My favorite days were always the ones I spent in their garage. It was hard to explain, but every time I heard them play I could tell that I was witnessing something great, like I was in on one of the world's best kept secrets. But as much as I loved having them all to myself, I knew that one day they would belong to the hearts of so, so many.

I made sure to appreciate these moments for as long as I could.

By this point, Danny had driven over and Sam had finally made his way outside, both doing their best to catch up on everything Josh and Jake had come up with throughout the morning. It was truly amazing to see them all work together, always so in sync.

"When are you gonna start taking this seriously?" Jake asked, turning to Sam. He lifted his guitar over his head and placed it back on its stand. Sam rolled his eyes.

"When things actually start getting serious." He laughed. "You remember that first show?" I could see Jake's cheeks burning as he scrunched up his face.

"That was our first real show, it's not gonna be perfect." He muttered, getting defensive. Josh shook his head, giggling to himself.

"It was pretty bad, Jake."

It was true. It wasn't exactly the greatest but I remember that night so vividly. Despite almost everything going wrong that could have gone wrong, you could just tell that they belonged up there. It was.. incredible.

"Well, we'd be better by now if Sam didn't sleep half the morning away. We're only gonna have summers free for so long. If nothing happens with this, you know Mom is gonna make us finally commit to a school." I looked over at Josh who's demeanor instantly changed.

We had all taken a year off after high school, and then one year turned to two, and two turned to three. Aside from Jake, we were all still trying to figure out what to do with our lives, and with everything happening with my mom, the last thing I wanted to do was pack up and leave. Not like we could afford for me to any way.

But I knew Josh had always dreamed of New York. I swear, at this point I could probably tell you more about NYU than he could. He had wanted to take the year off to put together a better portfolio for their film program, but that slowly turned into more and more band practices with Jake.

Come to think of it, I couldn't even remember the last time I saw him pick up his camera.

Jake's dream had always been music, and he never let anyone forget it. You would never catch him without his guitar, always playing along to something, always practicing. Perfecting. Most days I envied how sure they were about their futures. What I would give to be sure about anything in my life these days.

Well, I was sure about one thing.

Josh plopped down onto the couch next to me, his leg brushing up against mine. I did my best to contain my smile, feeling my face getting hot.

"So, do you think we're getting any better?" He asked, placing his arm across the top of the couch behind me. He was always very careful when it came to getting too close to me, as if wanting to make sure that I knew he wasn't flirting.

Despite how badly I wished he would.

"You know I'm biased." I laughed, looking up at him. His lips curved into a playful grin as his eyes met mine, and for just a minute, he held his stare on me. My heart jumped. He was typically quick to turn away, overly conscious to never give Jake any reason to point out our tiny moments of intimacy, whether they were intentional or not.

Back when we were kids, I would always spend the summers in the Kiszka's backyard, from sun up to sundown, lost within our world of make believe that we had created together, my favorite being the one where I was the princess, and Josh always having to be the knight who fought to save me from the highest branch of the tallest tree; my enchanted tower.

But as you get older, your days of fairytales and playing pretend come crashing down when reality strikes with taunting songs, reminding you that boys and girls can never just be friends.

Josh climbed up, reaching his arm out for me to help me down just like he did every day when he heard Jake's laughter from down below.

"Josh and Jaime sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!"

Josh instantly pulled away, glaring back down at Jake.

"We are not!" He yelled, quickly climbing back down after him, chasing him around the yard as I stayed up in the tree until long after they made their way back inside.

That was the first time I felt a shift in our friendship.

He had been my best friend my entire life. What had changed? Why was I now nervous at the idea of spending time alone with him? Why did my heart beat faster when his eyes lingered on me a little too long, when his hand would accidentally brush against mine? My body, now silently screaming at the faintest touch, wanting nothing more than to be held in ways that implied we were so much more than friends.

Why was I the only one who felt this way?

After a while, I snuck a peek at my phone to make sure my mom hadn't called. Thankfully, still nothing. But I still worried, knowing she would tough it out until it was absolutely necessary. And by then, the ambulance was most likely already on its way.

"So.." Jake finally said, looking down at his phone. "The girls want to go to the carnival tonight. Everybody in?" He looked over at Josh and I, flashing us a smile. I felt my stomach drop. I knew what this meant. Everyone would have a date. Besides me. And Josh. And we would be the only two "friends" in the group. Just like always. Josh hesitated for a minute before looking down at me.

"Do.. do you wanna go?" He asked. "I know you can't just leave whenever you want, so-"

"Oh, um.. y-yeah. I.. I'll go see if she'll be alright." I said, getting up from the couch, grabbing my bag. He nodded.

"Okay, yeah." He said, turning back to Jake. "Sure, yeah. Um.. we'll see if Jaime can go." Jake nodded, keeping his eyes down.

"I'll text you." I said, giving Josh a quick wave as I made my way out the door.

"Why do you guys always have to bring dates? Why can't we ever just.. go out as friends?" I asked, feeling my heart start to beat faster as we pulled up to Jaime's house.

"Technically, you always have a date." Jake laughed from the back seat, wrapping his arm around a girl I didn't quite recognize. Between the three of them, it was hard to keep up with whoever they brought around these days.

"What do you mean? I never have a date." I muttered, looking over at her door.

"Well, you would if you just told her how you felt." Sam giggled to himself. I felt my face get hot as they all laughed amongst each other.

"Can you please not-"

"I know, I know.." Jake sighed. "We won't say anything. She should hear it from you anyway."

"I just.. I don't wanna ruin anything." I said softly, leaning my head against the steering wheel.

"Well, you'll never know if you don't try. You don't think she's gonna find a boyfriend the second she finally leaves for college?" My heart dropped.

I knew that Jaime could have whoever she wanted. So, it always confused me how she never seemed to want.. anyone. But I knew when the day came, it would absolutely kill me. No one was good enough for her. No one would ever be.

"Alright, stop." I whispered as I finally saw her front door open. She gracefully hopped down her front porch steps, making her way towards the car.

"Hey!" She said cheerfully, climbing into the passenger seat and shutting the door behind her. She turned to the back seat, giving everyone a wave before turning back to me, flashing me a wide grin. I couldn't help but smile, feeling my face get hot again.

She was so pretty.

"Everything okay?" I asked, motioning back towards her house. She nodded, a little too enthusiastically. I knew that meant her mom probably didn't feel good, but insisted Jaime went out anyway.

"Yeah, she's fine." She said, forcing a bigger smile. "Ready?"

I nodded, pulling away.