A/N: Hey! This chapter is dedicated to one of the most wonderful and important people in my life, my crazy, strong, and beautiful best friend Courtney (there's a link to her page in my bio, check it out!). She is my guiding light and my base of support, and I am forever in her debt. I treasure our friendship so much, and it is something that can never be taken away from us.

Happy reading!

July 22nd, 1992

JJ sat anxiously waiting on the couch by the front door, her eyes glancing over at the clock every five seconds, willing for it to be six o'clock-the time at which her friends would be arriving at her house for her birthday sleepover.

"You know, staring at that clock isn't going to make time go any faster?" Sandy asked her daughter, laughing as she did.

"I know I know, I just can't wait!" JJ smiled at her mother's teasing, her impatience relaxing just ever so slightly.

Then, the bell rang, and the knock only one person ever used sounded. JJ practically ran to the door and thrust it open to see her favorite familiar face looking back at her,

"Riley! So glad you're here early!" JJ smiled as Riley stepped in pulled her into a tight hug. However, as JJ held her friend close, she noticed something…different. Riley's muscles seemed smaller, her arms and legs appeared paler and smaller, and her bones seemed to poke JJ more than normal. JJ brushed it off and told her it was because they had been out of soccer practice since school ended, and that Riley would start to toughen up again in September.

They quickly dropped Riley's stuff off in JJ's room, then headed back downstairs to greet the rest of their friends as they arrived one by one.

It was nearly midnight, and all the girls were in their pajamas, when Addison, one of the girls on the soccer team, spoke up,

"Hey guys, we should play 'never have I ever'!"

They all agreed, gathered into a circle, and each one went around the room stating something they had never done, waiting for someone to lie and get called out. It was JJ's turn,

"Never have I ever…had sex."

The girls all whistled and nodded in agreement, except Riley, who JJ felt tense up next to her. JJ nudged Riley, insisting for her to take her turn,

"Never have I ever gotten drunk." Riley stated simply. JJ knew it was true, Riley refused to consume alcohol to any degree, because she was scared of the consequences that came with it.

They carried on and chatted about a million different things, before finally deciding to crash not too long after the clock struck midnight.

"I never judged you, only loved you"

JJ stirred, suddenly feeling slightly colder than she had minutes before, and turned around to see that Riley, who had been snuggling with JJ as they slept, was gone. JJ looked around the room, not finding her anywhere, then wondered to herself where Riley could possibly be.

'The roof.'

It had been the girls' self-established safe haven at the Jareau household, which they started retreating to shortly after Rose's death.

JJ slipped on a pair of flip flops, pulled her PJ shorts down, and walked into the hallway, through Rose's room and out the exit to the roof. She stepped out and saw Riley sitting about ten feet away, a pack of cigarettes and a lighter next to her. She was staring up at the stars, and JJ watched her for a minute before walking up to her.

"Mind if I have one?" JJ asked as she sat down next to Riley, picking up the cigarettes.

"Sure." Riley took another breath from her own, tapping some ashes into a glass as she exhaled.

JJ pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and settled in next to Riley. They sat in silence for a few minutes, letting their cigarettes and the sight of the sky in front of them relax them.

"Riley, what's been up? You've been acting…different, over the past two months, but something's really bothering you tonight, what is it?" JJ broke the silence with the questions, looking at Riley as she did.

Riley sighed,

"Oh JJ, where do I even start?" She met JJ's gaze and tears threatened to sting her eyes.

"Wherever you want…but, can I ask why you seem so much…I don't know, smaller? Bonier? And I mean you hardly touched dinner, so…" JJ posed the question cautiously, not wanting to push Riley or seem so intrusive.

"Sometimes I just…like feeling weightless, like I'm nothing. Don't worry, I'm okay, I promise, I'll eat more when soccer starts. Anyways…I guess my biggest problem is mom's boyfriend. When he drinks he…he turns really mean. He pushes us around and calls us names."

"Oh Riley, I'm sorry, that's awful." JJ put her arm over Riley's shoulders and leaned her head on her arm.

"It's fine, I mean we put up with it. JJ, I…I have something to confess, and I know you won't tell or be mad or feel weird…but, I want you to listen so I can get it off my chest, okay?"

JJ nodded, slightly concerned, and Riley continued.

"JJ I…I slept with a guy."

JJ's eyes widened,

"As in you…had sex? When? With who?"

Riley suddenly started to cry, obviously very guilty and sorry for the choice she'd made.

"With Garret, that sophomore on the basketball team. It was last week. I just…was smoking a cigarette, my third one of the night, and he started sweet talking me and got the better of me. It wasn't bad or anything it just…felt wrong. I immediately regretted it, and I still do. I don't even know why I did it, I just…did."

JJ's heart broke, and she knew Riley was in a lot of pain. To try and help Riley feel less alone, she opened up about something she'd been keeping a secret herself,

"Well, I'll help you get over him by giving you the best summer ever if you let me tell you something."

Riley nodded, and JJ cleared her throat,

"Sometimes, I feel really down and empty, for no reason. I either cry a lot and then feel numb, or have no energy to do anything, and I feel really alone. I think it's bouts of depression, which is kind of scary. In those moments, I miss Rose and recently, I've been missing you, and I feel bad that we haven't seen much of each other since school let out last month."

Riley pressed a kiss to JJ's cheek,

"I'm sorry JJ, I really am. I miss Rose too, but you know what, you're never alone. I will always stick by you, and we should spend every moment together, even if not physically, mentally. Just do me a favor; every time you look up at the sky, whether it be the clouds and the sun or the stars and the moon, just know that I'm looking up at that same sky too, and as long as you're thinking of me in that moment, I'm thinking of you."

JJ felt herself start to tear up,

"Thank you, Riley. I will, I promise."

They finished their cigarettes and laid down on their backs, gazing up at the stars, eventually falling into a deep slumber, their bodies together, stuck together by a bond that could never be broken.