~ 6 years later ~

Flora POV

"So are you going to tell me where you're taking me?" I ask Riven as he leads me through the woods blindfolded.

"Nope, we're nearly there," he tells me.

I feel my way through the trees wondering where he's leading me.

It's been six years since that big fight. Stella, Bloom and I had kept our old dorm whilst Musa, Layla and Tecna had moved into a new one together. We'd all finished our schooling and most of us became what we wanted. I became a botanist which was like a dream come true. Stella had become an interior designer, one of the most well-known throughout the world, she'd designed many famous people's houses. Musa hadn't made it as a singer but she had interned at a major record company and was enjoying it more behind the scenes. Layla had become a personal trainer and was now starting and straring in her own fitness videos. Bloom became a Primary School teacher, which she said she loved as long as the kids behaved. Which was never. I hadn't lost touch with any of my friends, well apart from Tecna and Helia. I heard from Musa that Tecna had become an Engineer and Helia was now an Arts professor at University. Riven had become a Lawyer which had shocked absolutely everyone but was good at arguing.

I sigh happily as Riven takes the blindfold off.

"Oh Riven, it's beautiful," I tell him as I stare at the picnic he'd prepared. It was on a high mountain, looking down on the city. He'd set a picnic rug down with Italian bread, dips, cheeses, fruits and a bottle of strawberry champagne.

I sit down and Riven sits down next to me. I lean over and kiss him on the lips.

"I love you," I tell him with a smile.

Riven smiles back before getting a nervous look on his face.

"Uh, Flora I don't know how to tell you how much I love you. You are my world, my everything. I want us to be together forever. You make me smile whenever I'm in a bad mood and you're definitely the most compassionate person I've ever met. And I'm stuttering, I swear when I wrote this it was much longer. Shit I've forgotten the rest of it. But basically I don't know how to explain what I feel. But I feel it. I know that I love you, and I know that even when I'm mad as hell and we're arguing, all I have to do is see that sparkle in your eyes and I know that everything will be alright. I know I'm not perfect but you make me the closest that I'll ever be. And this isn't flowing, and man is it just me or is it hot. Flora; you are the most amazing, intelligent, beautiful, selfless woman I have ever and will ever know. And I am so lucky to have you in my life, and I want to ensure that we will always be together and so..." he says as he gets on one knee. "Will you do me the pleasure of being my wife. Will you marry me?"

He brings out a jewellery box from his pocket.

My throat chokes up and my face beams.

"Of course I'll marry you!" I practically scream as I hug him tight, knocking him over. "I love you! I love you so so much!"

"Feisty," Riven chuckles as he lays me down on the grass and slides the ring on my finger. I hold my hand up to the sun and see it sparkle. It's beautiful, white gold with a big, but tasteful, diamond in the middle.

"I love you even more now," I giggle as he gives me a kiss.

"Good to know you're only with me for my diamonds," he jokes and I tackle him to drown him in little kisses.

Life is perfect. I can't wait to plan the wedding. Stella will be so excited and she'll help me organise the most perfect wedding. Oh, I just can't wait to marry the love of my life.

Author's note:

I wrote this story in the Notes app of my phone back in 2012. I was 13 at the time and thought it was so 'scandalous'. It stayed in my notes app, nearly finished and half-forgotten for years. In the lead-up to Christmas of 2015 I was reading a ton of fanfics and suddenly remembered the mess I had created. I uploaded a handful of chapters and promptly forgot about it again until exam season of my first year of Uni in 2017. As a form of procrastination, I decided to bulk upload the rest of the chapters and hoped to finish off the final few chapters. I posted up to Chapter 28. Exams got the best of me and I never got around to finishing it. I'd occasionally (like once every three years) receive email reminders that someone had commented or followed which made me feel incredibly guilty. So I have now decided to just finish it. Chapters 29 to 31 were already completed in my notes app and chapter 32 had been abandoned halfway through. I've chosen to post chapters 29 to 31 as I currently work on finishing the rest of chapter 32. I'm hoping it will help hold me accountable. My original outline saw me finishing this story with about 37 chapters but we will see what happens. I've posted chapters 29 to 31 with basically no editing as I want to keep to the original style as much as possible and I know I will get carried away.

From working on chapter 32 right now there is a very obvious change in writing style mid-way through it. That's on me for taking a 12-year break (although I have suspicions that chapters 28/29 to 31 may have been written/heavily edited in 2017 not 2012. A part of me wants to just rip through everything I wrote back then and completely rewrite it but, realistically, I know I won't be able to commit to that. I'd be more likely to take the entire work down (reading what I wrote as a teen is incredibly painful).

Ultimately, I'm sorry for disappearing and leaving an abandoned fic for so many years. If any of my readers from years ago are notified of this update I hope it's been somewhat worth the wait.

For any new readers; ignore my waffling.

I've given myself until Christmas Eve to get the last few chapters done and posted.

P.S. I'm unsure what the rule/style norm is with posting Author's notes so I hope this is okay!