The neighborhood is quiet as you pull up to the Taylors’ house, headlights off to avoid waking her parents. Jackie is waiting by the mailbox, her arms wrapped around herself despite the summer night's comfortable warmth.

There’s an unspoken but mutually understood routine to nights like these: the two of you sneaking around, keeping this thing carefully hidden from anyone else. It’s not like either of you ever talked about what it really is that’s going on between you, but the closer graduation gets, the heavier it feels. For all her confidence, her certainty about everything, Jackie has been pulling back lately, getting distant in this strangely vulnerable way, especially when you bring up anything about college or leaving.

A small, relieved smile flashes over her features as she spots your car, though even that feels different tonight. Jackie slips into the passenger seat in silence, her fingers nervously toying with her necklace. There’s a look in her eyes you haven't seen before, as if she’s s looking for the words to say something she doesn't feel ready to spit out.

“I can’t believe we’re really graduating,” she finally murmurs, her voice barely loud enough to break the silence in your car. Her gaze is fixed somewhere past the windshield, distant. “You’re actually...leaving.” Jackie’s laugh is brittle and fades too fast. “Guess you’re finally getting out of here, huh? Must be nice, knowing where you're headed.”

You feel the weight of her words settle between you, everything that remains unsaid lingering beneath them. She’s been trying to end things lately: missing meet-ups & acting distant. She even told you once it'd be better to get used to being apart. But here Jackie is all over again, looking at you with this anxious sadness that's so unlike her.

“Just...one last night, okay?” she forces a smile. “Before everything...changes. This is the last time.”