Written in the Stars

Chapter 31: "Last to Fall"

(Chapter 31)
"Last to Fall"

Friday, June 5
11:00am

"Oh, my god, look at you!" Jillian exclaimed.

"Look at yourself, Ms. Graduate," he grinned.

Jillian smiled and looked down at her graduation gown.
"I think we're good to go."

"Let's go then."
~

Darren and Jillian joined their senior class at the outdoor ceremony in the back of their school.

"Oh, my god, look at you two! You're adorable!" Shae awed at them.

"You and Jackson look great too," Jillian laughed.

"Everyone looks so cute in their cap and gowns!" Shae looked around.

"Hey, Jill!" Jesse quickly ran up to her and gave her a hug.

"There you are!" Jillian hugged her sister back.

"Congratulations, Jill," Luke said.

"Thank you, Luke."

"Darren!" Patricia joined them.

"Hey, mom!" Darren hugged her.

"I'm so proud of you. Both of you," Patricia said.

"Thank you, Ms. Thompson," Jillian smiled.

"Oh, honey we're closer than that, call me Patricia."

"Oh! Okay, thank you Patricia."

"Hey, guys, it's starting," Jackson announced.

"Alright, we'll see you guys after," Patricia told them.

"Go get it!" Jesse winked.

The senior class took their positions.

"Good afternoon everyone. We're here to say goodbye to the class of 2019..." the principal declared.

Darren squeezed Jillian's hand.

"... so let's get started..." he continued.

"I have so much anxiety right now," Jillian whispered.

The principal started calling out names; cheers and applause followed each one as they walked across the stage to get their diploma.

"... Monica Banks."

"Woo! Go Monica!" Shae cheered.

"... Melissa Collins.
... Melanie Cruz.
... Sawyer Harrison.
... Lamar Hughes."

"Yeah, baby!!" Monica cheered.

"... Shae Lee."

"WOO! YEAH, SHAE!" Jillian yelled.

"... Jackson Lin."

"I LOVE YOU, JACKSON!" Shae shrieked.

"... Travis Sandin.
... Jillian Taylor."

"GO JILLIAN!" Shae screamed.

"That's my girl!" Darren cheered.

"GO, JILL!" Jesse hollered.

"... Darren Thompson."

"Yay, Darren!" Patricia cheered.

"I LOVE YOU, BABY!" Jillian shouted.

"... Sam Vincent."

"Go, Sam!!" Melissa cheered.

"Congratulations to the class of 2019!" The principal announced.

The entire place stood up and cheered.

"Ready for what happens next?" Darren turned to Jillian.

"Absolutely. The after party!"
~

Later...
7:00pm

"Six hours and the party's still going strong," Darren commented to Jillian.

Almost the entire class was in her backyard around the pool.

"Yeah, everyone's having such a good time," Jillian confirmed.
~

Inside the house, Luke pulled Jesse aside.

"Hey, Jesse, come with me," he told her.

"What? Where?" She asked.

"Just come with me."

Luke took her hand and walked with her to the secluded nearby park by the flower garden.

"Why are we here?" Jesse asked.

"I need to talk to you," he told her.

"Those grads could be tearing apart our house while we're gone."

"It'll be worth it, I promise."
~

Back at their house, Shae came up to Darren and Jillian.

"Hey, guys!"

"Hey! Having fun?" Jillian smiled.

"Hell yeah! This is the best party of the year. I'm going back into the pool."

"You know what, I'm tired, I'm done swimming. I'm going to go get changed. I'll be right back down," Jillian told Darren.

"Alright."
~

As Jillian changed clothes up in her bedroom, Sawyer passed her door.

"Oh! Hey, sorry, I saw you come up here."

"Oh, Sawyer, hey. It's alright, I'm clothed," she told him.

"The party's really great," he stepped inside.

"Yeah, everyone's definitely having fun. You doing okay?"

"Oh, yeah I'm fine."

"Did you need something?"

"Uh, actually I just wanted to talk. Is it okay if I close the door?"

"Yeah, sure. What's going on?"

"I know I've been kind of difficult lately. It's just... you've kind of been making things hard on me."

"What do you mean?"

Sawyer smiled at her.

"Why... why are you smiling at me like that?"

Sawyer continued staring at her, not saying anything.

"Sawyer... you're kind of scaring me."

"Oh, Jillian," he laughed.

Sawyer brushed a lock of hair out of his face... revealing a very large bruise on the side of his forehead.

END OF CHAPTER