I'm hurrying on uploads right now so I can get this story done by May 10 so I can say that this story has been running for a year. I just got back home and I'm seriously tired from my flight so I'm not in my senses when I typed this. My dad is extremely disappointed because my English grade turned from an A+ to an A-. Sometimes I hate being in the honors class because your parents expect so much from you.
This is second to the last chapter before the epilogue.
Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN BTR
Colors of blue and white was scattered everywhere of Woodside Academy. It wasn't your ordinary day but it was graduation day for all the seniors. Girls went to the salon to get their hair and makeup done while boys were a little more chilled.
Family members flocked to the said schools to watch their sons and daughters climb up the stage and accept the product of their hard work for the past four years.
Usually, the crying comes after the ceremony when it was time for the students to part ways but a certain blonde was bawling inside her dorm and her brunette best friend was rubbing circles around her back in an attempt to comfort her.
"It would be all over," Jo cried as she plucked another tissue from the box and blew her nose, "I wouldn't be able to see Kendall ever again."
Camille frowned as she sat inside the empty dorm room next to Jo. They were both in their dresses and togas, ready to head to the gym when it was time. It was a good thing Jo decided to use water proof makeup or else her face would look like a complete disaster for the ceremony.
"It would alright," Camille cooed as she hugged her, "Come on, put a brave face. Don't let your parents think that they got to you."
Jo pulled back and nodded, she wiped the remaining tears in her eyes and nodded, "What will happen to you and Logan?" she sniffled and then blew her nose with another tissue, "He's going to Stanford and I'm attending the University of California, Berkeley to keep him close by," she explained.
"You're lucky," Jo mumbled. Camille gave her a comforting smile, "Let's go to the gym?" the brunette offered and Jo stood up, followed by Camille. They went out of their empty dorm then out of their dormitory building, making their way to the gym.
"Josephine!" they heard Mrs. Taylor call out. Both of them turned around at the same time to see the woman waving around and were standing next to her husband and Camille's parents.
The duo approached the small group of adults and Camille's parents hugged her daughter. Jo awkwardly wrapped her arms around her mother when the woman attacked her with a big bear hug. When both girls were free of their parents' grasp, Mrs. Taylor took out her camera, "Let me take your picture, girls," she smiled.
Jo and Camille stood next to each other and plastered big smile on their faces, Mrs. Taylor clicked her camera and gave the two a thumb up, "We're going to find our seats," Mrs. Roberts said, pulling the rest of her company to the area of where the families of the graduates were assigned to be seated.
The blonde's eyes wandered around the gym and landed at a particular boy who shares the same hair color as her. Kendall was chatting with what she presumed was his parents and little sister. He lifted his gaze and her breath hitched when their eyes met.
She didn't dare to tear her gaze away from him, it may be the last time she'll be lost in those endless pools of green.
"Jo, I'll be going to Logan," Camille whispered and her best friend only nodded in response. Camille squeezed her shoulder, as a form of support before walking away. The brunette was aware of the fact that Jo was having eye contact with Kendall and was presently lost in her and the boy's little bubble.
Kendall nervously fixed his tie and ran some gel so his blonde locks will be styled appropriately. He put on his blue toga and perched his graduation cap on his head. He turned to his best friend who was already dressed and was currently texting with his phone, "How do I look?" Kendall asked.
"Fine," Logan said, looking up from his phone for a second before turning back to tapping on the screen. The blonde sighed before moving to the window to take the last view of Woodside Academy. He spotted a mixture of students wearing blue and white togas.
"I'm nervous," Kendall mumbled softly but it was loud enough to be heard by his best friend who finally looked up from his phone. He stood up and pocketed his phone then marched to Kendall's side, "Don't be, I'll be here to support you," he reassured but Kendall kept his gaze outside.
"Thanks," he finally said after a long silence with a soft smile. Logan gestured to the door, "Shall we?" he offered and the blonde moved away from the window. Both of them made their way to the door, they got outside and took one final look to the place they were holed up in for the past four years. Kendall did the honors of closing the door and it clicked, meaning it was locked.
The two seniors walked down the hall and into the elevator. It made some noises and was covered with vandalism of different students throughout the years but the boys became attached to it. As the elevator doors opened, they entered the lobby. They said their goodbyes to some of their acquaintances and were soon joined by James and Carlos.
"Are you nervous, Kendall?" James asked and Carlos suddenly piped in, "Of course he's nervous, he's going to-" before Carlos could finish his sentence, Kendall already clapped a hand over his mouth, "I don't want the whole campus to know!" he scolded the Latino and Carlos nodded before prying his hand away.
The four made small talk as they walked down the path to the gym. Kendall immediately spotted his family and he froze. The other three felt Kendall stiffen and followed his gaze and all of them paused as well.
The Knight family stood in the midst of parents congratulating their sons and daughters. Mr. Knight wore a suit and had his hair slick back while his wife was adorning an elegant mint green dress and Katie, his little sister, stood there dressed in a white dress. Katie was scheduled to enroll as a freshman next year and her parents' decided to bring her along with her brother's graduation so she could have a first look of the prestigious school.
"Good luck," Logan said and each boy gave their blonde friend a pat before finding their respective parents. Taking a big gulp, Kendall started to walk to his family. Katie quickly saw Kendall and caught their parents' attention who also twisted their heads to where their son is walking.
With a shaky greeting, Kendall finally relaxed under his parents' gaze. They started small talk like how he got accepted to University of Minnesota. He looked up from staring at his shoes and he suddenly paused in talking, his eyes quickly fell into Jo's chocolate brown ones.
His palms started to sweat and he was afraid that she will look away but to his relief, she didn't. They just stared at each other and through her eyes, Jo was apologizing. If the girl's eyes were so full of emotion, Kendall's were empty. He was hurt yet he didn't want to hate Jo, he loves her too much to do so.
"Kendall, are you listening?" His mother snapped and he nodded numbly. Reluctantly, he tore his gaze away from hers and focused his attention back to his mother, "We'll be going to our seats now, looks like the ceremony is starting," she said, pulling her husband with her.
"She's really pretty, Kendall," Katie said and he gaped at his little sister, "You saw that?" he asked and she nodded. The two siblings didn't really have a healthy relationship but they weren't fighting. They simply ignored each other and decided to stay out of the other one's way.
"I'll be going now," she announced before walking around Kendall to join her parents.
When he looked around to find Jo, she was already being dragged by Camille to their seats. Logan appeared next to him, "Let's go," he said and Kendall followed him.
Hours later, it was finally time for the senior class representative's speech. The school decided that it would be the valedictorian who would do this but Kendall begged for him to do it instead. After hearing him out, Logan finally agreed and talked to the dean. The dean wasn't pleased but he said he would do anything for his star student so he agreed but Logan was still assigned to do his own speech.
The crowd clapped their hands as Logan stepped off of the podium, took a bow and proceeded to walk down the stage and back to his seat in between Kendall and James where Carlos was seated next to James.
"Thank you Mr. Mitchell for that inspiring speech. Let's give another round of applause to Logan Mitchell, batch 2013's valedictorian," the dean announced and the people clapped once again. The dean cleared his throat before speaking again, "And now, let us listen to the chosen senior class representative, Mr. Kendall Knight.
A soft round of applause erupted as Kendall stepped onstage and on the podium. He scanned the room and he found his friends who were giving him encouraging smiles then to his parents who had the same monotone look on their faces to his sisters who had the ends of her lips tugging into a smile. He spotted Jo's parents and their hard stared then to Camille who had a smile on her face then finally to Jo. She had her head down low, as if she didn't want to hear him.
"My dear batch mates," he started, "We are here to finally end the hard work we placed in to learning all sorts of knowledge given to us by our teachers," he continued before stealing a glance at the teachers who were seated behind him.
"But I'm here to talk about our fun experiences in high school," he said then laughter erupted from the crowd, "Do you remember that day before classes started and you spilled your coffee on me," he said then whispers started. People were confused but Jo's head suddenly shot up and finally held gaze with Kendall once again.
They haven't talked since that day at the café and truthfully, it has been killing her.
"And then time we went to breakfast together," he chuckled to himself, "I could never forget about our first date. We went to this fancy restaurant and I had my friends act as our waiter and violinist," he laughed.
Carlos and James also chuckled, remembering how Kendall went to their dorm to ask them to help woe the most popular girl in school.
"But I'll tell you a secret," he said and Camille smirked, "Our best friends also went out on a date that day," he said and Jo quickly turned to Camille, "You had your first date with Logan that night and you didn't tell me?" she gasped at her best friend but the brunette only laughed in response.
The crowd was still unaware of what Kendall was talking about but they were sure it was directed to someone in particular so they just listened.
"Your birthday was something really special. I finally got to kiss the girl of my dreams," he admitted and 'aww's erupted from most of the girls while Jo blushed.
Kendall tapped his chin to think of other memories he and the blonde beauty he had together, "I remember our little encounter with your ex."
A shiver ran up through Jo's spine as she remembers the time when Jett kidnapped the both of them. She was distressed for days and she was glad that he was already behind bars.
"That disappointing moment when you said no when I asked you to be my girlfriend," he chuckled, "But the happiest moment when you said yes on Valentine's Day."
"How could I not?" Jo muttered so only Camille can hear her. The brunette laughed next to her and spotted the same necklace given to her by Kendall on that day. It was safely clasped around her neck and the silver pendant shone when the light was perfectly angled.
Kendall turned his eyes to Jo's parents, "How about that time when you introduced me to your parents?" he said and Mrs. Taylor matched his hard look with a glare of her own, "I could never forget that."
Jo's mood suddenly turned but Camille gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"The thing is, this year was absolutely memorable and I was glad I spent it with you," he confessed before taking in a deep breath. He slammed his hand down on the podium before shouting, "I love you, Jo! I don't want to live another day without saying you're mine!" he yelled and gasped erupted from the crowd.
Both Jo and Camille's jaws dropped to the floor and Mrs. Taylor was already shooting daggers at the boy onstage, "You go, dude!" his three friends shouted, standing up from their seats to yell encouragements at him.
"Josephine Taylor…" he trailed off before taking another deep breath, "Please marry me."
Carlos let out a wolf whistle and all eyes turned to Jo. She quickly looked at Camille who smiled at her, "Go, your heart wants him," she said and Jo quickly stood up, her chair squeaking.
She ran to the stage and was in Kendall's arm, "Yes, I'll marry you," she cried, placing a kiss on his lips.
Cheers erupted and Camille made her way to the trio. Logan wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head, "A happy ending?" he asked and Camille leaned into him, taking in his warmth, "A happy ending."
"Josephine Taylor, get off of that stage right now!" Mrs. Taylor yelled and the gym was suddenly silent. Logan's smile faltered, "Or not," he added but his girlfriend only smirked, "I'm not so sure about that."
The two lovers pulled away from each other and Jo slowly walked to her mom, "Mother, I respect you a lot," she said, "But I love Kendall and I know he'll take care of me."
Mrs. Taylor glared at her daughter, "You're no child of mine," she sneered before turning her heel and marched out of the gym with her husband right behind her.
"Where's my ring?" Jo chuckled and Kendall produced a red velvet box from his pocket. He opened it to reveal a diamond ring with a gold band, "It was my grandmother's," he smiled, slipping it into her ring finger.
Jo admired the jewel resting on her finger before looking up at Kendall, "I love you," she whispered, leaning into him, "I love you too," he whispered before planting his soft lips on hers once again.
Kudos to all who know where I got the way Kendall proposed.
I'll say that on the next chapter.
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