Dalton Rapattoni Imagines

Graduation

This is it.

The day I've been waiting for since kindergarten.

I was finally graduating high school.

Nothing could eradicate all the feelings and emotions I felt within me in that very moment as I stood there in the doorway of the gym, about to walk over to the seats that prepare me for the future ahead of me. The melodic tune of the typical graduation song you hear at every graduation was all that was heard in the hot, muggy gym. Parents, grandparents, and other relatives of everyone's family sat in the uncomfortable, creaky wooden bleachers surrounding the entire gym, anxiously waiting for their child to walk across the gym so they could capture the most bittersweet moment of their life. My green eyes gazed around the gym, trying to spot my family and friends. I eventually found my mom, dad, brother, and grandma all sitting together with my best friend Erin and my boyfriend Dalton sitting next to them. Erin noticed me staring and waved at me enthusiastically with a big, cheesy smile on her olive-toned face.

Then, my boyfriend's gorgeous ocean blue eyes locked with mine and he smiled the biggest smile I've ever seen on him as he also waved enthusiastically at me. God, he was so adorable and I was glad to call him mine.

Once the person in front of me passed the first bouquet of flowers set up by the bleachers, my feet carried me across the wooden floors over to my designated blue-cushioned seat. After everyone else walked over and sat down, the principal waved her hands down to let us know to sit down. One of the most popular girls in my grade, Brianna, came up to the podium on top of the little stage set up specifically for graduation.

"Class of 2017, we made it. Most of us grew up together in this small town and developed everlasting friendships that brought us closer together. Some of us have stayed all throughout the years since kindergarten, while some of us have moved away during elementary, middle, or high school. Although we've had our days where we wanted to kill each other or beat each other up because we got annoyed by our silly antics and what not, we still stuck together as not just a class, but a family. We've shared our petty little dramas and eventually got over them and forgave each other because that's what you have to do in life—you gotta learn to forgive and forget. We can't always have our mommies and daddies telling us to say sorry to someone or hold our hands as we cross the street because we're all adults now. We can do all of that ourselves without any help. We can achieve our dreams and goals in our desired career as long as we put our heart and souls into it and believe we can do it. For this, we might need our parents, but we have to learn how to make it on our own and be able to make our own decisions. And we might make some bad decisions, but we'll learn from them and learn to not make that same mistake again." She cleared her throat as she tucked a piece of her pixie cut light brown hair behind her as her blue eyes looked around the filled gym.

"Class of 2017, we did it. We suffered through the four years of stressing over tests and doing our homework. Now, we get to move on to the next chapter in our lives."

Everyone clapped and cheered as Brianna made her way down the steps and back to her seat.

The principal comes back up on stage and we know that's our cue to walk over to the steps and wait for our name to be called. After waiting for a few minutes, my name was finally called.

"(Y/F/N) (Y/M/N) (Y/L/N)." The principal said into the mic, causing her voice to echo throughout the crowd and pass through everyone's eardrums.

My stomach did flips and my heart was beating as fast as a hummingbird's wings as I walked up the steps and over to my principal to shake her hand. Then, I shook the superintendent's hand and grabbed my diploma, my feet carrying me down the stairs until I suddenly tripped and fell to the hardwood floor before I could grab my rose. Almost everyone laughed even a couple of the kids in my senior class. My face flushed in embarrassment as I got up and quickly and awkwardly went back to my seat.

Once we got through everyone, my principal gave us the cue for us to lift our caps up into the air.

With a loud chorus of "WOO'S!" and "HELL YEAH MUTHAFUCKAS!" we threw our green caps into the air. That's when the audience stood up and clapped really hard and threw in some whistles here and there.

We got escorted back out the way we came by the rose carriers, who were a couple juniors in National Honors Society, and I was out in the lobby where I saw my family, Erin, and Dalton.

My mom was the first person who came up to me. She had tears in her green eyes that I inherited from her and wrapped me tightly in her arms.

"Congratulations, baby girl." She whispered, choking back tears as she swayed us back and forth.

I smiled. "Thanks, mom."

Next was Erin who didn't hesitate on running up to me and hugging me, almost knocking me down.

"Congratulations, girl! I'm so freaking happy for you!"

I giggled. "Aww, thank you, Erin."

My dad and grandma came up to hug and congratulate me after that and then, finally, my boyfriend Dalton came up and wrapped me in his warm and loving embrace.

"Congratulations, love. I'm so proud of you for graduating high school, which was something I never got to do. Well, I mean I technically did graduate, but not in the proper way like I should have."

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Thanks, babe."

"I love you." He said as he pulled away and looked deep into my eyes with that loving gaze I loved.

I couldn't help but smile that cheesy grin. "I love you, too. So much."

His lips met mine and we kissed passionately in a lobby full of people, but we didn't care. We're used to his fans watching us kiss in public and have been for a year now so it doesn't bother us anymore.

"Ew, get a room!" My brother said.

I flipped him off as me and Dalton continued kissing while my family and Erin all laughed.

"God, I ship them so much it's ridiculous." Erin sighed.