There are better things ahead than any we leave behind

-C.S. Lewis.

-Maggie-

As Luke and I walked into the building where the dinner part took place we were given some sparkling cider. As I took in the room I couldn't help but gasp at how it was decorated. Surrounding the room there were circled tables, (Same decoration as the pic just different table) a dark gray table cloth laying above each one and a wine red cloth running across in the middle. On the center of each table there was a bouquet of red flowers and mini candles that have already been lit. The light in the room was dimmed down, giving more attention to the beautiful decorations. In the center of the room was the dance floor, and right by the stage was the music booth. Whoever decorated the place did a fantastic job.

There were already a fair amount of people in the large room, some being here for awhile and others just arriving. All the men were wearing a tux and women were wearing gowns. A hand on my waist made me break my contact from the room as I looked at Luke. He was staring at something to my far right and there was a frown on his face as he pulled me closer to his side. Confused by his sudden mood I followed his trail of sight only to see two guys who were eyeing me. One winked while the other smirked, holding up his glass to me before taking a sip. I blushed and turned to Luke again, who was now fuming, letting me know he saw that.

"Luke?" He looked at me and raised an eyebrow, gesturing for me to continue. "Let's go find your parents, yeah?" He nodded, sending me a smile and I let out a sigh of relief as he started to lead the way opposite from those two guys.

"You look absolutely gorgeous Mags. I'm gonna have to stay by your side all night to keep other guys away." I chuckled and shook my head. "I can manage." I replied. He scoffed and nodded his head. "I know, but these guys can't." Before I could say anything else we reached his a parents, who were currently speaking to a man. "Mom, dad. You've met Maggie." Luke greeted as they turned to us. Hannah beamed at me and extended her arms for a hug. I returned it and smiled at her as we pulled away.

"It's nice to see you again Maggie. You look stunning!" She exclaimed as she took in my appearance. I laughed at her cheery mood, instantly feeling comfortable. "Thank you. You look amazing as well. I love your dress." She was wearing a peach colored gown that loosely flowed down to her ankles, showing off her heels. Her make up was done lightly, accentuating her natural beauty, topping it off with diamond studs and a beautiful necklace to match.

"How've you been honey? I heard about the whole hospital stuff. Must've been tough, huh?" I let out a breathy laugh and nodded. "Definitely. I've been doing good overall though, thanks for asking. What about you? This must be a big night for you and your husband." She chuckled and shook her head. "Well we've been through enough of these to get used to it but yes, it is a big night. I've been great."

"Maggie, you look lovely. It's a pleasure seeing you again." I turned to Thomas and smiled at him, about to shake his hand only to go through that awkward moment when you go for a handshake and the other person goes for a hug. I let out an awkward laugh at my weirdness and accepted his hug, silently scowling myself for being weird as we pulled away. "This is Hugh McAllen, my boss." Thomas gestured at the man standing by him, who extended his hand for a handshake just as I opened my arms for a hug. Are you serious Maggie?! I quickly shook his hand, secretly glaring at Luke when I heard him chuckle softly. As I took a sip from my drink he began to speak. "It's nice to meet you Mr. McAllen." I greeted. The man who looked to be in his mid fifties smiled with a nod. "Please, call me Hugh. We're all on a first name basis here. It's nice to meet you Maggie. Lucas, you have a lovely girlfriend here." Hearing this I gasped, resulting in me choking on my drink and having a coughing fit.

"Oh dear, are you okay?" Hannah softly patted my back as I nodded, my coughs slowly subsiding. "Yeah, My drink just went through the wrong tube that's all." She nodded her head in understanding as Luke spoke up. "I agree Hugh, she is lovey but Maggie here isn't my girlfriend." I don't know if it was just me or if it actually happened but as Luke lifted his sparkling cider to drink I think I heard him mumble a 'yet'. Hugh pouted as he glanced at both of us before giving Luke a warning look. "Well I suggest you take this lady out and ask her to be yours before you lose the chance. A lovely girl like Maggie only come once in a lifetime." My neck and cheeks flamed up as Luke looked at me with a genuine grin. "I'll definitely keep that in mind."

I gave him a tight lipped smile, trying my best not to squeal or swoon as I took a drink to calm down. Hannah shook her head and nudged Luke's shoulder. "Stop flustering the poor girl Lucas." She said with a chuckle. Hugh checked his watch and raised his eyebrows. "Oh, well it's time to eat. I need to make the announcement. If you'll excuse me." We all nodded, letting Hugh walked towards the stage as we made our way to a nearby table and took our seats.

"Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the company I'd like to thank you very much for attending us this lovely afternoon, to celebrate the new upgrades we've received and outstanding rates. Now if you could all please take a seat, dinner will be served shortly. Let the evening begin and I hope you all have a great time." Just as the announcement ended a slow song began in the background as a group of waitresses and waiters came with carts carrying the food.

"We're having Alfredo pasta with avocado stuffed lemon chicken breasts tonight." Luke whispered to me. I smiled, liking the sound of what we were about to eat. Just then my stomach grumbled and I'm guessing Luke heard it judging by his smirk. "How's Graham doing?" He asked, striking up a conversation.

I smiled yet groaned at the same time. "He's doing great, being his usually playful self. What sucks is that I can't hold him until I get these stitches taken off." I explained. Luke stared at me with amusement dancing in his eyes, causing me to raise my eyebrows. "What's so funny?" My question caused him to smirk as he shook his head.

"Every time you get annoyed your nose twitches like a rabbit." I gasped and glared at him, only earning a fit of laughter. Two can play this game.

"Well your laugh sounds like a cross between a dying whale and a walrus." Of course I was lying, but I couldn't let him win. He abruptly stopped laughing and sent me a look of warning. "Take that back." I was the one smirking now and shrugged, taking a sip of my sparkling cider. "I'm afraid I can't do that." Luke quirked an eyebrow and two seconds later I was laughing, trying to stop the tickle ambush.

"Take it back and I'll stop." Luke said with a laugh as I snorted. "I t-take it b-b-back!" I let out a squeal, causing people from other tables turn to look at us. Luke stopped tickling me with a grin on his face and I tried catching my breath, my face blazing red by all the stares I received.

I looked up at our table to see Hannah and Thomas staring at us with their eyebrows raised, a smirk lying on each of their lips. I smiled shyly just as a waiter came to our table and laid a plate in front of each person at the table. My mouth watered at the sight of the pasta and the chicken and now I couldn't wait to dig in. "So Maggie, is there anything you plan on studying after high school?" I looked up at Thomas and smiled. "Well, I plan on studying for a medical degree, that way I can be a pediatrician assistant." Hannah perked up and gave me a grin. "I used to be a pediatrician before I had Luke, let me tell you it's pretty fun working with kids." I nodded my head in agreement. "I really love kids and hopefully it won't be as hard to learn everything when I start going to community college."

Thomas hummed as he swallowed his pasta and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Why become an assistant instead of a pediatrician?" I turned my attention to him and replied. "Well I needed something close enough that would give me some time home as well, being a mother and all. I don't want to be at work every single hour of the day and not give Graham any attention." Hannah raised her eyebrows and put her fork down. "Isn't Graham your brother?" She asked, glancing at Luke, a questioning look masking her expression. I furrowed my eyebrows and shook my head. "Um, no. I got pregnant with Graham and gave birth to him six months ago." I explained slowly.

"Oh, well I guess Luke didn't mention that. Do you have a picture of him?" Hannah asked. I gave her a small smile, glancing at Luke as I took my phone out of my clutch. He was slowly chewing on his food, his expression blank. I don't know why but a wave of hurt washed over me as I handed my new phone-thanks to mom- displaying a picture of Graham on it to Hannah and Thomas. Hannah gasped and let out an 'awwww' as she smiled at one of the photos Sarah had that photographer take Saturday.

"Oh he's so cute! He's like a mini version of you." Hannah cooed, handing the phone back. I let out a small laugh and put my phone back in the clutch, taking a bite out of my pasta. The food tasted great, but suddenly it was getting harder to swallow due to the lump in my throat. Did Luke not tell his parents because he was embarrassed of me? I let out a sigh and Thomas asked another question. "So you're a single mother?" I could tell he wasn't judging, due to the sincere look on his face but I still felt it hard to answer. "Y-yeah, the father is out of the picture."

"So it was like a one night stand with an after effect?" The lump in my throat got bigger as I shifted on my seat. "Well-"

"Dad, I think that's enough questions." Luke said with a calm expression. Thomas turned to me again and widened his eyes when he saw my face. "Oh, Maggie I apologize, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." I raised my hand and shook my head with a smile. "Don't worry about it, you were just wondering." Maggie don't you dare break down into a sobbing mess in front of them!

"Mom, why won't you tell us about the new office you're decorating." Luke suggested, hanging the subject. I was grateful for him doing so but that didn't subside the hurt I was feeling. Eventually everyone finished their dinner and the music volume was cranked up a bit so people could start dancing.

Hannah and I were talking about our favorite movies a time passed by. I liked old classic movies while she liked romantic comedies. There were some movies that we've both seen and like a lot, and when she mentioned Me Before You we both started tearing up a bit, thinking about the ending.

I excused myself to go to the bathroom and stood up from my seat before Luke had the chance to pull it out, walking out of the ballroom towards the hallway. I stepped out of the bathroom after drying my hands and started making my way back to the ballroom. Just as I entered a finger tapped my shoulder, causing me to turn and see one of the guys from earlier that winked at me. He grinned and extended his hand. "Hi, I'm Hayden. And you are?" I slowly took his hand and shook it. "Um, Maggie." A smirk appeared in his face as he softly squeezed my hand. "Well would you mind joining me for a dance Maggie?" I was about to refuse, but me being the guilty person I am decided otherwise.

"Of course." Hayden led me to the dance floor, placing on hand on my waist and grabbing my right hand with his left. We started to sway to the music as he spoke. "I'm going to be honest with you, the second you walked through those doors earlier with your boyfriend I knew your face would stay etched in my mind." I bit my lip nervously, a strange vibe reflection of this dude. "Er, he isn't my boyfriend." I mumbled. Hayden raised his eyebrows. "Oh?" His hand slid down from my waist to my hip, making me tense up a little. Just then I realized that he said the whole 'boyfriend' thing to see if I was actually single or not. Dang it Maggie, you're so stupid!

"So have you lived here in Cali your whole life?" I nodded my head slowly as we continued to dance. "Yeah, I was born here and then we moved to New York where my sister was born, but after a few months my parents decided to move back. What about you?"

"I'm actually from Romania, my father is part of the business branch and I decided to come along. I must say I'm not regretting it one bit." He smirked down at me and squeezed my hip, instantly making me feel uncomfortable. I gulped nervously and stayed silent, not knowing what to do. Just then a throaty was cleared from behind me. "Mind if I cut in mate?" I couldn't be more relieved to hear Luke's voice right now just as Hayden had started moving his hand a bit lower. Hen I looked over I saw Luke with his jaw clenched as he noticed Hayden's hand.

Hayden sighed and stepped back, nodding his head. "Sure." He then turned to me with a smirk. "It was nice having the first dance with you Maggie. Hopefully I'll see you around." I nodded my head stiffly, ignoring the fact that he bragged in front of Luke about getting to dance with me first. Luke stepped in front of me and placed a hand on my upper back, his other grabbing my own just as other people stood to start doing the waltz. "Are you alright?" He asked. I nodded my head without saying a word as I placed my left hand on his right shoulder. Don't get me wrong, I was happy he got me out of the situation with Hayden but I was still hurt he didn't tell the parents the truth about Graham.

"Maggie, about earlier I swear that I wanted my parents to know the truth but-" and that's when my anger came along. "But what? You told them Graham was my brother instead of my baby? How is that letting them know the truth Luke?" He took two steps back to the music and I followed forward, letting him guide as we slowly yet swiftly turned. "I technically didn't lie. I told them Graham was a family member because-"

"Because you didn't want them to know you're friends with a teenaged mom. You're just disgusted that I had a baby at such a young age so you covered that 'tiny' little detail. You know, I actually felt welcomed by your parents, relieved to see that I wasn't being judged or felt sympathetic for by having a baby for once in my life, only to find out it was because they never knew. That look of sympathy your dad gave me kind a sucked. He wasn't judging which I respect him for and your mom, but now I know they feel bad. I thought I could feel normal." Luke groaned as he flattened his hand against mine, pushing it back so I could twirl into him and back.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell them, alright? But the real reason I didn't know if you were comfortable or not with me spreading something so important without your consent. It wasn't my intention to hide it. I just wanted to know you were okay with it first." My anger slowly subsided as I heard him say that and I furrowed my eyebrows. "Oh." Luke sighed and removed his hand to place it on my waist, making sure it wasn't too low or too high. "Dang it, Maggie I would never feel embarrassed about you. That's the last thing I'd ever feel. And my dad didn't mean phrasing it that way- him and my mom actually like you a lot. My mom admires you for taking responsibility of Graham by yourself. Not a lot of people do that now in days." I looked up at him and furrowed my eyebrows.

"I understand, it's just that I'm not used to people not treating me like trash. All the pieces are appearing out of nowhere and it's overwhelming putting them together immediately." As the song came to an end Luke leaned my back, swiftly dipping me. "Then piece them together one by one and I'll be there to help you." He whispered. A chill ran down my spine and goosebumps appeared on my arms at the close proximity our faces were at. We straightened up slowly as everyone began taking there seats from the dance floor as others stood up to do the tango.

Luke grabbed my hand, leading me back to the table where Hannah and Thomas was there chatting with an elderly woman sitting next to them. Luke and I just sat next to each other watching everyone around the room when a little kid came running up to us. He had a grin on his face, exposing the missing tooth he had. I smiled at him as he aced his fingers behind his back. "Hi there." The kid giggled and gestured for me to lean forward to whisper in my ear.

"Can I dance with you?" He asked, cupping his hands around my ear. I grinned as I leaned back and nodded. "Of course. Let's go." I stood up, turning to face Luke. "He's so cute!" I mouthed enthusiastically. He chuckled as I walked to the dance floor with the boy and he cleared his throat. "I asked the D.J to put a special song for you." He stated. I raised my eyebrows just as the chicken dance song came on and began to laugh. "Okay, let's do this."

We began doing the dance, me letting out laughs once in awhile as we turned. Other little kids started to come to the dance floor to do the same and eventually parents joined their children as well. But the end I was a laughing mess and my face was most likely red. Not just that I'm pretty sure I have abs now due to my sore stomach. I walked back towards Luke as the boy went running off with his friends, a smile plastered on my face. Luke's expression was filled of amusement as I sat down, taking large sips from my drink.

"Should I be worried that a seven year old managed to steal my date away?" I choked on my drink for the second time today, but this time it was because I was laughing. I shook my head as I placed my drink down. "Well, he is a better dancer than you..." I said, trailing off.

"I should've known. You've broken my hear Maggie." He replied, kissing his teeth and placing a hand on his chest. I rolled my eyes playfully and nudged him. "I mean, who likes British men anyways?" Luke's head whipped towards me as his mouth hung open, making me laugh.

"Us British people are great, thank you very much. So that answer would be everyone." We spent the next five minutes chatting back and forth, making random jokes until a slow song came on. Luke let out a cheeky grin and extended his hand. "Dance this song with me, will you?" I bit my lip, trying to contain my smile- which I failed at of course- and took his hand, letting him lead me out to the dance floor. I looped my arms around his neck as he looped his right above my hips, letting his laced hands rest on my lower back.

"Thanks for coming with me." Luke said. I smiled and rested my head in his chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat against my ear. "I'm glad I did. I'm having a great time." We danced to the rest of the song in silence as Luke softly hummed to the song by Safetysuit.

This was too good to be true.

————

"Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend, somewhere a long in the bitterness! And I would've stayed home, with you all night, had I known, how to save a life!" I cringed and let out a laugh as Luke sang off key to the Fray the way back to my house. Unfortunately the party came to an end and it was time to go back home, but overall I had a lot of fun. Luke had danced to the last dance with Hannah before we left, him nodding to whatever she told him.