Stay Away From My Friends (Jenna McDougall and Vic Fuentes)

Chapter 20 - Epilogue

Ronnie and his friends left us alone after that day. We were able to get through the rest of the year without any major incidents. I must say, it was a pretty good year. Jenna was able to quit cheerleading, and everyone just relaxed and made music. It was possibly the first time we've ever been relaxed.

I'm waiting in the many rows of seats in the auditorium now. This gown is so uncomfortable, but I don't even care. It's graduation. I'm leaving.

Oli is a few rows behind me. Kellin's behind him by a few. We're all bored out of our skulls listening to the principal talk. Fuck being inspired, everyone's just bored and anxious.

Jenna's only one or two rows behind me. Glancing back, she looks like she's paying attention, but I know she's bored.

Jaime, Tony, and Mike are somewhere in the audience. I bet they're bored too.

I honestly have no idea what comes after this. Mike, Tony, Jaime, and I all decided to form a band. We're going to record some songs this summer. We'll see how that goes. Either way, I'm excited.

And Jenna? I'm even more unsure about that. After scraping together any loose change I could find and working extra jobs, I was finally able to pay for what I wanted. I'm going to surprise her at the end of this.

Finally, the diplomas are being handed out. Line by line, name by name, everyone slowly makes their way across.

It's not as big of a moment as I made it out to be when I'm handed mine. It's over in seconds. But I'm finally free.

It takes a while longer, but the ceremony ends. No one moves yet. They haven't been dismissed. It's my time to make my speech.

Shockingly, I was valedictorian. 

I know, I didn't see it coming either.

I make my way back onstage and stand in front of the podium. Everyone waits for me to start.

"We did it guys," I say. "We made it."

A few cheers from some classmates are heard. I crack a smile.

"I'm not even gonna lie, that was absolutely terrible," I continue. "High school, beyond a doubt, was difficult. But we made it," I pause. "I'm not really one for public speaking. I'm not even one for speaking. Or the public. But I'd like to thank you all for letting me give this speech. Don't worry, I worked hard to give this, so I won't give you the 'as we start this new phase of our life' crap. It's too cliché, and frankly, too stupid. I will say, that we've been through a lot together. Bad and good. And now that we're all about to our separate ways, I'm thinking to myself 'I'm really gonna miss these idiots.' Moving on, I've noticed something in high school and middle school, heck, I even noticed this in kindergarten, but there will always be different people. The so called 'popular' and the so called 'nerds'. But I really never liked to think like that. I just saw us all as people. A person you would call popular, I would call 'a person who knows and lot of people and likes parties'. Because when you get down to it, we're all just people. Different people with different views and different dreams. And why should any of that make one person better than another? Whether jock, or nerd, popular or loser, shy or outgoing, African or Asian, Russian or German, boy or girl, in the end, we're all people. And in the end, that's all that really matters. Thank you."

Everyone erupts, clapping and cheering. I think I even see Ronnie clap.

I don't move from my spot. When everyone sees that, the noise dies down.

"One last thing," I say into the mic. "Would Jenna McDougall please come up here?"

Everyone murmurs, not sure what's going on. Jenna looks confused, but hesitantly makes her way up on stage next to me.

"I uh. I didn't really write a speech for this," I say, looking at her. "But I love you more than anything."

I dig around in my pocket and pull out a small velvet box. Jenna's eyes widen.

I get down on one knee, heart pounding so loud I can barely hear myself. I open the box, revealing a small diamond ring.

"Jenna McDougall, will you marry me?" There it is. I popped the question.

Everyone in the audience is on the edge of their seats. After their surprised gasps and murmuring, they wait for Jenna's answer.

Jenna's just standing there, frozen. I think I might pass out.

Finally, she throws herself on me, wrapping me up in a hug. "Yes!"

The crowd cheers even louder this time, but I can barely hear it. I'm only focused on Jenna.

I put the ring on her and stare into her eyes. We kiss as all of us toss our caps up.

The end

Ahhhh it's overrrr (:( Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. More stories to come...