Remember

Prologue

one year before

"Come on, help me pack," my best friend, Hayes nagged, sitting on the ground with a bunch of suitcases strewn around him. He was leaning back on his arms, palms pressed flat against the carpeted floor as he stared up at me pleadingly.

I was lying on his unmade bed, mindlessly throwing a softball in the air and catching it. I ignored him.

"Devin," he pressed. "I have no idea what I'm doing. Please."

My adamant refusal to so much as look at him was not lost on Hayes as he sighed, moving over to where I was sitting on the bed.

I could see him in my peripheral vision - head perched up on the mattress, wide blue eyes waiting for me to acknowledge him. But my disregard continued, as I tried my hardest to subdue the smile that was threatening to show.

"Deeevin," he repeated. "I only have an hour until my dad picks me up to go to the airport. I can't do this without you."

I let out a soft sigh of relentment and allowed myself to look over at him, the softball dropping onto the duvet beside me.

I couldn't believe this was happening. I can't believe I was about to say goodbye to my best friend as he flew off on tour - visiting cities I could only dream of, doing the stuff I've only read about in books, meeting fans that would die just for a picture. It's everything he's ever wanted.

Hayes flushed slightly when he caught me looking at him. "Are you going to help me?"

"I guess I have to, don't I?"

He grinned.

. . . . .

An innumerable amount of people stood outside the Grier house, some crying and others standing around with bored expressions, as if they had tons of better things to do than to bid a farewell to two boys they barely even knew. I recognized a few of the people - most of them from school - but I just stayed on the outskirts of the crowd, by the front porch, waiting until I could say my final goodbye to Hayes and leave.

The truth was, no matter how much I tried not to admit it, I'd really miss him. He was my best friend after all, and I was used to having him around, to say the least.

So I watched as he hugged his friends and family goodbye, including his brother Will, who I hadn't even noticed came back from college. I made a mental note to myself to catch up with him after Hayes left.

I suddenly noticed someone was standing next to me and turned to see Hayes's mom.

"You going to miss him?" she asked, keeping her eyes focused on the crowd surrounding Hayes and his other brother, Nash, her eyes filled with a mixture of pride and sadness.

I knew that feeling well.

"Yeah," I said and smiled shyly. "I'll miss him." I always sensed that Mrs. Grier suspected there was something more going on in my friendship with Hayes, but she never said or implied anything.

"So will I. I'll miss all my boys, actually. Now, it's just me and Skylynn." She laughed, but I noticed that her eyes were glistening. "Make sure you come by sometimes and keep me company." She rubbed my back.

 "Of course," I agreed automatically, with a nod of my head. Mrs. Grier was like a second mother to me, I always came to her when my mother was being difficult (which was fairly often).

"No one will be able to keep Hayes under reigns anymore," she said, looking at me.

"I certainly do not keep Hayes under reigns," I chortled, but I couldn't deny the warm feeling swelling in my chest.

"Trust me, if he listens to anyone, it's you," she said, removing her hand from my back and starting to walk away before I could ask her what exactly she meant by that. I stared after her, confused.

"Hey." I turned back around to see Hayes standing in front of me. His hair was standing up all over the place, probably a result of Will's infamous hair-ruffling. He was wearing a black hoodie and blue shorts, his usual attire. His arms were outstretched and his smile was wide, making me already start to miss him, even though he was standing right there in front of me.

"Hi," I said and stepped forward so that he could pull me into a warm hug. I breathed in his scent - a comforting, familiar smell that could only be described as Hayes. His arms were wrapped around my lower back, a little bit above my waist, and we just stood there for a long moment in embrace. I tried to remember this exact feeling and store it in my memory because in that moment, I felt so...at home. As if I belonged in his arms.

A wave of sadness suddenly overwhelmed me, and I had to blink furiously to keep back the tears threatening to spill. I sniffed as Hayes slowly pulled away.

"So...I guess this is it." I half-laughed, half-cried.

"Yeah, until next year," he said and then looked up at the cloudless sky. "It's really crazy to think that I won't sleep in my own bed for that long."

"Wow - when you say it like that..." I breathed, trying unsuccessfully to wrap my head around the unwelcome, partially-terrifying thought.

"Yeah, but it'll probably go by fast," he said airily, but I wasn't fooled. His eyes sparkled just a little bit more than usual.

"For you. You're going to be travelling to awesome places and meeting all kinds of interesting people and I'm going to be stuck here doing normal things like school," I said.

"Yeah, you're pretty unlucky," he replied and smirked playfully. "Don't worry, though, I'll be sure to remember my number-one fan."

"Whatever." I chuckled and looked down at my dirty sneakers.

"I'll take you to New York City one day," he promised and I slowly dragged my gaze up to reach his in surprise. Hayes wasn't usually the one to make promises - and if he did, they were always kept. I tilted my head slightly.

He looked like he was going to say something more, but he was quickly interrupted before his mouth could even open.

"Come on, Hayes! Dad's driving us to the airport," Nash yelled from the street, half-way in the car. "Oh, hey, Devin!" he called out, spotting me.

I waved at him and he threw me a grin before getting into the car, out of sight.

Hayes started walking towards the vehicle, away from me. But before we were even a few feet apart, he turned around and ran back, enveloping me in another hug. His arms wrapped around me tightly, as if he couldn't bear to let go. He buried his head in the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply.

"Bye, Devin," he muttered against my skin, his voice cracking.

"Bye, Hayes," I whispered.