ENCHANTED -'๑'- JACK HUGHES

fifty-three

☄. *. ⋆ CHASIN AFTER OUR ENDS
LIFES BETTER AROUND THE BEND, MY FRIEND
MOON RIVER AND ME
frank ocean.

STELLA

I SHRUGGED at the apology that left his lips, my fingers grasping the pavement ledge for some sort of stability. Even standing in this vicinity was making me shake, the memories like a cloud over us.

"Can I tell you something?" Jack asked, the hesitation in his voice made my heart skip a beat. I nodded, slowly. "I'm the one that set up this entire party. It was my idea to do it. I...I only did it because I needed to see you again, Stella."

I didn't know how to process his words as my brows furrowed, my eyes tracing along every feature that littered his face.

"I'm sorry." Jack pinched the bridge of his nose with a short chuckle. "I sound fucking crazy, I know. It's like, that movie, Great Gatsby?"

My lips pulled up into a small smile as he fiddled nervously as I had yet to speak.

"Yes, Jack." I blinked, still holding the frame of a smile. "I guess you're my Gatsby, huh? You do know there's a really tragic end, though."

"I didn't read the book." Jack admitted, his cheeks flushing a crimson red.

I hummed, rolling my lips into my mouth. "Why did you do all of this? You know, you could've just reach out and text me."

"I know." Jack tightened his jaw, looking off into the distance. "I just didn't know what I'd do if you said no."

I shook my head, folding my hands over my stomach with a deep breath. "You know I could never do that, right?"

Jack was burdened with guilt for how he left things between us. But he wasn't the only one paying the price for falling in love. We both were, even if it been in silence.

"When I was in Sweden, I went on dates." I began, watching his face twist with confusion. "And It's like, I couldn't bring myself to stop searching for you in them. It's pathetic."

Jack captured my right cheek in his hold, pulling me to face him as our eyes connected. Shivers raked through my body at his electric touch.

"It's not pathetic, Stella." Jack disagreed, letting his thumb travel over my cheekbone as I fought the urge to let myself nuzzle into him.

"I thought about you so much, SJ." Jack scrunched his face up like it physically pained him. "I regretted it. Of course I did. But, deep down, I knew I couldn't give you what you deserve."

I lifted my fingers to wrap around his wrist, almost in a way of keeping his skin connected to mine. I knew we would never work out but I kept ahold of that dream like a little girl.

"I know." I finally spoke, my throat dry. "Is this about getting closure?"

Jack bit his bottom lip before nodding. "Not just for myself, but for you, too. If we want to move on with our lives, SJ, we need to forget about each other."

I gripped his wrist harder like my body's natural reaction. "I don't think that's possible for me. You know that."

"I don't mean entirely." Jack shook his head, tracing the freckles that littered over my nose. "I just mean enough so we can let ourselves be with other people."

Simpler terms; we need to stop dwelling on the past. But that was all I had ever done.

"Yeah." I agreed, even if I truly thought the opposite. I would be the only one fighting for us, and I refused to do so. Maybe Jack was right.

I wasn't seventeen years old anymore. I was twenty-one and standing in front of the boy I'd tell my future kids about when they get their first heartbreak. He wouldn't be the one comforting our children. And I truly believed after this night, we'd only be history. Lingering in the parts of Plymouth that we once knew.

"I kept this." Jack drew his hand back, the coldness of his hand leaving evident. He dug into his pocket, pulling out the brown leather wallet as he plucked out a small photo.

He flipped it around, revealing the photo to me. A night that had been engraved in my mind, I could recite it from start to finish.

I was staring at him in the photo because he was more interesting than the flash. In fact, he had been more in than anyone in the world. But maybe I was being bias.

I grinned softly, sliding my hand into my purse as I flipped open the small inside pocket. I pulled out the identical polaroid, except mine, had been of him.

We stared down at the photos, reliving a time where so much love consumed us both we didn't know how to live without it. But, here we were.

"When did you change your mind?" I asked suddenly, pulling my brows together. "About us? About, you know, staying together?"

Jack parted his lips, like he was looking for the answer in his own head. "I don't know. I guess at the draft. I felt this sudden weight on my shoulders and everything just became so real. And then when I saw you, I just knew I'd ruin everything."

"I wish you didn't always see everything so negatively." I said honestly, running my thumb over his face in the photo. "No matter what happened, I would've stuck by you."

"I guess I've always been stubborn." Jack chuckled, sighing lowly as he straightened his back, turning his body to face the overview as I mirrored his actions.

Jack brought his fingers to dance along the side of my hand, clutching the grip I had on the photo.

"We need to stop hurting each other in silence." Jack muttered, I loosened my grip on the polaroid as he took it with ease.

"Yeah." I kept my tone low as I felt my eyes beginning to burn with tears, watching him hold the last piece of memory.

He glanced back towards me as I lifted my teary eyes to meet his gaze. I nodded slowly with a sniffle.

I watched as he took both of our photos that we had kept stored and toss them off the balcony. The wind picked them up with ease, taking them out of sight.

"I love you, SJ." Jack placed his hand on my back, pulling me into his side.

I moved into him, placing my palm on his upper back as I laid my head on his shoulder with a soft cry. "I love you more, Rowdy."

In the end, I was right. My theory of love had been right. One person always loves another more. And for me, I was that person.

Jack laid his chin on the top of my head. I knew then, that Jack and I were only history now. There would never be a Stella and Jack again.

But I made a silent promise to myself. In another universe, I'll find you again. Maybe we'll be a cat and dog, the moon and the sun, or maybe constellations in the sky.

Whatever it was, I promise I'll find you in every life I live. I'll look for you, until we finally stick.

THE END.

wow.
i'm heartbroken to say goodbye to my loves. i'm sorry we didn't have a happy ending :(
if you would like an epilogue, please comment. i have a great SAD idea 😋
but thank you for loving this book as much as i did.
your support means the world to me.
thank you, thank you, and thank you.

- B