"Graduating class of 2013, baby!" Cassie screeched into the sky.

"Cassie!" I hissed, trying my hardest to ignore the looks we got. "Can you please keep it down?People are staring at you like you're crazy!"

"Who cares?" she laughed, tipping her head back. "We're graduating today! What are they going to do, expel me?"

"No, but they might throw something at you!" I ducked my head and tried to ignore the stares we were getting from our classmates and their families. Not everyone was used to how loud Cassie really was, so it may have beena little jarring for them.

At least the ceremony hadn't started yet. If she started screaming then, then I'd have to hit her.

Graduation had been the one day that I was looking forward to and dreading at the same time. I couldn't wait to get out of high school, but the thought of not being in high school was strange. So many things had happened throughout the years, and the thought of never going back made me kind of sad.

Leslie was the valedictorian, though none of us were surprised by that. When her name was called for her to say her speech, Derrick cheered and wolf-whistled from the crowd. This made everyone laugh while Leslie blushed.

Cassie was to my left, with an empty seat in between us for Mona. I found it rather haunting that she was right next to me in alphabetical order and I never even realized it. There wasn't anyone else in our grade that had a last name in between ours. It was Barnes, and then Burkley.

They weren't going to call her name, though she was mentioned at the beginning, along with another senior that had died in a car accident earlier on in the year. We all had a moment of silence, but then continued on with the ceremony.

But I just couldn't stop staring at the empty seat beside me, and even Cassie seemed a little off about it. It was almost as if Mona was actually sitting beside us right then, and who knows? Maybe she was.

Her funeral had been family only, except for Blake. They knew how important he was to her, so they let him attend. And after it was all over, he called me and I went over to his apartment. I just held him for a few hours after that.

He took her death a lot worse than he showed to me. He didn't want me to know how upset he was about it, but I knew. Blake was always a lot more sensitive than he liked to show.

Jaz was at graduation also, though she was still battered and bruised from her accident. She said that her injuries didn't even hurt any longer, but I wasn't so sure about that. She had been beaten up pretty badly; she nearly died. I wouln't have been so happy go lucky about it, but I was different than Jaz when it came to that, I guess. We all were still very careful whenever we were around her though, just in case she really was just putting on a brave face.

Since Jaz was graduating, Sean was obviously in the audience. Honestly, I was surprised by how much he cared for her. It wasn't like I had expected him to be a bad boyfriend or anything, but he was much different toward Jaz than he was toward Cassie. It made me wonder which way he would have treated me if we had somehow ended up together.

It was hot outside, and being on the football field did not help with the heat in the slightest. I wouldn't have been surprised if people started dropping because of the heat. But luckily, no one did, and the whole ceremony was as beautiful as I had always dreamed it would be.

Mr. Wilkinson stood at the podium and smiled at us. We did it. We finally did it. We graduated.

"And now, I would like to introduce you to the graduating class of 2013!"

We jumped up and cheered, throwing our caps into the air in celebration. And after that, everyone scrambled around in search of their friends, family, or the caps they had just thrown.

I was suddenly being picked up from behind and spun around. When I was placed back onto the ground, I saw that it was Derrick. Thomas ruffled my hair, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

When I suddenly felt a hand on my arm yanking me away, I almost let out a shout. But then when lips crashed against mine, I knew who it was and I knew I had nothing to worry about.

"We've graduated," Blake grinned once he pulled away from me.

I couldn't help but smile back at him. "I know."

"Can you believe it, Leah?" a new voice suddenly squealed, and I turned to see that it was Cassie would was talking to me. "We've graduated! We're not in high school anymore! We've actually graduated! Can you believe it?"

I wrapped my arms around Blake and held him tightly. "No," I answered with a slight smile. "I really can't believe it."

My friends were going out to celebrate, but Blake and I opted out so we could be alone for a little while. None of us were leaving until September, so we had all of summer to hang out. But right then, Blake and I only wanted to be with each other.

I said hello to my family and Blake said hello to his, but after fifteen minutes of that, we were able to leave them and meet back up together. I didn't know what he had told his family, but I had told mine I was going out with friends. Not because I didn't want my parents to know I was going to be with Blake, but because they wouldn't have been happy if I spent the rest of my graduation day with only him.

He drove us back to his apartment after we stripped out of our gowns, the radio blaring and us obnoxiously singing along the entire way. We laughed and acted like idiots, and it was the best feeling. To be young and in love just made everything else so much better.

We even drove across the bridge Blake had jumped from; the one I had almost leaped off of. But we barely even noticed. We weren't going to let this place bother us any longer.

"We're no longer seniors," was all I was able to say once we got back to his apartment, leaning up against the front door as he smirked in front of me. "It seems we just started senior year, doesn't it? Well, you didn't wake up until two weeks into it, but you understand. Right?"

Blake nodded. "Right."

He seemed to be reminded of something as I stood there, and I grew confused. What was he thinking about?

"Remember the night you got drunk?"

This was definitely not the kind of question I thought I would get from him, and it only made me even more confused than I already was.

"I remember I got drunk, but I don't remember what happened after that," I informed him honestly, remembering waking up in the morning and realizing than how in love with him I was. "I was completely out of it so I don't really know what happened after you brought me back here."

Blake smirked, moving closer to me and placing his hands on my hips. He leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "Well, I leaned you against this wall so I could unlock the door..." As he said this, he moved me from against the door and to the wall beside it. "But you just wouldn't have that. You grabbed me and kissed me and you wouldn't let me go."

I could only imagine what I had done when we finally got inside that right, and I felt my stomach twist at just the thought of it. I didn't know why I was so embarrassed by it, considering we were together now, but the fact that I didn't know I had been so forward with him was just weird. And it just proved how amazing he was since he didn't do anything with me while I was drunk.

I grinned anyway, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him into me. Our lips crashed together, and his hands stayed on my hips as he pulled me closer to him. With my eyes closed, it almost felt like we were back to the night that had been so long ago.

When he pulled his lips away from me, he placed his forehead on mine and we just stared at each other. I didn't think either of us knew what we were supposed to be doing anymore. We were no longer a secret, and there were no longer any threats for our relationship. Everything was perfect.

"We should go inside," he suggested, and I immediately agreed. He opened the door, but I didn't give him much time to really step through, because I then wrapped my arms around him once again and pressed my lips to his.

We just stood there, kissing, and I felt like I was on top of the world. Blake made me the happiest person on the planet. I never wanted to part from him.

"Ahem," a new voice suddenly coughed, interrupting our very private moment immediately. We quickly spun around to see that it was the last person I had wanted to catch us.

I remembered when Thomas and Mr. Solo had caught us kissing. That had been embarrassing and completely mortifying, but now, this was even worse. Because it was Carrie who was standing before us.

I hadn't seen her in months. She was the one person Blake and I hadn't told about us getting back together, because neither of us knew how she's react to it. And now, she was just staring at us, completely wide-eyed.

"Hi, Carrie," I greeted, having absolutely no idea what I was supposed to say. "How are you?"

She blinked at me. "I'm good," she answered with a slight nod. "And you?"

How was I supposed to answer that? She had just caught me making out with Blake when she had thought that we had been broken up for over half a year. How were we supposed to explain this one to her?

Snowflake yapped from the floor beside me, but I only glanced at him. He was much bigger than he had been the last time I had seen him; he was no longer a puppy. I was kind of sad that I had missed out on him growing.

"What are you doing here?" Blake asked her now.

Carrie shrugged. "I went to your graduation but didn't get to talk to you there. So I thought I'd come over to congratulate you now."

I felt horrible for pretty much ruining their moment, but that wasn't really my main concern at that moment. I was more worried about the fact that Carrie saw us and now knew that we were no longer staying away from each other.

"You two are back together," was all Carrie said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Blake nodded. "We are."

The room filled with an awkward silence again, and I waited for either Blake or Carrie to say something so I didn't have to. I really hated when I had to start a conversation after awkward silence.

"For how long?" Carrie finally asked now.

That... was a question that I didn't know the answer to. Technically, we had gotten back together only two months beforehand. But then there were the few months where we had been dating behind her back...

Blake and I glanced at each other, and we both decided with just a look that it was finally time to tell Carrie everything. We both knew that we couldn't keep it a secret from her forever, so why not tell her now? It was the perfect opportunity.

Blake was the one that told her, since I assumed she'd rather hear it from him than from me. She had known Blake longer, and she was his social worker. I had only met her because of him. He had a much better relationship with her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked once Blake was finished, her eyes glossy.

"We were just... afraid of how you'd react," I told her honestly, feeling ashamed that she had been the only person we hadn't told. "I mean, it was your idea to keep us apart in the first place. We didn't think you'd like it if we got back together."

Cassie looked from Blake, to me, and then to Blake again. She seemed to be thinking about how she thought about this. It was obviously shocking to her, and I wasn't surprised she was taking so long to react.

"Oh, Leah," she sighed, and was then suddenly wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. I was not expecting this, so I didn't hug her back. "I'm so sorry. If I knew that keeping you and Blake apart would hurt you so much, I never would have suggested it. I just... I thought that it would good for both of you if you had some time for yourselves. I never would have thought that would have made you two this unhappy."

I finally hugged her back, knowing that we could finally get back to how we used to be. Carrie did love me, once upon a time. And maybe she even still did. She just wanted Blake and me to be safe, and she had thought keeping us apart would do that. But it didn't. It only made us even unhealthier, and even more unsafe.

"Well, I'll leave now so I can give you two some privacy," she sniffed, wiping at her eyes and taking a step away from me. "But I'll see you two soon, okay? I'll make you breakfast, or lunch, or dinner. Whatever you want. We can have a proper conversation about this then."

That sounded like the best idea. Right then, we wouldn't have been able to have the greatest conversation. So it was best to wait.

With one last hug to both Blake and me, Carrie was gone. Blake and I just stood there for a few moments, letting what had just happened sink in. Carrie knew. Everyone knew. We were no longer a secret. We were free.

We slowly made our way into the living room, though we didn't sit down on the couch right away. Instead, Blake wrapped his arms around my waist from behind so my back was pressed against his chest.

"Well, if we're still talking about memories..." he started, his breath tickling my neck. "Remember when you sat behind me in Mr. Meyer's class and you hated me?"

I pulled away from him so I could look up at him. "I didn't hate you!"

He gave me a look. "You hated me."

I bit the inside of my lip. Alright, maybe he was right. I couldn't stand him back then, and all because he could listen to music while no one else could. All because he was able to break a rule and I didn't find that fair.

"You also sat next to me in Mrs. Sparks' class and across the room from me in art," he reminded me now, and just thinking about it made it feel like it was yesterday. "But then when Carrie took over her class, you got to sit next to me in there, too. Hopefully you didn't hate me then."

I rolled my eyes at him. He was obviously teasing me, but I didn't want to think that I had once hated him. I had been completely unfair to him back then. I judged him before I even got to know him.

"I unrightfully hated you," I told him, though the thought that I had ever hated this boy just seemed so unfathomable. "But I realized I was just being unfair to you and then I fell in love with you. Remember when I taught you how to talk again?"

"How could I forget?" He couldn't stop smiling at the memory. "My first word was Leah."

I could remember where we were when that had happened. I remembered the exact booth we had sat at when I tried to get him to talk, but he finally said my name when we were in my car. Thinking back on this memory, I would have loved to kiss him then.

"Remember when you kissed me to try to get Cassie angry?" he reminded me now.

"And it ended up getting Sean angry also," I grinned, remembering how insane the two of them used to be. "Remember when Jane came to our school?"

He seemed surprised that I had brought this up, so he only nodded. "Yeah."

"I was really jealous of her because I thought you two had feelings for each other," I admitted, and I was surprised to find out that I had never told him this before. "And I was really glad when I found out that you two were just friends."

"You were jealous, huh?" he asked, a small smirk making its way onto his face. "So you actually got jealous before Mona?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "That's not the point."

He laughed, and carried on with our conversation. "Remember when you followed me to the hospital and found out about my schizophrenia?"

I sheepishly smiled at him. "That's not something I could forget," I replied honestly. "That isn't exactly one of my proudest moments, to be completely honest with you."

"Well, I'm glad you followed me," he laughed, playing with my fingers slightly as they hung in between us. "I never would have had the guts to tell you my secret, so I'm glad someone else did for me. Who knows where we'd be today if you never followed me?"

That was weird to think about. How would we be today, if I never knew about his schizophrenia? He never would have taken medication, so he would have continued to listen to music and keep his headphones on. There was even a possibility that I wouldn't have gotten together with him. Who knows, I could have ended up with Sean, or even Christian. And all because I didn't follow him to the hospital that day.

"Remember when we got together?" he asked me now.

"I slapped Sean," I laughed, though I was still a little ashamed of myself. "That's not something I could forget easily."

"Remember our first time?"

I smiled at this memory, and Blake was smiling just as wide as I was. He had been my first time, and I was his. I knew that this was something that both of us would never be able to forget.

"Remember when Sean made us the laughingstock of the whole school?" Blake asked once again when he saw I wasn't going to say anything about our first time, since smiling about it seemed to be a good enough reaction. "That was quite a day, wasn't it?"

I grimaced at this memory. I had had a panic attack, and it was one of the worst feelings I have ever experienced. I never would have thought that Blake and I both would have somehow become popular after what Sean had put us through. I was also surprised by the fact that we were friends with him after everything he had put us through.

It was my turn to come up with something now. "Remember when you came over for dinner at my house?"

"It was the most awkward moment of my life." He cringed at the memory, as did I. That meal was definitely not something that we wanted to relive. That one, and the first dinner I had had with Thomas and Mr. Solo. "Of course I remember that."

There was one memory neither of us were going to bring up. And that was when he jumped off the bridge. That was one thing that we did not want to remember.

So many things had happened between us, and it was strange to think that it was all just... over. High school was over, so all the problems we had had to face were over as well. All these memories were just in the past. And there they would stay.

"Do you know the one thing I remember more than all of those things?" Blake asked me now after a few moments of silence, leaning in closer so our faces were now only inches apart.

My breath caught in my throat. "No, what?"

"That you were the one person that treated me like I wasn't worthless." He entwined his fingers with mine and looked down at them as he spoke. "No one ever paid attention to me before you, because I was the strange loner from another school. I got special treatment because of my condition, and some people didn't like that; including you, in the beginning. I thought I would be lucky enough to have you as my friend, but to have you fall in love with me... That was a blessing that I didn't think I deserved. I still don't think I deserve you."

I squeezed his hands even tighter, never wanting to let go. But I also had something that I wanted to tell him.