𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 - dreamwastaken

𝐩𝐫𝗼𝐥𝗼𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐢𝐢𝐢

𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐆𝐎

astrid and clay were now 16 and closer than ever. clay had his online friends and astrid had her school friends, but they were always more important to each other than the others. yeah astrid had talked to "pandas" a few times and sometimes clay would hang out with astrid and her school friends, but their favorite times were spent together, alone.

their bond never weakened, nor did they let little arguments get the best of them. when they did argue, it was usually over "small" things, at least that's what they called it. maybe it was over astrid being upset that clay was spending more time on his computer playing with pandas instead of hanging out with her. or maybe it was because clay never showed up to her soccer game because he had forgotten. but, they always worked it out in the end.

"astrid! come here, we need to talk!"

astrid raced down the stairs to where her parents were sitting at the kitchen table. she was in a good mood because clay would be coming later that day, but it soon faded when she saw the expressions on her parents' face. she pulled out a chair across the table and sat down, secretly hoping there really wasn't any bad news, "yes?"

there really was no easy way for her parents to say this. it was best for the family, they just hoped she'd realize that. her mom was the first to speak. "your dad, his work offered him a higher paying position. we think it'd be great for the family if he accepted it."

it didn't seem bad. i mean he was just getting a higher position right? more pay? no one said anything tho. it was quiet. she speculated that maybe there was more to it. "is that it?"

this time, her dad spoke "well, it's a better position, a-and i'll be getting paid more," he hesitated,"but we'd have to move to oregon"

in that moment astrid felt like the world was falling around her. a lump in her throat occurred and tears started to build up. she wouldn't it allow tho, not now.

a single tear fell down her cheek as she took a deep breathe. she knew her parents. she knew they wouldn't give up this opportunity. "when do we leave?"

it was quiet once again. then her dad let out a sigh, "by the end of the month."

"the end of the month?! that's only like two weeks?! again." and before her parents could say anything, she ran to her room. making sure she closed the door and plopping onto her bed, crying.

oregon. that was on the other side of the country. how would she deal with this? with being away from clay? he was her rock, the sole reason she even made friends in school. how would he deal with this? she couldn't ask anymore questions as her tear filled eyes grew heavy and she fell asleep.

she woke up a few hours later to a knock on her door. as she opened her eyes, clay slowly opened the door and walked in once he saw she was awake. as he got further in he hesitated, seeing the tear streaks on her cheeks. he slowly walked over, laying beside her and letting her lay on him.

"what's wrong? if you wanna talk about it?" he was curious but didn't want to push. he continued to run his fingers through her hair as they sat in silence. she didn't respond so they just lay there. little did he know she was contemplating on telling him the truth or not. she thought it'd be better to tell him the truth now, then when they'd have no time.

"i'm moving" clay's breath hitched. his heart shattered. she couldn't be serious, right? "what?"

"i'm moving. to oregon. my dad got a better job offer there and he took it." she didn't want to look at him.

"what about us? our friendship? we've thrived on seeing each other in person everyday these past years. what about when you leave?"

"i- i don't know. we'll figure this out. i'll come back after high school. it's only a few years."