The College Room [THE KISSING BOOTH #2 - FAN FICTION]

Chapter Thirty-One

There was nothing that could have brought me down after that. Dad took Brad and me out to our favourite Chinese restaurant and we gorged on the all-you-can-eat buffet.

The Flynns, except Noah, joined us for dessert afterward and they all raved about mine and Lee's success.

And even though Lee would be going to Yale and I'd be going to Harvard, we knew our friendship was strong enough to last through anything.

When we'd talked and eaten enough, we set out of the restaurant and made our way back home. I was worried that I'd enjoyed the celebratory meal a little too much and that my prom dress wouldn't fit me from all the bloating.

I was wrong, of course.

The afternoon I prepared for prom, I smiled at my flat stomach, knowing my dress still fit perfectly.

The bright blue sequinned dress was body-hugging, a gorgeous halter neck design from the nineties that my mother used to wear.

It had spent years hanging in Dad's closet, not having been even looked at since Mum died. But when I expressed to Dad a week ago that I planned on wearing the same peach-coloured dress as last year, he shook his head and pulled out the blue one.

I was over the moon.

"You look gorgeous, Elle," Dad said, standing in the doorway to my room, a noticeable tear perched on his left eye.

I smiled at him. "Thanks," I replied. "If only I could neaten up this stupid hair."

I turned back to the mirror and frowned. The dress was perfect, yes, and I'd even managed to get my makeup skills to a semi-professional level. But my hair?

My hair was a knotty mess of brown locks, strands wildly swaying through the air.

"Better do something with it," he said, trotting over to me and twirling it around his fingers.

He played with it a little, staring at our faces in the mirror as he did so. Suddenly, he'd twirled my hair into a loose bun that sat elegantly at the nape of my neck, and a wavy strand fell to the left of my face.

"Hang on a sec," I said. "That actually looks good! Dad, pin it up!"

I handed him one of the hair pins I'd been fiddling with earlier, and he struggled to tighten it into my hair. But eventually, he'd figured it out, and my look was finally complete.

Who knew Dad could have created the perfect messy bun without an ounce of effort?

Now that I was finally ready, I hugged Dad goodbye and met Lee outside at the driveway. His brown hair had been combed neatly to the side, and his black suit was perfectly complete with his well-tied blue bow tie.

"Hey, pretty lady," he said, holding up his arm, his elbow bent, ready for me to take it.

I linked my arm through his and smiled. "Take me to the ball, good Sir!"

We laughed at each other and made our way to prom, raving about the fact that it was our last.

Last year I thought that nothing could ever have beat the "memories" themed prom, especially given mine and Lee's Kissing Booth was a featured stall. But this year? This year blew last year out of the park.

The school auditorium was dressed to the nines in blue and white decorations, complemented by silver streamers lining the walls and ice sculptures taking up residence in the centre.

Lee and I danced around the sculptures, smiling and laughing as we did every weekend growing up and dancing at the arcade.

Rachael stopped by for a bit, giving Lee a big hug and kissing him once on the cheek. We spoke a bit, but soon enough she went fluttering back to Olivia.

Lee and I took a bunch of photos, taking full advantage of the prop-filled photo booth by the drinks table.

And when we were all danced and laughed out, we made our way home together, walking in the dark under the stairs.

"We really have had the best time together," Lee said.

I smiled, even though he couldn't see me through the dark. "Aw, come on now, don't get all mushy," I said. "But, I must admit, I will miss you next year."

"It'll suck," Lee said as we turned around the block, my house coming into view. "But when we see each other after being apart, it'll be a total riot."

"You're totally right," I said. "Hey, who's that?"

There was a figure at the front of my house, crouched lowly by the front door. I squinted my eyes, but couldn't make it out through the dark.

"Dad?"

The figure stood up, and when the moonlight hit his face, I realised it wasn't Dad.

It was Noah.

I ran up the driveway as fast as I could, squeezing the lengths of my dress in my palms so I wouldn't trip.

"Elle," he said, his voice slow and sweet.

I didn't even bother to respond. Instead, I ran straight into him, throwing my arms around his body and burying my head into his chest.

He pulled away and reached down by the ground. When he stood back up to me, a bouquet of roses nearly covered his whole face.

"Sorry I couldn't come earlier," he said. "You look beautiful. These are for you."

I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my already blushing face. My stomach filled with butterflies as I took the roses from Noah's hands.

"I can't believe you're here," I whispered.

Noah dodged the roses to kiss me softly on the lips. Then he pulled away again and gave me his signature smirk.

"I couldn't miss your senior prom," he replied. "Well, I kind of did, but-"

"Oh, just shut up," I said, and pulled him in for another kiss.

And as we kissed that night under the stars, a gorgeous bouquet of roses held tightly in one hand, my dad inside on the road to recovery, and my best friend waiting just a few metres away, I realised something.

Life was perfect.

Life was truly, truly perfect.

The End

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Author's Note:

Well, that's it.

Wow. I can't thank you all enough for the amazing support! 150K reads in only one month. ONE MONTH!! :o

Stay tuned for an epilogue, where I have an EXCITING announcement to make afterward. What do you think it will be?!?!

Thank you again for absolutely everything. I love you all!

Hayley