The kitchen smelled like victory.
Not the dramatic kind—no, this was the real kind.
The "we didn't burn anything and nobody is screaming" kind.
I stood by the counter, arms crossed, watching Mark stir something in a pan like he was on a cooking show.
"I missed this," I said, leaning against the fridge.
"Missed what?" he asked, not even looking up.
"Cooking. Normal life. Not stressing over exams like my life depends on it."
Mark snorted. "Your life does depend on it. Tomorrow is the last paper."
I groaned. "Don't remind me. If I see another question paper, I might actually faint."
He laughed, then suddenly went quiet.
Too quiet.
I narrowed my eyes. "What?"
He glanced at me, then back at the pan.
"So… you and Ethan."
I blinked. "What about me and Ethan?"
He shrugged casually. "Are you guys a thing now?"
I almost dropped the spoon I was holding.
"What?? What are you even talking about?"
He smirked like he knew something I didn't.
"I'm just saying. He suddenly cares a lot. Appears out of nowhere. Walks you home. Stares like—"
"Okay, stop," I cut in quickly. "It's not like that."
"Really?" he said, raising a brow.
"Yes, really. It's just… I don't know. He just started acting like that."
Mark chuckled.
"Oh, I know."
I stared at him. "Know what?"
He finally turned to face me fully.
"He's liked you since the first time he saw you."
I blinked. "No, he hasn't."
Mark pointed the spoon at me like evidence.
"Yes. He has."
"When?" I asked, suspicious.
Mark grinned.
"That day. You were sitting alone, eating chips like you didn't care about anyone."
I paused.
"…Okay, I do remember that."
"Yeah," he nodded. "He couldn't stop looking at you."
I frowned. "That's creepy."
"No," Mark laughed. "That's interest."
I rolled my eyes.
"And then," he continued, "I realized it before he did."
"What do you mean?"
"I had to make him jealous."
I stared at him.
"…You WHAT?"
He shrugged like it was nothing.
"I made it obvious I was close to you. Just to push him."
My mouth opened.
"You're unbelievable."
He grinned. "And it worked, didn't it?"
I shook my head, but I was smiling.
"Wow. You really went through all that?"
"Of course," he said proudly. "I'm a mastermind."
"More like a troublemaker."
Before he could respond, my mom walked into the kitchen.
"Is the food ready?" she asked.
I straightened instantly. "Yes! Just finished."
She nodded approvingly.
"Good. Let's serve."
A few minutes later, we were all gathered.
Plates were passed around.
Food everywhere.
Nena, Jake, Liam, Emma, Luca, Mr. Ronson, Mrs. May, Mark… and me.
Everyone settled in.
Jake grabbed his plate first. "Finally. I thought I was going to starve."
"You say that every time," Emma said, rolling her eyes.
Liam nodded seriously. "He does. It's a pattern."
Nena laughed. "Let him eat in peace."
Ethan sat quietly at first, but I noticed him glance at me.
Just once.
Okay… maybe twice.
I quickly looked away and focused on my food.
Mark kicked my foot lightly under the table.
I glared at him.
He smirked.
I mouthed, Stop it.
He mouthed back, No.
I wanted to throw something at him.
Mr. Ronson cleared his throat.
"So. Tomorrow is the last exam."
Everyone groaned at once.
"Finally," Luca said dramatically. "Freedom."
"Or results," Liam added.
"Don't ruin it," Jake said quickly.
Emma leaned back in her chair. "After tomorrow, I'm sleeping for two days straight."
"Same," Nena agreed.
Mrs. May smiled. "You all worked hard. Just one more day."
I nodded, taking a deep breath.
"Yeah… just one more."
Across the table, Ethan looked at me again.
This time I didn't look away immediately.
For a second, everything felt… calm.
Then—
Jake suddenly spoke.
"If I fail, I'm disappearing."
"You say that every exam," Liam replied.
"And I mean it every time," Jake insisted.
The table burst into laughter.
And just like that—
The night felt light again.
Dinner was loud.
Too loud.
Jake was arguing with Liam about something completely useless, Emma was laughing, Nena was trying to calm them down, and Mark was still giving me that look like he knew something I didn't.
I was just about to relax—
When Ethan suddenly spoke.
"Hey… I have something to say."
It wasn't loud.
But it was enough.
The table slowly quieted.
Jake froze mid-bite.
Liam stopped talking.
Even Mr. Ronson looked up.
Ethan glanced around at all of us.
Then his eyes paused—just for a second—on me.
Something in my chest tightened.
"What is it?" Emma asked.
"Yeah, don't scare us," Nena added.
Jake pointed his fork at him. "If this is about food, I swear—"
"It's not," Ethan said.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
He took a small breath.
"After graduation… I'm leaving."
Silence.
Like someone had pressed pause on the whole room.
"…What?" Liam said first.
Ethan continued.
"I'm going to London. To continue my studies."
Jake blinked. "London… like… UK London?"
"Yes."
"For how long?" Emma asked quietly.
Ethan hesitated for a second.
"…Four years."
This time—
The silence hit harder.
Nena's smile dropped completely.
Liam leaned back slowly like he needed a moment to process it.
Jake just stared at him.
"Four years??" he repeated. "That's not small oh!"
Emma looked down at her plate, suddenly not hungry anymore.
Luca let out a low whistle. "That's… far."
Mr. Ronson nodded slowly, thoughtful. "That's a big step."
Mrs. May looked at Ethan with a soft but worried expression.
Mark glanced at me.
And I—
I couldn't breathe properly for a second.
Four years.
That word echoed in my head.
Four years without him here.
Four years of… nothing being the same.
My hands tightened slightly around my fork.
"Why?" Nena asked softly. "Why now?"
Ethan looked down briefly, then answered.
"My sister… Seraphina."
Everyone listened.
"She studied in London," he continued. "She told me about it… encouraged me. Said it would be good for me."
Jake exhaled sharply. "So you just decided and that's it?"
"It's not sudden," Ethan said. "I've been thinking about it."
Liam shook his head slowly. "And you didn't tell us?"
Ethan didn't answer immediately.
That silence said enough.
Emma finally spoke, her voice small. "Four years is a long time…"
Nena nodded quietly. "It is."
Jake leaned back, running a hand through his hair.
"Bro… that's crazy."
Luca muttered, "Things are really changing…"
Mark stayed quiet.
But I could feel his eyes on me.
I couldn't look at Ethan.
If I did—
I knew my face would give everything away.
So I forced a small smile.
"Oh… that's… nice," I said.
Nice?
Seriously?
My voice sounded normal.
Too normal.
But inside—
Everything felt heavy.
Like something was slowly sinking.
Ethan looked at me.
Really looked this time.
Like he was trying to read something I was hiding.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "It is."
But his voice didn't sound convinced.
The table slowly started talking again—
But it wasn't the same.
The laughter didn't hit as hard.
The energy had shifted.
And all I could think was—
Four years…
That's not just time.
That's distance.
That's change.
That's…
Everything ending and starting again without him here.
I kept eating quietly.
Pretending I was okay.
Pretending it didn't matter.
Pretending my chest didn't feel tight.
But deep down—
I already knew.
Tomorrow wasn't just the last exam.
It was the beginning of goodbye.