I walked to Blair's room, feeling oddly nervous. Even though we'd been hanging out for the past few days with our friends, I didn't know if Blair would want to hang out with me alone. Things were a lot better between us, but I still wondered if Blair would ever want us to go back to how close we were years ago. I didn't know why, but I was scared Blair would suddenly tell me she wanted to keep her distance from me.

Pausing in front of her door, I wondered if it would be worth asking her to hang out. I was scared of getting hurt, and that was when I remembered how I ruined my relationship with her by being so scared. If I hadn't been so scared of being hurt years ago, we would never have drifted apart in the first place. Because of that, I knew I had to suck it up and talk to her.

I knocked on Blair's bedroom door and waited for her response. It came almost immediately and she told me to come in, so I did. My heart was still racing, but I felt more confident.

"Hey," I said, looking at Blair who was lying on her bed, using her laptop. "Are you busy?"

"No," Blair said, looking over at me. "I'm just surfing the internet."

"So, would you be up for going to the park with me? I know we're seventeen and we're kind of too old for parks, but... I was thinking it would be nice to visit the park for old time sakes. It's okay if you don't want to."

Blair stared at me for a moment and I found myself deflating as I knew she was coming up with an excuse to say no. I really wanted to go to the park with Blair. It had been our second home as children and I wanted to visit it with her. Only her, and no one else.

But to my surprise, Blair said, "Sure."

"Really?" I blurted out, surprised.

I blushed and wondered how I became someone who got nervous over asking someone to hang out with me. It wasn't like me, but then I realized I never really knew myself. I had always put up an act, trying to fit in and be popular, so I really had no idea who I really was. Slowly, during the last few months of school, I hoped to figure myself out more.

"Yeah," Blair said, frowning from my reaction. "Why are you so shocked?"

"No reason," I lied. "Okay, should we go now?"

Blair smiled, surprising me once again. "Sure."

"Okay." I smiled back. "Let's go."

*****

Blair and I sat on the swings. It was late, so there weren't many people around and surprisingly, I was content with that. Feeling nostalgic about my childhood that I shared with Blair at the park, I was glad that it was just me and her there. I was especially glad that I got to spend time with her.

"How are you?" I suddenly asked, wanting to talk to her about what she shared a week ago. "Are you feeling better?"

"I honestly do feel better," Blair said, making me happy. "Claire... Thank you for including me in your group of friends. You guys are so nice and... I'm really thankful."

I couldn't help but smile, touched by Blair's words. Sometimes I felt like I had forced Blair out of her comfort zone and she hated me for that, but it seemed to be for the best which left me relieved. I really wanted to make things work between us, so I realized that was why I was so anxious about everything between us.

"You're welcome," I said, grinning. "I'm really glad you're feeling better."

We didn't say anything for a bit. The both of us swung a little, thinking about life. Glancing at Blair, I had so many questions and so many things I wanted to catch up on. But, like usual, I was scared of scaring Blair away. Because of that, I decided to ask a random question.

"So, prom is coming up," I said. "Do you want anyone to ask you to be their prom date?"

"No," Blair answered immediately. "To be honest, I don't think I'll be going."

"What!" My eyes widened. "You have to."

Blair shrugged and I stared at her, growing disappointed. I really wanted her to come. I really wanted to share prom with her so we could talk about how much fun we had years from now. Flushing, I realized how lame I was. I was so attached to Blair and sometimes it was scary. But, I knew it was better than losing her like I had.

"It's not my scene," Blair said. "But anyways, I really don't want to go with anyone."

"Have you ever had a crush on someone?" I asked, curious.

"No, I haven't."

"So you didn't have any feelings for Carter?"

Blair seemed caught off guard by my question and I opened my mouth to take back my words. I always wondered if Blair had felt anything for him and the question slipped out. It wasn't smart of me to ask because I knew I shouldn't be bringing up the past, so I regretted my words.

"No, I didn't," Blair answered, catching me off guard. "I feel bad, but I never like Carter like that."

I nodded, not knowing what to say. Thinking about Carter, I felt a bit bitter. It hurt that he rejected me for someone who didn't care about him, but I realized that it wasn't his fault he didn't like me. It wasn't Blair's fault she didn't like him either. We couldn't control our feelings, so there was no one to blame.

"Have you talked to Carter ever since he found out we were switching places?" I asked.

"No, he hates me," Blair said, growing deflated. "I really hurt him and I feel horrible."

Blair looked upset and I stared at her, knowing she really did care about Carter and I despite hurting us. My sister was a complicated person who made mistakes. It took me a while to realize that, but I did now and was trying to help her clean up the mess she made.

"I doubt he hates you, but you seriously should talk to him," I said. "Have some sort closure with him, you know."

"He would never agree to that," Blair said. "And... I don't think I'll be up for that either. That would be terrifying."

"But knowing you, you'll always hate yourself for hurting Carter. You deserve to get some peace with him."

Blair became quiet for a moment and I stared at her. I knew Carter really cared about Blair and she did care about him too, even if she wasn't in love with him. The both of them deserved to be friends at the very least, so I hoped Blair would agree.

"You're right," Blair said, sighing. "I can't stop thinking about Carter and how I hurt him. I think I need to talk to him and apologize for what I did."

I smiled at that, glad she took my advice. It was nice to be able to help Blair. I felt like I was meant to be in her life.

"Can I ask you something?" Blair suddenly asked.

"Of course," I replied.

"How do you feel about Ryder?" she asked, leaving me frowning.

"What do you mean how do I feel?"

"Exactly that, how do you feel about him."

Her question left me confused because it popped out of nowhere. Staring at her, I wondered what she was trying to get out of me. But sighing, I decided I wouldn't know unless I answered her question honestly.

"He's my best friend and he was there for me when my life was a mess," I said. "I really care about him and I'm glad he's in my life."

"He's just your best friend?" Blair asked, her eyebrows raising.

"Yeah." I frowned. "What are you trying to imply?"

"Nothing. Just... Don't let a good guy get away."

Her words caught me off guard and to my surprise, I found myself blushing. Looking away, I wondered what she meant by that. It was random and thinking about it, I thought about prom and how I had no one to go with. I thought about Ryder for a moment, feeling myself grow nervous, but then I shook my head to stop thinking about him. My eyes went back to Blair and suddenly, I came up with an idea.

"I know this is out of nowhere and I should've done a promposal or something, but will you go to prom with me?" I suddenly asked, surprising Blair. "I know that's super weird of me to ask, but I can't think of spending prom with anyone else but you. It'll be a blast if we go together."

Blair stared at me, stunned, and I blushed. I felt silly because who in the world would ask their sister to prom. It was kind of low of me, but I meant what I said about not being able to think of spending prom with anyone but Blair.

"Sure," Blair suddenly said, making my eye fly wide. "That sounds fun."

"Really?" I asked. "Oh my god Blair, you're full of surprises."

Blair laughed at that and I found my heart growing warm. Excitement was all I could feel as I thought about prom. With Blair, my other half, as my date, I knew I would have a blast. I knew it would be the best night of my life.

Staring at Blair, smiling, I felt happy that we were finally fixing our broken bond. After years of pushing each other away and then a year filled with drama, I was glad that we could finally just focus on each other and try to be close again. It made me really happy and I couldn't wait for what the future had in store of us. With us being together through thick and thin, I had a feeling the future would be bright.