falling

epilogue

four years later

the wonderful thing to say would be that Elijah found someone so incredibly fascinating who made every moment he spent breathing feel like a blessing, who made mornings seem like possibility's and nights seem like dreams.

but that would be lying.

Elijah and Jade tried to keep a relationship, but it was impossible to see each other because of classes and financial reasons.

Elijah had never really gotten over Jade, even if he told himself he was. after all, it had been four years. he'd see the odd facebook or instagram post, although he unadded her on snapchat. he saw her radiate smile all through her college days, and he knew that today she was graduating, just like she had dreamed of doing.

jade was a private person and he knew that if she did have a boyfriend, she wouldn't have blared it all over her social media's or shared it with anyone who she wasn't close to, unfortunately for Elijah, he was completely in the dark in this case.

Elijah was in spite of himself for a long while. he shouldn't be upset at Jade if she had moved on, she was living her life, that was exactly what he told her to do. wasn't it?

"don't isolate yourself away, live your life, my light. isolation is not safety, it is death. if no one knows you are alive, then you aren't. stay alive, for me, I'll find you again."

he still remembered every trace of her body as if it was tattooed on his mind, impossible to erase from his memory. Elijah's life, had been an endless incline of memories as he tried to settle down somewhere.

He had kissed girls since Jade, sure, but had any of them stuck? for more then five minutes even? no.

he couldn't bring himself to even hook up with someone because in the back of his mind it was all still her. as time moved by,  Elijah ended up graduating his college program two years early. he thought of going to find Jade like he had promised. he knew where she was attending, but he thought against it. so, he spent these last two years painting pictures of the sky, the snow, the rain, the sun, the stars especially.

Although he had gotten a degree in law, he felt no push to pursue it, as love seemed to be holding him down like he was shackled to their small town.

he remembered once when they first began their story they expressed how much they hated their small town, although they never wanted to leave it.

Jade did leave.

Elijah couldn't bring himself to.

despite everything that told him not to, when he woke up on April 11th, knowing it was Jade's graduation day, he got in his car and he drove to her college to attend the graduation, he told himself not too, he did anyways.

when he arrived he was handed a program. he loosened his tie slightly, trying to avoid being noticed by anyone. he was wearing a light blue button up with khaki shorts.

he just needed to see her now, and then he could disappear again.

he stood in the back, wanting to be able to leave as soon as possible. it was outside and the sun was shining beautifully on the event.

he read over the program, noticing that Jade was valedictorian. he smiled and shook his head. of course she was.

the opening ceremony was boring, all the chatter about random things. but, soon the valedictorian was called onto the stage for her speech. Elijah's pulse rushed like a wave, and his heart began to speed up. she was wearing the black gown that they were told to wear, but he could see that underneath she wore that blue sparkly dress with the flowers that she had worn when they fought on the football field. he wondered if she remembered that day when she slipped the dress on.

she was incandescently beautiful, and her beauty was the least of her.

"good afternoon staff, students, parental guests and friends of our graduating class. it's an honor to stand in front of you all as your valedictorian and speak on behalf of the class. college has been nothing short of an adventure everyday, which was a thrilling experience for every single one of us. I met some of my best friends in these last four years and created so many memories with every single person I've crossed paths with a long the way. of course we've also had our rough days, where we just didn't want to go to class or leave our dorms. nonetheless, I think I can speak for all of us in saying we're gonna miss this place. but, I'm so excited to see what the rest of our lives hold for us." she smiled, and then swallowed as if bracing herself for what came next.

"once upon a time someone told me that he wanted me to be proud of the love I gave.
the advice at the time, was something that didn't make sense. but, as I stand here now, four years after hearing those words, it makes sense now, and I wish to pass on these words to all of you. make sure you know with absolute certainty that you showed up when you could, you made people feel seen and heard, and most importantly you made someone feel a little less alone at least once these last four years. be proud of yourself for how despite the world you felt everything even when it wasn't convenient or comfortable, be proud of everything you've accomplished, of how you grew and how you let go. at the end of the day I want you all to be able to say that you lived your life,"

the words felt so familiar it took Elijah nearly that whole time to register that they were his words.

"and for the love of god, I pray you all find someone you can't live without, I really do, and I hope you never have to know what it's like to try and live without them..." she looked like she was going to cry. "at the end of the day, when you find someone worth holding onto, I hope you never let them go. when the sadness of this chapter ends, I hope you all embark on the journey through your future, I can't wait to see all that you do."

she nodded her head to say thank you and walked off stage quickly to spluttering applause.

Elijah sat there in a way, shocked. was he the someone she couldn't live without?

the entire rest of the ceremony was a blur, but as soon as it finished he hurried to the exit, this was a bad idea. he shouldn't have come.

"wait!" he heard a voice call as he hurried out the gates. he turned around to see her, all of her up close.

her hair was longer now and it fell down her shoulders like a water fall, it was curled. her eyes were gleaming in the bright sun, and she was no longer wearing the black robe, she was standing in her blue dress staring at him.

he didn't know what to say. so he just stared at her. she stared back at him, it had been four years since they had last seen each other, let alone talked.

"dance with me?" she whispered, her breath catching in her throat. it was the only appropriate words he could find in her vocabulary to say.

at first, he didn't respond. but then, "of course."

there was no music, and they were alone in the parking lot, and they knew that people were more then likely looking for the highest scoring girl in the class. He extended a hand, and she rested hers in his, pulling closely to him. his hands wrapped around her waist and hers around his neck.

she slipped her shoes off, and rested her feet on his like she did all those years ago in the kitchen, resting her head on his chest, and they danced.

and in the loudness of two past lovers hearts they fell in love again, just like they did four years ago.

The end

A/n : if you made it this far, thanks for reading! Give me feedback and stuff in the comments