A/N: Okay, this took me 5 days to write, mostly because I've had too much homework but it's the weekend now. I still have a lot of stuff going on but I'll have more time if all goes well. Also, I am not certain if these pictures (which are related to the end) are accurate but I think it's pretty dang close. Anyways, carry on.

"Hey, Frank?" I turn over my shoulder and glance at Cody. "Where did Jenna and Amelia go?"

"They're right over..." I stop when I notice the two of them aren't behind me anywhere. "Oh, great. We're at the largest mall in town and we lose the girls."

Cody takes out his phone, shaking his head. "Hey, it's girls shopping and Black Friday, what do you expect?"

"True," I say. "Well, I knew we were going together and my parents basically let me pick out my Christmas presents for them so I have a lot to spend."

"Dude, no way, that's awesome," he says, texting on his phone without glancing down at the screen.

"Yeah, the only condition is I don't get any of it until actual Christmas."

"Apparently they went Hot Topic," he sighs. "Two emos, figures though."

"I've never been to one," I say. Cody snaps his head up at me. "What? Like I've gotten gifts from there, like clothes but I've never actually gone in one."

"Okay, even I've been in there and I think I'm the least punk rock out of all us. We're going." Cody snags my hand and we leave Kohl's, not that we were really doing anything here.

There are a lot of people here, quite hard to maneuver. There have been a few fights, particularly in the electronics section. But we've stayed clear of them. Granted, Amelia almost got knocked into a shelf but that's because she was being stupid, trying to film these two soccer moms fighting over some vacuum or blender, one of those things. Amelia thinks the Black Friday fights are hilarious and her main objective of the day was posting fights on Snapchat instead of shopping, shopping was the bonus for her.

Cody is in a better mood, being out and in the midst of something, among people is keeping him preoccupied. This morning, he was a little slow and groggy but by the time we got to the car, he perked up back to his usual self. Amelia's been with him too, which is something Jenna and I noticed. Ever since we mentioned it last night, I haven't been able to tell what's been going on. Either Cody and Amelia have a thing going on but they are keeping it under the radar and trying to hide it or they don't realize what's going on. And if it is the second option, either they have a crush on each other but don't know about the other or they are oblivious and don't even realize they have a crush period. I don't know when this started but it seems new. I mean, I would have sensed something before if it was like this when I met them. They would have had to have recently gotten close to catch feelings. The only thing I could think of is when Jenna got sick and was out of school for like over a week. Amelia would go visit her to drop off the homework she missed but Jenna was usually out of it when she was there. Amelia told me she would just be hanging around with Cody. If it was just the two of them, maybe that's when something happened. Spent a lot of time together and something sparked.

Cody leads me into Hot Topic and I get the sense of "home" when I step through. The music playing isn't he bopping dance music they play on the radio and in other stores, it's the type of music I would be listening to, heavy guitar, kick drums and multiple singers with different ranges and aggressive vocals.

"Hey, welcome to Hot Topic," a woman says. Her hair is neon blue and she has piercing all around the cuff of her ear and tattoos on her neck and arms. "Are you looking for anything specific today?"

"My sister," Cody says. "Merchandise wise, I'll just be browsing for now."

"Okay, well, let me know if you need anything. Everything's buy one get half off and all shirts and jackets are $10 today."

"Awesome." The two of us wander deeper into the stores. There's a lot of different bands with their merch on display, haven't seen one I don't like yet. Sure, don't know all of them don't I don't dislike anyone of them. "There you girls are," Cody says.

Jenna and Amelia are in the back looking at dresses. "Hey," Jenna says guilty. "We were going to tell you we left but we couldn't find you."

"It's fine, technically speaking, Frank and I left you guys in some aisle without telling you first," he says. Amelia is flipping through the sizes and unhooks a black lace dress from the wall. "That the dress you wearing to the winter formal?"

"LOL," she says.

Cody stares at her. "You just said LOL in person." Amelia stops realizes she did that. "And now you're having an extensional crisis."

"Yeah, but that's aside from the point," she says. "And no, even if I were to buy this dress, it wouldn't be for the dance."

"You guys are going to the dance?" I ask.

"Duh," Jenna replies. "We're going to have to go shopping soon, it's in less than a month."

"You can go today," Cody says. "I mean, it would be the cheapest time to go and we're already here."

"Alright, we'll finish up in here but by that time, it'll probably be lunch so then we can go eat and then we can go to Macy's or JC Penny's," Amelia says. Her eyes light up. "Actually, wait, we can go to that one fancy clothing store."

"What, Nova Bridger?" Jenna asks. Amelia nods her head. "That place is kind of pricey, well, it is Black Friday."

"Exactly," she says, snapping her fingers into guns. "And they have suits for guys so you can get stuff too."

"I don't need anything, not going," I say.

"No, you should totally come with, please," Jenna says. "You didn't go to homecoming with us."

"Well, in my defense, I kind of came like two weeks beforehand so I didn't really know. And also, why would I go back to school on a Saturday to see people I don't like."

"We'll be there," Cody says.

"Yeah, but we hang out every weekend, we don't need to be at the school to be together."

He shrugs his head. "Yeah, you got me there but it's still fun, seeing people you wouldn't necessarily hang out with outside of school but like talking to in class."

"Come on, Frank, you should totally go," Amelia begs. "I mean, we're probably going to find our dresses and maybe Cody will get something for the occasion."

"Probably," he says.

"Yeah, exactly, and you can just look with us."

I glance at her and Amelia looks at me with pleading eyes. Jenna isn't much different folding her hands together. They're not going to let me out of this, at least, not easily. I don't really want to go. I never understood the fun of going to a dance. It's only something to do if you have a date or want to hook up with someone. It's kind of pointless if you're in the crush situation, especially if you're unwilling to ask the crush out. There's no way in hell I'm doing anything about that. I don't even know if he's going. Okay, if he's going, maybe I'll go but like not guaranteed. Because we could just hang out in his room or something or at Jenna and Cody's house like we usually would on a Saturday. But seeing Gerard in a suit would be, oh, I would definitely like that. Did he go to homecoming? I think they all went actually but I never saw pictures. I just got to the school and we weren't as close yet when they went. But now I have no excuse to miss out this time.

The four of us finish up in Hot Topic, buying band shirts, I got a new leather jacket because I can never have enough, and fingerless gloves with the hand skeleton on them. The others got quite a bit of stuff as well. We stopped at the food court to eat lunch and chat. Cody blows his straw wrapper into Amelia's face and she bats it away, blowing hers back at him. Jenna and I end up swapping our chip bags while Cody and Amelia put the wrappers back on their straws to have a battle. Eventually, we finish eating and put our bags in the car before returning back for them to get their outfits for the winter formal.

The girls take a while, collecting a number of dresses, trying them on and putting them away. I think they're having a little fashion show with themselves because they're trying on dresses that are obnoxiously expensive. And I know they could easily afford them, especially Jenna, but it's not her style. However, I don't mind them taking a while. Cody and I hang out, waiting for them to put on a new dress and come out, then we get to see it. Sometimes they don't fit or look right on them so we start joking around with them. After two hours, they find what they plan on buying.

"I think I'm getting this one," Jenna says, holding on a strapless dress and black in color. I remember when she tried it on, it was well fitted to her frame.

"Kind of short? You might get cold," Cody says.

"Yeah, but it'll be hot in the building," Jenna says. "And I can wear my grandmother's necklace, the big dangling one." Cody nods along, recalling the one she's talking about. "How about you, find one?" she asks Amelia.

Amelia sighs, looking conflicted. "See, I like a few but not sure which one I want." She holds three hangers, with different dresses. One is this vibrant blue with a specific type of skirt she called it but I wasn't paying attention, the front stops at her knees and the back drapes down to the floor. The top is very shiny and it's long sleeved. The other one she has is white with a black skirt and many ruffles. The other one she has is a silk, black dress. It's sleeveless and has tiny beads sewed into the bottom, swirling up the skirt. "Probably not the blue one, it's the more expensive one."

"I like the black one," Cody says, pointing to the left one. "The one without ruffles, it looked really good on you."

Amelia smiles softly and glances at it. "Yeah, I do like the beads on the bottom on." She hangs the other two up on a rack to check the tag. "This one isn't too bad, I might get it."

"Cool, now," Jenna snaps her head in my direction, "you need to get something."

I roll my eyes at her laughing. "What, you didn't make Cody get sny," I say.

"Hey, I have stuff at home. I mean, I may get a new tie," he says softly, glances over at the men's section.

"Ugh," I sigh. Jenna takes my had and drags me over to the suits. "You're making a fuss out of this."

"Duh, you're my friend, I want to see you there and not be cast away on your own. We're all going to be there."

"Even Brendon?" I ask, trying to be spiteful.

"Well, he's going with his girlfriend," Amelia says, "but things are different now, he'll probably say hi to us but we'll see him at least."

"But also like Hayley and Patrick and Gerard," Jenna says, "they're coming over and we'll drive together." Gerard is going then. Seeing him dressed up is a benefit but I still don't want to. I literally can walk over to his house if I want to hang out with him. "Cody, you're a guy."

Cody looks at her and raises an eyebrow. "Oh, I am?" he says surprised.

Jenna rolls her eyes at him. "No shit, Sherlock. I meant like you have a guy's taste, find something Frank would like."

He clasps his hands together and starts waltzing around. "Let's see, something Frank would like," he murmurs to himself. "Assuming dark colors?"

"Preferably if at all," I reply.

Cody eventually pieces together a shirt, tie, and jacket for me. The shirt has the slightest hue of purple but it looks black from far away. And the tie is a dark navy but the jacket, dark black. If dark black is even a thing, then it'd be my favorite color. I try it on and I have to say, it looks really nice, he got my size and it fits well. I'm wearing ripped jeans but I have navy slacks at home that would probably match the tie. The girls convince me to get it and I guess that means I'm going with them. First time for everything. They'll also be hanging out afterward and it's fun wearing fancy clothes together, which I understand. We all check out, the girls buy their dresses and Cody does get a silk black tie. He has a bunch of solid colors and stripes but no plain black.

When we get back to their house, the sun is already setting but it's late fall so not saying much. We go to the upper level of their house and lounge around on the bean bag chairs talking.

"It's crazy to think break is almost over," I say. "Like, we just have the weekend and that's it. I don't want to go back."

"Neither do I," Amelia says. "I like hanging out with you guys."

"We go back, have two weeks, then finals then winter break. Then we're halfway done with junior year," Jenna says. She's slumped over in the bean bag chair, resting her head and shoulders against it but the rest of her lying on the floor with her legs over Amelia's. I'm lying next to her in another seat and Amelia and Cody are across from us sharing one.

"I can't believe we're already halfway done," Cody says, "I swear, this year just started."

"I know," Amelia says.

"It flew by just like how next semester will be. Then we're going to be seniors. We're going to graduate." Jenna sighs reflectively, staring up at the ceiling. "We get farther and farther away from being kids every day. And one day, we won't be anymore."

"Don't talk like that," Amelia says, "it makes me sad. I don't want to think about growing up."

"Well, it's what's happening and just because we don't talk about it doesn't mean it stops," Cody says.

"I know but..." she pauses, thinking of how to describe her feelings. "I don't want to have to say goodbye to this. I wouldn't give up what we have right now for anything else in the world."

"You don't want to go to college?" I ask.

"Well, I do, I want to go to New York and get into fashion. Gerard and I were talking and we're interested in the New York but different school. Granted, he'll be the closet."

"Gerard's going to New York?" I ask.

"Well, no, but his dream school is there, an art school," Amelia says.

"Oh, that's not far away," I say.

The others look at me and Jenna turns. "Dude, Frank, New York is like the complete other side of the country," Cody says.

I pause for a moment and it dawns on me I was thinking of New Jersey for some reason. "I forgot I moved," I whisper softly. He's not going to be a state or two over, no, he's moving over a thousand miles away. As I realize, a sinking feeling settles inside and I become uncomfortable. It's so far away.

"I want to study abroad and travel to London," Jenna says. Well, damn, that's even farther and she's my best friend.

"I haven't really thought about school yet," Cody says, "but it would probably be for music and I'd probably get a bunch of athletic scholarships."

"I don't know if I want to go to college," I say. "I mean, I want to get into music too but I don't think I need school to teach me how, but then I might learn later."

"We still have time," Jenna says. "Let's appreciate what we have now."

"I don't want to grow up," Amelia says. "I love being 16, I wish I could stay this age forever."

"It doesn't work like that, sweetie," Cody says, nudging her with a smile.

"I know, but Peter Pan was right." She giggles to herself, covering up her face. Cody smiles at her while looking at her. "Oh, I remember when we were younger and we'd just play adventures. We never ran out of imagination. Jenna was so small when she was little."

"Hey, I caught up to you all in middle school," she says. "I was a spirited kid. Cody, on the other hand, was so angsty when we met."

"Wh-well, excuse me!" he says, crossing his arms. "Maybe I was an emotionless too-cool-for-school robot but I wasn't some hyped up animal like you were."

"Yeah," she replies. "I might have a picture of you when you were a preteen."

Cody's face drops. "Oh, stop it." Jenna takes out her phone, scrolling through while giggling sinisterly. "Jenna, oh, don't it," he says, pointing a finger at her.

"I found it!" she cries out.

"Oh my god," he wails, flopping back and throwing his hands in the air defeated.

Jenna rolls on her side and scoots closer to me. "Look at the grumpy boy," she says in a baby voice. I glance over and see a picture of Cody wearing a long-sleeve, blue sweater with his arms crossed. He's wearing a hat backward and his hair is the stereotypical emo/scene cut with a mane of side bangs, however, it wasn't kept orderly and much longer than Cody's hair now.

"I hate you," Cody mutters while flipping through his phone. "Hey, Frank, wanna see fetus Jenna?"

"No!" she screams at him.

"Hell yeah." I sit up and Cody turns his phone to show me. Jenna is very little, she has to be still in elementary. Her hair is in pigtails and it's bright golden blonde instead of platinum. She has a denim jacket on and she's smiling big, all her baby teeth still in. She's raising her arms in the photo like a monster or some animal. "You guys are so adorable as kids," I say. Jenna throws a pillow at Cody and he fumbles with his phone. I laugh, laying back down. I really don't want this to end, I don't want to run out of time. It feels like I've known them forever but I just got here, I'm not ready for it to change, I'm finally happy, I want more time. Amelia's right, I want to stay this age forever.