A/N I got a new job here on campus, so I'm probably going to be posting on Saturdays from now on. Hope you guys get used to the new schedule. Thank you for your wonderful reviews. This was a hard chapter to write simply because I feel like graduation has been done so many times and it gets a bit repetitive. Anyway, I hope you all still manage to find something good about the chapter. Please read and review, and of course, enjoy!
The day of their graduation, Ryan and Marissa met Seth and Summer for breakfast at the diner. They all sat in their usual booth and ordered pancakes with orange juice, acutely aware of how surreal the day would be. After everything, they would be graduating.
Finally, Summer broke the awkward silence. "You guys, I can't believe this is our last meal as high school students."
Seth quirked and eyebrow and leaned back in the booth, his arm on the back of the seats. "Can't say I feel sad."
Summer gave him a look. "This is a big deal, Cohen."
"High school sucked," Seth said, shrugging. "I can't think of one thing I'll miss about it."
"Way to be negative." Summer turned to Ryan and Marissa. "It's so weird. Like, later on today, we're going to graduate. How is that even possible?"
Ryan shrugged, his arm on the back of the booth, brushing some hair from Marissa's shoulder. "Time did go by pretty fast."
"Yeah, it feels like yesterday I was picking out crayons to give Ryan for his birthday," Marissa said with a smile.
"And now it's all gone," Ryan said quietly, thinking of all the things they'd gone through together. At the end of the day, Ryan and Marissa were best friends, but Seth and Summer were important to them too. Marissa and Summer were best girl friends, and Ryan always appreciated Seth for being his friend from the beginning. They had all somehow affected each other's lives, and thinking it was all over now just made everything so real.
"Well, not everything," Marissa said, breaking the silence. "I mean, we still have this summer."
"And LA," Ryan added. He suddenly remembered something. "Oh, my mom wanted me to give you these." He reached into his Marissa's purse and pulled out wedding invitations.
Summer excitedly grabbed her invitation and opened it. "When's the wedding?"
"Next month. Mom wants a June wedding." Ryan gave Marissa a knowing look, and she rolled her eyes.
"Ryan is under the impression that's cliché," Marissa informed them.
Seth glanced over his own invitation. "Can we all just acknowledge the fact that Ryan kept these in Marissa's purse?"
Ryan glared at Seth and Marissa giggled. "Very manly, Atwood," Summer teased, peering at him over the invitation.
"Whatever. Can you guys try to make it? The date should be on there."
"June 16," Seth read, nodding. "Hey, Ryan, did you leave pens in Marissa's purse for us to check the boxes too?"
Ryan glared at Seth again, and Marissa rubbed Ryan's arm as she laughed. She reached into her purse and handed Seth a pen while Summer reached into her own purse and pulled a pen out. "Be nice to Ryan. He's super manly," Marissa said, rubbing Ryan's chest and kissing his cheek.
Ryan gave her a look. "I feel like that's sarcasm."
"Buddy, have I taught you nothing?" Seth asked, handing over his invitation. "That was definitely sarcasm."
Summer handed over her invitation too, and Ryan saw they would both be attending. "Thanks, guys. It really means a lot."
"I love weddings. We all know this," Summer said, shrugging.
"Is it a girl thing to like weddings?" Seth asked as they brought the food.
"Me and Coop used to plan our weddings all the time," Summer said, pouring syrup on her pancakes. "We had a binder."
Marissa laughed. "I completely forgot about that."
"I still have it. In case you ever need it," Summer said, smirking down at her food.
Ryan shifted uncomfortably, drawing his hand from behind Marissa and placing it in his lap. Marissa noticed this but didn't say anything, taking a sip of her orange juice. "You can keep it," she merely said, pouring syrup onto her own pancakes.
"Just saying," Summer said, taking a bite. "Oh god, these pancakes are delicious."
Ryan watched everyone eat and talk, smiling to himself. He would miss this. Surprising himself, he realized he actually might miss high school after all.
XXXXX
A few hours later, Ryan met Marissa at the school, dressed for everything. He was wearing a light grey shirt with a navy tie, his royal blue gown already on over it. He folded his arms over his chest as he waited for Marissa, thinking of everything that had happened the last semester of high school. He'd somehow found his true feelings for Marissa only to almost lose her for good – multiple times. And he'd gained a new member of the family – Henry.
Soft footsteps tore him from his thoughts. He turned his head and caught sight of Marissa walking towards him with a smile, looking beautiful in her magenta gown. "Hey," she said, smiling shyly.
"Hey," he said, a grin breaking out on his face. "You look…"
"Like I'm about to graduate," she said, finally reaching him. She eyed the small part of the tie she could see and shook her head. "Still crooked."
Her hands reached for his tie, and she managed to straighten it without having to pull off his gown. "That's what you're here for," he joked quietly.
She lifted her eyes to his, smiling. "Lucky for you."
"Very lucky for me." Her hands fell to her sides, but their eyes remained connected. "I actually have something to show you."
Marissa's eyebrows furrowed and she shook her head, looking down. "Ryan.."
"I know, I know. No presents." He pulled up his gown and reached into his right pocket, pulling out a small piece of paper. "But this is different."
He handed over the paper to Marissa, their fingers brushing. She unfolded it to see faded but colorful stars around the note: "Now you can have your own. Happy birthday."
She lifted her eyes to his again, smiling softly, her eyes filling with tears. "You still have this? After all these years?"
"You were important to me even before I knew you." He shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest again.
She leaned up and kissed him gently, taking him off guard. When she pulled back, she looked into his eyes. "I know."
"You do?"
She smiled cheekily. "Of course."
He reached down and placed his hands on her waist, angling his head at her. "Are you ready to go graduate?"
She shrugged and took a step closer to him. "I'm ready for after graduation."
He raised his eyebrows. "Why?"
She grinned, her eyes sparkling. "You…and me…celebrating…"
He broke out into a smile. "Celebrating?"
She nodded, eyes still sparkling mischievously. "Yeah… you know… a little bit of this…" She leaned in and kissed him slowly, wrapping her arms around his neck. "And this…" She opened his mouth, deepening the kiss.
"Ew."
"Jeez, do you two ever give it a rest?"
Ryan and Marissa pulled back just enough to look to the side and see Seth and Summer covering their eyes. "So I want to kiss my girlfriend. Sue me."
"I just might." Seth patted Ryan on the back. "Now, you two, we have some graduating to do."
Ryan turned to Marissa, smiling. "Ready to go?"
Marissa smiled, pulling away. "Yes. Ready."
"Are you going to wow us with your speech?" Seth asked, raising his eyebrows. Marissa was valedictorian of their class, which greatly upset Taylor Townsend whose GPA was .02 points lower than Marissa's. Marissa knew she easily could've gone down a different path and became one of those Newport Princesses who got into the wrong things to make up for all her life was lacking, but she had always had a strong support system in Ryan, and they both made sure the other did the best.
"I don't know about that," Marissa said, laughing nervously. She hated talking in front of a bunch of people, especially here in Newport where everyone tried their best to tear you down.
"She's going to do great," Ryan said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and giving a reassuring squeeze. "She worked all week on her speech."
It was true – Marissa had worked relentlessly on her speech the last week and a half. She wanted it to be perfect, because that's simply who she was. She was Newport's golden girl, and she had to appear that way to everyone else.
"Well, I know Coop is going to rock it. Anything she says will be better than Taylor." The whole group shuddered at Taylor's name.
Marissa smiled. "Thanks guys."
On the loudspeaker, Dr. Kim announced, "Seniors, family, and friends, it is time to start lining up."
"Guess this is it. Point of no return," Summer said, looking between all of them.
"I feel like I would be the kid who trips on the way to get the diploma," Seth said, frowning.
Ryan laughed. "You would." They all started making their way outside, but Ryan held back Marissa. "Hey, you two go ahead. We'll be right there." Seth and Summer just shrugged and walked out the double doors. When they were gone, Ryan turned to Marissa. "You nervous?"
She nodded, smiling at the fact that he could read her so easily. "Terrified."
"You'll do fine. Promise." He leaned in and pecked her lips quickly. "And besides, the sooner this is over, the sooner we can go…celebrate."
Marissa giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck again, leaning in to press her lips against his. "Mmmm. Sounds good."
XXXXX
Marissa stared out at the crowd of people, swallowing hard at the sheer number. She searched the sea of faces for one in particular, smiling to herself when she finally saw Ryan near the front smiling at her. He nodded encouragingly, and she cleared her throat, ready to speak. "Dr. Kim, school board, fellow graduates, and family – I am honored to stand here as your valedictorian." A few cheers sounded, and Marissa smiled.
"Our high school career is over. We've made it this far. Yet, I'm still acutely aware of how far we have to go. College, law school, graduate school, medical school….jobs, families, children, grandchildren. We think we have so much behind us, yet we have so much more ahead of us. The best is yet to come."
She paused, observing the sea of faces before returning to Ryan's. "We think we know difficulty. We think we've overcome adversity. But the worst is yet to come. We have the whole world to face – heartbreak, pain, rejection." She grinned. "I can't wait."
Ryan raised an eyebrow, his eyes never leaving her face. "There's this quote in Latin. Dum spiro spero. While I breathe, I hope." She paused, letting this sink in. "So, even in our darkest moments, in our hardest trials, we carry hope with us. With every breath." She made a point of exhaling slowly. "Thank you."
The crowd cheered, and Ryan had to restrain himself from standing and applauding. His eyes caught with Marissa's, and he grinned widely at her. She smiled back, going to sit in her spot on stage with Taylor and the school board members.
The rest of the ceremony continued uneventfully with a lot of talking by people Ryan really didn't care for. Finally came the time for the names to be read out. As valedictorian, Marissa got called early along with the salutatorian. No one could've clapped harder or louder for her than Ryan himself.
When Ryan crossed the stage, he tried not to think about all the people in the crowd. In the distance he could hear his mom cheering loudly, and even the Cohens throwing some praise in. He caught Marissa's eye and she smiled at him, her whole face betraying her pride. He winked her way, smiling as he accepted his diploma.
Seth didn't trip across the stage, and his dad made a huge spectacle of shouting for him, which Seth shook his head at. Summer grinned at the crowd and blew a kiss, which she wasn't technically supposed to do but Dr. Kim let it slide.
When the ceremony ended, Ryan immediately made his way to the stage, waiting for Marissa to walk down the steps to him. When they saw each other, they both grinned. "We did it!" Marissa shouted, wrapping her arms around his neck. He picked her up and spun her in a circle, both of them laughing.
"We did, we did," he said, putting her down. "Good speech, by the way."
She shrugged, looking over his shoulder. "It was okay."
Dawn came up behind them and wrapped her arms around both of them, pulling them to her. "I am so proud of you two!"
"Mom, mom…loosen the grip," Ryan said while Marissa just laughed and hugged Dawn back.
"So I'm excited. It's a big deal!" Dawn said, pulling back and wiping her face.
Henry wrapped an arm around Ryan, squeezing his shoulders affectionately. "Your mom bawled like a baby. You'd think she was at a funeral."
Dawn swatted him. "You don't mention funerals at graduations!" Everyone but Dawn laughed, and she glared at all of them. "What? This is a very emotional time. Soon we'll be helping you move into your apartment in LA and you'll stop calling and visiting and you're never going to talk to me again!"
Ryan smiled and hugged his mom, surprising her. "Mom, you're not getting rid of me."
"Me either," Marissa said, hugging the older woman. "And don't worry, I'll make sure Ryan keeps in touch."
Dawn pulled back and wiped her tears away again. "Okay, okay."
Julie and Jimmy came up then, Julie just as emotional as Dawn. "I can't believe my baby girl has graduated!"
Marissa's little sister Kaitlin came up to them, rolling her eyes. "Thanks, mom."
"Well, you know what I mean, Katie. Marissa is my firstborn. I'll probably be so much more emotional at your graduation."
"It's okay, mom," Marissa said, hugging Julie. "It's just graduation."
"I'm so proud of you, kiddo," Jimmy said, rubbing Marissa's back. He looked at Ryan, smiling. "And you too, Ryan."
"Thank you," Ryan said, looking down, embarrassed.
"Nice speech," Kaitlin merely said.
"Thanks, Katie," Marissa said, rolling her eyes at her sister's nonchalance.
"Kaitlin, don't you have anything to say to Ryan?" Jimmy asked, giving his youngest daughter a look.
Kaitlin rolled her eyes, running a hand through her hair. "Nice job walking across the stage, Ryan."
Ryan merely laughed. Kaitlin always pretended she hated the world, but he knew the truth. Truth was, they got along pretty well when it was only the two of them. Kaitlin just tried to appear tough for the whole world. "Thanks, Kaitlin."
"Don't mention it."
Marissa reached for Ryan's hand, lacing their fingers together. "Okay, let's get this over with. I see the cameras poking out of your bags."
Seth came up behind them with Summer in tow. "What's going on?"
"Picture time," Ryan said, raising his eyebrows.
"Oh, joy."
XXXXX
"So, who is up for Project Graduation?" Summer asked, trying to hide the disgust in her voice at attending the party.
Ryan and Marissa exchanged looks. "Maybe we should do something…just the four of us," Marissa finally said, voicing everyone's thoughts.
"Oh thank god," Summer said, sighing in relief. "After prom party wasn't so bad, and Taylor isn't a horrible party planner, but I definitely don't feel like hanging out with the rest of our class. Loved your speech, Coop, but we went to school with idiots."
Marissa laughed. "Oh, I know. But you can't say that in front of all of them."
"All right, so where are we going to go, then?" Seth asked, looking at all of them. "We live in Newport. Our options are limited."
"We could…build a bonfire," Ryan suggested, surprising all of them.
Summer raised her eyebrows. "That's actually a good idea, Atwood."
Ryan gave her a look. "I'm not totally boring."
"Of course not," Marissa said, rubbing his cheek and pecking his lips.
The four decided to head to the beach, bringing some drinks, snacks and blankets. They started up the fire just as the sun was disappearing in the sky. Ryan and Marissa shared one large blanket while Seth and Summer shared another, all leaning back and just enjoying the nice California night.
"This was a good idea," Marissa said, resting her head on Ryan's shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer.
"Have to agree," Seth said, kissing the top of Summer's head as she snuggled into him.
Marissa observed her friends, smiling as she saw their happiness. She'd always known Seth and Summer would make a good couple, ever since she saw the way Seth watched Summer when they were kids. Summer had been known to date idiots, and now she had a solid guy. Seth was a good friend underneath all his quirkiness and sarcasm, and she was glad they would all go to school together next year.
"I can't believe we've finished high school," Summer finally said, looking at the fire.
"I know," Marissa agreed. "At least we have the next four years together."
"Speak for yourself. I'm ditching you to hang with the frat boys and sorority girls," Seth said, snorting.
"If by hang you mean get beat up, then totally," Ryan said, grinning at Seth.
"Okay, it's not nice to bring up past events. Just because some water polo players didn't see eye to eye with me…"
"They would've totally pounded you if I didn't stop them," Ryan reminded Seth.
"Okay, so maybe you were a little helpful. But my quick wit totally could've gotten me out of that," Seth protested, shaking his head.
"Cohen, if you even try to ditch us…" Summer began.
Seth cringed. "Uh oh, rage blackout."
"You bet your ass." Summer patted his face. "You've been warned."
Ryan and Marissa rolled their eyes at their friends, and Ryan rubbed his hand up and down Marissa's arm. "You cold?" he asked quietly.
She shook her head, unable to hide her own smile. "No, perfect."
They all remained silent for a while, content to listen to the crashing waves and crackle of the fire. Finally, Summer broke the silence. "You guys, do you think we're actually going to stick together through college?"
"What do you mean?" Marissa asked.
"I mean…people change, right? What if we all change?" Summer looked between the other three. "And split apart? It happens."
"We just can't let it happen," Ryan said quietly, looking down.
"I think we should make a pact," Summer said. "To stick together. To keep in touch. We'll be in the same city, but even if in like five years we're all on opposite sides of the country going to different graduate schools or have jobs that travel or something – we need to stay friends. Like, actual friends."
"Okay, so what will the pact be?" Marissa asked, intrigued.
"In five years, we'll all come back to town. Come to the beach. Hang out. I don't know…" Summer said, trailing off.
Ryan thought about it and shrugged. "Sounds good. In five years we come back here. Have another bonfire. And maybe make another pact? Who knows where we'll be then. College will be over…we'll be working, maybe."
"Actual adults," Seth said, and they all cringed at the idea.
"Okay, I'm in," Marissa finally said.
"Me too," Ryan said, pressing a kiss to Marissa's temple.
"I'm in," Summer said, turning her gaze to Seth.
Seth looked between all of their expectant eyes. "Well, obviously I'm in. We've established I'm sticking with you."
They all laughed, and relaxed with each other. "Five years," Marissa said, snuggling further into Ryan. She wondered where they'd be.
XXXXX
Important – please read the following paragraph:
Okay, now I need your help. Do you want this to be the end of part one and have the next chapter be the beginning of part two, or do you want the Dawn/Henry wedding? Up to you guys. If no one tells me or reviews, then I'm going to have to decide on my own and you won't get what you want. So…let me know in your reviews.
Also, part two will now be 4 years from now and part 3 will be 5 years.
Individual Replies:
FlyingForward: He is, he is. Until the next drama comes along :)
Skillz37: We will definitely have a few happy/sappy chapters coming up :) The beginning of Part 2 is very happy/sappy until things go very wrong. I'll let you all ponder what that means.
Jen: I always feel like I have people who love the drama free stuff and then others who immediately want angst and drama. It keeps me on my toes haha.
Fatedtopretendd: There will be lots of angst in part two. I just hope you guys don't hate me for it.
Sailaway: Ryan and Marissa will both be alive lol. They will both attend and graduate from college.
Nadine: I'm glad you're still a fan of my writing :)
xoElle23: Sorry haha :)
Sara: As I've said, definitely some drama. You guys asked for it…
Guest: Thanks for your review :)
Riss: Thanks buddy for your review! Always makes me happy.
