=Hunter's POV=
(Monday, 9/3/2018- 8:30 am)
(Archian Island, Berk)
(Archia Isle University)

Well, despite the crazy year, I've made it to college. Here I am, standing at the entrance to the Archia Isle University campus, ready for my first day. Was I bad I felt like a kid on their first day of Kindergarten, excited and nervous? I'm sure it's normal. I couldn't believe that everything worked out and I made it to where I am right now, with all that happened, I honestly believed it was over for me. I mean, it nearly was. I could have died four months ago because of the tumor I had, and put off having surgery for. However, all that was behind me now. I'm tumor-free, healthy, and happy. I am still seeing my therapist once a week, I'm doing a lot better than before. I know that with another four years of school to get through, and the stresses of everyday life, it would be wise to keep having weekly sessions with Dr. Anderson, so that I didn't let anything pile up and drive me insane. I know my friends, family, and girlfriend were proud of my decision to keep my therapist. It might not always be once a week, that's just for now; we discussed possibly moving to twice a month, or even once a month. For the moment, we're just seeing how things go.

I did finally tell my friends what was going on with me, why I got upset and depressed. Just as Nicole told me, they were only bothered by the fact I didn't come to them sooner, or take the help they offered when they knew something wasn't right. And none of my friends judged me for getting upset over losing my chance to get the scholarship, granted they went and got me it anyway after figuring out that my emergency surgery prevented me from getting it myself after the big game. I still couldn't believe they went to the board for me, spoke on my behalf and showed videos of my basketball career since I was six. I was informed by the board members that they were inspired by my determination to play every year, and even while dealing with symptoms before and after the diagnosis of my tumor. But the bottom line of that whole meeting was that I was granted a full scholarship for Archia Isle University and a place on the team.

My final decision for major and minor is Engineering, Mechanical, and Computer, then I am minoring in Art. Also, I will be living at home for the next for years while I obtain, not just my Bachelor's, but my Master's degree too. Fisher was attending AIU to become a Veterinarian, so was Mindy. Heather was going to be a Lawyer, and Nicole, shockingly, decided to go to college after all. Nicole was going to become a singer, and it was advised to have the best chances of getting into that line of work. Ashley was taking a Personal Trainer Certification at Berkian Community College. Shane was working for Glenn, and the twins, Raelyn and Travis were working for their parents' store. Addilyn was back in school, and Myra was getting an early start on her maternity leave as she was due to give birth in about six weeks. My dad is still Mayor, and Glenn still runs the auto shop. The rest of my family among the Jorgenson's are continuing to work their jobs. Everyone was doing good, and that made me happy.

Nicole and I are going strong in our relationship, I can't believe we'll be together a full year come December 23rd this year. It's about three months away, I'm already setting up ideas for us. Of course, I'll do whatever Nicole wants to do too, but the big idea is for us to be able to spend the entire day and night with each other. I just have to plan all this to not get in the way of my basketball, or either of our school schedules. It shouldn't be a problem as I'm assuming we'll be on a holiday break during that time. We still go on dates once or twice a week, and are able to enjoy foreplay and making love, but not all the time; it's not about that for us. It's how we feel for one another, and I feel incredible with her; I only hope and pray that she feels the same about me.

"Are you ready, Hunter, to start the next part of your life?" Nicole asked, intertwining her fingers with mine.

I held her hand tightly, lifting it to set a kiss on the back as Nicole blushed with a smile. "Ready," I nodded, smiling back. We started our way in as I took a deep breath. Nothing made me happier than knowing today was my first day of AIU, another step towards my future. I hoped that the woman standing beside me now was also going to be part of things; she wasn't in the original plan, but sometimes, adjustments to plans were made to make them better. And Nicole was definitely a better choice. I still passionately believe that Nicole is the one for me, but I guess we'll see what the future holds. For now, it's off to college for the next four years.

. . .

(Saturday, 6/18/2022; 4:00 pm)
(Archian Isle; Berk)
(Apartment of Hunter & Nicole)

A lot has changed in four years. My dad is the Mayor of Berk, Glenn runs the auto shop. All my friends and family are in my life and doing great. Devon and Myra have a house, along with another child who was born last year. Fisher and Heather are living together in an apartment and engaged as of December 2021. The two do not have plans to get married right away as they are both still in school. Ashley and Bryan are married as of 2020, and now expecting their first child, due in three months; they are saving for a house, but currently live in a two-bedroom apartment. Addilyn has graduated high school, and engaged to Travis as of January 2022, also living with him as of March, they are set to marry this coming fall in September. Raelyn and Elijah are living together in a three-bedroom house, married, with three kids. Raelyn got pregnant in February 2019, moved into Eli's apartment in March, then the two got engaged on her shared birthday with Travis in August.

Raelyn gave birth during late October 2019 by C-Section and then married Elijah in January 2020. When their first child a year old, Elijah and Raelyn bought their home, and shortly after moving in for December 2020, Raelyn got pregnant again, which was revealed for hers and Elijah's one year of marriage anniversary. Raelyn gave birth to twins as I began my fourth year of college in September 2021. Shane and Mindy began living together as of June 2021 in a two-bedroom apartment, and have one child together. Mindy got pregnant in December 2020, and it was decided that they start living together before the baby was born in July 2021. I'm not sure if an engagement is coming next, but I suppose time will tell. Mindy is still in school for another four years for Veterinarian. For me, I've graduated from college, as of two weeks ago. So did Nicole, and we're both now twenty-two years old.

Well, that's when the official graduation ceremony was held, but to be technical, we finished college when finals were over in May. Also, once we were secured our final grades, we made the decision to live together and started looking for an apartment while waiting on graduation day to be announced. I still can't believe Nicole and I have been together for four years, it will be five come December 23, 2022. Nicole and I always enjoyed our time together, going on dates, hanging with friends when we could, and of course, the love-making or foreplay. The times we could do it all depended on our school schedules, and my basketball one, but we did make time for each other. For basketball, I made captain of the college team in Year Two, and have held it the past three years. We won the championship all four years that I've been part of the team while maintaining my straight A's, and working part-time, plus the time for friends, family, and my girlfriend. Did I mention that I'm no longer in therapy? I had my last session with Dr. Andersen before mine and Nicole's fourth year anniversary in December 2021.

I felt like I was in a great place after everything, and I felt perfect. No more sadness, no depression, but I knew already that just because I felt better didn't mean that things couldn't bring it back. However, the difference is that I know how to deal with everything, and I have my friends, family, and Nicole to help me too. I'm eternally grateful to all of them, and I to this day, make sure they know how much they mean to me. Nicole and I found an apartment at the end of May, a nice three-bedroom, one, and a half-bathrooms place. Now, the reason we got something with so many rooms is that Nicole had her music things set up in one of the bedrooms, and I had my home office in another while we shared the master room to sleep in. We had a bathroom upstairs among the three bedrooms, and then a half one between the living room and kitchen. The cool part was that this is a duplex, but the other side is being completely gut out and renovated, so we won't have neighbors for a while.

The landlords said we could enjoy the whole yard, and not to worry about any noise from Nicole's line of work because our side of the duplex was sound-proofed, having been renovated fully before we moved in. The reason we scored this place was that Nikki and I paid the rent on it for a full year. Nicole got a part-time job working in a music shop right by the university, she was pleasant and knew all the instruments, so it was perfect for her. Especially with her career plan to become a singer because this place doubled as a recording studio. Nicole's been working on some material while going to school, made a few songs, and while she doesn't want to go big time with traveling around and what not; I think she's gonna be great right here in Berk. There's been discussion to go big as far as the other towns on Archian Isle, but nothing decided fully. Regardless, that job she got allowed her to save for a car and helped towards us paying a year's worth of rent. Now, I believe she's going to continue working there, and I've already got myself set up for engineering. It's a mostly work at home deal with designing things, but now and then, might have to go in to build or make some fixes.

Nicole and I are doing great in our careers, we graduated June 4th and held off on the party for the sake of moving into the place that we secured on June 1st and started packing while preparing to graduate. Once graduation was done, we had a nice dinner with our families and told them we'd be busy with the move in the next few weeks. However, we got done ahead of schedule and now, we're hosting an apartment-welcoming/graduation party. That is happening today, along with another little surprise that Nicole has no idea I've been planning. Yes, I'm asking her to marry me. We're going on five years, rarely have problems, and if we do, we work it out. Nicole is amazing, and I'm madly in love with her. Nicole is the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, share my future with.

"Babe, everyone is pulling up and parking! Are you ready?" Nicole called for me. I had been in my office, grabbing the ring to propose with. It was my mother's engagement ring, and dad also gave me his and her wedding bands for when we tied the knot. So my dad knew what would happen today. Also, Keith knows what is happening; I had to get his blessing, it wouldn't feel right without is as I've asked the man's permission for anything big with Nicole since we began dating in December 2017. I tucked the ring away in my pocket and exited the room.

"Yes, Milady. Sorry, I had to send out one quick e-mail to my boss about when it would be good to come into the office for the team to meet me." I laughed some while coming down the stairs to give her a kiss on the cheek as we waited for our guests to exit their cars and come to the door.

"I hope you told them Monday," Nicole giggled.

"Of course, love. I intend on spending tonight with my family and friends, and then tomorrow…" I paused to capture her lips in a deep kiss. I pulled back after a moment and smiled. "All day and night with you," I finished the sentence as Nicole blushed.

"Can't wait," Nicole replied as we heard the knock on the door. I snaked my arm around her waist, setting my hand on her hip as I reached forward and opened the door to see my dad, then Nicole's parents lined up first, Glenn second, then Ashley and Bryan, but everyone else after them. It made sense, Ashley was six months pregnant, so the others were being courteous to her.

"Hey, everyone," I greeted with a smile. "Welcome to our apartment," I said.

"And come on in!" Nicole announced as we stepped aside to let everyone in.

I greeted my dad, Glenn, and Nicole's parents first, then started taking jackets or sweaters to hang up in the entryway closet while still staying hi to the others coming in. After ten minutes of greeting each other, Nicole and I gave everyone a quick tour of the apartment, then led them outside to the fenced-in backyard. Nicole and decided to set up appetizer/snack foods inside the apartment dining room. It would be easier to move in a line around the table to get food rather than keeping it outside where the insects could get at it. There was still space for us to eat outside, and enjoy a nice fire later. That's when I'd be popping the question.

"Your home is beautiful," Ella beamed, hugging Nicole, then me.

"Thanks, Mom. It was one of Hunter's picks," Nicole smiled.

"What's this running you?" Bryan wondered.

"Uh, about $1,100 a month? But we paid for the year upfront, so now it's just utilities and side bills while we get our feet on the ground with jobs," I stated.

Of course, my hope was that we'd get engaged tonight and be able to plan over the year we would be here, then in all that; my wedding gift to Nicole would be the house we started our lives in. I knew exactly what she wanted in a home based on the apartment searches we did together. I knew the style, layout, everything, and I was minding a decent price range for it all. When the time for the wedding came up, I'd have a real estate agent on things and then I'd just have to handle the closing. While Nicole and I were on our honeymoon, I'd be having a trusted team of friends handle the moving so it would be ready for Nicole and me when we got back.

"That's great, son. Now…How about that food!? We're all starving," Spencer laughed.

"Drinks are in the coolers. Red has drinks for kids, and white has alcoholic beverages. There's chips, dip, and other snacks inside past the screen door on the table. Enjoy that while we cook up the meats," Nicole informed. She took my hand as we got started on firing up the grill, and when that was ready, Nicole brought me the hot dogs, burgers, and other items for grilling. Tonight was going to be amazing.

. . .

(7:30 pm)

As the hours went by, the only thing we all had was fun. There was controlled drinking, a couple of games, tons of food that people would be taking home with them and we'd have leftovers for a few days, then there was the laughter and all-around happy feeling. I wish I could say that it couldn't get any better, but I know it's about to. I wanted to propose before everyone left, and I knew that would be soon with those who had young children. Right now, we were all sitting around the fire, Nicole was in my lap and leaning against me.

Nicole sighed contently, snuggling against me. "This has been a perfect night," Nicole said.

"Yeah? You think so, babe?" I asked her casually with a smile.

"Friends, family, us…How can it get better?" Nicole asked with a chuckle.

"By starting a new chapter in our lives," I said as Nicole turned her head to look at me skeptically.

"And what chapter would that be?" Nicole wondered.

"The same we started this one…" I mentioned.

"Okay, Hunter Haddock…Just what are you up to?" Nicole folded her arms, still in my lap.

I laughed a little. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to now good," I winked.

"You're impossible," Nicole sighed, shaking her head.

"I'm teasing, love. But don't you remember how we got started? That first movie night at my dad's house, just us on the couch," I reminded with a smile.

Nicole smiled lightly, nodding. "Our hands kept touching in the popcorn bowl," She giggled a bit. "We got into each other during all the time we spent reading and watching the Harry Potter series. And here we are now, five years later in our own apartment, college graduates…Still dating," Nicole snuggled against me.

"And to help you remember that, I got you a little gift," I pulled something out of my pocket, and handed it to her.

Nicole sat up a little to inspect the object I gave her with firelight. Nicole eventually smiled, realizing I gave her a small gold orb; it was a replica Golden Snitch from Harry Potter. "Oh, you got me this because you know I love Quidditch…" Nicole giggled, as she kept messing around with it a little to admire. "Thank you," Nicole leaned back to kiss me. I returned the action as Nicole continued to glance over the gift I gave her. Suddenly, the wings popped out and there was a button in the middle that did too, Nicole eyed it curiously as she pressed the button. There was a click as the snitch opened up slowly and Nicole's eyes widened upon laying eyes on the object inside the snitch, an engagement ring. "Hunter?..."

"Yes, Milady?" I asked, sitting back with my eyes closed.

"What's this?" Nicole inquired with a shaky tone.

I looked and found she'd opened the snitch up to see the ring, I only smiled. "That depends on your answer…" I paused as her eyes locked on mine. "I don't really need a speech, you mean the world to me and I love you with everything I am…Will you marry me?" The area around us had gone silent. I saw Nicole's face turn to shock, and tears formed, but then; she smiled.

"Yes…" Nicole answered. I felt the weight lift off my chest. "Oh, my gods, a million times more yes!"

I took the ring from inside the snitch and set it on her left-hand ring finger. "Oh, good. Then to respond to your question, it's an engagement ring," I smiled. "Don't you remember what I asked? How about we start another chapter? I say we get married and to that…Mischief managed…" I winked. Nicole shook her head as she cupped my cheeks and kissed me deeply while the others cheered. When the joy and celebrations settled down, but all still smiling, Nicole looked at me as our fingers were intertwined.

"So, you ready to take the next step towards your future?" Nicole asked, a repeat from four years ago when we started college.

I looked her dead in the eyes, smiling. "Milady, I'm ready to take the next step into our future…And as long as I have everyone who is here tonight with us now, I'm ready for whatever else may come." Nicole and I leaned in, kissing deeply and passionately once more. Now, my night was perfect, and I'm sure my future would be too because I'm ready for whatever may come my way as long as I have my friends and family at my side.