Dustin Wilcox, also on the yearbook staff, apparently didn't know Violet was the sister of the star athlete in every sport he played. Kaleb, meanwhile, had even earned a spot in a school website article for his athletic achievements.

While collecting photos for a yearbook spread, Dustin asked Violet to prom. He was cute, and she enjoyed talking to him, so she said yes.

However, Noah wasn't thrilled. Violet added him to her growing list of overprotective males. He bombarded her with about fifty questions about Dustin before he was satisfied.

"Yeah, I did. Want to see? I have pictures," she said, pulling out her phone.

She showed Noah the pictures. He examined them with an oddly neutral expression. What was that about?

"You look beautiful, as always."

He'd said that a million times, but this time it felt flat, probably because he wasn't smiling. Violet was immediately concerned. Noah was usually one of the most cheerful people she knew; he rarely got upset.

She'd only ever seen him angry when someone was bullying her or underestimating him because of his poor grades. So, what was bothering him now?

"Noah? Are you alright?"

He sighed. "Nothing gets past you, does it?"

No, it didn't. They'd been inseparable for fifteen years. Recognizing subtle shifts in each other's moods was perfectly normal.

Noah leaned back, closed his eyes, and looked particularly worn down. At first, Violet thought it was his hatred of math.

"I wish I was done with high school already. I hate the schoolwork. I hate the expectations. I hate that I've barely started and you're already more than halfway done," he said bitterly.

Violet blinked, concerned. She knew he hated school, but what about that last sentence? This wasn't the first time he'd said something similar. Noah truly resented being two grades behind her.

She didn't understand the problem. It affected their time together at school, but they still saw each other plenty outside of school hours. They didn't share classes, and their lunch periods were different, but so what? It was no different than the years they attended different schools. This was the first year they'd been at the same school since she was in sixth grade and he was in fourth. In fact, it was better; they usually saw each other for about twenty minutes while waiting for their mothers.

"Why does that matter?" Violet asked curiously. "I'm not going anywhere after graduation."

With her grades and extracurricular activities, getting into her backup school, NYU, wouldn't be a problem. It had a decent dance program, although she was aiming for Juilliard or Columbia.

She had no intention of leaving New York. While she enjoyed vacations, New York was home. When Violet explained this to her mom, her mom smiled, saying she'd felt the same way. Keeley Hale had never lived anywhere else, even though her husband went away for college. That's why it took them so long to reunite, according to her mom's account of their love story.

Noah shook his head. "That isn't it. I'm not worried about you leaving. I'm worried about getting left behind."

Weren't those essentially the same thing? This was one of the few times Violet didn't understand her best friend.

"I don't follow."

He stood, pacing. He'd had a growth spurt in the last year and now stood about five inches taller than her 5'6". It was strange; they'd been the same height for most of middle school, and before that, Noah had always been shorter. She was still adjusting to the height difference.

"Vi, you're going to college in a little over a year. You're going to meet new people, have way more homework, and not have time for me anymore. You know my cousin Gary?" he asked.

She nodded, and Noah continued his pacing—a stress reliever.

"Gary was best friends with his younger neighbor. They were practically brothers. Whenever I visited my cousins in Pennsylvania, he was at Gary's house. Gary went to Drexel University, which is in Philadelphia. He didn't even move out of his parents' house, but he was gone all the time, doing homework. The last three times I've visited, the neighbor hasn't been there. They grew apart."

Ah. So that was it. Did Noah really think he held such an insignificant place in Violet's heart that she'd let that happen?

He'd thought she'd moved on when she started high school because she sometimes talked about the choir or orchestra kids she hung out with at lunch, but that wasn't true. Those friendships were superficial; they never saw each other outside of school.

After she explained this, he felt better. He seemed mostly worried about their already limited time together being further reduced. Those school friends were fine, but Violet only hung out with them out of necessity; they helped her seem normal. She felt no real attachment to them.

"Noah, deep down you have to know that isn't going to happen," she said gently. "Sure, I'll be busier, but I'm busy now and I still see you most days, don't I?"

"Yeah…" he admitted reluctantly.