Synopsis: Through high school, a boy and a girl met. They bonded through a library. But something else might tear them apart. High school, unlike fate, ends. And one half has to be left behind.

Genre: Friendship, Romance, Humour

Ending: Pre-Game

Rating: K+

A/N: Dedicated to my friend who silently and faithfully reads these. You know who you are!

The Library

ACT TWO

The Day He Graduated

The sun, in all its outrageous glory, glints in the curls of Ashley's hair as she mischievously sidles up to a silk robed Chris. "So," she drags out the word, playfully toying with a lock of her hair as she bites her lip. The sun hasn't forgotten to glint in her eyes either. "How does it feel, now that you're an official adult?"

It takes Chris a second to adjust from straightening his graduation cap – how do these things stay on anyway? - to glance at Ashley who, although she's a head shorter than him, manages to fill up the space beside him much more efficiently than anyone else.

For a brief second, he thinks about Josh. Josh who, only a year ago, had been the one graduating. Who had been the one grinning lazily in his oversized graduation gown, the cap slipping off his head. And it had been odd. Still odd. Because Chris hadn't known a day of school in his life that didn't have Josh in it. Well, since he was eight but he'd practically just been born then, he was so young.

Then that brief second is over and Chris' face crumbles into over-exaggerated panic, eyebrows and all. "Oh no!" he exclaims to the world, tumbling his gaze over to Ashley in horror. He's about to start clawing at his face for full dramatic effect but opts against it because people are watching and, more importantly, Ashley's watching. "Was that today? I thought I had more time!" Instantly, he tips his head back, throws his fists into the air and yells, "Nooooooo!"

The sound that shoots out of Ashley's mouth is a hybrid between a snort and a chortle. Chris laughs at the way she instantly regrets it, smothering her hand over her mouth and batting Chris' bicep with the other. "You're ridiculous," she shakes her head between giggles.

He smirks. "Yeah," he wiggles an eyebrow, narrowing his eyes mischievously at her. "Ridiculously handsome."

That earns him a drawn out groan from Ashley. Which he deserves.

Then he's laughing and she's smiling and-

"You two!" Sam's voice snaps across the high school campus. Both Chris and Ashley turn their heads simultaneously, only to be met with Sam, equally clad in her own graduation gown and cap, victoriously waving a digital camera in the air. "Can you stop flirting for one minute? I'm trying to get pictures!"

Another groan seeps out of Ashley's mouth and she covers her face with her hands, rocking her forehead against Chris' shoulder. He chuckles, sliding his arm around her shoulder and giving her a little shake.

"Everyone! Mike, Em!" Sam yells over the bustle of the surrounding students and parents. Multiple heads turn like seagulls and Chris cringes. His family are amongst them somewhere. "Group photo!"

Mike and Emily push in first, arms looped around each other, both looking far too popular in their own graduation gowns, followed by Jessica dragging Matt along. Apparently they bonded over the jock-slash-cheerleader stereotype. Even Sam manages to push a reluctant Hannah in the picture who tumbles into frame, bringing her sister with her.

And Chris is sure Josh was here a moment ago.

"Smile," Sam sing-songs from behind the camera, squinting her eyes in the bright sunlight.

The group crowd around each other, squeezing into frame. Matt takes his usual space beside Ashley, Jess crowding in between them. Mike and Emily are currently one person at the moment so they take up twice the amount of space, meaning they are vacated to the back, much to Em's disgust. Though the twins were literally one person since birth so they get special treatment and squeeze in to Chris' empty side.

Sam calls out, holding the camera with one hand while she adjusts her cap with the other. "Everybody say, 'Happy Graduation Day!"

Chris. You got this. You were born for this. You are America's Next Top Model. You are a supermodel for Victoria's Secret. You are- Okay, nope. Uh uh. Chris never wants to imagine what he just saw in his head ever again.

"Happy Graduation Day!" Chris chimes in cheesily with the others, his arm still wrapped around Ashley's shoulder. She leans into him, though whether to get closer or just to hide her face, he doesn't know. He tries not to think about it. Instead, he grins wildly, knowing how much Ashley hates being photographed and how, finally, she has no excuse to get out of it, and now she'll actually have to stand there and smile and-

"Wait!" Ashley unhooks herself from Chris' arm, flinging herself forward and holding her hand out in protest. Chris startles, his arm suddenly cold, watching her tumble and then stride over to Sam. "You have to be in it too, Sam!"

Chris shakes his head incredulously. He snorts. So much for no excuses.

Then Ashley, plucking the camera out of her hands, shoves a reluctant, muttering, head-shaking Sam towards the group who slots into Ashley's space in the group with ease.

Ashley's eyes glint from behind the camera and she's playing a mischievous game with her lips as she smirks at Chris. Chris rolls his eyes but he can't help but laugh. There's always a loophole. And, damn well, Ashley is always going to find it.

"Everyone say," Ashley grins, holding the camera up to her face, her finger hovering over the button-slash-trigger, "Adult Responsibilities!"

With a great deal of triumph, Chris yells it into the air, grabbing his graduation cap and throwing it up into the air.

CLICK!

"Hey," Sam hisses, nudging him sharply in the side with her elbow. If he didn't know better, he'd think she has a knife stashed up there or something. The cap comes spinning down from the air and flops onto the grass with a thud. "You actually have to get graduated first before you do that."

Chris blinks. His lips twitch sheepishly. "Oh."

Her thumb flicks across her cellphone screen, a giggle escaping every five seconds as a new photograph appears. Sam had posted the graduation pictures half an hour ago. And now, instead of actually sleeping, Ashley is on facebook.

A year and a half ago, when Ashley had finally plucked up the courage to add everyone on facebook, she had been surprised Sam even had an account.

"I thought facebook would be too mainstream for you?" Ashley had hummed questioningly midway through crunching her salad upon salad roll at their usual canteen table. Ashley had discovered how guilty she felt about eating bacon in front of the openly vegan Sam.

At that moment, Sam had looked at Ashley pointedly as if to say, 'I'm not that hipster.' But instead she had just raised her eyebrows and plainly stated, as if it was the most universal truth in the whole, well, universe; "Facebook was mainstream ten years ago."

Which, like everything Sam ever says, is true.

The next photograph skims onto the screen and Ashley laughs. This was one that Ashley had taken of the whole group. She'd managed to catch the perfect moment; Mike and Emily were mid-bickering, Jessica was trying to keep her hair away from her lipgloss – all the while batting Matt with a face full of it. Hannah had been trying to straighten Beth's headband – somehow, someone had managed to pry her beanie away from her – and Beth was shoving her away, while Sam had been, all this time, trying to tell everyone to be sensible.

And Chris had just simply been beaming brightly straight into the camera.

Or at her, but she'd tried not to think about it.

Ashley smiles. She likes this photo. She'd liked that moment.

Because in it, everyone is real.

And it had been at that exact moment when a sneaky Josh Washington – who had come to support his sisters – had slipped behind the group, pulled a tongue-out face and victoriously given Chris bunny ears. Ashley had snorted the moment she had snapped the picture.

She likes Josh Washington.

He is a good friend.

She flicks over to the next photo. And pauses.

It's an action shot. Well, you could call it that but it's fairly mundane. Sam has managed to catch a picture of Matt chatting to Ashley, who is laughing at one of his nonchalant jokes. And Beth is rolling her eyes at his other side. In the background, Hannah and Jess are together, both of them flicking at their hair. But they both seem distracted by somebody off camera. Ashley won't be surprised if it was Mike.

Then it hits Ashley. This is it. This is them now. The five of them.

Sam and Chris and Mike and Josh and Emily. They've all graduated, heading out into the wild, ravenous world. And now they, the other five,are the stragglers. The left overs. The group to bring up the rear.

Something hollow inside Ashley's chest throbs.

Ashley has known the ten of them almost as long as she has known Chris. Almost two years now. And, despite how disjointed and different and dramatic they all are, Ashley has come to love them in a way. To feel like a puzzle piece clicked into place. To feel like she has friends.

Now the ten are halved.

Ashley sighs, swiping away the photo. Her smile returns at the following, spirit lifting photo; a shot of a playful Chris and Josh ambushing Ashley towards the camera, squishing her between the two of them as they grin towards the lens. In it, she's grumbling through a smile.

She giggles, relieved, feeling herself warming at the picture. Chris' calm eyes are calming even through a phone screen. She doesn't have to worry about anything right now.

Not when she has Summer to enjoy.

With all nine of her friends.

A serene smile claims her lips as she clicks the photo and selects add as profile picture.