"Are you mad at Thalia and Dylan?" I ask Alex as we stare at the now increasingly dark sky. He sighs beside me and I feel him turn onto his side so he can look at me.

"No. He did it to protect his child and I don't blame him for that. And Thalia, well, I think she didn't want to let Dylan go so she hung around and offered him assistance in form of a coverup." He shrugs, accepting their decisions. I smile at how mature he's being about it.

"Thalia told me she loved him." I say and Alex nods sadly.

"Yeah, but I think he didn't. I'm not mad at any of them. Life often makes things difficult. However, I am pissed off that he hit on you and liked to pass snarky remarks. I was considering punching him. Especially when he stole my chance of making a move on you at the carnival."

I giggle at Alex and he smiles down at me. I reach up and cup his cheek. "I'm so proud of you. You're so supportive even though they hurt you."

He shrugs. "I scored with the most amazing girl in the world so I'm alright. Pretty great, actually." He smirks. I laugh, shaking my head at how cute he is. Damnit, what did I do to deserve him?

"I'm so grateful for dropping that bucket of paint on you." He chuckles and I nod in agreement.

"I never thought I'd say this but thank you for ruining my boots." I giggle and Alex leans down to peck my nose.

"You don't have to thank me twice."

I roll my eyes but don't stop the warm feeling from swirling inside of my stomach. Alex sits up, pushing himself to his feet. I sigh sadly. I just want to stay here forever.

"C'mon," Alex states while sticking his hand out for me to take. It's large and warm around mine. "We should head home."

I dust myself off and we slowly pack up everything before walking to the car. Now the black canvas is decorated with lights that nature blesses us with and once we're in the car, I can't help but sigh in content. It's being a good day. Alex looks over at me and smiles. We drive to my house in a comfortable silence and when he pulls up outside, I pout in disappointment. He laughs at me, pecking my lips as he climbs out the car and walks me to my front porch. He stops outside my front door and kisses my forehead.

"Goodnight, Cooper." He smirks.

I smile. "Goodnight, Rosewood."

He winks before walking to his car and driving away and I watch before stepping inside. I lean my back against the wooden door and try to suppress a smile although I fail.

Miserably.

****

I dig through my cupboard for a decent pair of shoes and I hear Rachel chuckling behind me. I glare at her over my shoulder and she holds her hands up in mock surrender. I roll my eyes before looking back at my closet. I can't find my pair of trusty converse anywhere and it's driving me up the wall. I dig further in my closet, pulling out pair after pair. That is until I find a very familiar pair of black boots. I gasp and pull out the boots that are covered in purple paint. I press my hand to my mouth in surprise and Rachel bounces off my bed before coming to my side.

"What happened to your boots?" She asks me. I feel tears spring to my eyes but these are ones of happiness as I'm transported back to the day it happened.

I let out a loud shriek as a bucket of paint hits the floor and covers my feet. I hear movement and look up to see a guy clad in a simple white shirt and dark wash jeans, climbing down a ladder.

"Shit. I'm so sor-" he is slowly cut off when we meet face to face. My mouth twists into a frown as I look at the boy in front of me.

And that boy is none other than Alex Rosewood; Rebel and player extraordinaire.

"Sophie Cooper?" He asks before he bursts out laughing. I cross my arms over my chest while I look at him in annoyance.

"Are you done? Because if you haven't noticed, you've ruined my boots." I complain and he looks at me in amusement, his eyes dancing with humour.

"What are you doing here?" He asks me, ignoring what I've said. I roll my eyes.

"Having an interview."

His mouth falls agape and he scratches his chin. "Let me get this straight, the Sophie Cooper cares about other people and not just herself?" He asks rhetorically and I scowl at him.

"What are you doing here?" I counter and he shrugs, moving the ladder so he can take it down. I try not to watch his arms flex or admire how attractive he is and continue waiting for an answer. He picks up the ladder, bucket of paint and paintbrush before turning back to me.

"Working." Is all he responds.

"Wait," I say, holding a hand up. "You, Alex Rosewood, work at a charity center?" I ask incredulously in the same way as he did and he gives me a sarcastic smile.

"Are you slow or something Princess? I just said I'm working." He responds patronizingly. I glare at him and his lips quirk into a smile. "Let's hope we don't see each other around too much, Cooper." He says, walking into the doorway just as Lucy comes in.

"Oh! Alex," she says before she sees the paint on the floor.

"Sorry about that Lucy. I'll clean up it up in a moment." Alex says politely and Lucy chuckles, moving out of the way so that Alex can get through.

"These," I say, holding the shoes up in front of me and observing them. "are the shoes that changed everything." I laugh with a wistful smile. Rachel eyes me curiously, not quite in the same loop as me. "This is what made Alex and I start talking." I explain further. Rachel grins, her eyes lighting up as I say that.

"That's so cute." She gushes and I sniffle.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asks me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I chuckle, a stray tear betraying me and slipping out my eye.

"Nothing's wrong." I answer.

"Then why are you crying?" She asks me in confusion.

I chuckle again. "It just makes me feel so emotional thinking about how far I've come, how far Alex and I have come. I never imagined things to turn out like this."

Rachel laughs, pulling me in for a hug. "You two truly deserve each other." She murmurs and I grin. I pull back from her embrace and wipe the tears from eyes.

"Damn," I laugh. "Maybe my period is about to show up because that was just a wave of emotions that I didn't expect. At all."

Rachel giggles at me but lays back on my bed, bringing her phone up to her face.

"Now, please, for the love of all things good go climb in the damn shower before we're late." She grumbles and I roll my eyes.

"Okay, mom." I tease as I walk to my bathroom.

"Don't use that tone of voice with me, young lady!" She calls back and I let out a loud hoot as I peel my clothes off of me and climb into the shower. The Rebels are all meeting up for a barbecue at Alex's house but since it's also a family lunch, Mr and Mrs Rosewood invited my mom over too. Basically, everyone I love will be in the same place at the same time. I want to enjoy my last bit of freedom because from tomorrow I'm focusing on studying since finals are coming up. That also means that I only work at Sunny Smiles on Wednesdays and Thursdays now which I'm kind of disappointed about since I enjoy working there so much. But I need to focus on my studies if I want to get somewhere in life . Alex isn't sure what he wants to do so he's settling for a standard B-Com degree. This also, fortunately, means we won't be miles apart since we'll be attending the same university if all goes well. I'm extremely grateful for that because I was worried that it would be a problem. Luckily it isn't.

After showering and doing the usual, I get dressed and throw my hair into a pretty braid before slipping on my converse and walking downstairs to where Rachel is waiting with my mother. When I get there, I flash them a charming smile.

"You look nice." My mom comments. "You ready to leave?" She asks and I nod.

"Yep."

She grins and Rachel links her arm through mine as we walk to the car. I laugh as she starts belting out the words to 'Small Town Girl' and I have a gut feeling that today is going to be a good day. And I don't know when last I've felt like that.

****

"Mrs Rosewood, I have to admit that your steak tastes absolutely amazing." Martin gushes, leaning over the table to grab another one. Natalie laughs but gives Martin a warm smile.

"Thank you, Martin."

He smiles like a little boy at her and Nina rolls her eyes before grabbing the salad and putting some on her plate. I reach for the potato salad and put a spoonful on my plate soon after. After dishing up a little bit of everything, I dig in while listening to Martin telling us a story.

"Dad," Alex calls Mr Rosewood, "Can you please pass me the pepper?" He asks. I watch the small encounter, my mouth slightly agape. Ryan smiles at Alex and hands him the bottle of pepper. Alex gives him a grateful smile before pouring some on his food and cutting his steak in half. I can't seem to stop my mouth from stretching into smile. Alex and Mr Rosewood have come quite far and from the looks of it, they seem to be doing well. I think Alex has finally accepted him and given him the opportunity to actually be a part of his life which, in return, Mr Rosewood has slowly started to lay off of Alex. I feel my heart swell with pride when I think that Alex actually took my advice the day we first kissed. I pick a piece of potato with my fork and shove into my mouth with a knowing smile on my face.

Alex has no idea how much this means to his mom. I can see it by the way she smiles when she looks between Alex and his dad. Things are slowly looking better for the Rosewood family and I hope that it only continues.

"Oh shut up, Martin. We all know that you're a momma's boy." Nina winks at him and he pouts.

"Am not." He crosses his arms over his chest in a little tantrum and I giggle, Alex catching my eye from across the table.

"Are you seeing yourself right now?" Cole asks incredulously and Martin rolls his eyes before scoffing his food down. Alex chuckles at him and I notice Cole say something in Rachel's ear. She chews on her lip nervously before nodding. I'm now curious as to what exactly they're talking about. It's probably none of my business but Rachel is my best friend, I mean what else do you expect? I care about her.

She gives Cole a small smile and that's when I pick up how much more intimate they are; they're sitting a lot closer than usual and Rachel seems to be a lot more relaxed overall. She smiles up at him before he turns to the rest of us and clears his throat. We all look at him expectantly and he looks down at Rachel with a smile.

"I have an announcement to make," he starts, making all of us- excluding the adults who are laughing at something Lily said- stare at him.

"You're gay, we know." Christina teases and Martin lets out a guffaw. Cole glares at him and Nina kicks Martin under the table.

"Actually," Cole enunciates "Rachel and I are officially dating."

Rachel smiles up at him as he wraps an arm around her and pulls her into his side. She then turns to face us although her eyes connect with mine instantly. I would be offended that she didn't tell me first but right now I'm just so happy that I can't bring myself to do that. I grin widely as the Rebels let out whoops of happiness. Alex stands up, giving Cole a pat on the back before grinning at Rachel and giving her a friendly hug.

"Thanks, Alex." She says, her blue eyes twinkling. I wait until she's received hugs from everyone else before I cross my arms over my chest and raise an eyebrow in a teasing manner. She rolls her eyes.

"Oh, shut up and just come congratulate me." She commands and I laugh, embracing her in my favorite kind of hugs; the one where you can physically feel the love radiating from the other person. "I'm so happy for you two. You deserve each other." I gush and she laughs, her fair skin turning pink. I then turn to Cole with a serious expression although my lips twitch as they fight to break into a smile.

"Hurt my best friend and I'll castrate you." I warn him and Cole's hands fly to his crotch as he looks at me with fearful yet amused eyes. He laughs and I join him before giving him a tight hug.
Once we're all seated again, Christina takes a bite of her steak with her lips turned downwards.

"Great. Now I'm the only single one." She grumbles and we all burst into fits of laughter. I can't help but smile at the people around me.

When we're all done eating and the adults are sipping on Lemonade while the Rebels and Lily play a game of 'Snap' I decide to head to the bathroom. However, when I come out I can't seem to remove my eyes from the sight before me. The way the sun shines into the garden and makes an iridescent glow along with the laughter of all the people I love in one place makes it such a breathtaking moment that I soak in as much as I can. I want to save this to memory so I can never forget it. I notice that Alex isn't at the table anymore from where I stand on the patio before I feel arms snake around my waist from behind and I realize he's beside me now.

He rests his head in the crook of my neck and I place my hands over his arms around my waist with a smile.

"I'm happy for Rachel and Cole." He says, watching everyone as well.

"No fair! How did she win?" Martin exclaims from the table, eyeing Lily in shock.

"Maybe because I'm good at it." Lily says innocently making all the Rebels laugh at Martin's pout. I chuckle at the sight.

I nod my head in agreement to what Alex said but don't say anything, scared I'll break the moment if I do. I think about everything that has happened over the course of the last few months and I appreciate how far we've all come. I never imagined sitting here in the same place with everyone I love; with the greatest of friends I could have ever asked for, the most understanding mother whom I never want to lose and the one boy who has loved me at my darkest and lowest points along with all my flaws. I've gone through a lot that has broken me and forced me to glue myself back together, but I'm happy with who I am right now. I'm grateful for all the lessons the difficult times have taught me. I'm grateful that I left the Elite for the Rebels and fell in love with Alex. I'm glad that I told my mom everything and saw my dad for one last time.

I used to think that the most important thing in the world is what people think of you but now I know how wrong I was. What's most important is how you treat yourself, how you love those who mean the world to you and how you appreciate what's given to you, freely or not. I've also learnt that self-love is detrimental for happiness and that the things in your life that make you want to be alive shouldn't be materialistic things but rather those whom you love. And I have all of them, right here in front of me; laughing and cracking jokes.

The truth is that if we have each other, we'll be okay. We'll make it through the tough times.

"What are you thinking about in that head of yours?" Alex asks me, moving to my side to look at me. His hazel eyes watch me curiously and I push a strand of his brown hair back before gazing at everyone. All I've ever wanted to be, my whole entire life, is happy. I wasn't when my dad left or when I lost myself and became involved with the Elite, but then Alex decided to help me change that. He helped me see the light.

I bite my bottom lip, feeling like I'm on top of the world. Feeling like me. I grin, my eyes crinkling due to my wide smile.

"Just about how happy I am."

THE END.