I woke up the next morning in a daze, the room still spinning and the taste of foreign alcohol lingering on my lips, knowing if I picked my head up too fast, everything from the night before would instantly come hurling out.

I carefully turned over to see a familiar mop of hair nuzzled into the pillow next to me, one of his hands still gently placed on my waist, making me wonder if I had been so lovingly caressed the entire night.

I reached out, lightly brushing the hair out of his face, wondering.. how did I get here?

I had showed up to their house with Josh, I was with him, we were playing with Evalyn and then Sam and I were outside and.. what else..

Things were supposed to be different.

They were supposed to be special.

I knew that I had been upset about Jake, but..

And then he slowly started opening his eyes, flashing me a gentle, tired smile, and it all came rushing back to me. His tender touches by the fire, his lips grazing against my skin in flashes of heat and passion eventually leading us up to his bedroom where the rest of the night faded into a romantic blur of my deepest desires, and yet..

Nothing had happened.

I discreetly felt around, realizing we both still had our clothes on, or rather, his clothes. So that meant he must've gotten me changed, now seeing my dress neatly folded on the trunk at the foot of his bed.

He reached out for me, taking my touches as an invitation, and tightly wrapped his arms around me, weaving his fingers into my hair and hiding his face in my neck. His gentle kisses making their way up felt nostalgic of a time before I had finally woken up.

It was the hazy feeling of summer, of simpler times before the air cleared and you were hit with the realization that another year had came and went and now it's time to grow up and start over, and I thought I was ready, I thought I was getting a jump start on my new beginning, but instead I immediately back-peddled into familiarity once things started getting too real again.

But who wouldn't choose to live within Summer forever?

The ultimate illusion of finally having life figured out.

Then that first chill of Fall creeps its way into your bones..

And I had done it again.

"I missed waking up to you so much." He whispered, his kisses making their way up to my lips where I instantly felt my heart start beating faster. How did he manage to have this effect on me?

He was like the deadliest drug, wanting nothing but mornings in each others embrace, endless days and nights by each others side, falling asleep to the sound of each others voice and eventually there would be nothing left to do but take our over abundance of love and fill our home with mini versions of ourselves.

And from what I remembered of last night, what a beautiful future that could be.

But.. it just wasn't meant to be mine.

"Jake.." I sighed, his kisses getting harder as they made their way down my neck, his hands slowly traveling up my shirt before I felt him move them towards the bottom, going to lift it over my head.

"W-wait, I.. um.." I started, moving away.

"What's wrong? I.. I'm sorry, I.. I just thought.."

"No, I.. it's okay, I just.. I should probably.. I should go." His face dropped.

"Go? W-why? We don't have to, I just don't.. don't go, Jaime." He said softly, gently holding onto my arm. I hesitated for a moment before leaning into a quick kiss, giving him a soft smile. He didn't hesitate to reach over, holding my face in his hands as he kissed me again. I kissed him back, carefully maneuvering over him, climbing out of his bed.

"Jaime.." He sighed, sitting up and reaching back out for me.

"We can talk later, okay?" I said, caressing his face, pulling him back into another kiss, before gathering up my things and making my way out.

"Jaime.." I heard again. I stopped in doorway, turning to face him.

"Are you okay?" He asked nervously. I nodded, biting down on my lip, forcing a smile.

"Yeah. I just.. I gotta go." He nodded, watching as I shut the door behind me.

I hastily made my way down the hall, stopping at the top of the stairs as Josh made his way out of the bathroom. My heart sunk. He stared back at me for a moment, his eyes instantly shooting down to my shirt.

"Josh, it's.. it's not-"

"It's okay." He sighed, giving me a gentle smile. "I.. I said you should go, so.. I can't really be upset."

"Y-you did?" I asked, feeling my face get hot. What else didn't I remember? His face dropped, his eyes now more confused.

"You.. don't remember?" I shook my head, holding my stare on him.

"I just.. I was wondering.. today, if you're not doing anything-"

"Jaime, I just.. if you're with him, I think that-"

"I was hoping we could work on some film stuff." I said. "The deadline is getting closer and.. I want to help you too, so.. if there's anything you want to work on. I just think we'd work better together so.." He bit down on his lip, his smile growing.

"You.. you want to work with me?" He asked. I nodded, giggling to myself.

"Of course I do, that was always the plan." I said, my smile growing. He nodded.

"You're right." He sighed. "Um.. yeah. Yeah, okay. I'll.. I'll go get ready and come by in a little bit, okay?"

"Okay." I said, feeling my cheeks burn as my eyes moved down to his lips. His did the same, but I could sense that neither of us were going to make the move. But that was okay. There was plenty of time for that.

"Okay." I laughed, making my way downstairs and back over to my house.

I decided to wait for him outside, eager to see him again, always having loved our afternoons alone together. Sometimes it was like him and I had our own language, having grown up together while the rest of the world went on living their lives, we created such a beautiful one of our own, one that consisted of make-believe and fairy tales and dreams in which no one else we knew could ever fathom.

And it was one of the things I loved most about him.

Finally, my heart jumped at the sound of their front door opening, but I was surprised to see not only Josh but Jake making their way out and over to me. I gave them a gentle wave meeting them halfway as Jake slightly pushed his way forward, pulling me into a tight hug before Josh could get to me.

"You didn't think to invite me?" He joked, gently kissing my cheek before slipping his hand into mine.

"I.. I didn't think you'd be interested in this." I said softly, feeling my face get hot. "You've.. never really wanted to come before." He shrugged, flashing me a subtle smile.

"Well, I guess not, but.. I'm interested in you." He laughed. "And you'll be there so.. I want to be there."

From behind him, I could see Josh rolling his eyes, taking out his camera and making his way down the trail. I couldn't help but admire him as we walked, wondering what was going to catch his attention next, what simple moments he could turn into the most beautiful.

He was always so good at finding the beauty in such simple things, something I envied so much, but maybe that was why he was able to make me feel so beautiful all of these years. Because never did I think I was anything more than simple, but with him, I was the brightest of paint, intentionally dragged across the finest canvas to create the most magnificent work of art you have ever seen, hung only in the museum of his life, hoping to be gazed upon by him and only him for the remainder of mine.