~Maya's POV~

I woke up early Saturday morning for a good reason; Anissa was moving to Nashville today. I promised to help her finish packing and help her family load up the moving truck. Anissa told me yesterday after my third class. She was on the verge of crying, I could see it in her eyes. I was crushed, and I did the only thing I knew best. I hugged her. And she cried into my shoulder. I held her even after the bell rang for the next class to start. I didn't care if I was late. All I cared about then was my best friend. I sighed as I got out of bed and went down the wooden stairs for breakfast.

"Hey, honey, ready to help Anissa?" my mom smiled at me.

"Uh, yeah. I'm just sad that she's actually leaving," I sighed, getting some cereal.

"Awe, I know, sweetie," She said, rubbing my back. I poured milk into my fruit loops, and began eating. I hurriedly finished my cereal so that I could get ready.

"Ok, go get dressed, Maya. We are leaving soon," I got up, dumped my bowl in the sink, and started up the stairs to get ready for my last day with my best friend. I opened my closet to look for an outfit. After a couple of minutes flipping through hangers of clothes, I settled for a dark grey sweater, black jeans, and white tennis shoes, since it was autumn and the wind still held a crisp feel to it. I decided to quickly pull my dark brown hair into a bun, so I wouldn't have to worry about it getting in the way. When I was finished I walked down the stairs to the kitchen. When I got down there, I saw my older brother, Isaiah, standing at the counter talking to our mom. Their heads turned towards me when I entered the room.

"Hey there, little sis! Ready to go?" He smiled at me.

"Yea, I am," I responded, looking at him.

"Well, let's get going!" My mom said, walking towards the front door with me and my brother close behind.

~Zack's POV~

It was Saturday, which meant Anissa would be leaving today. Which meant she would no longer live at 1515 Maple street, no longer hang out with James, Clover, and Maya at the library on the weekends, and that she would be gone from Copper Cove this come Monday. Ever since I had gotten home yesterday from school, I kept replaying and replaying the scene in the hallway in my mind over and over again. The same question continuously running through my head all the while.

Why did we have to break up?

When I woke up this morning, I had decided on driving to her house, and helping her family move things into the truck. I knew Maya was going, so I thought perhaps I should go too.

I had to see her a final time. I couldn't let her slip away without a goodbye. I scrambled to put my shoes, and a jacket on when my 10 year old sister barged into my room.

"What are you doing, Zackary," she demanded, hands on her hips.

I rolled my eyes at her. She was recently going through a phase where she thought she was the boss in the family.

"Nothing, Jessie, I'm just going to Anissa's house to help her load her stuff into the moving truck." I hastily shoved my left foot into a shoe. I was so distracted, I failed to notice I put my left foot into my right shoe. Jessie pursed her lips and flipped her hair over one shoulder.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" she questioned me.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

Jessie threw her arms up in the air in a gesture to show that she believed boys were impossible. "Because, doofus," she retorted, "She dumped you, and I may not be a 16 year old girl, but I know that when a girl says it's over, I think it means bye bye."

I chose to ignore my sister. After all, what did she know about Anissa and my relationship? I finished tying my shoelaces, and sprinted out of the room. It was 10:07, and Anissa would be headed to Nashville at 11:00. I passed my mom as I went down the stairs, nearly knocking her over.

She moved aside just in time though. "Zach, where are you going?"

"Anissa's... Need to say goodbye... Nashville in a hour," I panted.

"But you haven't eaten your breakfast," she told me sternly.

Every second that I spent talking with my mother, time that I could have been spending with someone I deeply cared about was being taken away. I sighed in frustration. "I'm not hungry. Thanks for breakfast Mom, but I need to go." Then without another word I ran out of the house.

~Spencer's POV~

Saturdays were my favorite day of the week. If you were a high schooler, you'd agree with me 100%. On the weekends, you were allowed to sleep In late. Do whatever you wanted for the entire day. And, oh, yeah, not go to school! Today was an extremely good Saturday, because I'd be spending it with my best friends. It was still early in the morning, so I was laying on the couch, texting in the group chat that we made, to pass the time. I was the only child, meaning that there was no one else up at the time except for me. I was lost in thought when a dinging sound came from my phone.

Chad: Hey everybody, is the game at noon still on?

Joey: Yea man!! Totally!!!

Me: Of course, man!!

Alan: I'll be there

Caleb: Count me in!!

Essence: Can the girls and I come and cheer you guys on?

Joey: Well, of course!! You're all welcome!!

Chad: I don't think she was asking you, Joey

Joey: Why do you bully me, Chad? What did I ever do to you?

Chad: You exist. That's what you did

Caleb: OOOHHH!! IT'S GOIN' DOWN FOR REAL!!

Alan: Chad! Apologize.

Chad: Fine.. I'm sorry

Joey: It's fine, man.. I'll just beat you in basketball

Chad: Try if you will, but just keep in mind that you can't dunk

I rolled my eyes at their childish play and got up off the couch to go find my tank top I wore for our basketball games. It took me a bit to find it, but eventually I found it in a hamper of clean clothes in the basement. I put it on and dug through the hamper to find some basketball shorts. When I found some, I decided to get myself a water bottle and a healthy snack to share with the group after the game. I looked around the kitchen for food to put together into a snack. After a bit of scavenging, I settled on mixing almonds, peanuts, and pretzel balls into small, plastic bags. Once I finished, I called Alan up to give me a ride to the park. I gathered up the snacks, grabbed my water, and headed to the park with Alan and Ally. After about 15 minutes of driving, we finally showed up to the park. I turned the corner to see Joey and Caleb conversing by the basketball courts. I strolled over to join them, dropping my stuff down on a passing bench.

"Yo, Spence, nice to see you," Caleb greeted, giving me a bro hug.

I smiled at him. "Dido, buddy," I replied. Joey waved slightly at me, but his attention was on Chad, who was striding in our direction.

"Here comes trouble," Alan said with a small chuckle. Joey grinned at Alan's comment. Not caring what Chad might say.

"Who's ready for some ball?" Chad asked the group, glancing at Joey from the corner of his eye. Joey stuck his tongue out at him.

"I am," I responded, "I brought y'all snacks too if you want." As soon as I mentioned I had something to eat, Caleb looked up eagerly.

"You brought food? Awesome!," he exclaimed. The girls had settled themselves close by, all clustered under the shade of a large oak tree. I glanced at Essence briefly to see if she was fine. She waved at me, making me smile widely. It had made me super happy when I found out she wanted to tag along with the boys and me.

"Ooh, Spencer Wencer wuvs his Essence." Joey snickered, but I didn't mind. It was true. Essence made me happy.

"Joe, quit being jealous," Caleb remarked, throwing a peanut at his head. Chad laughed, and Alan rolled his eyes, but he too, was smiling. The five of us remained standing for a minute, staring at one another.

"So, should we break up into teams?" Caleb suggested.

"Yes, regular teams!" Alan said. "Who has the basketball?"

"I do," I said to the group, taking it out of the bag and tossing it to him. Alan caught the ball, dribbled past Joey, and shot an excellent basket.

"Let the game begin!" Alan announced, turning back to the group. The five of us lined up, facing each other. Chad, Alan, and Caleb on one side, which left me and Joey. It was a bit unfair with only 3 verses 2, but we worked it out. After about an hour and a half of dribbling, shooting, and sweating, we took a break with the girls under the oak tree.

"You did amazing out there, you guys!" Essence exclaimed, running to give me a hug.

"Uh, I'm all sweaty. Do you really think you should give me a hug?" I chuckled, taking a step back.

"We've known each other since Freshman year, do you really think that I care?" She asked, pulling me into a hug.

"You two are adorable," Joey teased us. Everyone laughed, including Essence and me.

"Let's eat," I declared, handing out the bags of snacks I had prepared for everyone.

~Zach's POV~

The entire way to Anissa's house, I kept thinking how she would react upon seeing me. Maybe Jessie and my mom were right. Maybe she didn't want to see me one last time. I turned the corner onto her street, and saw the truck before I saw her house.

"Guess it's too late to go back now," I muttered to myself. A black cat slinked out of the bushes beside me, glaring at me with it's unsettling eyes. I ignored it, and continued forward. The closer I got to her house, the faster my heart sped up. When I reached her front lawn, I didn't know what to do. I just stood there, watching her father go in and out the front door, boxes in his arms. It wasn't until a great period of time that someone noticed me there.

"Zach?" I swirled around to see Maya's mother's car pull up. She stepped out, her older brother right behind her.

I waved at her with very little excitement on my part. Unable to do much else. "What are you doing here," she asked.

"I don't know," I confessed, "I just wanted to see Anissa again. I couldn't leave things the way they are." Maya pursed her lips, giving me a sadden look. I heard the front door creak open, and we all watched as Anissa came out with a painting covered in bubble wrap.

"Maya, Isaiah, you guys are here, great. There's some stuff inside if--" she trailed off as she took in the sight of me. Her fingers released the painting, and it clattered to the ground with a thud. It appeared unharmed, and she stooped to retrieve it.

"Zachary?" Her father said from the doorway, "Nice to see you. Come to give us a hand with these boxes?"

"Hello, Mr. Rier," I replied weakly. He gave me a kind smile, then hurried over to store a box in the back of the truck. Maya and Isaiah quickly walked into the house, and began to help. I carefully made my way over to Anissa, and cleared my throat. "Need anymore help?" I asked, holding out my hand for the painting. She shifted it under her arm and turned around.

"No, Zach, I don't need help."

"I'm already here though," I pointed out.

She shook her head, sliding the painting in between two large boxes. "But I didn't ask you too," she blurted. I flinched, and she frowned.

"Sorry, that was mean. Listen, you're already here, why not just give us another hand. There's only a few boxes left up in my room. Why don't you get them for me?" I nodded my head, then went inside and headed up the stairs.

The house, once filled with flower vases, and beautiful drawn pictures, was now bare and empty. When I opened the door to Anissa's bedroom, it was unrecognizable. Her walls were totally stripped of everything. Her bed, dresser, desk, and bookshelf were gone. The only thing in the nearly empty room was two small boxes. I picked them up, and ran out of there as fast as I could.

I didn't slow down until I was back outside.

"That's the last of it," Anissa's dad announced, taking the boxes from my arms, and placing them into the moving truck. Anissa's mom climbed into the passenger seat. "Say goodbye," her dad told her, kissing Anissa's head. He strolled off, getting into the driver's seat, and turning the four-wheeler on.

"I'm going to miss you so much," Maya cried, rushing to hug Anissa for a final time.

"Me too," she replied, hugging her just as fiercely.

The girls broke apart, and Isaiah staggered forward. "Hey, we're really going to miss seeing you everyday," he told her, giving a one arm hug. Anissa grinned, a tear forming at the corner of her eye. Isaiah and Maya backed away, and tried to give Anissa and me some privacy.

"So, this is it," I said, looking at the running vehicle a foot away. "Uh huh," she said, staring at her shoes.

I scratched my head, extremely uncomfortable. I did not expect there to be this much awkwardness between us. "Hug?" She suggested hesitantly.

"Of course," I answered, opening my arms for her. She stepped closer to me, and I wrapped her arms around her. I buried my face in her hair. She smelled like apples, something I would never forget.

"Goodbye, Zach," she whispered, pulling back.

"Bye, Ani," I responded. She smiled at the sound of her nickname. Mr. Rier honked the horn, and she sighed.

"That's my cue," she said, "We need to get going."

I kissed her cheek. "Stay in touch, alright? Go to Nashville, have fun there," I advised her. She nodded her head, and got in the back of the truck. The doors closed, and it pulled away. There went the love of my life. I heard the sound of gravel crunch as someone came up behind me.

"Let's get you home," Isaiah said in a soft tone. I allowed him to guide me to the car, and direct me to the back seat. Maya slid in beside me, and we both looked out the window as we drove away. Anissa's house getting smaller and smaller as we got farther away