Epilouge

A few weeks later, the day of the charity event came.

I was tensed as hell because I didn’t matter how much preparation I put into the planning, I knew it would still feel like it wasn’t enough. So, I took Loan’s advice and breathed through the entire thing. My friends were there, as well as Logan’s airhead friends (I’d never get tired of calling them that) and together, they acted as our volunteers for both the stage event and the decoration. My mom also made good on her promise and helped me organize the costumes for the dog walks.

At the end of the event, we’d raised over fifty thousand dollars. Patty shed a few tears which made me shed a few tears and even Principal Donna’s hard façade cracked a little because she smiled somewhere in the celebration. I was glad for that, mostly because her smile was a reassurance that Logan and I had passed our senior year project.

It also meant that our plans for the shelter would come to fruition and Patty would save her baby. With the money raised, she would be able to expand the building, create space to bring in more animals and focus better on their healthcare. I hoped her husband was smiling from wherever he was because his wife would not be alone.

Logan and I were going strong. Our relationship was going as well as can be. I got to see new parts to Logan I never knew existed and in turn, I learned to open up more about my life and my feelings for him.

“Logan, what did you mean by you’ve loved me since before you knew what love was?” The question had popped into my head one morning and I figured it was best to get it over with.

Logan had pulled away to look me in the eyes and the way sincerity danced around in his green orbs told me that he was telling the truth. “I thought you’d never ask. Don’t freak out but it means that I fell in love with you the first day I met you.”

I’d scrunched my brows up in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”

“Do you remember that day when I changed your score on that test?”

I chuckled. “It was the first day I realized that I hated your guts.”

His laughter mirrored mine. “It was the first day I decided that you would be my girlfriend one day.”

I raised a brow in surprised interest, narrowing my eyes. “Oh, did you now?”

He nodded, pulling me close to his body. “I fell in love with you right from the first day I set my eyes on you. Your dark hair and chubby cheeks, you were the girl of my dreams.”

“We were in preschool, you creep,” I laughed, wrapping my arms around his neck. “What were we, five? Six?”

“It didn’t matter. I had you ingrained in my heart, but I didn’t think to make any move until at that with your test.”

“And you genius plan was to make me get a B?”

“Not one of my smartest moments but you have to admit, it did get your attention,” he smirked, pecking my lips.

I couldn’t fault his logic, albeit backwards. “It did. It made me despise you,” I said. “So, you’ve loved me the entire time? All this back and forth was so I would notice you?”

He nodded. “Yup.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me up front?”

“Hale, you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to matters of the heart. I’m even surprised you didn’t see it all these years. I mean, what guy picked on a girl for years just because he was bored?”

His words reminded me of what Darren said that night in my room when he, Aimee and I were speculating about who Logan liked. He had been right. Apparently, I was the last to know anything about everything.

Trent never spoke to me again, which was a shame because I didn’t think it was the best course of action. There was no reason to be enemies, especially since Logan was beginning to come to terms to the fact that Trent would not be going anywhere soon and he would be stuck seeing his face around school until graduation.

***

Senior year was a breeze and in no time, it was over. Prom came and went, with Logan and me winning Prom King and Prom Queen, a feat I’d never thought possible until Logan. One of the perks of dating the most popular boy in school.

Once admission letters came rolling in, I was beyond my mind when I received a letter from Harvard. I’d smiled so widely, my face almost broke into two. You can imagine how faint I got when Logan got one too. My mom almost rushed me to the hospital. ‘Death by happiness’ was a good way to go in my opinion.

We were going to the same college. I didn’t know if it was fate or just sheer luck but I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

If anyone had told me that I would be head over heels in love with the boy I’d hated most in the world, I’d have laughed in their face — but not before directing them to the nearest mental hospital. Even now, after an entire year of being together, it was still hard to believe sometimes.

Logan was the most present person I’d ever known; he was always there when I needed him. He was constant in his care and affection and I never for one day doubted his love for me.

I had no doubt whatsoever that we were meant for each other.

“I love you, Logan Hernández,” I whispered against his lips as he kissed me again. “So much.”

He laughed his response into my part lips, a rich sound that reverberated through my entire body. There was no better taste than the laughter of the person you loved in your mouth.

A match made in hell, indeed.