Haisley loves the mountains. She loves the way they project into the gorgeous blue skies, and how the snow glistens when the summer sun hits. Shes sees the mountains as a home for many thriving plants and animals in the summer, this brings happiness into Haisley’s life-she can never seem to stop smiling when she gets a glimpse of it. Haisley would use her free time during summer to drive through the mountains with her friends, blasting "Brazil” by Declan Mckenna. Her bright blonde hair flew with the wind while she passed countless light blue lakes with ripples flowing endlessly through them. Now, everytime she hears this song or sees the mountains, she is reminded of the summer and how genuinely happy she really was. 

Haisley takes herself out of the trance that the mountains on the projector put her into, making her miss the long summer days and the sun blazing through her skin. As her gaze moves to the windows in her classroom, Haisley sees snow pouring from the winter Colorado sky. She has been stressed out lately since it is now December, meaning it’s almost time for her first group of final exams in college. Haisley knows that exams in college are much more complex then the exams in high school, in which she would receive A’s on each time. She still doesn’t know exactly what to expect, so Haisley always finds her mind wandering back to the thought of school over and over again. The only people who really know how to get Haisley's mind off the finals are her friends who are there for her every minute of every day: Sophia, Eve, Lily, Ila, Emmy, and Mya. Eve and Ila love to have fun, so they had planned a surprise for their friends. After school, Eve decided to FaceTime the group to ensure they were all on the same page.

Once everyone answered, Eve exclaimed, "Hey guys! Aren't you so excited for tonight?"

"Yes, you guys will LOVE the surprise we planned for you!" stated Ila.

"Where are we meeting?" asked Mya, with a confused face. 

"I was thinking we would meet at the library," Eve explained.

Haisley knew she didn't want to go. It would be hard for her to tell them, but she had to do it. "Um, guys, I've decided to stay home tonight, I need to keep studying." 

Sophia's face immediately dropped; she knew right away that something was seriously bothering Haisley since she would always be the first one up to do something with her friends.

  Sophia hoped it was just a one-time thing, so she responded, "That's okay, Haisley. We know that school and good grades are your biggest priority." Everyone else just smiled and nodded. 

Eve could not believe Haisley would ditch her surprise like this. Is it really that bad to miss a couple of hours of studying to have fun for once? Since when did she not want to hang out with friends? 

         After Haisley had left the call, a few seconds of silence that felt like minutes passed when Ila finally blurted out, "What is wrong with her?!"

"Ugh, I don't know. She's been really stuck up lately," snapped Eve, “She’s only been worried about herself, leaving us in the dirt.”

             "And crabby all the time," Mya added. Everyone nodded in agreement before they decided to leave the call. 

Haisley walked into the library the next day because she and her friends would always go there after school to study together. Haisley had not talked with any one of her friends since the phone call, even though she had tried texting all of them, but no one responded. 

Sophia could sense that no one wanted to talk to Haisley, and she hates being mean to anyone, so she said, "Hey, we are working-"

Suddenly, Eve interrupted her by looking Haisley up and down with her scary, green eyes and said, "Come on guys, let's go." So everyone got up and left Haisley to sit alone in defeat. Although Haisley is upset about her other friends leaving, she is especially hurt that Sophia would do this to her. Sophia has been her biggest supporter through everything since she understands every single thing Haisley goes through. 

Haisley began writing her English essay in the library when her friends left. As she picked up her head to think about what to type next, she locked eyes with a tall man with bleach blonde hair and defined, sun-kissed arms. She noticed that his eyes were the brightest shade of blue they could possibly be, blue like the Colorado lakes during the summer. She could not take her eyes off of them. 

Haisley noticed that his figure started to move towards her, "Hey, I'm having a party tonight at my place, and I was wondering if you want to come?" he asked.

Haisley was stunned. Her voice was shaky when she replied, "Oh… um …. ye- yes, I would love to come. Where is it?"

"It’s at my place. If you give me your number, I can send you the address," he responded. Haisley gave him her number, and after he left, she realized what she just got herself into. Haisley is not mentally ready to go to a party now more than ever. She doesn't have any friends to be right by her side, and plus it would be her first college party. 

 Sophia had been thinking about Haisley ever since she had gotten up with everyone else to avoid her. Sophia did not know what she was thinking; she would be devastated if that happened to her, but she did it anyway. Sophia pushed the button on her phone with Haisley's face on it named "Hais”- the nickname they have all been calling her since the day they met. She saw her own face pop up and realized how desperate she looked wishing that Haisley would answer. Sophia sighed when the phone stopped ringing realizing that Haisley had declined her call. Sophia wouldn’t be able to stop the guilt lingering in her mind until she apologized to Haisley. 

 This led her to send a message that read: Hais, I'm so sorry for leaving you, but everyone is unhappy with you since you have been acting very different lately. It is almost as if you ditched us, and all we've done is try to get you to stay.

Within seconds, Haisley responded: IDC, I'm going to a party and don't have time for this conversation. Haisley knows deep down that she truly does care, but she doesn’t want to give her friends the satisfaction of knowing they got to her. 

Sophia did not know what to say; this did not sound like Haisley to her at all. Since when did she go to parties? Something must be seriously bothering her, and Sophia was determined to find out before Haisley dug herself into a deeper hole than she was already in.

           On the way to the party, Haisley started becoming more anxious. She is still determining what she will do with finals coming up, her friends ditching her, and showing up to a random guy's party. As soon as she walked into the party, Haisley took in a breath of alcohol and weed. She flinched at the smell at first, but she grew used to it. 

           "Hey, you showed up!" someone shouted in Haisley's ear for her to hear them through the loud music. Haisley jumped and turned to the side the voice was coming from. 

           "Of course I did. I love parties," Haisley lied. 

           "Here, take this," he offered.

            Haisley had no idea what it was, however, she knew it was alcohol, which she inferred by the nauseating scent coming from the cup. She drank it anyway because she would do anything to forget about the reality of her life right now. Haisley flinched as it went down her throat with a burning sensation. She felt like she was going to throw up because she had never drank before. 

            The boy laughed, "Drink as many as you'd like!" He could tell Haisley had never drank before, but he made a deal with himself to get her gone by the end of the night. 

           By midnight, Haisley couldn't even stand up, she felt like she was in a dream. She didn't know if it was the alcohol or the weed she'd tried, but she loved this new feeling. Haisley messaged her friends: I don't need any of you to have fun; I have had more fun at this party than I ever have with you guys.

          Haisley jumped out of her sleep when she heard Sophia scream, "HAIS WAKE UP!!" Haisley's head was pounding just like her heartbeat-she was clueless. The last thing she could remember was the guy she met in the library giving her a cup of alcohol. There were remnants of the night still in her brain, like the room the boy took her into alone, or her throwing up onto the floor and sprinting to the nearest bathroom. What she remembered most was observing the view from outside the house on the hill; snow was pouring from the sky, and the mountains reminded her of her friends, who she no longer had. Haisley felt lonelier than ever, like the dark blue lake sitting in front of the mountains. 

            "Where were you last night?!" Sophia ordered for an answer.

             "A…a party," Haisley mumbled guiltily. 

            "Haisley, since when have you partied? You're obviously hung over. I didn't know you drank now either," Sophia was lecturing Haisley like a mom; that's when Haisley realized that it wasn't just Sophia with her. All her friends were surrounding her with a look of disgust on their faces. 

             "Well, I'm different now. I don't know what to tell you, Sophia. You guys all ditched me, and I had NO ONE to turn to. I need someone there for me now more than ever. I have been getting anxious all the time, and I don't know why, whether it's finals or losing you guys."

           The room fell silent besides the sound of Haisley's desperate cry. No one knew what to say, they were all confused. Finally, Eve broke the silence by stating, "Well, you were the one who started ditching all of us and pretty much told us in your text you didn't need us anymore." 

This response did not come as a surprise to Haisley, because for the years she has been friends with her, Eve has never admitted to being in the wrong. Through her tears, Haisley said, "B-but that's just because I have been struggling. I hit a new low in my life, especially since all of you guys decided you hated me randomly." Eve and Ila exchanged a look across the room. They snuck out of the room, and eventually, everyone but Sophia and Haisley followed. 

"Okay, she is either being dramatic or making this up," Eve blurted out.

"I was thinking the same thing," Ila added. 

Emmy opened her mouth to start talking when the door flew open to Sophia's tall, scary figure. "GUYS, HAIS IS STRUGGLING, AND SHE NEEDS YOU GUYS TO STOP BEING SO SELFISH!!" she screamed.

When Sophia left the room to yell at everyone in the hall, Haisley sat in her bed, her pillow was drenched in tears. She could barely breathe through this breakdown, her hands shaking nonstop and tears streaming down her face. Haisley turned towards her window so that she did not have to face anyone anymore. She noticed that the snow was starting to slowly fall from the dark blue sky, just as it did yesterday. In minutes, Haisley was fast asleep. 

Haisley woke up when it was pitch black outside with no sense of time and a slight pounding still in her head. She picked up her phone to check the time, but a text message from Sophia popped up. 

It read: Hey Hais, when I walked back into your room, I saw that you were sleeping, so I decided to give you that luxury since I have been up all night worrying about you. Please call me as soon as you wake up.

This made Haisley smile for the first time in weeks. She pushed the call button under Sophia's name. 

After one ring, Sophia's voice filled Haisley's ear. "Finally, I've needed to talk to you.” After releasing a sigh to get ready to tell Haisley the news, she said, "The rest of the girls stormed off after I put them in their place; they ended up blocking me on everything. I am guessing they did the same to you. Hais, I don't think any of those girls are truly our friends anymore. I am so sorry."

Haisley had no idea what to say, she didn't want to lose any of them. At the same time, though, she knew deep down that their friendship would never be the same. The only thing Haisley could say was. "I just need a hug, Sophia,". Sophia ran into Haisley's room with her arms wide open in almost no time  "I love you so much," Haisley whispered into Sophia's elbow, which was now covered in tears. 

The only words they spoke for the next hour while they held onto each other was, "I love you too," Haisley realized that all of her stress and anxiety disappeared as soon as her arm flung over Sophia's. Sohpia understood, just like she always has. As she peered over her shoulder, she took in the view of the light blue lake. Haisley was finally happy, even if she only had one friend. Sophia herself heals more than any amount of alcohol, drugs, or fake friends could.