I Hate You (girlxgirl)

39. I Love You

I'm so full of emotion right now. I literally remember making the first chapter of I Hate You for fun in my freshman year of college - four years ago. I didn't intend to finish it, heck, I sure didn't intend for me to love June and Adrienne's journey as much as I did.

Therefore, I present to you the end of I Hate You. I depart this story with a smile on my face, because just with Tainted Innocence, I hope to develop more with each passing book I finish. It's been a rocky road with this book, and I love all of you guys for going through this journey with me. ALL OF YOU GUYS ROCK. THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT and...

enjoy (':

-

Chapter 39

-

Adrienne's POV

-

Hundreds of eyes were staring at me, accompanied by the occasional flash of white light and murmur of anticipation. It wasn't absolutely silent, but it was definitely more than quiet enough for what I was used to. The fluttering of black and green graduation gowns felt scattered among my fellow classmates, while my hands gripped the sides of the podium for support. My eyes trailed the front row, seeing June and Blaire situated neatly in their top ten positions. I watched June flicker a thumbs up beside her leg, her head nodding in encouragement for me to start my speech while I watched her gold high heels sparkle from under her graduation gown. I could also tell she was nervous because her other hand was clutching her best friend's forearm in a death grip, while Addison was sitting behind the two of them whispering whatever nonsense to calm my girlfriend down.

Yet, as I switched my gaze to the perfectly typed out paper in front of me, I couldn't help but believe where I was right now. I couldn't believe that the four years in my high school went by that quickly, and I certainly couldn't believe that I was able to fall in love with my school rival after becoming friends with benefits with her and breaking her heart a few times.

And now? I couldn't believe that I was choosing to stay in Los Angeles just for the blonde beauty that stared at me as if I was the last female on Earth. I couldn't believe that I was ready to start a new chapter of my life with her, and even though I knew it was going to be hard, I knew it would just strengthen the relationship much further.

But while I was getting closer with June Parker, I was afraid for what would come next with our friends. Unfortunately, everyone was going to be scattered across the United States, and it would only leave all of us to visit each other on long breaks or possibly weekends. I knew it would involve a lot of extensive FaceTime calls and group chats, but I also knew that in the end, our relationships would gradually get stronger too.

I was worried about June though. Yesterday she disclosed to me that she felt alone, especially when the time drew near for Addison and Blaire to leave for their universities soon. I knew that as her girlfriend, I'd have to be by her side to help reassure that her friends weren't just going to forget her here in Los Angeles. I knew her friends would never do that to her, but I still had a loving obligation to make sure June felt secure about her relationships.

I heard a guttural cough behind me from the principal indicating that I should move forward, and I blinked in astonishment as I realized that I was probably standing at the podium for a good couple of minutes looking like an idiot. Hopefully, people just believed that I was waiting for them to quiet down to begin my speech, but I could only hope for that. I cleared my throat and lowered the microphone a little closer to my mouth, preparing for the speech that I practiced in front of my sister for at least 56 times. My eyes flashed to the side rows of the auditorium, seeing her sitting gracefully and waiting for me to start the speech I've been preparing for. I looked to her side, realizing that of course, my parents didn't make it due to their long business trips around the world, but I didn't really mind it, knowing that I wasn't expecting much from them anyway.