Mackie, May I?

Mackie, May I? Chapter 26

A/N—So this is it! Last chapter/epilogue of Mackie, May I? is here and I'm super excited and kind of super upset about it as well! I can honestly say I enjoyed writing this story so much more than my other two, which I guess can be proved by how freaking long it is (260 pages on M. Word, you guys). But anyway, I'm not going to drag this out, so I hope you like it! Leave comments/vote/fan if you want to make my hellish week better (3 tests in 3 days...ugh). 

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It's been three weeks too long the next time I lay eyes on my long lost best friend, so the minute that I see the back of her head peeping over the top of one of the sofas in the dorm's lobby, my chest excitedly jumps and, after releasing the tight grip I have on my boyfriend's hand, I squeal out her name and bound over to her.

She, since I made no attempts whatsoever in being quiet, hears me and, after quickly looking over the back of the couch, she leaps off the dirty cushions and runs over, her thin arms folding around me the minute we meet in the middle.

She coos happily, "I haven't seen you in soooooo long! Oh my God!"

"I know!" I cry out, foolishly feeling tears threatening the corners of my eyes.  This girl has been my family for years now, and this is the first year since we've met that we've gone this long without seeing each other.  And even though I've constantly kept her updated, quite a bit has happened over this break.

Jesse and me had sex for the first (second) time, I told Jesse I loved him and then we proceeded to get in this huge fight and break up, I went and visited my rapist in jail, and then Jesse came back, proclaimed his love for me, and now we're back together.  It's definitely been a doozy of a break, and I think both Carly and I had gotten used to her being there for everything and getting me through it.

So while I'm glad I got through everything pretty much on my own—I'm getting stronger every day—it still was a pretty huge adjustment for her to not be there.  But now she's here and she's beautiful and smells like flowers and I just...I didn't realize the magnitude of the emotional hold she has on me.

Not until it wasn't at arm's reach.

After the longest of hugs, one I'm sure has garnered much appreciative attention from the boys walking through, she pulls away and I'm thrilled to see she has a light sheen coating her crystal blue eyes as well.  At least I'm not the only one crazily affected.  She laughs when she sees I've noticed, and then as she carefully wipes her cheeks even though there's no moisture, she says, "You are not allowed to be away from me and have so much drama anymore! God, I was dying not being able to be there."

I smile at her, knowing she speaks nothing but the utmost truth.  Carly's my cheerleader through and through, and I know hearing secondhand what all I went through over the break drove her mama-bear instincts crazy.  I tell her, "Never again, I swear!"

"Hey hey hey," a familiar voice loudly announces from somewhere unseen, and when I look over I see Fred emerging from the hallways.  For some unknown reason I think I expected everyone to change as much as I feel I have, and seeing him looking and acting just like he had before is a little bit surreal.  It's also extremely comforting.  He looks between Carly and I, and, noticing our close proximity that could only come post-embrace, gives a wry grin and asks, "Was there a group hug I wasn't involved in? 'Cause that is just not okay."

The three of us laugh at him, Jesse having finally reached us after I'd hastily left him to hug my best friend, and then I move towards him and say, "Hey, Fred," pulling him into a sweet hug.

"I missed ya, Blondie," he says in an uncharacteristically sincere way, but I don't have to worry about him losing his spunk for too long, because right after I feel his hands slip down to graze my butt.Jesse doesn't take too long, obnoxiously clearing as throat as a threat to Fred, and then pulling me back to him by my waist.  Fred giggles at the display, and I poke my tongue out at him in response before turning to Jesse.  Sweetly wrapping my arm around his waist, I look up at him through my eyelashes and ask him, "Help me bring my stuff to my room?"