Runaway - Ashton Irwin *completed*

epilogue

| One Month Later |

"It's time to party!" Luke yelled as he popped the top off of the champagne bottle, cheering that he'd finally finished off college.

Taylor and Ashton sat in the living room, smiling and cheering for Luke as he poured the champagne into four glasses--one for each of them plus a new girl Luke had been dating off and on for the past month named Katie.

"Thank God school is finally over for me," Luke sat down on the couch and hung his arm loosely around Katie's shoulders. He took a sip of the champagne and sighed, relieved that he no longer had to worry about final exams, late night studying and he was that much closer to being able to quit his job at Starbucks and do what he really wanted to do--become a high school math teacher.

"Would you like to make a speech?" Taylor teased him, snuggled into Ashton's side.

"Um, no." Luke rolled his eyes. "That would be a waste of time. School is dumb and I'm glad it's over. Now cheers."

He raised his glass and the other three tapped theirs against his, laughing at him and all taking a sip.

"So now what?" Ashton asked him.

"I have this student teaching kind of thing now," he explained. "I'm going to be working with these other math teachers at this high school nearby and hoping that I can get hired from there."

"Look at you, growing up from a little college boy," Taylor nudged Luke and he blushed.

"Now I can go out and make real friends," he said. "Not the annoying other guys who aren't graduating until next quarter because they were messing around partying too much."

"I'm proud of you," Taylor said, smiling affectionately at him.

The evening was spent sharing laughs and memories over a couple board games. Taylor and Ashton had plans to go out to dinner the following night, ones that Ashton had arranged because he had something to talk to Taylor about.

They went into Olive Garden because Ashton knew it was Taylor's favorite restaurant. When they were finally seated and their food had arrived, Taylor was about halfway through her food when Ashton decided it was time.

"Taylor, I have a gift for you," he said, reaching into his pocket for a little box he had. He opened it and pulled out a necklace and handed it to Taylor, and she observed what the necklace actually was.

"It's a key, and it says 'home' on it," she said.

"It's a key to my house," Ashton explained. "I want you to move in with me."

"Yes!" Taylor smiled. "Of course I will!"

Ashton smiled back at her, reaching across the table and taking her hand. "I love you."

"I love you, Ashton."

| Three Months Later |

Taylor stumbled while carrying a box up the steps, laughing at herself as the contents of the box fell all over Ashton's porch.

"Oh my god! Be careful," Ashton laughed, helping Taylor up from where she was laughing on the ground and helped her pick up the various items that had fallen out.

"I'm so clumsy," she said, picking up the box and walking inside again.

Ashton grabbed the last box from the back of his truck and brought it inside. Taylor had collapsed on his bed, exhausted from moving all day and relieved to finally have it all done.