CHAPTER ZERO
KARMA MEET LIFE, POT MEET KETTLE

Life was meant to blindside you sometimes. It was a sucky sentiment, but it was true. It was never fair, it didn't discriminate, and it had a marvelous time ruining everything when it had the chance. Life was shit, but Collin just never thought in a million years life would be shit to him.

     After a strenuous shift, Collin came home to see a plethora of moving boxes scattered throughout the apartment he shared with his girlfriend Evelyn as he walked through the door. They'd been dating for six years, and lived together for three, and he knew at some point they were going to move into a bigger apartment, but he didn't think it'd be happening so soon. Which was funny because, again, they'd been living together for three years. Unless that wasn't the case this go round. He pulled his key out the knob and noticed Evelyn's matching key in the dish on the table by the door as he called out, "Evie? Baby, where are you?"

    In response, he got an excited "In here!" coming from their bedroom. He followed her voice, nudged the door open, and asked, "What's got you all so pumped?"

     Evelyn practically bounced off of the bed as she held a single sheet of paper and an envelope in her hands, smiling so widely Collin thought her skin was going to tear. "You know that apprenticeship I've been going on and practically dying about and how I could possibly be trained by one of the best chefs in the world?"

     "Yeah?" Collin replied, questioning coloring his tone as he shrugged his jacket off, his eyes never leaving his girlfriend. "Did you get it?"

    Tears began springing in her eyes as Evelyn nodded, holding up the acceptance letter for him to see. Taking it from her, Collin's eyes scanned the sheet as he read it over, smiling just as wide as his girlfriend when he got to the end of it. "Baby, that's amazing! I'm so proud of you!" Collin then scooped Evelyn into his arms for a bone-crushing hug, feeling legs wrap around him as he practically lifted Evelyn off of the floor in his congratulations. After Evelyn came back from burying her nose in the crook of Collin's neck, Collin licked his bottom lip before furrowing his brows. "But I gotta ask: what's with all of the moving boxes?"

     Evelyn slowly unwrapped herself from Collin's embrace and let herself down, stepping out of his arms. "Um, the apprenticeship takes place in New York and I actually didn't realize how soon I would've had to pack considering it starts almost two weeks from now."

     "Okay, but why moving boxes? I could understand a couple of suitcases because the apprenticeship lasts a few weeks, but—" Collin cut himself off, coming to the slow yet unfortunate realization. "You also got a job lined up after because you're just that goddamn incredible." He took in a sharp breath and held Evelyn's hands regardless, fiddling with her fingers, "I guess that makes my news a little easier to digest."

     Evelyn scrunched her eyebrows up, squeezing Collin's fingers in the process. "What is it?"

    "You remember my uncle Bobby, the firefighter?" Collin asked. Evelyn nodded. "Of course."

    Collin continued. "He said that another spot at the one-eighteen fire station in Los Angeles opened up, and that he'd love to have me."

    "And did you say yes?"

     Collin sighed. "I actually wanted to talk to you about it. But seeing that I was greeted by boxes as I walked in, I figure there wasn't much to talk about."

     "Hey, come on. Don't be like that. You knew how much I wanted this."

     "I did. I do. And I'm so, so proud of you, Evie. But honestly, I can't help but feel just the tiniest bit blindsided by this. Because how am I gonna be able to let you go?" Collin sat on the edge of the bed, weariness already beginning to creep up on him. Evelyn nudged his legs apart to stand in between them, softly interrupting his impending ramble.

     "I know this is all happening so fast, and I'm so sorry that we couldn't sit and talk about this. I just couldn't wait. I'm sorry." Evelyn tilted his chin up to get him to look at her and Collin could see the apology written in her eyes. At least she was sincere about it.

     Collin sat silently as he rubbed his hands up and down Evelyn's arms as he wracked his brain for the words. "We've known each other since we were kids, I've had the biggest crush on you for God knows how long, and when I finally was able to go out with you while we were in college because I was a dumbass in high school, I was over the fuckin' moon. I still am. And now we've been together for six years. I can't just let all of that go this quickly, Evie. I can't let you go. And I don't wanna be the shitty boyfriend who keeps you in a single place, makes you feel trapped because he's too insecure for having an extremely capable girlfriend. I don't wanna do that to you.

     "Basically, what I'm trying to say is, I love you, I'm incredibly amazed by you each and every day, and I'm sorry that this apprenticeship won't let me see you dazzle. But, at least everyone there will know what I've known for sixteen damn years." At that, Collin finally broke down, grabbing Evelyn by the waist and pulling her closer, bowing his head into her stomach.

    "Think of the bright side, babe. You're not gonna be stuck here," Evelyn spoke, tears choking her. "You're gonna go to LA, you're gonna see your uncle again, and you'll work with the best fire station California has to offer. This may unfortunately be the end of us, but it's never gonna be the end of you and me. We're always gonna be friends. You hear me? And please, please don't be upset when you eventually forget me because you're gonna be doing all of these great things, just like I am."

     "I don't ever wanna forget you, Evelyn Cordelia."

     "And you won't, Collin Fitz. But you will. And that's okay. It's okay."

     "C'mere."

     Clothes were then stripped, and everything they had within them bled through that night. "I wanna feel you," Evelyn gasped as Collin was prepping the condom, "one last time." With Evelyn on the pill and Collin clean as a whistle, the two eventually met in the middle, grateful that their walls were thicker than the ones they had in college. Collin lifted Evelyn's hips, changing the angle and suddenly racing towards an orgasm a lot faster than he expected. Maybe it was because of the feelings shared, maybe it was because it was going to be the last time they were going to be connected like this, skin to skin, body on body.

    Collin kept his eyes on Evelyn the entire time, embedding her and committing her to memory. The intense eye contact heated Evelyn up in ways she's somehow never felt before and that was what got her to fall over the edge, taking Collin with her for the last time. They cuddled naked afterward after Collin took his sweet time cleaning Evelyn up (in more ways than one), and after a nap, they both got dressed again and Collin helped Evelyn pack.

    When they were done, Collin pressed the sweetest kiss to Evelyn's forehead before pulling her into a hug. They slow-danced in the kitchen as they made dinner like they usually did, and sat on the same side of the table as they ate, talking and laughing like they hadn't made Earth-shattering love and half of Collin's life was packed away into boxes in the other room, only to be opened in a different state. So yeah, life was shit. But even in all of the shittiness, there were the few people that knew how to make do with it.

     One week later, and Collin was wheeling one of Evelyn's suitcases in one hand and holding her hand in the other as they walked through the airport, afraid of breaking her fingers with how tight he was holding on and then he'd be at fault that she wouldn't be able to cook, thus making him the shit boyfriend he didn't want to be in the first place.

    "Well, we're finally here," Collin supplied, looking around the airport gate before turning to Evelyn. "Or, I guess you're here, rather."

    "I'm here," Evelyn agreed, sighing and also looking around. The two of them were still holding hands, urging the other one to let go first—they then subconsciously did at the same time. 

     "I love you."

     "I know. Do you, uh, wanna sit and wait with me until I start boarding?"

     "Uh, I think it's best I go. Wouldn't do me much good walking you to the gate knowing I won't be able to see you for a long while. But that's what I get for dating such an amazing woman. Someone like you truly cannot be grounded."

    Evelyn nodded, tears pooling in her eyes once more. "Well, the least you can do is buy me Auntie Anne's pretzel bites. Don't forget—"

     "The icing," Collin concluded for her, "how could I?" Collin turned to go across the way to wait in line, looking at Evelyn as he waited, Evelyn looking back at him. When Collin returned, cinnamon pretzel bites and icing in hand, Evelyn opened the bag, pulled out a pretzel bite, and held it out to Collin.

    "Because I want this goodbye to be as sweet as can be," Evelyn explained, holding up her own. They clinked their respective pretzel bites together and bit into them, tears spilling over. They hugged one final time before Collin turned to go, doing his best not to look back. And for the next two months, he didn't.

AUTHOR'S NOTE ╱ 042224
heyo starting us off with a breakup ! but at least it was on a good note <3

of course, evelyn is an august/evelyn/olive cameo all rolled into one bc that's on soulmateism