*over 1 year later *
Well, we're finally here. We made it.
Graduation Day.
I'm so happy school is finally over. It was giving Pete and I so much stress. I'm just glad Pete actually passed, since he wasn't really a school kid. It'll feel so good to finally be handed that diploma.
And now here I stand, looking at myself in the mirror, with my cap in hand, and gown on. And I'm turning 18 right after Graduation. And by that I mean literally tomorrow. So I'm excited for that, but this is all that matters right now. My now blue dyed hair was long and wavy down to my center back. Underneath the gown, there's a black, knee length dress, and I'm wearing black flats on my feet.
"Ash? You almost ready?" Pete knocked on the bathroom door. I opened it, and he was dressed in his gown, but he was holding his cap. He looked at me with wide eyes.
"Well don't you look gorgeous," He smiled, grabbing my hand and pulling me to him. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck, as he placed his hands on my hips.
"Why thank you. You don't look too bad yourself." I smiled. "Well, I do see one thing that's a little off." I said.
"What is it? Do I smell?" He asked worriedly. I just chuckled.
"No, but there's something on your lip." I lied. He was about to reach up and touch his lip, but I stopped him.
"Don't worry. I'll get it." I said, moving closer to him. I then connected our lips, making him chuckle slightly as he kissed me back.
"Okay, lovebirds. Get your asses down here." We pulled away, and saw Tyler and Josh at the bottom of the stairs, waiting in their own outfits. I can tell they were trying to hold in giggles. We both rolled our eyes and made our way downstairs where everyone else was. I jokingly ruffled Josh's newly dyed red hair, just to be an asshole. I'll tell you, we all look like the cast of 'High School Musical 3' and it's hilarious. There's me, Pete, Josh, Tyler, Patrick, Joe, Andy, Elisa, Kate and Mary. We're gonna meet up with Brendon, Ryan, Dallon and Spencer in the school auditorium. I honestly have a feeling that Ryan and Brendon have something for each other... But I won't get into detail.
"Finally. Are you done making sucking face up there?" Patrick teased, making everybody laugh, including us.
"Well yes, but we can do a lot more than sucking face..." Pete smirked, kissing my cheek. I smacked his arm playfully.
"Dude!" I exclaimed. "Maybe later..." I whispered in his ear with a slight smirk. I noticed for the first time in a long time, he blushed, which just made me giggle.
"Guys we should get to the school. The ceremony is gonna start soon." Joe said. We all nodded and made our way outside to our cars. I'm riding with Pete-who's driving, Patrick, Tyler and Josh. Andy is driving his car, with Joe, Mary, Kate and Elisa. All of our families left a little earlier, so they'll be there. We all got in our cars, and drove off to the school. The whole drive there, were were blasting songs from Pink Lloyd, Queen, and Foo Fighters. We eventually arrived, and a bunch of other students were making their way in. We all parked, and made our way in as well. Being honest, I'm really nervous. What if I trip and fall up there? Pete must have noticed my nervousness, because he took my hand in his, and held it tight as we walked in.
"I know what you're thinking. Nothing bad will happen, I promise you." He kissed my hand making a smile creep up on my face. We made it to the auditorium, and it was already filled with students and families. And since we would be put in our seats alphabetically, Pete and I had to separate. Before we did, he turned to me, and kissed my lips quickly. He smiled at me.
"Good luck," Ha said. I took a deep breath and nodded. We went our separate ways, and I found my seat, which was luckily next to Kate.
"Hey. You nervous?" Kate asked, sitting next to me.
"Extremely." I chuckled nervously. She patted my shoulder.
"You'll do fine." I just shrugged, and played with my thumbs anxiously. It's was only a few minutes later that all the senior students were seated, and our principal went up to the podium on the stage.
"Welcome students. We've reached the end of another long, and hard school year. But you've all made it. It is now time to look into the pathway for the future. Well, what you choose to do next is what we call in the movies the 'character-defining moment.' Now, these are moments you're very familiar with, like in Indiana Jones choosing mission over fear by jumping over a pile of snakes. It shows that he faced a major fear to be able to succeed. Well that's what we are hoping you can and will down the road. You'll get a handful of character-defining moments, and you'll face them every day. Life is one strong, long string of character-defining moments. The first 25 years of our lives, we are trained to listen to voices that are not our own. Parents and professors fill our heads with wisdom and information, and then employers and mentors take their place and explain how this world really works. And usually these voices of authority make sense, but sometimes, doubt starts to creep into our heads and into our hearts. And even when we think, 'that's not quite how I see the world,' it's kind of easier to just to nod in agreement and go along, and I know that happens to a number of students, and it has happened to me, myself. Because I was repressing my own point of view, because like in that Nilsson song, 'Everybody was talkin' at me, so I couldn't hear the echoes of my mind.' And at first, the internal voice I needed to listen to was hardly audible, and it was hardly noticeable -- kind of like me in high school. But then I started paying more attention, and my intuition kicked in. And I want to be clear that your intuition is different from your conscience. They work in tandem, but here's the distinction: Your conscience shouts, 'here's what you should do,' while your intuition whispers, 'here's what you could do.' Listen to that voice that tells you what you could do. Nothing will define your character more than that. Because once I turned to my intuition, and I tuned into it, certain projects began to pull me into them, and others, I turned away from. So remember, you have so many opportunities right in front of you. And if you take advantage of this opportunities, you will find the start to your future. You have worked long and hard for this moment, and I am very proud to be your principal." He said. Everybody in the room clapped and cheered a little, and I had a smile on my face.
"Now I ask that all students line up to receive their diplomas." He said. Everybody lined up, creating a huge line leading up to the stage. The lined moved as each person got their diploma, growing me more nervous each time. And before I knew it, I was at the stage, right behind Kate.
"Kate Foster." The principal said, as Kate went up and everyone clapped. I took a deep breath and felt my heart thump out of my chest.
"Ashley Frangipane." He called. I walked up, as everybody started clapping, and I swear to god I could hear Pete cheering. He handed me my diploma, and shook my hand with a smile. I made my way off the stage, feeling relief as I went back to my seat. Kate high fived me once I got there.
All the other students went up, and I cheered when all my friends went up. But then I noticed it was Pete's turn.
"Peter Wentz III." The principal said. I cheered and clapped with a huge smile on my face. He took his diploma, shook hands with with principal and walked off stage, back to his seat. Eventually everyone was given their diplomas, and we were all eager and excited again.
"Now I ask everyone here, to make thunderous applause for Wilmette High School's class of 2001!" He exclaimed. Everyone cheered once more, as we all threw our caps in the air, filled with joy. I luckily found my cap, and I held it tightly, because I obviously want to keep it as a memory. We all made our way out of the auditorium, to meet up with our friends and families. I walked out the doors into the hall, and I spotted Pete. I ran into his arms, and he picked me up and spun me around.
"Hey there, fellow graduate." He said, putting me down. We pulled away and we were smiling big at each other.
"Hello there, other graduate who is very adorable." I chuckled, making him do the same.
"Were free!" I cheered. He nodded, and looked over. I looked over and saw all of our friends there. Brendon, Ryan, Dallon and Spencer were now with them.
"Hey guys!" I said as we both walked to them. They hugged us, and we congratulated each other.
"Pete! Ashley!" We turned around to see Pete's family standing there. Dale walked up to Pete and hugged him tightly, and kissed his face all over. I tried to hold in my laughter. Emphasis on tried. I mean I can't blame her. It's her son.
"Okay Mom, calm down!" Pete laughed. Dale stopped and looked over at me. She smiled and hugged me tight, making me hug back of course. Andrew and Hilary hugged us to, along with Pete- No not my Pete, Pete's father. My Pete hugged me tightly, as I buried my head in his chest, clutching my diploma and hat tightly.
I'm finally a Graduate.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Next chapter coming later! Thanks for reading! Dedicated to -EmoMemeo- 🤘
~Bella💗