Chapter 29

The last eight months have been insane.

As soon as Charlotte revealed our secret relationship to the world, we haven't had a second of peace.

There was have been times where we were chased by paparazzi.

We still are being chased by paparazzi, believe it or not.

It has gotten so bad that Charlotte and I had to hide out in a hotel suite for a week.

But we're not going to get into that.

We were still able to go to school, with a bit of persuasion.

We felt like school was our only time to be free from interrupting adults and nosey paparazzi.

Plus, that was the only time we got to see Avery with all of this madness happening.

Charlotte has been singing to me a lot recently, mainly whenever I'm feeling sad during our isolation from our friends, and it has been extremely helpful.

We have gotten into a fight over what we wanted to eat for breakfast.

That happened a week ago.

It is currently graduation day.

The long-awaited day.

"Babe," I hear someone yell from behind me before I'm being lifted up and spun around I laugh as she puts me down and wraps her arms around my waist.

"I love you" She whispers as she places her forehead against mine Our graduation ceremony is being held in a rented grassy field, but they turned it into an elegantly beautiful wonderland.

All of the senior ladies are wearing white attire while the senior men are wearing a basic black and white tuxedo.

"I love you too" I reply as I lean up to connect our lips We're interrupted by a distant gagging noise coming from our side.

"Come on guys, there are parents around" I hear Avery say I pull away from Charlotte with a laugh as I turn to face my overdramatic friend.

"It's nice to see you too, Avery" I respond as I lay my head against Charlotte's chest with a smile Avery playfully rolls her eyes at us as Charlotte wraps her arms around my waist.

"How are you guys not sick of each other yet?" Avery questions genuinely as I pull away from Charlotte and grab her hand We begin to make our way towards our animatedly conversing parents.

"Believe me, we have our moments," Charlotte responds as we walk past random teachers and staff Avery gives her a look of skepticism which Charlotte immediately notices.

"Last week for example, Aspen got mad at me for saying that her outfit didn't match" Charlotte says which instantly works me up I pull away from my girlfriend and cross my arms as I begin to glare at her.

"I got mad at you because you said, and I quote 'you look like you came from the disco era'" I say "Okay, what's wrong with the disco era?" She asks "Nothing, the problem is that you were making fun of me" I say just as we stop in front of our laughing mothers "For the last time, I was making fun of your clothes not you" Charlotte says with obvious irritation As soon as they notice the thick tension, they cease their laughter and give us a confused look.

"Why do I feel like we missed something?" My mom questions with obvious confusion "Would you like to tell them, Charlotte?" I say, purposely not calling her a term of endearment When I'm mad I become extremely petty.

I won't deny it.

Charlotte gives me a look as if asking 'Are you serious?' to which I respond with an eyebrow raise.

She groans as she flips her blonde hair in annoyance.

I have to admit that I would be lying if I said that, that did not ignite something deep within me.

"I asked them a question which ended up bringing up their fight from last week" Avery responds Our parents’ breaths hitch simultaneously which causes Avery to give them a look of confusion.

"We can't go through this again, do you remember how bad it got?" Charlotte's mom says with a horrified facial expression Okay, they are being completely overdramatic.

It was not as horrific as they are making it out to be.

"Whatever, I'm going to the bathroom" I say as I begin to walk away from them I'm not really going to the bathroom. I'm taking a walk, but I can't tell them that.

Last time I told them I was just taking a walk I got swarmed by paparazzi in record time.

Both of our mothers were upset that I risked my safety and well-being while Bella and Charlotte quickly rushed me out of there when they arrived.

As soon as we got home, I apologized profusely to them, and they excepted it, but I could still sense their worry.

Bella assured me that everything would be fine and that she would take care of it but Charlotte was visibly upset with me.

At first, she pretended like she didn't know what I was talking about whenever I mentioned that she seemed like she was upset with me. It went on like that for a couple of minutes before she ended up spilling everything to me.

I accidentally bump into a middle-aged lady which causes her to drop her belongings.

"Oh, my goodness, I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going" I rush out as the both of us squat down to gather her belongings "No, it's my fault," she responds as she stands up and begins to shove her belongings back into her purse I silently smile at her as I hand her some of the belongings that I collected. She thanks me as she retrieves them from my hands only to give me a look of confusion.

"You look really familiar; do I know you?" She asks as she shoves the rest of her belongings into her purse "No, I don't think so" I reply just as I hear someone walk up to us I turn my head in the direction of the sound only to internally huff when I notice my girlfriend making her way over to us.

Did she follow me?!

What if I actually went to the bathroom?

"Aspen, what are you doing?" Charlotte asks with a bored facial expression as she crosses her arms firmly "None of your business" I reply with a firm tone as I mimic her crossed arms "Wait, you're Bellisa’s girlfriend, I knew that I knew you from somewhere" the lady says with an excited tone of voice as she pulls out her phone and points the camera towards my face "Aspen, we need to leave, now" Charlotte says as she grabs my arm and begins to pull me away from the lady only for me to roughly yank my arm out of her grasp completely "No, I'm taking a walk" I retaliate as I begin to walk away from her "We both know how that went last time you 'took a walk'" she says which causes me to stop and turn so that I could face her "I'll take my chances" I say before speeding off towards the bathroom so that I could get some privacy "Why are you so mad at me over an opinion?" She questions but I ignore her "Tell me, Aspen" she says, growing more frustrated by the second "Leave me alone, Charlotte" I reply as I stop in front of the bathrooms I pull at the handle and outwardly groan when I notice that it is locked.

They would choose today of all days to actually lock this bathroom.

"No, I will not leave you alone" she says as if that is an absurd statement Oh, my goodness gracious.

"Fine, I forgive you, are we done now?" I say as I begin to walk away from her She stops me mid stride and grabs my arm before pushing me against the brick wall. I inwardly groan from the feeling of the brick on my upper back.

Ugh now I'm going to have scratches on my back.

This is what I get for wearing a strapless dress.

"Aspen, as your girlfriend it is my job to tell you when you are being unreasonable" she begins as I try to squirm out of her grip She tightens her grip on my arms as she holds them against my sides, effectively preventing me from moving.

"Charlotte, let go of me" I whisper breathlessly since she's barely an inch away from my face, she lightly chuckles at my weak statement "I'm not holding onto you anymore, it's the other way around" she replies smugly I suddenly become aware of the fact that my hands are tightly intertwined with hers. I let go of her and smooth my hands down the side of my dress before silently walking away from her.

Shit.

That was close.

I walk as fast as I can in my heels so that I can get as far away as I can from my intoxicating girlfriend as possible.

-

It has been a total of three minutes before my girlfriend busted into the science room where I was hiding.

Jesus Christ.

"You do know that you could've knocked, right?" I question as I turn to look at her She chooses to shrug as she shuts the door behind her.

"Are you still mad at me?" She questions genuinely as she walks over to me "I was never mad at you, I was frustrated, there's a difference" I say matter of fatly She rolls her eyes at my answer as she stands in between my thighs and places her hands on my hips. I smile as I place my arms around her neck.

We simultaneously share an apologetic smile before leaning in and sharing a kiss. As I go to pull away, she brings me back in with a small smile.

"I've been chasing after you for eight minutes, I think that I deserve a little more than a peck" Charlotte whispers huskily against my lips "I gave you three pecks" I inform She laughs lightly before leaning in and connecting our lips in a heated make out session.

We were so wrapped up in our intimate moment that we did not hear someone open the door.

"Uh- Ms. Wilder, Ms. Bailey, I think they forgave each other" I hear Avery yell from the doorway which causes me to quickly push Charlotte away from me in fright I look over to Avery only to notice that she has an amused facial expression.

"What?" I ask her breathlessly since I'm trying to get air back into my lungs "Next time you wear red lipstick, make sure it's kiss proof" she says I turn my head to look at Charlotte and notice that a good amount of my lipstick ended up on her lips as well as around them.

"Oops" I whisper halfheartedly as Avery begins to laugh at our situation Oh god.

This is embarrassing.

I hope my lipstick doesn't stain her face.

-

"You guys finally graduated, I never thought this day would come" Avery says with obvious excitement Our graduation just ended and I have never been happier.

Surprisingly it went according to plan. Every one received their diplomas as well as shook the administrators’ hands before walking off the stage.

I weirdly feel like a new person.

"Avery, you graduated too" I reply to her as we continue to stroll through the grass "Eh, it's not a big deal" she says excitedly with a shrug Bella suddenly appears in front of us along with our parents.

"The back door is clear of any paparazzi; you'll exit from there while they're distracted trying to watch the front door" she informs us "Thank you, Bella, for everything" I say appreciatively with a smile "No problem, sweetie" she replies gratefully before ushering us towards the exit Charlotte grabs my hand and interlocks our fingers as we quickly, but steadily, make our way towards the exit.

You'd be surprised how hard it is to speed walk through grass in heels.

Spoiler alert, it is very hard.

Before I know what is happening Charlotte stops walking completely and scoops me up into her arms.

"Babe," I squeak out as I quickly lock my arms around her neck She laughs at my reaction as she continues to follow Bella towards the exit.

"Don't do that, I could've got hurt" I say with a pout as we arrive at the exit "I would never hurt you" she says with a serious tone as she offers me a genuine smile "I love you" I say as I place a peck on her cheek lovingly I guess that we have to go sneak around a group of middle-aged men with big cameras.

Fun.

Can you sense my sarcasm?