The Carter House was the

hangout spot

junior year. By hangout spot it might seem that everybody hung out there. But this is not true. In fact it was only a small group. But for Will and the others who gravitated towards The Carter House, it seemed like everybody who needed to be there, was. Junior year was probably the first when Will no longer needed to be everybody's friend. The first year when he began making what he would call deep 

friendship

s.

After school he'd drive over, usually giving a ride to Paul who didn't have his license. Once he entered it felt like all the drama and the noise from the day disappeared. What did they do at that house that made it feel so alive. The classes and the school gossip no longer seemed to feel important. Funny because just a year earlier that was all Will ever cared about. What kind of clothes people wore and who was dating who and who was going to fight that weekend.

Will wondered whether those concerns never mattered in the first place or if he changed so much by

junior

year that what mattered changed. Will can't say he's proud of all the time he wasted at The Carter House, but he can say for sure that he's glad it all happened to him. He wouldn't be who he is without it. Not to say he's particularly proud of who he turned out to be. But who or what would he be had he not had the junior year at The Carter House?

Crazy now that Allison was going to move there. But then what happened to the Carters? Will thought about the possibilities. Then Allison started to speak.