(4 years later)
"We're so proud of you, Eleniel!" My mother and father both exclaimed. Evan stifled a laugh at my side, but he hadn't stopped smiling all day. When asked why, he replied, "Because I have such a smart girlfriend," but would then laugh his head off again.
He had graduated high school last year, and I guess I couldn't stop smiling either.
He jokes we're gonna be a stereotype couple, and honestly that kind of scares me.
However, each day is a new surprise because of any of my friends.
Mia stuck to her word and to this day my tightest circle is with her and Evan. We have accumulated other people in our group over the years, but these to are closest to me.
Mia found me afterwards and yelled "Pictures!" I groaned but followed her as we spent the next half-hour in pictures with various people.
After the pictures, I went to hang around my family some more. Once I got there, I found Evan by my parents.
"I'm glad you stayed," he whispered. Years ago, I would've thought that he was lying, that I would never find people who liked me again. However, now, I'm in a position where I would never imagine. My two amazing friends on either side of me, my parents across from me, and my twin siblings, just going into middle school. The looked up at me and I felt like there was sun in their eyes. Or maybe my face was just reflecting in their eyes.
As I looked around at my classmates passing by, I realized I was no longer invisible. They knew me. I knew them. And now everyone was leaving.
My eyes were starting to feel a bit wet, and as I looked over at Mia it looked like she was crying too.
Suddenly, there was a tap on my back. "Eleniel? Could I get a picture with you?" a voice asked.
I turned around, and tried to hide my surprise as I saw who stood there. It was Daya, hair back in the same way as the day I had met her.
"Sure!" I said, my voice holding me up even when I thought it wouldn't come out.
After we took the pic, she gave me a hug.
"Thank you," I said. "For being there on the first day."
And then I remembered, that even though my relationships with other people are built on past lies and past hopes, who was there and who wasn't, I can still remember there was truth in the names.