We were laying on the dock, still only wearing our boxers. I'd told Marco that we should let ourselves dry before we got back into his extremely nice car. It was peaceful with Marco here, just us and the trees; along with the music playing from the car of course. I had my arms behind my head and I was staring at the clouds.

"This is nice." Marco said. "Just laying here, not having a care in the world for a change. And I'm with my best friend so that makes it all the better." I could tell he was smiling even without looking at him.

"Marco, are you not upset though?" I asked, earning me a confused glance. "I mean, are you really okay with your parents having another kid?" He shrugged and started playing with the ends of his hair, something he does when he's uncomfortable.

"Well I mean, it bothers me sure. Just to see them so excited about having a kid when I know they never felt like that with me even though they tried so hard to. However, it just makes sense for them to want another kid since I'll be leaving after graduation." He explained quietly.

"Wait, what do you mean you'll be leaving after graduation?" I asked, sitting up to look at him.

"I've been applying to Ivy Leagues and other big colleges. I'm still waiting for feedback on the Ivy Leagues but I've already been offered full rides to some. I plan on attending summer classes to get them out of the way." I had to say, my heart sank at his words. But then again, did I really expect someone like him that didn't even fit in to stay around a place like this? He's smart and can do whatever he wanted to.

"Right." Was all I said at first. Then I got an idea. I got up and went over to Marco's car. I grabbed my phone. "Hey Marco, come here." I said and he groaned before getting up reluctantly. He walked over to me.

"Jean no." He said and I pouted. "I am not taking a picture with you. There is nothing you can say or d- Jean stop pouting I'm not going to- okay! Just take the dang picture already." I laughed at his weakness due to my pouting. I moved his arm over my shoulder and my hand went to his waist, a friendly side hug. I held the phone up with my right hand and smiled brightly, along with Marco.

I snapped the picture and saved it. He asked to see it but I said no and threw my phone back into the car. That's when I heard the song that was coming on. Marco and I both looked at each other with wide eyes and smiled. I turned it up as loud as we could get it.

"Stuck in the jet wash, bad trip I couldn't get off. And maybe I bit off more than I could chew, and overhead of the aqua blue. Fall to your knees bring on the rapture. Blessed be the boys time can't capture, on film or between the sheets. I always fall from your window to the pitch black streets.

And with the black banners raised as the crooked smiles fade, former heroes who quit too late. Who just wanna fill up the trophy case again." Marco and I started singing along loudly and obnoxiously.

"And in the end, I'd do it all again. I think you're my best friend. Don't you know that the kids aren't al- kids aren't alright? I'm yours, when it rains it pours. Stay thirsty like before. Don't you know that the kids aren't al- kids aren't alright?" We pointed at each when the best friend part came on. We finished out the entire song, grinning like mad men.

"We need to put our clothes on." He said, and I nodded in agreement. I grabbed my pants and began putting them on. I could feel Marco's eyes burning into my back. "Jean, what's that scar on your back?" He asked quietly. I looked over my shoulder at him. I never liked to talk about it, but that was probably my problem; I never did talk about it. Ever since it happened, I always ignored everyone's comments and questions about it. But I felt like maybe it was time to talk about it.

"Well, when I was about ten years old I was riding with my big brother who was eighteen at the time and we were coming back from a football game. It'd started to rain a bit and the roads were slippery so when we took a curve a bit too fast, and another car coming head on came into our lane, we went off the side of the road right where the guardrail was not present. We hit a fairly large tree head on going pretty fast and he hit the steering wheel while my seatbelt malfunctioned and I went through the windshield, hitting the tree and landing in glass and other sharp things." I explained.

I never thought talking about something only a little bit would lift such a weight off my shoulders. "Did he uh, y'know, get killed?" He asked shyly, almost as if he was afraid to ask.

"Yeah, he was killed on impact. They said I should've been killed or at least paralyzed but I was just numb for a while and then I was fine. I was messed up on pain meds though, but that's irrelevant." I said with a humorless laugh. "My parents didn't take it well, obviously, so I had to be the strong one. That's why I started playing football. He was the star running back for the same school we go to and he'd gotten a scholarship to the best college football team in the country. I learned to try to make up for him, even though I'd never live up to him."

"Jean, you don't have to be just like him to be amazing. Sure, he might have been better at something than you, but I bet you're better at something than he was." I stopped for a moment. "Jean if you spend your life trying to be someone else, the world is going to forget that you actually exist." He left it at that and got into his car. Eventually I snapped out of my daze and got into the car as well. We rode to my place in silence. I didn't even say anything as I got out of the car and walked inside.

I realized something horrible that day.

I was falling fast for the freckled kid named Marco, and I wasn't sure that it was really a bad thing.

Sorry this took so long. I've had like so much homework and all that jazz and then my friends kinda ruined me so it's a wonder that I'm even still alive tbh. I really feel useless right now. Anyways, what's a college/university that's incredibly hard to get into? Lemme know :)