The road which Declan had taken from the lake soon became familiar, and it wasn't long before he drew to a stop at the entrance of our high school grounds. The grounds were empty, school was out for the year end Christmas and New Year holidays, which made the building oddly quiet, a sight I was not used to. We had spent a large part of our years here, and some of my best memories with Megan, Grant and Declan had been here, along with some of my worst.
As Declan opened the door for me, I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away from the clock at the highest tower, a wistful smile on my face, until I hear the telltale click of the door closing behind me.
"Why did you bring me here?" I finally asked, no longer able to contain my curiosity. He smiled, the smile i held so dearly upon his tanned face. While dark hair and sparkling eyes was a common combination among us, it was made stunningly handsome on Declan Reed, and my heart skipped a beat as he took my hand. Even after a few years, he still had the same effect on me, and my traitorous heart would always respond to him.
Without a word, he tugged at me, and pushed open the gates, much to my surprise. "How did you get the keys to go in?"
Over his shoulder, Declan flashed me a boyish grin and winked. "It pays to be friends with the groundskeeper."
I laughed despite myself and the turmoil in my head. Even as a teenager back in high school, Declan had been a charismatic boy who won the hearts of everyone. It was no wonder he was the heart throb of school, and the teacher's pet of everyone, yet no one could ever seem to hate him.
Following his lead, he brought us to the main halls where we had our lockers. I remembered the first day after we had gotten together, where I had to deal with the glares of girls like Vivian as Declan had walked me to class, and to lunch. We had spent basically every minute we could in school together, until after we had broken up. Then, my only solitude had been the lone table under a tree outside of the lunch hall where Megan had been my only companion.
Our footfalls echoed in the empty hallways as we walked, with me still trailing behind Declan until he stopped in front of the auditorium of our school. We rarely used the place, even our pep rallies were held in the basketball court. I frowned at Declan, raising a questioning brow.
"Trust me."
Before I knew it, he had closed both of his hands over mine, enveloping my vision in darkness. I heard the door of the auditorium scrape open. Declan nudged me forward, and I blindly started walking forward with my hands outstretched before me. My fingers brushed against the walls of the hallway, before it met a wooden surface. I cocked my head as he stopped behind me. A couple of footsteps walked past before I felt the surface swing open, and he began to led me forward again.
"Who else is there, Lan?"
"Don't worry, silly, it's just us." I immediately recognized Megan's voice, but her words made me frown.
"Us?"
"And me, she means."
"Ayah?"
"Declan told Grant, who told Jamie who told me that you needed a little nudge. Just trust him. We'll be around."
It was all I heard from my two friends, before their footsteps hurried away.
"Careful now, steps." Declan murmured in my ear, his breathe on my earlobe sending tingles down my spine. I slowed down, following his guide to take one, two, three steps up. My footsteps suddenly sounded as if they were echoing in a large room, Declan's presence turning into a comforting presence behind me. He suddenly stopped, and I felt his hands loosened around my head, before light struck my adjusted eyes again, making me wince at the brightness.
It took me awhile before I realized the light was, in actuality, extra bright due to the fact that they were stage lights. When I did realize, my eyes widened, just as Declan gently spun me around with my shoulders, a soft smile on his face as he squeezed me. "You have to stop being afraid, Kay." he paused, slipping one hand in his backpocket and pulling out his cellphone. Flicking the screen of his Android cellphone on, he pulled open his email, and turned the screen to me. "Look."
Frowning in a perplexed manner, I took the phone, my mind wondering where this was going. By the time I had got to reading the second line of the email however, my eyes were as round a dinner plates.
'Dear Miss Harrington,
We would be delighted to welcome you to an audition at our Conservatory, following which would be an unconditional offer to have a place within our School of Music.'
"The... Juilliard Conservatory in New York?" I mouthed, wide eyed in disbelief. It was perhaps one of the most prestigious school of musics in the country. "But... how?"
"I sent them this." he murmured, using his fingers to navigate and pull out a window. It took me less then 30 seconds to figure out, even with the odd angle the video had been filmed, that this was the day he had came over when I had a fever, right after Jamie had visited, when I had sat down at my upright and played 'Drops of Jupiter'.
"I'm no jealous man, Kay. Jealous is when you want something that's not yours. I'm territorial, I protect what's already mine."
Back when we had first reconciled, and life was, in that brief moment in time, pretty much perfect for me.
Listening to how lighthearted I sounded back then, my heart ached a little as I remembered my father. The reality of life came quickly crashing back at me however. Even I knew that the offer to be at Juilliard was one I would be an idiot to turn down, and with Dad gone and Seeley enlisting in the military, it would be a ridiculous idea to stay.
Yet my familiar fear crept up.
As if he knew exactly what I was thinking however, Declan trailed his hands down my arms, to take my hands and squeeze them in his grip. I looked up, my fearful eyes meeting his guileless ones. "Trust me. Chicago is only a 2 and a half hour plane ride away. I'll visit often."
With that, he led me over to the piano I suddenly realized had been set up, and guided my pliant body on the bench. "Play, love. And the answer will come to you."
I looked to him, and then back to the keys on the piano, and bit my lip. The instrument had always been my one homing point. No matter how bad the day has been, how hard life was, the piano always calmed me. With the whole fiasco of me thinking Declan had been lying to me, and then Dad's passing, I hadn't had the chance to sit down in front of one for weeks.
Facing it again now, I took a deep breathe, and took Declan's advice. In my peripheral vision, I felt Declan take a step back, but as I placed my fingers on the keys, the rest of the world melted away as I heard the familiar tune of the piano ring in the empty auditorium of our high school. The very first song I had played to Dad when I got good enough on the piano, a self taught one before he sent me for classes and tutors.
"You'll always be a part of me, I'm part of you indefinitely. Don't you know you can't escape me, ooh darling you'll always be my baby."
By the time the last notes played and echoed in the empty hall, only then was I alerted to the sound of clapping, and turned to find - much to my surprise - Seeley standing with Ayah and Megan offstage, watching me with what I could only use pride to describe. The swell rose in my chest, a whole culmination of missing Dad, the sudden fact that the rest of my future was unknown, vast, a mystery, made a sob burst from my throat. From the corner of my eye, I could see Declan make a move towards me, but it was Seeley who dashed, jumped on to stage in one swift move and took me in his arms, as my tears spilled.
"You'll always be my baby sister, Kels. I'm only ever a phone call away. But Dad never wanted you to stay here forever. You can do so much, my talented little sister." He pulled away, still holding my shoulder, but bending down to look in my eyes.
"And y-you'l-ll be a-amazing in the n-navy." I replied through my choppy breathe, guilt creeping in when I noticed the way his eyes lit up. Seeley Harrington had always been one to put everyone else before himself.
"We'll both be amazing, okay? And we'll come back. Every year. Twice a year. And then for Christmas. And we'll always be the biggest part of each other's lives."
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak any longer. Declan walked up, and exchanged a smile with Seeley, who now took a step back. Watching as my two best friends stood offstage, the two most important male figures in my life before me, I knew just then that my life was going to change unequivocally. I could only hope this change was going to be one for the best.
"So Kay... will you come with me? Chicago's only a 2 hour plane ride away."
Declan extended his hand, and in them he held the offer letter from Juilliard. I bit my lip, looked over to Megan and Ayah. The one who had seen me through high school gave me an encouraging nod, while Ayah rolled her eyes and laughed. "I've always told you you were wasted here. Just go already."
I laughed. As alike as they were, Ayah had always been the more straightforward one.
Looking back, I grinned at Declan, who mirrored me back, as I grasp the letter he held towards me.
"Let's go."
---
And that's it! I'm so happy that you have journeyed together with Declan and Kelsey as they finally grew up (well Kelsey did a lot more growing up then Lan for sure. xD), and now are moving on to the next phase in life, and I hope you guys had as much fun following their jouney as I did writing it!
There definitely won't be a part 2 (Not a big fan of second books), but I won't say no to an epilogue... or two! So stay tuned. :D