"I'm listening," she says, visibly trying to hold back a smile. It's now or never. "I know I've been an asshole the past few months, and I wasn't doing it to purposely hurt you. I thought taking myself out of your life would make things better because of all the shit I've caused." "Dylan—" "Let me finish," I say as I hold a hand up. "I know you're over it, and I want to be over it too. That's why I'm asking if you'll go to prom with me." Lacey's smile gives me hope that everything will be okay in the end. "Okay," she says, continuing to smile. I take her in my arms and hug her tightly. "Here," I hold the bag out to her when I let her go. "You didn't have to get me anything," she says. I just shrug and watch her open the bag. She pulls out the small, black box and gives me a look. She slowly opens the box and I can't tell what she's thinking. "Dylan, this is beautiful," she takes the necklace from the box. It's a simple silver necklace with three little diamonds, fake because that's all I can afford, in a row. She starts to read the little message that comes with the necklace. "Three wishes. Imagine being given three wishes. Place this necklace close to your heart, close your eyes, wish big, and believe." "Let's just pretend I'm the one who came up with that," I laugh. She quickly clasps it around her neck. "I love it." It's time. "I'm glad you like it. I wanted to give it to you at your apartment, but here we are," I scratch the back of my neck. Shit, what else do I want to say? I had this shit rehearsed earlier and now my brain can't form a simple sentence. "If you don't want to think of them as three wishes, you can always think of them as three words. Any three words, really. Mostly from me to you though. And I don't want you to think I blew you off earlier because I wanted to wait until I gave you the necklace. I'm trying to say the words you can think of are I love you, which is also what I'm trying to tell you, but I fucking suck at this." That was rough. But Lacey's lips on mine and her arms around my neck tell me I got it right. It's been so long since I've held her this close and can actually enjoy time with her without worrying about Xavier and Kay. I don't want this moment to end, but I know we'll have plenty of moments like this. Then the realization hits that I haven't told her I'm leaving. I let go of her and tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. "I want you to know I really mean every word." The look on her face is unreadable. I can tell she is slightly skeptical, but she doesn't know why she has to be. "I have to tell you something else," I say, preparing myself. She has something to tell me too, but I'm not sure what it is. "My mom is back to watch me graduate. As a graduation present, she's taking me with her when she leaves." She tilts her head. "Where are you going?" "I don't know yet. It's up to me to decide where and for how long." Instantly she grabs the necklace and moves it between her fingers. Without looking at me she says, "I'm leaving after graduation too. Just for the summer though." "Where to?" "New York City." New York City? Part of me jumps to the conclusion that I can go to New York at the same time, but I'm not sure if she wants that. Maybe this is a trip she needs for herself. "Why there?" I ask instead. She shrugs. "My aunt picked the place. I think it'll be nice to get out of here for a while." She doesn't meet my eyes and I can understand. While I really want to meet her in New York for my trip, it doesn't seem like a good idea. I told her from the beginning that I want her to be her own person. Jacob smothered her. I won't do that. "Don't feel guilty for wanting this trip to be your own," I say, making sure she knows I'm not mad about it. "You do your thing, I'll do mine, and in the fall you can go to school and I can work." "You're not going to school?" she asks. I haven't told her my plan. "I think I'm going to take a year off. School isn't exactly at the top of my priority list right now." "I'll stick with you through whatever, if you'll do the same with me," she says. "Always." I place my lips on hers and my whole body feels like it's on fire. No other girl has made me feel like this, and I'm glad Lacey is the one who makes me feel this way. I know everything will be okay from this point on. No more pains in the ass like Kay or Xavier. It's only me and her.