the poor punching bag had to suffer hard and fast punches from the girl, bouncing back and forth. cassie wasn't the type to get angry; she rarely ever got mad. however, this was completely different, and since she never deals with anger, she figured the boxing club would be a good place to take it out in.

"what has that poor bag ever done to you?" james commented through a laughter as he folded his arms together.

"it's a bag, james." she muttered while throwing another harsh punch.

"okay, spit it out. what's wrong?" he asked, placing himself in front of her.

cassie clenched her jaw and took a step back, shaking her hands beside her thighs. james sighed through his nose before holding up his hands, causing her to frown slightly.

"what are you doing?"

"hit me and rant at the same time. i've heard it helps." he winked, earning a scoff back.

"i'm not gonna' hit you."

"why not?" he questioned, raising his eyebrows. she looked at his hand and exhaled in defeat, giving in to the joy of punching something other than a bag. "there you go. what's the problem?"

"alright." she cocked her head sideways and raised her fists before placing a punch on his left hand. "matt ditched my art show. which, honestly, i'm not that mad over anymore. i get it, he had to practice. but a little warning could be nice."

"mhm." james mumbled, clenching his hands and arms as she continued beating them. "and art is very important to you, that i know. what's the thing that really angers you?"

"two things, actually. first, i'm angry with myself for ever letting him in. i told myself to not get involved with someone last year of college. that was the one rule i had, and what do i do? i date my roommate's brother!" she explained shortly, hitting him so hard that he had to take a few steps back due to the force. "sorry. anyway, we will have problems once we graduate, it's inevitable. i mean, i don't know what he wants to do! it's too complicated to even think about."

"you're afraid you two are gonna' break up because of differences?" james asked to be sure, which she nodded to.

"how could we not? we both need to settle down and make sure we're good. relationships will only make that harder." she exclaimed, pulling both hands through her hair.

"you're stressing too much, which will only make it even harder. and the last thing?" he asked, raising his hands steadily. feeling all that anger return, she continued punching his hands and swallowed a lump in her throat.

"matt is hiding something from me." she started, feeling sweaty on her back. "and knowing matt, it could be literally anything. it could be about something small and silly, or he could've cheated and feels too guilty to tell me. or it could be–"

cassie looked up and abruptly stopped her movements. james glanced away as she parted her lips and frowned deeply. he had a knowing look on his face, and he saw that she clearly noticed it.

"look, i–" he began, but she quickly cut him off.

"you know?" she spat, stepping backwards. "you know what it is that he won't tell me?!"

"i'm sorry, he came over and asked me not to tell you." james apologized, sighing in guilt.

"oh, fuck you." she muttered as she made her way out of there, rubbing her own hands to try and not completely lose it all.

as she reached the college and entered, she wasn't particularly surprised to matt in the hallway with chris and mason. she locked eyes with mason whilst approaching them, clenching one hand beside her body.

"an angry cassie is coming." mason mumbled.

matt barely had any time to react before cassie punched his jaw. he quickly caressed it and stopped her next attempt to punch him again by grasping both her wrists.

"you told james, but you can't tell me?!" she yelled, being shushed by him. "you son of a–"

"cass!" matt stopped her, dropping her wrists when she jerked them away, calming down a bit. "i needed someone to talk to about it."

"mason and chris aren't enough?" she laughed bitterly and shook her head slowly. "you know what? if you can tell your boxer teacher but not me... then screw this. i don't even want to hear it anymore."

cassie quickly went to her own dorm, shutting the door with unintentional force. alex jumped a bit before seeing her upset expression, sighing heavily.

"cassie–" she started, but wasn't allowed to finish.

"don't. i don't want to hear it right now, and whatever you want to say, keep it inside." cassie muttered, heading for the shower. she heard the door open and close again, leading her to believe that alex left the room.

after showering and putting clothes on, she sat down on her bed with crossed legs and puckered with her lips, letting all the anger vanish slowly. but as the anger left her, sadness started to creep in and replace it, and that wasn't much better.

vanessa slowly opened the door, peeking her head inside with a sheepish smile. cassie gazed blankly at her as the blonde stepped inside with a bag in one hand and movies in the other one. she then joined cassie's side and put the things on the floor carefully.

"so, i know action movies usually cheer you up, but i also brought just go with it because it's one of your favorite movies ever. i also brought chips and candy, not sure which one you like the most." vanessa rambled, meeting cassie's confused eyes. "i'm sleeping here tonight. you and i are going to watch movies and just relax, okay?"

"do you know what it is?" the brunette asked quietly, opening the bag with candy.

"the secret? no, i don't. not sure if i want to either." vanessa shrugged, grabbing the laptop from the desk. "so comedy or action?"

"comedy." cassie decided with a weak smile, putting a piece of candy in her mouth. "oh god, that's sour."

"yeah, i like sour candy." vanessa smirked as she fixed the beds into a cozy corner with pillows and sheets. "i know you do too."

"a little sour, nessa. a little." she pointed out, starting her laptop and putting the movie in.

"knew i should've brought ice cream." vanessa mumbled regretfully, sitting down beside her.

"hey, this is nice." cassie laughed and leaned her head back. "extremely sour candy is perfectly fine."

the words that left cassie's lips were true. in any other scenario, alex would be the one to have a chill night with her to help her into a better mood, but this was a night for vanessa. she'd talk to matt the day after, but at the moment she just wanted to watch adam sandler and jennifer aniston faking a divorced marriage with the one person who hadn't lied to her.

in the art room, cassie slightly tilted her head to the side as she painted alone. she was a bit tired still, considering she and vanessa watched more than one movie and then stayed up late talking. licking her lips, she frowning when she heard the door open, followed by a male voice.

"can we talk now?" matt asked quietly, folding his arms together.

"only if you'll finally tell me." she muttered back, finishing the drawing carefully. he swallowed as he rubbed his chin and paced around behind her, his eyes fixed on her long, brown hair laying flat against her back.

"do you want me to just... say it? just drop the bomb?" he questioned with a face resembling an emotionally torn puppy. dropping the pencil on the table, she turned around and lifted her arms in the air beside her for a short moment.

"so you've been keeping this from me for weeks now, and you're asking whether or not you should bluntly tell me or just talk yourself through it to make it less harsh? bad? mean? matt, i don't get you! and i don't care how you say it anymore, just–"

"we're moving back to london." he blurted out, causing her face to harden more for each second. she stared at him with parted lips, not wanting to believe it. "after we graduate, we'll move back home. this was never really a permanent location for us, and dad even has a job available. i couldn't tell you because you'd look at me the way you're currently doing, and it's heartbreaking."

"we?" she quoted him quietly. "as in you and alex?"

"yeah." he whispered, feeling slightly relieved to finally utter the words.

"so not only do i lose my boyfriend, but i also lose my best friend?" she scoffed as she pulled both her hands through her hair.

"you're talking as if–"

"as if what?" she cut him off, already knowing what he would say. "as if we're over?"

"yes, but we're not." he countered and put his hands on his waist.

"no right, you're just moving across the atlantic ocean. no big deal." she laughed bitterly, crossing her arms together in a way that slightly scared him. "i don't do long distance relationships."

"have you ever tried?" he asked out of curiosity, making her sigh through her nose.

"no, but really? when have they ever worked?" she retorted, raising her eyebrows a little. she might not have any personal experience from long distance relationships, but they rarely worked. personally, she didn't understand how two could be together but not actually being physically close. it'd drive her insane. he pursed his lips and looked down, not being able to form an answer that would benefit him. "see? you know this is..."

"over?" he filled in for her with a sad voice, looking to the side. she stared at him while the word planted itself in her head, slumping her shoulders down. "good to hear that you're giving up so easily." he muttered, turning around.

"hey, that is not fair!" she exclaimed, her voice cracking by the end. "i'm not the one moving, matt! i'm not the one who's been hiding such a huge information from my girlfriend! or my roommate, for that matter. you can't judge or blame me for reacting this way, considering we graduate within a few days and you're about to leave me. both of you. besides, i would've had a hell lot more hope for us if i felt like i could trust you."

"i'm sorry, okay. i just didn't know how to tell you, or when. yes, i'm moving, but maybe you could– i don't know, maybe–" he stammered, trying to think of something.

"if you're suggesting what i think you are..." she warned, pointing a finger at him.

"well, you don't do long distance relationships..." he quoted her, cocking his head to the side.

"you can't seriously suggest that i'll move with you?" she questioned with a frown, noticing his weak shrug. "what the hell am i supposed to do in london?"

"i don't know! all i know is that i don't want us to break up yet." he exclaimed with desperation.

"you should've thought about that earlier. because you moving is a major reason for a break up. and here i was, having panic because i didn't know what you'd do after college." she shook her head as she left the art room, with him following closely behind.

"it doesn't have to be! you're ending us before we've even discussed this." he lowered his voice since they were among other students now, not wanting to draw any attention to them:

"what's there to discuss? you're moving, end of story. i'm not. i can't just pack up and move to london. this would've been something to discuss if you moved within this country, and–" she had to stop herself, feeling the tears wetting her eyes and her voice failing her.

"can we just– i don't know, talk in the room or something?" he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. he wanted to sit down with her and try to make her understand why it was so hard for him to tell. however, matt wasn't dumb and naive enough to believe that a relationship across the atlantic ocean would work.

"matthew..." she exhaled, feeling a tear roll down her cheek. "i didn't want to have a boyfriend during the last year, okay? but you fucking showed up and swooned me. this is too much to just... talk about and accept. i'm losing both of you at the same fucking time, and just the thought of saying goodbye kills me. i'm not saying we won't ever meet again, but this is too big to try and work out. i'm sorry." she whispered by the end, turning around to move toward her dorm.

cassie put her hand on the doorknob and inhaled a shaky breath. matt sniffed while gazing at her, watching her turn her head to him. she was silently crying, causing her eyes to look thicker. her mascara became more prominant beneath her eyes, and it hurt him to see her like that.

swallowing, she entered the room and quickly went for the bathroom to wash her face. that's when she really processed it; matt was moving. she wanted to be mad again, but the only thing she found herself doing was to keep crying silently and be sad about it.

matt couldn't keep his hands still as he too went to his dorm. dropping himself on the bed, he buried his face in his hands and swallowed a thick lump in his throat. mason sat down on the edge and looked down at him sadly, already knowing what had happened.

"you told her?" he asked quietly, earning a lazy head nod back. "hey, she'll be fine. you can't exactly do anything about it. as much as she nags about wanting a steady life, what are the chances that she'll stay in florida for the rest of her life? that girl is all about exploring new things."

"but i'm still leaving." matt muttered as he removed his hands slowly. "and she's staying. the worst part about this is me hurting her. sure, i'll miss her to death but... the look on her face, mason–"

"stop, dude. tomorrow, you two are going to talk again more calmly, and you're going to enjoy the last days you have with each other here, and you're gonna' create more memories. so for god's sake, don't begin the sad phase already, be happy for now. can you promise me that? that you won't waste these days?" mason cut him off, a severely voice leaving his throat.

matt looked at his best friend, grateful that he had him. eventually, he nodded his hazy head and closed his eyes as mason patted his chest before standing up.

meanwhile in the other dorm, alex froze when she laid her eyes on her roommate, who was sitting on the edge of the bed with intertwined hands. cassie looked up and felt another wave of sadness wash over her.

"you're leaving me. i'm losing my best friend, and she couldn't even tell me." cassie stated, rubbing her hands against each other.

"i assume he finally told you..." alex mumbled, placing herself beside her. "i'm sorry. you know i love you, cassie, but he asked me not to tell you. he wanted to do it himself. if i had known he'd take so long, i'd do it myself, but..."

"bur you promised your brother, i get it." cassie nodded, turning her head to gaze at her blue eyes. "i just wish that... that you don't have to go back."

"america was never permanent. our parents offered us to study here and experience florida at the same time, but london is our home. we love it there. however, we weren't sure we'd go back so soon, until mom called some weeks ago."

"i know and i can't blame you. i'd feel the same way if the roles were reversed, but it's both of you now. alex, you've been my best friend for years now. you know me the best after tyler, you've always been there for me. how am i just gonna' say goodbye and watch you get on a plane? and matt... oh shit, i love him so much. he's taught me stuff, he knows how to cheer me up, he's like a best friend and he's just this awkward, roof sitting guy whom i can tell everything to. so both of you leaving at the same time is kind of heartbreaking, alex." she ranted whilst alex listened intently, not interrupting her once.

"i love you too." alex started with a weak smile, lacing their hands together. "and i know it's a lot to deal with, but we'll just have to do it. besides, it's not like we're never going to see each other again. we'll visit, you can probably visit–"

"i will." cassie butted in and nodded.

"i know. you'll be fine, and so will matt. you still have tyler and vanessa, candice and mason. hell, even bash. so just... suck it up, captain." alex exhaled, smiling as cassie leaned her head against her shoulder. the blue eyed one caressed cassie's cheek and kissed the top of her head.

"it's the part about both of you leaving at the same time that hurts the most right now. but yeah, it's not like you're moving out of my life forever. it just blows." cassie continued, pouting a little. her mind drifted over to matt, a low groan escaping her lips as she remembered that their relationship would either end or change.

"i know. how about you and i go grab a juice? i don't want to sit in this room and do nothing, and a juice is always refreshing. you'd know." alex suggested, looking down at her. cassie sat straight and gazed at her friend, cracking the first, real smile ever since she and matt became so tense.

"yeah, i'd love that." she nodded, tucking some hair behind both ears.

"ah, great. we need to get out of this building, i haven't been out in god knows how long. neither have you." alex complained.

"okay, let's not make this feel like babysitting."

-

a/n

hi, sorry for slacking so much omg, but here's the chapter where it comes out! some of you guessed this, which was funny to read lol

so yeah they're moving :/// at least he didn't cheat, which quite frankly, matt would never do. like ever???

anywaysss, i'm planning maybe two more chapters and an epilogue... and that's it :(

also big shoutout to my friend -fragilebones because this chick is amazing and i love her

keep going to my tumblr cuz i love you all (@/carasmason) and please comment! love y'all ^^