"We're all ecologists.
Because we throw away someone,
then realize,
that we really need them."
- Author

***

October 3, 2019

Gwen had destroyed another friendship. She wanted to slap herself in the face. It seemed like her immaturity would never go away, not even in high school and in between puberty. And to add insult to injury, the friendship she had destroyed was hers.

She looked at Chris as he smiled, talking to another girl. She knew he'd talk to every girl in the classroom except for her. She blinked the tears away before they could even escape her eyes.

Then, suddenly, she was returned to that moment. The moment where she had ruined her own friendship by trying to turn it into something more, something better. At least she thought it was for the best when she tried to change it.

"Hey," Chris said as he stood over her. "So, what were you going to tell me?"

She blinked again. Did Chris just warp right in front of her? Or was she the one who had been transported?

Ignoring the question, she fished her phone out of her pocket and checked the date, knowing very well that it was different. It had to be.

For a few seconds, she stared at it. In the plain, black text, the date seemed to jump out of the screen.

July 4, 2019.

"Hey." Chris flicked her on the forehead, startling her and bringing her back to reality.

Reality.

This was real. Fucking real.

She gulped and stared back into the eyes of the impatient boy staring at her while tapping his foot. Into the eyes of her crush.

This time, she wasn't going to let him get away.