Now that school was over, I finally could focus all my attention on college. I had to figure out the classes I was going to take, what clubs I was going to join, whether or not I was going to play softball in college. It was all happening so fast, the transition from high school to college, but it was distracting me from everything else in my life, which was a good thing. Mom and Dad were still together, and they were doing better. But I could still see the lingering bad feelings; I hoped they would ignore it. Beckett was doing much better, and he could walk by himself now. And Harvey . . . we still hadn't spoken with each other since prom. It was better that way, though.

Today was a very boring day for me since I wasn't doing anything at all. That didn't do me too well because I began thinking about Harvey again. I missed him so much, but I didn't dare contact him. I didn't want to ruin the changes that were happening in my life. I was becoming a better person than I was before. I was finally listening to those around me instead of focusing on my own life. I didn't want him to distract me again, but I also wanted him to come back to me. He was the best thing I never really had a chance to have.

There was a knock on my door, so I looked over at it. Mom entered my room with a soft smile on her face. "Sweetheart, how are you doing?" Mom asked. I hadn't told her about what happened with me and Harvey yet.

I glanced at her before turning back to my TV. A reality TV show played across the screen, but I couldn't pay attention. My mind was somewhere else. It was focused on the one thing that I didn't want it to be focused on.

"Cat." Mom sat down next to me, rubbing her hand across my arm. "Talk to me."

I leaned into her and sighed softly. "I haven't spoken to Harvey since . . ."

"Since when?"

"Prom," I whispered. I kept my eyes trained on the TV, watching as the colors flashed across the walls of my room. "We went to his house, as you know, and I talked about how I felt about him."

"Did he feel the same?"

I nodded. "Yeah. We kissed."

She frowned at me. "What's wrong, then?"

"I haven't spoken to him since, and he hasn't made an effort to speak to me, either, I've been so busy worrying about Beckett and you that I didn't have time to talk to him or my other friends," I said sadly. I couldn't help myself; I had to ramble to her. It had been building up in my chest for weeks, and I needed to let it out sometime. "Mom, I -" I cleared my throat. "I love him. I have always loved him, Mom."

She smiled softly. There was a look of understanding in her eyes. "I know, sweetheart."

My phone buzzed next to me, but I didn't bother looking at it. Sophia kept texting me about how I just needed to grow a spine and that I needed to talk to him. I didn't want to hear her say it to me over a phone call.

"I think you should answer it," Mom said suddenly.

I looked at my phone and nearly screamed. My heart started thudding against my chest at the sight. "Mom! I can't!" Harvey's icon appeared on my phone again, so I threw it to Mom. "You do it!"

She answered for me and said brightly, "Hi, Harvey!"

"Hi!" Harvey said, his voice sending flutters through my stomach. For some reason, she had him on speaker phone, which I hated so much. I didn't want to hear his voice again and fall back into the ditch he had dug for me. "Is Cat around?"

I shook my head violently. Mom apparently thought it was funny because she was laughing at me. Waving my hands, I whispered, "Tell him no."

She pointed my phone at me and said, "She's here."

I cursed when I realized she was on FaceTime. She somehow figured out how to flip the camera. I was glad I couldn't see the screen on my phone; I had no idea what I would have done if I saw his face. I probably would have been swayed to go back to him.

"Cat, you stay right there," Harvey said, and I wasn't sure if I heard a car door shut. All I could hear was the sound of my heart echoing in my ears. 

"Why?" I asked softly. "You obviously don't care about me like I thought you did."

The sound cut out, and I stood up, looking at my phone. Had he hung up on me? My phone was dark. He really did hang up on me. So, I was right. He didn't have feelings for me. But what was he doing? Why did he want me to stay here? I sunk onto my bed, rubbing my eyes. I was so confused, and I didn't like it at all.

"What do you think he's doing?" I asked.

Mom suddenly wouldn't meet my gaze. "No idea."

I stared at her. She knew more than she let on. "Mom, stop lying."

She gave me a smile before leaving my room. I wanted to run after her, wanted to beg her to tell me what was happening, but I didn't. I didn't have a chance because Beckett made his way slowly toward me. He was still using the crutches, but he figured out how to use them to his advantage. More than once, he had hit me with them before running away from me on them. I jumped up and helped him sit down in the chair in the corner of my room.

"What are you doing?" I asked him. "You need to be resting."

"I wanted to see this."

"See what?" I asked.

He smiled mischievously but didn't answer me. Did everyone know about this besides me? They all knew I hated when people kept secrets from me. It seemed like they didn't care, though. 

I opened my mouth to question him more, but something hit my window. I crossed my room and looked outside to see Chris and Ethan and Sophia. I opened the window and said, "What in the world are you three doing here?"

They didn't answer me. Instead, they started singing a song I vaguely knew. It sounded familiar, almost like I've heard it before. I couldn't place it, though. I didn't want to think about why it sounded familiar. They sounded terrible, but it reminded me of something I told Harvey. This was how I wanted him to ask me to prom, but he didn't.

"Catherine Hudson," a voice called out.

I slowly turned around to see Harvey standing in my room. He had a few softballs in his hands, and he threw one to me. I barely caught it. My hands were shaking so bad at the sight of him. He hadn't changed a bit; I wished he did. Everything about him was still perfect, and I hated it.

"What are you doing here?" I asked shakily.

"Look at the ball."

My eyes glanced down, and I saw the word 'Will' written on it in bold, black letters. Another ball hit my hands, and I dropped both.

"Sorry!" Harvey said quickly.

I bent down and looked at the other. It said 'you.' I knew what he was doing. This was what I asked him to do for prom. But what was he doing now? There was nothing he wanted to ask me, I knew that for certain. He obviously didn't have feelings for me. 

I glanced up at him and he threw the next one at me. It read 'be my.' My friends stopped singing after Harvey waved to them. He got down in front of me, pressing the last softball into my palms. With him touching me, I could barely think about anything else. Oh, how I missed him.

I rolled them together to read the message fully. "'Will you be my girlfriend?'" I read aloud. I looked up at him fearfully. He had on his beautiful, bright smile that always made me melt. "What does this mean?"

He laughed at me like this was funny. It wasn't funny, though. "I think you know what it means."

"Why are you doing this?"

He frowned. It was slowly dawning on him that I wasn't enjoying what he was doing. Well, I was, but I had put up my walls, which he wasn't used to. "What do you mean?"

"You haven't said a word to me since prom," I said stiffly. "Why?"

"I was planning this." He gestured around us. Fear was setting in his eyes. I knew I couldn't push him away again. Not after he did all this for me. "Do you not like it?"

My heart hammered against my chest as I took his hands into mine. I glanced over his shoulder to see Mom and Dad watching us next to Beckett. Somehow, our friends were standing right behind them. All of them looked like they were on the edge of their seats.

"Harvey Beckinsdale," I said softly. "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"I love you."

He launched himself at me, throwing his arms around me. I laughed as we hit the floor with a thud. He kept showering me with kisses, and I couldn't stop giggling. I buried my head into his neck, and he sat up. I ended up on his lap, but I didn't care what anyone thought right now.

"Have you always felt like this for me?" he asked.

"Yes," I admitted. "I didn't think it was true, but Sophia finally convinced me. I just didn't think you cared like this for me, so I made rules for myself."

"What type of rules?"

"You can't think about him. You can't want him. You can't show him how you really feel because you're going to ruin your friendship. Stuff like that."

I pulled my head out of his neck and he smiled at me. I smiled too and kissed him before I could convince myself otherwise.

"I have to get a picture!" Sophia yelled, but I didn't really hear her. I couldn't focus on anything besides him.

I pulled away from him slowly and saw the biggest smile on Mom's face. My own face burned. I rested my hand on his cheek and whispered, "I have loved you for as long as I can remember."

His eyes were bright. "I know."

I slapped his arm but still laughed. "I can't believe you got these guys to sing for you," I said, jerking my thumb to Chris and Ethan. They both had huge smiles on their faces.

"Did you recognize the song?" I shook my head. "I asked the DJ to play that song at prom."

"The original sounded so much better," I said, looking at the boys. "No offence."

Everyone laughed, and I smiled. I didn't think I could be this happy, but I was. This was so much better than I ever imagined. I knew I wouldn't let him distract me anymore. Yes, he would be in my life, but we would hold each other accountable to be better people than we actually were. That's what love was all about. It was about wanting to be better for the other person, and in turn, you would become who you were meant to be. I was glad I found that in Harvey. I knew I would never find it anywhere else, and I was okay with that because I knew he was mine forever.