I focus on where I want to go, pulling the memory forward with its invisible threads. My forehead creases in concentration, this is the farthest I have ever attempted to go. The memory slowly appears in the blackness of my mind's-eye. Colours coming first, then a blur of shapes; the black edges of my vision slowly disappearing as the memory comes into focus. I give another mental tug, and then I see him; his eyes the same smokey blue, his blonde hair shorter than I remember. His lips are moving, asking me something that I remember but cannot hear. “…will you be my date?” His words break through to me and I am there.

My body feels strange, foreign. My heart is beating a mile a minute and I feel excited, but I don't know why. He closes his locker and turns to stare deep into my eyes. There is hope written clearly on his face as he waits for my answer. Déjà vu washes over me in a dizzying wave. I close my eyes trying to shake my confusion.

My former path swims behind my eyes and I remember why I’m here. I clench my hands into fists at my sides to stop myself from reaching out to him. I know I have to walk away now, turn away from those stormy eyes and choose a new path - one where he won’t know me. I squeeze my lids tighter and my heart skips a beat as the fear of that empty, unknown road grips me with a pain so deep I have to clutch my hand to my chest to hold myself together. I know what I have to do, but I will miss him.