Where We Began

chapter fifty-five

The next three weeks seemed to fly by with our Senior year coming to a close. It was like we had blinked and suddenly it was the Friday before prom. After this weekend there would only be three days of finals left before class day then graduation. I realized in four short days I would be cleaning out the locker I was staring into for the last time and passing it on to someone new. Smiling to myself I popped the cap off a sharpie and began to write on the inside panel of the locker:

Don't forget to live your life outside of these halls. Take chances. Tell the truth. Date someone totally wrong for you. Spend all your cash. Meet someone new. Tell stupid jokes. Cry when it hurts. Apologize less. Say I love you. Stand up for yourself. Laugh until you can't breathe. Kiss your best friend. Regret nothing.

"That's something I never thought I would see," Cole said, appearing behind me and making me jump, "Brooklyn Mae Grayson defacing school property."

"Shh," I said as I felt my face turn red embarrassed he caught me writing stupid things in a locker as I tried to close it before he could read it but he caught the door.

"You forgot a few things," he laughed looking down at me, "like punch a probation officer or embarrass the school slut so bad she doesn't show her face again."

"Don't forget have sex on your best friends couch," Zane said as he walked up with Eli and Rebecca, "or get a lap dance from two girls in one night."

"Are we naming shit only Brooke's done in the last two months," Eli laughed before adding to the list, "get so high your first time you can't walk."

"Okay okay," I laughed as I turned back to my locker to add one more things before we left for the day.

"Have a lot of firsts," Cole read as I finished writing and closed the door after signing BG at the bottom, "signed baby girl."

"I didn't write baby girl" I said looking at him with my eyebrow raised as a smirk took over his face and he shook his head.

"Oh for fucks sake Brooke," Zane said as he hit his forehead with his palm, "you're telling me you still haven't caught on after FOUR YEARS!?"

"Caught on to what?" I asked as I noticed Rebecca and Eli trying to hide their laughter, "what's so funny guys?"

"For someone so smart you're a little dumb when it comes to the obvious BG," Cole laughed as he put his arm around me and kissed my forehead.

"She's so clueless it hurts," Zane faked winced as he clutched his chest, "who is gonna tell her?"

"I can't believe she never caught on," Eli laughed as I looked at everyone still confused, "even I caught on and I am the clown amongst us."

"Brooke," Rebecca said, taking my shoulder in her hands as she got her giggles under control, "this man has been calling you baby girl for the last four years waiting for you to catch on!"

"No BG is just my initials," I laughed looking at Cole who was laughing at me with everyone else, "wait so this whole time BG has been for baby girl?"

"Maybe," he said, giving me his million dollar smile.

"This entire time," I said as I felt the red fire on my face from the embarrassment, "I never knew."

"We fucking know!" Zane exclaimed as he motioned to Cole, "this big idiot has been chasing you since you interrupted our conversation in Sullivan's class. No matter how many slutty bitches I threw him it was always 'nah man I'm good'. Trust me when I say I could not have been happier when you finally admitted having feelings for him but then his dumb ass was busy playing hard to get chasing that annoying whore. I swear I almost fucked the bitch myself just to get her out of the picture. It was a dark time and I'm not proud to admit that but I was gonna do what I had to because I couldn't stand another second of you two 'omg Zane he's so hot' and 'Dude look at her ass'. Fucking barf."

"Okay I get it," I laughed hugging Zane so he would calm down, "thanks for being willing to fuck an annoying whore for me."

"You're welcome," he laughed before looking down at me, "I will never stop looking at your ass tho."

"Watch it," Cole warned, punching Zane's shoulder.

"Fuck off Matthews," Zane said pushing him back, "I was willing to catch something ajax may not have been able to get off for you. I will check out your girl's ass as I please."

"Y'all go measure dicks somewhere else," Rebecca said as she grabbed my hand, "we are going to get our nails done for tomorrow."

"We are?" I asked as I looked down at my nails which looked ruff since I had been so focused on finals and graduating top of the class, "I mean yeah let's go get our nails done."

"We will be back at Zane's when y'all get off work," she smiled as Eli gave her a quick peck before she drug me out the door, "okay now that they're gone we have to talk."

"Oh god," I said looking at her in horror as she climbed in my passenger seat, "are you pregnant?"

"No don't put that on me," she said as she pulled up her GPS to get directions to a nail salon an hour away, "I think Eli is going to propose!"

"What? No way!" I exclaimed as I pulled out on the highway still loving how smooth my Jeep rode even with her new mud tires, "How do you know?"

"I was using his phone to look something up and he had rings pulled up on a search page," she said with the biggest smile on her face.

"That's so exciting!" I said trying to make sure I didn't spoil anything, "y'all have been together so long and honestly I couldn't see either of you with anyone else."

"We've been together three years," she smiled proudly as she looked down at the promise ring he had gotten her last summer that she never took off, "I know we're young but I know he's the one for me. Like there will never be another Eli for me."

"Young or not the two of you know each other and how you feel," I said thinking about Cole and how I would murder him on the spot if he ever pulled the stunt I was way too involved in helping Eli pull, "fuck what anyone says. It's your life and they don't have to live it."

"Exactly," she said before grabbing my phone to start a karaoke session as we drove to the nail salon.