The prom noise didn't fade right away.
It followed Andrea even when she stepped outside.
Even when she left Matthew behind for a moment.
Even when she tried to breathe normally again.
Everything felt too bright.
Too loud.
Too final in a way she couldn't explain.
Matthew found her near the entrance a few minutes later.
Smiling.
Still on that prom-king high.
He reached for her hand.
"So…" he said softly, "we're official now, right?"
Andrea looked at him.
At his excitement.
At the hope in his eyes.
At everything she used to think she wanted.
And something inside her… didn't move.
Not toward him.
Not toward Samuel.
Not toward Tom.
Just… inward.
Andrea gently pulled her hand back.
Matthew blinked.
"What?"
She looked down at the ground for a second.
Like she was searching for words she'd never been taught.
"I thought…" she started quietly.
Matthew waited.
Andrea swallowed.
"I thought if I got this, it would fix something."
Silence.
Matthew's smile faded slightly.
"Fix what?"
Andrea exhaled.
Then looked up.
And for the first time all night—
she didn't look at any boy.
Not in her mind.
Not in her heart.
"I don't know how to be okay when someone leaves," she admitted.
Matthew went quiet.
Andrea's voice softened.
"And I kept thinking if someone chose me… it would stop hurting."
She shook her head slightly.
"But it doesn't."
A long pause.
Matthew looked confused now.
"Andy…"
Andrea gave a small, sad smile.
"You were never the problem."
That hit him harder than anything else.
Because it meant something worse.
He just wasn't the answer.
The noise of the prom faded again.
But this time, Andrea didn't replace it with another person.
She replaced it with a place.
Still water.
Cold air.
Rain hitting the surface.
Šachta.
Her escape.
Her silence.
Her truth when everything else became too loud.
She remembered sitting there alone.
Not being chosen.
Not being watched.
Not being pulled between anyone.
Just existing.
And for the first time in her life—
that didn't feel like loneliness.
It felt like peace.
Matthew stepped closer again.
Careful.
"Do you not want this?" he asked quietly.
Andrea looked at him.
And this time… she didn't hesitate.
"I don't think I know what I want anymore," she said honestly.
Matthew frowned.
"That's not an answer."
Andrea nodded.
"I know."
Another pause.
Then she took a breath.
"I can't keep using people to feel okay."
Matthew's eyes softened.
Slowly understanding.
"So what are you saying?"
Andrea looked down at her hands.
Then smiled faintly.
A real one.
But different.
Not romantic.
Not nervous.
Just… free.
"I'm choosing something else."
Matthew blinked.
"What?"
Andrea looked up again.
And this time her voice was steady.
"I'm choosing me."
Silence.
Matthew didn't interrupt.
Didn't push.
Didn't argue.
He just stood there.
And for the first time—
Andrea saw him let go of something gently.
Not anger.
Not heartbreak.
Just acceptance.
"…Okay," he said quietly.
And that was it.
Andrea walked away from the prom lights.
From the music.
From the crown.
From all the versions of herself she had been trying to become for other people.
Outside, the night air hit her face.
Cold.
Real.
Alive.
She took out her phone.
Opened her notes.
Typed just one word:
Šachta.
Then she added another line beneath it:
I'm going back.
Not as escape.
Not as sadness.
But as return.
To herself.
Andrea didn't end up with Matthew.
She didn't end up with Samuel.
She didn't end up with Tom.
She didn't end up being chosen.
Because for the first time—
she chose.
And in that quiet space between who she was and who she was becoming…
Andrea Paisley finally stopped running.
Not toward someone.
But toward herself. 💔❤️🩹
THE END.