Lexi grabbed a jacket from her closet and pulled it over her shoulders, eyes moving to the driveway. A blue truck pulled in like clockwork. She sat in the chair by her closet, pulling on a pair of black boots as she heard the front door open, the next conversation playing out like a familiar script.

"Good morning Mr. Ward, Mrs. Ward," Matt's voice came from the kitchen.

"Good morning Matthew," Lexi's mother said. She was the only person Lexi had ever heard call Matt by his full name. "Would you like something to eat?" Lexi pulled her hair back into a ponytail, a couple blond locks falling free of the band on either side of her face.

"No thank you, I've already eaten."

Lexi took that as her cue, stepping out of her room and down the hallway into the kitchen. "Morning Matt," she said cheerfully, wrapping him in a tight hug.

"Morning," Matt said, hugging her back and kissing her on the cheek.

"Know what day it is?" Lexi asked, pulling back to look Matt in the eye.

"Um, Friday?" Matt asked.

Lexi nodded. "Uh-huh, what's just two weeks from today?" she asked, hoping to jog his terrible memory.

His eyes moved to the ceiling, apparently thinking, until he smiled back at her, and Lexi saw the realization in his eyes. "Graduation," he answered proudly. "And the first night of our lease in the new apartment." And the last day of having secrets, he didn't say, but she could read it in his eyes.

"I can't wait!" Lexi said.

"Yeah, but if we want to graduate, we need to pass our English final, which implies that we are present," Matt said, tugging her towards the door.

"Yeah, I guess," Lexi said with a sigh, though the smile never slipped from her face.

"Good luck," Lexi's mom called behind them.

"Thanks, mom. Bye," Lexi called over her shoulder.

Matt waved good-bye to Lexi's parents, before Lexi pulled him out the door and towards the truck. Her own silver sports car was sitting in the driveway, but since Matt only lived a couple blocks away, it made more sense for them to ride together to the college.

Lexi dropped his hand and went around to the passenger side, looking over at him when he climbed into the driver's seat. "I hate lying to them like this," she said, turning the radio on.

"We won't have to after graduation," Matt said, apparently thinking that he was helping, but the thought only made her feel even more ill. They'd both be coming clean that night. To Lexi's parents, and to Matt's aunt and uncle. "We just have to keep up the charade for a little while longer. We've done it for over six years, we can do it for two more weeks."

Lexi smiled. "Yeah, I guess so," she said. They rode in silence for another ten minutes before they reached the college, and Matt drove in circles for a few minutes before finally pulling into a space that wasn't a mile from the Language and Literature Building.

"Ready for this?" Matt asked when they got out of the truck.

"No," Lexi said. "But I am ready to get it over with."

"Makes three of us," a voice came from behind them.

"Hey Aiden," Lexi said, smiling as he slid an arm around her shoulders. Matt raised a hand in a silent greeting, and Aiden offered the same.

The initial break-up between Aiden and Lexi six years ago had lasted all of about two weeks. A couple of months later, Matt said he was sure that his aunt and uncle suspected that he was gay. The fake, six-year relationship that followed was nothing more than a matter of convenience for each of them. The same was true of their plan to move into an apartment downtown the night of graduation. They both knew that her parents and his aunt and uncle were expecting an announcement of engagement by this time, though they would be getting very different announcements that night.

"Thanks, Amelia," Jared said as he stood up. The petite brunette just smiled, standing up as well and extending a hand towards him. He shook the woman's hand and left with the rest of the guys, who were still in a stunned silence.

When they left the building, Rob and Austin jumped up, punching the air in triumph. Jared laughed at the ridiculous sight. Austin was about a foot shorter than Rob, five years younger, and probably sixty pounds lighter. Austin had dark, shaggy brown hair that fell just above his shoulders. Rob on the other hand, was only a year older than Jared and Trevor, and looked entirely the part of the football player he had been in high school. He also had a buzz cut that had a lot of people asking if he was in the military.

Trevor laughed, leaning against Jared's car, shaking his head in disbelief. He was the only one the in band besides Jared that had grown up in New York. His blond hair was barely longer than Rob's, but he was much more easy-going and was rarely without a smile on his face. "I can't believe we made it!" Trevor yelled.

"We're set," Jared said, grinning at the guys. "This time next week, thousands of people will be listening to our music."

Austin shook his head. "We actually made it. Who the hell ever thought we could actually pull this off?"

"I told you we would," Jared said confidently.

"Yeah, you also said that eight years ago in your dad's garage," Rob pointed out.

"That he did," Trevor agreed. "Eight years, a dozen crap jobs, and a few two-year, tech college degrees later, here we are."

"Hey, I'm getting my four-year degree," Jared said. "Graduation is…. Sometime soon, right?"

"Yeah, and didn't you have a final, today?" Austin asked. "Matt and Lexi were talking about some final they had this morning."

"Nah," Jared said. "I finished my last final yesterday. They took some high level English class I couldn't have passed anyway." He checked his watch and pulled his keys out of his pocket. "Speaking of which, I gotta run. They'll be getting done soon, and if Matt hears about this from the radio station instead of me, I'm dead."

When Jared pulled into the parking lot, Matt, Lexi and Aiden were walking down the sidewalk outside the Language and Literature Building. His friends hadn't changed too much in the last six years. Lexi's dark blond hair now had bleached highlights, and was shorter than before, now only falling just past her shoulders. If he hadn't known the girl since middle school, Jared wouldn't believe that she was Austin's sister. Her green eyes seemed brighter as the years passed, and as cliché as it sounded, Jared was sure that was because of Aiden.Â

Aiden had grown on Jared over the years; he and Matt hadn't talked to Aiden much until he started dating Lexi. To be honest, the only reason Jared knew the guy's name before he asked Lexi out was because they had played baseball together. Now though, Jared usually called Aiden up whenever he had an idea for something and wanted someone to just listen to it instead of listing reasons it was a bad idea, as Lexi and Matt usually did.

Matt hadn't changed a bit. He was still blond, with brown eyes than Jared swore could see people's souls. He looked a little bit older, but not by much. His eyes still even held that young innocence that so many people lost during college. As infrequently as they agreed on anything, it was amazing that they'd stayed friends after high school. But four years later, Jared still teased Matt about being a nerd, and Matt still showed up once or twice a week to listen to the band practice and give his input. Things hadn't changed all that much.

Jared revved the engine as he got closer and skidded to a stop in front of them just as they reached the edge of the sidewalk. Lexi jumped back towards Aiden, while Matt just laughed and motioned at Jared to roll the window down. When he rolled the window down, Matt leaned down and rested his arms against the door.

"Why are you going out of your way to give us heart attacks?" Matt asked with a smile.

Jared just rolled his eyes and leaned over to open the door. "Stop being dramatic and get in," he said. "We're going to lunch. My treat." Matt laughed and got into the passenger seat, while Lexi and Aiden climbed into the back.Â

"Not gonna turn that offer down," Lexi said. "What's the occasion?"

"The occasion is not really until next week, but I wanted to celebrate now," Jared said, glancing in the rear view mirror to smile at Lexi.

"Gonna tell us what it is?" Matt asked.

"Hey Matt," Jared said, as though he hadn't heard Matt's question. "You said you got a promotion at work, right? You're hosting the morning show with Kitty instead of doing sound boards?"

"Her name's Katherine," Matt said. Jared shot him an annoyed look. Matt always felt the need to correct him when he called one of the radio personalities by their on-air nickname instead of their real name.

"Yeah, got it," Jared said dismissively. "When do you start?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Good," Jared said. He knew they were waiting for him to continue, but decided to just sit in silence until one of them asked.

"Jay," Matt complained. "Just tell us the big surprise."

Jared stopped at the red light and turned to face them better. "Alright, so me and the guys just met with Amelia," he said. "Our new agent I told you about? So, our first single's gonna be on the radio next Thursday."

"You're kidding," Lexi cried.

"Congrats, man," Aiden said. "Been a long time coming."

"That's awesome," Matt said with a bright smile. "So who's gonna be playing the song?"

"Better be you," Jared said. "If you call out sick from work that day, I'll kill you."