Hey all! There's just one chapter left before we move onto the sequel.

Enjoy!

"How are the ribs?" Zoe asked, taking a seat on the bleachers next to her best friend, as he watches the team practice for the game in a few days.

"They don't hurt," he shrugged. "But it doesn't matter what I say, I won't get to play for another two weeks. Coach wants to be sure, though I think it's ma that's worried and convinced the coach to bench me an extra two weeks," he sighed.

"I'm sorry," she told him, turning from watching the practice on the field to her best friend. "Wade," she said, getting him to focus on her and not on his teammates.

"Zoe," he said, raising an eyebrow, smirking.

"What's really going on?" She asked concerned. She's noticed for a few weeks now that he has been more withdrawn, and she's sure it has nothing to do with his ribs. Actually, she's quite certain of it.

"Whatever do you mean?" He asked, his smirk slipping from his lips, scratching the back of his neck.

"Can you not do this?" She asked, reaching out to place her hand on his upper arm. "We both know that you're not dumb, and you're forgetting that I know you better than you do. You've been off these last few weeks, and it's not about your ribs," she told him. "I'm not forcing you to tell me, but you know I am the one person you can tell that won't judge or say something stupid about what's on your mind. Out of it all I can help you," she told him softly.

"I know," he nodded with a sigh. "It's just that everyone knows what they want to do. You have Johns Hopkins, because let's face it, you're getting in," he smiled, taking the hand on his arm into both of his to hold. "You're going to rule college, med school and be a kick-ass doctor. George is headed off to university and then law school, it's given with who his dad and brother are," he pointed out. Zoe sat quietly waiting to hear what else he has to say. "AB is headed to Auburn, Lemon is headed for university, I'm not really sure about Crickett," he frowned.

"What everyone else has planned for next fall has nothing to do with you, Wade. It's okay not to be sure of what you want to do," Zoe assured him.

"It's not that," Wade told her, shaking his head. "I know what I am going to do, it's just different because it's not school," he shared.

"This is something that you want for you? It's not because of Jesse?" She asked, piecing it together on what he has planned without him outright saying it.

"It has nothing to do with Jesse, I've wanted this longer than Jesse has," he told her. "I know he went first, but it still feels like he followed me," he shared. Jesse didn't know what he wanted to do and the very second he talked about joining, it's like they were shipping Jesse off. It was something Wade was mad at. Wade learned quickly that as mad as he is with his brother for joining, he couldn't stay mad because the second Jesse is out of training camp and recruited to a war somewhere, he'd need to be on good terms with his brother, because anything can happen and if that is the case he doesn't want to be at odds with his brother.

"Does it matter who followed who?" Zoe asked, biting her bottom lip. "No one is stopping you from joining, and I doubt anyone is going to think you're following your brother. You have to do what's best for you," she told him.

"I guess it doesn't," he sighed, knocking his shoulder against hers. "Thanks for the speech, but I wasn't going to let it stop me," he told her.

"Than make amends with your brother before you can't. I would hate to see this rift between you two last for the next twenty years," she told him.

"Have a little faith, would ya?" Wade asked with a chuckle.

"Oh I do, to an extent," she teased, standing up. "Come on let's go get a milkshake," she more so demanded of him.

"How can I say no?" He retorted, laughing, following his best friends lead.

The walk to the Jammer was done so in silence. Occasionally their shoulders would bump, but they said nothing. For Zoe, she was working on wording her questions for her best friend. She didn't want to seem rude for phrasing a question wrong. For Wade, well he's trying to keep his feelings for his friend hidden. He only recently figured out that he likes Zoe a heck of a lot more than a friend. As much as he wants to tell Zoe, he can't because he would never be that jerk. He can see how happy she is with Graham.

He'd like to say that these feelings are new. And they are, but they've been manifesting inside him for years now. He only noticed when Zoe would come over and spend all her free time keeping him company when he was bedridden because of his ribs. That's when he noticed that his feelings were changing for her. But, the longer he thought about it, he realized that he's been in love with her the day she cussed him out for a simple hello her first day in Bluebell.

With their chocolate milkshakes in hand they sat outside, finding they had more privacy at the tables outside rather than inside. They let the late afternoon take over as they enjoyed their milkshakes.

"Zo, come out with it," he stated, gently nudging her under the table with his foot. "Don't," he warned.

"Seriously how do you know?" She asked shaking her head, hiding her smile from him.

"Can it be the fact we've known each other for the last 8 years," he commented.

"Ya know I don't think it is," she said, shaking her head.

"No, it can't be," Wade laughed. "But seriously, Zoe, just ask, I won't be offended by whatever you want to ask," he assured her.

"Who said anything about being offensive?" She asked, playing with the straw in her slowly melting milkshake. "I was wondering, since you know you want to enlist after graduation, which branch are you joining?" She asked, because that's the one thing he hasn't given an answer on.

"Do you not know me at all?" Wade asked, feigning hurt, he cracked a smirk seeing her roll her eyes. "Navy, Zo," he stated with a duh tone.

"Looking for the Goose to your Maverick?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, taking a drink of her milkshake.

"I don't need to look, I already found her," he smirked.

"For now," Zoe sighed. "We both know that once I leave for Johns Hopkins and you leave for basic training, we'll become strangers to each other. There's no amount of promises that can be made either," she stated.

"You make it sound so harrowing," Wade sighed. "Our friendship doesn't have an end date on it. And yeah we might very well lose contact with each other after we graduate, but that doesn't mean we stop being friends, Zoe. We'll always find our way back to each other," he told her.

"I can hold onto that," she smiled. "Please tell me that you're not joining the Navy just because you want to be like Maverick," she pleaded with him.

"Then I won't say anything," he teased, pushing his empty cup away from him. Zoe narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't you dare give me that look Zoe," he warned.

"Enlisting isn't something to joke about, Wade…"

"I am going to stop you right there, Zo. I know it's not a joke. It's been thought out thoroughly for months, years even. It's what I want to do for me," he shared, putting her thoughts at ease.

"Okay," she nodded. "You coming over tonight?" She asked him, as they got up.

"Didn't know I was invited," he teased, grabbing both empty cups to toss in the trash.

"Oh shut up," she laughed, bumping him with her shoulder, wanting to be careful of his ribs. "You're welcome at my house always, no invitation needed," she retorted.

"There's the love," he teased, tossing an arm around her shoulders. "Only if we watch Top Gun."

"Don't you ever get tired of watching that movie?" Zoe asked, turning her head to look at him, as they walked.

"Never," he easily replied. "Don't you get tired of watching your Woody Allen movies?" He asked, tugging on some of her hair.

"How dare you even ask that," she playfully huffed out. "Despite the protest from everyone else on watching it yet again for friends movie night, you should know it stays in the rotation," she told him giving him an eyeroll.

"I feel lucky," he smirked.

Wade's not sure how he got lucky when it came to friends movie night at Zoe's. For the first movie, it was the group of them. Fighting over the movie they watch first. Wade lost that round, and he thinks George is right there with him, because there are more girls they got stuck watching some stupid romance movie. The kind where it can't possibly ever happen in real life. His comments throughout the movie weren't wanted, except for George as he joined in. That earned them a few scowls and a pillow to the face.

After the first movie, Lemon had to leave, George following after, Crickett and AB not far behind. He's not sure their excuses were legitimate. That left him and Zoe. Graham normally comes and this weekend he's happy that he wasn't around, because he doesn't want to be the third wheel.

"I feel like your dad or mom is going to break in here and drag me out by my ear," Wade chuckled, rubbing his ear that hurt at the very thought of one of Zoe's parents dragging him by the ear.

"Exaggerate much," Zoe giggled, shutting the light off as the movie started. "They know we won't do anything, just like your parents," she retorted, plopping herself down next to him on her bed.

"That's what they say, but I don't know how comfortable they really feel about the idea of us in a dark room, with an empty house," he shrugged, sliding down the bed some to rest his head on her shoulder.

"Okay, but they trust us and I wouldn't do that to Graham," she told him, resting her head against his. She wanted no part in cheating of any kind.

"And if there wasn't Graham?" He asked quietly. He is curious to know if her feelings for him are just as confused as the ones he's come to discover for her.

"I wouldn't know," she answered with a sigh, licking her lips. "I don't know if we could be anything other than friends. But I haven't thought about as anything more than a friend, and frankly I wouldn't want to be another number for you," she told him. Zoe did hope that she didn't hurt his feelings with what she said. If and that's a big if anything did happen between them, she doesn't know because she's never thought about it. When someone would comment about it, she pushed it away. She doesn't know if they would have been anything more than friends.

"I get it," Wade sighed. "For the record, you wouldn't have been a number, other than my number one girl," he smirked. There's just so much with the unknown he's not going to dwell on what could have been when something could happen later on in life. "Ma always says things happen when they needed to," he shared.

"Ya know for this being your favorite movie, you're not even watching it. Are we going to watch or gossip?" She asked him.

"That's it, we've spent too much time together," Wade stated, moving to get out of her bed. "Zoe, I think it's time we spent our free time with other people," he sniffed.

"Dramatic much?" Zoe asked. "As per the best friend code, you can not now or later break up with your best friend. You mister are stuck with me," she deadpanned.

"It's a hard ask, but we'll make due with a cabin in the woods," he joked, climbing back into her bed. "Now hush, before I make you restart the movie," he warned, wiggling around until he got himself in the right spot to be comfortable once more.

"I'll call Jackie and let her know," Harley said, having already switched the TV in his daughters room off.

He thought she'd still be awake, and he wanted to say goodnight, and boy was he left with quite the little surprise when he pushed her door open. His first instinct had been to wake the two sleeping teens up and send Wade on his way. Instead, he let them be, knowing how stressful school has been on them. He trusts his daughter and Wade. Despite trusting them there's still a little thought that they could do something. He doesn't want to believe it, but it's hard to ignore.

"If they were to do anything, they wouldn't do it when we're right down the hall," Candice stated, moving past her husband. "And I hope that we have taught Zoe better than to cheat on her boyfriend," she said, walking into their room.

He has no doubt that Zoe wouldn't do such a thing. He shut the door on the two best friends cuddled together. Wade was holding Zoe as she used him as her personal pillow. And headed to make a phone call, not wanting Jackie and Earl to freak out with Wade not coming home.