The Tides That Join Us Together

Chapter 90: Graduation

Third Person POV

This was the day they've all been waiting for. Graduation. Enjoy your high schools days, they always said. You're gonna wish you could come back to them. None of them felt like this though. Freedom. Bigger and better things were coming. That didn't mean that there would be no slip ups however.

Even though this was a major milestone, for Cameron, this was just the beginning. School work. Basketball. China. Being in love with her, the distance posed a great challenge for him. He had to make it work though, for her, for himself, for them. Tears. Tears flowed from the eyes of his parents and his sister. He looked forward to spending the entire summer surrounded by his family and friends. He'd be lying if he said he didn't to start at UCLA right away, just for the basketball aspect, but as of right now, that's not what he should be thinking about. He was most looking forward to spending  a lot of his time with China, not so much looking forward to the day she leaves his dorm room as he gets settled in. Graduated, gold honors. Learning. Everyday. Learning how to be straight forward. Maturing.

China really didn't know how to feel. Everything she's been through flooded her mind. Everything she's worked for. Her friends. Her family. Going off to Stanford, she knew that she had high expectations to meet and after meeting them, she had to go well beyond that. Being in love with Cameron, she was worried about what the distance would mean for them, regardless if it was just some hours. College is a bitch. It chews you up and spits you out in the worse ways possible. Lying. Cheating. Drugs. Harassment. You name it, it was there and that scared the shit out of China. Her entire family surrounded her, proud of their youngest girl. She wanted to set the ground with Cameron before they went off. A serious heart to heart. She wanted as much time with every one as possible, especially Lauryn and Cameron. Graduated, gold honors. Growing. Faster than you can blink. Observing and acting accordingly.

All Lauryn could think about was Thomas. Why he chose to go to school a state over instead of here in CA, she'll never quite understand, but she was supportive of him anyway. Their relationship was perfect really. Too perfect, though. And that's always a sign of worry, right? She was nervous, so nervous, about everything. She wanted to cry, laugh, scream, and all of the above. Most importantly, she was hoping that things wouldn't change between the two of them, at all. Spending time with Tom and Taj, the most valuable. Her family, hyping her up, the entire time, while she was a nervous and crying wreck. Stuck. Dazed and confused, needing a solid answer. She's happy that high school is over with though. She can finally be the real adult she wants to be. Graduated, gold honors. Or the real adult she thinks she wants to be. Nervous. Curious. Concerned, but learning to understand it all, piece by piece.

As for Taj, he was a complete mess when it came to Mercedes. He was low key wishing that high school wasn't over because man did they have some huge distance between them. California and Ohio. Focus. Basketball. Academics. Remaining loyal. He was proud of himself though for continuing to push forward even in the moments he wanted to give up. Trust me, there were a lot of those moments. He comforted his sister as she cried, not knowing whether they were tears of joys or sadness, but still he remained. He was worried. Worried that he'd fuck up. Even worried that Mercedes would fuck up. And then what happens? For today, he had to erase those thoughts from his mind. He graduated. His sister graduated. His friends graduated. That's what matters the most. Graduated, silver honors. Maturing, somewhat. Advancing through the levels. Understanding what it means to be serious.

Soccer. Soccer. Soccer. Man was Thomas excited to go off. Not so excited to be away from his soul mate however, but it had to be done. He wasn't so much concerned about his academics, considering he took he school work seriously all the time. Comfortable in his circle, he wasn't closed off to meeting new people and making new buddies. Calm and collective. Always. Even in the most heated of situations. Unsure of what he wanted to study, put him on the edge. I mean he did have until sophomore year to decided. He wasn't ready for that discussion though. He supposed he could try out a few things and decide from there. Star-crossed lovers? Yeah. Right now, he was ready to go out, eat and celebrate with the people he loved the most. Graduated, gold honors. Ready. Composed. Searching for that calling.

Tech. Tech. Tech. Technical. Film. Ty was more than ready to go on his adventure at Cali Tech. Feeling creative, he knew that he could conjure up something unique. Working. Always. Fast paced. He was happy for himself and for the others. Supportive like he always was, very much an observer. He wish he wasn't going off alone though, but it's not like he wasn't opened to making new friends. He was a bit reserved and to himself, that was all. Somewhat closed off, if you will. He was willing to go wherever college wanted to take him. He couldn't wait to get started on a little film project that included everyone for the summer. A sort of see you soon and good luck film. That's Ty for you. Always wanting to capture memories. Most of the time, it's a good thing. He took in his surroundings, all the smiles and hugs from his crew. For now, he was content. Graduated, silver honors. Moving. Always on his feet. Ready for the next bit of action. Far in life.

END

DDT: BoyceGalore Charmingdisney_ mamita96 _LadyBlu_ My day ones ❤️ I love and appreciate y'all.

Special thanks to mamita96 , my mentor really throughout writing most of this book. ❤️

Shoutout to umaspirates  for her edits out of this world. ❤️

And thank you to everyone who took time out of there day to read, vote, and comment on this book. On my worse days, you all kept me smiling and laughing.

To my forever boy, writing this wasn't easy. I thought about you, still do, everyday, every time I opened this app. Some days I didn't even want to write, but I'm writing for myself and for every else who is having trouble coping with your loss. I'm writing about you as if you're still here, Cam. Your legacy will live on.

*This is 100% NOT the end of China and Cameron's story. I'm hoping to have the sequel out by the end of the day, MST time. I'm excited to push forward with it. Thank you to those who decided that they wanted to be apart of it.*

"We all go... what you leave should be bigger than you." -Cameron Boyce