《 Prologue 》

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"PETER JACKSON!" A tall, blonde boy walked up the stairs located on the side of the stage and shook Principal Harlow's hand. Another boy with dark brown, almost back, hair stood off to the side, waiting for his turn.

With eyes that were a matching shade of brown, he scanned the crowd. When they connected with mine, a soft smile played at his lips, a shallow dimple emerging.

"Milo Jensen!" Principal Harlow, dressed in sophisticated clothing, called out into the microphone. I cheered loudly as he made his way across the stage.

He was dressed in a violet gown with a matching colored mortarboard. The golden tassel hanging down on the right swayed faintly as a gentle breeze blew throughout the open-air stadium.

Milo shook hands with a few of the teachers before reaching Principal Harlow, briefly shaking hands with her. Holding a rolled-up diploma, he smiled brightly as the photographer squatting in the middle of the aisle snapped a photo of him and Principal Harlow together.

As he made his way back to his seat, he looked up at the crowd and winked when he immediately found my chocolate doe eyes again, prompting me to subconsciously tuck a strand of hair behind my ear as my cheeks flustered.

The rest of the commencement ceremony flew by relatively quickly with a few heartfelt messages from the Valedictorian and vice-principal.

At last, after singing their class song, Principal Harlow announced, "Give it up for 'Ewa High's graduating class!"

The new graduates stood up from their chairs sprawled out on the green football field and flipped their tassels from the right to the left. Then, all in unison, the entire student body took off their hats and tossed it high into the air, hollering loudly.

The song "This Is Me" faintly buzzed from the speakers as the audience began to head out of the stadium.

When I stepped outside, I had to shield the luminous sunset with the palm of my hand, my skin glowing from the bright beams. The sky was painted an elegant flamingo-colored pink mixed with a hue of orange and purple-grayish clouds sailing peacefully with the north winds.

A few minutes later, the recent graduates bustled out into the parking lot, and a buzz of high energy and newfound freedom floated within the gentle breeze.

Searching ruthlessly among the hoards of people, I finally caught a glimpse of the boy I had been excited, yet anxious to see. His family and friends surrounded him, giving him many congratulatory hugs and pats on the shoulder with cheek hurting grins on their faces.

A soft smile played at my lips as I stared at the heartwarming sight. I drew in a deep breath, and my lips rolled in as I exhaled.

"Hey," a female voice greeted unexpectedly, causing my heart rate to spike momentarily. I glanced to the side, their neck at eye level. My gaze moved up until I came face to face with a smiling Ava Gallagher, my best friend since birth.

Even though Ava was a year older than me, our parents were close friends since high school, so it was only natural that they introduced the two of us to each other. Growing up, everyone knew that Ava and I were practically inseparable, and we were even voted as the "Dynamic Duo" during Spirit Week at school, which wasn't a surprise at all.

"Jesus, Ava. You scared me," I sighed, pressing a hand against my chest. Her wavy brown hair, which also matched her eyes, flowed elegantly with the wind. She wore a loose white shirt with denim jeans and a pair of tan suede boots.

The sun's golden beams bounced off her tan skin, accentuating the highlight adorning her cheekbones.

"Where were you? You practically missed the entire ceremony," I asked amusedly.

"I got caught up in traffic. It's rush hour, and I live an hour away from here. How do you expect me to get here on time?" Ava responded. I rolled my eyes with the corner of my lip curling up at the rhetorical question.

Remembering my troubled expression from a minute ago, her expression morphed from a smile to a consoling one.

"You okay?" She placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, it's just..." My voice trailed off as I looked back towards Milo's direction.

Ava followed my gaze and her eyes also landed on Milo, who still hadn't caught us staring. "Are you sure you want to do this, Hadley?"

I solemnly nodded. Plastering on a fake smile, I made my way towards Milo, Ava trailing behind.

"Congrats, Milo!" I pounced on him from behind with a floral lei made of plumerias, a known congratulatory tradition, slinging it around his neck. He spun around and a joyous smile tugged at his lips, which broke my heart even more.

"There you are, Hads!" Milo instantly snaked his arms around my waist and spun me around, burying his head in the crook of my neck. My arms wound around the back of his neck and I snuggled into his chest, savoring his comforting scent that I would miss, followed by a faint floral aroma.

He gently lowered me to the ground and excitement beamed brightly out of his entire being. A tendered look pooled in his eyes as he stared down at me.

Even though Milo and I had been a thing for a few months and had never really discussed what we were, I always felt a sense of comfort and security when I was near him or tucked snugly in his arms, something I'd never felt so immediate with someone.

I took in a deep breath as I attempted to regain control of the reins on my wild heart that was threatening to rip out of my chest.

"Milo, I need to tell you something," I said warily.

"Me too, but I want to reveal it to you later. My folks and I are gonna go and get some malasadas from Leonard's Bakery. You should come with us," Milo said energetically.

A bit of hesitation leaked onto my features, wanting to break the devastating news to him as quickly as possible before I could convince myself to rid of the idea.

But on the other hand, I really loved Leonard's malasadas. Malasadas were also Milo's favorite and would be the thing he'd miss most from our hometown on this little island, Oahu.

"I know you love their chocolate dobash malasadas!" He sang with a grin still spread across his lips. As I stared at those beautiful eyes with long, dark lashes, I knew I couldn't pass up his offer.

"Okay," I breathed with a soft smile.

MILO GRABBED THE sugar-coated confection from the pink box using a napkin. After handing me a warm malasada, I took a bite and sighed with content as the dobash filling gushed out of the deep-fried ball of dough.

Sitting outside together on a white bench, Milo chuckle next to me. He had changed out of his graduation gown and into a plain white shirt that hugged his body in all the right places with a pair of faded black jeans.

Taking a bite of his own malasada filled with custard, a cluster of the granulated sugar sat on the tip of his nose while a drop of custard rested on his chin.

This time, it was my turn to laugh at him as I grabbed a spare napkin from the plastic bag and gently booped his nose before wiping away the mess on his face. In return, he gave me a sweet kiss on the cheek, and I stored the memory and feeling away for the times when I wouldn't have the privilege of feeling his plump lips against my skin, which coursed an electrifying sensation through my body.

After devouring our malasadas, I prepared myself to see that happy grin wash painfully off his face as I drew in a deep breath. It's just like ripping off a bandage, quick and simple...well, easier said than done.

"Milo," I said solemnly. His eyes locked with mine and stared at me intently. "So...what I wanted to tell you earlier is that, I think—"

"Milo," another voice cut me off. A woman to the left with jet black hair captured our attention. She pushed her sunglasses up onto her forehead, revealing the same deep brown eyes as Milo.

"Don't forget to tell Hadley about tonight," she reminded him. Mrs. Jensen glanced at me and winked, but I gave her a puzzled expression in response.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Milo turned back to me. "My mom's making us go to Rainbow Drive Inn for a celebratory dinner. A few others who also graduated are going to be there." He fidgeted slightly, thinking that I might decline his offer. "Do you want to join us?"

I nodded and his shoulders relaxed as he smiled, "Great."

During the entire ride there, my fingers vigorously tapped against my knee as I stared out the window, the hole in my stomach growing bigger as I knew that the longer I waited, the harder it would be to follow through.

At one point, Milo noticed my restless state. Although he was clueless of the reasoning behind my distraught state, he comforted me by placing his warm hand over mine to stop my anxious drumming, sending a wave of bliss through my body. He readjusted our hands and intertwined our fingers, my hand fitting perfectly into his.

Milo took a brisk glance at me and smiled before his eyes refocused back on the road, keeping one hand firmly on the top of the steering wheel while the other remained with me.

After parking next to his mom's car, Milo nonchalantly snatched up my hand and intertwined our fingers once again as we made our way towards our friends. My face began to flush as I observed Ava and a few others chatting, sitting on long benches attached to an equally long table placed in front of the restaurant.

As we came closer, James, Milo's best buddy who wore a light blue sleeveless shirt and khaki shorts, caught our arrival out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, everyone! The lovebirds are here," he wiggled his eyebrows and everyone's gaze turned towards us. A few of the girls began to scowl at me, snagging a bit of my confidence.

Ironically, a space wide enough to fit me and Milo was wedged in between Ava and James. We filled in the gap and James spoke to Milo at a quieter volume, but not low enough for just Milo's ears.

"Dude, you should just ask her to be your girlfriend already." And with those words, my body instantly stiffened like a board.

Through my peripheral vision, I saw Milo also tense up, noticing that I overheard James through my rigid posture. I could vividly see the image of Milo's face turning pink but was too afraid to look for myself.

"Ouch! What the hell was that for?" James suddenly hissed. One of his hands nursed his ribs as he glared at Milo, eyebrows scrunched together.

"Sorry, man," Milo chuckled sarcastically. "There's not enough space on this bench to fit all of us."

Apologizing for his accident, he patted James's shoulder a little harder than necessary telling from the loud slapping noises and how James winced each time Milo's hand came into contact with his skin.

"How about we go and order our food, hm?" Milo stated calmly as if James hadn't embarrassed him moments ago.

I simply nodded and we slipped our legs out from underneath the table and made our way towards the sign that said "Order Here" with an arrow pointing down. We were only a few steps away from the counter when I gently placed my hand on Milo's forearm.

"Milo, I really need to talk to you about something," I said warily. The tension building up within me became unbearable and I couldn't hold it in any longer.

Oblivious to the bomb dropper ahead, he ignored my unusual somber tone, "I need to tell you something too, but can we order something first? I'm starving." He rubbed his stomach and turned back around, but I didn't budge.

"What's wrong, Hads?" He questioned, noticing my somber expression.

"Milo, I've been trying to tell you this, but..." I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply through my nose. "I don't think this is gonna work out."

"What?" His eyebrows furrowed together, a shocked and pained expression taking over his features. My heart sunk into my stomach while it beat ferociously all at once, threatening to rupture at any given moment.

"I don't think we are going to work out, Milo," I said dismally, motioning back and forth between us. "I think we should break up and stop whatever this is that's going on between us."

Even though we weren't officially dating yet, it felt like we were on the brink of it. But I guess we'll never know if it was meant to be.

His expression turned frantic, "What? Why, Hadley? Did I do something wrong? I—"

"No," I interrupted and slowly said, "It's not you, it's me." I cringed a bit at the cliché words, but it was true.

I would've been a burden to Milo. I wanted him to enjoy college life and parties without having a single care in the world. I didn't want him to be constantly worrying about me back home when he could be having a good time with his friends and experiencing what the world has to offer.

"I just think that it might be...better this way," I said hesitantly, earning an incredulous look from Milo.

"And why is that?" asked Milo. I dropped my head in frustration, but Milo gently lifted my head back up with his hand.

"Tell me, Hadley. What makes you think that we won't work?" He softly and calmly asked. 

I sighed, feeling overwhelmed. It felt like I was losing a piece of me; a piece I had possibly given up too soon.

With Milo leaving to California for college in a month while I still went to school here on Oahu, I knew it was inevitable that we were going to break up. We were just too scared to acknowledge it: the cold, hard truth.

"I just don't want to be a burden to you, okay?" I admitted dejectedly. "I don't want you worrying about me, or needing to call me to ask how my day has been when you'll already have enough on your plate. You should be living your life and doing whatever you want without having to worry about anything else except for yourself," I admitted somberly, using dramatic hand gestures.

His eyes softened as they strongly held contact with mine.

"You will never be a burden to me, Hadley, okay?" He uttered, his eye contact never faltering.

I slowly nodded, sucking in my lips as a few tears started to cloud my vision.

"And besides, I want to do those things. Making sure you're okay, calling, even if it's just for a minute, to hear your beautiful voice, and everything else in between. If I could, I would give you the whole world!" His tone was filled with sincerity, matching his facial expression.

"I want you to be happy, and I don't think you will be if we're miles apart. I'm sorry, Milo," My voice shook as I uttered those words, looking away.

I yanked myself out of his hold and sprinted as quickly as my legs could carry me. Although I was tempted to look back at Milo one last time, I refrained myself from doing so, knowing that it would break me down even more if that was even possible at this point.

I didn't know where I was running to, all I knew was that I needed to get away from Milo.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ava saw the whole scene unfold and ran after me. "Hadley, wait!"

I ignored her call and listened to my shoes slapping against the pavement instead. A minuscule drop of water dripped onto my nose, which quickly turned into a torrent downpour within seconds.

A few of my baby hairs stuck to my face from the rain as my head whipped around when a hand wrapped firmly around my wrist. Ava's hair was flat against her head as water dripped down the sides of her face.

Not realizing how fast she had caught up with me, Ava brought me out of my daze as she dragged me to her car only a few steps away. A steady stream of warm tears flowed down my face, mixing with the precipitation.

After fumbling for her keys, her car chirped and she pushed me into the passenger's seat before hopping into the driver's side, quickly bringing her car to life and pulled out of the parking lot.

I glanced at the outside mirror and saw Milo still standing in the same spot that I left him, solemnly watching Ava's car speed away. I quickly turned my focus to the road ahead of us, heavy streams of tears continuing to flow rapidly down my face.

"Just breathe, Hadley. Just breathe," said Ava calmly as she tried to soothe me. I followed her words, inhaling deep breaths through my mouth, but I was still breathing rapidly as my mind swirled with thoughts.

I knew Milo would always hold a piece of my heart; he was my first love after all. And if he was the one, then the stars would realign in the future, and we would somehow cross paths again.

But for now, only time will tell if we were ever meant to be; if it was destiny.

_____________________

A/N: Hi, I hope you enjoyed! BIG THANK YOU for taking a chance on this book!

side note: the "W" in "Ewa" ("Eh-va") is pronounced as a "V."

I know this was VERY long, but the rest of the chapters will not be as long and trust me, the story gets better as you go on. But the chapters will still be a considerable length. :)

-Karlee 💛

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