"But I'm your best friend," I remind him.

"Yeah, but I'm still not going to show you. Haden meeting you out here?" he asks, looking around.

"No, I needed to get away for a while," I admit.

"You okay?"

I look out into the distance and focus on a tree that looks like a mere speck of something. Finally I lean my head on his shoulder and exhale loudly.

"Remind me again why all of this change is necessary," I say to him.

He puts an arm around me and laughs. "I've never seen you like this. Didn't we knock all the whiny girl things out of you by now? You're supposed to be chill and cool with change. d.a.m.n, I failed you," he deadpans.

I nudge my elbow into his ribs and he feigns discomfort.

"Okay, fine," he drags. "I hate to tell you, kid, but we're growing up. And you're going to have to face the world, with or without us. But I know you, you're going to own it."

"I'm glad you're so sure of it, because right now, for the first time in a really long time, I'm terrified. Terrified of failure, or maybe success. It's safe knowing I have Mom and Dad there to catch me if I fall or to know that I have you guys in my corner if I need it. But I'm not going to have anyone there when I get out to the real world."

"We might not be right there, but you know we always have your back-but I don't think you're going to need it."

"See, that's why you're my favorite," I smile.

"Told you," he says out loud when he hears someone walking toward us. "I'm her favorite."

"She told me the same thing yesterday," Braxton says as he joins us on the rocks.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

"I called your house when you didn't answer your cell, and your mom said you were out here."

She's going to kill me for leaving my phone.

"You ready for tomorrow?" he asks Joey, who simply gives him a single nod. "Good deal."

"What about you? You ready?" I ask him.

"All I have to do is show up and look like this." He raises his arms up to show himself off. "That one has to talk in front of hundreds of people."

"That's true," I agree and look as I turn to look at Joey. "All those people staring at you, hoping you say something funny and inspirational. Are you sure you don't want to read your speech to us to make sure it's good enough?"

"You suck," he says, standing up and dusting off his shorts with a smirk.

"Do I? Because, as your best friend, I think it's my duty to look after you and make sure that you don't make a fool of yourself. I really think you need to let us hear it," I tease and try to reach for the paper.

"She's right. What if it's really bad?" Braxton joins in.

"Then I'll tell everyone y'all switched my epic speech with a piece of garbage that you wrote yourselves. Sabotage," he declares, and I narrow my eyes at him.

"I could write a speech. I could write the h.e.l.l out of a speech, but you'll never get to hear it," I mope jokingly and grab Joey's wrist to look at his watch and note the time.

"Yeah, I told your mom I'd send you home," Braxton says, looking at his own phone screen.

"Let's go," I agree and wait for Joey to join us, but he stays behind.

"I'll call you later. I'm going to stay here a little longer." He winks and waves us off.

"Do you have your valedictory speech with you?" I ask Joey, who looks the picture of calm. He lifts his hand up and flashes the piece of paper that I tried to take last night, and then slips it back in his pocket. When Braxton and I left him last night, I had a feeling he wanted to run through his speech some more.

I could have easily hidden to listen to it, but I figured I'd be a huge jerk if I did that.

"Don't put me to sleep," Cole jokes, and Braxton points at Joey to remind him of his own comments last night.

"Ree, text him every few minutes to make sure he's awake. I wouldn't want him to miss out on my epic speech," he says, to which Ree salutes in response.

"How much longer do we have to stand out here?" Bailey asks. "It's crazy-hot."

"Graduates, please find your place in line. Commencement will begin in two minutes," the princ.i.p.al announces over the megaphone, as if answering the question just for her.

I hurry to pull out my phone so I can get one last picture of everyone. They smile as we squeeze together for a selfie and I check the shot to make sure it looks good. Bailey steps aside and grabs the phone from me to take a shot of me with just the guys and hands it back.

When I look at the picture, it's hard to fight the smile on my face.

This might be my favorite picture ever.

I'm standing between Joey and Braxton with my arms wrapped around their necks. Cole is standing next to Joey lifting his leg in the air with a stupid smile on his face and Haden is next to Brax giving bunny ears.

This is my barmy.

I hug each of my friends and run off to find my place in line, but not before hearing Kasey Daniels decide to get one last jab in at my expense. Of course, because what is the end of high school without your tormentor making her presence known?

"Excuse me?" I ask, giving her a chance to repeat her idiocy.

"Just another perk of graduation: not seeing you anymore."

"I couldn't agree more, Kase. See, the thing is, most of us have grown up and moved on. But you're the same pathetic, sad, mean person you have always been. I hope that someday you do grow up, and hopefully your kids will never experience the h.e.l.l you have inflicted on everyone else. Good luck out there."

I offer my most genuine smile and leave her standing with her jaw open. From this point on, high school and jerks like her are behind me.

I'm moving on and letting go.

The line begins to move and I find my spot, following the cla.s.smate in front of me to our seats on the floor of the arena. The place is packed with parents, siblings, other relatives, and friends-and it's still hot as if the air isn't circulating. Great! I hear my family scream my name, and wave in their direction as I take my place next to two students I've never spent any time getting to know.

When everyone has taken their places and the music is done, the princ.i.p.al stands at the podium to say a few words before introducing Joey. There is light applause as he takes his place and puts his gla.s.ses on so he can read.

He looks calm, but the way he clears his throat and fumbles with the paper tells another story. He takes a deep breath, looks out at the crowd with his trademark smile, and lets out a nervous laugh.

"My fellow cla.s.smates, "For four years, we have been waiting for this day. Freshman year, we realized that our time at South River was limited so we worked hard, although I'm sure some of us played harder. We grabbed high school by the horns and made it our-well... you know what we made it.

In four years, we tried different sports, studied foreign languages, and attempted cla.s.ses that were beyond our comprehension. But through it all we learned-about life and ourselves. Mr. Tredway once told us, 'if you learn one thing, just one, from every teacher you have, you are an educated person,' and I believe that to be true.

"Our teachers have provided life lessons that will carry us through the rest of our lives. Some of us will take their words and apply them in our lives, while others will decide to learn for themselves with firsthand experience. These teachers have spent four years preparing us for the real world and sharing their experiences with us.

"Ms. Brightman made sure we understood how to write an essay that would catch the reader's attention. I think it's safe to say that anyone who was in her cla.s.s used those skills when writing your college entrance essay.

"And Mr. Gibson made himself available every morning to students struggling with calculus. He never complained and always had a smile on his face, even when working with the most difficult student. His goal was to make sure we had the tools necessary for college.

"And there was Mrs. Simmons, who throughout her battle with cancer showed us how to live life and do it with integrity. I, for one, am fortunate to have been in her cla.s.s, and I will miss her greatly, as I'm sure everyone else will as well.

"The faculty and staff have been our biggest cheerleaders and I think I speak for all of us when I say to them-thank you. Thank you for believing in us and pushing us to be our best.

"Now I have something to say to you, my cla.s.smates. I'm going to make this short and sweet because I think we can all agree that I don't have a wealth of experience to draw from because my life experience isn't vast. Yet.

"Whether it's college, joining the military, taking time off to travel the world, or maybe entering the real world now-we are ready. We are moving on; this is what we have prepared for in our education.

"We have made friendships we will have for a long time, while other friendships have come to an end. Hearts have been broken, only to be patched up when someone new comes along. We made mistakes-lots of them. But we learned. We fought. We laughed. We partied. We did everything we should do in high school. We lived.

"A friend came to me and pointed out how much things were changing. When we become comfortable with what we know, changes-big or small-can be hard to accept. But for us to grow and become the adults we are meant to be, we have to adapt. Life is change, but it doesn't mean that we forget.

"Our experiences here shaped who we are, and hopefully we like who that person is. The great thing about growing up is that if you don't like who you see when you look in the mirror, you can change it. Your fate is in your hands. So surround yourself with people who make you a better person, who expect your best and celebrate it with you. There will always be someone who doesn't like what you become, but do it anyway. This is your life-your chance to do anything you dream.

"When we leave today and venture out into the real world, we're not starting a new chapter; we are starting a new story. This is our opportunity to write our lives and our characters in any way we want. Who do you want to be a part of your story? What will your legacy to this world be?

"Wherever your path takes you, remember your roots. Success isn't measured in the amount of money you make, or the people you step on to climb to the top. It's measured by your integrity, humility, and cla.s.s. Think of those who help you get to where you're going-take them along for the ride, because the ones who were with you in the beginning are probably the ones you can trust the most.

"Today marks the end of our time at South River, but it's also a beginning. We stand with our friends, people we have known our entire lives, to celebrate our academic achievements, but to also accept the next phase of our lives. My hope for everyone here today is a life filled with friends, family, and happiness.

"Congratulations cla.s.s of 2014."

The entire cla.s.s stands up to applaud and I join in, smiling so big my cheeks hurt. Joey refused to let me read his speech because he wanted me to hear it for the first time with everyone.

I'm so glad I did.

Chapter 30 ~ Finding Changes.

"I can't believe it's almost the end of July," I say to Joey.

He a.s.sembles a moving box and sets it on his bed. Since the beginning of the month, he's picked one day a week to box his things, either for the move or for storage. I hate being here on those days, because it drives home that this is it.

Unfortunately, this is the only time that worked for us today and I've got to meet Haden in a little while for a date I planned.

Joey could've warned me that it was a packing day.

"Next week we'll be in California, and by this time next month, you'll be a New York resident."

"Yeah, and you'll still be in Texas," he laughs.

"How's your mom taking it?"

"She goes from yelling at me one minute-and demanding to know how I'm going to make it on my own because I didn't put my dinner plate away-to crying her eyes out that I'm going to be a Yankee."

"She's just gonna miss her baby," I coo at him and pinch his cheek for extra emphasis.

He swats my hand away, grabs some books from his shelf, and picks a few to box up. "Have you talked to Bailey?" he asks as he continues to work.

"Not since last weekend," I tell him.

"So you didn't hear that we broke up?"

"What?" I gasp, staring at him. "When did this happen?"

"I think we both knew it was coming." He shrugs his shoulders and keeps packing, but I can tell he's torn up. "I mean, she's going to be almost three thousand miles away on the other side of the country."

"Okay, but why now? Why not wait until the end of summer?"

"Just the way it goes, I guess."

"I'm sorry, Joey," I say, unsure if he's really okay or if it's a facade.

"We're still friends," he adds. "I think she wanted to be able to date while she was out there without the baggage of the long-distance thing."

"First Cole and Ree, now you and Bailey."

Are Haden and I next?

Joey continues moving about to complete his task and makes no move to look in my direction. "I know where you're going with that and you can stop," he says, still not making eye contact.

"Yeah, I know," I concede.

Cole and Ree broke up a couple of weeks ago but still hang out with the rest of us. She told me when school starts they'll be too busy with cla.s.ses and meeting new people to keep up with the relationship thing. It makes sense, but it's still disappointing they didn't try to make it work.

But, I suppose if I weren't dating Haden, I would be thinking the same thing. However, this is Haden, and maybe I am delusional thinking that we might make it work. We'll be less than a two-hour drive from each other.

"It's not very realistic, Lai. I'm sure we could have tried, but let's be honest-this is what's supposed to happen," Joey comments, breaking me out of my own thoughts.

"Are you saying that Haden and I should break up?" I ask, somewhat shocked at his words.

"Did I say that?"