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Twelve: Future.

So here we are, the final chapter! Thank you so much for reading this short work. I know some are disappointed that it's already the last chapter, but I do hope that you enjoyed it! It was truly a pleasure to write this story, and I'm glad you all took the time out of your hands to read it!

After this, I encourage you to read my new work "(Don't) Catch Me." I'm not forcing you, but it'd be great if you do read it!

Again, I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I did writing it. All the best!

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Mackenzie’s hands wereshaking from anxiety. I was shaking from excitement as the sun began to set in Williamsburg, Virginia; we were at the famous Busch Gardens for Howl-o-Scream! The Halloween weekend of our senior year in high school, I told him how he owed me for standing me up the previous year—even though it was for understandable reasons.

It had been ten months since we started dating, and when the entire school found out, I expected lots of hate, but they all expected it. When they found out we had known each other since way back when, the girls backed off. Of course, we never told anyone of our business. What happened concerning our relationship was between us—they didn’t need to know.

We got in line for “13 Your Number’s Up” which was a haunted house pertaining to thirteen different fears: the dentist, dead things, pain and torture, insects, the dark, going to sleep, the doctor, bats, spiders, enclosed spaces, snakes, death, and heights. My blood was boiling in thrill while Mackenzie was doing his best to act tough in front of me.

As we approached the entrance, I decided to lead us through the place and stood in front. I looked up to him with a mischievous smirk, “You ready?”

He attempted to scoff and return with a cocky response, “Of course. The question is are you ready?”

I replied in the same manner, “Of course.”

Mackenzie placed his hands on my waist, and we entered. Now, I can’t really remember in full detailed what happened because while I was scared, Mackenzie was worse and practically forced me to run through the damn place. He wrapped his arms around my waist tightly to the point where it just didn’t feel romantic anymore. Every time someone popped out he’d scream out obscenities at them and hid his face behind mine.

As soon as we exited, Mackenzie took me by the hand and we sprinted out of there, only to run into some guys with masks and chainsaws, to which he continued to tug at my arm until we reached a steakhouse kind of eatery. We were sweating like pigs from both the running and the haunted house, but Mackenzie was shaking violently.

Then I burst into laughter. He looked insulted and ready to die from embarrassment when I exclaimed, “Th-that’s so c-cute, M-M-Mackenzie—ahahahaha!”

He grabbed me and pulled my cheeks from my face. “Oh, ha-ha, I’m so amused,” he said sardonically. “How can you enjoy thrill stuff like this? Jeez, that gave me a heart attack!” I shrugged. “Is there anything you’re afraid of?”

There was, but it wasn’t included in the haunted house we just went through. I shook my head in response. “There’s nothing,” I denied smoothly. He eyed me suspiciously and I sniffed in the smell of barbeque. “Ooh, let’s get something to eat!” I announced all giddy with excitement.

We were stuffed, so we just sat at our table, listening to chainsaws and screams while we had a casual conversation about college. “Do we really have to bring this up?” he asked dreadfully. “You want to go to Harvard like your Uncle Emmett and mom, right? Everyone in your family’s pushing you to go there, and you even said yourself that you liked it there. So there’s nothing to talk about.”