"Can you believe this?" Judy asked excitedly. "We're rehearsing for our friggin high school graduation!"

Justin smiled down at his smaller counterpart and continued following the guy in the letter jacket infront of him. The entire Senior class was gathered together during 6th period to rehearse the walk for the following day. People were being called up one by one and placed into one of two lines. Somehow the lines were going to walk on the outsides of the chairs, and then fill in all the seat, putting the class in alphabetical order. Don't ask him how it was going to work, it just was.

"Judy Bucklass."

The girl turned to Justin and gave his arm an excited, and surprisingly strong, squeeze before running up to the teacher with the clipboard and being placed in the correct spot. Immediately Judy began a conversation with Krystal, who was a C and placed near her. Justin was a T, and had a while to wait before they got to his end of the line.

"So Justin, now that we're graduating, how long are you going to be in town?" Allie asked.

She, and Juliet were M's, so they had a few minutes to kill as well.

"I'm going to be here for two more days. Then the show wraps and I'm on my way back home."

"When does the show start airing?"

"June I think. I don't know."

Rehearsal continued on, and while it was fun for everyone involved, it also reminded Justin that his time was very limited. In the months he'd spent with Judy, he'd grown to love her like the sister he never had. She was one of his bestfriends, and it was going to be weird for her to be the voice on the other end of the phone cord instead of the lady whispering on the other end of his bed. Plus, he still wasn't fond of her new boyfriend, Ben, and didn't like the idea of leaving her alone with him. When he was gone, who was going to look out for her? Of course, when he voiced this concern to Trace, he was called a jealous bitch in return, and didn't bring it up again.

Late that night, Justin and Judy climbed back into her Mustang and headed toward the highschool football field.

"Are you guys ready to do this?" Judy dropped an arm around Vicki's shoulders.

"Ready to get this crap out of the way and be done? Yes."

"Don't be so negative," Judy pouted. "You better enjoy this because we'll never be here again."

"Thank God."

It was Senior sunset, and everyone came with blankets, candles, cameras, and stereos. They gathered in a large circle in the middle of the football field and quieted down when the Senior class president, Jonathon Hicks, stepped into the middle of the circle.

"Welcome, class of 2004. The gathering of the graduating class has long since been a tradition for Central Valley High, dating back to the founding of the town in the 1800's. Just as we gathered together at 5am on our first day of school for the first sunrise of our senior year, we gather together again, at 8pm to see the sunset on our last day together. We have shared many memories, and jumped many hurdles together. Some of us have only known each other for a year, and some of us have been together since elementary school. But regardless of how long we've been together, what matters is, we all made it together."

"Oh my God," Judy put her hand on Justin's arm, pulling his attention from Jon.

"What?"

"I think I might cry."

Vicki rolled her eyes.

"You're not going to cry. This is melo-dramatic crap. We couldn't wait to graduate, remember?"

"I know, but that was before it was less than 24 hours away. Now that I think about it, I've been here for 7 years. I have been going to school here, with these people, for 7 years. And tomorrow afternoon, it's all going to be over. We may never all be in the same room together again."

"Does that mean no more having to watch Meredith pop out of her push-up bra in Government?" Julie asked.

"Hey," Justin scolded, "that was the best part of that class."

"Class of 2004," Jonathon continued, "It's been my pleasure serving you in student government these past four years. Congratulations, and good luck. See you at the reunion."

When Jonathon lowered his head, and moved to leave the middle of the circle, everyone began to clap, and someone flipped the switch on a boombox and Vitamin C's Graduation began to play. At the opening lines Judy looked from Justin, to Vicki, to Justin, and then broke down. Her brown eyes teared up and she put her hands over her face, crying uncontrollably. Justin couldn't help the chuckled that escaped his mouth as he put his arms around her shoulders. She was so weirdly adorible sometimes.

"Don't cry Juicy. You'll see everyone again."

"Yeah. Bryce works at the Ice Creamery on the Boulevard," Juliet joked.

"It's not funny," came Judy's muffled reply.

Justin swatted at Juliet before pulling back to look at Judy. Her lips curled into a frown and her red eyes squinted at him through her glasses.

"Are you going to live? Or should I call Mikey to give you mouth-to-mouth?"

Judy chuckled, lightly swatting Justin in the stomach at the mention of her one-time "math stalker", a boy in their class who had, at one point in time, desperately wanted Judy's attention.

"You laugh now, but you guys are going to miss this when it's gone."

School the next day was uneventful, most of the school was stuck in final exams. Most teachers with Senior classes wanted their students into enjoy their final day of "adolesence", so they either didn't include a final in the curriculum, or had scheduled it before the last day of classes. Most seniors were sitting in their desks joking around, throwing things at each other, or sneaking out of the door to be with their friends whenever the teachers weren't paying attention. Justin put gum on Steve's camera lens, which later earned him a wet-willy.

Afterwards everyone headed home to change into their attire for the ceremony. Judy wore a black dress with a white bow around the waist, and Justin was clad in black slacks and a blue button up. Diane forced them to take various pictures around the house before they piled into her SUV to head back to the high school.

The ceremony itself was boring. Lots of performances by talent-less graduating seniors. The senior class president had approached Justin about performing, but was denied. Justin was strickly there as a student, and enjoying his time being just another guy in town. Finally, an hour and a half into the ceremony, it was time for the diplomas to be given out.

For the first time, there were two camera men. MTV had kept the production team small, and mostly out of sight, allowing Judy and Justin to be as comfortable and normal as possible. But now, Steve sat on the ground before her, while some other guy had been placed with Justin for the duration of the ceremony.

They went, painstakenly slowly, one by one through the graduating class, calling their name, allowing for applause, and then letting them take their walk down the isle. She'd never realized there were so many seniors before. Judy, because her last name started with a B received her diploma relatively quickly, but it was more than 15 minutes until Justin, Juliet, and the others received their diplomas.

Judy watched her friends proudly as they all stepped onto the stage and received their diplomas. They'd all made it in one piece, and relatively sane, including Justin. Over her shoulder, a few rows back, she spotted Krystal, who waved her over. Moving from her chair and crouching low, Judy navigated the isles and sat down on the grass in front of her friend. Moments later she was joined by Juliet, Justin, Vicki, Amanda, and the rest of their group.

"Should we be doing this?" Julie questioned, ducking her head low.

"What are they going to do, suspend us?" Krystal replied.

A pathetic whimper sounded and everyone turned to Judy, who's eyes were watering.

"We're graduated," she sobbed.

"Oh God, here we go," Justin rolled his eyes, placing an arm around her shoulders.

"God Juicy, all you do lately is cry. I swear I don't know why we hang out with you," Allie teased.

That earned a chuckle, and Judy raised a hand to wipe away her tears. Justin smiled at her, watching the happiness beaming from her brown eyes. He knew she'd worked so incredibly hard to get to this moment in time. This last 5 minutes as the last of the diplomas were handed out, and she was able to sit with her friends and soak it in one last time. Her expression took him back to another place in time. Prom, just a few short months prior.

They'd decided to attend together, which hadn't gone off well with Ben, who'd desperately wanted to be her date. While Justin and Judy thought it was reasonable, because they wouldn't have to fill out paperwork for a guestpass, Ben thought it was his inalienable right as her significant other. He'd even called her the evening of prom, just to yell at her and remind her of his disapproval. He'd almost ruined their evening, which Justin thought was unfair. It was her prom, not his. Who did he think he was, calling her horrible names and making her feel guilty? Justin was honored to be her date, and glad that she wouldn't look back on photos of that night years from now and be seeing Ben's snug face smiling back.

"Wait, wait. Are you sure this looks okay?" Judy smoothed a hand over the front of her black, bejeweled gown.

"You look great. Would you stop worrying? These are your friends, they don't care what you have on." Plus, she was stuck now. It was after 10pm on a Saturday, where was she going to get another dress?

"But I care what I have on. Everyone is going to look so nice, and all the girls have been preparing for this for months. I just want to make sure I blend in. And I do not blend in this dress. I told you and Mom it made me look fat!"

Justin turned to her, taking both of her hands in his.

"Shut up."

Judy's eyes narrowed on him.

"You do not look fat. You look amazing. Those girls in there have been getting ready for prom for the past month and they still have nothing on how good you look tonight. Even in your PE clothes with that ridiculous bun on the top of your head you still look better than them."

Her icy glare warmed a little and she let out a sigh. Justin stepped to her side and offered his arm, which she took hold of.

"Now, stop doing that weirdo-girly-wigging-out thing and come on. Your prom is going on and you're missing it."

Prom had been everything she'd expected. Cheesy decorations hung in the ballroom of an expensive hotel in San Fransisco. An inexperienced DJ was set up in the back, rocking out harder than anyone else to the CD's being played. To the left there were several long buffet tables and the right, several circle tables with faux-crystal place settings. And right smack dab in the middle was the dancefloor, currently crowded to maximum compacity with teenagers.

"Justin! Judy! Oh my gosh you both look amazing!"

As soon as the compliment was given Justin glanced at Judy with a "told you so" grin and wiggled his eyebrows flirtatiously.

"Wanna cut a rug?" He offered.

"Let's."

Later on that evening, the pair slipped into the house unnoticed by everyone except Playa around 4am. The sun was still sitting low on the horizon, barely turning the sky deep shades of red and purple. MTV followed them and they immediately headed for their rooms and collapsed onto their beds, fully clothed and began to snore.

"Hey Steve, let's call it a night."

Steve nodded, hearing the voice from his walkie-talkie. He lowered the heavy camera from his shoulder, and set the alarm before slipping out the front door. Green lights flickered on all of the wall mounted cameras and Justin's bedroom door opened and a head peeked out, looking up the hall towards the living room. Nothing moved and everything remained quiet as the slender body tip-toed from the room and towards Judy's door, slowly creeping it open.

"Juicy? Hey, Juicy?"

"Hmmm?"

"You asleep?"

"No. I'm just laying here with my eyes closed, snoring, trying to see how many people I can trick."

He smirked sarcastically at her reply. Sneeking into the room, he inched the door closed behind himself until the knob clicked, and then headed for her bed, where he crawled in beside her.

"Tonight was fun." He stated.

"Yeah it was." The blankets russled as she rolled over, searching for his face in the darkness. "I had a good time."

"Sometimes you looked distracted though. Like something was bothering you."

"Did I?"

"Yeah. While we were doing the Cha-cha Slide, you slid to the right, but you didn't slide to the left. Not once."

Judy chuckled softly. "Just thinking about Ben I guess."

"He still mad?"

"Wouldn't know. He hasn't called since he yelled at me before."

"Juicy, don't let him ruin your night. You had a good time, there's nothing wrong with that. Just because he wants to act like a jealous bitch doesn't mean you need to let it get to you."

"Justin, I can't just dismiss his feelings like that. We're in a relationship-."

"Well he's got no problem dismissing yours. If you're in a relationship then he should have thought about how it was going to make you feel if he called you, hollaring like a lunatic like that, on one of the most memorable nights of your life."

"He wasn't thinking straight," she said. "I think he's just a little jealous of you."

"As he should be."

Judy snorted and Justin scoffed.

"Have you seen me lately? I'm one sexy fuckin' dude."

"Justin I swear, if you could clone yourself, you'd sleep with yourself."

"It'd be perfect. I know exactly what turns me on."

Judy put a hand over her mouth, muffling her laughter.

"But seriously, Juicy," he said. "if the guy is worth it, he'll apologize for being a jerk, and he'll let it go."

"Yeah."

"I'm just looking out for you, you know? That's what older brothers do."

"Yeah, much much older brothers," she teased.

He wasn't much older, but she liked to exaggerate the age gap between them.

"Much older means being much wiser, don't you forget it. But really, I'm just trying to take care of you."

"I don't need a handler Justin."

"Like hell you don't."

"Oh really?" She sat up, leaning her head in her palm and resting her elbow in the pillows. "And who is going to look after me when you leave, if I'm so incapable."

"Me." He responded, "just because I'm not here physically doesn't mean I won't still be keeping an eye on you. And you'll still be looking out for me when I go back to my regular life."

"You won't remember me a month into you 'regular life'."

"Horse shit. Haven't we talked about this? How could I ever forget Juicy? Come on," he scooted closer and held up one of his hands.

"Come on what?"

"We're gonna make a promise and settle this once and for all. Put your pinky in."

Judy raised her pinky, crossing it with his.

"Alright. We're set for life. You're always going to look out for me, and I'm always going to take care of you; and warn you about loser boyfriends, like Ben." The last phrase was muttered as he lowered his head to kiss his thumb.

Judy used her other hand to punch him in the stomach.

"Pinky swear?" He questioned.

"Pinky swear," Judy kissed her thumb, sealing the promise.

"Sweet," he sounded, dipping down to plant a kiss on her cheek. "Now stop your yapping. I'm tired."

Just before he rolled over onto his back and snuggled into the bed, he glanced at her face and caught a glimpse of the bright smile spread over her face.

That same smile was the smile she had on her face now, sitting here on the grass during graduation. A grin of true and utter happiness. Especially now that the name calling was over.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," the principle was saying, "I am proud to present to you, the graduating class of 2004!"

Dozens of screams soared through the air, and hundreds of hats were tossed up, threatening to block out the sun.

"We did it! We did it! We did it!" Judy enveloped Justin in the biggest bear hug he'd ever been given.

"No, you did it," he told her.

She was the one who'd been here day in and day out for four years, running clubs and activities, and somehow making it all work. She'd put in her dues for this day, he'd simply tagged along for the last stretch of the journey.

"Congratulations."

Judy pulled back and smiled up at him, and everything seemed to come to a pause for a moment. Justin had no idea why, but it did, and the only thing that he could clearly see was the smile on her face, and bright brown eyes peering up at him, squinting in the sunlight. She looked so beautiful right then, so young and innocent, and full of hope and determination. Though he knew this was further from the truth, he pictured her as a girl who knew nothing of how cruel the world and some of the people in it could be. And he wanted to keep it that way.

But the moment ended as soon as it had begun, and the world kicked back into motion. Before another word could be spoken between them, Judy's attention was distracted, and to her left stood her boyfriend. Her smile and bright eyes turned to Ben, leaving Justin alone. The look Ben gave Justin, however, was the polar opposite of Judy's bubbly and lovable nature. The two men locked eyes, and Ben's seemed to flash with anger, or maybe jealousy and insecurity. He was clearly sending a warning, "Your time here is over. Stay away." But Ben's moment, just like Judy's, ended quickly and was replaced with excitement when he turned to his girlfriend.

Justin got chills down his long spine. Did Ben have a split personality or something? And why was he so protective of Judy? The tantrum he'd had over not being asked to attend her prom, and now his defensive glare. Justin didn't like the feeling he was getting. And now that he was leaving the next day, who was going to watch over Judy? How would he be able to look out for her from thousands of miles away?

"Justin Randall!"

His thought process was thrown off as he smiled. He'd recognize that Southern drawl anywhere.

"Mama!" He answered, opening his eyes to the petite blonde.

"It's so good to see you," she said, smoothing her hand over his short hair.

"I didn't know you were going to be here."

"It was a surprise baby. Look at you in your cap and gown! I'm so proud of you honey."

"Thanks Mom. Oh, Mom, I want you to meet someone," he reached for Judy's arm as he spoke. "This is Judy Bucklass."

"The infamous?" Lynn teased as she shook the girl's hand.

"I don't know about infamous, but I am the one and only," Judy replied.

"Well it's so nice to finally meet you instead of just hearing about you over the phoneline."

"Justin! Congratulations dawg!" Everyone's attention shifted when three members of the Varsity football team rushed up to Justin, nearly tackling him and ruffling his hair.

"Thanks dude."

"Going to Dillan's party tonight?"

Justin glanced at Judy, who shrugged. There were so many parties, who knew where they'd end up.

"I don't know man, we'll think about it. I know we're going to Trisha's."

"For sure. We'll see you there."

As the boys rushed off to congratulate others, Lynn smiled at her son.

"I told you you'd be in the popular crowd if you went to high school."

Justin blushed with a shrug before glancing at something over her shoulder.

"Oh! Mom, there's that girl I was telling you about."

"Where?" Lynn turned.

"Over there in the green gown."

"Justin, everyone is wearing a green gown."

"Come on Mom," Justin groaned and took her hand, pulling her long for a closer inspection. "Remember the girl I was telling you about, with the white halter top and the cinnamon roll...?"

Graduation night had gone by in a blur. After coming back to the house for a small family get together with cake and ice cream, Lynn had retired to her hotel room and Diane to bed, while Justin and Judy headed out to the Senior Cruise on the San Fransisco Bay. From there, to Dillan's party at the San Leandro Marina, and then a hotel party at the Hyatt in Pleasanton, where they eventually passed out. It wasn't until 9am the next morning that a call to Judy's cellphone pulled them from their slumber. It was Marcus, questioning his little sisters whereabouts.

"Looks like someone had fun last night," Diane smiled.

Judy and Justin had just come slinking through the front door, looking every bit exhausted and hung over as they were. Judy off of champagne and Justin off of tequila and rum. The doorbell rang and the pair stood there, in the living room, swaying back and forth. Playa ran to the door, barking and jumping wildly. Judy winced and Justin covered his ears.

"Can you do something about that?"

"What do you want me to do, tape her mouth shut?"

"I don't know, but it's too loud. Playa, hush!"

Playa sat down infront of the door and looked up at Justin before whinning and scratching at the door with one of her paws. Marcus appeared at the top of the stairs and headed to the door, holding Playa's collar with one hand and turning the knob with the other.

"Hello, hello."

"Mom?" Justin turned to his Mother as she stepped into the door.

"Hey baby, oh, you look terrible. Did you sleep at all last night?" Her tiny hands reached up to rub his scruffy cheek.

"A little bit."

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to sleep on the plane I guess."

"Plane?"

"Yes. We have a flight in a couple of hours, remember?"

"We do?"

"Yes," she chuckled. "To New York. You have some press to do. Justin, we talked all about this yesterday."

Justin's face was blank as he nodded.

"I remember."

"Well you better hurry up. We need to leave for the airport in an hour or less."

The mood in the room had suddenly turned heavy, sad. Against hope and wishes, the dreaded hour had finally come. Justin turned to Judy, and frowned when he found her eyes were glossy.

"You need to pack," she said.

They sulked down the hall towards Justin's bedroom, as Diane and Lynn shook their heads.

"Those two are quite the pair aren't they?" Diane offered Lynn a coffee mug.

"I should say so. Did you see their faces? It almost made me want to cry."

The two women smiled and turned towards the livingroom to sit down. Justin and Judy headed to the bathroom, brushing their teeth and trying to rid themselves of some of the aftermath of all night partying.

"Feel any different now? Being all graj-i-ated and stuff?" Justin asked, spitting out his toothpaste.

Judy paused, pulling her toothbrush from her mouth and thinking.

"Nope. Feels the same."

After freshening up they headed to their rooms to change clothes. Judy pulled on her velour sweatsuit with 'Juicy' written on the butt and headed into Justin's room. He stood there in jeans, a button-down shirt, and a suit jacket. Gone were the trackpants, tee shirts, and flip-flops he'd become accustomed to wearing while there. The regular boy was gone, he was back in popstar mode again. Judy silently took a seat on his bed next to the suitcase he was packing.

"I can't do this if you're going to sit there looking at me like that."

Judy turned away, facing the television. From her profile, Justin could see her lips pouting. He sighed and sat down next to her.

"Juicy, we knew this day was coming. We've been talking about it, right?"

"Yeah," she nodded. Her nose sounded stuffy.

The observation let him know that she was crying, or close to it, and it was time to have another one of those 'I won't forget you' conversations. Justin rose from the bed, and Steve followed. When the cameraman stepped into the hallway, thinking Justin would follow, the door closed in his face.

"Hey," Steve's palm sounded on the door, "open up."

"Give us a minute." Justin's voice was muffled.

"You're in breach of your contract. MTV could pull the show for this."

"Just give us a second."

"Oh, the checks have already been cashed. Let them alone," Lynn called from her seat on the sofa.

Steve sighed and reluctantly headed towards the leather chair. After radioing to the production van that he was being denied a shot, he let out another sigh and picked up a cookie from the coffeetable. No one but Justin and Judy knew what went on inside of that room for the next 10 minutes. But when the door opened, they stepped out hand in hand, and each carrying a suitcase.

"I'm all set."

"Just in time," Lynn checked her watch. "We should make it right on time."

Everyone stood, and it was eerily quiet in the Bucklass residence. Steve moved around them in a circle, camera posted on his shoulder. Justin turned to Marcus first and shook his hand as Lynn said her goodbyes to Diane. Then Diane hugged Justin as Lynn gave her thanks to Judy for looking after her son. The front door was opened, and Lynn and Steve stepped out. Justin started to follow, but turned back to Judy.

"I'll call you tonight," he said, kissing her lips quickly.

Neither of the two thought much of it as he pecked her and headed out the door, but Diane's eyebrows raised as Lynn's head cocked to the side as she followed her son. Judy stood there a moment, staring at the space he'd just been in. Then she rushed out the front door, running up the driveway to the curb. Justin was already in the limo, she could see him through the tint in the back window. Someone inside motioned, and he turned to her. She waved as they started to drive, and just before they went down the slope to the end of the street, she made out the faint outline of him holding up his pinky.

Pinky promise.

When Judy returned to the house, everything was a blur. She walked wordlessly passed her Mother, who still stood in her place in the living room. She passed Marcus, and Playa who was clearly wondering where her bestfriend had gone. Even the MTV techies who had already set to work removing the cameras installed in the walls were unnoticed as she navigated passed them. She headed straight for her room, and closed the door behind herself.