I woke up Saturday morning hanging off my bed with a scarf wrapped around my head. After a week of everything exam-related, Melody made good on her promise and took me out for dinner. Naturally, that was followed up by drinks at our favorite bar.

Groaning, I blinked at the bright light peering through the window, a headache forming already.

When I noticed the time, I let my body hang again, not wanting to move. Five more minutes echoed in my head, lulling me back to sleep.

Then the door swung open, slamming against the wall. "Nalani, why does the living room smell like dog pee?"

Startled, I tumbled to the floor.

"Looks like someone had a fun night," my mom chuckled, kneeling beside me.

Lifting my head, I glared at her. "Why are you here? You said you were coming on Tuesday."

"Too bad, I'm here now. From the looks of it, just in time."

"What?" I let my head drop against the floor again.

"I felt the tension down the street," she said, rubbing my back.

I groaned into the carpet. "A lot has happened in a week."

"Give me the SparkNotes."

I rolled over, reluctantly looking at her. "Brook and Rye are on the outs again, and Rye thinks he likes me."

My mom nodded. If she was surprised, she didn't show it. "Great time to visit, huh?"

"The best," I replied sarcastically, closing my eyes.

"And Major?"

"Works to avoid it all."

"Smart boy."

I laughed.

"And how's your spark?"

I rolled my lip into my mouth, hiding a smile. "He's good."

She hummed, then slapped my exposed stomach. "Get in the shower. You smell like a brewery."

Her words of wisdom carried me off the floor and into the bathroom for a late start to the day.

I heard her shout at me from my bedroom, something about needing an energy cleanse. Since she arrived early, the house had an extra three days with Julie Roswell, and I wasn't looking forward to it.

As expected, during the next week of graduation preparation, my mom bordered on the line between helpful and chaotic. She'd do the house's laundry, then rearrange the living room because she was bored.

Major loved having her around. Of course, he was her favorite and could do no wrong in her eyes. The rest of us couldn't wait for Friday.

The morning of graduation, the dynamic duo blocked off the kitchen and refused to let anyone through. They claimed it was for a "special graduation breakfast," but there was more laughter than cooking.

The air in the living room was icy compared to the lightheartedness of the kitchen.

Rye flicked through show after show, laying on his stomach on the floor. From the couch, Brook glared daggers into the back of his head. They hadn't spoken to each other in a week, the longest fight they'd ever had.

Brook shifted her gaze to me. If possible, she seemed angrier staring at me than at Rye. She looked like she was going to say something, then Major hollered that breakfast was ready.

My mom tried to get the four of us to talk to one another, but her questions and playful comments fell flat. The most she got out of us were a few empty laughs and shallow nods.

Under her cheerful charisma, I saw her concern. Though Brook and Rye weren't her favorites, as she'd said many times, she hated that they were fighting. Even more, she hated that they were fighting with me.

I stayed after breakfast to help Major clean up, while my mom skipped off to watch Desperate Housewives in the guest room. We worked in comfortable silence, speaking only when necessary. But he looked at me, I knew he wanted to ask.

"I turned him down," I said, handing him the last dirty plate. "Just so you know."

His eyebrows shot up. "You did?"

"And pretty much called him a self-centered blowhard who isn't as popular as he thinks he is."

He nearly dropped the plate in the sink. "What? You?"

"Yep," I chirped, brushing my hands on my pajama pants. "His spell is broken, May."

"Thank God." Major, wet hands and all, engulfed me in a hug. "It's finally over."

"What is?"

"The bet. Julie finally lost the bet."

I broke out of his hold, leaning back against the counter. "Bet?"

"She and I bet, like, three years ago about when you'd get over Rye. I said before graduation, she said after." He smiled, draping a towel over his hands. "Thanks, Nini. I just won fifty bucks!"

I shook my head. "You two are awful."

"How? We both bet that you would get over him. We knew you'd either see it for yourself eventually or you'd find someone to change your mind—" Major looked at me, eyes widening. "Lani! I won another one!"

"How many bets are you making with my mother about me?"

"That's not important. I got an extra twenty, though." He shot me a devious smirk.

"For what?"

"For betting a guy would change your mind."

I looked away from him, twisting my hands. "Shut up."

He leaned over to ruffle my hair. "Since you've done so much for me, I'll finish up here. You go get ready for the big day."

"Whatever," I said, then stuck my tongue out at him.

I heard his chuckle all the way up the stairs. It was a comforting sound, one I'd missed the past few weeks. Between both of our busy schedules, we were hardly ever home at the same time. When we were, there were a billion and one things to do before socializing.

But I knew that after today, I'd have more than enough time to spend with someone I'd call a best friend.

↠

"You're graduating!" Melody screeched in my ear, practically hanging off me.

"That's the plan," I mumbled, scanning the crowd above her head.

"That's crazy to me. You've been in college the whole time I've known you—" She gasped in my ear. "Lani!"

I pushed her face away from mine. "What?"

"I didn't get you one of those flower thingies. You know the ones you see in all the pictures?"

"A lei?"

"Yeah!" She smirked at me. "Will a lei get you lei-d?"

"I hate you."

"You love me, or you wouldn't have invited me."

I didn't respond, which Melody took as a victory.

She shot up, lifting her arms in the air. "Score!"

I rolled my eyes. "You done?"

"Nope, not even close."

I went back to watching the people around us.

"They're on their way, Lani," she said after a while, popping into my eyeline with a gentle smile on her face. "Even with all this crappy drama, they wouldn't miss this for the world."

"I know." I smiled down at her as someone called her name.

Her face lit up and she swore she'd be right back before taking off into the crowd in the quad.

I let out a strangled breath, thankful for a break from her hovering. I couldn't admit to her that I wasn't waiting for them, not even my mom. I knew they were already here, showing my mom around and reminiscing about their college years.

I was looking for him. Part of me hoped he was somewhere around me, another face in the crowd. That part was solely based on the betrayal of a dream the night before. I imagined that Clay showed up with a bouquet of flowers, saying the words I wanted to hear more than anything.

That stupid, naive part of me hoped it could be more than a dream.

I heard my phone ding in my purse, muffled by the random things I'd thrown in before rushing out the door.

Today 11:49 AM

Prince <3
i'm so proud of you Nala
congratulations :)

Smiling to myself, I knew that was good enough for now. I could wait for the big gesture.

After a bit of searching, I found Melody to give her my phone and purse. The ceremony would start soon, at noon on the dot. Still no sign of my mom or the others, but I knew I'd see them in the crowd.

I only wished I'd see him, too.

↠

After the ceremony, I got the wind knocked out of me. Melody had launched herself at me, unleashing two hours of excitement on me. When I could breathe again, my mom took her turn.

Neither one seemed ashamed when I gasped for air.

Major, always the mature one, hugged me sweetly, whispering under his breath how proud he was. He'd never admit it, but he was seconds from tears.

Melody was already there, my mom not far behind.

"You're all grown up!" Melody blubbered, attaching herself to me again.

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, shooing her off to fix my cap. "You got mascara on my gown."

She grinned, brushing her fingers under her eyes. "You're welcome."

"So, who's ready for lunch?" my mom asked, clearing her throat. "My treat, kiddos!"

"I'm starving," Rye said, his first words beyond a disheartened 'congrats'.

"You always are," Brook spat, not taking her eyes off her phone.

"Are you hungry, Brooklin?" my mom ground out through a tight smile.

Brook shrugged.

"I am, Julie," Major joined in, patting my mom's shoulder. "How's pizza?"

"Perfect," I said quickly, grabbing Melody's arm. "Text the address and we'll meet you guys there."

Melody followed without question, her keys dangling in her hand. She didn't say a word until we were in her car, far from the others

"You have to do something about them," she said, her eyes serious.

"What am I supposed to do? They won't even talk to me."

"I don't know, but their shit shouldn't ruin today. It's not fair to you."

"Yeah, you're right."

For the sake of the people enjoying their lunches, I didn't say anything when we arrived. Melody, with extremely expressive faces, told me to get to it. The thought made my stomach churn.

Before it could flip into full-on anxiety, my phone buzzed in my purse and drew my attention away from the issue.

Several twitter notifications popped up on screen, along with a message from Bad.

May 3

BadBoyHalo ✔ (@BadBoyHalo)
Check dream's timeline :p

Lani (@lanicorn)
Okay?

Confused, I clicked Clay's profile.

Dream ✔ (@Dream) ● May 3
congrats.

⏐ Replying to @Dream

➵ Bad ✔ @BadBoyHalo
congrats.

➵ Sapnap ✔ @sapnap
congrats.

➵ George ✔ @GeorgeNotFound
congrats.

➵ TommyInnit ✔ @tommyinnit
congrats.
     ...16.7k more

Smiling, I realized I wasn't as afraid, or alone, as I thought.

After our orders were taken, I asked both Brook and Rye to meet me outside. They exchanged a confused look, which quickly turned to anger, before following.

"Today is about me," I started, looking between the two of them, "so you both need to get a grip and be happy for me."

Brook pursed her lips, about to say something, but stopped short when I whirled on her.

"Don't, Brooklin. You're more to blame than Rye is. Everything with him is not my fault. If he decides to dump you, it won't be because of me. I promise you, it'll be because he finally realized no amount of makeup can cover up your shitty personality."

She tensed, eyes narrowing. Though she looked ready to swing, she didn't say a word.

So, I continued.

"And you," I turned to Rye, making him jump, "if you're so pissed at me, why did you bother showing up? If you can't pretend for a second that I had a point, then leave. I don't want you here if you can't do that."

He scoffed, shaking his head before turning on his heel and walking back into the restaurant.

"That was so uncalled for."

"His attitude lately was uncalled for," I retorted, adding, "Yours, too."

"What the hell happened to you? You've changed, and definitely not for the better—" Brook paused, her jaw ticking. "Is this all because of some guy you met on the internet?"

"No! Because I'm sick of the bullshit you've pulled over me the past five years!" I exploded. "I'm done sitting in your shadow and pretending I don't want to be in the spotlight."

Brook scrunched her nose, staring at me in disbelief. "Do not act like I'm doing this for fucking fun. You could have told me at any point that you didn't need my help anymore."

"It was never that easy and you know that. I couldn't after what happened."

"Seriously? You could have if you really wanted to, Nalani. You chose to let me fight your battles for you because you need me. You're scared. You've always been scared. You're shy, depressed, and alone."

I straightened, matching her height in heels. "Like hell I am anymore. You made me think I couldn't fight back because I owed you. I've been paying a debt to you since the day you—"

"Saved you from being raped? Protected you from awful bullies and talked you down from multiple suicide attempts? I've been saving your ass for more than five years because you asked me to."

"Well, now I'm asking you to fuck off and leave me alone."

I left her in the parking lot, not looking back once.