“I met him before you did, Aly!”

“Start before you feel ready.” 

---

~ Alyssa ~

They say life is about the journey, not the destination. I couldn’t agree more as I walked towards the stage in my graduation gown.

“Congratulations,” The Dean said with a smile as I bowed to receive my first-class diploma in Architecture from New York University.

“Thank you,” I replied, watching the camera shutter snap loudly.

Gracefully, I walked back to my friends, who all had big smiles on their faces. It had been an eventful journey with each of them.

It was only after I sat down that I realized my best friend was missing.

“Where’s Cassandra?” I asked, turning to the others. 

“Cassandra? She was just here,” Queeneth, my friend and housemate, replied.

“Okay…” I nodded, facing forward.

Maybe she went to the restroom, I thought, waiting and gently clicking my heels against the ground as the graduation ceremony continued.

I tried my best to focus, but I couldn’t. Unable to stop myself, I pulled out my phone and sent her a text.

:Where are you, Cass?

I waited but got no response. 

I called… once, twice… still no reply.

What’s going on? I wondered again.

In our years of being best friends and roommates, we had one rule: always answer each other’s calls on the first ring. If we couldn’t, we’d send a text and call back when we could. But this time, I got nothing.

Cassandra had been one of the first students to receive her diploma, yet now that it was my turn, she’d disappeared.

Had she forgotten our agreement to cheer each other on?

Though I wanted to leave, I forced myself to stay till the end, whilst cheering for my other coursemates who had endured and made it to the finish line, just like I did.

“We are graduates, Aly!” Luke hugged me tightly after the program ended.

Luke had harbored a crush on me since freshman year. Though he never admitted it, I could see it in his eyes, the tenderness and warmth that made my heart ache. Why didn’t I feel anything for him?

“Aww… thank you, Luke,” I said, leaning into his embrace, suddenly realizing just how much it hurt that my boyfriend, Mark, wasn’t here on my big day. 

Hadn’t he realized how important this day was to me when he chose work over me?

“You’re welcome.” We broke the hug and held each other’s gaze for a moment. “Stay happy, okay?”

“I will.” I squeezed his palm, trying to comfort both him and myself. “I’m sorry.” For all the pain and heartache I had caused you, I wanted to add, but the words got stuck in my throat. Though, I knew my expression sold me off. 

“It’s alright… Take care.” I held him one last time before letting go.

“Goodbye, Luke.” He nodded and walked away, slipping out of my sight, and probably out of my life.

It was always like that with Luke: awkwardness, pain, and heartache. 

He was kind, compassionate, and understanding, everything I wanted in a partner, but my heart had room for only Mark and no one else.

“He’s heading back home,” I heard Grace’s voice behind me. My first friend at college.

“Yes, home… back to South Africa,” I repeated subconsciously.

“It’s not your fault.” She placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, and I nodded.

“Yes, thank you,” I replied without looking at her.

---

After returning my graduation gown, which I only did after taking a million pictures with it, I began to slowly walk around campus. 

The same campus I had been walking around for the past four years.

Unlike most of my peers, I enjoyed school. I enjoyed getting to know my coursemates, my lecturers, and most importantly, I loved my course, architecture. I loved learning more about buildings and designs. Though it wasn’t my first choice, since I still secretly harbored a love for film and theater arts, over time I have fallen in love with design, and I’m amazed at how much I’ve discovered about myself through it.

I had just reached the basketball arena when I caught sight of something—or someone—out of the corner of my eye.

Curly blond hair, pale skin…

“Mark?” I thought as I slowly approached, my chest beating fast.

As I got closer, I realized he was holding someone; no, they were kissing. 

Sandy brown hair, jade-like skin, long legs. I noted the lady’s features. 

A tear dropped from my eye as realization hit me.

“Mark,” I whimpered, and they separated immediately, as if my voice had caused an earthquake. Or maybe it did.

“Aly!” They stared at me in shock, guilt flashing across their faces.

“How long?” I asked, my voice shaky.

I had always heard about best friends betraying one other, but I assumed it was all fiction, something that would never happen to me. But who knew?

“Four years…” Mark replied, pulling her closer. My heart sank.

“The truth is, I met him before you did, Aly,” Cassandra Clare announced matter-of-factly.

“And…?” My head felt foggy. I wasn’t thinking straight. What the hell was going on here?

“Cassandra has always been the one for me, Aly—the one I love, the one my heart beats for, and the one I want to spend my life with.”

“And I am?”

“Just a plaything,” Cass spat.

Suddenly, I couldn’t recognize the girl in front of me.

Is this the same girl I had called my best friend for over three years? The one who promised to always be there for me and never let go?

“What do you mean?” I stared at both of them, my heart sinking with dread.

Please, don’t let my worst fear come true. 

…

A/N: What do you think of this chapter, guys?