6 years, 180 Days, and 1 Chance for Love Part 58

       And now I’m sitting here, in the same school, in the same gymnasium, graduating high school with him as my boyfriend. I look back over at him and realize that he is standing at the bottom of the steps, his name about to be called. My heart starts racing when I see him, and it feels like the first time my heart raced for him when I looked at him that last day in sixth grade.
       “Eric Greene,” my principle says.
       As Eric walks across the stage to get his diploma, and everyone is clapping and whistling for him, I decide to scream to him, even though I hope he doesn’t get mad at me for embarrassing him.
       “Eric, I love you!” I yell. He has a huge smile on his face, but I can’t tell if it’s because he heard me or because he’s holding his diploma, officially a high school graduate.
       I notice Ian looking at me. I almost forgot he’s here graduating with us. I hope he isn’t about to lose it. But even if he did, his guards are watching and will stop him before anything happens. I decide to look over at him. I’m surprised when my eyes meet his.
       He’s smiling at me, giving me a thumbs up. Looking at Ian, I’m getting this feeling that he’s finally accepted the fact that Eric and I are together, that he really does feel bad about how he’s been acting, that he really is on the road to recovery and he isn’t going to let anything get in the way of him getting better. I smile back at him. My old Ian is back.
       They go through the names pretty quickly, and before I know it, it’s my row’s turn to line up at the stairs. I stand up, my knees wobbling, and follow the person in front of me to the stairs. I take slow, deep breaths to calm down, and to my surprise, it works. I stopped shaking and I’m just anxious to get my diploma already.
       I’m too busy thinking to myself about everything that’s happened in the past year that I almost miss my name being called. Everyone is clapping for me and I hear Tanya, Tatiana and my parents screaming. And then I hear one more voice that just warms my heart.
       “I love you, too, Cassandra,” Eric yells. And I look right at him and smile.
       He did hear me!
       I walk back to my seat, feeling so happy. I avoided falling on my face, my boyfriend heard me scream that I love him when he got his diploma, he said it back to me when I got my diploma, and best of all…I’m a high school graduate!
       As soon as the last row of students sits back down and our principal is congratulating us on graduating, everyone follows graduation tradition and throws their cap in the air, but I would like to keep my cap so I just throw it high enough to make sure it won’t get lost in everyone else’s. I notice Eric and our friends doing the same thing.
       The graduates are let out first while the families and friends hang out in the stands until we are all outside.
       The second we are out the doors, I find Eric and run to him, almost knocking him over, pretty much repeating what I did in sixth grade. He wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me up. I put my hands on his cheeks and kiss him, hard. We’re both grinning as we’re kissing. My heart is pounding. I don’t think I could love him any more than I already do.
       When he puts me down, I turn around and find Ian, standing there awkwardly like he doesn’t know what to do since he technically can’t touch me in any way, but no one said anything about me touching him. I go on my tippy toes and wrap my arms around his neck. I feel him tense up like he’s surprised, hesitating for a second before wrapping his arms around me. I know the guards are watching, but I guess since I was the one who hugged Ian first, he’s technically not going against one of the conditions, so he can’t be in trouble.
       I feel a tap on my shoulder. I let go of Ian and look at Tanya and Tatiana.
       “Are you going to give us a turn?” Tanya asks.
       I roll my eyes. “Of course!” I give them both a hug and then pull away, looking at the four of them. Families are starting to come out so it’s starting to get a little crowded outside. I feel tears rolling down my face.
       Eric wraps his arm around my waist. “What’s wrong?”
       “Nothing,” I say. “I’m just happy. After six years, I’m back with my best friends and the love of my life and, with the addition of my New York best friend, I just graduated high school with them. You don’t know how good that feels.”
       “I think we do,” Eric says, pulling me closer to him.
       “And it feels good to see you really, truly happy when I’m not an ass trying to get in the way,” Ian says. We all stare at him in surprise. “I’m serious! I didn’t realize how happy you and Eric are together because I was too busy only thinking about myself. And I’m sorry.”
       I look at Eric.
       “Well, thanks for your apology,” Eric says, extending his hand. Ian goes to high five Eric, but Eric takes Ian’s hand and pulls him in for a bro hug. “Congratulations on graduating, dude.”
       “Thanks, man. Congratulations to you, too,” Ian says, then he turns to Tanya, Tatiana, and me. “And congratulations to you guys.”
       “Congratulations to everyone!” I say. “We graduated high school!”
       “Finally!” Tatiana says. “I never thought this day would come.”
       “And it would have been even worse to have graduated without you,” Tanya and Eric say together. They look at each other and start laughing, and soon we are all laughing.
       We’re still laughing when our families finally find us in the mess of people.
       “What’s so funny?” my dad asks.
       “Nothing,” I say, still smiling.
       “Congratulations, sweetie,” my mom says, giving me a kiss. “We’re so proud of you.”
       “And we have something for you,” my dad adds. He hands me a small bouquet of flowers with a little graduation bear attached to it. I noticed a table full of them on the way in.
       “Thank you.” I give them each a hug and a kiss.
       “Picture time!” my dad announces.
       Eric takes out his cell phone from a pocket inside his suit jacket and holds it out in front of us. “Smile, everyone!”
       “I’ll wait over here,” Ian points to our parents and starts walking away.
       “Get your ass over here,” I say, pulling him into the picture. He looks surprised, but doesn’t say anything. He just gets back into the picture and smiles.
       “Is it our turn yet?” my dad asks.
       Eric puts his phone away and we all pose for many more pictures: Eric and me together; Tanya, Tatiana and me; me and Ian; Eric, Tanya, Tatiana and me. By the time we are done taking pictures, all I can see is the flash from the cameras.
       “Ready for lunch?” my dad asks.
       “I just want to go home and change first,” I say. “After sitting in this all morning, I’ve sweated through my dress and I don’t want to go to lunch all sweaty.” I turn to Ian, “Are you coming with us?”
       “I have to ask. I’ll be right back,” Ian says to me. He walks away to the guard who’s been watching him all morning. When he comes back, he says that he’s allowed to go to lunch. He gets a ride with Eric, surprisingly, and his family.