the art of starting over

                 it’s  not  everyday  that  someone  is  this  kind  and  thoughtful  enough  to  even  take  a  second  or  a  minute  of  their  time  to  think  and  get  something  from  them  .   miles  knows  how  to  appreciate  the  little  things  .     ❛   now  i  gotta  use  this  mug  whenever  i  play  games  .   it’s  amazing  .   thanks   ,   jude  .   i  should  get  you  something  too  .   ❜

“Yes! I hope it helps fuels you during many late night victories and high score breaking. Or whatever it is you have to do. What type of games do you like playing, anyway?” Jude shook his head and waved a hand dismissively. “Absolutely not. You don’t owe me anything. Seriously, just knowing you liked it and it made your day better is enough for me.”

.She smiled at the boy, shaking her head lightly. “I guess celebrating the end of summer vacation isn’t so bad when it means we all get to be back together here and hang out again.” Her fingers fumbled a bit over the packaging before finally finding the best spot to pull it open. Knowing a camera was on her made her less steady, but she tried to ignore it. Finally getting it fully open, she wrapped her fingers around the frame and a large grin spread over her face. “Jude, this is so cute. I love it. What a great way to keep memories. I’ll have to put it on my desk.”

“Absolutely! I love being back in school. How many people our age can say their school is at sea with its own club, coffee house, arcade, library, and so much other cool stuff? I love it here. But you’re right, the people are the best part. I was never all that great at having friends before I came here.” At her reaction, Jude beamed. “I’m so glad you like it! I still remember nothing of that night... but a picture says a thousand words, so they say.”

“ uh huh, sure it did. ” nora spoke with a playful roll of her eyes. “ well i’m definitely not going to complain about presents. ” she added with a grin as she listened to jude explain how he had wanted to wait to give her this gift. “ fair enough. ” she spoke before watching as he opened the music box in front of her. the second she heard the song playing, tears welled up in nora’s eyes. “ oh jude… ” she hummed softly, reaching up to wipe a stray tear from her cheek. after a few seconds of staring at the music box in admiration, nora turned her attention back to jude. she gazed adoringly at him for a brief moment before she leaned forward and connected her lips to his with her palm pressed gently to his cheek, kissing him tenderly. once she pulled away, she offered him a gentle smile. “ thank you. i love it. ”

The excited smile that had lit up Jude’s features dimmed when Nora started to cry. He swore he could literally feel his heart dropping into the deepest pits of his stomach. “Oh... Oh, God, Nora, please don’t cry. I’m so sorry. I can take it ba---” His words were cut short when Nora’s lips pressed against his. Heart beating out of his chest, he tilted his head so his lips could press firmly against hers. Jude blinked rapidly when she pulled away. A dazed, goofy haze lingered in his eyes. “Oh, um.... you’re welcome.” Warmth quickly flooded onto Jude’s cheeks. Ducking his head, he took both of Nora’s hands and guided her to sit down with him on the edge of the bed. “There’s still... there’s still one last gift I had for you.” The words were barely above a whisper, nerves shaking his voice. He leaned back in and captured Nora’s lips with his.

"Dean Murphy appears in my dreams every night. But also... everyone? Literally anyone here could slit my throat and I'd say thank you."

"No experience but loving the concept. Are you offering?"

"I mean, obviously, my mom. And Oprah. She's never done me wrong so far."

"Getting arrested. I cried the whole time."

"I'll say this: Victoria Justice didn't give us the anthem Freak the Freak Out for nothing."

"My life. Ba-dum-tss."

"Yes. One hundred percent. What's the point of living if you don't believe in love? It doesn't even have to be with a person! Fall in love with yourself. Fall in love with seeing a double rainbow in the sky. Fall in love with each dog and cat you ever meet. Fall in love, and have your heart broken, and love even more after that. It's all we can do in this world. Just try and love everyone. I’ll leave you with this, a quote from my all time favorite movie. The greatest thing you’ll ever learn---”

"Cheese. Any and all types of cheese. Of course, wine on the side."

"Absolutely I do. I think we were put on this Earth to love, and that love can take multiple forms whether it's romantic, platonically, familial, etc. For me, falling in love isn't the hard part. I fall in love 500 times a day with everyone. It's opening myself up and trusting they won't leave. That's the hard part. But I guess... when it’s right, I’ll just know, right?"

hearing the voice that nora was convinced she heard in her dreams, the pink haired woman couldn’t help but giggle as she turned around to face jude. “ you are aware that my birthday was exactly a week ago and you already spoiled me with multiple presents, right? ” she teased playfully.

“Was that you? Wow, that totally slipped my mind.” Dramatically, Jude slid a hand to his forehead. “C’mon. My life goal is to spoil you with presents 24/7. We both know this. And I wanted you to have this earlier but we were hanging out with a ton of other people at your birthday party. I wanted it to be me and you.” He took the box and gently opened it for her. It was a music box. When opened, it played Hey Jude. He had replaced the ballerina with a figurine designed after Nora. “So no matter where you go in life, you can open this and I’ll be right there with you.”

“is it something for our room ? ”  river asked, graciously taking the box and giving it a little shake. “are we finally sneaking a pet on board ?  because if so, i need to stop shaking this immediately,”  they joked, a grin on their face. of course they’d gotten jude a present back in boston, too, but they hadn’t unpacked yet. their suitcases were thrown around on the floor of their cabin creating a safety hazard for walking.  “it’s weird, but i’m fucking glad to be back. i slept horribly without you.”

“You bet! It’s a turtle and we’re naming it Squirtle. It’s not the gift but I also got us...” Jude pretended to do a drum roll. “A laundry basket! I know we won’t clean the room necessarily... but it’s one step closer to being mature adults.” Lord help their third roommate. The gift itself was a sketchbook that Jude had hand painted the cover of. River’s name was proudly displayed in the middle with rainbow colors. Laughing, Jude carefully stepped around all the suitcases to sit on his bed. “I know, right? Me too. It felt way too quiet at night without your snoring and a movie playing in the background. I love everyone here but I was so worried about not being roommates with you again. I’m glad to be back too.” Jude had always been the type to adore school ( minus the social aspect of it ).