The next few weeks went by faster than anyone expected. We had more homework than ever before and review sessions almost every day after school. Before we knew it, the last day of classes was upon us. I surprisingly was pretty sad. Normally I'd be more than ready for summer, but this year was different. I had Finn and Jack and Ellie, and they made school enjoyable. They were all leaving in a week, and I'd be stuck here, bored out of my mind.

"Why don't you get a job?" Jack suggested as we got off the bus one last time. We had our arms linked for old times sake. Finn and Ellie were behind us, but they soon branched off when we entered the school building.

"Maybe, I don't know. I guess that might be fun, and I could make some money," I shrugged. The atmosphere in the school was different today. It was apparent everyone was checked out for the year, even if we still had finals. People kept stopping in the halls to talk and hug, and I had to stop multiple times on the way to English so Jack could talk to his friends passing by.

"I see you're all dressed for summer!" Our English teacher had remarked. It was true. I was wearing shorts and a tank top, like most of the girls in my class. Jack was wearing a baggy shirt and shorts that ended just above his knee. "Well, too bad it's not summer yet. Here's another review packet," she added.

That's pretty much how the rest of the day went. Non-academic classes, like gym and college prep, were fun. We went outside and played kickball, but Jack and I didn't feel like playing so we walked around the field instead. We ate lunch outside too, taking in the almost-summer air as much as we could. Even though classes were ending today, we still had non-stop review until our last test next week.

"I'm gonna miss you guys," I frowned, taking a bite of the salad I had packed for lunch. Jack picked out a carrot and shoved it in his mouth.

"I'm gonna miss you too. I still can't believe we actually became friends this year. I hated your guts like nine months ago. Look at us now," Ellie reminisced.

"It's ok, we're gonna facetime you every single day," Jack assured me, kissing the top of my head.

The day ended as quickly as it had started. The final bell rang, and summer commenced. Sort of. Jack wanted to go to the beach after school, but we had our first final tomorrow and the rest of us agreed that was a terrible idea.

"Well, this is it. Our last bus ride," I sighed, holding Jack's hand as we stepped onto the bus.

"There's always next year," Finn reminded me, boarding the bus close behind us.

"Unless you die over the summer," I groaned, sliding into our usual seats one last time.

"Dude, you need more friends. I don't even know how you're considered popular," Finn commented.

"Fuck off. Not my fault you're my best friends who also happen to be my only friends," I pointed out. The bus ride was like every other bus ride we've had all year, but I still felt sentimental. This bus was where I first saw Finn, who, whether I liked it or not, pretty much changed my life. It almost felt too soon when the bus pulled to a stop on Ellie's street. I was seeing her later during the week for exams, but seeing her step off the bus made my heart sink. Finn was off next. He gave me and Jack hugs before leaving. Finally, it was Jack's turn. The bus stopped, and Jack got up.

"I'm gonna miss our bus rides. See you soon," he said, kissing my forehead and walking away.

The next morning was our spanish exam. I was up late studying, but not too late, because I needed to be well rested. I arrived at school early because there was no way I was going to be late for a final exam. A few people were already waiting, milling around outside the testing room.

"Hola," I heard Finn say, turning as he walked up to me.

"Hola Finn," I responded.

"Yo esto nervoso," he sighed.

"I'm pretty sure it's 'estoy nervioso' dude," I corrected him.

"Fuck, I'm totally gonna fail this test," he groaned. "Oh, I have something for you," he added, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a thick envelope.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Open it," he prompted. I did as I was told. Enclosed in the envelope was a stack of pictures. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that they were pictures of me and Jack.

"Finn, these are great," I breathed, studying each individual image. There was one in particular that stood out to me. We were sitting at lunch, and I was resting my head against Jack's. My arms were leaning on his shoulders and I was looking at something on the table. But Jack was looking at me. And the look on his face was... wow. Just wow.

"They're from my film camera. I've been taking a bunch of pictures and I thought it would be weird if I kept the ones of you guys so yeah, there you go. I'm glad you like them," he smiled.

"Thank you. This means a lot, Finn."

"No problem. And thanks for being one of my first friends here. I'm glad I got to know you. And despite our complicated history, I'm glad we're friends," he said. I wrapped my arms around him, giving him a friendly hug.

"Thanks. Now let's go and kick our spanish test's ass," I grinned.

"Estoy tan listo," Finn nodded.

"Wow, Finn, eso fue gramática perfecta! Espero que estés listo para tu prueba! Buena suerte chicos," Our spanish teacher exclaimed, appearing out of absolutely nowhere and guiding us into the testing room.

"Do you know what she said?" Finn whispered.

"Not a clue," I giggled.

The rest of our tests went alright. Jack almost convinced Asher to cheat with him on the english test, but I persuaded both of them not to do that. Our last test was history, which was at 4 in the afternoon. Once that was finished, summer had finally begun.

"Fuck school. We're finally done with this shit," Jack grinned as we left the school building for the last time.

"I know. Freedom feels incredible," Finn laughed. He was right. All that studying and hard work was finally over, and we had three months to relax.

"You guys wanna hang out? We can get dinner or something," Ellie asked, trailing behind us.

"I gotta pack for camp. I'm leaving pretty early in the morning tomorrow," Finn sighed. I frowned. For a brief moment I had forgotten all about camp.

"You haven't packed yet? I've been packed for a week," Ellie scoffed.

"Ok, miss prepared. I need to pack too," Jack replied sarcastically.

"Fine then. What about you Madison? Wanna hang?" she questioned.

"Uh, I don't know, maybe," I shrugged. I wouldn't mind spending some time with Ellie before she left.

"Actually, I wanted her to help me pack," Jack interrupted. "If that's what Madison wants," he added quickly.

"Yeah, of course. I'll see you guys tomorrow at camp, I'm going with Jack's parents to drop him off," I told them. I hugged them both goodbye.

Jack and I walked home, holding hands and enjoying the summer air. My parents said it was alright that I slept over at his house, since I was bringing him to camp in the morning anyways. We stopped in town on the way home from school to get some snacks, then ended up at his house.

"I have a shit ton to pack, so let's get to work," he said once we had safely locked ourselves in his room. I flopped dramatically on his bed as he began gathering his supplies.

"Are you excited to see Wyatt and Jaeden and the others?" I asked. I was trying to look at this whole ordeal in a positive light, but it wasn't working at all.

"Super excited. We've been texting in the groupchat non stop," he responded, pulling a small suitcase out of his closet and randomly shoving clothes inside.

"That's your suitcase? You're leaving for like nine weeks and that's all you're gonna bring?" I said, shocked.

"Yeah, we can do laundry and stuff there so I don't need that many clothes. And Finns bringing weed, Chosens bringing alc, and Wyatt's bringing his nintendo switch so I'm all set with that stuff," he explained, cramming a pair of headphones into the suitcase.

"Oh yeah, the essentials," I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"Hey, do you want this?" he offered, holding out one of his favorite baggy hoodies.

"Why?"

"So you can remember me."

"You're not dying, I'm not gonna forget you," I laughed.

"Fine, don't take it," he shrugged, pretending to be hurt.

"I'm kidding, of course I want it." He threw it at my head but I caught it and slipped it on over my shirt. The fabric was soft, and it smelled overwhelmingly of Jack.

"Kids, time for dinner," Jack's mom called from downstairs just as he tossed the final item into his suitcase and pulled the zipper shut. We rushed downstairs, both fairly hungry since we hadn't eaten anything besides snacks all day.

"So Madison, are you coming with us to drop Jack off tomorrow?" Jack's mom asked once we were seated.

"Yeah, I wanna spend every minute possible with him before he's gone," I said.

"Don't you two ever get tired of each other?" his dad wondered, laughing.

"Nope. Never," Jack answered, reaching over to hold my hand.

We returned to his room shortly after, and changed into our pajamas. I always kept spare shorts and a shirt at his house, but I decided to wear his hoodie to sleep instead.

"Do you want to paint my nails?" he offered, coming back from the bathroom with assorted bottles of nail polish. Ever since I'd painted his nails on Valentine's Day, he was addicted. I agreed, opting for black and yellow nails, and carefully got to work.

They dried half an hour later. "What should we do now?" he asked. He laid down on his bed, and I moved next to him, intertwining our legs and resting my head on his chest.

"I don't know," I mumbled as he began playing with my hair. "Oh wait, I want to show you something," I said suddenly, remembering the pictures Finn had given to me earlier this week. They were in the bag I brought to school for testing, which was conveniently in the corner of Jack's room. I grabbed the envelope before returning to my spot on the bed.

"Look at these pictures Finn gave me," I showed him. We went through them together, talking and laughing. It was hard to believe that in less than twenty four hours I wouldn't be able to spend time with him like this. We finished looking through the pictures and continued to talk for a while. We then fell silent, Jack stroking my hair softly while I listened to his heartbeat through his thin shirt.

"We should go to sleep soon, we have to wake up really early tomorrow," I reminded him.

"Yeah, we're leaving at like 5am or something."

"I'm gonna miss you," I whispered, my voice catching in my throat slightly. My hand found the necklace around his neck, the one that matched mine, and I began to play with it comfortingly.

"I'm gonna miss you more. And it's only three months," he comforted me. He moved his hand to my chin, bringing our lips together briefly before wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

-

authors note: