JAY POV Day two of the trip started with me waking up way earlier than I wanted to.
I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.
I was still tired from yesterday’s hiking, and every part of me wanted to go back to sleep.Then I remembered where I was.
The trip.
I smiled.
I got ready and went downstairs.The hotel was already busy.
Students were walking around, some still half asleep, while others were already taking pictures and talking about what they wanted to do that day.
I looked around.
Then I saw Kiefer.
He was sitting at one of the tables with two drinks in front of him.
The second he saw me, he smiled.
“You took forever.” he said I laughed.
“Good morning to you too.” i said “I’ve been waiting.” he said “You’ve been waiting for like five minutes.” i said “Still counts.” he said I sat down beside him.
He pushed one of the drinks toward me.
“I got yours.” he said I looked at it.
My favorite.
I smiled.
“You remembered?” i asked He looked at me like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Of course.” he said I took the drink from him.
“Thank you.” i said “You’re welcome.” he said It was such a small thing.
But it made me happy.
The rest of the morning was honestly one of the best mornings I’d had in a long time.
We spent time with everyone, but Kiefer and I somehow kept ending up together.
We took pictures.
We joked around.
We made fun of each other.
He teased me alot about that movie night At one point, we were supposed to meet everyone near the hotel entrance, but somehow we ended up walking in the wrong direction.
I looked at him.
“You know where you’re going, right?” i said He nodded confidently.
“Obviously.” he said Ten minutes later, I stopped walking.
“Kiefer.” i said “Yeah?” “Where are we?” i said He looked around.
I crossed my arms.
“You said you knew where you were going.” i said “I thought I did.” he said I started laughing.
“You got us lost!” i said He started laughing too.
“Okay, okay.
Maybe a little.” he said “A little?” i said “Fine.
Completely.” he said We eventually found our way back.
But I loved moments like that.
Because with Kiefer, I didn’t have to think about anything.
I could just be myself.
Later that afternoon, we went near a lake.t he view was beautiful.the water was calm, the trees moved slightly with the wind, and the sky looked so clear.
i sat down near the edge.
Kiefer sat beside me.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
We just watched the water.
Then he looked at me.
“Are you happy?” he asked I turned toward him.
“Yeah.” i said “Really?” he siad I smiled.
“Really.” i said He smiled too.
I looked at him for a moment.
And suddenly, I started thinking about when I was younger.
When I was a little girl, I used to imagine what my future would look like.
I didn’t know much about love back then.
But I knew what I wanted.
I wanted someone who would stay.
Someone who would listen to me.
Someone who would remember little things about me.
Someone who would hold my hand when I was scared.
Someone who would make me laugh.
Someone who would choose me.
I never imagined that person would be Kiefer.
Not really.
He was just my best friend.
The annoying boy who used to steal my snacks.
The boy who would tease me until I got angry.
The boy who left for London when we were ten.
And now he was sitting beside me.
Older.
Different.
But still Kiefer.
And somehow, he had become the person I had once imagined without even knowing I was imagining him.
I looked down at our hands.
He reached over and held mine.
I smiled.
“Do you ever think about when we were kids?” i asked He nodded.
“All the time.” he said “Do you think we’d believe this if someone told us?” i said He laughed.
“Absolutely not.” he said I laughed too.
“Exactly.” He looked at me.
“I think younger me would be pretty happy.” i said “Why?” “Because I got my best friend back.” i said My smile became smaller.
“You didn’t just get your best friend back.” he said He looked at me.
“I know.” i said He squeezed my hand.
“I got you.” he said My heart skipped.
I looked away because I didn’t know what to say.
He laughed softly.
“You’re blushing.” he said “I’m not.” “You are.” he said “Shut up.” He laughed.
I pushed his shoulder.
And for a while, everything felt perfect.
We spent the rest of the day with everyone.
There were pictures.
Food.
Arguments about where to go next.
People laughing at things that weren’t even funny.
It felt like we had forgotten about university for a little while.
At dinner, Kiefer sat beside me.
Every once in a while, our shoulders touched.
Sometimes he would whisper something in my ear just to make me blush , why did i just remove my shirt that day now i am gonna be teased for whole life “For your thought we are gonna do more then that and i will make sure you could not walk for 1 week ” he said “Shut up ” i said clearly blushing like a hell I kept thinking about how strange life was.
When we were ten, I never thought we’d end up here.
I never thought the boy who left would come back.
And I definitely never thought I’d fall in love with him.
But I did.
And sitting there with him, I felt like my younger self had finally gotten what she wanted.
Someone who stayed.
Someone who chose her.
Someone who loved her.
I didn’t know how long that happiness would last.
I didn’t know what was coming.
I just knew I wanted to remember this day.
Later that night, I finally went upstairs.
I was exhausted.
Everyone was tired from the day, and the hotel hallway was much quieter now.
My room was beside Lily’s.
As I reached my door, I noticed Lily’s door was slightly open.
I wasn’t trying to look inside.
I honestly wasn’t.
But when I walked past, something caught my attention.
I stopped.
Through the small opening, I could see Lily sitting on the side of her bed.
Ella and Sophia were with her.
Lily was crying.
Her face was buried in her hands, and I could see her shoulders shaking.
Then she lowered her hands.
And that’s when I noticed them.
Her hands were shaking badly.
She tried to hold them together, but they wouldn’t stop.
Sophia was sitting beside her, talking to her.
Ella was saying something too.
Lily looked up at them and started talking.
I couldn’t hear anything.
The door was only slightly open, and their voices were too quiet.
But I could see Lily’s face.
She looked completely overwhelmed.
She wiped her tears and tried to say something again.
Her hands were still shaking.
I stood there for a few seconds.
I didn’t know what to do.
I didn’t want to walk in.
This was her private moment.
So I quietly stepped away from the door.
I opened my own room and went inside.
But even after I closed the door, I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d seen.
Lily wasn’t okay.
I knew that much.
I just didn’t know how bad things had become.
And whatever she had been telling Ella and Sophia…
I hoped they could help her.