My Triplet Lovers

Party's over

Maya went downstairs to where the party really was happening looking around to find where Troy went after he had left the balcony just moments ago.

The last of the fairy lights twinkled above Maya's head, casting a soft glow over the room. The farewell party had been a great night to spend her last moments with Troy before he left and she was overjoyed that this is how their last few moments together was spent, and yet, now that it was drawing to a close, she couldn’t help but feel as though it was all slipping away too quickly. She glanced around at the faces of her friends and classmates, all of them laughing and chatting, unaware of the bittersweetness that was slowly creeping up inside her.

Her heart raced as the final song started to play, the beat slow and melodic, a perfect ending to a night that felt like a dream. It had been a whirlwind of emotions all evening. Smiles, hugs, laughter, and now, the inevitable goodbye. She’d been dreading this moment for months, but now that it was here, it felt surreal.

Maya stood near the punch bowl, her fingers nervously tracing the edge of her cup. She wanted to enjoy the night, to savor it, but her thoughts kept drifting back to him—the one person who had been on her mind for what felt like forever. Troy. The boy who had been her best friend, her confidant, and in the last few weeks, the one person who had made her heart race in ways she could never explain. She had only just gotten him back and now was about to lose him again..

It wasn’t just the way he looked at her, his dark brown eyes that seemed to always see right through her, or the way he smiled when he talked to her like they shared a secret that no one else knew. It was the way he made her feel like she was the only person in the room when he was near, the way his laugh echoed in her mind. She had tried to ignore it, to bury her feelings beneath the noise of their friendship, but tonight, with everything coming to an end, she could no longer deny it.

A tap on her shoulder broke her from her thoughts, and Maya turned to find him standing there. Troy. His messy brown hair was slightly ruffled from the dancing, and the familiar warm smile spread across his face when their eyes met.

“Hey” he said, his voice low but full of warmth. “You okay?”

Maya forced a smile, nodding as she held up her cup. “Just a little tired, you know? It’s been a long night.”

Troy raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “Yeah, I get that. But you seem... distracted. You’ve been kind of quiet tonight. Just earlier tonight, I was the one in your place. Quiet, lost in thought, now it seems we switched places”.

She shrugged, trying to appear casual, but inside, her heart was pounding. “It’s just... a lot to take in, I guess. This is it, right?”

He glanced around the room, where people were already starting to gather their things, the energy slowly fading as the clock ticked. “Yeah, I guess so. I mean, it feels kind of weird, doesn’t it? Like everything’s just... changing.”

Maya nodded, looking down at the floor for a moment. She didn’t know how to say what she was feeling, how to put into words the storm of emotions the was forming inside her. She wanted to tell him, to tell him everything. But the words stuck in her throat. She couldn’t bear the thought of him leaving to go live in another country, of them both drifting apart, of never getting the chance to say what she had wanted to say for so long.

“I wish we had more time,” she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Troy’s expression softened. He stepped a little closer, the distance between them shrinking. “Me too.”

There was a pause as they stood in silence, surrounded by the fading chatter and music. Maya’s heart felt like it was being squeezed in her chest. She wanted to speak, to tell him that she had always cared about him more than he knew, that her feelings for him had grown deeper over time, but she was scared. Scared of how he might react. Scared of the thought of losing him completely, even if it meant keeping her feelings hidden.

“Hey, Maya...” Troy’s voice interrupted her thoughts again, this time more serious. “I... I just wanted to say thanks. For everything. For being there for me despite what I did in the past that hurt and confused you.”

Maya looked up at him, surprised by the sincerity in his voice. He was always the charming, easygoing guy, the one who made everything seem effortless. But now, there was a vulnerability to him that she hadn’t seen before. It made her heart ache.

“Of course,” she replied, trying to sound as steady as she could. “I’m always here for you, Troy.”

He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah, I know. You’ve always had my back. You’ve been one of my real few best friends here Maya.”

The words hit her harder than she expected. She had always been his friend, but what if that was all she would ever be? What if he never saw her as anything more?

Before she could respond, the DJ called out over the microphone, signaling that the night was almost over, that the final song was about to start. Troy held out his hand to her, his eyes filled with a mix of emotions. “One last dance?” he asked, his voice a little uncertain.

Maya’s heart skipped a beat. This was it. The moment she had been dreading, the moment where everything she had kept hidden for so long might finally spill out. She could either let the night pass without saying a word, or she could risk everything and tell him how she truly felt.

Swallowing her fear, Maya placed her hand in his. “Yeah. One last dance.”

As the slow melody filled the almost empty room, they moved together, the world around them fading as they swayed in the middle of the floor. Maya could feel the warmth of Troy’s body next to hers, the rhythm of his heartbeat getting in sync with hers. For a moment, it was just the two of them, lost in the music and the memories of everything they had shared. The sound of the other people around them, their laughter, their chatter, seemed to disappear.

Troy’s hand rested on her waist, and his other hand gently held hers. He looked down at her, his eyes searching hers. “You know, Maya, I think I’m going to miss this... miss you.”

Maya’s breath caught in her throat, the words she had been holding in for so long finally bubbling to the surface. She looked up at him, her voice barely a whisper. “I’m going to miss you too, Troy.”

He smiled softly, a bittersweet expression that tugged at her heart. “You're amazing you know? You've always been.. amazing in my eyes and I don't know how to explain it, you just are since the moment we met..”

She swallowed hard, her eyes filling with unshed tears. She wanted to tell him that she felt the same way, that she cared about him more than anything. But the words didn’t come. Instead, they danced in silence for a few more moments, lost in the final song of the night.

As the music began to fade, Maya felt the weight of reality settle over her. This was it. The last dance. The last moment before they both stepped into separate futures, unsure of what would come next.

When the song ended, they stopped dancing, but neither of them moved. Troy’s eyes locked with hers, and for a brief moment, the whole world seemed to stand still.

“Goodbye, Maya,” he said softly.

“Goodbye, Troy,” she whispered, her voice breaking.

And as the final note of the song echoed around the room, Maya realized that this was the beginning of the end. The end of the party, the end of the night she never wished to end.

The end.

But in a way, the end of something she had never fully allowed herself to have.

The end of the beginning.