Epilogue
“I still can’t believe you picked that outfit. Princess Buttercup is so weak. She’s the epitome of a woman sitting around, waiting for a man to rescue her.”
I unroll another hair curler and set it on the desk.
“Analiese, not every woman shows her strength through fighting or snark. Internal conviction and fortitude are another very valid form of strength. Buttercup was faithful in her love for Westley, and I respect that.”
I remove the last roller and work my fingers through the curls. The silver crown that accompanies the Princess Buttercup wedding dress costume I’m wearing sits nearby, ready to be the finishing touch for my costume after I prep my hair.
“Besides,” I add, “I really wanted to wear a crown.”
“And there it is,” Analiese says with a snort.
She’s across the room sitting at her own desk, leaning towards the mirror while she heavily lines her eyes with black. She’s chosen to be Wednesday Addams for the Halloween party we’re going to in another dorm tonight.
We’ve been roommates at BU for a couple months now, and it’s been surprisingly easy. While we do frequently get into debates about nearly everything, she’s neat, tidy, and agreed to using a shared calendar so we can easily plan with each other.
Her phone buzzes with a text, and I can see her put down her eyeliner to pick up her phone in the reflection of my mirror.
Her lips curve in amusement as she reads it and taps out a response.
She’s been doing that a lot lately, and my curiosity has gotten the better of me.
Although we do talk regularly, I’ve noticed she doesn’t volunteer private information as readily as I do with her.
She’s probably sick of hearing about me and Jake, but she’s a good sport about it.
I grab my phone. Nothing from Jake since last night, which is strange—he knows Halloween is my favorite, and we'd spent the better part of three weeks debating costumes.
Last year he showed up at my door, dressed and ready to trick-or-treat with Hunter and me, no questions asked.
Today, radio silence. My leg bounces under the desk.
There may not be a text from Jake, but there is one from Jenna.
Jenna: Let me know when my package arrives!
Me: What package?
After answering, I set my phone aside again to continue arranging my curls. Analiese’s phone buzzes several more times, so whoever she’s texting is replying instantly.
“So… who are you texting?” I ask, trying to sound casual.
She turns sideways in her chair and starts tugging on knee-high black boots. “The guy I’ve been dating.”
“What!” I whip myself around in my chair and stare at her. “How long have you been dating?”
“About a month,” she says with a shrug. Her hands finish the first boot and tug on the second.
“How is it that we live together and talk daily, and you’ve never once mentioned you’re dating someone?”
“It’s not that big of a deal, Avery.”
“Of course it is. I tell you everything about Jake.”
She finishes tying her laces and then sits up to turn fully toward me.
She cuts quite an intimidating image between her pale face makeup, black wig, and severe black dress.
Analiese is also nearly six feet tall and has the most intense eyes I’ve ever seen.
Whoever this guy is must not be easily intimidated!
“Exactly,” she says emphatically, but not in a mean way. “I know how worried you’ve been that this long distance between you and Jake will turn out like you and Braden. But it won’t.”
She lifts an eyebrow in challenge, but she rolls on before I can interject.
“You and Jake call all the time, which I have fully supported by allowing you to book our room on our shared calendar for privacy. But I also didn’t want to stress you out with details about a guy that I’m seeing just for fun. ”
It’s true—Analiese has been a steady support during my occasional freakouts over being long-distance with Jake. Even though Jake has never given me reason to doubt him like Braden did, it’s still hard not to worry.
“Do I know him?”
She glances down and starts picking at her nails—an Analiese idiosyncrasy I’ve learned means she’s uncomfortable. She must like this guy more than she’s letting on.
“Yeah, I guess so. He did go to our high school.”
She’s dating a guy at BU that went to our high school in California? The odds of that seem extremely low.
“That’s… random.”
“Not really. We started talking during that ridiculous beta test last year. Then it just kinda happened when we bumped into each other last month on campus.” She tosses her hand casually to try to play it off, but I’m not buying the act.
“You guys were matched on Connection Services?! But who is he?”
Her eyebrows slant. She clearly doesn’t want this made into a big deal, but there’s zero chance I’m letting this go. Maybe I can support her new relationship just like she’s done for me.
“We both know Connection Services was lame—”
“Do we though?” I interject.
“—and it’s not like me and this guy are ‘soul mates’ like you and Jake.” She leans back in her chair and crosses her arms defensively. “He’s a hot hockey player, and he’s fun to hang out with. That’s all there is to it.”
My mind whirls over this new information.
From listening to Jake talk, I know some guys from the hockey team.
And a lot of guys from our high school team do come to the east coast because there are better college hockey programs, so it’s not totally unreasonable that some of them would end up at Boston University.
Jake is planning to come to BU for that exact reason next year. And me, of course.
“What’s his name?”
“Dan Wheeler.”
I pop up from my chair so fast it knocks into the edge of the desk with a loud thwack. “DAN?!”
Now it’s her turn to cut me an incredulous look. “... yeah?”
My mouth bobs open and close multiple times. My brain tries to wrap itself around the mental image of Analiese and Dan not only being matched on Connection Services, but also dating.
“But like… does he know your name?” I ask.
“What kind of question is that?” She flicks her dark hair over her shoulder.
My hands wave in front of me as I try to conjure the words to explain Dan’s memory problem without totally insulting him.
“Like when you guys hang out, does he say ‘hey, Analiese’ or does he go ‘hey, you’? You know?”
She stares at me flatly, then turns around to apply some dark lipstick. “I’m not sure I should dignify that insane question with an answer. Are you feeling ok? Did you stay up late texting Jake again?”
Yes, I did. But that’s not the issue here. I drank three cups of coffee, so my brain is firing on all cylinders. Still, it’s true that my line of questioning is not ordinary. It’s not my fault though—it’s Dan’s. Or is it just me he can't remember?
My phone buzzes in my hand.
Jenna: Oh, you’ll know. It should be there any minute. I just want to make sure it arrives safely.
The Dan issue can wait. “Have you seen any packages from Jenna?”
Analiese looks at me in the reflection of her mirror, and I can tell she’s glad I decided to switch topics. Getting her to open up will take time, but I’ve never been put off by a challenge. We’ll get there eventually.
“No? Did you check your student mailbox?”
“Right, good point.” I open the reminder app on my phone and set a reminder to check my mailbox in the student center tomorrow. “We should leave for the party soon. Are you almost ready?”
“Yep,” she replies with a pop as she rubs her lips together to smooth the lipstick. “But we’re waiting for our dates to arrive.”
My head jerks back in surprise. This girl is giving me whiplash today. “Um, what dates?”
Just then, a knock sounds on the door.
“Those dates,” she says, springing up to open our dorm room door. “Why are you acting like you don’t know the plan?”
Maybe because there’s a plan I don’t know about? Or maybe Analiese and I did discuss this, and I totally blanked it somehow? I open our shared calendar to see if there’s other attendees on the event for tonight, but the door opens before I can look.
There, standing at the door, is none other than Dan Wheeler. He’s wearing what appears to be a normal outfit with a cape thrown on top. His light blonde hair is charmingly disheveled, and he smiles broadly at Analiese.
“Hey there, Wednesday,” he says, his eyes smoldering in her direction.
Analiese giggles—giggles!—at him and gives his cape a tug. “I like your costume.”
I take in Dan’s ‘cape’ and realize it’s actually a bedsheet tied around his neck. Just… wow. It seems impossible to put less effort into a costume.
“Her name isn’t Wednesday and you’re not wearing a costume,” I state loudly. There are too many unnatural things happening here and someone has to anchor us all in reality. That someone has to be me. A laugh sounds from the hallway, but I can’t see who it is. That’s not important at this moment.
Dan and Analiese tear their eyes away from each other (with great difficulty) to look at me with annoyed expressions.
“Hey, Avery,” Dan says.
My mouth drops open. He knows my name! Finally!
“And this is a costume—I’m dressed up as a college student who forgot to get a costume,” he adds.
Analiese turns back to him with a soft smile I’ve never seen before. “That’s so meta.”
“Thanks, Babe,” Dan coos, then he turns to the mysterious person behind him. “You going to get your girl so we can go party?”
Then Dan grabs Analiese’s hand and tugs her out of the room. She lets out another giggle and follows him like a docile lamb. It’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.
My head shakes, and I turn to grab my bag. A voice stops me in my tracks.
“Hey, Buttercup.”
I gasp. It’s Jake!
He’s standing in the doorway, dressed as Westley from The Princess Bride. Even with the black mask, I can see his crystal blue eyes shining and his dimples popping adorably. His black outfit is complete with a sword at his side and tall boots on his feet.
“Jake!” I yell at the top of my lungs as I run, throwing myself into his arms.
He lets out a little ‘oof’ as he catches me. His arms lock around me, warm and solid.
“How are you here?” I ask breathlessly. My face buries into his silky shirt, inhaling him shamelessly. He feels so good.
His shoulders shrug against me, my face still buried in his chest. “I wanted to see you, so I came. Besides, I didn’t want to miss Halloween with my favorite girl.”
Realization hits me. “You’re Jenna’s package!”
He tugs lightly on a lock of my hair to get my attention. We lock eyes.
“I have no idea what that means, but she did drop me off at the airport.”
I nod, then pull myself up on my tiptoes to kiss him. He immediately kisses me back.
“Mmm,” he hums, then pulls back. His fingers come up to trace along my lips. “I’ve missed you.”
A blush creeps up my neck. “Me too.”
“Nothing is going to keep me away from you. You know that, right?”
His eyes, which are so often full of mischief, are serious.
They bounce between mine with an intensity I don’t usually see—like he’s trying to will me to believe his words.
And I do. I believe him. Jake has done everything he’s said he’d do and more.
Even though we’re living three thousand miles apart, he’s here because he wanted to spend a silly holiday with me.
“I know.”
He checks my face one more time, like he’s making sure. He gives a little nod, then pats me on the butt. “Go get your crown, Princess.”
“Oh! I can’t believe I almost forgot!” I shuffle quickly over to my desk and snatch up my crown, settling it into my curls. Jake’s eyes seem reverent as he watches me walk back to him.
I bite my lip. “Maybe we can go get ice cream later? Just you and me?”
“As you wish,” he says, then drops a kiss on my head.