dakota's pov +

after what felt like being on the road forever, jack began to turn into streets that i could just about recognise.

when the car was finally parked, he turned off the ignition and spread his lips into a smile as i realised where we were.

"remember our first detention together?" jack began, taking off his seatbelt and stepping out of the car. "...are you coming or what?".

i chuckled and got out of his car too. i hadn't said a word yet since i was suprised that jack even remembered that he took me here once.

he lead me towards the same hilltop that we once sat on together and screamed for the world to fuck itself. but it now featured a blanket that jack removed over the top of a mini picnic date that he must have planned.

fairy lights tangled through the branches above the set up, shining brightly enough for us to see in the night.

my shoulders dropped as i stared at my boyfriend in awe, "jack".

his eyes started to show a sense of regret, "it looks shit, doesn't it? you don't like it? fuck, i'm sorry i should have asked if this was your type of thing".

"no, no, are you crazy? i love it, a lot. thank you" i intertwined my hand into his that he smiled at and raised to kiss gently.

we sat on the hilltop eating the various snacks that jack prepared for us and listening to the chill music playing from his phone - my favourite was frank ocean's blonde album that jack was now obsessed with because of me.

it was late at night so he loaned me his hoodie, which i would casually bring up to my nose a little to take in the scent i've missed over the past few days.

remembering our distance only made my head fell back into why jack and i haven't been talking all this time.

we haven't even addressed the disagreement that we had.

"when you freaked out about me going to nyu, it made me feel like you didn't believe in me" i suddenly began. "like that feeling where i could absolutely be my self around you disappeared and i had to apologise for having big dreams".

"i'm sorr—".

"wait" i politely told him. "i just need to know that it was only because you were scared of loosing me, not because you think my dreams are stupid".

"i believe in you one hundred percent, dakota" jack held my hands that were slightly hidden under the sleeves of his hoodie. "there's no doubt that you'll smash it in new york and love it there, which just made me think that there wouldn't be an us anymore".

he continued, "you're smart and beautiful, and i want you to dream big and tell me all about it. i was being selfish and i'm sorry".

my body let out a tiny sigh of relief since jack's apology was everything that i wanted to hear.

"it's okay, i should have told you sooner. but it doesn't matter anymore because i've decided to go to stanford".

his face switched into a pit of worry, "no, no, no, because of me?".

i immediately shook my head, "i don't know what stanford will bring me or how my life will be with a boyfriend a few hours away playing college football, and i like that. nyu was an old dream that's just way too predictable for me now".

jack's hand found my cheek and he rubbed his thumb against it before leaning forward to kiss my lips.

he leant his forehead against mine and sighed deeply.

"plus, i wouldn't be able to afford it in the big apple and i'd miss these eyebrows far too much" i quietly explained.

we chuckled as i touched lightly at his brows above his dark eyes.

"anyways we should probably get back to that party, slightly worried about what the guys could do to liam" i joked.

"wait, i haven't given you your birthday presents yet" jack exclaimed, fiddling around behind him to grab the two wrapped boxes - one large and one much smaller.

i playfully narrowed my eyes at him, wondering what could be in them. without hesitation, i opened the big one which included just a plain brown box.

i opened it again and inside were three different vinyl cds that i've been struggling to find for so long.

"you know, to add to your collection at college" he shrugged with a smile on the corner of his lips.

i dropped my shoulders with a loving smile, "i can't believe you remembered, thank you".

i then opened the much smaller box and found a gold necklace placed inside. it had two pendants, one with a heart and another with a thin bar that was neatly engraved with a few co-ordinates.

i narrowed my brows in confusion, "what are the co-ordinates for?".

"this hilltop - marks the place that i've only ever brought you to and where it hit me that there's nowhere else that i'd ever rather be than here with you".

without saying any words, i bought jack's chin closer to attach my lips to his. i pulled him closer gently by the back of his neck, feeling my love for him boost with every movement of our kiss.

"i love you" his deep and lowered voice pierced through me, unintentionally making me blush and my heart skip a beat.

"i love you too" i responded, leaning my head against his and looking back at his infectious smile.

+

ONE MONTH LATER...

"are you sure it's not too heavy?" i glanced back at jack who was carrying two of my many boxes into my new dorm room.

"heavy?" he recalled. "i was the football team's quarterback, i can handle a few boxes".

he settled them on the floor with a small groan, then stood up straight with a stretch and a few exhausted deep breathes. i chuckled at his obvious lies until he glared at me.

"i'm not as in shape as i used to be - summer parties took a lot out of me" jack quickly tried to justify.

"i told you so" i sang.

"i told you" he mimicked me in a high pitch voice, taking my arm to pull me towards him and kiss the top of my head. i wrapped my arms around his waist and stared up at him with a pout after he mocked me.

"oh, sorry to interrupt".

mine and jack's eyes diverted to the door, where a light-haired girl with warm smile stood.

"hey, you must be dakota" she settled down a box in the room. "i'm-"

"aria" i remembered from my welcome forms. "nice to meet you".

"you too" she responded.

"oh, um, aria, this is jack - my boyfriend" i introduced.

jack held out his hand which aria shook and eventually mouthed an 'impressive' to me in reference to jack.

"so have you looked around much yet?" i wondered.

"nah, my parents just left but i have seen the boys in the room two down from us and let me just say, wow" she emphasised whilst fanning herself.

i awkwardly coughed to draw attention back onto the fact that my boyfriend was standing right here.

aria realised and clenched her teeth together, "shit, what am i doing? sorry, i do tend to talk too much, but you have nothing to worry about, jack".

he laughed a little in response and pulled my waist a little closer to his side, "i hope so".

"but i may need you as a wing girl, dakota. i broke up with my boyfriend at the end of senior year, spent the whole summer with chocolates and rom-coms as my best friends, so i'm in desperate need of a rebound" she explained, leaving jack and i somewhat uncomfortable by her enthusiastic oversharing.

interrupting aria's story of her ex-boyfriend's unfaithfulness, two boys knocked on the open door of our dorm.

"hey, sorry, i'm isaac" the teen introduced, scratching the back of his neck. "and this is luka, we live a few doors down".

aria glanced back at me with her eyebrows raised and a silent 'wow', making me dread living with a boy-crazy roommate.

"we were wondering if you were up for hanging out, you know go check out campus a bit, sign up for any extra curricular" luka continued.

"yeah i'd love to" aria eagerly replied. "um, dakota?".

i shook my head, fiddling with my necklace, "i'll catch up with you all later, actually. just going to get settled in a bit more".

"oh okay, take my number so i can text you where we are if you're up for it" aria took my phone and entered her number before texting herself to receive my number too.

as soon as the three new strangers left with the door shutting behind them, jack sat down on my bed with a shaking head.

"i don't like those guys" he confessed.

i scoffed, "babe, you don't even know them. you're just saying that because you're jealous".

"of course i'm jealous" he lay back on the bed. "maybe i should just transfer to stanford".

i sauntered over to him and straddled his lap, pulling him up again, "stop, you shouldn't be jealous - they have nothing on you. don't you trust me?".

"i do, but not horny college boys".

i sighed, stroking his cheek gently, "i'm coming to see you at usc in two weeks anyways, then you can keep a good eye on me".

"if i'm going two weeks without you, that will be the last thing on my mind" jack admitted making me laugh and my cheeks blush red.

as my laughter died down, i stared deeply at my boyfriend's pouty face, "...i'll miss you".

without another word, jack hugged me tightly and i nuzzled my nose into the crook of his neck, doing my usual routine of appreciating his warm scent.

he let out a huge sigh and rubbed my lower back, "don't know what i'm going to do without seeing you every day, dakota richards - hearing your laugh, watching you smile, listening to you get mad at me for still not admitting that cheesy cheetos are better than the hot ones,".

"because they are!" i complained.

jack released a deep chuckle then planted a longing kiss against my forehead, "i'll miss you too, baby".

we comfortably laid down in each other's arms for few minutes and i felt him rest his chin on the top of my head.

even though i shed a lot of tears during summer about being away from jack and his warm arms, i wasn't prepared to cry now.

i know that that i'll be back in them very soon and i know that i'm way too excited to see what comes for myself, and jack and i during our college years.

THE END.

-

tHANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU to everyone who read, voted, commented and shared this book. i went from hating the idea of this story and not updating it for like a year with only five chapters posted, to falling completely in love with jack and dakota, and them becoming my favourite couple to write about out of all my stories 🌹

thanks for all your support and encouragement to write this book and i hope you all enjoyed it as much as i did !!

a SEQUEL is in the works, but it will be quite sometime before it is published due to uni work, affair 3 and plus i'm still in the very beginning of planning it along with @-bazzi, who's helped me out a lot 💖

ANYWAYS, i love you all SO MUCH and thank you !!

{vote, comment and share}