hey guys! sorry its been so looong...

This chapter is the chapter of all chapters. Took me a loooong time to write! try not to burst into tears like I did when I wrote this..

Enjoy, cheerios! Dont forget to review...

Piper's POV

"Ow!" I yelped as Katie once again burned my ear with the curling iron.

"Sorry," she explained, "I'm just not as experienced as you."

"Then why don't you let me do it?" I complained.

"Because I'm supposed to dress you up! Now HOLD STILL!"

I looked at Annabeth and Kaycie who were sitting on my bed reading magazines. Well, at least, Kaycie was. Annabeth was off in whatever-land-smart-people-go-to. "You two are in on this too?"

They both nodded without turning their heads. Rolling my eyes, I looked back in the mirror. Kaycie had forced me into this short white dress with gold trim. It came down to my knees; tight strapless top, than ruffles from the waist down. It was actually very pretty, but I didn't admit it.

I sighed dramatically. "I am getting tortured, and I don't even know why! Will someone at least tell me where I'm going?"

They all shook their heads. Katie smiled slyly. "It's a surprise!" she sang. I groaned. I had a vague feeling it was Leo's doing. Earlier, after we almost died from my horrible driving skills, I kept catching him just staring at me and smiling. He was obviously plotting something.

Once I was finished being pampered(and burned), the rest of them got ready. They all put on these fancy dresses and did their hair and makeup, while I just sat there helplessly. I have to admit, that even though they looked good, the dresses were unlike them. Kaycie's was black and simple, while Annabeth's was pink and girly. (A/N: Since I forgot to explain this in the story, I'll just tell you now that it was some sort of bet.) Katie's was midnight blue and silver. I AM SO CONFUSED! WHAT IS GOING ON?!

After what felt like hours, everyone was finally ready. We all headed outside and climbed into my (totally-awesome-brand-new-slightly-dangerous) car, Katie driving. I was stuck in the backseat.

On the way there, I (might have) fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, we were at some fancy building. I followed the girls inside, and there were the guys! Leo made his way over to me, and I blinked. He was dressed in dark blue jeans, and a long-sleeve white shirt with a black vest and tie over it. When he saw me, he tipped his signature black fedora and grinned.

"Gooday, lass." He said as I approached him. I just rolled my eyes and took his outstretched hand, scanning the room for the others. Percy and Annabeth were trying to dance, but he kept stepping on her feet. Kaycie and Connor were at a food table, and Katie and Travis were mysteriously gone. Knowing them, they had probably snuck off to some rooftop garden that only they knew about, like in cheesy Disney movies.

We basically just stood there awkwardly for the next ten minutes. Then, finally, a song from this century came on. Before long, my foot was tapping and I was swaying back and forth to the beat. Leo looked over at me and smiled. Bowing dramatically, he said, "Would you care to dance?"

I laughed. "Why yes, yes I would." I practically pulled him to the dance floor. Once we were there, though, I had no idea what to do. Leo attempted to do this strange Irish jig thing, and soon I was laughing so hard that I couldn't breathe. We started messing around, dancing like crazy. I was having so much fun that I was disappointed when the song ended.

We were about to walk off the floor when a really catchy, rock-ish tune came on. We both stopped in our tracks and looked at each other. In some unspoken agreement, we both started rocking out and pulling off all these cool moves. I managed to carry out some moves from one of Beyoncé's latest videos. People around us started staring. We somehow made it some kind of routine, because we managed to do almost the same thing. Every once in a while we would meet in the middle; he would spin me, we would do some version of the salsa, stuff like that. On the final note of the song, he held our hands up in a big 'ta-da' pose. The entire room was watching us and clapped very loudly.

We bowed a few times, then –still holding my hand- he led me towards the exit door and outside. Pausing at a small lake, he looked back at me and smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. They were clouded over, as if he were depressed or something. I was worried, but I didn't show it. I have had a lot of practice at hiding my emotions from two years of loneliness and bullying.

Going ahead of me, Leo stopped at the edge of the sand and picked up a smooth rock. He attempted to skip it across the surface, but it just kept sinking after he threw it. I chuckled while he tried to throw them again and again, failing each time. Defeated, he joined me on a log. Putting his arm around me, he whispered, "It should be coming soon."

I looked at him in confusion. "What is?" The way he said it, it's like he was expecting some alien spaceship. He just stared at the sky. Still puzzled, I followed his gaze. We just sat there for a few minutes in silence.

ZOOM! The sky was lit up by a flash of orange. He squeezed my shoulder. "It's starting now." And it did. Flash after flash streaked across the sky as we sat there. Leaning my head against his shoulder, I sighed, not taking my eyes off of the scene.

Slowly, he took his arm from my shoulders and leaned away from me. I was about to protest when he covered my mouth with his hand. "Shhh. I need to tell you something."

Pulling his hand away, he looked at a spot in the distance. "I-I'm leaving." I was confused. Leaving where? He was going home? My eyes grew wide. Was he breaking up with me?!

He must have understood my thoughts, because he wouldn't meet my eyes. "I've been offered a scholarship to one of my dad's favorite colleges. Apparently, I'm exactly what they want, and they want me to go as soon as possible. I accepted." He paused, waiting for me to answer.

"But… you can still contact me, right? What about e-mail, or Skype? Just because you're moving doesn't mean we can't still be in a relationship!"

He winced. "Actually, they won't let me contact anyone besides co-workers and my parents. They don't want me….distracted."

"That's stupid."

"I know."

I hesitated. "When are you leaving?"

He looked at me, his eyes sad. "Tomorrow morning." I just took his hand and held onto it with both of mine.

"I didn't want to tell you on your birthday, but I just found out yesterday," he continued. "That's why I wanted to make sure this birthday was special, so you would have some good memories of me."

I smiled sadly. "Well, you succeeded. It's the best birthday I've ever had. Remember last year?" I shuddered, and he laughed. Last year, my parents had made a surprise visit only to give us "the talk" and make everything very awkward.

"Yeah," was all he said. We just sat there for a few minutes. He checked his watch, then sighed and started to stand, pulling me up with him. "It's getting light. I still need to pack, and I have only a few hours."

I just bit my lip and tried not to cry. He wrapped his arms around me and started walking me to my car. (The others had taken Travis's car home, so we didn't have to worry about anything.) The whole way home was silent, our hands twined together, no sign of letting go. When we finally pulled into my driveway, we just sat there, not wanting to think about what was going to happen next and thinking of nothing else. Finally, we climbed out and walked to my door. Turning to him, not wanting to break the silence, I practically threw myself at him. I still couldn't believe this was happening.

He kissed my forehead. "Pipes," he said reluctantly, "I really have to go now."

I looked up at him. I really wanted to cry now, but that would just make him feel worse. Standing on my toes, I kissed him. Then I turned to open the door. Remembering something, I spun around to see his retreating form. "Leo!"

He looked back. "Yes?"

I hesitated, bracing myself for the answer to the question I was about to ask. "Is Katie…?"

He smiled sadly. "She's staying. Wouldn't leave Travis."

I nodded, then turned once again and walked inside. I waited until I was sitting on the couch before allowing myself to fall apart.

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