Two hours later, I finally finish talking to the last reporter; they had so many questions that I was actually happy to answer. I walk through the cafeteria doors and into the hallway. My parents are in the car waiting for me. Ryder is leaning against the wall. "I thought you left," I say to him as I walk up.

"I wanted to wait for you," he says.

"Oh," I wrap my arm through his, and we walk down the hall together. "Wasn't that amazing?" I gloat. "I did it; I really did it. I can't believe it," Never did I think what happened would happen. I couldn't have done it if it wasn't for Jessica amping me up the whole time; I wonder where she at; she hasn't appeared once since the verdict. "This day has just been amazing," dare I say, the best day of my life.

He stops walking and turns me to him. "You're amazing. You never fail to amaze me; every day, there is something new that makes me love you even more than I did before,"

A stupid giggle comes out of my mouth at his words. He leans down and kisses me. Maybe I could do this, like seriously do it. I finally feel like we can be together; everything has just fallen perfectly into place for us.

I ask him if he has seen my parents, he tells me that my parents left because he told them that I said I was going to ride with him, which of course, was a lie. "Do you want to go home?" he asks me.

"No,"

"Where do you want to go?"

I lift my shoulders in the air and say "IHop" in the smoothest, sweetest way.

He rolls his eyes and says, "Of course you do,"

We get into the car and drive off.

...

"Okay, so you're gonna help me with my finals tests, right?" He asks before I get out of the car.

"Yes, I'm not giving you the answers, though,"

"I didn't ask you for the answers,"

I laugh and say, "But I know you were going to,"

"I wasn't,"

"Mhm, I'll see you tomorrow," I try to get out of the car again, but he grabs me, stopping me from leaving, and pulls me onto his lap, "Ryder, I have to go," It's ten o'clock; my dad told me to be back by nine were a whole hour late.

After eating at IHop, we went to the movies and then the mall because I may or may not have thrown nachos at him when he tickled me.

"What's five more minutes?" he says in my ear.

"I guess you're right; I need five more minutes to look at you in this shirt," I laugh, and he frowns. He needed a new shirt because I ruined his other one. He refused to pay for it, he said I was the one who messed up the first one, so it's only right I buy him a new one. After arguing in the store for twenty minutes, we agreed on me buying him a shirt as long as it was a shirt I chose. So he went back to the car while I picked him out something. I took the hilarious opportunity that was presented before me and picked up a pink my little pony pink T-shirt.

He went through a range of emotions when I showed up at the car with it; first, he laughed when I pulled it out of the bag, then he laughed while refusing still to wear it, then he got extremely angry at me for buying it for me, and again refused to wear the shirt; eventually, he gave in to my request and put it on.

"I want to remember this moment forever," I pull out my phone and then go to the camera, "Smile," I hit the button before he has time to take it out of my hand. "Wow, look at that, now I own you," I show him the picture. I will always remind him of this picture I have any time he wants to not do what I say. "This will look so good in a frame,"

"In our apartment," he says.

I can't pretend I didn't hear him; I'm literally on his lap. I place my phone into the cup holder and look at him. It's so hard to say no to those green eyes, "We can't live together, Ryder,"

"Why not?"

"Because you're irritating,"

"And you're not?"

"I am, and that's why we can't live together; all you're going to do is get on my nerves and vice versa," Us together every day, I don't know if I can handle it.

"So, are we just going to live on campus?"

"It'll be fine; our schools are like twenty minutes away from each other,"

"Jayda," he places his hand on my hips sides, "You don't like people, I don't like people, we can't live on campus with random ass roommates,"

He's right; it's not that I don't like people; I just don't like meeting new people. What if I get a crazy roommate? I have heard some crazy stories.

"Live with me,"

"I can't; we can't. We're teenagers! We can't get an apartment and live together; I can't play house with you," That's what it would be; us playing house, like the sims—one of my favorite games.

Us living together will be like an experiment. I don't want to experiment with our relationship.

"If things go bad, you could always leave, or I'll leave," he offers. "I want to live with you,"

"I'm scared," I'm scared of this and commitment, not that I'm not loyal or anything; there's no one in this world for me but him. Still, I'm fearful about what us living together will bring out about him and me.

"I'm scared too," he admits.

"You are?"

"Yes, you're crazy as hell; what if you kill me in my sleep or something,"

"Ryder!" I hit his arm, and he laughs.

"I'm just kidding," he says, smiling. "Not about being scared, I meant that; but towards me, I don't want to mess this up,"

"You won't,"

He takes a deep breath, "I won't force you to live with me if you d-"

"I want to," I blurt out, meaning what I said. "I want to live with you," I can't be scared, I have to go after everything I want, and I want this, I want us.

"You do? You're sure,"

"Separate were ordinary; together we are extraordinary,"

A smile plays at his and my mouth; I lean in and kiss him; it's no secret that Ryder and I are better together; he is no doubt my better half.

We tell each other goodbye, and he pulls off as I walk into my house, soon as I walk in, the lights flick on. "Well, well,"

I catch my breath once I realize it is just Blair and not my parents. "You scared the crap out of me," I throw my keys in the bowl and then walk into the living room where she's at.

"Where were you?"

"Out!" I smile.

"I can't believe you spent the whole day with him and just forgot about me,"

"We still have a week," Graduation isn't until next Friday.

"Mhm, anyway, congratulations, I saw the whole thing on TV; you kicked ass; I guess it's a good thing I didn't come, I would've smacked the shit out of that old man and that lawyer for disrespecting you like that,"

I laugh; she's always trying to hit someone. I don't doubt that she wouldn't have done it if she was there.

"But of course, leave it to you to handle it like a queen,"

I tell her I was nervous as hell; she tells me she wouldn't have guessed and that I seemed very confident and smart. We sit on the couch, and she asks me what is going to happen with Ryder's family now. I tell her what Ryder told me. He said that some of his father's clients backed out of deals, and his dad's realtor company lost a whole bunch of money, and also that Josiah fired Jacob, whom I didn't know worked for him, so Jacob left and is going to be doing God knows what. I don't think anyone will hire him after this.

Blair tells me how I'm like a celebrity now and that Emily, her girlfriend, said that I am on headlines everywhere in new york. This all feels so unreal right now.

"He wants you to move in with him?!"

Now we're talking about this. "Mhm,"

"And you're doing it? You're going to live with him? You and him in LA?"

"Yes, yes, and yes," I literally just said I was.

"Wow, you too just skipped like five steps and went straight to living together,"

I don't think we have to go through all those steps. It feels like Ryder and I have been together forever, even though it's been a week, and we are not even official, really. "Well, we will have time to do those steps over the summer,"

"I thought you said he was going to football camp at UCLA,"

"Well, he is planning on only going a week or two and then coming back," That's what we discussed at IHop; he wants to spend the whole summer with me. I take that in for a moment, an entire summer together; Ryder and I, experiencing the summer love period you only read about in books.

And then we are going to be living together, in LA, just him and I starting a new life together. Butterflies flutter within me.

"Well, I'm happy for you; if your happy, I'm happy,"

"Me too," Jess appears, sitting beside me and smiling.

My phone rings in my lap; it's a random number.

I swipe right and answer. "Hello,"

"Hi, is this Jayda King?" It's a man's voice, an unfamiliar voice.

"Yeah," I say slowly.

"Hello, I'm Owen Jones, Department Head of the school of Journalism here at Columbia University; I am calling you because you have been the talk of our Journalism School in the past few weeks, we've been following your story, a friend of mine Ivy Parker also sent over the info you sent her regarding AJ Crawford,"

"She did?" I should have told her to keep it to herself, or just sent it from some random email not linked to me.

"Yes, she did, and to be so young and not have any experience in reporting and journalism, you did phenomenal, the best I've seen in my twenty years of teaching,"

"Oh, thank you, it wasn't all me; my friend Jessica helped too,"

"Oh yes, I'm sorry for your loss,"

"Thanks,"

"Anyways, I'm calling you because though our school is full now, we are willing to offer you a spot here at Columbia,"

"What?"

"I know, I know," he says. "It's pretty late, and enrollment is over, but I talked to student services and the board, and they are willing to make an exception for you; you will no doubt be a great asset to the school,"

"I don't know what to say," I'm speechless; Columbia wants me to come to their school.

"Have already committed to another college?"

I forgot about that. "Yeah, I Uhm I'm supposed to be going to Cal State Los Angeles,"

"Oh," he says in a tone that tells me that that school holds no weight. Of course, it doesn't, that school doesn't even compare to Columbia, "Well uh-"

"Can I think about it?" I can't answer him now; I need to think about it for myself and talk to my parents and, crap, Ryder.

"Sure, sure, I can only give you to Sunday though; we need to know soon so I can arrange everything,"

"Okay, Sunday got it,"

"Alright, well, I look forward to speaking with you soon," the phone hangs up, and Blair asks who it was. I sit back on the couch and tell her everything.

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