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GOODBYE HIGH SCHOOL.
HELLO TO THE REST OF OUR LIVES.
ISADORA COULD HARDLY BELIEVING THEY WERE GRADUATING TOMORROW.
The last few months of the school year had flown past and so much had happened over the last few months. Isadora had been studying her heart out, hoping she'd be able to get into medical school, the group had gone to prom together and after Christmas, Isadora and Billy had been spending as much time as possible together and by now, the entire school knew that the couple were together. People still talked about them and some still tried to spread rumours, but Isadora had grown not to care. Instead, she focused her energy into her relationship and her schoolwork, and had spent the last few months working hard to ensure she finished the school year strongly. And now today she was trying to prepare her graduation speech, still in disbelief that she was the one who was going to be giving the Valedictorian graduation speech. However, she had been struggling to write it as she knew she wanted the speech to be perfect, but she was struggling to write the word she wanted to say down on the paper in front of her.
"Shit," Isadora groaned, as she scrunched up yet another piece of paper and tossed it aside. Billy looked over to where Isadora was sitting and raised an eyebrow as she tossed the paper aside.
"Is, come on, I'm sure your speech is going to sound good no matter what you write," Billy tried to reassure her, as he picked up the piece of paper, opened it and read what the blonde had written.
"Okay, that's easy for you to say. You're not the one who has to give a speech in front of our entire senior class," Isadora groaned as she started trying to write her speech for the fourth time. Billy chuckled as he walked over to Isadora and kissed the side of her head, as Isadora glared at him, "No, no distractions, Hargrove. Graduation is tomorrow and I need to finish my speech."
"You also need to relax so you don't burn yourself out right before graduation. Your speech is going to be great, Is," Billy told her.
"Yeah, well I can relax later. It's only going to be great if I can actually finish it," Isadora retorted.
"Alright, I guess I will just leave then," Billy told her.
"Oh, don't you dare! I want you to stay the night," Isadora told him.
"But doesn't that count as a distraction, Isadora?" Billy teased her. Isadora looked up from her speech and rolled her eyes at him, making Billy laugh, "Why don't I go and get us something for dinner?"
"I like the sound of that," Isadora said. Billy nodded and kissed the side of her head before leaving the house. While Isadora worked on her speech, Billy went and got dinner for them and a while later, he returned and Isadora smiled as she looked over at him, "I'm starving. What did you end up getting?"
"I got you your favourite," Billy said, as he held out the bag to show her what he had gotten for them and Isadora smiled happily when she saw the salad.
"You got me a salad from my favourite restaurant? This is exactly the reason why I love you because you know me so well," Isadora said, as she walked into the kitchen and started grabbing some plates.
"Is, go and finish your speech. I can serve dinner," Billy told her. Isadora rolled her eyes at him but nodded as she made her way over to the dining table and returned her attention to her speech. Soon, Billy placed a plate of food down in front of her and she smiled as she looked towards him.
"And right in time too because I have just finished my speech," Isadora smiled.
"Can I hear it?" Billy asked her.
"Of course you can, tomorrow," Isadora grinned at him, as she folded the piece of paper she'd written her speech on into thirds and placed it down beside her.
"You're really gonna make me wait?"
"Yes I am."
"Well, I look forward to hearing it, Princess," Billy said, as he sat down opposite her and she smiled at him as the two of them started eating.
"I can't believe we're finally graduating tomorrow."
"Yeah, we will finally be free from that hellhole they like to call high school," Billy said. Isadora rolled her eyes and laughed at the comment.
"Oh, come on. It wasn't all bad."
"No, you're right. I guess there were some good things about high school," Billy teased her.
"Aww, gee, thanks," Isadora laughed and shook her head as the two of them finished dinner. Later that night, they were lying in bed and Billy traced patterns on Isadora's arm, as she stared up at the ceiling and started thinking about what was going to happy next before sighing softly as she looked towards Billy, "I'm thinking about getting a job for the summer."
"I've got one as a lifeguard at the Hawkins Community Pool. I could see if they need an extra lifeguard," Billy suggested.
"Yeah, maybe. Let's worry about that after graduation though," Isadora said. Billy looked towards her and frowned before nodding, neither of them unaware how something that seemed so insignificant at that moment in time would turn into something bigger later. As they fell asleep, the only thing on their minds was their looming graduation. And by the next day, Isadora was incredibly nervous and shifted in her seat as she looked out at her fellow classmates, all of whom were watching her. Soon, she was being called up to give her speech and as she walked up to the podium, her friends cheered loudly.
"You've got this, Is!" Billy yelled. Isadora looked over at him and nodded, gulping as she opened her piece of paper before taking a deep breath and looking towards her classmates, their parents and her teachers.
"Hello faculty, friends and fellow graduates. We did it. We have accomplished one of the major early milestones of our lives; high school graduation. And I have to say — I'm so proud of everyone here today including myself for making here today. You know, two years ago I wasn't even sure if I would make it to graduation and yet here we are, and I would like to thank all of the teachers and friends who helped me get here, even the ones who made terrible project partners," Isadora said, making a few people laugh as she met Billy's eyes and grinned before continuing with her speech, "And I would — I —"
"Breathe, Isa, you've got this," Kendra muttered quietly, as she noticed her best friend was beginning to freeze up.
"I would like to say thank you to my parents, who I know are looking down on me today. I miss them every day but I know they would be so proud of me. You know, if you had asked me a few years ago if I would be the one standing up here in front of you giving this speech, I would have told you no because two years ago I was in a completely different place, but I am honoured to be standing here in front of you today. And now, we look towards the future, where we begin to find our way in this world. It's not a distant reality anymore, it begins today. No matter what though, we will never forget everything we experienced through our school years. It was the place where we met our best friends, where we learnt a lot about ourselves and where many of us, myself included, fell in love —"
"I love you, Is!" Billy shouted. Isadora met his eyes and smiled as she hook her head.
"— and it was a place where we met idiotic body who interrupt our speeches to remind you that they love you, and no matter how annoying it is, you know you love them too," Isadora added in, making the audience laugh and she smiled as she continued with the rest of her speech, "It all went by so fast and I hope each and every one of you cherished the precious moments we have spent together. Everything ends eventually and today, we close one chapter and begin a new one. Everything ends eventually and today we close one chapter and begin a new one. As much as I have looked forward to this day, I hate endings but everything ends eventually and today we say goodbye, but I wish each and every one of you the best. Congratulations, graduates, we did it."
"Yeah, Isa!" Her friends cheered and clapped as she finished her speech and as the rest of the audience joined in on the applause, Isadora smiled before making her way down the stairs and finding an empty seat to sit down in. Soon, the ceremony came to an end and Isadora skipped over to join Billy, almost immediately flinging her arms around him.
"We did it! We've graduated," she squealed happily.
"Yes, we did," Billy laughed.
"So, what do we do now?"
"Well, I think we have a party to go to this afternoon, but after that, whatever the hell we want to do, Princess," Billy told her.
"Hmm, I like the sound of that," Isadora smiled before kissing him.
~*~
"Where are Billy and Steve?" Hazel asked, as she and Eddie walked over to where Kendra and Isadora were talking. Despite failing and being told he would have to repeat the school year, Eddie was still in good spirits and had come to the party so he could celebrate with his classmates.
"I don't actually know. They were here but they went somewhere," Isadora shrugged, as she took a sip of her drink before smiling when she saw Beatrix walking over to join them and Isadora turned to look at her, "Hi!"
"So, how many times did you end up making Billy listen to your speech?" Hazel asked Isadora.
"I didn't make him listen to it once. I told him he had to wait until today to re-write it, but he did witness me almost have a meltdown whilst trying to write it," Isadora said.
"How many times did you re-write it?" Kendra asked her.
"Not that many."
"How many is not that many?" Beatrix asked.
"Uh, four times," Isadora said. The four girls looked at each other and laughed before the conversation changed, and as Isadora listened to them talking, she couldn't help wondering where Billy and Steve were and soon she excused herself and weaved through the crowd before making her way into the backyard. As she walked outside, she saw Billy and Steve were in the pool and she stopped walking as she stared at the two boys before covering her mouth to stop herself laughing, "What on earth happened to you two? Why are you in the pool? And why is your nose bloody, Billy?"
"We resolved our issues," Steve told her.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that's what happened," Billy nodded.
"Is, can you please help me out?" Steve asked her. Isadora rolled her eyes and nodded before walking over to where he stood and held her hand out to him. Steve grabbed a hold of her hand and before she had a chance to realise what was happening, Steve pulled her into the pool. As she resurfaced, the blonde pushed her wet hair out of her face and swung around.
"Steve!" She cried before bursting into laughter, "Oh, I am so getting you back for that, Harrington!"
"What is going on here?" Kendra asked, as she walked outside and stared at Billy, Isadora and Steve. Isadora and Steve looked at each other before the blonde swam forward and held her hand out towards Kendra.
"Do you mind helping me out of the pool?" She smiled sweetly at her best friend.
"I swear —" Kendra groaned as she walked forward and started to help Isadora out of the pool before the blonde pulled her forward and into the pool. The moment Kendra resurfaced, she looked towards Isadora and splashed her with water.
"Hey! I was trying not to get my hair wet!" Isadora protested, as Billy swam to the edge of the pool and watched as Isadora splashed Kendra back, catching Steve in her crossfire.
"Love, you do know your hair is already wet, right?" Billy asked her.
"Oh ... right," Isadora replied before bursting into laughter as Steve splashed her back. A few moments later, Isadora called a truce before swimming over to where Billy was sitting and smiling at him, "So you and Steve really decided to resolve whatever the problem between you two was by pushing each other into the pool?"
"That's not quite how it happened, Love," Billy chuckled, as Beatrix walked outside and stared at the group.
"Okay, I am going to find some towels so you lot can get yourself dried off," Beatrix shook her head before she walked into the house and soon returned with towels so the group could get themselves dried off and once they had dried off, Isadora led Billy to the bathroom and made him sit on the edge of the bathtub before she began cleaning the blood from his face.
"Is, I'm fine. You don't have to do this."
"Billy, I don't mind. I mean, I wish you would stop fighting people, but I'm always going to be here to help you clean yours wounds. Besides, I kind of like your face and don't want to see it messed up," Isadora told him, as she gently pinched his cheek and Billy frowned at her.
"But it's your graduation party too and you should be out there celebrating, not spending your time in here tending to my wounds that were a result of my own stupidity," Billy told her.
"I'm going to celebrate, but I want to celebrate with you, so let's get you fixe dup so we can get back to the party. Why did you and Steve even get into a fight?" Isadora asked, as she gently dabbed at his nose.
"It wasn't really a fight. I told Steve he could punch me," Billy shrugged, but he didn't say anything further and Isadora frowned at him before she nodded slowly.
"Whatever works, I guess, but please promise me you at least try not to fight anyone else," Isadora said.
"I promise I'll try not to fight anyone else," Billy told her and Isadora nodded and smiled as she kissed him before the two re-joined the party, and the friends celebrated their graduation together. Right now, Isadora had no idea what the future held but she didn't care for she decided that no matter what happened and no matter what the future held, these were going to be the moments she would never forget.
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Enjoy! Xo
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