You stepped out of the plane feeling relieved, finally you are back home. You were not the same before you went to Paris; you are now much stronger and more independent. You've changed the way you dress and how you carry yourself. Your parents didn't even notice you, although it's only a month since you were gone. When you saw them, you ran to them and embraced them so tight that they can hardly breathe. You let loose from the hug and said, "I've missed guys!"
"We missed you too, hun!" your mother grinned and pinched your cheeks.
"How's Paris, sweetheart?" your father asked with enthusiasm knowing you've fully recovered.
"It was fine, except there was a bugger who kept annoying me during my stay there! Speaking of the bugger, here he goes," you said to them.
"Hi babe! I already got your suitcases," said to you trying to catch his breath from his run.
"Babe, these are my parents!" you introduced him to your parents.
"Mom, Dad, I would like you to meet , my boyfriend!" you continued.
"Hello! Mr. ," he shook your father's hand. "Mrs. ," he continued and also shook your mother's hand. Your parents were shocked at that moment and forced a smile on their faces.
"I think we should get going! It's getting late!" your father said releasing the tension among them. Your dad helped in carrying your suitcases.

Your father drove you to your house and when you get there, you finally felt you are really home. You were very excited so you hurriedly went inside. As soon as you opened the door, you saw , , and seated in the living room. You were surprised to see them there, so you just stood there at the doorway. The three stood up and greeted you.
"Hi ! I'm glad you came back!" hugged you and you just smiled.
"I've missed you a lot!" hugged you next.
"Me too!" you said flashing a forced smile at .
"Hey!" hugged you.
As soon as you hugged, you felt something weird. You thought you were over him but it turned out you still love him much stronger than before. He let loose from the hug when he saw approaching.
"Hi babe!" hugged you from your back, "Hello!" he waved to everyone.
" , I would like you to meet my friends, , , and ! Guys, this is , my boyfriend!" you said forcing a fake smile to them knowing they were still shocked by what you said earlier.
"Nice to meet you ," he shook her hand, "," shook his hand too; "!" shook his hand as well.

There was silence in the room; you can't even look at in the eye. You saw he was hurt. The tension inside suddenly fades when your parents came in. Your mother offered and the rest for supper, while your dad carried your suitcases to your room. Your mother led them to the dining room, and then you helped your mom in serving dinner. Your father came down and the meals are all served, so you all ate your meal. There was silence in the room but your parents managed to open up a conversation. After supper, you walked them towards the front door to bid farewell. followed you to the living room and hid behind the wall. He saw 's behavior and listened curiously to your conversation. They bid their farewell to you and left. It was 's turn. He never looked at you nor said a word. He quickly just said, "Good Night!" and left. As left, immediately run to his room. Meanwhile, you watch leave for a moment, then closed the door and headed towards 's room. You knocked at his door.
"Come in! The door's open!" he shouted. You opened the door and went in.
"Hi! Did I disturb you?" you sat down on the bed.
"No not at all. I was just unpacking my things! What brings you here?" he said while folding his clothes and placing it into the cupboard.
"I just want to say that I'll be in school tomorrow. I still have to catch up with my studies�"
"Sure babe no problem!"
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"
"Yeah babe! I'm going to be fine. Don't worry about me! I can find my way around."
"Okay. So I'll see you then tomorrow!"
"Good night!" he kissed you on the cheek.
"Good night!" you said back and closed the door. You went to your parents' room and kissed them goodnight. Finally, you got in to the room and lied on the bed. You were thinking of and you reminisce the memories you had with him until you fell asleep.

The following morning, you got up and went to school. You went to the locker room and saw there with and . You pass by them but you never looked at them, especially . While you were getting your books, came and talked to you.
"Hi !" he said nervously.
"Hi!" you flashed a forced smile at him.
"How are you?"
"I'm okay. I've moved on."
"Yeah I can see that. For how long did you know this French guy?"
"Around three weeks. I got lost one time and he was there and helped me. From then on we became close."
"Do you like him?"
"Yes I do. He's a nice guy!"
"How about ? Do you still love him?"
"I - " as you were about to speak the school bell rang. You all went to your respective classrooms.

Lunch came and you were in the cafeteria. You were writing your notes when tapped you on the shoulder. "Can I join you?" he asked. "Yeah sure," you continued to write and never disturbed you. He was just glancing at you. Then after a few minutes, joined you. But still no one said a word. You felt there were something like a gap among you three. No one spoke until the school bell rang. Upon hearing the bell, you stood up and went to your next class.

After class, you saw standing at the door and you felt guilty. You can see in his eyes the anger he felt. You passed by him but he grabbed you in the arm. You looked at him and said, "Let go off me !" Everyone heard you scream and so they watched you. But still did not let go and said, "WE NEED TO TALK NOW!"
"There's nothing to talk about !" you shouted in his face.
"There is! Why did you do this to me? I've waited for you and this is how you repay me?"
"I already moved on! I thought you are too! Besides, I never told you to wait for me!"
"You did! I remember what you told me, 'wait for me if you love me' and I did!"
"Do you still love me?"
"Of course! I never loved anyone like this my whole life! You are my life and you know that!"
You walked away from him. and saw everything and felt sorry for their friend.

You went to the school backyard and sat there. There were tears forming in your eyes and tried to hold it back. You were astonished to hear spoke, "You still haven't answered my question!"
"What question?" you asked curiously but you never looked at him.
"Do you still love ?"
You did not answer him instead you cried and cried. sat next to you and hugged you. You cried on his shoulder and he was rocking you like a baby.
"It's okay to cry. Pour everything out! Don't keep it to yourself! I will always be here by your side to listen to you!"
"I still love but I can't�" you saw looking at you two. looked at where you were looking and saw standing. You see in his eyes he was jealous but he tried to keep it to himself but he couldn't so he left. tried to follow him but you grabbed his arm and shook your head. After some crying you went back home.

When you got back you noticed that was gone. You searched at his room and found none of his things there. You sat on the bed and paused for a while thinking where did he go. Then you looked at the side table and saw a note. You read it and it said,

My Dearest ,

I'm sorry if I left earlier than you expected. I just want to say thank you for the times we shared together. The moment we have I will cherish for the rest of my life. I know you still love . I want you to be happy and I can't do that. The only person who can make you really happy is the man you love. Now I'm letting you go because you deserve to be happy. I can see in your eyes and as well that you love each other so much. You just have to admit it to yourself. Try not to be selfish and tell him what you really feel. Thank you for your kindness. Take care of yourself. I will never forget you.

Sincerely Yours,

You cannot believe left you without saying goodbye. You felt guilty like you used him to forget . Worse is that you never told about what you really feel. You tried to call him but he was out of reach. Days went by and you were still thinking if you would tell what you really feel.

Months passed and you never told anyone had left. Graduation day came and you were the valedictorian. The graduation ceremony was about to start. never spoke to you. it is now your turn to give your valedictory speech. Before speaking you looked at and noticed he was paying attention. He stared at you as you began to speak.

"Good day to my fellow students, faculty members, families, and friends. Today, is the most important day of our lives - " you paused and looked at .

You never moved your eyes off him and continued with your speech.

"As I was saying, today is the most important day of our lives. And for me as well, today will be the most unforgettable experience of my life. I will start this by simply saying that, there's this young man that I loved, but I kept pushing him away. I never got the nerve to speak to him and say it right in front of his face what I truly feel, not until this moment. I just want to say to this young man that, I really love you and I still do. When I flew to Paris, I saw myself living without you and I felt incomplete and my life became senseless. I'm sorry if I hurt you and I regret the day I left you. You've waited for me and here I am. Your waiting days are over. I stood here right in front of the crowd, them being my witness, I promise you that I will love you for the rest of my life. I'll leave you with this final thought. I'm still in love with you. Now, it's up to you if you will accept my love."

You stood there and there were tears in your eyes. As you were about to exit the stage, came up. You were surprised to see him there. He wiped your tears and said, "I love you ! I love you with all my life!" You immediately kissed him on the lips and the crowd stood up and cheered.