Waiting For You // sequel to N&F

Chapter 5

Peyton POV
I was worried about El, since she met Sam she's been acting depressed. She hadn't said more than 4 words since yesterday, and I had to force her out of bed for graduation.

We were getting ready to go out, we were late so when you walked down the street you would see 4 college graduates with big blue robes and caps running down to the school.
But we arrived, and we finally got to our spots.

Max signed up to do a speech, just like you would at a high school graduation except for college. It was different but acceptable.
Once he got up on the stage, he didn't look one bit nervous and he held his speech in his hands. I look behind me to see his girlfriend, Lacey, clapping louder than everyone. I rolled my eyes, the bitch probably doesn't even care.

But once he started, everyone was silent. I honestly wasn't listening to his speech, because I was hungry and I wanted to watch Netflix. But once I heard my name, my head shot up.

"Joining this school, I wouldn't change anything. I got to meet new people, and one girl that I've liked for so long. And I needed to say it up here in front of you all, because she was a huge part of my experience here, and she makes me happy every time I see her. Whenever we're in class, I'll always find ways to talk to her."

I slouched a little, knowing he was talking about Lacey and not me. And it absolutely killed me. It made me wanna storm out and miss graduation. El rested her head on my shoulder, and we both sighed.

"I remember once in science class, we had to do it because we didn't pass our video class and we needed the credit, we were working with microscopes. I snook a picture of her, but she caught me. I slid the picture under the microscope, and I smiled. I told her that her eyes were dark underneath and she questioned me. But then I caressed her face, looking into her eyes, and I saw this sparkle, that I knew could never be replaced."

I listened to him, because I remember that day. But it happened with me, maybe he just does that with every girl he's partners with. What a charmer.

"We had amazing adventures in that class, and eventually we enrolled back into our video class, but I couldn't be more thankful because she's part of what made me love college."

I seriously couldn't listen to this anymore. I was about to get up and leave before-

"Peyton Bradley."

I froze in my seat, and El squealed.

"You make me happy and I regret not telling you this before. Lace, I'm sorry. And I'm thankful. Wrapping this up, I want to thank everyone for making this class unforgettable and..."

All I could think about was how Lacey just got bitch slapped in the face. I was smiling like a maniac and El kept tugging on my arm and she kept saying
Told you so!
Graduation rocks.

El POV
I didn't look behind me to see who was here, but I'll just look when I go up there. I was extremely happy for Peyton and Max, and excited. I'm so happy.

When I go up there, I will finally be done with school.

They started calling names, Tarver, Max, then Peyton, then me.
When I walked up there, I was finally done. I looked into the crowd and I saw the whole Magcon family, Nate, my parents, Emily Wilk, Mallory, Leigh, Glazer, Mike, Kaylee, Britt, and Lori. But I didn't spot Sam.

Graduation ended once they called everyone's names, and once we were outside, I saw everyone and gave them a huge hug. I started with Magcon, and they all took pictures with me. I really missed it.

I went over to the old group and hugged all of them, then I went to my parents and Lori, then I went to Nate separately. He hugged me and told me some things going on back home.

Then I went to Marley and I hugged her as long as I could. We both shed some tears, we haven't seen each other since I left and she was my best friend. Everyone who came to see me, went out to lunch and we spent the day together.

Then eventually they had to go home, for Stefan, but Marley stayed. She spent time with Peyton and I at our apartment, and we just hung out until we were tired and went to bed. Marley went to her hotel and Peyton and I went to sleep.

Before we did, I whispered, "We made it." And we did.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
I woke up and I saw Peyton wasn't sleeping. I heard her talking to Max in the living room. I went up to the door and listened.
P- So the speech yesterday...?
M- yeah, I'm sorry if it was weird for you...
P- No, I've just liked you forever and I didn't know if you were even talking about me,
Peyton stopped talking and everything went silent. I cracked the door opened and tried not to scream

Max kissed Peyton.
And I was freaking out.
I ran back to my bed and started jumping around, I was so happy for her. She finally got it, I couldn't wait.

I heard a soft knock on my door, and Tarver walked in.
"Hey T, what's up?" He looked at me. "I need to tell you something El."
I questioned him, but then he said, "I'm going to do this, and forgive me, I really like you and I can't keep it to myself anymore."

Tarver kissed me, and I don't know how I felt. I felt good, and not bad. But it made me think of Sam.
Tarver was attractive, I'm not gonna lie, and maybe this was a sign that I needed to move on 100% and find someone else.

He pulled away and looked at me with guilty eyes, but I kissed him again and it didn't feel bad.