"Please," my brother whined, asking for what felt like the millionth time.

"No. I don't want to go," I said simply. I had been arguing with him for almost half an hour, and quite frankly, I was sick of his shit.

"Carolina Rae!"

"Jeffrey Dean!"

"Stop mocking me!"

"Stop mocking me," I mimicked.

"Seriously, please! If you don't go to Will's with me, I can't go," he said desperately.

"Well then, I guess you're not going," I replied, pushing my hair out of my face.

"Why do you have to be like this? You can't just humor me? You don't even have to stay there," he said quietly. "Just make sure mom thinks you're with me."

I groaned at the thought of leaving my room on a day like this; It was hot, humid, and sunny outside, my least favorite weather.

"Jeff, I really don't want to."

"Well too bad, because I really want to, Carolina."

"Ugh, fine!" I snapped, irritated enough to the point of giving in. "Just leave me alone."

He thanked me with much irritation in his voice, and hurried out of my room.

I sighed as I stood up and stretched. My plan was just to stay in bed all day, but no, my older brother had to ruin it. I stomped over to my closet and pulled put a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, changed, and I walked into the bathroom to brush through my hair and put on some mascara.

When I was done getting ready, I pulled on my ratty converse and walked out into the living room to wait for my brother. After a few minutes, he still wasn't in the living room, and I was totally impatient. I didn't even want to go, yet he was making me, and now he wasn't ready to leave.

"Jeffery. Dean. Isbell!" I yelled, noticing that our parents were gone.

"Carolina. Rae. Isbell," he mocked, running down the stairs with his guitar case in hand.

"God, can you ever leave that thing here?" I asked him as we headed to the door.

"Nope. Why don't you bring yours?" he asked as he opened the door.

"Because I don't want to, dude,"

"Whatever. Mom's note says that they're gonna be back around- oop, there she is," he said as our mom's car pulled into the drive away.

"Hey, kiddos. Where you guys headed?" our mom asked with a smile.

"Will's house," Jeff answered.

"Okay, well have fun. Your dad will be back tonight, so behave. Keep an eye on your sister," she called to us.

"Mom, I'm sixteen, not six," I called.

"You're sill younger than me, squirt," Jeff said as we crossed the street.

"So what? It's only like two years."

"You're still younger."

°°°°°°

"Here, Will," Jeff said, handing his friend his guitar before he attempted to climb onto the roof.

"What about you, Caro-leen-a?" Will said, offering me a hand.

"It's Caro-line-a, genius, you know that."

He smiled and pulled me up onto the roof. I knew it wouldn't have been very high of a climb, but Will was cute, and I was willing to accept his help.

The boys moved into a flat corner of the roof and sat down.

"Are we really just gonna sit up here?" I asked, kicking a pine cone off of the roof.

"Uh, yeah. It's the only place we don't get caught smoking."

"Oh my God. If you were gonna do this, you should have just-"

"Just what, Carolina? Shut up," Jeff said as he waited for Will to pass him the lighter.

"Really, guys?"

"Shh," Will said as he breathed out a thick cloud of smoke.

I thought for a moment, hoping one of them would pay attention to me. I wanted to smoke with them, but I knew not to be stupid enough to ask.

"Hey, guys?"

"Jesus Christ, Carolina, what?! If you're gonna bitch the whole time, go to Susan's or something."

"No way. I fucking hate Susan," I growled, sitting down beside them.

Susan Briggs, my former best friend, had told the rest of the girls we hung out with that I was sleeping with the football team for money, which was a lie. She slandered my reputation, but made me seem like a sexual goddess. In a way, it was a win for me; I got rid of the bitches as well as looked like a sexual dynamo.

"Since when did you start saying that word?" Jeff asked, slightly surprised.

"A while ago. You just don't pay attention."

"You're not gonna snitch on us, are ya?" Will asked, eyes narrowed.

"No..."

"There's an 'if' coming here, just wait for it," Jeff stated, waving the smoke out of his face.

"There was not," I snapped.

"You wanna try?" Will offered, finally picking up on my thoughts.

"Nah she doesn't. She-"

"Sure, thanks for asking," I said, punching my brother in the arm. "Jeff, stop acting like I'm a baby. I'm fine."

"Alright, here's what you do," Will began, instructing me on the art of smoking pot.

°°°°°°

That summer was a good one. After that experience, I was a different person. Will and my brother let me smoke pot with them from time to time and we hung out together, like three good friends. I started breaking more rules because it made me feel more 'worthy' of hanging out with them- plus, I just didn't give a fuck. It was exciting to break rules and to be able to keep up with them. I also fell in love that summer, or at least I thought I did.

William Bailey was a town trouble maker, and we all knew it. Our parents didn't mind (mainly because they didn't know how he really was), but Jeff didn't trust him around me when we were alone, which was ironic considering that they were best friends. I always ignored whatever Jeff said, and constantly snuck around with Will, whether at school or at home on the weekends.

At school, I'd skip classes to make out with Will behind the science building. Sometimes we'd smoke before returning to school, but usually we'd just ditch and go to his house.

On weekends, we'd sneak into each other's houses and stay the night together. His house was a better place to go; my brother watched me like a hawk, so Will sneaking in wasn't the best option. His parents were oblivious of the things he and I were doing anyway, so we didn't have to worry as much.

As I climbed out of my window and into the night air, I heard something move outside. I froze, expecting to be scolded by my brother, only to hear a voice say, "Why'd you stop? Are you comin' or not?"

"Will," I said, releasing a breath I didn't realize that I had been holding. "You scared the hell out of me," I whispered, hopping down to the lawn.

"Sorry, Rae," he said sweetly.

"Let's go before Jeff wakes up," I said.

"Is it just you two home tonight?" Will asked.

"Yeah, our parents went to some wedding out of town and won't be back until Thursday," I whispered as we headed to his house.

"Are your parents home?" I asked.

"Yeah, but it's fine. We'll be quiet," he said with a wink.

"You're never gonna leave church if they catch us," I warned.

"Don't worry about it; everyone's asleep."

"Will-"

"Trust me, Rae," he said, kissing me.

"Just because I trust you doesn't mean that I'm not worried," I said quietly.

"Everything's fine. Relax," he said as he helped me climb the fence beside his house.

The next morning I was out of their house and back in mine when my brother came storming into my bedroom.

"Did you sneak out?!" he demanded.

"Why would you ask that?" I said sleepily, rubbing my eyes.

"Because, I know you do shit like that. Did you, or did you not?"

"Yes."

"With who?" he asked, gritting his teeth.

"God, calm down-"

"I will not calm down! Who were you out with last night?"

"I wasn't really out, per se. I was at their house."

"Carolina Rae, I swear to God," he started.

"I was with Will, now will you just relax?" I shouted.

"I will not relax, Carolina. You know how I feel about you two getting involved. He's not the one you should be hanging around."

"Yet you can-"

"I am not a teenage girl-"

"When you're around, it's absolutely fine! It's not fair that you can hang out alone with him but I can't. We like each other so don't ruin it for us."

"Carolina, I know that you guys like each other," he said with a sigh, "that's why I don't like you being around him while I'm not there. He's my best friend; I know what he's capable of."

"So do I, Jeff."

At that, I closed him out of my room and we never had that conversation again.

Jeff soon realized that he couldn't stop us; Will and I were both hard headed and wanted each other. Even when he walked in on Will and I- which he did a couple of times- he knew better than to argue. There was no stopping us- until Christmas.

I had snuck out and gone to Will's house, only to see that he was packing a bag and heading to California, never to return.

"Will, please, don't go," I begged, trying not to cry.

"Rae, I have to. There's nothing for me here," he said, kissing my cheek.

"Nothing? Nothing at all?" I asked, heartbroken.

"Honey, the band that your brother and I are trying to start... well, it's not going to get anywhere. L.A. is where the music scene is, not Lafayette."

"So you're just gonna leave the rest of us behind?" I asked, an involuntary tear rolling down my face. "What about me- what about you and I?"

"Hey, don't cry, Baby-bell," he said, using a play on my last name, wiping away the tear with his thumb. "We're gonna see each other again. I just need to find something more- make something of myself." he said.

"Well then I guess... Merry Christmas," I mumbled with a sob as I turned to climb out of his window and walk home.

That walk through the snow was the coldest I had ever experienced. My body ached from the sadness and the tears felt like they were freezing onto my face. My eyes blurred, and I almost walked into the street by accident as I made my way home.

As far as I knew, that was to be the last time I would ever see Will.

°°°°°°

Jeff knocked on my door the next morning, happily saying, "Hey, Merry Christmas, Caro- oh no. What happened?" he asked when he opened my door.

"Will," I managed to mumble.

"Are you okay? What did he do?" he asked, growing defensive.

"He left," I said sadly. "He's going to California."

"Wait, he what?" he asked, the fire leaving his eyes. He sank down on me bed beside me.

"I went over last night to tell him Merry Christmas and spend the night, but he was packing. Jeff, I... He's not coming back," I sobbed. "He said there's nothing here for him."

"Bummer," he said, losing his steam.

My brother held me in his arms until I had calmed down enough to go out into the living room with our parents. We pretended to be excited, but in reality, we were crushed. Jeff no longer had a band to play in, nor did he have his best friend, and I lost not only a good friend, but the one boy I felt love for.

That had to be the saddest Christmas of my life. I was hollow inside; I felt detached because the person I really wanted to be with was making his way across the country without me, or plans to come back. I felt so unbelievably alone.

As time went on, I slowly forgot Will. I was moving on when Jeff decided to move to L.A. a year later.

"Jeff, please take me with you!" I begged.

He smiled and ruffled my hair, "I'll come back for you when you're eighteen."

"That's a year from now," I whined. "Please, don't just leave me here. I don't really have anyone else."

He sighed and set his guitar down beside the door. He stared at my face, thinking hard. His hazel eyes had a soft glow and he smiled before he walked into the kitchen.

"Wait there, Carolina."

About ten minutes later, he walked back with an even wider smile.

"Alright, I made a deal with mom," he whispered, shooing me into my room. "Pack a bag," he said excitedly.

I threw myself at him, hugging him as tight as I could.

"Here's the deal, though: You get to say in L.A. with me for the summer. When school is about to start, you come back here, finish the year, and I'll come see you when you graduate, then from there, if you want to, you can come back to L.A. with me, how's that sound?"

"Perfect!" I said excitedly.

I quickly packed a bag and we were soon on our way. I was buzzing with excitement. I wanted- needed a new place and new people. I was also a bit anxious to see Will, if he was even there.