57| The End

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This is the last chapter!!! Can you believe it? I've never had a story go this long in chapters before, so thank you to everyone who bared with me and kept reading! When I started this story, it had a couple hundred views, but I loved the concept so much that I kept writing it, and I'm so happy I did. There will be an epilogue so no need to worry, but for now, happy reading! Xo
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I stare at Nathan as I sit squished against him in the small hospital bed with his arm around me while he awaits my answer. My heart was racing in my chest, and for the first time in a day, it wasn't because I was nervous about his health and wellbeing. And even though he had indirectly already said it earlier, I couldn't help but feel the same flood of happiness overcome me. 

Nathan, the boy who races on an illegal racetrack at late hours of the night; the boy who doesn't let anyone inside his world except his closest friends; the boy who isn't afraid of anything; the boy who will pick a fight with just about anyone if he feels like it; the bad boy, loved me. Me, the girl that I'm sure most of the school hated by now, who was cheated on, made a fool out of, loved him back.

It wasn't even a question whether or not I felt the same, but the way Nathan was looking at me, like he was terrified I wouldn't, made me realize he had no idea just how much, and how long, I've loved him. 

"If staying here all night without sleep or a shower didn't make it obvious enough," A huge smile breaks out on my lips as I tease him. "Then I'll say it. I love you, Nate."

The way his eyes light up was unlike anything I've ever seen before. All traces of worry was quickly replaced with relief, and then more love, and he twisted his body to lean down and capture my lips in a kiss. My heart was beating a mile a minute from his blunt confession, and the more passion he put into the kiss, the more my mind melted to mush. 

Even though I was well aware how horrible I looked, and he had just woken up from a coma with a broken body, I have never wanted Nathan as much as I did right now. 

Nate pulls away, his lips still brushing my own with every hot breath he took, and he murmurs with a smile, "Say it again."

I laugh breathlessly and whisper, "I love you."

And again, his lips press against mine with the same amount of passion as his hand snakes up to cup my cheek and keep me where I am. I slide my arms around his neck, my fingers pulling on the ends of his hair in a desperate attempt to feel all of him. I almost forgot where we were and both of our physical and mental states until Nate pulled away slightly as a string of curses come from his mouth. 

"Shit, Nate, I'm so sorry," The words fall out of my mouth as I examine the way his face was screwed up in pain. "Are you okay? What hurts? Do you need me to-"

He quiets me down by pressing his lips against mine shortly, and then pulls away with a goofy smile, his eyes lit up in adoration. "I'm okay, kitten, I just need to be careful."

I relax a little from his words and breathe, "Okay, good."

After a pause, I grab onto the ledge of the bed, ready to get off so he could get more comfortable. Nathan, however, had an issue with this, and grabbed my wrist to stop me. I glance back at him to see he's frowning.

"Where are you going?" He asks, his voice low and a little concerned.

I reply quietly, as if a loud noise might hurt him, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'm going to get off so you have more space. I don't want to hurt you."

"Don't leave," Nathan murmurs, tugging me back next to him. "You aren't hurting me. Stay, please."

Who could say no to that?

So I once again got comfortable beside him, his arm wrapped around me to make sure I didn't move, my head comfortably in between his shoulder and neck, my bandaged hand resting in my lap.

"You know," Nate murmurs, his voice low. "I've been waiting so damn long to hear you say that."

A warm feeling spread through my stomach at his words, and a smile turned up my lips without my permission. "How long, exactly?"

My tone was light and teasing, and he let out a breathy chuckle at my question. I almost thought he wouldn't answer it, but after a short pause, Nathan spoke, his voice not teasing but instead incredibly serious.

"Since the night we went to Rosie's," I can hear the smile in his voice without looking at him.

I feel my heart beat skip in my chest when I realize how long he's felt this way about me, and I wonder if he has a clue how long I felt this way about him.

My cheeks tinged pink at the memory and I mumbled somewhat sheepishly, "That was the night I kissed you, remember?"

"How could I forget?" There was a specific fondness in his voice that compelled me to look up at him, and when I did, his eyes were full of emotion, his lips turned into the half smile I love so much. "That was easily one of the best nights of my life."

I smile wider as the warm feeling spreads in my stomach while he speaks. "What are the others? Best nights, I mean."

His smile grows distant for a moment as he recalls quietly, "The last night we spent at the cabin, when we laid out on the truck bed. I was pointing out the constellations to you, and you had this look on your face that I'll never forget."

For the billionth time today, my heart picked up speed from his words, and I found myself smiling.

"It looked like you wanted to rip my clothes off and take me right there," Nathan adds playfully, and my eyes widen as they dart to his, and he has a cheeky smile on his face.

Upon seeing my expression, he begins laughing loudly, and I mumbled, "That was a perfectly good moment we were having, and you ruined it. If you weren't injured right now, I would hit you."

He continues chuckling, the sound deep and sexy despite my feigned annoyance. "Aw, come on babe, you don't mean that."

One look at his pouting lips and I was done for. My expression softened immediately, and he smiled, the smile reaching his eyes so they lit up bright blue. I smiled too, because I couldn't help myself, and rested my head back on his shoulder.

"If I saw you punch Thomas, though, that would've easily been my favorite moment," Nathan continues cheekily as a chuckle rips through him at the thought.

I smile a little more, unable to help but feel proud of punching Thomas Clark. That scumbag had it coming since day one and it felt extremely satisfying to hear his bone crunch under my hand. Maybe that's why Nathan fought him so often.

"It would've been better if I hadn't broken my hand," I mutter, holding the bandaged hand up. "But I would still do it again."

Nathan's hands gingerly took my bandaged hand into his and lets it rest in his lap. His fingers traced the bandage softly, careful not to hurt the injury, and he sighs.

"Does it hurt? I can get the nurse to give you some more pain meds if you need them. I don't want you to be in pain," He murmurs softly, his fingers still tracing the curves of my hand from on top of the bandage in a soothing manner.

I couldn't help the smile from growing on my face even if I tried. "You're lying in a hospital bed, in horrible condition, and you're trying to make sure I'm okay."

"Because I love you, kitten."

The way he says it, the way his voice sounds so sexy with absolutely conviction, the way there's no room for any other answer, makes my skin crawl in the best way possible. It's like a fire is ignited inside of me, and every time the embers are close to fizzling out, Nathan says something else to add fuel to the fire. And even though I haven't showered and my shirt is bloodstained and Nathan is lying in this damn hospital bed, I can't help but feel a prolonged sense of contentment, if not elation.

"I'll never get tired of hearing that," I murmur honestly, snuggling closer against his body.

His arm tightens around me. "Good, because I'll be saying it the rest of our lives, even when we're eighty years old and you're yelling at me for trying to drag race."

With that, Nathan added all the damn gasoline in the world to the fire, and my heart almost exploded. His words made me see a future, our future, one that I've never envisioned before. I mean, I remember my giddy excitement after learning we would both be close to home for college, but beyond that, I never considered what would come.

And now it felt like he flipped a switch I wouldn't be able to turn off, ever. A smile graces my lips as I try to picture us, old and wrinkled, arguing while he climbs into the Mustang, worn from all the years he's had it. A small laugh escaped my lips just thinking about it, and I realized that a future with Nathan is all I want.

"Well, what do we have here?" A voice interrupts my thoughts, and I glance to the door to see a smirking Asher. "I'm sure the doctor wouldn't be too pleased about this."

My cheeks heat up, but instead of his usual snarky remark back, Nathan just grins widely. "What's up, man?"

Asher grins too and approaches the bed. "I should be asking you that question. How are you feeling, dude? You took quite the hit out there on the tracks."

Remembering the scene made me cringe, and Nathan discreetly slipped his hand in my good one as a comfort. The gesture, although small, made me feel a little better, and I glanced at Nate to see his attention still on Asher, his expression more somber than before.

He nods once and says, "I'm feeling alright. The drugs definitely help," Nate's gaze flickers to me, and a smile tugs at his lips. "Lauren's company isn't too bad, either."

I nudge him slightly, careful not to hurt him, but Asher just chuckles. "Yeah, I can see that. So, I have news."

This catches both of our attentions, and I look at Asher expectantly. Whatever the news is, he doesn't let his face show if it's good or bad, but his eyes give him away. His bright eyes are shimmering with excitement, like he couldn't wait to tell us, and I knew it had to be good.

"Yeah?" Nathan presses eagerly. "Well, go on then."

Asher's expression finally breaks as his lips quirk into a smirk. "Thomas confessed to Cotter, so he was disqualified from the race. You won." He slides a backpack off his shoulders that I didn't notice before and unzipped it to show Nathan the contents. Money. "Congrats, Rhodes, and here's your prize. Ten thousand in cash."

My jaw literally drops when I see how much money is sitting in nice stacks inside the backpack. Ten thousand dollars. And it all belonged to Nathan.

"Holy shit," I breathe, my eyes trained on the backpack full of money.

Nathan, however, looks at Asher. "Why did he confess? That seems very uncharacteristic of Thomas to admit to his mistakes."

Asher smirks. "I'm very persuasive when I have to be." Then his eyes light up in amusement, and his grin widens. "But that's not all. Your hospital bills are being paid for by the Clark family, in addition to the expenses to fix the damage done to your car."

If my jaw hadn't reached the floor before, it certainly did now. Thomas' family was paying for the hospital bills and to repair the car? Don't get me wrong; this is exactly what should happen, considering Thomas caused the damage. But the fact they didn't pay for anything after Thomas' brother killed Nathan's parents in the car crash, this was certainly unexpected.

I give Asher a dumbfounded look that screams "How?" but he grins wider. "Like I said, I'm very persuasive."

Eventually we make Asher tell us the story of how he blackmailed Thomas' dad into paying the bills by using Thomas' confession to drag racing and sabotaging, almost potentially killing, Nathan. Needless to say, the Clarks' couldn't afford such a scandal with their respected status, and were more than willing to pay to keep the entire ordeal quiet. And boy, did they pay.

After talking with the two boys for an hour or so, the door opened to reveal more visitors- Tess and Vincent- and I was scolded by the entire group for how worn down I looked. With the backup of our friends, Nathan convinced me to go home and get some sleep. I was going to refuse stubbornly for a few more hours of his company, but I could see he was begging me with his eyes, and I let myself submit to his request.

As I stood under the spray of my shower at home, washing off all dried blood from my skin and hair, I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. My hands pushed my hair back, smoothing it away from my face, and the warm water loosened my tense muscles. Once again, Asher's words rang through my head. It's all going to be okay. And it was.

* * *

It only took three weeks for most of Nathan's injuries to heal. His stitches came out and the wounds on his forehead left scars, but they faded more each day. Of course his ribs were still healing, but he could walk now, which was a major improvement after being ridden to the hospital bed for almost two weeks. It seemed like Nathan had healed enough just in time for graduation day.

I stood beside the stage, three people in front of me waiting to be called. My fingers toyed with the deep purple dress under my graduation gown nervously, feeling the weight of the event hit me all at once. I was about to graduate. I glance to the crowd and can immediately spot my mom, standing up in the middle row anxiously, with my father beside her, Luke and Cole beside him, Stephanie on the other side of my mom, and Ty standing beside her with Bennett.

"Lauren Collins," The superintendent's voice boomed through the speakers, and I heard my personal fan section shout uncontrollably before I even registered I had been called up.

With a smile, I walk on stage and shake everyone's hand, take my diploma from my principal, and manage to cross the stage without falling. As I'm crossing the stage, I can hear the unmistakable hoots and hollers from a few specific classmates.

"Hell yeah Lauren, you take that diploma! Strut across stage like you own it!" I can hear Asher shout.

"Yeah Lauren, you made it!" Tess shouts, and Vincent whoops at her statement.

I walk back to my assigned seat with a stupid grin on my face, and a few minutes later, I hear Nathan's name being called. I cheer loudly for him and hear our friends make similarly obnoxious comments, waiting for him to take his seat behind me. The second he steps off stage, his electric eyes meet mine, and the grin on his face tells me that he is as ecstatic as I.

Nate enters the row behind me, but instead of staying in the seat he was assigned, he hops over the line of chairs separating us and approaches me. I widen my eyes at his actions, trying to ignore the looks he was being given by breaking the rules. When he reaches me, he stops just an arms length away, his smirk growing as he assessed my expression.

"What are you doing?" I hiss. "You're going to get in trouble!"

Nathan's eyes light up with amusement. "We just graduated, kitten. They can't do anything to me now. Besides, have I ever cared about getting in trouble?"

I laugh as I realize he's right, and in the background, I vaguely hear the superintendent tell the Class of 2016 to move the tassel to the other side of the graduation caps. Nate doesn't listen, nor do I, because we're too caught up just smiling at each other.

God, I really love this boy. 

"Congratulations Class of 2016," The superintendent bellows into the microphone.

Everyone lifts their caps off their heads, but I have a different idea. Instead, I grab Nathan by his black graduation robe and draw him closer to me. Our lips meet as everyone's black caps are tossed into the air, and I feel a rush of weightlessness take over my body.

We were finally saying goodbye to high school, and hello to our future together.

I feel someone tug me and Nathan apart, and open my eyes with a frown on my face, until I see the laughing faces of our friends. Everyone else in the crowd began walking to greet their eager families, and we had been the last ones on the field.

"Save the children's innocence, would you?" Asher mused, referring to the loads of kids in the crowd.

I blushed a deep shade of red as Nate smirks at me. "She started it."

"Shut up, Nate," I mumble lamely.

Our friends all laugh, and Vincent decides to save me by saying, "Come on you two, it's time to see family."

Thankful for the diversion of topic, we all migrate towards the stands to greet our respective families. As our group splits up, I feel someone slip their hand in mine, and judging from the tingles shooting up my arm, I can tell it's Nathan. I glance at him and smile, squeezing his hand as we weave through the blubbering grandparents and proud moms and dads to reach our families.

When we do, I'm immediately tugged away from Nathan and pulled into a strong embrace by my father. "I'm so proud of you, kiddo."

I smile as I hug him back. "Thanks for coming, dad."

"Are you kidding?" He asks, humor in his voice when he pulls back. "I wouldn't miss it."

I grin wider, and next, Stephanie pulls me into a bear hug. "Congrats, L! It's weird that you just graduated now, considering your maturity level is that of a twenty five year old."

I roll my eyes, "No it isn't!"

She pulls back from the hug to give me a look. "You like Casablanca and Peter Frampton. I actually meant sixty, not twenty five."

I can't help but laugh at this, and accept hugs from Luke and Cole next, who congratulate me on graduating. While Nathan is crouching down to talk to Bennett, Ty smiles widely at me and surprises me by reaching out and hugging me tightly.

"Congrats, Lauren," He says, and then lowers his voice. "And thank you. I'm not sure if Nathan would graduate had it not been for you."

My heart warms at his words, though I'm certain they can't be true. Sure, Nathan used to skip class a lot, but I couldn't be the sole reason for his graduation. Ty seemed to catch onto the look I had on my face and he offers me a small smile.

"He stopped cutting class and started to actually try to be better when he met you," Ty confirms in a low voice. "I'm serious. Thank you."

I glance at the boy, who is grinning and talking animatedly with his younger brother, and feel myself smile. It felt like everyone told me how I changed Nathan, but he was really the one that changed me. Although he made me a hell of a lot more frustrated sometimes, he also showed me how to relax and have fun, how to be more confident and more outspoken. Nathan changed me for the better just as much as I changed him.

"Lauren," My mom's soft voice says behind me, and I turn to see her smiling mischievously. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

I take one last smiling look at Nathan, who was looking like he was an absolute part of my family, before I nod, following her a few feet away from the group. When we stop walking, I notice she's holding something rectangular in her hands, but she embraces me in a tight hug, and my attention is immediately taken away from it.

"I'm so proud of you, honey," My mom coos. "It feels like it was just yesterday, you and Luke were having food fights in your diapers."

I groan upon hearing the nostalgic tone come to her voice. "Mom, don't go all 'remember when' on me."

She laughs lightly, pulling away with a smile. "Yeah yeah, I know." My mom produces the rectangular item from behind her back again and smiles, her

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