TWENTY:

TWO SUMMERS LATER...

"I can't believe this is the last big event that we're together for!" Tonya said.

"Well I can't believe you're thinking about that at a wedding reception!" Beth said to her.

"I can't believe that Stephen and Carly got married," I said, smiling. Yes, it's absolutely true, they got married. I always thought they would too, even though I never told anyone that. I remember when they first met, and how Stephen was actually nervous around Carly. A few months after that, they started dating and even though they've only been together for a little less than two years, everyone could see that they were madly in love. I was ecstatic when Stephen told me he and Carly were getting married in the summer.

And yes, even though I'm very happy for the both of them, I'm a little sad that Tonya is right. This wedding was the last event our group was going to be together for before everyone had to pack their things for college. But it's not like it'll be the very last event because we'll all see each other again, just probably not for a while.

"Yeah, but now we're practically related, so it's cool," Matt grinned. That was a good thing because he's always been a good friend. Stephen and him really get along too, which made his marriage to Carly okay with Matt.

Smiling at all of my friends, I felt someone's hands gently grip my wrists and pull me up from my chair. "May I have this dance?" Jason asked in a horribly fake British accent. I laughed at his attempt and nodded, following him to the dance floor. A slow song just started to play, so I put my arms around his neck while his hands rested on my hips.

"Everything okay?" he asked me as we started to sway to the music.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about what Tonya said."

He tilted his head slightly in confusion. He was so cute when he did that.

"She said this was the last big event we're going to be together for, which is true. It's different from just going to the movies, you know? It just made me realize that everything is going to change when we all leave for college. It's a little scary," I admitted.

"Ah, okay. Well, it's not like we'll never see everyone again."

I nodded, "I know, I'm just sad that we won't see them every day."

"We'll see Beth and Nathan a lot I'm sure," he said.

I smiled, "You're right, at least we have them with us."

"And even if we didn't, we still have each other. Who needs friends, eh?" he joked. I chuckled and rested my head against his chest for the rest of the song.

Jason was right, we had each other and I was fine with that (better than fine really). After being together for almost two years, I was ready to go away to the University of California with him. Beth and Nathan were going there too, but that didn't guarantee that we'd be able to spend a ton of time together; it's a big campus and we're all taking different classes. But it was going to be fun spending time with them whenever we could.

Tonya and Eric finally got together officially last summer, and they both decided to move to the east coast. Both of them were accepted into NYU, so that's where the next chapter of their lives is going to be. Tonya was worried that things might get a little messed up with Eric there, but she doesn't give Eric and herself enough faith. I'm not really an observant person, but I can see that they both love each other, so they'd definitely last for a while in New York.

Aliyah and Matt were both going to Berkley, and Cody was going to a small college near there. Matt and Aliyah were always the two smartest people of our group, so I wasn't surprised to hear about them going to Berkley. Cody didn't get into Berkley, but he wanted to go to a college near Aliyah since they're still dating (and still cute as ever together).

"Mind if I cut in?" someone asked, interrupting my thoughts. I lifted my head from Jason's chest and saw Jake grinning widely. I rolled my eyes as Jason nodded towards him. He kissed my cheek before walking off the dance floor, leaving me with my amusing 'brother'.

"Well don't you look sharp in your tux," I said to Jake.

He shrugged. "I know," he teased. I rolled my eyes while smiling.

"How's the girlfriend?" I asked curiously. Jake has been dating a girl for a few months, much to my surprise. Maybe since his brother finally settled and got married, he decided he should find a special girl for himself. And so that's what he did; Kaylin was such a sweet person, and I'm happy she's dating Jake.

"Kaylin's good. Haven't you seen her yet?"

"Well duh, of course I saw her, but I haven't talked to her yet," I joked. He rolled his eyes at me.

"Oh, okay. Are you and Jason…good?" he asked hesitantly. He knew we were better than good, but he was probably just asking because I asked him about Kaylin.

"Absolutely. So, our bet is now in effect, right?" I grinned. He smiled back and nodded.

"Yup, starting now actually," he said before spotting his girlfriend walking towards us. I left our conversation at that.

"Hey Kaylin, I was just saying how I haven't talked to you tonight yet. How are you?"

"I'm great. The wedding was beautiful, the food is great, and my boyfriend looks dashing in his tuxedo. Life is good," she said, smiling.

"Very true," I agreed.

"How're you doing Sera?"

"I'm great too. Actually, I'd love to talk more, but I need to steal Stephen before he dances with his wife again. I'll find you two later though." Jake and Kaylin nodded and walked towards the center of the dance floor together. I looked for Stephen until I saw he was just finishing a dance with Carly's mother. As soon as she walked over to her husband, I stepped in front of Stephen.

"Hey there," I said to him.

He grinned. "Hey Laney," he said as we started to dance.

"I'm really happy for you and Carly. I was able to talk to her earlier, but you've been very busy dancing with tons of other people," I smiled, "Anyway, congratulations Stephen."

"Thank you."

"No problem. Oh, I thought I'd tell you that I made a bet with Jake by the way. I thought you should hear it from me instead of him."

"A bet? On what?" he asked, not looking surprised though. He and Jake often made bets, and sometimes they included me in them if it was worth it. This bet was made between Jake and me only, but I wanted to tell Stephen to freak him out a little. Yes, I'm just too nice, aren't I?

"He bet that you'd wait at least three years before popping out kids, but my money is on the first year you're married." Stephen's eyes widened and his body stiffened momentarily. Once he relaxed, his expression became more…revengeful. Noticing that, I slowly let go of his shoulders and backed away. I quickly slipped through the crowd of people on the dance floor, laughing loudly the entire time. My pace quickened when I saw Stephen was walking after me, so I wasn't really watching where I was going. That's why I didn't see who I bumped into, almost causing me to fall down if his hands hadn't caught me in time.

Jason's Point of View:

"Sorry!" Sera said, not realizing who she bumped into. I caught her wrists before she could fall onto the ground.

"Just like the first time we met. Do you remember?" I grinned. She looked up and saw that it was me, immediately smiling.

"Of course I remember," she said. I kissed her gently before asking an obvious question.

"Why were you walking so fast?"

She laughed a little and pushed some of her curly hair off her shoulder. "Jake and I made a bet on when Stephen would have kids. I told him because I knew it would freak him out a little. So now he's after me," she shrugged, seeming like it wasn't a big deal. I thought otherwise; ever since I got to know Jake and Stephen better, I found that they really do think of great plans for revenge. Their plans always end up making someone feel embarrassed or slightly angry, so I don't know how Seraphina could act like it wasn't a big deal at all. Nonetheless, I laughed at her calmed expression and hugged her tightly.

"Tonya was looking for you. Do you want to go back to the table?" I asked her.

"Sure," she nodded. We walked back to the table of our friends. I wasn't surprised that Tonya was acting paranoid about spending as much time with Sera as possible. Pretty soon she'd be off to NYU with Eric, so we wouldn't see her for a while. And I could only imagine how close Sera, Beth, Tonya, and even Aliyah are now (I'd rather not know what goes on when they have girl bonding time).

"Finally, there you are!" Tonya said, gripping onto Sera's arm and pulling her away from me.

"Hey, where are you going with my girlfriend?" I asked her.

Tonya rolled her eyes, "Oh please Jason, you're both going to the same college at the same time. I have to leave in less than a week so I want to spend as much time with my girls as I can!" By now, Beth and Aliyah were smiling, waiting behind Tonya. I guess she yelled at Nate and Cody too because they didn't look too interested. I looked at Sera, who was grinning at Tonya before she looked at me.

I sighed but let a small smile show, "Fine Tonya, you win."

"THANK YOU JASON!!!" she shouted, hugging me. Sera came up to me after Tonya turned to say something to Aliyah and Beth.

"Sorry, but how could I say no to her desperate expression?" she laughed.

I laughed with her, "Yeah, I understand. Besides, we're spending time together tomorrow, right?" She nodded before wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me.

"I love you," she said to me.

"And I love you," I told her. She grinned and kissed my cheek before my beautiful girlfriend happily skipped over to the other girls. I was fine with her spending time with her friends because I would get to go to college with her, and possibly spend the rest of my life with Seraphina. Hell, I know I want to, so I'll do everything I can to make sure we stay together. But really, I don't have to do much because she loves me and I love her. It's as simple as that.

Author's Note: THE STORY IS FINISHED!!! I hope you liked how it ended…I'm a little sad that it's over, but I'm happy to announce that I started a new story! It's called Unknown Jealousy. It's not a sequel to this one, but if you want to check it out, I already have the first chapter up! I also have pictures of the characters too, so check out my website (located on my profile). Thank you for reading & reviewing this story! Hope you all check out my new story! :)