55 Days // My Sweet Escape SEQUEL

~Ten Years Later~

"Luke, I'm taking you out for a picnic. Get dressed. Wear something nice." I said sweetly, placing a kiss to his cheek.
He blushed.
"Alright alright."
He ran upstairs and right back down in no time wearing a black tee shirt and jeans with a red flannel and his favourite black vans.
"You look good in my flannel, babe." I winked with a laugh.
I threw on a black coat and some boots. Grabbing the basket mum got me for this occasion specifically, I filled it with his favourite snacks.
Luke grabbed the yellow and blue striped blanket we always had on the couch and headed out to the car.
I grabbed the last thing on my list for the day, the little box, and headed out.
~
The park was empty that day, a clear blue sky, the trees a lovely array of reds and yellows. It couldn't have been any more perfect.
I laid down the blanket and set out all the snacks while Luke got comfortable in the grass.
"Luke." I sighed happily. "I love you."
He giggled. How I loved that giggle. His nose flared as his lips turned up in the cutest smile.
"Ashton you say that all the time. When will you actually do something significant to prove it?" He asked. Kidding of course, I knew what he meant. He'd been hinting at marriage for the past year.
Little did he know.
"Well I damn saved your life Lukey." I teased. He smiled and sat up.
"You did. And I'll never be able to repay you for that." He brushed aside my stubborn bangs from my eyes and kissed my nose.
I smiled too, then.
"Luke, there's something I need to ask you." I took the box from the inside pocket of my jacket.
"Luke," I opened it, held out the silver band with three diamonds embedded in it. "Luke Hemmings, will you marry me?"
He smiled real big, then. He smiled so big I thought his face would split right in two.
He nodded, tears streaming down his face. He nodded a billion times over before he uttered the words, "Yes, absolutely, yes."
I pulled him close and slipped the band on his finger. I kissed him lovingly before just holding him in my arms, his smile staying until we got home.
~
His smile was even wider at the ceremony, saying our "I do's."
All of our friends couldn't believe how healthy he looked; we hadn't caught up in years.
Calum made a toast to us. It went something like this:
"Dear friends, neighbours, family, thank you all for being here and supporting two of my best friends in their marriage. Ashton, mate, I'm so glad you're finally happy. I'm so happy that you've found someone to spend the rest of your life with. Luke, man I can't tell you how happy I am for you. You've come a long way since we first met. Thank you all for supporting these boys. It means so much to them and to me alike. I hope you two live long and happy lives together. Just don't forget to visit us!"
Michael tried so hard not to cry. He lost it when I gave a little speech about happiness.
"I want to thank every single person here for supporting us. I'm so happy so many of you came. Since I met Luke I've been happier than ever. I don't know where I would be without him, Calum, and Michael. I love you all. Thank you, so much, for always being there for me."
Finally it was Luke's turn to say something. He was so excited to say his thank you's at the end of the night, he could barely contain himself.
I couldn't help but let a few tears roll down my cheeks.
"First, I want to say thank you to my friends for being the best people in my life. I want to thank them for supporting me through all the hard things I went through back in my final years of high school. I want to thank everyone here for being just so much fun and full of life tonight. But most of all, I want to thank Ashton, and his family. A huge, huge thank you to the Irwins for taking me in and caring for me when I sank. A huge thank you for everything you've done, all that you've changed in your lives for me, and every little thing you've ever said to help me get through the day. Even a simple 'good morning darling' made me feel a little bit better. The biggest thank you goes to my best friend, my love, my life, my everything, my other half. My husband." He smiled real big at that, a tear snuck out of his eye and dropped off his chin. "Ashton, thank you. So much. For being my friend when everyone else but Mike and Cal here, made fun of me. Thank you, for saving me. Saving me from myself. I know I'm just rambling now, but to wrap things up, thank you all. For being great, fun, lively, and supporting people. Thank you all. So much." He sniffled and sat back down next to me as everyone clapped. I held him close and kissed his head.
"I love you so much, Luke. You didn't have to thank me for anything."
"But I did." He said. "I can never do it enough for what you've done for me."
"Being able to marry you is all I've wanted since we graduated. I've got everything I need now." I intertwined his fingers with mine, kissing him again.
"55 days without you, and now, 55 million years with you." I giggle-whispered to him.
~ and that's the story of how I found out that the love of my life, turned out to be who I least expected.