"Aphmau, listen to me." Travis tries to calm me down. "You have worked very hard for this position. Go out on that stage and deliver the speech of the millennium."

"But Aaron's here with my mom and I don't know how I can keep my composer-"

"Aaron is the last thing that needs to be on my mind. Focus on your speech and bring home that sweet sweet diploma."

"Okay okay, I got this!" I prep myself up.

"You got this."

"Welcome our valedictorian, Aphmau Everton to the stage!" The principal announces and the crowds goes wild. How did I make valedictorian? Purplla thought it was smart to write this.

I walk over to and across the stage and spot a few of my friends cheering and clapping for me. Once I make it to the podium, I move the microphone to a spot where I could reach it.

Before I before, I see my mom filming with a camera and Aaron right next to her staring right up at me. I smile and give him a short wave. Then Katelyn, Kawaii~Chan, Garroth, and Laurnece are a few rows behind them, filming with their phones.

"These past four years, we've grown a lot. We've learned from each other, we made memories that will last a lifetime, we've made mistakes and learned our lesson together, and we finally made it." The crowd interrupts me by clapping.

"I remember that when I was a freshmen, I didn't think I could be valedictorian because I thought I wasn't smart enough. But with the hard work, determination, and the right people by my side, I believed in myself. I believed that I could be in this position right now. My advice to you is to believe in yourself. Believing that you can be who you want to be, what you want to do with your life, how you handle real world situations starts with believing in yourself." Someone hollers from the crowd, causing the whole group to start to laugh.

"Now, I'd like to make some acknowledgements to the people that helped me be who I am today. Thank you, to my gang, who was with me every step of the way. Helping me study all of those late nights, pushing me to be the best version of myself, even though I was a bit of a wacko at times," Several laughs come from the crowd, "I'm grateful you stayed by my side."

"To my mother, my number one supporter since day one. The one who helped me with late night projects, also pushing me to be the best me, and the one who constantly reminded me of things when I didn't. I wouldn't be here without her." I see my mom wave and blow a kiss at me.

"To my teachers, the ones who gave me information and turned it into something great. The ones who would stay up all night just to make sure their students have everything they need, the ones who deal with us all day and they still have patience."

"And finally, to this special person in my life." In the corner of my eye, I look for Aaron again, who's looking right at me. "This person.... my Irene, you don't know how much I appreciate them. They were my very own personal cheerleader, the one who would spend their weekends helping me, even if they disliked it. This person has done some pretty charitable things that I never got to say thank you. Thank you for helping me, thank you for spending all of that time with me when you had other things to do, thank you for being someone I could rely on. Most importantly, thank you for being someone who I can trust." This time, I look at Aaron right in the face and see him smile bright.

"Phoenix Drop high school, Class of 2019, promise me something. As Phoenixs, believe in yourself. Be your best self. Be you. Thank you." I step away from the microphone and the crowds applauds loudly. Almost everyone gets on their feet and some even start yelling.

I walk off stage and sit back in my sit next to Travis. "You did great." He pats me on the back.

"Thanks... not alone buddy."

~~~

"You were amazing out there! Congratulations, mi hija" My mom hugs me tightly.

"Thanks mom." I say, hugging her back. She lets go of me when Zianna comes over.

"You did absolutely wonderful, sweetheart." Zianna congratulates and hands me an envelope.

"What's this?" I start to open the envelop and I see what's inside.

A fricking grant that could pay for college. I look up and Zianna and hug the living daylights out of her. Garroth, Zane, and Vlyad laugh, joining in on the hug.

"Where did you even get this kind of money from?" I ask her.

She puts a finger over his lips, "It's a secret."

"Zianna, how the hell are we supposed to pay you back." My mom asks.

"Slyvana, don't even mention it. Aphmau's worked hard for this and she deserves every penny. Now come on, boys. We gotta hit the road soon."

"I'll see you guys this summer." I wave and they wave back, following Zianna and Garte. Katelyn and Kawaii~Chan tackle me.

"Aphmau~Senpai did it!" Kawaii~Chan cheers.

"I didn't think you would write a speech that good." Katelyn admits.

"I meant every word of it. Thank you guys." I respond and they hug me again.

"Also, Aaron wants to see you in the east hallway." Katelyn points to the door to the east wing.

"What for?" Katelyn and Kawaii~Chan shrug.

"Alright, I'll see you guys at my place later."

~~~

I walk into the hall to see Aaron holding a bouquet and casa Blanca and he's looking at the trophy case. "Hey." I interrupt his thoughts.

"Congratulations." He holds the flowers towards me and I take them.

"Thank you." I hug him and he hugs me back. I pull away and look at the trophy case.

"This has been a hell of four years, hasn't it, FC?"

"It sure had, Shu. But I'm glad I got to meet you." We start walking up the hallway and looking at the classrooms.

"Remember in werewolf class where you and Batlo starting fighting and you literally threw him out the window?" I laugh.

"Oh yeah, that was great! Hey, you didn't even know what the hell was going on in class. How did you make valedictorian?" Little does Aaron know.... Purplla just thought it was a smart idea.

"Hey, I'm not stupid!" I punch him in the arm. He starts laughing at me. "What are you laughing at?" I start laughing with him.

We kept walking down the hallways of Phoenix Drop High for the last time while making jokes and remembering old fun memories. When we made it to the music room, I stop.

"Aaron, remember prom?" I gasp and I start walking into the room. It looks exactly the same from four years ago.

Aaron walks into the closet room and gestures me to come over, "Remember this?" He points to our names carved into the wall.

"Oh yeah, we were dancing and then we came in and carved our names. We were idiots back then." Aaron holds his hand out to me.

"May I?" He offers.

"You shall." I give him my hand and he pulls me out of the closet and towards the same spot we danced four years ago. Before we begin, I take my graduate robe off and toss it somewhere on a bench.

"Are you still a terrible dancer?" I joke as he puts one hand on my waist and he holds my hand the other one.

"Pft you can't say a word, potato." I out my free hand on his shoulder and roll my eyes at him. "You were crying because I was going to college that year."

"Leave me alone, you were my best friend! Of course I was going to cry!" He pulls my body against his as we sway.

"You were mainly crying because you had no one to help you with your werewolf homework the next year." He assumes.

"I- Fine, I won't argue."

He dips me then brings me back up. "Hey, can I tell you something?" He asks.

"Go ahead. I'm all ears." We stop dancing and he holds both of my hands.

"We've been friends for a long time. Longer than we even knew at first. What I'm coming at is thank you for being there for me." He starts off.

"Hey, I'm the one who should be saying thank you. You've helped me through hell, I wouldn't be who I am today if you were there to help."

"You may be thanking me for my help, but I'm thanking you for also being my number one supporter. No matter what everyone said, you stuck there with me through hell and back." He purse his lips, "So what I'm really trying to say is that you're a really important person in my life- and we've been thought so much- and I couldn't imagine anyone else to finish this with-"

"Aaron, what are you trying to tell me?"

"Aphmau, you've been someone very important to me these past few years and I don't want to lose you. I'm- you- look Aph-"

"Should we go get you some water?" I offer but he shakes his head.

"Aphmau, I want to be with you." He spits out. I gasp and let him continue. "I know I said that I wasn't ready to get into a relationship a while back, but there's not a night I don't think about you."

"Aaron-"

"And before you reject me, I have thought of every possible thing that can get in the way." He pulls out a folded list off his tux blazer. "First, our age gap is the reason we weren't already together. We're both in college, that gives us a little freedom."

"Second, Garroth and Laurence. I had a little talk with them, and they are on board if we do get together."

"Third, your mom. Me and your mom are finally on a good page, let's take this opportunity before it's too late."

"Fourth, your studies. We were make time in between our classes and after class and after our studying is done."

"Fifth, your heart was just broken and I understand if you aren't ready. But I'm willing to wait for you, because Aph, you're worth every second."

I've dreamed of this moment for such a long time, but I didn't think it'd be so soon.

"And I'll respect your answer no matter what it is-" I interrupt him by pulling him into a short kiss.

"I'm aware of the risks, but like I said before, I have to believe in myself. Believing that I can be who I want to be, what I want to do with my life, how I handle real world situations starts with believing in myself." I recite a part of my speech.

"And we're young and we need to take advantage of our time because it doesn't last forever. Aaron, I've liked you before and I still like you to this day. I want to be with you too."

"Aph." He cups my cheeks and pulls me in for another kiss. I smile and then kiss him back, wrapping my arms around his torso. He pulls away and rubs his thumbs over my cheeks.

"If this is a dream, I'm going to end my life." I whisper. He starts laughing and intertwines his fingers into one of my hands and his other hand rests on my waist.

"I don't believe we were finished." There we were. Two young idiots in love, dancing under the place where this all began. The same spot I fell in love with this man.

•○●A Purplla Publish●○•

Until next time,

~Purplla 💜