• Boxes lay around the room, some open and only half-filled. Ally reluctantly removed a photo from a nearby shelf. Blowing a thin layer of dust off the glass covering, she looked at the still figures in the picture. Tears threatened to overwhelm her. Her double smiled silently up at her from behind a wall of cold glass, surrounded by her friends. A lone tear ran slowly down Ally's cheek. Choking out a sob, she hugged the photo to her chest. Why do I have to leave?! Why can't we just stay in one place?! This is the first time that I've felt I belonged! Slowly, she wrapped the photo carefully in bubble wrap and placed it into the box. Turning back to her shelf, a particular photo caught her eye. Reaching out, she picked it up gingerly, making sure not to knock over the other pictures piled around it like fortress walls. Gazing at it, Ally smiled fondly as she recalled when the picture had been taken. Her friends and her had been laughing themselves into fits over some random thing that had taken place after her announcement that she was moving. Tears of sadness had been instantly replaced by tears of joy. A small smile pulled at the corner of her mouth. In the corner of the photo, the words 'Friends 4EVER' had been written. "Friends forever," she whispered, skimming a thumb over the surface of the words. How could she have forgotten? No matter how far apart they were, they would always be linked together by their friendship.