Farewell

It was the very last day of high school for the senior class and Elsa felt a bit bitter about it. All throughout the day, she had butterflies in her stomach as the underclassmen in her classes bid farewell to the seniors. Her heart was fluttering and she grew anxious by the time the last period of the day came by.

At the beginning of the year, all Elsa had ever wanted was to finally graduate high school. She was done. Now that it was nearing graduation, all she wants to do now is rewind time.

"Are you going to stay here for college?" Jack, a fellow senior, whispered to Elsa as class began.

"I'm going to California."

"Oh. That sure is far away." It was clear that Jack was a bit disappointed and hearing him talk in such a bitter tone only squeezed at Elsa's heart more.

Although they were in the same grade, Jack and Elsa had only really interacted in their senior year. They were complete opposites when it came to personality. Jack was an outspoken and fun-to-hang-around-with kind of guy. Elsa, on the other hand, was the soft-spoken girl who was too shy to start up a conversation. But, opposites attract.

Along the way, Elsa had developed a little crush on Jack, but being the shy girl she was, Elsa never had the guts to tell him. She was always too troubled thinking about her feelings that she never really took notice of Jack's. Any person could tell that Jack liked Elsa the way she liked him, but he was a little too dense to notice the feelings she harbored for him.

Time passed too fast and it was already the end of the day. Elsa and Jack walked side by side as they took one last walk around the campus.

"You're crying." Jack said as they stopped walking.

Passing through the classrooms and buildings, Elsa never realized just how much she would miss high school.

"I am?"

Jack chuckled as he wiped her face with the sleeves of his hoodie. "Yeah, you are." He slung his arm around her shoulders and continued to walk down through memory lane.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye." Jack said as he let go of Elsa.

She looked up at him with her red and teary eyes. "Yeah." Her voice cracked.

Just like the last day of school, Jack and Elsa were standing in front of each other in silence. This time, they were in their graduation gowns. During the graduation ceremony, it took all Elsa's strength to prevent her from bursting into tears as her name was called. Now that it was all over, Elsa was a crying mess with her tear-stained face and red eyes.

"Well, I guess this is it."

"I guess it is."

It pained Elsa to know that Jack will never know just how much she liked him. She hated herself - she hated that she could never muster up enough courage to confess. Jack encased Elsa in his arms. His grip was tight as if he didn't want to let go just yet, but he eventually had to.

"Well, I hope you have fun in California…" Jack bitterly said.

"Um," Elsa fiddled with her fingers as she tried to think of what to say. To Elsa, this was a moment of life and death – either she confess or forever live in regret.

"I-I… I really, really like you, Jack." She said a little too fast, but Jack heard her loud and clear.

Everything seemed to slow down between the two. For Elsa, it was like a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders and she could now confidently stand straight. Internally, she was screaming from the fact that she had the guts to finally do it. She couldn't be more proud of herself. Jack groaned and Elsa saw how conflicted he looked, but she didn't know the reason behind it. Soon, Elsa fell off her high after thoughts of Jack not liking her in the same way crossed her mind. She opened her mouth to say something but Jack leaned in quickly to give her a chaste kiss. Elsa was frozen in her spot, as she couldn't believe what had just happened while Jack was crouched on the ground with his hands covering his red face.

"I really, really like you too."