29 Molly

I watched Daryl get crowned homecoming king and smiled to myself, thinking about the little boy I'd once taken bubble baths with.

He grew up so freaking good.

How I had ended up here was still a surreal and messy blur. Hormones had led me into the lion's den – aka homecoming – and I was over my head.

Sitting at an empty table in the corner of the room, I kept my eyes trained on my ridiculously tall – and even more ridiculously gorgeous – date as he moved from the stage to the dance floor with his queen in tow for their obligatory first dance as king and queen of the school.

This wasn't a new walk for the pair. They'd been crowned together on every occasion possible down through the years, and I had no doubt that we would be back here in a few short months to watch them be crowned prom king and queen.

Unlike his queen who had claimed the crown through bullying and terror tactics, Daryl's popularity amongst our peers was genuine. He was funny kind, and commanded the air around him with a lazy sort of confidence that naturally exuded from him.

Where Britt's reign at school was fear-based, Daryl's was based on friendliness and compassion.

He had come a very long way from the innocent, carefree days of our youth. He was going so many places after high school, going to reach so many new heights and levels that most of the people at this dance could only dream about.

It made me both ecstatic and sad.

Ecstatic because I was so incredibly proud of him for all he had achieved, but sad, more like devastated, because there would soon come a time when we would once again be separated.

"Sup, pretty lady," a familiar voice said, as a large frame slumped onto the chair next to mine. "Horrific ain't it? Having to watch that skank be crowned queen again and again."

"Hey, Reebo," I acknowledged, offering the big guy a smile. "Yeah, it's pretty horrific alright."

"Don't worry, sweetheart. Her reign is coming to an end. Once high school is over, that girl is going nowhere fast," he offered, leaning back in his seat and giving me his full attention. "She ain't sinking her claws in your boy there, either," he added, pointing to where Britt was trying and failing to dance with Daryl. Every time she took a step towards him, Daryl took two steps backwards. "D's never despised another human being more than Britt."

Wrong, I thought to myself, he hates his stepdad more.

"I don't care about Britt," I replied, and it was the truth. Sure, she enjoyed making my life a misery at any given time, but in the end, she was just another mean girl.

"So, what's happening with you and D?" he asked then.

I shifted uncomfortably. "We're friends."

"Friends."

My face reddened. "That's right."

"Y'all were beyond tight when we were kids," he teased, his dark curls bopping around as he chuckled. "After that epic PDA in the parking lot, I get the feeling that friendship ain't the only thing going on behind closed doors these days."