The next month went by pretty fast. Lilly and I hung out more, and I found out why she liked to draw weird symbols. It was because she was Buddhist and believed that certain symbol meant certain things. She was the last person I would have thought to be Buddhist, but in reality when you thought about it, it made sense. She also really like the color black and always wore a beanie. One time I asked her why she liked black and she said it was because it set off her pale skin. I always wondered about her eyes though. I've never seen anyone with copper colored eyes, but they were beautiful. Also, one day at lunch when I offered her part of my hamburger she declined saying she was a vegetarian.

She sometimes came over to my house and we would study or talk. It was nice having a friend who understood you for you. Someone who wouldn't make fun or mock you for your problems but try to help you by making you laugh them off.

My birthday soon came, September 10th. I took my driver's test early in the morning and passed with flying colors. I actually wasn't a great driver, but I was great enough to pass. My license photo was an issue though. I'm not saying it was bad but it could have been better. The lady didn't tell me when she was going to take the photo and I wasn't quite prepared for when to smile. She took the photo on two when I was getting ready to smile. Now, I look like I have a cocky grin on my face, but I mean come on who takes the photo on two? Other than that Rose and David threw me an awkward Sweet 16. Since Lilly was my only friend and the only person I wanted there, I invited her and it was one of the best days of my life.

She came over and we played video games, and talked, and made prank phone calls (most of them to Katherine and MyKala), and just spent time together. I opened my presents from Rose and David and couldn't believe what I had gotten. They had gotten me a brand new ink black convertible. I told them it wasn't necessary but Rose insisted telling me she wasn't going to drive me around forever. With a big grin on my face I opened the rest of my presents from Rose and David. They had gotten me clothes, shoes, jewelry, books, notebooks, a new laptop, which I didn't need; my old one was fine besides the screen basically falling off, and little trinkets to put around my room.

Still smiling I opened Lilly's gift: A friendship bracelet, a book on Buddhism, hipster glasses, and my favorite candy she got me addicted to all the way from Japan.

I hugged her, thanking her for the gifts, and also hugged Rose and David. To some people this Sweet 16 is considered lame, but to me this was the perfect Sweet 16. We ate dinner and cake and watched a movie in the living room before going upstairs to my room.

Before going to bed we talked some more, about school, other girls, and of course boys. She asked me if I thought anyone was cute, but I told her no one really caught my eye, and without telling her why she nodded like she understood everything.

I asked her if she was crushing on anyone and she cringed and looked at the ground.

"Did I say something wrong?" I asked, the smile leaving my face.

She lifted her head and looked right into my eyes, "No, Maxine. You didn't say anything wrong. It's just that-that-that-" she said stumbling over the last part, suddenly turning shy.

"What's wrong?" I asked concerned.

"I have a secret to tell you Maxine, but you have to promise me you won't say anything to anyone, especially my parents. Oh God, if my parents found out…" She sighed, looking spaced out and running a hand through her black hair.

"If your parents found out about what?" I continued to ask my hand now trembling.

She sighed and looked back into my eyes, "I'm a lesbian, Maxine."

My hand stopped trembling, but I don't know why I froze. She was still Lilly, she was still my friend. I didn't care about her sexual orientation. I've never had anything against gays and I respected the courage they had with dealing with homophobic jerks.

Mistakenly sensing my shock Lilly quickly said, "But it's not like I'm going to flirt with you or try to have sex with you or anything."

"Lilly," I said but she continued to speak as if not hearing me.

"I mean I like you and all."

"Lilly," I said this time louder but she continued to speak, her voice getting faster and faster.

"But you're my best friend, and I would never ever do anything to ruin that."

"Lilly!" I yelled causing her to shut up.

Her whole body was shaking as much as she tried to hide it and I ran a hand through my hair, scooting to sit next to her. She looked at me with fear in her eyes as I threw my arms around her body, hugging her.

"Lilly," I whispered, "I don't care that you're a lesbian. You're my best friend and I wouldn't care if you were gay, straight, bisexual, transgender, any of that. You're still Lilly and your sexual orientation doesn't change that. I promise on my life I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to, your secrets safe with me, but I want to tell you thank you for trusting me with such a big secret, you can trust me."

I felt tears on my shirt from where she was crying causing, and I hugged her tighter letting her cry into my shirt. I've never seen Lilly cry before; she just wasn't one of those people that cried.

"I'm sorry, Maxine," I heard her mumble into my shirt, "I'm so sorry."

I pulled her away from my shirt by the shoulders and forced her to look at me in the eyes, "Lilly, you have nothing to be sorry about. I mean you told me, that's all that matters. I won't neglect you."

She smiled and gave a wet laugh, "No, not that. I'm sorry for crying like an idiot."

I laughed and hugged her again. She wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me back before pulling away, "Alright, alright, that's enough. You sure after that whole hug fest you're not a lesbian to?"

I laughed, "No, I'm sure I'm not. Straight as a pole."

"You sure? I've been told I have the ability to change people." She said waggling her eyebrows.

"God," I said laughing and punching her arm.

She laughed with me and after a few minutes of laughing till we cried we fell asleep. I knew in that moment I would never have another friend like Lilly and for once in a long time I didn't want to leave New York. This was my home and as long as I had Rose, David, and Lilly I would be happy living here for the rest of my life.

But happy ending don't exist in my world.

It was the middle of October and I was sitting in my room listening to rock music Lilly illegally downloaded onto my iPod without my permission and reading a book Lilly gave me about Buddhism. She thought that maybe if I understood more about Buddhism then it would relax all my worries. After reading about half the book I did feel more spiritually connected with myself, maybe it was just the concept of reading, maybe it was actually the book.

Rose and David came in and turned off my music. David picked up the book I was reading and quickly questioned it, "How to channel your inner Buddhism?"

"It's a book Lilly gave me, she's Buddhist. Oh, I was wondering if maybe next week I could go with her to this whole culture of the world's festival? There's a Buddhist thing Lilly wanted to introduce me to, and it's only an hour from here. "

Rose turned to look at David and then looked back at me sadly, "I don't think so, Maxine."

"Why? It's on the weekend and I don't have any homework."

"It's not that Maxine," David said sitting next to me on the edge of the bed, "It's just that we may not be living here in a week."

Why wouldn't we be living here? Concern rose in my voice, "What are you guys talking about?"

David continued speaking, "I got offered a job in La Push, Washington, and I'm going to take it. The bad news is they want me down there as soon as possible."

"How soon?" My voice started to tremble.

He looked into my eyes, "Two days."

I felt as if my whole world was tumbling down. I finally found a friend, I finally found my place, and they were just going to make me move and give that all up.

"No!" I screamed, "I'm not going!"

"You have to come with us Maxine darling, were your legal guardians," Rose now spoke sitting on the other side of me.

"Then I'll just find a way of that! I'll find a foster home here to live! You can't make me leave!" I continued to scream, gripping the bed sheet, turning my knuckles white.

Rose started to speak, "Maxine, I know this is going to be hard-"

"Bull-shit!" I shouted startling her, "God, I've finally found a friend for the first time in my life and now you're making me leave her? I've found a place where I feel comfortable for the first time in ten years and you're making me leave?"

I remember without a second thought running out of my bedroom, downstairs, and out the door. I ran until I couldn't run anymore and until my legs felt like jelly. I sat down on a nearby curb and just cried. It's been awhile since I've cried so hard and it felt weird. It felt like I shouldn't be crying, but my brain was telling my eyes to produce tears, to cry until I couldn't cry anymore.

When the sun was starting to go down and the weather got cold I decided it was about time I dragged my sad butt home. Rose and David were probably worrying about me, but I honestly didn't care. I didn't want to leave New York. This was my home. They knew how hard it was for me to make friends, why would David accept a job without consulting me?

Because it's not you decision, idiot! David gave you a home and a family and if he wants to move then you go with him and congratulate him on his promotion. A little voice said in the back of my head and I sighed and decided that the voice is probably right.

I walked home slow hopping that when I got home it would all be a dream. Also, it gave me time to think about things which is what I really needed, time to think.

I finally got home and walked inside, slowly closing the door behind me. I only got three steps inside the house before Rose pulled me into a tight hug crying into my shoulder.

"Maxine, are you alright? Where did you go? Don't ever run away like that again, do you hear me?" She sobbed into my shoulder.

I stayed silent and let her cry into my shoulder until she felt the need to stop.

"Where's David?" I finally asked after I was sure most of her crying was done and she was able to speak.

"He's on the phone with the police telling them your home safe. You really scared us Maxine." She said lifting her head and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

"You called the police?" I gasped.

"Of course we did, we thought you ran away, we thought you were never coming back. We were really worried Maxine."

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. They were worried that I ran away. They cared about me. I had a family that cared about me. They only wanted what was best for me. I guess the thought didn't really hit me before because I was so used to living with my father who didn't care if I got hit by a train or not. He'd probably love it if I got hit by a train, then I wouldn't be in his life anymore.

"I'm sorry Rose. I'm sorry that I ran away. I didn't think you would care," I sobbed tears gathering in my eyes.

"Of course we care Maxine", she said tucking another piece of hair behind my ear while I cried into her shoulder, "Shh honey, it's been a long day. Let's get you into bed."

She led me upstairs and into my bedroom. She left to go make me a cup of tea while I got dressed and ready for bed. Once I was ready she came in and handed me the cup of tea which I drank quickly, the warm liquid making me even more tired. Before leaving she tucked me into bed and turned on my nightlight, and then she kissed my forehead, turned off the lights, and closed the door behind her. I didn't know if it was the warmness of the tea or my sudden tiredness, but I soon fell asleep tears still running down my face.

The next morning David hugged me and told me how much he loved me. I wasn't able to see him yesterday when I returned home, but I can tell by his ruffled hair that he was worried just as much as Rose was.

At breakfast he told me and Rose that we were going to be moving tomorrow. The business he works for needed him as soon as possible and the only flight they could get us was tomorrow. He had called my school beforehand and told them we were leaving tomorrow and that my last day would be today.

Today was my last day in New York so Rose drove me to school and once we were there; I hopped out of the car, and ran into the school immediately my main motive was to look for Lilly. Since she was a junior it was hard to find her in the morning so I had to wait till after 7th hour to talk to her. After class I ran to her locker and waited for her. I saw her coming down the hallway, ran up to her, and threw my arms around her waist.

"Whoa," she stumbled, "What's the hug for?"

"I'm moving tomorrow! To some place called La Push, Washington! I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier! I didn't know until last night!" I said in hysterics tears falling down my cheek as she hugged me back.

"Shh Maxine," she soothed me, "I understand, you don't need to feel bad. Hell, sure I'm sad you're leaving. You're the best friend a girl could have, and you've understood me more than anyone else has, ever. Here," she let go of me and took a bracelet off her arm.

Taking my wrist she clasped on the bracelet and fastened it. It was brown and braided. It had Chinese words on it which she told me meant friendship. It was beautiful. From what I remember she wore it a lot and when I told her she didn't have to, she told me yes she did.

Without even think I took a ring off my finger and put it on hers with the Sanskrit words meaning love, trust, and friendship on it that I always wore. I had gotten it with her one day after what felt like hours of her talking me into buying it. I was never really a big ring wearer but I was glad I had bought it.

Then I hugged her telling her how much she meant to me, and how she was going to be my best friend forever. I promised her I would call her whenever I can and she told that she would call whenever she could also. It was going to be hard but we were going to make it work.

"Bye Maxine, call me if you see any hot girls in La Push," she said giving me a wink.

I laughed pulling her in for another hug, "I will, bye Lilly."

We gave each other one last hug before parting ways. As I walked down the hallway to 8th hour more tears fell down my cheeks and I pulled the bracelet she had given me close to my heart. When I arrived at 8th I sat down in my usual spot and thought about how much New York meant to me, and how I would never forget anything about it good, or bad.

I didn't want to wake up the next morning but knew I had to. As much as I didn't want to move I knew deep down inside that this was for the best. Rose, David, and I spent the rest of the afternoon packing and getting ready for the movers. After five long, continuous hours of packing, we were finally done.

The movers arrived, and I grabbed my backpack and duffle bag with some of my clothes in it, blew my room a kiss, and closed the door. The rest of my stuff was already in the car, this was just the stuff I was taking on the plane. Walking down the stairs I felt like I had a million pounds on my shoulders. New York was my home, and I didn't want to leave now that my life was finally back in place.

I met Rose and David downstairs and we got into the car and headed to the airport. As David pulled out of the driveway Rose grabbed my hand and together we looked out the window at our old house. On the way we passed my dad's house covered in police tape, the door still broken down. The house was supposed to be torn down by next week and that made me sad for some reason. Before I even knew what I was doing I put my fingertips to my lips and blew a kiss to the old house.

We drove to the airport in silence only the sound of the radio being heard and once we were there we hopped out of our car, walked into the airport, checked in our stuff, and boarded our plane. Our cars, the furniture, and the rest of our other stuff was going to be shipped to our new home in La Push, Washington in a few days.

I remember on the plane I had my own row, which was nice, and Rose and David sat in front of me. This was my first time on a plane, and to tell you the truth I wasn't scared. I've seen plenty of movies where something happens on the plane and it crashes, but those kinds of movies didn't affect me. Different forms of transportation didn't bother me, well maybe cruise ships. After seeing Titanic I don't think I'll ever be able to go on a cruise ship again.

The lady in the row behind me started hyperventilating when the pilot announced takeoff but her husband, I was guessing, gave her a piece of gum and she sat back in her seat and closed her eyes. I also took out a piece of gum and started chewing it and surprisingly it helped. It was amazing being 30,000 feet in the air in a 20,000 pound plane. It was the closest thing I was going to get to actual flying, and I was glad I had a window seat.

After a while of looking out the window I took out my laptop and looked up La Push, Washington. The first thing that popped up was a map of where La Push was and a bunch of websites dedicated to Quileute Legends. Ignoring the map completely, I clicked on the first website dedicated to Quileute Legends and began reading.

After about three websites I decided that they were all just legends. Most of them were about men who changed into wolves to protect their land against the 'cold ones'. They were obviously just stories that the elders told to little children to put them to bed.

When I was done with fairytales I went back to the map of La Push on Google Earth and clicked on it, along with few pictures. La Push is located on the far, far west of Washington. It's a small community and home to the Quileute tribe, hence the legends. Its record high is 99 degrees Fahrenheit, but its average high for the year is only 56 degrees Fahrenheit. Its record low is 5 degrees Fahrenheit and its average low is around 41 degrees Fahrenheit. It's located along the Quileute River and along the North Pacific Ocean. I also learned that La Push is known for its whale-watching and natural beauty.

Great, I go from the hustle and bustle of New York to whale watching and 'natural beauty'. Why did David have to get transferred here?

After a few more hours of looking up pictures and moaning and groaning about how boring this La Push was going to be the flight attendant announced that we were landing. It was good that David got us a straight flight from New York to Olympia or we would have to spend another countless hours on a plane. It's not that I didn't like flying, in fact I loved flying now, but I was glad once we were safe on the ground.

We got our stuff before leaving the airport and getting in a taxi. Now this felt more like home. Living in New York, you got used to taking a taxi everywhere, either that or walking. The taxi driver asked where we wanted to go, we told him the address, and he put the car in gear and drove us there.

All the rest of our stuff would be arriving tomorrow but we had enough clothes in our suitcases to last us for days. The taxi driver dropped us off at our new house and I noticed that it was so much more different than our old house.

It was a common white color house, two stories. Rose gave me a smile and together the three of us walked into the new house. The inside was much prettier than the outside. It was a higher middle class home and it showed by the inside of it. When you walked in there was a staircase leading upstairs and a hallway leading down into the kitchen. To the left when you walked in there was a dining room and to the right there was a study. The kitchen was huge and had an island and lots of counter space with new appliances. David had mentioned something about the house being just recently built, and I could tell right away. To the right there was a living room and when you walked through the kitchen there were double doors leading to a sunroom and through the sunroom it lead you to the backyard.

It was nice that New York and Washington had the same time zones. That meant I didn't have to reset my watch or rearrange my brain to new times.

Still though, it was getting late, so I wished Rose and David goodnight, and dragging all my stuff, went upstairs to my new room. There were four bedrooms upstairs and David and Rose said I could pick any room I wanted. I found the master bedroom but didn't pick it, instead I picked the next biggest room. It had a view of the backyard that I liked. The backyard wasn't small, but wasn't huge, and it lead into the woods.

The room was pretty plain otherwise. The walls were a lilac color and the floor had white carpet. There was also a dresser in the corner and next to the dresser was a glass door leading out into a balcony. To the right there was a bathroom of my own which is another reason I picked the bathroom. I was so used to have a bathroom in my room; I guess it was an instinct to choose the room with the bathroom. The bed already has a blanket on, white, probably filled with feather. I was so tired from the move that I fell into bed, still in my clothes, and fell asleep immediately once my head hit the feather pillow. This time though, I had a dream. But this dream wasn't like my other dreams. Tonight, I dreamed of wolves.