جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 295

MariahThree months later.Graduation was close now.Close enough that everything felt different—even if no one was saying it out loud.You could feel it in the way teachers talked like we were already halfway gone. In the way people said “after graduation” instead of “next year.” In the way everything suddenly felt temporary… like we were all just standing at the edge of something, waiting to jump.And if I’m being honest?This year changed everything.Not just the drama.Not just the rumors.Us.Because Jessa isn’t the same girl she was at the start of the year.Not even close.And… neither am I.We were sitting on her bed, her laptop open between us, notes scattered everywhere like we were actually trying to study.We weren’t.I flopped back dramatically onto her pillows.“This is weird.”She didn’t even look up.“You’ve said that three times.”“I’m processing.”“You’re being dramatic.”“I am not being dramatic,” I argued, staring at the ceiling. “I am having a completely reasonabl

JessaBenny’s was louder than usual.Not in a chaotic, overwhelming way like a game night—but full. Packed with voices, laughter, plates clinking, music low in the background. The kind of noise that wrapped around you instead of pressing in on you.It felt… warm.Familiar.And for the first time in a long time, not something I had to brace myself for.“Okay, I’m just saying,” Mariah said, leaning back in the booth like she owned the place, “if we’re calling this a ‘last night’ thing, I feel like there should be more dramatic energy.”Jackson snorted across from her.“We still have two months.”She pointed at him.“Exactly my point. So this isn’t technically the last anything.”“Then stop calling it that,” he shot back.“I like the vibe,” she said.I smiled, sitting beside Noah, my shoulder lightly brushing his.It was weird.Not the bad kind.Just… aware.Aware of everything.The table.The people.The way this moment felt like it mattered more than it would’ve a year ago.“Food’s her