Southern Charm [✓]

Epilogue

*Tear* Welcome to the epilogue of Southern Charm. *blows nose* You know what to do; read on, my lovelies!

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When I woke up, I uncurled myself from around my blanket and rolled over on top of the person laying next to me. At that moment, said person decided to move and I somehow ended up on the ground. That is skill, my friends.

"Ow," I managed to mumbled to the floor which my nose was now connected to.

"Sorry, babe," Drew grunted, then shifted, fell off the bed and onto me.

"Get off!" I moaned, his chin digging into my back.

"Wha...?" he asked sleepily.

I sighed in detain. Of course he wouldn't remember what happened, he's only a two hundred and fifty pound college quarterback. It's good for the back to get hit by one every once in a while.

"You fell on top of me." I explained impatiently.

He nodded in acknowledgment, then shifted once again, this time to my side, crushed me against him and pulled the blanket, which I grabbed on the way down, around us.

I wasn't about to complain to more sleep, and I almost did fall asleep until my phone rang. I was about to ignore it before I noticed it's familiar ring tone. I begrudgingly picked it up and put it to my ear, sliding it up like a pro. "Hello?" I answered irritably.

"Why weren't you in class?" Jess impatiently asks on the other line.

I sat up quickly. Albeit, too quickly. "What?"

She sighed. "Do you know what time it is?"

I glanced at the clock on the bedside stand. Sure enough, it was noon; directly after my English class.

"I decided to skip." I lied.

"Right." she laughed. "The future doctor decides to skip for the day. Totally believable, boo."

Yup, the nickname stuck and now that's the only think we'll call each other. Most people look at us in those moments, not that I can really blame them.

"Can you cover for me?" I asked hopefully, knowing she caught me.

She pretended to think for a moment. "Yeah, I'll tell Melissa, Logan and Professor Dumbledor that you had the stomach flu."

Explanation time! Dumbledor is everyone's nickname for our English teacher, who's actual name eludes me now, since he has the bearded, Dumbledor look from the Harry Potter series. Explaination number two: Melissa and Logan finally got together the last week of Senior year. I guess everyone's pestering finally got to them, but they seemed extremely happy. All of my friends made it into Tennessee State University, so I got to see Jess, Melissa, Logan, Drew and even some of the other jocks frequently.

I smiled gratefully, knowing she couldn't see me and not caring since I was still tired. "Thanks, boo! You're the best!"

I could nearly hear her smile from the other end of the line. "Yeah, I know. Now go cuddle with your quarterback!"

"M'kay! See ya!" Then I promptly hung up and lay my head down on Drew's arm.

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I woke up to the feel of movement on my cheek, which interrupted my dream.

Opening my eyes, the first thing, which you really couldn't miss, was Drew's green eyes three inches from my own. I was too tired to even jump.

He was absentmindedly stroking my cheek . That's what made my dream fade away and it was also all it took to make the corner of my lips tilt up. "Good morning." I whispered.

"Evening." he corrected automatically. "It's about eight."

I looked at him confused. "And you woke me up because...?"

He smiled at my expression and kissed my lips. I was still to tired, no matter if my dream was now in the back of my mind, to respond. Luckily, he broke away a couple seconds later. Then he stood up, taking me with him.

My legs weren't working right, but he caught me by the waist before I could topple to the floor.

"C'mon." he urged me, practically dragging me with him as he made his way into our kitchen. Yes, I did say our. After a couple months of living in a dorm, Drew and I decided to just buy an apartment just off campus. And when I say 'just off campus', I mean it. You could hear the student body rushing around and the sounds of traffic in the late afternoon, but we usually weren't home until the evening so it didn't bother us.

He unceremoniously dropped me into a chair at our dining room table. The air whooshed out of me and I lifted my head to glare up at Drew, only he wasn't standing.

He was kneeling. In his Tennessee State tee and black pants with his hair in the careless fashion it was always in.

His hand dived into his pocket and he produced an onyx engagement ring. I gasped, my hands rising to cover my mouth and I drew out a shaky breath. The ring was exactly how I imagined my engagement ring to be. Maybe he looked at her computer's history...she had been looking at rings for a while now.

"Em," he began. "I know this probably isn't the right time," he ran a shaky hand through his hair, which I noticed a while ago was a nervous habit of his. "But I wasn't sure when would be the right time and when I thought about it, I knew I couldn't wait anymore. I also know we haven't talked about it, but..." He drew in a shaky breath, so similar to mine that it was uncanny. "Will you marry me?"

Tears filled my eyes and I nodded quickly. I knew I wanted to marry him.

He grinned, slipped the ring onto my finger and kissed me. "Good. Now let's go back to sleep."

I laughed. 

"Only you, Drew. Only you."

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Guys, I cried on vacation when I wrote those last words. There were tear drops on the pages of my notebook as NCIS was blasting in the background.

Finishing a story is always a bittersweet moment for any writer. For one, you actually finished the story you've worked so hard on! On the other hand, you've finished the story. Yeah, I'm not sure if that made sense. =)

Comment Challenge:

After that ending, you probably have a light-bulb going off. You're probably going "Oh! That's what the special surprise is!" But, alas, I gotta ask: What is the special surprise?

Picture:

Emalie's engagement ring. I'm on an onyx fix. =)

Dedication:

To everyone who supported me during this story. Who voted, fanned, commented or just let me write in peace. Thank you all my fans! And thank you Mom and Dad!