“Come on,” I urged, yanking on Chris’s hand. “It’s fine. You’re an attractive, hip young man!”

                  He stared at me flatly. “Holly, even I don’t even say hip.”

                  “See?”

                  “Holly…”

                  “Come on! Don’t you want to see the expressions on everyone’s faces when they realize we’re together? We’ll only stay for five minutes! We just pop in, say hi, and then we can leave!” I tempted. “Pretty please?” Even though I knew it never worked on him, I put on my best puppy-dog look.

                  “You want to show me off that bad?”

                  “No! I… Uh…” Maybe that was the approach I needed to take. “Yes?” I said questioningly.

                  Running a hand through his hair, he glanced at the towering building in front of us, bursting at the seams with the heavy bass of an incoherent song. Even from where we were standing, about twenty feet away, I could hear laughter from cheerful (and probably drunk) graduates. “I don’t know…”

                  “You were invited,” I tried again. “Everyone will be happy to see you. Jeremy’s there.”

                  “That makes me want to go less.”

                  Puffing out my cheeks, my mind raced with a better way to entice him. “Okay. How about if I, tonight, after we leave do this…” Pushing myself onto my tiptoes, I placed my lips against his ear and whispered into it.

                  To my pleasure, a bit of red appeared on his cheeks. “Holly!”

                  “What?” I said innocently.

                  “You’ve become a little minx,” he responded, sounding astounded.

                  I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. “Haha, sure…” Actually, I was just saying what Jeremy told me to say.

                  “However, you can’t coax me into going with sex.”

                  “Why not?”

                  “Because, I can have you any time, any where now,” he stated confidently.

                  My cheeks flushed. “What?”

                  Laughing now, he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “I’m kidding. Jeremy told you to say that, didn’t he?”

                  “Yeah,” I admitted. “But I want you to come with me!”

                  “Alright, alright, I’ll go,” he resigned, squinting up at the house. “If the cops get called, I’m leaving you behind though.”

                  “Okay,” I said excitedly, grabbing his hand. “Let’s go!”

                  He allowed me to lead him up to the front door of the Lemaiy’s house. “Just so you know, you owe me for this.”

                  I nudged him in the arm with my elbow. “No I don’t.” Instead of knocking, I just pushed open the door, the music immediately becoming ten times louder.

                  The first sight that met my gaze was a couple grinding to the rhythm of the song. Grimacing, I turned to Chris, who was also making a face. “Lovely.”

                  “Let’s find Jeremy,” I suggested, gripping his hand tighter as we struggled through the bodies filling the room.

                  “Hey! It’s Mr. Heywood!” someone suddenly cried.

                  I turned and saw Kim staggering toward us, a goofy expression on her face, and a red plastic cup in her left hand. Inwardly, I grimaced. Why did everyone enjoy getting drunk so much? Not to mention, illegally? Outwardly though, as an automatic reaction, I let go of Chris’s hand and put space between us. Chris raised his eyebrow at me and I felt a light blush appear on my cheeks. Being with him publicly was going to be tricky.

                  “I saw Mr. Ross earlier, but didn’t realize you were invited too,” she said, coming to a stop in front of him. After giving him a once over, she smiled. “I see you’re dressed to party too.”

                  “Mr. Heywood!” Jessica suddenly appeared next to Kim. “It’s so weird to see you outside of school!”

                  “Isn’t it?” Kim agreed.

                  Chris chuckled quietly. “Well, I suppose you’ll get used to it. I won’t be seeing any of you in school anymore.”

                  I stared at him, smiling a little bit. Even though he wasn’t their teacher anymore, he still kept his polite manner with them.

                  “That’s right… We won’t be able to see you in school any more, Mr. Heywood,” Kim thought out loud, her eyes widening in realization.

                  “Right. So you can call me Chris now,” he told her.

                  “What?”

                  He glanced at me. “What what?”

                  “Ah, nothing,” I responded quickly, dropping my head. It was a little surprising. No one I knew aside from my Mom, Holly, and Jeremy called Chris by his name. I never realized how privileged I was to be able to call him Chris. Now that I wasn’t the only one able to, it made me feel a little glum.

                  Without warning, a pair of warm hands landed on my shoulder, scaring the crap out of me. “I didn’t think you were coming, Holly.”

                  Twisting around, I came face-to-face with Aaron. “Hey,” I breathed, relaxing my body. “You scared me.”

                  His multicolored eyes lit up mischievously. “Did I? I see you brought your boyfriend.”

                  “Boyfriend?” Kim echoed, looking around. “Where? I didn’t know you were dating someone, Holly.”

                  “I’m not!” I denied swiftly. Then I threw a quick glance at Chris. “I mean… I…”

                  “She’s dating Mr. Heywood,” Aaron announced for me, roughly pushing me into Chris’s chest. “Surprise!”

                  Both Jessica and Kim’s eyes widened. “What?”

                  Chris smiled warmly at them, hugging me to his chest. “It’s true.”

                  “Since when?”

                  “Today,” he lied easily.

                  Jessica lightly slapped me on my back. “Holly, you sly little girl. You didn’t give anyone else a chance!”

                  Forcing out an awkward laugh, I turned around to face her. “Uh, yeah… Sorry?”

                  “You’re a lucky girl,” she sighed. “Mr. Heywood is so handsome.”

                  “Chris,” Chris and I corrected at the same time.

                  She waved us off. “Whatever. It’ll take a long time to get used to. It’s hard calling someone else by a different name.”

                  I shot a dirty look at Chris. “Yeah, I know.”

                  “It shouldn’t take more than a couple months,” he responded, rolling his eyes.

                  “It didn’t take me a couple months!”

                  “You’re right. A couple is usually two. You took four.”

                  I glowered at him. “That’s not my fault!”

                  “Quit flirting,” Aaron demanded, elbowing me forcefully. “It’s gross.”

                  “I-I’m not—”

                  Jessica giggled. “Aw, Holly. You’re blushing.”

                  “It’s her special ability,” Aaron insisted with a wink.

                  I pursed my lips at him. “Don’t wink at people… It’s creepy.”

                  Chris smirked. “As creepy as tempting people with se—”

                  “Ha ha!” I interjected loudly, slapping my hand over his mouth. “I just remembered! We have to go find Jeremy— er, Mr. Ross! We’ll see you two later!”

                  Kim and Jessica nodded and I began to tug Chris away from them. He started laughing, causing me to scowl. He just loved to embarrass me, didn’t he? One of these days I was going to get my revenge.

                  Ten minutes later we finally found Jeremy in the kitchen with Lance, Casey, Aaron, and Lexi. Once Aaron noticed us, a smug expression crossed his face. “Ten minutes? That’s it?”

                  “No, it’s more like hours,” Chris rejoined smartly. “The older you get, the more self control.”

                  Aaron, obviously not expecting a comeback, shut his mouth and put his focus on his drink. Jeremy snickered, earning a sharp glare. Ignoring it, he grinned at us. “So you decided to show?”

                  “Only for a little bit. Holly said we had to say hello.”

                  “It’s rude not to go somewhere when you’re invited,” I scolded him, frowning. “Unless you already have plans. Which we don’t.”

                  “Didn’t,” he corrected in a grumble. “I told you. I want to watch a movie. You know, like we used to?”

                  Lexi smiled at us. “You guys already sound like you’re married.”

                  My head snapped to her. “What? No we don’t!”

                  “I agree with Lexi,” Lance said, wrapping his arm around her. A smirk appeared on his face. “Did you guys get married secretly? When was the big day? Huh?”

                  Casey mocked a gasp. “You should’ve told me!”

                  “I would’ve been your bridesmaid!” Jeremy added, pretending to be upset. “How mean!”

            Flustered, I threw a panicked look at Chris. “Chris!”

            “Okay, okay,” he sighed. “Can’t you give her a break? It’s graduation. She deserves it.”

            Jeremy’s expression dropped. “But…”

            “Besides. She was up all night.”

            Casey and Lexi burst out in giggles while Aaron choked on his own spit. My face flamed and Lance clapped his hands to his ears, proclaiming he didn’t want to hear about Chris and my sexual escapades. Jeremy, on the other hand, was dumbfounded. “My jobs being taken…”

            Chris gave him a pitying look. “Your jobs always been taking, Jer. I’m the only one who gets to tease her now. You’re over.”

            “No!” Jeremy cried dramatically.

            I jumped, surprised. “Jeremy!”

            “I still want to tease Holly! Chris! That’s not fair! Just because you’re his boyfriend, does not mean—”

            “Calm down,” Chris laughed. “I’m kidding.”

            Jeremy’s jaw dropped. “Topher… you…”

            “I?”

            “You love me again!” he nearly shouted, lunging himself at my boyfriend. “Are you drunk? You’re being so nice to me!”

            Chris struggled to shove him off him. “What are you talking about? You’re the one who seems drunk!”

            Lexi tapped her chin. “Actually, I agree. You seem a little more friendlier than usual.”

            “I bet it’s because Holly’s finally graduated,” Casey guessed, grinning. “All that stress of being caught is gone. Nice, isn’t it?”

            Suddenly Chris punched Jeremy in the stomach. Groaning, the blonde slid to the floor. “Obviously, he still gets annoyed…”

            “Who wouldn’t?” Chris snapped, shaking out his rest. “You weigh a ton!”

            “I do not!”

            To stop them before they started really fighting, I held up my hand. “Um, so, Jeremy. Why did you specifically want us here?”

            The blonde’s expression brightened. “Ah! That’s right! We’re going to make a toast!”

            “A toast?” I repeated.

            “Holly and I don’t drink,” Chris stated flatly. “Are you stupid?”

            Jeremy held up his finger. “Wait, wait. I know that. I thought ahead and…” Shuffling backward, he picked up what looked like a wine bottle. “I bought this!”

            “It looks like wine,” I commented slowly.

            “It does, doesn’t it? But it’s not.”

            “What is it then?” Chris asked.

            “Sparkling apple cider!”

            Obviously not believing him, Chris snatched the bottle out of his hands and read it. His eyebrows furrowed. “Huh. It really is.”

            “Really?”

            “Really.”

            I grinned at Jeremy. “Aw, you’re being considerate?”

            “I am,” he responded happily. “This toast is for all of us, so all of us have to be in on it. Casey, Lexi, get the glasses.”

            “Yes sir!” the two girls chorused eagerly, heading over to the counter where the clear, sparkling wine glasses were.

            Jeremy began pouring the cider into the glasses and handing them out to each of us. Impressed, I held up my own glass. “Thanks, Jeremy.”

            “Every one have one?” he asked, glancing around at all of us. “Yes? Good. Let’s get started.”

            Everyone waited while the blonde cleared his throat. “Well… um… I’m suddenly embarrassed now that everyone’s attention is on me,” he said bashfully.

            I rolled my eyes. “Jeremy.”

            “You can do it,” Casey insisted, putting her free hand on his arm.

            He took a deep breath. “Okay, this toast goes to this wonderful year. If you can excuse my cheesiness, it’s been the best year of my life. Well kind of year. School yeah, should I say? Um, anyway. I never thought I’d ever meet such great friends.”

            “We’re not friends,” Aaron remarked coolly.

            Lexi bashed her fist on his head. “Shut up.”

            “Jeremy, how can it be the best year? You got shot!” I said, shaking my head at him.

            He grinned back at me. “Wasn’t it the best year of your life too?”

            “Of course…” I trailed off, realizing with a shock that his words were true. It had been the best year of my life. So much had happened. The most prominent thing being Chris entering my life. “It has been…”

            Chris raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”

            “I…” His words hit me with a surprising force. “Chris… Those were the first words you said to me.”

            “Huh?”

            My heart clenched. “When we first met. That’s the first thing you said to me. Are you okay?”

            “You remember that?” He sounded awed.

            “And you also said I had a girly little voice…” The memories were coming flooding back. The way I dragged him to my house after saving him from the thugs, his refusal to tell me his name, being late to class and realizing he was my teacher…

            Casey’s face tightened. “Uh-oh…”

            “What?” Lance asked.

            “She’s going to start crying.”

            No sooner than the words had left her lips, I felt my eyes start to water. “A lot really has happened,” I sniffled, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand.

            “I didn’t mean to make you cry!” Jeremy said quickly. “Chris, really, I didn’t!”

            Chris sighed, pulling me to his chest. “It’s not your fault. It’s okay, Holly. Don’t cry.”

            “Sorry,” I apologized, pressing my face into his shirt. “It’s just a shock. It feels like it’s been five years, not two. So much has happened. All that stuff with the gang, meeting Holly, falling in love with you…  And now I’ve graduated. Now you’re not my teacher. Everything’s different. It just feels like my story is ending.”

            Aaron snorted. “Ending? What story?”

            I ignored him, my hands clenching the back of Chris’s jacket. “Everyone’s going off to college. It won’t be like before. I don’t like change—”

            “Holly, we’re going to the same college,” Casey cut me off, and I felt her hand on my shoulder. “We get to see each other still.”

            “I know, but… but…”

            “Shh,” Chris comforted me, rubbing my back. “Maybe you should go to bed early tonight…”

            “Ah! We have to finish the toast!” Jeremy said. “Come on. I’ll change it up a bit. Here’s a toast to the future. Where we all keep in contact, no matter what happens.”

            “No matter what happens,” Casey agreed.

            “No matter what happens,” Aaron, Lance, and Lexi echoed.

            “No matter what happens,” Chris said confidently.

            I pulled myself away from him, swallowing hard. “Yeah, no matter what happens.”

            Jeremy raised his glass. Everyone followed suit. “To the future, then!”

            With that, we all brought our glasses to our lips, downing the fizzy substance. The reaction was almost comical. Everyone gasped, making faces, and forcing himself or herself to swallow the bubbly liquid. I choked a little bit, unprepared for the burning sensation in my throat. “This is just sparkling cider, right Jeremy?”

            “It is!” he promised. “I guess it’s just a little strong…”

            Chris placed his glass on the table. “It’s disgusting. Remind me to never drink that again.”

            Lance nodded his head. “Me too.”

            “I kind of liked it,” Lexi said, pouring herself another glass. “It’s good!”

            Lance sighed. “Only you, Lex.”

            “Oh, shut up.”

            An abrupt, tremendous crash came from the living room and we all cringed. Aaron closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “Ten bucks says that was the T.V. I’d better go check it out.”

            “I’ll come with you,” Lexi told him, looking worried. “Televisions are expensive! If they broke it, they’re buying a new one.”

            “Bye Holly, bye Mr. Heywood.”

            “Bye?”

            “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

            “Are we?” I inquired, turning to Chris. I didn’t really want to, but…

            He studied my face for a moment. “You don’t want to?”

            “I, uh, no…”

            “We can stay then,” he informed me. “But you’ll have to make it up to me.”

            I grinned. “Okay!”

            “Yay!” Casey cried excitedly. “Let’s go dance, Holly!”

            “Uh…”

            Chris frowned at me. “You don’t have to ask my permission for everything, you know. I don’t own you. I just love you.”

            “Aw,” Jeremy cooed sarcastically.

            “Right,” I responded, smiling sheepishly. “I love you too, Chris.”

            “Even though I’m a lying, stupid, blackmailing devil of a teacher?”

            My jaw nearly hit the ground as a warm blush spread across my face. “Y-you remember that?”

            A satisfied smirk crossed his face. “I’ll never forget, Holly. Never.”

            I suppressed a groan, knowing it was true. Even though he wasn’t my teacher anymore, he was always going to be a lying, blackmailing, devil.

            And I didn’t mind one bit.

________________________________________ 

And... It's over. 

Ah, such bittersweet sorrow. I'll really miss writing this story ): However! In case you didn't read my "Morning After" chapter (which you should!) I did mention I'll be writing random oneshots about them in the future, after the Watty Awards are over. I can't stop writing about them entirely, can I? I love all my characters too much. It'd break my heart, haha. But also, I'm writing a story about their daughter and her relationship with her teacher. It'll be a bit different, but I hope you'll all like it ;D Not sure when I'll start that though. I wanna take a short break. So maybe in January I'll start it? I don't know :s I'm bad at waiting. I'll probably just start it in two weeks, hahaha. We'll see! 

Also I have a new book out called Finding Love in a Coffee Shop. Go check it out! It'll be.... sort of reminiscent of this. a little less fighting though xD 

Anyway, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STICKING WITH IT THIS WHOLE TIME! A year and a half if you've been here since the beginning :') (even longer if you used Quizilla! More like four years!) Thank you so much! It means a lot to me and I really hoped you liked it! I mean, I guess you did, since you made it this far :P 

Oh, and for the last time, my Facebook page is in the external link :) I'll probably post the first chapter of the daughter's story on their. I'd like to at least write one chapter before I start. But only one. I hate writing things in advance. It loses the spur of the moment ideas.