Dedicated to WhenTheStarsAlign for the AMAZING fan art. Seriously, thank you so much. This is so cool.
Without furthur ado, the final chapter of The Last Virgin Standing.
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Chapter 42: Game Over
I didn't want to leave his side. The Chandlers held each other's hands as they watched their unmoving son lay in the bed, unresponsive to the hysterical cries that were erupting around him. Dad held me in his arms just as he had when I came home from school wondering why my mother had left me. It was just the same except I wasn't wondering why Luke had left me. He didn't leave me. I left him and I wanted to take it all back—the arguments, the empty silences, pushing him away. While I deeply cared for Tyler, I would go back and change it all to get Luke back. He was the best friend any girl could ask for, and I didn't ask for it. He was an angel that I didn't deserve to have watching over me.
His blonde hair was swept over to the right side of his face. His skin was as pale and sickly looking as ever. It was tear-overload when I saw the green veins on his eyelids. His mouth still had color and for the first time in a while, it was still. While the sounds of mourning were drowning the room, I couldn't help but notice the silence. His stupidly reassuring voice wasn't ringing in my ears and his hand was resting comfortably on my shoulder. He wasn't making fun of my movie choices or complaining about my expensive taste in ice cream. I wanted so badly to just hug him and laugh with him one last time before he left, but I couldn't be selfish like I had been. There were more deserving people who deserved to be selfish, and I wasn't one of them.
Dad couldn't be strong for the four of us. He had been lifting the both of us and if he didn't take a break soon, he would collapse under all of the pressure, and I couldn't have that. I would stay strong because if Luke were here looking at all of us crying over him, he would tell us to suck it up and be strong. He would be flattered that we missed him so, but he wouldn't want us to be in pain. He wasn't like that. Vengeance wasn't in his nature. Dad ushered me out of the room so the Chandlers could be alone with Luke. We sat on the bench outside, his hands running through my hair as he whispered, "It'll be okay." It took him longer than normal to choke the words out. I didn't know if he was saying that for my sake or for his.
I was sleep deprived and during that period of no sleep, I realized that death was very selfish. People want to say how much the deceased meant to them before they died, but for what? So the dying would understand that they were loved? It wasn't like it would affect them in the afterlife, if such a thing even existed. They wanted to say something to help them cope when the dying were dead. People expected heartwarming speeches and compliments from the dying to help them feel loved, like Luke had done, when in reality those words should've already been spoken. It was as if people try to get to know the person in the last moments of their lives when they should really be reflecting on their time living. Death was something people should look forward to because they no longer have to deal with death again.
My days felt a little brighter now, but that might've been because I had been spending my time in the hospital, which had warm lighting in the hallways, with Tyler. Arnold was there, but he stepped out to eat or freshen up whenever I came to visit. I wondered what changed because Arnold seemed like a pretty good father from where I was sitting, but that might be because I still had my rose-colored glasses on. I knew I lived in my idealistic world in my head and that I needed to get out, but it was nice in there because happiness was easily obtainable.
Each day after school, I diligently visited Tyler. He was never awake when I was there, but his presence, while still reminding me of Luke, comforted me. I had a lot of memories with Luke there and Dad locked himself up in his room or stuffed his face with toast when he thought I wasn't around. Everywhere I went, it was like a constant reminder of what had happened. It was like an open wound that I kept rubbing dirt in, and while I hated the feeling, I didn't want it to end because I deserved the pain.
I sat in the squeaky leather chair beside the hospital bed. Some days I would sit and talk to him, others I would quietly do my homework. I was just beginning to outline my English paper when I heard him speak. It wasn't the first time he had spoken in his sleep, but I listened intently each time. I had a crazy notion that these sleep murmurings would give me another glimpse into his past or to who Tyler was. I knew him, but not as much as I would've liked to. Today, he spoke of Nora. The fact that he uttered a girl's name sparked my interest. I knew it wasn't his mother's name and I couldn't ever recall a Nora in our conversations. I couldn't help the insecurity that was seeping into my thoughts. As far as I was concerned, he never said anything about me while he was unconscious. I knew I was being irrational and selfish because he couldn't control what he said, but it meant that he wasn't thinking about me so I couldn't help feeling doubtful.
What could I say? I really liked him.
There were times where I thought he awakened from the drugs, but they never came. Arnold said he tended to wake up when I was at school, but he would be in surgery by the time the weekend came along. Dad said I could skip school if I needed time to cope with it, and I did for a little while. Like Dad, I had locked myself up in my room going through old pictures of us. My favorite one was of me trying to give him a piggyback ride, operative word being try. There was a group counseling session at school for anyone who needed to attend, but I couldn't handle a bunch of people talking about him like they were the best of friends when in reality they were acquaintances who occasionally said hello in the hallway.
I noticed I was getting more irritable, which was probably due to Luke's upcoming funeral. It was tomorrow and students were excused from class to attend. As superficial as it sounded, I spent the last four hours choosing my outfit. I didn't want my dress to be too short, or too dressy, or too navy blue. I realized that people weren't going to judge me on my attire, but it was something that needed to be done otherwise I'd feel self-conscious.
I was up all night tossing and turning, imagining tomorrow's events. The Chandlers asked me to give a few words (a speech disguised in a more appealing way) about Luke, and I had no idea what to say. I tried to write one, but only cliche words came out. When nothing came, I had to resort to winging it, something Luke did on a daily basis. I knew I was going to go up there and babble my butt off and talk about things that were irrelevant to his life, and when it happened, I would wish that I was in the coffin.
It was like looking at a row of dominoes: black with a dot of white. I had never seen so many people dressed in dark colors before today, and the number of people who showed up was intimidating. There was no way I could go up there and talk about my dead best friend without making a fool of not only myself but him too. I stayed close to the Chandlers, but they were constantly bombarded with words like "I'm sorry for your loss" or "he was so young." They accepted the sympathy, but it made no difference. Words could hurt you, but they couldn't take away your pain.
It was as if the entire class came to pay their regards to Luke, including Emma and Ian. When I spotted them, they were holding hands and walking towards me. Emma smiled weakly at me, a vain attempt to get me to smile back. Her hug was gentle as if my exterior was as fragile as within. "I'm sorry, Charlotte," she murmured.
"Me too."
"If it makes you feel any better, he was a worthy competitor," Ian offered, an attempt to make light of the situation.
"It doesn't, but I'm sure he would appreciate that."
He nodded and turned to Emma. Quietly, he said, "Shall we?"
Emma gave a small nod and hugged me once more, slipping a travel pack of tissues into my hand. "I'm here."
They walked away, leaving me with other sympathizers. I can't remember how many people told me that they were sorry, and each time I couldn't help but think, You did nothing. Why are you sorry? Like the Chandlers, I took their pity. It was rude not to.
When it came time for me to speak, I was frozen. I looked out at all of the expectant faces and was left dumbstruck. "Hi, everybody. I'm Charlotte." That was the smoothest part of the entire speech. "Luke was—he was a really good friend. Um...he was like everybody's best friend. He was a jokester and will be dearly missed. Thank you." As soon as I concluded, I wanted to run myself over with a semi-truck. That was perhaps the worst funeral speech ever given. It didn't even come close to describing the amazing guy that Luke was. I wished I had written down all of the cliche stuff I'd thought of because that was probably what Mrs. Chandler wanted to hear. Why was I such an incompetent idiot?
The burial was easier than I thought it would be. It helped that the casket was closed and I could no longer see his make-up covered face, but it also meant that I would never see him again. When I threw in my handful of dirt, I thought (hoping Luke could hear it somehow), I'm finally taller than you. I then felt awful and told him I loved him a billion times after that.
***
Tyler's surgery was successful and he was no longer under any medication. The doctor prescribed him light pain medication, but Tyler refused and said the pain was manageable. He just didn't like to taking pills or swallowing anything that tasted artificially fruity.
I was driving him home from school because Arnold still didn't trust him to drive and hid the keys to both his motorized vehicles. Tyler wasn't very happy about that, but since he couldn't find them, he relied on me to get him to and from his hell. "I'm really sorry I couldn't be there for you," he said.
"You couldn't. Besides, I would much rather have you in a bed resting and recovering."
He sighed. "That doesn't mean I'm not sorry."
I didn't know what to say to that, so I didn't say anything. I was trying my hardest to concentrate on my driving because there was no way I was letting what happened happen again. But that went out the window when Tyler started talking again.
"Summers, can I tell you something?"
"You can tell me anything. You know that."
"It's just that...I..."
I briefly glanced over at him before returning my eyes to the road. "What is it?"
"I think I'm..."
Oh, God. Was this happening? Was Tyler going to tell me that he loved me? The emotions that were running rampant through my mind were jerking my tear ducts, and I needed to get to his house before I completely lost it. I was glad my period was over because these heightened emotions would not be beneficial to anybody.
"I think I'm falling in love with you."
Didn't he know that you weren't supposed to drop a bomb like that on a traumatic girl who was driving?
I planned on telling him that I was falling for him too, but instead I blurted, "Who's Nora?"
His eyebrows creased in confusion. "How do you know about Nora?"
I was coming off jealous, which was something I'd been trying so hard not to do in front of him. "I...you talk in your sleep."
"Nora's my..." Your... "stuffed kangaroo."
I laughed aloud, completely stupefied at my irrationality. "You have a stuffed kangaroo?"
"It was a present! I've had for a while. Jake won it for me at a carnival."
"Ditto," I said.
"What?"
I smiled to myself. "You'll figure it out eventually."
***
The hot gymnasium lights beat down on us, the graduates. It was stuffy, overcrowded, and I could not be more excited because I was about to graduate. I would get my diploma and would be free from the 8 AM to 3 PM schedule. Overall, it was a pretty happy day. Luke was briefly mentioned when our principal made his speech, but that was the only part that dampened my day. Sitting through the valedictorian and salutatorian speechesweren't so bad when I was part of the graduating class. Beckett kept it short, sweet, and slightly nerdy, but I expected nothing less from him.
The moment I grabbed my diploma, everything was done. The game was officially over, some friendships had ended, and we were no longer high school students. It was a bittersweet moment, but there was no going back now. High school, I figured, would be a good memory, but I would never want to relive it. I felt sorry for whoever said high school would be the best time of your life because the climax of their life would be over with before they were halfway done with their life.
"Report on your results on the senior project," Emma said in a robotic tone.
"Well, I can't even remember the details of it."
She giggled. "Me neither."
"I'm pretty sure I failed. The goal was to pretend to like them, and I'm sure that I started liking all of them. I'm such a loser, Emma."
"Look on the bright side, Charlotte. At least one fell for you too!"
"I suppose. You got one too! So what's going on between you two anyways?"
Emma was the happiest I've seen her. Today, her smile was untouchable. "Well, I can call him my boyfriend now."
In our graduation gowns, we jumped up and down, squealing obnoxiously. No one cared, and if they did, we didn't. I was honestly happy for her and kitten never came to mind. What did come to mind was summer vacation and a certain boy who called me by my last name.
"Hey, you," he said.
I smiled adoringly at him. "Congratulations. You did it."
"I did absolutely nothing and still came out with the same piece of paper you did."
"Oh, shut up. I feel accomplished."
"Don't we all?"
"You're ruining my good mood."
He flicked my cap. "Get used to it, Summers."
"So how does it feel?"
"How does what feel? Graduating?"
"No. Being the Virginator."
He took a deep breath and shrugged. "Good, I guess. I don't know. How am I supposed to feel?"
"I have no idea what it feels like to take a quarter of the school's female population, so I don't know."
"Well, how does it feel to be the last virgin?"
I shrugged. "As it always has for the past eighteen years of my life."
"Hey, lovebirds!" Alec called out to us. "We need a photo of the five of us."
I looked at Tyler questioningly, but he simply shrugged and ushered me over to where Ian, Emma, Alec, Liz, Maddy, and Beckett were standing. "Why are we taking a picture?" I asked as I was being sandwiched between Alec and Ian. Tyler stood beside Ian and Beckett by Alec. Emma had a camera in her hand, and Liz was holding Maddy, who was making silly faces at Alec.
"You'll figure it out," Tyler said.
"Yeah, you're a smart girl," Beckett piped.
"What a compliment," I said.
"I don't appreciate your sarcasm, Charlotte."
"I'm not being sarcastic, I swear."
"Always the feisty one, kitten," Ian said, which got a raised eyebrow from Emma.
"Will you guys just smile for the camera?" Alec said, pretending to be frustrated when in reality he still had his oh-so perfect smile plastered on his face.
"Don't make me call the referee over here," Ian joked.
"It's called an umpire," Alec deadpanned.
All the while the boys were arguing, Emma was snapping pictures. I was sure that Tyler was the only one who would be decent looking and clear. We did a pose where they all lifted me up in the air like the trophy after a big game (except manhandling was so much of a problem from anyone but Tyler). I was the last virgin standing—err—sitting, and that was fine by me.
THE END
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Whew. It's been two long years, but it's finally done. Thank you to everyone who has made it to the end. Thank you guys for encouraging me to actually finish this book. I honestly couldn't have done it without you.
I will be hosting a one-shot competition (which should be uploaded shortly) and there will be prizes involved! Also, I will hopefully be writing (and posting) a new Disney-themed short story! [EDIT: It's done now!]
Again, thank you (especially if you've read to the end of this insanely long author's note.
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