Just a disclaimer before we begin...

The plot and the whole storyline throughout this book are purely a work of fiction. Any associations or resemblances to any historical records, names, characters, businesses, places and/or incidents are purely coincidental.

I also wanted to take this opportunity and explain everything in a little more detail. This book will not be a substitute for Briella's Crush. I am planning to keep Briella's Crush a totally separate project to this.

Recently, I have been looking into ways that will improve the storyline of BC (Briella's Crush), as I have come across and uncovered something brand new. It's this new book, Until July. To those who have read Briella's Crush, you will recognise some of the characters that will appear in Until July.

I hope this will all make more sense when I begin publishing chapters, but that's what I wanted to point out!

Without further ado - and sorry I kept this so vague!

I hope you enjoy my story!

It was Valentines Day, both Briella and Nadia went out to the nearby dance that was held every year for Valentines Day.

"Can you remind me of the reason for why exactly we are here, Nadia? Because, from what I can remember, we weren't asked out for by anyone!".

"Sure, we have still come here, regardless of whether or not we were asked out or not. Besides, who knows? We might find someone tonight! I am sure that there are many lonely souls, just like us, out and about. Blending in with the crowd," Nadia replied.

Little to Briella's knowledge, Nadia was right.

"May I ask, what's such a beautiful lady like yourself doing all alone on Valentines Day?" A deep voice caught Briella's attention. Turning around, she saw a tall, handsome guy facing her. A small smile stretched across his lips.

"I don't really have a Valentine this year... In fact, I don't even know why I agreed to come here, but hey, here I am..." Briella replied. She was just about to thank him for his compliment when suddenly his voice was heard once again.

"Wait, like no Valentine... at all?".

Briella shook her head as a reply. "Nope.".

"Well..." he began. "Perhaps... I can change that. What do you say?".

"What are you implying by that?".

"Well...". He bowed down right before her. "Would you like to dance with me?... I'd like to be your Valentine this year.".

That Valentines night was when Briella met her boyfriend, Dylan, and instantly fell in love with him.

-----------------------------

Months passed with them both together. It was also in those months that Briella couldn't help but feel something. A feeling that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

But as always, Briella brushed it off.

Very soon, the count down began. The count down to the number of days Briella and Dylan had together. That was... until Dylan had to leave for University.

---------------------------

Loud bangs rattled the sky.

"Oh no, we are going to miss the fireworks!!" Briella shouted out, sprinting.

"Can't we just stay and watch them from here?" Dylan questioned, in turn, Briella stopped for a brief moment before turning around and facing him.

"I want us to get under the cherry blossoms. I want to see the petals fall from the trees, fall all around us. Fireworks crackling in the sky. I want this to be a moment I will never forget...".

Dylan's eyes widened ever so slightly at her words.

Turning around, she spoke, "Now, come on!!". A smile grew on her lips as she continued to race against time to the cherry blossoms.

But by the time they reached the trees...

Silence. The only thing audible was the crickets and any other life that surrounded them.

"We missed them...". The smile that was once present on her lips, faded away...

Dylan noticed this. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he pulled her closer to him. "Don't look so down... They were just fireworks anyway. I'm sure we will witness them, together, next time, right?".

His words managed to put - a sheepish, but nonetheless - a smile back on her lips. "Right.".

Little did she know... there wouldn't be a next time...

----------------------

Summer...

Time was running out...

"What will happen to us when you leave?" Briella asked.

"Nothing will happen. We will try to make it work out, okay?". Briella tried to believe his words... but they seemed... unpromising.

"I-I hope so..." was what she managed to mutter out.

"But let's now get bogged down about me leaving, okay? We still have weeks before I have to leave...". A short pause. "Say..." Dylan started. "Take a picture of us both.".

"A-a picture? Now?".

"Yeah, right now.".

"O-okay.". With that, Briella took her phone out.

With a smile, she captured a picture of them both before she showed it to Dylan. He replied with a smile of approval.

"You look beautiful as always..." he spoke lowly.

From there, silence took over between the two.

"Why don't you put it as your home screen... that way, whenever you feel in doubt, you can look at the two of us, happy...". Though his words were sweet, they cause pain to course through Briella. "We will have another moment just like this when I come back...".

With that, they both walk off into the sunset, heading home.

---------------------------

Both Briella and Dylan were in their final embrace.

"Don't cry..." he whispered. But it's his words that caused even more tears to fill Briellas' eyes. "We will talk over the phone... Okay?".

She nodded against him.

"I have to go now, otherwise I'll be late...". And with that... he broke their embrace and left. Her eyes remained on Dylan as he turned away from her.

'I hope you will come back to me...' Briella thought to herself, her eyes still on him. 'Goodbye...'.

He continued walking, further and further away from her.

---------------------------------

Both Briella and Nadia laid on the grass. The sun was sinking down, ti showed off a pretty glow. Across from them was the wide river, which accommodated boats upon boats and ships upon ships that either made their way to- or headed out from the big nearby port.

It has been a few days...

"How is he?" Nadia asked.

"He..." Briella began. "He hasn't contacted me yet...".

"What?!".

"It must be all the work in the Uni... it has to be it..." Briella replied.

A quiet sigh was heard from Nadia. "Giving him the benefit of the doubt?".

"I... want us to succeed... You know?".

"I understand," Nadia replied.

With that, silence descended between them both.

Briella looked up into the cloudy sky, seconds passed before the wind picked up. "The sky is barely visible from all the clouds...".

"They did say the weather wasn't going to be good for the next few days," Nadia responded.

Then, an airplane in the sky caught Briella's gaze.

'I want us to work out...'. From there, the plane that flew hid behind all the scattered clouds. A frown formed on her lips.

'But... I can't help but think otherwise...'.

On the phone with Dylan, her eyes widened.

"A-are you breaking up with me?" she tried to project her voice as much as she could, but the lump in her throat limited her in doing so - at least in speaking clearly.

The silence on the other end lasted for a good few seconds before his answer was finally heard. "Yes...".

His reply hurt more than she expected it to. It sent a punch right through her heart, but it caused her stomach to turn.

Despite what she felt, she swallowed whatever was in her mouth before asking, "W-why are you breaking up with me?". She took in a deep breath. "Did I do something wrong?". Along with the pain in her throat, a few tears managed to break the barrier and roll down her cheeks.

"No..." Dylan began. "It's... it's nothing got to do with you.".

"Then why?". Her voice quivered. "Why are you breaking up with me?".

A silent sigh was heard from the other end. "L-look... many, many kilometres separate both you and me. I don't see how we will work out...".

"But you said we will make it work!". Briella was all too overwhelmed with her emotions to realise that she raised her voice. She was forced to feel the lump in her throat only grow in pain.

"How was I to know how everything would turn out, huh!? I didn't know how it would feel to be at such a great distance from you. I have never been in a long-distance relationship. It irritates me as to how you could be so naive and gullible to believe that something like us would have even survived...". Briella's eyes widen at his words. In all their months together, Dylan never said anything that came as close to being as foul as this. It only caused more and more tears to flow down her face.

'H-he didn't say that... he couldn't have said that... is this all a nightmare?' Briella thought to herself.

"L-look... I am sorry... I really am," Dylan spoke.

"You are sorry?". It was almost as if Briella laughed at his words. She mocked them. "You lied to me! You said how we will try, the both of us, to make it work out!". It was those words that caused her lump to hurt more than it ever did, in turn, it forced her to pause for a second or two. "I believed you...".

Silence followed.

"Well..." Dylan began. "That's on you. Not me...". Briella couldn't believe the words she just heard.

She was about to say something when a foreign was heard in the back. "Babe, come on, we are going to be la-". A pause. "Oh, are you talking to someone?".

Another sigh was let out by Dylan. "I have to go now. Again, I am sorry... I hope life treats you well...".

Before Briella could have even thought of a reply, Dylan hung up.

His voice was to be replaced with a beep or two before her home screen lights up. Not knowing any better, she kept her phone by her ear. She was trying to digest what just happened.

But the more she tried to make sense of it all and accept the reality of the situation, the more surreal it all became.

'A nightmare! This is all just a nasty nightmare, right??? All I have to do is wake up. Wake up, turn on my phone and look at the home screen.'. It was only then that she lowered her phone from her ear.

She looked down at her phone, at the picture of them both... somewhat happy. They may have been somewhat happy, but at least back then... they were still together.

More tears swell in Briella's eyes before they all flow down her face, a few dropping onto her phone.

She kept her eyes on the picture of them both, it all began to become blurry from the accumulation of all the tears in her eyes. Then, without her will, Dylan's words began to come back to her. The reason why she placed that exact picture as her screen saver. '...that way, whenever you feel in doubt, you can look at the two of us, happy...'.

"Happy?" She asks herself. "Is this what you call 'happy'?".

'We will have another moment just like this when I come back...'.

"Now... now I know that you never will come back to me...". From there, she closed her eyes, allowing a few more tears down her face.

"Please let all of this be a nightmare..." she whispered under her breath before taking a pillow of hers into her embrace. But despite her wish, and despite her not being able to comprehend what just happened, Briella knew all too well that this was real...

She dug her head into the pillow that's in her hands. It was then that she finally lets out all the emotions that have built up in her in a form of helpless, painful, lonely sobs.

She cursed her mind as it instantly rewinded memories of them both before he went off to university. All the memories were recapitulated just like a movie. The only premier that showed their last month together, their last week together, their last day, all the way to the last hour they spent together.

She got reminded of how that embrace at the airport felt before he let her go. Thinking back over it now, no wonder why it felt like it was their very last one.

All of these painfully-precious only caused more tears to rush out of her eyes as her painful sobs remained in their place between the four walls of her room. The heartbreak began to spread like a wildfire and it had no intention of stopping any time soon.

The words of irony that were once words of promise break her even further.

For the first time ever since she let out her avalanche of emotions, Briella turned her head and looked down at her floor. Everything was blurry from the number of tears still present in her eyes.

She swallowed whatever was in her mouth before muttering under her breath...

"You said... and you lied...".