We'd decided that sleeping in the same bed was no big deal, but we both knew we were side-stepping the real issue.

Parker hadn't stopped picking me up and dropping me off before and after school, except now, we didn't care who saw us. Maybe it was because being with Parker did bring me some immunity, but maybe it was because I'd already hit rock bottom earlier. Neither of us could deny that there were stares and whispers, but we also knew that no one would dare saying it to our faces.

Final exams also meant that most of the students had bigger things to worry about than gossiping, not that anyone could deny that came a close second as a stress reliever.

That Friday afternoon was possibly one of the last times we would ever set foot on Pemberton Academy, being that it was the day of our final exam: physics. My stomach was turning over and over while every little bump Parker's car went over sent my mind into a frenzy. My heart pounded so loudly I could barely concentrate on what Parker was saying. The tingling that had started around my mouth and on my cheeks had somehow spread to my fingers. I couldn't bear to lift my palms from my thighs because I knew they'd start trembling.

The car finally came to a stop and I immediately swung the door open, taking in the fresh air from around me. Parker grabbed my bag and came around to where I was hunched over. "You're nervous," he said. I nodded, unable to speak through the lump in my throat. He sat me down on one of the benches and bent down to look me in the eye. "In a little under four hours, this is all going to be over. You've done amazing and finished your other exams, and we've studied so much for this one. There's no way you'll do poorly," he said, his voice soft. "Breathe in..." he said, pausing for about four seconds. "Now hold it," he paused for six. "Breathe out for four."

I was willing my heart to slow down before it broke my ribcage, but every time my mind even dared come back to the idea of the exam, it'd start pounding again.

"Just think, in a little while, we'll be done, and we'll be getting ice cream," he grinned broadly. A small laugh escaped from my lips. He hugged me tightly, rubbing the side of my arm. "You're going to be fine."

The teachers were rounding us up and we all filed into the room, where the desks had been separated and arranged into rows, just like they usually were for exams. Parker was at the desk beside mine. "Good luck," he said.

"Good luck," I managed to say shakily.

He was right. Nothing was going to change now that we were in the room. The things I knew, I knew. The things I didn't know, I wasn't going to know. The best I could do was finish the exam as well as I could. When the first timer sounded, signaling the start, I lifted my pencil, opened the paper and got to work.

The room was silent except for the occasional cough, the constant scratching of pen against paper and the rapid taps against calculators. My mind was racing, everything a flurry of formulae and numbers and I scribbled down my working and the answers. The tingling in my body had disappeared, and so had the tremor.

The final timer broke the silence and we were all instructed to put our pencils down. The weight had lifted from my shoulders as I slumped back in the chair. I looked over at Parker who was at the desk beside mine. He stretched both arms out in front of him, smiling at me.

As promised, we headed to the ice cream parlour for post-exam ice creams. Unsurprisingly, there were dozens of Pemberton students lining up and chatting away inside. The unusual thing was that The Top Four was together. They were definitely more daunting as a group. Steph, Logan and Holden were chatting behind us in line, occasionally fending off guys and girls who recognised them from other schools.

We sat down at the table for five near the window, eagerly devouring our ice creams. It was weird thinking that Logan had hated Holden for a good part of the year, but I was glad a lot of things had changed.

"Exams are over, we should definitely have a post-exam getaway," Holden said.

"If you suggest going to the Alps again, I'm going to lose my mind," Stephanie replied.

"Well, me, Parker and Daisy will already be down in Waterloo Bay for the wedding Saturday and Sunday. Why don't we just stay the week? You guys can come down Monday morning or something," he replied. "Oh, and invite Elaine too," he said to me.

"What's there to do down there?" Logan asked.

"Beach, sand, sun," Holden rattled off. "My parents won't mind us using some of the suites at our resort down there."

"I could work on my tan..." Steph pondered. "But I could also do that on the beaches of the Amalfi Coast," she grinned.

"Come on. Maybe we should explore the natural beauty on our continent first," Logan laughed.

"Are we talking the presidential suite?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure I could manage that," Holden replied.

"I'm in," she grinned. "We can bring the jet skis down."

"Don't worry about it. The resort has some private ones we can use," Holden waved off.

As they continued planning the spontaneous trip, I realised it was almost four. "I'm going to head off now guys," I said. "Elaine's going to help me pack for the wedding," I explained. "Just to clarify, do I need to pack extra clothes for your spontaneous trip?"

"Yes!" Steph exclaimed. "But don't pack too much. You, me and Elaine can go do some shopping down there."

"Alright, see you guys Monday then I guess," I laughed, getting up. Next to me, Parker also got up.

"I'll drive you," he said.

"No, it's okay. Just finish your ice cream and hang out with everyone. I'll see you tomorrow," I smiled.

"Alright, bye. I'll call you later," he said, giving me a one-armed hug before kissing me on the forehead.

"I'm going to barf. See you Daisy," Holden said.

I waved to all of them and headed out from to the bus stop. I'd started packing the week before, but I didn't have any clothes that were quite perfect for a beach wedding. Elaine had insisted on coming over to hers to raid her closet, and it was impossible to turn down the request because she really did have amazing clothes.

"A trip down to Waterloo Bay?" She responded when I told her about the plan. "Sure!" She beamed. "Hold up...how will rooming work?"

We'd probably have to move hotels, or at least rooms after the wedding, since they'd only been booked for me, Parker and Holden. "We're staying at Holden's resort after the wedding, so I'm assuming we can stay with Steph? Surely a future us problem," I grinned.

"Alright then," she laughed, swinging her wardrobe open. The lights came on, illuminating the rows upon rows of shoes and handbags and a walkway through to racks of clothing. They seemed to be sorted by occasion, and then colour. I was too busy gaping at how magnificent the entire thing was to pay attention to any clothes. A small table stood in the centre of the opening at the end of her walk-in wardrobe. It had a glass top with small compartments underneath that held various pieces of jewelery.

"You should adopt me," I said. She laughed and started picking off a bunch of things from the second last rack. She also pulled out a small suitcase for herself. We went back out to her bedroom to make some decisions and pack.

"For the wedding, you're staying in the same room?" Elaine asked. She was sprawled across her bed scrutinizing outfits that I held up to be packed into my duffle.

"Yeah. It looks like his brother made the hotel bookings before finding out about me."

"So...it'll be your first overnight trip with Parker?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I guess," I shrugged, folding a dress she was lending me and placing it carefully inside my bag.

"Have you had the talk yet?"

"The talk?" I said mindlessly, until I realised what she meant. "Right. No."

"You probably should, considering you'll be in the same bed."

"I don't know. I'm not ready for anything like that yet." Truthfully, I hadn't given it much thought. We'd only been together for a couple of weeks.

"Okay. Just have a think about everything carefully and let him know. It's important to talk about," she said. She leaned backwards and fished around in her bedside table, rummaging beneath a pile of clothes for three small red foil packets. "Open your hand." I did as she commanded, and she dropped the condoms into my palms.

I nearly shrieked and hurled them onto the bed, obviously not ready for these big decisions. "Just listen," she said. "Sex ed at school is pretty much non-existent. I know you said you wanted to wait, but just in case something happens in the heat of the moment, I just want you to be safe. Parker's a nice guy, but guys don't always have this stuff with them."

"Elaaine," I groaned.

"Just promise we can stuff them somewhere in your duffle. Hey, you don't need to use them. I just want to be sure that if it happens, that you'll both be safe."

"Thanks mum," I said sarcastically.

"You're welcome honey!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around me for a tight hug. "Oh yeah, and if he tries anything funny, and you don't like it, I'll drive down there early and kill him," she winked. "What time are you driving down tomorrow?"

"We're leaving at six, so we should be there by noon. The ceremony's on Sunday afternoon and the reception is that night," I said. "Then you and everyone else is going to come down and we're going to have so much fun!" I squealed.

"I am so keen to get away from the city for a while. We could go snorkeling!"

"One thing at a time please. I can barely swim."

"Ooh and we can surf!"

There was no denying that this would be the trip of a lifetime, with my most important friends by my side.

--

please remember to vote if you did enjoy the chapter! i'm looking forward to finishing this story soon

daria mum mode discussion below

i thought it was important that safe sex was at least discussed because it doesn't happen a lot in teen fiction

having "the talk" is also something that i find rarely discussed, but is super important because it can be quite a big decision and both partners should be on the same page. it also ensures that they both can be prepared because spontaneity might be cute, but an unwanted pregnancy and STDs usually aren't xo

BACK TO THE USUAL,

I've had some time to re-read past chapters and it turns out I stared this over 3 years ago (wow! talk about never updating :') ) and boy is it a hot m e s s. Once it's complete, I'll start editing to fix inconsistencies, which there are many of because I took so long between updates I forgot what was happening (mostly in the early chapters oops)

love always,

daria xoxo