The Elites

Pompeii

"But if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like
Nothing changed at all?"

"Pompeii" – Bastille

"The press are gone" Chelsy informs me as she heads into the library with Ashton, they come and sit over at the same table as me and Hunter. "I think they realized Hope isn't here."

Hope isn't coming back to school, her grades are high enough to withstand missing a few days. "I wish they'd leave us alone." The press have been circling the school and Hope's house, desperately trying to get pictures of Hope.

"You're the one who ended the relationship, don't act gloomy" Ashton says to me, causing Chelsy to slap the back of his head.

"Ignore my boyfriend" Hunter tells me, rolling her eyes at Ashton. Yeah, Hunter and Ashton are official now, I'm happy for them but when I see them cuddling or kissing it makes me feel so alone that I want to die.

"Are you going to say goodbye to Hope?" Chelsy asks me, I shrug as I open my math book. Math seems a lot more appealing than the conversation Chelsy wants to have with me, I don't want to discuss Hope with my friends.

"We're here for you" Ashton informs me, sounding sincere. "Hope's my best friend but we're friends too." There's nothing anyone can do, our relationship is over and it won't be fixed anytime soon.

"I just want to get back to normal" I reply, starting to work on my math questions. I'm moving to a smaller house on the weekend, Melissa has already left to go start a new life in Rhode Island. I miss her but I can't find it in myself to forgive her for everything she did.

"I'm helping Juliet and William unpack on Saturday if you two want to join us?" Hunter suggests, I appreciate my friends trying to keep me busy so my mind doesn't wander but it's not working. Every night I keep flashing back to Andrew about to shoot me, then I start wondering what I'd be doing if I was still dating Hope.

"Alright" Chelsy says, she opens up her psychology textbook and flips to a page. "I can't believe junior year is almost over, this year has been insane."

"Senior year better be peaceful" Ashton agrees. We all deserve a peaceful year, we've endured enough drama for a lifetime.

We've all lost so much but we've also gained a lot. I have three best friends now who I would trust with my life, I couldn't ask for better friends. Hunter is the most loyal person I know, Chelsy makes me laugh when I don't want to smile, and Ashton gives good advice.

"I can't wait to get into college, senior year is going to be hell" Chelsy complains as she starts writing notes. "And honestly going away to another state sounds amazing."

Going to Princeton is sounding less and less appealing as the days go by. I don't want the constant reminders of all the discussions I had with my parents about Princeton, I want to use college as a chance to get some space from all the shit that's happened to me.

"It's not like college is easy" Hunter points out, I think we're all foolishly hoping it will be easier than high school. "Our lives will consist of studying until we graduate."

"Keep up the positive thinking" Ashton says, causing Hunter to flip him off. I frown as I see Wes and Skylar talking to Hope, why did she come into school?

Skylar says something causes Hope to laugh. My heart aches as I watch Hope laughing, I forgot how beautiful she looks when her face lights up.

Wes and Skylar follow Hope as she heads into the main building. Hope's probably handing in some last-minute assignments or clearing out her locker. Wes seems really supportive and protective of Hope which is good because that's what she needs.

"Wes is really hot" Chelsy whispers to me. With his dark hair and piercing green eyes, he's definitely good-looking. "Ash, can you introduce me before he leaves for college?"

"I'm not introducing you, you'll make things weird" Ashton scoffs. "He's still hung up on Eleanor anyway." Ashton certainly brought the mood down. I glance at where Wes was standing, I never really thought about how Eleanor's death would have affected him, I guess I was too busy worrying about Hope.

"He'll find a way to get over it, so will you" Hunter says placing her hand on top of Ashton's hand. We'll all get over everything that happened. We won't ever forget, but one day it won't haunt us.

"I predict senior year will be amazing" I say, smiling at Hunter. Chelsy nods in agreement and smiles at me. My heart aches as I see Hope walking out of the school, I should go over and say something but my feet stay planted on the ground. Talking to Hope will make things more difficult for both of us so I need to resist the urge to go over and to beg her to give me another chance.

"Why aren't you with Wes and Hope?" I ask Ashton, Hope's his best friend and he's close to Wes and Isaac, I see them all hanging out quite enough.

"I'll see her later" Ashton tells me. "Her and Wes could do with some alone time to talk about everything." I'll never be able to put into words how grateful I am that Wes will be attending Colombia, it works out really well that he'll be near Hope while she does senior year.

*Author's Note* Well ... this is the end. I've had a great time writing it!! I hope you all enjoyed it. I'll be doing one last chapter that is a few years later but that will be it. Thank you for reading.