Jack's POV:

Graduation was looming. I was nervous, even though I had no reason to be. My grades were okay, above average in most classes so I have no reason to be worried. The details with the house move was all going fairly smoothly too. I'd called May, even though the last time I saw her she stormed out of Alex's house.She deserved to know the whereabouts of her brother, she is the only remaining close family member left who vaguely gives a damn after all. Needless to say, she didn't take it too well, even going as far to say that Alex was forcing me to move away. She accepted it in the end though, only after I told her that I was actually moving closer to her. Everything was starting to finally work out, properly this time.

Graduation is today. I woke up in a cold sweat, nerves already bubbling inside me. Alex tried his best to calm me down but it was no use.
"Jay, calm down otherwise you're going to end up fainting."
"It's not like I can fucking help it, Lex!" I snapped. I instantly felt guilty for snapping at him but my emotions were running high, not to mention the constant visions that I was having of me tripping on the stage.
"Jack, calm the fuck down, okay? I love you and it's all gonna be okay."
I sighed, looking directly into Alex's eyes, his hands cupping my cheeks. His eyes were always so calming to me, so it definitely helped.
"Sorry for snapping, Lex. I'm just scared. I don't wanna fall in front of everyone..."
"It's okay, I understand. If it makes you feel any better, I tripped up on the stage during my graduation so if you do then we can have it as our sort of inside joke."
I chuckled, it definitely sounds like something that Alex would do.
"I guess so, thank you."
"No worries, babe. Look, I've gotta go. Take my other car and get to school when you need to. I'll see you later, okay?"
"Yeah, okay. I love you, Lex."
"I love you too. Bye!"
I watched Alex walk out of the front door. My nerves started to bubble up again once I heard Alex's car pull out of the driveway. It was clear to me that he was the only thing that could and would calm me down. I made a decision to get to school as soon as possible.

I wasn't looking forward to any of it, not even getting to throw our hats in the air. I wasn't looking forward to having to wear those robes and a hat would just flatten my hair. I was shitting myself and I wanted it to be over the moment I pulled into the car park of the school, already half full with frantic looking students milling around, trying their best to avoid their fussy parents. To them, having fussy was a bad thing. I guess having their mom and dad constantly fussing over them would get annoying after a while but it was always something that I wanted. I was, and still am, jealous of everyone who had fussy parents. I wouldn't care if I was unable to go anywhere without them having to know where and who with. I wouldn't mind the early curfews or the embarrassment of having to go to the mall with them or anything like that. I just wanted to feel love from my parents but that was never going to happen, not since everything that's happened. During May and I's most recent conversation, we decided that we'd just leave my dad alone. We wouldn't call the police or get him thrown in prison for being a monster, we would leave him to live with the guilt. We'd let him live with knowing that the reason why his family is no longer together is down to him. He destroyed our family and we'd let him live with that. In a cell, he'd eventually get used to the grimy walls, the horrifying treatment and the abusive inmates but at home, everything would seem normal. He would go out to work, as usual, he would come home, as usual, and he's spend the rest of the night on the sofa, as usual. The only difference would be the fact that he'd be faced with everything that would remind him of his mistakes. He and my mom were once madly in love, I remember her telling me countless stories when I was a kid about their various dates and that romantic gestures that would come from him. They really were the perfect couple. They had the perfect relationship that everyone dreamt of. The only thing was, my dad fell out of love with my mom and fell in love with money and a high status job. He forgot about the things in life that matters, he forgot about the people that mattered the most and that, in anyone's eyes, is unforgivable.

I walked into the smaller of the two halls that Dulaney high had and found Rian fairly quickly, standing next to an extremely pretty girl. They were talking and laughing, the girl clearly giggling at Rian's lame jokes. They looked cute together though. I was guessing that it was Cassadee, the girl that Rian had all but been obsessed with since they got paired together in biology for a dissection lesson. Rian saved the day, apparently, catching Cassadee as she fainted from the sight of the dead frog on a slab in front of her. I had to admit, it was a pretty grim sight and it took everything within me to not go the same was as she did. I didn't want to interrupt them but Rian was the only real friend I had and I didn't feel like standing on my own with only my nervous thoughts for company. I weaved my way through the crowds of excited looking students, some looking slightly nervous but none looking as nervous as I felt. Cassadee saw me first, pointing me out to Rian.
"Hey, you excited, Jack?"
"Not really, Ri. Kind of a bit nervous, if I'm totally honest."
"It'll be okay, dude. Anyway, Jack this is Cassadee. Cass, this is Jack."
Cassadee smiled widely at me, pulling me into a tight hug instead of a simple greeting that I would've gone for.
"Hi, Jack. Rian's said a lot about you. You can call me Cass, if you like?"
"Oh no, I hope he's not told you anything embarrassing or revolting or any of the above."
"No, he hasn't but I'll be sure to ask him about some of those things though later on."
I liked her already. She was sassy, cute and very well suited to Rian. If they ended up getting together, they'd be amazing together. I refused to say perfect, although they probably would be: I wouldn't want to damn their relationship, knowing the way that my parent's 'perfect' relationship went. We all waited around for a little longer, Cass, Rian and I chatting and sharing stories of when we were all kids- it seemed fitting giving the situation.

A few more minutes passed before we heard someone call for our attention at the front of the hall. It was Alex.
"Right, I just want to say something before you all go and get your gowns and caps and get ready to graduate. I want to thank you all for being an amazing year and for welcoming me into your school. I've had a blast here and I really do wish that I could continue working here but, hey, life goes on, right? I want you all to reflect on the past year, look how far you've all come. I'm so incredibly proud of each and every one of you. You're an amazing bunch of people and I want you to enjoy today and tonight. Prom is tonight and it'll be a goodbye party for us all, me included, so I expect dancing, laughing and as many couples making out as possible."
This earned a chuckle from everyone. Dulaney was known for its strict rules at the proms so it was nice to see them being relaxed, thanks to Alex.
"Anyway, this is the end of yet another chapter in your lives. Get out there into the world, do what you wanna do, okay? Don't let anyone tell you what you think is wrong. Go out into the world before you and take advantage of it. It's at your disposal now. It's up to you what you want to do after today. Whether you're off to college or you're going to work straight away, it's up to you. Just remember what I've said to you today because the biggest mistake I made was not listening to my own advice. I took it on board this year and I've been the luckiest man alive. So, go out there, enjoy yourselves and then you all should be fine. Go and grab your robes from Mr Fuentes and your caps from Mr Merrick and line up in alphabetical order, I'll call that out for those amongst us who don't know their alphabet. Good luck and I'll see you out there."
I felt tears glaze my eyes over at Alex's words. He said that he'd been the luckiest man alive and that made me feel incredible. It felt great to know that I've become a part of his life and hopefully I helped him feel that way somehow.

I felt ridiculous in the gown from the moment I put it on. There were several people complaining, the majority of the year in fact but we were all in the same boat so we could all look stupid together. The cap didn't fit properly on my head due to my hair being styled so I just balanced it on my hair, hoping that it wouldn't come off. Alex called out everyone's name in alphabetical order before disappearing off up onto the stage to give his speech to the awaiting parents. It was pretty much the same speech he gave us, leaving out the whole making out at prom thing. Mr Merrick and Mr Fuentes were standing backstage with us all, shushing us and calming down the few hyperventilating students. I, luckily, wasn't one of them. I just kept focussing on Alex's speech earlier, saying that he now feels like the luckiest man alive. I'd like to challenge that but I'll settle for second. Before I knew it, Alex started out reading out names of students, Mr Merrick going up on stage to lend a hand. With me being one of the first people with names beginning with B it didn't take long before I was stood in front of the steps, waiting for my name to be called. My palms were clammy and I was starting to get a little nervous but I was okay. I carried on replaying Alex's speech through my head, calming myself down. I heard Alex call my name but I just stood there, rooted to the spot. I was frozen, it was like my feel just totally detached themselves from my body. Mr Fuentes kept urging me to go on but I couldn't. My feet wouldn't move. I saw Mr Fuentes beckon someone over before running on stage. I felt a strong pair of arms pick me up and take me out into the hallway. I saw the line continue on, the number of people slowly dwindling down. The person who carried me was stood in front of me, yelling something at me. I couldn't hear them, I could really see them. All I could see was him.

After everyone had gone up on stage and graduated, so to speak, Alex came out of the hall and came over to where I was now sat. I couldn't get the image out of my head. The curtain that framed the stage had cut my line of vision slightly but no enough to cut him out. Alex came over to me and sat cross legged in front of me.
"Jack? Jay? What happened? You were fine beforehand."
He looked concerned, his eyes locked with mine, them holding worry, confusion and care.
"He was there."I whispered quietly, hoping that we wouldn't hear me.
"Jack, you're gonna have to speak up."
"He was sat on the front row..."
"He? Who are you talking about, Jack?"
"M-my dad..."
Alex's eyes widened in shock.
"Oh, Jay...I'm sorry. On the bright side, you've technically graduated with straight B's across the board apart from in music...-"
"I failed that, didn't I?"
"Umm, no. Try and A."
"I got an A?"
"Yeah, I told you you'd be fine."
A smile broke out on my face. I had not only graduated with okay grades, but I'd gotten an A in the subject that I was most worried about. I was delighted. I forgot all about my dad being in that room, whether he came to support me or not.

"Come on, Jay. You need to get ready for prom later on."
"Um, I didn't really get a tux so I don't think I'll go."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I didn't have enough money in my bank and I didn't want to ask you for it so I just didn't get one."
"But I thought you and Rian went out and got them."
"We did, he got his but I just said I didn't like any of them."
"You're an idiot, you know that? Go home, go and get the slim fitting white shirt with the black collar, a black thin tie and a slim blazer from my closet."
"No, Lex, I couldn't."
"You can and you will. Go!"
I got up from my seat on the floor and hauled Alex up after me. I wanted to kiss him but there were people around and even though he was no longer my teacher, it would still look bad, that's why we decided to move away from this area.
"I-d, um-"
"I know, Jack. Just go. We can do that later."
Alex winked at me before playfully nudging my shoulder.
"Alright, alright, I'm going."

I found what Alex told me to wear and put them on, straightening out any creases. I left my black skinny jeans on and slipped on my only pair of all back vans. I spent ages on my hair, trying to get it to look decent. I sprayed myself with a little aftershave, the one that Alex always said he loved, and looked at myself in the mirror once more. The shirt fit me well and so did the blazer. I looked okay. It wasn't what I'd go and pick but now it was on, it looked good. Alex certainly had an eye for fashion. I sprayed a few fly-away strands of hair with hairspray before setting off out the house and back to school. I arrived back at school just in time. The last few people were arriving. The girls struggling to walk in their ridiculously high heels and big puffy dresses. The guys had gone overboard too, wearing expensive and ill-fitting suits. But, hey, it's a high school prom, what else do you expect? This prom was as cliché as a prom could get and if it wasn't for Alex leaving, I probably wouldn't have come. I didn't have a date because my date was a teacher. I'd happily hang around with Alex all night but that would look suspicious and I didn't want to intrude on Rian and Cass. I just stayed at the back with a cup of fruit punch in my hand, playing games on my phone to try and draw my attention away from the happy couples swaying out of time to the shitty slow pop song. I felt a presence beside me. I turned my head to see Kellin leaning against the wall next to me.
"You're having the same issue as me, huh?"
"Yep, sucks to be honest."
"I know. Aww look! Vic and Alex are dancing together!"
I followed Kellin's finger and saw that Alex and Vic were swaying along to the music. I could tell on their faces that it was just for their own amusement and because neither of them could dance with who they really wanted to dance with. My eye caught Alex's. He smiled before mouthing at me, telling me to dance with Kellin.
"Hey, Kells? Wanna dance?"
Kellin fake gasped, throwing his hand over his chest.
"Oh, I never thought you'd ask. I've been waiting for you to ask me since...forever."
We both fell about laughing as we made our way through the tables and to the centre of the dance floor, where Vic and Alex were dancing. Maybe tonight wouldn't be so bad after all.

Notes

Hi,

So I've decided to end this story a lot sooner than I hoped. The last chapter will be up tomorrow (Saturday). I have reasons though.

• I'm going on holiday Sunday for a week so I wouldn't be able to update.
• I'd only be back for a week and a bit and then I'd be off to the Reading Festival for a few days so I wouldn't be able to update then.
• I'd rather finish the story completely instead of putting it on hold or not being able to update as much as I had been and to the same standard.

Thank you all for reading and voting etc, it's been amazing and I really am so grateful for all of the support. I'll thank you all properly tomorrow.
Em x