I had been checking my reflection in the sun visor's mirror whilst waiting for her, and I immediately pushed it up when she swung the door open and settled in the passenger's seat. When I turned my head, I noticed she was crying but she immediately wiped her tears off her sleeve and faked a smile at me. Her mascara was ruined, her eyes red. I was actually excited that this was our first official party together but seeing her like this made me forget about anything else at that moment.

"Abby," I said hesitantly, placing my hand over her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine," she said, pulling her sun visor down and wiping the mascara under her eyes.

I let out a sigh, unbuckling my seat belt and motioning my body towards her. "We don't have to attend that party, you know. We can just stay in—watch a movie or something. Anything you like. If it stresses you out, we can call it off. It's a stupid thing, anyway. We won't be missing out much."

Abby held my hand and looked into my eyes. "We'll talk about it later, okay? I want to go to that party now and be among your friends as a couple. I need it, George, please." I didn't quite understand what she'd meant by that, but I just nodded and buckled my belt again before starting the engine.

As I drove off to Stacey's house, Abby took out her makeup kit and fixed her makeup. There was a silence lurking between us, and I didn't want to push my chance further and ask her about what was wrong. She said we would talk about it later, tonight probably, and I took a deep breath, deciding to focus on right now—on the party itself.

Stacey's house wasn't too far away, so I parked the car in the driveway a few minutes later than the time they set the party. It looked lively there: the sound of party music echoing out of the house mingled with the people's yells, and though the sun wasn't down yet, I could see the silhouette of the moon in the sky right above the house.

Abby's prolonged sigh filled the air, and she flashed me another grin when I turned around to check on her. The smile spreading around her lips failed to hide the dark clouds within her eyes. Restless, I took her hand firmly and planted a kiss on the top of it. "I won't let go of you during the party this time."

"I know," she said softly. I had no doubt that party night was playing in her mind, too. "I won't shy away this time and hold it again if you ever let me go."

With that promise given, we walked out of the car and entered Stacey's house hand in hand. Someone I hadn't seen before answered the door, probably because she was passing by and coincidentally heard the ring, and immediately vanished among the crowd of people climbing upstairs. I took a step inside and held Abby's gaze to make sure she was comfortable. She gave me a reassuring smile, though her hand was shaking against mine. I'd walk out if she didn't ask me to stay—knowing about her phobia of crowds.

I picked Brandon by the pool with difficulty, talking to the kids on the team, and raised my hand to greet him as he noticed me. He immediately stood up and nudged Jordan to point at me and suddenly, I found myself greeting a bunch of people from the team and some girls that were cheerleaders, and beyond. I had to let go of Abby's hand at some point, but I was following her with my eyes. She looked fine greeting people as well, giving them short hugs and replies if necessary.

"Glad you could make it, dude," Brandon whispered into my ear before patting me on the back and handing me a can of beer. "And Abby, fuck, none of us see it coming. You melted the ice queen."

"She ain't that bad," I argued, though the comment sort of made me happy. Abby was a cube of ice to others for real. It was satisfying to know that I was the only one she'd ever shown her real identity. "And we've been best friends for years, you know."

"I know, but we all thought you would date Rachel. We thought you liked Rachel. When Roy told us you were crushing on Abby all along, it was a shocker. But I get why. She's hot. And a smart chick. She's admitted to Columbia, right?" I nodded. "See my point? You've got yourself, someone, far out of your league."

I searched for Abby then and found her talking to a group of girls around the table by the pool. She smiled at a comment, but it was such a smile that looked forced, and when our eyes met, I could see that she was asking for a rescue. Jolted awake, I looked back at Brandon and put my hand on his shoulder. "See you around." As his eyes followed my back, he figured out where I was heading and he raised his beer as a response.

When I approached Abby, Stacey's eyes landed on me first with a weird expression—Stacey looked sneaky. She always did. You could never know what drama her brain was stirring up and there was no doubt she was interrogating Abby about something there. That was probably why Abby was in distress. "Hey girls," I greeted them, finding my place beside Abby as I slung an arm around her neck. "Can I steal my girlfriend?"

A sound of disapproval aroused in a union, with Stacey's leading. "I was asking Abby about her highlighter—she's a fucking goddess at this." I looked at Abby in question. "You promised to show us how to apply, Abby, come on."

Abby looked between me and Stacey and let out a defeated sigh. I squeezed her arm to remind her that if she wanted to leave, we could leave in a heartbeat. "Yeah," she breathed next, "Of course." Stacey threw me a triumphant gaze before grabbing Abby's arm and pulling her inside along with her girls.

I didn't know if I did the right thing by letting her go, then, but I remembered what she'd told me in the car: I'll hold it again if you ever let me go.

"So, you got the girl," someone said behind me, and I turned around to see Roy standing beside me, watching the girls vanish in the crowd. "Abby looks happy. You look happy."

"I'm happy," I confirmed him, fully facing him. "I'm sorry, man. For ditching on you there but you can guess I was pissed off. I loved Abby and she was with you."

"I felt like a tool, no kidding, but I got over it. Abby was too tense, anyway. And she wasn't my type—I just thought she was cool."

I didn't want to discuss why he and Abby didn't work when I knew the real reason. Though Abby played the judge to get the revenge for all the girls Roy broke the hearts of, it didn't change the fact that she broke his heart. Well, we were no saints, none of us. I thought of these as the silence crept between us, and we stood there watching the people jumping into the pool, and drinking by the pool. The last party before everyone drifted somewhere. The last time of high school. This was the end. We were growing up. Shit.

"Are we good?" He asked suddenly, pulling my attention back. I examined his expression to make sure he wasn't pulling a sarcastic shit on me. He seemed genuine though, and he extended his hand out.

"Good," I replied, giving him a handshake, and pulling him for a hug. "Can we smoke now?" I asked. I could make use of Abby's absence until she could come back and give me a lecture on how smoking killed. "I can't smoke around Abby and it's killing me."

He let out a chuckle and handed me a cig. "Dude," he said as he lit it, "you're in deep shit." I took an inhale and shrugged my shoulders. I heard people say love could change you, but I didn't expect to be the epitome of it. I was getting soft for Abby.

We soon joined the boys and talked about the season, girls, and the future. Well, everyone was looking forward to starting college and partying over there. College parties were next level, we all heard about it, and they said they were ready. Brandon turned at me and asked, "Won't it be hard to have a long-distance relationship?"

"No," I replied casually. "We will talk on Facetime and visit on breaks."

"What about sex? Cam sex will get boring after a while," Jordan said, and laughter followed among the boys. "I mean, will she be okay with you fucking others? An open relationship—is it what it's called?"

"Who says I'll do that?" I replied aggressively. "I wouldn't do that to Abby."

"Well, let's talk again when you're blue balled."

"George Shaw became a nun for love," Brandon teased me before getting a sip from his beer. "Look at him, guys, he's fucking whipped"

"I mean, long-distance is tough shit and it isn't fun," Jordan replied.

"My cousin split after two months," Roy commented. "He found out the chick was cheating on him."

"Two months is a record. I wouldn't last two seconds—imagine those hotties at college. It's stupid to bound yourself to someone miles away when you've got lots of options around you."

"Well, I'll see you all when you fall in love," I replied, leaning back. "You're driven by lust, but Abby is my fuel."

"Abby is a witch," Brandon said laughingly. "And she's gotten you under her spell." We drank to that, and if that was true, I didn't want to ever wake up. Luckily, they had dropped the subject, at last, moving forward to a girl's boobs. My mind tugged at Abby if she was okay upstairs. I didn't want to be acting like a babysitter and offend her, so I waited until she came downstairs with others.

That was only a few minutes later, and she looked anything but okay. There was a frown in her look, which made my eyebrows knit, and I immediately rose up and bid everyone goodbye. When Brandon hugged me, my eyes were on Abby and Roy, who bid their goodbyes in a timid way and shook hands.

I was glad that we ended this journey on a good note. All of us.

***

Hey-ho!

We are heading toward the end, and I'm really really feeling so excited for you to read the rest! ( more chapters before the epilogue, which is three chapters long anyways. I know it's strange but I needed to write it this long LOL)

By the way, sorry for being inactive and not responding to your comments. Life is so hectic at the moment but it's never been this settled before.

❤️

Sev xx