Sapphires and Emeralds

Epilogue: Happily Ever After

It was autumn now, and winter was close, so the once green grounds were fading. The trees sported yellow leaves and the weak sunlight shivered through the spaces between them. It created weird patterns on the ground, patterns that mesmerised me as I walked along the cobblestone path. My shoulders were aching like hell. I guessed it had something to do with the heavy bag draped across them. Sighing, I glanced at the trees. I felt a small smile grace my face.

Like it had always been, Aaron was not far from my thoughts. It was nearly one and a half years ago that Aaron and I had kissed on the basketball court and I was now in my sophomore year of college. Things hadn’t changed much. Sure, we’d all grown and we’d all split, but there were some things that just wouldn’t change.

The rest of senior year had gone like a charm. The Pride had been honoured with an entire shelf for themselves in our school’s trophy room. Thanks to them, we’d kept an undefeated four seasons of basketball and football. The play had gone like a charm and people said that the two lead characters’ chemistry was almost palpable. Ms. Duberry was thrilled. Then, at Prom, Aaron had gotten Prom King and Ette Prom Queen. He chewed her out on the dance floor when she tried feeling him up.

Graduation had been brilliant. I’d been so ecstatic to wear my gown and collect my diploma and make my valedictorian speech. Thanks to my friends, I managed to inject just the right amount of humour into it. And then, we’d split. It had come as a shock to all of us that we no longer just saw the guys as ‘the Pride’. We were all the Pride, the guys, Alex, Cammie and me. It had hurt so badly to see everyone board different flights. We’d all left Castlegate on the same day, at differing times. First we’d seen the Cammie off, then Will, Alex, Aaron and at last, both Tristan and I.

In the end, Benji had decided that NYU was the best option for him, Alex was in Cornell, Cammie in Atlanta. Will was at Yale, Tristan at Harvard with me. Aaron had applied to Harvard, Yale and Princeton. He’d gotten into all three and decided that he preferred to go to Princeton. I had made the decision to go my own way.

I hadn’t seen Cammie in six months, since Georgia was so far from Massachusetts. Alex and Will I saw more frequently because of my family link to them and since Benji and Alex were about four hours from each other, I had seen him recently too. And even though I saw Aaron a lot, I could never see him enough. Over the rest of June and through the summer, Aaron had taken to sleeping in my bed every night and I had gotten used to seeing his face first thing in the morning. Not seeing him every morning had taken some getting used to. Tristan was the only one I still saw everyday seeing as how we’d gotten an apartment off campus together.

But I had been right all those years ago when I’d thought that the Pride would never change. It was the only constant in a world of change.

College was a lot more exhausting than I had thought it would be. I had decided to major in Psychology and the course was so killing that I was often up until one in the night, having to wake up again the next morning at five.

Life would've been so much easier for me if Aaron hadn’t gotten me into the habit of running. I still remembered questioning him about how he maintained his awesome physique in the three months between the end of basketball season and the advent of football season. He told me that he ran five miles everyday. I’d shown undue interest in it and three days later, Aaron had woken me up at five in the morning to go running with him.

The first day, we’d done only one mile and I’d still nearly collapsed. We’d progressed to greater distances over the summer and by the end of it, my internal clock had been set. I used to wake up every morning at five and meet Aaron. The two of us would go for a silent jog together, feet pounding to the rhythm of whatever song happened to be playing in our respective iPods. Eventually, I found that if Aaron slowed down a little, I was able to keep up with him stamina wise. I was well aware that he was reining in his true ability though.

Even though I woke up at five every morning, it was worse for Tristan because he was doing a medical course. And he had Julian to take care of too. I was glad that he had friends like us around though. It had been difficult for Tristan. In the summer, Rose had declared that she still wanted to put Julian up for adoption. Having been so attached to his son, Tristan had been heartbroken. Aaron hadn’t been one to stand by idly and let anyone treat Tristan that way. He had ensured that Tristan got full custody of Julian.

And sure, there had been a lot of late night crying, cancelling of dates, sickness, exhaustion, depression and moments when we’d all wished that Julian had never happened. But then Julian would just shoot us a toothless smile and we’d all be goners again. It hadn’t taken us long to realise that without all the negatives, we wouldn’t have seen Julian walk for the first time or hear his first word– which was, unsurprisingly, ‘Dada’. And Tristan had always had friends to help him through everything.

It had come as a surprise to no one when Julian had taken to calling me ‘Momma’. If there was one person who saw Julian as frequently as Tristan did, it was me. I had babysat the kid so many times that I became someone he saw everyday. Tristan had asked me whether I would mind if Julian called me his mother and even though Tristan and I had never gotten back together, I had been delighted. Because it made perfect sense. Sure, a time would come when we’d have to explain to Julian that I wasn’t really his mother– biologically or in name. But I knew Julian and I knew he’d understand. He was a smart kid.

To my surprise, it had been Cammie who had gotten angrier at the development than Aaron. In fact, Aaron had only been furious for a moment before I rationally explained it to him. He’d seen the sense and it didn’t bother him. It had taken the combined efforts of Aaron, Tristan, Alex and me to convince Cammie that I really wasn’t planning to move in on Tristan.

It had been difficult for Tristan and me, because we felt like a young, struggling couple with a baby. Tristan and I both worked part time– him at a restaurant nearby and me at Julian’s day-care centre. With that income, plus money we earned from occasional tutoring, we managed to make rent every month. Our parents had contributed to buy the three-bedroom apartment in our freshman year, because they had wanted us to have a decent place to live for four years. Every month, we paid them back and we called that rent.

“Hey, Emee!” A voice yelled from behind me. I was snapped out of my memory and I turned to see Tristan jogging towards me. Julian was in his arms, squealing excitedly as Tristan bounced him along. Tristan skidded to a stop beside me, panting for breath. He hadn’t changed one bit, except to grow a bit lankier and just a tiny bit taller. His black hair was still the same, albeit a little shorter and his grey eyes still twinkled. He still had his killer pout.

An affectionate smile tugged at my lips when Julian declared, “Dad! Again!”

Tristan rolled his eyes at his son. “Later, I promise.” He said. I silently took Julian from Tristan’s arms and cradled his small body close to mine. Julian was a bit of a tiny kid for his age, considering that Rose had been so young herself when she’d had him. My prediction had turned out to be right– Julian was the spitting image of Tristan and if I hadn’t been there the night he’d come out of Rose, I would've thought that he didn’t have a mother. There was no sign of her in him.

“Momma!” Julian declared in a watery tone of voice and I knew he’d been calling me for a few moments. I was jolted out of my reverie.

“Yeah, baby?” I asked him, hoisting him a little more securely in my arms. Tristan slipped my bag from my shoulder and onto his own.

“Daddy said–” And Julian was off. As much as I loved the kid, I found myself tuning out again.

“Emee.” Tristan said softly. I turned my head to look at him and found him gazing at me with slight concern. “You okay?”

I smiled a wearily. “I’m fine.” I said, truthfully. “Just a little tired.”

“Just a little longer.” Tristan said with an excited smile. He glanced at his watch. “Few hours, give or take.” We were on our way to the airport.

I nodded at him and Julian burst into curious questions. “What?” He demanded. “What?”

Tristan began explaining to Julian what was happening in a few hours. After that, Tristan was forced to explain exactly what Thanksgiving was. I felt a wry smile cross my face. Julian never got tired of questions, or being carried. He could walk, but he was such a lazy boy, that he often liked people to pick him up.

I’d already checked whether everyone had everything packed and ready to go. So we were set. It was a harrying plane ride, thanks to Julian. Even though the three of us travelled on a plane no less than four times a year– often more– Julian had never gotten used to the moments that he was strapped into the seat for. I suspected he never would.

Julian squirmed in his seat, pulling at the seatbelt repeatedly. Tristan’s repeated insistences of ‘For God’s sake, sit still.’ didn’t work because he was more amused than annoyed. Once we’d landed, struggled from the plane and collected our baggage, we headed for the airport exit.

“What’s the plan of action?” I questioned, hoisting Julian more securely into my arms. Tristan balanced our bags.

“Aaron’s house.” Tristan said, as we began our walk. Since the place was still so small, it wasn’t much of a chore. “A few of them should be there by now.” It was already snowing in town, but just a light flaky kind. It reminded me of that first snow three years ago, when Aaron had first kissed me.

There was an unbeatable smile on my face, as I watched Tristan pull Julian’s arms through a jacket before donning one himself. And carting our three bags of luggage, we made for the house waiting for us. The walk was refreshing, gratifying. By the time we made it to the front door, it was getting dark outside and I knew that my cheeks were pink from the cold, my smile was bright and my eyes were sparkling.

Tristan raised a hand to knock on the door. I took my bag, stepped back and smiled, knowing what was coming. Not even a moment latter, the front door was flung open and Cammie threw herself into Tristan’s arms. He was ready for her and caught her effortlessly, raining kisses down on her face. He buried his face in her brown head. She hadn’t changed much, still sporting the athletic body and dancing brown eyes.

After a few moments, they broke away. Cammie’s eyes were sparkling as she turned to me. “Hey, Emee.” She declared.

“Hey, Cam.” I replied. I let my hand brush against her back in greeting. We exchanged pleasantries for a few seconds while Cammie took Julian from me and bounced him around. Eventually, Cammie and Tristan disappeared to have a moment to get reacquainted and Julian ran away, clearly to look for someone else to pick him up.

I shut the door and dropped my bags to the floor. It was followed by my coat and other unnecessary clothing items. I decided to head for the kitchen. I’d barely made it two steps when the door was thrown open. “Honey, I’m home!” A voice sang. I couldn’t help the squeal I let out and the grin that crossed my face as I whirled around. “He-llo, sexy.” Alex said to me, eyes lighting up when he caught sight of me.

He didn’t waste a moment before swinging me into his arms and kissing the corner of my mouth. “Alex!” I replied, wrapping my arms around him and squeezing him tight. There was something extremely infectious about him. His rather trademark smirk was plastered across his lips. His blonde hair was as short as ever, spiked straight, with only a single lock falling into the familiar blue eyes.

He set me down and dropped his bag to the floor, removing the layers of clothing. “When did you get here?” He questioned me, unravelling his scarf.

“Like ten seconds ago.” I said, grinning. “And before you ask, yes, Cammie and Trist are already getting it on.”

A wry look crossed Alex’s face. “Why do I get the feeling they believe partners come before best friends?”

“Because they do.” I said. I hooked my arm with his. “Settled down yet?” I asked mock seriously.

That charming smirk only grew. “Of course not.” He scoffed. “There are too many single, beautiful women in the world for me to just choose one and settle down. I don’t have it in me to deprive them of all my sexiness.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “You’re almost twenty.” I told him. “At least learn to keep a girlfriend longer than a week.”

Alex indignantly glared at me. “My last one lasted a month.” He haughtily said. His mock righteous anger dissolved into his cocky exterior. “Then I discovered that I could do better.”

I shook my head at him. “You’re incorrigible, Alexander Sparks.”

“And you sound like my mother.” Alex said with a roll of his eyes. “Excuse me, I have to pee.” And with that crass declaration, Alex bounded away. I wasn’t fooled. I knew that he was going to go interrupt Cammie and Tristan, just for the hell of it.

I smiled at his back and moved further into the house. I felt my grin grow a little because of what I knew was coming. Not even a moment later, I was seized around my waist by a pair of strong arms and hefted into the air. Benji rapidly twirled me around before letting me down and hugging me tightly. He buried his head in the crook of my neck and I heard him sigh. “Hey.” He said.

I adoringly ruffled his vibrant red hair. “Hey, loverboy.” I retorted. “How you been holding up? Still single and sleeping your way through the entire population of New York?”

Benji lifted his head and winked at me. His stormy grey eyes showcased mischief. “No.” He refuted. “Still single and sleeping my way through the entire female population of New York.” I laughed at that. Benji smiled at me and it looked a little strained. “Will was looking for you.” He quietly said.

I nodded in understanding. “I’ll find him.” I agreed. I always did. “Alex was behind me, though. So you can catch up with him.” Benji nodded and let go of me. I moved into the kitchen of the large house. Will was by the coffee machine, waiting for a hot cup. My voice was quiet when I said, “Hey, Willie.”

He didn’t jump, clearly having sensed my presence. “Hey, Emme.” He replied. “I’ll be with you in a second.” I nodded and stood, shifting from foot to foot.

Yi Ming and Will had broken up a while back but he still hadn’t gotten over it. Ette and she had gone to France to study. It had been Yi Ming who had called the whole thing off, clearly having found someone there. If there was ever a moment that I’d regretted not having accepted Yale’s offer, it had been then. I had been back in school and tried to frequent Yale as much as possible. But Will had still been undeniably alone.

When he turned to face me, his face was drawn. He wasn’t pale or sickly looking, just tired. His black hair was hanging limply into his eyes and wasn’t much of a contrast against his skin. Said brown eyes looked listless and dull. He had bags and dark circles under them too. And after knowing what he looked like, he had the audacity to frown at me and say, “You look tired. Have you been eating properly? Sleeping?”

“You’re one to talk.” I scoffed. “You look worse than me and don’t try to deny it.” Will shrugged in answer and my face softened. I moved forward to hug him and held him. “How are you?” I asked him, voice muffled against his neck. “And if you lie, I’ll kill you.”

Will let out a hoarse chuckle. “Could be better.” He admitted. “But hey, I’ve realised that it wasn’t meant to last, you know? I mean, we were fourteen when we met. What were the odds of us every sticking together forever? We were meant to end and I’m glad it’s now when we’re still in college so that I didn’t waste any more time on her. At least this way, I can still pick up hot college girls.”

I smiled at that. “True enough.” I quietly said. “And you have three and a half years, so worry not.” Will’s arms finally wrapped around me and we held onto each other for a few moments, gently rocking back and forth. “I missed this.”

“Me too.” Will agreed. He was silent for a few more moments before saying, “He’s waiting for you. In his room.”

“I know.” I said, really having known it all along. I had just needed Will to remind me and prompt the memory. I broke away from Will and gave him a smile before heading for the bedroom in which it had all begun– more or less.

As I neared the room, I heard voices from inside. Upon pushing open the door, I discovered Aaron sitting on his bed with Julian in his lap. The former was tickling the kid and laughing along to his giggles. “Do you want me to stop?” He was teasing. “Do you really, really want me to stop?”

“Y– yes!” Julian stuttered through his giggles. Aaron’s fingers didn’t relent and I knew that Julian didn’t want him to. I leaned against the doorframe, watching the scene. It was oddly beautiful watching the two interact. I had always loved it. As though sensing my gaze on him, Aaron raised his head. Sapphires clashed with emeralds and a wave of comfort washed over me. “Why stop?” Julian indignantly demanded of Aaron when the latter’s fingers stilled.

Aaron’s eyes didn’t move from mine and my breath hitched at the intensity of his gaze. I couldn’t swallow– it was too painful– my throat was too dry. “Go find your daddy, Julian.” Aaron quietly said. “I have to talk to Emee.”

Julian sighed but slipped off the bed in a clumsy movement and headed for the door. I broke our interlocked gazes to send Julian a small smile. When I turned back to face the bed, I saw Aaron standing in front of me, a lot closer than he had been before. In one swift movement, he’d shut the door behind me and had locked it securely. I felt myself shiver at his proximity. He didn’t smile.

His hand rose to cup my cheek. My eyes fluttered shut and I leaned into his touch. His hands were as rough as ever, but still gentle in their actions. He seemed to have gained a lot more calluses since the last time. My eyes opened when I felt him lean his forehead against mine. I met his eyes and our breaths mingled. I inhaled the heady scent of him. He hadn’t stopped using his bike, or smoking, so the two odours hung around him. The aftershave and cinnamon and soap were a lot more potent. His thumb was lightly stroking my cheek.

I remembered how afraid I’d been before graduation about our high school tenure ending. And it had been for almost no reason. Aaron and I hadn’t broken up. We’d stuck together against the odds and maybe we’d even last longer than Ette and him and Benji and me. Would we stay together forever? I certainly liked to believe so, maybe even hoped so. I loved him with all my heart, and I could imagine spending the rest of my life with him. Sure, we went to different schools and it got to be pretty difficult, but we managed. And if we could survive these four years, I knew we’d be able to survive the real world too.

“I missed you.” He breathed, voice washing over me like heat from a fire and jolting me out of my memories. The deep and husky quality to his voice made me shudder as a tingle shot up my spine.

“I missed you too.” I replied, leaning in to let our lips touch.

And just like every time we kissed, a spark leapt between our joined lips. He kissed better than I remembered, being gentle and forceful at the same time. His hand was still cupping my face and the other one joined it. My hands wound themselves in his hair as he deepened the kiss and I leaned into it. Pleasant, familiar sensations washed over me, overwhelming love being the most predominant. I hung onto him, surprised at how his kisses could still make me dizzy.

When we broke apart, my breath was coming in pants and his was only just a little less erratic. “I love you so much.” I told him, needing to say it, needing to remind him, needing him to remember.

His hands held my face more securely and his eyes were sincere and his voice hoarse when he said, “I love you too, Em, more than anyone can ever guess.” And he pulled me in for another kiss.

A few moments later, we broke apart. Aaron grinned at me and I smiled back at him goofily. “How’s Princeton been treating my Prince Charming?” I asked, allowing him to pull me into a hug. “And how is that noble steed of yours?”

Aaron rolled his eyes affably. “Your Prince Charming is perfectly fine.” He said, leaning back and dropping a kiss on my forehead. “And his bike’s still in mint condition.”

Our moment was interrupted by a knock on the door. “Break it up, break it up!” Alex’s voice called to his brother. “It’s already nine, so we’re starting a fire and our annual discussion on how much our lives have progressed. Front and centre, now. Aaron, stop making out with your girlfriend.”

“You’re just jealous.” Aaron retorted to his brother. He unlocked the door and swung it open, sticking his tongue out. Within moments, Alex had wrenched Aaron away from me and had his brother in a tight headlock. “Argh!” Aaron cried. “Get off!”

I had to smile. Time had made sure that the boys were buddy-buddy and no matter how many times I saw evidence of it, it would always warm me. After all, I could remember a time when the boys never used to speak to each other. “Break it up, boys.” I chided, as I headed for where Aaron had already unpacked. I dug around and found some nice clothes to wear.

Fifteen minutes later, we were all in the sitting room. There was a roaring fire going– our only source of heat and light. The two couples were snuggling up together, while Benji and Alex copied our movements, exaggeratedly. Will was playing with Julian, keeping him entertained.

I was curled up against Aaron, in a pair of his black pyjama bottoms– that he never wore– and his Princeton sweatshirt. He was equally warm in a pair of jeans and another sweatshirt. I was struck by a pretty big revelation as Aaron pulled me closer to his side and moulded us against each other.

There was no idyllic happily ever after. But there was a happily ever after. I knew that life would always throw shockers at me. Happily ever after was dealing with those curveballs. I knew I’d get through it all. I’d survive. As long as I was together with Aaron, I had my friends and I could take life’s surprises, I was going to be okay. That was happily ever after. That was what life was about.

“Hey.” Aaron softly said to me. I raised my head to look at him and found him smirking down at me. I loved that smirk. The play of firelight just made it look all the better “Anything changed over the last two months?” I smiled up at him, knowing he was asking about the status of our relationship. We’d survived a boatload of shit, but we still had a long way to go. But I knew we’d make it.

“Nope.” I truthfully replied, tucking my head under his chin and listening to his slow rhythmic breathing and the steady beat of his heart. “You’re still as sexy as ever.”

Aaron chuckled at that, and his chest vibrated under the movement. “That I am.” He cockily agreed in a whisper. “And you’re not so bad yourself.” Then he kissed me, but it wasn’t important. Because I’d just found the perfect way to end my story.

And they lived happily ever after.

A/N: Oh my God. I can't believe my baby’s over. I can't believe I’m done. Thank you so much for your relentless support and feedback. Honestly, it’s the only thing that gave me enough courage to continue posting this. I hope you’ve liked this, thanks for sticking with me on my incredible journey!

That said, I think that S&E requires a lot more tweaking. Therefore, if you can give me suggestions, I'd be grateful. Anything goes– things that didn't fit, that you would've liked to see more, that you didn't understand. Even suggestions on what you would've liked me to add to the story– scenes, one-liners, ideas. I'll listen to anything, because I'm pretty damn desperate right now. So HELP!!

For the last time, review!

-Quill