Chapter Text
After dinner at his house, Wyatt and Maysilee hang out on the front porch. The hot and humid summer night air around them is comfortable, if not a bit suffocating. They're quiet. Thinking about what tomorrow holds for them. For Maysilee, summer vacation just started and she will be working full day shifts at the sweetshop until Junior year starts in late August. For Wyatt, tomorrow means going to the coal mine's hiring office and signing some paper giving his life away so other people can get richer, when he'll just be coal stained and sweaty, getting his back hurt and slowly losing any intelligence he has from the hard physical labor and lack of intellectual stimulation. He's not looking forward to any of it. But he doesn't know how to fix that. He's been bound to this fate for as long as he can remember. It's never been about what Wyatt wants.
However, he knows one thing for certain. Maysilee. He wants her. The only girl that had ever talked to him without thinking he was just a loner math nerd. She had dug deeper and discovered he's just a shy boy with a kind heart. He had found out her secrets too, what made her recoil in shame and what scared her. He's interested in learning about what she likes and he loves seeing how her eyes shine when she talks about her fashion or crafting hoobies.
Her past doesn't matter to him. All that matters is her hand in his and her voice asking if he's okay when he goes too quiet on accident.
They're sitting close, sides and legs all pressed up. Their bare calves are touching, a bit sticky in the early summer heat. Her head is on his shoulder.
Earlier, she had laughed at him when he had changed out of the slacks he wore for graduation into cargo shorts because of the heat. What other options did he have? he had asked, and she had just called him cute between her tears of laughter. That had made his ears redden. Then, he'd called her cute too, as revenge, but that hadn't worked in the intended way. It had only filled her eyes with something he had never seen before. Hunger?
Hands entangled on top of their laps, Maysilee speaks up quietly.
“So what now? What are we?”
Wyatt thinks for a little while.
“Well, you're still my best friend, if you're fine with that title,” he starts. Maysilee nods against his shoulder.
“But also, I'm so, so in love with you,” he says in a low voice, unable to stop the shy grin from appearing on his lips from ear to ear.
Maysilee feels the same, but the words have trouble forming in her brain and passing her lips. Her stomach is full of twists and knots. She rubs her head against his shoulder like how a kitten would express affection.
Wyatt lifts up her head with a hand under her chin and cups her cheek.
It's the most pure and delicate kiss they've shared yet. Parting away, they keep their faces close, eyes having trouble focusing.
“I love you too,” Maysilee whispers in the tiniest voice, “I don't know what I'm going to do without you.”
“You'll be okay, promise,” Wyatt says.
He digs in his pocket for a piece of paper.
“Here,” he says, “that's the house address, and the landline number. Drop by or call anytime. As soon as I start getting paid, I’m saving up for a cell phone, then we'll be able to talk more,” he gives a small bittersweet smile.
“Good idea,” says Maysilee as she blinks hard to repress tears. “Give me the pen.” He obliges.
She writes her house's landline phone number on a white part of the paper and tears it off before handing it to Wyatt.
“Thanks.” His heart is already starting to chip into little pieces. She puts her head back on his shoulder.
“I'm gonna miss seeing you everyday in class so much—” he starts but Maysilee cuts him off.
“You don't have to say it. Too painful,” she says in a gravely voice that sounds like she's about to cry.
“Okay, I'll try to be positive, then,” he says, unable to make his voice sound cheerful.
“I wanna say, thank you for this week. I think it genuinely was the best week of my life,” he says in one breath.
“Me too,” says Maysilee as she gently touches the butterfly hanging from her necklace. The one Wyatt gifted her. It's the only one she's wearing anymore since she received it.
Wyatt knows that after tomorrow, there's no knowing when he will see her next. They'll both be busy, with limited access to communication.
He desperately wishes it wasn't like that. But the fates had decided otherwise. All he can do is wait for her, for them. For the time to be right.
He takes her hand back in his, holding it tight. He hopes his love comes through the gesture.
“You know, I didn't think I deserved you. I thought you were too good for me. So thank you, for proving the voice in my head wrong,” he says quietly, referring to his insecurities and fears.
“Wyatt…” Maysilee says, eyebrows knitted together. “There's no way you couldn't deserve me. You're the kindest, sweetest, cutest boy I've ever met. Nobody compares in my eyes.” She squeezes his hand. “Not to mention the smartest, and you always help me out, no matter how silly the situation I accidentally put you in is,” she laughs softly, remembering the time she locked him in the sweetshop, or when he helped out the Christmas Market stall.
“I'd do anything for you, if you haven't caught on yet,” he gets closer, taking his hand out of hers and wrapping his arm around her shoulder, giving her a kiss atop her head. He inhales. Her shampoo smells like lavender.
Maysilee relishes in the warm embrace.
“So we're doing this? Waiting for each other?” she asks, unsure.
“If you'll still take me after you graduate, I'll wait. I'll wait forever,” Wyatt says, a tiny bit of worry in his voice.
“As if I'm ever giving up on you,” Maysilee says in a snarky voice. She continues more seriously.
“You know, I wasn’t ever planning on confessing for that exact reason,” she starts, the butterfly clutched in her hand.
“I was worried about being apart, but now that…” she thinks about how to word it.
“Now that the cat's out of the bag and lucky me, you returned my feelings,” she says, face flushed, “I'm not that worried. I know we'll find our ways back to each other. And like you said, we still live close by, even if we're way busier.” She looks at him as he rubs her shoulder in slow circles.
“Best friends until we feel the time is right?” Wyatt says, gray eyes into sky blue under the moonlight.
“Yeah,” Maysilee sighs. “I'm gonna miss you like crazy. You better not get hurt at work, or I'll ask your mom to call me if that happens. I'll skip school for you,” she rants, putting a smile to his lips.
“I'll miss you too. I'll try to stop by the sweet shop on my day off, if I can,” Wyatt bites his lip, uncertain of what the next day holds for him. It would be lying to say he isn't scared. But knowing that Maysilee will be there for him, waiting, is reassuring.
Her hand under his chin startles him.
“Now, my love, kiss me until I have to go home,” she says with half-lidded eyes.
The sudden pet name throws him for a loop, heart racing, her lips are inching closer. He closes the distance immediately. They kiss until they're breathless, the summer heat suffocating around them, the cicadas singing in the night.
The next two years are excruciatingly long.
Not being able to see Wyatt everyday is tough on Maysilee. It's like going back in time to freshman year when all whom she could cling to was Merri and Asterid. Don't get her wrong, those two are amazing and essential to Maysilee's life, but what Wyatt and her had together was something special. She misses him every single day.
They see each other in glimpses now. His mom sometimes comes to the sweet shop and shares some news. Or they have a once in a blue moon phone call on the landline, talking for a long time until someone else needs the phone and kicks them out.
Wyatt’s as busy as Maysilee had predicted, sadly.
Work both at the mines, and his oddsmaking duties for his family's business take up all his time; he basically has no free time. Rarely, when he has a Sunday off from oddsmaking duties, Maysilee asks if Merrilee can take her shift at the shop and he goes to pick her up. They drive through the town like the good old days. As much as they're dying to, they hold back on the kissing. They're not officially dating now so it feels wrong.
Maysilee is busy too. Junior year does bring a fair share of surprises. She unexpectedly makes friends with Haymitch Abernathy, after being stuck with him as bio-chem partners for the whole school year. Once she becomes a senior, it really gets rough. She studies a lot, in hopes to go to community college. Her, Merrilee and Asterid often spend whole evenings reviewing and quizzing each other. Even if it hurts, to see her even less, Wyatt understands.
He's counting the days until her graduation. They have both been saving money for cell phones, so they can start calling each other more freely. One more paycheck and he'll have enough. Wyatt can not wait for that day.
A week after Maysilee's High School graduation (which he sadly wasn't able to attend,) some of the boys from the Seam that were in her class are hired by the mining company Wyatt works for. They really hire anyone as long as they have a high school diploma. Wyatt meets some guys who are put in the same team he's in.
There's Haymitch, a funny but hardworking guy, Woodbine, a guy with a punk rock vibe, and Blair, a laid back guy. They're all friendly and kind of cling onto him for advice because he's the only one close in age to them. Most of the other dudes are old, about their fathers’ age. They don’t get put off by his bad habit of spouting off numbers about the coal quotas and other amounts they need to stick to, finding him more funny than annoying, which makes Wyatt unbelievably happy.
Haymitch is hosting a joint Fourth of July and birthday party for himself soon. This year, the Fourth is on a Saturday so Wyatt gets the day off. He's happy about having a two day weekend for once when something crosses his mind. Maysilee had been in the same class as Haymitch most of her life. She had blabbered about being his lab partner back in Junior year, if he remembers correctly. Would she be invited to the party? God he hopes so. Seeing her in the flesh for the first time in months might make his heart stop beating. He misses her so much every single day. He often catches himself staring at their prom photo, the one he hides under his clothes in a drawer. How he misses her beautiful face, her smile and her biting remarks about anything around them. She's so effortlessly funny. He sighs as he goes to sleep on the night of July 3rd. Tomorrow, maybe, just maybe he will finally see her.
Maysilee is unsure about this party. At graduation, a month ago, Haymitch had invited her, Merrilee and Asterid to his birthday-Fourth of July party. He'd said it would be just people from their former senior class and a few friends that were a year or two younger too. He had mentioned the possibility of inviting guys he would meet at work when he would start working in the mines the following week, which made Maysilee nervous. Would Haymitch meet Wyatt? The probability isn't nil, but it also isn't guaranteed. Would they make friends enough before Haymitch's party to grant being invited? Making friends isn't Wyatt's forte, but Haymitch is friendly, and talkative enough that he can make friends with anyone, her being example A. All she can do is cross her fingers that he'll be there. If he won't, he'd still have the day off due to the national holiday, so she could call his house phone and see if he wanted to chat.
In her bedroom, Maysilee frets over her outfit. She wants to make sure it's not too much but still cute enough to be party-appropriate. She fixes up her necklaces, putting the clasp of her butterfly one back behind her neck. She adds a blue braided cord with a star charm, for a Fourth of July touch. Not that she cares much about the holiday, she just wants to be on theme. The frayed denim mini-shorts leave her whole leg bare until the lace up sandals on her feet. She had debated painting her toenails red, white and blue yesterday but had judged it too gaudy. The look is finished by a flowy, boho sleeveless top.
“You coming?” Hollers Merrilee from the living room. It's time to go. The twins borrow their father's van to go, because although they both got their licenses a couple of months ago, they still don't have their own car. Maybe in the fall, once they start community college.
Maysilee rushes, stuffing a wallet in her back pocket and a pair of sunglasses down the front of her shirt. The braided hairstyle is already kind of coming loose, but it's okay, boho-chic is on trend.
There's more people than she thought there'd be. Asterid, who they'd picked up down outside the sweet shop, goes straight for Burdock. He's one of Haymitch's friends, a year younger but is a great singer. He already has the guitar out and Maysilee internally groans at the singing around the campfire bullshit she'll surely have to put up with later in the evening. Merrilee leaves her to go get refreshments. In the backyard, there's an outdoor table laid with soda bottles and plastic cups. A big stereo with speakers has been brought outside, the cables running through the grass and between the glass panes of the sliding window of a back door. Maysilee says hi to Haymitch's mom, who gives her a platter of mini sandwiches to bring outside. Maysilee doesn't grumble, and little twelve year old Sid, Haymitch's brother, leads her out. He talks to her about how nervous he is to start middle school soon and she listens half-heartedly, scanning the crowd. There's about thirty people or so. Haymitch is such a people person. Maysilee is glad to know him, because her image at school has greatly improved thanks to him, but does he really have to know and invite this many people? She recognizes Blair, and nods a hi to him. He's a nice guy. He's talking to someone whose back is turned to her.
A boy, tall with broad shoulders. When she sees the curls of his overgrown dark hair, it clicks. He's seemingly wearing the same cargo shorts from that night two years ago, when they'd said they would wait for each other. She hasn't seen Wyatt in almost four months. It was a quick meeting, where they barely had time to speak. Haymitch had dragged her and Merrilee to the Hob, an old gross bar in the Seam. Just because his girlfriend, Lenore Dove, was performing a musical number that night.
A pit had formed in Maysilee's stomach. What if Wyatt was there? She missed him so bad, everyday. And there and behold, he had been there. But they'd barely exchanged greetings when he had been called back to the room where betting took place. He had given her such a sad smile, she had repressed her tears until she had excused herself to the restroom to shed them.
Finally, there he stands, in Haymitch’s backyard, with nothing to stop them from being together for the rest of the day. Maysilee has been dreaming of this for two whole years. As she is about to walk toward him, Blair points to her and Wyatt's head snaps around. Their gazes cross. Like a thunderstorm and a summer cloudless sky meeting. Under the hot sun, it's as if they are lightning struck. She eyes him up and down. She doesn't know if he's actually grown taller, or if not seeing him in the flesh for a while makes him look even more handsome. He's definitely a bit broader in the shoulders, and she peeks some muscle definition under the short sleeves of his plain white t-shirt. His beaten up red converse pair is now a black one. True to himself. He sports a shy smile on his pretty face. He's tanner than when she's last seen him, while she's always ghostly pale. As she gets closer, everything around fades away. The music blaring from the speaker doesn't reach her ears, the people fade into blurs of color. All Maysilee sees is Wyatt, in front of her. Her heart races as much as when she had seen him all dressed up for prom.
He takes some steps towards her too.
When Maysilee reaches for him, he cannot stop himself. Her hands grips at his biceps on each side while his hands wrap around her back. Everything is quiet. He's so enthralled by her being finally in front of him that he forgot they're at a very public event. In Haymitch’s backyard.
Blair, whom Wyatt had been talking to until he had pointed out Maysilee behind, stands there with a confused but curious gaze on them.
Wyatt, still lost in Maysilee's eyes, doesn't register anything. It's her who finally realizes people are staring.
Only when her gaze rips from his does the sound come back to his ears. The music is still blasting but the people's chattering has quieted down. Wyatt wonders why until he notices the eyes on them. Awkward smiles are given as they unglue themselves.
Haymitch gives the perfect distraction from them, as he arrives carrying a big birthday cake with lit up sparklers sticking out from it. Eighteen is a big deal after all. Maysilee takes the opportunity to take Wyatt’s hand. Where they're going, she doesn't know. Somewhere else.
The side of the house is the best option. Against the white crackled siding, Maysilee and Wyatt stare down at each other. They still haven't exchanged a word, but they don't need to. Their eyes and hands do all the talking. It only takes a few minutes under the hot July sun for their resolve to melt. Two years without any physical contact, save from grazes of the hand in the rare car drives they took, is a long time. They simultaneously take a step forward.
Maysilee holds tightly onto Wyatt as if letting go means he'll leave again.
She wants him to stay by her side. Ever since meeting him, she hasn't been whole. He has a part of her heart and she has a part of his.
She inhales hard against his chest, hands desperately gripping at his t-shirt sleeves.
Wyatt presses his face into her hair. It still smells like vanilla and lavender. His head spins while his heart hasn't been this erratic since he had swerved around a deer on the road a few months ago.
It's really warm, even in the shade of the side of the house. Their limbs are sticking, faces sweating.
“I miss you,” Wyatt whispers in her hair as his lips brush her forehead.
Maysilee feels her heart in her throat, words have trouble coming out. The rush of emotions is unbelievable. She almost has to wrestle her way out of his hold on her. Their gazes meet, and it's all she's ever needed.
“Don't you ever leave me again,” she snarls.
“Hey, it was a mutual thing, remember?” he says, not taking her biting tone seriously.
“I regret it so much. I'm never leaving your side again. Two whole years and we were able to see each other like, what? Five times? And like nine phone calls? Nuh-uh, not enough.” The fire inside of her is raging. Her gaze is burning against his.
“We knew it was going to be like that,” reasons Wyatt, although he sees her point.
“It sucked so bad, and you know it, Wyatt. I saw how sad you looked, that time at the Hob.”
He scratches the back of his neck, embarrassed at the memory. He had cried that night, from missing her so damn bad. Seeing her face had made all his love well up to the surface and had broken his heart all over again.
“Yeah,” he admits. Her arms are crossed on her chest. She's pretty when she's angry.
“I miss you everyday. Life is so boring without you.” he says, biting his lower lip.
She stares him down, her flame burning out.
“So take me,” she starts, in a softer tone.
“Keep me, love me,” she begs. “Please.”
Wyatt has never seen Maysilee so emotional before. And the words she speaks are his command. He will take her, keep her, love her, forever if she'll have him. She's not his best friend for nothing.
So his hands reach for her waist again and pull her in close. Mere inches from her face, he speaks up in a quiet voice.
“Maysilee, will you be mine again?” Wyatt asks softly, his gaze flickering between her eyes and lips.
Her voice is barely audible but he's close enough to read her lips.
“Yes.”
Wyatt needs no further confirmation before his lips crash into hers.
Between kisses, Maysilee mumbles something about two years worth of kissing to catch up on, and Wyatt is ready to oblige to the request.
“Haymitch, have you seen Maysilee?” asks Merrilee to the birthday boy. She’s been looking for her sister for a good ten minutes but she’s nowhere to be found.
He shakes his head.
“Last time I saw her, she was with my work friend Wyatt, but it’s been a while. Maybe they hit it off or something,” he shrugs, his sunglasses sliding down his nose.
Now that explains a lot, thinks Merrilee.
Unluckily for him, it’s Haymitch who finds Maysilee first. He’s holding a coiled up hose and he’s about to plug it into the tap in the wall of the house when some suspicious sounds catch his ear. He turns around the corner and a vision of horror unravels before his eyes. Maysilee, his classmate since literal kindergarten, and Wyatt, his new coworker who seemed shy but nice, are tangled up in the yellowing lawn.
“Uuuuuh,” Haymitch cannot stop the sound of confusion from escaping his lips.
Their heads snap up and they both look like a deer in headlights. Flushed, eyes hazy, red marks littering their necks, lips swollen. Haymitch has seen enough. He turns his heels back to go gossiping with Merrilee.
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In such a small town, everyone knows everyone, but Maysilee’s circle isn't very big.
She has her twin sister Merrilee, and sister from another mother Asterid. There's Haymitch and the whole bunch of friends he had brought into their lives. And then, there's Wyatt. Maysilee's one and only love.
Epilogue - 2026
Maysilee clasps the necklace around her throat, adjusting the charm. It's been a recent gift from Wyatt for her birthday. She has a big collection of jewelry, gifted from him over the years. She sprays some perfume and grabs her purse when her daughter's voice pierces her ears.
“Moooooom! Are you coming or what?”
Maysilee sighs. Her nine year old's bad habit of hollering throughout the house definitely comes from her.
In the entryway, she meets Sage and Wyatt. He looks as dashing as ever in his button up, hair still a bit too long.
“See? She takes forever every time,” complains her daughter to her dad.
“It takes time to look this good,” snarks Maysilee, but there's no bite to her comment. Wyatt just smiles, shaking his head and opens the front door.
They are headed to Sage's piano recital, and dinner afterwards. It's Maysilee and Wyatt eleventh year wedding anniversary next weekend so they're having an early celebration.
Sat at dinner, while Sage is coloring her placemat, Wyatt and Maysilee reminisce. This very restaurant is where they had their official first date after reconnecting and not letting the other slip away again. After those grueling, heart breaking two years, they'd realized it was impossible to stay away from each other. They had managed with nightly phone calls, maxing out their data plans, and dates anytime they had lining up free time. It had taken a few years for Wyatt to get the courage to stand up to his father about not wanting to do the odds anymore, and a couple more for Maysilee to graduate community college and admit to her parents that she would rather die than run the sweet shop. Her mother had been pretty mad and disappointed, but Maysilee had bounced back. She runs her own shop now, a tailoring and jewelry store. Most of the jewelry she handmakes herself, and also allows any nearby creators and crafters to display in her shop. Once the store seemed stable enough, Wyatt had quit working at the coal plant to work for his then fiancée, to do the accounting and other background things while Maysilee focused on the clothing and jewelry making.
Their wedding had been the best day of their lives, but had been taken over two years later by the day of birth of their daughter. Who now looks at them with disgust in her eyes, hating the mushy romantic looks her parents are giving each other over their glasses of wine. She's as observant as her dad, with dark blonde hair and cloudy day gray eyes. She gets her scowl and disdain for dirty things from her mother. She loves dressing up in princess costumes with her cousin Madge and is pretty good at piano. Aunty Lenore Dove teaches her weekly. Unsurprisingly, her and Haymitch had tied the knot not too long after High School and had twin boys. Asterid has kids too, two daughters. Maysilee reminds herself to plan for the next playdate.
Wyatt looks at his wife. Her smile is still the most beautiful thing he's ever seen, even after nineteen years of knowing her. He's proud of her accomplishments and of the lives they've made for themselves. They may have not left this town, but things have gotten better around here. And all their family and friends are here, so it’s worth staying. All he really cares about is her, Maysilee, and their daughter of course. They're the light in his life he had never even dreamed of back when he was a teenager. He takes Maysilee's hand over the table. Gazes crossing, they don't need to say it out loud to know what they mean.
I love you.
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The end