It was the day before Elias had to leave Xerxia to return home— or rather, the place where he used to live— and pack up in order to move to where he was supposed to live until he had to leave to go to college.

He didn't even know where that was, and frankly, he didn't care— this would be his last year in high school, and where it was didn't phase him one bit. He would have Anthony, as well as Leon right by his side. What more could he ask for? The answer to that question was simple— Candice.

He knew that he would miss it here. The sandy beaches, the bright sun, the cool water; everything. There surely was no other place like Xerxia. The people were probably the nicest he'd met and the food was just absolutely delicious. But he knew most of all, that he'd miss Candice.

The name popped up in his head once again without his permission. For what reason? Possibly because he hadn't spoken to her. She wouldn't answer her phone and he left messages after messages too, but nothing came out of that. He just didn't want to leave the island and things between them on a bad note.

All of his belongings were packed. It wasn't a hard and long process since he barely unpacked in the first place. Most of his belongings were still in his suitcase the entire stay in Xerxia.

He was currently sitting on his bed finishing the last sentence of his History school report. He barely had gotten anywhere over the many weeks that he was here on vacation, mostly thanks to Candice. But since he hadn't spoken to Candice for the week, it was easier to concentrate since he seemed to have all the time in the world so he completed it in only a few days.

It hadn't occurred to Elias until the moment that he had finished with a lazy smile on his face, ready to send the document to his teacher, that he was moving to a new school, so this report was as worthless as the gum underneath his shoe. His features contorted in disgust and annoyance as he threw his laptop on his bed angrily, his pent up frustration finally getting the best of him.

He gripped his hair and clenched his jaw as he paced his room. It felt like he had only been this way for seconds since he didn't feel like he was any calmer but he realized that he was pacing for a matter of minutes.

He finally sat on his bed and took deep breaths. Now he had nothing to do, he picked up his phone and stared at the screen for a few seconds.

His fingers worked the screen absentmindedly until he found himself staring at Candice's name in his contacts. He clicked it and watched as a photo of her popped up right above her number.

Look at her. Her eyes seemed to stare directly into his. ‘Call me!’ They taunted. It annoyed the fuck out of him since it seemed to scream the same sentence for a matter of days, and he didn't have any self-control since and each time he called.

The picture pinched his heart. Her hair was styled in two ponytails, each positioned on either side of her head. For a quick second, he thought of Harley Quinn since they had the same hair color and same style, except Candice didn't have that sadistic look as if she wanted to kill somebody. Her eyes looked innocent; her smile was harmless. She was an angel.

She was just beautiful, so beautiful and wholesome, too good for him.

He had let his emotions get the best of him and he hated himself for it every since that day. He sighed as he wiped his hand across his face, deciding to try and reach out to Candice once again.

It reached voicemail again, the sound of her cheery voice on the other end of the phone calming him a bit. This time, however, unlike the previous times, he decided to leave a message after the beep.

"Candice... it's Elias, I'm not sure if you remember but I'm leaving tomorrow, so... I'd really appreciate it if you'd call me back today," Elias paused and thought about his next words. "I'm sorry," He whispered softly, his voice strained. He wasn't used to apologizing.

Without another thought, he ended the voicemail before packing up his laptop in his bag since he was finished using it for the rest of his stay.

Just as he had zipped his suitcase, his phone rang. He didn't think much of it as he moved to retrieve the device. It was only when he picked it up that he realized that not only was Candice's face staring at him again but now it was his turn to have the choice of sweeping the green button to answer the phone.

His eyes squinted at the screen to make sure that he was seeing right. Assuring himself that he was, he wasted no more time in picking the call. Unsure, he spoke into the speaker, "Candice?" He was greeted with silence. "Candice are you there?" Breathing.

He then heard her throat clear, "Can we meet later? To talk?" Elias straightened his back at the request. Elias missed her voice very much.

"Sure, I'm free anytime, when?" Without many words on Candice's side, the two planned to meet at a local café of Candice's choice, near the hotel that she was staying at.

At the beep of the call, signifying the end, Elias proceeded to put some proper clothes on.

Candice sat alone with a latte sitting in the mug in front of her. Her index, middle, and ring finger protruded through the handle of the small mug as she stared down at the heart design that foamed in the liquid. She had been here before and had also ordered a latte too, but the heart didn't seem to be part of the design the first time.

She looked up at the young employee who had made it for her, and locked gazed with piercing brown eyes. He was already staring at her as he wiped down the counter in front of him.

He wasn't the tallest; from where she was sitting, she'd be surprised if he even reached six feet, possibly 5'10. Despite this, the heel of his large boots seemed to add to that height. His hair was long and curly, past his shoulders and his complexion was tan, the sort of tan where it seemed as if he spent time in the sun for hours every day.

He was attractive, especially with how his hair was styled. He had the front in a messy-curly bun, while the back stood open and flew past his broad shoulders. He watched Candice as he continued to wipe down the counter without a care in the world.

He smiled at her; straight, white teeth and thin, pink lips. Candice held in a laugh, her cheeks red as she watched him bump into another employee since he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing.

She smiles back at him with a shake of her head before bowing said head and allowing her thoughts to swarm.

She thought about Elias and the times they spent together. It all seemed like a waste of time when she looked back at it. Surely, it was fun, incredible even, but did it even matter anymore? She remembered all the beach visits they made with his friends, the late nights they spent under the stars by themselves, and even their first date.

She took a sip of latte and sighed as she watched the steam fog up her glasses. As she took them off to clean them briefly, she even found herself recalling the first time she and Elias ever met. In the local mall, he found her glasses and helped her after everyone had refrained from doing so. He was her hero then.

She placed the glasses back on her face and took another sip quickly, licking her lips as liquid slightly coated her bottom lip. She recounted their intimate moments together too, them touching each other, kissing each other and holding each other. She even remembered how it felt when she placed her lips on the most intimate part of his body; how he breathed beneath her, how he tugged her hair... even how crude the language that he spoke to her. It was all too much for Candice to process.

Her thoughts led straight back to a week ago, their first fight. Their first big fight.

Why had she felt anger and disappointment in his words? He spoke the truth— harshly — but the truth nonetheless.

There wasn't a label on them although they somehow knew without words that they had reached a mutual understanding of what type of relationship they had.

It's like they knew what they were, but based on the circumstances that had proven to be inevitable, it wouldn't have made sense to put a title on anything, and Candice was okay with that.

She heard the bell jingle above the entrance of the café, her eyes looking up to spot Elias walking through the door in all of his glory.

As if in slow motion, his hair bounced with his movements, his feet stretched in long strides— and then, his eyes closed in a blink and opened back to face her.

He looked well-kept in a long-sleeved shirt and loose jeans hanging on his lips and supported by a black belt. He looked nice, better than nice actually, a complete contrast from her messy bun, large glasses, and a sweater dress.

She missed him. She knew that they had only known each other for a matter of months but that didn't change anything to her. He had managed to grow on her and her him.

Elias sits.

He swallows as he mends his fingers together, "So um, how have you been?"

A choked-laugh erupts from Candice. Leave it to Elias to ask such a somewhat cliche question in a situation like this.

He cracked a smile at her laugh, "I'm fine, Elias, and you?" She played along, her fingers tucking a strand of hair behind her air.

He paused for a moment, "Look, Candice—" She cuts him off.

"No... Listen," She sighs as she looks up at him. "I owe you an apology, I knew that this time would come and I took out my anger on you," She bit the corner of her lip as she stared at him.

Elias teacher across the table and caressed her knuckles, "Really, Candice, what I said may have been right, but I shouldn't have yelled or said it in the way I did, I'm sorry."

Candice nodded her head in understanding, accepting his apology, "When was it that you were leaving again?"

Elias rubbed his chin uncomfortably, "Tomorrow night," He cleared his throat.

Candice let out a shaky breath. Their little fight had cost them to lose a little over two weeks of time that they could have spent together.

He squeezed her hand again, "Well, we still have the rest of today, and tomorrow before I have to leave, why not make the best of it?" He tried.

She smiled sadly and nodded her head. With those thoughts in mind, the two enjoyed their meals at the café and enjoyed the rest of their day.

Word Count: 1927

~TheOfficialSinner

I'm soo nervous to see if I got accepted into school again.