Epilogue

Patrick. It's always been Patrick. It should have always been Patrick.

I'd love to tell you that I hit Jeremy the next time I saw him. Or, at the very least, I'd love to tell you that I found out that Kayla had been cheating on him (oh, sweet irony, if that had happened!). But our paths rarely crossed and, on the rare occasion that they did, we both pretended that the other didn't exist. I was usually with Patrick anyway, and I usually got distracted by him because Patrick always wanted to hit Jeremy because of the way he treated me. However, Jeremy always had the "decency" to look chagrined if our eyes met. Years later, I heard through old friends that he was an architect at a really nice firm… and he never married. So in the end, his workaholic dreams paid off for him. Figures, right?

Ally recovered the best that she could. Can you really get over the death of someone you loved so fiercely? Kyle's death left a dark cast over her life but she tried her best to move on. We remained close… after all, she's my family.

But here, in the present, it was Friday night.

I followed Melissa up the stairs of the APD house. The brothers manning the door smiled and waved at us as we walked inside… perks of being the president and vice president's girlfriends. The music was deafening and the lighting was sparse, as usual, but I knew I'd have no problem finding Patrick as we wound our way through the party. Various APD brothers nodded to us as we passed and I had more than one pledge ask me if they could get me a beer but I waved them off. I even caught sight of Kristen and wondered who had let her in… who always let her in? Maybe she climbed in through the bathroom window or something…

Floozies glared at me as Melissa and I made our way through the crowded party. Then, finally, just like I had already guessed, I easily found Patrick.

He was in the kitchen, a red cup of beer in hand, and impossible to miss, especially since people kept ducking around him to avoid the large berth of his colorful sombrero perched jauntily on his head. As he scanned the room, he glanced at me in passing and then immediately looked again, his face lighting up. He exclaimed, "Hey!" Then he reached out for me and I saw that he wanted me, that he wanted me against him, in his arms. Patrick… my boyfriend.

"Hi!" I grinned back and then ducked under the brim of the sombrero to kiss him. He smiled against me and I smiled back as he used his free arm to hold me against him for longer than was necessary. But it was okay… after all, I'm his girlfriend.

"See," I heard Matt drawl beside us. "I knew you crazy kids could work it out."

The End

A/N: Ahh, it's finished! Thanks to all of my lovely readers for their reviews!

a smile that explodes