"I tried to focus on school and stuff, but.. for some reason, it always came back to her."
As class dismisses, Shane playfully nudges Miles' shoulder, asking "Hey, there's this new café down the street. Wanna go together?", but Miles says, tugging his sleeve "I.. can't, bro. I've gotta.. study.". Shane asks, packing up his books "Listen bro, I know the whole thing about Naya's secrets is tearing you up, but..", but Miles interupts, saying "It's not just that, man. It's..", as he scribbles in his sketchbook. "Oh. I see.", Shane says, placing a hand on Miles' shoulder, and Miles asks "What's wrong with me, man? What do I have to do to get over all this?". Shane sighs, saying "Listen. I can't give someone's life meaning, when I don't have it. But, what I can do, is support you in whatever you choose to do, going forward.".
Suddenly, the teacher walks into the classroom, saying "Alright, class. Listen up. There will be a special award ceremony, honoring all our previous year's graduates, in a week's time.". Miles suddenly sits up, at the news, raising his hand to ask "Ma'am. Does that mean all the 12th graders from last year are coming here?", to which the teacher nods, causing Miles' stomach to turn.
"Excuse me..!", Miles says, running out of the class, to the bathroom. He runs into the bathroom, vomiting into the sink as he starts to nervously sweat. "Th.. there's no way..! She's gonna.. I'm gonna have to.. see her.. so soon..?". He turns on the tap, washing his face to steady himself and looks at himself in the mirror. "Come on, Miles..! It won't be that bad..", he tries to tell himself, but his hands continue trembling as he leaves the bathroom .
"I know I said I wanted to help her, but I just wasn't ready to see her again.."
As his classmates leave the school, Miles and Shane walk to the café. Shane's hand hovers above Miles' shoulder, before finally landing as he says "I know you and that older girl have some.. history. So, I'll cook up an excuse to give to the teachers, so you can skip the event.", but Miles stops, and looks at Shane, asking "Sh.. Shane? You would do that..?", and Shane smiles, saying "Duh! I got your back, man.". Miles hugs Shane, but Shane says "Alright, softie. Let's get to the café, already..", and they enter the café.
As they sit down, their drinks in hand, Miles simply stirrs his, lost in thought. "Dude?", Shane asks, snapping his fingers to snap him back to reality, and Miles nods "Oh, yeah. Sorry, just zoned out, I guess.". Miles says "Shane? Do you think.. all this time, I've been.. a follower?", to which Shane says "Huh? What do you mean?". "I mean, like.. through all of this, I've.. never made a decision for myself. It's always been like I'm just following along, mindlessly.", Miles says, finally sipping his drink. Shane, almost done with his drink, simply stirrs it, saying "That's just the kinda person you are. You haven't just been following Chelsea, or Naya or whomever. You're following the feelings they give you.". Miles looks down, rubbing his eyes and sighing, "You're right. Maybe it's time I made a choice.", he says, gulping down the last of his drink. "About what?", Shane asks, to which Miles adamantly says "The school event. I'm going. It's time I fixed things with.. Chelsea.", his hand on his sleeve. Shane sits there, shocked, but his surprise turns to a smile.
Later, that afternoon, Miles walks into his home, and he is greeted by the scent of freshly cooked food. "Oh, good evening, son. Sit down, dinner's almost ready.", Mary excitedly says, taking a cooked chicken out of the oven. Suddenly, Mallory rushes downstairs, frantically checking on Miles "Miles? You okay, bro? No 'episodes' while you were out?", but Miles chuckles, saying "Nah, but thanks, Mal. Really.". Mallory sighs in relief, saying "You really worried me that night, bro.".
As dinner concludes, Miles goes up stairs to his room, falling onto his bed and sighing. "Can I really do this..?, he asks himself, looking at his trembling hand.
"It might have felt scary, at the time, but I knew I had to do this. Not just for Chelsea, but for me, too. I was done being a bystander in my own life."
A week later, Miles wakes up early, washing his face and putting on his school uniform, saying to himself "Today's the day. You got this, Miles.". He looks down, saying "I'll have to apologize to Naya for not hanging with her this week.", as he finishes getting ready and leaves the house, saying goodbye to his family.
At school, Miles sees all the kids from the 7th to 11th grade classes gathered at the school hall. A bead of sweat dropping from Miles' face as he says "Okay. Here we go.", and enters the hall.
As the school sits down for the event, Miles tries to fund an empty sear, but is suddenly tapped on his shoulder by a familiar sounding voice. "Hey, Miles.", says Naya, as she gestures for him to sit next to her. "O-Oh! Thanks!", Miles whispers, before sitting next to her, and he tries to add "Sorry for being so distant this past week..", but Naya stops him, saying "We'll talk after the event.", which catches Miles off guard, as he says "Okay..?".
"That whole time, I was so tense, for multiple reasons. Mostly because of Chelsea, but also cause I didn't know what Naya could've had in store for me.."
The event begins and all the past year graduates get on the stage, giving their speeches and motivational talks to the younger students, until Miles saw Chelsea, with shorter hair, walk up to the stage. "Th.. There's she is." , Miles says to himself as Chelsea begins "H-Hey everyone. You may, or may not know me, I'm Chelsea Mertins, and I, for a long time, was like you. Young, immature, indecisive..". Miles locks eyes with her, as she says "But, sometimes.. growing up means.. leaving the world behind, and building yourself up.", she places her hands behind her back, saying "And I.. am a living example of that. I had so many things going for me, but..", she freezes when she catches Miles' gaze, and they look each other in the eye.