No Plagiarism!q7Mzc8jVK8d3osK0T8xtposted on PＥNAＮＡ

Eli throws himself back in his chair, one hand to his head and the other limp across the chair’s arm. The box falls out of his grip and clatters on the wooden floor. His grandmother’s ring pops out of the box and skitters away from him. The diamonds taunt him in the moonlight.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4zjX4Sp2P
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BLbpvwKWc
“We can’t do this,” Mari said gently, curling his hand over the ring.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvgpbA0toS
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwEAXPga81
The memory makes him shudder. Good thing he did it alone rather than in a crowded location as he was originally planning to.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBgOOnmid1
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡazPM80xZuH
“I love you,” he said.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6R9g8YeGZ
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Tu9pJaz7z
“I love you too.” She stared at the flame of the candle between them. “But…how can we get married when you aren’t old enough to drink at your own bachelor party? Are we supposed to pop open a bottle of apple cider?”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6z24NCDQZ
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQmocZj2z4
“I didn’t know drinking was that important to you,” he said stiffly, running his pinky along the rim of his water glass.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzXgZCiKmS
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Y1zalsDjL
“It isn’t that,” Mari said. “It’s what being able to drink represents.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4xTcnMAgX
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kzf8WzUvW
“And what’s that?” he asked, knowing he wasn’t helping his case by sounding like a petulant child.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNTDJ1vCRX
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUcHxqI6qq
“That you’re an adult,” she said, reaching across the table to put a hand to his cheek. “Which you aren’t yet.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6G4MDamSD1
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJ45YPMKEW
“That’s not what you said last night,” Eli muttered.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7vrtjDGO3
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspSQB0rgpq
She shot him a look and her smile melted away. “I love you, Eli. You know that. But we can’t get married. At the very least, we can’t get married right now.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIVgUxJdPx
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDCaQYpkdo
The table is still set for dinner, even though Mari has long since left. The ice in her water glass has melted. He can still smell the candle wax.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GpTyoFbIb
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmXieIuHiHI
Mari wanted to go to the Epik High concert even more than Eli did. Or rather, Eli wanted to go but had to accept the fact that he couldn’t afford to do everything while studying full-time and working part-time at the university bookstore. But Mari wanted to do everything.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡph4BRgNCd1
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvvMItyi74K
“I can’t go to the concert,” he told her.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnDNWVvzrR
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ17ziAfr5Cz
She bought him a ticket anyway, telling him, “It isn’t a big deal.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe9Dn45Hdtu
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmbARbdZpGP
It’s always been like that. She casually buys him a ticket to something and doesn’t think twice about it. For him, however, each event she pays for becomes a brick on his back. He can’t imagine she’s as fine with it as she seems to be.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgRHBauK8E
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdO7oxVl9p
He has never been sure what bothers him more—being a burden on her or the fact that she isn’t honest about how she feels, that she pretends it’s okay that she has to keep paying for him.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWPxyHlUMO
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxIlmFxEYj
Eli gets up, leaving the ring where it is on the floor and goes out to the balcony. He leans his forearms on the cold metal railing and leans forward, staring up at the sky. His favorite thing about living in a college town is that he can actually see the stars—especially since his apartment is at the top of the hill.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2SLK0S4zQZ
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Q7ipHAhFM
He drops his gaze down toward the school and can even see Bell Hall, the building with the lab where Mari works. There are some lights on, although he’s fairly certain Mari isn’t there right now. She’s probably soaking in a hot bath—probably reading to calm her nerves after rejecting Eli’s proposal.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdEIi9vgpD
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7uiWc6UOP
He grips the railing and leans back, eyes turned upward again. The night breeze pushes his hair off his forehead.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRbXTQr3Ri
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rdo3nmel0
He went to the lab with her once, but only once. Mari had needed to stop by and start an experiment before they headed out on a date. He had trailed in after her, wanting to see what she did and just wanting to be in her presence.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXigQOPzxkX
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD6JIKSGa2q
One of her coworkers stopped by to talk to her and glanced at Eli questioningly.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJ05NJz4Q2
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMR17oTFmMO
“Alan, this is my boyfriend, Eli,” Mari said.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnFTHPR4iu2
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFoRnq9REk
“So, Eli, what do you do?” Alan said as they shook hands.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS691tW7NT9
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQW89lln5zE
“Are you really going to pester my boyfriend right now?” Mari said, taking Eli’s arm and tried to pull him away.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPkn1gG9ce
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJd4EpyIEg8
“Pester him? I’m just trying to be polite,” Alan said. “Is his job top secret or something?”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcIW1lRAhQ
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdER91esy1G
Mari’s lips were pressed together. Clearly she had never told her coworkers she’d met her boyfriend while she was a graduate student T.A. for his undergrad biochem class.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6twRJqwsxu
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzlwoo3tVG
“I’m a student,” Eli said, suddenly wanting to leave the lab and head out to their movie.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpzWY18ifYv
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIcQrRBVPi
“PhD? What do you study?” Alan said.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICssE3puPD
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk48EmesYkj
“No, not a PhD student,” Eli said, his neck and cheeks starting to heat up. He couldn’t meet Mari’s gaze.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeM184gX8Qb
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEX8z44PCEQ
“Oh, Master’s then?” 210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwRJ4NWX4z
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQM7HQAWCi
“Actually, I’m an undergrad,” Eli said.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2WJ890jze
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0XqGLUhB6
“Oh.” Alan looked at Mari and then back at Eli. “Well, it was good to meet you, man.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPIp253YQE
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJIsKnXt1Nb
Eli followed Mari in silence. He could feel something like embarrassment or shame rising off of her, but she turned around and placed a hand on his forearm, forcing a gentle smile.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3OfKGnqlqV
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVMlMtP6eF
“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “This is just because of your age. One day, you’ll catch up to me—maybe even pass me—and it won’t matter. We’ll forget there was ever a time like this.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK85HY4uAtW
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dgpwDIC6V
Eli sighs. Crickets chirp in time with the twinkling of the stars. As he stares up absently, a giant meteor falls. He watches it streak across the sky, getting brighter and brighter and brighter until the blazing light fills the sky, fills his vision, fills his mind.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9kNvowAkC
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFaOHNNkZz
He blinks. He’s in the living room of an apartment. There are no lights on, and the time reads 2:57 a.m. on a digital clock with green numbers—just around the time he was standing outside. 210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQfy7liirs
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4Tz4kDth5
He realizes with surprise that there’s something in his hand. It’s a piece of a rock. He would think it’s a dream, but the rock smells like metal and fire. It’s warm. Eli brings it to his face. 210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzX9XfzMWS3
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPNUwmgB86
He doesn’t see how it’s possible, but he wonders if it’s a part of a meteor—maybe the meteor he just saw.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbFg7fqaBCA
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqifG0Da6eR
He surveys the apartment. It’s bland and undecorated, but the wooden dining table seems ready to splinter under the weight of open textbooks and notebooks. A closed MacBook charges, precariously close to a half-finished mug of coffee. Eli leans forward and looks at the notebook, immediately recognizing the handwriting.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3jtq3ufzH
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZl0Kw08sE
It isn’t possible.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGg9kpFrzy8
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wuLdxmZF9
He glances toward a closed door that he assumes is a bedroom and makes his way over warily, quietly pushing it open. There’s a bed on the other side, up against the wall. Moonlight streams directly upon the sleeping form. Her back is turned, and even if it weren’t for the dark hair ribboning across the pillow, he still would have recognized her.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRbkSc1SlG
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8EK65VcDY
He creeps closer—she’s a notoriously light sleeper—and takes a better look. She shifts in her sleep slightly, as though she can sense she has a visitor. And then he sees her face. Mari looks pretty much the same as she did when he saw her a few hours ago, only more vulnerable. There are streaks of lavender in her hair, starting at her scalp and traveling out. Her bangs are shorter, settling on her closed eyelids. There’s still a hint of baby softness that hasn’t yet melted away to reveal the sultry cheekbones in the Mari he loves.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFG94BEVaNu
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdbVAgQMSD
Eli presses a button on her phone, illuminating the screen, to see the date. Five years ago to the day.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZY3GpRmyzX
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCG1a8x4Xy
If this is right, if this isn’t a dream of some sort, he’s seeing her when she was the same age as he is now. He looks at the meteor, still in his hand. He isn’t sure how he knows this, but he’s suddenly sure the meteor was his ticket here and will be his ticket back to his year.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhnT4gYv8E
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhpaiIXGE9
But he has an idea. Now that he’s here, why not stay? He’ll age with her, and she will no longer be five years older than him. He’ll make it work, somehow—find a way to survive as a twenty-year-old in this year, stage a run-in with her. She’ll fall in love with him again, but they’ll be on equal ground.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEHaMLoswM
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBqxVmHBY0
Sliding the little meteor piece into his pocket, he takes a deep breath, excitement mounting at the thought of starting again with her at the same age—even if she is still a month older. They’ll have five more years together than they would have otherwise.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8rkbL7MOP
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjxmhsBlvgu
“Is this really want you want?” Mari asked him multiple times, a shrewd look on her face. “With me five years older than you, you do realize things might need to happen five years faster than you want them to, right?”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSU4V81x9Wt
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KFgsDUPsq
“Like what?” he said.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfB2XubQnfk
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNrRCXr23hj
“Getting married, having kids,” she said.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUP6zRHZ8J
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWaOyp2c4j
“Well, good thing you warned me about it now,” Eli said. “Now I’m mentally prepared.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWEJGIk4YBA
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbuweLyjXFV
“Seriously, though,” she said. “Don’t you want someone your age?”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaXKgojBZRr
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUoXrsYXgb
Eli sits cross-legged on the floor beside her bed, deflating instantly. If he stays here isn’t he finding someone his own age. He told her he didn’t care about their age difference. And he doesn’t, really. He presses the heels of his hands to his eyes, feeling a little dizzy as if he just got off a rollercoaster.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXUpc5llTN
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR27gBF9Rm7
“I can’t believe you’ve never ridden a rollercoaster before,” Eli said.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqaqDXKdoK
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaixcOx0xb
Mari gripped his hand, her nails digging into his skin. Her eyes were wide, focused on the car that sped by thunderously. The riders’ screams seemed to hover in the air behind them.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrsYVg8vBT
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIN01NQ64U
“Well,” she said. “I guess this is all part of our goal of making new memories together.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxEiashTqK
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAdfcbDGqEp
This Mari sleeping in front of him doesn’t have that memory of riding the rollercoaster with him. She doesn’t have any of the memories they’ve created over the past two years. The situation would be unbalanced with him knowing her soul even as she tries to discover his.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW86piG54re
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpccVwIKQUP
Eli takes the meteor out of his pocket. It seems like it’s getting warmer. He stands up and looks at her again, a little sad at the thought of a future that can never be. Taking his chance, he leans forward and presses a kiss to her forehead, just above her left eyebrow. Even five years ago, she used the smell shampoo she uses in the present.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbWQPF58H1
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCSRDHUfT69
Mari stretches and blinks blearily at him. He knows she was almost blind pre-LASIK. This Mari can barely see anything without her glasses or contacts. He must be just a blonde-haired outline to her, too indistinct for her to even tell he’s Korean under that blonde hair.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5A53uqpGC
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8kWEyBUe2R
“Who are you?” she murmurs.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVuU2OLIHX
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzaO4f7NCQ
He thinks about it for a moment and speaks softly to keep from waking her up completely. “I’m someone you haven’t met yet—someone you’ll meet in the future and fall in love with, but not quite as deeply as I’ll fall in love with you.”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZTjgYaTY2
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy10P9IP8dc
“Why?” Her voice is still groggy, eyes half-closed.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RovKCPgf3
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8N5UG7FTol
“Because I’m younger than you,” Eli says, gently putting a finger to her cheek. “It’ll bother you, and I think you won’t believe me when I say just how much I love you. But I love you, and only you, and especially you when you’re five years older than me. Don’t forget it, okay?”210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGafkws87OZ
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOQrjOCkFGU
He holds his pinky out to her. She curves her own pinky around his. Her skin is almost as warm as the meteor.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE19WigBSLj
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeP34YEThjT
“Okay.” Her voice is nearly gone now as she sinks back into sleep.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJ3CZZMNyu
210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbESKb4nWON
He holds the meteor in his palm as it burns more fiercely, watching this Mari and thinking about the Mari waiting for him back in his present.210Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMecxsjiITo
copyright protection206ＰＥＮＡＮＡrtNUKB1Q6L

54.85.57.0

ns54.85.57.0da2