Third Person's POV.
Gemini threw himself into his second year, determined to live his life as if the intense romance with Percy had never happened. He worked his shifts at Crestwood Greens, studied relentlessly, and thankfully, the vastness of the university campus worked in his favor. He didn't run into Percy.
It was a strange reversal. Before, Percy was omnipresent, always picking him up, driving him everywhere, and demanding his time. Now, Gemini suddenly realized just how big the campus truly was. He never once saw Percy throughout the entire school year.
He did, however, see Penelope once in a while. She would show up unannounced at his study table or even at the Pro Shop at Crestwood Greens, pretending to need golf accessories. She'd check up on him, offering silent support, even though he told her she didn't need to.
The only way Gemini received updates on Percy was through the latest campus gossip. He heard all the rumors—Percy was buying a new company, Percy was going to Harvard for his master's, Percy had bought another car. Gemini knew most of the chatter was exaggerated or simply not true.
But one piece of gossip lodged itself deep in his mind: the one about Percy's supposed ex being back in town. The story went that they had met while Percy was doing his first degree, and she was the only person Percy had actually had a "thing" with before Gemini came along. Now, she was back, reportedly attending all of Percy's social events.
Gemini told himself he had no right to feel anything. He was the one that had ended things. He had chosen safety and his future. But the thought of someone else filling the space he'd fled—someone who belonged in Percy's world—still twisted his gut with a sharp, ugly jealousy.
And just like that, the year flew by. Percy was graduating, and Gemini was officially a third-year student.
Gemini tried to avoid the graduation ceremony, but curiosity and a terrible longing pulled him to the edge of the quad during the picture-taking session. He stood far back, hidden behind a large oak tree, wearing a baseball cap pulled low.
He just wanted to see Percy from afar. Percy was magnificent, dressed in his graduation robes, surrounded by Penelope, his proud but strict parents, and a host of well-dressed, powerful friends. He was smiling easily, the picture of success and calm.
Gemini watched as Percy posed with Penelope. He looked happy, unburdened. Gemini felt a deep, profound ache of regret.
Then, for the first time in an entire school year, their eyes met.
It happened in the middle of a photo shoot. Percy looked directly over the heads of the crowd, past the well-wishers, past the massive oak tree, and his gaze locked onto Gemini's. Percy's smile faltered, replaced by an expression of raw shock and intensity.
Gemini's heart seized up. He didn't think; he reacted. He spun around and ran away, fleeing the quad as fast as his legs could carry him, terrified of the powerful connection he had just accidentally reignited.
Penelope, who was right next to Percy, saw the exchange and immediately understood the tragedy that had just unfolded.
"Percy! Go! Go after him!" she hissed, shoving her twin's shoulder.
Percy stood rigid, his eyes still fixed on the spot where Gemini had been standing. He looked utterly defeated.
"I can't, Pen," Percy said, his voice low and strangled with pain. "If I go after him now, I won't be able to stop myself, I'll want more. I'll demand answers. I'll want to talk, to hold him, to drag him out of this city. And he already made his choice. He doesn't want to be with me."
He ran a hand over his face, masking the emotion quickly as his parents approached. "He needs to know he can make his choice and I will respect it, even if it destroys me."
And so the day ended with both of them not talking things out, not saying goodbye.