Prologue

Nika smiled and cheered with the rest of her graduation class as they all pulled off their dark blue caps and tossed them into the air. This was it! High school was over! She could hardly believe that this part of her life was over, and yet she couldn't wait for the next step. She'd been looking forward to college since she was a freshman. With the highest grades of the school, she could have graduated a year ago.

She looked to her left and had to grin. She couldn't have done that, she'd have left behind her best friend. And after everything they'd been through together, she knew she never could have left without him. She was looking forward to college, yes. But she was really looking forward to experiencing it with Dayn.

She laughed along with everyone else, looking at one of their fellow graduates who'd shaved the hair off the top of his head. No one had known the difference with his cap on, but now it was there for the world to see. Soon, their laughter filtered into happy chatter, as parents and students started moving over to the buffet tables in the school's gym.

"We better get some cake before it's all gone!" the raven haired girl said with a smile, grey eyes sparkling at the promise of after graduation snacks.

Dayn laughed and grabbed her arm, leading her through the crowd to get in line for the buffet table. His normally bed-head black hair was combed neatly, his amber eyes shining with happiness.

"Ready for college?" he asked her in a teasing voice. It was a running joke between them, he already knew the answer.

Nika only beamed, grey eyes shining. "Like you wouldn't believe! I spent all last night boxing stuff for the dorm. Seeing as we don't move in for another three months, Mom thinks I'm crazy." She said with a laugh, grabbing a paper plate, napkin and plastic fork. Her smile widened. "Of course we already know that I am."

"About time she caught on." Dayn teased, blowing a strand of hair from his eyes. His hair didn't like confinement, and was already escaping the liberal amounts of hair gel he'd had to use. He was conflicted when it came to college, both looking forward to it and dreading it. His parents were more excited than he was, often discussing possible majors and even his social life. He just wanted to get through it without disappointing them.

"So, have you decided on a major yet? Or still think about doing a zillion of them?" he asked with a crooked smile, dishing himself a large slice of cake.

Nika made a face. "I don't know yet. The chemistry and physics programs both look like fun, and the school is known for their history major. And the engineering program is amazing! I'll probably end up doing a ton." She said with a casual shrug. For her, the idea of doing multiple majors wasn't daunting in the least. She was an excellent student and loved to learn. She'd be happy going to college for years rather than rushing to graduate. "What about you? Step-dad still pushing you to join his old fraternity?"

Dayn sighed as they both sat with their cake. He shrugged, picking at it with his fork. "Yeah, and mom wants me to try going pro for soccer. Beth is doing great with her singing career, and Kyle is starting his internship at the hospital."

Dark amber eyes looked out at the crowd of people. "They just want me to do something big, like them." he said. "Something that 'lives up to my potential' as they call it."

Nika made a face again. "Well, what do you want to do?" she asked him. "You're the brave one, don't let them choose your life for you." She said softly, wiping the frosting off her cake before taking a bite of it.

Dayn didn't answer for a time, and when he gave it he knew it wasn't what Nika wanted to hear. "I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I shouldn't, but…" he sighed and shrugged, a small smile on his face. "I don't know yet."

Nika sighed, staring at what was left of her cake for a moment. She finally looked up at him, shy grey eyes full of emotion.

"Dayn…things are going to change aren't they?" she asked in a whisper. Neither cared that their fellow students were all around them, celebrating with their families and friends. They'd always had enough as long as they had each other. "Things aren't going to be like this next fall."

Dark amber eyes met grey and Dayn smiled. "No it won't. But you'll always be my number one friend Nika. I promise." He would have liked to be more, he'd had a crush on her for longer than he could remember. The thought seemed to have never crossed her mind though, and he was ok with the two of them being friends.

Nika grinned. "And you'll always be my best friend, you know that." She said with a chuckle. "We'll have to make sure to do stuff together all the time, we can't have you forgetting me." She added with a decisive nod.

Dayn laughed and threw a small piece of cake at her. "Forget you? Geez, you're like a growth I can't get rid of!" he grinned and stood, quickly starting to weave through the crowd.

Nika wouldn't let him get away with a comment like that. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

Grey eyes sparkled with mischief only Dayn seemed able to pull out of Nika's shy persona, gasping in mock dismay. "A growth, huh?" she asked, right behind him. She grabbed a glass of ice water from the buffet table and pulled a piece of ice from it before leaving the glass on a random table.

"Love you too." She teased, dropping the ice down the back of his dress shirt before turning and moving in the opposite direction. She hurried to the dance floor, thinking he'd never follow her there.

Dayn yelped at the sudden coldness, untucking his shirt to get the ice away from his skin. He glared at her, loosening his tie and following swiftly. He wasn't a fan of dancing by any means, but that needed payback…

He gave no warning before grabbing Nika around the middle and starting to tickle her, not caring who saw them or what they thought. Nika was the one who was shy and self conscious, Dayn had no such qualms.

Nika barely had time to gasp in surprise before she was overcome by giggles. She was the most ticklish person anyone had ever met, but even then, Dayn knew all the worst spots to make her squeal.

And squeal she did. Loudly. She blushed like crazy, knowing people were staring, but she couldn't stop laughing!

Dayn could have cared less about the looks they were getting, though he knew he'd get an earful from his parents on their way home. "Say it, you're a growth!"

"N-never!" Nika managed to get out through her giggles. She slapped at his hands in an effort to get him to stop, finally just sliding to the floor to escape. "I'm no such thing." She said, crossing her arms and sticking her tongue out at him from her seat on the dance floor. She couldn't help but be happy that the dancers were now simply ignoring them.

Dayn laughed but finally stopped, pulling her to her feet once more. "Nah, you're right. But I had to try." He pointed out cheekily. Dark amber eyes caught sight of his mother who was waving him over. "I gotta go."

Nika followed his gaze and firmly shook her head. "No you don't, you're busy." She said matter-of-factly, putting one of his hands on her waist and her's on his shoulder, taking his free hand as she started rocking back and forth. "It's your graduation, you deserve a little fun."

He grinned and stepped away, holding up a finger to silence her protest. She had no idea how badly he wanted to move back into place, her closeness making his heart jump. But he had to do something first.

He argued with his mother for at least five minutes, finally coming back over with a smile. It grew when he saw Nika standing on the dance floor right where he'd left her. He took her hand and waist and started to dance again, grinning a tad smugly.

"I told her I needed practice for college dances. I got some free time."

Nika's grey eyes met his amber as she grinned happily. She then looked down at their feet and back up in surprise.

"I thought you hated dancing?" she asked, her tone one of disbelief. He'd always made it a point to avoid the school dances. She didn't know why; when he bothered to dress up, he looked quite snazzy and she knew he could have easily gotten a date. She herself looked more dressy than usual in a black knee-length shirt and grey blouse.

Dayn shrugged nonchalantly, but his amber eyes held her grey a tad too long. "I do, but you don't. Call it a graduation gift." He said lightly. He firmly ignored the warm feeling being so near her caused.

Nika giggled and flushed a bit, just enough to turn her pale cheeks pink. "Well, I appreciate it. Thanks." She said simply. "I feel sorry for anyone you practiced with though." She teased, her eyes glittering wickedly. "How many toes did you break?"

Dayn chuckled, his eyes lighting up a bit. "Oh just a few here and there. A dozen or so…"

The night wore on, the two of them talking almost constantly as time passed. Soon people started to leave and Dayn knew it was time for him to say goodbye for a time.

"I'll call you when I know where my dorm is, alright?"

Nika nodded, then groaned. "Don't bother, we won't be able to use our cells until we get home." She said. Her parents were taking her to Europe to visit family for the summer. It was some of the worst timing ever in her opinion. "You'll have to stick to e-mails. And don't you dare forget to do that!" she said with a glare. Dayn was perfectly fine if it came to calling, but he could never remember to send or even check his e-mails. "I want you to promise that you won't forget me Dayn. That we'll always be best friends."

She didn't care how childish it sounded; she needed to hear him say it.

Dayn chuckled and hugged her tightly. "I won't, promise. And relax, it won't be that long before we're at our new school." He pulled back and smiled down at her. "We'll terrorize the campus together, it'll be fun!"

Nika smirked and nodded. "Plan on it." She said with a giggle.

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly one last time, kissing him on the cheek. "See you on the flip side." She whispered, before dashing off through the crowd. She hated goodbyes…so she wouldn't say one.

Dayn looked after her for a moment, wishing he'd have had the courage to tell her what he really felt. He knew she'd done what she did out of friendship alone. But he hadn't, and that was that.

He smiled softly. "See you on the flip side Nika." He whispered before turning and leaving through the opposite doors.

Finally! A new story! It's already done though, so there won't be any delays as far as posting chapters :D

This story is actually based on an old roleplay of mine, so i can't take all the credit for it. I can't link to her account directly in this chapter, but her user name is Kaisaan Greenleaf . Go check out her stuff, she's got an EPIC Lord of the Rings story going right now! anyway, she and I basically write this thing together, at least the first half of it. It was never finished, so i did the last few chapters on my own. I hope she likes them!

In the meantime, please review, I would love to hear what you all think!

Your humble Authoress,

Whisperwings