I Never Told You What I Did for a Living

A few weeks later, only Gerard and I remained at my father's house. I'd tried to make him take a break and go home, but he refused. Frankie and Mikey then began to alternate which one stayed with us each week. I didn't know what Mikey did in the city by himself, and I didn't really want to find out.

I fingered the long, navy blue robe I was forced to wear to graduation and sighed. This wasn't how I pictured this day. I always thought I'd spend it with Jill, back in the city. And with my mom.

Now I had neither.

But I did have Gerard. And Mikey, Frank, and Ray had all promised to come. Maybe it wouldn't be as terrible as I was expecting.

Since the last time I'd visited my parents, I'd become somewhat of a loner at school. Angela still tried to talk to me, but Kevin was now forced to stay away. Natalie was still paranoid that the two of us would run off together. The whole thing still confused me, so I stopped trying to make her see that neither of us had any bad intentions.

Gerard drove me into the school and walked with me into the gym. I gave him a quick hug before I headed backstage to join my classmates. Everyone was dressed in the same robes as I was, along with the cap and tassel.

"Hey, Lily!" I heard an urgent hiss from behind me. When I turned around, nobody was there. A chill swept up my spine before I heard it again. This time I could tell where the voice was coming from.

I followed it behind the large gymnastics mats and found Kevin waiting for me. He looked surprisingly awkward in the robe, which made me smile.

"Kev, you're going to get in shit for talking to me."

"Lily, I just wanted you to know that this isn't my fault."

"I know, don't worry."

"No, I don't want you to think that I'm just letting her tell me what to do. I just wanted to be with her, but I'm really not sure it's worth it anymore."

"What? Kevin, the worst thing you could do to that girl would be to leave her."

"I know..." he paused, and glanced over the mats toward the rest of the room. "But what if she left me?"

"If she left you, that would be fine. But she really likes you."

"Yeah, so I need you to help me get her to stop liking me."

"I can't talk to her, you know that."

"You don't have to say a word."

"Then what are you-" I was cut off by Kevin's lips. He pushed himself fiercely onto me and wrapped his arms around me, holding me in place. I struggled against his grasp, my mind trying to figure out what was happening.

"You bastard!"

He released me and I spun around just in time to see Natalie storm off. I was pretty sure she was crying. I turned back to Kevin in fury. He was smiling.

"You're an ass!" I yelled, slapping him across the face.

His face held an innocently dumb look as I left him behind the mats and went off to find Natalie.

"Gather around, everyone!" the principal called. "We're almost ready to do the grand march. Everyone get into alphabetical order so you're ready to recieve your diplomas!"

The small crowd of students began to assemble themselves in the proper order. I wasn't paying any attention, and finally found Natalie.

"I'm sorry, Nat. He just grabbed me. I swear I had nothing to do with it. I'm in love with my boyfriend, and I would never do anything to hurt him or you. You have to believe me."

"Lily! Get in line!" I heard someone call in irritation.

"I don't know why, but I believe you," Natalie sighed. "I just never thought Kevin would do something like this." She wiped a smudge of mascara from her cheek.

"I'll explain it all after, I promise. I have to get in line now or someone's going to hurt me."

She nodded as she sniffed loudly. I walked down the line until someone pulled me in front of them. As the procession moved slowly forward, I could feel heat radiating from the thick maroon curtain. I knew that the entire gym was packed. I didn't feel like it was my high school graduation. I felt like it was a dream, and I was due to wake up as soon as I hit the stage. But when they called my name and I stepped through the curtain, I didn't wake up. My skin tingled as the bright spotlights made the navy robe even more swealtering.

I shook the principal's hand and accepted the scroll he handed me. I hurried off the stage and was relieved when I was out of the spotlights.

I waited by the stage until Natalie recieved her diploma. She came off the stage, her cheeks red from the heat. I pulled her aside to explain what had happened. She listened patiently and nodded her head when I was finished.

"It's okay, Lily. I know I've sort of been a bitch through this whole thing. I have trust issues, but I'm working on them. It was wrong of me to try to keep you apart over nothing. Kevin and I just aren't right for each other. I'm sorry for everything, Lily."

"You're taking this whole thing surprisingly well, Natalie."

She shrugged. "Its time I faced things." Without another word, she walked away in search of her family.

I stood there alone for a long moment, shocked. Suddenly, I felt someone's arms wrap around my somach and lift me off the floor.

"I can't wait to get you out of this dress thing."

I laughed as I recognized Frank's voice. "Alright, let's go babe."

"What?!" Gerard piped up.

Frank set me down and I turned to face them. I smiled and hugged everyone before waving my diploma proudly.

"Jealous?"

"Right," Mikey laughed. "Because we all haven't already got one."

"Congratulations, Lily," Ray smiled as he shoved Mikey.

"You did it!" I heard from behind me. I turned around to see my parents standing there. Mom looked bewildered, but Dad actually looked proud.

"Thank you."