As they helped me out of the room and down to the car, Jake turned to me.

"Are you riding with me or are you gonna head home with them?" He asked, motioning towards Josh and Danny. I bit down on my lip, looking over.

"Um.. I'll.. I'll ride with them, it's okay." I said. He nodded, walking off and getting into his car. I followed Danny as he got into the driver's seat.

"Shotgun!" Josh yelled. I shook my head.

"No way, I'm the injured one." I laughed, climbing into the passenger's seat.

The drive was quiet for the most part, but I knew it wouldn't last long.

"So, are you bringing anyone to the party?" Josh asked, reaching over, grabbing my shoulder. I felt my cheeks burn. The last thing I wanted to do was bring someone else to our party.

"No, no.." I said, trying to laugh it off. "No one for me this year." I saw Danny peek over at me out of the corner of my eye.

"Aw, come on, why not?" Josh said, continuing to pry. "You can't go to the New Year's party alone." I turned around to face him.

"Alright, then who are you bringing?" He sighed, leaning back in his seat.

"You know I'm not bringing anyone. But, I don't know, I figured maybe you'd have date. You weren't involved in all this." He giggled to himself. Danny's smile grew as he kept his eyes forward.

"Don't worry, he's got me." Danny said, reaching his arm over. I couldn't help but laugh, smirking back at him. I appreciated it.

"And that's all I need." I laughed. Josh sighed, looking out the window. I turned back around to face him again.

"I saw you were talking to Jess.." I said. He nodded, biting down on his lip.

"Mhm.."

"What were you talking about?" I asked. He shrugged, his cheeks burning.

"I was just.. seeing if she was doing alright." I nodded, holding my stare on him.

"Her and Jake got back together, didn't they." He finally said. I nodded.

"I figured." He sighed. "They always do, don't they.."

The rest of the drive home was silent.

When we pulled into the driveway, I saw Jake waiting outside, leaning up against his car. As we got out, he made his way over to Josh.

"Hey, you wanna come with me to clear out Sam's car?" He said softly. I felt my my heart start beating faster.

"I'll.. I'll go." I said. Jake peeked over at me.

"Are you sure?" He asked, his face skeptical. I nodded.

"Y-yeah. I'm okay. I should go." He hesitated, biting down on his lip.

"Well.. Jess said-"

"Yeah well I said I can go." I snapped, going over to his car, getting into the passenger's seat, slamming the door behind me.

When we got there, Jake lead me over. I felt my stomach drop. I knew I didn't remember much, but I definitely didn't remember it looking this bad. It was amazing that we both walked out of this alive. You couldn't even see into the car, the windows were so smashed. I'm surprised there was any glass left at all.

I went over to the driver's side, and looked around. There were still shards of glass scattered across the seat and all over the floor. I squatted down to get a better look when something caught my eye. Leaning in closer, I pulled out Jess' necklace from under the seat. It must've fallen off when she...

I quickly peeked up to see Jake looking under passenger's seat. My heart dropped. I knew this was what he was looking for. I bit down on my lip, hesitating.

"Hey.." I finally said, holding it out to him. He quickly looked up at me, his eyes getting wide.

"Her necklace!" He said, reaching out and grabbing it. He examined it closely, sticking it into his pocket. He flashed me a huge smile. "Thank you."

I nodded, standing up and going into the back where I saw her guitar case, still intact laying across the seat. I leaned over, unlatching the clasps, opening the case. I stared down wide-eyed. Nearly perfect. A few dings here and there, but nothing they couldn't get out.

I saw Jake stand up, making his way over.

"Oh, is this her guitar?" He said, his smile growing.

"She picked a bass, actually." I laughed, peeking up at him. He scrunched up his face.

"What'd you say to her?" I shrugged.

"Nothing.. this was all her decision."

"Yeah, right. Then you must've lied to her." He laughed.

"She named it too." I said, reaching down for it. "But she wouldn't show me. She wanted it to be a surprise."

"Oh yeah?" He asked, his eyes getting wider. "M-maybe we shouldn't look then." I bit down on my lip, holding my stare on him.

"Y-yeah.. I guess not." I finally said. He nodded, moving away. I watched him as he made his way back over to his car. I looked back down at the bass, and then back up at Jake. I sighed, gently lifting it out of the case, slowly turning it over.

My heart jumped.

Samuel.

A Few Days Later

"Well someone's excited to be going home."

"As much as I'm gonna miss you, Sara.. I am." I laughed. She smiled, rolling over my breakfast tray.

"You sure you're feeling up to it? I'm sure they would let you stay one more day if I asked." She said, sitting down next to me.

"You know the party is tomorrow night." I said, a smile escaping my lips. She smirked at me.

"Ah, the party. With him." She said playfully. My cheeks burned as my smile grew.

"He's been here every day." She said. "Every day, almost.. all day."

"Yeah.." I said softly.

"Do you know who does that.. no one." She giggled to herself. "You are gonna marry him, right?"

My heart jumped.

"Sara!" I laughed, playfully shoving her.

"What! When you find a good one like that, you gotta hold on for dear life. Do you know what kind of men are out there these days? I can tell you, they're not doing that." She said. I bit down on my lip, trying to contain my smile.

"You're right.." I said softly, looking down, twirling my necklace between my fingertips. "But.. it's way too soon. There's plenty of time for that. I'm.. I'm just trying to enjoy.. right now. We've.. been through so much already and.. I just want to be able to enjoy.. the little things with him now." She smiled, rolling her eyes.

"So you're telling me that if he proposed tomorrow.. you wouldn't say yes?" She asked, staring back at me, wide-eyed. My heart started beating faster. Jake had already told me that he wanted to be with me forever, so I knew he was already thinking about it.. but a promise ring is.. very different than an actual engagement ring. I couldn't help but think about how my dad would feel. He didn't even like the idea of us living together, I couldn't imagine what he would say if he found out we were engaged.

But, I knew I loved him. And engaged didn't mean we'd have to get married right away.

"If he proposed tomorrow.. I would say yes."