"Hey!" Jenny and Greg come up to us, interrupting our dance. Greg's face was wet with sweat while Jenny's makeup was smeared.

"Hi," I greet back as Jenny and I grab onto each other's arms. Prom was still going strong, but some people had left.

"Greg and I are gonna go." She tells me, a small smile on her face. I glance over at Greg who's now engaged in a conversation with Sebastian.

I nod my head, knowing exactly how their night is going to end. I mean, prom is held in a hotel, I can imagine a lot of people will be having a good night. Well, if they've got the money to book a room at least.

"Yeah, yeah. We'll see you guys," I tell her, giving Jenny a wide smile. Without thinking, I throw my arms around my best friend.

When we pull away, Jenny gives me a confused look, a smile still on her face. "What was that for? I'll see you at school, Emie." She laughs, shaking her head.

I give her a shrug before playfully pushing her away. "Go have fun with your guy."

Jenny and Greg leave soon after that. Sebastian and I migrate back to each other, gluing our bodies to each other again. My arms lock around his neck as his hands rest on my wait. Half a year ago, if anyone would've told me that I'd be at prom with Sebastian, I'd have laughed. If anyone would've said that our relationship would have prospered and we'd have grown as people, I would've walked away. We've gone through so much together in the last year that I'm not sure I'll survive our inevitable separation.

"Hey," Sebastian whispers, pressing his forehead against mine. Even though a modern, upbeat song is playing, we're slow dancing, enjoying the feel of each others arms.

"Hi," I whisper back, smiling and looking into his eyes. I can remember years ago when we met and how these eyes had enraptured me. I'm still under their spell, a prisoner to their beauty.

"You wanna get out of here?" He asks, pulling back slightly to look at me. Biting my lip, I slowly nod my head.

Sebastian grabs my hand as we separate slightly. Our bodies are still close as we make our way to the wall of shoes. I bend down, grabbing my heels. Using Sebastian to balance myself, I strap my feet into the deathtraps. Standing straight, I give Sebastian a smile.

"Emie!" Someone shouts. I turn to see Micah making her way over to me with her date. When they had come in, they had immediately walked around, making a statement to everyone that they're there and they aren't leaving. I hadn't had a chance to talk to Micah at all.

"Hey, stranger. Long time, no see." I tease as she comes over. I give her a side hug before looking over her. "You both look great."

"Thanks, you know you look gorgeous." Micah compliments. She glances at her date and motions her forward. "This is Marissa. We met a while ago and we've kind of been seeing each other."

I stick my hand out, receiving a shake from the girl, Marissa. She has thick, red hair that's in their natural waves. Her mane is long, reaching to the small of her back. Marissa eyes are a pretty hazel color that are glinting in the light right now. She has sort of a baby face but she's tall, giving people no doubt that she's a woman. She's beautiful.

"Nice to meet you." I smile before turning back to Micah. "We're leaving. We'll see you later, okay? Have fun, enjoy your night, and don't get anyone pregnant." I wink, achieving a laugh from the two girls.

We part waves, Sebastian and I leaving while Micah and Marissa head to the dancefloor. Soon Ten and I are walking into his house, both of us kicking our shoes off, sighs of relief escaping us. For a moment, the two of us just stare at each other. All of a sudden, our lips are attached as we kiss ravenously.

"Parents gone." Sebastian manages to say between kisses. We soon find our way up the stairs and into his room. "Are you sure, Emie?"

I nod my head as I pull my skirt down and unzip my top. Both fabrics fall off my body, making a thud on the ground. "I want you to be my first, Sebastian."

Sebastian's Adam's apple bobs as he gulps. He steps closer to me and pulls me into his arms. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." I whisper. "I've always loved you."

* * *

Sebastian and I have never been so strong. The night of prom had been a big step in our relationship. It's funny because before, sex was a topic that had started problems for it. It was the thing that had almost kept us from moving forward in a silly way. Well, it was really just a catalyst in a much bigger problem. Now, the two of us had taken that big step. We had given ourselves to each other and neither of us regret a thing.

The day of graduation had fast approached. After prom, school was a breeze. All we ever did was study for finals which some of us didn't even have to do because of exemption. I'm one of those people. Second semester proved to be easier than the first because my grades had skyrocketed me into honor roll. Anyway, once May was here, it was like school was already over before we even got to the end.

At the moment, all seniors sat in the gym, rehearsing how graduation would go. It's been hours, but we were almost done. Chords had been handed out to us for completing in clubs, sports, or being an honor student. In a couple of hours, we'd be high school graduates and we'd put all of this behind us as we go our separate ways.

"Let's get the hell out of here before they think of something to keep us," Sebastian says, coming up to me once the rehearsal was done.

I give him a small smile, nodding my head. "I have to pee. You can wait at your car, I'll find you, okay?"

"Sounds good. Don't take too long. I wanna take you to Waffle House before I take you home."

Sebastian and I kiss before separating from each other. I head to the bathroom and quickly do my business. When I walk out after washing my hands, I bump into a chest. Looking up, I'm met with the apologetic eyes of Cody. Even after all these months, I still don't know his last name. That's beside the point. I can just see the guilt swimming around in his eyes as he tries to look away in shame.

"Sorry," I mutter, trying to make my way around him.

"Emie, wait." Cody blocks me in each direction I go. I look around for any kind of help, but the school is deserted. With a sigh, I relax and look up at him, unamused.

"What do you want?"

Cody runs a hand through his hair. I see he's cut it as it's no longer in those surfer waves they had been in. Now it's in a buzzcut but I can't help but feeling like this doesn't suit him as well as his long hair.

"I wanna apologize." he finally says, rubbing his neck nervously.

I raise an eyebrow, not expecting those words. "Too little, too late."

Cody sighs. "Emie, please. I know I've been a total dick, but can you at least let me explain myself."

I contemplate if I should. Cody has put Sebastian through so much that I wouldn't be surprised if Sebastian didn't forgive him. Somethings just can't be forgiven or forgotten. Forcefully outing someone, that's a horrible thing to do. That's not something you can rush and it definitely wasn't Cody's choice. After much contemplation, I nod my head.

"Thank you." Cody huffs out a breath. "I'll just be honest and say that I was jealous. When I was in Hawaii and had met Sebastian, it was like love at first sight. I've always been gay, but I could see his apprehension. And when we were hanging out, I couldn't help but feel like we belonged together."

"Sebastian will do that to you," I speak, nodding slightly.

Cody nods with me. "Yeah, I kind of convinced my parents that this would be a great spot to set up a new shop. And it was! That's good, at least. But I guess I kind of went crazy, especially when I found out about you. Sebastian had mentioned you, but I figured you didn't mean anything and I thought Sebastian was clearly gay. Obviously, I was wrong. I didn't want to give up."

"So you openly pursued him despite him having a girlfriend?" I ask incredulously. "Then you took a picture of you and Sebastian kissing then proceeded to send it to everyone? How did you even get everyone's number?"

"I didn't." He admits. "I sent it to about ten people and they sent it to people and it was a chain effect. I didn't think it would spread like that, but at the moment I didn't even care. I'm so sorry, Emie."

I begin walking away, not even offering him any penance for what he's done. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

Then I head out the door. Despite my bitchy reply, I'm glad to have closure on that aspect of life. Cody is just a crazy, entitled boy who set his ambitions extremely high. At least he knows that he did wrong. I'd be worried if he still didn't care after all of this time. But like I said, it's Sebastian who needs this apology, not me.

Making my way to Sebastian's car. I surprise him by wrapping my arms around his waist. I feel him just before he rests his arms on mine.

"Be expecting something from Cody. He apologized to me by ambushing me outside the bathroom." I tell him immediately.

"Something good?" He asks, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"Bullshit apology."

"Hey, stop doing this out of character swearing." Sebastian demands playfully, a grin on his face. "As for Cody, well, who cares anymore?"

* * *

I have to force back the tears as I walk up the stage to shake the principals hand. I grab my diploma then wave to the camera that's live streaming our short graduation. Small town, small school, small graduation. A hand is pressed to my mouth, hiding the large smile I have on my face as I make my way back to my seat.

Soon I'm listening as Sebastian's name is called, coming soon after Jenny's. Then Micah and more of our friends after. The graduation is quick as the last person is called then we're presented by the principal. Each of us takes our tassels and pull them to the side to represent an end to this chapter of our lives. Then we grab our caps and throw them into the air, all of us reaching to grab our caps then rushing away from the field.

I look around as I'm pushed around. Someone grabs me and I'm turned around to see Sebastian, the person I was looking for. My hands fly to his face and I pull his face down to kiss him. We won't be together after this graduation. His parents are taking him out along with Simon while mine are also take me out, both of us going for dinner separately.

Damien Caldwell had made a nice recovery from his heart attack. He was told to take it easy which he had been for the last month. He had also agreed to start talking out any problems he has since he's been so stressed. I still didn't feel right about keeping this secret about Damien's abuse, but Sebastian had told me that it was my word against the town in which the Caldwell's basically owned all of. It was a good point so I dropped it. It wasn't my business. Things were good so I'm not going to question that.

"Meet me after?" Sebastian asks once we pull away. I nod my head hastily.

"Yes, yes, of course." With that, we part ways, both of us going to our families.

Luckily, the dinner is quick and I'm able to sneak away from my family to meet Sebastian in the park. I'm still wearing my dress from the graduation but my hair is a mess. I had gotten it cut again and the strands were everywhere. The walk to the park doesn't take long. When I get there, Sebastian is already waiting.

He turns, hearing my steps and opens his arms. I run into them, letting Sevastian lift me up.

"I love you," I say, kissing his cheeks repeatedly.

"I love you too." Sebastian says back, pressing his lips to mine. "I'm gonna miss you so much, Emie. Fuck, I want to take you with me. We haven't had enough time together. I wasted five years of our relationship being an asshole."

I slap his chest softly. "Don't say that! You were just confused. Our path was made and we went down it. We're together now."

Sebastian Caldwell is bisexual. Throughout our last year in high school, he had struggled with this fact, even thinking he was one hundred percent gay. He was confused and that's okay, confusion is a part of life. He just needed to figure himself out. What Sebastian went through, he didn't deserve, but it led him here. He has no secrets that are weighing him down, he's happy.

"I'm scared we won't see each other again. You'll be here and I'll be stuck in New York for college." Sebastian says, his voice quiet, soft.

I shake my head and lay a hand to his cheek. "We'll come back to each other, we always do." I tell him.

I had started out as Sebastian's beard, I just didn't know it at the time. Even when I did know it and Sebastian had asked me, I was happy to do it because I would do anything for this boy. Still, I wouldn't take anything back and I regret nothing. I would do it all over again because I was granted Sebastian in the end.

"I love you." Sebastian says once again, pecking my lips.

I nod my head, closing my eyes. "I love you too, Sebastian. I always will. My heart belongs to you always, You're my first and only love."

Call me sad and pathetic, but these are my feelings. I'm tired of listening to other people tell me how to feel. Sebastian is my first love and he'll always be my love. I'll always be his because he's my soulmate and that will never change. No matter what rumors will say years from now, we're more than that. I'm more than that.

I'm more than just the beard.

*I feel like crying. Thanks so much to everyone who stuck with me through this journey, honestly, without you all, I'd be nowhere. When I started this story, I wasn't sure in the direction it was going. With that being said, please tell me your final thoughts. Let me know what you liked, what you didn't like. An epilogue is next. Please vote, and thanks for reading.*