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Graduation day was finally here. The day that would allow for the next phase of their lives was closing in on the seniors of Content, and everyone was ready for it, and Samson Ahn was no exception. Friday mornings were the easiest to wake up to as Sam was always up ten minutes before his alarm, and this Friday was no different either. He was ready for the ceremony later that afternoon, but he was more ready for what was in store the following morning. He had planned his final high school summer a year ago and all the plans that he had in the making were finally coming into bloom.

"Sam, I ironed your dress shirt! Wear it under your graduation gown!" His mom roared from the kitchen. "Borrow your father's blue bow tie too!"

"Thank you!" Sam replied back at the top of his lungs. He figured his mom had a sixth sense when it came to him because she knew he was up already without him making a sound and just about most other odd things mothers just knew about their child. He fumbled around his room, throwing on whatever clean clothes caught his sight first before heading off to the bathroom finishing his morning routine.

As half an hour passed he slipped into the kitchen swiping a breakfast plate his mom set out for him on the island, bowing and thanking her as he took a bite of his toast. "After the ceremony I’m going to hang out with Nate, probably won’t be back till like late late."

His mom's eyebrow rose up, but in a split second she smiled and nodded her head. "I suppose I can cover your father for you." She gave her son a kiss on the cheek as she walked away, shouting her goodbye. "I'll see you at the ceremony! Remember you have rehearsals at noon!"

Stuffing his mouth he returned with an inaudible, "Yes ma'am." But of course, she was already out the door, rushing to the restaurant where his father was all morning. He finished his breakfast and headed out back to his room, grabbing his dress shirt, gown, and bow tie, before heading out the door himself to the North campus one final time as a student.

When Sam arrived at school he and just about every other senior were rushing into the building as they were all cutting it close to the practice run of the ceremony. You could see the boys dragging their navy blue gowns while the girls had their white graduation caps and gowns fitted into their own style. Samson waved at his classmates and friends, saying his hellos and good mornings, before rushing into the gym which was set up into a make-shift theater hall as the bleachers filled the sides and filed chairs sat across the gym floor.

"This is it," Sam smiled. "By this time tomorrow, we'll be on the road."


The graduation ceremony ran smoothly and soon enough every senior was on their way to either grab a bite with their family, friends, or getting ready for Avery Henderson's party. The captain of the football team had spread word that his parents were leaving town for the weekend after the graduation ceremony and he was throwing one final shebang before everyone headed off to their own summers. Being one to believe in rites of passage, Sam was of course going to the party without a doubt. But he had to make sure to not get too blasted if he was expecting to drive off the next morning for his grand summer adventure to the Lovely Music Festival. The young man hoped that all of the others remembered that they were on a tight schedule and that with or without all of them he was leaving at nine a.m. sharp the following morning.

The Korean-American had made a deal with his parents after his junior year that if he had gotten good grades, good enough to be in the top thirty of his three hundred or so class graduating class, he would be given a brand new car of his choice before heading off to college. So Sam did just that and more. He was in the top fifteen of his class, scoring an above average on his ACT’s, being well-involved in school, and also working at their family business whenever he could. He never asked much from his parents and they respected him for that and for working diligently and hard all throughout his high school career. They were as proud as could be when his graduation day finally came rolling in as all of his achievements were finally being honored. When the deal was first set Sam went and picked out the car of his dreams as he knew what he was going to get to which baffled his parents completely. Sam had decided to buy a broken down and scrapped bus from the local junkyard which was owned by his classmate’s family, Hunter Monroe.

The bus itself was like you would have expected. Rusted out, beaten and battered, with the life and color drained completely out of it. Sam’s father questioned his son but he knew that the boy had worked hard enough to earn it without grief. Sam used all of his free time, outside of extracurricular and working with his parents, to fix the bus up for his grand plan. With the help of Hunter, since he himself knew next to nothing about cars and engineering, they were able to make something beautiful out of the extra large car. Painting it a vibrant forest green, adding in new seats, a small table, and even a bathroom, the final steps to his master plan were all falling in to place. Replacing all of the old with new and much more functioning things both with the interior design of the car and the internal mechanisms that all cars had took a few months, but it was well worth it in the end.

He owed a lot to Nate, Hunter, and the others as if it wasn't for them he honestly wouldn't have had the courage to do what he was going to do. People, especially his parents, saw his plan as his way of giving back to his friends, who he always looked out and wanted to make feel welcomed and more than what they actually thought of themselves, but a true reason for Sam's grand summer adventure was for selfish reasons that he hadn't told anyone yet.

Sitting in his dad's car, he revved up the engine and turned on the radio. "Hopefully Andy's isn't too full," he said, finally agreeing on a place to grab a quick bite. He knew his parents were flooded with customers as people had gotten in reservations maybe a month early for not just their restaurant, but places all over town. Thankfully Andy's was one of the cheap, quick grab and go joints that Sam and most other high school kids in their town liked to go to. Greasy and cheap foods, with music that wasn't too bad either, that place was always a hot spot.

---

"I guess you've just gotta find something you love to do and then... do it for the rest of your life. For me, it's going to Content High School."

Johnny swore at the beginning of his time at high school that these would be the first words he utter on the day he graduated. That morning, he was content that at least one thing went according to plan. He smiled as he spoke, oddly happy in the moment. He knew by the afternoon he would be mourning the end of an era, but for now he was proud he'd made it through to today. Making it through today was a completely different ballgame, however. Mainly because his parents were expecting him to go to Avery Henderson's party. Spending the night with the football star and his frat-boy friends was not the way he wanted the day to end.

Rolling over, he spotted his to-do list that he wrote for himself lying to him bedside table. Fumbling with his reading glasses, he reminded himself of what he had to do that morning: Wear something smart, get a sandwich from mum for lunch, get to school ASAP, don't screw up! He brightly trudged into the bathroom, putting on his khakis, a light blue shirt and a grey tweed tie. He looked himself over in the mirror as he combed his hair. Not too shabby, indeed. Plus, he wouldn't need to change before the ceremony.

He calmly walked downstairs, the smell of pancakes invading his head. His parents were sitting around the kitchen table, hurriedly eating their breakfast. Johnny coughed quietly to announce his entrance. They both looked up immediately, beaming. "Well, good morning Mr Top-Five-Percent-Of-His-Class." Said his father, puzzled at his son's seeming apathy as he calmly nodded. Clive Baxter expected his son to be bouncing off the walls by now. "Aren't you excited? You're graduating today! Isn't that great?"

"Pop, of course I'm excited. I mean, I'm actually graduating today! I'd be dead inside if I wasn't excited. It's just weird without..." Johnny stopped himself before he brought up Max. Four years ago, he couldn't have envisioned his graduation going any other way than hanging out with his closest friend in the world. But it wasn't going to be like that. It simply couldn't. He was alone today, as he had been for two years. The thought of his old boyfriend would eventually break him to pieces into a weeping wreck. Today would not be that day.

His mother quickly picked up the conversation, not allowing her son to be sad on the biggest day of his life. "Clive, I think we need to leave. We're going to be opening soon. Johnny, darling, have a great day. We'll see you this afternoon." His mother gave him a kiss on the cheek before bundling out the door.

"Son, there are some pancakes left for you on the counter. Can't wait to see you in your cap and gown." His father patted him on the shoulder and left. Johnny sat alone, wolfing down his breakfast and bolting out the door with his gown.

When he reached campus, he slowed down a little. This, it occured to him, was the last time that he would enter this building. He took in the sights. The place wasn't as drab as he thought when he looked around. Sure, there were students running helter-skelter all over the place, but it was tranquil in its own way. The buildings had become so familiar he wondered how he would do without them.

---

The ceremony went well. Everyone was so excited, Johnny wondered if they too could sense the sadness permeating the atmosphere. This was the last time that they would be together like this. Still, this wasn't the end of school quite yet. Johnny still had the hope of joining a university and learning to make films they way he always dreamed he could. He meandered down the street, taking off his gown and stuffing it in his satchel. Now he had to stay out long enough for his parents to believe that he went to that horrible-sounding party.

Then, of course, after that he was going to the Lovely Sounds Music Festival in an old van with a group of people he didn't know that well. The festival sounded like good fun, the road trip did not. It was only because his parents told him to that he was going. What he really wanted to do was hang out with his cousins back in England. They were a friendly bunch. He sat down on a bench in the park by Plum Hill Lake, eating the lunch his mother made him, contemplating where he should spend the evening.

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Hunter rushed out of his room shirt in hand and excitement on his mind! He had finally gotten good enough grades to graduate from highschool, and soon he was about to go on a road trip that would take him far away from home, and onto an adventure that he wouldn't otherwise be able to participate in. But first, he needed to make sure he actually arrived at graduation, and the rehearsal. It would be foolish to make it this far and then lose it all to missing rehearsal. He ran into the bathroom cutting off his younger sister by mere seconds. "ASSHOLE!" She shouted as he locked the door. "Busy day, my things are priority over yours, if you have a complaint the trash bin is in the kitchen still!" This only pissed her off more, but Hunter didn't care, he had a busy day and he was always getting into trouble against his siblings.

Once he had done everything he needed to do he ran to the kitchen, said hello to his mom, grabbed a fist full of pancakes (Which honestly did more harm to the pancakes then actually grabbing them) and he ran outside to car number four of the school year. Most the cars Hunter owned were junkers that his father decided were not worth saving other then select parts, so Hunter got permission to run them until they died. Most of them did not live long enough to replace the oil, but he didn't care, it saved walking a few miles into town.

Once he threw in his things into the old junker car he got in and got ready to start, promptly realizing he forgot the graduation gown. "SHIT!" He ran back into the house where his mom stopped him. "Do you want to tell me why you're wearing that to your graduation young man?" Referring to his T-shirt and cargo shorts. "Well... You see... No one is going to see what's on underneath anyways?And with that we're going to a party after so... That. Also...." He was trying to think of a reason that would convince her, personal comfort meant nothing to moms when it came situations like this. "The party may ruin my good clothes, and... My car is a mess, a terrible mess, there's no telling what kind of stains or smudges my good clothes will get in there!" She didn't seem convinced, but she shrugged and sent him on his way.

He ran back to his room where his graduation gown was hanging on the back of his door, still wrapped in plastic, he refused to open it before graduation, fearing that he would ruin it just by looking at it too hard. He grabbed it with delicate hands and ran back to his car, where he promptly threw it on the passenger seat of his car. Almost as if he forgot he was supposed to take care of it. But now even though he had plenty of time he was worried about being late to his own graduation, reason took a back burner as panic took the wheel of his shitty old car.

As happened some mornings, the car refused to go more then a few feet before it quit on him. He knew this day was coming, but he was hoping it would make it until he got back at the very least. He tried to start it a few more times before he gave up and tried to think of a new plan to get to town, and to graduation. "Okay, okay!" He said panicked as he almost pulled out his hair. "I just... need to make it about seven miles without a car.... Shit..." That was starting to become his favorite word of the morning. Once he was in town he figured he could solve all his issues from there. He ran back to a shed on the back of the property where he pulled out his old bike, one he hadn't used in about two years, and even then it wasn't maintained much.

He put on his backpack and hooked his gown to the bag, folding it over part way down to make sure it dind't get stuck in the back wheel of his bike. He almost considered asking his dad for a ride, but he was normally gone by this point out buying old cars for cheap and sorting scrap. He biked harder then he ever had on his bike, partially because he was a bit out of shape from not biking, and partially because panic told him to go as fast as he could otherwise he would be late. He wasn't late, but he was tired and sore by the time he was ready for rehearsal.

---

Graduation went well, he got his diploma and cheered as loud as he could when it was all said and done. Part of his was worried that the event would take too long, but it wasn't bad once bit, he was excited with every name that was called. He had family come from all over the area to witness this for him, it was one of the happiest moments of his life, and for the first time in years, he felt like he had done something useful in his life.

When everything was over, he put his gown in the back of the family van and got rid of the now muddy plastic that used to cover it. He then grabbed a gallon jug of tea from the back and started looking for his friends before he went over to a party being held by someone from the football team. He really didn't know anyone on the team well, but he figured he could still have a good time. This, was the first day, in the newest chapter in his life.

For many across the world, high school graduations were a big event. It was a moment individuals looked forward to since their childhood years: the end of an era, and the start of a new one. It meant that they had been successful in completing their mandatory years of education, and that they were now free to stretch their wings and fly to bigger and better horizons.

But for Samantha Kingsley and her mother Eleanor, the former’s high school graduation meant so much more than just the culmination of her child and teenage years. Sammi’s achievement was the product of overcoming many hardships thrown at her by life, and coming out stronger and unscathed. From being the daughter of a teen mom, being abandoned by her father, watching her mother’s sleepless days of sacrifice to earn her nursing degree, living in a woman’s shelter until she was seven, and life ultimately getting better when Eleanor had landed that nursing job at Content’s hospital. Although she was not at the top percentile of her class and just your average student, the fact that she’d never once given up on her studies or fallen hostage to drugs, alcohol or overall negative situations made the whole thing all the more reason to celebrate. And so when she got up on the stage and held that diploma in her hands, Samantha looked down at her mother with tears of joy and happiness rolling down her cheeks. After all they’ve gone through together… They’d finally made it.

Once the ceremony was over, Sammi rushed to her mother’s side, and the two women wrapped their arms around each other in a tearful, triumphant embrace. It was a while until they finally let go, still beaming at one another.

“I’m so proud of you, Sammi.” Eleanor said, her voice breaking with emotion, eyes still full of tears.

“I couldn’t have done it without you, Mama. You were my example.” Samantha replied tearfully, which earned her a kiss and yet another hug from her proud mother.

“I know how much you love that fancy Italian place downtown, and since we’re celebrating today, I’ve made us reservations for it.” the older woman informed her daughter, wiping away the tears on the girl’s cheeks.

Sammi grinned. “That’s awesome, because I’m honestly starving.”

Eleanor chuckled. “Then let’s get going!” she said, motioning towards the parking lot where her car waited for the pair.

“Actually, gimme a few minutes. I need to take pics with Nate, Sam and the others.”

Once the photo session with her friends was over, a giddy Samantha skipped happily in the direction of her mother. Arm in arm, Sammi and Eleanor walked to the car, got in and drove off the high school parking lot and into the main road. As they made their way down to the restaurant, the women passed Plum Hill Lake, where a dark-haired young man sitting alone on a bench caught Sammi’s eye. She motioned to her mother to slow down the vehicle, and upon a closer look realized that the person sitting in the bench was none other than her classmate Johnathan Baxter.

Grinning, Sammi motioned for her mother to stop the car and rolled down her window. “Hey Johnny!” she called out to the young man, waving enthusiastically at him with a bright smile on her lips. “If you need a ride to Avery’s party tonight, just shoot me a text. I’d love to have you as my plus-one.”

Most of her classmates and friends didn’t understand why, but Samantha had always had a soft spot for Jonathan Baxter. Back when he’d been dating Maxwell Roberts, she’d been a fiercely vocal and loyal supporter of their beautiful relationship. In fact, they had been the muses of one of her online short stories -a tale of same-sex love that triumphed over all hardships-, and it ended up being her most popular and praised one up to date. The two boys had seemed so purely yet madly in love with each other: a feeling Sammi had never personally experienced herself. Secretly, she’d wished that, one day, she would find someone who would love her in the same way Max and Johnny had loved each other. In a sense, she found herself living vicariously through them.

However, Max and Johnny’s love story had not shared the same happy ending as the one she’d so beautifully written. When she’d heard the news of Max’s move and the reasons behind it, her heart went out to them. And upon seeing the devastating change in Johnathan, that same heart of hers broke for him. At that moment, she’d taken it upon herself to befriend him -even if it meant an uphill battle-. Why? Because nobody deserved to be alone, and especially not when one’s soulmate had been so cruelly snatched away. The blonde had made small talk with the young man, volunteered to do projects with him, occasionally have lunch with him, and always made a point to greet and/or smile at him every day whenever they came in proximity. Although she could never say they became the best or closest of pals, Sammi could confidently say that her and Johnny were at least somewhat friendly to each other. He didn’t dislike her like he seemed to do most people around them, so that meant she had an advantage to most people. Honestly, she was glad that he was coming along for the road trip. Maybe her wish of getting close to this lonely soul would finally become a reality.

---

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Today was a special day. It was graduation day, and like many others that were graduating today, and Saya was all sorts of excited. Fridays had always been one of favourite weekdays, with the weekends just looming around the corner. This special occasion had make waking up a whole lot easier when there was something exciting awaiting her once she reached school later for the ceremony in the afternoon.

As much as she’d been excited for graduating from high school, there was one real event that she couldn’t wait for. The event that came after the graduation tomorrow. The road trip planned by Sam and the others to the Lovely Hearts music festival in California. She was sure that the trip would be all sorts of great, and besides Samson would be there as well, and that was always a big fantastic plus anyhow. That guy was sure easy on the eyes. As she left her bedroom, she could hear her mother shouting at her. “Saya, I’ve ironed the clothes you’ll be wearing to the ceremony later. Remember to wear them under your robes.” Nodding her head as she approached her mother, she replied. “Thanks!”

Her father spoke with as few words as usual. “Are you excited?” Saya grinned at him curiously as she answered. “Oh course, I’m excited dad! Although more for what comes next than the actual graduation itself. It’s not that the ceremony is boring, it’s just that….California! How awesome is that?” It was just like Saya to answer her father’s question with a long drawn out answer.

“Have fun.”These were the only words her father replied with. The girl grinned at him at she continued with her breakfast. She'd been terribly awaiting the trip to the Lovely Hearts Festival for a long long time. Sam was going and so was Morgan. Going with people you liked plenty sure did improve the mood tremendously. Morgan was her best friend, and well, uhm, Sam was well, her best...crush?

As the day began to begin its approach into the afternoon, just like any other day, Saya cycled to school, and parked her bike at the usual spot, and retrieved her belongings as she began to get dressed in her graduation gown, waving happily at her classmates and the other friends that greeted her as she passed heading into the school. She was always happy to see her friends.

The girl promptly headed to the gym as the ceremony was about to begin in hardly any time at all. After the ceremony, Saya bid farewell to her parents and friends and retrieved her bike and cycled all the way to Andy’s. She loved the greasy food, and she was also hoping to maybe catch Sam there as well. She hoped to see him there. She’ll be totally lying big time if she said she didn’t actually have a crush on the guy.

---

Nathan stared down into his eggs he had cooked for himself for breakfast on his graduation day. His father had already left for work at the Content community college, and he didn't even mention anything about his sons graduation. Not that Nathan and his father had been close for a very long time but Nathan though his dad would at least remember his only sons high school graduation. He finished up and put his plate in the dishwasher, just as he closed the machine and put it on his sister walked out in to the kitchen with a huge smile. “Hey there grad!” she chirped, Nathan smiled back at her “Hey, are nana and pop driving you there or are you riding with me?” he asked as he packed his backpack with the stuff he would need later for Avery's party. “I'll ride with gran, or else I'll need to hang out with you and your dopey friends!” Addison chuckled and stuck her tongue out, there was a quiet pause “Did you... talk to dad?” she asked quietly.

“Nope. He didn't have the time this morning I guess!” Nate tried to keep his voice level in front of his sister. “I can't believe you're leaving me here with that asshole for the whole summer...” she sat down at the kitchen table and crossed her arms staring at him. Nathan sighed and sat down across from his sister, “I'm sorry, but I just need to get out of this town, out of this house and out of this...life. And besides I thought you didn't want to hang out with me and my dopey friends?” Nathan gave his sister a playful punch on the arm to try and lighten the mood.

He stood up and grabbed his gown that was hanging on his bedroom door, he checked his watch “Woah, I need to go!” he exclaimed. He gave Addison a quick kiss on the head as he bounded out of the house, he fumbled for his keys to his old boxy Volvo v40. He threw all of his stuff in the back seat and got in and started his last drive towards Content high. As he drove through the town that he had grown to resent he felt weird in a way, almost emotional. Tomorrow he and his friends would be on the road in a buss that he and his friends had spent most of their senior year working on towards a festival across the country, and Nate couldn't be more ready. He had been a bit hesitant to coming a long but Sam and Sammi had talked him into it with the argument “We can't make this trip with out the entire trifecta going!” which was true it had been Sam, Sammi and Nate since almost the start of freshman year and it wouldn't feel right not to be together for a last adventure. What Nathan hadn't told his friends yet was that he probably wouldn't be the bus on their way back.

The gym was filling up with his fellow seniors as Nathan entered, he scanned the seats to try to find his friends and spotted the jet black hair of Sam. He took a seat next to him and put an arm around his best friends shoulder. “Finally... it's over.” Nathan sighed, "This is it," Sam said, Nathan nodded in agreement. "By this time tomorrow, we'll be on the road.". Nathan looked at his friend “Did we figure out when we're leaving? Cause this party is probably be going for a long time.” he mused.

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The ceremony went by faster than Nathan had thought which was a relief after a few pictures with his friends. He finally found his sister and grandparents and took a few with them as well. His grandparents had made a reservation at one of Nathans favorite restaurants and they had a real nice dinner, with an empty chair at the end of the table. When the dinner was done Nathan hugged his family goodbye and hopped back in to his car and started his drive over to Avery's house.

He parked behind all of the other cars outside of Avery's gigantic house where the party was already in motion. You could hear the music pumping even before you'd reached the front door. As Nate entered the house it almost fell like he was hit by some sort of force. It was hot, loud and pretty uncomfortable, Nathan pushed his way through the small groups of people crowded around the house. When he finally got to the kitchen he found Avery “Hey man! Thanks for throwing this thing!” Nathan motioned around at nothing in particular. “Eeey Nate! Saaah brah! No problem man, we need to celebrate getting out of that prison right?!” Nathan laughed and agreed with him, Avery told him to get a drink and left to tend to the beer pong table. Nathan grabbed a beer from a bucket on the counter and headed for the outside patio, he sat down on a couch and took a swig from his beer as he waited for his friends.

---

Foresight was a gift that Johnny had always believed he was blessed with. So it was absolutely astonishing when he realised that he had stupidly left himself with nothing to do. He forgot to bring his camera, a book, his old Nintendo, anything. He silently berated himself for being such an idiot. The logical solution was to go back home and get something to do. That being said, if his parents were home they would get suspicious. Was there any way to get in without getting caught?

His train if thought was suddenly halted by a voice calling his name. His head quickly snapped upwards, searching for whoever said his name. His inquisitive glare soften as soon he saw the culprit. Samantha Kingsley. She was the closest thing he had to a friend. She was quite sweet and always made time to say 'hello' to him, which he secretly valued. He in turn tried his best to be nice to her, didn't try to avoid her company, and helped her out as best he could when necessary. They weren't friends, but she was one of the few people he actually liked.

And though he didn't want to go to the party, he would have felt bad refusing her offer to drive him. He jogged up to the car, kneeling on the grass so he was on her level. He took a moment to catch his breath before speaking. "Good afternoon. You really don't mind taking me? Cheers, I suppose. I mean, I don't want to go (don't you think it sounds dreadful?), but now that you've offered I guess I-" On closer inspection, Sammi's eyes looked a little red. He paused for a moment, his stare intensifying. "Have you been crying, by chance?" He nodded slightly to signal that he understood why, tightly smiling. He gave her a quick pat on the shoulder, which he intended to be a comforting gesture, though he didn't know if it would be of any help. "When we were being told by our teachers that we all need to try harder if we wanted to graduate, I think I know the one person that they weren't talking to. Well, I'll see you. Oh! Good afternoon, Miss Kingsley!" He briefly greeted Samantha's mother, then slowly stood up and walked away.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck. His house wasn't too far away, definitely within walking distance, and he had confidently left his window open. The perfect crime. Ten minutes later Johnny found himself scaling the walls of his house. He despised any form of physical exertion, but this was entirely necessary. He looked around his room, determind to find his camera. He was about to leave through the window, when he heard a car parking outside. Oh crud. His parents were back from work. Waiting until the front door slammed, Johnny scrambled down the side of the house, running back to the lake, camera in hand.

He spent a while sitting there alone, filming whatever interested him, narrating over the top. He'd found the perfect shot of some kids who were in his class speeding past him in their car, throwing their gowns onto the pavement, laughing. They hadn't seen him. He like to go unnoticed, filming whatever he chose, whatever was curious. Small towns, in his experience, were either curious or dull. Content could be both he had come to find. Usually, he liked sitting alone and doing nothing, but Sammi's offer for a ride stayed in the back of his mind. There was some rogue part of him that wanted to indulge her, for some apparent reason. He had her phone number from some project that he had done with her a year or so ago, and he couldn't be bothered to delete it. Swallowing his pride, his picked up his phone and went her a quick message:

Hello. If it's okay with you, I would like to take you up on your offer for a ride to the Henderson party.
- Johnny

He sat back on his bench, awaiting a reply. His attention was quickly stolen by some bird of prey above him, presumably a kestrel, preparing to swoop down on some good in front of him. The vole appeared too smart for the bird, because every time it swooped down to catch its meal the creature scarpered. It would hide for a bit and come out again. The whole situation was almost amusing, and Johnny caught the whole thing on film.

Using her thumb Morgan scrolled through her Facebook page. Everyone from school was excited for graduation day, her feed filled with congratulations and status updates about what their plans were for the upcoming year was. Morgan had a lot of dreams but a lot of them were of things her family told her were "pointless" and "not reasonable". She wondered if anyone had told Michael Jordan if he should just give up, or even Tony Hawke that it was just a phase he was going through. Her alarm went off on her screen as she quickly slid it over to snooze, she wasn't in the mood to get up quite yet, even despite how pretty excited she was for the day. Switching back to her Facebook page she quickly wrote a status update:



She knew her grandmother wouldn't be too happy with the language used but she was practically an adult now and no one could tell her what to do anymore. Right? Just then Morgan's mother popped her head in the door, without knocking. Morgan tipped her head over to look at the woman, the two were a reflection of one another in appearance but not in personality. "Baby, I made you some breakfast. Will you please wear a dress for your grandparents? Just for pictures...you can change whenever you want afterwards." Her meek voice almost made Morgan feel bad. The girl wanted to fight it, but knew that it would mean a lot to her if she did what her mom asked for.

"I will ma." Morgan said.

You could see a small smile form on her mother's lips, "Thankyou." she cooed, leaving the door wide open. Morgan could have complained about that too, but decided against it. She had been given a hearty amount of money to go on the road trip with her friends and for graduating. She truly was grateful for her parents, despite some of their discouragements. Throwing her hands up above her head, she dropped her phone down with a large smack onto her chest. A few moan and groans later she was officially out of bed and getting dressed. She settled on a simple dress, that would please her grandparents but also stick with her normal attire. She paired it with sneakers despite her mother's glare at breakfast. But the glare turned quickly into a smile as she slid the french toast on to Morgan's plate. "You look beautiful!" her mother cheered. "I will take lots of photos so your father and brother can see when they have some time.." she trailed off as she went off to tend to the stove. Morgan took hearty bites of her meal, spilling a little bit of syrup on the neckline of the dress. She licked her finger and then rubbed the smudge until it was nothing more than a wet spot.

"I gotta go ma. Thanks for breakfast, see you later." Morgan called, halfway out the door.

---

The graduation had gone smoothly and Morgan would even admit that it was kind of, almost fun. She smiled and waved to her mother with her degree in hand as she walked across the stage. When she reached almost the end she did a movement of squatting down with her diploma in one hand and a peace sign in the other in a comedic manner. Her mother laughed, simply just proud of her only daughter to have made it this far.

As people went their own way, Morgan posed for a few sweet and well behaved photos for her mother before she took off towards Avery's party. She knew that she would have time to sleep in the van for a bit, so she wasn't too worried about how late she would be at the party- hopefully she wouldn't oversleep, or she would never forgive herself.

---

---

Still smiling, Samantha watched as Johnathan jogged up to her car and knelt in the patch of grass by the passenger window to be level with her. She giggled as she watched him explain that attending Avery’s party seemed like a dreadful idea, but that her offer had pretty much made him at least consider it. Then he asked if she’d been crying, and her cherub cheeks went red as she nodded. The girl had opened her mouth to blurt out the explanation, but the boy nodded in silent understanding. He’d patted her comfortingly in the shoulder before pretty much acknowledging all of her hard work with his kind words. Her green eyes filled up with tears again, but she’d caught herself before any of them spilled out. And after saying a quick goodbye and a brief acknowledgement to Eleanor, Johnny was gone.

Silence settled inside the vehicle as Samantha rolled up her passenger window and move her gaze forward. It wasn’t long before her mother piped up “He seems like a sweet boy.”, followed by shooting a suggestive glance at her daughter before turning her eyes back to the road. “Do you like him? And I mean it like like him, like him?”

“Oh my God, Mom!” Sammi’s exclaimed in embarrassment and disbelief, her cheeks flushed again. She let out a small laugh. “I do like Johnny, but not like that. He’s just a friend, you know? Like Nate and Sam are.”

Eleanor raised up her hands in defeat. “Okay, okay, I was just asking!” she said teasingly, pulling into the Juliano’s parking lot.

Shaking her head, Sammi and her mother both exited the car and made their way to the restaurant. They were quickly seated, tended to and soon enough enjoying the meal and conversation. Sammi had been halfway through her tiramisu when her phone chimed, signaling the arrival of a new text:

Hello. If it's okay with you, I would like to take you up on your offer for a ride to the Henderson party.

Smiling, Samantha typed up a quick response and sent it on his way before turning back to her dessert.

Hiiiii! And yaaaayyyy! That’s awesome! I’ll pick you up at 8. See ya then! <3

---

It had taken Samantha less than an hour to get ready for Avery Henderson’s, opting to keep things cute yet comfortable. She’d decided on wearing a black and white striped T-shirt dress with some black Doc Martens while also rocking a half-up top bun. The real kicker came when, venturing away from her usual washed-out face, she’d put on some dark red lipstick and a bold winged liner. Satisfied with the outcome of her short preparations, she dropped her essentials into a small handbag before skipping off to the car and driving off to Plum Hill Lake.

At five minutes before eight, Samantha was pulling into the park’s parking lot in her mother’s borrowed Corolla. She honked twice to let him know of her arrival before grabbing her phone to shoot a text to her ride or dies:

Omw to the party, loves, and bringing a surprise with me! See u guys in a bit! 💖😘

She pressed the send command at the same time that there was a tap in her passenger window. The girl looked up to see Johnny’s face staring back at her from the dark, motioning for her to open up the door to him. She did so, and he immediately opened the door.

“Hey Johnny!” Samantha greeted the boy, that bright smile back in place again. “Hop right in, I’ve got something to show you.”

Once the young man occupied the passenger seat, Sammi pulled out of the park’s entrance and drove off in the direction of Avery’s house. Keeping her eyes on the road, she grabbed her phone and handed it to the boy. “I know you liked some of the bands I listen to, so here’s a song I thought you might like. It’s not exactly our usual emo vibe, but it’s a great song nonetheless. Press play whenever you’re ready.”

Johnny did as he was told, and the first chords of Bad Suns’ ‘Daft Pretty Boys’ began playing through the speakers. Smiling, Samantha sang and danced along enthusiastically, as if putting on a show to an attentive audience. Usually, it was Nate and Sam the ones she would put through this torture. But since the two other members of The Trifecta were presumably at the party, it was Johnny’s turn to suffer through it. After the song was over, she turned to him with a curious expression.

“Welllllllll, how was it?!” she asked excitedly, waiting to hear his opinions about one of her favorite bands.

Hunter after grabbing his tea ran to his bike and started to make his way to the Avery house, he didn't know exactly where it was but he knew about, and figured it would be the house with a ton of people and loud music. Before he got too close to where he thought the party was he pulled his bike over and grabbed his tea jug from the back of his bike, and the flask from his pocket. He always had it on him in case his parents ever went through his room. He didn't want to risk them finding out about his habits again. Inside said flask was some form of Vodka that Hunter had bought from an old friend of his. Though he had some suspicions, it was strong and mixed with his tea it tasted like shit, but he enjoyed it more then most things.

Even though the day was going good so far, social situations were stressful, and something to keep his mind of things seemed like a nice idea. A little confidence boost. The trip would be hard to pull off with whatever limited supply he would bring though. He'd figure it out though, one way or another. Though one thing that was really nice about these parties, they tended to have their own drinks at them, so he could stretch out his own supply just a little longer. Just a little longer.

After he poorly mixed the drinks together he put the flask away and took a sip of his now spiked tea, then started biking off again. He didn't get far though until he saw some people he actually knew! This normally made going out a lot easier, finding friends. "Hey! Morgan!" He stumbled on his bike as he tried to get the girl's attention. Though Hunter slightly forgot that he needs two hands to ride a bike, mostly because he is out of practice again. "Shit! Shit! Shit! Dammit!" His word of the day, used again.

The bike tipped over into someone's yard as he went, but he was able to more or less fall off the bike and stumble himself, landing on his feet. At first he was kinda shocked but then he decided it wasn't worth overthinking it. "What's up girl! You heading to the party too? Think we'll do anything fun while there?" He was mostly referring to setting off fireworks and other things like that, but honestly if he spent too long at a party he would get bored, so he was honestly curious if anything special was going on, or if Morgan had any ideas outside of usual bullshit they pull off. "Also? Do you know if Fabian will be here too? No point in having a good time if we can't get everyone here!" He recovered his spiked tea from the bike and tried to walk it now, no point in breaking an already broken bike even more.

By god, Elena had done it! She had made it through thirteen years of school, and had come all of this way to finally walk the stage. It was a glorious day for the Beverley family, especially Elena. She had been looking forward to this day since her first step in Kindergarten. But damn, looking back now it all felt like a blur. From her first day of kindergarten, to middle school hijinks, to senior prom, to now. It all felt like a speck compared to now. Today, today was the biggest day of Elena's life. Nothing compared to today. There was nothing bigger in Elena's life than finally getting a piece of paper that proved she survived those years in school slaving away and memorizing shit she'll never use again in life.

That was it! Once she held that piece of paper, it was all over. High school was officially a chapter of her life that was finished. The cap was thrown in the air and there was that. So long! High school could kiss Elena's ass. She could care less about what happened at that wretched place. She was so glad that she was done with that place. Looking around for her parents, she was holding her against her chest before she finally located them. Locating the people that had supported her all through these years and pushed her to this day, nobody deserved more credit than Thomas and Rochelle Beverley. Hugging her parents, they patted her on the back. That was all that needed to be said about the love and bond that Elena had with her parents.

Elena had never smiled more in her life than she did today. She didn't smile this much when she decided to commit to THE Ohio State University. This meant a lot to her, it was clear. Taking a walk off the field with her parents, she had to do the obligatory photo-op with her relatives. She didn't have any siblings, but she had plenty of cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents who were all happy to see their beloved Elena succeed. Hugs, kisses, and enough leis on her neck to give her a good workout. It was hard for her to see but her dad was happy to take them off of her neck and into his arms. They would be laid out on her bed later.

There was no subsequent dinner though, everyone understood that Elena would much rather spend what little time she had left with her friends before they went off to college. Thus, they departed for a meal at her parents' restaurant and let Elena drive herself to Avery's. Finding her cute car in the parking lot by its lonesome, she got in and immediately put on Post Malone's "Congratulations" on her stereo system. It was perfect considering what had just occurred and what Elena had just accomplished. Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day" would've worked too.

The drive to Avery's was as lit as Elena could've made it by her lonesome. The bass was strong enough to register on the Richter scale and set off car alarms. Her music could've been heard across the city. But Elena gave no shits. None at all. She was Elena Beverley, alumni of Lyle Content. No longer a student. She couldn't have cared less about what anyone else was thinking. This girl was celebrating from now to her first day at OSU.

Pulling up to Avery's, her arrival was tipped off by her deafeningly loud music, before shutting off abruptly after arriving. Getting out of the car, she made her way up the yard and into the house, ready to party the night away.

---

Johnny made up his mind that, if he really was going to pull through and attend the party, he would get dressed up. That being said, he was far too lazy to actually get a different outfit, instead opting to take of his tie and undo the top two buttons of his shirt. He hid the tie and his camera in the base of a tree near the lake. He had put in a strongbox in the tree a few years ago, so he could hide his stuff when necessary. The box held all his memories for him, so they could stay fresh for longer. So he could make the past better, and deny himself the worst part of his formative years.

His reverie was disturbed by the sound of a car horn. Must be his ride. He quickly buried the box, and hurried over to Sammi's car. He peered down at her phone through the window, briefly, secretly amused at being called a surprise. It was rare that he frequented this kind of event, so maybe surprise was the best word. He knocked his knuckles against the glass, signalling for her to open the door.

"Good evening." He said, climbing into the passenger seat. "Let's see what you have in store for me, then." He was never a fan of surprises, and his voice was laced with sarcasm. He cautiously took her phone, listening to her offer. As soon as his finger hit the play button, it seemed that she was off in her own world. He desperately tried to suppress a smile, resorting to cover his mouth with his hand. That song itself wasn't too bad. When she asked him what he thought, he could help himself from chuckling a little.

"Hmm, I don't really know. Maybe I was distracted by the one-woman concert beside me. You could have told me this ride came with a free show, I would have brought popcorn." He took a moment to regain his composure, removing his hand, taking a breath. "In all seriousness, it wasn't bad. I mean, some of the choruses were awkward as hell, but it wasn't egregious torture. And, I know we've probably been through this, but you still have a great voice. I think I've told you that before, though."

He let a silence fall, unaware of how to continue the conversation. No matter who he was talking to, it seemed that he really didn't know any social cues. Maybe he should do the popular thing: get blackout drunk and learn social cues from that. But he needed to make an effort while he was still sober. His mind was racing, coming up with things to say: Comment on the trip tomorrow; talk about graduation; complain about parties; tell her she looks nice (no, don't do that, you'll only end up looking like a-

"You look pretty tonight, by the way. I really should film you sometime."

IDIOT!

He began silently cursing himself. He probably sounded like a creeper, or some lonely nerd. Or maybe he sounded insincere. He quickly apologised without skipping a beat. "Oh, god, did that sound weird? That sounded really weird, didn't it? So sorry." Nope, that just made it worse. He quickly shut up, afraid that he now looked like an idiot to one of the few people he liked. He looked out the window, his eyes glued to the sky, his face turning red.

As soon as they arrived at Avery's house, he practically leapt out the car door, determined to atone for being an imbecile. He walked quickly around the car, opening Sammi's door for her. "I take it you'll have fun without me. I'm not good at parties." He began to stalk off into the garden, turning around suddenly to add "I can walk home tonight, if it's convenient. Tell me later. I'll be seeing you!"

He moved swiftly into the garden, sitting on the porch. Technically, he was now attending a party, but that didn't mean he had to actually do any partying. Damn, say what you want about Avery Henderson, but his porch was comfortable.

Kick. Push. Coast.

The young girl had her skateboard sliding across the sidewalk for her idea of transportation to the party. Morgan's mom had insisted on having her older brother give her a ride, but the two didn't really want to communicate with one another nor did she really want to appear so helpless in front of her friends. She was supposed to be an adult now, graduating high school was a huge step and now she was very much considered an adult.

Why was it then that she didn't feel very different from yesterday?

A familiar voiced caused her to stop as she looked behind her, the gentle face of Hunter caught her eye as she waved one of her hands at him, in a smooth upward motion. "Hey!" she greeted watching him haphazardly stop his bike in the lawn. She laughed, her head tipped back as her lips curled up into a smile. "They say that you never forget how to ride a bike, but you just showed them that saying was wrong as hell.." she chuckled again before answering Hunter's question, nodding she spoke, "Yep! Heading there right now. We can go in together, if you'd like." Morgan picked up her board and put it under her arm as the two walked the rest of the way together.

Morgan wasn't quite sure about Fabian coming but told Hunter that she figured he'd be there, no reason for him not to show up. "Only thing I really want to do is fuck up Andrea Jackson one last time. Ooh that bitch always got on my nerves." Morgan cackled, giving Hunter a gentle and playful push on his shoulder, "But, besides that, I'm just excited for the road trip in the morning." Morgan glanced at Hunter to see if his eyes shared the amount of happiness to be leaving if only for a little while, before the two approached the front lawn which was already littered with party goers.

---

Finishing his beer with one last swig Nathan threw his empty bottle in one of the bins that Avery had put out for trash. Say what you will about Avery but the kid knew how to throw a party, with a glance around Nathan bopped his head along to the beat of the music. The patio had turned in to a makeshift dance floor with groups of friends standing and dancing together, Nathan smiled and wondered when his dance crew would show up. He decided he wanted another beer and walked in to the kitchen to grab another one, when he got inside he saw that a few of his classmates had arrived. He made the rounds saying hello and talking to some of the new people that had joined the party meanwhile looking around for his friends, no luck in that department yet though. He had hoped that at least Sam would have joined him by now. After dodging a third conversation about where he was going to college Nathan decided to head outside to the patio again.

He leaned on the railing and looked out over the backyard, was leaving really the best choice for him? He could feel the doubtful thoughts eating away at him again, could he really leave his sister her alone with their spacey dad that sometimes forgot to put on a shirt under his jacket before he left for work? Nathan sighed and shook his head in a futile attempt to clear it. Yes... he had to leave! If worst comes to worst Addison could just go back to live with their grandparents. He nodded to himself hoping his sister felt the same way, then again she didn't know that he wouldn't be returning at the end of the summer.

After some brooding time he decided to sit back down at the couch where he was surprisingly enough alone since the rest of the party was busy dancing or playing games. Just when he was about to try and call Sam his phone buzzed, it was a new text

Omw to the party, loves, and bringing a surprise with me! See u guys in a bit!

Nathan smiled and let out a relieved breath, finally he wouldn't feel so alone at this party, but what kind of surprise could Sammi have cooked up now? He quickly sent his reply which consisted of a thumbs up and a poop emoji. After a few minutes he herd the familiar voice of one third of the trifecta

“Nate!” Sammi squealed as she approached him at an alarming speed, Nathan braced himself for impact but she merely jumped in to the seat next to him before embracing him in one of her signature hugs. “What’s up, love? Anything interesting going on?” she said as she swung her legs up on the couch to rest them on his legs.

“Oh you mean in the...” He checked his watch “4 hours since we last saw each other?” Nathan smiled “Nah you know dinner with the grandparents, the crippling disappointment in my father just getting worse.” he continued and let out a laugh to let Sammi know that he was mostly joking. “What about you Sammay? How was dinner with Eleanor?” Nathan asked while ha was tapping his hands on Sammi's legs to the beat of the new song that just came on.

Andy's was just as packed as Sam had expected. Most of the booths were taken by underclassmen and the only few spots left open in the joint were seats up at the counter. He waved at a few fellow seniors that were drowned in the crowd but didn't stop to talk. Sam was not expecting to stay too long and decided it was best that he sat up front anyways, ordering, eating, and going as soon as he was done. He plopped down at an open seat and browsed the retro styled menu with his fingers gliding across the plastic sheet. "Fries and a malt?" He said out loud trying to convince himself that was all he needed.

Saya saw him the moment Sam entered the restaurant. Her gaze continued to follow him as he waved at others before taking up a seat at the counter. She continued to watch as he browsed through the menu casually, probably looking for something interesting to eat. He'd most likely memorised all the items on the menu my now, after all, he hanged out in this joint often enough. Sam eventually settled on fries and a malt, which happened to be the very same item she was snacking on right now. Bringing her basket of fries over to him, she took the unoccupied seat beside him, flashed him a warm smile, and shifted the fries between them as she took up a fry and jabbed one towards him. "Want one?"

"Uhh... yeah!" Sam said, surprised by the sudden appearance of Saya. The glow in his smile brightened as Saya took the seat next to him, offering her fries. He took the fry she offered with delight, "I guess I'll have to owe you one then." Still smiling from ear to ear he waved down one of the waitresses and put in his vanilla malt to go.

"Aren't you going to Avery's party, I thought you'd be there already?"

Saya's spirits lifted as she saw the warm smile on Sam's face. He did always look great when he smiled. He took the fry from her hand, and she nudged the basket of fries closer towards him, indicating that he was free to take more should he feel like to. "Oh nah, you don't owe me anything!" She watched as he flagged down one of the waitress, informing them something about his order. Sam then asked about Avery's party, surprised by the fact that she wasn't already there by now. "I hoped I'd catch you here. I was wondering if you'd like to go to the party together?" She didn't know what his answer would be, but she'd decided to give it a go anyhow.

You'll never know until you try after all, as her mother would often say.

He took another fry and ate it with delight, being again caught off-guard by the fact that Saya was actually waiting there for him. He choked on his fry, as she mentioned if he'd like to go with her to the party. Sam didn't know what he was surprised more by, him being predictable that she knew he was going to be at Andy's or the fact that his crush wanted to go to the party with him. After swallowing the fry he managed to cough out, "Yeah, that'd be cool... Ehh... I mean, I'd love to go with you."

Sam with now a nervous flush on his face, tried his best acting cool and confident. "We can take the frys to go too, snack on the way there."

Saya gave him a concerned look as Sam choked on his fry. She placed a hand on his shoulder asking if he was okay before she realised what she was doing and promptly recovered her hand with a tinge of red on her face. He seemed surprised or shock even by her question. That made her question herself, did she say the wrong thing? Should she not have asked him that question?

Her thoughts were interrupted when he spoke again once more. He'd said he'd love to go with her. Just hearing that sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach and only served to deepened the redness on her face. She hoped that he wouldn't notice, but honestly it was difficult for anyone not to. Saya then waved down an approaching waitress and asked politely if she could pack up the fries to go, before giving her a grateful smile.

As the waitress rounded up a small to-go container for Saya's fries and brought over Samson's vanilla malt his phone vibrated from a text sent by Sammi to their little message group. He slipped out his phone and quickly swiped at the keys, mentioning to the others that he was on his way with a surprise of his own. Sam wondered what Sammi's surprise was, but figured he would see her at the party with whatever she was bringing.

Thanking the waitress for his malt, he turned to Saya and lead her out the door, being a gentleman by holding the door to Andy's and rushing to his car to open the passenger side door for his guest. Before letting her into the front seats though, he threw a sweater along with his cap and gown into the back seats, palms becoming clammy. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting any guests." Sam chuckled. He motioned for her to take a seat, smiling cheerfully. "Avery's place is only a few minutes out, we should be there in no time."

Sam apologised as he opened his car door to the mess that appeared openly on the seats, with his graduation outfit still thrown haphazardly on one of the front seats. He corrected that by throwing them casually to the back seats. Saya chuckled in return as she replied, waving her hand in respond. "Oh, that's not a worry at all really! It's not a big deal at all!" She took a seat, and waited as Sam began to to fire up the engines, and the car left Andy's and began to make its way to Avery's place. She wondered what their friends would say if they saw them together.

On the drive to Avery's Sam sat silently, nervous as he didn't want to say anything idiotic. He was usually cool and composed, but since he was alone with Saya in a more intimate setting, his whole confident aura changed from outgoing to shy and timid, something totally new to him. Pulling up towards Avery's house though, Sam finally broke the silence as he put his car in park.

"First drinks on me," Sam chuckled. He knew it was a lame joke, since most of the drinks were already provided by Avery and the others, but he wanted to act cool somehow.

In a blink of an eye the two were in the living room of Avery's party, where he noticed his two best friends hanging out on the couch. Waving them down with excitement he quickly remembered that he was with Saya and swiped his own hand down, blushing yet again. Sam was going to have some explaining to do.

---

---

"Hmm, I don't really know. Maybe I was distracted by the one-woman concert beside me. You could have told me this ride came with a free show, I would have brought popcorn."

Samantha rolled her eyes and punched Johnny’s arm lightly, the smile on her face letting him know that she was just messing around. “Oh, shut up,” she told him, letting out a playful giggle. “But seriously, though. What did you think of it?”

"In all seriousness, it wasn't bad. I mean, some of the choruses were awkward as hell, but it wasn't egregious torture. And, I know we've probably been through this, but you still have a great voice. I think I've told you that before, though."

Sammi blushed, her chubby cheeks now an adorable shade of pink. She wasn’t the type of girl that got compliments very often, so she never really knew how to respond to them without getting all shy and awkward. The fact that the compliment came from Johnny Baxter of all people only made her blush harder. She knew that he had strong opinions about everything, so if he said she had a great voice, it was because he truly believed it.

“Why thank you,” she replied in a small voice, tucking a strand of dirty blonde hair behind her ear and not knowing what else to say. Her eyes remained straight on the road as an awkward silence settled in.

"You look pretty tonight, by the way. I really should film you sometime."

Samantha’s eyes widened, stunned at both his second compliment in less than two minutes and at how Johnny considered her pretty enough to be filmed. He seemed to interpret her shock in the wrong way, though, because he quickly began to mumble out an awkward apology.

"Oh, god, did that sound weird? That sounded really weird, didn't it? So sorry."

“N-no!” Sammi stammered, stumbling on her words. “You’re fine, Johnny. I- I would love for you to film me.”

Realizing how that weird that sounded, the girl’s face flared up instantly. She decided to stop talking immediately, afraid that she would dig herself into a deeper hole if she tried to fix it. Sammi keep her eyes straight on the road, not risking to give a single glance at her passenger in fear that he might see how embarrassed she was.

It seemed that the awkwardness of it all had been too much for Johnny, because he’d practically leapt out the car door as soon as they arrived at Avery's house. Sammi watched in surprise as he walked quickly around the car, opening her door for her before saying:

"I take it you'll have fun without me. I'm not good at parties." he told her, beginning to stalk off into the garden.

“Oh, no! Please don’t-” she replied, trying to convince Johnny that he’d done nothing wrong. But his back was towards her: he wasn’t listening.

However, he suddenly turned around suddenly to add: "I can walk home tonight, if it's convenient. Tell me later. I'll be seeing you!"

“No, Johnny, wait-!” she cried out desperately, trying to catch up with him. But before she could stop him, he’d stalked off and was gone.

Letting out a disappointed sigh, Samantha locked the car and made her way to the party. The place was alight with music and activity: her classmates having fun in whatever way they considered that to be. She waved and nodded to the few ones that acknowledged her, but her focus was on finding her best friends. It wasn’t until she’d reached the patio that her eyes ultimately fell on Nathan’s lone figure sitting in the couch. The sight of him immediately lit up her eyes, and a beaming smile overcame her features.

“Nate!” she cried out, making a run to where he was and jumping straight to the empty space beside him. She wrapped him in a tight hug before ultimately letting him go. “What’s up, love? Anything interesting going on?” the girl asked, promptly swinging her legs onto his lap and leaving them there to rest.

“Oh you mean in the...” He checked his watch. “4 hours since we last saw each other?” Nathan replied, which earned him an eye roll and a playful punch in the arm from Sammi. “Nah you know dinner with the grandparents, the crippling disappointment in my father just getting worse.” he’d said this with a laugh to let her know that he was mostly joking, but it still provoked a disapproving,
disappointed sigh from the girl.

“That’s fucking awful, Nathie-baby,” Samantha lamented, giving her friend a short, comforting hug. “But just you wait, hun. The day will come in which he’s gonna feel sorry for what he’s doing, and it’ll probably be so late that he’ll have to work extra hard to make it up to you. Mark my words.”

Nathan seemed to want to drop the subject, because after giving her a nod he changed the topic. “What about you Sammay? How was dinner with Eleanor?” he asked, tapping his hands on her legs to the beat of the new song that just came on.

Samantha smiled brightly. “It was good! We had a great time. It had been a while since the last time we’d had any time together, you know, with her work and all that. So it was nice to catch up and-” she trailed off, her green eyes landing on the sight of Samson with Saya.

Sammi raised a questioning, yet teasing eyebrow, to which Sam replied by waving at them. She returned the wave happily, a playful smirk on her face.

“As cute as the two of them look together, I hope he doesn’t ditch us all night for some girl,” Sammi mused, grabbing Nate’s beer and taking a long sip. Her eyes were still on Saya and Sam. “Don’t get me wrong: I love the guy. But this is our last high school party together. I want to make sure we live it together.”

Hunter laughed at the comment about Morgan considering beating the crap out of a girl named Andrea Jackson, which was a hot sounding name, but if Morgan didn't like her Hunter didn't either. "That bitch! If you need to get rid of a body we still have chickens? It'll take them a while but those bastards will eat anything. It's kind of scary to be honest..." He was also looking forward to the trip tomorrow, all he had to do was not get too hungover to not be able to get up in the morning. "We should make tonight memorable, and since we'll be out of town tomorrow it'll be a lot harder for anyone to catch us if we do it. Or we can do some simple boring party, have a few drinks, find someone hot for the night, realize it was time to go hours ago and panic to the bus site. I guess those are options. Or we can spike some drinks. That is fun too." He figured they would be spiked anyways, but the looks on people's faces when they expect a spiked drink and then get hit with something stronger then they are ready for is priceless.

Once at the party it felt like the many (two) parties Hunter had been at through his high school career. loud music, more people in a tight space then should be allowed, and free food. Hunter was up for two of those three things, and considering it was graduation night, he was willing to look over the crowds of people. helped that he stood at almost six foot, made looking past people easy as hell. At the party he saw so many people he knew but didd't really talk to, some of them would be going on the trip tomorrow, he would have to get over the fact that he would be forced to interact with. "You ready for tomorrow Morgan? I see a lot of the people we'll be spending the next few weeks with here." Feeling anxious now he pulled his flask and took a long sip from it, then put back hoping no one would notice it.

Looking around there were some people he knew better, there was Sam and a girl with him, Hunter wanted to say that her name was Sarah but he knew that was wrong. Sam was nice, Hunter and Sam spent much of the school year putting together the bus that would be used for their upcoming trip. It was something that Hunter would have loved to do himself but he lacked the funds and the resources to do so himself. He enjoyed Sam's company, he was one of the few people Hunter could be around for long periods of time without feeling awkward himself. Also Sam made some awesome food which was enough to get his trust. While his many thoughts were going off at once the girl's named popped into his head. "SAYA!" He was smiling for a moment before he realized he screamed that out loud. "welp... this is awkward." He was trying to think of a situation that was worse then this, it helped make things that were not bad seem better. Like the time he got drunk and put a broom between his legs and screamed LOOK AT MY GIANT PENIS! oh the good old days.

---

Sam's concentration broke from his friends as his eyes diverted to the source of the random shouting of Saya's name. A chuckle escaped his lips as he figured out who's voice it was, grinning widely. It was good to see Hunter out of his comfort zone, which was one of the reasons Sam invited the guy, not only did he help with the maintenance of the bus, but he was just a good guy that Samson felt like needed a break as they all did. Waving at the Hunter, nodding his head in reassurance that his awkward, almost creepy call of Saya's name out of the blue wasn't going to be the weirdest thing that was going to happen tonight, the Korean kid turned to his attention back to his date with a big grin still plastered on his face. "I'm going to go check in with Nate and Sammi, I'll grab us a few drinks too."

As he neared his two best friends Sam threw his hands up and shrugged his shoulders knowing that he owed them some sort of explanation of coming to the party late and with Saya who obviously came out of left field. "Drink first, talk later." Those are words the young man never thought he would say as Sam wasn't one to ever drink too much, but he did need a drink. He swipped the bottle that Sammi held with a cheeky smile, finishing the rest of the bottle in a split second. "I'll be right back with more."

Those were the last words that he actually remembered from that night as his memories blurred and the rest of the night kind of hazed and melted together oddly. Samson remembered getting to the kitchen, downing two shots of whatever that was being passed around in there, and returning with beers for his two friends, Saya, and himself. Then there was some singing and dancing that happened. Sam didn't remember if it was him dancing or singing or whether it was him just doing the watching, but with his throbbing headache as his seven alarms thundering at six in the morning, he figured it was him doing the singing and dancing.

Pressing all seven of his alarms to snooze, his hands fumbled to his phone as he texted his best friends. "What. Happened. Last. Night?" Somehow Sam made it home safely which was always good to have happen, but starting the morning with a massive headache wasn't what he had planned. He slumped out of bed and went over to the bathroom. Like a slug he dragged his feet across the floor until he came face to face with the mirror. Regret filled his eyes as he nodded in disbelief, Sam had been telling the others all week to plan ahead and not party too hard because they were going to start the trip bright and early but right now he wished he hadn't, feeling like a total hypocrite.

"You're up, that's all that matters. We can still start the trip at the same time. You're fine." He said, pounding a fist to his chest as he pepped himself up for the big day. But that pounding didn't help as Sam felt something else wanting to come through his system instead. Gagging he gave himself a second before he ran to the toilet, throwing himself over it and letting out all the fun he had from Avery's party.

An hour later staggering in his recovery of last nights actions Sam was on the bus, pulling up into the high school parking lot. He was two hours early from when he told them all to be there, but he needed the two hours to still attempt to recover. Sam patted his cheeks as he tried his best to pep himself up again. "Game day, game day, game day."

This time with an even more gentle bump to the chest with his fist he stood with confidence, knowing he wasn't going to throw up, and that he was ready to start this road trip. He opened the door to the bus as he took a step out with his hands on his hips, taking in the chilly, early morning air.

"Cool."

---

What made him decide that parties were a good idea, again? Johnny couldn't find anything to do to keep his brain functioning at events like this. He despised loud crowds, and parties were always full of them. That's why he stayed away from them: noise and a lack of stimulation. That, and the music they played was always terrible. And everyone was plastered by the end of the night. And he was never welcome. He'd seen Avery through the window, and he couldn't tell if Avery was mortified or horrified that he had turned up to the party. Once again, Johnny had done something idiotic because of a pretty face.

It occurred to him that maybe he shouldn't have run away from Sammi when he did, but he wasn't on particularly good terms with her friends. No doubt they wouldn't make things fun. He wanted to talk to someone, but nobody was really there. He didn't even drink, and wanted to remain teetotal for as long as possible. He really shouldn't have said that he would come. But, then again, saying that was just being defeatist. It was his last day of school, after all. Steeling his nerves, he walked into the living room, determined the strike up a conversation.

Needless to say, he did not manage to strike up a conversation. He just stood near the wall, awkwardly. He found himself looking at Sammi chatting to her friends. She was the only reason that he was in this mess. It was just like he decided earlier: anything for a pretty face. He looked down at his feet, smiling a little, amused by his perceived idiocy. He looked up again, the possibility if talking to her glimmering. Just as he was about to go over to her, he shook his head. It looked like she was having fun. He would just ruin it. Instead, he found himself leaving, pulling out his phone to text her one last time:

I'll be leaving now, you don't need to drive me home. Thanks for the ride. Have fun, kid.
-Johnny

He got home early, stopping at the park to collect his tie and camera. His parents were surprised to see him home this early.

"Johnny, it's 9:30!" His mother told him, shock evident in her voice. "Why are you home so early? We thought you'd be back by at least 11:00."

"Yeah, well, I got bored. Early start tomorrow. Good night, mum! Before his parents could question him, his lanky figure had disappear up the stairs, heading to his room.

---

He woke up early the next morning, glad that he didn't stay at the hell-hole party and wake up much later than expected. Today, he was going on the road, mainly surrounded by people he didn't like, just so he could get away from his parents. And because his parents told him to. He rolled out of bed, prepared to pack everything he needed. He threw a couple of pre-planned changes of clothes into his duffle bag, as well as his glasses; a small torch; a blanket; a travel pillow; his camera; and a few old comics that he needed to keep him occupied. Thankfully, he had downloaded loads of audio books into his phone so he wouldn't have to talk to too many people.

After bidding his parents goodbye, he stood outside the house, bag slung over his shoulder, putting everything in perspective. This was his first proper outing as an adult. The first thing that he was doing for himself. Not for his parents, not for his teachers, not for some attractive person, but himself. He smiled to himself as he slowly ambled towards the high school parking lot. When he got there, he was roughly an hour early. He found Sam outside the bus, probably regretting partying too hard the night beforehand. He had never liked Sam, who always seemed to avoid him on purpose. One thing was clear to him: he was not wanted on this trip.

"Um, good morning, Samson. It looks like you drank a bit much at that party last night. Hangovers must suck, right?" He said, awkwardly, unsure if that sounded rude or not. "I, er, brought my camera. In case we need a photographer, or whatever. Its kind of old, but that adds nostalgia to the image. I, er, like your bus. She looks nice. You aren't completely talentless, I see. You did a good job fixing her up." He waved his hand in the direction of the bus.