Lexi's POV
After dinner, we had ice cream and watched a few episodes of The Office together. It was now past ten o'clock and everyone was going to bed.
"Goodnight sweetie." My mom said, giving me a kiss on the cheek before I went into my room.
"Goodnight." I responded with a smile. I changed into pajamas and shut off my light. I grabbed the Columbia letter from my backpack, sat down on my bed, and turned on my reading lamp beside my bed.
"It's just gonna be a rejection letter..." I muttered to myself, wondering why they even bothered to send anything. I ran my nail under the flap and pulled out the folded piece of paper.
"Dear Lexi R. Pierce,
Congratulations! You've been accepted to the 2018-2019 class of Columbia University."
I read that sentence in shock. No way, this had to be a joke. I didn't get accepted to the only college I applied to, and only applied because my parents forced me to. I finished reading the letter and the rest of the night I lied awake in bed thinking about the possibility of going to pursue my dream job of becoming a pediatric nurse. I would have to put traveling on hold for awhile if I did that. It would be a big change, but it would be good. I eventually fell asleep, with a million thoughts racing through my mind.
The Next Morning at School...
I was excited to tell Ethan my big news, so much that I practically ran to his locker when I got to school. I only waited for a few minutes before he showed up.
"Hey babyyy." I said in a sing-song voice.
"Hi babe." He chuckled a little.
"Two things. One, my parents said you could come over today so I can help you study." I told him.
"Okay good, thank you again for helping me." He sighed in relief, as he pulled out a textbook from his locker.
"Of course. And secondly... I got accepted to Columbia University!" I smiled, expecting him to smile too, but instead received the opposite.
"Um... what?" He asked in confusion.
"Columbia University... I applied and they accepted me for fall of this year." I told him. He forcefully closed his locker, causing me to wince slightly.
"Well you're not going are you?" He asked me, causing my smile to fully disappear.
"I want to..." I said.
"You're gonna move across the country? You didn't even wanna go to college!" He raised his voice.
"I thought you'd be happy for me... maybe I changed my mind. And I haven't decided if I'm gonna go for sure yet." I said in shock.
"I thought we were gonna get an apartment and then travel. That's what your dream is!" He said, and by now there were people staring.
"Mine? I thought it was ours." I said, trying to keep my cool. I couldn't believe he was doing this right now.
"Well clearly it's not yours anymore." He threw his hands in the air.
"Of course it is! Do you not remember our first conversation we ever had?" I asked in frustration.
"Yes I do, but I don't want you to go to Columbia!" He said, looking me dead in the eyes.
"Why??" I asked, needing to know why this was such a big deal.
"Because long distance never works, Lexi! That's why!" He yelled. It got oddly quiet and I looked around to see quite a few students watching us argue. I saw Grayson and he was glaring at Ethan from a distance. I looked back to my boyfriend.
"I get that you might be looking out for me, or for us, but you cannot tell me what to do Ethan." I said quietly, before turning away and pushing through the group of students, trying to hold back tears. I was headed for the bathroom when I heard Grayson's familiar voice calling my name.
"Lexi!" I looked behind me and he was weaving through people to get to me.
"What?" I asked, biting my lip as I pushed down the lump in my throat.
"Are you okay?" He asked me, and all I did was shrug.
"Why is he acting like this? I thought he'd be happy for me..." I asked.
"I'm sure he is deep down. But either way, I'm proud of you. That's an Ivy League school!" He said, grabbing my shoulders and excitedly shaking me, causing me laugh a little.
"Thanks Gray." I smiled, hugging him.
"As for what to do about Ethan, he'll cool off. Don't worry about him right now, he never stays upset for long." He told me.
"Okay... maybe he'll be okay by lunch. If not can I sit with you?" I asked.
"Of course. You know where to find me at lunch." He said, just as the warning bell rang.
"Yep." I nodded, as we headed opposite ways to our first classes. First period went by achingly slow, and so did second period. The bell rang to signal that second period was over, and I headed to my third which I have with Ethan before lunch. I sat down at my desk and saw that Ethan still wasn't in class by the time the bell rang. Class started and I kept glancing at the door, thinking he would walk in any second but he never did.
"Lexi, do you know where Ethan is? It's not like him to miss this class." My teacher, Ms. Rourke asked, walking over to my desk as I packed up my things. The bell had just rang to end class.
"I don't know. I saw him this morning but maybe he went home early." I shook my head.
"Alright. I'll keep an eye out." She smiled at me.
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow." I nodded, leaving the classroom. I walked down a set of stairs into the cafeteria and looked at Ethan and I's usual table. It was empty. I scanned the room until my eyes landed on Grayson's table. He was with a few of his friends from the football team.
"Hey." Grayson smiled at me as I reached the table. I sat down beside him.
"Hey..." I smiled.
"You know Brady, Talon, and Levi, right?" Grayson asked.
"Yes." I smiled at them and they smiled back.
"Lexi, right?" Brady asked me. A lot of Grayson's friends are the most popular jocks, but I guess Grayson had mentioned me to them before.
"Yeah." I nodded.
"I saw what happened this morning with Ethan and you, I'm sorry. I think quite a bit of the school saw actually." Talon said to me. I noticed Grayson give him a look. "Uh, I mean, it-"
"No it's fine. Have you guys seen him since then?" I asked. They all shook their friends.
"I tried texting him and he didn't answer me. He might've gone home or for a drive." Grayson told me.
"Okay." I pulled my salad out of my backpack, and my water bottle, and started to eat lunch with the boys. In that half an hour I got to know Gray's friends a bit, and realized they weren't as bad at all as they seemed. And dare I say, it was actually fun.
