⚠️TW: This story contains physical and emotional abuse⚠️

**

Heather pulled her long hair up when she felt it sticking to the back of her neck. It was a humid Summer evening in late August, and she and her friends were spending the last weekend of vacation out on the lake.

"Here's to the party boat goin' to college!" Geoff raised a bottle of Coors Light.

"I can't believe he brought alcohol again," Courtney muttered to Duncan. "It was bad enough when we went out on the boat last summer."

"Relax, babe." Her boyfriend wrapped his arm around her. "See any cops out here?"

"Ugh," she rolled her eyes.

"Exactly. And Geoff will be nineteen next Summer anyway."

"Want one, Dunc?" Geoff asked, a second bottle in his hand.

"You know it!"

Courtney lowered at him. "Are you kidding me?!"

"What? It's good shit."

Geoff sat by Bridgette. "Cheers, babe." They clinked their bottles together and drank.

Gwen sat next to Duncan and Courtney. "It feels like I'm literally bathing in the sun."

"You might need it, pasty," Duncan snickered.

"Duncan!" Courtney scolded.

"No, don't worry," Gwen smirked. "We've been friends since kindergarten. I have more dirt on him than you think."

"I love hearing your dirty stories on Duncan."

"...What do you two talk about?"

"Nothing," Courtney giggled.

"Hey!" Duncan pouted.

"I'm sorry, but come on, you have some pretty good stories," Gwen laughed.

"If only he'd tell them to his wonderful girlfriend," Courtney gave him puppy dog eyes.

"I heard something about stories?" Chandler passed by them, carrying a beer back to his spot.

"Funny and humiliating stories about Duncan as a kid," Gwen answered.

"Don't bring him into this!" Duncan groaned.

"Now you feel pressured to tell the whole group."

"You don't have to tell the whole group, babe," Courtney gently reassured him.

"Yeah, we're not trying to make fun of you, man," Chandler said.

"Gwen is."

"Ok, ok! I'll stop. Duncan, tell whoever you want about your—many incidents," she tried not to laugh.

"Gwen, are you drunk?" Courtney asked.

"What? No way! I'm perfectly sober!"

Both she and Duncan looked at each other knowingly. "She's drunk," they said in unison.

Chandler sat next to Heather. "Guess what day it'll be in two weeks," he smiled.

"Hmm, let me think," she smirked playfully. "The day you asked me out, and I said yes?"

He scooted closer to her, leaning in. "And how long ago was that?"

"Two years."

"Mhm." He pressed her lips on hers.

"You know, you could've just said it's our two-year anniversary," she giggled when they pulled out.

"I know, but I kind of like the guessing game." He played with the end of her ponytail.

"Babe, I'm gonna take a picture of us together." She got out her phone. "Ready?" She posed. Chandler smiled. "One, two, three!"

"I can't wait to make more memories with you, Heath." He kissed her neck. "From high school to college, to our thirties—"

"Ugh, I don't even want to think about our thirties right now!"

Chandler chuckled. "I know. Me neither; I just want to enjoy this beautiful moment. It's just us two on a boat on a warm summer night." He rubbed her hand.

"Except it's not just us."

"I like to pretend it's just us. You know how much Courtney annoys me," he whispered in her ear.

Heather took a deep breath. "You tell me that all the time."

"Because it's true. I'm surprised you're still friends with her. Just saying."

She gave him a slight glare. "Courtney and I have been friends since first grade. I know you don't like her, but you don't have to remind me constantly." She rolled her eyes.

He opened his mouth to reply when Geoff whooped. "Wooo hoo! Sunset-watching time!" He motioned to where the boat was heading; it was a massive cliff with a great view over the lake.

"Are we really making this a tradition?" Bridgette laughed.

"Of course! It was so much fun last year!"

"Hell yeah! Courtney, you have to jump with me this time!" Duncan said.

"No way! Do you know-"

"How many people die jumping off cliffs? Yeah, if they're unlucky."

"Ugh, why do I even bother?"

"Courtney, please?" He fake-pouted.

"No!" She crossed her arms. "Geoff can jump with you again!"

"But it would be so much fun if you would."

"Duncan, I said no."

"Fine. Geez."

Bridgette stopped the boat near the cliff, and they all got out. "I brought some chocolate chip cookies for everyone!" She announced. "And I got you a dairy free snickerdoodle, Court!"

"Awe, thanks, babe. I love that you remember I'm lactose intolerant."

"Why do you guys act like you're dating?" Duncan said.

"Because we technically are," Courtney giggled. "Don't you and Geoff do that?"

"No way!"

"Duncan and Geoff can't risk their fragile masculinities," Gwen interjected.

"I can too!" Geoff argued.

Duncan raised an eyebrow. "Uh, dude. Don't you mean to say that your masculinity's not fragile?"

"Oh, ha, yeah," Geoff chuckled.

"Oh boy," Gwen laughed, shaking her head. "I think the beer is getting to your head, party guy."

"I'm just getting started on the drinking!"

"I'm so sorry you have to deal with that," Gwen smirked to Bridgette.

"It's only every Saturday."

Gwen cringed, turning to walk up the steep path next to the cliff along with everyone else.

"Ah, I forgot how nice this feels," Courtney beamed with a relaxed, half-lidded gaze once they were at the top.

"I know. If I would've known this place existed, I would've come here all the damn time in middle school and high school to get away from my old man," Duncan said.

"And you would've invited me for a romantic picnic."

"Definitely." He pecked her cheek. "Alright, who wants to jump with me?" He took off his shirt.

"You know I'm down, dude!" Geoff laid his hat down.

"Anyone else?" He smirked at Courtney.

"I already gave you my answer."

"I'll do it," Gwen shrugged. She didn't realize how bored she'd feel until she was there. She felt like a seventh wheel- she was the seventh wheel. Ever since she and Trent broke up a couple of months ago, nothing's ever been the same for her. Gwen missed him at times, but she told herself they weren't meant to be. Being together made them more miserable than being apart.

"Sweet!" Geoff grinned from ear to ear. "Hey everyone, my best friend is jumping!"

"Don't die!" Bridgette laughed.

Chandler rolled his eyes over to Heather. "This is boring. Wanna go somewhere else?" He grabbed her hand.

"I don't know. I kind of wanna stay here."

"Why? Courtney's your only friend here. And even she's spending time with her boyfriend. So I think you should do the same."

Heather looked at Courtney. Courtney laughed at Duncan after jumping from the cliff because his mohawk was lopsided, then wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big kiss on the lips.

Heather sighed. "Fine. We can leave."

Chandler stood up and offered his hand, which she took. He led them out into a wooded area behind the cliff. Without warning, he slid his shirt off.

"Chandler, are you serious right now?"

"Yep." He started sucking on her neck. "Baby, it's been so long."

Heather laughed, holding his face. She pressed her lips on his. "You're literally insane."

"I just really needed you."

"Ugh, ok. I guess we can do it here," she rolled her eyes playfully.

When they finished, Chandler collapsed next to Heather, panting. He snuggled up to her shoulder. "I love you; you know that?"

"Mhm. I love you too." She kissed his head.

"Fuck, I can't believe we're not gonna have any classes together."

"I know. It sucks. But at least we'll have the weekends and sometimes after school."

"That's just not good enough. Remember last year and the year before we'd go to each other's houses almost every day?"

"Yeah, I know." She played with his hair.

"And then you decided to major in fashion design instead of what I'm majoring in."

"Um, Chandler. No offense, but I'm not into law."

"But if you had only picked the same major as me, we'd probably be in some of the same classes."

She scoffed. "What happened to my supportive boyfriend?"

"I support you as long as you're doing something worthwhile."

"Fashion is worthwhile to me. I'm going to have my own business someday!"

"Heather," he laughed. "Do you know how talented someone has to be to run a business?"

"Yeah. And that's why I'm taking classes."

"It's still hard."

"Are you trying to persuade me to change majors?!"

"Maybe. Plus, I think you should just give up on that fashion shit."

She sat up, sliding her shirt back on. "God, stop being such an ass."

"But you know how I feel about your career goals."

"Exactly. So stop talking about it."

Chandler raised his eyebrows. "Whoa, what's with the attitude?"

"You've been trying to control what college classes I choose our whole senior year."

"I just think you can do better than fashion. Going to law school with me would be better." He kissed her neck. "Do it for me?"

"No! This is what I want to do, and that's final."

"Fine, but good luck being successful in that industry." He got dressed.

"Are you fucking serious right now?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding, Heather?"

"You're unbelievable! I thought this was mostly a joke!"

"It's not. Our schedules are totally different. And when I graduate from the university four years from now, I'm going to Law School in Florida. We'll have to fly to see each other, which means we'll hardly ever get to be together. Do you really want that?"

"I think that's ok," Heather shrugged. "You get to keep pursuing your career, and I'll have mine. Besides, we can always FaceTime."

"I love spending time with you in person!"

"Chandler, if you're so insistent on us being together, find another law school in Canada!"

"No way! This school is like, the best of the best for studying law!"

"So you want me to make all the sacrifices?!"

"It would be nice if you did for once. I feel like I do everything in this relationship!"

"You so do not!"

"I do, Heather!" You're so spoiled!"

"What the fuck does this have to do with what we're arguing about?!"

"Oh, it has everything to do with it! You only care about what you want to do, so you'd rather us be thousands of miles away!"

"You're doing the same thing!"

"I'm done with this argument. I'm sick of talking about it."

"What is your problem? You've been acting like this ever since the second half of last year!"

"I said I'm done."

"Because you know I'm right," she retorted.

"Drop it, Heather. Let's go back."

"No, I'm not dropping it! This is exhausting! We can't even talk about our futures to each other!"

Chandler suddenly burst into tears. Heather blinked, caught off guard. "Babe?"

"I just wanted—I wanted to always be by your side. That's what I'm used to. I feel so empty when you're not around."

Heather's face softened. She wrapped her arms around him from behind. "Chandler, it's ok. Even if I'm far away, I'll still be with you."

"What if another guy tries to take you away?"

"No guy could ever take me away because I don't want to be taken away. And this is four years from now. We still have four more great years together. Let's not worry about the far future, ok?"

He nodded, wiping his tears. "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you. I'm sorry for saying I do everything in the relationship. You do a lot by picking me up when I fall apart, which is almost every day," he chuckled. It was true. Chandler would have a mental breakdown most days of the week, but Heather was always there to comfort him.

"I'm sorry you have to put up with me. I suck. I don't even deserve you."

"Chandler, stop. I remember when you picked up all the pieces my family left. We hold each other up."

"Yeah. And we need is each other. Just you and me forever."

She smiled. "Forever."