"Come on Tyler," I shouted up the stairs. "We will be late otherwise."
"I'm coming," he said as he ran down the stairs quickly. "Mum, we're going."
"Here are the rules," she said as she came into the hall where we were. "No getting drunk, no having sex, no getting in trouble with the police, no drugs and have a good time. I will see you both in the morning. Ella, your hair appointment is at two. I will meet you at the salon and then take you to get your nails and make-up done."
"I will see you tomorrow," I said after she had finished. "Goodnight."
"Have you told him yet?" Tyler asked me as we walked towards the tube station.
"No," I said with a sigh. "I'm going to do it tomorrow at prom. If I do it before it will ruin it so I am going to do it when I'm leaving. Have you told everyone you want to?"
"Yeah," he said. "It's not as bad as you think mind. We will be back in five months or so."
"You know, the time we are staying out there for just seems to be getting longer and longer."
"It won't seem that long once we are there," he said with a smile. "Let's just forget about and have a good time tonight."
"That's a briliant idea," I agreed. "You heard Mum's rules though, I am not getting into trouble if you are hungover in the morning."
"I won't be," he said with a smirk. "Just remember you're not allowed to have sex."
"There's nobody at the party I would have sex with," I said with a wink. "He's in Paris at the moment."
"That is disgusting," Tyler said as we sat down. "Have you done it though? With him?"
"No," I said with a shocked look on my face. "Why does everyone always ask that? We've never slept together. I've never slept with anyone and neither has he. We're both virgins. Are you happy now?"
"Yes," he answered with a smile. "I would feel weird if you had anyway."
"I can't believe we're talking about this," I said to him as I got my phone out. I quickly text Evie to say that we were on our way. We were two stops away but I fancied a walk. "Come on, I want to see the city for one last time."
"I am going to miss this place," Tyler said as we walked through the streets.
"So am I," I said as I looked around. "I will miss this place like hell."
We made our way up Evie's path and towards her door. I turned towards Tyler. "It's time to have some fun and enjoy ourselves."
--
"Truth or dare?" Evie asked me. There was a big group of us sitting in her living room playing stupid games. Nobody was drunk but we had all had a bit too drink. I had gone back to soft drinks though, to keep an eye on Tyler.
"Truth," I answered. I was not in the mood to be doing dares.
"When you met The Vamps with Brooklyn did you feel tempted to run away with them and leave him?" she asked with a laugh. I knew she was trying to keep it as light-hearted as possible.
"Obviously," I said with a grin. "But I was on Brooklyn's back for most of the time I was with them so he would've had to come with us. That would've ruined things a bit."
She spun the empty bottle that was in the middle of the circle and we carried on playing. I took the time to look around at everyone. I would miss every single one of them for different reasons. I knew that I wouldn't see some of these people ever again or at least not for a long time so I wanted to have a good memory of each of them.
"You can cry," Jade said as she came into the kitchen. "You're leaving, you're allowed to cry."
"I never thought I would say this but I'm going to miss you," I told her. "I mean, you're not that bad."
"You're not that bad yourself," she said. She poured two shots and handed one to me. "I'm happy for you and Brooklyn."
"Don't be," I said with a shake of my head. "It could all be over this time tomorrow."
"Or it could still be on."
"I will drink to that." I downed the shot and squeezed my eyes shut as it stung my throat. "I needed that."
"I came to say goodbye," Jade said after a few more minutes. "I've got to leave and I know you don't want anyone coming up and saying goodbye tomorrow. It's been good getting to know you. I know we've had our ups and downs but at the end of the day you will always be my first best friend. You were the only person I was ever close to."
"How about we forget about the downs?" I said with a smile. "We'll have to meet up sometime, when I am back obviously. Or, if you ever find yourself in LA by chance, get in touch and we can meet up."
"I doubt I will randomly go there but if I do I will remember," she said with a smile. She hugged me quickly. "Enjoy the rest of the night."
"Thanks," I said with a smile. "Enjoy the next few months."
She left the room and I went back to the living room where everyone was now standing around and talking. People came up to me and said goodbye for the rest of the night until finally there was only Evie, Tyler and I left.
Tyler set up bed on the sofa while Evie and I went up to her room.
"Do you remember that time we didn't speak for months because I got the phone you wanted," I said to her with a laugh. "God, that was so stupid."
"Yeah," she said. "Do you remember when I went to Devon with your family?"
"Zac broke his leg when we were all playing by tripping over that rock," I said. "That was the best holiday."
"I remember Tyler got jealous of him because he had crutches," she said.
"He stole them one morning when Zac was still asleep." I climbed into bed. "Zac had to stay in bed all morning until we found Tyler down the beach crying because he had blisters all over his hands." A tear rolled down my face. "Will you do me a favour when I am gone?"
"Anything," she said.
"Will you talk to Brooklyn as much as possible for me?" I asked her. "Keep me informed. I need to keep hold of him somehow."
"Of course I will," she said. "I will talk to him all the time for you. We will keep in touch everyday anyway, even if we only have five minutes to talk."
"Yeah."
"You need to bring me back a boy though," she said with a slight laugh. "Make sure he has nice abs."
"I will try my best," I answered. "You will always be my best friend mind, no matter how long I end up there for, I will never be friends with someone who is as great as you."
"I'm going to miss you so much," she said as she cried. "I will see you in August though, right? You have to come back to get your results."
"They're being posted," I said quietly. "I wouldn't be able to do it. I'm so sorry."
We spent the rest of the night crying together and telling stories from when we were younger. It was amazing how many things I had forgotten.
I took a deep breath as I fell asleep. Tomorrow was the day.
