Emma's POV
It just happened
From working on our history project together to "Will you be my girlfriend?"
I had admired him from a distance- even before we were paired as project partners.
Mervin…
The soccer star.
The guy every girl in school drooled over.
And then there was me.
The unseen, unheard, unpopular nerd.
Who would've thought he'd be interested in me?
It had to be fate. Something right out of a classic high school love story.
I thought he'd be one of them, playboy, breaking hearts for sport.
But somehow, I saw a side of him no one else did.
The way he'd quietly pay attention to me rant about historical nothings, not understanding half of it but nodding anyway.
How he did not like to treat anyone less than.
Or how he'd walk me home when we'd stayed too long in the library and it was getting dark — asking me about my dreams and plans for life, saying how thoughtful it was of me to want to be a teacher.
He also had dreams, how he badly wanted to be someone else
Other than the soccer star his dad, and coach pushed him to be.
He once told me being with me made him feel like himself, not having to worry about the pressures around him.
Oh! how I loved him with all my heart
"Em", he said softly, snapping me out of my thoughts
No one ever mentioned my name like he did.
I stared at him, trying to memorize all his facial features—
The slope of his nose, the small scar on his brow from tripping on the field last season, the way his brown eyes softened when they met mine.
We'd been together for a year, twelve magical months…
And now I had to see him go.
The bus station smelled faintly of gasoline and wet asphalt
Some kids from school had gathered in small groups talking and laughing like this was some sort of celebration.
For me, it felt like a funeral.
Nothing interesting ever happened in a small town like ours. A football scholarship? Now that was something.
"You'll call me?" I asked.
My voice came out much smaller than I expected as I held back tears
"Every day" he said without hesitation.
Cy leaned against the metal railing behind him.
His hands shoved into his jacket pockets, watching us quietly, like he always did, his expression unreadable.
Cy had been Merv's best friend since childhood.
Somewhere along the way he became my friend too.
But something about the way he looked at me today made my chest feel tight.
Like he knew something I didn't.
Trayton was there too. He stood a few steps away.
His arms folded across his chest, jaw tight with disapproval.
My cousin never liked Merv, didn't trust him.
Though I could never explain why.
He wouldn't budge when I asked him why he felt so strongly against him.
He had joined the team when my aunt's family decided to move closer to us.
But dropped soccer after a month.
He never told me what made him quit.
He caught my eye and shook his head slightly.
As if to say don't believe this.
I ignored him.
Because this was Mervin.
My Merv.
"We'll be fine", he said, stepping closer. "It's just a few years."
A few years… Sounded like forever.
"Promise me" I whispered.
His forehead pressed gently against mine.
"I promise".
I had to hear it again, even after having the exact same convo last night
The word settled into my heart like something permanent.
"I'll come back to you, Em" he said.
My hands tightened around his jacket as I leaned in for a kiss.
Forever.
That was what this was supposed to be.
The bus engine roared to life behind us. His Dad called out to him.
He pulled away slowly, like it hurt him too.
"I love you" he said.
"I love you more"
He smiled and turned to walk away.
He didn't look back
Not once. Maybe he couldn't.
Maybe it didn't mean much to him
Maybe I was overthinking
Somehow deep inside, I already knew—
What had come over me thinking we could actually last
I would be a high school memory.
He already belonged to a larger universe than the one I was in.
People don't make promises like that unless they're about to break them.
Mervins's POV
I didn't look back
Because if I did, I wouldn't leave.
She was the only thing that kept me sane this past year.
I asked Dad to let me say a proper goodbye to her at least.
He said girls were distractions.
And he didn't want his golden boy messing up his dreams
Flings were fine but I couldn't afford attachments.
I told him it wasn't that deep.
That she didn't matter.
But Emma wasn't just anyone.
I loved her, I needed her…
And yet here I was.
Promising forever…
I shook my head as if the doubt would somehow vanish that way.