Graduation came with confetti, tears, and an overwhelming sense of everything ending—and everything just beginning. Athena and Mason walked across their separate stages, diplomas in hand, but their eyes found each other even from across rival schools.
They were no longer Lincoln and Ridgeway.
They were just Athena and Mason.
And this summer… it was theirs.
---
The first days of freedom felt surreal. No more practices. No more uniforms. No more Brooke or rival chants or sneaking around. Athena spent mornings helping her mom around the house and afternoons lying on the hood of Mason's truck under the sun, lost in dreams and playlists they built together.
They worked part-time jobs—Athena at a local bookstore, Mason at his uncle's garage—saving for the big move to New York.
But their evenings? Those were sacred.
Late-night drives with the windows down. Lake swims under the stars. Road trips to nowhere. Laughing until they couldn't breathe. Talking about the future like it was already here.
---
One weekend in July, Mason took Athena on a surprise camping trip. Just the two of them. A borrowed tent, a small firepit, and a sky so full of stars it felt like magic.
Lying beside her on a blanket, he traced circles on her arm. "Do you ever get scared?"
She looked up at the sky. "Terrified."
"Of what?"
"Of losing this. Of losing you."
He rolled onto his side, meeting her eyes. "You won't. I'm not going anywhere."
Athena searched his face. "Promise?"
He kissed her forehead gently. "Forever kind of promise."
---
By August, their apartment lease in New York was signed.
One bedroom, tiny kitchen, creaky old floors—but it was theirs. Mason bought a mini fridge magnet that said "No place like home" and stuck it up the second they moved in.
Their parents hugged them goodbye with teary eyes. Brooke didn't say a word, though Athena later got a text that simply said: "Don't screw it up." Surprisingly, Athena smiled at it. She wasn't mad anymore.
She was just… ready.
---
The night before their first college classes, Athena sat on the fire escape, feet dangling over the edge as the city lights blinked below. Mason came up behind her, wrapping a blanket over her shoulders.
"You nervous?" he asked.
She nodded. "A little."
"You know what I keep thinking about?"
"What?"
"That first game. The one where I tackled your mascot, and you flipped me off from the sidelines."
Athena laughed. "That was your big moment?"
"No," he said, grinning. "The big moment was realizing that the girl flipping me off would become the love of my life."
She turned, heart full. "You mean that?"
He nodded. "Every word."
And in that moment, New York didn't feel so big.
Because they had each other.
And they were just getting started.