Fatal

Chapter 12

I sighed as I sat in my seat, eating for my row to stand and get in line. I looked behind me to see Lane a few rows back, smiling at me. He gave me a thumbs up and I smiled softly. "You ok?" He mouthed the words to me and I shrugged. It came the time for my row to stand and we did so, moving from the row into the line to the side of the stage. Slowly, one by one, my class mates were called and walked the stage to receive their diplomas. I was next to go up and looked down at my boots, nervously. "Hayden Sola." My principal announced and I looked up to see him and 3 of my favorite teachers from school smiling at me from the stage. I walked up the steps and up to the principal who shook my hand, congratulated me, handed me my diploma, and had a picture taken of me and him with it. I heard a bunch of cheering and yelling and looked up at the crowd to see my dad and the guys standing up and cheering loudly. I shook hands and got congratulated by the teachers before I walked off the stage with a huge grin on my face. I went back to my seat and waited until graduation was over, happy when it ended and we threw our caps on the air. All of the families made their way onto the football field and I screamed when I saw my dad and the guys. "Oh my god, you came! How did you know?" I asked excitedly, happy to see my dad. "Lane called me yesterday. Sweetie, don't ever feel like you're bothering me, ok? I always have time for my little girl." He said and I grinned more before I hugged him tightly and he hugged me back. "I'm so proud of you, Hayden." He said and I giggled. The guys each gave me a hug before I went and found Lame and his parents. "Thanks for calling my dad." I told him and he smiled. "Don't thank me." He said and I hugged him. "I can't believe it's over. We are finally out of school." I sighed happily and he chuckled. "I know. It feels so surreal." He said and I grinned. "I'm going to go celebrate with my dad. I'll talk to you later!" I said and he grinned. "Bye Hades." He said and I grinned. "Bye Zeus!" I said, using his Greek God nickname since he used mine and we both laughed as I ran back to my dad. "Lets go celebrate." He said and I smiled wider as we left the football field and went to my car. "Where are we going?" I asked and he shrugged. "You'll have to see when we get there. Keys please!" He said and I gave him a skeptical look as I handed him my keys. "Where are the guys?" I asked and he just smiled. "Meeting their girlfriends, then meeting us." He said and I nodded, a bit confused as I took the graduation gown off to reveal my clothes beneath. I folded it up and threw it in h back seat as I got in the car and buckled up as my dad got in and started it. "Really not going to tell me where we are going?" I asked and he shrugged with a grin before he pulled out of the parking lot. I stared out the window as we headed towards the interstate and I looked over at him. "I'm not telling you so quit staring at me." He said after a few minutes. I smiled and rolled my eyes as I turned and looked out the window again. The sun had began to set and I watched as the sky darkened. After awhile, my dad pulled off on an exit and I looked over at him again. "Dinner stop." He said and I shook my head and laughed. He pulled in at a Zaxby's and I grinned as he parked. I jumped out of the car happily since Zaxby's was one of my favorite places to eat. He got out and locked the car before we went inside and ordered our food. Once we got it, we found a table and sat down to eat. "Dad." I said after a few moments and he looked up at me. "Yea?" He asked as he ate another fry. "Why won't you tell me when're we are going?" I asked and he shrugged. "You'll know soon enough. I just wanted to surprise you. I know I haven't been around a lot lately because of the band but I wanted to make it up to you." He said and I smiled softly. "It's ok, it's not your fault. I've been kind of busy with school so it's not all on you." I admitted and he smiled too. "I know and I'm proud of you. You got through school as an honors student. Who all can say their daughter graduated with a 3.98 GPA?" He asked and I rolled my eyes at his need to say the full number. "It wasn't like it was a 4.0." I said and he grinned. "Actually, it kind of was. Before you got to me, you weren't too good with school. After moving in with me, you kept all A's. I don't know what happened but I'm glad it did. You're an incredibly smart, beautiful, and talented young woman, Hayden. I'm so proud of the young lady you have become." He said and I looked down as I played with my food wit a smile. "Thanks dad. What happened was I found people who loved and cared and believed in me for once." I said and he smiled more. "Hey, eat up. We have a long night's drive ahead of us." He said and I nodded. "We aren't stopping?" I asked and he shook his head. "Nope. We should be to our destination in about 5 hours. I'm just going to drive the rest of the way because we kind of have a time limit." He said and I raised an eyebrow at him. He grinned as he started eating again and I shook my head with a small laugh as I started eating too.