I hope you're okay with this, sorry for the lack of dialog. I honestly tried, and talking just doesn't fit with fics like this... Plus it's super short. ; ~;

Also, thank you for those of you who applied! I'm really excited for writing your oneshots, but my writing style is a bit different from most writers on here, so I apologize beforehand if it doesn't suit your taste.

When Autumn Ends

Hana sighs a puff of visible mist into the cold air. Her fingers are still freezing even inside her gloves and she stuffs her hands into the pockets of her sweater, feet crunching over leaves as she walks.

Four months, it’s been four months since her break up with her boyfriend. The separation had been completely random and just didn’t make sense to her. They were nearly perfect, happy and loving each other for years until he just decides to end it all, chasing after some dream and leaving her heartbroken and confused.

Hana still loves him though; can’t help but love him. The image of Jay’s slanted eyes and contagious smile is still imprinted so vividly in her mind, it’s hard for her to forget. Her heart aches at the slight possibility of him thinking of her too, of Jay still caring and loving her.

She shakes her head, eyes drawn to the orange, brown and red leaves beneath her feet. The sound of children’s laughter reaches her hears and Hana knows that she has subconsciously wandered into one of the most crowded parks.

The path she walks on cuts behind the park, lined with nearly bare trees, and filled with pedaling bikers and strolling couples.

She almost can’t handle how obviously in love every pair sounds as they murmur sweet nothings to each other while they pass. The endearing looks and hushed whispers are so familiar, Hana could clearly remember the times Jay would drag her out of her house or work and onto this very pathway just to see her.

Blinking away the tears that blur her eyes, Hana has to remind herself that she’s out in public to keep them from falling. She brings up a hand to wipe at a few tears that manage to escape, letting out a slow, shaky breath.

When she lifts her head, she immediately freezes, her thoughts jumble in a haze and she’s once again blinking, this time in shock, just to make sure she’s not imagining this. That Park Jay isn’t just standing right in front of her, staring directly back, like seeing her after all that’s happened isn’t such a huge deal.

“Hey.” He says, his voice reaching the small distance between them.

Hana lets out an audible gasp, mouth closing shut. She can’t even speak. There’s a whistle of the wind and the rustling of leaves on pavement before she manages a soft “Hello.”

Jay steps closer, four strides that bring him within arm’s length and Hana hesitates for a second, contemplates just running off and forgetting everything. Because she’s feeling such a rush of emotion; angry for him leaving so abruptly, happiness for him coming back but his indifference effects her the most, tugging on the strings of her heart that still tie her to him.

“So,” Jay begins, “what’s up?”

She almost scoffs, typical Jay to start a conversation that way. “I still love you.” Hana wants to say, but she’s too scared of the outcome, of him leaving again. “Nothing.” She answers, instead.

A gust of wind and Jay nods, “Oh.”

“What about you?” Hana manages to choke out. Her heart feels like bursting and she wants to just spill out everything, wants to say how much she wants to go back to the past where she and him were them.

Jay only shrugs, lifts up an arm and swipes a thumb over her cheek, catching a stray tear.

“We. Do you – I still –” Hana forces out, eyes looking pleadingly at him. She’s shaking and she knows it’s not from the cold. She inhales sharply, because she needs to know; she’s tired of crying herself to sleep every night.

Then, Jay winces, his arm falling back to his side and that ridiculous pink lanyard hanging from the pocket of his jeans, swaying in the wind. Hana finds she can’t look at Jay, eyes fixed on the object at his next words.

“I’m sorry.”

It’s all he says; an apology, so empty sounding with the lack of explanation, the almost nonexistent ounce of sincerity of two simple words whispered harshly against the wind. A quick glance at his face and Hana sees the little amount of pain shining in his eyes before he turns.

She knows then, that it’s over completely and fully, yet it leaves her feeling so hollow, colder than before as she watches him walk away.

Between them, the last autumn leaf falls.