Hearts ✓

E P I L O G U E

First of all, Thank you so much for reading Hearts! I'm so proud of the story and I hope you love it too, for some reason, everything sounds so much better when listening to the right music for the right chapter, so feel free to create your own personalized Hearts playlist.

Thank you all so, so much!

Cheers to Jake Arden and Callie Langley

- Soph

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Love is like a firework, it starts from a spark and only starts growing from there, and when you watch from afar, it's simply beautiful

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"How does it feel to be the only couple in the school?" Lauren grins, as Aubrey chuckles.

Ever since Jake had asked me to be his girlfriend, all the bets had been ceased, or at least most of them, and plays that were still ongoing had either broken off in private or prolonged. Either way, it wasn't under the heated gaze of the student body.

Today, we were placed under the burning heat of the sun, the breeze was minimal and it looked as if we were going to have a severe lack of water and a three-mile queue towards the water fountain. I used my hands to slowly fan my face as there were beads of sweat starting to form on my forehead.

"My god Lauren, what kind of question is that one their one month anniversary," says Aubrey, still laughing. "How are you doing, Callie?"

"Doing so poorly, you know. I have great friends, a great relationship, great grades, pretty great family, I mean, what could be worse!" We all share a laugh, before entering the school halls.

"How's my girlfriend?" Jake smiles as he hugs me tightly. "Happy one month anniversary, girlfriend."

"Stop being so cheeky, Arden."

"Oh?" He asks gleefully, "I have a nickname now, Sunset?"

"Apparently so, Jake-y" A smile plays around the corners of my lips. "Guess what I got you."

"Baseball tickets to the next live show?" Jake teases knowing that I probably couldn't get my hands on those tickets.

"Yup." I smile, taking in his completely flustered expression.

"Wh-What?" He starts, "Oh my god, thank you, Callie, you're the best person ever."

"I know." I laugh.

"I got you, this." He holds up a silver necklace with a heart charm at the center, the heart has both our initials carved onto it. "It's corny, but it was made for you to remember me."

"Jake, I think our whole relationship is built on corniness." My smile resonates his.

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The forest that Jake had introduced me a long time ago, where if you turned left was a cliff had become our new favorite spot. Jake has been the sweetest person in the whole world and well, I wouldn't rather be with anyone else.

"What are we doing?" I touch the cottony blindfold that was shielding my eyes from whatever Jake had prepared for me.

"Sunset, be patient." He soothes me. "Okay, remember, I'm a newbie so don't judge."

"Mhmm," I say as I practically tear open the blindfold. My fingers touch the cool feeling of my necklace as I smile at the warm gesture. The necklace is an embellished and glamorous piece of art. The feeling in my hand is reassuring.

Then I gasp.

In front of me is a picnic basket, with all the food inside it being homemade. It was the sweetest gesture I have ever seen him do. Jake wasn't necessarily a horrible cook, in fact, he was quite good, but since his skills were relatively rusty this must've taken him ages to prepare. I smiled warmly as he gave me a Hassleback Tomato Caprese. It melted delightfully in my mouth as I fed him his portion.

We laughed. "I love you, Arden."

"You too, Sunset." He laughs. "It took you to scream at me for me to realize that I didn't want to give it up."

"Wait, did you just make a hummus sandwich?" I asked. "You made my favorite, even if making homemade Hummus is somehow hard for you?"

"Yup," He says proudly.

"Thank you." I lean on his shoulder, until what feels like years before we head back.

Jake had edged his hand ever so subtly towards mine until our fingertips brushed one another. He used his hand to unfurl mine and held onto it relatively loosely as if they were about to jump into a choreographed dance routine any second now. Amidst the heat of his palm pressed against mine, he swang our arms slightly as Jake reached to give me a small kiss on the cheek.

"Why do you have to be so damn cute?" He asks.

"I'm flattered, but it's going to take more than that to convince me to go to that baseball game I had bought you tickets for." I smile amusedly, "I meant for you to take Darren or something."

The walk home feels magical. Jake is hugging me tightly, and my arm is positioned around his waist. It's still burning hot, but neither of us cares. He reaches my french braid and begins playing with it. He's not ruining it or anything, but he still enjoys the feeling of different layers of hair and the little ridges that have formed.

He holds me close seemingly protecting me from any harm. I ruffled his hair and smiled at him, he did the same.

This was the boy I was completely in love with and the boy that was completely in love with me.

And the only way that we had met was through the dare, the dare I was so sure I hated, the dare I was so sure I would win it, then, the dare I knew I was going to lose, and finally, the dare that had tied.

Love is like a firework, it starts from a spark and only starts growing from there, and when you watch from afar, it's simply beautiful. Because it's real and it shows you what it's really like to have love in your life.

It can make you crazy, but it can just as well keep you sane.

It had certainly been a journey.

Life really did have a twisted way of bringing people together, and this was how mine ended.