A/N: I'm back again with another chapter!! OMG PEOPLE!! I want to thank you all soooo much for sticking with me! I reread some of the reviews I've received over the course of this story, and I am truly grateful for each of you who've reviewed, especially you all who have stuck with me even when I took a while to update. On the reviews for my previous chapter, I heard some extremely positive feedback from other writers who I love, and I appreciate them for sticking with me! Gosh, I know I haven't been fair, but THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for reading this fic anyway. I was truly considering just hurrying up with this story sloppily so I wouldn't have to keep you guys constantly waiting, but I realize now that I can't do that. After your support and patience, I could never just leave some sloppy work for you to read and be disappointed by. So I'm going to do eveything in my power to make sure this story turns out well! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! Thanks again and I feel this is long enough! Enjoy this chapter and REVIEW!

Chapter 26: When They Finally Discussed Their College Plans

Moze's POV

But after such a perfect night, we would have to face the problem the both of us had been avoiding the most. We had to discuss our college plans.

This had to have been one of the hardest conversations I'd ever have to endure.

::When We Finally Discussed Our College Plans::


"… I'll definitely take it! It sounds amazing… Oh, no problem. I wasn't busy… Yeah, I got off of the phone with them just before you called ... Of course, everything's amazing! ... Thank me? No, thank you so much ... Alright, you too. We'll talk soon! And congrats again. Bye!" I hung up my phone and leaned against the wall just outside the entrance of the school. "Shit." I whispered to myself. This was really happening. And I was having the most mixed feelings in the world. What I did wasn't wrong... right?

"Thanks for coming over with me. I figured it'd be fun since none of us has dished what happened after prom to each other yet." Suzie said to Lisa as the two exited the school building. We were heading over to Suzie's house to chill and help her get ready for a date with Coconut Head.

"Who were you talking to on the phone, Moze?" Lisa asked while we descended the steps of the school.

"Uh, my mom. She's wondering when I'm coming home." I lied quickly, not ready to tell them the truth.

We piled into Suzie's car and headed over to one of the most beautiful houses in town. Had to love her filthy rich father, I swear.

Once inside, we headed up to her room. I settled on her bed while Lisa sat in her computer chair, immediately going to Facebook to see what was new.

"Moze, why don't you say you're in a relationship with Ned Bigby?" Lisa asked, swiveling around to stare curiously at me. "I've always wondered but never got around to asking."

I shrugged. "It's no one's business, really."

"But when you went with Seth, it was there on your page, Jennifer Moze Mosley is in a relationship with Seth The-Man Powers. What's up with that?"

I laughed. "I was young and naïve and cocky back then. Now I am mature and wise and content. I love Ned, and as long as he knows it, no one else really needs to."

"Wow," Lisa said, her eyes glued to mine in a serious stare. "You sound old."

I threw a pillow at her head as she laughed out loud. "What's new on Facebook anyway?"

"Well apparently Hollie and Xavier broke up. They're both single on facebook. But we already knew that. Apparently a lot of people broke up and got together after prom. Oh, here's a good one. Taylor Michaels is now in a relationship with Carolyn Simmons instead of Brenna Cook, who he was with since his freshman year."

Suzie emerged from the bathroom after a quick shower in shorts and a tank top. As she headed to her closet, she said, "Carolyn Simmons might as well be a hooker. She's slept with half the soccer team."

"Stop. She's kind of nice." I defended.

Suzie snorted. "Whatever. She's super nice to girls because she wants to get with their boyfriends. You didn't know that Carolyn and Brenna got extremely tight, like, two weeks before prom?"

"No." I drawled slowly. I'd been too absorbed with Ned to notice anything else.

"Well, look where befriending Carolyn got her. Everyone avoids that girl like the plague, but Brenna was tired of people calling Carolyn a slut so she tried to be her friend. That plan totally backfired. Brenna is a saint, and if anyone could steal her boyfriend, then they must be out of their mind. She's one of the nicest people James K. Polk has ever seen."

I nodded my agreement. "Very true. But I still can't believe Hollie and X broke up. After all of that, you know?"

"You should've been there." Lisa said, eyes widening. "After you and Ned left, X and Hollie consumed so much liquor, which is the perfect truth serum! Those two admitted everything to each other--including the people who they made out with behind each other's backs, which was a lot--and them breaking up was inevitable. They had no choice."

"Xavier was so pissed that he paid for that room and Hollie wasn't going back there with him. But, of course, he found some girl who really wanted to go." Suzie pulled out some dusty gray jeans and an off-the-shoulder black top. "But it doesn't stop there."

My mouth dropped. "There's more?"

"Oh yes." Lisa came over beside me and laid down on the bed as well. "Hollie is totally pissed at Logan and Pete because she was convinced that they both knew about Xavier's unfaithfulness. So today she confronted them and… wait, where were you?"

"I don't know. Keep going!"

"Okay, okay. So she confronted them about it and Logan swore on his mother's grave that he had no clue, and if he did, he would've talked to Xavier about it instead of Hollie because X is his brother. But Pete didn't say anything, and you know how Hollie is, and she went after him like a python. After feeling guilty, he finally admitted that he knew but didn't tell her because that's not his business. So Hollie expected an apology but he wasn't budging because he doesn't think she deserves one from him. So then Hollie and Kath got to arguing and the two of them aren't on speaking terms whatsoever."

"Oh my gosh. When did all of this happen?"

"Today. Where were you?"

I gripped my head. "Thinking. I've been in my mind all day just thinking."

Suzie turned to me curiously. "Thinking about what?"

"First, I must say that, despite my friendship with Hollie, I have to agree with Pete. I don't have any siblings, but family comes first in a lot of situations. And this is one of them. I doubt Hollie would rat her little sister out to her boyfriend if she caught her making out behind his back."

"She wouldn't. Now what have you been thinking about?"

I sighed and laid on my back, letting my eyes stay on the ceiling. "Ned."

They immediately crowded around me. "You two left the after party really soon. You have got to tell us what happened." Suzie said with a grin. "I already spilled the beans about my wild night with Coco. Now you have to tell us about your escapades."

"Yeah, the escapades I didn't get to partake in with Cookie." Lisa grumbled with a pout.

"Don't worry, Lisa. There were no escapades for me, either. We were about to… but I wasn't ready. I wanted to wait, even though it would've been kind of romantic. I mean, we were the only two people on the beach--"

"You two were on the beach!" They exclaimed in unison.

"--and we were laying in the sand… well, technically laying on a blanket in the sand, and it would've been the best first time ever. But I just couldn't do it."

"Was he disappointed?"

"No, of course not. He didn't want me to do it just because he wanted me. He was the one who wasn't sure that we should at first until he thought I was ready. And he assured me that he wasn't upset at all. He just wanted to make me happy."

"That's so sweet." Lisa said. "So… wait, why do you sound sad?"

"The reason I didn't do it is because I feel like we have plenty of time, you know? We have all summer, and we may go to college together so… it's a lot of time."

"You guys are going to college together?" Suzie asked.

I let out a deep breath. "That's the problem. I don't know. And I've just been thinking about it all day because I really think we need to talk about it as soon as possible."

"You guys haven't discussed that yet?" Lisa asked, her eyebrows shooting up.

I shook my head. "And the seriousness of it is weighing down pretty heavily. I mean… graduation is merely a month away. You and Cookie are just going to be, like, thirty minutes away from each other and only about two hours away from home since you're going to USC and Cookie's going to UCLA. Suzie, you're going to do so incredible at Berkeley. Coconut Head's going to U of Florida. Kesha, on a full-ride for volleyball, and Leo are going to be at Stanford. Kath and Pete will be at USC with you, Lisa. And where is Ned going? Where am I going?"

"Who knows?" Suzie said with a shrug.

"Do you know where you want to go?" Lisa asked. "I mean, you got into every school you applied to. You just have to decide between those seven."

"My top three are Washington University in St. Louis, Stanford, and New York University."

"It's so cold in New York! I still don't understand why you want to leave constant summer for constant winter."

"New York is not constant winter. New York is one of the most incredible places I've ever been to. And it's where I want to begin my career! It has everything I need to start my journalism endeavors. Besides, the seasons there are extreme, you know? During the summer, the sun is shining. During the fall, the leaves are falling. During winter, the snow is heavy, and during spring, everything's back in full bloom! It's beautiful!"

Suzie raised her brows. "Moze, you obviously know where you want to go."

I put my head in my hands. "I know! I just have to tell Ned…"

Lisa took my hand in hers. "As long as you're not thinking about giving up on going to NYU just so you can be with Ned, I stand by whatever decision you make completely, okay? Though I'm kind of upset you don't want to go to Stanford and be close to us… I want you to be happy."

I smiled at my friend. "Thanks. I just have to find out where Ned wants to go." Silently to myself, I prayed that he would want to go to NYU.

"He applied to NYU?" Suzie asked. "I so don't remember him filling that out during the application process."

"Yeah, he kind of did it behind your back. He knew you'd try to convince him not to apply since you knew that I was applying." I told her, remembering her Bitchy Girlfriend phase.

Suzie frowned. "Gosh, I was horrible."

"Worse than that." Lisa said with a playful smile… though it was the dead truth. "I guess you and Ned have a lot to talk about, huh?"

"A lot." I sighed. "Well, I am tired of talking about this. It's only been on my mind since forever. Suzie, let's get you ready for your big date tonight."

Ned picked Lisa and I up from Suzie's house, where we drove to Cookie's place to drop Lisa off. After that short drive, we headed back to Ned's place. I purposely turned the radio up so I could ignore talking to him. Holding a conversation at this point with Ned was pretty impossible unless I wanted to instantly bring up my inner conflict about discussing our future.

He cut the engine and sat still in the silent car. I looked over at him and smiled. "You ready to go inside?"

"No… You have something to tell me."

"How'd you know?"

"Cranking up the radio isn't such a subtle way of avoiding conversation, Moze… for future reference."

I laughed. "You caught me. I do have to talk to you… and it's pretty important."

He sucked in a deep breath. "College?"

"Yes."

"Do we really have to talk about it now?"

"It's pretty crucial."

He nodded. "Okay. We will. Alas." He stepped out of his car, and I got out as well. I followed him to his front door and up to his room, where I sat down on his bed and looked around awkwardly. He sat beside me. "You can start talking whenever you want."

I stood up and sat in his computer chair across from him. "Uh… so I don't know what other way to start this but… okay, what college do you want to go to?"

He smiled. "Wow. Can you get any blunter? Uh… well I really like Stanford. And you love it, too. So at this point, it's my number one choice. We'd be together and a little close to home, so... yeah, Stanford's my number one."

My face fell at this news. "Your number one? As in that's where you want to go?"

"Yeah, that's number one."

"What about NYU? Do you like that school?"

He shrugged. "It's not really my style. The cold and I don't go too well together. Besides, we said NYU as a joke, remember? The only reason we even considered it was because SUzie wouldn't let me apply." He laughed at the memory. "She was evil, Moze."

"Yeah, she was. But aside from that, you can always adjust to the weather! And it's not always cold, Ned!"

Again, he shrugged his shoulders. "I just don't like it that much."

I took in a deep breath and let it out, leaning back into my seat. "Ned… I really like NYU."

He narrowed his eyes, suspicion instantly sinking into his expression. "Okay. What does that mean?"

"They reserved a dorm room for me. They even assigned me a roommate."

"Okay. And…?"

"And I'd really love to go there. It has everything I have ever wanted. Everything I've ever wanted. And it's basically my dream school."

"But you haven't accepted yet."

I didn't speak.

I couldn't speak or else the truth would come spilling out.

Even without words, the truth was obvious right now.

"You accepted." He mumbled.

"I had to. I was running out of time, and they called last week to ask where I stood, and I didn't want to ruin prom for us. But today I had to tell them something! And you haven't decided where you want to go! So if you want to be together, we can go to NYU together! Come on, it'd be fun! We'd start a new adventure together and--"

"I can't." He grumbled.

My face scrunched up. "Ned, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but please at least consider it! Even though it'll be strange and new, we'll be together! We'll be with each other!"

"I can't." He snapped, lifting his gaze to stare dead at me. "Moze, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you kept putting it off, and I had to give an answer before they gave my room away! And it's the only school that gave me a full ride. I mean, they paid for everything, and I was not about to pass that up."

"Moze, final decisions don't have to be made until after high school! What was such the rush? You should've told me!" He exclaimed.

My need to explain disappeared as I stared at the pained expression on his face. "What? Why are you looking like that?"

He shook his head. "I lied, Jennifer."

"What? What did you lie about?"

"I didn't get accepted to NYU. I never thought you wanted to go that badly! You never talked about NYU before. You even said that you were just applying to make your resume for Stanford look more well rounded."

"Well I changed my mind! I looked into NYU… and I have connections there."

"Connections?" He shook his head. "Moze, I can't go to NYU, obviously. And I applied to Vassar and got accepted but--"

"But what? It's in New York! We'll still be near each other!"

He shook his head. "No, we won't. I… I already secured my spot at Stanford."

My mouth felt like it was trapped open. "You what?"

Ned stood from the bed. "YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD ME THAT YOU WANTED TO GO TO NYU! I never would've secured my spot there if I knew you wanted to go to NYU! I mean, I was sure that you'd choose Stanford, so I didn't think it was a big deal! And Vassar is an awesome school, and I liked it, but you never showed any interest in New York. And you acted so enthused about Stanford! I was sure you'd go there!"

"YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD ME THAT YOU NEVER GOT ACCEPTED!" I yelled right back, disbelief apparent on my face. "We wouldn't even be going through this if you had told me the truth, Ned!"

"Now who isn't telling the truth?" He pointed an accusing finger at me. "You would've gone there anyway. They gave you a full-ride, Moze! You'd be a moron not to go to a school that gave you a full-ride!" He plopped back on his bed. "And Stanford gave me way more money than Vassar."

"They did?" I asked.

When he nodded, I released a defeated sigh. "Ned, why are we even arguing? We shouldn't have to follow each other. It's not like just because we're clear across the country from each other, we're not going to be together anymore… right?"

"Right." He agreed. "It'll all be okay. I know Stanford is the best place for me to be for my creative writing and New York University is the best place for your journalism and your opportunities. We'll both be happy."

I slid onto his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Exactly. Even if we're far away, we'll both be doing what's best for ourselves. That's the only reason we were really stressing this college thing... I guess I thought that if we weren't together, we wouldn't stay in a relationship. But we'll manage to keep our relationship going while away from each other."

He nodded as he settled me more comfortably in his lap, folding his arms around me. "We shouldn't worry about anything. It'll all work out."

I kissed his forehead. "See? Why did talking about this take so long?"

"If I hadn't held it off so long, maybe we'd be going to school near each other."

"Do not blame yourself. It's for the best. Now neither of us is going to a school we'd rather not be in. Everything worked out, just like you said."

He kissed me this time. "Tell me about these opportunities that you have, Moze."

I stiffened in his embrace, something he unfortunately noticed. He pulled me away from him so he could look into my eyes. "What aren't you telling me?"

"It's not that big of a deal. It's actually really great! And the money will be incredible. I just… I just don't know how you'll feel about it."

He looked horrified. "You aren't about to… to start stripping to pay your tuition, are you?"

I let a loud laugh escape my mouth, not believing he actually said that. "NED! Of course not! I am not about to strip, dude. You wish I would strip."

"Caught me red handed." He placed a kiss on my neck, which made me giggle. Mostly, I was trying to sidetrack him so he wouldn't question me further. "Now tell me about this opportunity that you don't really want to tell me about."

Damn.

I stood from his lap, wringing my hands together in nervousness. "Okay. I lied."

A confused look replaced the once content one. "What are you talking about?"

"I haven't finalized my spot at NYU yet."

A huge grin lit his face only for a moment until he realized how wrong that was. "Wait. Why'd you tell me you did?"

"Well, now I know that you agree about us doing what's best for ourselves… and an old friend of mine pulled through on something huge."

"An old friend? Who do you know in New York?"

I cleared my throat and began pacing back and forth. "At first, I was really thinking about going to Stanford, like you said. They gave me a great scholarship, too. I was about to turn NYU down until I got a phone call after school today. H--he wasn't sure if he could get me this job, but he actually pulled through! And…"

"Who is he?" Ned asked curiously.

I stopped in front of him. "It's Brian."

His mouth dropped. "Brian? That dude from Florida? You've been staying in touch with him?"

"Yeah! When he played his beats at the club, a bunch of artists stood in line to get some of his music! And now Music Gems wants him on the cover of their magazine… but Brian only agreed if he could get a friend of his to write the article for him with a possibility of becoming a temp at the magazine. Guess who he wants?"

Ned sat frozen for a second before he stood up, keeping straight eye contact with me. "Moze… that is the best news I have ever heard."

My eyes lit up. "Really? You're happy for me?"

"Are you kidding? This is your big opportunity, Moze! You've always wanted to do this! How could I even come close to being upset or angry at you for that?"

"I don't know! I was being stupid!" I hugged him close and gave an uncharacteristic squeal of excitement. "Oh my gosh, I'm so happy now that we finally talked about it."

"Yeah, me too." He said, but not with as much enthusiasm. When I noticed this, I pulled away and saw how he was putting on a show, trying to hide whatever he was really feeling.

"Ned, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Moze. I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

He shrugged. "I've had eighteen years of you in my life. It'll be weird when you're not constantly here anymore."

I pouted. "Hey, we're still going to be in each other's lives. We just won't be able to see each other everyday. I'll come home every holiday, and we'll spend all of our time together. And you'll have to come visit me in New York sometime. Whenever you can. I'll always be there, waiting for you."

His old, relaxed self came along with his bright smile. "I'll make an appointment to come visit you right now. I'll surprise you at your fancy magazine where you'll be typing up a boss story in your cubicle, because that's where temps work, right? In cubicles, not offices."

I laughed at him. "Yeah. In my cubicle. And then after that, we can have fun in my cubicle."

"Fun in your cubicle?"

"Yes, fun in my cubicle. We can do whatever you want to do in my cubicle."

He put his arms tightly around my waist again. "Do you want to know what I want to do in your cubicle?"

"What do you want to do in my cubicle?"

"I want to… meet the All-American Rejects or any other famous band that gets interviewed for that magazine." Ned said, grin widening on his face.

I laughed. "Oh, so you think the All-American Rejects will be in my cubicle?"

He narrowed his eyes and said, "On second thought… let's hope they're not there."

"Yeah, you changed your mind pretty quick." I laughed again and leaned forward. "Besides, wouldn't you prefer to get one of these?" I placed a lingering kiss on his lips, and we stood like that in our embrace for a good minute before pulling away.

"I'd prefer that any day." He said softly. "Unless, of course, the Beatles were suddenly resurrected and they showed up at Music Gems. That's the only thing I'd prefer over that."

I scrunched my brows together and shook my head. "You seriously have a wild imagination."

"Come on!" He pulled back and looked at me like I was crazy. "You wouldn't want to see that?"

"No. That'd actually really creep me out." I sat back down in his computer chair. "So everything's good? We're satisfied with our decisions?"

"Very satisfied." He flopped back on his bed and sighed. "Still… it's going to be weird."

"Hopefully by the end of this summer we'll be tired of each other."

"Impossible." He mumbled, hands behind his head as he closed his eyes.

I stood from the chair and curled up to his side, placing my leg over one of his. "That's something that we can agree on."

Ned wrapped his arm under my shoulders and pulled me closer, eyes still closed. "But we'll survive. We'll continue our relationship while enjoying our time and freedom at college. But don't get too free over there."

I laughed, deciding it was best to be serious. "I won't, babe."

"Good." He kissed my forehead and we laid there, and for once, I felt that nothing could ever tear us apart. The period right before we got together, when we fought all the time, it was like we would stay mad at each other forever. But now that we were in a relationship and understood each other in totally new ways, it was like we could work anything out, which gave me the confidence I needed to know that college was going to be a breeze without him.

Because despite the distance, we'd still be together, and nothing was going to change that.

::End::

College decisions were made. It was final that the two of us would go to separate schools though we'd still remain in a relationship.

Let's just hope it wasn't easier said than done, though most things in life were like that.

All I know is that there was one more major event that was going to go down, and that was graduation.

I was totally not ready.

A/N: How was that? Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! I enjoyed writing it, for sure! Kind of a short mystery in this story! Keep reading! Stay with me, and REVIEW! Much Love to you All!!