Littleton Colorado, October 3rd 2006

Monday, 5:30 p.m.

Iris's P.O.V.

Riker and I made up and it seemed like we were over the worst.

But we weren't out of the woods yet.

I couldn't exactly put my finger on it but the family just seemed sort of secretive lately.

I think I noticed it the other day when I was hanging out in Rydel's room with her.

She was saying how glad she was that Riker and McKenzie broke up and how almost everything was back to normal again. I smiled and told her how I was glad that I wouldn't have to go to school next year without a best friend to go through it with.

She just got really quiet, and she wouldn't look me in the eye for the rest of the night.

It was the same for all of the Lynches. Every time I would bring up anything about school next year or anything about next year they just got so quiet, exchanging secret glances to each other. Even my parents were acting weird. I guess they assumed I knew something because every time I brought up next year they gave me a sad, sympathetic smile and patted me on the back.

"Everything will be okay, Honey." They said.

Would it? I didn't know. At least not yet. I guess I would just have to wait and find out.

In the meantime, with school out, I was hanging out with Riker one afternoon when he finally told me. We were on the roof of my house, listening to new music and goofing around.

"Why have you guys been so secretive lately?" I asked nonchalantly.

He stiffened up beside me and I looked over to see him staring into space.

He then looked over at me and I knew something was up.

"Rissy, I didn't know how to tell you this so I kind of kept it a secret." I knew it had to be something big so I egged him on a bit with a friendly smile.

"You can tell me anything, Rikes. It's all right." He looked down at his hands in his lap and wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Ross, Rydel, Rocky, and I decided we wanted to pursue a singing and acting career." He said and I smiled bright immediately telling him how proud I was. He stopped me though.

"The only thing is, we decided to move to L.A. To really get into it. Dad has been trying to sell his business and the house so we can afford it."

To say I was sad was an understatement. I was devastated but I struggled to overpower those thoughts with the good ones. I wanted to be as encouraging as possible.

"That's great though," I started, trying to convince him I was happy though I wasn't even convincing myself. "I mean it sucks that you won't be as close now but you'll still visit. And I'm sure when I get the chance I'll visit you as well. Riker, you're going for your dream! That's something I'd never have the courage to do." I said and he gave me a small, sad smile.

"You need to come with us, Rissy. I don't want to do this without you.". I sighed and looked down at my lap.

"But you can, Riker. I may not have known you all my life but I know you're very determined. Your a great leader and I swear whatever it is you set your mind to you can do it. I love it here, Riker. Colorado is really my home now, and mom and dad said we're staying here permanently. I've moved so much and I've given up so much and every time it's taken a part of me, I feel like I don't have any parts left. I feel like I belong here. I couldn't leave. And maybe now it'll give us a chance to stand on our own for a while, grow our independence. " After my little speech I looked up and he had a real smile on his face, it faltered for a moment though.

"We're leaving in October. That's only two months away what about you starting school? I don't want you to go through the rest of high school alone." I smiled and grabbed his hand though my heart dropped to my stomach when he said we only had two months left.

"I'll have Lora. I'll be okay." With that I pulled him into a tight hug, not letting go.

It had only been a couple weeks later when they started packing. It felt weird to see everything in boxes, the house was nearly empty. And my heart felt empty as well. Rydel and I were in her room packing everything up. The walls were bare and her closet was rid of everything she had. The pink still remained throughout the room. It seemed that was all that was left.

"I don't want to do it, you know." she said quietly, almost to herself.

I looked over to her. "Do what?" I asked. "Move?"

She nodded and played with her bracelets, avoiding eye contact. "I've lived here my whole life. I don't want to just pack up and start a different life. It's happening too fast."

I sighed and put my hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up. "I get it. I most definitely get it. My entire life has been spent moving. Almost every year was somewhere new and my parents would always tell me it's a new adventure. I guess I tried to see the optimistic side of things. I mean sure, I got to see so many places. I've lived in Georgia when I was five, Texas when I was seven, Ohio till I was eight, and then Maine up until thirteen. I moved so many places and it was hard for me to make friends. Even in Maine, I was there for five years but it was so isolated. I only had one friend, Amanda, who I met in Texas. She continued to be my friend for a while after, but she was all I had."

Rydel sniffled a little. "So what happened? Do you still keep in touch now?"

I smiled slightly and blinked back tears. "Where she is is a bit too far to keep in touch. But I know she still cares and I know she knows I care."

Rydel smiled. "Thanks Rissy, for telling me about you moving and all. It makes me feel a little better. I guess I'm just going to miss it here. I'll definitely miss you!" She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me. I laughed and hugged her back.

"Don't worry. I know we'll see each other again."

Three weeks later

"I can't believe this is it." I whispered more to myself than Riker, who was next to me holding my hand.

"Yeah." He said and looked behind him at the sight of the moving trucks. It was only a matter of minutes now before they would say goodbye to their home, and goodbye to me …

That's when I could start to feel the hurt in my heart.

Rocky and Ross skated into the driveway on their skateboards. Both looked happy but I could tell they were a bit sad too.

"Where were you guys?" Riker asked. "Mom was wondering earlier where you too went off to?"

"We rode around the neighborhood a little bit. We thought it would be our last chance to do it, so why not?" Rocky explained.

I took a deep breath and Riker squeezed my hand. I had to think on the bright side. I need to stay positive for them.

Ross came up and hugged me. "I'm going to miss you Rissy …"

I chuckled and hugged him back as Rocky came up and did the same. "I'm going to miss you too. I'm going to miss all of you …"

Stormie walked out carrying a couple of the last boxes while Mark was talking to my parents. Ryland was right by her side and looked super excited. I knew this was going to be big for them. I was going to miss them but they are out living their dream. I was so proud of them for that.

I looked to the porch stairs and saw that Rydel and Lora were talking. She was a relatively new friend but we became closer and closer everyday. I knew that I'd have her and I'd be fine. Rydel saw me and ran over and Riker went over to talk to Lora. I vaguely wondered what they were saying.

Riker's P.O.V.

As soon as I saw Rydel leave, I knew I had to talk to Lora. I walked over and sat down, but I seemed to be at loss for words.

She smiled slightly. "I know you're sad about leaving." She said. "I can tell."

I nodded. "I'm going to miss Iris. She's gone through so much and I want to stay with her. She's my best friend."

Lora laughed. "Uh huh …" She quoted sarcastically. "Best friend …"

She was right. I loved Iris. More than as a best friend and I'm sure she knew that. But with everything happening I knew I didn't have a chance.

"Do me a favor." I cleared my throat to stop my voice from sounding watery but it was no use. "Take care of Iris for me okay? Please …"

She smiled brightly. "Don't worry. You got it!"

"Hey Riker it's time to-" Rocky came over but paused at the sight of Lora. "Oh … hey." He said smiling at her.

She waved. "Hi! I don't think we've met but I'm Lora. I'm a friend of Rydel and Iris."

Rocky ran his hands through his hair and I could tell he was nervous. "I'm Rocky. I'm sorry we couldn't meet at a better time."

Lora smiled once more. "It's fine. It was nice to meet you."

He blushed slightly. "Yeah … you too."

"Hey guys it's time to go!" My dad called. I waved goodbye to Lora and dragged Rocky towards the car. Mom, dad, Ross, and Ryland were all ready to go. Rocky got in and Rydel quickly hugged Iris and Lora and got in the car. I looked towards Iris, who had tears in her eyes but smiled.

She walked over quickly and hugged me, whispering in my ear. "Go live your dream. Do it for me …"

I pulled back and for the quickest second, I kissed her. "Goodbye Rissy." I whispered softly and sadly.

I then walked over and got in the van as the engine started and drove away. I looked out the window to see her standing with her parents and Lora, looking at me as she waved with that beautiful smile on her face. I continued to watch until she was out of sight.

Well that's it for this chapter! After this it will start to go into the details of R5 in California and how Iris is doing back in Colorado. Thank you guys so much for your help and I'm sorry this chapter is so late! Lizzie is pretty busy right now so I'm going to try and take control over a bit of the story for now. With that being said, I will try and upload as soon as I possibly can. Thank you guys again for everything!

Lots of love!

-Lora & Lizzie