Two days passed and, as the weather turned warmer, flowers blossomed and trees were leafy and green all over campus, turning what had been winter-beaten bare branches and shrubbery bright and colorful. Spring was a time of new beginnings, and, Alex thought as he studied the way Brian and Theresa sat under the shade of a wide oak tree, a time for love.

Or what some wanted to consider love.

He’d tried to be as neutral as he could for his best friends, but he knew it was becoming increasingly harder for him to not be angry with Brian for choosing Theresa over Charlotte. Hadn’t their friendship come further than this, been stronger than this? Or had they just been fooling themselves and let another woman come between them?

"What a cliché," Alex muttered under his breath as he began to walk towards the happy couple.

He knew Brian had taken Theresa out every night for the past three nights, sometimes for dinner or to watch the meteor shower the night before. He was pulling out all the stops to romance her and, Alex knew, make her fall in love with him before the week was up. As much as he loved Brian, Alex also understood how his friend’s mind worked and how desperate Brian was to prove that he’d tossed away a valuable friendship for something solid and true.

So far, there seemed to be no problems.

"Hey, guys." Alex stopped at the edge of the shade and lifted a hand in greeting at the couple.

Brian grinned up at him and waved him closer. "How’s it going, Alex?"

"Not bad. I’ve been packing and doing…other stuff." He didn’t have to see Brian’s face to know that Brian had understood he’d meant spending time with Charlotte.

Brian had to fight the urge to ask how she was, how her hand was, if she’d said anything about him. She hadn’t supported him, he reminded himself, and he shouldn’t be bothered by whatever was going on in her life. But it was still hard to push aside four years of affection and friendship. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I finished packing yesterday." He slid an arm around Theresa’s shoulder. "That way, I could have more time to spend with Theresa."

She smiled up at him and leaned her head against his shoulder before turning to Alex. "Have a seat, Alex. We were just talking about how New York is so obviously better than Boston."

Alex managed a smile and sat across from them. "Well, that must be an interesting conversation, considering how die-hard a Boston fan Brian is."

"Yes, but he didn’t grow up there, did he," she pointed out. "Sacramento’s across the country from Boston, Brian."

"I always knew I wanted to live in Boston when I grew up, though." He let his fingers tangle in her hair and felt a steady warmth glow in him. "It’s been my dream, so, at heart, I’ve been a Boston kind of guy."

Alex just rolled his eyes as the two of them continued to easily debate the issue and let his mind wander. It had taken him a little while to realize why Charlotte had been so truly against Brian and Theresa together. In fact, it had taken a none-so-gentle push from Melanie before he’d realized that Charlotte was in love with Brian. When he thought about it, he realized that he wasn’t really that surprised at the revelation, part of him had expected it for years.

For Charlotte, though, he knew it was a new realization. She’d never mooned over Brian or anyone else because both he and Brian would have caught on right away and teased her mercilessly. Nor had she ever really looked at Brian differently. Alex knew she’d been surprised at what had been inside her for their friend, but, before she could figure out what to do about it, their friendship had been over.

He hurt for her, but, he knew, it wasn’t anywhere close to the amount of pain she was in. Looking back up at Brian and Theresa, he wondered if Brian had told her what had happened between him and Charlotte. After a moment, he shook it off. Brian wouldn’t have. He would’ve thought Theresa wouldn’t appreciate being the cause of a broken friendship. Alex wasn’t at all certain that she would have cared.

He stood abruptly, not able to take watching Brian and Theresa any longer. This is wrong. He stopped himself from saying the words but managed a smile when they looked up at him curiously. "I have to go," he told them apologetically. "I’ll see you later."

And, walking away quickly, he knew it would take him a long time, if ever, to accept Theresa’s place in Brian’s life.

***

"You don’t have to go out," Melanie pointed out. "You should stay in bed."

Charlotte used her left hand to tug a brush through her curls. "If I stay in bed any longer, I’ll go crazy. Absolutely insane. Besides, I need to get out and get some sun."

"How’s your hand feel today?"

She looked down at her bandaged limb and sighed. It still stung quite a bit and, when she’d unwrapped the old bandage to put a new one on, it had looked horribly gruesome. "I’m not going to make deadline if I can’t type, Mel. What am I going to do?"

Melanie wrapped an arm around Charlotte’s shoulders. "Maybe you could dictate it to me, and I can type it up for you. How much more is left of your book?"

Charlotte shrugged. How could she explain that she didn’t know when it would be done until she finished it, until her characters led her to the finish? But, even more, she thought with an inward sigh, how could she explain that the desire to write had dried up amidst the emotional train wreck her week had been. "I don’t know," she finally admitted. "I guess I could call up my agent and tell her that I can send the majority of the manuscript. I don’t think she’ll be able to sell it, though, unless it’s complete."

"You never know." Melanie gave her a comforting squeeze. "We’ll figure something out. Besides, the bandages come off in ten days, and then you can write to your heart’s content."

To her heart’s content. Charlotte wasn’t sure how she could explain to anyone that her heart’s content was out of her reach now. It had taken less than twelve hours for her to realize what she’d always had stored inside her for Brian before she’d lost him through her own stubbornness and fear. For if she were truly honest with herself, she could admit that she’d been undoubtedly unreasonable in her reaction to Theresa because she’d feared that Theresa was the first person who could actually take Brian away from her. And she had, hadn’t she?

Charlotte swallowed the tears clogging her throat and set aside her brush. "I’m just going to go for a drive. I’ll be back in an hour or so."

Not waiting for Melanie’s reply, she hurried out the door, down the stairs, and collapsed in the driver’s seat of her car. True to his word, Brian had returned her car after having had it washed and cleaned out. Even angry, he’d done what he’d said he would. So when he’d brushed her out of his life, he’d meant it.

She rolled down the windows of her car as she drove, eager for the wind to slap the tears out of her eyes. She was tired of weeping, spent from it. It wasn’t in her nature to cry, but what had spilled from her eyes had been tears from her heart. She’d relied on Brian during four of the most important years of her life, and then she’d hurt him enough that he’d pushed her away. That was enough to crack even the strongest of people, she thought and turned down the avenue leading towards the mountains.

Charlotte drove until she reached her favorite overlook on the mountain road. From there, she could look down at the valley, see Duray, and be at peace. Or at least try to be. She could hear birds singing in the trees around her and swatted away a bee that buzzed near her face. Kneeling down, she plucked up a tiny blue wildflower that struggled to grow through the rocky ground. She twirled it absently between her fingers as she settled on the hood of her car and thought.

***

Dusk was settling by the time she drove back down the mountain. Melanie had called already to find out what had held her up, so, feeling guilty, she began the drive back to campus. Instead of heading towards her apartment building, though, Charlotte made an impulsive turn and drove in a different direction.

The neighborhood bordering the north end of campus was quiet and lined with stately homes, each more elegant than the next. The majority of Duray professors made their homes here, and Charlotte found herself driving towards a home she’d visited just a few days earlier.

Not giving herself time to rethink anything, she parked her car and walked up the stone path to the front door. She rang the doorbell then stood, twisting her fingers nervously together.

President Campbell opened the door, and pleasure lit his eyes. "Charlotte! What a great surprise to see you. Come in, come in."

She let herself be pulled through the doorway then stood in the foyer and glanced around anxiously. "President C, I was wondering if Theresa was home."

Campbell frowned a bit before his expression cleared. "No, she’s not. I thought she was going to be with you. Brian just picked her up an hour ago, so I just assumed…I mean, I thought it was pretty great that you, Alex, and Brian were really making her feel welcome by spending time with her." He studied the look in Charlotte’s eyes and sighed. "What happened?"

She shook her head and tried to smile. "Nothing. Nothing at all. Theresa and Brian have been spending a lot of time together, but I thought you knew." She paused. "I guess not."

"No." He sighed. "Well, why don’t we go on back to my office, and you can tell me what’s bothering you." He looked down at her bandaged hand. "And what happened to your hand."

Charlotte nodded, realizing that she’d needed this. She’d needed to be listened to by someone wiser than she or her friends. Someone who was an outsider to the situation. Sort of. She followed him back to the kitchen and grinned when he gestured towards the kitchen table. "Some office," she commented.

"Oh, yes. I enjoy it immensely." He pulled out a pitcher of lemonade and two glasses and brought them to the table. After pouring them both a glass, he settled in a chair across from her. "So, tell me what’s going on as it appears I’m out of the loop as concerns my daughter and some of my favorite students."

She stared at him a moment and swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat. "President C," she began in a not so steady voice, "you make me wish I still had my dad around."

"Oh, honey." He patted her hand, remembering that her father had been killed in a car accident during her first week at Duray. "Talk to me."

And she did. She stumbled over the words, the story, but, eventually, it all came out. She winced a bit at the parts where she’d argued with Brian about how Theresa would hurt him, but, knowing it was too late to stop, she finished out the story.

"I know she’s your daughter, President C, but I can’t help it if I think she’s bad for him." Charlotte sniffled a little and sipped the lemonade, needing it to wet her dry throat.

He gave her a small smile before patting her hand again. "Charlotte, she may be my daughter, but I’m not blind to Theresa’s, let’s say, shortcomings. She’s more her mother’s daughter than mine." He stopped a moment and frowned. "That’s not to say that her mother is terrible because, after all, I do love her. What I mean to say is, we raised Theresa together as much as we could, but you kids end up turning out however it is you want to. We gave her everything we had, the best of it, and she thrived. Maybe she isn’t the most sensitive to other people’s feelings, but she is what she is. And I love her."

Charlotte sighed. "Well, Brian’s convinced he loves her, too. He’s so angry with me, though, and he’s never going to take me back as a friend. It’s just-" She sighed. "It’s just not fair."

Campbell felt a little like a parent watching his child learn that love was one of the hardest lessons a person could learn in life. "I know. It’s often not fair, and, no matter how your parents and teachers will try to shield you from it, there’re just some things that you have to learn on your own. Sometimes, life shoves you down hard, and there’s nothing you can do but stand up, brush yourself off, and keep going." He met her eyes. "I’ve watched you for four years, Charlotte, and there is no doubt in my mind that you will keep going. It’ll hurt because you don’t have Brian with you, but you’re not the type to close yourself off."

"I guess you’re right," she replied after several moments of pondering over his words. "Thanks for listening to me. It helped more than all the sympathy I’ve gotten from my friends."

"There are times when you just need a good, healthy dose of straight talk. Reality." He studied her gauze-covered hand again. "I’m sorry about the burn."

She looked down at her hand, too. "Yeah, me too." She shrugged. "It’s only for a few more days. I just hope it doesn’t scar or anything." Standing up, she shook his outstretched hand. "Thanks again. I have a lot to think about."

"It’s what I’m here for," he told her with a smile as he led her to the door. "Don’t be too hard on yourself or your friends. It’s almost time for you to move into a new part of your life. Try to make amends, Charlotte, or you’ll always wonder what if?"

She nodded and managed to smile back. "I’ll see you at the garden party on Friday."

"Friday," he agreed and watched her go.

***

"Hey!" Alex nearly pounced on her when she opened the door to her room. "Where’ve you been all day? Mel and I were ready to call the cops."

Charlotte hugged him hard and had his brows shooting up. "I’m okay. I just had something I needed to do."

He hugged her back then tilted her chin up to study her face. When he didn’t find anything worrisome in it, he nodded. "Okay. I’m glad you’re feeling better."

"Oh, yeah. Loads." She tossed her keys and wallet onto her bare desk and looked back at him. "So, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be hanging out with Brian and Theresa?"

Alex made a face that made her smile. "I don’t think so. I tried this afternoon, but it was too hard. They’re just so sickening." He sighed. "It makes me glad that they’ll be out East, and I’ll be here. I won’t have to watch them."

"Yeah." But she didn’t say more. Despite the new energy she’d gained from her talk with Theresa’s father, the majority of her still ached from the loss of Brian.

Alex must have sensed where her mood was headed because he threw an arm around her shoulders and grinned. "So, you’re stuck with me tonight. I thought we’d order in, since we haven’t done that in a while, and maybe watch a movie. I’ll even spring for a chick flick," he added in a dramatic whisper that brought a smile to her lips.

"Oh, Alex." She hugged him again. "I’m glad I still have you and Mel."

As his arms came around her to hold her close, he wondered if it was wrong to want to strangle Brian with his bare hands for making Charlotte so miserable. Brian may have been his close friend, but there were some things that Alex knew he couldn’t stand to see. A heartbroken Charlotte was one of them. It was probably a good thing, he decided, that in two and a half days, it would all be over. They would each go their own ways, down different paths.

Separately.

Brian stared at the computer screen, reading and re-reading what he’d written. Unsatisfied, he highlighted and deleted the last three sentences he’d typed. Then, running his hands over his face wearily, he tried to think of a better way of phrasing things. He was a journalist, he thought, frustrated. Words were his business, and knowing how to eloquently use words was his forte. And yet…

And yet nothing was coming out the way he needed it to for his valedictorian address at commencement. Which was in less than forty-eight hours. But he wasn’t going to panic, Brian told himself firmly.

He had a total of two paragraphs written that he was proud of, but all they detailed was his first, uncertain days at Duray. He wanted to say more, so much more about finding where he fit with Alex and…and Charlotte, he thought. He couldn’t. Though his anger at her had evaporated in the last few days, he was still unwilling to take back what he’d done in, he admitted to himself, haste and anger.

There was no going back now.

Shoving aside his regrets, he focused on the screen again. He wanted to talk about the intervening years between those first days and now. Closing his eyes, he walked back into the past.

There he was, slaving over his writing in the beginner’s writing seminar for the journalism major. Invariably, that class had helped him hone his rough writing skills, but not before it had taken a lot of his sleep, his energy, and, what felt like, his blood, tears, and sweat. Charlotte had helped him out. She, too, had taken the class, but only because she’d wanted to write. Somehow, she’d had an easier time in the class, and she’d helped him edit his papers until they were perfect.

He opened his eyes, scowling. He had to stop thinking about her. They weren’t friends anymore, and he hadn’t seen her in four days. It was the longest he’d ever gone without seeing her whenever they were at school, but he threw out that errant thought and told himself to focus.

After he’d finished writing about the class, minus the Charlotte part, he leaned back in his chair and took another trip down memory lane. Sophomore year, he’d had a wild hair and decided to take organic chemistry. It had been a bad idea all around, and Alex and Charlotte had tried to talk him out of it. His pride in question, he told them he’d pass the class with flying colors. With raised eyebrows, they’d watched him struggle through the class, burning vats of midnight oil that semester.

Of course, he’d just barely scraped by with his first D ever in a subject, but the experience had taught him a lesson. There were times when you should listen to those who know better, otherwise, you had to learn to take a failure good-naturedly. He had. Sort of.

Grinning at the memory of how excited he’d been at the D, he typed some more before thinking about the past again. Within moments, he realized that he couldn’t keep delving back into the past four years successfully. At every turn on memory lane, he ran into Charlotte. Not that he didn’t expect it, he reminded himself. After all, she’d been one of his closest friends, the one he’d run to whenever he had a problem. It was her number that most often stayed at number one on his dialed calls list in his cell phone.

Except for this week.

Resting his head in his hands, he wondered what he was supposed to do now. He needed help on this last, vital piece of work that he’d do at Duray, and he’d pushed away the one person he relied on to help him.

With a sigh, he picked up his cell phone and called. When Alex answered on the other end, he could hear laughter, music, and plenty of voices. "Alex? Hey, it’s me. Where are you?"

If Alex was surprised to hear from Brian, he didn’t say. "I’m hanging out with Mel and Charlotte." He paused. "What’s up, Brian?"

"Nothing. What are you guys doing?" The question slipped out before he could stop himself. Part of him wished he were there, in spite of everything, and not alone.

"Charlotte wanted something different," Alex replied after a moment’s hesitation. "So we decided to give her that something different. It’s…interesting. And fun."

Brian sighed inwardly and wondered for the thousandth time in the past three days, why he’d broken up his closest circle of friends. Then, the image of Theresa fluttered in his mind, and his resolve strengthened. "Well, maybe, when you’re done whatever you’re doing, you could drop by and help me out." His voice sounded cold and disapproving to his ears, but he couldn’t stop. "I’m having trouble with my speech."

"Oh." Alex paused. "Well, you know, public speaking isn’t exactly a strong point for me, Brian."

Brian narrowed his eyes, trying not to let the frustration show in his voice. "Can you just come over for a little while then? I think, at this point, anything can help."

"Why don’t you ask Theresa?"

There was a short silence, and Brian could hear his ragged breathing. Why, he asked himself, was he getting so worked up? "Alex, I need your help. Please."

The plea in his voice broke Alex. "Okay. I’ll be by in an hour, maybe an hour and a half." There was a murmur of voices before Alex spoke again. "I gotta go, Bri. I’ll see you soon."

"Yeah." Brian snapped his phone shut and stared at it. Was it just him, or had Alex chosen Charlotte over him?

***

She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Shocked, stunned, she was speechless. Lifting her good hand, she ran it over her hair and gulped when her fingers closed over air.

"Oh, man. What did I do?"

Alex patted her shoulder reassuringly. "It looks great. I didn’t know you could look so…hot with short hair. You should’ve done this a long time ago."

"Why, so you could hit on her?" Melanie frowned at him before she knelt in front of Charlotte. "He’s right, though, you look fabulous. You’ll be swatting away guys the second you walk out that door."

Charlotte shut her eyes. "I don’t want to swat away guys. I don’t even want them to look at me like this."

Alex leaned against the dresser and studied her new look. Her glossy dark curls had been cut, so they now settled to chin-length. The style made her look younger, but, as he’d said, prettier. Her features had been refined, so her face now had the effect of looking almost fairy-ish. When she opened her eyes, he decided that the new hair made her eyes look bigger, even if the expression in them was uncertain and wary.

"Well, look at it this way," Melanie tried again. "You’ll save a lot of money on shampoo and conditioner, since you won’t need as much."

Charlotte sighed. They were trying to make her feel better about making such a big decision. She’d had that long hair for four years, and she wouldn’t have cut it if she hadn’t been feeling so depressed and in need of a change. "Okay," she said finally. "You have a point. And thanks for calling me hot, Alex. A girl can never have too many compliments."

Melanie grinned at the phrase she always used. "You’re absolutely right. Tomorrow, at the garden party, you’re going to knock the Duray boys off their feet."

Alex’s brows lowered darkly. "I don’t think so. They get within five feet of her, I’ll have to punch someone."

"Aww." Melanie patted his cheek before leaning up to touch her lips to his. "That’s so sweet."

His arm slid around her waist, and he pulled her closer. "Try again."

When they pulled apart, they found Charlotte staring at them with speculation gleaming in her eyes. "So, how long has this been going on?"

For the first time in four years, Charlotte found Melanie at a loss for words. "Well, ah, hmm…" She looked to Alex helplessly, and he grinned at Charlotte.

"A week and a half. About." He kissed Melanie’s forehead. "We decided to try again. I guess we just sort of missed each other and wanted more. What’s wrong with wanting more?"

Charlotte returned his smile. "Nothing. As long as you two are happy, I’m happy."

"We’re moving in together when we get to Denver," Melanie told her and had Charlotte’s mouth dropping open in shock.

"Isn’t that moving a little fast?"

"Nope." Melanie grinned. "We dated for over a year before we broke up, and, now that we’re back together, we know what we want. What would be too soon would be if I told Alex that, in two years, he’s going to marry me."

Charlotte and Melanie both had the pleasure of watching Alex’s jaw drop and his expression turn scared. "Look, Mel, I love you, but marriage?" His voice was tinged with anxiety. "We’re too young for that sort of thing. Right, Char?" When she just gave him that knowing smile, he turned to Melanie. "Mel, baby, we’ve got plenty of time. Our whole lives. Let’s not worry about weddings or anything right now."

Charlotte settled herself on her bed and listened to her friends argue over the status of their impending marital bliss. What, she wondered, would it be like to find the one you wanted to spend the rest of your life with? Her mind turned to Brian, and she sighed. She did know what it felt like, but she also knew what it felt like to lose that person.

***

Brian stared at his phone in dismay. She’d cancelled on him. Theresa had called to call off their date. It would have been their last time to be alone together before the festivities of the next few days, the last time he would’ve had to really find out what was in her heart for him. If there was anything for him.

That was it. A quick two minute conversation, and he suddenly had the sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach that signaled something was wrong, terribly wrong. A little voice in the back of his head whispered that maybe, just maybe Charlotte had been right about Theresa.

Oh, not completely right, he thought with a shake of his head. Theresa wasn’t heartless, and she probably didn’t mean to make him feel as awful as he felt. She had never said anything about their relationship. In fact, he thought with a sick feeling, she hadn’t called him more than a friend. Ever.

Had it all been in his head? Had he been so stubborn that he’d only seen what he’d wanted to see and hadn’t even allowed the idea that she might not want him back to enter his head?

"Oh, man." Brian rose to pace his room restlessly. Was it really possible that he’d kicked Charlotte out of his life for nothing?

He saw his best friends in his mind’s eye. Alex, dependable Alex who had always been there to lend a helping hand or tell a good joke. And Charlotte. Brian stopped in mid-step as all the different memories he had of her filled his mind.

Charlotte helping him with his writing, always there to edit his papers. Knowing he could pick up the phone at three in the morning and call her to talk. No matter how tired she was, she’d always make time to listen to him.

There were other images of her, teasing him, the way they’d crack each other up for no reason in the most boring of classes they’d sometimes taken together. Or how she would rap along with the most nonsensical of hip-hop music and make him laugh at the way she’d bump and grind along to it. She’d taught him how to play the electric guitar and had covered her ears, laughing, whenever he made the instrument squeal painfully.

Always Charlotte. Every memory of his college years was somehow linked to Charlotte. And he’d tossed her out in favor of Theresa. True, Theresa could make him laugh, but she’d never teased him. She was certainly too dignified to dance like crazy in her room. She was reserved, careful about letting her true feelings surface, whereas Charlotte’s emotions bubbled on the surface.

"Shit." He sank onto his bed, covering his face with his hands. What had he done?

No. He straightened after several moments and squared his shoulders. Maybe he was still wrong. Maybe he was unnecessarily thinking that Theresa didn’t want him. She might not have said anything about their relationship, but she also hadn’t said anything that made him think she didn’t want him. Tomorrow, he’d find out exactly how she felt about him, and then…

And then he’d go beg Charlotte’s forgiveness. It wouldn’t matter, he wouldn’t let it matter, what she thought of Theresa if he ended up with her. He only knew one thing.

He needed Charlotte in his life.

The day of the annual graduating class’s garden party was spectacular. Against the dramatic backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, Duray was brilliant hues of greens, pinks, and yellows as the grass continued to soak up the sun and flowers bloomed beautifully.

"I hear it’s supposed to stay sunny through tomorrow," Alex told Charlotte as they drove to the airport to pick up Charlotte’s mother. "Good luck, right?"

Charlotte slid sunglasses onto her nose as she drove. "Definitely good luck. Plus, it means we won’t get dripping wet if it decided to pour on us. Can you imagine how bedraggled we’d look?"

Alex pictured the graduating class in their sopping wet robes and grinned. "It would be pretty funny—except that we’d be in that predicament, too. And, let me tell you, my mother would not be at all amused."

"She’s supposed to be here by two for the garden party, right?"

He checked his watch and calculated time. "Yeah. She said she was only a few hours away when I talked to her an hour ago. It’s been a long semester. I can’t wait to see her."

"Aww, Alex. That’s too cute." Charlotte reached over and pinched his cheek before he could swat her hand away. "You’re such a good son. It must be luck that I found myself two best friends who love their…" She trailed off and fell silent.

Alex didn’t have to look at her face to know that she’d be frowning. He tugged on her short curls. "You’re absolutely lucky to be friends with me." He paused. "So, what do you think your mother will say about the new do?"

"Oh." Her hand lifted to her hair when she remembered. "I guess she’ll be surprised. When I was little, she used to chop my hair this short, so maybe it’ll be a walk down memory lane for her."

"Oh, yeah! I remember your kindergarten pictures!" He leaned his head back and smiled at the memory of the picture. "Well, the hair still makes you look as cute as you did then."

She grinned. His own hair was probably not going to fit under the graduation cap unless he somehow smoothed his faux-hawk down. But then, he’d probably already figured out a way to keep the ‘hawk and the cap on. It would be just like him to buck tradition. "So what do you think your mom’s going to think about your hair?"

He patted his hair gently. "My mother thinks I’m unique." His lips curved. "She’ll shake her head, try to get me to make it look nice tomorrow, and then she’ll let me have it my way in the end anyway."

Charlotte just shook her head and pulled into the terminal at the tiny airport outside of Duray. Within moments, she’d spotted her mother waiting by the doors. She pulled the car up near her and leapt out to envelop her mother in a huge hug. "I’m so glad you’re here, Mom! It’s so good to see you!"

If Mrs. Winthrop noticed that something was wrong with her daughter, she didn’t say. Instead, she simply hugged her daughter back and then did the same to Alex when he’d finished loading her bag into the trunk of the car. "I’m glad I’m here, too! I can’t wait until tomorrow. I brought that digital camera, Charlotte, that way I can take lots of pictures. I finally figured out how to work it," she added sheepishly as they all settled into the car.

"Cool. I don’t think my mom’s figured it out yet," Alex commented from the backseat. "She still presses the power button when she wants to take a picture."

Mrs. Winthrop chuckled. "We can’t help it. All this technology is easy for you kids, not so much for us." She glanced over at Charlotte. "So, where’s Brian? I would’ve figured all three of you would’ve come together."

Charlotte was careful to avoid eye contact with Alex as she tried to think of what to tell her mother. "He was busy, Mom. I think his parents were coming in today, too, and he’s got to work on his valedictorian address for tomorrow, too."

Keeping her thoughts to herself, Charlotte’s mother nodded and studied the passing scenery. Her daughter thought that a mother didn’t always know everything, but Mrs. Winthrop knew quite a bit about her only child. Especially when it came to a certain young man. She didn’t know what had happened in the past few weeks, but she was sure she’d find out soon enough. And then, she’d see what she could do to help Charlotte. After all, as a mother, her first priority was her child’s happiness.

***

"Brian, honey, where are Alex and Charlotte?" Mrs. Littrell knotted her son’s tie and straightened his collar. "I thought you’d all be together, and I could take pictures of the three of you."

Brian tried not to fidget under her eagle-eyed stare. "Uh, they’re busy with their own parents. You’ll see them in a little while, though." He looked past his mother to where his father was reading over his valedictorian address. "How’s it looking, Dad?"

Mr. Littrell set the pages down and sighed. "Brian, it’s good, but I feel like there’s something missing. You’ve got all this about classes, but what about everything else you did here? What about your friends? I thought you would’ve mentioned them at least a thousand times, but all you’ve got is a sentence about how you made valuable friendships. There must be more."

"Ah, well." Brian shrugged. "I wanted the focus to be on the academic experience because that was really important for me."

"And Charlotte and Alex weren’t?" Mrs. Littrell frowned. Had Charlotte’s mother been right about something going on between the trio of friends, more specifically between Charlotte and Brian?

When he shrugged again, his parents exchanged a meaningful glance before letting the subject go. They’d never get anything out him if they put his back up with too many questions. Instead, Mrs. Littrell checked her hair in the mirror one final time and hooked her arms through Brian’s and her husband’s.

"Well, shall we get going then?"

Both her men simply grunted in assent, and she swept them out the door.

***

"God, I remember why I hated dresses so much," Charlotte grumbled as she shut her car door in the parking lot of the park where the garden party was being held. Around her, her fellow classmates streamed by with their families. Her own mother skirted around the front of the car and studied her daughter.

Charlotte wore a sleeveless, tea-length dress in a pale teal shade. Melanie had tucked a white rose into her hair at the perfect spot, and, despite the frazzled expression she currently wore, she looked luminous. Mrs. Winthrop sighed a little at how much her only child, her baby had grown so in twenty-two years.

"Honey, you look wonderful! I’m glad you cut your hair the way you did. It makes you look so lovely." Suddenly, her eyes were teary. "My baby’s all grown up, now. I know your father would be so proud of you if he were here today. Finishing up your undergrad and going on to Harvard Law. Why, he’d have bragged to everyone who would listen."

"Oh, Mom." Charlotte threw her arms around her mother and squeezed hard. "I miss him, too. But I think he’s here with us. I always feel like he’s watching over me, making sure I’m okay. So I think he knows what I’ve done and what I’ll do, and he’s proud of it."

Mrs. Winthrop brushed the tears off her cheeks and kissed Charlotte’s forehead. "You’re absolutely right. He is always with us, no matter what."

"Yeah." Charlotte tugged at her dress a little. "Mom, why don’t you go ahead and grab us a table? I’m going to switch these heels for a pair of ballet flats in my trunk. I think I’ll be less likely to fall on my face in those."

"Okay. I’ll just go and find Alex, Brian, and their parents," Mrs. Winthrop replied and didn’t miss the expression on Charlotte’s face. Not saying anything, she started off towards the festivities.

Charlotte watched her mother go and wondered how she would explain that Brian was no longer a part of her life. Her mother probably wouldn’t stand for that fact, but it wasn’t as though there was much that she could do to fix it. She and Brian had taken their stands, unfortunately, on the opposite sides of a mile-wide river it felt like.

Muttering to herself, she slipped off the ridiculous stilettos that Melanie had forced on her and popped open her trunk to pull out her much more comfortable ivory-toned ballet flats. When they were on her feet and laced up to her ankles, she shut the trunk and, squaring her shoulders, started towards the tents and tables that had been set up on the grass.

Halfway there, she glanced around and saw Theresa among another row of cars. Knowing that she should go and make some sort of peace with her, Charlotte started towards her…and froze in mid-step.

A tall, blond-haired man had come up next to Theresa, and she’d put her arms around him and kissed him. Not, Charlotte remembered, the way she’d kissed Brian, but the way you’d kiss someone you were totally and completely in love with. Almost like in the movies, she thought with a sinking sensation in her stomach as Theresa and the random guy continued to swap spit.

Unable to watch any longer, Charlotte headed back towards the party area and spotted Brian talking to Alex’s mother, while Alex chatted happily with the Littrells and her own mother. Brian seemed to be looking around, searching for someone as he spoke, and Charlotte knew he was looking for Theresa.

With a glance over her shoulder, she saw that Theresa and her boyfriend (?) had begun to make their way over. Walking as fast as she could in the dress, she knew she had to intercept Brian before he spotted Theresa.

"Brian!" Charlotte rushed into the group of people and quickly greeted the other parents with a smile before she hooked an arm through his, not caring that he hated her at the moment.

Brian frowned down at the way their arms were linked, and then he glared when she started to tug him away from Mrs. McLean. "Charlotte, what the hell are you doing?"

"We need to talk." She kept pulling on his arm and managed to budge him a few more feet. "Come…on…over…here." Gritting her teeth, she kept yanking even when he dug in his heels and refused to move.

He yanked his arm out of hers and stared at her, simply astonished. What on earth had gotten into her? He hadn’t apologized to her or anything, so why had she thought it was okay to start dragging him all over the place? "Are you out of your mind?" he began then spotted Theresa over Charlotte’s shoulder. "Hang on a second," he muttered and shoved by her to get to Theresa.

Miserable and knowing he would be too in a few minutes, Charlotte could do nothing but watch him go.

Brian hurried over to Theresa, excited to see her and talk to her. Today was the day, he thought, when he’d finally tell her how he felt and hoped that she’d feel the same way. If she didn’t…His smile vanished when he saw her hand linked with that of another young man. "Theresa."

She turned away from the people she was talking to and smiled at him. "Brian, hi! Oh, I’m so glad you’re here!"

"Yeah. Me, too." But he couldn’t make his voice sound cheerful.

Theresa continued to smile as she tugged the man by her side forward. "You know how I cancelled on you for last night? Well, this is the reason why. Brian Littrell, this is Nick Carter. Nick and I have been dating for the past two years, and he decided to come to Duray and surprise me!" She beamed up at Nick, and he grinned back at her. "And, if that wasn’t enough, he proposed to me this morning!" She held out her left hand, and Brian saw the diamond-encrusted ring on her third finger.

His heart sinking, his spirits crushed, Brian could do no more than to smile blankly in the face of her joy. "Wow, Theresa. That’s really great. I’m sure you two will be very happy together."

"Thanks, man." Nick finally spoke and reached out to shake Brian’s hand. "Theresa told me that you’ve kept her from being absolutely bored out here, so I should thank you for taking care of her."

Brian nodded. "Sure, sure. No problem." He needed to get out, get away. His heart had shattered into a million tiny pieces that had been scattered all over the place. There was a hot ball of emotion lodged in his throat, and, if he wasn’t careful, he knew he’d lose it in a second. "Listen, congratulations to the both of you. I’m happy for you, but, uh, I need to go see…someone. Yeah. I gotta go. I’ll see you later."

And, as quickly as he could manage without it looking like a retreat, he hurried blindly through the groups of celebrating classmates. When he found a solitary bench a hundred yards from the party, he collapsed onto it and buried his face in his hands.

He couldn’t believe how horribly he’d bungled everything. How had he misread every signal wrong? Had he been so caught up in his own wants, his own desires that he’d missed the very vital fact that Theresa hadn’t wanted him back?

But she’d kissed him, hadn’t she? Brian paused and thought about it. If she’d had a boyfriend, then why had she kissed him? But then, if he were honest, he thought, he’d been the one to kiss her. Had she kissed back?

Brian tried to remember everything that had happened, but that one meeting of lips had lasted, what, three seconds because he hadn’t wanted to push it. Oh, jeez. He covered his face with his hands again. The kiss that he’d deemed a perfect ten had been no better than the way he’d kiss a cousin. Everything really had been all in his head, and he felt like the biggest moron alive to think that he’d ever be able to really capture the attention of someone like Theresa.

"Brian?"

He looked up and found Charlotte sitting next to him. He blinked. "What did you do with your hair?"

"Huh? Oh." She tugged a hand through her short bob of curls. "I cut it."

"It looks…nice." Actually, he thought, narrowing his eyes to study her, it looked better than nice. She looked great. Beautiful. Had that face, those eyes, that perfect skin been hiding under there always? "You look nice."

"Thanks." She tried not to let his compliments affect her. After all, he was probably really upset from the way things had fallen apart with Theresa. "Are you okay?"

Brian turned away from her and stared out at the pond across from them. "No. Maybe." He sighed. "I made a huge mistake."

"What happened?"

"What you knew would happen. She had a boyfriend, he flew out yesterday, proposed to her this morning, and now they’re engaged." Brian sighed, disgusted with himself. "Why didn’t I listen to you?"

She wanted to give him a hug but knew she couldn’t. "Sometimes, you have to make a mistake in order to learn from it." Even if it meant that he was upset. And, suddenly, she was angry with him again. He could’ve prevented his heartbreak. He should’ve listened to her. If he had, he wouldn’t be hurting this badly, and he wouldn’t have broken her heart in the process.

"Listen, Charlotte." Brian shifted to look at her and was surprised at the anger on her face. "What? Why are you mad?"

"Because you could’ve prevented this." She folded her arms over her chest and frowned. "Because you didn’t have to hurt this bad if you’d just listened to your friends. Did you think we warned you because we hated you and wanted to see you miserable?"

"N-no."

"And then, on top of that, you decide that I must not be a good enough friend because I didn’t want to see you hurting. So what do you do? You kick me out of your life!" She nearly punched him with her gauze-covered hand before she remembered herself.

Brian was shocked at her anger, though he knew she had a right to be angry. "Okay. Okay, look. I was going to apologize to you today for that. I made a mistake, Char, and I’d like to ask for your forgiveness. I’m really sorry."

"Yeah?" Charlotte stood up and glared down at him. "Well, I’m sorry, too. I can’t accept your apology." And she stalked back towards the party.

Brian stared, could do nothing but stare, as she walked away and, what felt like, out of his life. His heart felt as though it were breaking again, only, this time, it felt a thousand times worse. Is this how she’d felt when he’d turned his back on her and left? He rubbed a hand over the ache in his chest and wished, for the billionth time in the past half hour, that he hadn’t messed things up so badly.

"Hey, buddy." Alex dropped down on the bench next to him. "What’d you do this time?"

Brian sighed. "Everything. You’ve probably seen Theresa and her fiancé by now, right?"

"How could I miss them? Or that rock on her hand." Alex whistled. "She could signal ships in the Atlantic with that."

"Yeah, rub it in." But he shook his head and sighed again. "I messed up really badly with Charlotte, and I don’t know how to make it right again."

Alex studied his friend for several moments before deciding to dispense a few words of advice. "Look, Brian. I should probably stay out of it, and she’ll probably kill me for telling you this, but maybe you haven’t really thought through what exactly you did when you walked out on Char. You didn’t just ruin a friendship because that’s not all there is for her." He patted Brian’s shoulder and stood. "When you figure it out, you know where to find her."

And he, too, left Brian sitting on the bench, staring after him with his jaw dropped. Brian wasn’t dumb, he’d understand what it was Alex had meant. He only hoped Brian knew what to do to set things right.

“I know I messed up, but I just hadn’t realized how badly I messed things up.” Brian paced the length of his parents’ hotel room while they watched him from where they sat on the edge of the bed.  “I didn’t know Charlotte had feelings for me—at least, not ones more than friendship.” He looked over at his mother helplessly.  “What am I supposed to do now? How do I make her see that I really am sorry?”

Brian’s mother was no fool.  She’d known that Charlotte had had feelings for her son for a long time, even if the girl didn’t know it herself.  But what she wasn’t at all certain of was whether or not her son had any feelings in him for his best friend.  “Brian, honey.  Do you want to make amends with her because you truly regret all the mistakes you’ve made this week or because you feel sorry for Charlotte because of her feelings for you?”

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly after long moments of silence.  “But then, how am I supposed to know how I feel about her? Alex just dropped this bombshell on me a few hours ago! I haven’t had time to really think about how I feel.  I mean, maybe, when I first met her, I had a…a thing for her, but we’ve been friends for so long that I just don’t know how to feel.”

“How about right now?” His father studied Brian with sharp blue eyes that saw past the surface.  “What do you feel right now about what Alex told you?”

“Shocked.  Flattered.” Brian frowned.  “That doesn’t sound too nice.”

“Maybe not,” his mother agreed, “but you can’t tailor your feelings to suit those of the people you love.”

Brian sighed deeply and turned to gaze out the window at the view of the valley.  “I love Charlotte but as a friend.  I’m perfectly positive of that.  It’s the more that I don’t know about.  If she’s felt this way about me, why didn’t I ever get those vibes before from her? I would’ve known, wouldn’t I, if she’d seen me as more than a friend?”

As his mother, she wanted to tell him that too many times a person could miss what was right in front of his eyes, especially when it was something important.  “Maybe.  Maybe not.  From what I can gather after speaking to her mother, Charlotte didn’t know what she felt for you until she saw you with Theresa.” Wanting to add more, she didn’t.  Brian would have to come to his own conclusions, make his own decisions.

“Oh, man.  No wonder she was so against me being with her.” He tapped his fist against his head.  “Why didn’t I see it?”

“Because you didn’t want to,” his father told him.  “Just like you didn’t want to see that Theresa didn’t want you back the way you wanted her.  Brian, if there’s one thing I think you can improve upon in your dealings with other people, it’s that you so often project your own feelings onto others and expect them to feel the same way you do.  You wanted to see Charlotte as just a friend, so you never expected that she might feel more for you.  With Theresa, you saw her as perfect for you, but you wouldn’t let yourself listen to everyone who told you otherwise because you expected Theresa to feel the same for you.”

“So I’m selfish?” Brian’s voice sounded insulted, and his mother rose to pat his cheek.

“Honey, you’re not selfish.  You just need to think all this through, though, and figure out what you’re going to do from here.” She glanced at her watch.  “Your father and I are meeting Alex and Charlotte’s mothers for dinner soon.  You’re welcome to spend the night here or we can drop you off at your dorm again.  I hope you think everything through long and hard, though.”

Oh, he was going to, he promised himself later as he hurried up the staircase in his dorm.  He was going to think about a lot of things and try to figure out where it was he’d taken a wrong turn.  He wanted Charlotte back in his life, but he was completely unsure of how he wanted her back.

Shutting the door behind him, he plopped into his desk chair and stared around the room at its emptiness.  The walls had been cleared of all of his posters, the closet was empty except for the suit he’d wear for graduation, and his desk held only his laptop and the sheet of paper that was his commencement address.

He snatched up the sheet and skimmed over it quickly before grimacing.  His father had been right.  He needed to make major changes, ones that would reach into the hearts of those he loved.  Pushing open his laptop, he took a deep breath and plunged into the battle in his head, his heart.

***

The glory of the day didn’t strike him the way he’d hoped it would.  When he’d imagined graduating from college, he’d pictured himself full of hope and joy.  His parents and his best friends would be by his side, and, with their support, he’d take those first steps into his promising future.

When the actual day had come, when he stood before his peers, saying the words that had come from his heart, he didn’t feel the joy, and the future didn’t seem so promising.  His eyes skimmed over his parents beaming at him in the audience, at Alex’s thumbs up signal, and, finally, at the way Charlotte didn’t look at him as he spoke.  There was hope in his heart, but only a flicker.

Glancing down at his notes, he took a small breath before smiling at his graduating class as he began his final thoughts—the ones he’d so hurriedly rewritten the night before after a great deal of soul searching and hair pulling.

“If there is one piece of advice that I hope you all will carry with you into your brilliant futures, it’s this: cherish your family and your friends.  Don’t leave them behind in all the hustle and bustle of your promising careers because they are the only ones who will stand by your side and offer their unflagging support whenever you need them.  Heed their advice because they’ll probably be right and because they only want what’s best for you.” His gaze landed on Charlotte again.  Her hands were twisted together, knuckles white, in her lap.  It was, he knew, a sign of her nerves.  “There will be times, too many to count, that you’ll forget to exercise your judgement in that heady rush of needing to plunge into an exciting new enterprise.  Those who love you will guide you back to where you really need to be—but only if you let them.  And maybe, just maybe, if you pay attention to their advice, life will surprise you with a new adventure, one that’s far more than anything you could have ever dreamed of for yourself.  Fellow graduates, we’re moving on into that awe-inspiring real world, and, as much as we think we’re on top of the world at this moment, we can just as easily be brought to our knees if we don’t take care of what’s ours.  I don’t know too much about life yet, but what I’ve just said is one of the few things I’ve come to be absolutely certain of.  So as we step forward into our bright futures, we go with the knowledge we’ve gained and those we love close to us.  There’s not much more we really need.” He paused and grinned at them.  “I’ve been blessed to study side by side with all of you for the past four years, and so I wish you all the best of luck.  We’ve finally made it.”

As he shook hands with President Campbell and his dean, as he listened to the rest of the speeches, as he walked proudly up to receive his diploma, Brian’s mind was set on what was to come after.  He wasn’t certain, not entirely, of the consequences, but he knew he had to try.

***

Getting through the rounds and rounds of well-wishers, seeing his professors for the last time, and doing one last victory dance with his baseball teammates took up more time than he’d expected it to take.  By the time he got away and was headed back to his parents’ hotel room for their final night in Duray, he was exhausted and edgy.  He’d meant to find Charlotte by this point.  He needed to talk to her, but he had no idea how to find her.  Of course, he could always call her, but she probably wouldn’t pick up when she saw it was him.

When his parents got out of the rental car, Brian snagged the keys from his father.  “I’ve gotta go find her,” he said simply, knowing his parents would understand.  They watched him drive off before they sighed a little and let him go.

She had to be at her dorm, Brian mused as he drove.  She would want to spend time with Melanie for a little longer before they parted ways.  He’d gotten a kick out of finding out that Mel and Alex were back together again, and he only hoped that he could convince Charlotte to take him back…as something.

His eyes narrowed when he saw her, her mother, Melanie, and Alex standing at the curb near her loaded car.  Fear and fury clawed through his gut and snatched at his heart.  Leaving, was she? Without seeing him? Did she really think she could leave with everything brewing between them? 

Hell, no.

He’d screeched the car to a stop right behind hers and was already stalking towards her before he remembered himself.  He managed to easily greet her mother and send Alex and Mel the look they knew all too well.

“Uh, Mel and I are going to run back inside and check for anything that we might have left behind,” Alex said, wondering if either Charlotte or Brian heard him.  The way they were staring at each other, he didn’t think they had.  “Let’s go, Mel.”

Mrs. Winthrop looked from her daughter to the young man she’d come to consider a son.  Her heart sighed once before she took a step away.  “I’ll come with you, Alex.”

And then, they were alone.