Zoe flopped down on the couch with a huff. Her parents gave her funny looks. She had the worst day of her life. Her friends bugged her about Wade. They had to know what was going on. She didn't say a word. She hadn't said anything all day. Every time she went to talk to Wade he looked at her with sad eyes and left in a hurry. She grew frustrated with him.

"What's wrong?" Harley asked.

"Stupid, Wade Kinsella," she huffed. She refused to look at her parents.

"What did he do?" Candice asked. Zoe leaned forward, resting her head in her hands.

"It's nothing," she mumbled.

"I think, I know the problem here." Zoe's head snapped up hearing her mom's words. "You like him and he only likes you as a friend. I saw him that Lexi girl just the other day."

"He was with her because he thought something was going on between George and myself," she sighed. "That wasn't the case, not at all."

"Then what, sweetie?" Harley asked, concerned for his daughter.

"I like him and he likes me the same. He just won't listen to me. He ignores me. He won't talk to me. What do I do?" She asked on the verge of tears. "I can't lose him as a friend."

"Oh honey," Candice said, moving next to her daughter.

"Wade needs time, you have to give him some space. I know it's going to be hard, but you need to do that. This isn't going to ruin your friendship with him," Candice consoled her daughter.

"Your mom is right. He loves you far too much to let something like this ruin what you guys have going on." She wasn't sure about that. Wade could be pretty destructive about things.

"I don't know if I can set back and watch him throw our friendship away. That'll hurt too much," she told her parents going to her room. If he wasn't going to confront her, she was going to seek him out. He wasn't coming to her room at night. He wasn't coming to her house at all. She had a feeling she knew where he was hiding out at. She would wait until nightfall and go to him. She would make him listen to every word she had to say. By the time she was done, they could be happy together.

Wade wandered through town. He stopped at the house that was more like his home, then his. He was pushing Zoe away, it hurt, but at the end of the day, he was doing what was right. She deserved the world and he all he could give her was Bluebell. He would only ever end up hurting her in the long run. He couldn't stand to see her hurt, he wouldn't be the one to hurt her. Not ever again.

This was hard on him, crushed him to know he didn't have a happily ever after with Zoe. That all they could ever be were friends. To have her close and not be able to do anything. Not to cross the line they were both having a hard time to staying on. He was single handly hurting her, making himself regret ever falling for her. That his life would be less complicated if he hadn't been friends with Zoe. That he could be happy with someone else, because his feeling for Zoe, wouldn't be there, in the way. Maybe the best thing for him to do, was to cut Zoe, out of his life altogether.

He angrily wiped the tears that threatened to fall away. The thoughts alone broke his heart. How could he survive without her there? He'd figure it out. He had to. This wasn't the life for her. She wanted to change the world and he just wanted to get through each and every single day. That alone told him they would never work out. He loved her enough to let her go. No more talks of trips, no more sneaking into her window, when he needed her.

NO! He was using Zoe as a crutch and he couldn't do that. He had to face his problems on his own. It was time he started to act like a man. It was time to cut the strings. This needed to be the way it is. He needed to experience things in life without Zoe right there next to him, holding his hand because he's too scared to do it alone.

The last time he let himself cry was the day he buried his mom. Zoe was there to keep his mind off of it long enough to fall asleep. She had always been there for him, he had always been there for her. Saying goodbye, wasn't going to be easy. It was the second most hardest thing he has ever done in his life. He wasn't ready for it, he just knew it was time. He fell to his knee, burying his head in his hands and let the tears pour from his eyes.

Zoe waited until dusk, when her parents went to bed. She closed and locked her door. They had already told her night, they wouldn't check up on her in the night. She wouldn't see them until morning, by then, things with Wade would be fixed.

She couldn't figure out what it was she wanted to say to him. Her mind drew a blank every time she wanted to figure it out. She wondered how he was doing. Why he was tormenting himself. Why he would cause so much pain for both of them. She couldn't make heads or tails of it. She knew his flaws inside and out, that's what made him, well him. She didn't want a perfect guy because she wasn't perfect. She loved that he had flaws.

Walking to the clearing where he was at, Zoe's heart beat grew faster and louder. Hearing the muffled sobs coming from the broken boy, made her heart break more. It made her wanna cry. She knelt next to him, placing a hand on his back.

He stiffened feeling the hand on his back. The sweet smell of lilac and vanilla calmed him down.

"Wade," her tone was soft and gentle. "We can do this."

"We can't, Zoe," he snapped. Seeing the hurt in her eyes made him break the rest of the way. This would be the last time he ever hurt her. He had to do this. "I'm broken, I don't know how to love. I don't want love," he told her, blinking away his own tears.

"I don't believe that for a second, Wade." She refused to believe him. She spent countless nights with him. She knew him better than he knew himself. All he wanted was to find that special person to love him, give him all the courage and support in the world.

"I can't offer you anything. I'm bound for nothing. You're bound for greatness." He couldn't have her for a short amount of time. Only to let her go. He wasn't selfish. This was the right thing, even if it felt like it was wrong. Things wouldn't work out next year when she took off for college. He didn't want to be the reason she didn't reach her full potential. "I can't be the reason, I won't be the reason."

"You won't be," she told him, her tears coming faster.

"I will." She shook her head. "Damn it, Zoe!" He yelled getting to his feet. Zoe fell back looking up at him. She didn't want him to say anything else. She was afraid she knew what was coming next and she wished she didn't.

"I love you, Wade. We can make this work," she pleaded getting to her feet.

"I love you too, Zoe," he replied staying away. She was making this harder than need be. "For the last 7 years, I've used you as my personal crutch, to escape my world. I can't keep doing that. This won't work out. I need my space away from you. It's personal, Zoe. I just need to do it." She nodded in understanding. It still hurt. He walked up to her, bringing her in for one last hug. She hugged back tightly, never wanting to let go. He was her best friend. He was suppose to be there for her. And now he was walking away, like she didn't matter. That hurt. He kissed her head, lingering a few extra seconds. Then he was gone, leaving Zoe alone. She fell to ground feeling numb as the tears poured out.

They had both refused to say goodbye.