Falling For The Nerd

Epilogue

Dedicated to @SiredToNiall_Justin for all the votes and also her awesome comments. Even if it's just a"YAAAY!" I really appreciate it!  :)

MELISSA'S POV:
         It was noon. I stood in the kitchen of my Chicago apartment, staring at the cookies that were baking in the oven as if I were daring them to burn. I will turn 22 today, and to celebrate, Derek and I decided to hold a reunion party for the gang. And everyone was coming.
          Leo was coming with his fiancée, Aria. They got engaged last year. Personally, I feel like a proposal should be followed by marriage in a few months, but they both had agreed that it was too early to get married. They live together in Aria's New York penthouse now. Derek and I had stayed over for a night when we had visited them last year, when we were first introduced to her. She's an amazing person.
       Jake has moved into his own apartment (finally). He lived with his aunt for three years and decided that he wasn't exactly 'growing up' when his aunt didn't stop tucking him into bed at night. He shares his apartment with a guy named Adam, and apparently they have become really close.
       Amber has struck gold in the modelling industry. She is super busy nowadays. She has offers from everywhere! Next month, she's heading to Paris for the fashion week. Remember Anneliese? Of course you do! She's the b***h who threatened my future! Anyway, she's launched her own chain of boutiques across New York and Amber advertises her merchandise.
        Gwen, we haven't seen since she left for Australia. We do chat on Skype, but it's not the real thing. She's studying architecture from UNSW, one of the best universities there. She has a boyfriend, a guy named Eric. I spoke to him once, while I was chatting with Gwen. He's really sweet and Gwen seemed so happy.
         Derek is studying law, here in Chicago. He should be home in about twenty minutes. Apart from that, he has started a weekly blog, where he writes about sports. And the response he's been getting is crazy! He now has a regular following of people who live in all parts of the world.
          I am studying medicine. It's lucky I had a day off today. Seriously, there's nothing better than getting a day off on your birthday! Derek and I had gone home last month, so we celebrated my birthday with our families there. It was so sweet. Derek's dad was there. He had taken a week off so that he could spend some quality time with Derek. Remy and Mike were there too, with my adorable nephew Robert, who recently turned five and Daphne, my two month old niece.
        Motherhood has treated Remy very well. Robert is absolutely naughty. He has Mike's face- long and (once he grows older) sharp. He will eat everything, which is good. He'll even eat his veggies without making a fuss. Daphne is still too young to make out any features, but she's an angel. That's all can say about her right now. When Robert was two, Mike and Remy got their dream loft apartment. From the pictures I've seen it looks amazing, but Derek and I are yet to visit.
        The oven makes a noise and I put on my gloves to remove the tray. I set the tray on the table and I hear the sound of Derek closing the front door. "Something smells awesome." Derek says as he kisses my cheek. "Thanks." I say. "I think you should call up the Chinese place and order the lunch. The others will be here at any moment." I told Derek and went into the bedroom to change.
         I slipped into my floral dress that I had saved for this occasion. It had a high waist and a flowy skirt, like a vintage piece. I paired it with my nude flats. I exchanged my glasses for my contacts. I've been making an effort to hit to contacts permanently, and it was working. I was just putting on the necklace Derek had given me all those years ago, when the doorbell rang. "Derek!" I called out so that he would answer the door. I heard the door open and I heard Leo and Aria greet Derek. I looked into the mirror one last time and stepped out. "Hi!" I said and I held out my arms to Aria who was wearing a beautiful yellow dress.
     "Happy birthday Lizzie!" Aria squealed as she hugged me tight. "Thank you! I'm  so glad you made it!" I said, returning the hug. "Me too! I love the dress." Aria said and she stepped back so that Leo could come forward.  "Hi! Happy birthday." Leo said and hugged me. It was surprising, the amount of muscle he had gained in the past year. "Thanks Leo." I said and I ruffled his hair. "So, newly engaged couple. How are you?" Derek said as they sat down. "Seriously, you had to pull out the engaged card?" Leo said as I and Aria burst into a giggling fit at the mention of 'engaged'. "Leo, it's natural he had to ask. Show me the ring!" I said as I jumped in my seat.
       Aria held out her hand on which sat the most beautiful ring I had seen in a while. It had a band of gold and a small gem, the lightest shade of pink possible, sat on it delicately. It was perfect for the kind of relationship Aria and Leo shared. They were a very private couple, but you could see that they were truly in love.  "It's beautiful." I whispered. Aria said nothing, but her blush showed how happy she was.
        The doorbell rang again and this time I opened it to find Jake and Amber standing there together. "Happy birthday!" They shouted holding up balloons and wearing party hats. "Thanks you guys! Come on in." I said and ushered them inside. They walked into the living room and there was a flurry of excitement as old friends met up once again. Derek and Jake shared a huge hug as I introduced Amber and Aria, who already knew each other through Bri,  Amber's co-model. Leo almost fell over when Jake and Derek jumped on him for a group hug without warning him. I guess some people never lose their childish side.
      In the midst of all that I had forgotten to shut the door. That's why when we were in the middle of a huge group hug, a very surprised voice went, "What the fudge is happening here?" We turned and there stood Gwen.
        She was no longer the tiny little geek with a submissive nature. She must've grown a good foot taller, making her look her age. Her skin was slightly tanned and her ginger hair was longer, left open, it ended just above her waist. She wore a dark green shirt, which made her startling blue eyes stand out. She was staring at us in surprise, which changed to fear as Amber and I shrieked and engulfed her in a rib-smashing hug.
       "Nice to see you too." Gwen choked out as she tried her best to hug as back. Unfortunately, we had pinned her hands to her sides. After the boys had said their hello's, we introduced Gwen to Aria. "Hi, nice to meet you." Gwen said as she hugged Aria. "I sense an Australian accent building." Jake said as he plopped back onto the sofa. "Really? I don't think so." Gwen said. "No. I feel it too." Amber said. Gwen sighed. "This is not what we're here for, so what's happening you guys? It's been so long!" She said and we all began talking about life and things.
       While we were talking, the doorbell rang, and I collected the Chinese we had ordered for lunch. The girls helped me put everything into vessels. I paid the delivery guy and called everyone to the table for lunch. "Okay, but first, you cut the cake!" Aria said and Derek and Leo brought out a cake from a carry bag and set it on the table. "Where did that come from?" I asked, surprised. "We went down to Jake's car and got it while you girls were in the kitchen. I had no say in the design though" Derek shrugged.
      The cake was adorable. It was maybe half a foot tall, and was in the shape of a birdcage. There were white and pink and blue flowers growing on a vine arranged on the bars of the cage, making it look very fairytale-like. There were two pink birds sitting inside singing to each other. "Aww, the birds are so cute!" I squealed and Amber said, "We thought you'd like that. It represents our two love birds!" "Thanks you guys. I loved it!" I blushed.
       I cut the cake as they sang happy birthday to me. The cake was red velvet, my favorite flavour. I fed everyone a piece of cake and Amber took pictures using her Polaroid camera. As everyone smiled and had fun, I couldn't help but feel like this was the best birthday I ever had.
A/N: I have some acknowledgments:
-To everyone who voted and commented on this story, thank you so much. I absolutely loved hearing from you and I am so glad you stayed with me on the journey of this book.
-To everyone who added this story to your reading lists, thank you, because I couldn't have had as many reads if it wasn't for you.
-To the people who read my book, a huge THANK YOU!!! I write because I love it and you liking my book and reading it makes me so happy!

I hope you guys will check out my next book, which I will start to publish sometime next month!
Lots of love- D. :*