Theodore grabbed the old basketball he found in the garage and pumped it with air. When he was just a small boy, his father had promised to build a hoop for him and gave him hope that they would play one-on-one every single day.

Of course, Theodore's father never went through with that promise. 

He never went through with anything.

Autumn's house happened to have a hoop from the previous owners so he found himself gravitating towards it. He dribbled the basketball along the driveway, his mind filled with thoughts. 

Today was the day Autumn was leaving. They still hadn't properly spoken since the night they had fought. A small part of Theodore wanted to stay locked up inside his room until Autumn left. If he didn't actually see her leave perhaps he could convince himself that she was still in the neighbouring house. But he forced himself out of bed and made his presence known...even if it was for incredibly petty reasons.

As Theodore threw the ball towards the hoop, he heard the front door open. 

"Are you sure you have everything?" he heard Autumn's father call.

Theodore watched as the ball pathetically hit the net before bouncing against the fence. It rolled back towards him. He kept his eyes on the ball as if it were the only thing in the world, but his ears listened out for Autumn's voice. He craved to hear it, even if it was just once more.

"Autumn, honey? Are you sure you have everything?"

"I--Uh, yes. Everything is in the car."

"I put a snack for you in the glovebox if you get hungry. Don't stop for burgers on the way home. That money I gave you was for gas if you need it." There was a soft sigh before he continued with, "There's an extra twenty in the centre console."

"I love you, Dad." 

Theodore turned his head and managed to catch a glimpse of Autumn and her father hugging. She lifted her head from his shoulder and her eyes found Theodore's. She smiled sadly. He turned his head and focused again on the basketball. The realities of her leaving made him deflate faster than a balloon at a birthday party. Sadness overwhelmed him, frightened him.

He turned to leave.

But when he turned around, Autumn was there and she was smiling. And for a second...it felt like everything would be okay.

He should have held on to that feeling a little longer.

"Want to go grab a burger?" Autumn asked.

"Don't you have to leave?"

"I still have some time. What do you say?"

He loved her. God, he loved her so much.

It made him feel different, it was strength in the disguise of something more sincere. But Theodore was taken aback by the strong sensation, and so he perceived it as weakness. He was terrified of getting hurt. He seemed so vulnerable. So, with a heavy heart, he built a wall around himself. It was built with bricks of stubbornness and bitterness, cemented with fear. He gathered every single horrible thought, whether it were true or not, and used it to cast a curse around the cage he had built around his heart.

"I think it'll be getting dark soon. You should probably start driving."

He turned and bounced the basketball on the spot, squaring his shoulders, attempting to appear indifferent.

"Theodore," she whispered.

She sounded so broken, so beyond repair that it completely destroyed him. Hearing her say his name like that made him feel like all the energy had been sucked from his soul. He had caused her sadness. He had caused her pain.

God, he fucking hated that.

But he was fearful and frozen. He didn't have the courage to turn around, to take her into his arms, to reassure her that he loved her. 

So, he made things a million times worse.

He stayed silent. His back to her.

"Theodore," she said again.

His heart trembled. "What?" he forced out.

"I love you."

Say it back.

I love you.

Say it back, god damn it!

But instead, his world came crashing down when he said, "It's not enough."

"What?" 

Autumn sounded so small. Her voice didn't make Theodore feel warm or bright or alive. He felt empty.

"You're moving away, we're almost finished with high school. If we stay together and rough it out for a few months with a long distance relationship, then what? You'll move away to university, backpack around Europe, find an internship somewhere across the country. And I'll be here. I'll still be fucking around here, because that's all life has in stock for me, Autumn. I'm going to live a shitty ass life in this run down old town. I'll grow bitter towards the sea and grow a belly from eating hot chips every weekend and complain when I pay my bills. The world is waiting for you, not me."

"But you're my world..."

It was so soft, but Theodore heard her loud and clear. He wished he hadn't. It would've made it much easier if he hadn't.

"I'm sorry you wasted your time on me," he said.

He finally turned around. He felt like he had lost everything, so he had nothing more to give up when he finally faced the love of his life to say goodbye.

"I didn't waste my time."

"The only reason you noticed me was because you hit me with a basketball. I just got lucky that day, but fortune can't last forever."

Autumn was a thunderstorm, a natural phenomena. The wind blew her hair around her face, dark tendrils looking like angry clouds. Her eyebrows drew together, lightning bolts ready to strike. But it was her words that put thunder to shame. Her voice was quiet, but the emotion it held shook the earth harder than a rumble during a storm.

"You think I only noticed you because of that? No, Theodore. I noticed the way you helped your mother take the groceries from the car to the house even though it was late and you were tired. I noticed the way you smiled whenever the neighbour's dog ran into your backyard. I noticed the how smart and cute and shy you are."

He was silent, his throat tight. Theodore held onto the basketball as if it would give him strength. He pressed his fingers into the grooves. 

Autumn noticed the ball, her dark eyes zeroing in on it. In a single breath, she was almost flushed against him, reaching for it. Theodore instantly let go when she took the basketball from his hands. Then, without another passing second, she turned towards the hoop and aimed.

It was so graceful, so beautiful, so precise. 

The perfect score.

"I've been playing basketball since I was eight. I have almost perfect aim."

His mind reeled back to the day they had met.

"You..." He couldn't finish his sentence. He felt like he was breathing too fast to a point where it felt like he wasn't breathing at all. No oxygen was entering his body.

"I wanted you to notice me. You had caught my attention long before."

The last element of a thunderstorm is rain. All Autumn had to do was blink. 

Then she walked away.