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There were many guys who chased after Jocelyn over the years, but the only man that remained in her eyeline was Luke Hughes. Growing up, Luke and Jocelyn were inseparable. Jack always teased them for never leaving each other's side. "Lukey and Jocelyn sitting in a tree! K-i-s-s-i-n-g!" he'd always sing.

"Shut up!" Luke always yelled, but Jocelyn never really minded the teasing. She had always liked Luke, but usually kids grow out of puppy crushes.

Now that Jocelyn was a junior in high school, it was all she could think about. He was all she could thing about. She was stuck on the thought of confessing her ever-longing love for Luke or if she should let it pass.

This was the year Luke was graduating high school and moving to Michigan. This might be her last chance to confess her feelings. Especially now Luke was super busy with hockey. He was a star hockey player in the US which meant a lot of traveling.

In her Algebra 2 class, Jocelyn sat at a table with her friends Asher, Sienna, and Grayson. "I don't know, guys. I really think I should just go ahead and tell him," she muttered.

Sienna seemed to be the only person who actually was invested in her drama. She was always asking for constant updates of Jocelyn's hopeless chase for Luke. "You need to, Jocelyn! He's leaving this year," she said. "Plus, have you seen the way Kelsey looks at him?" she pointed out.

"Wait what?" Asher asked, looking up from his worksheet. "Who are we talking about?"

Sienna rolled her eyes, letting out a loud groan. "We're talking about Jocelyn and watermelon!" Watermelon was the group's code name for Luke. He was very popular not only around school, but around the world. She had been using the name for years, and yet no one seemed to figure out that watermelon was Luke. Not even Luke.

"Oh," Asher replied.

"Jocelyn. I love you, but I am so sick of hearing about you and watermelon when you continue to say and do nothing," Grayson cut in. "I get you're building the plot up but it's seriously time we get to the end of the movie where you two fall in love." Jocelyn's face scrunched up, but she knew it was true. "It's May 5th. Graduation is in less than a month."

Jocelyn's lips pursed as she tapped the tip of her pencil against the worksheet. Gray's right. It's time she actually said something to Luke. "Okay," she sighed. "But how do I tell him that I like him more than a friend?"

Grayson put his pencil down on the table and leaned forward. "Alright," he started. "Here's what you're gonna do..."

. . .

The plan was simple. Just tell him straight up. Gray said it would be better to say something to him either in person or on the phone because things can get misinterpreted over text. Jocelyn knew he had experience when it came to dating, so why wouldn't she take his advice?

Jocelyn sat on her bed while staring at Luke's contact number. She hovered her thumb over the call button while taking a couple deep breaths. She could hear the beat of her heart in her ears as she slammed down on the call button and brought the phone up to her ear.

It rang a couple of times until Luke actually answered. "Joceyyy," Luke said.

He picked up the phone. Okay good start, Jocelyn thought. "Hey," she said back. She tried her best to keep her tone steady so he couldn't hear how nervous she was.

"I was just about to call you," he said. Oh? "Can I ask you something?" OH???

Jocelyn's eyes widened as her heart flipped. "Yeah, of course. What is it?" She sounded a little too enthusiastic, but she didn't care. What if this was the moment she had been waiting for?

He let out a deep sigh and began talking, "There's this girl who I've really been thinking about recently and I'm pretty sure she likes me. Her name's Kelsey. Uh, Kelsey Woodings," Her smile instantly faded at the mention of Kelsey's name. "She's kind, smart, and she's really pretty. I just need to know... how do I know if she likes me back?"

Jocelyn cleared her throat before answering, "Well... uh... I don't know." Jocelyn did her best to hide the disappointment in her voice as she spoke to him. Her eyes stung, a lump grew in her throat, and her heart sank. "Luke, I'm sure she likes you. People have been telling me she seems like she does."

"Really?" Luke exclaimed. The excitement in his voice made her gut twist. Luke kept rambling and rambling about Kelsey, but Jocelyn didn't listen. She put herself on mute and began to cry. She didn't think she could get heart broken by a guy who she had known for so long.

The tears kept flowing down her cheeks uncontrollably. She was so worried she couldn't mask it if she unmuted herself. She couldn't stay on the phone with him and his talk about Kelsey. She knew she had to end this. She took a couple deep breaths and tried her best to disguise her voice before unmuting. "Hey, Luke. I need to go, my mom's calling me for dinner."

"Oh, okay," Luke said. "Hey, thanks for helping me out. It really means a lot hearing it from you." Before he could say bye, Jocelyn hung up the phone and put it down on the nightstand. She buried her face in her pillow and bawled.

The pillow clearly didn't muffle her cries because a couple seconds later, there was a soft knock on her door. "What?" she yelled through choked sobs.

The door creaked open and there stood her mom frowning down at her. "Jocelyn, honey. What's wrong?" she asked as she walked into the room and sat at the foot of her bed.

She wiped her tears away and wheezed as she tried her best to get any words out. "I really don't wanna talk about it." Hiccups and sobs broke up her sentence. Her mom wrapped her arms around Jocelyn, attempting to calm her down in any sort of way, but sobs kept coming.

Her mom let her go and placed her hand on her thigh. "Do you want me to make you some tea?" she asked. Jocelyn nodded her head, she still couldn't get any words out without being interrupted by her own cries. Her mom got up from the bed and walked out of her room, leaving the door open.

Jocelyn sat in her room alone while staring at the posters in her room. She let out hiccups as she did her best to calm herself down. She was still crying when her mom came back in with a tray of tea and cookies she made the night before.

Her mom moved her phone and set the tray on the nightstand. "I brought you some cookies," she said softly. She smiled down at her daughter and reached down to pat her knee. "They should help you feel better." She left and closed the door behind her.

Jocelyn sniffled and grabbed a cookie off the plate and held it in front of her lips. She closed her eyes and forced herself to take a bite, hoping that somehow the cookie would magically make the crying stop. It didn't work.

She nibbled on the cookie to try to quell her hunger pains, and then finished half of the mug of tea. After that, no matter how hard she tried, the crying continued. She cried until late that night, but by then it all just poured out of her.

When Jocelyn woke up the next morning, she felt miserable. She got up from her bed and made her way to her moms' bedroom. She opened the door and saw them laying in bed. "Mom," she murmured.

Her mom rolled over in bed and looked up at her. "Good morning," she yawned as she smiled a bit. "Are you feeling better?"

Jocelyn shook her head and asked, "Can I stay home today?"

Her mom frowned a bit and nodded. "Yeah, of course. Just rest up. I'll make breakfast soon." She rolled over and fell back asleep. Jocelyn snuck back out of the room and shut their door.

Throughout the day, she kept receiving texts from from Luke.

LUKEY‼️

Wya?

Home
I didn't feel good

Oh
U need anything?

No I'll be fine
Thanks

Get better ❤️

After that message, she silenced her phone and laid in bed.