"Being next to your first love is hard," thought Tiffany as she stood next to Jasper.
Both of them were admiring the night view of the downtown city on top of the Griffith Observatory. Tiffany was waiting for her parents as so was Jasper. Earlier in the day, they went to the observatory with couple of their friends to celebrate Jasper’s birthday and now all of their friends had left except the two.
A cool breeze brushed Tiffany’s hair into her face, making her shake her head. It was fairly quiet as the two stood next to each other, enjoying the silence of the night. Although Tiffany got over her feelings for Jasper, a small feeling remained inside. Tiffany sighed.
“You okay?”
Startled, Tiffany looked at Jasper.
“You okay?” Jasper asked again, looking slightly worried.
“Yeah. Just trying to keep this memory before it becomes forgotten,” replied Tiffany.
“Haha. Yeah,” chuckled Jasper, “School’s going to end soon and most of us are going to college.”
Tiffany nodded, “Except for me, who’s one year younger than you guys.”
“Yep. Shorty.”
“Oldie.”
They laughed, echoing through the night sky. Comfortable silence came between them. Tiffany smiled, treasuring the moment. She looked at Jasper and asked, “Hey, do you ever thought what would happen to all of us when we go in different directions in life?”
“Always with the deep questions, huh,” smiled Jasper.
“Just wondering,” Tiffany said, “’cause I’m afraid that everyone will never see each other again.”
Jasper looked at Tiffany and stared at her. When the stare became longer than what was comfortable, she asked, “What?”
Jasper turned away, now staring at the city lights. Silence came between the two. Tiffany worried. "That was different," she thought.
“Are you that afraid?”
“Huh?” Tiffany turned to face Jasper who now had a serious expression written on his face.
“If you’re that afraid of losing your friends, then treasure the memories that you make with them,” continued Jasper, “Keep them so that you’ll never lose those feelings of friendship.”
“We might never see each other nor hear each other again, but we will always have the memories of friendship that reminds us of our bonds,” Jasper stated, his voice gradually becoming more passionate.
“Treasure the present and don’t worry about the future because we’re living in the present now,” said Jasper, smiling at Tiffany.
Tiffany turned her surprised, embarrassed face away from Jasper. A vibration was heard. Jasper looked at his phone.
“Got to go,” he said, walking away from Tiffany.
“See ya at school,” said Tiffany, sadly.
As the distance grew apart between the two, Tiffany shouted, “Jasper!”
He turned.
“Happy birthday and thank you!” Tiffany yelled, waving her arms wildly at the same time, hoping that he would see them.
Despite the darkness and distance, Tiffany could sense the wide grin on Jasper’s face as he shouted in return, “No problem!”
After Jasper’s figure disappeared from her sight, Tiffany smiled and looked up at the night sky. Peace washed over her. As she watched the glittering stars and spotted Orion’s constellation, Tiffany whispered to herself, “I don’t want an ending,” almost pausing the moment itself.