably did something annoying a few years ago that warrants this so..."

He's closer now, close enough to touch, and she can't help herself as she reaches out and lets her hand graze against his arm, confirming he's real. She looks up at him, with wide eyes and a shy smile, studying the features that she couldn't clearly see from across the party.

He looks older and taller and broader, but the small details? They are all the same. The green of his eyes and the freckles that litter his face, the small little things that make him Jay, they have not changed at all, and it brings a smile to her lips.

"What are you doing here?" He breathes out, pulling her from her thoughts, and she drops her hand from his arm.

"My foster brother...he knows one of the kids throwing the party," she explains, still slightly dumbfounded, shaking her head as she tries to find the words. "Figured he would be nice and bring me along."

"Didn't take you to be a party person," Jay hums, flashing her that smile that she has missed so much.

"I'm not," she says with a chuckle. "But sometimes you gotta get out of the house, you know?"

"Is it bad?"

His question is vague, but she knows exactly what he's asking.

She just shrugs. "Not the worst, not the best."

There's a sad look on his face and it resembles the sad look he used to give her when she told him a little about her family or about the bad houses. She hates that look, so quickly, she changes the subject.

"You know someone here?"

Jay nods. "A couple of the guys go to my school. It's supposed to be some graduation celebration thing I think."

"You graduated," she says with a smile, imagining how Jay must have looked in a cap and gown. She wonders if he complained about how uncomfortable the polyester gown was or if his cap kept falling off of his head. Everything in her wishes she could have been there, giving him a big hug after the ceremony and telling him congratulations.

"I did," he nods before turning and pointing to the fire pit. "Wanna go sit down? Catch up a little?"

"You sure you don't want to get back to your friends?" She asks hesitantly.

But he just sends her a reassuring smile. "You're really the only person here I'm friends with. I just came here to get out of the house too."

She follows him to a few large logs by the fire and sits down next to him. The fire pit is mostly empty except for two girls who sit across from them, softly whispering to each other. Jay's arm is pressed up against hers on the log and from this close, she can tell he grew a few inches and maybe even started working out.

"So-" he starts, awkwardly fiddling with his hands in his lap and it reminds her of how he introduced himself to her two years ago, all nervous smiles and boyish charm.

"How are you?" She gets the ball rolling, watching as his smile turns soft.

"Good," he hums. "Graduated by the skin of my teeth, but I did it."

"How did English go?" She asks with a soft laugh, a large grin growing when he shakes his head.

"I read all of my books out loud to myself for the past two years. My neighbors thought I was insane."

"Well-"

He bumps his shoulder against hers and she is full-on laughing now and it's probably the first real laugh she has let out in two years.

"What about you?" He asks. "How...where did you...?"

"Where did I end up?" She softly finishes and when he nods, she tightens her lips, thinking about where exactly she ended up for the past two years. Her fingers fidget with the red string bracelet that she wears on her left arm, trying to distract herself from all of the bad memories.

"Currently with a family named the Wrights. They have one other foster kid and he's my age so it's not that bad. Other than that, it was in and out of group homes and a few family placements."

"How were they?"

"Okay."

She can tell by the look in his eyes he does not quite believe her, but he knows that she does not want to get into it right here in the middle of a party in the woods, so he bites his tongue.

"Are you going to college or getting a job or-"

"Army," he cuts her off and she looks at him in surprise. The way he answers her, it's rehearsed, and it does not sound like he is exactly excited about the choice, but maybe it's the best of several less than appealing options.

"I didn't know you were even thinking of the military," she murmurs quietly.

"Back then I wasn't," he tells her. "But honestly, I wasn't thinking about much. The recruiters came to talk to us maybe a month after you…"

Left

He doesn't say the word, but she knows what he means, and it kills her how sad his eyes look when he gets to that part of the story.

"Anyway, it all got me thinking," he continues. "I know it's gonna be hard, but I feel like I could do some real good over there, you know? I could have a purpose."

A small smile plays at her lips, and she just gazes at him, the way his green eyes look even brighter in the light of the fire and the way his own smile curls when he talks about how he is going to help others. Back when they were friends, his heart for others was the thing she loved most about him, and it makes her happy to see that he has not lost that.

"That's really great, Jay," she whispers. "You're gonna do amazing."

"Let's hope," he chuckles. "My dad is not exactly a fan of this idea."

She nods, remembering all the things he has told her about his father, not really surprised that the man is not accepting of his son's decision. "And your mom?"

Jay shrugs. "She's more supportive, but I don't think she loves the idea of her kid going into a war zone."

"Do you know where you're going yet?" Hailey asks hesitantly, not quite sure she wants the answer.

But when he shakes his head, she does not feel any sense of relief.

"No, not yet. I ship out for basic training at Fort Benning on Monday. I won't know where I'm being stationed until later."

"Monday?" The question rolls off of her tongue from pure shock. It's Saturday now and the idea that in two days, he is going to start getting ready to fight a war…

It terrifies her.

She's worried about him a lot in the past two years. She knew he was safe, but she always wondered if he was happy. Were his father's comments finally becoming too much? How were things going at school? Did he become friends with the next foster kid to move in?

But all of that worrying is nothing compared to the worry that has crept into her chest in the past twenty seconds.

"Yeah," he breathes out. "I know it's soon, but…"

For a second, she thinks about telling him. Being real and honest with him and telling him that she has thought about him every day since she left. Being honest with him and herself and telling him that she has feelings for him, that she has for a while. Ever since a night on a roof where she incessantly teased him, that night where she fell in love with his laugh and his eyes and him.

But it would be selfish to say something when he's leaving in two days. She can't do that to him, not when his future is so unknown. And honestly, she can't do that to herself.

So, Hailey goes with the safe response.

"You're going to do great, Jay," she reassures him before he can say anything else. "I'm really proud of you."

She reaches for his hand that is resting on his knee and gives it a quick squeeze, very much aware that this is probably the most physical contact they have ever had.

"Thanks, Hailey," he murmurs, eyes darting between her and their hands that are resting on his leg. "What about you, huh? What's your plan?"

"Ask me again in two years," she says with a chuckle, reluctantly removing her hand from his knee and using it to brush some hair out of her face. "It's kinda hard to make long-term plans when you have no clue where you are gonna be living."

She remembers the last time she saw Jay, she still had the hope that her oldest brother Thomas would be able to scrounge up enough money to be able to take in his two younger siblings. But that was a lot easier said than done and a few months ago, their other brother Peter aged out of the system too.

On Peter's eighteen birthday, Hailey walked down to the closest gas station, got his favorite candy bar to celebrate, and accepted the fact that she would be aging out of the system the same way both of her brothers did.

"Still want to be a cop?" Jay asks her.

"Maybe," Hailey shrugs. "I think I just want to focus on keeping a roof over my head after I turn eighteen."

He nods sadly at her words and for a moment, neither of them speaks, listening to the chatter of the party and the crackling of the fire. Despite the two years apart, she does not know what else to say, not when her life has not changed at all and his is about to change in unimaginable ways in two short days.

"You know," he says softly, breaking the silence. "I'll probably be back by the time you turn eighteen. We could go to Tallahassee."

Unlike the last time he brought up running away, this time she knows it is completely impossible, but she lets herself imagine it all for a second. She thinks about what he would look like coming home in his army uniform and how he would tell her stories on the entire bus ride to Tallahassee. She then thinks about them both working way too many hours at really crappy jobs just to keep the lights on at some terrible little apartment that they'll both hate. But, despite it all, they would be happy, and they would be safe, and they would be together.

"How much does the military pay?" She asks with a smile. "Maybe we could actually get that dog."

The way his eyes light up, it's priceless, and it makes her wish they could hop a bus tonight and be in Florida by the morning.

But when she looks up and she can see Tristan out of the corner of her eye, saying goodbye to his friends and starting to make his way over to Hailey, she knows that it's not going to happen.

Tomorrow she will wake up in Chicago and in a few days, he will wake up in Fort Benning and they will probably never see each other again.

"Hey Hailey, you ready?" Tristan's voice calls out to her, and she looks up, disappointed that this party she did not even want to come to is coming to an end.

"Yeah," she murmurs. "Just give me a second, okay? I'll meet you out front."

Thankfully, Tristan doesn't put up a fight and just tells Hailey that they are leaving with his friend who drove them in five minutes. Hailey looks back at Jay, immediately wanting and needing more time. She wants to make up for the last two years and she wants to prepare for how many more years it will be until she sees him again.

If she ever sees him again.

"You have to go?" He asks softly, the disappointment clear in his voice.

"Yeah," she answers with a small nod. "I don't want to though."

"Yeah, I know."

She wishes time would slow down, and while this time she is thankful that they at least get a chance to say goodbye, she wishes it was not rushed and they could take their time.

But sadly, that's just not how the universe works.

"Be safe, okay Jay?"

"Yeah," he flashes her a sweet smile. "I'll...I'll think about you while I'm over there. Try to not get into too much trouble over here, okay Hails?"

He drops the nickname so casually, like it's not the first and probably only time it's going to escape his lips and suddenly, she can feel tears forming in her throat.

Without even thinking, she tugs at the red string bracelet on her wrist, slipping it over her hand. It's nothing more than some braided string friendship bracelet she made in one of the group homes one day when she was bored, but she's been wearing it every day since and it's really all she has that's completely hers. It's been with her for the past few houses and as she slips it into his hand, she thinks it will go with him to his next place as well.

"I didn't have time to get you a proper gift. But I want you to have that."

He laughs at her lame attempt at a joke, but his fingers still grasp the red string, and he holds it close to his chest.

"Thanks, Hailey. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

She looks away and she knows she has to go, but she is scared that if she walks away, she will never see those green eyes again and that's a terrifying enough thought that it stops her feet from moving.

"I guess I should go."

"Yeah...want me to walk you out?"

She shakes her head. "No, that's okay."

She wants him to walk her out, but she knows that if he does, she won't be able to actually say goodbye.

"I'll see you around?" She offers and it might be a weightless promise, but it's all she can give him.

But he nods and she feels something resembling hope and suddenly, those tears that were creeping up in her throat are starting to form in her eyes.

"I'll see you, Hailey."

"Goodbye, Jay."

"Bye, Hails."

She leans forward and quickly presses her lips to his cheek, not even looking at his reaction before she walks away. Hailey's become pretty good at goodbye at this point in her life, living in too many homes to count and going through the constant cycle of hello and goodbye. Normally, it's easy, just a two syllable word that simply falls out of her mouth.

But with Jay, it's different and she's not quite sure why.

She bites back the tears as she walks out to the front of the house, using the edge of her sleeve to wipe away the few tears that have rolled down her cheek. Tristan is standing a few feet away, leaning against a car, waiting for Hailey and his friend, and he looks up when he hears her.

"That your boyfriend?" Tristan calls out as Hailey walks up to him.

Hailey sadly shakes her head. "Just an old friend."

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See you next week for chapter 4 ;)