== One year and some months later ==

No surprise here that I passed my classes. But then again, the counselor said that even if I didn't attend classes in the last semester, I would've graduated anyways. My scores were just that high up and college seems to have always been at my grasp. I guess there wasn't anything to worry about in the end. Besides, I had my own problems to deal with. Problems that are still persisting.

Dr. Rarity ended up transferring to a new school and we got a new psychiatrist, but I refused to visit them. I don't trust anyone else to tell them about my problems, but eventually I'm going to have to seek a professional's council. I have her phone number, I can still call her up, but I've decided to do so when the time is right. I wonder if I'll truly feel like I've got my life in control.

In any case, this is it. Nola no longer needs me to go to the toilet, we've spent the last year trying to reconcile our differences, and we're back to being good friends. But what Dr. Rarity asked of me, I have yet to actually figure out: who is Nola to me? What does she mean to me exactly? She is my friend, my neighbor, my sibling even. And maybe... my first crush.

So who is she to me? I still don't know. She's all of the above, but none of them at the same time and all this time, I still haven't a clue as to who she is. Maybe I should just tell her how I truly feel.

Today's Nola's birthday. Me, Heather, and Rudy are going to take her out and get some pizza later. She's 18 today, and I turned 18 a few months ago as well. I'm officially an adult in the eyes of the law and society. Once I graduate, this is pretty much the start of me taking care of myself. For the first time in my life, I'm going at things without anyone next to me.

Nola, on the other hand, is the opposite. She's still dependent, which is why she's going to be living with Heather. She barely qualifies to graduate, but college is not in her future. She'll have to get a job and support herself and learn how to be independent. I don't know if she's planning on furthering her education, that's on her to decide. But whatever the case, she's also on her own.

The final day at school ends. There weren't that many students as there isn't much left to do except clean up. A lot of them ditch as it doesn't matter but I figured I might as well be the diligent student and see things till the end, but even I recognize that once that bell rang it was over. High school, my status as a minor, and the events that lead to this, it's all in the past now. Now, all I got to do is spend the next few months relaxing at home, then graduating, waiting for the next semester of college, and I'll finally move on to the next chapter in my life.

I am waiting in the parking lot for Nola to arrive. I'll take her to park first before we meet up with Rudy and Heather for a movie and then pizza.

Ah, here she is now as she appears before me.

Both Heather and Rudy has truly done some work on her. I swear this is not the Nola I've known for so long.

"Happy Birthday, Nola. Are you ready to go?" I tell her.

"Yeah, let's go!" she says excitedly.

We get in the car and drive off.

"Today was the last day of school, Nola."

"Yeah. It feels so weird. We're not going to school anymore. That was, like, my whole life."

"But you're starting a new one. You're going to live with Heather and will have to find a job."

"Yeah, I know. I don't know if I can, though."

"You don't have to get something complicated. Just get something simple, like in the supermarket."

"Heather is going to help me with that. Oh, I really can't wait for us to be roommates. That's going to be so much fun."

"To think, you used to hate Heather."

"Yeah, I know. I was just being difficult. It was a really difficult time for me."

"And how's Rudy treating you?"

"Same as always. I wish he was nicer when helping me work out. Not that he yells or screams, but he just keeps making do extra lifts and stuff."

"Extra lifts?"

"You know, with the dumbbells, and push ups, and he sometimes switches the pins on the exercise equipment, so I lift extra. I keep telling him to knock it off but he refuses to give me butt pats if I don't. AH!"

"Nola, are you still doing that?"

"We're going to quit, I swear."

"You know you can't do that in public, right? That's why people keep thinking you're a couple and you can't find a boyfriend."

"I know, I know. I'm trying to wean off of it."

"The more things change, the more they stay the same." I chuckle.

"You gotta stop saying that. I'll eventually quit... after a few more." She giggles a bit.

We finally arrive at the park and we take a stroll.

"Elon, will we able to stroll like this when you're in college?"

"I'm afraid not. These next few months will be the only time left to do this, so let's make the most out of it." She suddenly leans in close and embraces me. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think? Doing what you suggested. I'm making the most out of it."

As much as I want to join her and wrap my arm around her, I actually gently push away. "Actually, I want to talk to you seriously. Nola, what am I to you?"

"What is this?"

"What do you think our relationship is? How would you describe it?"

"I don't know. We're friends, neighbors, maybe even siblings, and... in a small part..." she puts her hands behind her as she swings her body, "...maybe lovers."

"That's exactly what I thought too, but what exactly does it mean? Who are we to each other?"

"I say all of the above combined."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, what else is there to say? We've been together since we were in kindergarten. We've been... uhh... bathroom buddies, let's just say. We've done questionable things that we can't tell anyone. We've done anything and everything, even stuff we shouldn't have done to each other. I think that's what we are. We are everything."

"Everything? What does that even mean?"

"Maybe it's a new thing. Maybe we've discovered a new way of life?"

"No, I refuse to believe what we went through is a lifestyle."

"Okay, maybe not one I would encourage, but we went through everything we could possibly imagine."

I guess I understand what she is trying to say, but that doesn't make much sense to me. Yet, it feels like a decent answer considering what we went through. We did do many things that not many would even dare to imagine. But it messed us up. I don't know if I should even acknowledge this.

"Well I know one thing that you are." she continues as she embraces me once again, "You're my special friend. No one can replace you, Elon." She then gives me a kiss on the cheek, "Thanks for being there for me."

This time, I take her invitation and wrap my arm around her as we continue our stroll.