Here it is, the final chapter! Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Ally Carter owns all.

EPILOGUE

Sometimes you have to let things fall apart in order to build something new. Not something better per say, but something better for you.

Falling in love with Zach was like a breath of fresh air. He made me feel whole and healed in a way that I had forgotten was possible. And although we certainly had some issues to work out, they were ones that we were willing to and capable of working on together.

And once I let go of my worries and apprehension, everything else sort of just fell into place.

My friends couldn't have been happier that I'd finally admitted my feelings to Zach, and although Macey lamented the fact that I was ruining her "Single Seniors" plan, she also said that it had taken me long enough.

Josh, well, I guess I shouldn't have been so worried about his reaction. After I told him that I was in fact dating Zach, he was silent, and for a moment, I thought this might end very badly.

Instead, he smiled at me and said, "I'm happy for you, Cam."

I was shocked. "Really?"

He nodded. "Really. I've been thinking a lot about us since we broke up, and I see now why we didn't work out. Now, I haven't met Zach yet, so I can't comment on what kind of guy he is, but looking at you, right now…well, I can see how happy he makes you."

I smiled softly at the boy I had once imagined my future with. "He does."

"Good. That's good."

"And what about you, Josh? Are you happy?"

He chuckled humorlessly. "Cam, you gotta stop taking into account everyone's feelings for every decision you make. What does it matter if I'm happy?"

"It does matter, Josh. It just does."

"Look, I'm not gonna pretend as if it's easy for me to see you moving on with another guy. I loved you, Cammie. But I will be fine. This isn't gonna hold me back in the grand scheme of things." He grabbed my hand gently. "And I want you to know, I'll always be your friend. You mean too much to me for me to just cut you out of my life."

"You mean too much to me, too."

"Good."

I smiled at him. "So tell me, friend, have you been staying in touch with DeeDee?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"Because despite what I said before, she seems like a great girl and I think—"

He was quick to cut me off. "Stop it right there. I don't need you playing matchmaker for me."

"But—"

"No buts. I'm staying out of the dating game for a while. I think it'll be good for me."

I gave him a long, hard look but he didn't give in. "Fine. I won't meddle."

"Thank you."

~.~.~.~

And life went on.

It was senior year and we were all preparing for the end of high school, making plans for our future. As often as we could, my friends and I would get together to take advantage of the dwindling days that we had left together.

In November, Liz, genius that she was, got her early acceptance letter to MIT. Not long after, Bex, Macey, and I started getting our acceptance letters (and yes, a few rejection letters) as well. And Zach, well, he'd always known where he wanted to go, and that hadn't changed since we started dating.

And so it was that shortly before graduation, Bex announced that she was going to London for school, and Zach accepted a scholarship to the University of Minnesota. I had already sent in my acceptance to Chapel Hill back in March, but of all of us, Macey was surprisingly still undecided.

Since ninth grade, Macey had always touted her desire to go to NYU—to leave the small town life behind completely and become the city girl she'd always seen herself as. But now that the time to do so was upon, she was hesitating.

A week before her last day to decide, I met up with her after my shift at Bucky's. We sat on my porch and listened to the sounds of spring at night. After a few moments of inconsequential chatting, I turned the conversation to more serious topics.

"Why haven't you said yes to NYU?"

Macey bit her lip. "It's complicated."

"Try me."

She didn't respond right away, collecting her thoughts. "NYU it's been my dream school since ninth grade. I always planned on going there."

"I know. So why haven't you said yes?"

"When I went and toured it in the fall, it was different than what I expected. I thought that I'd love the feel of the city—I always have before. But when I was there, it didn't feel…right."

"Not the dream you always imagined it to be?"

"No."

"So what about the other places you applied? Did you look at any of them?"

"A couple."

"Did you like any of them?"

She took a deep breath. "Yeah. I liked them."

"Then you pick one of those. I'm sure wherever you go, you'll have a great experience. Which campuses did you like?"
"UNC—" My eyes widened with incredulity and excitement. "—and Duke."

The second one confused me. "Duke? When did you apply to Duke?"

She rolled her eyes. "In a moment of weakness."

Huh, vague.

"Well, I can't deny I would love having you at UNC with me in the fall, but Duke's a great school. And you wouldn't be surrounded by strangers there either. Preston's going there."

"Yeah, I know."

Something about the way she responded made me look at her more closely. She fidgeted slightly in her chair and didn't meet my gaze. "You know Preston's going to Duke? You guys talk?"

She shrugged. "Well, we are on student council together."

"Yeah, but you only do that as a joke. Right?"

"Right."

"Macey, what aren't you telling me?"

She looked at me now, and I could see the overwhelming guilt in her eyes. "Cammie, if I tell you something, you have to promise not to get mad, and you can't tell anyone."

"Okay…"

"Anyone."

"Just spit it out."

"I've been hooking with Preston since last summer."

I froze in shock. "What? For how long?"

She hid her face in her hands. "Since last June!"
"Oh, dear God. I think my mind just imploded."

"I know."

I shook my head, trying to clear it. "How? I mean…how?"

Macey's head was still hung low, her hands blocking her face from my bewildered stare. After a moment, she seemed to gather herself, brought her hands down, and looked back up at me. "The first time it happened, I didn't say anything because I was, like, whatever, you know? Plus, Josh had just left for the summer and you were all mopey—this was pre-Zach."

"No need to get into my love life. We're talking about yours."

She rolled her eyes at me, her lovable (and infuriating) character starting to come back. "So, I convinced myself it was no big deal. It was hook-up. Whatever."

"But?"

"But then it happened again a couple weeks later. And then again a couple more times after that...we broke things off for a while in July but it was like there was some sort of magnetism pulling us together by then. We were back in the swing of things before the school year started up again."

"What about your 'Single Seniors' plan for us?"

"Preston and I aren't dating. I'm technically still single."

"Have you gone out with anyone since you guys started…" The words were surprisingly difficult to say. "…hooking up?"

"Well, no."

"And has he been seeing anyone else?"

She gave me a hard look. "No."

"Then I think it's very possible you may actually be in a relationship, Ms. McHenry."

"No!"

I laughed at her indignation. "What's so wrong with that idea? Preston's nice."

"Ugh. I don't want to date nice, small-town boys. I want to date hot, frisky, college boys."

"Frisky?"

"I don't know. It's the first word that came to mind."

"I'm sure Preston would frisk you if you asked nicely."

"Oh, God. I hate you." But she was smiling as she said the words.

"Oh my God. You totally like him!" I exclaimed, practically jumping out of my chair at this point. "You have the hots for Preston Winters. Your parents will be so proud."

She didn't bother denying it. "I don't know how it happened."

"Preston must be a pretty good kisser."

She sighed. "Oh, Cam. You have no idea."

I giggled. She caught my eye and started laughing. "Can you believe it?" She said. "A year ago, if you had told me I would moon-eyed over Preston Winters, thinking about going to Duke I would have laughed and called you crazy."

"It does sound a little crazy." My eyes widened. "Is this why you disappeared during the winter formal?"

"Uh, yeah."

Distant memories of last summer were coming back to me now, as I looked for clues. "The Fourth of July bonfire?"

She rolled her eyes. "We got into this big fight right beforehand. He kept hinting that we should tell people and I was absolutely not doing that. It got heated."

"Wow." I said. I could see it now in my head—Preston at the diner when Macey, Zach, and I had gone to lunch back in June. Preston and Macey's debate at the bonfire. Preston asking me how to deal with Macey, a conversation I mistakenly thought had been about student council. So many other instances that I had written off or forgotten about and they were all tied together by this monumental revelation. "Unbelievable."

"Are you mad at me?"

"Mad at you? No! A little dumbfounded that you were able to keep this a secret for so long, but no. I'm not mad." I said. "As long as you're happy, Mace, I'm happy for you."

"Thanks. I've wanted to tell you for so long now, but I kept it from you all for months, and I was worried how you'd react."

"Hey, this is a good surprise." I grabbed her hand and she squeezed it tight. "Especially if it means you're going to be close to me in the fall. Duke's only like a half hour drive or something from UNC."

"I haven't said I'm going to Duke!"

"Right. So do you like Duke? Or is it because that's where Preston's going?"

She settled back in her chair and considered my question. "That's what I've been trying to figure out. I mean, he talks about it so much and he makes it sound really appealing, but I don't want to be one of those girls that follows her boyfriend to college."

"What about UNC?"

"I applied there after I toured NYU. The campus is amazing, Cam." I smiled knowingly. "And it has really great programs. But then again, so does Duke…"

"Well, whatever you decide, I will one hundred percent support you."

"Thanks."

She looked over at me again and frowned at the obnoxious smile spread across my face. "What is it?"

I giggled uncontrollably again. "I'm just imagining Tina's face when she finds out you're dating Preston!"

She rolled her eyes. "You're so childish."

"Oh, come on. You know she's gonna burst when she hears this. It's the biggest gossip of the year!"

She shook her head, but she was biting back her own giggles now. "I can imagine her shriek." She looked at me.

"What?!" We both mimicked Tina's voice and laughed until our stomach muscles cramped.

~.~.~.~

4 Months Later

The late August winds swept through the trees along the road as I packed the last of my boxes into the back of my Subaru. Mom and Abby sat in chairs on the front porch, sipping hard lemonade out of bright pink straws.

"I can't believe she's leaving." I heard my mom say to Abby. "It seems like just yesterday I was dropping her off for her first day of kindergarten and now today she's leaving for college."

"I know." Abby lamented. "The time goes by too fast." Her gaze drifted to Zach who off to the side of my car, hands in his pockets.

He watched me close the car's hutch and lean against the bumper. When I patted the space next to me, he came to stand in front of me but didn't sit down. He took one of his hands out of his pocket and lifted it brush my bangs out of my face.

I'd gotten my hair cut last week in preparation for the new school year. The long locks that used to reach my mid back were gone now, replaced by a shoulder length bob and full bangs that framed my face.

Bex had called the look edgy. Macey said it was sexy. Zach had looked at me for a long moment, called me beautiful and then kissed me soundly on the mouth to prove his point.

I was going to miss that boy.

Abby would be driving him up to Minnesota tomorrow morning, and I knew they'd put off their own departure in order to be there for mine. In the past year, our two households had grown close and not just because of my relationship with Zach. My mother and Abby seemed to be kindred spirits and it made me glad to know that my mom wouldn't be completely on her own now that I wasn't going to be around.

I bit my lip and looked up at the boy in front of me. "Come here." I said, motioning him closer.

"I am here." He murmured, but he still took a step forward. I wrapped my hands around his waist and leaned my head against his stomach, and his arms enveloped me in a tight hug. "I'm going to miss you, Zachary Goode."

"And I'll miss you, Cameron Morgan." He said.

We had already said most of our goodbyes last night. We had laid in the grass by the creek in the woods and talked for hours or just laying there and staring at the stars, wishing for the night to go on forever. I didn't want to say goodbye to Zach, but I knew I had to go. We both had to.

Life goes on. It doesn't wait for anything. Not even love.

I took a deep breath to calm myself and pulled away from him. "We'll talk on the phone."

"And text."

"And Skype."

"And Snapchat."

I smiled, if only halfheartedly. "It won't be the same."

"No," he said gently. "But it'll be enough."

I nodded. "Right. And then we'll both be back for Thanksgiving."

"And winter break."

"And spring break!"

He chuckled. "Yes. And then before you know it, it'll be summer."

I hesitated to ask the question that had been bugging for weeks now. "What if—what if you meet someone?"

"What if you do?" He replied.

My answer was immediate. "Impossible. I love you."

His answering smile was enough to brighten all the dark, sad corners of my mind. "And I love you. I can't imagine meeting anyone to pull me away from you."

He laced his fingers through mine and pulled me up to stand in front of him. "I know Minnesota and North Carolina are far from each other. Believe me, I know. But Cam, distance isn't gonna make me love you any less."

"Oh, yes. What is that old saying?" I mused. "'Distance makes the heart grow fonder.'"

"That saying's shit. Distance can't make a person love someone more; it makes them realize how much they already love that person." He leaned in closer to me, bringing our bodies flush against each other. "I already know how much I love you, Cammie."

"Oh yeah? How much is that?" I challenged him.

"I'll show you." And then he kissed me deeply, sending my mind spinning.

Even after a year, kissing Zach still sent tingles through my entire body. My thoughts went fuzzy, and I melted into him, my hands coming up to grip his back as he wrapped his arms securely around my frame.

I was definitely going to miss that boy.

We brought apart by the raucous laughter of our guardians.

"Zach! Let the poor girl breathe!" Abby called, laughing hysterically at her own joke.

Zach's only response was to bury his face in my shoulder, placing a small, unseen kiss on the soft skin of my neck.

"I never much cared for breathing." I whispered into his ear. He chuckled into my neck, his hot breath sweeping out across my skin.

My phone buzzed in my back pocket, my sign that I was out of time. "I have to go."

"I know." Zach said. He gave me one last squeeze, placed a light kiss on my neck and a firmer one on my lips before stepping away and letting me go. I smiled softly at him and then headed to my porch to say goodbye to Abby and my mom. Their goodbyes were far more tearful and they both insisted on hugging me multiple times before finally letting me head to the car.

Zach held the door open for me, and I slipped in behind the wheel. Once the door was shut, I grabbed his hand through the open window before he stepped away.

"I'll see you soon." I said. It wasn't a question.

He smiled at me. "See you soon. I love you."

"I love you, too."

And then, with one last squeeze, our hands parted, I put the car into drive and pulled out of the driveway. He stood at the end of the drive as I drove away, and I watched him from the rearview mirror until I turned the corner and he disappeared from sight.

My phone buzzed again, and I answered it.

"Hello?"

"Jesus shit, Cam. What's taking you so long? We're already running forty-five minutes behind!"

I rolled my eyes. "Stop being a control freak, Mace. We'll get there when we get there."

"Tell me you did not just say that. Preston, tell me she didn't just say that!" She said, her voice fading a little as she spoke to her boyfriend who was also seeing her off.

"Didn't say what?" I faintly heard in the background.

"You're useless." She said, and I could just imagine the epic eye roll she was doing just now. "When, pray tell, are you gonna be here?"

"Calm down. I'll be there in ten."

"Thank God. If we put the petal to the metal, we can get back some of that lost time and—"

"Macey, do you remember that talk we had a while ago?"

"About me not trying to control every last detail? Yeah, but this is a totally different situation, Cam. It's move-in! We're going to be roomies!"

I laughed. When Macey had first decided to go to UNC, rooming together had seemed like such a great idea. In the last month, as Macey went into planning, I'd begun to worry I'd gotten in over my head.

But still, there were far worse things in the world than living with your control freak best friend.

"I'll be there soon." I said and hung up before she could say anything more.

As I drove through the town square, I took in the beauty of my hometown. It was a small town, and like all small towns, it had its own unique charm. The brick faces of the buildings surrounded the beautiful, historic gazebo. The grass of square was always perfectly cut and was always green.

I knew everyone in this town. In some way or another, they had all played a role in my childhood. They waved as I drove by, knowing I was leaving. That I wouldn't be coming back for a while, and when I came back, it wouldn't be to stay.

This was home. But now I was ready for the next chapter.

They say the past is history and that we learn from the mistakes of our fathers, but take it from someone that knows: history doesn't just die. We leave footprints everywhere we step whether it be in grass or the souls of others. If we're careful, we might let that change us and miss out on the greatest adventures of our lives. I spent four years holding onto my father's rejection, holding onto a boy that wasn't right for me, holding onto a misconceived notion of who I was and what I needed. It took a meteor in the form of Zachary Goode to wake me up from my slumber.

So tell me, when's your meteor getting here?

The End

A couple of end notes here, if you don't mind.

First of all, I want to thank you all for your astounding patience with me. I know I haven't always been the most reliable updater, but it means a lot to mean that you're still here, reading my words.

Second, it has been an immense pleasure writing this story, even when the words were a struggle to get out. I hope that love comes through.

Third, I am planning on writing more fanfic, and already have the part of a story written down. If you're interested in reading more from me, put me on author alert! I'm planning on writing most of it BEFORE I start posting at all so that I can do regular updates. I hope to start posting before the end of the summer.

Finally, I hope you guys have enjoyed this story and I'd LOVE to hear your final comments! Please post a review below! It is greatly appreciated.