This story has lived rent free in my head for literal years, especially since that last scene in the series finale. I also recently went through a rewatch of the entire show, so alas, here we are publishing it because I miss Caskett so freakin' much.

Castle family is canon (with a couple minor additions), but of course, the story idea is mine.

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

June

"Oh come on, Mom," a 16 year old Lily Castle groaned, leaning against the window. "It's just one party!"

Kate Beckett sighed, leaning back against the cushioned desk chair in the office she shared with her husband, Richard Castle. Dressed in tight jeans and a flowy olive green sweater, she looked up at her daughter, hazel eyes meeting blue.

Lily knew her mother recognized her signature 'please give me this one thing and I promise I'll never ask for anything ever again' look from her years of using it to get what she wanted from her parents. Piano lessons. Her first guitar. And more recently, an extension of her curfew.

While her older sister Alexis was her father's eldest child and her mother's by default, Lily was her parents' first biological child together. The spitting image of Kate but with Rick's dark, wavy hair.

Kate raised an eyebrow, giving her daughter the 'look' all Castle children knew meant whatever conversation they were having was over. This time it was the conversation Lily had brought up at least three times now.

Growing up, neither Lily nor her siblings had ever been overly spoiled. Mostly she knew when to give up and when to press on, and with a former homicide detective as a mother, when it came to curfew she usually gave up. But this time was different. Newly sixteen, fresh out of the 10th grade, with straight A's and a plan to take summer courses at New York University, Lily felt she'd earned the extra hour. Or permission to attend one party without having to beg.

"Fine," Lily resigned, letting her hands fall to her sides in defeat. "I'll tell him I can't go. Again. But you do know I've been going over to Wyatt's house since kindergarten, right? It's not like you won't know where I am."

"Yes, but this is very different from when you were in kindergarten, and if I recall, the last time you went over to Wyatt's house for a party there was no adult supervision, or am I a little fuzzy on that?" Kate asked rhetorically.

"Yet the one time I was allowed over there for a party, I managed to come home alive, if you recall," Lily countered.

"Okay, Lily," Kate exhaled. "I know how badly you wanna go. I'll think about it, alright?"

Standing up, Kate brushed past her daughter, heading toward the kitchen.

Following her out, Lily noticed the front door open and close as her father announced his arrival home.

"Dad!"

One of the youngest members of the Castle family, Lily's eleven year old brother Jake, raced to the door to greet his father. With their mousy hair and mischievous grins, both Jake and his identical twin Reece were undoubtedly their father's sons.

"Hey, buddy," Rick greeted his son with a smile, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Guess what?" Jake grinned up at him.

"Starfish do not have brains," Rick said, looking at Jake seriously.

"Close," Jake replied. "But no. Reece and I finally beat Patel at Fortnite today."

"Patel? Patel, the kid from India we've been trying to beat for two months now, that Patel?"

"Yep," Jake nodded.

"What do you mean 'and I'?!" came the voice of Lily's other brother, Reece from the other room, out of sight. "I did all the heavy lifting!"

"Either way, you both have done me proud," Rick said seriously, high fiving his eleven year old before heading into the kitchen, and unknowingly straight into the line of tension between his wife and daughter.

"Hey Lily Bug," he greeted her with a smile, using the nickname he and Alexis had given her as an infant, and kissed her head as he passed to greet his wife. He kissed her and then, as usual, noticed the tension and attempted to diffuse it with his unfailing wit.

"Alright, please tell me there's not about to be a homicide in my kitchen because Kate you know how much I hate working on Friday nights."

Lily glared at her father in response to his joke.

In truth, Kate Beckett and her middle child got along very well, as far as mothers and teenage daughters went. Arguments were few and far between, but when they did happen, both women were too stubborn to admit they were wrong.

"Just kidding," Rick said, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. "But seriously what are we talking about?"

"Lily wants to go to a party at Wyatt Freedman's house tonight," Jake said, taunting his sister, as Reece joined them in the kitchen.

"She's been bugging Mom about it all day," he added. Both boys turned toward Lily, making kissy faces at her.

"Oh shut up, you little boogers," Lily muttered, shooting her brothers a glare.

"Lily," Kate sighed.

"Actually Dad," Lily continued dramatically. "Mom was just talking about her high hopes for my future; friendless, dateless, and remaining a virgin until I'm fifty."

Rick winced upon hearing the word 'virgin' come out of his daughter's mouth. "Well I'm on board with the last part there," he said.

"Seriously Rick, you know there's gonna be alcohol at this thing," Kate said, giving her daughter a pointed gaze and leaning against the kitchen counter. "And I'll bet you anything Wyatt's parents won't be there."

"Mom," Lily groaned, closing her eyes.

"Honey, I was a homicide detective for years, being paranoid comes with the territory," Kate replied, walking over to Lily and placing a hand on her shoulder. "So forgive me for not wanting to send my sixteen year old daughter into the streets of New York after dark without an adult present."

"Honestly? I think being a detective has made you too paranoid," Lily admitted. "And besides, it's not like I'm going to be alone! Maddie's going, and she offered to drive!" She turned to look at her father. "If Gram were here she would be convincing you to let me go…and you let Lex go out when she was sixteen!"

Lily's grandmother—Rick's mother, Martha—had been in LA for the past week, helping a friend run an acting workshop. She was pushing eighty, but Martha Rodgers slowed down for nothing and no one.

"That's because Lex was nicer than you," Reece whispered, earning another glare from his sister.

"Lily, honey, why do you want to go to this party so badly, anyway?" Rick asked. "What is it, like the social event of the century, or whatever it is you teenagers say these days?"

Lily's heart started to beat quickly in her chest, hearing the lighter tone in her father's voice. Was he about to cave? Her quip about her older sister was incredibly true, after all.

Her mother may wear the pants in her parents' marriage, but Lily knew all too well that if anyone could get her to change her stubborn mind about something it was Richard Castle.

"Because I'm sixteen now," Lily said.

Really, she knew it wouldn't be the end of the world if she didn't go to this party, but it was the first Friday night of summer vacation and all she wanted to do was see her best friends.

"And where are we in the Yes or No department?" Rick asked.

"No," Lily replied dryly.

"Hey, I didn't say no specifically," Kate said. "I said I'd think about it, and that I'm not sure I want you going if it's unsupervised."

"Please don't tell me you want to be there to supervise," Lily breathed, massaging her temples.

"Oooh, that'd make you the most popular girl in school for sure,'" Jake said, heading into the living room with Reece.

"Jake!" Lily shouted.

"I swear to god if any of you ever want to leave this house any time soon…" Kate told her children, half serious, half sarcastic.

"Sheesh, I'm just saying…" Jake said, holding his hands up in defeat before sitting back down on the couch and picking up Pumpkin, the family's orange (and somewhat large) Persian cat.

"You don't even know his parents won't be there," Lily said, turning to face her mother. "And since when do you not trust me? I get good grades, I take extra AP and college classes, and I got elected soprano section leader in the choir next year. What else do I have to do to prove myself?"

"Honey, you know how proud of you I am, and I do trust you," Kate answered, her voice calm. "I just don't trust a lot of other people."

"Well, then, you trust my judgment; and you have two sons, who will one day be teenagers, so you can't say you don't trust boys."

"Ah – to be fair, I only raised those boys," Kate said, gesturing to her sons with her thumb, and discreetly swallowing her anxiety at the thought of her twins becoming teenagers. Rick Castle's sons becoming teenagers. "So yes, I can say I don't trust all the other ones."

"Seriously Mother, what do you think I'm gonna do? I've always been honest with you about everything. You think I'm gonna do drugs? Have sex?"

Rick choked on his water, sitting on a kitchen barstool. He glanced between his wife and daughter. "Sex? Who's having sex?"

Lily rolled her eyes, doing her best to hide a smile. She remembered having 'the talk' with her parents and sister as well as ever. Ironically, Lily's father had been the least informed of the group, and she remembered her mother had picked on him for it later with a sarcastic "no surprise!"

'The talk' had happened when Lily was 14, the summer before she began high school. Secretly, she had known everything already. With a sister 20 years her senior who experimented with plenty of guys before settling down with a husband five years ago, Lily had spent plenty of her preteen years bugging Alexis for information. A typical clingy little sister.

Some of Lily's greatest memories were of staying up late and having her sister spend the night, doing her nails and telling her all about Ashley, the guy she dated during her last couple years of high school. Alexis was so experienced, so smart and funny and pretty; Lily looked up to her for everything.

Of course Lily knew her father had always been concerned about his daughters growing up and experiencing the world of male/female sexual relations, but that didn't mean his over-the-top reactions to the subject didn't make her want to giggle from time to time.

"I'm not having sex, Dad," she replied flatly, trying to keep her serious tone.

Rick made a face, not liking the sound of this word coming from his daughter's mouth either. "Well uh…" he stammered. "We can…we can talk about, you know…all of that, if you want to."

"We did. When I was fourteen and about to start high school," Lily replied, slowly becoming more exasperated. "And if I remember correctly, you learned so much."

"Look, sweetheart, there are a lot of situations that you might not be ready to handle just yet," Kate exhaled, running a hand through her sandy brown locks.

"Well how am I supposed to grow up, Mom? I'm gonna have to experience certain things, if you want me to know how to handle them," Lily said, trying not to get too worked up again, knowing that would get her nowhere.

However, both Kate and Rick were silent. Rick looked at his wife, who glanced back at him, the two of them having a silent conversation.

Lily took a deep breath and ran her foot down Pumpkin's back as the fluffy cat rubbed up against her, curious about all the commotion in the kitchen.

"Alright listen," Kate began after a few seconds. Lily glanced up, surprised at her mother's tone. "You may go-"

Lily's eyes widened as she smiled.

"On several terms," Kate continued, holding up a finger. "No drinking, or smoking…anything."

"Done," Lily responded quickly. "Hate that stuff anyway."

"And you're home by eleven thirty. PM," Kate added.

"Midnight?" Lily countered with a hopeful glance.

"Eleven?" Kate raised an eyebrow.

"Eleven thirty," Lily agreed. "Thanks, Mom."

Slowly, Kate pulled her daughter in for a hug, not wanting to think about how fast her child was growing up. "Just please be careful," she said, pulling back and tucking a lock of Lily's dark hair behind her ear.

"I will," Lily said seriously, relieved this conversation was finally over.

"And no sex," Rick piped up again, pointing a finger at his daughter.

"Believe me, I have no desire to get naked with any of the guys I go to school with," Lily replied dryly.

"Lily!" Kate's eyes widen, gesturing toward the twins, who have gone back to their Fortnite game against Patel.

"Oh please, Mom, it's not like we can't hear everything you guys are saying," Reece added. "And besides, we already know how sex works."

Whatever relieved expression Rick had had on his face was now gone.

Kate sighed, massaging her temples. "I don't even want to think about the things you're hearing in school…"

"And um, Lily…when you do feel like you're ready to…you know…" Rick stammered.

"Yes, Dad. Always use protection and know you and Mom are always there if I have any questions."

Rick raised his hands in surrender.

"Oh, and you both should know that eleven is the new seventeen. It's not all chapter books and fractions anymore," Lily smirked, placing a hand on her father's shoulder. "We've officially entered the age of the Google search."

In retrospect, the Castle family was relatively normal, aside from Captain Kate Beckett being the best in her field and Rick being a best-selling murder mystery novelist and Kate's most esteemed partner at the NYPD's 12th Precinct (which, according to him, took her years to admit). They had four kids, Alexis, Felicity—or 'Lily' to pretty much everyone who knew her—and identical twins Jake and Reece, and a cat. And Rick's mother Martha lived in the same building just down the hall. She was easily one of her grandchildren's favorite people.

At sixteen, Lily looked exactly like her mother, tall and thin with a similar facial structure and smile. Except for her dark hair and eyes – that deep blue belonged only to Rick. Jake and Reece were the exact opposite – mini-Richard Castles walking around with Kate's mousy hair and hazel eyes. Jake the jokester, and Reece the brains behind the operation. Alexis' birth mother had divorced Rick and moved away when Alexis was a baby; Rick and Martha had been the only constants in her life until Kate had come along, becoming the closest thing the teenager ever had to a loving, committed mother figure. And for all intents and purposes, a mother.

Kate had worried, after finding out she was pregnant with her first biological child, that Alexis would feel less welcome in their home, like they were starting a new family without her, when actually, the opposite had happened. The girl had bonded with her baby sister instantly, and to this day the two were inseparable. More often than not, Kate even forgot Alexis wasn't her biological child; she loved her as if that was exactly what she was.

Save for an eighteen month stint in London, Alexis had never lived more than 20 minutes away from her family. At 37, she had been working as an investigative journalist with the New York Times for years and, as of five years ago, married her longtime boyfriend and heart surgeon, Peter Rubin.

An hour after the conversation with her parents downstairs, Lily sat on her bed strumming her guitar, practicing a new song she had written last week. Never having been much of an athlete, Lily had always taken more of an interest in her grandmother's love of music and theatre.

She was just about finished with the song when a knock came at the door.

"Come in," she said, pulling the guitar strap over her head and setting the instrument down on the floor.

"Hey Lulu." Kate stuck her head into the room. She was the only one who ever called her daughter by that name, and the two of them had always loved having that connection. "You mind if I come in for a minute? There's something else I need to talk to you about."

"Sure," Lily nodded. "Are Lex and Peter here for dinner yet? And is it still okay if Maddie joins us?"

Maddie had been Lily's best friend since grade school.

"Oh no not yet honey," Kate said. "And yeah that's totally fine. This is about something else."

"Okay…" Lily looked at her mother with uncertainty as Kate sat down next to her. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah everything's fine, I just…"

"What is it, Mom? Is this about work? Did something happen?"

"Oh no, no everything's fine at work, don't worry about that," Kate soothed, running a hand through her daughter's wavy hair that reached just past her shoulders. "But, I've…never actually told you about this because, well, it's not really something I like to revisit and it doesn't help that I still think of you as my baby girl. But, I know you're not a baby anymore. You're halfway through high school…"

"Mom…" Lily frowned. "This is getting a little weird. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I love what I do. I've turned down more than a few promotions because running the 12th, and being out in the field...it's who I am. But as you know, my job isn't always the safest and your dad and I have been caught in some pretty dangerous situations over the years. Some you know about, and some you don't." Kate took a deep breath. "A long time ago, a few years before you were born…I was shot."

Lily felt her breath catch in her throat.

"What?" she breathed, unsure of what else to say.

Kate took her hand. "You remember what I told you about my mom – your grandmother? How she was killed all those years ago?"

Lily nodded. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she imagined her mother lying there, hurt and bleeding.

"Well there are some…details…that your dad and I chose not to share with you and your brothers and sister that make things a little more…complicated," Kate told her daughter. "My boss at the time, he um, he got into somewhat of a mess with the group of people who had a lot to do with your grandmother's death, and it ended badly. He was trying to protect me and as it turned out…he lost his own life for it. Your dad and I, we were there at the funeral and I delivered the eulogy, except when I was standing up at the podium, there was a sniper…"

"No…" Lily whispered, wanting to hear more but not at the same time. Her tears spilled over.

"Anything can happen, Lily," Kate said, running a hand up and down her daughter's back. "I love you and your brothers and sister more than anything else in the world. I know how smart you all are, and I trust you…but you never know what could happen when you're least expecting it. I do remember what high school parties are like – believe it or not I did have somewhat of a 'wild side.'" Kate smiled slightly and nudged Lily's shoulder.

"I know how easy it is to get caught up in the moment and let your friends influence what you do." She brushed tears from her daughter's cheeks. "You just need to understand how important you are to your dad and me. And I never-" Kate stared at Lily, hard, "want you to go through what I went through. Next to losing Mom, it was the most difficult time of my life, and if it weren't for your dad and sister, and Ryan, Esposito, and Lanie, I don't think I'd be where I am today. I don't know where I'd be."

Lily was speechless for a while, unable to get the image of a faceless man shooting her mother out of her head.

"Where um," she finally mustered the words. "Where did he shoot you?"

"The chest," Kate responded.

"And did they, did they ever catch the guy?"

"No," Kate sighed. "It was a sniper, Lulu. They never caught him. But I'm fine now," she added, taking Lily's face into her hands. "I spent a lot of time catching the people who killed your grandmother—it was why I became a cop in the first place—but in the end you never know who they've influenced, or if anyone is still out there. I don't want you to feel like you need to walk around scared all the time; I just need you to be careful, so careful."

"I will," Lily whispered.

The two were silent for a moment until Lily looked up, for the first time, into her mother's eyes. They were glossed over with tears.

Kate reached out and pulled Lily toward her, hugging her and rocking back and forth slightly.

What may have been several minutes later—neither could tell—they both heard the front door open and close downstairs, followed by the sounds of Lily's best friend and then sister's voices.

"Lily, my darling!" Maddie called, making an entrance as usual.

"Dad? Kate?" Alexis called, followed by a "Lex, did you know your hair matches Pumpkin's?" courtesy of Jake.

Kate chuckled.

"As crazy as this sounds, I'm actually very glad you'll have her with you tonight," she smiled. She and Lily laughed, and Lily wiped her face of any leftover tears. Kate placed a hand on her daughter's cheek. "Love you, baby girl."

"I love you too, Mom."

Kate kissed her forehead only moments before Maddie barreled into the room.

"Oh hey, Captain Beckett," she smiled widely. "I never pegged you for the partying type."

"Oh you'd be surprised," Kate grinned, and Lily nudged her shoulder.

"Seriously? The guys at school would be so thrilled," Maddie grinned, raising an eyebrow.

"God, Maddie," Lily said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Seriously?"

"What?" Maddie held up her hands. "Your mom's hot."

"Well, that is true, honey," Kate noted, getting up off the bed. "I do what I can. Dinner will be ready in twenty, guys."

After Kate left, Maddie looked up from emptying her bag full of clothes onto Lily's bed. "Are you okay? You look like you've been crying."

Having been best friends for so long, Maddie could always tell when something was off with Lily, and vice versa.

"What? Oh, yeah I'm fine," Lily responded quickly. "Just…talking to my mom about stuff."

She didn't want to reveal her mother's secret yet, even to her best friend.

"You wanna talk about it?" Maddie asked.

"Nah, I'm good. Mom's just worried about us getting into trouble tonight is all. Nothing unusual."

"Hey, at least your mom's around to care about you getting into trouble. I know Christine's a single mom and she means well, but let's face it, I could get shit-faced and stay out 'til five AM and she'd never notice. Consider yourself lucky."

Maddie pulled a skirt out of her bag, examining it.

"Be careful it's not too short or my father will never let you out of the house," Lily noted, walking into her closet and pulling out the new pair of jeans she intended to break in tonight.

"Mmm…good point," Maddie nodded, trading the skirt in for a pair of black leggings. "Pants it is. Speaking of which, those are hot," Maddie said, gesturing toward Lily. "You should definitely wear them."

Lily chuckled. "You just make sure those pants stay on tonight, young lady."

Maddie placed a hand over her heart, pretending to be shocked. "Why Felicity Castle, how dare you suggest I'd do such a thing. Taking off my pants at a party with hot guys…"

"Seriously Maddie, I mean it. Pants on," Lily said, after changing into her own.

"Fine, point taken," Maddie sighed dramatically. "Jeez, Captain Beckett Junior."

Lily's eyes widened, her mouth falling open in shock as she looked at her best friend. "You take that back."

"Uh uh," Maddie said. "Because you know it's totally true."

Lily laughed. "Whatever, I so am not-"

But she was interrupted by Alexis calling from downstairs. "Felicity Joy, get your skinny little butt down here; dinner's ready and I need proof that I still have a sister!" With her having spent the past three weeks in Washington D.C. for a work trip and Lily so busy with finals, neither had seen each other in a while – unusual for them.

Changing quickly, Lily ran down the stairs.

"Hey Lex," she smiled, giving her sister a big hug.

"Hey Bug," she giggled.

"I expect to hear every detail from your trip, meeting the French Ambassador and all, you big show off." Lily nudged her.

"Duh," she winked, sitting down.

They walked to the table as Lily greeted her brother-in-law. "How go things in the wonderful world of medicine?" she asked, giving him a side hug.

"Oh lots of blood and guts," Peter joked. "The usual."

Lily made a face. "Ugh. Better you than me."

"...which is exactly what I say every night he comes home from work." Alexis chuckled, as the four of them sat down at the table, Maddie sitting next to Lily.

"Did somebody say something about blood and guts?" Kate walked up behind them.

Lily rolled her eyes playfully. "Relax, Mom, we weren't poking sport at your job; that's only every third time we bring up blood and guts."

"Okay, okay," Kate said, leaning over and wrapping both arms around her daughter's shoulders, dropping a kiss on her head. "Just checking."

An hour later, Maddie and Lily were ready to go.

"Have fun tonight, girls," Rick said, looking up from the couch where he had an edited first draft manuscript of his latest novel spread all around him.

"Bye, Dad," Lily said, leaning over to hug him from behind.

Holding on to Lily's arm, Rick turned his head to whisper in her ear. "Be sure to come back with plenty of piercings and tattoos, like we discussed."

Lily grinned. "I barely got Mom to say yes to me going at all and you want me to try and give her an aneurism?"

Her father winked at her before she turned her head and kissed his cheek.

"Later, Mr. Castle," Maddie said, bumping her fist with his.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Alexis called from the other end of the couch where she was curled up with Peter and Pumpkin the cat, who blended right in with her hair.

"And don't forget to say hi to Wyatt," Jake teased his sister, making kissy faces with Reece at her again.

"Guys, leave our poor, love-struck sister alone," Alexis chuckled, as Peter pulled Jake in to ruffle his hair.

"Lex, please make sure to drown our brothers in the bathtub while I'm gone." She smiled sarcastically at the last bit as her mother entered the room.

"You outta here, ladies?"

"Yep," Maddie nodded.

"You'll be the only one driving, right?" Kate asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course, Captain Beckett," Maddie said seriously, placing a hand on her heart again, and Kate laughed, placing both hands on her daughter's shoulders.

"Be careful," she ordered. "I love you."

"Love you too, Mom."

Maddie and Lily drove just north of Manhattan, where Wyatt's enormous mansion sat. The party was already in full swing.

"Looks like we're just in time," Maddie grinned, "but jesus christ I will never understand how Wyatt makes this commute to school every day."

She and Lily exited the car, walking inside. Right away Lily noticed groups of their friends scattered around the huge foyer.

"Lily!" Megan Herrold, one of her good friends, ran over to her.

"Hey," Lily smiled. Megan's blonde curls were flying as she animatedly began telling her of the many scandals of the evening – whose boyfriend cheated on who and with whom.

"God, we just got here, how is there already a breakup in the works?" Lily shook her head.

"Hey, this is high school," Megan shrugged. "Survival of the fittest, man."

"Apparently," Lily said, following Megan into the living room as Maddie went off in the opposite direction. For a second Lily thought about going after her, but who was she kidding. Maddie looked like she was on a mission.

"Hey Lily, over here!"

Lily looked up and saw Wyatt Freedman motion to the empty spot beside him on one of the couches in the living room. She felt her heartbeat increase in her chest again. She may have told her father she had no desire to sleep with any of the 'idiots' she went to school with, and she didn't; unlike Maddie, she had always been shy around guys and she had never had a real boyfriend before. But she couldn't deny, Wyatt gave her serious butterflies.

"I'm glad you came," he smiled, turning his body towards hers.

"I think it's becoming almost socially unacceptable to miss any more of your parties," Lily chuckled. "Something crazy always happ – " But she was cut off by a loud bellow of 'Cannonball!' as someone jumped from a second-story balcony and hit the pool. "My point exactly," she said, gesturing toward the backyard.

Wyatt laughed. "Ah, Sam; I guarantee he'll try that at least three more times tonight."

"Agreed," Lily said. She glanced outside; Sam, who she recognized as a kid from her chemistry class last year, was laughing loudly. "Although three might be too low of a number."

"You want anything?" Wyatt asked, getting up from the couch.

"Oh, um, no thanks I think I'm good. I feel like some of this night needs to be experienced sober, so at least one of us can remember all the nasty shit worth repeating," Lily joked. "And remember to tell you to fix all the shit that ends up broken tonight before your parents find out."

"This is true," he shrugged with a grin. "But you worry too much, Castle."

Wyatt placed a hand on the small of Lily's back as they walked together. Lily felt the butterflies in her stomach shift into overdrive as she tried to remember the advice her sister had given her once this flirty relationship started – to just play it cool. Let him come to you.

"So you missed my last party," Wyatt said.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I had plans; my sister was leaving for Washington the next day, so…"

"Wasn't the same without you," he smiled as they headed out toward the backyard. Lily blushed, looking down at the ground. At that very moment she wished more than anything that she could just grow a pair and kiss him already.

"Jeez, Wyatt, how many people do you actually know?" she asked, examining the large crowd of students. "Does that guy even go to our school?"

"Lily, if there's one thing I love about parties, is that they bring new friends together," he said.

"Just…make sure the guy selling crack every night in Central Park doesn't make his way in here, okay?" she said, immediately cursing herself at the bad joke.

But to her relief, Wyatt laughed. "Consider it a deal."

Lily had been at the party for a couple of hours when she checked her phone: 11:15.

"Crap, I gotta go." She looked at Wyatt apologetically as they watched a heated game of flip cup.

"You mean to tell me you're not at all excited to see who wins this match?" Wyatt said, somewhat sarcastically.

"Honestly I don't think they even know who's winning," Lily noted. Pretty much every single person at the table was chugging from a red solo cup.

"Touché," Wyatt agreed.

Lily stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Next time. Next time I will stay and watch flip cup matches with you all night. I might even jump in the pool fully clothed, to make things more interesting."

But instead of initiating a fist bump in response like he usually did, to her surprise Wyatt grabbed hold of her hand.

"Wait," he said, standing up to face her.

Once again, the butterflies returned in full force.

"Yeah?"

Wyatt glanced down at their shoes before meeting her gaze. "I just um...I'm really glad you could make it out tonight."

Lily found herself getting lost in his forest green eyes. "Me too."

"Is it...okay if I kiss you now?"

Before she could overanalyze whether or not her 'yes' came out too quickly, his lips were on hers. Or her lips were on his. Either way, she closed her eyes, feeling his arms wrap around her. Her hands run through his hair.

Her first kiss.

"Wow," she breathed, pulling back.

"Like I said," Wyatt smiled, holding onto her hand again. "I'm really glad you made it out tonight."

"Maddie!" she called, entering the living room after saying her final goodnight to Wyatt.

"Maddie!" Her best friend was nowhere to be found. Lily exhaled, blowing her side bangs back out of her face, before walking briskly down the downstairs hallway and opening the first bedroom door she could find. Naturally, there was Maddie.

"Hey," Lily called. "It's time to head out; we're officially late."

"Crap, your mom's gonna kill me." Maddie jumped off the bed, leaving behind a recently graduated senior Lily didn't recognize.

"Oh boy. Never again," Maddie muttered, sliding into her jacket and following Lily out of the room.

"That bad?" Lily questioned as they headed toward the car.

"Holy shit, I swear to god it was gonna take three hours before he, you know…" she waved her arms around for emphasis.

Lily gave her a look. "I actually didn't need to know that…but I'm glad the pants stayed on. I'm proud."

Maddie stopped suddenly, turning to look at a couple of guys wrestling in the front yard.

"Keep walkin.'" Lily grabbed her arm, already afraid of having to deal with her mother once they got home.

Maddie groaned and searched for her keys in her bag. She found them not long before she dropped them on the ground.

"You need me to drive?" Lily asked, just in case.

"No," Maddie replied, as if that were a stupid question. "I'm fine. Let's go."

The two climbed into Maddie's car and started the drive home, before they hit a pothole, startling them both.

"You sure you're okay?" Lily asked, staring at her best friend.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Maddie waved it off. "Just didn't see that one is all."

"Seriously, Maddie, if you had a drink it's fine, just pull over and I'll drive the rest of the way back, Lily said.

"Lily, come on. I had one drink two hours ago."

"Okay…" Lily sighed, slouching down into the front seat.

"So hey," Maddie continued casually. "When were you planning on telling me?"

"What are you talking about?" Lily yawned.

"You and Wyatt…" Maddie glanced at her suggestively, and Lily felt the blush heating up her cheeks.

"There's nothing to tell," she lied.

"Do you think I was born yesterday?" Maddie replied incredulously.

"Fine," Lily exhaled. "Nothing happened, I just...told him I had to get going, then he grabbed my hand and asked if he could kiss me. And I said yes." She shrugged.

"Oh my god!" Maddie shrieked. "Oh my god you totally had your first kiss!"

Lily felt her cheeks blush even brighter. She opened her mouth to reply, except this time when she looked forward, all that was visible were two huge headlights, which she thought was strange given that they were still in the correct lane. She heard a horn honking before a shrill scream pierced the air. Glass shattered all around her, before everything went black.

Her mother was right, bad things did happen.