𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐍, derek hale ✓

𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

┏━━━━⋆°.☾⋆.ೃ࿔*:⋆━━━━┓

AIN'T NO REST,
AIN'T NO ESCAPE

THE DRESS WITH THE SPAGHETTI STRAPS ENDED UP BEING THE WINNER.

She paired it with short beige heels and a carefully crafted smile, though a part of her was genuinely happy. Emerson had worked tirelessly to get to this very moment, and based on the unshed tears in Hannah's eyes, she knew she had at least done something right.

"I'm gonna miss you," the Prescott woman whispered out as they stood on their front porch, the deputy taking as many pictures of Emerson that she could fit within her phone storage.

Emerson sniffled, her hand feigning an itch at her nose. "Don't think I would've made it this far without you, Han," she said as she walked up to the woman. She wrapped her arms around her, savouring the moment before they had to head off to the school. "You were the best aunt I ever had."

She could still remember the day that Hannah had taken her in, relinquishing the Hughes' guardianship over the girl in Rochester.

"And you were the best niece I ever could have wished for," she chuckled wetly, and Emerson let out her own bubble of laughter. "I wish it didn't have to be like this."

Emerson agreed easily. "Yeah, me too."

"Your mother would've been so proud," Hannah added, pocketing her phone and not so subtly wiping at the skin beneath her eyes.

Something pulled at Emerson's chest, nauseatingly, at the mention of the woman who she'd never known. The woman Hannah herself had once known more than two lifetimes ago.

"I hope so."

The ceremony was efficient in its structure, with Emerson's name being one of the quickest to be called out due to her A surname. She had the damn diploma is a white knuckle grip the entire time, cap snug on her head as everyone clapped politely for their peers. Inside was a name that wasn't even fully her own. Nothing but a fake.

And if Emerson clapped a little louder for the likes of Elizabeth Miller, it simply wasn't anyone's business. This would be the last time she saw her, and she owed her that much anyways.

So, when all was said and done, and the graduating students put their tassels to the other side of their caps before throwing them in the air, it was over.

All of it was now over. Emerson's valiant smile never faltered when she exchanged pleasantries with these people who would never remember her in a few months, much less in a few years.

But Emerson would remember, she would remember because she had a nasty habit of memorizing the faces around her.

Elizabeth found her after the ceremony easily, like she actively sought her out.

She launched herself into Emerson's arms that were already outstretched, the pair of girls hugging one another with a grip so entirely visceral.

The Avery girl found that something trickled down her cheek as they pulled away, yet still hand their hands gripping each other's own.

Elizabeth laughed a little bit. "Don't cry, Em," she whispered out, squeezing her friend's left hand. "We still have all summer, yeah?"

They didn't have all summer. She was leaving tonight.

"Yeah, you're right," Emerson responded with a sniffle, eagerly wrenching her hands away to rub at her eyes to ensure it looked like the tears had never been there in the first place. "I'm being stupid, sorry."