On the Run

Chapter 10: This is it

"This is it," Alex said with a tremble in his voice as we pulled up to a small but homey apartment building, Evan and Stacy driving in behind us with the remainder of our things. I would've never imagined we could possibly accumulate so much stuff in one year of living here, but you know, it adds up.  As we went to open the trunk, he squeezed my hand, smiling briefly as he did every time his glanced at the ring. We found our apartment, a one bedroom flat on the first floor at quite a low cost.

Stacy and Evan had volunteered to pay for it immediately after hearing about it, our protests having no effect. They argued that as they wouldn't have to pay for our college (we had both gotten full rides; me for academics, and Alex for athletic programs), and they had only taken care of us for a year, it was 'their right as parents to spoil us', and we couldn't seem to outargue them. Everything we owned fit perfectly, and Alex had already stocked the fridge to the brim with food for his never ending hunger (not to mention the cabinets, and secret stash in his sock store he thought I knew nothing about).

This week was crazy busy; moving today, the wedding Friday (a brief four days away!) and next Monday we have to go to orientation for ISU (Idaho State University). And, of course, tomorrow we have our bachelor/ bachelorette parties (I have no clue what the guys are planning, but us girls are gonna have a goofy day of driving around all the random places we could think of and blasting music from the car while eating countless gallons of ice cream, and sobbing along to chick flicks all night long).

The wedding arrangements were all perfected to a t, so we didn't have to worry about getting anything ready, thank goodness. We couldn't have a honeymoon, as that would require passports, and our names and photos being registered into a national computer system, which would probably not be the best idea in our situation, considering, but we didn't mind. We figured we would just go on an extra special vacation someday, and that would work just fine for us--we didn't really want to leave town right now anyway.

Someday. It always seems to come back to that. Why can't anything ever be in the now?

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"Tonight's the night when we forget about the deadlines-" half the girls sang--or shrieked, depending on how you look at it. "As in the impending doom they call marriage!" Grace whispered jokingly to me. I giggled as we drove towards the bowling alley, spoons held high like the Olympic torch, probably (definitely) looking like freaks. But the day was just getting started.

"WHY, Gus, WHY? You stupid dead perfect UGH!" Bree wailed at the end of The Fault In Our Stars, just as the clock stroke five a.m. "Um guys, we should probably go to sleep or something. We can't be totally incoherent when the guys get back...or at least we shouldn't," I said as I dried my puffy eyes. Now I was really glad I hadn't planned this for the night before the wedding, or I would look terrible in all the pictures; a twelve hour chick flick marathon was not the best for one's appearance (Especially when you throw in some Nicholas Sparks, John Green, and Gayle Forman adaptations).

We all gradually drifted off, but I was last asleep, imagining how much Kenzie would've loved this. She would've devoured a container of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream in five minutes flat, and spent the entirety of The Notebook weeping about the injustice of Allie leaving such a great guy, even though we all know she had to end up with Noah. As for sleeping? She wouldn't have done that. We would've climbed up to the roof, just the two of us, too chicken to sit at the edge, but needing something special for our last girls day watching the clouds drift across the stars.

"Woah, and I thought WE partied hard. What were you ladies up to?" My eyes shot open and revealed Vince, having walked in the door right behind Alex. He looked hungover but still himself, wagging his eyebrows at me as he looked at the girls passed out all around the room, holding tissues, blankets, stuffed animals, and countless cans of Dr. Pepper. I rolled my eyes at him, "Nothing like what's going through your mind, Vince. Dream on. Actually, don't, your mind is a place we never need to be. It wasn't that bad, we just got very emotional."