Loving the fat girl [Book 1]

Epilogue - The End

Epilogue

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."

The crowd surrounding Arya and Seth erupts in applause, excited shouts and whistling. Seth leans over to Arya, his lips almost touching the skin by her ear. No matter how many people surrounded them, when Seth's hot breath tickles Arya's skin, there is no thought wasted on anyone but each other.

"You know he stole that from Steve Jobs, right?" Arya bursts into giggles and shakes her head slightly. Seth joins in laughing, never taking his eyes off his gorgeous girlfriend. She's never looked this happy, this at ease and Seth could wish nothing more than to be the cause of such a reaction. He gently wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her to his side. Through her thick lashes she peeks up at him and he lowers his lips to hers.

They made it. After everything that happened. Everything that was done to them. All the stress and hatred and pain... They have made it.

Mr Stark clears his throat and leans closer to the microphone, "I now ask all graduating students to join me on stage as I call their names, starting with Jaqueline Avery."

One by one students join the principal on stage, proudly accept their diplomas, smile for their families' cameras and hop back off stage. Seth now takes hold of Arya's hand and intertwines his fingers with hers. She bites down on her bottom lip, staring straight ahead as Leena makes her way onto the stage. She looks absolutely impeccable even under the graduation gown. When Leena accepts her diploma, Arya faces Seth, pulls his hand up to her mouth and places a delicate kiss on the back of it. "I love you", she whispers, her voice raspy with emotion.

A shiver goes down Seth's spine. He still hasn't gotten used to hearing that. Arya smiles sweetly up at him and gets lost in Seth's eyes. She couldn't think of a better way to spend her time.

"Arya O'Brien!" Mr Stark shouts, making Arya jump. A rush of adrenaline flushes her body and her cheeks go red when she suddenly realizes that everyone is staring at her.

"Oh my god." She whispers, her cheeks and neck now bright red. Involuntarily she lets go of Seth's hand, knowing that everyone is waiting for her to walk up those steps.

"Stop laughing." She hisses at Seth glaringly before making her way towards the stage. Aware of the fact that all eyes are on her, she runs her – now clammy - hands down the front of her gown. To her this feels like the very first day of school. Being thrown in front of Ms Crones' class, made to  introduce herself to a group of strangers.

Yet this moment is not the same at all. It is very different indeed. Something very specific has changed in the past few years. Not only are these people not strangers any more but she doesn't care about the fact that her hips might be visible under the unflattering gown. Arya doesn't care about her arm jiggling as she shakes Mr Stark's hand and she doesn't care about her slight double chin as Sam proudly takes her picture – her bright smile is so much more important right now. Seth smiling at her and cheering from his seat. That's important. Leena clapping despite them still not being friends. Sam wiping away a few stray tears as she steps off the stage, clutching her diploma to her chest. He quickly embraces her.

"I've never been so proud, Arya. Never." Her cousins voice is thick and shaky with emotion.

"Oh stop crying, you old sob!" Arya teases, laughing. Sam laughs along with her and reaches out to squeeze her cheek.

"Stop teasing your cousin, babe." Seth wraps his arm around Arya's waist.

"It really is a sad day when Seth Smith has to come to my defense. This is not natural." Sam shakes his head slightly but the proud smile hasn't left his face. He steps back, taking out his camera and shooting another picture of the happy couple in front of him.

"It should be your turn any second now, Seth. You should sit back down." Arya suggests, leaning against Seth's chest and nuzzling her face in the crook of his neck. He wraps his arms around her, pulling her close. "I'm serious." Arya tries to sound stern but Seth rolls his eyes, giving her another right squeeze. He pecks her cheek, turns and returns to his seat.

"You know, I still haven't gotten used to his hands on my little cousin." Sam admits now wrapping his own arm around Arya.

"Neither have I." Arya grins, jabbing her elbow into Sam's side. Her eyes wander over the crowd until they land on a small group of very good looking people. "I should probably go say hello."

Arya steps out of Sam's embrace and walks to the back of the crowd where Seth's mother stands. As she gets closer, she makes eye-contact with little Paulina. Seth's little sister squeals and lets go of her mother's hand. Her pony-tail bobs up and down as she charges towards Arya. Paulina jumps into Arya's arms and clings onto her.

"Poppy! You look so cute. Love the dress!"

"I'm Elsa!" Paulina shouts excitedly. She had insisted on wearing her Princess Elsa costume for her brother's graduation ceremony and even though Seth's mother had first disapproved of it, Arya had somehow managed to change her mind.

"You looked great on stage, Arya. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Ms Parks. That's very kind of you." Arya looks around for a second and sighs. "I'm guessing his father is not coming?"

"I doubt it. Ever since I signed the divorce papers, we haven't talked. He hasn't even tried to see his children." Seth's mother, who has decided to go by her maiden name Parks, sighs and shakes her head clearly saddened.

"Seth Smith!" Mr Stark calls Seth on stage. Arya picks up Paulina and quickly turns towards the stage. When Seth walks up to Mr Stark, Arya feels tears welling up in her eyes. Seth's mother puts her hand on Arya's shoulder and beams at her son.

"Thank you." Seth nods at Mr Stark, smiles at the crowd, accepts his diploma and hurries off the stage. He looks confused for a second as he gets off the stage, scanning the crowd. Paulina is waving frantically, trying to get his attention. Finally he finds the three at the back of the crowd and comes jogging towards them. First he hugs his mother tightly, then he takes Paulina out of Arya's arms and spins her around.

"Princess Elsa!" He exclaims, making Paulina giggle. "You're definitely the prettiest girl here today!" He kisses both of her cheeks before turning to Arya. "No offence, babe."

"None taken." Arya laughs, rubbing Seth's back.

Sam walks up behind Seth and takes Paulina from him. They'd actually become fast friends over the past few weeks. "Put one on her before high school is officially over."

Seth smirks and steps closer to Arya. He grabs onto the back of her neck with one hand and buries the other one in her hair. As he leans in, Arya closes her eyes. Seth's lips touch hers slightly, sending a shiver down Arya's spine. The crowd cheers, almost as if to cheer the two of them on. Seth deepens the kiss and Arya's knees go weak. She will never not enjoy kissing Seth.

"I now want to ask all graduates to gather for the group picture. Get your caps ready!" Mr Stark announces.

"Let's get our picture taken, gorgeous." Seth and Arya join the crowd, excitement rushing through their bodies. They both reach for their caps as Mr Stark gets ready to take the picture.

"Congratulations class of 2014!!"

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TO BE CONTINUED!

There is now a sequel called "Living for the fat girl"! Feel free to check it out :) It is marked as "mature" as Seth and Arya are going to mature as well throughout the sequel  so you might have to "become a fan" to see the sequel! :)

Anyway, I want to thank you all for reading. Seriously I can't thank you enough for sticking with it and enjoying, voting commenting. It means the world!

Now go read the sequel ;) Check the external link!