text: [Themes: love & dating]
  
  "So...you really like her?" Candace asks me, giving me a quizzical look. We're standing atop a bridge overlooking a creek that leads into the ocean farther down the path. The springtime sun shines above the trees, reflecting across the shallow water bubbling slightly below us.
  
  "Yeah, I do. I've known her a while, and...well, truth be told, she's attractive. And smart." I say. She squints her eyes at this, their color matching that of the nearly clear sky.
  
  "Oh, so knowing a girl for a while qualifies them as a worthy candidate for you, Nolan? Is that how it works?" she says, somewhat accusingly.
  
  I'm a bit insulted by this. "What? And who are you to judge what girls I date? You were fine with Chloe back in junior year. What's wrong with Celine?"
  
  "It's not Celine I have the problem with, Nol! It's....I'm just worried about you." Her look of accusing turns to concern. "She's had six boyfriends since freshman year. SIX, Nolan! You deserve someone better."
  
  This time, it's my turn to give Candace the quizzical look. "You've had three, that's almost one a year..." I grin at her, unable to stay mad.
  
  She hits me softly on the shoulder. "Asshole," she says. She pauses for a moment. "So, you're going to ask her out then?"
  
  > Don't ask Celine out
  Before I can even tell Candace that I won't ask Celine out, she blurts out, "Do you really not know why I don't like her?" She looks at me with her deep blue eyes staring into my green ones, a look of...not worry, but concern.
  
  Before I can finish my sentence, she leans across the bridge railing towards me and kisses me, her soft lips melding with mine. I feel her tongue go in and out of my mouth, her lips still working their way around mine. It feels amazing. She's been my friend forever and now we're making out - well, she's making out with me, at the very least. I...
  
  > kiss her back
  I happily meld into her kiss, bringing my hand up to cheek and pressing her face against mind. My other hand goes around her back, feeling the contours of her back underneath my fingers.
  
  God, I never knew contours could feel so sexy.
  
  She runs her fingers through my messy brown hair, almost letting out a half-giggle into my mouth when I jump from her amazing touch.
  
  After we finally pull apart, she seems to be smiling, not with her mouth, but with her deep, beautiful blue eyes. She's as red as a tomato, and it's safe to say that I probably am too.
  
  "Finally," she says, and blinks flirtatiously at me.
  
  > More Time
  We make the most of the time we have left in high school together.
  
  To be honest, it mostly includes making out. A lot.
  
  Then graduation rolls around, and our mothers laugh and laugh with each other about how they knew we would end up together, and that we're going to get married and have ten kids. And we laugh with them, then head home to make out some more before heading to our friends' graduation party.
  
  A month later, we're sitting on our bridge, holding hands, and her head on my shoulder, her blond hair tickling my neck.
  
  "I love you." She says to me, squeezing my hand. "But I have something to tell you."
  
  "I love you more," I say, kissing the top of her head. "What's up?"
  
  She picks her head up off of my shoulder and turns toward me, taking my other hand with hers. "This has kept me up all night, and I've been thinking about how to tell you, but I couldn't think of a way, and...well, I just decided not to beat around the bush." She looks down at our intertwined fingers, her lips slightly pursed together. "My dad wants me to come live with him while I'm at college."
  
  I say nothing at first, I just think. In the back of my mind, I had realized tha this was a possibility - her dad lives only 20 minutes away from where she's going to college in California, and living with him would definitely be cheaper than getting a dorm on campus.
  
  "I...um....that's great..." I say halfheartedly, which there's no chance in hell she fell for.
  
  "What about us?" she asks, her blue eyes pleading with me. "We've seen what long-distance relationships do to people," she says, referring to a couple in high school who tried a long-distance relationship and completely fell apart. "I love you, but...this is my future. I can't say no. I..." Tears begin to well in her eyes.
  
  > say "Then I'm going with you."
  ...I say before she has a chance to continue.
  
  She looks up at me, her eyes now brimming with tears. "What?"
  
  "If you're going, I'm going. I'll get an apartment there, I-I'll get a part time job and take online classes or something," I say, literally coming up with the plan a split second before the words come out of my mouth. "It might not be easy, and it'll be a lot of work-"
  
  But before I can continue she presses her lips against mine once more, with so much force that I nearly fall over. I take that as a "yes and thank you" from her.
  
  It's going to be difficult, changing all of my plans for one girl. But it's worth it. Love is always worth it. As long as I have her, I'll be okay. And I know she will be too.
  
  You got the HAPPY ENDING! You and Candace are going to have an amazing life together. Try for the other two endings!