The bell rang and people scattered to class. All except Ned and Moze.

"I can't believe it! This has to be a dream!" Moze looked up at Ned, her eyes glittering.

"This is real." And then he said it again. "I love you."

Moze tightened the embrace and Ned knew she loved him too. She wasn't crying anymore and her eyes looked less puffy, less red.

Moze wasn't much a believer in fate, but she believed they were made to be together. As friends. As lovers. As anything. Her love for him could keep her bound to him forever. When they weren't together, she felt as though her heart was at the base of her neck, and every time she was to take a breath, it was if she was going to throw it up. She didn't feel like that anymore. She felt warm.

Ned stroked her hair and suggested they sign out, since they both were 18, and spend the day together. Moze smiled for the first time in six months. The warmth inside her spread, getting warmer with each waking moment.

They were sitting in Ned's car, eating ice cream and smiling goofy smiles when Ned's phone rang. It was his mom.

"Ned, why aren't you in school?" she asked, loud enough for Moze to hear it echo from the phone. His mom was always loud.

In his soft, deep voice, Ned replied "Because I don't want to be there when I can be with Moze."

"Moze? Why do you want to be with her when you can be with Missy? She was always such a sweet girl…"

"Apparently you don't remember the time she tried to take my pants off in front of everyone at the Christmas party."

"You should have been a man and let her."

Ned slid his hand down his face.

"That's trashy. And I wouldn't let her touch me there. I might contract one of her many diseases."

Moze laughed.

"Ned Bigby that is no way to treat a lady!"

"Lady my ass! She wanted to give me… Never mind. You're retarded mom. Moze is so much better."

"What makes her so special?"

Ned fondled Moze's hair. "She's smart, respectable, beautiful, funny, and I love her with all my heart and soul."

"Well I don't like her."

"Well I don't like you." And then he hung up. He sighed. His mom loved Missy. She though Missy would "teach him things." He never let her though. It always felt wrong.

Moze leaned into him, taking another whiff of his wondrous scent. "Missy, eh?"

Ned scoffed. "She's disgusting."

Moze giggled and leaned in closer. "Having problems with your mom too?"

"You have no idea." Ned slid down in his seat. "She's so… Weird! It's like she wants me to grow up and have tons of sex, like she wants a reason to hate me!"

"What do you want to do?" Moze asked.

"Move out." He said in a whisper.

Moze also dropped down to a whisper and made her fingers walk up his chest.

"Do it."

He looked at her, like he was actually considering it.

"Look with me?"

Moze jumped up. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. I have money from work I did down in Puerto Rico…"

"That's killer! When?"

"This weekend."

Ned felt kind of weird about how this came about, but for now, he was excited. It'll be like they're married and looking for their first place!

"Come on, let's go somewhere fun!" Moze said brightly. She felt like a sunny day with just her and Ned.

"Let's go to the museum!" Ned exclaimed. The museum was their favorite place to go back in freshman year. It might be weird not to have Cookie with them though…

There was a moment where Moze was thrown into a flashback of her and Ned secretly holding hands behind Cookie's back. She smiled, "Let's go to the museum."

Moze stood in front of the space exhibit entrance frowning. She stared into the tunnel while a sharp pain stabbed at her. They ran into Missy at the very same spot she was standing in just a couple seconds ago. Turns out that Missy had been following them all day. The first thing she did was walked in between them then groped for Ned's hand. Like it was all a good joke, she laughed and said, "Hey Neddy, let's just you and me go somewhere fun."

Ned ended up getting pulled into the tunnel, but halfway through; he snatched his hand back and started talking to her in a low voice. Moze couldn't hear their conversation. She was too uncomfortable. She decided to end this little bicker fest that she saw playing out before her. Ned's voice was still low enough for her not to hear, but his arms were flapping, expressing his point, while Missy stood there smirking. Moze walked a little closer.

"I'm sick of you being everywhere I go Missy! Leave me and Moze alone!"

"You weren't saying that when we were together," Missy said, stepping closer. Moze also stepped closer.

"I was saying that! You're just too dense to hear it!"

"Oh you love me baby." Missy ended that statement with a large kiss. Ned tried to pull away but couldn't fight her. He didn't want to hurt her.

But Moze did. She bounded over to them, pulled Missy off of Ned, and before she knew it, Missy was pinned against the wall cop style. Moze pushed her face harder into the wall and tightened her grip on her wrist. Softly she said, "Now I'm going to let go, and when I do, you're going to leave us alone. Forever."

"And if I don't?" Missy said, snidely.

Moze responded by shoving a hard knee into her lower back. Missy yelped.

"Ok! Fine! Let me GO!" She said shrilly.

Moze released her grip and watched her run away. She looked over at Ned. His eyes where huge.

"My uncle's a cop. He thought it would be useful to teach me how to fight."

"Woah."

"I hope you don't get a cold sore. She's like a rat. She even smells sick."

Ned touched his lips then ran to the nearest bathroom to wash out his mouth. Moze laughed and sat on a bench, watching the parents with their small children that are too young for school walk by. She marveled at how the children held onto their parents like it's their only way to live.

"Where does it go?" Ned said softly, standing right behind her.

"It's still there for some of us. I think the parents change."

Ned sat down and watched with her. His hand inched toward hers till they were entangled.

"When I have a child, I want it to hold on to me forever." He said looking at Moze.

Moze looked back, "So you're planning to have a kid?"

"Someday," Ned said, his expression softened, "With the right person."

Moze slid closer and leaned against him, hoping with all her might that she would be that person.