close as strangers // mitch marner

graduation

JACK'S POV
The moment we had all been waiting for was finally here: graduation day. This day brings both good and bad news. The good news is high school is finally over. The bad news is the day Mitch and I have to say goodbye is too close. He will probably handle it better than me because he will make friends on his new team, maybe even best friends. I know he won't forget me though. 
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I finally arrived at school for the graduation ceremony. Even though high school kind of sucked, there were times when it was a blast and I've made so many memories in this school. I'm not a crier, especially in public,but I might actually cry during this ceremony. But then again, most of my friends would cry when school was over for the year but I wouldn't so who knows? I was taken away from my thoughts when I heard a knock on my car window. It was none other than my best friend Mitch. I got out of the car and gave him a tight hug. "Hi, Mitch." I said with a hint of sadness in my voice. "Hi, jack." he said, also sounding a bit sad. "Don't be too sad, okay, jack?" I nodded my head in response. "I'll try." I spoke. "That's my girl." He looked down at me and smiled and I smiled back at him. We both walked onto the football field which had chairs and a podium on it now instead of football players. We found our seats and stood by them, just chatting. "Can you believe the day is finally here?" He spoke. "Honestly, no, it's all so surreal. I feel like it's all a dream and I wouldn't be surprised if I woke up from it soon." We both laughed. "How do you feel about it?" He asked me. "I'm on both ends. I'm excited for it to end but bummed because we won't see each other in a few weeks." "Don't worry about that now, jack. Just think about what's going on right now, how we're both together right now." He smiled and pulled me in for a hug. "You won't forget about me, no matter how many friends you make in wherever you get drafted to, right?" I asked him,looking into his eyes. Just the idea of him forgetting about me got me choked up.
"Jack, listen to me," he put his hands on both sides of my face and looked into my eyes, "I could never forget you, even if I tried, you're my best friend and you're always there for me, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." "You're right, I'm sorry I asked or even thought about that happening." "Don't be sorry, you're just worried I'll find a replacement for you wherever I get drafted, but I won't. Who could ever replace someone like you?" He spoke with sincerity. Our moment was ended when it was announced we had to take our seats because the ceremony was starting. The principal had a speech and then it was time to receive our diplomas.
-skip diploma ceremony-
Now that everyone had their diplomas it was time to throw our caps up in the air. I walked a few rows up and found Mitch. We smiled at each other and then threw our caps up. Everyone was cheering and talking to their friends or family. Mitch put his arm on my shoulder and I put my arm around him. We walked into the parking lot to talk where it wasn't as loud and we could hear each other. "Wow, I can't believe it's all done." He said with wide eyes.
"Me too. It feels like just yesterday we were freshman, just starting and learning the ropes."
We both knew what we were thinking about: that dreaded day, the 14th of July, when Mitch would move to wherever he got drafted and I would be all alone, until I leave for university. I couldn't handle holding in tears anymore so I started to cry and put my head in my hands. Mitch quickly wrapped his arms around me and let me cry into his chest. "Shhh, it's okay." "No, Mitch, it's not. You're my only close friend. I spend almost all of my time with you. You've helped me through all of the rough patches. I don't know what I'll do when you're gone." "Listen, jack, we will see each other again, you can visit me during breaks. I won't forget about you."