Filmed [complete]

Love

After Oliver's last soccer game, I drove him out for ice cream with his team and his coaches. Nick sat with the coach of them at the front of the ice cream shop while the parents and siblings sat in the back, away from the team, careful not to disturbed them. 

Mom and dad had their phone out, taking pictures of Oliver drinking his shake with his teammates. One of them that he was sitting next to was Leo, who had invited him to his birthday party next weekend. It was going to be Oliver's first birthday party without mom and dad with him because it a sleepover. Plus, Oliver said that he wanted me to stay with him for an hour or two then leave him and I would pick him up the next morning around two in the afternoon. 

He was growing up. And so was I.

I was going to graduate this month along with Jace, Alice, Nick, Laura, Lily, and Evan; we are all a little nervous and grateful that we mind it through high school and our crazy social life. Alice and Jace ended up getting back together after slowly becoming friends again. Lily and Nick were going to try the long distance relationship while she was on the movie sets and he was stuck here with the Dallas Morning News. Laura swore off boys and decided that community college was the best way to go while she worked at a clothing brand store while she also attended school (she never had a boyfriend through high school, but there was the occasional kiss or two but other than that, she had no serious relationship). 

Evan and I started to have a date night every week and he hung out with my parents as well as Oliver. He even came to his soccer games to cheer him on. The nights where I stayed up late with Whales and the rest of the yearbook staff, Evan went over my house and tucked him in. During the weekdays after Oliver came home from his day care, Evan came over and managed to get Oliver to run with him around the neighborhood. 

Some days, I could not get Oliver to shut up about Evan and how awesome he was. 

I looked away from Oliver and Leo and focused my attention on Evan. He smiled down at me and leaned down to kiss my cheek. "What are you thinking about?" he asked me as he pulled back. 

Shrugging my shoulders, I said, "Nothing." I put my shake's straw in my mouth and started to sip it. 

Finally, mom and dad stopped taking pictures of Oliver and put their phones away. "Autumn," I turned away from Evan and looked at mom. "Would you be okay being in the house alone this weekend? When Oliver is at his sleepover, we would like to spend the night-"

I cringed, "Please stop." I glanced between them both. "Alice will be in the house wouldn't she? I won't be totally alone."

Dad shook his head. "Her parents are back in town and Alice is going to tell them about Packard and that she wants to stay living with us until her parents are fully back from Europe. Alice doesn't believe that she can go back to her house and not fall back into old habits, and it's better if it doesn't try to tempt her." 

"Oh." Alice had not told me anything about her parents being back in town. 

"And in the morning, she and Jace are going to eat at IHOP for breakfast," mom explained to me. "So you will be alone in the house."

I waved my hand in the air, "I'll be fine with that."

Mom and dad smiled secretly at each other and it made me want to puke, but at least they were in love with each other after sixteen years of knowing each other. The look of love was in both of their eyes and it made me happy that I could know that people in my life were in love. 

Jace and Alice were together, but no one knew if either of them were going to slip back into their old ways. Jace was never that bad at the whole drug thing but Alice was hell at it.