"Wooohooo! That's right, Belle! You showed them! You showed them how it's done!"

Remind me never ever to let my family come to another school function again. 

I just finished my valedictorian speech at graduation, and most of the crowd was applauding. The other half was too drunk to notice. And when I said other half, I meant my family. They were the only ones in the entire crowd to be tipsy since they decided to drink excessive amounts of alcohol at a 'pre-graduation party'. Mel, in her drunken state, screamed on top of her lungs, causing all of my classmates to erupt in laughter.

Thanks for ruining my moment.

"Well...thank you for that lovely speech. Now, Belle, would you do the honors and finish off our ceremony?" Ms. Jackson, our petite principal, took the microphone from me and smiled.

I nodded in response since if I tried to speak, nothing would come out of my mouth except for a fit of giggles. Ms. Jackson had been known over the years for her dramatic outfit choices at graduation. This year, she wore a black, peplum dress with "Class of 2012" written down the side. Her matching pumps had feathers sticking out from every angle, so it looked like she was wearing fuzzy slippers. Her makeup must have been done by a three-year-old. Blue eye shadow was unevenly splattered up until her eyebrows, and her bright pink lipstick was smudged under her bottom lip. 

"Yes, I would. Congrats Class of 2012!" I flung my ocean blue cap off of my head, and my whole class followed.

Blue caps covered most of my view, but for some reason, I could faintly see Ash's face grinning at me in the middle of the front row. His blond hair was a little messed up from the cap, but he still looked like a model. His icy blue eyes connected with mine, and instantly, I ran off of the stage.

I didn't know what came over me. Running at lightning speed from the stage, I catapulted myself from the stage steps into Ash's arms (He wholeheartedly hugged me back, so it wasn't like he didn't want a hug from me). We stood there for approximately five seconds —his arms were secured around my waist, and my arms were snaked around his neck. Then, something even crazier happened.

I kissed Ash. 

Now, this wasn't a full on makeout. We were at graduation, and I personally thought sticking my tongue down his throat wouldn't be acceptable. I just lifted my head up and pecked his lips for a few seconds. His lips kinda tasted like apple cinnamon mixed with pomegranate, which was a plus. It was innocent and enjoyable, and when it was over, a grin couldn't help but spread across my features.

"That was a surprising graduation gift," Ash chuckled as his arms held onto my waist even tighter now. He probably was afraid I would run away.

His assumption was correct because if his hands weren't grasped around my torso, I would've ran away so fast that even Usain Bolt wouldn't have been able to catch up.

"Yeah...erm," I stuttered a little. I placed my head in the crook of his neck to hide my reddening cheeks from him. "I didn't know what to get you, and I thought that was suitable." 

I actually got him a new black polo, but I suppose the kiss made him happier than a shirt would have.

As we continued to stay in our position, a shrieking ambulance sound caused me to let go of his neck and to stumble backwards. My forehead crinkling while I wondered why an amulance came to graduation. Was someone hurt? Last time at the graduation ceremony, a mom had to be sent away because she had accidentally tripped over a light fixture and fell headfirst onto the ground.

It was amusing until we realized that the mother had gone unconscious.

"Hee-hee-heeeee! Congrats, guys!" Bailey Storms, a fellow classmate groaned as she was lifted onto a stretcher. Her left arm clutched her protruding stomach as she spoke.

I rolled my eyes. Bailey was almost eight and a half months pregnant, and she still came to school up until graduation. It was quite awkward walking down the hallways when Bailey was the size of a whale. She bumped into me in the hallway four times in one day, causing me to drop my lunch, books, and my glass vase I made in crafts. I swear it took all of my strength to refrain from yelling at her for making my day miserable.

"I...goddammit, Marvin, I want to kill you for knocking me up! I knew we shouldn't have gotten the 'king' sized!" she continued and pulled down the shirt of her nerdy boyfriend, Marvin. He looked like he was about to pass out. "Anyways, happy graduation guys! The party will still be held at my house, even though I won't be there!"

Run, Marvin, run! Get away from the whale!

Luckily, the doors of the vehicle shut before she could continue speaking. Once the commotion settled down, I turned towards Ash to finish our conversation.

"So, you going to Bailey's party tonight?"

"No, I'm going to your party," Ash stated, one word leaving his mouth at a time; his eyebrow arched upwards.

My party? When did I ever agree to having a party? After pondering over my decisions from the last few weeks, it was confirmed that I had never discussed with anyone about having a party.

"My? Woah, when was this planned?" I asked, crossing my arms. I utterly hated parties, so there was no way that I would go to one and definitely not host one.

"Your mother invited my family, Hunter and his family, and Evalyn and her family. I thought you knew." He stratched his neck with his right hand. He bit his lip as he waited for my response since he expected me to have a temper tantrum.

And he was correct.

"I hate parties! Who the hell planned one behind my back?! I hate my fam—"

"Belle! Belle! Belle, we betta get goooing," my mother appeared out of nowhere and slurred as she fell forward and clutched onto the back of my robe, almost causing me to topple over.

I cringed back in disgust. My mother was wearing a white A-line dress that dipped right to the end of her bust line. A new brownish stain covered the top half of her dress, and it seemed to reek of alcohol. Her left eye, smeared with mascara, began pulsing slightly.

She looked marvelous.

"I can't believe that you're already drunk! This is so embarrassing," I scolded, placing my hand onto my hip.

"Nope, I'm not!" she giggled in a five-year-old's voice and made sure to pop the 'p.' As if she was trying to make herself look presentable, she used her hands to flatten the bottom of her dress. However, she began to fall over, so I clutched onto her arms tightly.

"Let's go you home to the party. Where's Tom and Alice?" My eyes squinted as I searched the crowd for my little brother and sister, who undoubtedly, were probably stuck listening to Grandpa talking about his crush on the late Maya Turnsway.

"Grandpa!" she squeaked as I started pulling her throughout the crowd. She tried resisting, so I took the leather belt off of my dress and used it as handcuffs.

I felt the need to sedate her. Especially because most of the crowd's attention was on my mother, and hundreds of cameras were pointed in our direction to capture this moment.

"Ash, I'll see you at my house in a few! Make sure you get Hunter and Evalyn there!" I blurted after him while my hands were desperately attempting to force my mother towards the car before she could embarrass ourselves even further.

A smirk slithered up his face; with his right hand, he saluted me and replied, "Aye aye, captain!"

If he wasn't so cute, I might have just screamed back at him.

**

Luckily, we made it to my house all in one piece...not. When I attempted to get my mother into the passenger seat of our truck, she used her teeth to break open the handcuffs, fought back, and "accidentally" punched me in the eye. She swore that she felt bad about it, but I didn't believe her.

Old lady got an arm on her!

The party had been going on for at least two hours. The backyard was cleverly (sarcastic tone) decorated with newspaper strips hanging on top of the tree branches. A bright baby blue banner was pinned our on clothing line, and it had a misspelled version of "Congratulations" on it. Unfortunately, whoever put up the banner forgot to take down my Hello Kitty underwear from the clothesline. 

Another thing that could humiliate me.

"I just," Dad mumbled incoherently as he stood in the middle of the circle Ash's family, my family, Hunter's family, and Evalyn's family formed. "I just wanted to congratulate Ash, Evalyn, Hunter, and my Belle on graduating. I couldn't be more proud! So cheers!" He raised his fifty cent bottle of stale beer in the air and shook it around.

Thank God my father was a man of few words.

Everyone else followed with beer, except for Ash, me, my little siblings, who toasted with water, my mother who was just coming out of her drunken coma, and Hunter and Evalyn, who were too busy making out behind a tree in plain sight to toast.

"Slut, we're toasting! C'mon!" I yelled towards her, causing her to shove Hunter off of her for a second. Just when I thought she was going to come towards us and toast, she instead gave me the middle finger and continued to stick her tongue down Hunter's throat.

"Stop yellin'! I have a headache. It feels like a brick the size of Kim Kardashian's ass is on my head," Mom groaned as she sat in a chair near two ice buckets. Holding an icepack to her held, she was slumped over in a rocking chair.

"Really? You know what hurts more? I think getting punched in the eye hurts a little more," I retorted, my  feet propelling towards her body. I was just about to give her a piece of my mind, but then Ash grabbed hold of my hand before I could make my move.

"So," Mel interrupted the scene by stepping in the middle of the circle. Instead of her usual outfit of a cropped top and navy blue jean shorts, she wore a classy white pair of jean shorts and a lilac tank top that barely fell right above her waist. "Anyways, Chase and I have an announcement!"

Chase began to choke on his cake, causing Paul to smack his back. Sending Paul a quiet 'thank you', he scratched his head as his features scrunched together. "We do?"

"Yes, honey, we do." Mel's eyes squinted, her head nodding back and forth like she was telling her husband something in a secret code."Chase and I just found out that we're expecting our third child!"

"We are?!" Chase's eyes bulged out of his head as he dropped the remaining cake onto the grass. His pale skin now became even paler as he heard the news. "When did we find this out?"

"I told you this morning. You were watching the game, and I told you the news, and you gave me the thumbs up! Do you not remember?" A sniffling sound left my sister. As the sobs began rolling out from her, she blew into the hem of her tank top, soiling it with her snot and her tears.

Oh, God. World War IV.

"I remember," Chase stated in a rushed tone and immediately went over to comfort Mel. He placed his arm around her as her sniffling intensified. A lop-sided grin appeared on his face as his eyes roamed the crowd, looking for someone to aid him in this disaster.

"Really? Then what did I say after that?" she spewed back and shoved his arm off of her shoulders.

"Well," he paused, searching for a plausible answer to her question.

"You jerk!" Mel sprinted off into the house with Chase awkwardly trying to keep up with her. He was   uncoordinated, so he looked like a giraffe galloping, and the slam told us that Mel had ran into the house; they were obviously not returning for the rest of the party.

"She's pregnant?" Grandpa chuckled as he swung his beer back and forth in his hands. "Really? She just looks fat."

"Let's take the party inside. There's more desert on the kitchen table," Dad urged, his hands moving towards our house. He bent down to remove the buckets from Mom's feet and hoisted her ontop of his back.

This left Ash and I all alone outside of the house. I must say, this was quite awkward since I was holding a bag of green peas up to my growing black eye. Ash, now dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and white T-shirt, sat down on one of the maroon benches and patted the seat next to him. I cooperated and sat down.

"You look beautiful tonight," he complimented as he ran his fingers through his shiny, blond locks for a second. His face was about three inches away from mine, and the proximity made my breath hitch in my throat.

I looked down at my lap since I forgot that I was now wearing a white, strapless sundress that fell right above my knees. The crocheted fabric was cinched at the waist, so it gave me some curves. I kept my makeup and straight hair from the ceremony, but I replaced my heels for a simple pair of brown flipflops.

"Thanks," I  replied in return of his compliment, and I started fumbling with my thumbs. Although it was a kind thing for him to have said, I wished that he hadn't because he was making me feel uncomfortable.

"So, I thought this was a good opportunity to bring up the kiss."

Nope, it wasn't.

"Sorry about that. I don't know what got over me. Maybe I was a little high from Ms. Jackson's hairspray fumes," I joked as I continued to look towards my lap. The reddening of my cheeks plus the blush I was wearing probably made me look like a clown.

"I'm glad you did. I've liked you for awhile now." His hand now was placed over mine, causing my to flick my head up slightly. "A long time."

"Really?" I felt my cheek temperatures rise about a thousand degrees. My eyes, now enlarged, stared at the boy in front of me like he had just told me that he created the cure for cancer or something else unbelievable.

"Really. Now, what does that make us? Dating?"

"I don't date. I'm not interested in a relationship right now. Remember the conversation in the woods?" I added as evidence. I was now staring at Ash straight in the eyes, and I could clearly see he was taken aback by this answer. His forehead was now wrinkled, and his cheeks were squeezed inward, as if he was trying to not gulp.

"So, do you not like me?" Ash asked, his voice trailing at the end of my sentence. He removed his hand from mine, hurt by my statement.

Ouch.

"I'm attracted to you, sure. But is that enough to — "

I wanted to finish my sentence, but instead, I was cut off by a pair of lips smashed to mine. Instead of pushing him off (which I should have), I laced my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, decreasing the space between us.

It was perfect. The sun was just about to set, and fireflies started dancing around the picnick table. The only sound I could hear was the sounds of our animals in the distance.

Perfect until Mel's voice had to ruin another moment. 

"Ma! Pa! I told y'all! Ash and Belle are making out in the back! Didn't I tell you the dinner would work?"

**

Hope you liked the chapter! Next chapter, Belle will head off to college! You'll meet Elise ;)

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