Falling, Fallen || A Damien Haas Fanfiction

1.0

"It's with a great honor that I present to you UCLA's graduating class of 2019!"

A roar of an applause rings throughout the crowded stadium. It's a mixture of cheering, laughing, crying, and a combination of all three. Caps are soaring through the air, and the flashes of cameras go off in every direction. As the crowd starts to trickle out of the stadium, I take in one last look at the people around me. Classmates that made theses last few years the best days of my life, so far anyways.

"Oh my god I can't believe it's really over!" I hear before getting a big 'ol hug from the back. I see a flash of silver and I'm suddenly getting picked up off the ground and spun around.

"Wes please take it easy! I don't want to die right after I just got my diploma," I manage to croak out with the little air space I had. Wes carefully puts me back down and gives me another hug. The smiles on both our faces are stretched so far, I'm worried it might get stuck that way.

"I'm sorry," he says, "I'm just so excited! Aspen, we're finally done and we get to start the rest of our lives. We are already pretty set though, I mean I have that job that starts next week and you have that interview in a couple days, so I'd say we're doing pretty well for a couple of graduates." I chuckle as we start walking away from the stage. We run into some of his family and of course they start swarming him with hugs and pictures. After the initial attack on Wes, his mom comes towards me and gives me a hug almost as crushing as her son's.

"Oh sweetie I'm so proud of you," Jackie says to me. This warm feeling from my stomach starts bubbling up to my throat and down to my toes. The sensation makes me tear up a bit, and Jackie of course notices this. "Aspen honey don't cry, I know your mother would have been so incredibly proud of you too."

My mom passed away my senior year of high school. It was in March, so she didn't know I even got into college, nor did she see me graduate from high school. It was unexpected, and completely heartbreaking. Dad tried to stay strong for my sister and I, but I know even to this day he is still grieving. I see him out of the corner of my eye and see that he too is starting to tear up.

"Dad hey, it's okay. I'm sure wherever she is now she's happy." I give him a big hug and he just kisses the top of my head.

"Of course she is, and Jackie's right, she would be so proud of you." He wipes his eyes a bit and gives me two thumbs up. My sister Paige comes up to me next and gives me a hug. We exchange a few jokes about how old I am, she's still in high school, and then she heads out by the shaded bench area to wait to leave. I see my dad go over to Wes and give him a hug, patting his back and even taking a selfie with him. Ever since I became friends with Wes, he's been the son my dad has always wanted. We met in middle school and have been inseparable since. There was a point in time where I had a little crush on him, and he liked me too. We tried it out in high school for maybe a week, but it we quickly realized that it was too weird. We're best friends and that's all it's meant to be.

After we finish all the hugs and pictures, Wes and I head out of the stadium and into the parking lot. "I love your family so much, can I just have them? Would that be cool?"

Wes giggles, "I mean you're basically a part of the family at this point. You even have your photo on the wall at my house!"

"I hope that we'll be able to hang out more now that we're done with school," I say, "We've both been so busy with finals and everything that I didn't even know you got this new job," Wes and I walk to my car as we continue our conversation. "Where even is it? I know you said something about editing, which I'm so happy for you by the way!" I ruffle up his hair while he's putting his seat belt on, earning me a pouty face and a growl. "You're such a puppy. Anyways! Like I said I'm happy for you, I know you really want to get more into that industry. So tell me about what this job is!"

"Well it's like you said, an editing job. It's actually for a YouTube channel. I don't think I can say too much yet because they'll announce me on one of their videos, and if I tell you then it won't be a secret. We both no you can't keep a secret for the life of you." I take this moment to stop the car and swiftly swat him. "Um, ow!"

"I can totally keep a secret you jerk. Like that one time when you ripped your pants during chem? I didn't tell anyone."

"You liar! You told Michael like, right away. You laughed, pointed at me, and went 'holy shit Michael did you see Wes just rip his pants?' Thanks best friend."

"Well you know what, I was but a child. I am a very experienced adult now and can definitely keep a secret." I start pulling up to his apartment. I got ready at his place with him before graduation, so we decided to carpool to the stadium.

"Regardless, I'm not taking my chances. Plus it'll be fun to just not tell you and keep you irritated," he gives me a cheesy smile. "I promise when the video comes out, I'll let you know right away. Besides, you should focus on your interview! Which you still need to tell me about by the way, I don't even know what you're being interviewed for."

As he's getting out of the car I give him a cheesy smile back, "I promise if I get the job, I'll let you know right away." He rolls his eyes at the fact that I just threw his words back to him.

"Alright Aspen, whatever. Get home safe okay?" Wes says as he starts walking into his apartment.

"I'll try my best!" I yell out as I start making my way back home.

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A/N

Thanks for reading everyone! This is my first work, so sorry if it sounds or feels weird. This will be a Damien fanfic, but I'm sorry he isn't in this chapter. He may or may not be in the next one, I'm still deciding. If he isn't, bare with me! I promise we'll get there. 

-A