Two weeks. That was all the time we had left with Alison. In those two weeks I didn't see much of Nolan. As much as I missed being with him after school I was glad he was taking advantage of every moment he had left with his mom.

He'd tell me all about what the three of them did, sometimes laughing so hard he couldn't tell me the funny thing his dad said. He was the happiest I'd ever seen him.

I saw Alison two days before she passed and she seemed just as smiley and bright as ever. That's why it was such a shock to me that she was gone. I guess I should've know when Nolan didn't show up for school that morning. But he'd been missing a lot of days, taking day trips to where Alison wanted to go that day.

I always thought that when someone was days from dying the signs would be clearer. In my mind it looked like being in a hospital bed hooked up to wires and tubes. Alison never looked like she was sick. Knowing her she probably did everything she could to avoid that. 

She told me once that she refused treatment for that very reason. There was only a small chance that the chemo would actually work and if her days were limited she'd rather spend it with her family instead of a hospital.

That was one of the things I admired about her, her ability to see the silver lining. Even on the day of her funeral despite the forecast predicting rain the sun shined. Even mother nature knew Alison Chambers didn't do sad and gloomy.

Nolan couldn't bring himself to go to the service. Instead we stayed in the parking lot of the cemetery, sitting in the back of the minivan with a deck of Uno! cards he found in the glovebox.

When he pulled the deck from the box a note fell out. I'm not sure what it said, but it was the first time I saw Nolan cry throughout the whole ordeal. My heart broke for him. No one deserved to lose a parent so young. Least of all Nolan.

We spent a few quiet nights in the trunk of that minivan. I didn't know why he liked that particular location. Maybe it was because at any given moment he could start up the van, head for the city limit and never look back.

If he wanted to leave, if he asked me, I'd probably go. No questions asked. Bellcreek was suffocating.

* * *

It smelled like rain as I stepped out of the house to meet Bee at the curb. The dark clouds that hung overhead felt fitting that day.

"I feel like I haven't seen you since the funeral," Bee said after I got into her car.

I had almost forgotten that school was a thing. That the world still went on even if I was still stuck on the fact that the world lost a soul as beautiful as Alison Chambers'.

"How's Nolan?"

I fastened my seat belt as she pulled away from the curb and headed for the school. "Better. He mostly just wants to cuddle, which I have no problems with."

She shot me a look from the corner of her eye. "Define cuddling."

"Head out of the gutter." I laughed, smacking her arm.

"Will he be at school today?"

"I don't know. Principal Gibson said he could take the week off." I kind of hoped he would show up for school, it'd be good for him to get out of the house.

"I know it's the last thing on either of your minds right now," Bee started, stopping for a red light. "But prom is next month and the other couples are campaigning their asses off. Tiffany Ha and Mason Chen have candy bars with their faces on them. Rainesha Williams and Ivan Fairchild made a video to get votes and there's a rumor going around that it's getting featured on Ellen."

Wow. I didn't think it would be that serious. Why wouldn't it be that serious, though? It's Europe and a ten thousand dollar scholarship. Of course it's that serious!

My worry must've been displayed on my face because Bee back peddled a bit. "But that picture Gia took in the limo is the most liked photo on Bellcreek Baes."

Somehow that didn't feel like as big of a win as being on Ellen or having my face on a piece of candy.

Prom hadn't crossed my mind with everything else going on. I wasn't even sure Nolan still wanted to go through with it. He had so much on his mind already, could he handle trying to appease the senior class as well?

When Bee pulled into the school parking lot I thought about calling him to ask. Maybe he'd welcome the distraction. Just as I pulled out my phone the distinct sound of a motorcycle caught my attention.

"Isn't that Nolan?" Bee asked as she cut the engine.

A smile tugged at my lips. "Yep!" I rushed out of the car and crossed the lot to get to him.

It had only been about twelve hours since I saw him last, yet it felt like I was seeing him for the first time in days. Maybe because we weren't in his room or in the back of the minivan?

"The Nolan Chambers is passing up the opportunity to sleep for a week straight?" I teased when I got him.

"I needed to get out of the house," he said, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me into him. "Also, I didn't have my human teddy bear with me."

A grin broke out on my face as he leaned down to kiss me.

"Ahem." Bee coughed, appearing next to us. I was so caught up in Nolan I forgot she was with me. "Did you like the macaroni I made?"

"Yes," he answered with a laugh. "And the lasagna and the enchiladas. I even liked that stuff with the broccoli."

Bee smiled proudly. "I'm thinking about making a meatloaf tonight or would you prefer more pasta?"

"Thanks, Bee. But our fridge is full," he told her. "We have enough food to feed the whole town."

That wasn't even an exaggeration. All the times I'd been at his house since his mom's passing they'd get at least three visitors a day with casserole and condolences.

"Well, I have to go beg Mrs. Welton for an extension on my essay," Bee announced, walking backwards towards the school. "I'll see you at lunch." With that, she turned and ran inside the building.

"Are you ready to face the masses?" I asked, looking up at him.

He glanced across the lot at the front lawn of the school. Students lingered out front with their friends or filed into the building. Completely normal and unaware of what Nolan went through those past couple of days.

His gaze came back to me, a barely there smile on his face. "I guess we'll find out."

We walked into school hand in hand and I immediately felt the shift.

Since we started this quest to become king and queen of the senior class we made a lot of new friends. We couldn't walk down the hall without someone greeting us or inviting us to some party or after school things.

That day it felt like all eyes were on us, but no one said anything. At least not to us. There was a quiet murmur of whispers I couldn't make out. I hoped that maybe it was all in my head, but from the way Nolan watched the ground as we walked I knew he felt the stares too.

I remembered what he told me about freshman year. How Nick told everyone his mom was sick and how he hated that everyone started treating him differently. Why couldn't everyone just be normal?

"Nolan?" Gia and a couple of her cheerleading buddies came over to us. One of them held one of those giant greeting cards in her hands. "I didn't think you'd be back so soon. We're still getting signatures from everyone. We're all so sorry about your mom. I only spoke to her that one night, but I could tell she was a really special person. I never met anyone—"

"Thanks, Gia." Nolan forced himself to smile politely before brushing past Gia and continuing to his locker. I had no choice but to follow since he had my hand securely in his.

"I'm sure people will move on by lunch," I told him as he let my hand go to dialed his combination into the lock.

"Yeah." He tugged on the lock, letting out a frustrated sigh when it didn't open. Then he tried his combination again.

It was clear that his mind was elsewhere. He failed to put in the correct combination two more times, getting more agitated with each try. It also didn't help that people apparently got over their shock of seeing Nolan back at school and started coming over.

Every time someone said "Sorry about your mom." I swear Nolan flinched. Like each condolence was a punch to the gut. A constant reminder that his mom was gone.

I knew they were just being nice, but I wanted to yell at them to go away.

I placed my hand over his to stop his third attempt at getting his locker opened. Maybe it was a sign that he shouldn't have been at school. Not yet.

He let the lock drop with a clatter against the metal locker. "The stupid lock must be—"

"Nolan, maybe you should just take the week off," I told him. "There's no reason to rush coming back."

He raked his fingers through his hair, eyes still focused on the padlock. "Yeah. I know. I just—My dad went back to work today and I can't stay in that house alone." Finally, he met my gaze. He almost looked embarrassed to admit it.

He didn't want to be alone and he definitely didn't want to stay here and deal with the pity looks everyone was giving him.

"Let's go somewhere."

His brows raised at my suggestion. "You want to skip school?" I nodded. "Your mom would kick my ass."

A mischievous grin spread across my face. "That's only if she finds out."

His lips twitched into a smile, slowly warming up to the idea. "Okay. Where to?"

I slipped my arm through his, leading him back to the building's entrance. "First we need to get off of school grounds while it's still chaotic, so no one will notice."

We headed back to the parking lot, dodging more people and their condolences. We hopped on his motorcycle and left the school and the stares behind us.