"Our future?" he asked.

"Yeah our future Austin. I realized earlier that we've never talked about what our plans are for the future. Blaze mentioned that you got into Harvard and that you plan to be a doctor and I felt really stupid for not knowing that since I'm your girlfriend. Plus we're seniors and before long we'll both be gone from this town. Here I am falling in love with you and considering going all the way with you and then I realized, what if this is it and after we graduate we go our separate ways and never see each other again?"

"Ok so let's talk about it then. What are your plans for the future Jolie?" Austin asked.

"I'm planning to be a lawyer like my Dad. I've known that's what I want to do for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, I'd sit in the back of my Dad's court room and watch him work and just be in awe of how amazing he was and I thought .... I want to do that one day. My Dad went to Harvard Law School so that's where I applied and I've already gotten my acceptance letter."

"Seriously? You got into Harvard? What are the odds of that? I was planning to go to the same school and we didn't even know."

"Yeah that's crazy. So he was right. You do want to be a doctor then?"

"Yeah. When I was little, my cousin Ty was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, a type of cancer, and we spent a lot of time with him in and out of the hospital and so I got to be around the doctors a lot. They ended up saving his life and ever since then I knew that that's what I wanted to do. I want to work with pediatric cancer patients. I've already been accepted to Harvard but I looked it up earlier and found out that getting arrested could cause them to take back their acceptance. At this point I don't know what's going to happen," Austin said sadly.

"Seriously? They can take back their acceptance? I didn't know that was possible," Jolie said.

"Yeah they can. I've been looking forward to going to Harvard for so long I never even considered a back-up plan. I don't know what I'll do if they take it back."

"Maybe you should call and explain the situation to them and see what they say, It would be better to be proactive and know for sure than to wait and be blindsided by them withdrawing it later and you have no back up plan," she advised. "But isn't that just crazy that we both got accepted to Harvard and were planning to go to the same college and never even talked about it?" she laughed.

"Yeah that is crazy. I guess we both have really good taste," he laughed too.

"If they don't take away your acceptance Austin and we end up going to the same college ....... " Jolie started to say before trailing off and losing her nerve.

Austin looked at her, waiting for her to finish her thought and then asked, "Yeah? Go on."

"Nothing. It's stupid. Just forget about it Austin," she said, taking the last bite of her sandwich.

"Jolie. Just say whatever it is you're thinking. How are we supposed to work anything out if you won't tell me what you're thinking?"

The bell to signal the end of lunch rang and Jolie packed up her stuff to leave.

"It really was dumb. Just forget I mentioned anything," she said, turning and walking out of the room, leaving him behind looking confused.

Jolie walked down the hall alone towards her Spanish class with her face turning red and she couldn't believe she almost asked him if he wanted to get an apartment together off campus instead of living in the dorms.

They weren't even that serious yet and suggesting they live together would make her look like a crazy, clingy girlfriend. She knew that she loved him, but she didn't even know if he was really that serious about her yet or if he even wanted a future with her after high school. 'But that would be really nice if we did both go to Harvard and shared an apartment together,' she thought.

She pictured Austin in scrubs with a white doctor's coat and a stethoscope around his neck working with little children with cancer and she decided he'd make the hottest doctor ever. Then she realized, 'What if this thing with Ryan ruined his future and Harvard wouldn't accept him any more? It would be all her fault for telling Blaze that they should tell Austin about everything. She was suddenly hit with a pain of guilt in her heart.

She wished they could just go back in time and never tell him. She got to Spanish and took her seat and texted her Dad. "We need to talk when you're free. It's about Austin's case that you're helping with. Love you."

Chaz looked over at Jolie in Spanish class and asked, "Is that boyfriend of yours ever going to man up and give it to you or what? What's he waiting for? A personal invitation from the Pope?"

Everyone laughed, including Mandy and Jolie sunk down in her seat wishing she could just be invisible again like she was at her old school.

"When we were together we went at it like wild animals. He could hardly keep his hands off me. Maybe he's just not that attracted to you," Mandy said. "I mean he does have me for an ex. Can you really blame him?" she asked, laughing and then leaning forward, giving Chaz a french kiss in front of the whole class.

Jolie tried really hard not to let them get to her but with everything that had happened in the last couple days her emotions were already really high. She felt her eyes burning and the next thing she knew a tear was streaming down her cheek and she wiped it away. It didn't matter what they said anyway. No one was going to guilt her into having sex with Austin before both of them were ready. It didn't matter what everyone else thought, only what they thought.

Blaze strolled in late as usual and took his seat. She wished he had been in here for all of it because he probably would've told them off for her.

A girl towards the front of the class grabbed a Kleenex from the teacher's desk and handed it to Jolie before saying, "You're a jerk Mandy. Just because you're a hoe that sleeps with people right away you think everyone else should too. Some women actually have class and self respect which you would know nothing about."

Mandy looked at the girl and scoffed.

"I'd watch what I say if I were you. You forget who you're talking to. I could ruin you at this school."

The girl laughed. "I know exactly who I'm talking to. Your reputation in this school is ruined Mandy. If you hadn't cheated on Austin with his best friend none of this would've happened. Everyone knows about what you did and it's only a matter of time before they all stop worshiping you and see you for the trash you really are."

The whole class started clapping and Mandy huffed and folded her arms across her chest. That was when the Spanish teacher walked in and started class. Jolie looked over at Blaze and he gave her a sympathetic smile as she wiped away her tears and sniffled.

After class Jolie went to her locker to put her books away and Blaze was at his locker a few feet away.

"Are you ok now?" he asked her.

"Yeah. Chaz and Mandy were being really mean to me before you came in. I hate that they saw me crying like that because of them."

"Forget them. They're seriously not even worth it. They're the kind of people that peak in high school and end up working at a gas station until they're 50."

"What do you plan to do after high school Blaze?"

"I really have no idea. Your guess is as good as mine," he said. "My family is so messed up we're lucky to just get through each day. We don't even talk about the future. I can't wait until I'm 18 so I can get outta there," he said before turning and walking down the hall. "See you around Jolie."

Jolie had never heard him talk about his family and she wondered how bad it was at home. Maybe that's why he got in trouble so much and drank and messed around with other stuff because of how bad his home life was. For the first time she actually felt sorry for Blaze.

She went outside and hopped in the passenger side of Austin's Jeep. "Hey Austin!" she said happily.

"Hey," he answered back, smiling over at her as he started the engine and backed up, driving silently towards their houses. She grabbed his hand and put her fingers through his and exhaled deeply.

"Hey, Blaze told me that Chaz and Mandy made you cry in class earlier. What were they saying to you?" he asked.

Jolie looked down at her hands, not wanting to repeat what they said. "It doesn't matter," she said quietly.

Austin looked over at her and said, "It matters to me. Tell me what they said Jolie. I really want to know. Please."