Chapter Sixty: I'll See You.

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dedicated to qveen_Em 💕💕thank you for the lovely cover at the top.

yes, this is the last chapter :( and thank you for 3 million reads. This is 7000+ words. epilogue will be up soon.

Chapter Sixty: "I'll See You."

"WHERE ARE WE going?" I asked, laughing but no one answered me. They were all walking ahead of me in a very familiar direction while I was piggy backing on Zen's back. "Is no one going to answer me?"

"Sydney?" Devin questioned, his arm hooked with Jane's. 

"Yeah?" I asked.

"We're going to school." Devin answered.

"Excuse me? It's my last day here and you people want to take me to school?" I asked, getting off of Zen.

Zen nodded, "We're meeting everyone at school. Don't argue."

"But-But why school? Did we not just graduate hoping never to see this place again?" I said, just as we started walking up the steps of the said place. "And is it even open?"

Jane snorted. "This is barely a school. This is a dance studio and an art studio and a music-you know what? This is a community center. The question is, when does it close?"

Zen and I exchanged a glance as she and Devin walked into the building. "She's right, Syd."

"But the question is why would you guys even want to come back?" I expressed my thought out loud.

Zen took me in a different direction thn where Jane and Devin were going. He steered me in the direction where my locker was. When we got right in front of it, Zen opened it. "Think about it. There would be mornings in first semester or second where we would all find our way here."

"Yeah. I noticed we did that." I remarked. 

"And sometimes when we had spare, the both of us, we would sit down right here." Zen eve pointed down at the ground for emphasis.

"Yeah, and then there would be times where you would throw my pencil over there." I pointed to the other side of the empty hallway, shooting him daggers with my eyes. "For no good reason."

He scoffed. "I have my reasons for throwing your pencils."

"Anyway," I gave him a huge eye roll. "What is the point in standing here?"

"The point of standing here, of being in this school right now is because this is where you met me. Where you met all of us and we changed your entire-"

I patted him on the chest. "Okay, let's not stretch it."

"Okay, maybe I didn't change your life completely by myself but I probably changed a little bit of it. You changed a little bit of mine."

"I know. I introduced you to a new gaming buddy."

Zen shook his head. "You didn't introduce me to Lucas. I knew him and went to the same school as him. This school."

"It doesn't matter. You didn't even speak to him until I started dating him. You're welcome," Zen closed the locker, leaning against it when I continued. "But yeah, a lot of you changed my life when I came here. You didn't treat me like shit. You didn't scare me or do anything that mean people do to the new students in high school like-"

"In the movies?"

"In the movies, in reality, in books. Just-Thanks for being my friend."

"No problem," Zen pushed off the locker, slinging an arm around me as we continued walking. "And thanks for being my friend. My, uh foster dad, he says good luck. He wishes he could've met you."

"You told him about me?"

"Of course I did. You're the same one that would make me wake up early on weekends."

"Waking you up at 1 in the afternoon is not waking you up early, Matthew." I explained, referring to his real name.

"It's early. And honestly I just hope our friendship can last a lifetime." He stated and a small smile came to my face.

"We're moving to New York Zen-"

"Yeah but you're moving tomorrow and I'm moving in September. And we're still going to different schools." He pointed out.

"Okay, so how about when you move you don't pretend you don't know me if we see each other."

"No, how about when we see each other you don't pretend you don't know me when you make all your new friends."

"Zen, I think you're going to make friends faster than I will." I admitted. Sure, Zen acted like he hated the whole every other day but he was far more approachable and he knows how to approach people. 

"You might find this hard to believe but you're most definitely not as socially awkward as you were when I first met you, Sydney."

I glanced up at him. "Really?"

"Really. Believe it because it's true. Now, everyone is in the one place where you never expect us- a group of artists to be."

"Where?"

He opened the doors to outside and he spread his arms wide. "The football field. Which is ironic because I think this school has only won two football games in the times I have been at this school." 

"Wait, we're not going to get in trouble for being here?" I asked Zen as he started pulling me.

"In trouble? Sydney, like Jane said, this Academy is a fucking community center."

"Siddy!" Eduardo waved and I spotted everyone, well almost everyone sitting down on the grass with food around them on top of blankets. Luckily, the sun was hidden behind the clouds but the weather out was mildly hot enough.

Jane and Devin were sitting next to Eduardo and Mary Anne who were all laughing at some story Ravi was telling them. Hailey was with Joey (What the heck was he doing here?), the two in their own little world. Kim and Sarah were chatting and the way they were talking let me know they were sharing something that probably happened to someone that we all knew.

Kim seemed fine, a lot better these days. I assumed that she hasn't spoken to Mr. Stiles since soon after he was fired. Sometimes people in my classes would bring him up, not knowing what happened to him. 

My gaze went to Kim who flashed me a small smile when she caught me looking. I gave her one back. Forget fine. She seemed great. 

I took the seat next to them, listening to what was going on while Zen placed himself next to Kim, grabbing  cupcake that I knew Mary Anne had probably made. "What are we talking about?"

"Sarah found out more drama." I addressed, brushing my hand against the grass.

"What kind of drama?" Zen questioned, looking highly confused.

"Okay," Sarah started explaining, "So you know what happened at the after prom party right? I told you guys on the group chat."

Zen stared at all of us. "What? What happened? You guys have a  group chat that I'm not part of?"

"It's a girls only group chat with the five of us," Kim told him. "You're in the other one remember?"

"I wasn't informed that there was more than one group chat." He enunciated.

"There's like five different group chats with every single person here." I added.

"What the-" Zen shook his head, smoothing his hair before getting interested. "Anyway, what happened?"

"Okay, so at the after prom party Spencer and-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Zen interrupted Sarah with the waving of his hands. "That square is still happening? Like that mess of relationships is still happening even after high school?"

"Zen you make it seem like we've been out of high school for years. It's been a couple of days." Sarah commented.

"Who cares? Those people are so problematic."

Jane scurried over, sitting next to Zen. "What are we talking about?" That's when everyone else shifted over to our conversation and tuned in.

"You know the drama that's been going around since last November? Between Wendell, Ken, Mikayla and Spencer?" Sarah asked them.

Everyone agreed except for Ravi. "No."

Devin turned to the sound of his voice. "How is it that I know about the drama and you don't?"

"Because drama is stupid." Ravi mumbled.

"Do you still want to hear about it?" Sarah asked him and as a response Ravi nodded eagerly like a kid, lying down on his blanket on his stomach.

"Okay so at a party in November Mikayla and Wendell were dating and Ken and Spencer were dating but things went crazy. Mikayla and Ken both cheated by making out with one another but it became known that Ken had been cheating on Spencer with another girl for a while anyway."

"Didn't Wendell and Spencer end up dating later on?" Hailey asked.

Sarah nodded. "And Ken and Mikayla started dating. Now, here's the new stuff. Ken and Mikayla broke up right? Because Mikayla cheated on him with Cody and-"

"Wait, Cody?" Jane asked, looking confused. "Um, weren't you and Cody kind of a thing?"

"He ruined it when he decided to do stuff with Mikayla instead," Sarah waved a dismissive hand because the topic of Cody didn't truly bother her anymore. "But at the after prom party at Mark's house, there was a fight between Mikayla and Spencer and Spencer started crying saying how Mikayla made her boyfriend cheat on her and-"

"What? Why did she only blame Mikayla?" Zen asked.

Sarah let out an exasperated breath. "I'm getting there. So, when Spencer was crying and blamed Mikayla then Mikayla slapped her. And before you ask, yes I have that on video. It was a hell of a slap," Sarah opened her phone and tapped a few buttons. She tossed her phone towards Zen and everyone crowded around his phone to watch.

I didn't bother moving to watch but while Sarah continued I could hear the sharp slap and everyone watching said "OOH" in loud voices as if they didn't expect it coming.

"So, they continued fighting and then they eventually got pulled away from one another. Wendell heard what happened at the party and the day after prom he broke up with her."

"How do you know that he did?" Joey asked, looking at Sarah with narrowed eyes. I realized then that Wendell was kind of in Joey's group that he hung around during school.

"Wendell puts a lock on his Instagram bio whenever he's with a girl. When he breaks up with them, he takes his lock off and replaces it with his snapchat username. I'm really observant and I got the confirmation from someone else later on. Anyway, at the graduation party that girl Julie was throwing, none of the four were talking to one another right?"

Joey's jaw dropped. "Oh shit. I saw what happened."

Hailey looked at him, confused. "You went?"

"Yeah, I stopped by for like five minutes and when I came there everyone was yelling because Mikayla and Spencer were both yelling at Ken."

Sarah clapped her hands, her eyes practically lighting up at the drama behind her glasses. "Yeah, they ganged up on him like it was nothing and started yelling at him and-"

"Wait. Did Spencer suddenly forget that Mikayla was basically like the other woman?"

"Yeah and Ken apologized and stuff and walked out of the party. And all of a sudden, Spencer and Mikayla are like best friends."

"What?" Devin, me and Eduardo said at the same time.

Zen rolled his eyes, leaning back on his hands. "I'm so happy we're done with high school drama."

"PEOPLE!" I heard a loud voice call and we all looked over to Lucas and Octavia who were holding boxes of pizzas and drinks in their hands. "We have arrived with the pizza."

Octavia smiled at all of us, handing one box of pizza to Eduardo and Ravi who both immediately started digging in. "What did you all bring for Sydney's going away pot luck? I have not eaten all day."

Lucas dropped the food in the center of us all, reaching down to kiss me on the cheek. "Hey."

Before I could even reply 'hi', he moved over to the other side next to Eduardo and Devin, stirring up conversation.

About a half an hour later, Joey had a guitar in his hands that he had taken from one of the rooms he apparently 'did not' break into and was playing a song while Eduardo and Ravi sung horribly to it.

I was sitting next to Kim while everyone looked pretty comfortable. But I felt like something was off. Not between me and my friends but between me and Lucas.Maybe just because he hasn't made any eye contact with me or had a single conversation with me the entire time.

I pushed that thought away, looking at him, Zen and Devin laugh about something. My focus went on Zen, who looked so happy to be here in this moment. It made me happy that my friend was in his element. 

That's when I turned to Kim as she grabbed watermelon from the fruit platter, "Hey Kim?"

"Yeah?" She asked, taking a bite out of her watermelon.

"I just want to say, I hope you're okay." 

Kim nodded, "Thank you, Syd. I never got to tell you that." 

"I didn't do anything." 

"You did." She insisted, glancing at Zen. "More than you know." 

Oh. 

I nodded, "I'll take good care of him in New York."

Kim grinned, "I know you will." 

"So, what are you going to do during the summer and in the fall?" I asked. 

"I've been working with a band," She said. "We're going different places during the summer like a mini tour and as for September or later, we'll see."

That was good to hear. Sarah was going to become an art teacher. Mary Anne was going to a theatre school near the dance school Eduardo was going to. Ravi and Hailey were involved in dance too but Ravi got into a dance company and Hailey was going to stay back here for the summer to train a class for experience before setting off. It sucks knowing that everyone was going to different places but to know they'd be achieving their dreams. 

I felt someone attack me with a hug from behind. Octavia laughed in my ear while Mary Anne sat in front of me and Kim. "Hey, Sydney, what's going on with your man right now?"

"I, uh, I," I let out an exhale, putting my hair into a ponytail to refrain from the stickiness of heat. "I don't know."

"Oh," Mary Anne said, taking out a watermelon. "So I wasn't the only one who had noticed that he hasn't said a word to you."

"Maybe he's going to say more to you later." Octavia winked at me knowingly and I shook my head at her with a smile.

"I have to finish packing by the time we leave here guys. Lucas and I had yesterday together and today I have it with all of you," Jane took a seat next to Mary Anne and I decided to ask her question. "What happened between you and-"

Jane stopped me with a hand. "No, no, no I don't even want to say her name. I'm tired of her as a possible interest and a friend."

"Jane." Kim said.

"I'm being honest." She dramatically groaned, playing with the pendant attached to her black choker.

I took her hands in mine. "Well, you're going to find the perfect girl one day."

Jane groaned, leaning back to the point where she fell back on the blanket. "What if that takes forever?"

"It's not going to. You're still seventeen almost eighteen. There's plenty of time." Mary Anne told her.

Jane smiled to herself. "Thanks guys, oh and Kim, there's a bee near you."

That's when Kim screamed and chaos pursed.

I found my way beside Joey who was drinking water later on. Ravi was sing his credit card to push the stringer out of Kim's arm and everyone was occupied watching him to so. Joey looked at me. "Acosta."

"Hi Cahill," I examined his relaxed posture. "Not to be rude but why exactly are you here?"

"Because someone told me this was your going away party and when I asked if there would be food, they said yes and invited me."

"Was that someone Hailey and did you only come because she said she was coming too?" He didn't say anything to that and I smiled in accomplishment. His eyes lingered on her as she was explaining something to Jane. "You really like her huh?"

Joey took his eyes off her to look at me and I didn't feel as odd as I used to when he had practically admitted-no implied- that he had liked me. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

"I'm happy you found someone like her and not like Lydia."

Joey let out a breath, shaking his head. "I'm going to be honest with you but I forgot I dated Lydia for two years."

I held in a laugh. "No offence but your relationship with her sounded like a waste."

Joey took another swig of his water. "I don't think it was truly a waste. That relationship taught me a lot of things that I don't want to ever fuck up with Hailey."  

"It did?" I queried. 

"Yeah. I think all relationships can teach you something no matter how much time you invested in the person."

I filled up my cup with the water in his hands. "Wise words."

Joey shrugged, a smirk creeping onto his face. "I have my moments." That's when I realized I was completely content having all these people here with me. The people that in some way made me feel like I belonged at Hamilton Academy of The Arts when I didn't think I would.

We all decided to walk in the direction of my house that evening even though it was pretty far a distance. It didn't matter because by now they had walked almost the complete way with me. Imagine, a bunch of teenagers walking down the sidewalk and talking, some loud, some quiet but when we would all laugh at the same time it sounded harmonious. No matter what the topic was, the atmosphere gave me the sense that with them, I was right where I belonged. When everyone decided to part ways, I had told them I would see most tomorrow. All but Devin.

Devin had an appointment in the morning tomorrow but I wasn't truly affected. When I gave him a hug, he smiled at me, taking off his glasses to reveal those pale blue eyes. "I'll see you in September."

"Yeah. I'll see you in September, Dev." He reached out and I guided his hand to my cheek. He moved his hand to tug lightly on a curly strand of my hair before pulling back. When he and most of the others started walking off, Joey, Lucas and Hailey hung back a bit.

Joey and Hailey were ready to head back but Lucas didn't say anything he just kept staring at me. Joey looked at the two of us before nudging his brother. "You coming?"

"I'm gonna drop her home. I'll catch up with you guys." Lucas said and Joey and Hailey said bye to me before walking off. 

I took Lucas' hands in mine. "Are you okay?"

He took a deep breath and we started to walk in the direction of the apartment. "Yeah, I'm okay.   

"You were kind of quiet today."

"I was?"

"Yeah, you probably said five words to me all day."

He licked his lips. "Sorry, it's just-it's coming faster than I expected. You leaving."

When my building was in front of us, Lucas and I took slow, stalling steps. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

But those steps weren't enough and it was like we didn't know what words we could say to one another when Lucas was holding onto the entrance door. "Look, I'll see you tomorrow, okay Sydney?"

I felt like there was more to say but I figured I would just have to wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow. Fuck. I kissed him, hooking my arms around his neck. When I pulled back, he had a faint smile on his face. "I love you."

"I love you more." He let me go and when I made my way upstairs and found myself in my room. I pulled the curtain aside to see Lucas standing there with his hands in his pockets as if he was waiting for me to get inside safely. He always did that. And when he knew I would be okay, he would smile and walk off but this time he nodded and jogged away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first people at our apartment door the next morning were the ones that were managing my ride to New York.

Greg launched himself at me and Phillip launched himself at my legs. "Whoa." I almost fell to the ground if it wasn't for

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