Episode 5- The Distance Between Us
524 Words
By Friday, something had changed between Madison and me.
Not in a bad way.
If anything, we were closer than we'd been all week.
We walked to class together. We shared notes. She stole fries from my lunch, and I pretended to be annoyed even though I secretly liked it.
But there was one problem.
Everyone had started noticing.
“Bro, what's going on with you and Madison?” my best friend, Noah, asked as we walked down the hallway.
“Nothing.”
He laughed.
“Nothing? You smile every time she walks past.”
“I do not.”
“You literally just did it.”
I rolled my eyes.
Before I could respond, someone called my name.
“Ethan!”
I turned.
Madison stood at the other end of the hallway.
She smiled and waved.
Without thinking, I smiled back.
Noah looked at me.
“Exactly.”
“Shut up.”
He laughed as Madison walked toward us.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey.”
She looked at Noah.
“Can I borrow him for a minute?”
Noah raised his hands.
“Of course. I'm not trying to get between whatever this is.”
Madison laughed.
“Whatever this is?”
I gave Noah a warning look.
He walked away, still laughing.
Madison turned toward me.
“I need to tell you something.”
The smile on her face had disappeared.
“What happened?”
“My parents are thinking about moving.”
My stomach dropped.
“Moving where?”
“Another city.”
I stared at her.
“When?”
“I'm not sure. Maybe after graduation.”
I tried to act like it wasn't a big deal.
“Oh.”
Just one word.
But Madison noticed.
“You're upset.”
“I'm not.”
“You are.”
I looked away.
After everything we'd just remembered, the thought of losing her again felt strangely painful.
“You just came back into my life,” I said quietly. “And now you're telling me you might leave again?”
She didn't answer.
Instead, she reached for my hand.
I looked down.
Her fingers gently held mine.
“I don't want to leave,” she whispered.
Neither of us spoke for a while.
The hallway around us became a blur of voices and footsteps.
Then she smiled faintly.
“Remember our promise?”
I nodded.
“To find each other again.”
“Exactly.”
She squeezed my hand before letting go.
“So even if I have to leave…”
She paused.
“We'll find each other again.”
I wanted to believe her.
I really did.
But this time, I wasn't a little kid making a promise beneath an old tree.
This time, I knew exactly what I stood to lose.
And as Madison walked away, I realized something that frightened me more than her leaving.
I didn't just want her to stay because she was my oldest friend.
I wanted her to stay because somewhere between the memories, the laughter, and the quiet moments beneath that tree…
She had become someone I couldn't imagine my life without.
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