The Big Five

Epilogue

One year later

"Come on, Joe!" I laughed as I ran through the long grass. The wind felt so good against my skin and the bright sun was warming me up. The graduation went perfectly and I was going to go to college!

What could be better than this? A barbecue in the meadow with all my friends, of course!

We had planned on a party after the graduation, but we had no idea what to do. Emma offered to have a pool party at her house, but with my not being able to swim and all, the idea was discarded. We were running out of ideas when Trey suggested a barbecue. That idea was almost scrapped because we didn't know where to do it. Until Eric (who had come back to see the graduation) offered to show us a place--the meadow he often went to.

Everyone was enthusiastic about the idea and we had quickly gathered our supplies and headed out. It didn't take too long to get there, so we took our leisurely time. Until we realized we had forgotten the meat back home. The most essential ingredient for this party. After much blaming and eye-rolling, Eric and Trey had gone back on Trey's car to retrieve the missing ingredient.

Suffice to say, we had some time to enjoy the wonderful nature. We had decided to keep it private, so only my close friends had been invited. That being Maggie and Emma (duh), and Marcy--a new girl we had befriended at the beginning of the year. The Big Five were definitely invited especially since they were Joey's and my close friends. Alex had let Sophie tag along and likewise, Maggie and Emma allowed their sinificant others to join in. Emma and Liam's relationship was surprisingly still going strong. I had thought they had broken up after this one huge fight, but they must have patched things up. Maggie finally admitted to us that she and John were going out. They planned on doing Skype everyday while Maggie was away, but, knowing her, she would probably forget all about it.

Trey and Dad had somewhat made up, especially after that one night when they got drunk together, and he had reluctantly allowed Dad to do the barbecuing for us. Mom was still a little awkward around him, but we had somehow convinced her to join us.

Marcy was a shy girl, with long black hair and huge geeky glasses that I absolutely loved. She tended to be introverted, but her creativity overflowed. Those glasses were even more personalized by her adding an adorable hanging cat on the bridge. She said it cushioned the glasses on her nose, and I found it absolutely adorable. Once the shy girl got out of her shell, though, she was the party. Her craziness was so...crazy that it was hard to believe she was so quiet in school.

We had set up the barbecue and all we had to do was wait. I had decided to take a run through the meadow with Joey just like when we were kids. Of course, it took some convincing.

"Just you wait, Nicole!" Joey called from behind me. "I'll get you for that!"

I snickered and climbed a nearby tree. Joey had been super annoyed after I drenched his hair with a water balloon.

"Nicole," he growled when he reached my tree. He looked up with narrowed eyes. "When Trey gets here--"

"When Trey gets here, he'll give me a high five," I stuck my tongue out at him. I noticed a movement behind him and kept myself from smiling. Sam and Roger snuck through the grass with a bucket, and Joey remained oblivious.

"I'll drench you!" Joey raised a fist and waved it at me.

"If you can catch me," I sassed. "But it seems like you'll be drenched first."

Just as I said those words, Roger let out a roar, and he and Sam overturned the bucket on Joey.

"What the--" his cries were immediately silenced by the flow of water that made him sputter. He gasped for air and looked behind him in a startled frenzy.