I LOVE this story; I can really relate to Ari and understand and accept many of her flaws. The one thing that bothers me is her immediate belief in what Miranda told her about Gabe. It would be one thing to start to doubt him a little bit after that, since she already had doubts to begin with, but the idea that she could believe anything that Miranda says without any skepticism seems wrong. I also wish she would have stood up for herself to Miranda after she and Luke spiked Ari's drink. I really do understand her unwillingness to stand up to Miranda at the beginning of the story, but by these two scenes, she's become more independent and self-assured. I also really like that she stuck to her guns and didn't drink or smoke at all. Thank you!

i love this story.

u wrote the plot creatively and the characters were interesting. they had characters.

i adore how u write about mirinda's and ari's friendship. it was cliche but different at the same time.

but one thing i didnt get is why gabe felt obligated to join the group activities. he's an adult and he's not a push over.

kudos!

"One decision can change your whole life. It doesn’t have to be a big decision or an important one. It doesn’t even have to be a decision you think about. But each and every decision you make can impact your life and the lives of people around you more than you could fathom."

I love that line!

After reading such a great story by you, I felt compelled to leave a comment to inform you of how grateful I am that you decided to post this story on fictionpress. I've been looking through stories after stories and your's was one was the first story that made me want to leave a review. I would like to say that your story was really well-written and not to mention, inspiring. Rather than concentrating solely around Ari's romance with Gabriel, you spun a wonderful tale about a girl slowly, but surely, gaining herself a backbone- one who chose to shy away from the girl she once was, who never spoke up against anyone even when she was wronged, to become a girl that took the challenging leap of letting her mom know of Miranda's addiction. The ending really got to me as well as she looks at herself in the mirror and doesn't feel the urge to want to be someone else- that she finally learned to appreciate who she really is. Now, with the talk of a life lesson taught within the story, I just want to gush over the relationship between Ari and Gabriel... okay, I just want to gush over Gabriel. He truly is the perfect gentleman.. my dream guy. Lol. He never wavered from his love for Ari and was willing to go to the extent of basing his future on her. He's so romantic!

Okay, I'm done with my gushing now. I'm terribly sorry for the long post. I can't seem to stop myself once I start talking... Lol. Anyways, I'm looking forward to your other stories! Thank you again for posting such a great story!

aw really great ending and great story!

I love your story and thank you for putting it up for others so that we can share some of the magic of writing with you.

P.S. Your very gracious author's note at the end of this chapter really inspired me to review. haha.

Thanks so much for posting your work here; I really enjoyed reading it. It was really sweet, thoughtful, and interesting. What made it stand out was your unique main characters (Miranda and Ari) and their relationship. While I think Ari's reaction to Miranda's lies about Gabe was perhaps a little extreme and I wished that those lies were addressed in that last phone call, I think you did a great job exploring their relationship. The last phone call, and the focus on that one moment when Miranda first started smoking(as well as on other specific moments in the beginning), was really perfect for drawing me into the story and making me care about the characters, not to mention pretty philosophical. Defining moments are really interesting to me. I guess this story particularly struck a chord in me because my best friend and I have a somewhat similar relationship to that of Miranda and Ari, though obviously not as dramatic. I really loved this story. Thanks again.

OK, I'm going to try reviewing as I go...cuz I know you like these so much... :)

Oh yay! Ari is still friends with Ryan, Peter and Tara, even after a year!

AH Gabe *sigh*. But wait, he's in NY? OK, now he's got a scholarship... :) yay

Oh, so he's going to university...oh and he's alone in his dorm room... *wink wink*

ah the "one-eyebrow-skeptic look"... love it...It's like his signature look! Aww and he holds the door. :)

Someone else? I guess even after a year Ari STILL has some self-esteem problems...oh well, hopefully Gabe is helping her...

Oh ya, how is Miranda... :S

Oh woah...rehab huh? 3 months? wow.

AWW he planned it! tehe

Oh self-esteem IS getting better...YAY for improvement.

Oops, it says "be standing with boy I loved," shouldn't be "be standing with THE boy I loved,"?

Oh can't wait for Wild Card. :)

SOo, now you know what goes through my mind when I read your stories... a bunch of o-ing, oh-ing and aaww-ing... lol Thanks so much! I really enjoyed this story, wich you had more viewers...people don't know what they're missing...

P.S. Have you heard of Sarah Dessen? she's amazing!

Hi,

My name is sunny and i would just like to say that i love this story. It always makes me think about how sheltered my life is and it is wonderful that i can think about things that are so out there that they are possible. Reminds me of the saying that dreams do come true. Thank you for writing such a good story and i look fordward to more amazing stories.

aw that was so sweet! I'm glad they made up! ]

HAHA I knew it! so amazing! I love love love love love this story...it's friggen genious! Thank you so much!

She should know that Gabe loves her! Stupid Miranda.

AH so good! :D I wish you had more readers...people don't know what they're missing! lol This was such a great chapter! And Tara...FINALLY someone told her Miranda was a lying Bee with an itch. Sheesh! I thought her mom would at least tell her... but what are Bff for... :)

I'm guessing, Gabe is going to take Ari's car down to her house...that would be awesome... and when Ari sees that he went through that to see her, then she'll HAVE to know he wasn't joking. :)

Thanks again for the great read! You're so awesome!

ah, i understand now. The last chapter threw me off a bit when you said it was the end. I'm glad you continued the story and am eager to read the next one.