Michael and Jenna had been gone for a few hours, a few nail-bitting hours, before they were back. I half expected them to appear angry or downright furious; or even for them to show up with malicious grins because they got Monica to back away. But they showed up looking happy. And not in a 'we're finally free of the devil' sort of happy. Rather, they were staring lovingally at each other and smiling brightly. Their hands were locked, I noticed, and Jenna had a ring on her finger that I've never seen in her posession before.
"We have an announcement to make," was the first thing Michael said, without bothering to look away from Jenna, who seemed to be melting under his gaze, "The reason we're late is because we were out in town to buy an engagement ring. I proposed to Jenna. And she said yes!"
Automatically, the room shook with cheers and a long, steady applause. I was the last to stop clapping as everyone took turns to congradulate them, adding something along the lines of 'It was about time!'. Of course, it took me a few minutes to recover from the impact of the news. But when it finally settled, I realised what was going on. Jenna and Michael were getting married! I've never seen Jenna so happy and Michael so excited. When she cought sight of my broad, sinceere grin, Jen's eyes became glossy. I felt my own eyes filling with tears as I wrapped my arms tightly around one of my very best friends. Again, there it was, the feeling of how long a way we've come. I could still remember when it was just the two of us, striding along the hallways together and making side remarks about how self centred Luke, Michael and Calum were. I remember very clearly how she was dating Ashton and I had a hopeless crush on a boy named Jason. The faithful day in detention, meeting Julie, meeting the guys, meeting Sam. Who would've thought we'd be here? Somehow, I had all the memories, but I felt as if someone else was living them, not me. I've become a completely different person.
When I pulled away, I saw that it wasn't just me and Jenna crying anymore; Julie was wipping her cheeks, Samantha sniffed and I was pretty sure I even saw Joey pretend he had something in his eye. Ashton flung his arm around Julie and Calum mirrored his actions with Sam. Michael had re-connected his and Jenna's hands, so I moved closer to Luke, who's arms gladly welcomed me. We all stood in a circle, staring at each other and smiling through the tears. This was us, 8 best friends. No, we weren't friends, we were a family like one I've never had before. As if we read each other's minds, we simultaniously all joined into a warm group hug. After seeing him standing alongside us awkwardly, we invited Joey into the hug too, chuckling at his goofy expression. I felt as if the worst was behind us, the temptations, the arguments, the hurting, it was all in the past. And now there was nothing left to worry about, for a bright future in store for all of us.
---
The tour went on for the next month, with next to no disturbances. Michael finally got his cast off and permission to use his arm and we had to say goodbye to Joey. I felt a little sad about him leaving, to be honest, he didn't turn out too bad. We asked him where he was gonna go, but he just said not to worry and that he might just pop up, if one of our ex girlfriens gets him drunk again; to which we, of course, laughed. Thanks to him, though, I figured out what to do after college and my friends were completely supportive. I've always been a creative person and, apparently, I wasn't too shaby at writing, so my choice was to be a song writer. The guys offered to help me kick-start my career, but I politely declined. I needed to do this one on my own.
With all the worries safely behind us, we now only had the wedding to look forward to. Julie and Ashton seemed really nervous and excited for it and, since the band was on a break, Ash was free to spend more time with Jules so they both could work on wedding plans. With that special date, July 20th, nearer and nearer, there was more and more buzzing about them.
I finished my first year of college with really good marks, and the other girls were pleased with their results as well. Looking ahead to the second year was not too aluring, so I cast that aside in favour of going through the guest list with Julie. She really had a huge party in mind; she invited her and Ashton's relatives, of course, but she even put down the names of my parents! The list just went on and on. Although, she wasn't inviting the media, which I thought to be a good idea. So the big day finally arrived. Luke and I had spent almost the entire previous night at their house, assuring them that everything was perfect. But, at that point, they both looked so happy, I doubted details were even important anymore.
