After Nationals, it seemed like I'd become a celebrity over night. Newspaper journalists were calling me, television stations were asking for interviews. I did my best to accept as many as possible, but I was pretty busy finishing up high school. Typical end-of-the-year projects were thrown at me left and right. And between that, figuring out the schedule and the dates of the tour, and actually practicing duets with Paul, I had my hands full.
So when Paul came bursting into my room at nine in the morning on the last day of classes, I just about cried.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" I cried, throwing my blankets off of me, not even caring that I was only in a tiny pair of black underwear.
Paul immediately adverted his eyes. "Why don't you sleep with pants?"
"I'm so late! I had stuff due first period Crap!"
"Calm down, Allie!"
I paused in mid-motion, turning to give him the sternest glare I could. "I'm late for my last day of high school ever. Be quiet!"
He looked shocked for a moment but then he chuckled. "Isn't there something more important today than just your last day of classes?"
"Taco Tuesday? Wait it's not Tuesday. It's Friday..." I stared at him. "I don't know?"
"Ahh, Allie, all this work is making your brain fry," he said, sighing lightly. "Looks like I'm the first one to say it though— happy birthday!"
"Birth— that's right! It's my birthday!" How could I have forgotten? I was a legal adult now! I could buy scratch tickets! I could buy cigarettes! I didn't want to, but I could!
I smirked at Paul. "So I guess we're legal now, huh?"
"Well we weren't technically illegal before," he replied, suddenly looking bashful.
"Okay touch my body now," I said, spreading out my arms.
For a second I honestly thought Paul's eyes were going to pop out of their sockets. His face darkened and he grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at my face. "Just get dressed! You're late for school!"
"Hey! Careful of your wrist!"
He brushed me off. "Stop worrying about it. It's fine."
"But..."
"Aren't you late?" he hedged.
"Ah! That reminds me— why didn't you wake me up?"
"I thought you were skipping on purpose," he said.
I snorted. "Me? Skip? ...Yeah, I guess I probably would have if I didn't have so many things to hand in. But what about you? Shouldn't you be at school?"
He paused by the door, blowing his short hair out of his face. "I called in sick so I could be with you today."
"Awww—"
"Get dressed," he ordered before shutting my bedroom door.
I grinned, getting up from the bed and grabbing my uniform from the closet. It'd be the last day I'd ever have to wear one. I silently cheered to myself.
After showering quickly and throwing on some light make-up, I hurried down the stairs and into the hallway. I slipped my shoes on and made sure my necktie wasn't crooked. "I'll be back in a bit," I called, unsure of where Paul was.
"What? You're leaving?"
"Yes. I told you I have projects to hand in!"
He popped his head out of the kitchen. "But I called out sick to be with you."
"Teachers shouldn't do that, you know."
"Well, after today, I'm not a teacher anymore."
"Huh?"
His green eyes crinkled. "I teach senior labs. I won't have any more students after today and there's no lab today anyway. I still have to go in for final grades, but that's it. Then I'm done. The original teacher will be back next year."
Somehow this fact surprised me a little. The whole time I knew Paul was just a substitute, but it felt a bit weird knowing he wouldn't be at the school anymore. I knew he wasn't certified to be an actual teacher too, but it was kind of sad. It was fun to have a teacher like him. No one else would ever get to learn from him...
"Just hand in your projects and come back, okay?"
"It's the last day of classes, Paul. I'm going to say goodbye to my friends."
"Fine. I guess I'll wait here."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Maybe you shouldn't have called out on the last day. Don't be crabby."
"I'm not crabby."
"Bye, Paul."
"Bye, Allie. Have fun."
I paused with one foot out the door. "...I love you."
"Love you too," he responded, making a kissy noise. "Happy birthday again!"
I smiled and stepped fully out, shutting the door behind me. The sun was already high in the sky, reminding me of how late I was. But it was beautiful and warm. Fitting for my last day ever as a high school student.
I basically skipped to my car, sliding in and rolling down the windows. As soon as I pulled onto the street, my phone rang. Thinking it was my mom, I answered it quickly. "Hello?"
No one said anything.
"Hello? Mom?"
"I'm not your mom."
I recognized the voice instantly. "Elliot!" I said happily.
"Ugh, lower your voice. You don't have to shout."
"How are you? I miss you so much! Have you learned a lot? How come you don't call more often?" I questioned, letting out the barrage. I sort of felt like a naggy housewife but I was curious. He rarely ever called me and he maybe sent me a text message twice a day if I was the first to text him.
He breathed into the phone. "Fine, miss you too, learned a bit, busy," he answered.
I was amazed. He'd answered every single one of questions without being rude about it. "Who are you and where is Elliot?"
"I'm in France."
"Aren't you the joker?"
He laughed softly and I felt my heart skip a beat. My face fell a little. Why could I only hear his laugh? Why couldn't I see him? I hated him being so far away. "Ahhh I miss you," I said again.
"The distance is nice," he responded.
"It is?"
"It's easier to move on."
His response caused my next words to die in my mouth. I pulled into the school parking lot, biting my lower lip. "I'm sorry..."
"No, I'm sorry," he quickly said, sounding annoyed with himself. "It came out wrong. Rather, I didn't mean to say it. How is Mr. Russet?"
I smiled slightly. "He's good. We're really busy with the tour and stuff. Are you busy over there?"
"Not crazy busy, but I practice a lot."
"Have you made friends?"
He stayed silent.
"Have you?" I repeated, scared that he might say he was all alone in a foreign country.
"I wouldn't say she's my friend," he grumbled into the phone. "She reminds me of you. Same dumb persistence."
"Dumb?" I heard someone say in the background.
"That her?" I said.
"Yes, dumb, and yeah that's her," he responded and then said something intelligible to the person with him.
Once again I felt the happy expression dying on my face. I knew I should've been happy for him— and I was — but it just felt so lonely. He was my best friend. I didn't like the idea of having to share him. The idea that there was someone else he was opening up to.
But he probably didn't like the idea of having to share me with Paul...and then losing me to Paul.
I glanced at the clock. It was already past ten. "Hey, I need to go," I told him reluctantly. "Gotta turn in some projects."
"Skipping the last day of classes?" he asked.
"Are you one to talk? You're not even on the continent."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
"I'll talk to you later, Elliot."
"Wait— I didn't get to tell you why I called."
"What?"
"Er... well, happy birthday," he mumbled into the phone, getting all embarrassed.
I don't think I'd ever grinned so widely before. Elliot was truly amazing. Getting shy just by saying happy birthday? And yet he'd taken the time to give me a call too? "France is changing you," I told him mock-somberly.
"Shut up. I'm hanging up now."
"Bye, Elliot."
"Bye."
"Wait! Are you coming to graduation?" I asked in a rush, but it was too late, he'd already hung up. I stared at my phone for a moment, pursing my lips. It sucked having the ocean between us.
Exhaling, I slipped my phone into my pocket. Elliot was making friends? Would he forget about me? I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel. No, he wouldn't. I should've been proud of him making friends - it was something most people that knew him couldn't dream of. Maybe I'd helped him out of his shell. This was definitely something to be proud of.
I was going to give him such a big hug when he came back to visit.
The next two hours involved me running around and turning in my projects. I searched everywhere for Aspen, but couldn't find her, figuring she'd decided to skip. I'd decided to skip lunch to go to the classes I'd missed and see if I was all set for the end of the course. When English came around, I thought about cutting, but then realized I'd better say my goodbyes to Kyle.
I walked in and Kyle immediately gave me a funny look. "You're here?"
"I know. I slept in and missed the first three periods."
"Why bother coming at all then?" a bored voice asked.
I turned to see Olivia sitting at her desk, playing with her blonde hair. "I, unlike you, like to get good grades."
She gave me a snotty look. "Oh, shut up."
"You said something first."
"Girls," Kyle spoke up.
"Shut it, Tucker," I snapped at him.
His mouth fell open a little. "H-hey I'm still your teacher."
I laughed. "Sorry, I didn't mean it. I just wanted to try being mean to a teacher at least once before I graduated."
"Ah... you got me good."
"Good. It's my birthday," I added, a little smugly.
"Well happy birthday! Turn in your essay and you're free to go," he said, pointing to a pile of papers on the edge of his desk. "It's my gift to you."
"Wait, seriously?"
Olivia tasked. "No, don't think you're special. He's said it to every senior since there's no music labs anyway."
"Really?" Upon taking a look around the classroom, I realized it was only Olivia there. "So you're staying after for extra credit or something?"
She rolled her eyes at me as I laughed at my own joke.
"Thanks for this year Kyle," I said, placing my essay on his desk. "I know it might've been a bit rocky, but it was fun. Um..."
"I feel like I should apologize every time I see you," he responded, standing up from his desk.
I smiled up at him as he came to stand next to me. "It's fine. Olivia should be the one apologizing anyway."
"Hey, I did," she snapped.
"It was crappy ending, but it was nice to get to know you while it lasted," I told Kyle, shrugging. "It's not like I regret hanging out with you."
He nodded. "I don't regret that either. Do you wanna keep in touch?" he asked, digging his cell phone out of his pocket.
"Sure," I responded, taking it from him and putting my number into it. "Just remember I'm a taken lady now."
He chucked. "So I've heard. I'll come see you two on your tour. I'll see you at graduation, too."
I gave him a small wave. "Yup. Bye, bye Olivia."
"See ya," she responded.
Then I walked out the doors of the classroom, all the way back to the school entrance. It'd be the last time I walked through its doors. Graduation was being held downtown. I placed my hand on the cool metal of the handle. This was it. I was a free soul. Out of the hell called high school...
Then I pushed it open.
Then I stepped out.
But it didn't feel as freeing as I though it would. It just felt like I stepped outside.
Maybe it hadn't kicked in yet.
Shrugging, I headed back home.
As soon as I opened the door to Paul's house, he came swooping down on me. "Allie!! Great news!"
I jumped a little. "W-what's that?"
"The doctors just called! I've got the A-OK on my wrist! I can go on the tour!"
"Really?" I responded excitedly. "Oh thank God."
Paul beamed at me, turning his wrist from side to side slowly. "All the x-rays came back fine. The bones have had no problem healing. See? I knew you were worried for nothing."
I pursed my lips at him. "I don't regret being worried! I was scared they might not heal properly!"
"I'm not that weak. And now we get to travel around the world together!"
"You're so excited, it's embarrassing," I joked, trying to push him aside so I could enter the house.
"I couldn't ask for anything more in my life," he said contently, grabbing my arm and pulling me to his chest. "I can be excited if I want to."
I returned his hug. "I know, I was just kidding."
"We have to go over the dates with the tour manager again and make sure they're okay," he said when he pulled away, running a hand through his hair. "I think they look fine, but you should check them out. I know you only went along with things because you thought you might drop it if I didn't go on it. But now we're going, so look at it seriously this time."
Nodding, I made my way into the kitchen. On the table there was a present with a bow on it. I turned to Paul. "Did you buy me a present?"
"It's only natural to buy someone a gift on their birthday."
"You didn't have to," I said bashfully. "Especially because you got me that glass piano for Nationals..."
Paul waved his hand like it wasn't a big deal. "These are separate occasions. Open it!"
"You don't have to tell me twice." Curious, I ripped the wrapping paper right off of it, revealing the white box under it. Flipping it over, I saw a picture of a laptop. "Wait—"
"Before you say anything I'm not returning it!" Paul rushed.
In my hands was a brand new 13" MacBook Pro. I gawked at it for a moment before turning to my boyfriend. "A laptop?"
"Well you need one—"
"A laptop?" I repeated incredulously. "It's a little too much."
"Oh, just accept it. I wanted to buy it for you, so I did," he retorted with an air of finality.
Of course I wasn't going to put up a fight though. It was Paul's money. He could do whatever he wanted with it. Even though I actually finally had enough to buy myself a laptop. "Thank you very much," I said to him, kissing him on the cheek. "I was actually planning to buy one."
"Now you can Skype with Elliot," he commented happily. "And your friends when we're on tour."
"I wonder if Elliot would Skype me... I want to know what that girl looks like."
"Girl?" Paul repeated.
I rubbed my chin. "Elliot made a friend who's a girl."
Paul smirked. "Oh yeah? You feeling jealous?"
"No way!" I denied. "It's just weird for him to have other friends than me."
"You heard what you just said right?"
Saying it out loud, I finally understand how bad it sounded. It was like I wanted to keep him to myself and keep him from having a life. "Yeah, you're right. That was bad. I'm happy that he is making friends."
Paul wrapped an arm around my shoulder and squeezed me. "I'm sure you'll always be his best friend though. You can't easily forget someone like you."
"Geez, you're so cheesy," I said, slinking out of his grip. "Thanks again for the laptop. Maybe I'll make it up to you tonight."
Immediately flustered, he shook his head. "N-no your parents are coming."
"What? Why?"
"It's your eighteenth birthday. I can't keep you all to yourself. Your mom was already crying when I told her to come up."
I grimaced. "She really needs to stop."
"I think it's cute."
"Gross, Paul."
His gave a short laugh. "Come on, let's go finalize the schedule date for the tour. Maybe we can make it back for Christmas."
I followed Paul into the living room where the desktop computer was. "Ooh, yeah, let's get a break when Aspen and Elliot are back from college too. Man I wish I was going to college..."
"You're taking online classes," he pointed out. "That's college."
"Yeah, but I want to be going to an actual class and meeting new people too," I replied, sitting down on the swivel chair. "But for right now, I guess it's better than I'm focusing on my career."
Paul booted up the monitor. "Think on the bright side. You'll probably be making some good money from the tour."
"Too bad I have to share it with you."
He tapped my head gently. "Remember though, it's about the experience."
"And the money," I said, rubbing my hands together. "So it's August through December right? How many days off a week do we have?"
"One and sometimes two," he told me, pulling up the emails from the tour manager. His name was Luc and he was a pretty cool guy. "Then we also have five days off for Thanksgiving so we don't have to worry about that."
"I'm more worried about the amount of songs I have to perform."
"They're not bad and you'll be playing them every night so it's not like you need to know different ones every performance. We can switch a few up though once we get bored."
I nodded, my eyes scanning over the e-mails. There was a lot more involved in a tour than I'd thought. All the travel, the food, the accommodations, the practices, the set-ups. It was going to be really hectic. Not to mention I didn't want to be wearing the same two dresses every night so I had to go shopping and buy more. And on top of that they had hired someone to do my hair and make-up. It was incredible!
"Tickets are thirty-five dollars? Are we really worth that?" I asked, shocked when I saw the prices of the tickets.
"Well, I'm worth it," Paul said, wrinkling his eyebrows. "Not sure about you..."
I shoved his shoulder. "Oh yeah, I forgot you're already dumb famous."
"Only in the world of pianists. If you asked Taylor Swift who I was she would say she had no idea. If you asked the best artist in America they would say they hadn't heard of me either. It's only one little piece of the music industry."
"Yeah, a little piece to make you this rich."
"I'm not rich," he replied, shaking his head, but grinning nonetheless. "I pay a mortgage like everyone else."
"This is going to be crazy," I stated.
"It'll be fun."
"I'm glad I'm doing it with you. You've done it before."
"I've never done it before like this though," he mentioned.
"Like what?"
He looked down at me and winked. "With the girl I love."
I pushed myself out of the seat a little to give him a kiss. "Yeah, that's true. The dates look okay. Should I just type back that we looked it over?"
Nodding, he hit the reply button. "Yep."
I quickly wrote out a response, giving Luc the okay to proceed with the bookings. Italy, France, Canada, Japan, Australia... Paul and I were going all over together. We could row down the canals in Italy. We could eat real ramen from a ramen shop in Japan. We could see Tokyo tour. We could go to Melbourne and play with kangaroos and run away from giant spiders. We could eat escargot and hate it. I wouldn't have thought about doing that in my wildest dreams. It was incredible. My hand hovered over the mouse, ready to hit send.
"Are you going to hit send, Allie," Paul said cheerfully, picking me up out of the chair and then kissing the crap out of me. His lips were on my cheeks, my forehead, my lips, my chin, my hair.
I laughed, struggling to push him away, feeling a slight blush on my cheeks. I knew he was just as animated as I was about this. "If you let me go, I will!" I told him.
"I just want to kiss you because this is so exciting. Congratulations on your first tour!"
"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."
"Oh please, yes you would."
I shook my head. "Nope. Thanks for pushing me and supporting me and letting me live with you. Thanks for cheering me up when I was sad. Thanks for giving me motivation when I lacked it. And thanks for letting me fall in love with you."
Paul caught my gaze and smiled at me warmly. "It was my pleasure, Allie."
"Please continue supporting me and motivating me in the future," I said, holding out my hand to him.
He grasped it tightly. "Please support me as well."
"Shall I hit send?"
He nodded vigorously.
I tapped on the mouse and a small sent box appeared on the screen for a few seconds. I stared at the screen for a moment and then up to Paul.
"Here's to this tour and to many many more in the future," he said.
"And to getting rich."
He snorted and I grinned right back at him. But even if we didn't make any money, I'd still be happy. I got to play piano, got to go on tour, and be with Paul. I couldn't ask for anything more.
From this point on, my life would be an endless serenade of music, life, and love.
_____________________________
Sorry about the format? I don't know what happened???
It's the end!! Thanks for sticking with the story!!!! But don't worry, there's an epilogue! I told you that you'd get to see Elliot again :) And then I also want to write one extra chapter about Allie visiting Elliot in France.... Or maybe just a chapter in Elliot's POV about France and being away from Allie... or maybe a short story in Elliot's POV... many options!!!
Anyway, thank you again for sticking through this tough four years! I'm sorry it took so long to finish and if you stuck from the beginning to the end- you're amazing! I have the best fans anyone could ask for!
Also, as some of you know, I'll be featured in the Wattpad Block Party which is an online event with tons and tons of giveaways and special things from a whole bunch of Wattpad authors! My piece will be a character Q&A and a special chapter from one of my other books called A Proscriptive Relationship (and if you haven't read that, that book is about Allie's parents and how they met and all that jazz!) To keep yourself updated, please follow me on Twitter as a lot of people don't get messages from me when I sent out mass messages! You can search me on there. My user handle is JordanLynde_
Don't miss out on the fun! I'll have the link to my giveaway in my bio on my profile page, so feel free to enter! I'll be giving away an e-book on top of those prized as well :)
Also, I love the korean dramas on Netflix! I watched Coffee Prince and am currently on episode ten of Secret Garden. What do you guys suggest?