Sanctuary

By: Sheltie

I don't own Ned Declassified

Ned scanned the room trying to find a familiar face in the crowd. He sighed wondering why he was even here in the first place. He wanted to grieve over his break up with his girlfriend, Suzie Crabgrass, but his friend Cookie talked him into coming to a party with him and now he can't find his friend anywhere.

Thanks a lot Cookie for ditching me Ned thought

"Ned, what are you doing here?" a voice behind him asked

Ned spun around to find his best friend Jennifer 'Moze' Mosely standing there.

"Cookie talked me into coming" Ned said

"But Cookie is over in the corner making out with Lisa" Moze said pointing out the couple

"Figures, he'd ditch me for his girlfriend" Ned muttered

"So, Ned how have you been?" Moze asked tucking a stray hair behind her ear

"Okay, considering that Suzie dumped me two days ago" Ned said trying to act nonchalant

"Suzie dumped you, the word around school is that you dumped her" Moze said shocked

"And you believed it" Ned said incredulously

"Of course not Ned, what kind of friend would I be if I believed that trash" Moze said hurt that Ned didn't trust her

"You're right, I'm sorry I'm just a little out of whack" Ned said holding up his hands

"I understand you've been under a lot of stress since your mom has remarried and having a baby" Moze said

"I know everything is going in warp speed and I have yet to catch up" Ned said sighing

"You remember when we were kids and the only worries we had were if we were going to get grounded?" Moze asked hoping to get Ned in a better mood

Ned smiled, "of course I do, it seems like yesterday"

"How we'd sneak out late to hang out with each other in our yards" Moze said smiling

"Or how we'd skip classes just to play at the old playground"

"You're the one who talked me into that" Moze said frowning a bit

"Yeah, but you could've said no" Ned retorted still smiling

"Yes, I could've" Moze said, but how can I say no to those beautiful blue eyes of yours Moze added mentally

"Moze? Are you alright?" Ned asked waving his hand in front of her face

Moze snapped out, "Yeah, I'm fine, I just got caught up in the memories"

"We've had a lot of fun back then now we just have this year and we're going to graduate" Ned said looking a bit down

"Something wrong Ned?" Moze asked worried about her friend

Ned looked up and Moze saw the sparkle in his eyes that meant he had an idea, which usually meant trouble.

"Come on, let's get out of here" Ned said taking Moze's hand

"Ned, where are we going?" Moze asked warily

"Trust me Moze, you'll love it" Ned said smiling

Moze sighed and let Ned lead her as he has always done in the past.

--

Half an hour later

Ned and Moze stood outside their high school

"Ned, what are we doing here?" Moze asked curiously

"I want to show you something" Ned said taking her hand once again

"But Ned we could get in trouble for breaking and entering" Moze hissed

"Not when you have the keys" Ned said taking the said keys out of his pocket

"Ned, where did you get those? You could be in so much trouble" Moze said

"Gordy made me copies" Ned said nonchalantly

Moze sighed, leave it to Ned to talk Gordy into doing something he's not supposed to do

Ned led Moze to the roof of the school where there was a small bench and some flowers. Moze looked around and noticed that the flowers were well cared for.

"I come up here a lot" Ned said

Moze then realized that it's been a long time since she actually talked to her best friend.

It was the last day of our sophomore year was when we talked last Moze mused sadly

She berated herself for not spending time with her best friend during the summer and to not even acknowledge him when they walked into school the first day after summer vacation. She was so lost in beating herself up that she didn't notice Ned sitting on the bench watching the stars.

"This has been my sanctuary for the past year" Ned whispered breaking Moze out of her self-deprecation

"What?"

Ned nodded

"This is the only place where I can go and find peace in my life" Ned said in a soft tone

Moze hated herself even more because that used to be her spot, she was the person Ned used to run to when he needed to get away from life. After his parents divorced he spent many hours at her house moping and blaming himself for what happened. She was the one he went to when he just needed a hug or a smile. But now she wasn't the one now, this place took her spot and now she felt angry at herself for letting it get this bad.

"Ned, I'm sorry" Moze said unable to find anything else to say

"That's alright Moze. It isn't your fault you've been busy with being class president, co-captain of the volleyball team, and all the other things you have" Ned said smiling weakly

"But that isn't an excuse for ignoring my best friend for this long" Moze said sitting down next to Ned

"I'm doing fine, honest" Ned said trying to convince her and himself

Moze saw through this and put a comforting arm around her best friend

"Ned, I promise that I'll never neglect you from now on" Moze said trying to hold back her tears

"I know Moze, I know" Ned muttered

End

A/N: What do you think? Let me know by pressing that review button