The trouble with love is,
It can tear you up inside.
Make your heart believe a lie;
It's stronger than your pride.
The trouble with love is,
It doesn't care how fast you fall.
"The Trouble with Love Is" -Kelly Clarkson
SIX MONTHS LATER
"Congratulations graduates!" A chorus of excited screams filled the room.
"Fuck yes!" The guy beside me yelled.
I pushed my way through the crowd, looking for Kaden and Raine. I shifted onto my tiptoes, trying to see over the heads of everyone in my graduate class and their parents, and ended up crashing into a large warm body. I cried out when the person suddenly lifted me into the air and looked down to see Ashton grinning up at me.
I laughed, putting my hands on his shoulders to stead myself. "We're free!" I exclaimed when he finally let me down.
Instead of replying, he tilted his head down and pressed his lips to mine, causing me to swallow the rest of my sentence. Before we could get very far though, a heavy force crashed into Ashton's back, making him stumble forward and both of us nearly tumble to the ground.
Ashton grabbed my arm just in time to save me from getting trampled on the floor by our ecstatic classmates. We both turned to see Nathan behind us, a wide smile on his face.
"We graduated!" he yelled.
"I know, Nate," Ashton replied dryly. "I didn't sit through a four hour ceremony for nothing."
I elbowed him. "Be nice to your brother."
Nate nodded. "Listen to your girlfriend."
Yeah.
Ashton had finally managed to finish asking the question without getting interrupted, even though it had involved a locked door and pissed off Kaden on the other side... As well as me getting grounded for several for closing and locking the door while Ashton was over in the first place.
Ashton pouted at me. "I should be able to tease my baby brother before we end up across the country from each other."
"I'm older than you!" Nate exclaimed.
Ashton shrugged.
He was a little different too now. Happier, more easy going, though I wasn't sure if it was since he didn't have to worry about Vanessa anymore, or because he trusted me. Or both.
Whatever it was, I liked it. I'd had enough mysteries and cryptic messages to last me a lifetime.
I rolled my eyes. "You have all of summer for that."
Ashton opened his mouth to reply, but then stopped after a quick glance at Nate, who had fallen silent as he stared at the floor, a thoughtful expression on his face. And from the expression on Ashton's face, I knew what he wanted to ask Nate.
Almost as if he had sensed his brother's stare, Nate looked up. "I'm going to visit Keira," he said, answering Ashton's unspoken question.
"Nate, it's your graduation..."
"It would've been hers too," he argued.
Keira wasn't dead- but she was pretty close to it. Her head had hit the witness stand hard enough to cause brain damage. Damage severe enough that they had needed to put her in a medically induced coma to keep her from dying.
Except she hadn't woken up from it, like she should've. Now she was hooked up to a variety of machines to keep her alive. And despite all the best-in-their-field doctors the Winstonâs had brought in to examine her, there had been no improvement in the past few months.
Nate had been completely devastated the first couple of weeks, but then he had come to school one day, surprisingly optimistic that she would wake up.
"And don't be hypocritical, Ash," Nate added. "I know you're planning to visit Skylar."
Instantly, what was left of the light mood dried up. Skylar wasn't a completely taboo topic, but Ashton still couldn't talk about his best friend easily. "That's different," he choked out.
"Why? Because Sky's six feet under the ground, but Keira isn't yet?" Nate demanded harshly, his eyes flashing.
Ashton and I both gaped at him. That was the most negative thing Nate had said about Keira's recovery -or lack thereof- in months. He sighed. "I'm sorry."
Ashton blinked, still recovering. "Nate..." he started.
Nathan shook his head. "I don't want to fight with you today."
Before Ashton could reply, Nate slipped through the crowd and walked away.
I glanced back at Ashton. "You okay?"
He nodded. "I just- It sounds awful, but I don't think she's going to wake up, and I don't want him to waste his life waiting..."
"He's still going to Berkley, right?"
Ashton nodded again. "To stay close to her in case something happens."
"Berkley's a good school," I protested weakly.
"Not compared to Harvard or Princeton."
I sighed. No matter how many times we had this conversation, and no matter whom it was that Ashton argued with, he never changed his mind. Thankfully before it got too awkwardly silent from my inability to conjure up a response, Ashton's parents appeared.
"Congratulations!" Mrs. Sinclair cried, throwing her arms around me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mr. Sinclair hand Ashton a bouquet of lilies. Mrs. Sinclair pulled away then tugged Ashton down to hug her, sobbing about how her 'little babies; were all grown up and leaving her. Ashton chuckled and rolled his eyes, but hugged her back, awkwardly patting her on the back.
Mr. Sinclair turned to me and pulled something out of his pocket. e turned over his hand to reveal a small key. "Graduation present," he said, grinning widely. "For you and Ashton."
I blinked.
"It's an apartment close to Columbia's campus," Mr. Sinclair explained. "Fully furnished."
I gasped. Then paused. "Wait, Kaden won't-"
He shook his head. "He contributed."
"What? How-"
"He was very adamant about separate rooms and video cameras," Mr. Sinclair admitted, chuckling softly. "But he wants you to be happy, so he gave in."
"Oh wow." Embarrassingly enough, I felt tears sting behind my eyes. "Thank you. So much."
"What's going on?" Ashton asked. I glanced over to see Mrs. Sinclair had let her son go, but was still pressing a handkerchief under her eyes to dry up the tears.
"Your parents got us an apartment," I told him.
He glanced at his dad disbelievingly. "I don't think Kaden will let that happen."
It was a little bit strange- Kaden and Ashton still talked pretty often even now that the case was done. I mean, yeah, Ashton came over pretty often, but they had a surprisingly amicable relationship, even with Kaden threatening to come after Ashton with a baseball bat if he quote, touched me in places he wouldn't approve of, unquote.
"He contributed," Mr. Sinclair replied.
Ashton gaped at him. "What the fuck did you bribe him with?"
"Language!" Mrs. Sinclair scolded.
"Sorry mom," he muttered.
Mr. Sinclair simply grinned and clapped his son on the shoulder. "I have my ways. Be responsible, okay?"
Ashton nodded, even though he still looked pretty curious. I wasn't sure if he wanted to continue asking his dad, but before he could, a group of parents called Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair over, leaving us alone again.
"Lilies?" I asked teasingly, glancing at the bouquet in Ashton's hand.
"They're for Skylar," he told me quietly. "I'm going to visit her after." A brief, brittle smile crossed his face. "Hypocritical, I know."
"No, it's okay," I replied quickly. "Um. I can come with you, if you want. I haven't seen her in a while."
Ashton was silent for such a long moment that I almost took back the offer. "Really?" he asked finally. "That'd help. It feels weird."
"What?"
"I feel like I'm used to the fact that she's gone now," he admitted. "And I feel like I shouldn't."
I glanced up at him. "Hey, just because you've gotten used to not having someone, it doesnât mean you've stopped missing them."
He smiled weakly. "You sound wise."
"I've been down this road," I replied, wrapping my arms around him. "It's not worth it."
"Thanks, Elle," he said.
"You're doing good," I muttered into his chest. "It'll get better."
"Whoa kiddos, let's keep it PG," A new voice cut in. I pulled away from Ashton to see Devon and Shawn standing beside us with matching amused looks on their faces.
Devon handed me a bouquet of roses. "Congrats, Lena."
"You need to grow taller," Shawn remarked, ruffling my hair. "I couldn't find out until the crowd thinned."
I glanced around and true to his word, most of the people had left the room or moved to the sides, leaving the main area around us mostly empty. Or emptier than it had been before, at least.
"I'm pretty sure I'm done growing," I told him flatly, raising a hand to smooth my hair back down. "Where are Raine and Kaden?"
I had remembered seeing them at the graduating ceremony, but I hadn't kept an eye on them throughout and I hadn't seen them since it ended.
"Well, Raine's water broke, so they're at the hospital," Devon replied.
It took a moment for what he said to sink in.
"Raine's in labor?" I asked.
They nodded.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Shawn shrugged. "We couldn't find you."
"Kaden told us to bring you to the hospital when you finished," Devon said. "Ready to go?"
"Wait, I..." promised I'd go visit Skylar with Ashton.
Ashton caught on quickly. "It's okay, Elle, you go ahead."
I bit my lip. "You sure?"
He nodded.
"Tell Skylar I said hi, okay?"
He nodded again. "I will."
"And come to the hospital after?"
He gave me a small, but genuine smile. "Of course."
Shawn grabbed my arm before I could kiss him. "Nuh-uh, none of that now, I have explicit instructions to prevent all and any kissing."
I rolled my eyes.
Some things never change.
â¡ the trouble with love â¡
It took Raine twelve very stressful hours to deliver the baby.
"Raine Evans?" A doctor called, stepping into the room. Devon, Shawn and I shot out of our seats and followed him down the hall. We entered the room to see Raine lying on the bed, tired, but awake, and Kaden walking around with a small pink bundle in his arms, cooing softly.
"So it's a girl?" Devon asked. Raine and Kaden had decided to keep the gender of their kid unknown, wanting it to be a surprise, and to decide on a name when she, or he was born.
Raine nodded. "He's hogging her," she complained.
"Shhh, let me have my moment," Kaden tossed back. "She looks like me."
Raine rolled her eyes and gave him an amused look despite the fact that he wasn't looking at her. "Of course she does."
"What's her name?" Devon asked.
"Avril Summer Fleming," Kaden announced proudly. Avril gave a little gurgle at the sound of her name.
"You're a cheesy motherfu-"
"No swearing around her," Kaden cut in, glaring at Shawn.
"You're right," Shawn commented. "He does hog her. Come on, you can't hide her forever."
Kaden grudgingly made his way towards us, and even let me hold Avril. She was tiny, her hands barely the size of my pinky, with bright blue eyes that were identical to Kaden's and little tufts of curly dark hair.
"I want another one," he told Raine as he took Avril back and went to sit down on the hospital bed beside her.
"Oh no, no way," Raine said. "Don't touch me."
"But-" he protested.
"You try going through twelve hours of labor first," she interrupted.
Shawn snickered. "Shot down."
I grinned when Kaden gave him a dirty look. My smiled widened when Raine took Avril from Kaden, making kissy faces at her daughter. "Okay," she said. "Maybe one more."
Kaden smirked, then stood up. "I should probably call Mom and Dad. And I think Kallie said she wanted you to Skype with her as soon as you could too."
"Hey," Ashton said, walking in. He handed Kaden a balloon. "Congrats."
Kaden raised an eyebrow. "Thanks."
"Where were you?" I asked Ashton when he came to stand beside me. Ashton had come to the hospital the night before, two or so hours after the graduation ceremony. He had gone home for the night, but returned in the morning, at least according to Devon. I had been asleep at the time, and when I woke up he hadn't been there.
Ashton glanced at Raine and Kaden who had opened a laptop and were in the process of video-calling either Kallie or Kaden's parents, or Raine's parents, I think. I took his cue and we both quietly left the room, walking a little farther down the hall.
"I went to see Nate," Ashton told me. "He stayed overnight with Keira."
I threaded my fingers through his, squeezing his hand gently. "Nathan's going to be okay. He's not as... Delicate as you think he is."
Nathan had lost a lot, but I didn't doubt that he would pull through. In the past couple months I had gotten to know him better, and he was kind, like everyone assumed, but he wasn't so innocent. Not anymore, at least. Not after losing so many of his friends.
There wasn't very much left of the Elite.
Speaking of which...
"Where's Jacen?" Now that I thought about it, I hadn't seen him at the graduation ceremony, wasn't sure if that was something he wanted to attend with Keira being how she was.
"I think he's visiting Vanessa," Ashton replied. He had taken over a sort of big brother role for Jacen. It was something he felt he owed to Keira, he had told me once.
I blinked. "I thought he was mad at her."
"He's trying to get past everything. Said Vanessa was a good place to start."
We were both silent for a moment.
"Lena?" Kaden called from inside the room. He poked his head out. "Did you want to talk to Kallie?"
"Yeah, we'll be right in," I told him. I tugged on Ashton's hand. "Coming?"
He took a deep breath. "Yeah, let's go."
And I realized this as we walked back in to see Shawn and Devon holding the laptop as Raine and Kaden sat on the hospital bed, laughing at something Kallie said, holding Avril between them.
Loving someone wasn't easy.
It could be rewarding like Raine and Kaden, or drive someone to do insane things like Vanessa. It wasn't black and white, like they made it in the movies, tragic or beautiful. It was something that you never really knew if it would be worth it until the very end, when it was too late to make any other decision.
But I guess that's just the trouble with love.
â¡ fin â¡
-- â¡ --
QotC: Thoughts. About anything. Favourite character? When you started reading did you think it would end up like this? What surprised you most? Etc. Tell me everything. Especially if you've never commented before. Pretty please?
EXTRAS TO COME:
-Ashton's PoV on either the first time he met Elena or the Winter Formal dance.
-Facts about the TTwL, info about the sequel + Q&A (so comment any last questions you have about anything- from the characters, to the plot, or even about me)
-Introduction to the spin-off/sequel.