High school graduation. Something you’ve dreamed about and looked forward to for the last four years, and here you are. Your hard work has paid off, and even though you weren’t graduating with the 4.0 you dreamed of, you were still happy to be getting out of high school and heading off to college.
Sitting next to your best friends, listening to your principal give some lame speech on ‘new beginnings’ or something, you start to wonder if he came. He said he wouldn’t be able to, because of his busy schedule, but you hoped, wished, you’d hear him cheering for you when they called your name and handed you your DIPLOMA.
For weeks you begged your boyfriend to skip a game so he could come to your graduation, but each time you got the same response: “I’m sorry (Y/N), you know I want to be there, but I can’t miss a game for this right now. We’re in the playoffs!”
“But Andre…” You’d look up at him with sad eyes, and each time, he’d shake his head and apologize. You understood; it was his first time playing in the NHL and he didn’t want to mess it up, but it still broke your heart to know he wouldn’t be there.
Your best friend poked you, and smiled before standing up. You realized her name had been called, which meant you were next. How had it gone by so quickly? Your heart raced and you adjusted your cap before taking a deep breath.
“(Y/N)” The principal called, and you stood up. Carefully walking toward the front of the stage, you glance out at the audience to see your family cheering and clapping for you. You scanned the crowd, knowing he won’t be there, but hoped he’d magically appear just in time to see you get your DIPLOMA.
You shook the principal’s hand and left the stage clutching your DIPLOMA and made your way back to your seat. You felt so disappointed, even though you knew he wasn’t going to be there. Fighting back tears you faked a smile at your best friend, who held up her diploma with a smile.
“Did you see him?” She asked, and you shook your head. You were about to explain that he couldn’t make it, but she interrupted you. “He was right behind your parents!”
“Andre?” You stood up a little and tried to find him in the audience, but you couldn’t see past the people in front of you. “Are you sure? He said he wasn’t going to be here.” You were almost frantic as your eyes darted from person to person. “Wait, he was sitting with my parents?” Your heart froze and you sat down again, completely ignoring the rest of the ceremony.
“Yeah!” She nodded.
“They’ve never met before, and they didn’t really like that I was dating a hockey player, and he’s a little bit older, oh my god…” your heart started racing again, and your friend put her hand on your arm to calm you down.
“Don’t worry, your dad didn’t look like he was going to kill him,” she smiled. “Besides, he’s only a year older than you. Hey, we’re about to be officially graduated in about two seconds, so get ready to flip your tassel to the other side.”
You stood up with her and the rest of your class, but your mind was somewhere else as the principal announced the class of 2014. As the rest of your classmates filed off the stage, you SCANNED the crowd and found your parents again, and right behind them was Andre.
“Andre!” You screamed and ran toward him, breaking out of line. He enveloped you in a big hug, giving you a kiss on the cheek, until your dad interrupted by clearing his throat.
“Young lady,” he looked at you sternly, and you expected the worst. “Congratulations.” He smiled. “We’ll leave you two to talk for a minute,” he added before stepping away with your mom.
“Andre! You said you couldn’t come!”
“I couldn’t, but my plans changed, so I came here as soon as I could,” he kissed your cheek again.
“Oh, no, does that mean you’re out of the playoffs?” You asked.
“Yes, but don’t worry about it (Y/N). I’m here, with you, right now, and that’s all that matters.” He brushed your HAIR out of your face and leaned down to give you one more kiss on the mouth.
-Lila
