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I found Dylan sitting alone in one of the middle rows of the mostly-empty chairs. There were a few other students here already, a group in the back and some in the front-most seats, but for the most part, the auditorium was pretty quiet still.

"You know what this is about?" I asked, sliding into the seat next to him.

He shook his head, "No. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if it's somehow related to a stunt Jason's pulled recently."

"Jason hasn't pulled anything lately," Jason said, plopping down into the seat beside me. "I've been on my best behavior this week, just like I promised."

The volume raised more students flooded into the room as the start time of the assembly grew closer. The stage, however, was vacant except for a singular chair and a podium on the far right side.

"So, do we know what this is about?" Jason asked.

"No," I responded, turning to look at him. "You should move. Carson's going to kick you out of that seat."

He shrugged, "Finders keepers. I haven't even seen him yet this morning."

I shrugged, "He's here somewhere."

"Maybe he's dead," Jason said, absently.

"Now, that is what I'm talking about," Dylan scolded, his face contorting in confusion. "Why would you say that?"

"I'm serious! Maybe he was really thirsty, and he had no choice to drink from that rusty water fountain on the third floor, and the water killed him."

"Jason, you are an actual moron."

I shrugged, "It's not the worst thing he's ever come up with, if we're being honest."

The conversation came to an end as a more interesting subject presented itself. Zach appeared, walking up on Dylan's other side, with a girl under his arm. I didn't recognize her, but she was pretty. She was tall, light skinned, green eyes, and had long black hair.

"Do you guys know what this thing's about?" Zach asked, a content smile on his face as he checked the time on his watch.

"Um, no, I don't know," I replied, aware that I was still staring at the girl. "Hey, Zach, who's your friend?"

"Oh, um, guys this is Samantha," He introduced. "Samantha, these are the guys." They took the empty seats next to Dylan, just as the principal began climbing the steps to the stage.

"Did you know he was seeing someone?" I whispered to Jason.

"Better question: Does Luna know he's seeing someone?"

I watched as Carson appeared at the doorway of the auditorium. His eyes scanned over the room before settling on us. I watched in amusement as he came up behind Jason, towering over the sitting and unknowing boy. Fluidly, Carson grabbed the back of the chair and tipped it forward, causing Jason to tumble out. He fell onto the floor with a large slap.

"Told you," I shrugged. Jason shot me the finger before crawling to sit in front of Dylan, who flicked him on the back of his head.

Carson moved the chair closer to me, "Hey."

"Hey. Where have you been?"

He shrugged, "I had a free and then Luna asked for a ride here, but then she forgot something, so we had to go back, and now we're here again."

"Where is she?"

"I don't know, she rushed ahead of me in the parking lot." He nodded his head in the direction of the stage, where the principal had busied himself sorting through papers at the podium. "Do we know what this is about?"

Everyone turned to answer his question, "No."

One response caught his attention. Carson leaned forward to look down the row, staring at Samantha.

"Who's the girl?" He asked.

I shrugged, "I don't know. She came in with Zach. Her name's Samantha."

He hummed, sitting back up straight again. "She's hot. Why is she with Zach?"

"You can ask her that. I'm curious, too."

"I'm guessing Luna doesn't know yet?" Carson asked.

I shook my head as my eyes landed on her in the entryway, "Probably not, but she just walked in, so she's about to."

Luna located us easily and rushed into the seat next to Carson, falling into the chair just as the principal began speaking. The room grew much quieter.

"Hey," She whispered. "What'd I miss?"

I nodded my head over in Zach's direction and watched as she leaned forward. Her eyes ran over Samantha and the smile fell from her face. She turned her head forward, facing the stage.

* *

The assembly– which turned out to be a highly educational debriefing on safe sex from a guest speaker from Planned Parenthood– ended with every student beyond bored but glad to have wasted an hour of class time. The seven of us gathered outside of the school on the front steps. Luna had been quiet since the beginning of the assembly, and Zach and Samantha were talking between themselves, laughing loudly. Everyone else was staring at the two of them with curiosity as well.

"So," Carson cleared his throat. "Samantha?"

"Oh, please, call me Sammie! That's what all my friends call me."

"Okay," Carson shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. "How'd you and Zach meet?"

"The same way everyone meets." Her face glowed with laughter. She had one of those really sweet, make-every-guy-swoon sort of laughs. "He followed me on Instagram, I followed him back. That's all there is to it."

"How... interesting," Dylan responded, scratching the back of his neck. "Are you a senior, too?"

"Oh, no. I'm a sophomore."

"A sophomore," Carson blurted, a snort escaping.

"So, you're like what?" Jason asked. "12?"

I jabbed him in the side. "Shut up," I muttered.

It was pretty clear no one had any idea what to say to break the ice. For as bubbly as Samantha seemed, and as easily as she had took Jason's blow, she didn't seem to want to say anything out of turn. Everyone else was sharing looks, somewhere between humor and confusion. Luna stayed completely quiet, fidgeting with the fabric of her sleeve.

She backed away from the circle. " I'm gonna go. I think I left my car running."

I watched her walk down the front steps and squeeze between the rows of cars. It was in vain, because if Carson had driven her, she was just walking aimlessly in a parking lot.

I turned to Jason, "I'm going to go check on her."

I followed Luna and found her standing in front of my car. She was pulling on the handle of the passenger-side door. She looked dull; not sad, but definitely not happy. The sound of the car unlocking caught her attention, and her eyes met mine.

"Car talk?" I asked.

She nodded, "Car talk."

I opened the driver's side door and climbed in, shutting it quickly behind me as she did the same on the other side. We sat in silence for a few moments, me staring at her as she stared out the window.

Finally, I got sick of the silence. "He's seeing someone."

She nodded, "He's seeing someone."

"And you walked away."

"Yeah."

She pulled her knees up to her chest, leaning her head back against the car seat. I still couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"Do we hate her?" I asked.

Luna sighed, "No. No, we don't."

"No? Really?"

"He's moving on and that's okay." She shrugged, "She's pretty and she seems nice, and I hope she makes him really happy. I'm okay, honestly."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Then why'd you leave?"

"He was my first love," Luna said. "That love is still there; it didn't just go away after I came to terms with how bad we were together. I want him to be happy, I do. But as much as I want him to be happy, it's still a little shocking that I'm not the one making him happy."

She let out a tired sigh, "I didn't walk away because I was angry or I because I don't want to look at her. I just needed a minute to decide I wasn't angry."

"Okay. So we don't hate her."

"We don't hate her."

"Do we have to like her?"

She let out a snort, looking down at her lap with a smile on her face now. "No, we don't have to like her. But we should try."

I smiled, "Let's try."

* * *

"Say it one more time," He demanded, his tone losing seriousness the longer this continued on for.

"Carson, no."

"Just once more. For good luck."

"You've said once more for at least the last three times."

"You have to," He argued. "I'm a sad, miserable young man with horrible, newly-resurfaced mommy issues. You have to say it."

"You're abusing your privileges."

"Please?" He begged. I could practically see the pouty lip he was making. "For my boo-boo heart," He said in that stupidly, irritating and whiny baby voice that he knew irked me.

"Fine. I love you. And now I'm certain I've said it a thousand times. Are you ready now?"

I heard him groan and turned my head in time to watch him fall back on the bed, stretching out on his back and letting his legs dangle off the bottom of the bed. I abandoned my hair brush, walking out of the bathroom, and sitting down in the spot between his legs. I placed my hand in his, rubbing the backside with my thumb.

"I don't want to look at her, never mind talk to her," He muttered.

"I know. But still, you should try."

"It's gonna be hell."

"No, it won't"

"It's gonna be literally bloody murder."

"You don't know that."

"It's the end."

"It's dinner, Carson."

He stared up at me, a menacing look in his eye, "Can you try and be a sympathetic, supportive girlfriend for once? Is that so hard?"

I laughed, "Babe, you are the biggest drama queen."

"You're annoying. I don't like you."

"Ten seconds ago, you were begging me to tell you that I love you."

"Yeah, about that. Can we go back to that? I think if you say it one more time, I'll have the courage to go downstairs."

I watched his face contort as he did his best to suppress the smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. I leaned down, hovering right over his face. "You're a disgrace," I said, closing the rest of the distance and kissing him. "And I love you. Now, let's go."

"Fine," He said, still smiling. I grabbed his other hand pulled him up from the bed. As we walked down the stairs, I ran a hand over the front of his shirt and pants, smoothing out the wrinkles.

When I had dragged him into the kitchen, she was already there, sitting to the left of my mom. She looked out of place in her business-formal dress with perfectly done-up hair, especially next to my mother, who was in her sweatpants and who's hair was anything but perfect.

I felt Carson stiffen, even as he continued moving towards the table.

"Hello, again, Madeline," She greeted, managing a smile that faltered at the corners. Her eyes moved from me and on to Carson who stood directly behind my right shoulder, one of his hands on my hip.

"Hi, Mrs. Daniels," I responded.

. As we sat down across from them, he refused to make eye contact, his eyes focused on his lap. When she was certain that Carson wasn't going to look at her, never mind say anything to her, she moved back to me.

"How is senior year going?"

"Um, well enough, I guess. A bit busy, but good."

"That's good. Have you- are all of your applications submitted?"

Before I could respond, Carson cut me off, "Mom, don't."

"What?" She asked, her eyebrows shooting up and knitting together.

"Don't do that," He spat. "Don't do the small talk thing. Don't do anything. Just shut up and eat your food."

"Carson-"

"No. Shut up and eat."

She complied reluctantly, shocked at his outburst. I was shocked, too; I thought we would have at least made it ten minutes before he raised his voice.

Ten minutes passed without any sounds other than a clatter of a fork or a knife scraping against a plate. My mother's eyes shifted between Mrs. Daniels and Carson, waiting for one of them to speak up again. But nothing came.

Carson had finished eating in record timing. He tossed his napkin onto his empty plate and attempted to stand from the table. I clamped a hand down on his thigh, and pushed him back into his seat.

He glared at me, "Let me get up, Madeline."

"No. You agreed to talk to her."

"I did."

"Telling her to shut up doesn't count. You're not leaving."

He shook his head, "She shouldn't even be here." He turned to look at her, scowling, "You shouldn't be here."

"Carson, I know you're upset with me-"

"Upset?!" He laughed, humorlessly. "You think I'm upset with you? I'm not upset. I'm furious. I'm enraged. I'm disgusted. I'm disappointed. And beyond all of that, I hate you."

"I understand," She said softly, determined to stay unfazed by her son's attack. "But maybe, if you hear me out, if you hear my side of the story-"

"No! There is no 'your side' of the story. You left. No one made you leave!"

"Yes, but if you'll give me the chance to explain, please."

"Why should I?" Carson all but shouted, pushing his chair away from the table. He shook off my hold on him, standing up. His fists slammed down on the table. I could see to the full extent how of his anger now. His cheeks had flushed and his body had gone rigid.

Carson's voice shook as he spoke. "Why in the hell should I give you a chance to explain when you've done nothing to deserve my time?"

"I came back, Carson."

"You guys had to come back because you chose to leave," He argued. "You chose to get on that plane with dad the first time. You made that decision while fully aware Katie had months to live. When she died, you both made that same choice to leave once again. You left. My sister died and you left me. You came back, but you deserve nothing. Neither of you deserve anything."

"Your father isn't here, Carson. He didn't come back with me. I left him."

"What?"

"We're separating. I'm moving back home. And I am hoping that you'll come home with me."

Carson said nothing as he slumped back down into his seat, his lips parted and his eyes still narrowed. My mother and I shared a look; she nodded, and we both stood up from our seats. I leaned down to kiss the top of his head, and he reached for my hand on his shoulder.

"Listen," I whispered in his ear. "Try to hear her out."

His hand tightened down on mine. "I love you," I whispered.

* * *

"Carson?"

"Carson?"

"Carson?" He turned onto his other side as I sat down on the other side of the bed. "Are you alright?"

"No."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Do you want me to leave you alone?"

"No."

"Okay."

He groaned and flipped over onto his back. "It's just that, I don't know, she was talking to me like she was my kid. Like she got caught sneaking out of the house after curfew and everything was that simple."

"Well, isn't it sort of good? She knows she's made a mistake. I mean, it's definitely not as simple or as clean cut as she might believe it to be, but still. It means she cares, right?"

"Yeah, but no. How much could she care if she left?"

"Enough to leave her husband in order to come back. You were right Carson. It doesn't make up for anything. But it helps. And she's trying."

He turned to look at me, "She wants me to go back home with her."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. I said nothing."

"Do you want to?"

"I don't know," Carson let out a tired sighed. "As much as I dislike her right now, I don't like the idea of her having to live in that house. It's so big and empty."

"So you do care?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Of course I care. She's my mother despite what she's done. I just don't know how to forgive her."

"If you don't think you can forgive her, it's probably not the best idea to move in with her."

"I don't think I can. But, until I know I can't, I want to try. She's my mom."

"That's- that's good, Carson."

He held out his arm for me, and I rolled over to him, hugging his side.

"What if I did go back?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think I should move back home with her?"

"I'm not telling you what to do, Carson."

"Yes, you are."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know what to do, and you're supposed to love me. So, tell me what to do."

"Carson, I can't tell you what to do because there isn't a right decision. You just have to do what you feel."

"Wow, Plato," He said, dryly. "I feel so inspired."

"Oh, shut up. Don't be obnoxious."

"You love me."

"Yeah," I sighed. "I do."