Charlie's POV

The seniors have been out of school for about a week now. I haven't seen my friends much since we have all been getting ready for what our adult life with turn into.

Graduation is today. I stood in front of the mirror in my lower thigh length, flowy, white dress. My dark blue cap and gown sat in my arm as I stared at myself in the mirror.

I smiled at my reflection. My hair was in a slight wave. I had on light makeup so it still showed off my other features. I had ditched my big glasses for contacts which showed off my brown eyes.

"We did it Charlie." Laura said walking up behind me, Mike following behind. I stared at my best friends through the mirror and smiled.

"Who knew this idiot could graduate." I said ruffling Mike's hair. He huffed and began fixing it while Laura giggled.

"I don't think any of us knew that would happen." Laura said giggling more. I joined in which made another huff leave my best friends mouth.

"You guys are mean." Mike said pouting. We smiled at him and both side hugged him. He leaned down and kissed both of our foreheads and smiled at our reflection.

"We love you Mikey." I smiled up at him. He just rolled his eyes, a smile played on his lips.

"Come on, let's get to the school so we aren't late." Mike said pulling back.

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The school was pretty much empty when we had arrived. Seniors had lined the choir room where we all had to stand and wait. I currently stood next to Derek Marten and Layla Day, the Valedictorian and number three. Derek was one hundred percent the smartest kid in our school. He kept a 4.0 the his whole high school time.

Derek and I weren't really friends but we were acquaintances. We would occasionally work together on assignments or he would help me on some. He was the person I had to walk with.

I looked over at the clock on the wall with an eerie look. Only twenty minutes left.

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Twenty minutes had changed into twenty seconds faster than I had anticipated. I stood facing the door to the gymnasium, waiting for the sound of our walking song to play and the doors to open.

Come on Charlie. You got this. You have been practicing this for a few days now. Just don't trip and embarrass yourself and you will be good.

Before I even noticed the doors opened and the song we had chosen began to play. With a simple nod I began walking forward, stepping into the gymnasium. A wave of heat hit me but I kept going. Once I made it to the end of the isle I turned and faced a smiley faces Derek. We both began walking towards each other.

We met in the middle and locked our arms and made our way towards the front of the gym where the stage sat. We made it to our row of seats and smiled at each other. We separated, me going to the right and him going to the left.

The way that the people gathered in I ended up sitting next to Austin, with Laura and Mike sitting behind us. The whole time Austin kept saying small jokes to make me a little less nervous.

A video began playing on the large screen. The video was pictures of each senior as little kids and then their senior picture.

Laura's was of her in a little princess dress with Mac and Cheese in her hair and on her face.

Mine showed up and I instantly cringed at the one my mother had chosen. I sat in the sink with my foot in my mouth and I had a pig hat on.

Finally it was time to pass out the diplomas. Instead of going based off the students GPA they went based on last name.

"Austin Carlson!" Our principal called. Austin stood up as small cheers left the crowd. He walked across that stage like it was nothing new to him, all the attention.

"Mike Dranson!" Mike stumbled slightly standing up but it was barely catchable. He walked up the stairs with a proud look on his face.

E, F, G, H, I, J, J, L, and then M.

"Karla Manerson."

"Hannah Macker."

"Charlotte Mack!" Oh no, this is it. I stood up from my spot as cheers came from the crowd. With a nervous smile I made my way towards the stage.

Don't trip. Don't trip. Don't trip. I chanted in my head. Thank god I didn't trip. I shook my principals hand before shaking my teachers hands. I made my way off the stage, my diploma in my hand.

My eyes looked across the crowd of students and my eyes locked with his. He gave me a reassuring look with a small smile. Instantly all my nerves left me as I took my seat once again.

N, O, P, Q, R, S.

"Jacob Sinclair." Jacob stood from his seat and slowly made his way towards the stage. He took his sweet time grabbing his diploma and took his seat again.

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And then we all threw our caps in the air. They landed around the gym as the crowd erupted in loud cheers. Our exit song began to play. The pairs that had walked in with each other began exiting the gym. Most doing some sort of hand shake before they part ways.

Derek and I did a simple nod and a handshake before we parted ways. As the last person exited the gym cheers were heard once again.

All seniors went back into the gym finding their family and friends and began taking pictures. Laura and I sprinted at each other. She jumped into my arms almost tackling me into a hug.

"We fucking did it bitch!" She yelled. I laughed as she jumped down. An arm snaked around my waist and I felt a kiss on my cheek.

"I'm surprised you didn't trip." Jacob whispered in my ear. I laughed and looked up at him.

"I felt the same way. I kept chanting to myself to not trip." I said which made a small smile make its way onto his lips.

"Congratulations idiot!" I heard a familiar voice say. I turned around and came face to face with my brother. My mother had sat next to him in a wheelchair but still had a bright smile on her face even though she looked incredible ill. Bailey, moms nurse stood next to her also smiling at me.

"Oh my gosh you guys came." I said leaving Jacob and tackling my brother into a hug, much like the one Laura gave to me.

"Momma you made it." I said leaning down and hugging her.

"I wouldn't miss this day for the world." She said but her voice was raspy.

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After we all left Jacob and I went back to my house. We laid on my bed cuddling, both of us still wide awake.

"What do you think will happen when we all go off to college." I said not making eye contact with him.

"I'm not sure." He whispered pressing a kiss to my stomach before resting his head there.

"I hope we all keep contact." I said playing with his hair.

"You and I will." He mumbled.

"I know." I whispered looking down at him. As if he could feel my eyes on him he looked down at me.

"I love you Charlie. I won't see you get hurt so I will drive you to fucking Michigan, or California, or even Oregon, for you to see the people you care about." He said pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

"I love you too." I said before we got comfortable and just let sleep consume us.