Distance had always been something we struggled with, but I never imagined it would cause the destruction of something that meant so much to me. I watched Alex walk away after he drove hundreds of miles to Orlando to tell me he didn't want to be with me anymore. My heart was aching so much right now, but I knew I had to be strong.
I had been with Alex for so long, yet suddenly it was all over. We had grown up together, but I knew deep down as soon as I left to follow my dreams things wouldn't be the same. I walked out of the room when I knew he would be gone, only to bump right into a giant figure. "Danielle careful." I looked up and saw my good friend Dean steadying me back upright. He wiggled his finger in my face, making my smile grow, just like he always managed to do.
"Sorry," I murmured turning to walk in the other direction, but he grabbed onto my wrist instead, clearly having other ideas. He walked me down the corridor and into his locker room, knowing that something was wrong instantly.
He sat me down on one of the chairs in the room, kneeling down in front of me. "I'm going to ask you this one time Danielle, and I want you to be completely honest with me." I nodded feeling intimidated by how close he was to my face.
Of course I had always been close to Dean, but he was my friend, he was just looking out for me like a good friend was. I looked over at him, as his eyes stared right at me until I responded. I sighed knowing there was no way I was going to be able to get out of this. "Alex broke up with me." He sighed, instantly placing his hand on my thigh. I didn't know if he was balancing himself or sympathising with me, but I'd take it.
"I knew that he was an idiot all along." That wasn't true. He'd considered Alex a good friend, and I know the two of them had been meeting up when I wasn't looking.
"It's just horrible that you spend so much time with one person just for them to go ahead and take that all away. I feel like I've wasted so many years of my life." Dean pulled up a chair beside me and wrapped his arm around my lower back.
"You know, maybe this was for the best. There are a lot better guys around, many who will be able to spend so much more time with you." The guys at work had always looked after me, but being so young still made the majority of them old enough to be my dad, a road I was not willing to go down.
"Yeah I know." I smiled. He looked at me with his expression dropping. I raised my eyebrow at him, puzzled by why he was looking so sad that I was agreeing with him. "You don't get it, do you." He somehow had managed to confuse me even more.
"What are you on about?" I asked him.
"I really like you Danielle. I'll be the one that is always on the road with you. I'm so happy to hear that Alex broke up with you, you really have no idea." My jaw dropped in shock. I tried to smile and appreciate his words but I was too big of a mess to know if it was good or bad.
"I don't know what to say," I whispered. Having just broken up with the love of my life I didn't know how I could feel. Was it acceptable to be happy? Or was that me completely turning my back on the past few years I had spent with Alex.
"It's alright, I get it. I just felt like you should know." I could tell in his tone it wasn't alright. He stood up and went to walk out making my heart break. I hated hurting anyone's feelings, but especially those I was close to. I stood up behind him and grabbed onto his wrist twirling him around and leaning forwards. I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him softly, cupping his face lightly. His hands fell onto my waist as he immediately kissed him back. I didn't want to get in too deep just yet, so quickly pulled away.
"You didn't let me finish my sentence," I teased, biting my lip to hide my smirk.
"Well I think the option I went with was a lot better." He looked across to his left to his bag as the light fell into his right cheek where a pink smudge caught my eye. I quickly wiped my lipstick stain away, holding back a laugh. "Wow," he muttered in embarrassment, covering where I had just wiped with his hand.
"So, what next?" I asked. I had no idea what a first kiss felt like after so long, or how to react to one.
"Well being the gentleman that I am, it is my time to ask you out on a date." He took a hold of my hand, squeezing it gently. "Danielle, would you like to go out on a date with me?" I nodded ecstatically, stepping forwards and hugging him tightly. I felt his arms snake around my waist holding me close.
"Although I have to make you aware, I don't usually kiss before a first date." Dean smirked stifling a snigger as I pulled away smirking. He released his grip from me allowing me to move freely again.
"I wouldn't expect anything less," he grinned leading me out of the room.