Chapter 13

"What are you doing, I thought you were supposed to attend the Graduation party?" Johnny asked, as his entered Penny's room and saw her packing some stuff into a medium-sized box.

"I am. I just don't wanna be that early." She said, and placed a picture in the box.

"Hey, that's our Prom! And our batch photo! What are all these stuff doing here?" he exclaimed, and took out all the pictures he saw and looked at them.

"Yeah, they are. Now stop ruining them!" She said, and grabbed the pictures from his hand.

"What are you gonna do with all those stuff?"

"I'm gonna keep them."

"You're still keeping those? C'mon, Penny, forget it. You just graduated."

"I can't forget them, J. They've been a part of me already." She protested, and stood up from her bed.

"Okay, okay, relax. Don't be mad. Hey, what are you doing?" he said, when Penny opened her closet and took off her shorts.

"I need to get ready. Now, leave. Or if you don't mind, you can stay." She said, and took off her shirt and looked for a dress. As she was looking for something to wear, she heard the door slam, which meant that Johnny must've left. She found a sleeveless knee length beige dress. She chose it and looked for some shoes. She found some 3-inch pumps and layered necklaces to add some style. And for one last touch, she brushed her hair for the first time since early this morning and wore a thick brown ribbon-made headband.

"That was fast." Someone said, from behind, making Penny jump and her eyes widen.

"How the hell could you open the door without a single sound, Johnny?" she asked.

"It's magic." He said, waving his hand in front of his face.

"Yeah, maybe you should be a magician." She said, and started to pace around the room.

"But, hey, you know, you look great." He said, and held her arm.

"Thanks."

"Do you want me to take you?" he offered.

"Sure."

*---*

Penny arrived at a house of some senior who lived in the View and planned to have a Graduation for all the seniors. Her house was big enough for everyone and had three floors. The house's gate was opened since a lot of seniors were coming. Penny entered the gate and saw this large white mansion with all their lights opened, a buffet, some tables, music and a drinking bar inside.

"So this is what it's come from." Someone from behind said. Penny looked who it is and saw Stan come from behind her.

"Hey, you're here." She said, and looked at him. He was wearing some slacks and a white buttoned-up shirt. His hair was gelled up again making it looked spiked in the middle.

"Yeah, and so you are. You look great." He breathed, and they both started walking in the house.

"I could say the same about you. Do you wanna drink?" she invited him.

"I would love to. I'm buying you." He said. They both sat near the bartender and he asked for two beers. "So, where are your friends?"

"I don't know. I'm sure they'll be coming." She said, and drank some.

"And I think they're here." He said, looking at the door, but Penny didn't hear him and just continued drinking. Stan turned his back and looked at her and started to drink too.

"Hey, Pen!" Chris said, from behind and sat beside her. The others followed and surrounded them and all ordered some beer.

"Hey, guys. What's with all the excitement?" she asked, as they were all becoming unruly as they sat with her.

"Oh, nothing we're just really happy." Gordie said.

"Wait, hey, Chris, I hope you won't be drunk no more." Teddy warned. "I still remember what happened to you a couple of years ago. You were a mess."

"What happened to him?" Penny asked curiously.

"Well, we were hanging out one Friday and Chris almost drank ten bottles of it and then he starts acting shitty."

"What kind of shit?"

"He starts talking about stuff and then he suddenly goes near this bitch. Now trust me, Chris loses his taste for girls when he's drunk."

"Ew. What the hell did you guys do about it?"

"Luckily, I stopped him." Gordie said.

"That's a good one, Gordie. And maybe now is the time you watch how many bottles Chris will be drinking before they reach ten."

"C'mon, I won't drink too much tonight. I don't have that much problems right now." Chris promised and took a sip. "Another one, please."

The bartender handed Chris another beer. Penny looked at his empty bottle which he finished in almost less than a minute.

"This is gonna be a tough night." She breathed to herself, but Stan heard her and gave a curious stare. He nodded and rubbed her back as her forehead was rested on the table.

*---*

After a few days, Penny started packing up and said her goodbye's to her friends except the boys. It was the day before they left and Penny was out with Jadey and Roma on her yard.

"Do you think you should tell him now?" Jadey asked. "Time's running out, Penny."

"I don't know. I just don't know how." Penny said and stood up and paced around and folded her arms.

"Just say something like, I'm leaving, I'll miss you and stuff like what people say in the movies." Jadey suggested.

"Oh, you mean like, Hey Chris, hey Stan, I'm leaving. It's not that easy!" Penny exclaimed and walked around in circles. "And maybe I just won't tell them then."

"And then leave and then they'll ask us where you are and we tell them you're gone? They could get hurt." Roma said.

"Well, I don't know! It's like I wanna tell them but I can't because I don't know what to expect!" Penny whined, and started walking backwards on the side walk. Her friends followed after her as she kept going on and on about it until they noticed someone at her back.

"Um, Penny, I think that-" Jadey said, but Penny interrupted.

"That what? I should tell them?!" she asked. "I don't even know if-"

"Penny, stop." Jadey interrupted her again. Penny stopped and breathed quickly. "You might wanna look behind you."

Penny nervously looked behind her and saw the last person she wanted to see.

"Stan, um, did you hear all of that?" she asked him. The girls simply walked away to give them some space. Stan looked at her seriously, like a dad or something.

"Just the part that you were whining so loudly."

"So, you know it." She stated.

"About?"

"About the thing that I didn't want to say to."

"Well, do me this favor first. Let me tell you something and promise me you won't react or interrupt. Anyway, this is gonna be the last of it." He asked and Penny nodded.

"I already told you this but you thought it wasn't true. If you're telling me that you're leaving, guess what, I am too." He confessed.

"What? Where are you going?"

"Listen, I'm going back to LA that's why my cousin is here. And then, my mom decided that we move to Spain. We're leaving this afternoon."

"Oh." Penny was left speechless. She didn't expect that what he said would be real.

"Yeah, so now it's your turn to explain."

"I have nothing to explain." Penny said, and turned her back, walking away ruthlessly.

"You have a lot to explain, Jamie." He said, almost sounding frustrated and grabbed her arm.

"Don't you know how hard is it to explain something that hurts me? I didn't want to do this but I agreed to do it because I know I'll be thanking myself in the future." She said.

"Oh, so it does hurt you." He breathed.

"Yes, so much. I'm gonna miss my friends, our old house, our school."

"How about me?" he asked, and placed his hands on her shoulder.

"Yeah! A lot!" she said, and pulled him into a hug. Stan's hand rubbed her back and broke it off quickly and placed his hands on her face.

"Can you just tell where, when and why are you going?" he asked discreetly. Penny slowly took a deep breath and took out his hands off her face.

"We're leaving for Boston tomorrow because my mom's getting married. And, our future dad wants us to live there."

"I see that. And, it's okay with you? No objections or anything?"

"Yes." She said and looked at his face, he wasn't smiling. He looked serious. The first time Penny saw him serious was right now. "Hey, are you mad that I didn't tell you?"

"No, I'm not. I guess, this is just how things go. People leave some stay and some just disappear. Do your other friends know already about this?"

"No." she admitted.

"Oh. Good luck telling them." He said, and smiled and turned his back and slowly walked. Penny stood there thinking of what to do or say but she had this reflex.

"Hey, where are you going?" she asked, and pulled his arm. "That's it?"

"What do you mean 'that's it'?" He asked.

"Aren't you say goodbye or say that you'll miss me?" she demanded.

"Okay. Goodbye, Penny." He said, sarcastically.

"No, you have to tell me something."

"I did."

"Stop annoying me! I'm serious."

"Okay, I'm sorry. I just don't know how to tell you this but,-" he paused.

"Just tell me. This might be the last time we'd talk anyway."

"Being with you was like the best thing that ever happened to me aside from soccer." He confessed, and smiled seeing those memories in his mind.

"But we were never together."

"We weren't. But, as I tried to be."

"Yeah, but my heart belongs to someone else that time. Until the time came I got it back and it now belongs just to me." Penny said, sounding a bit ruthless.

"I guess it'll never be mine." He chuckled. "But still, being with you as a friend, it was worth it."

"Yeah, I'm gonna miss you a lot." She said, and pulled me into a hug.

"Me too." He agreed, and kissed her forehead.

"Don't ever change. If you plan to, change for the better." She reminded him. "And I hope you're good at Spanish."

"Lucky I know. And same with you. I don't know when the time will that we all get to see each other again."

"The time will come." She promised, as if she could keep it and hugged him even more.

*---*

"Gordie, we need to talk!" Jadey said urgently, running to Vern's yard. They just came from Penny's house since they left her with Stan.

"Girls, welcome. Especially you, J." Teddy said. "What brings you two here without Penny?"

"That's why we're here. Penny has a message for you two. Wait, where's Chris and Vern?" Jadey asked and looked around.

"They're buying more beers." Gordie said.

"Oh, good. 'Cause this'll only be told to the two of you."

"Well, what the hell is it?" Teddy asked, impatiently.

"Penny's leaving. Tomorrow." Roma reported.

"What? For a vacation or something?" Teddy asked, surprisingly.

"No. She's gonna move out and leave for Boston."

"They planned this before graduation but she only told us." Jadey said.

"Wow. I don't know what Chris'll say. He still loves her, you know." Gordie said.

"That's why she can't say it to dear Chris. But she agreed to this. She thinks it's for the best."

"Why don't we tell it to Chris?" Gordie suggested.

"That could be. But how?" Roma asked.

"Well, I do remember Chris telling me that Penny said something that they would be friends 'whatever' happens. And Penny gave an emphasis on that 'whatever' thingy. I could remind Chris of that thing and then tell him that Penny's moving out and that's what 'whatever' means. And then the rest will follow." He planned and smiled proudly.

"You're a genius, Gordo." Jadey said, and high-fived with him.

"You call that genius?" Teddy interrupted.

"Whatever, Teddy. It's not like you can come up with the plan that quick." Jadey teased, and patted his head, ruining his hair.

"Hey, don't touch that!" he whined, making everybody laugh at him. The girls soon planned to leave since they had to go back to Penny, so they brought the boys to say their goodbyes. Gordie asked Vern's mom to tell Chris and Vern that they just left to go somewhere and will be back shortly, without telling where they will go. They all saw Penny sitting on her yard, drinking a soda.

"Penny, we're back." Jadey said, and Penny stood up and looked at the people behind her.

"You told them?" she asked her, pointing at the boys.

"Just the two of them."

"Hey, Gordie, Teddy." She said, and pulled them into a hug.

"Where's Stan?" Roma asked, suddenly.

"He's gone. But everything worked between the two of us. He's leaving for Los Angeles this afternoon and then to Spain after a couple of days."

"I see."

"Gordie, Teddy, thanks for everything. Now, you guys know."

"But I'm still gonna tell Chris. We already have a plan." Gordie said.

"What plan?" she asked. Gordie explained the plan he thought of and Penny couldn't believe just what he thought of.

"You're a genius! Chris really tells you a lot of things, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, a lot. Now, I know I'm a genius." Gordie said, proudly and looked at Teddy, who disagreed.

"Just one favor, when you tell him, can you let him talk to me for one last time before I leave?" Penny asked.

"Sure." Gordie said, and gave her one last hug, and so did everyone and they formed a big group hug.

"Well, we better get going, Pen." Gordie said, and stood up followed by Teddy.

"Bye, guys." The girls said all together and they both waved back.

*---*

The boys came back and saw Chris and Vern starting to drink some beer.

"You guys just came?" Gordie asked.

"Yeah." Chris said, and handed Gordie a bottle.

"Thanks, man." Gordie said. Teddy looked at Gordie and gave him a tell-it-to-him stare.

"Okay, Teddy, okay." Gordie said, sarcastically. "Chris, you and I need to talk. Alone."

"Well, okay." He said and followed Gordie inside the house. "So, what's with the serious tone?"

"This is about Penny."

"Penny? What about her?" he asked curiously.

"Well, she's, she's, she's leaving."

Here you go guys. Okay, two more chapters and I'm DONE. Woohoo, can't wait to get this over with. Thank you so much for the reviews!! I really appreciate it.