Chemicals: Hazard - Book Two

Part 20: over

(Suggested song- Wonder by Shawn Mendes)

-Sophia Shade-
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I step into the ballroom once more. This time there's no one here except my friends. There's not crowds of people. It's nice. It's us. Just us. That's all we need too. I smile at them. They all smile and they give me a little wave.

I take a deep breath and pull on the skirt of my gown. It's beautiful but it seems like a total waste of fabric considering it's not even a real party. They insisted though. It's fine really.

"Happy birthday Sophia Shade." Zach whispers to me. I smile and curtsy.
"Thank you Zachariah." I say softly. He smiles and takes my hand, leading me to the group. They all hug me. I laugh.

"This is beautiful. You really didn't need to do all this." I say looking around. It's decorated beautifully. There are golden and silver streamers hanging from the ceiling. The chandelier is on, illuminating the whole room. It's the only light on, making the room seem so dramatically pleasing.

I smile up at it and then at them again.
"It was our pleasure. Now go dance." Leila gestures to the room and smiles. Zach offers his arm to me. I take it.

He brings me onto the dance floor. A man plays the piano in the corner. I grin. Zach takes my hand and places his other hand on my waist. He smiles.

"Be happy Sophia Shade." He says softly. "When your not happy, I'm not."
I roll my eyes gently and smile at him.
"So be happy." He whispers to me.

"I am." I say before being spun. We dance like we're the only ones here. It's wonderful. I don't want it to end. Ever.
He picks me up into the air and spins me around. I let out a laugh and I let myself forget about all the problems.

It's just me and Zach. Zach and I. Us.

He pulls me close to him and I lean into his chest. He wraps both of his arms around my waist. I look up at him and smile. A faint blush spreads on my cheeks. I got lucky. So lucky.

He spins me again but then pulls me back. We stay that way for a while. Together. We didn't even notice the other couples joking us on the floor until we bump into them. Elara cuts in with me and Zach. I smile and let out a laugh. We're all happy.

Nate and Leila are married. Kala and Lee are getting married and having a child. Elara is back in school. And me and Zach- well were taking life one step at a time.

Just like I like it.

After dancing I'm brought to a table. The table is filled with my favorite foods and drinks. We all sit there together, laughing, smiling. Being us.

And I want things to stay like this. I look to my right and for a split second I swear I see Ryn and Jaxon dancing together. I see them look over at us and smile. Jaxon nods approvingly. Ryn smiles at me one last time before she disappears leaving me wondering if I even saw them at all. I exhale and turn back to my friends. It's time.

It's time to stop dwelling on the past and live my life. Live our life. For them. For the ones we've lost. For the things we've lost. Our family, our friends, pieces of our soul. Pieces of our childhood gone far too soon.

For Jaxon. For Ryn. It's time.

***

Three months later...

I wish. I wish a lot of things. But right now I wish -I hope- they're happy. I hope they're happy together. They deserve to be. I look at Kala and Lee. Kala's white dress flows behind her. She's laughing with Lee. They've just been married. Kala still isn't showing.