Don't Give up on Me

"Hey, are you guys going to the graduation ceremony next weekend?" Cara asks as we all sit around on the deck in my backyard, the fire pit lit and flaming high. After Violet had come over earlier, we decided to get the whole group over and chill, since there wasn't much else to do.

"Who's graduating this year?" I asked, and we all kind of looked at each other in confusion.

"Cam is," Matt says, then adds, "Well, he would be if he hadn't gotten expelled."

"I am," Cara says, looking offended. We all looked at her in shock. "You're telling me that after years of knowing most of you, you didn't know I was a grade above you?"

We all collectively shake our heads. "To be fair, when you said you were leaving dance, I assumed you meant for your senior year... with us," Violet says, shrugging.

"I meant that I'm not going to school for it anymore. I got into UCLA and I'll be going there next fall rather than going to New York."

"Well if that's not an indicator that we're all a little stupid, then I don't know what is," I mutter before taking a drink of my iced tea.

"Anyways, let me ask again; are you guys coming to my graduation next weekend?" Cara asks, looking hopefully at all of us.

Jimmy was the first to speak up. "I'll go." I tried to conceal my shock; he'd spent the whole week avoiding her after what happened with Micheal while I was in Texas, but now he was back to his cheery self around her. Weird.

"You know Charles, Violet, and I will be there," I assured her, earning nods of agreement from the girls.

"You guys are going, too," Violet says, referring to the quiet trio, aka, Matt, Brian, and Zacky. Cara glares at the three of them, but they only stare back.

"No, no, babe, that's cool, its not like its one of your friends finishing her high school career or anything, its cool. I'll have more fun with Jimmy, anyways," I tell Zacky with thick sarcasm, patting his hand before standing up to go refill my cup.

"You've fucked up, friend," I hear someone say before I walk into the kitchen. I laugh to myself as I pour more iced tea into my glass, keeping a smirk on my face as I return outside and sit with Jimmy rather than my boyfriend. I raise my glass in his direction. Your move, Baker.

"So, Cara, what should I get you as a graduation gift?" I ask.

"Surprise me. You give the best gifts, so I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Challenge accepted," I grin, then turn to Jimmy. "I'm gonna need your help with this."

He gives me his signature grin, his eyes filled with a mischeivous glint. "You've got it, Little Red."

The conversation shifts. I felt eyes on me briefly before something hit me. My eyes snap over to Zacky's, the bag of Skittles I'd been eating earlier was now in his hand and a smirk on his face. He pops a couple into his mouth before throwing another one at me, laughing when I swatted it away.

I raise my eyebrows at him. Two can play this game. I look around for anything to throw back at him, spotting a bowl of chips nearby. I nonchalantly grab the bowl and put it between Jimmy and I, then grab a couple of them. Both times that I threw them, I missed, making Zacky laugh to himself as everything continued as normal.

"Here, let me show you how its done," Jimmy says, then reaches for one and throws it, expertly hitting Zack's face. "You've gotta use more force. Otherwise, it wont even touch him."

"Like this?" I ask, throwing one when Zacky wasn't looking. It hit his shoulder, though he barely noticed it and kept talking to Brian.

"You're getting better," he grins, then stands up. "Wait here. I'll be back."

I do as he says, and a few moments later, he comes back with a few things. "Ice, M&M's, and more Skittles. You guys have too much candy."

"Is that really a bad thing, Jimmy?" I asked, making him grin again. "Time for battle."

"Ambush is ready," he says, holding his cup of ice while I grab a handful of skittles. "Ready?"

"Aim."

"Fire!" we both whisper-yelled this part as we threw our ammunition at him, hitting not only Zacky, but Brian also, who had started helping him, directly. Jimmy and I high five while they shake ice cubes out of their hair.

Checkmate.

Of course, this was also when everyone else noticed, confusion on their faces at the candy and ice cubes covering the ground.

"Why? Just, why?" Charlotte asks, sounding a lot like a mother that was too angry to properly scold her children.

I chunk another Skittle at my boyfriend's face before sitting back and sipping my tea. "Zacky started it..."

"That doesn't justify throwing candy at everyone!" she says, flicking a piece off of her jeans. Zacky and Brian snicker.

"What? You can't yell at us for this, we didn't even start it!"

"She's got a point. I saw Zack throw the first Skittle. Yell at him, not my Little Red," Jimmy adds, throwing his arm around my shoulder and

pulling me into his side.

"Also, its my house, and I can do what I want, Mum," I tack on, making her gasp.

"Mum? Are you on crack? I do NOT act like a mother. Right, guys?"

We all stay silent. I look away from her while Jimmy points at a tree and mutters, "it looks really nice tonight."

"I agree," I murmur back, still avoiding Charlotte's gaze.

"You guys really think I act like a mother?" she says, her tone absolutely offended. "Andi, you were the one that said the Mum thing was Violet's thing, not mine!"

"No, no, I said being dramatic was Violet's thing," I corrected her, then looked at Violet. "Love you, Vi."

"Love you too, boo," she replies instantly, making a kissy face.

"See?" I say to Charlotte. "In all honesty, you're sort of the mom of the group, Char, but in a good way."

"Yeah, like the night of the bonfire, you took Violet, Andi and my drunk ass back to your house and then the next morning gave us the Hangover Cure," Cara says from her place on top of the deck's railing.

"You always tried to stop me from getting into fights," Matt says, though we all shook our heads and said that was something we all did.

"You always try to keep Jimmy and I from killing each other," Violet says, then quickly adds, "more than the rest of you do, by the way. You guys see our playful arguments as entertainment."

We continue naming things she does that's motherlike. "But, its not a bad thing. We love you, Char."

"I love you guys too, I just never thought that you guys would think of me like that," she sighs, shrugging. "Oh well. At least you're all still living, thanks to me."

"Anyways, back to the main issue," I say, changing the subject. "Baker, you started this war, are you going to finish it?"

"Now, Miss Dawson, I am a very powerful man. I've got many connections to make sure I end you in every possible way," he says in an awful New York accent, making me laugh. "I won't get you right now. I probably won't get you later. But, when you least expect it, I'll be there, and when I do get you back, the glory.. Oh, the glory, will be endless, dear."

I wipe away tears from laughing so hard at his stupid speech before finally saying, "You don't have the guts."

He only shrugs before changing the conversation again. "So when's that show at Chain again?" he asks Matt, then sends a wink my way.

Eventually, I have to go inside and turn on the lights for the backyard since the fire died down due to a lack of kindling. To say that I was paranoid of what Zacky would do would be a false statement. I was just a little more guarded than usual was all. I joined Cara on the railing and talked with her for a while. She was so excited to graduate finally and start school at UCLA and study fashion design, a complete 180 from her dream of being a modern contemporary dancer. I wasn't the only one to quit, it seemed; Charlotte was moving on to her love for photography, Cara with design, and myself, well, I was sticking with art. Needless to say, I was extremely happy for her. And honestly, it only made me want to gradaute even more, because the prospect of my future excited me to no end.

Around eleven o'clock, we all get a little restless. Someone suggested finding a party to go to, but we weren't feeling it.

"This is so lame," Violet says with a sigh from where she lay on Matt.

"Thanks," I reply sarcastically.

"I think I'm going to leave," she says, sitting up.

"Don't ever come back," I tell her, still sarcastic. "I hope the door hits your tiny ass when you leave."

"Not everyone can have a huge Latina ass like yours. Sorry for being white."

"I'm half white!"

She laughs. "Bye guys."

I pick up the unopened bag of M&Ms and open it, popping a few into my mouth. "Is this what our lives have come to?" I asked aloud, sighing as I stared up at the stars. "We need to do something. We need to have an adventure."

"The last time we had an adventure, we ended up in the back of a cop car," Zacky points out.

"Yeah, well, you had fun, right?" He shrugs. "Thought so. Who's up for it?"

"Let's go!" Jimmy yells, making me grin.

We led the way out of my backyard and towards the streets. We didn't live that far from the park, so that was our destination for the time being. Entering the empty park at nearly midnight was a weird experience; instead of the sounds of children laughing and screaming, it was eerily quiet, almost deafening.

"This is a some scary movie shit," I murmur, looking around in paranoia. I felt hands grab me by the waist, making me scream and jump slightly. I heard Zacky's laugh drift into my ears right after and snarl. He then tries to wrap his arms around me and apologize, but I pushed him away. Stupid jerk.

We continue walking, towards a spot they all knew except for Cara and I, who followed close behind.

"Here it is, guys," Jimmy says, spreading his arms out in front of him. "Its the secret spot."

"I can see why," I reply, taking in the scene around me. It was in the middle of the wooded area of the park, a fallen tree and many beer cans scattered around. The creek was nearby, which lead into the big pond in the center of the park.

I shared a look with Zacky, who looked away quickly after. His eyes gave away his mischief, while his expression was nonchalant. I've found a weakness.

I pulled my pack of Marlboros out and lit up a square, the wispy smoke relaxing me as I sat with my friends. Jimmy and Brian had started reminiscing about what they'd done relating to this spot, and Charlotte and Matt had joined in. Cara had laid her head casually on my shoulder, feeling as left out as I did. Funny how nine months already felt like forever. These guys helped me feel more at home than I ever did in Austin, as much as I missed that utterly unique city. So when they started naming things I hadn't experienced with them, it felt odd.

"Hey Andi, remember that one time we drove to Rosa's during our art competition and got lost on the way back?" Cara says, referring to our lunch trip last week.

"LA is so confusing," I rolled my eyes, taking another drag. "Good luck finding your way around after you graduate."

"But those tacos were heavenly," she sighs as I put my cigarette out, then stand up; I couldn't sit still, the anticipation was killing me. Charlotte & Brian stay behind while we kept on, not that we argued.

"Does this remind you of the backwoods you grew up in?" Zacky teases, earning yet another glare from me.

"Does this remind you of when you grew up with a lack of good humor?" I snapped back, stepping over another fallen tree carefully. "Have I ever told you that your humor sucks?"

"Everyday, darlin', but you're still here," he grins, putting an arm around my shoulder. I didn't shrug it off this time, instead going along with it.

"Your flirting sickens me," Cara mutters under her breath before catching up to Jimmy & Matt ahead of us, joining in on their conversation as if nothing happened.

"Still planning on getting me back?" I asked as he removed a branch blocking our way.

"That's classified information."

"So, yes?"

"It feels great out here tonight," he says, changing the subject lamely. "Nice and cool..."

"You're so weird," I mutter under my breath. Jimmy takes a left suddenly, following the narrow creek down to where we had originally came from. Even though the creek wasn't more than four feet deep, I steered clear from it, knowing my boyfriend's sneaky mind all too well.

"Don't even think about it," I told him as we came closer to the pond. "I will drag you in with me if you try, Baker, mark my words."

"Oh yeah?" he asks, pulling me ever closer to the black water.

I dig my nails into his arm. "Does it look like I'm kidding? Don't you dare!"

Ignoring my protests, he pulls me ever closer. "Are you sure you don't wanna go for a swim?"

"Very sure, now let go of me!"

We reach the edge of the pond, and he lets go of me. I felt myself falling back, but just as I think I'm going to hit the water, he catches me, a smirk on his face.

"Gotcha," he grins, pulling me upright. Jimmy starts to clap at what Zacky had just done, that traitor.

"You are literally the WORST person ever," I said, pushing him away and walking the opposite way. "Who even does that?"

"If he wasn't before, he's definitely in the doghouse now," I heard Cara murmur to Matt, who laughed in response, as I walked in front of them.

"Andi," he calls after me, having the nerve to laugh when he sees that I wasn't going to stop. "Andi, babe-"

"I threw fucking ice at you, and your retaliation is to try to push me into a fucking pond? Are you insane? Do you really think I'm just going to laugh this off with you?"

"Oh, shit," I hear Matt say from a few feet behind us, making me growl.

"This doesn't involve you, Sanders, so stay the fuck out of it," I barked at him angrily, sending him into stunned silence instantly.

"We'll meet you guys at the entrance," Jimmy says, trying his hardest not to laugh at the situation. Cara grabs onto both boys' shirts and drags them off in the other direction, trying to keep a smirk off her face as she did so.

I turned back to Zacky, an expectant look on my face. "Well, tell me. Is that what you thought?"

"No, babe-"

I roll my eyes. "Don't 'babe' me, Zack. You took it too far."

He groans, as if he had the right to be angry. "It was just a joke, Andi, I wasn't going to let you fall in. Do you know how sick you'd get if you had? I'm evil, but I'm not that evil. I'm also completely sure you would've broken up with me then and there, and well, neither of us want that."

I sighed. I was about to cave and forgive him, even though I was still so pissed. "You better give me a reason to forgive you, because you sure as hell don't deserve it," I say to him as calmly as I could manage, trying to be rational with him and myself.

He sighs. "I'm sorry that I took it too far. I was just trying to joke around. I honestly thought you would laugh, but I guess not. Truce?"

I sigh, too. "Truce. I forgive you, too."

He pulls me into his arms and hugs me tightly. "I really am sorry, babe."

"I know," I reply quietly, relaxing into him. As annoying and as mad as he made me, at the end of the day there was nowhere I'd rather be than with him.

"Come on, let's head back. I'm sure Jimmy's about to burst from waiting so long."

"Eh, Cara's with him, so I'm sure he's managing. But you're right, we should go."

He reaches for my hand and grips its tightly before leading the way through the dark park, where our three friends anxiously waited by the locked gates at the entrance to the park. The four of us (Matt decided to head home) all went back to my house, where we camped out in my living room and watched tv until we all fell asleep.