Angela had called Bella and I to Carver Cafe during an off time when not many people were in the restaurant. She sounded really excited over the phone which just caused me to be even more curious.
So here we sat, Bella with her salad, me with my burger and fries, and Angela with a spaghetti dish. "So what was it that you wanted to talk about?"
Angela was practically vibrating in her seat, I could hear the chair creaking from how much she fidgeted. She plunged her hand into her purse and pulled out an envelope, slamming it on the table with a grin that could put the Joker to shame. "I got picked to be our class valedictorian!"
The realization as to why she picked this time made sense as Bella and I shot out of our seats, hugging our friend as high pitched squeals came from our lips. Our excitement muted the amused laughters and light clapping from nearby staff and the two other tables of patrons at the restaurant.
"Oh my gosh, congrats!" I squealed excitedly, tucking my arm to my chest and swerving my body as if trying to contain the energy.
"You totally deserve it!" Bella added in, sounding equally as excited as I am but without the physical reaction.
Angela seemed a little apprehensive. "I need to write a speech…" She took a deep breath. "I can put it off for a night though, let's have a sleepover!" She looked at Bella and me expectantly.
"Alright, we can do it at my house!" I offered, getting noises of agreement from both girls as they started shoveling food into their mouths.
I smiled a bit, feeling as though tonight was going to be fun for sure.
With a blanket and pillow nest set up on the living room floor and snacks waiting in the kitchen with 2 movies picked out, I looked at my two best friends who were looking almost impressed at the last-minute set-up.
"Okay! Let's get girls night started!" I cheered. "First, we get into our jammies!" I led them upstairs to my room. Mom and dad took Max to see some relatives for the night so we had the entire house to ourselves. Mom even left us money for pizza or takeout if we didn't feel like cooking.
"That bed you made looks really comfy Jess." Angela commented as she changed into her fluffy blue pajamas with Sanrio characters printed on it. I need to know where she gets these pajamas because I can never find ones that cute!
"It really does, I am excited to see what movies you picked out." Bella was wearing a grey tank top and purple flannel pajama pants, pink string tied into a little knot..
"Wow, you're excited for movies, huh bookworm?" I teased, bumping my hip against hers, now dressed in my favorite purple tank top and shorts combo.
Bella flushed a bit. "I was told I should expand my interests past books." She mumbled.
"Let me guess, you were clueless as to what Jake's favorite movies were." I laughed, "I picked out my favorite movie of absolutely all time: Labyrinth."
Angela perked up. "I love that movie!" She looked at me with almost shining eyes.
"I know." I smirked a bit.
"What…. Is Labyrinth…?" Bella asked, followed Angela and I down the stairs.
The two of us exchanged looks before grinning almost evilly at each other. "You're about to find out!" We said in unison, each grabbing one of her hands and dragging her to the living room. Angela putting the movie in and me grabbing the snacks.
"Press play!" I shouted, arms full of snacks and bottled juice.
"Alright alright." Angela laughed, hitting play while I passed out snacks and juice before getting comfy.
Throughout the movie we all remained silent. Since I've seen the movie a bajillion times, as Max would put it, I decided instead to stare at Bella the whole time and watch her reactions closely.
She seems to be enjoying it. Gasping at all the right parts.
After the movie was over, Angela and I watched Bella expectantly. She remained silent for a while before looking at the both of us with wide eyes.
"Why have I never seen such a masterpiece before?"
Angela and I cheered, hugging Bella tightly, completely ignoring her question.
My phone buzzed and the caller ID said it was mom. I quickly excused myself from the girls and pressed the green button when I reached the kitchen. "Hello?" I answered, not expecting the voice that responded.
"Hi Jess…" My little brother's timid voice spoke quietly from the other end.
"Hey Max, what's up buddy?" I asked, switching ears so I was using my dominant hand to hold the phone.
"I just wanted to call and tell you good night…" He mumbled, I could hear mom and dad talking in the background. It sounded like mom was trying to convince dad to let them take Max to the Original Pancake House for breakfast tomorrow.
"That's sweet, buddy." I smiled with my head tilting upward. "You get some rest then, alright? I'll see you tomorrow."
"Kay. Goodnight, Sissy…" He mumbled in a way that I knew meant he was fighting a yawn. Giving it a moment and- yep! There's the little yawn.
"Goodnight Lil' Bro, sweet dreams. I love you." I pressed my free hand to my lips and pulled back to make a kissing sound, hanging up after he mumbled a quick "I love you too."
It was nearly midnight when Bella suggested we worked on Angela's speech. Hyped up on sweets, pizza, and sodas, we naturally agreed to such an idea. Sleep is for the weak.
Angela sat lotus style on the couch, her laptop on her lap. She got to the beginning part of "As we enter this next chapter in our lives" and has been staring at the screen for a solid ten minutes. While she stared at the screen I picked up the laptop, then rested a pillow under it so the heat of the electronic didn't bother her legs.
"Thanks," Angela said while chewing on her thumb. "I just don't know what could be said."
"Neither can I." I laid down on the floor, watching her type then backspace over and over again. She rubbed her eyes and looked away from the laptop. I turned my body, laying flat on my back and staring up at the ceiling. "Four years of school… never thought I'd graduate in this situation."
"What do you mean?" Bella called out from the kitchen as she was in the middle of making a root beer float because… that's just something Bella wanted to do apparently.
"Well, I knew that this was going to end with graduation. But… besides Angela, I wasn't expecting to leave having made connections with so many people. You, the Cullens, Dave from Social Studies-"
"Dave was in your Social Studies?" Angela interrupted with a tired snort. "Kid was in my English class, he tried to make everything into a poem."
"Yeah, he did that often. He read the Declaration of Independence like he was at a poetry cafe, him and his buddies even did the snapping thing. Nice boy. He helped me remember dates for a test because of it. Anyway, besides that, I feel like I'll be able to look back on high school and while I wouldn't call it the best years of my life, there are fond moments here and there."
Angela's keyboard started typing a mile a minute. "I know what to type now. Thanks guys."
"You're… uh… welcome?" I rocked my body into a sitting position then glanced at the clock. 1:23 AM. "... Bella! Make me a float too please!"
"On it! Do you want um… A&W, Mug, Barq's- Why are there so many different brands of soda that are just corner store bottles?"
"They were on sale and dad wanted to indulge us a little since we don't usually have soda." I'm honestly grateful my parents were never ones to let us have sugary drinks. I like that I've been able to eat right and keep a nice figure. "Give me a Mug, please."
"In a minute." The sound of something plastic dropping was very much a Bella sound.
"So what do you plan to do after school?" Angela asked after pausing in her typing.
"Oh me?" she nodded, "I plan to do some traveling before going to college." I grinned after receiving my float from Bella. "What about you?"
"I was thinking of interning at the vet's clinic…" She blushed a little bit.
I blinked in surprise. "I thought you wanted to become a journalist."
"I do!" she almost shouted. "But it's good to have a back up plan for when the original plan doesn't work out, and I have always been interested in helping animals as well."
I nodded, taking a long sip from my float. "That makes sense. I might just do some interning as well…" I didn't think I would actually do it but it's not a bad plan.
I stood in front of the mirror with a frown as I looked at my reflection. The robes I was given are 2 sizes too big and a god awful yellow. They actually dragged around my feet. "I look fat."
Angela eyed me from the side with an annoyed look. "You do not." She scolded.
"My robes look like they belonged to an oversized preacher about to praise the lord for the bountiful autumn harvest." I said seriously.
She gave me a blank look, probably wondering how I came up with that.
"What?" I asked, turning to her. "It's true."
"You do not look fat, Jessica." She said seriously.
"You're only saying that because you're my best friend." I whined before pausing for a moment. "I retract that statement, you would tell me I do look fat."
She smirked a bit at me. "Damn straight, now stop complaining and hold still." She turned me around and took the back of the gown and tightened it a bit. "There."
"I look slightly better." I admitted, giving her a crooked smile. I still look like an oversized preacher, but what can I do?
"Alright."
I sat with Edward only hours after we officially graduated from Forks High School. Our graduating class insisted on having a party. Luckily, Alice was way ahead of all of us and took the reins in planning the party.
So currently about half of the graduating class are currently sitting in the Cullen's massive house.
Angela and Bella were dancing together off to the side of the room, laughing and smiling widely as they enjoyed themselves. I was particularly pleased with just sitting, using Edward's arm as a cold rester.
Suddenly, I found myself whisked away from Edward by a large, warm, strong hand. It took all I had not to let out a startled yelp as a slow song started and I was slammed into an unfamiliar, broad, warm chest. Everything felt warmer now that I wasn't sitting leg-to-leg with a walking ice cube.
Looking up, my eyes met a pair of baby blues framed by dark lashes. A toothy grin and spiked blonde hair let me know it was Mike who had grabbed me.
"I wanted to take this chance to confess." He said bluntly. "You're the prettiest, bravest, most fantastic girl I know."
I raised a brow as we swayed back and forth, his hands uncomfortably low on my hips. "You wanted to tell me how awesome I am?"
He frowned and avoided eye contact. "No… I wanted to confess my feelings."
"Your… feelings?" I felt dread pool into my belly. I'm going to have to break this poor fools heart. "Mike, I'm taken already, you know this."
"It's not like you're married." He forced out, giving me a look of almost desperation. "Come on Jess, you can give me a chance can't you?"
"No Mike. I'm dating Edward, happily so…" Never thought I would catch myself saying this. "Just because we aren't married doesn't mean I don't love him."
His eyes became clouded, I couldn't quite tell what he was feeling, he was frowning but that was all I could see. His grip tightened and his arms wove around my waist. I flinched a bit as he accidentally pinched my hip. "Let me go, Mike."
"I'm better than he is, let me show you…" He mumbled, leaning his head down towards my face.
"Stop it, Mike!" I almost shouted before yelping as I felt a cold and familiar hand tug me out of Mike's embrace and into their own.
"She said to stop." Edward's voice vibrated from above my head. I didn't dare look up. Mike's pasty complexion was worth a thousand words by itself. "Now this is the perfect opportunity to do what I planned." He gently pushed me from his chest and had me stand in front of him.
"Jessica. You are the love of my entire life. I've known you for almost 3 years, and we have been in a relationship for almost a year. I can't bear the thought of spending a single moment more of my life without you..." I felt myself flush in embarrassment as the room became silent with bated breath as he got down on one knee. "Eternity would mean nothing if you aren't by my side." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. "Jessica Lynn Stanely, will you marry me?"
I knew this was going to happen, I knew it was mandatory, I knew it was to save my life.
But I couldn't help but be happy, I felt tears fill my eyes as I nodded my head quickly. "Yes Edward, Yes." I said quickly, he smiled widely and stood, kissing me deeply for the first time, before pulling away and sliding the ring onto my finger. The same one Bella would have worn if this story went the way it was supposed to.
But this is my story, no one else's.
After the excitement of getting engaged and the graduation party, Edward and I were sitting in the living room of my parents house, chatting with my parents and little brother when Max suddenly got an "oh yeah" look on his face befor running up the stairs, tripping half way up before disappearing into his room at the top of the stairs.
I exchanged looks with my parents and Edward, my parents being just as clueless as I am while Edward smiled secretly.
"Here!" Max was in front of me, shoving a shiny purple wrapped package in my face.
"Woah buddy." I smiled a bit before accepting the package, it was pretty thick and heavy. "I wonder what it is." I looked at Edward who snorted a bit. I carefully took the wrapper which was too tough for my thin fingers to rip.
The paper fell away almost dramatically as the cover of the book in my hands which read "Hopes, dreams, and unicorns" in sparkly purple cursive letters with rainbow clouds behind them. "Wow, Max, did you buy this yourself?"
"Yup, for you to write your journey in." He smiled sheepishly, "And as a thank you for the telescope."
"Aww, thank you lil bro, I'll let you read this if I don't write anything too personal in it." I winked at him. "As a thank you for the journal."
He smiled happily before going back to talking to Edward about the constellations and planets we can see without a telescope.
Chapter 18! Woah! Okay so, this will have a weekly update for Saturdays until chapter 21 (our final chapter!) is posted! Let us know what you think! Was it cringy? Sweet? Funny? Any type of feedback is perfect! Criticism can help me improve my writing! No reviews will be deleted because I was a hurt little baby, I moved past that. So fire away my lovely readers!