Cinema and all dramatic performances have taught us the weather is a good way to foreshadow the mood of the story. For instance, it's a Summer's day when the protagonist is happy but when the protagonist is sad the sky often cries with them. Movies had taught me a lot. Unfortunately, real life lacked the visual ques to warn the protagonist - me - of oncoming danger. It was a Saturday and the sky was a beautiful baby blue.

The members of my immediate family who I still lived with had left early that morning to explore some tourist caves a few hours from our small town. I would've left with them if I hadn't gotten a text from Zach earlier that morning:

Meet me at Morris Lake, 9 AM.

- Z

I shuffled past Moe's pink and white ice-cream parlour we had visited on our first date and head towards the viewing platform I could see the silhouette of his body waiting at. I had spoken to Zach the day before at school and the day before that but it had been weeks since we'd really talked to each other. I hoped he had texted me with the aim of spending some time smoothing things over.

He was leaning against the railing as I approached and when he looked up his face was blank with a faraway look in his eyes, "I shouldn't have asked you to come here."

My steps faltered but I walked up to him nonetheless until we were no more than a foot apart. "Sorry?" Confusion was thick in my voice.

"To Morris Lake, I mean. I should've chosen a different spot."

My brows furrowed and I looked around trying to work out what he was talking about. Was there a construction site nearby that was messy? Was there a dead animal here that smelt? Were there too many crowds? But Morris Lake looked the same peaceful spot as ever. It looked fine, it looked nice. "What are you talking about? Isn't this our spot?"

A few more weeks and it would be the one year anniversary to our first date on that very platform and the first official beginning of 'Us'. I had thought about getting him a present but my schedule had been crazy over the last few weeks and I'd barely had time to think about it.

Zach shook his head and looked at his feet. A nervous tick. "That's the point - it's our spot."

Suddenly incredibly concerned for why Zach looked so anxiously miserable, I reached out a hand to touch his upper arm in a comforting motion. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"No." He looked up at me then, his eyes wide and concerned with the sort of guilt swimming in them I had never before seen. "Sasha McDonnell asked me to the Summer Dance."

I retracted my arm. "What? The dance at the end of the year?" Suddenly I was angry. Angry at Sasha and her lack of supposed girl-code. "Why would she do that? What'd you say?"

"Um . . ." Zach shuffled his feet and rubbed the back of his neck.

And that, right there, was the moment all the whirling cogs clicked into place. Anger towards Sasha bred until it slipped to Zach in coordination with the building guilt in his eyes directed at me. He didn't say anything else but that was okay because I had plenty to say. Plenty to say and yet only one syllable was able to formulate across my tongue, "Why?"

And then the flood gate broke and Zach was hunched over me talking a million miles per minute and still, still, telling me nothing, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay? But Sasha and I have been talking lately and, well, you're really busy and there's a lot of drama happening with your family and we're still really young and this has been a really committed relationship, which has been good but, you know. And the dance is meant to be really fun and I just got to thinking and, I don't know, I just think, maybe we should have a break. A long break."

Time slowed to a nanosecond and yet sped up too fast for my brain to handle at once. I stepped further away from him while trying to sort out my thoughts. There was so much I wanted to say, so much I wanted to scream and even a few people I wanted to slap. Instead I managed a, ". . . what? You're breaking up with me by telling me you're going to some stupid dance with Sasha? Is that what you're really telling me, Zachary?!"

Despite my efforts to stay away from me, Zach advanced further. "Kales, I - this is all coming out wrong. I meant . . ."

I stepped to the side to avoid him this time. "Yeah I know what you meant," my voice was hot and angry. I was a ticking time bomb and I wanted to take the high road and avoid an explosion, I did, but at the same time I wouldn't mind Zachary Evans to be permanently wounded from my flying shrapnel debris."I actually have crap in my life that you can't deal with and Sasha the Slut is an easier, better option then actually sticking around in this committed relationship you're unable to handle!"

"That's not what I said!"

I hated myself when I felt the first hot tear dribble down my cheek. The dam was cracking and soon two tears would multiply into four, then eight and suddenly eight-hundred. Crying in front of him was possibly the worst thing I could do in the moment but once I started I couldn't seem to stop. Angrily, using a hand to mop the first drops of snot away, I continue shouting at him, "No, but that's what you meant, isn't it? Isn't it?!"

It was Zach who took a step back then. He was probably scared of me, scared of what I might do, scared of what I might say, scared of who might here. I didn't care. Better he be scared of me then thinking I was some weak push-over. I was angry. I was fuming. But most of all I hurt. My heart hurt so bad. He made me hurt so bad.

Zach wasn't saying anything else and I didn't particularly want to stick around to hear his pathetic excuses. Shaking my head, I gave him one final piercing look that I hoped would haunt his dreams for a few nights, I turned and left. He didn't call after me. He didn't try to stop me. It was probably a good thing as one more word from his lying mouth and I probably would've thrown up but that doesn't mean I didn't wish he would've ran after me.

I didn't see Zach for weeks after that and even then it was only fleeting glimpses before one of us would scuttle away into the nearest safe burrow. We avoided each other like the plague and I was okay with that. Eventually the anger subsided into pitiful sadness and even longer after that came the dull numbness before the cycle of recovery was complete. I missed Zach but I wasn't about to let him have the satisfaction of hearing I wanted him back.

I waited for the news of Zach and Sasha dating but never heard anything official. When Summer rolled around I debated whether or not to attend the overrated Summer Dance. I even received an offer to go as a date (although I'm still not convinced it wasn't a pity invite). But I never went to it and I never did find out if Zach and Sasha did go together. I guess I didn't really want to know the answer to that.

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A/N:

Not going to lie, it's been a bit of an emotional roller coaster writing these last few chapters.

Here's to all the people to have gone through a break up and survived it -- I know Kaylee was never able to fully get over Zachary Evans . . . *hint-hint* *wink-wink*.

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