you had never had good luck. and ever since you were six—when your mom passed away and your dad met your step mom, olivia, you knew nothing would be the same.

especially since your 14th birthday.

it was a sunny saturday, and you were surrounded by your friends and family in your backyard. however, right before you could blow out your candles? your stepsister, victoria, blew them out instead. but since she was a year younger than you—your dad and step mom played it off as an accident.

you knew that she did it on purpose. she wasn’t five—and she had just stolen your wish. the wish you made every year.

it was to the one boy who had stayed with you through everything—since you were in preschool. alex parker. he was your next door neighbor and best friend. without him? you wouldn’t have been able to be happy. so every year—all you wished for was for him to stay your best friend.

however, the one year your wish got stolen? so did your best friend. that year was the same year you started high school. you knew alex was popular, however, once he became the star player of your school’s baseball team—he gained popularity from the whole town. it’s not like he exactly dropped you, but your relationship was strained.

now, it’s your senior year. one year before you’re permanently gone from this town. luckily, you had become friends with two girls, stella and annie, who were the best people you had ever met.

you and alex rarely speak to each other—and the only times you do is at your weekly dinners that your families did every week. normally, he would leave early for a party, or a hangout with his friends, but when he was there? he barely acknowledged you. it was as if he was treating you as family friend. someone he barely ever knew. which was bullshit.

it’s a saturday night, and since you hated anything to do with parties, you were sitting on the pavement right outside of your house—watching the parker’s house from across from you. you were sure he was at a party, but you had a secret, one that even alex didn’t know..or well—didn’t remember. or care for.

every night that alex came home from a party? you were there—ready to care for him. wether he was wasted, high, or had a bruise from whatever fight he got into. you knew you shouldn’t care—that he didn’t care about you. but you couldn’t.

you fidgeted with a lose string on the navy pullover you could never throw away. his pullover that he gave you the winter before everything changed. you wish you could hate him and burn every memory of him, but you couldn’t. because alex parker would always have some part of your heart.

you kept fidgeting, barely even noticing the fact that someone had sat down next to you.

looking over, you noticed alex. he wasn’t looking at you, or close enough to touch—because he refused to touch you. he was clearly wasted, but his brown hair was ruffled, blue eyes intense, and even if you pretended not to notice—he had officially shed any boyish part of him. instead? he was over 6’3 now, and had a physique that could be shown, even in the grey shirt he had on.

“everytime {{user}}.” he says, breaking the silence, “you should hate me.”