"I cannot believe you are graduating." My mother spoke softly as she helped me pin in my graduation cap. Both of us stood in front of the full-length mirror, as I stared back at my reflection. This was it, I was graduating high school- and I couldn't believe it. Overall I was ready to be done, my high school years being hell on earth but it was still hard to part that those years were over.

She finished pinning in the cap and I soothed out my red cotton graduation gown that was opened up, revealing the tight white dress I had that hugged my body well. My mom looked up, her eyes staring into the mirror as she placed her hands on my shoulders and allowed a smile to tug up at her lips.

I watched her begin to get teary-eyed before dropping her hands away from my shoulders and wiping the tears that pricked the surface of her pupils. Parents had a hard enough time when their kid was finally graduating, but my mom especially after missing some of the most important years of my life.

"Mom, don't cry." I offered a small smile, my heart falling for her. "Oh, what mother doesn't cry on their daughter's graduation day." She scoffed back in response.

"Aspen! Ashlynn! We are going to be late, let's go!" My dad shouted from downstairs, rushing my mother and me to make our way downstairs. I grabbed my phone off my bed and followed behind my mind, only to be blinded by my father's flash of his camera as I walked down the steps.

"Jesus dad, do you really need that bright flash?" I held my hand up to my eyes, attempting to block the flash from the camera as he rapidly shot the pictures. "It makes the quality better." My dad held the camera up to his eyes, taking one more blinding photo.

"Ready to go?" Aster took one look at me, letting out a deep breath and I nodded in response. Evangeline pulled me into a quick side hug as we walked out of the house "I'm so proud of you. You've been through a lot but at the end of the day you kept your head up.

"Thanks, Evangeline." I smiled over to her as I hopped into the back seat of Aster's truck. We all got in the truck, my parents arguing about who would sit in the front-which eventually ended up being my dad.

Aster took off, blasting the speakers of his truck as he drove down the street, heading towards Northeast for my last time. Aster sang along with the lyrics, tapping his steering wheel along with the beat.

"Aster!" My dad shouted over the music before reaching down and turning down the music "How can you even concentrate with the music that loud? No wonder you've been in three accidents-maybe if you focused more on the road than pitbull lyrics your car insurance wouldn't be so high."

"Oh, Ashton let him be." My mom rolled her eyes in response as she turned her head to look out the window. "Oh so good to be all back together." I joked sarcastically, earning a chuckle from Evangeline. I looked down at my phone to see a text appear on the phone.

Pierce: If you don't get here in the next 10 minutes I'm going to lose my shit on my mother for the non stop pictures.

I chuckled down at the text knowing how much of a fight it could be to get Pierce to take photos and I'm sure June was encouraging more pictures. Mrs. Gunner was the kind of mom to smother you in pictures, wanting to document every single second of her children's accomplishments-she'd be the type of grandma to flip through photo books every day and say "I remember when..."

Me: Omfg deal with it. She's impressed you actually graduated.

It wasn't long before we reached Northeast where the whole gang would be gathered. June, Triston, Cypress, Mars, Pierce, and I would be the ones walking today. After what happened at Prom, Finn and Mercury were banned from walking at graduation due to their little prank on me.

Finn's parents were horrified at what their son had done, they even called me the next day to apologize to me themselves. And said they were not going to press charges for bashing in his windows-which they said they understood why. On the other hand, Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan were not happy with me that I was the "reason" Mercury would not be walking next to Mars on graduation day.

Aster pulled into a parking spot and we began making our way across the parking lot where I saw the rest of the gang. June's eyes immediately met mine, her pupils lighting up with excitement as I approached them.

"Can you believe it?!" June exclaimed, taking my hands in hers "We're graduating!"

"Don't get too excited yet, maybe they're going to tell you that you failed statistics last minute," Mars added sarcastically, smirking over at June's excitement that quickly turned into disappointment.

"Or maybe they'll just say the superior twin is the only one allowed to graduate, so sorry June you're going to have to sit this one out," Pierce added with a smirk as he walked up to us, joining the conversation.

"Superior twin, my ass." June crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "What? Are you too good for a cap?" I cocked an eyebrow at Pierce, my eyes meeting his as he intertwined his hands with mine.

"I'm not putting that shit on to the very last minute." Pierce narrowed his eyes to mine before leaning in and pressing a quick kiss to my lips. I still was having a hard time believing we were finally graduating. When I had gotten to Northeast I was counting the days down to graduation and the time went by in a blink of an eye.

"Calling all seniors, please report to the auditorium." A voice spoke loudly over the speakers set up everywhere, signaling that it was time for seniors to begin lining up. June gave me a bright smile before grabbing Triston and I's hands and leading us towards the school as the guys followed shortly behind us.

"I'm so ready to be done with this hell hole." Triston let out a sigh of relief as we walked down the halls for one of our last times. The hall was crowded with students in graduation gowns as well as their families making their way to find their seats.

"Tell me about it." I agreed, my eyes scanning over the row of lockers of where I had first met Pierce after being assigned to Tour guide Mercury Sullivan- one of Northeast's most welcoming students-not.

"Oh please, we all know we had a blast here-it was a love-hate relationship." June linked her arm with mine. It was a bittersweet moment, I was excited to graduate and move onto the next chapter but I was also sad to move on at the same time.

Once we reached the auditorium, we all broke away from each other, finding our assigned seats in alphabetical order. The auditorium filled up rather quickly, all families and students separating as they all waited patiently.

Looking back for a second, my eyes landed on Pierce, whose eyes quickly glanced over to mine. His lips turned upward into a smirk, the side of his lips tugging upwards before sending me a wink. A smile broke out onto my lips, sending a wink back before turning back around in my seat.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"And this year's valedictorian, Annabelle Stevens." Our principal announced into a microphone, before pulling away as he began clapping. We all began to applaud as Annabelle made her way up on stage, a smile on her face as she walked up to our principal, shaking hands before she stood in front of the flower-covered podium.

"Hi everybody, most of you know me as Anna." She cleared her throat as she spoke loudly to everyone else "Today is a special day for all of us, as we all gather together for one last time. Many of us have known each other since kindergarten, growing up as peers, friends, and more."

Annabelle paused for a moment, adjusting her cap on her long blonde hair before beginning again "Now most valedictorians give some cheesy speech about how far we will all go in life, but today I want to keep it short and sweet. As we all began to part ways, I want you all to take a moment to appreciate each other whether it was the meanest or nicest person we knew, we have all helped each other grow into the people we are today and I think that's something we'll all hold close to our hearts."

"As today comes to an end, all of us anxiously wait for the diploma in our hands as we yell 'Hell yeah we did it. We all deserve to be proud of ourselves as we are accomplishing a goal that we have set since we were only five years old. Now we usually send awards to students personally at home, but today Principal Johnson and I wanted to applaud a certain student in here today with the privilege of receiving the first diploma."

"First I would like to welcome Pierce Gunner to the stage," Annabelle announced into the mic, leaning closer to it. I furrowed my eyebrows together, turning my head to see Pierce stand up from his seat and begin walking towards the stage.

I looked back at June, mouthing the words 'What's going on?' which she shrugged in response. Pierce certainly wasn't getting the perfect attendance war or academic excellence, so why was he being pulled up to the stage.

I watched as Pierce made his way on the stage, Annabelle stepping back from the podium so he could take his place. Pierce's gray eyes found me within the crowd, a small smirk tugging up at his smug lips. I just hoped this wasn't some scheme that would embarrass me for life.

"Today, Annabella and Principal Johnson asked me to present this award to someone very close to me. This is someone who has been through hell and back in the past couple of months but still managed to graduate at the top 5% of our grade. With the help of the community, I'm happy to announce a 10,000 dollar scholarship and the first diploma to Aspen Ambrosia. Aspen will you please come up here?"

My mouth had dropped after hearing the words, my stomach doing a flip of excitement. I slowly stood up, the entire auditorium full of people applauding me as I took a stance. I made my way out of the row next to me, beginning to walk up to the stage where I would join Pierce and Annabelle.

Just as I got on stage, Principal Johnson shook my hand and handed me my diploma. Annabelle then pulled me into a hug and whispered Congratulations to me before we broke apart. I walked over to Pierce who had handed me an envelope with the scholarship check in it.

My heart was racing in my chest, I couldn't believe it. Everyone then stood up in their seats, continuing to clap loudly as they gave me a standing ovation. My eyes darted towards the section where my family had been, my dad and Aster yelling loudly over the crowd in a proud manner.

Pierce pulled me into a hug, pressing a kiss to my forehead before breaking away from me, a smile breaking out on my face as a euphoric feeling had come over me. It was something I had never expected, I hadn't even known the community was working together in order to give me a scholarship for college.

* * * * *
"I am so proud of you!" My mom pulled me into another hug which had to be the 8th one today already "I cannot believe how well you did. Top 5%? That's insane sweetie, you have no idea how proud I am of you for coming this far."

"Thank you, mom." I gave her a small smile as I pulled out of her hug. My dad walked up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulders as he gave me a proud smile "Proud of you, Aspen Seraphina. You've grown into a very strong and intelligent woman."

"Thanks, dad."

"All the graduates, it's a mandatory tradition you all do a shot on graduation day." Xander announced, wanting us all to make our way over to the kitchen island. Xander was nice enough to throw a graduation party for all of us at his house, and all our family was invited to celebrate together.

I made my way over to the counter, standing next to Pierce as Xander poured tequila in shot for each of us. The only one not her had been Mercury, a part of me feeling guilty for running her graduation day even though she tried to ruin my prom night in the evilest way she possibly could've.

The rest of the gang and all our parents gathered around the island, Mrs. Gunner holding her phone up to us as she recorded. Pierce looked over to me, a smile tugging up at his lips before we all picked up our shot glasses, clanking the glass together.

"To family," June said loudly, for all of us to hear.

"To family." We all said back before placing the glass up to our lips. When I first joined Crestmont, I remember June saying it was a big family-in which I laughed at in disbelief. After months of being with everyone, I grew close and felt at home with everyone. June was right, we were all just a big family who had each other's backs.

I tilted my head back, downing the tequila before making a face at the bitterness, earning a chuckle from Pierce who handled it like it had been nothing. Everyone laughed, while Cypress tried to convince us all to do another round to which I quickly said no.

"Follow me," Pierce whispered into my ear, nodding his head over to the door that led to the balcony and grabbing my hand. I looked around, hoping no one would notice our disappearance.

Everyone was engrossed in their own conversations, laughing together as they enjoyed each other's presence. It was the perfect time to slip out without being seen. Pierce pulled me out to the balcony, shutting the glass door behind us.

"What's wrong?" I asked as Pierce walked up to the balcony, placing his hands on the black railing. He turned his body around to face me, leaning against the railing as he grabbed my hands to pull me closer to him.

"Just wanted to be alone with you for a bit." Pierce looked down at my hands, his finger running over the promise ring I had on from my birthday. He soon lifted his head, his gray eyes boring into mine as mine bored back into his.

"How long did you know about the scholarship?" I asked curiously, wanting to know how long Pierce had been in on the plan. I was still in shock, it was a significant amount of money that would cover my first-semester completely-which allowed me to start building up money for the second semester.

Between the apartment and tuition, I was already beginning to stress about how I was going to handle all these expenses. The scholarship was a weight lifted off my shoulder, I was so grateful to anyone who had donated the money to help push me through my first semester of college.

"Well considering I created it, just a couple of months." Pierce dropped my hands and instead placed his hands on my hips. "You created it?" I asked in disbelief, not realizing Pierce had done all of this just for me.

"Pierce Gunner, you are the most thoughtful guy I have ever met." I placed my hands flat on my chest as I looked up to myself, not fighting back the smile on my face. I couldn't help but grin, I knew Pierce loved me but he went to the greatest extent just to prove it.

"Anything for you Aspen Ambrosia." He placed his forehead to mine as our bodies stayed pressed up against each other. My heart had fluttered in my chest, not a day goes by where Pierce made me feel like the only girl in the world that mattered to him.

"Are you excited for Emerson?" I asked curiously, knowing Pierce hadn't talked about college much or at all for a matter of fact. I was nervous to stay the absolute least, I was worried about how I was going to do or if I'd be able to handle the amount of work that came with the nursing program. More than half of nursing majors drop out after the first semester, and I didn't want to resort to working at the club.

"I'm excited to be with you," Pierce stated, pulling back from me a bit and tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

"You don't think we're taking this too fast, right?" Part of me was worried Pierce and I were moving fast because in the eyes of many we were. We were young and had only been dating six months at this point which wasn't very long. I didn't know if I was worried or if it was just words of my father getting to my head. Pierce didn't answer but instead, let out a snicker.

"What?"

"Do YOU think we're moving too fast?" Pierce narrowed his eyes at me, avoiding my questions as usual. "I don't know, maybe." I shrugged, not so sure of my answer "I just don't want to lose you because we moved too fast and didn't take our time-"

I began to ramble on about my worry of us splitting up because we made decisions faster than we could handle them. I was excited about our next step, I just didn't want to become another high school relationship failure.

"Aspen." Pierce stopped me from my mid-ramble. "Let's start with forever and we'll figure it out along the way, together."

I couldn't help but grin at his words, before pulling him into a kiss. My lips brushed against his, keeping us inches apart before Pierce closed the gap between us. I closed my eyes and responded back to the kiss, placing my hands flat on his chest as I stood up straight to even out our height difference.

Pierce placed his hand over mine, squeezing it three times to say 'I love you.' I smiled against his lips but didn't break away before squeezing it back four more times to say 'I love you too'.

* * * * * *

Hi! I am sorry this chapter is so late, life kinda got crazy busy and I have been focused on writing Rebellious Ride for all of you! Which I am so excited to publish!

This is officially the last chapter of Ride Or Die. Making Ride or Die completely at 614 pages (single-spaced, size 11 font in a google doc)

What did you guys think of this chapter? Hoping you didn't forget about this book already lol.

This is only the beginning of Aspen and Pierce's journey! If you have any theories for RB or what you'd like to see happen, I'd love to hear them! They're always interesting to read.

What did you think about Pierce setting up a scholarship for Aspen?

What did you think about Aspen getting a standing ovation for everything she had gone through?

Thoughts on how Mercury's going to react to Aspen in the next book due to her being the reason she couldn't walk at graduation?

Do you think Crestmont is just a gang or a family?

Who was your favorite character and why?

Who was your favorite character and development and why?

Thoughts on Pierce and Aspen's moment?

Don't mind me now, going to go cry because this book is officially over :(

Can't wait to see you all in the next book!
~ Ash