Author's Note: Hey everyone! I just wanted to say thank you for reading and following this story; I didn't think it would get the traction it did! I'd also like to apologize for my periods of posting a lot followed by a long break. Thank you so much for being patient and continuing to read and giving me feedback! Anyways, I'll try to write more. Thrilling stuff to come!

Chapter 19: Boo'd Up

Tina's internship went rather well. Not only did she learn a lot in the world of journalism, but she also made friends with many of the interns, who were equally as awkward as she was. I guess those who are better on paper aren't as eloquent in person. She earned a lot of college credits while she interned; so much so that she would even graduate a semester early. She was sad that she would leave her friends earlier than she wanted, but she could always visit them and vice versa.

Things were a little hectic at home that summer. Although Bob had recovered and saw more business after Jimmy Pesto's got closed due to health code violations, he and Linda were having problems with disciplining Louise. Louise had gotten expelled from Huxley after getting into a fight with Harley, which was the last straw between constantly cutting class with Milly Frock and planning elaborate, dangerous pranks on students and faculty. Starting this fall, Louise would be enrolled in an alternative high school, where she would hopefully get her act together and get into college.

On top of having difficulty with Louise, Bob and Linda also had difficulty with getting Gene out of bed and active. He and Todd had broken up at the start of the summer, because Todd wanted to experience the single life for a while and focus on dance. Nonetheless, Gene was heartbroken and was depressed the majority of the summer, and had little to no motivation to help out at the restaurant, work on music, or even perfect his musicals. Tina tried to level and reason with Gene, but he was inconsolable. If he did leave the house, it was often due to his college friends physically dragging him out of the house whenever they visited.

The older Tina got, the more independent she became. She and Raquel spent the majority of their time in their apartment, and visited their parents and friends from home on weekends. Oftentimes, Zeke would visit Tina after he got off work, or would simply wait for Tina to visit home on weekends if he was tired from working. She was grateful for his patience, yet Tina felt like he was more occupied or skittish than usual. She felt like he was always working or busy with something. Not to say that she didn't trust him; she did. But something was off and she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

One night, Tina, Raquel, and their girl friends all had a girl's night in, where they drank wine, ordered Chinese food, and watched chick flicks. Her and Bryson had broken up at the end of their sophomore year, but they tried to remain friends; that is until she met someone knew over the summer while she was taking classes and working on campus. Although Tina missed the old dynamic of their friend group, she loved hanging out with her girl friends.

"So, ladies," Amina started as she poured a glass of wine, how are your love lives going? It's time to dish!"

"Oh, Sam is just a sweetheart," Raquel cooed, "the other day he planned an entire day just for us!"

"Melvin and I are going steady," Chamoya added as she opened her food container, "I mean, it's new so we're taking it slow, but we have a good time together so that's all that matters."

"I don't talk to Jae anymore," Kim sighed, "I don't know, we just lost touch and I feel like he's been talking to someone else. Oh well."

"I know how that goes," Ashley added, "Gabe and I are done, for real this time. Especially after I found another girl's bra in my car. What a scrub."

"What about you Tina," Chloe asked as she passed the bottle of wine to her, "how are you and Zeke?"

"Things are alright," Tina said as she poured herself a glass, "he's still working at the restaurant… but he has seemed a little different."

"What do you mean different?" Raquel asked as she side-eyed Tina. Raquel made it clear to Zeke she would confront him if he ever did anything to hurt Tina. So whenever they had a falling out or something was off, Raquel put her guard up in preparation to defend her best friend.

Tina shrugged. "I don't know. He just seems like he's not there all the way. Like something's on his mind."

"Does Tammy still try to talk to him?" Chamoya asked.

"No, he blocked her awhile ago. Plus, she's supposedly dating someone else right now."

"Does he seem like he's hiding something?" Kim asked.

"Not really. He just seems preoccupied."

"I hate to ask, but does he do anything weird like take calls in the other room or hide his phone, or anything like that?" Amina asked.

"No, if anything he'll leave his phone with me. Or forget where it is."

"How long have you guys been together, anyways?" Ashley asked.

"We've been on and off since our freshman year of college."

"He's planning on proposing." Amina stated.

Tina shook his head, "no he's not."

"Uh, yeah he is," Amina added as she poured another glass, "Carlos acted like that when he was planning on proposing to me. He got super weird and distant. And just when I thought he was gonna break up with me, he planned this elaborate date. He took me to a nice restaurant, got us a hotel, and spelled will you marry me on the bed in rose petals. I really wasn't expecting it."

Raquel clapped her hands giddily, "oh, Tina he definitely is!"

Tina shook her head, "I just don't want to get my hopes up." She said as she ate some rice.

"You never know," Kim said, "but I wouldn't dismiss it. You guys have been together for so long and keep finding your way no matter what. He has it bad for you, Tina." Tina's face turned bright red. They sounded just like Cara, one of her closest friends she met at Huxley her freshman year. It was like when she found out he liked her all over again. Could he really be planning a proposal? Or were they just wildly speculating?

That night after everyone went to sleep, Tina was still up thinking. They were right, though. No matter what life threw at them, be it break ups, jealous girls, distance, or old flings, they always found their way back to each other. Tina was always the hopeless romantic, but she truly felt that Zeke was her soul mate. She looked over at the clock. It was 2:22 in the morning. Raquel, who was interested in astrology and numerology, said that seeing 2's had to do with partnerships and relationships. A miracle was about to happen. Tina felt her heart leap out of her chest. She would have told Zeke, but he didn't believe in that sort of thing. Plus, he was probably asleep by then.

Tina got out of bed and flipped through a scrapbook Zeke had made for her, with the help of Linda, on their fifth anniversary. They practically grew up together and grew in love with each other. She flipped through the pages of old pictures, notes they wrote to each other, and little things that reminded him of her that he would collect along the way. She couldn't help but smile. The boy she always thought was gross and annoying came to be the love of her life. Life's funny in that way.