Always

Five Years Later...

Riley

After a few days... I opened my eyes little by little, they were surprised that I was awake. I heard my dad, yelling my mom's name.

"Topanga, she woke up!"

Mom rushed to my room and opened the door.

"No way," mom whispered, covering her mouth. " Her tears started to fall down on her face. "You're not kidding, right?"

"Of course not. She's really awake." She smiled, letting the tears roll down on her face. I'm finally awake!

I wonder what happened when I was asleep, and I wished that Farkle was here beside me. I was deemed healthy enough to leave the hospital after a month of physical therapy, and I'm proud to say that I'm a cancer survivor. My parents were so proud of me for rising to the challenge God had set.

Finally, I was taken out of the hospital, I didn't feel like going home yet. So we walked around the park for a few minutes. I found myself drifting to the spot where Farkle and I talked and sat down. I sighed thinking about Farkle. This was so frustrating. I miss him, even though we're through. I'm still in love with him.

I wiped away my tears sadly.
A cab passed by somewhere, blaring a song.

[[ All I want by Kodaline ]]

When you said your last goodbye
I died a little bit inside

Those were the lines I heard, so I sang the rest of the song.

I lay in tears in bed all night
Alone without you by my side

"It's okay, Riles. Just let it all out right now. I'm here for you."

"Oh, Mom, it's you," I said, hastily wiping away my tears.

"Missing Farkle?" She asked, sitting beside me. I suddenly remembered the time where Farkle and I confessed our true feelings for each other.

"No, I don't." I lied. She peered at me closely, and I just looked away; for some reason. I couldn't bring myself to look back at her. "Really, I don't miss him," I repeated.

"Come on, I know that you still love him."

I hesitated, then answered, "It's just that it gets so frustrating. Sometimes you already have the person that you really love, but then you chose to let him go."

"Then take him back, before someone comes along."

Five years later...

I fly back to U.S.A this morning, it's been five years since our high school graduation. The flight was over, I saw Maya, Lucas, and Zay holding a welcome back sign. I'm so excited to hang out with these people again. I was with them to go shopping for outfits. Our five years reunion was only a couple of days away, and we only just got the chance to go shopping because we've been really busy.

Finally, I'm home, my real home. I headed to my room, and nothing much has changed. I saw this picture of me and Farkle. My feelings for him doesn't even change too.

Five years. It's amazing how much time has passed. I'm twenty-one years old already, I know I've grown up and I've been lucky enough to pursue my dream career. But in some ways, I have to admit that I haven't moved on from some things. Not that I'll never admit that out loud, especially to Maya and Lucas.

On the day of our reunion, I was getting dressed in my room. I was done fixing my hair eyed myself critically in the mirror. I wasn't really used to seeing myself in semi-formal wear, given that I'm usually wearing a uniform work and the rest of time I'm just in casual clothes. But it's pretty refreshing change, I have to admit.

I arrived at the party much earlier than I was supposed to. So after greeting old friends and classmates, I made the most of my time by walking around the campus. Several other people had the same idea, but I kept out of their way; I wanted this to be a time for me and me alone. I couldn't help but feel nostalgic. This place held so many memories for me. Some things have changed in our school, of course, but all the place were still there: the cafeteria, the gymnasium, the locker area...

I made my way to the spot where Farkle and I first talked. I smiled to myself when I got there, remembering the way things used to be and how young I was. I've had a few relationships over the past decade, but I could never help thinking how, for me, things were never quite like the time when my hearts first came alive and started beating for someone.

I looked up at the night sky; I could see stars glittering brightly. I smiled again, remembering the Texas trip. After a while, I felt strange. Someone was behind my back.

"Nothing much has changed, huh?" Said a voice behind me.

"Farkle?" Then I slowly turned around and saw him standing there.