"Oh, honey! Are you sure you want to do this? Why don't you stay home for a year? Take a break from school and then go to college." My mom cried as I loaded the last box into the car.

I gave a sad smile and shut the trunk. Charlie, Andrew, Molly and Diego (yes, you heard correctly. Molly and Diego met again at a party and went out a few times. They're together now), Jax, Tanner, Vinnie, and Ronnie were standing with my parents on the side on the driveway. But not Daniel. He never showed up.

After graduation, we didn't really talk. He continued his life at parties and getting into trouble. I had gotten a scholarship for the University of California. I never heard whether he was going to stay here or not.

I dusted of my hands and sighed. I looked up at my house.

I sat on the floor of the theatre-room holding one of the puppies while my friends did the same. It was quiet until Molly said, "Why haven't I gotten a unicorn for Christmas yet?" We all bursts into laughter, Molly stayed serious the whole time.

I looked at my car. Even though it was filled with my luggage, memories still came flooding in.

Charlie, Molly, and I were having a girls night and the song Naturally by Selena Gomez came on. We blasted the radio and belted out the lyrics to the song. This was one of my favorite memories.

I looked at my friends, remembering each time the went out of their way to help me. I grew up with Charlie, she was my sister. We used to play dress up and pretend we were the queens of the town. Her dads would of course go with it, they would call us "your majesty" and would make us picnics in the backyard. When we grew up a little, we were secret agents like Kim Possible. We'd have little toy phones and answer them saying, "What's the sitch?" We continued to grow, and never once did we get tired of each other. I was going to miss her. Charlie was going to stay home for a while and help her dads with her new brother, Tony. She wanted to figure her life out before she moved around.

Andrew and Molly were surprisingly separating themselves. Andrew was going to NYU in the fall while Molly was going to travel the world to become a zoologist and Diego was just going with her because he could. Andrew was always like my little protector. He was the big brother I never wanted. Andrew was a sweet guy with a crush on one of his friends. In the way he looks at Charlie just makes you want to shove him at her and tell him to grow a pair. It was so obvious and Charlie knew. She just wanted him to come to her.

Molly was always the "pick-me-up" sort of girl. She was always happy and excited about everything. She and Andrew would always come over and want to do everything. Whether it be camping, singing, sleeping, cleaning, dancing, partying, or even just watching a movie; they would always be down for it.

Just meeting the guys this year, you would think that I would only have a few memories of them. But I actually have a lot. They saved me, numerous times. Besides my older friends, they are my heroes. Tanner made himself seem closed off and bad, but he was like a big teddy bear. He may flirt with girls, but you'd never see him kiss any or just screw them, because he wants to wait for someone he cares about and someone that will care for him. Like the rest of the guys, he opened himself up to me. Like I vented to him, he did the same to me. I remember one time, he showed up at my door soak and wet from the rain storm going on outside. Once I opened the door, he smiled and said, "So, I might be scared of thunder?" I let him in right after that, and we watched movies until the rain stopped.

Ronnie was like a boy version of Molly. He was a big goofball. He could make anyone smile just by looking at you. He and his brother Vinnie were the best pair; polar opposites. Vinnie was smart and adorable. He gave the greatest hugs too. The pair took me to a skateboard park and tired to teach me how to skateboard. It ended up with Ronnie getting a bloody nose from when I tired to flip the board, and Vinnie falling asleep on the park bench.

Jax was my best friend (besides Charlie, of course). He stuck to my side and helped me through tough times. He trusted me enough with his secrets and I trusted him with mine. I remember when I forced Jax to try sushi and he wound up eating all of his and mine put together. He taught me how to block a punch and how to throw one correctly. He was like my angel. Sure, he wasn't all that pure and holy; but he watched over me and helped me up whenever I fell.

A tear slipped from my eye and I sniffed. "I'm going to miss you guys. So much!" Now, I couldn't hold back the tears. I was full in sobbing.

Charlie pushed everyone out of the way and hugged me. "I love you. I'll miss you so much." She whimpered and didn't let go. She let out a soft chuckle and said, "If I get you gummy bears, will you stay with me?"

I laughed, but frowned. "Not this time Charlie. Thank you for everything. Tell your dads and Tony I said goodbye." She nodded and let me go.

The twins of course came up to me together. Andrew hugged me and whispered, "I made a promise to always protect you. I will always keep that promise. No matter the distance. Love you, Mia."

"Love ya too, Andy." I kissed his cheek before Molly pushed him out of the way.

"I don't really want to say much, because I don't want to cry. But I'm going to miss you so much, Mia. I promise to try to kidnap a koala for you when I get to Australia!" Molly beamed.

"No, Molly! No koalas!" Andrew scolded.

I laughed. "I'll miss you so much, Molly. You always knew how to make everyone happy." I hugged her and said my final goodbye.

Tanner, Ronnie, and Vinnie came over to me at the same time, giving me a giant group hug. "We're going to miss you, Mia." Tanner said. "Call us if you ever need anything."

"Or even if you just want to talk." Vinnie added.

"Or just to say hi would be nice too." Ronnie mumbled.

"I'm gonna miss you guys." I cried. "Oh god, I didn't expect it to be this sad. Saying goodbye, I mean."

Tanner chuckled and gave a sad smile. "It's been great, kiddo. Thanks for living-up our lives a little more."

I gave them each a final hug before going over to Jax. "Hey, babydoll." He looked up at me through his hair. I didn't say anything. I just wrapped my arms around him. "Yeah, I'll miss you too."

I cried on his shoulder. "You've helped me get through so much. Thank you. You don't know how thankful that you came into my life." I lifted my head off his shoulder, turning to all of my friends "I'm thankful for all of you. You are the best friends anyone could ask for. I don't know what I did to deserve you guys."

Jax suddenly grabbed me into a hug. "No, Mia. don't know what we did to deserve ."

I turned to look at his face, tears were gliding down his cheeks. I laughed softly, wiping the tears away for him. He smiled and looked up to the rest of our friends "If you guys ever tell anyone that I cried, you'll be sporting cement shoes in the bottom of the ocean. Got it?" They laughed but nodded none the less.

"Oh, baby we're so proud of you!" My mom sobbed. "You've become such a mature young woman. What happened to my baby girl? You won't even be home for your birthday!"

My dad wrapped an arm around my mother, comforting her. I smiled at that. She needed him now. He makes her happy. I'm happy he came back into our lives after everything. "I love you guys. I'll come visit, and call whenever I can." I gave them one last hug before walking to my car.

"Wait!" Someone called. My heart clenched.

I spun around and faced my friends again. Molly took out a gift bag. "I almost forgot! This is from all of us."

I smiled and said thank you, opening the bag and pulling out a Polaroid camera. My mother came over and took it from my hands.

"Everyone get close together! Ready? One, two, say cheese everyone!" The flash went off and a picture slid out.

There we stood, all smiling. The flash lit up our eyes as we all stood together. The picture represented our friendship perfectly; Molly made a fish face while Andrew rested his arm on Charlie's head. Charlie made a heart with her hands while Ronnie made bunny ears behind Vinnie's head. Tanner just smiled at the camera. Jax had his arm wrapped around my shoulder as I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"I love you guys so much. I'll never forget you." I sobbed. This was making me not want to leave. But I had to.

I went over to my car and gave a small wave. I got inside and started it up. I looked in the rearview mirror and saw my friends crying together. They were all here for me. They were the best friends anyone could ask for. They were all here.

Everyone but him.