Everything was back to normal for the rest of the week. I forgave Ellie, and the boys weren't bothered by her behavior at all. We were so busy with school work that I would have completely forgotten about my date with Jack if he hadn't been constantly reminding me. This would be the last opportunity for us to have some quality time together before he was shipped off to camp the day after our finals. He hadn't disclosed many details about what he had planned, but I was informed that he would be picking me up at 11 Saturday morning, I didn't need to bring money, and I should "dress for photos," whatever that meant. I'm sure I'd have a great time, regardless of what we were doing.

I was applying lip gloss when I got the "i'm outside" text from Jack. I was wearing a white wrap dress scattered with red flowers, and black mary jane shoes. I rushed downstairs, and decided not to put on a jacket before heading out the door. It turned out I had made the right decision. The air was warm and fresh, and it felt nice on my exposed skin. Jack was sitting in his car, waiting for me to join him. He was a few minutes late, but it's Jack, what do you expect.

"Hi," I smiled, opening the door and joining him inside the car. He was dressed in a dark green crew neck sweater and tan jeans. I noticed his nails were painted black, and there were a few silver rings around his fingers.

"You look so pretty," he grinned, leaning over to kiss my cheek before backing out of my driveway.

"Where are you taking me?" I questioned.

"You'll see," he replied simply, reaching over to hold my hand. I peeked at the back seat, and saw a basket and a blanket.

"Oh my god, are we going on a picnic?" I wondered excitedly.

"Ugh, you ruined the surprise," he groaned. I laughed.

"Ok, but I still don't know where you're taking me, so it's fine," I reasoned.

"You're right," he sighed. He let go of my hand to turn on the radio. Nothing good was on, so I ended up plugging in my phone and playing stuff from Jack's spotify. He sang along absentmindedly, but he mostly focused on the road, thank god. I liked watching him so focused on everyday things. It was like a glimpse into our future together. If everything went according to plan, which I'm sure it would, I'll be watching Jack drive for the rest of my life. The thought of spending the rest of my life with him made me happier than I could ever imagine. I broke into a smile, unable to contain myself. He glanced over at me, and smiled sheepishly.

"Why are you smiling?" he asked, his eyes flicking between the road and my face.

"Because I like looking at you," I disclosed. Then I cringed. "God, that was so cheesy."

"Well, I like looking at you too. And I don't care how cheesy it is," Jack said, kissing my hand.

We drove for about an hour, and I still had no idea where we were going. I had assumed Jack was taking me to a park or something, but we had passed the local park forty minutes ago. We soon stopped, however, in a small gravel parking lot. To the left was a lush forest, full of tall trees topped with freshly grown spring leaves. There was a hiking trail map to the left of that, and a path could be seen winding through the foliage. To the right was a beautiful field. The grass was light green, and about ankle length high. Flowers of all different colors were sprinkled throughout, and it truly looked straight out of a movie. Jack parked the car, then opened the backseat and retrieved his supplies before opening the car door and letting me out. We held hands as he led me into the field, walking around until he decided on a place to set up. He set down the blanket, placing the basket on top of it and removing it's contents. He had brought bread, a few different jams, butter, peanut butter, and an assortment of fruits. He also had a green glass bottle and two clear wine glasses.

"Is that wine?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Sparkling cider. I have to drive back, remember?" he reminded me. He sat down, patting the space next to him for me to join. I sat down, enjoying how soft the blanket felt under my legs. Jack poured us each a glass.

"How'd you find this place? It's unreal." I took a sip of my drink, scrunching my nose at the carbonation.

"I did my research," he answered mysteriously. "Now I don't know about you, but I'm starving," he added. I agreed, and he began to assemble sandwiches. I took a few pictures and I was planning on posting, but there was no service. I'd have to wait until we got home.

"Speaking of pictures, look what I got." Jack reached into the picnic basket and produced a familiar looking film camera. "Finn let me borrow his film camera so we can take pictures."

"That's nice of him. Let's eat, then we can have a photoshoot." I helped Jack make our food, and we ate quickly. It wasn't anything special, just a sandwich and some oranges. We finished, and Jack snapped a few pictures on the camera of me eating. He made me pose for a little, then I took a few pictures of him. After that, we sat and talked. I laid down, resting my head on his lap.

"You look so pretty," he breathed, tracing my face with his fingers. I looked up at him admiringly.

"I love you. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you," I said softly. And I meant it. I knew I could never love anyone the way I love him.

"I'm gonna miss you so much this summer. Camp is gonna suck without you." He leaned down and kissed my forehead. At the mention of camp, I felt a pit form in my stomach. My thoughts began to race, and I imagined the worst case scenarios. We were silent for a few moments, then I spoke up.

"I'm scared," I whispered. Jack looked down at me with a soft smile on his lips.

"Why?"

"Because you're leaving and I'm scared you're gonna, Iike, fall in love with someone else. I heard this expression the other day, 'love is just looking for the next best thing.' What if you go away this summer and find the next best thing. I know you like me but, I'm just, um, I'm scared," I admitted.

"That's ridiculous. You don't need to worry," he assured me. I shook my head.

"We've all seen the movies. These young kids are so in love and then there's a summer and everything changes. They break up and it's never the same. I'm so scared you're gonna go away and I'll just be a distant memory. And you're gonna realize we're better as friends and we're gonna break up and you're gonna break my heart-"

"Stop it. Just stop. Listen, Madison. I know we're young. And I know how stupid and dumb and niave this sounds. But I am so in love with you. I know for a fact that I will never feel this way about another person. Not in my whole life. The love I feel for you is the type of love in movies. In books. In fairy tales. I wish I could find the words to describe how you make me feel. I would do anything for you. Never forget that. Please. Never forget that," he said. My eyes brimmed with tears. What had I done to deserve this boy. "I have something for you," he continued. "It's kinda dumb and I was planning on giving it to you later but now feels like a good time." I sat up, curious as to what my gift could be. He produced a small blue box from his pocket. "Here. I hope you like it." He handed me the box, and I opened it carefully. Inside was a silver necklace with a pendant in the shape of a heart. I delicately extracted it from the container, raising it to eye level so I could examine it further. The front read, in a miniscule font, "please return to Tiffany and Co."

"I got it engraved," he interjected, before I had a chance to flip it over. The back, which was engraved, as Jack had mentioned, read, "j + m forever." I gasped at the intricate detail.

"Jack," I breathed.

"Do you like it?" He questioned.

"It's beautiful," was all I could say.

"Here, let me put it on." He took the necklace from my hands, and softly swept my hair out of the way. He fastened it to my neck, then turned me around so he could get a good look.

"It looks great on you," he grinned. "Look," he pulled down his sweater to reveal the necklace around his neck, which was the same one around mine. "We're matching," he said. I smiled widely.

"But aren't these expensive necklaces? And the engraving, doesn't that cost a lot?" I worried.

"It's worth it. I knew you wouldn't like a promise ring, you'd think it was dumb. And a friendship necklace seemed too childish. This seemed like a good middle ground," he explained.

"I would have loved anything you gave me. You're right, though. This is perfect. Thank you," I said, cupping his cheek and leaning in to kiss him.

We spent the next two hours lounging in the sun, just spending time together. It was weird, we never got tired of each other. We left around 4, because Jack didn't want to drive in the dark and the sun was making us drowsy. I couldn't stop staring at him the whole drive home. I began playing with my necklace, tugging softly on the chain and rubbing the charm. I promised myself I was never going to take it off. Ever. We pulled into my driveway as the sun was beginning to set.

"Thanks for today. I'm gonna miss you a lot," I sighed.

"We still have two weeks until I leave," he reminded me. I nodded. He leaned over and kissed me before I could respond. I was going to miss this. The feeling of his soft curls under my fingers. He pulled away, despite my attempts to pull him back in. "I have to go," he said sadly. I frowned.

"I had a lot of fun. I love you." I kissed his cheek and hopped out of the car. I got inside and flicked my porch lights, signaling to him it was ok to leave. I watched as he drove away. I skipped up to my room, remembering the pictures I had taken earlier. I sorted through them, picking a few of my favorites before posting them on instagram.

: 🌿💐🕊💛 tagged:

: i love you so much 💛🖤

: tell jack to give my camera back. please.

: omg goals

: so cute!!

-

authors note: sorry for not uploading in forever. anyways i binged all of ianowt and ITS SO GOOD!!!! if you haven't watched it i def recommend it. wyatt and sophia are so talented and im so so so sosososoos proud of them! ok thats all for now. ily bye!

ps. OMG I THOUGHT I POSTED THIS YESTERDAY IM SO DUMB OK THATS IT BYE