Two years later.

Emerald looked beautiful, standing in front of the crowd. Evelyn couldn't take her eyes off her if she tried. They both worked so hard to get where they were now, at their high school graduation. Gowns down to their ankles, but both refused to wear high heels and opted for sneakers. Emerald made sure that Eve's were tied tightly before the ceremony to avoid any tripping-on-stage incidents.

Of course, Emerald was the valedictorian, and of course she made Eve listen to her rehearse her speech over and over until they could both recite it in their sleep. She didn't mind, though, and neither did Raven when they came to visit from Rhode Island after Ryder's graduation to witness the ceremony. Ryder was a different story. He insisted on "no spoilers," covered his ears and sang the most obnoxious sound in the world until he could be sure Em wouldn't read her speech in front of him until the big day.

Krash just laughed at his boyfriend and mouthed a discreet, "I'm sorry about him," in Em's direction.

"I'm used to him by now," she shrugged.

Krash was in a wheel chair and probably would be for the rest of his life, but that never stopped him from charming Ryder with his seriousness that he only ever broke from to spit sarcasm at anyone who deserved it, and that unreadable stare. Yeah, no one really understood how his personality and Ryder's childlike one worked so well together, but they did and the pair couldn't be happier. Krash was the third addition— fourth, if you count Jersey the cat (who was still as lively as ever)— to that crappy apartment just past the graveyard and the abandoned school.

"Well, class of 2011, we made it," Emerald spoke into the microphone, her clear and confident voice echoing throughout the gym. Bandit, sitting on Lindsey's, lap pointed excitedly when she recognized the girl on stage. Evelyn smiled fondly. "Sometimes it felt like this day might never come, or that maybe we'd never be able to survive the roller coaster ride that was middle school, let alone high school, and getting this far was beyond our wildest dreams. Sometimes it felt like the hurdles we had to jump to get here were simply too tall, but we did it. We found a way. We accomplished one of the first major milestones of our lives.

"Moving forward, whether we plan on going to college or university, getting married one day, maybe starting a family, we have to remember the years we spent here, the memories we made, and the things we learned. Let's appreciate all the moments that brought us to where we are today. Every time we cried at the kitchen table while trying to do math until one in the morning, every time we scrambled to finish homework in the bathroom before class, every time we got only a couple hours of sleep and yet still managed to get up and get to school on time... well, maybe we don't have to appreciate every moment.

"But what we can appreciate are the friends we made along the way. Often friends become like our family and these connections will last a lifetime. I personally don't know where I'd be without my best friend and I'm so glad I get to call her the love of my life. I definitely wouldn't be up on this stage today without her. Think of the people you have in your life. The ones you can call whenever you need anything, even if it's the middle of the night, and thank them.

"Thank your parents, your grandparents, your siblings, and anyone else who might've supported you, helped you get to where you are today, helped prepare you for the next phase of your life.

"But most importantly, take a minute to thank yourself, to give yourself credit. This wasn't easy. The sleepless nights we've all had at one time or another, whether we were up studying, finishing an assignment, or it was the doubt, the anxiety, and the depression keeping us awake— it wasn't easy. But you pushed through, you finished high school, you got a diploma. Give yourself credit where credit is due. You deserve it. And go get yourself ice cream after this. You deserve that too.

"Thank you."

The applause that rose from the crowd for Emerald's short, but important and thoughtful speech was enthusiastic, with some whistles and cheers thrown into the mix. Evelyn stood up first. She was going to give her girlfriend a standing ovation even if everyone else stayed in their seats, but luckily they didn't. It was Raven and Ryder who followed suit first, and then of course Emerald's mom and sister. And then it was Gerard, who took Bandit from Lindsey and put her up on his shoulders so she could see over everyone's heads. Lindsey stood up too, and so did Mikey, Frank and Jamia, Ray and Christa, and everyone else in the gym.

The enthusiasm didn't stop throughout the evening. Big parties with drunk teenagers weren't really Emerald or Eve's thing, so they went back home for a smaller celebration after taking what felt like hundreds of pictures in the park in their gowns and caps, holding their diplomas with proud smiles on their faces. Separate, then together, then with friends, then with family, until everyone who wanted some had copies on their cell phones. Ray had brought his camera and got some frame worthy shots of the couple.

It was only after the cake with the graduation cap made of fondant had been cut, Ryder had managed to pop half the balloons Lindsey spent the afternoon blowing up, and everyone had danced the night away, that Eve and Em finally got a moment alone together.

"Follow me, Love," Eve whispered to her girlfriend. The two slipped away before Frank could notice and pull them back onto the dance floor, or the living room floor in this case. And it's a good thing, because Bohemian Rhapsody had just started, and Eve didn't think she could wait another six minutes.

Outside, the moonlight casting down on both their faces, tired but with smiles that just wouldn't fall, they stood holding hands in the blissful silence of the cool night air, the music thumping inside barely meeting their ears.

Em was the first to speak. "You're the only person I'd miss Bohemian Rhapsody for."

Eve cupped Em's face in her hands and kissed her in response, because it was easier than explaining she'd rather never listen to Bohemian Rhapsody again than never stand under the moonlight with her ever again. Em kissed back eagerly, and they both ignored the fact that if someone were to pull back the curtain over the living room window, they'd be putting on a show for everyone inside.

Em snaked her arms around the other girl's waist, but Eve stopped her. "Wait," she said, pulling away. "Let's go to the park."

"There's a party inside for us, we can't just leave our own party, Eve," Em retorted.

"Come on," she said, taking both of Em's hands. "They probably haven't even noticed we left. We can go look at the carving we made in that bench when we were sixteen."

Em bit her lip, unsure. "I'm pretty sure someone'll notice pretty soon."

"'Course they won't. They're having too much fun," Eve insisted. That's when the front door opened, spilling warm light and loud music out as it did.

The girls jumped apart, even though they weren't caught doing anything bad. It was out of habit mostly. A habit formed when they were less comfortable with showing affection in public, or just wanted to avoid being teased by their family members and would jump apart by at least a few feet, avoiding each other like the plague.

Gerard poked his head out the door. "Is everything okay?" he asked, his firetruck-red hair disheveled like he'd been dancing and singing along with all the other party goers.

"Yeah, Dad," Eve replied with a smile. "We just wanted some peace a quiet for a few minutes."

"That's not a bad idea," he said, stepping outside and closing the door, muffling the sound of another Queen song.

The three stood and listened to the sound of crickets chirping in the distance, and the rhythmic thumping of the bass coming from inside, taking refreshing gulps of the night air. This is how Evelyn wanted it to be all the time. Peaceful. She wanted to move away from the city, to somewhere where light and noise pollution was never an issue, somewhere with forests to get lost in and woodland creatures to befriend. And of course Emerald would be there with her.

After a few minutes of standing in the dark, Eve spoke up. "Dad?" Gerard hummed to let her know he was listening. "I know there's a party for us inside and everything, but can Em and I go to the park for a little while?"

"Eve, you're eighteen. You don't need to ask me to go to the park."

"Oh. Right."

"But I want to talk to you for a minute first, okay?" he asked. Eve nodded, so he turned to Em. "Do you mind going inside for a minute, Em?"

"Sure," she shrugged, "I'll just go see what Raven and Krash and Ryder are up to," she said before giving Eve a quick peck on the lips, then slipping back inside.

Once she was gone, Gerard shook his head as he spoke slowly like he couldn't believe what he was saying, "High school graduate," he said. "How do you feel?"

Eve thought for a moment, then said honestly, "Emotional."

She'd tried not to think about it, tried to ignore her feelings just for today because today was supposed to be happy and celebratory. She tried not to think about how her and Em would be going off to different colleges in a couple months, Em all the way in a great school near Boston where she'd be studying neuroscience. They'd managed long distance before, so they could do it again, but it would still be sad. At least this time it would be under much better circumstances.

She still spoke to Laura on occasion. Birthdays and Christmas, mostly. Laura was doing well, was in a relationship, moved into a nicer house, opened her own little bookstore in downtown Providence, never moving away from Rhode Island. Yes, she was doing very well, and Eve was happy for her.

There were so many feelings she'd been trying to ignore, but they all came spilling out as Gerard engulfed her in a hug. She said, her words muffled by his shoulder, "Dad, I'm eighteen. I'm like an adult."

"I know, Darling," he said. "You're getting old. I'm getting old."

"I'm going to college and everything. I'm gonna be a journalist."

"And I'm so proud of you."

She took a deep breath to stop her voice from wavering, but it was no use. She could feel the pressure behind her eyes, the tears were coming. "Dad," she said.

"Yes, Darling?"

"I was never supposed to live this long."

"Hey, what?" he asked, panic edging his voice as he wrapped his arms around her more tightly. "Where's this coming from, Eve?" She buried her face in his shirt. "Darling?"

"I just—" she sniffed and pulled away. The tears on her cheeks shone in the moonlight, Gerard's heart broke at the sight. She'd been so happy a few short minutes ago. What happened? "You know what happened before," she sighed. "I just always thought that if bad things kept happening in my life, then I didn't want to live it anymore. I never thought I'd get this far."

"Do you still feel that way?" he asked gently, taking one of her hands.

"No, Dad," she said sincerely, shaking her head, "I'm so glad I'm still alive."

Gerard took her in another hug, and this time it was his turn to try and hold back tears. Just then, the front door opened again, so they let go of each other. This time it was Frank, wondering where they'd run off to.

"The party's out here now, is it?" he remarked, stepping outside.

"Yeah, we're having a blast out here," Eve said, wiping the tears from her face.

Frank's eyes filled with concern. "You okay, Eve?"

She nodded. "Never better."

He didn't even have time to respond before the door opened once again, this time Mikey and Ray stepping outside with them.

"What are we missing?" Ray asked, looking between the three.

"I don't know, I just got here," Frank said. "What are we missing?" he asked, looking between Gerard and Evelyn.

They looked at each other. "We were just thinking," they said in perfect synchronization.

"I'm gonna ignore how creepy that was," Mikey said, then asked, "Thinking about what?"

"About how I'm getting old," Eve deadpanned.

Frank laughed. "You are, aren't you? Man, I remember the first time we met, how we took you to Hot Topic," he looked up at the sky, reminiscing. "The look on your face when you saw that place."

"The look on your face when you saw Emerald for the first time," Gerard added.

"Feels like a lifetime ago," Mikey said. The others nodded in agreement.

"Are you enjoying your night, Eve?" Ray asked, changing the subject before it got any sappier and someone else shed a tear.

"It's been rad," she said. "But me and Em are gonna get away from the party for a while and go to the park. Reminisce some more, probably."

"I'm sure reminiscing is all you two will be doing," Frank said sarcastically. Eve rolled her eyes at him.

"Don't listen to him," Gerard said. "I'll go get Emerald for you."

Everyone went back in the house, and Eve sat in the grass while she waited for Emerald to come back outside, still thinking hard. Excited to go to the park hand in hand with her girlfriend, excited to spend their last summer before college together, but most importantly excited for whatever the future had in store. She meant it when she said she never thought she'd get this far. She never believed anyone when they told her everything would be okay, but they weren't lying to her.

Everything turned out okay.