"Remember that time we forgot to take our books back to the library and we had to sneak in everytime we had to go there?", Abby said. I laughed. "Yes, oh my god. Mrs. Jackson was always after us. That one time her bun got stuck on a book shelf when she heard us", I said. Everyone laughed.
"Or that time where we accidentally left the tap open and our entire apartment was flooded", Nick said. We laughed. "That actually wasn't funny", Riley said. "We had to clean up the entire apartment and replace half our furniture!" "True", we all said.
"Remember my birthday party in our first year? And I had to get drunk to tell you I was into you", Riley said to me. I chuckled. "You really scared me when you passed out", I said. "We had to perform cpr and everything", Tyler said. "Oh come on, it wasn't that bad", Riley said. No one said anything. "Okay fair enough. But at least I knew Alex was into me too before I almost died."
She leaned in and kissed me. "And now we've been together for 4 years. I wouldn't want to have it any other way."
"You guys are my otp", Nick said.
My friends looked at each other and got up.
"It's getting late. Don't want to be tired on our graduation day", Tyler said. They agreed.
"What? You guys are leaving already?", I asked. Nick yawned. "We have a long day ahead tomorrow. We'll see you tomorrow." "Well, okay. Good night!"
They walked off the balcony and shut the door behind them. Now it was just me and Riley.
She turned to me and took a deep breath.
"Are you okay?", I asked. She nodded. "These last years have been the best and the worst of my life. I mean, admit it, everyone was a pain in the ass", she said. "Yeah pretty much." She looked at me. "But you made them so good", she said. I smiled. "You made mine great too", I said.
"The times that I was a jerk, and the times I didn't make time for you.. I'm sorry about that. I know I've apologized for it tons of times, but I'll never stop regretting it." "It's okay, we've been through that already", I said. She nodded. "I know, but I can't help it. That semester, I was so focused on studying, that I lost you out of sight. I thought everything would work it's way around you and we'd still be the happy couple we always were. I was wrong and I learned my lesson."
I nodded.
"We came out stronger and that's what counts", I said.
She held my hands.
"You changed me for the better. You made me greet strangers, you made me carry bags for old ladies, you made me look at babies. Okay, I'm exaggerating but you changed me", she said. "Where is this going?", I asked. "Before I met you, I was a slop. I didn't clean up after myself, I never felt any emotions and I didn't know what it was like to be happy. As soon as I saw you, my heart came back to life. It beat so fast, and I felt so good. When we kissed for the first time, I felt everything.
"What are doing?", I asked.
She paced around and then stopped in front of me.
"It took me a lot of time to not drink and not be scared at the same time for this moment, so please.."
She reached into her pocket and got down on one knee.
"Alex, I'm running out of things to say and I'm on the edge of dying here." I practically heard her heart pounding from where I was standing. "Will you please marry me?", she asked. My eyes widened and I looked at her. Riley stayed on one knee, waiting for me to answer. "You're serious?", I asked. She nodded impatiently.
I looked at the ring and back at her.
A smiled appeared on my face, hinting Riley.
"I thought you'd never ask. Yes!", I said. She let out a deep sigh and swung her arms around me. "I thought I made a mistake by asking tonight. It would've ruined our graduation if you'd said no", she said. "How could I?"
I kissed her multiple times and pulled away. She slid the ring on my finger and pressed her lips against mine one last time.
My friends came running out the house and cheered.
"I didn't see this coming", Abby said.
"I thought you guys went back to your dorms?", I asked. "Did you think we wanted to miss this?", Nick said. "I had to keep pinching myself to not tell you."
"You knew?", I asked. "We all did." I looked back at Riley. "I'm sorry, I needed their help." I chuckled. "It's okay. I love that you guys were here to see it", I said. I hugged them all.
"First, graduation. Next, a wedding. What's to come after that?", Abby asked. "A baby?", Nick asked. My eyes widened and I looked at Riley. "Oh please no", I said. We both chuckled. "We're 22. We're too young for that. But if you'd ask me again in a couple of years, definitely", Riley said wrapping her arm around my waist. I agreed. "But for now, it's just graduation", I said.
"Show me the ring!", Abby said grabbing my hand. "Wow!" She looked at Riley. "That thing must've cost a fortune." Riley shrugged her shoulders. "It wasn't really a fortune, but I'm gonna have to work some double shifts for the next 7 months", she said. I looked at her. "Are you serious? We can return this. I don't mind. Give me a candy ring instead", I said. Riley chuckled and shook her head. "You're keeping this. I wouldn't have gotten it if I couldn't afford it, okay? Don't worry about it." I sighed and looked at the shiny ring on my finger.
"Now who's ready to party!"
"I'm gonna head inside. Have fun", I said as I got up. I walked inside and sat on the couch. Riley came in after a minute and sat beside me.
"Are you okay?", she asked. I nodded. "If you're worrying about the ring, please stop." I looked at her. "I don't want you spending thousands of dollars on me. You know how I feel about that." She grabbed my hands. "Babe, I don't mind. Seeing you as happy as you were just now, is worth every penny. I can live without the money, but I can't live without you. Please don't feel bad."
She pressed her lips on my forehead.
"I guess", I said. "If you hate it that much, we can go back and pick a different one", she said. I looked at. "No I don't hate it at all! That's not what I said. It's just the amount it cost you", I said. "Stop thinking about how much it costed. I wanted to get this one for you, no matter how much it was." I nodded and laid my head on her shoulder.
"I love it and I love you. I didn't mean to seem ungrateful", I said. She wrapped her arm around me. "It's okay. Maybe I shouldn't have said how much it was. I know how you feel about that." I nodded and smiled. "Do you wanna go back?", I asked. She nodded. "Let's go."
