Okay, so first off, let me announce the winner for the long awaited cover contest. The winner is @escapists. The cover is off to the side and it is amazing! Though I have to admit, it was a very difficult decision! 

Now, for the next thing I need to say, I probably won't be posting A Touch of Grace until tomorrow or Monday BECAUSE I have yet to write a good description and I'm still editing and revising. Plus, when I post it, I want to at least have a prologue and 3 chapters. Just a warning- it might be a little slow at first. I'm trying to recreate chapter 1 so it won't be that slow; and after I recreate chapter 1, I have to make edits to the others so they'll fit. Just be patient with me. It will be up and I will have normal updates for that (until July) but we won't discuss that problem until that time comes.

This is the last and final chapter of this story. I hope you enjoyed it. I know I enjoyed writing it and reading your comments. You guys are amazing and I don't know if I say that enough. Your comments literally make my day, and your feedback means so much to me. I just want you guys to know that I appreciate every single one of you. :)

Because I know some of yall are impatient c: I'm just going to say this now: I have other stories on Wattpad that you may or may not have read. Most of them are edited. I think all of them are except for That's Just the Beginning (because it's way too cringeworthy for me to even open without having some sort of attack). So, if you feel like reading something else while you wait, check out my stories, or look at my reading lists (which I haven't updated in forever), and pick one of those books. 

Chapter 1: Snap (Maddox Perspective)

I rolled over, looking at the time. I still have 20 minutes. With a satisfied sigh, I closed my eyes again, dozing off quickly. What seemed to have been 10 seconds later, I woke up and looked at my phone. My eyes widened when I saw that I was supposed to wake up an entire hour ago. I immediately jumped up, practically falling over as I ran to my closet.

Once I was ready, which took more time than I planned; I raced downstairs with my backpack hanging off of my shoulder and my hair a mess. "Looks like someone's late," Abel sang from the couch. He had his books spread out around him and I could tell he was finishing up some last minute homework that he probably put off for a week. Idiot.

"Looks like you should shut up," I retorted as I snagged my keys from the table near the hall. I was about to say something quite rude to my older brother when my mother appeared.

"There's breakfast on the table," she told me as I rushed towards the door.

"I'm late, mom. I can't exactly indulge on some pancakes," I responded as the familiar scent filled my nose. I wanted to go grab a stack of pancakes and shove them in my mouth but I knew that if I did, I'd be late for class, and if I'm late for first period again, Ms. Daniels is going to kill me.

Before they could say anything else, I rushed outside and got in my car, swearing as I did.

+ + +

It seemed to be the worst day ever. Not only did I wake up late, but I arrived to class late, earning myself a detention. I guess you can say that Ms. Daniels isn't my biggest fan. I'm not hers either because she's a huge bi—. "Maddox!" Cassidy called.

"What?" I snapped as I turned to look at her. She seemed unfazed by my insolence.

"There's a new girl," she blurted. I felt my jaw clench. She's the third person to tell me this- Jackson and Nicholas already beat her to the punch.

"Yeah, I know, everyone's been telling me," I responded. "And I'll tell you what I've been telling them: I don't care."

"But she's hot," Jackson piped from beside me. "When you see her, you will care."

I simply rolled my eyes and Winona spoke. "She hangs around Vivica's crowd," she announced. I immediately scowled.

"She's been here for a day and she's already hanging around the wrong people," I muttered with a shake of my head.

"Maybe we should make her a part of our crowd," Winona suggested.

"Yeah! We could use another girl!" Cassidy grinned. Their excitement caused my nose to wrinkle.

"We don't even know this girl," I reminded them. "She could be crazy. I mean, she hangs out with Vivica- so I don't doubt it."

"We won't know until we try," Winona explained. "If she's not, we'll just stop talking to her."

I scoffed. "It's a waste of time," I muttered.

"Why do you have to be such a downer?" Cassidy asked with a frown. "She's new here. She probably doesn't know who's a good person, and who's not. Vivica probably talked to her first, so that's why she's sticking around her."

I put my food down and grabbed my soda, standing up. "Well, if you guys do become her friend, don't expect me to talk to her, because I won't."

"He'll come around," Nick announced from a few feet behind me.

"No I won't," I retorted over my shoulder. I turned around and felt myself collide into someone. I heard a tray clatter to the floor, as well as the sound of food spilling. I felt something splatter across my chest as I fell on the ground. I swore once I landed on the ground with a thud, watching my soda spiral towards the girl sitting on the floor surrounded by fallen food.

"I'm sorry," she began to say, repeating it at least three times as she stood up. I was too busy examining the ketchup staining my shirt to pay attention. I felt several eyes on me and I wanted to scream at her and tell her that she needs to watch where she's going. Instead, I stood up slowly, trying to calm my temper. She had my soda in her hand, holding it out to me with a slight tremor. I immediately felt guilty for thinking about screaming at this girl. I stared at her, realizing that she must be the new girl. I haven't seen her around, and I went to middle school with 90% of these people, so I've had a class with every single one of them at least once.

I took the soda from her shaky hands as I continued to stare at her. Her dark eyes were large and she looked scared. Her cheeks were bright red and she looked as if she was going to have a heart attack at any moment. Every few seconds, she'd run one of her hands through her wavy hair. I couldn't help but notice how small she was. 

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to bump into you. I was just going to go change my schedule. I didn't mean to embarrass you. If it's any comfort, I'm pretty embarrassed, too," she ranted as she blinked rapidly. She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

I watched her with furrowed eyebrows, assessing her again before I attempted to speak. My voice lost in my throat and I tried again, clenching my jaw when I realized that clearing my throat would give away the fact that I was nervous, too. Finally, I managed to form words. "Watch where you're going," I warned her dully before I turned around and left the cafeteria.

I couldn't help but feel stupid. Jackson was right. She is pretty hot.

+ + +

I had American Literature after lunch, so I went there immediately after I had bumped into the new girl. My friends entered only moments after I did and Jackson had a smirk on his lips as he nodded. "Hot, right?"

I scoffed, shaking my head, but I felt my face burn slightly. Yeah, definitely. "Shut up, Jackson," I retorted.

"You think she's hot, don't you?" Winona asked with a loud chuckle.

"Shut up, Winona," I told her.

"That's so cute!" Cassidy squealed. I shot her a heated glare.

"First girl since Raven," Nick muttered and I turned the glare towards him.

"You like her!" Winona hissed.

"I don't think she's hot, and I don't like her," I insisted as I looked between my friends. I just met her. How can I like her if I just met her?

I sat in front of my friends to avoid their teasing, but when the new girl walked in, Jackson kicked my chair and I jumped forward before turning to swear at him. Winona, Nick, and Cassidy laughed at me. I simply twisted around, listening as attendance was taken. I tried my best to look uninterested but I was glancing up every so often, waiting for the new girl to raise her hand.

"Olivia Ortega," Mr. Herman called and her hand shot up into the air. With a small smirk, I ducked my head and continued to scribble on my paper.

Olivia.

Throughout the class, Jackson kept throwing notes at the back of my head. Every time I'd open one, they'd say stupid things like 'Hot, right?' or 'What's her name?' At one point, he even drew a picture of me struggling to clear my throat. I would simply crumble them up, and at one point, I just began to ignore them, letting them pile up on my desk.

I finally managed to escape to Psychology with only Cassidy and Winona, who were both too interested in discussing ways to reel in Olivia than to pay attention to me. When we entered the classroom, we immediately went to our usual seats, sitting down all the way in the back. Olivia walked in and I felt the girls turn to look at me. I ignored it, acting as if I couldn't feel their eyes.

Though the girls made comments, they were nowhere near as bad as Jackson. By the time the class ended, I packed up my stuff and left with the girls. We entered the parking lot and walked to my car. I leaned against it, listening as the two girls talked excitedly about a tactic they've discovered to allow them to talk to Olivia. Eventually, Jackson and Nicholas approached us, joining in on the conversation.

Halfway through a discussion about whether or not we should invite Olivia to sit with us, she began approaching us. "Whoa, do you think she heard us?" Nicholas asked with wide eyes.

"No, she couldn't have possibly heard us," Winona replied.

"Well, she's coming over here," Jackson noted.

"Yeah, we can all see that, Jackson," Cassidy responded.

"Come on, let's go," Winona insisted, grabbing Cassidy and Nick's arms. Jackson stayed for a moment before Cassidy hissed his name. He elbowed me in the side.

"You know my number," he whispered. "If she asks for it, don't hesitate."

I simply scoffed at him and rolled my eyes. I immediately turned to see that Olivia was only a few feet away and I stood up, growing a bit tense. What if I lose my voice again and I can't speak? I wish I would've cleared my throat before she was so close but then my friends would've said something.

"Hey, I just wanted to apologize about earlier," she explained. I stared at her, watching as she made eye contact with me before immediately looking down. She nodded her head and pushed a few strands of hair from her face. I continued to stare at her with furrowed eyebrows, watching as she glanced up, made eye contact with me, and then looked down again. "I also have a question."

My mind began to race. What can she possibly want? I narrowed my eyes as I stared at her, trying to think of the things she could possibly ask me. She began twiddling her hands together as she lightly nibbled her lip. "You know what homecoming is, right?"

Yeah, I wanted to say, I do. I couldn't find my voice in time because she sighed. "This is like talking to a brick wall," she whispered. "Anyway, I was wondering if you'd like to go to homecoming with me," she asked quietly, glancing over my shoulder.

I looked behind me to see what she was looking at. I saw Vivica and her two friends laughing with their hands covering their mouths. I furrowed my eyebrows when I realized that she was probably dared to do this, or something along those lines. I felt bad, for some reason. Vivica's probably doing this for validation. She probably thinks I'm going to reject Olivia just like I did her.

I looked at the small girl standing in front of me. She had a red face and she was rubbing her hands along her pants, blinking rapidly. This girl is different, I thought. She's not like Vivica. She's not overly confident and she's not trying to force me to say yes. She's quiet and she's nervous; she probably doesn't even want to go with me to homecoming. I feel like I owe her some sort of apology, and maybe saying yes to homecoming will give her some sort of bragging rights over Vivica. Besides, this girl is pretty and she's probably being treated like trash by Vivica and her friends.

"Okay," I answered. Winona and Cassidy will be proud.

"Well, I tried," she muttered before she suddenly stopped walking. "Wait, what did you say?"

"I said okay," I replied as I stuffed my hands in my pockets.

"Okay as in...?" she asked, allowing her eyebrows to rise.

"Okay as in I'll go with you," I repeated, watching as she turned to look at the girls behind me.

She bobbed her head up and down a few times before turning and walking around my car, towards Vivica's. I faintly heard her yelling at Olivia. "Did he say yes?" Vivica snapped at her, sort of like she did to me when I rejected her request for homecoming.

"Uh, we can't give you a ride home. We have cheerleading practice at a nearby school," one of Vivica's friends told Olivia and I heard the sound of the car starting and leaving the lot.

I felt rude for listening because it wasn't really my business, but they're loud in a quiet parking lot. It's not my fault for overhearing them. She swore quietly and I glanced behind me to see her calling someone on her phone. She walked past my car as she put her phone in her pocket and I sighed, biting my lip as I contemplated whether or not it'd be worth it. I told my friends specifically that I wouldn't talk to her, but here I am agreeing to go to homecoming with her and thinking about offering her a ride in my car. I felt something in my stomach telling me to just offer, and I was surprised when words began to flow from my mouth.

"They left you?" I asked and she turned around and nodded, looking annoyed.

"Yeah, they did," she answered and I bit my lip.

"Do you need a ride?" I asked her, watching as a look of surprise coated her face. She slowly nodded.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Come on," I spoke as I pushed off of my car and opened the door. She walked around the side and yanked open the door, getting in.

"Aren't you waiting for someone?" she asked curiously as I started the car.

"Nope," I responded, pulling out of the lot. "We have to stop and get gas."

"Okay," she replied with a nod.

We arrived at the gas station after an awkward ride and I opened the door, getting out of the car. Deciding to actually say something to her so she knows that I'm still aware of her presence, I turned around and looked at her. I was going to ask if she wanted something but I quickly went into defense mode when I saw her staring at me with her large, curious eyes. "Don't touch anything," I blurted.

"No promises," she replied quietly. I simply stared at her, wanting to say something funny in return but she rolled her eyes. "I'm joking!"

I gave a faint nod before closing the door and walking towards the gas station, closing my eyes. I'm such an idiot. I managed to calm down my nerves by the time I returned to the car. "What's your address?" I asked as I turned to look at her.

"I don't know," she replied with a blank stare.

I watched her, blinking, waiting for her to say that she was joking. She met my gaze before blushing and turning away. I immediately felt another knot form in my stomach, sending shots racing up to my chest. My heart was beating fast and I wasn't sure why. I clenched my jaw slightly, growing uncomfortable at the feeling in my stomach and the racing of my heart. "What do you mean you don't know?" I inquired, causing her to look at me with her large, innocent eyes again.

"I just came to live with my aunt on Friday," she blurted. "I didn't have time to memorize the address."

"Do you even know the street name?" I asked her, watching as she tugged at a strand of hair.

"No. I just know that it is twenty five minutes from school, and the house is blue, and the number of the house has a five in it," she explained. I looked at her and sighed. Now I'm going to have to deal with these weird feelings in my gut until she manages to figure out where her house is. "Do you know where Vivica lives?"

"No, why would I?" I retorted, immediately forgetting about the racing of my heart.

"Don't get an attitude with me! This is a particularly small town; I just assumed that people know people!" she retorted as I parked outside of the gas station. My eyes widened as I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. "I think I might be able to retrace the drive from the school."

I sighed as I began driving in the direction of the school. I haven't had feelings like this since I started to like Raven.

Snap.

+ + +

"Did she reply?" I asked after a moment of preparation. She had texted her aunt asking for the address and I was impatiently waiting for a response. In the meantime, I had taken to listening to her attempts to give me directions, which always ended up getting us even more lost.

"Can we turn off the air?" she asked, earning a nod in response. I reached for the dial, and so did she. My fingers touched her warm hand and I immediately retracted my hand. She glanced at me, hesitating to speak.

"You okay?" she asked after a few seconds.

"Fine," I responded curtly.

"You looked pretty shocked there," she responded.

"I'm fine," I responded a bit more firm. She muttered a quiet 'okay' before turning towards the window.

We continued to drive, and once I got over the warmth that was sent through my body from her touch, I began to ask for more directions, a bit tired of the awkward silence surrounding us. "Left?"

"Yeah," she replied, causing me to hook a left. "Wait, no! I meant right!"

I groaned aloud and offered her a flat look. "I'm wasting gas on you," I reminded her. I meant for it to come out as a joke, but it didn't, and I didn't bother explaining that it was a joke.

"I'll pay for it," she repeated yet again. I wanted to tell her that I didn't want her money but I feel like she'd be too stubborn and insist.

She glanced at her cellphone, letting out a squeal. "What?" I asked, jumping slightly at the loud noise. She read out the address to me and I slowly turned to look at her. "We're a half hour away from there. You took us in the opposite direction of your house," I informed her.

"I've been here for, like, three days, okay? I don't have the entire town memorized," she retorted, earning a quiet grunt from me. I glanced at her with slightly narrowed eyes and she sighed. "How much do you need for the gas?"

I didn't bother to reply because I figured that if I didn't say anything, then she wouldn't bother to pay me. We sat in silence for the majority of the ride until we grew closer and closer to her home, which was closer and closer to my home. She turned to look at me as she bowed her head and bit her lip. "You know, we don't have to go to homecoming together. I-I, uh, I was dared to go. I didn't expect you to say yes, and the girls didn't either. You probably have other stuff to do," she explained.

Again, I didn't bother to say anything because I didn't really know what to say. I mean, I'm not saying I want to go, but I'm not saying that I don't. I narrowed my eyes as I thought about what I could possibly say. I gave up after about two minutes because it'd be weird if she was aware of the fact that I spent that much time thinking about it.

"Which house?" I asked as I slowly began to drive down the street. She nodded towards a blue one at