You would think that after a full year as serving as the student body president, I would be ready for this moment. Strangely enough, I wasn't.
Jasper tugged my hand gently as he led me into the school building with our families following right behind us. My feet were shaking in my high heels and I would have probably fallen down onto the ground if Jasper wasn't holding onto me.
I mean, I may not be the valedictorian so I had no right to have a speech, but I would still be the first one to get my certificate as the last duty of this position. All I'm praying for is that I don't trip right in front of everybody.
I bit my lip, cringing at the taste of my red lipstick. This is the one day that I wished would never come.
After this, it's goodbye high school and hello college.
"Savannah," Kyla suddenly appeared, latching onto my arm, making me release Jasper. Tristan came around and placed a hand on Jasper's shoulder, pointing towards their teammates who were gathering for a group picture.
Jasper turned around to me and I nodded, gesturing for him to go. Turning to Kyla, she was smiling softly and slowly released me, "You ready?"
"Not really," I sighed, walking next to her as we went ahead to the gym when we saw that the boys were still busy with their other friends. We're not the kind to monopolize them, this might be the last time they were going laugh around like this.
I greeted Kyla's parents and she did the same with mine. We took some pictures before we finally got seated, ready to start the ceremony.
We were kind of trained by the teachers to sit still and be on our best behavior during the ceremony, but it was kind of hard when you have to go through the principal's boring speech.
Bailey, Dean, Everett, Hansen. It was kind of impossible for any of us to be seated next to each other considering the first letters of our last names, nonetheless, we shared quick looks and glances.
I could feel my eyes slowly starting to close and my head bouncing, my body trying its best to fight off sleep.
After for who knows how long, the principal concluded his speech and announced, "And now, it is time for the handing of diplomas to the graduating seniors of..."
I basically blocked out the rest of chatter when I was suddenly snapped back into the waking world. I instantly stood up, completely forgetting about the cue the principal had told me.
All eyes were turned to me and I bit my lip harder, threatening to draw blood. The principal, on the other hand, remained composed as he continued on, "And we shall start the giving with this year's student body president – Savannah Everett."
The audience clapped and I pretended to straighten up my dress before walking to the front, my eyes focused on the ground as I prayed that I don't take a wrong step.
When I got to the stage, I took a shaky step up the stairs. Taking a deep breath, I started to ascend up, my eyes peeling themselves off of the floor until I was locked in by the principal.
He handed me the rolled up paper, being held close by a red ribbon. I transferred it to my other hand before I did a handshake with him. As I did so, he patted my arm, giving me a smile, "Thank you, Everett."
"Just doing my job, sir," I told him truthfully.
After I started my escapade with Jasper, I lost sight of my goal. I was determined to reform this school, bring it back to its former glory. Slowly, I became friendlier with the students and the fear subsided, but what I failed to notice was the fruit of my efforts stayed.
We were no longer a school that dwindling to the ground and the appreciation in the principal's eyes was the biggest sign that whatever I did, I did it right.
He released me and nodded, gesturing for me to continue on with the walk as the speaker called up the next name. I made my way to the center, ever so gently holding onto the tassel and transferring it to the other side before taking my bow.
That was it, I was finished with this place. The same place where I broke off with Jasper and found my place beside him again. The place where I met Kyla, the girl who would soon be my right hand man, and the place where I found out Tristan was that ever supporting guy.
I reveled the moment before I smiled at the crowd and finally went back down onto my seat. As I was about to return to my chair, I passed by the line that was waiting for their turn for their diploma and one of them wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to him.
I didn't have to ask to know who it was.
"Congrats," he whispered in my ear, kissing it before releasing me again. I was rendered speechless as a blush was slowly creeping onto my face. Jasper winked at me before moving forward with the line.
I swear, that guy would be the death of me.
Fixing myself, I glanced to the stage and saw that it was already Kyla's turn. She stepped to the center stage and grinned with that million dollar smile of hers as she transferred her tassel before doing the bow.
I dropped my diploma on my seat and started clapping loudly, when she lifted up her head, she saw me practically jumping on my spot and she laughed.
Out of all the people here, she's the one I'm most thankful for. She stayed by my side when practically everybody hated me and she might be the reason I broke Jasper and I's friendship, but she was also one the reasons why we're together.
We didn't even wait for the end of the ceremony when she came running to me after she stepped down the stage. She jumped into my arms and I was so shocked that I stumbled, making sure I sat down on the nearest chair.
"I'm going to miss this," she stated, pushing herself up.
I raised a hand and she gave me a high five, "Good job, president."
"Thank you, vice," I said. If anyone here underappreciates her, I'm going to strangle them.
She headed back to her seat as they were finishing off the last people in the line. The principal called up the class valedictorian and we all listened as she delivered her heart-warming speech.
Perhaps the remains of the ceremony was a blur. It was a series of getting pulled to different of groups of people for pictures, getting congratulatory hugs from my parents, and the final pose from Jasper, Tristan, Kyla, and I.
"Smile!" mom told us, looking through the lens of her camera. I kept myself still as I had one arm wrapped around Jasper and the other arm around Kyla. The four of us grinned at the amount of gadgets currently taking our pictures.
A few people approached us and started talking to the boys. Jasper took my hand, making me look up at him. He remained composed, still nodding to whatever one of his teammates was telling him about. Resting my head on his shoulder, I closed my eyes and engraved this moment into my memory.
*
*
*
"We'll miss you," mom said, holding my face in her hands before giving me another life-crushing squeeze. If ever my mom comes for a hug, avoid it at all costs.
I tried to hug her back, but her grip was too strong for me to even move. I gave my dad a pleading look and he chuckled, detaching my mother from me. He stepped forward and gave me a lighter hug, "Take care of yourself, Savannah."
I watched as Jasper loaded the last bag into the back of my car as I was squished in between my parents, "I think that's it."
"Thank you," I told him. We stared at each other in silence, trying to find the words around this, plus the fact that both of my parents are watching doesn't make this any less difficult.
Dad thankfully sensed the mood and he spoke up, "We'll give you two a moment."
"B-but," mom stuttered, obviously hesitant to leave. Dad wrapped an arm around mom and gave an encouraging smile, leading her back into the house.
I waved at them before turning back to my wonderful boyfriend, "Upset?"
"My girlfriend is leaving, how else do you want me to feel?" he quipped, even with those words, he delivered it lightheartedly.
Lifting a hand, I caressed his cheek, pressing a chaste kiss on his lips, "See you soon, Jasper?"
"Close your eyes," he whispered.
Quirking a brow, I questioned his motives, but when his expression continued to be completely serious, I complied with his wish.
I felt a cold sensation around my neck, making me instinctively open my eyes. I noticed that Jasper has moved closer to me and his hands were currently working behind my nape. Glancing down, I almost started bawling at the sight of the ring being held by the silver chain.
"Jasper..." I trailed off just as he finished clasping the necklace. He stepped back and gauged my reaction, waiting for a response.
I let my fingers touch the ring, feeling the smooth metal. Seriously? Is he stopping me from going? Because this is completely working.
"Not the real deal yet," he muttered, "But I promise, okay?"
This will be a silent reminder that I'm his. If anyone wants to even get near, all they have to do is take on look of this ring to know that I'm taken. No matter where, no matter when, we're together.
The promise has been done and sealed.
You might find it ridiculous that we're so young and doing this, but like he said, it wasn't the real deal yet. This was a trial, will we survive four years of separation? If we do, then a new ring will be given, if we don't, then this will be just a precious memory.
Though I'm praying to God that this ends up well.
"So about that reset button..." he pointed out, reminding me of that drama that we had back then.
I threw my head back as I laughed, slightly pushing him, "It kind of worked."
He leaned against my car, chuckling along, "Really? I don't remember pressing it."
Metaphorically, we kind of did, "How else did we become friends again?"
"An English project," he raised a brow.
I would love to go back to that English teacher and thank the hell out of her. Props to you Shakespeare, you brought me boyfriend.
He saw my expression and he laughed harder, "We never needed a reset button, Savannah."
If that was the case then this whole situation wouldn't be happening, "Then what did we need?"
"Just a good old wake up call," he answered simple, "Besides, if we did reset it, then that time of self-discovery wouldn't have happened."
"Self-discovery?" I questioned.
"You know what I mean," he scoffed, pushing himself off of the vehicle.
He held out a hand for me to take and offered me a courteous smile, "Shall we, m'lady?"
It was like we were transported to our Winter Formal. I placed my hand on top of his and he gently led me to the front, opening the door for me, "I love you, Savannah."
"And I love you," I responded, sliding into the car and waited for him to close the door. He popped his head through the window and allowed us to share one more kiss.
My hands found their way to his face, holding it gently as I closed my eyes. It was like our first kiss, it was like our first dance, and it was like our first moments of this relationship.
A relationship that bloomed from friendship, got broken and bent, but still found its way back together until we were in our current position.
Pulling away, he stepped back and gave the top of the car a good pat, "Goodbye."
"It's not goodbye unless we'll never see each other again," I stated, starting up the vehicle, "It's see you soon, Jasper."
He smiled and nodded, "See you soon, Savannah."
Facing forward, I flashed him one more grin before I drove forward. We still have a long road ahead of us, and by the looks of it, we don't mind the journey too much.
The End
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I'll be right back as I cry in the corner over here.
Nonetheless, thank you so much for your overwhelming support for this book. May you came from its predecessor or you just found this on its own, I'm truly grateful. I'm honestly at awe at the comments, and I know it had been a bumpy ride, but we were still able to push through.
This book was my first Watty, and just thinking about it makes me smile so much. It's because you guys that I was able to win and the funny thing is, I never mentioned that I was even running for the award. It just goes to show how amazing you all are.
I love you guys so much, I don't even have the words to say my appreciation right now.
Who wants an epilogue? Who wants a bonus chapter? They may or may not come so don't raise your expectations too high, alright?
I won't say goodbye, but I'll see you all soon.