A Not So Taunting Epilogue

[] A M E L I A []

Christmas had went by in the blink of an eye. I had gotten home three days before Christmas eve, giving me enough time to help with remaining decorations around the house, and clean it too. I had already bought everyone's presents when I had gone shopping with Gemma back in the Lethbridge, so I was able to spend more time with my family.

When I came back home, all of us had fallen into a comfortable routine, as if the past four years of our life didn't happen. As if we all didn't celebrate Christmas in four years. Since Levi was in jail, we didn't have the heart to.

We felt as if it was wrong to celebrate when we had a murderer among us.

But now, we celebrated it with a renounced happiness. We pummelled four years of missed Christmases into one. We all bought numerous presents for each other, putting our heart into all of them.

On Christmas eve, mom had invited Lillian, Gemma and her dad, over for dinner. We all celebrated the night together, and had a lot of fun. In the morning, us four exchanged our presents and mom presented us with a hearty breakfast. Then, we had all sat down and did what we always did for Christmas before the incident. We all devoured hot chocolate, and cookies that mom baked, and watched reruns of old Christmas movies. We always did this on Christmas day for some reason, and not before that.

As for the rest of my extended family, mom and dad tried their best to keep in touch with their families. However, when they had found out what Levi was accused of four years ago, they all shut us out completely. Not that we were close to them before, but now, we hadn't spoken to them in years. A few weeks back, Dad's family had tried to get in touch with us. However, once dad found out that it wasn't out of guilt, but rather, for the money that Levi had inherited, dad completely shut them out of his life. Mom's side of the family wasn't much better. I knew that mom had been the balck sheep of her family growing up, and we didn't talk much about it either. But after hearing the news of Levi being innocent, nobody from her side had even tried to contact us.

I wasn't bothered by this at all. If they couldn't be there for the worst of our times, they didn't deserve to be here now.

After Christmas was over, we had one day left to prepare for Leo's family to come over. Mom had even invited Jamal and Andre, and they had agreed to come over too. Gemma was already a given, and I was happy that her dad and my dad got along so well too. It was nice to see my father connect with someone after so long. And I just knew that he'd get along with James as well. And of course, John was also invited.

The last day had flown by as well. Before I knew it, I standing in front of my full-length mirror, smoothing down my dress for the night. It was a knee-length red velvet dress, one that Gemma had given to me as a Christmas present. All five of us had exchanged our presents before we left for the holidays, in case we couldn't meet up before break was over.

Gemma had given me this dress, along with a gold necklace, one that I also wore now. Jamal and Andre together bought a new sound system for my car, and I nearly cried when they installed it.

For Gemma's present, the boys and I pitched in and bought a car.

It definitely dented our bank accounts, but it was worth it to see the pure happiness on her face. Her old car had completely broken down, and she loved the darn thing and took care of it properly too. It was just too rundown to be surviving this weather. So all of us decided to do this. The car we got wasn't anything special, since we found the best deal we could on a used car website, but we still found the best one we could without going completely bankrupt. We made sure it was one that would last her longer than her old one did.

I had been thoughtful about everyone else's present too. For Jamal, I had gotten a signed jersey from one of his favourite basketball players. For Andre, I had gotten tickets for his favourite band for both him and I to go, since we both loved their music and the others hated them. But for Leo... I couldn't decide what to get for him all this time. So I ended up saying that his present had to wait until he came over here. He didn't say anything then and only smiled and nodded at me. Nobody questioned me further and then Leo said he wanted to give me my present then. And then to my surprise, they all had gotten up, Leo had tied a blindfold around my eyes, and then they all started taking me somewhere. I smiled as I remembered it now.

I didn't even bother fighting them at that point. I simply huffed as I was lifted off the ground and into someone's arms, the blindfold not letting me see where we were going.

After a long time, Leo had finally placed me on the ground, since I realized he was the one carrying me all this time, and slowly took off my blindfold.

When I finally adjusted to the light, the first thing I saw was a furnished room. White furniture was neatly arranged around in a blue painted room, including a bed, two sidetables, a vanity, and a desk.

My heart thudded against my chest as I stared at the space, not sure how to breathe at that point.

"Leo...what is this?" I asked.

Leo wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned over my shoulder to look at me.

"It's your room, Moonie."

It was then that I realized that I had been standing in the room Leo once used as a study room.

To my surprise, it had transformed into a full fledged bedroom, my bedroom. I was crying by the time Gemma led me to the closet, which had all my stuff already arranged. Gemma had done that.

I never cried so hard in my life. Which is saying something since I'm always crying.

And Leo simply laughed and hugged me as he let me bawl. The rest tried calming me down while Leo laughed, but nothing could stop my waterworks that day.

I sighed as I thought of that time, smiling to myself as I stared at my reflection. I was glowing with happiness, something I had never felt before in my life.

I had told my parents on Christmas day that I had moved in with Leo, and to my surprise, Mom was happier than Dad had been. Dad had spluttered out the water he was drinking, confusion written over his face.

"M-moved in with him? As in... that's your home now?" Dad asked.

I nodded sheepishly and Mom and Levi smiled encouringly at me.

"It seems like you guys love each other a lot," Levi said.

"I do, Levi. I really do."

Levi smiled at me and ruffled my hair. I was surprised how easily Levi had adjusted, but at the same time, I wasn't too surprised. It was Levi. He was the chillest person I had known all my life.

"B-but...what about this home?" Dad asked.

I reached forward to place my hand on his.

"This will always be my first home dad. I just have another one now."

"I'm happy for you Amelia. You deserve the best, sweetheart," mom said, coming over to hug me.

And then when I told them what Leo and the rest did for my Christmas present, Mom and I cried together (and so did Dad), while Levi smiled and patted my shoulder in comfort.

I smiled wider as I thought of that time. Having my family love Leo was the best feeling in the world. I liked that they approved of him, as they should.

Just then, there was a knock on my door.

"Come in!"

The door burst open and I squealed when I saw Gemma on the other side. I quickly ran over to hug her and she hugged me back just as excitedly.

"Are you nervous? Are you excited? Are you hungry?" Gemma said quickly.

I laughed and pulled back from her.

"All of the above."

She chuckled and looped her arm through my own.

"Come on, let's get going. I just texted Andre, and him and Jamal are just pulling into the neighborhood. Leo and his family are nearly ten minutes away," Gemma explained as we made our way outside.

I nodded and we went into the kitchen to see what Mom and Lillian were up to. Lillian had been coming over a lot more in the last few weeks, which I was so happy about. My family had finally rekindled our friendship with her, and I was more than glad. It felt as if a part of me was complete.

"Alright girls, be on your best behaviour tonight," mom said mockingly.

Gemma and I giggled at her odd behaviour. She was also nervous to meet Leo's family, since we didn't keep in touch with many people in the last four years. It was weird seeing our house so busy as it is right now, but I was excited.

Just then, the bell rang, signalling someone's arrival. Gemma and I shared a look, and immediately ran for the door, giggling madly as we raced.

Gemma got there first, ripping the door open as she did. Just as she opened it, a cold breeze entered the house. I shivered, hugging myself tightly as I saw who was on the other side.

"Greetings, my lovely friends!" Jamal loudly called out, raising his hands in the air dramatically.

Andre was standing beside him, rolling his eyes at Jamal's extra behaviour. Gemma giggled and opened the door wide for them. They came inside and immediately pulled us in for hugs. We greeted them back, and just as they were hanging their coats, the bell rang again. My heart thudded against my chest as I stared at the door nervously.

I suddenly felt a nudge to my shoulder, and I looked up to see Andre grinning down at me.

"Come on little one, aren't you going to get that?" He said jokingly.

I smiled shyly at him and reached for the door. I opened it with shaky hands and looked up to see who there.

I was immediately greeted by the Kennedy's warm faces.

Laura was smiling down at me, Clara was bouncing excitedly, and James was standing behind them with a dish in his hands.

And no Leo.

My smile faltered a little, but I immediately covered it up by opening the door wider for them.

"Come on in!" I said happily.

Once they were inside, I reached forward to hug Laura, who hugged me back tightly.

"Oh goodness sweetie, I'm so glad you're safe," she said, patting my back in a motherly way.

I smiled, pulling back from her. Before I could respond to her, another pair of hands wrapped tightly around me. I jerked back with a small 'oomph,' but quickly recovered and hugged Clara back.

"I'm so happy to see you, Amelia," Clara said, hugging me desperately.

I hugged her back just as tight.

"I'm happy to see you too, Clara."

We finally pulled apart, and I was greeted by Clara's smiling face. She finally pulled away from me, and I quickly turned to Gemma, introducing her to all of them. The boys greeted all of them loudly, and I remembered how close they were to them. Then, I took all their coats and hung them up as Gemma and the boys started leading the rest into the house. My heart fell to my stomach as I saw their retreating backs.

Where was Leo?

Suddenly, Clara turned around, smacking her forehead lightly. I rose a brow excitedly, ready to hear something about Leo.

"Oh, Amelia, could you just check the front porch? I think I dropped my bracelet as I was coming up."

I deflated, but then recovered and smiled at her.

"Of course."

I closed the closet door and started making my way for the door. I opened it with a heavy heart, my eyes on the ground.

Suddenly, I saw a pair of black dress shoes flash across my vision. My eyes widened, my heart thudded rapidly in my chest, and I slowly raked my eyes up to see who it was. The person was wearing all black, black dress pants, and a button-down black dress shirt. When I looked up, instead of a face, I was greeted by a bouquet of fresh roses.

Slowly, the person lowered the bouquet, and I felt all the air return to my lungs when I caught Leo's eyes over the flowers.

"Hey Moonie."

I lunged forward and hugged him. He moved the flowers out of the way just in time to catch me and hugged back with one hand. He let out a small groan and lifted me up with one hand, hugging me tightly. I burst out  laughing, wrapping my arms tighter around his neck. He finally placed me on the ground, his arm still around my waist, the other holding the flowers up towards me.

"For you, my lady."

I grinned, eyeing the flowers lovingly. Then, I looked back up to him, lightly reaching up to caress his cheek. He leaned into my touch, a soft sigh escaping him.

"I missed you, Leo."

"I missed you more, love."

* * *

"And then he ran around the house screaming bloody murder like a little baby!" Laura said, laughing at the end of her explanation.

We all burst out laughing along with her, as she told us the story of how Leo was scared of spiders up until he was 16, and how he encountered one nearly 3 inches big back when they went to Australia one summer. I couldn't help but laugh till my insdies ached, picturing the scenario of Leo like that.

When the Kennedy's came in, Leo and I introduced everyone to each other. Mom, Laura and Lillian immediately hit it off, gushing over the casserole Laura had brought with her. I was happy to see that Mom was impressed by that, and I knew if they went overboard, mom would feel pressured to do the same. Which is why I had especially told Leo to come empty-handed. He had argued when I said that, since he wanted to bring presents for everyone, but I had specifically told him not to. He had agreed in the end, but now he did this. The roses, and the casserole, and just his beautiful family. That was all I needed. Dad had also taken a liking to James, since he didn't really ever dislike anyone. He was easy to get along with.

Now, the dads had retreated to the media room, while the rest of us were crowded in the kitchen, conversing with one another. Currently, we were listening to stories of Leo's childhood.

I was still laughing at what Laura said, when I suddenly felt a pinch to my side. I immediately gasped, whipping my head to the side to see Leo glaring at me.

"Hardy har-har, Amelia," Leo said flatly.

I grinned at him, reaching forward to kiss his cheek.

"You are so adorable, Leo."

Surprisingly, it wasn't me who said that. We all whipped our head up to see John still guffawing with laughter as he said that. The rest joined in on the laugh, unable to help it once they saw the glare Leo was giving John.

John had come in a while ago as well, finally completing the guests we had invited for tonight.

"Hey Amelia," Clara suddenly said.

I turned to my side to face her, since she was sitting on the other side of me at the dining table.

"Yes, Clara?"

"Could you just tell me where the bathroom is?"

"Of course, I'll take you there."

I then briefly left the dining room and led Clara to the bathroom downstairs. Once I pointed her to it, I decided to check up on Levi.

When we had first told him about the dinner, he didn't seem too fond of the idea. When he hesitated, I immediately thought of canceling it, but Levi stopped me and said that he would love it if we held the dinner at our place. I felt bad about this though, knowing it might overwhelm him to see so many people, so we settled on holding the dinner, in exchange for letting him join us whenever he wanted.

After leading Clara to the bathroom, I headed for Levi's art room just across the hall. I knocked on the door, and entered when I heard a 'come in.' I entered slowly and saw Levi standing by one of his eisels, a pencil in his hand. He was sketching on a large pad of paper, not painting since he was dressed for the dinner. He turned to me when I entered.

"Hey Levi. Everyone's here," I said, walking toward him.

He nodded and gave me a small smile.

"Alright, I'll be right up. Just five more minutes please," he pleaded.

I smiled and reached up to pat his arm.

"Of course. Take your time. There's still about half an hour till dinner starts. Don't burden yourself," I said.

He nodded and looked down at his hands silently. I stayed there, waiting for him to share his thoughts with me. We had been more open with each other since I came back. He shared his feelings with me, that he didn't like being touched, or when he felt anxious, but never talked about his time in jail. But that was okay. He wasn't ready yet, and I would be there when he was.

"What is it, Levi?" I asked tenderly.

"I just...will I ever be able to do it Amelia?" He said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Do what?"

"This. Just... talk to people without clamming up, meet people without feeling guilty... to be me again."

I stared at him hard. He was looking down, his fingers nervously clasping together. Bravely, I reached a hand forward and grabbed his hand in mine. He looked up at me, anxiety running through his bones.

"Of course you will Levi. One day, you'll be able to look in the mirror and see you, and not the horrors of your past. It may take time and energy- God, lots of energy. But you'll get there, Levi. Trust me. I've been there."

And to my surprise, Levi smiled at me. A genuine, and a real smile.

One that I hadn't seen in years.

* * *

I sighed as I leaned against the balcony railing. The dinner had been so smooth, that it almost hurt to be there. Levi had come up just before dinner had started and met with everyone nicely. Everyone had been so welcoming that it brought tears to my eyes to see it. The night was spent with so much laughter and joy that my heart could barely take it.

I breathed in the cool winter air happily, releasing a small sigh shortly after. It was so quiet out here, so peaceful, in a different way than the inside. The inside was also peaceful, in a joyous way. But this was just heartwarming.

Suddenly, a pressure around my waist caused me to jerk in surprise. I fell against a hard back and I immediately turned my head to see who had disturbed me. My eyes immediately came in contact with shining brown orbs. I smiled widely, turning around in his arms to face him.

"I feel like I barely saw you all night," Leo said a pout.

I grinned at him and leaned up on my toes to peck his lips. He sighed when I pulled back, wrapping his arms tighter around me. I shivered and he caged me tighter against him, wrapping his arms around me like a blanket, my hands caged between us.

"What are you doing here all alone?" He asked after a moment.

"Just thinking," I said with a shrug.

"What are you thinking about?" He said, lightly swaying me around playfully.

I chuckled and followed along, swaying to the beat of the silent music.

"I'm just thinking about how happy I am," I honestly said.

He smiled down at me and stopped moving, halting my moves too. He reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

"Hey Moonie, is it cool if I give you my present now?" He asked with a hesitant smile.

My eyes widened.

"Excuse me, Leo Kennedy. I think I precisely told you not to spend more money-"

He shut me up with a kiss. I groaned in annoyance, pushing him back slightly. He finally complied, still staring down at me with that stupid smirk.

"This isn't anything grand. Just a small one. Think of it as a New Year's present," he said playfully.

I huffed and nodded hesitantly. He grinned at me, and then suddenly reached for his own shirt. My eyes widened as he started unbuttoning his shirt and I quickly looked back to the backyard door.

"Leo, everyone is literally a door away-"

He silenced me with another kiss, this time, grabbing my wrist with his free hand. I was so lost in the kiss, that I barely noticed when he placed my palm against his bare chest, right by his heart. We broke apart panting from the kiss, and I looked up at him through hazy eyes as he rested his forehead against mine. He had a few buttons of his shirt undone, opening it to reveal a part of his chest.

"This heart right here Amelia," he started, "it belongs to you. I wanted you to claim it. I wanted the world to know that you're in it."

He slowly pulled away from my forehead, and I followed the movement of his eyes as he looked down to his chest. Ever so slowly, he peeled our joined hands away from his skin, revealing a portion of his bare chest to me.

My mouth fell open in shock as I stared at his slightly swollen chest. Right there, just where I'd asssume his heart to lie, there was a name engraved. A name I had grown so used to in the last few months. I stared at the beautiful cursive name, tears welling up in my eyes as I traced the the black ink.

"Moonie," I whispered.

I looked up at Leo, only to see him biting his lip nervously as he stared at me in question.

"What do you think?" He asked.

"A tattoo? Are you serious Leo? Why?" I rambled.

He smiled down at me, his eyes shining with mischief.

"I kind of missed out on the whole rebellious teenager phase, minus the fights, so I thought I'd start now," he retorted sarcastically.

I glared at him and he chuckled at me.

"It's a romantic gesture, love."

I stared at the tattoo again, unable to take my eyes off of the beauty of it. It was written so perfectly, so beautifully. It was about three inches long in width, planted across his chest in a perfect cursive, with a single curvy line under it.

Did he see me as how beautiful this tattoo was?

"That's a big commitment there Leo. What if we- what if you don't...feel the same-"

"No." He stated.

I looked up to him in surprise, only to see his intense gaze set on me.

"There is no way that I'm letting you go Amelia. I love you too much for that. Now, two months from now, 20 years from now, and even later. And if God forbid that your feelings for me change Amelia, then I'd have to pursue you over and over and again till you come back to me," he said seriously.

My lips trembled as he spoke. He brought a hand up to cup one side of my face, his thumb tracing my cheek.

"But this heart Amelia is solely yours. And if you have to go Amelia, if you somehow, some way, fall out of love with me, then this will always be a reminder to me of what we once were. I can always proudly say that I met an angel in this lifetime, and her name is engraved into my soul."

I couldn't hold back the tears back anymore. I reached forward and kissed him hard, lettting him know just how much I loved him back. My hand grazed his swollen chest, imagining the ink underneath. He kissed me back just as passioantely, his hands wrapping around my waist tightly. Remembering that I needed to give him his present too, I finally pulled away from him.

"Okay, before I get too emotional, I want to do this too."

Leo looked at me questioningly, and I slowly reached a hand between us to get into my dress pocket. When I finally got what I was looking for, I pulled it out and hesitantly pushed it toward Leo. He stared down at the box in confusion, and I could feel his heart beat pick up under my hand. His eyes widened when he took in the size of the box and he looked at me with his mouth slightly parted.

"Amelia Harrison, you better not be proposing to me right now because hell, I will take you to the nearest chapel in this moment," he said, his voice deeper than usual.

I blushed deeply and sighed.

"Just open it Leo."

He finally dropped his hands from my waist and hesitantly took the box from my hand. I wrapped my arms around his waist, waiting for him to open it.

At last, he finally flipped open the velvet box, and his eyes widened even further. Two shiny bands sat in the box, one smaller and the other much larger.

Leo looked up at me questioningly. I smiled and reached forward to pluck the larger ring out.

"It's a promise ring Leo," I explained, holding the ring up to his face. "It's a promise that one day, I want to be waking down the aisle with my hand in my dad's, passing down the faces of Laura, James, Mom, Levi, and finally Gemma and Clara to the left, Jamal and Andre right beside you.. and I want my dad to finally pass me to you," I said with watery eyes.

Leo was staring down at me, not saying a word.

"There isn't a lot of things I was sure about in life, Leo. I was always went with the flow, no matter where it took me. No matter how rough the waves were, I never questioned them, thinking that's how they were meant to be. But with you, I wanted to change the tide. I wanted to fight for you, to love you how I wanted. I wanted to change fate to be with you," I expressed with as much as devotion I could. "I love you Leo Kennedy, with both of our scars combined."

To my utter surprise, a few lone tears trailed down Leo's cheeks when I finished speaking. He looked down at the ring I was holding up for him and he slowly reached his hand out for me. I slipped the ring onto his middle finger and then reached up to cup his face. More tears poured out, and I quickly wiped them away, then kissed his cheeks. His arm tightened around me, and I pulled back enough to face him.

Silently, he turned to the box in his hand and took the ring out. Then, he held out his hand for me and I placed it softly in his. He placed the ring on delicately, then brought my hand up to kiss the back of it. Then, my finger which held the ring. He then kissed my knuckles, my palm, and eventually every corner of my hand that the ring was on. He was still crying silently, and I couldn't do anything but watch him.

After a few moments, he finally pulled back and stared down at me. He brought both his hands around me again, locking them together and resting them by the bottom of my back. I brought my hands up to rest on his face, wiping away the last of his tears. He leaned against my touch, closing his eyes as I wiped away at his cheeks with my thumbs.

"As mad as I should be for not thinking of this sooner than you, I'm still glad. I'm glad it was you Amelia. Because you're in charge, love. You decide what to do. Whenever you want it," Leo softly said.

He then turned his head to kiss the inside of my palm. I shook my head at him, not liking what he said at all.

"Together leo. We do it together."

He kissed my other palm. At last, I finally dropped my hands from his face, and brought them to rest on his chest. He breathed out deeply and swallowed thickly. He finally composed himself and looked down at me.

"But holy shit, Amelia. If you get down on one knee before me, I swear I will never marry you," he said seriously.

I burst out laughing and leaned up to finally kiss him. He breathed deeply into the kiss, and wrapped his arms tighter around me as he kissed me back. Just as things were getting heated, we heard a loud voice beside us.

"Uncle Jerry, Leo has his mouth on your daughter!"

We whipped our heads to the door, only to see Clara standing there with her hands on her hips, a mischievous smile on her face.

Before Leo and I could even pull apart, Dad came bounding through the backyard door, hurriedly looking around the place until his eyes landed on us.

"Fucking hell Kennedy, at least keep your hands to yourself tonight," Dad swore, throwing his hands up in the air.

I giggled and turned to Leo, only to see that his eyes were already trained on me. He was smiling lightly at me, and I bet he didn't even hear what Dad was saying. He suddenly reached a hand up to cup my face.

"I forgot to say this today, but I love you," he whispered to me, as Dad continued to cuss a few feet away from us.

"I love you too," I said, reaching up to cover his hand.

"Wait a minute... what are those?" Dad suddenly said.

I looked up to him in surprise, causing Leo's hand to drop from my face. We both looked to Dad questioningly, slightly worried seeing his pale state. He was pointing at something beside us, and I turned to see what he was looking at. My eyes widened when I saw that he was pointing to my hand.

In my dazed state, I didn't even realize that Leo had placed the promise ring on my wedding ring finger.

But for some reason, I didn't mind it.

"Holy shit, did you just propose to my daughter?" Dad asked incredulously. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME LEO?!"

My mouth fell open in shock at Dad's outburst. Before I could correct him, the whole house emptied out as everyone came outside to see what the commotion was about.

Mom came out first, running to Dad in worry. Everyone else came out next, filling up our balcony to the brim. Leo and I still stood in the corner, arms wrapped around each other as we waited for everyone to settle down.

"What happened, Jerry?" Mom said.

Dad pointed a finger at us.

"Leo proposed to Amelia!"

Gasps resonated throughout the space, and I heard Gemma squeal loudly. Mom had a look of shock on her face, and Laura was gushing along with Clara. Suddenly, Laura made her way through the crowd to Mom and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Congratulations Cassandra. Looks like we're going to be in-laws!" Laura excitedly said.

To my surprise, Mom grinned and hugged her back.

"It was only a matter of time. Congratulations Laura!"

They suddenly turned to us then, and started making their way to us. They immediately pulled us into tight hugs, causing us to break apart. Mom hugged Leo tightly, whispering something into his ear. Laura hugged me, and when she pulled away, she was wiping away at her eyes.

Behind them, I could see James trying to console Dad, but he wasn't having it. Before I could come clean about what was going on, I heard a sob to my right. I whipped my around, only to see Gemma crying in Andre's arms. He was trying to console her, but she kept on crying. Behind them, Jamal had a hand covering his eyes as he shook slightly.

"How could they not tell me first!" Gemma said, crying loudly.

I stepped toward her, but before I could, a loud voice stopped me dead in my tracks. I turned to the other side, to see John and Levi making their way outside too. John was the one who had spoke, as he took an intimidating step towards us.

"Leo Kennedy, she is only 21, you idiot! I did not think I'd have to actually chop off your ba-"

Dad cut him off.

"I'm getting my gun-"

"Wow, you big boy. I thought you were cool with this," Mom mockingly said to him, patting his chest down.

Dad grunted.

"I didn't think he'd whisk my baby girl away so soon-"

"Hey now," James cut in. "They're old enough to decide-"

"Hey now James, what if this was Clara?" Dad retorted.

James paled. Clara on the other hand was blushing deeply, a groan escaping her as James turned to face her with tears in his eyes.

"My baby girl-"

"That's what I thought-"

"I dibs being the groomsman," I heard Andre argue to my left.

I whipped my head around to see what they were talking about now.

"I dibs being the best man," Jamal retorted.

"Oh shit no, I wanted that-"

"Too bad," Jamal said.

"And I get to be the godmother of all their children-"

"Gemma, what about me?" Clara said, holding a hand to her heart.

"You'll be their aunt Clara."

"Oh yeah!" Clara happily gushed.

"Oh Gemma, does this mean that if we're dating, I get to be the godfather of all of them too?" Jamal teased.

Gemma blushed, her eyes peaking up to see Andre's reaction. Andre turned red with anger.

"Like hell you'll date her!"

Jamal burst out laughing, wiping away tears as he turned to Gemma again.

"I still dibs being the godfather for atleast one of them. If there's three, we split the middle one-"

"I'll be the godfather you moron. You can be... their chauffeur or something," Andre grumbled out.

Jamal gasped, holding a hand to his heart.

"Goodness you imbeciles," John suddenly said. "They are too young to be making such rash decisions! Come on Amelia, there's plenty of fish in the sea-"

"Yeah, but she landed a shark!" Jamal defended his best friend.

John made a face at him.

"That's disgusting-"

"You guys! It's a promise ring," Lillian suddenly said, effectively shutting everyone up.

Everyone froze and turned to face me and Leo. While everyone was busy arguing, Leo had locked me in his arms from behind, and pulled me against his chest. My hands were resting on his hands, our rings shining brightly in the dimly lit balcony.

I grinned at Lillian, and she winked back at me. I looked around to everyone and spoke up.

"And besides, I gave it to Leo, not the other way around."

"WHAT?!" Everyone yelled out at the same time.

I felt Leo sag against me, his head drooping on my shoulder.

"Oh come on Moonie, you couldn't let me shine for a few more minutes?" He whined.

I giggled and turned around to kiss his cheek. He grumbled and pulled me tighter against him. Nobody knew what to say, and suddenly, Dad was the one to break the silence when he cleared his throat.

"Well... looks like Amelia really went all out. So, what did you get her Leo?" He asked.

"A whole furnished bedroom," Gemma said.

"Hush, Pollard," Dad cut her off.

Gemma giggled and turned to face us. Leo scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Uh... not much more sir..." Leo trailed off nervously.

I giggled, wondering how he would explain to my dad that he got my name printed on his chest.

To my surprise, I heard Clara speak next.

"Don't lie Leo, show him what you got for his daughter," I heard Clara call out cheekily.

Leo swallowed thickly, and I burst out laughing into my hand. Dad rose a brow at Leo and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, show me Leo."

I giggled more, and Leo glared down playfully at me before unwrapping his arms from my waist. He finally came to a stand beside me, and slowly reached for his shirt. He started peeling it back, since it was already unbuttoned.

"That better not be a nipple piercing Leo!" John loudly said.

Everyone gasped as he said that, quickly looking back to Leo to see what he was hiding under his shirt. Leo slowly folded the shirt back, enough to show his tattoo.

Again, everyone was silent as they eyed the black ink.

"Oh fuck uncle Jerry, lets shoot him right where he's written that damn nickname," John said.

I giggled as everyone burst out yelling again. Leo groaned and pulled me back into his arms, kissing the top of my head.

Across the balcony, I suddenly caught Levi's eye. He was smiling warmly at me, and he gave me a discreet thumbs up. I grinned at him and then turned to see everyone else.

Everything felt as it was in place. For once, I felt as if nothing was weighing me down. I was surrounded by the people I loved, and the ones that loved me back.

And as I turned and gazed into the brown eyes of the boy I loved most, I couldn't help but think that this is how I wanted to spend the rest of my life.

With him, and with all the people that completed me.