Prologue:


My footsteps echoed down the deserted hallway, the sound bouncing off the now poster-less walls. My silky blue dress swished around my ankles as I walked through these hallways for the last time. As a soon to be Junior, I’d be moving upstairs, graduating an entire floor. Don’t get me wrong, I was thrilled. My life was going great. I had an amazing boyfriend, a wonderful best friend, great grades and a perfect family. Plus, I was getting on the final-ish stretch of High School. Everything was going great, but I couldn’t help but be a little sad. I mean, this year had been really, really good. My boyfriend of almost one year (only two months left until our official anniversary) had asked me out the very beginning of this year. My mom had gotten her great job, and my dad had gotten promoted. My sister was doing well and school, and her boyfriend of two years was going to the same college as her.
I was just going to miss the beginning of all this happiness, which was mostly this past year. Sighing, I walked over to my locker and put in the combination. Nothing. I sighed again. They must’ve already come through and changed the locks. I mean, it was the last day of school, and we were at the dance. I shouldn’t have expected for my locker to be available to me. I tapped it thoughtfully one last time, then turned and walked away, heading for the art room. Ah, the art room. Where I’d spent so much time this year. I loved art-lived and breathed it, at my worst and best. I was just sitting down in my chair, where I’d sketched so many things, when I heard footsteps.
“Somebody’s taking a stroll down memory lane, aren’t they?” I jumped as I heard the voice, then smiled.
“Gabriel.” I said, turning my face up to his as he leaned down and kissed me. My boyfriend looked so great in his crisp black tux, the bleached white shirt underneath making his sharp green eyes pop. “What’re you doing here?”
“Looking for my date. I can’t dance without you, and they’re playing some really amazing songs.” He grinned at my expression. “Oh come on, I’m just teasing you. You disappeared and I was just wondering where you were.”
“Well, I’m right here.” I tried to hide the sadness I was feeling, but apparently I didn’t do a good job.
“What’s wrong?” When I didn’t answer, he took a seat next to me and nudged me with his knee. “Eclipse, what’s with the long face? We’re at the end of our Sophomore year and at a fun dance with all of our friends.”
I shrugged, mustering up a fake smile. “I know. Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go back to the party. I’m done in here anyways.”
“Are you sure?” Always the concerned boyfriend.
“I’m sure.” I promised. I stood, and held out my hand. After a moment of hesitation, Gabriel took it and stood. Then, he kissed me.
“I’m really glad you’re okay.” The statement seemed perfectly normal, but he bit his lip and looked away quickly. That was new.
“Me too.” I smiled at him through my confusion. Then again, I was probably over-thinking things, like I always had to when things were going so perfectly. I admonished myself inwardly. Why did I always have to go looking for the rain on a perfectly sunny day? On a perfectly sunny year! I just couldn’t shake the sense of impending doom, and it didn’t go away once we got to the gym, where the dance was being held. The minute we entered the room, almost every girl began to drool. I tightened my grip on Gabriel’s arm. I was still trying to adapt to the fact that pretty much every girl in the school wanted my boyfriend for their own. That was one of the hazards of having a mega-popular boyfriend-the girls immediately hated you and never left the two of you alone. There were constantly hopeful rumors of a breakup, which I’d eventually learned to ignore. Obviously, they weren’t coming true, so why bother myself with them?
My sister, Jessica, bounced up to us a second later. Jessica, a recently graduated Junior going into her last year here, wouldn’t normally be at the end-of-Sophomore-year dance, but since she was the head of the dance committee and had organized the whole thing, it was kind of her right.
“Are you guys having fun? Is everything alright? It’s not terrible, is it?” Were the first words from my sister’s mouth. Jessica, looking stunning with her chocolate brown hair curled in perfect spirals and pinned up elegantly, a hot vivd pink mini-dress with black ankle-boots with a heel, was fraying at the seams.
“Jess! Relax! Everything is perfect, you did a great job. Complete success.” I assured her with a comforting smile.
“Really?” She asked, seeming to calm a bit.
“It’s wonderful, Jessy.” Gabriel smiled at her, using the nickname he’d chosen for her sometime a few months ago. I thought it was great that they were getting alone so well. She, in return, had started calling him Gabe. I shot him a grateful look, to which he squeezed my hand.
That seemed to do the trick. Jessica let out a breath, and beamed perkily at us. She was back. “Well why don’t you two go enjoy the dance, while I make sure everything stays this perfect.” Without another word, she leapt off, smiling and waving at people as she passed.
“Care to dance?” Gabriel asked, and my attention left my sister and I focused on him instead.
“Sure.” I agreed at once, and he led us into the middle of the gym, where all the other couples were swaying. We’d joined the dance in the middle of a slow, love ballad. It was sweet and melancholy at the same time, twining its way around the dancers and ensnaring them in its heartbreaking melody. Gabriel’s hands wrapped around my waist, and my head laid down on his chest as the music caught hold of us, too. As we danced, I began feeling better, and sadder, at the same time. Maybe things would be okay. And then again, things were changing. Maybe not for the worse, but change was happening. For example, this time last year I had no one like Gabriel in my life. I didn’t need anyone like him. Now I did, so I was glad to have him.
I hugged him tightly as we finished the dance, and then pulled back. I prepared myself for the kiss I knew was going to come...but then none came. Opening my eyes, I saw a flash of something in Gabriel’s, but before I could place it, it was gone.
“Is everything okay?” I asked him, concerned.
To my surprise, he shook his head. “Can we talk? Outside?” My heart plummeted at his words, but I tried to maintain a cheerful air, and keep a positive mind-frame. Maybe it had nothing to do with us. Maybe it was some family issue. In fact, I was fairly certain it wasn’t about the two of us. After all, things had been perfect lately. Better than perfect, even though I couldn’t think of an adjective better than that.
By the time we’d gotten outside, I had calmed back down out of the almost tizzy I’d worked myself into. Gabriel brought me to the front of the school, under a shady oak with broad lush leaves. The muggy summer air clung to us as we stood there. After a minute with him not talking, I decided to take the initiative.
“So,” I prompted, “What did you want to talk about?”
Gabriel shifted, then took a deep breath before meeting my eyes. “Us.”
My throat went instantly dry. “W-What?”
“Us.” He said again. “Eclipse, this year has been good. Really good, actually. You and I, we had a good year together. A really good-”
“Gabriel.” I forced myself to keep my voice normal, almost light and teasing. “Just say it.”
He took a deep breath. “I think we should break up.” Honestly, as stupid as it may sound, I hadn’t expected that. At worst I was expecting taking a break for a little while, at best maybe that he was bored or wanted to get out of some rut. But breaking up...it sounded so permanent. All of a sudden, I couldn’t breathe.
“Break...up?” I repeated slowly. “But why?”
Gabriel sighed and ran a hand through his hair in the way I’d loved so much. “This is the summer before our Junior year. We’ve been dating for a year now, and I think that it’d be good for both of us if we saw other people. Explored our options, and our interests.”
“I don’t need to explore my interests, or whatever, Gabriel.” I half-laughed. “I want, I need, you.”
He looked at me sadly. “I’m sorry, Eclipse. Really, this has been one of the greatest years-”
I held up my hand and cut him off. “What happened? Am I suddenly not good enough for you? Because that is total bull.”
“It’s not you.” He said seriously. “It’s me.”
“Right. Really original, Gabriel. Answer me this, though, what went wrong? What happened? What did I do?” I demanded, lashing out in hopes of silencing the little place inside me that was dying.
“I swear, Clipsy, it was nothing you did. I just think that been in a relationship at this point in my life isn’t the smartest option. Really, you’re a lovely girl, beautiful and smart and fun, but...”
“I’m not enough anymore, am I?” Something dawned on me. “You met someone else.”
“No. There’s no one else.” Gabriel tried to protest, but I knew him well enough to spot when he was lying. Or, at least, I though I did.
“Don’t lie!” I shrieked, feeling like my throat was closing. I realized I might be verging on hysteria, but I felt completely blindsided and overwhelmed. “Who is she?”
“Clipsy-”
“Don’t call me that!” I snapped. Gabriel backed down, waiting for me to get a grip. When he thought it was safe, he gently placed a hand on my arm. I couldn’t find the strength to shrug him off.
“I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I loved you!” He insisted.
“Past tense.” I whispered, feeling my eyes close.
“What?” He asked, not having heard me.
“Nothing.” I shook my head. “Just go, Gabriel. I don’t...I can’t talk to you anymore.”
“Again, I’m really sorry.” Gabriel said sincerely, before releasing my arm. I felt him turn away. I felt my panic get the better of me.
I opened my eyes and struggled to keep a grip as I called in a pain-filled voice, “Two months!”
“What?” Gabriel turned back around, looking wary and sad.
“Two months.” I said again, quieter. “Two more months until it was a year.”
He seemed to understand, and looked even sadder as he said one last time, “I’m so sorry, Eclipse. Goodbye.” I watched him go. I watched him walk away from me, and back into the school. I watched as he didn’t look back, not once. Like I’d meant nothing to him, and this last year of our lives had been a fun little game that when he got bored with he donated to charity without a second thought. Only donating to charity was a good thing, and this wasn’t. Not in any way.
By some small miracle, I managed to stay standing until he was out of sight. Once I was sure he was gone, I sacrificed my last shred of dignity and collapsed to the ground. The tears didn’t come for a while, as I stared numbly into my folded hands in my lap. Once they did come, however, they came with a vengeance. I began to shake, and then the tears filled my eyes and spilled over my cheeks, drowning them in a salty pool of sadness. I let out a whimper as I brought my head to my knees and continued to sob silently, crying too hard to make any noise. It was a level of despair that I’d never known existed. One that hurt too much for breathing.
I’d thought that Gabriel and I were doing great. I thought that we were in love. I thought that we would get married someday. I never suspected that it had been an act, at least towards the end, while he was busy falling in love with someone else. That was another thing-I knew that there was someone else. Gabriel was too sweet to come outright and tell me that, so he’d created a stupid excuse instead. Sweet? Sweet? The boy had just broken my heart.
No, Gabriel hadn’t broken my heart. He’d shattered it, crushed the pieces into powder then burned them, leaving nothing behind. Not a whisper of anything. I lifted my head to the sky, feeling my tears burning my cheeks as they slid down my face, clinging to the blades of grass beneath me. Through my water-filled eyes, I saw the blurry outline of the moon, illuminating the area around me. I felt a sudden alliance to the moon, all alone in the sky. It was the time when people went indoors, went to sleep, ignoring the poor abandoned girl in the sky. I felt like her. I felt like we’d both been abandoned. I felt united to all my brokenhearted sisters in the world. I didn’t feel pissed-yet. I was sure that would come. But right now, all that I could focus on was the giant black hole devouring my heart and all the happiness in it.
“Eclipse? Eclipse!” I recognized the voice calling me, but only vaguely. Then there was the sound of running footsteps, muffled by the grass, and suddenly there were arms around me. “Oh my God, Eclipse. Thank God I found you. Why are you out here all alone? I thought that Gabe was out here...with you...” Comprehension dawned on Jessica even as she was speaking. “Oh, Eclipse. Did he...are you two...what happened?”
I just shook my head. Like, in what universe was there a way I could explain it to her? “He dumped me.” I managed to squeak. “For another girl.”
I saw pity cloud her eyes as she hugged me tighter. “Oh Eclipse...” Jess said again. “I’m sorry, I can’t even believe he would do that.”
I shrugged. “Well, he did.” I smiled with trembling lips before dissolving back into tears.
“What a way to ruin a dance.” Jess muttered darkly, before going back to cooing at me. “It’s okay, Clipsy. It’s alright. Let’s go into my car and get you home, okay? Doesn’t that sound nice? A nice warm bed, maybe some cocoa...you love cocoa.”
All I could do was let her pull me up and drag me to her car.