A Sweet Serenade

Chapter 10 *FINAL CHAPTER*

5 missed calls from Matt <3, read my phone. Not to mention the 17 text messages. I hadn't been responding, so I prayed he didn't show up at my house. I couldn't face him after the insanity at dinner. I got into the shower and began to hum as I tried to wash away my anger.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door followed by my mom's voice. "Honey, you're home early! I need to talk to you right now!"

I shut off the shower quickly and wrapped myself in a towel. Mom would have never interrupted my shower for something unless it was dire.

"Lauren, I have news for you." She grinned. "I just got off the phone with the admissions officer from Rightmond, and you are in!"

"Are you serious?" I stuttered. Suddenly, the incident at the Fletcher household seemed so insignificant. Maybe it was a sign from the universe that my real future was elsewhere.

"Yes! I am so proud of you! I wasn't sure how I felt about you doing dual enrollment during your senior year, but I know you worked so hard. But I will really miss you, baby. New York is so far away."

New York. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, I would be moving to New York. What did this mean for Matt and me?

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I thought keeping my distance would somehow make things better. After a few botched attempts of explaining things to me, I think Matt finally got the idea. Finally, two weeks later, Matt caught me after voice lessons.

"Lauren, I am dying here. I need you to either try and forgive me, or to break up with me so I can move on. Please?" He asked, his blue eyes gleaming.

"I want to forgive you," I replied honestly, feeling my throat tighten up. "But it would be better if we broke up."

Matt looked completely broken. He took a step back and, for the first time, raised his voice at me. "Better for who? Not me. And you're lying to yourself if you think that you don't want to be with me too!"

That was when I completely broke down. "Of course I want you, Matt."

"Well, what's the problem then?!" He asked, grabbing my hands.

"I'm leaving the day after school gets out to go to New York for a month." I replied, avoiding his gaze.

"And? We have a week until then, and then I can wait. I would wait for you forever."

That is when he kissed me, with so much passion and anguish, I could barely control myself. I had missed him, and his kiss, so much, and judging by the way he responded to my touch, he had missed me just as badly.

Breathlessly, as he began to kiss my neck, I decided to tell him. "But Matt... there's more." He released me from his gentle grip. "I got into Rightmond for dual admission. I am leaving in the fall and completing high school there in New York."

Matt looked as if he had put the pieces together. "So that's why you're leaving at the beginning of summer?"

"Yes, I am going to go look at the dorms and getting everything decided with my mom."

His expression went from angry, to relieved. Still, he said nothing.

"Matt?" I prompted.

"I can't believe you thought we should break up over that. We can Skype, I could come and visit you, you'll come back to see your mom... there are solutions." He answered, pulling me into an embrace.

And so it was settled, we were going to make this work. Somehow.

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*ONE MONTH LATER*

"Let me be the first one to welcome you to Los Angeles! At this time you may use your cell phones and portable electronic devices. We ask that you remain seated until we pull in to the gate and the captain has turned off the 'fastened seat belt' sign. Be careful when opening overhead bins as baggage may have shifted during flight. We know you have many choices when you fly, so we thank you for choosing American Airlines." 

As soon as saw the captain had turned off the seat belt sign, I stood up and lunged for the overhead bins to gather my belongings. I needed to get off the plane so I could drive to see my boyfriend. I promised I would go to see him as soon as I got home. 

As I exited the plane, I sent him a text to let Matt know I was off the plane. I moved my long dirty blonde hair out of my face and headed towards baggage claim. I needed to get out of here, I thought. I needed to see my boyfriend. I watched each bag spin around the luggage carousel, impatiently waiting for my own. 

"Lauren," I heard from behind me. I spun around to see Matt standing there, before he pulled me in to a big embrace. "It is so good to see you," he said lovingly. 

"Matt!" I exclaimed, jumping in to his arms. You have no idea how hard it is to go a whole entire month away from a boyfriend like Matt. I mean, I love being in New York, but New York doesn't love me back like he does. "How did you know where to find me?" 

"I called your mom who gave me your flight information. I missed you so much, I couldn't wait for you to drive all the way to my house!" 

"I missed you too," I laughed. I pulled out a little snow globe and handed it to him. "I have a present for you!"  

"This is great, I love snow globes!" he said smiling. "I have a present for you too." 

And that was when he neared my lips for the first time in so long. His breath was minty as he brushed his lips over mine, almost teasing me, before he pressed them upon me with the reserved passion of the whole month. My blood raced as the airport noise seemed to drown out underneath the sound of our heartbeats. I put my arm around his neck and continued to kiss him as he lifted me off of the ground. I loved that he could make me feel small. He set me down again and gave me a sweet, gentle kiss once more before telling me what I have been waiting years to hear; "I love you, Lauren."

I didn't know what would happen between us in the future, but as for now, we were both committed to making things work. The only thing I was sure of was that I had an honest response to his statement: "I love you more, Matt."

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THE END!

A/N: This story has been an on-going battle for me for about two years. Through several bouts of writer's block, two laptops, and even a chapter written on my phone - this is kind of a relief to complete. I thank you all for reading <3 be sure to check out my other stories as well!