Chapter 2

2.

Gavin messaged me almost immediately.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

It means we're done, you idiot.

I didn't bother explaining.

Instead, I blocked him on everything and left that group chat for good.

When I looked up, I realized the taxi had dropped me off at the apartment we shared off-campus.

Tonight, Gavin didn't come home.

He was probably busy finishing what I had interrupted with Carly.

I started packing my bags, and my hand brushed against an old Polaroid.

It was a photo I had secretly taken of him in high school while he was studying.

He had looked toward me with a gentle, distant gaze.

Back then, my face would turn red, and I'd run away, terrified he'd discover my secret crush.

I held that photo for a long time as the sky outside turned dark.

Then, I tucked it into the very bottom of my suitcase and zipped it shut.

Sitting on the floor, I looked around the small apartment we had shared for two years.

Memories kept flooding back, unbidden.

Gavin and I didn't actually start dating until the second semester of our freshman year.

Even though we went to the same high school for three years, we hardly ever spoke.

He was wealthy, brilliant, and the star of the varsity team.

He was always surrounded by people.

I was just an average student in the humanities track.

My greatest act of bravery back then was walking past the back door of his classroom just to catch a glimpse of his profile.

We were worlds apart.

After graduation, we happened to end up at the same university.

On freshman orientation day, I got lost near the gym while carrying a massive stack of folders.

I dropped everything, and as I scrambled to pick them up, a voice spoke from above me.

"Ivy Valentine?"

I looked up and saw Gavin standing there in the sunlight, wearing a simple white T-shirt.

He actually knew my name.

As I sat there stunned, he knelt down to help me.

"Ivy from the third humanities block, right?"

He spoke as he gathered my papers.

"I remember your speech at the graduation ceremony. You were the class valedictorian."

My heart was racing so fast I could barely nod.

He carried most of my folders and asked which dorm I was in.

As we walked, he chatted about our high school teachers and the excitement of college life.

He sounded so familiar, so natural.

When we reached my dorm, he handed me the folders and smiled.

"We're schoolmates now. Let's stay in touch."

I gripped my phone, watching his retreating back, my palms sweating.

From then on, we really did stay in touch.

At first, it was just casual greetings on campus.

Then it turned into lunch at the dining hall.

Eventually, he started asking me to study with him at the library.

He wasn't actually much of a studier; he usually ended up falling asleep on his books.

His soft hair would fall over his forehead.

I would pretend to read while stealing glances at him, my heart feeling full and heavy.

On New Year's Eve, he asked me to watch the fireworks by the river.

The crowd was massive, and we got separated.

I was panicking when a stage light suddenly flashed.

The lead singer of the band on stage was Gavin.

He looked right at me, his eyes focused and intense as he sang.

As the fireworks exploded in the night sky, he shouted into the mic.

"Ivy! I've liked you for a long time! Be my girlfriend!"

I looked into his sparkling eyes, hearing nothing but the thumping of my own heart.

"Yes!" I screamed back.

The early days were sweet.

He would wake up early just to bring me breakfast from across campus.

He would clumsily make me ginger tea when I had a cold.

He remembered every movie I mentioned wanting to see and would surprise me with tickets.

He made me believe I hadn't loved the wrong man.

But then, Carly Vance appeared six months into our relationship.

She was his childhood sweetheart.

They had lived across the street from each other since they were in diapers.

The moment I saw her, I realized what people meant by a match made in heaven.