Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.
Graduation day was supposed to be one of the best days of a teenager's life. Walking across that stage, getting a diploma, getting ready to go off and start your life, it was supposed to be absolutely incredible and full of hope for the future.
Gale and Madge had been dating their entire four years of high school. They knew each other growing up and went through all the stages: pretending to hate each other, admitting that they were friends, and falling in love. They did it all, all of the dances, going to prom, attending the school games. And now, on graduation day, he'd get to watch her walk across the stage and then they would spend their first night together free of high school drama.
They were going to separate colleges in the fall but the drive between them wasn't too much, he was willing to make it at least once a month if not more. Because more than anything, he loved her. He really did. And Gale thought they were going to make it, the whole cliché of high school sweethearts, Madge the homecoming queen and Gale the football quarterback.
But during the celebratory after party that the school was throwing for the grads, her father pulled him aside.
"Gale," the man took him into a hallway away from the rest of the crowds. Madge was posing with Delly for some pictures and Delly's parents were just as eccentric, this would take at least a few minutes. "Madge tells me you're going to a school up north. Something called Queensville."
"That's correct," Gale nodded.
"Madge is going to Yale, if you remember."
Gale swallowed thickly, nodding again. "I remember. I'm incredibly proud of her."
"As am I. She's definitely going somewhere with her life, don't you think?" Gale nodded again. He never liked talking to Mr. Undersee, the man's voice was loud and made Gale feel small despite the fact that he was taller than him. "You need to end what you have with my daughter."
Gale stiffened. "Sir?"
"Madge is going to be successful in her field of work. You, on the other hand," Mr. Undersee shook his head. "You're a kind fellow, but kindness does not put people ahead in this world." Gale stared, blinking at his girlfriend's father. "She needs someone who can take care of her. Someone who will provide for her. And I'm sorry, but you simply are not that man."
"I can be," Gale grunted. His shoulders were tense, his jaw hurt from clenching it. Just hours ago he had seen such a bright future. "I love her, Mr. Undersee. I'm not going to just end things because—"
"You seem to underestimate the amount of power I have," the man cut him off. "With one phone call I can make your life incredibly difficult, Mr. Hawthorne." Gale felt every fiber of his body turning cold. "End it before the summer. Tonight, would be preferable."
"Sir, Mr. Undersee, please," Gale shook his head. "We've been dating for four years. I love her! You've never had a problem with me before!"
"I had always hoped she'd be smart enough to end things before they got this far," Mr. Undersee said. He pat Gale on the shoulder and smiled so sinisterly Gale felt nauseous. "She doesn't need you in her life. She needs her best chance. And that isn't you." He walked away without another word.
Gale thought about it the rest of the day. Every time Madge came up to him, nestling herself into his side and holding his hand, Gale slightly pulled away. He knew how much power Mr. Undersee had. It was the wealth and the name, he had connections all across the country.
"What's wrong?" Madge finally asked. She moved Gale away from their friends and grabbed his hands. "You've been weird all afternoon."
He shook his head, "Nothing."
"Gale," she squeezed his fingers. "We graduated today!" His lips turned upwards slightly at that. "Be happy! We get our whole summer together." He sighed and pulled her toward him, pressing his lips lightly to her forehead. "I love you," she murmured, pulling him toward her by his shirt. "It's just you and me tonight, right?"
"You and me," he exhaled. He could feel Mr. Undersee's eyes on him.
Gale was weak. He didn't have a choice. Underneath it all he agreed with Madge's father, that Madge deserved someone better. He hated to admit it and she spent so much of her time convincing him otherwise, but ultimately Gale thought Madge deserved someone with money, someone successful. But he did love her, and he was greedy, and he wanted her more than absolutely anything. It just wasn't meant to be.
That night they met in Madge's backyard. He drove up in his beaten old truck that clattered and groaned as he pressed on the breaks. Madge was waiting in their spot down the hill with a blanket and the endless stretch of the night sky above them. His footsteps were slow as he walked toward her. He was just a kid. 18, sure, but that's still a kid. He just wanted to love the girl that he loved and make her know it, and he couldn't even do that.
She smiled brightly when she saw him approaching and pat the blanket beside her. With a quiet sigh he took the spot. Madge didn't hesitate to curl up to his side as they laid back.
"I can't believe it," she murmured. He would savor every one of these moments, store them up for later on. His fingers mindlessly curled through her hair. "We've graduated, Gale. We're… we're going to college, we're growing up." She turned into him and he pulled her closer slightly. "It just feels so surreal, you know?"
"Yeah," he said. They were quiet for a bit. His chest felt like it was caving in. "I love you, you know," he whispered. Madge propped herself up to look at him, her eyebrows narrowing in his direction. She blinked a few times and Gale sat up too. "You know that?"
"You only tell me all the time," she said, trying to tease him. She wasn't liking the way his voice sounded. Madge leaned forward and grabbed his cheeks. "Yeah, I know," she added after. Gale licked his lips before she pressed hers to his. Savor it, remember it. Sweet. Madge's kisses were always sweet. It was a quick kiss despite the fact that she tried to pull him on top of her because Gale pulled away. She grabbed his cheeks again. "Gale what's going on? You were quiet all morning after the ceremony and you kept shying away from me and now…"
She never did beat around the bush. He decided he shouldn't either.
Gale sat up dragged a hand through his hair. He swallowed once. He had to say it, had to do it. Gale could never explain that her father threatened him, Madge loved her father and she would call him insane. But Gale knew the man was serious. And in a world where Gale was ten steps below everyone else it would already be harder to get a job, to do well in school, to keep up with the bills. It wasn't a risk he could take.
"I don't think we should be together," he finally said. Madge's jaw dropped alongside her hands, her eyes widened as he struggled with what more he should say. "Madge we're going to different schools in the fall. You're destined for great things and I—"
"You're destined for great things too," she cut him off, shaking her head. Madge grabbed his hands. "Gale, we've talked about this. Many times. The distance isn't too much, and you're the one said you'd be willing to make the drive." She squeezed his hands. "What are you even talking about?"
He took another deep breath. "School is going to be stressful, it's college for Christ's sake, I'm not good at beginner's algebra as it is."
"We've always got through these things before," Madge continued to shake her head.
"I don't know if I can handle it this time."
"Are you scared?" Their words were starting to overlap one another's. "Is that what this is? You're scared? Maybe we'll find new people, or something?"
"No, Madge—"
"Gale, I love you," she whispered.
He dropped his forehead to hers. "And I love you," he choked out. "But we're just kids, Madge." Her eyes began to fill with tears. The things he had told himself were untrue for all of these years they've been together spilled from his lips. "How can we know if we're meant to be together if we've never been with anyone else?" It was the worst thing he had ever said, the biggest lie. He knew that he always wanted to be with Madge, he knew that for almost his entire life. "We've got to be our own people."
"I don't want to be me without you," Madge whimpered. He wiped her tears and she pulled from his grasp. "Gale, I don't understand. What did I do? Where is this coming from?"
"Don't…" he tried. "Just, don't…"
"We had… we had the whole summer mapped out," Madge cried. "We were going to take that trip up to the mountains and stay at your aunt's cabin, and, and go to the falls with everyone and—"
"Madge," Gale croaked. "Please. Don't do this." He wanted to spend the summer kissing the freckles that always burst across her nose. He wanted to fall asleep in hammocks with her, wake up with awkward tan lines. He wanted to take her to concerts in the park. He wanted to go on late night drives. He wanted so much more than this – than watching her fall apart in front of him. She pushed him away and curled into herself. "Madge," he started, but she shook her head.
"Is there someone else?" she whispered. So shocked by her question he couldn't even answer her, but Madge's head lifted immediately. Betrayal was plastered across her face. "Gale?"
"Madge…" how could she even ask that?
Her jaw dropped and she let out a short cry. "Just go." He opened his mouth to protest but she extended her hand back up the hill. "Go!" she shouted. "You made your choice, now leave!"
"Madge, please."
"Go away!" she screamed.
Completely surprised by the shrillness of her voice he leapt to his feet and sprinted up the hill. Every step he took away from her, Madge's cries were softer but his heart was heavier. He barely made it out of her driveway before he felt himself crumbling.
And it was hard.
Dear God it was hard. The rest of the summer Gale threw himself into work so he didn't have to think about Madge. He declined invitations from his friends to hang out and deleted Madge's number so he wasn't compelled to call her when he got so drunk he couldn't even walk. He watched her summer progress through Facebook and the pictures people tagged her in. She still went out with her friends but there was always something different, the way she looked. Her eyes were so sad and he blamed himself.
And then college was even harder. He had always expected having Madge to help him adjust to the dramatic changes in his life but now she was gone and he had no one.
That's not true, he had some friends from home, but mostly he was starting all over again. Gale made new friends at school, met new girls. And the girls, they were pretty, but they weren't Madge. She was always in the back of his mind no matter what he did, but along with her was the threat from her father.
Years passed and her face slowly faded from his mind, though not completely. Sometimes during winter break or summer break they would run into one another, but neither would say a thing. He knew that she dated but no one ever stuck around for long. They were high school sweethearts and a part of him would always miss her.
Two years after Gale graduated from college he got his first big break working alongside an extremely influential business man. Two years later Gale was his assistant and was bringing in copious amounts of money to send back home to his family. His boss often spoke of transferring him to a better position, one with more money and freedom, and the transition was eventually made.
Gale's life, overall, was on track. He had a job that he wanted, was making a lot of money, and was overall happy.
That was when he ran into her again.
It was late and dark; the streets were full of people. He was just getting off and as he stepped onto the sidewalk someone ran into him. The girl's bag went flying, items scattered the sidewalk.
"I'm so sorry," Gale immediately started scooping up belongings to hand back to the girl. "I should've been looking, I—" and there she was. Madge Undersee. Eight years older than that night. Just as stunning. A soft breath escaped her lips. "Madge," he whispered.
She blinked a few times, collecting what Gale was handing her. "Gale. Thank you." She shoved the items into her bag and stood up straight, and he stood too. "Wow. I didn't know you lived here."
"Up the street, actually," he gestured. It was an old apartment building but it felt homey to him, he had made it his own. "You live here?"
"Across the train tracks," she nodded. Of course. The luxury district. They awkwardly shifted out of the middle of the street. "Um. Congratulations, on graduating and, your job."
"Yeah, yes, thank you. You too." She had started giving private piano lessons to wealthy families, and on top of that was a nurse at the children's hospital. He kept his tabs on her. "Look. We haven't talked in a while." Her head awkwardly bobbed. "Want to get a drink?"
And so they did.
It was awkward, strained conversation, but Madge was a people person and she kept it going. She told him about her life, about her eccentric roommate who wanted to be a designer, about the kids that she gave lessons to, about her useless degree from a prestigious college. In return he told her all about his boss, the heavy workload, and the friends he made in the office.
One drink later and they were both loosening up. He swore he even saw her smile a few times.
"Gale," she finally said. It was getting later, he thought she was going to say that she had to go. "I know it's been a long time, but I… I've always wondered." Immediately he remembered that night, the way he had to pull off to the side of the road and practice deep breathing and wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes before he could continue on his way home. "Why did you end things with me?" She shook her head. "I… loved you."
He exhaled deeply and took a big swig of his beer, setting it down loudly on the table. "You won't believe me."
"Try me."
Gale hated his reason behind their breakup. "Your dad made me." It clearly wasn't the answer she was expecting. Madge's eyebrows shot to her forehead, her lips parted in surprise. "He pulled me aside and told me to end it. Threatened me, and your dad never made idle threats."
She lifted her hand to her mouth and continued to blink rapidly. "What did he say?"
"I don't remember word for word," Gale admitted. "Something like he was going to make my life very difficult if I didn't." She turned to him, tears glistening in her eyes. He reached out immediately and grabbed her hands. "What?"
"If I had known…" she trailed off and shook her head. "If you had told me the real reason…"
"I was scared. I know it's no excuse. I was just a kid." Madge pulled her hands from his grasp and sighed, turning her head away. "I loved you, Madge. Even then I knew I wasn't good enough for you, that your dad was right."
"Screw him," she muttered. "Gale, you've spent the past half hour telling me about your extremely successful job. And it's not like I ever cared about any of that anyway, you knew that."
"I was just a kid," Gale said again. "I didn't have any options." He shook his head. "I hated it. I hated myself. I thought about you all the time." He looked toward her, admitting what he had been scared to admit all these years. "I still do."
They could've had it all if it weren't for her father. They could've been the cliché, the successful one. Had a family by now, or at least beginning one. He wanted to marry Madge, to spend the rest of his life with her, and because he was so scared it was never going to happen.
She reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing once. Madge sighed but then admitted, "Me too."
That's how they found each other again, by accident on some street in the dark of the night. With the truth out, that nothing had really gone wrong in their relationship besides an outside threat, Madge forgave him for his mistake and slowly he forgave himself. They lived in the same city after all, starting something new was easy enough. And there weren't any kisses that night, or for a few weeks actually, but they had spent so much time missing one another it was bound to happen sooner or later.
When they got together again it was like this weight was lifted from Gale's shoulders. It was as though he was seeing the world in color again, like he could breathe. Madge's kisses, her sweet sweet kisses, gave him life. Her smile encouraged him like he thought it would all those years ago.
"Do you think we would've made it?" she asked one night. They were curled on his couch watching some rented move and eating popcorn. Madge looked up at him. "If we had stayed together, do you think we would've made it here to this point right now?"
"Does it matter?" he asked. "We're here now."
Madge nestled into his side and he squeezed her closer. "You're right. We're here now." And neither of them planned on going anywhere any time soon.