Two days before Christine’s departure to Michigan, her bedroom was a controlled chaos of cardboard boxes, half-packed clothes, and memories she wasn’t sure she was ready to leave behind. Every fold of a shirt, every item she tucked into her suitcase felt like she was packing away a part of herself—her life, her friends, and most of all, the memories of Alex. Michigan was a step forward, sure, but why did it feel like she was walking away from so much?

Lara, meanwhile, sat at her desk, staring blankly at the rejection letter from her dream med school. The paper felt heavier than it was, a glaring reminder of failure. She had planned everything—her acceptance, moving to Michigan, being near Christine. Now, those plans were crumbling. A gap year wasn’t what she envisioned, but she had no choice but to face it head-on. “Next year,” she whispered to herself. “Next year I’ll be there with her.”

That evening, Christine decided to gather her closest friends for one last hurrah before she left. The group—Lara, Bella, and Rachel—hit the mall, an unspoken attempt to capture some sense of normalcy amid the changes. The trip was filled with their usual antics. Bella, always the clown, dragged them from store to store, pulling outrageous clothes off the racks and insisting they try them on. She forced Christine into a pair of ridiculous leopard-print sunglasses, laughing until tears rolled down her cheeks. Even Lara, quiet and lost in thought most of the day, cracked a smile.

The fun came to a pause as they sat together at Starbucks, their usual spot for deep conversations. As the smell of coffee filled the air, reality began to sink in.

“So,” Rachel said, breaking the silence as she stirred her drink. “Michigan. Big step, huh?”

Christine sipped her caramel macchiato, the sweetness unable to chase away the knots in her stomach. “Yeah. It feels unreal. Like, everything is changing so fast. I’m excited, but also… terrified.”

Lara stayed quiet, her eyes focused on her drink, while Bella, forever the optimist, chimed in. “You’re going to rock it. We all are. It’s just that time in life where everything shifts, you know?”

Rachel nodded. “Yeah, but it’s scary. I still don’t know if I’m making the right choices. What if I screw up my career?”

Christine looked at Lara, who hadn’t spoken much, and placed a hand on her arm. “Lara’s got it all figured out. She’ll be joining me next year, right?”

Lara’s expression softened, but there was a sadness in her eyes. “I’ll try. I just… I don’t know what I’ll do without you, Kay.”

The weight of her words hung in the air, and the group made a pact—no matter what happened, they’d stay in touch. Calls every week, no excuses. The thought of growing apart was too much to bear.

On their way home, Christine and Lara walked side by side, the moon casting soft shadows on the pavement. The usual light-hearted banter between them was replaced by a reflective quietness. After a while, Lara stopped abruptly and turned to Christine.

“Promise me,” she said, her voice wavering. “Promise me you’ll wait for me there. Next year, I’ll be with you at Michigan. I’ll make it.”

Christine gave her a reassuring smile and pulled her into a tight hug. “I’ll be waiting. I believe in you, Lara. You’ve always been the strongest one.”

But as Lara clung to her, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy gnawing at her heart. She would miss Christine terribly—and not just as a friend. The feeling she had tried to ignore for so long threatened to bubble to the surface again.

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Meanwhile, miles away in Louisiana, Alex sat in his new apartment, staring at the ceiling. Boxes were still unpacked around him, but he didn’t care. His mind was thousands of miles away, stuck on the image of Christine’s face the night she confessed her love to him. That look in her eyes—it was burned into his memory.

He hadn’t meant to leave things the way he had. Life had spun out of control so quickly. His grandfather’s heart attack, the sudden move, and now the endless days of settling into a new routine. He had barely had a moment to breathe, let alone think about what had happened that night. But every time he closed his eyes, there she was—Christine, her voice trembling as she told him she loved him, her lips so close to his.

How could he have let her slip away without saying anything back? He had tried—God knows he had tried—to reach her.  01219 were the last five numerals of her contact number. He tried multiple combinations in a hope that he could hear her voice from the other side. But when all his attempts led to some wrong person and his emails went unanswered, he felt a weight settle in his chest. Maybe she didn’t want to hear from him anymore. Maybe he had missed his chance.

Alex turned his head, glancing at the letter on his desk. Louisiana State University. Astrophysics. The plan had always been clear, but now… he wasn’t so sure. The stars didn’t seem as bright anymore. Not without her.

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Christine on the other hand was watching her photos from the graduation in her laptop when suddenly she came across her and Alex's photo from the school trip. She suddenly had the urge to draw his deep blue eyes with her own hands. She took out an ivory sheet, her cardboard and sketch pencils and started to draw listening "Wish you were Here" by Avril..

"And I remember all those crazy things you said
You left them running through my head
You're always there, you're everywhere
But right now, I wish you were here
All those crazy things we did
Didn't think about it, just went with it
You're always there, you're everywhere
But right now, I wish you were here
Damn, damn, damn
What I'd do to have you here, here, here
I wish you were here
Damn, damn, damn
What I'd do to have you near, near, near
I wish you were here"

She was making neat, gentle strokes to fill the outline of his eyes first , then a perfect nose, thin lips and finally his brown hairs. It was all perfect. Looking at the sketch in her hand made her fall more in love. Her longing and admiration visible on her face as tear drops started to build up inside her eyes blurring her vision.

She looked outside the window trying to distract her thoughts but even looking at the stars occupying the celestial expanse her mind again drifted over to Alex, wondering if he was looking at the same stars, was he thinking about her too?