Nathaniel Jean's Senior Year

23: Nathaniel Jean's Season Finale

Mild trigger warning for this chapter and any upcoming ones if you're sensitive to self-harm and/or suicide. There's nothing graphic/super descriptive, but continue with caution <3

Surprise this is the last chapter

"Nat," I groaned. "No more."

      "Aw c'mon," Natalie insisted, holding her camera up to her eye. "Just a few more. Mr. And Mrs. Morgan will kill me if I don't capture this moment to its full potential. You're graduating, Nate."

     "You've taken, like, seventy pictures," I deadpanned. "I think they'll be satisfied."

     "You're so whiny," Lucas said with a roll of his eyes, but he was grinning. I flicked his dimple defiantly, earning a pretty weird look from him.

     "Don't be boring," Renaldo demanded. "Do something gay."

      I was about to say something snarky when Lucas lifted the black cap from my head with one hand and used the other to pull me closer by the gown and press his lips against mine. I heard the click of a picture being taken, and pulled away to see Natalie grinning triumphantly.

    "Now I'm done," she said.

     "Does that mean we can leave?" I asked exasperatedly. I couldn't control my impatience—I wanted to get out of here. "Like, now?"

     Lucas chuckled at the way I was literally bouncing on my feet. "Yeah, let's get this over with."

      Natalie and Renaldo got into Natalie's car—I'd told them they didn't need to come with me, since Renaldo would obviously go to support Eric, but they'd insisted, which made me feel kinda fuzzy—as Lucas and I climbed into mine. Behind us in the backseat and the trunk were mine and his things, because after the ceremony, we wouldn't be coming back.

     Lucas, it turned out, had a lot of shit, and we couldn't fit everything in my car alone. All of the things that he didn't need but insisted on bringing anyways—posters, playbills, vinyls—ended up getting shoved into his dad's car. His parents would drive behind us to New York to say their final goodbyes and help us get settled, because they were just awesome like that.

     The parking lot was already full of expensive cars when we arrived, and all around me I saw teenagers walking toward the field adjacent to the school, dressed in their caps and gowns and followed by their families. Lucas and I joined the mass of students and made our way around the school, Natalie and Renaldo following close behind.

      "Jesus Christ," Natalie whispered as we reached the small, outdoor, Greek style amphitheater where the ceremony would be held. Her eyes scanned the sea of students around her in awe. "Your school is so . . . white."

     "You have no idea," Renaldo scoffed. "When I went here, I think there were about four other Hispanic kids in my grade."

      "We love diversity here in small town Nebraska," Lucas said sarcastically.

    The school had gone pretty hardcore with the decorations. At the edges of each seating row was a bouquet of white roses, and gold-sprayed petals sprinkled the entire area, from the seats to the stage to the green grass beneath our feet. Every light was strung with black and gold balloons, and the stage was adorned with what must have been every gold and silver  decoration at the special events store. Off to the side of the amphitheater, I could vaguely see the area we would be dining in. My eyes made out bright white tablecloths and, of course, more gold.