L U E L L A
5 MONTHS LATER
"Luella Faith Skye," Professor Stevenson called and everyone in class clapped as I stepped forward to take my certificate and shake hands with him and the Dean of the university.
We were having a little graduation ceremony in our classroom to mark our six-month intensive courses officially completed.
"Ah, Luella," John the Dean recognized me. "Josie Fitzgerald's pride and joy."
"Oh," I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, she is a great woman, whom I'm very thankful for."
Dylan butted in, "Luella is one of my finest students, she's at the top of this class."
"Is she?" John smiled proudly as I silently thanked my teacher. "Great. I hope to see more of you."
"Of course," I smiled and glanced at both of them. "Thank you."
Stepping back, I moved to stand next to Thomas, who hugged my shoulders in bottled excitement and I grinned at him. He was called next. He shook hands with the Dean and Professor Dylan, as well as the rest of our intensive courses group.
Finally, the Dean smiled and congratulated us all on officially being basically good enough to attend college and prepare our degrees.
"Now," he starts. "I'd like to excuse myself, as I have another event to make an appearance at. It's graduation day!"
I smiled knowingly. It's not only my big day, it's also Harry's. We've been relating all the feels the past couple of weeks. I can't believe that I'm actually certified to attend college -a dream come true. And he can't sink in that he's a twenty-one-year-old graduate, an certified adult now. Although, he surely doesn't act like one most of the time.
I spend some more time with the group, giggling giddily in accomplishment. We are as good as high school graduates. We'll be freshmen in college in the start of the next scholastic year.
"Hey, you ready?" Tommy asks me and I nod.
"Let's go."
We were going to go together to the Graduation ceremony for Harry and Eliana. These past months, Harry's come to a mutual agreement concerning the fact that Tommy remains just a friend, and none of us really planned anything more, but that's Harry. It became more comfortable and less tense between the two when Tom revealed he had developed a crush for another senior, Eliana.
She was a beaut, and we had a good connection. For the mean time, Tom and Eliana were 'just friends' but I believed they were going to be something more pretty soon, which Tom has so adorably encouraged.
We hugged our colleagues goodbyes and took off our gowns, quickly fixing our appearance. All while hurrying outside to the football playground where a huge stage had been set up for the event. Facing the stage, there were lines of seats, mostly occupied by seniors and their parents raving about graduating and how they're finally getting out of here.
On the other hand, there was I, raving about how I'm finally getting in here.
Of course, when I have the money, that is. Which is another problem I don't need to worry about right now. Instead, I chose to be happy that that is the only problem worth worrying about.
The Dean was just getting ready behind the podium when Tom and I were having our assigned seats next to Kate, who was there, too, for Ben.
"Hey!" Kate greeted us excitedly. "Congrats, you two!"
"Thanks," I said for the both of us. "Where are the boys?"
"And the girl?" Tommy added. Kate and I both chuckled. It was fun to tease him about his little crush, and he may act annoyed, but I knew he was secretly enjoying it.
"They're lined on the front rows," Kate informed us and I instantly stood up to search for Harry, who looked like he was searching for me, too. His eyes lit up when he spotted me.
"Congratulations!" He yelled for me to hear. A few people glanced at us, but that didn't bother us.
"You, too!" I yelled back. People were giving me rude glances now.
Harry grinned. "Soon, soon!"
"Sit your arse down," Kate hissed, pulling me to collapse back on the wooden chair. "God, you're acting like lovesick teenagers."
"Us? Look at them," I nudged my head towards Tommy and Eliana. He was jogging back over to us from where she was sitting as the Dean was starting his speech.
"Tommy, you cheeky thing," I teased him, which he blushed fiercely at.
"What? I was wishing her good luck and to take care and don't trip or fall and ruin it."
"How romantic," Kate whispered, shooting a wink Tommy's way and, as always, he shook his head to brush it off. We all turned to look at the Dean and listen to what he was saying.
"I always say," he started, stopping to pause every now and then for essential dramatic effect, I suppose. "Go to university... but go for the right reasons. Education isn't a gun held to your head, rather, it's a weapon in your hands. Go to university... but not because you're afraid of not finding a job or because your parents want you to or, or, or... Go, because you love to learn. Because you're excited by ideas, because... because you believe that education is important for its own sake."
A pause as he gazes over the crowd, then starts again even more fiercely.
"Go to university! And when you get there, pay attention. Read everything you can get your hands on. Cram yourself with words and figures and ideas.... Cram yourself with knowledge. Education. Because that is the one thing no one can ever take away from you."
Applause.
Honestly, I think I felt my eyes sting a little. He'd just morphed how I feel about education from a feeling into spoken words and it touched my heart a little deeply than it did for everyone sitting here, clapping and listening.
I smiled wider. I clapped louder, blinking any potential tears away. Kate hugged me sideways, because she knows. She knows.
"Now, my sons and daughters, who'd attended our beloved University of Lancaster have reached the end of their journey here, only to start a new one. Our seniors!"
The Dean, with a huge smile that was too big for his face, stepped aside for another man to stand behind the podium, calling the graduates name by name.
"We all stand up when Ben's name is called up," Kate demands in excitement. Tommy and I gave her a look she rolled her eyes at. "Ben gets called up first, it's in alphabetical order."
I laugh and clap as a guy named Aaron steps onto the stage, shaking hands with the Dean and his teachers and receiving his certificate.
When Ben's name is called, we all stand up and clap loudest, but not beating Harry who whistled for his friend in triumph. Next one we made a noise for was Eliana, who had her friends chant Ee-lee-ya-na after her. She bowed when she got onstage and blew Tommy a kiss. That blew his mind, to say the least.
"Did you see that?" His eyes were wide as saucers as he gripped my hand in overjoy. "She loves me, I'm telling you!"
We cackled at his reaction.
When Harry's name was called, Tommy and Kate had to pull me back from screeching so loud. My hands turned red from clapping so hard, so much. Harry shot us an appreciative grin as he joined his colleagues on the stage. After all the names have been called, John stood behind the podium again to say his final speech.
"I hope you fall in love with learning all over again. Even when you're a hundred years old, go to your bookstore and pick up something you have no clue about. The world of knowledge is endless, remember that." The Dean smiled and nodded, motioning to the graduates lined on the stage next to him. "I wish you all the best of luck in your careers and lives.... Congratulations to our graduates!"
Everyone basically screamed.
I only just graduated from a six-month intensive courses program, so I hardly know how they're feeling but I can definitely imagine. Four years of hard college life, studying and making friends, experiencing the world in a different form, I assume. All to finally come to a certificate of proven enough knowledge that'll allow the ideal jobs. All the hard work eventually paying off.
Clapping passionately, I grinned up at the stage and Harry's smile that took over his whole face as he jumped alongside Ben, throwing their graduation caps in the air in celebration. Kate and Tommy beside me were ecstatic with emotion as well.
"Oh, God, I'm so old." Kate shakes her head and we laugh at her.
"Where did that come from?" Tommy cackled.
"She's twenty-four this year and gets grumpy about it like she's forty-two," I explain, pause and correct, "Not that forty-two is old at all...but you know what I mean."
"I'm not twenty-four yet," Kate frowns. "My birthday is still two months and three days from now."
I give Tommy a look. "See what I mean?"
"Stop," She whines and we laugh, herself joining. "I'm just saying, last time I've been to a graduation party feels like ages ago."
"Here they come!" Tommy waves at Eliana and steps away from us to reach her, but she's engulfed first in her own circle of friends, so he stands back.
I looked back at the boys who were finishing their jumping-and-throwing-graduation-caps episode and jogging towards us, certificates in hand. Ben reaches us first and takes Kate into a hug before he pulls away and looks at us in excitement.
"Can you bloody believe it? I'm not going to school anymore!" He laughs in joy.
When Harry catches up, he gives me a tight hug as Ben did Kate. He acknowledges Kate and Tommy with wide smiles and deep dimples before he turns back to me. His eyes were greener than grass and lighter than the sun. It spoke volumes. All messy hair and and black too-big-for-him gown, he looked as good as any other day.
"Congratulations!" I tell him. I glanced at Ben to acknowledge him, too.
"Thanks, babe. How did your graduation party go?" Harry asked.
"Well, it's the opposite of that, isn't it?" I modified Ben's words, "Can you bloody believe it? I'm finally going to school!"
Everyone laughed and Harry wrapped his shoulders around me. Even his hold spoke volumes. My heart couldn't have wished for a better man to love.
The past five months have been hella crazy. Actually, ever since the moment he uttered that we confessed our love for each other, our lives have been a rollercoaster, going high and low, and up and down.
We weren't always lovey-dovey and kissing one each other, there were bumps along the way. Be it something completely stupid or uncalled for, we had it. But we got through these little patches, we jumped over the hurdles in our way. It was easy and smooth and we went along.
And I actually don't think I've dreamed of a better life.
Harry is everything I've ever wanted and more. He looked at me, really looked at me, like he was trying to read me or heal me or fix me. He looked at me like the world was void and the universe was empty and there was only me in front of me.
He always tells me he gets lost in my eyes when he looks into them, but he doesn't know he holds forests of green in his. Eye contact with Harry is soul-searching for me. I can find the secret of the world in his eyes. I can find the warmth of the sun between his arms. I can find the constellations of stars on his lips.
I can find myself when I'm with him. I laugh loudest and I cry hardest and I'm his. And I'm lucky to be his.
Life in the orphanage was a nightmare, but I've always believed in happy endings. He's my happy ending. I had my good spare of mental torture for the first eighteen years of my life, stuck in an orphanage and jumping from one foster home to another, until I was out. So I can finally bump into him.
My happy ending.
H A R R Y
"I'm so sorry!" Josie huffs, out of breath as she engulfs me in a hug that felt apologetic.
She couldn't make it to the graduation ceremony, but I wasn't bugged about it as I thought I would be. She called me and said she was taking a quick 'trip' to her friend's hometown to attend a funeral of a close relative.
I couldn't say anything about it, even if I wanted to. I wasn't blood-related at all.
"It's okay," I kissed the top of Josie's head when I saw she looked like she was about to cry.
"It's not," she says. "I'm terrible at parenting."
I laughed. "No, you're not, AJ."
She sighed and kept her arm around my waist when mine was around her shoulders. "Where's Luella?"
"Inside," I nudged my head to the little restaurant I'd told Josie to come to when she phoned in to say she was in Lancaster again.
Before the graduation ceremony was even fully over, everyone had gone to get ready for the frat house party tonight. Tommy was acting strange and kept looking in Eliana Dawn's direction until he gave up on her ever paying him any attention, so he headed home because he had a flight he couldn't miss.
Consequently, we remained the infamous Fantastic Four. Ben and I and our girlfriends. We didn't discuss going to the party, we only acknowledged the fact that we were all starving so we decided to treat ourselves to some delicious lunch from Dillon's Diner.
"Why didn't you go party with your friends?" Josie looked up at me from her short posture, standing back to properly face me.
I raised my eyebrows at her. "I am partying with my friends, only not drowning in a sea of loud music and alcohol." I chuckled.
"Right," Josie said with a strange tone. "And Luella is your friends now?"
I furrowed my eyebrows, taken aback by her question. "What?"
"I can't help but notice you don't hang out with your friends anymore, Harry," Josie said, but she didn't say it in a bad way. She said it like I was stealing a cookie from the jar when I was hungry. But it doesn't matter how, it was what she said. It basically translated to, you're always around Luella, she's stealing you from the crowd, you're not the talk of college anymore.
And if that's the case, I am -was- a topic to talk about in college. Harry Styles -former party God- dating the Orphan Gold Digger and disappearing into La La Land with her!
Did I care? Of course not. Honestly, I couldn't be arsed about it. But I still feared Luella hearing this. Whenever she did, we'd somehow end up in an argument about something else completely irrelevant, like me paying for takeout or something.
"Luella is my friends and my girlfriend and my everything," I gave Josie a look, feeling the words tingle my tongue. Words I never thought I'd hear myself saying nine months ago. "We're not alone, Ben and Kate are with her, too, but so what if we were alone? Am I not allowed?"
I almost slipped and added, are we making another 'plan' to mess with her life again?
But I didn't. I let it rest in the air between us and Josie took it as a sign to shut up, which I appreciated. I sighed.
"I was thinking," I start, glancing back at the three inside the restaurant through the glass. "What if I tell her about... you know-"
"Absolutely not!" Josie interrupts me, shaking her head instantly. "That's not yours to tell. Not even mine, it's my sister's, and she decides whether she tells her or not."
"Well, your sister made it mine and yours to tell when she threw us into her shit," I deadpanned, trying not to let this get to me. I was happy and did not want to ruin my day. And I definitely did not want to have this conversation when I was hangry.
Josie looked sad. "You know Cecilia loves Luella, right? She's been a wreck since Luella's last visit. She knows it wasn't right of her to get you into this and-"
"It wasn't right to get herself into this. There shouldn't be a this to begin with, anyway. Uh, listen, AJ, I'm really not in the mood to go back and forth with this for the millionth time, so we can't stop talking about it now."
"You're right," Josie held my face with her hands and gave me a kiss on my nose. "My Little Harry is no little anymore, is he?"
"That's right," I smiled and kissed her on her forehead. "Come on, come say hi to everyone."
And she did. She had a moment with Luella, congratulating her on her own little graduation -her intensive courses completion. Josie was thanked literally numerous times by Luella, who had paid Josie the full fees for the courses through her new secretary job. But she still thanked her like she saved her life.
Josie snacked with us a little before she had to leave for we were "far too young" for her, she said. Our table was loud after that, with laughter. Kate ordered a ginger shot that she downed so easily, and we all laughed at Ben who had a coughing fit and almost cried when he wanted to level with Kate.
"Hey," A small voice spoke from next to our table. We all looked to find Eliana standing in a short summer dress similar to the one Luella has on. "Hey, guys."
"Oh, hi!" Luella jumped up to give her the friendliest hug possible. "You just missed Tommy."
"Oh," Eliana paused, waving back to Kate at the other end of the table. "That's a shame. Well. I guess it's down to you guys. We're having a huge grads party at my sorority house. It's going to be just a huge girls slumber party. Everyone is invited! Well, just girls."
I laugh and look at Ben. "Dude, prepare the wigs. Helga and Meredith are coming out."
Ben cackled, though the girls ignored us and were hyping each other up about it.
"The one party I would go to!" Luella joked... well, not really.
"Do we go?" Kate's eyes were wide in excitement. Ben and I exchange looks.
"Erm..." Ben scratched his neck. "You're joking."
The three girls give Ben a death glare so I butt in. "If you're going, then what do we do?"
"Yeah. What about us?" Ben almost pouted at Kate. He's whipped. I am, too.
"You boys wanted so desperately to go to your frat party, so you can do that," Luella replied, as if it was the simplest thing. "Then you won't have to worry about us. When is it, El?"
"Oh, it's the same time as the frat's,"
"See?" Luella nodded at Kate. "It's cool. Do you wanna go?"
"Sure, even though I'm going to be the grandma."
"Kate, quit about that already!"
"Wait, hold on," I stopped them, looking at my girlfriend. "You're actually going?"
"Yes, Harry," She furrowed her brows. "Didn't you want t-"
"Yeah, but with you!" I argues.
Ben clapped. "Exactly!"
"What if I want to go?" Kate asked Ben. "I want to feel twenty-one."
Luella scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Yeah. The good old days. That was a long time ago."
"Shut up."
"So..." Eliana coughed. I forgot she was even standing there. "Are you guys coming? We're ordering pizza so I need to know how many people we're having."
"You had me at pizza," Luella giggled. And even though I was still sinking in the fact that I'd have to spend tonight without her because she wants to have girls' night with girls she doesn't know, I still smiled fondly at her giddiness.
"Girl, you had me at slumber party," Kate said and smiled up at Eliana. "Count us in!"
"Great! See you there!"
I look at Ben. "Want to have a slumber party?"
"Dude, only if we're ordering pizza."
We laughed and had our arms smacked right afterwards.