Status: completed

21 Steps to Get the Wrong Guy

Step 21

~Ten Years Later~

"Remind me why I even agreed to come here," Heather mumbled under her breath as the six of us entered our old school gym.

Landon kissed her cheek and smiled. "It's important to show off that you actually did something with your life after high school," he explained to her. Cam and I laughed, remembering that I said something a lot like that this morning.

Landon and Heather met at her job. She works at one of the best law firms and happened to work on a case that pretty much saved Landon's company. Landon owns a fortune 500 company that sells toys worldwide.

They've been together for about two years now and got engaged six months ago. The wedding isn't for another year but Heather is already stressing herself out as if it's happening next week.

I bet you're wondering about Tony. They still talk occasionally. He's just as brainy as Heather and the two of them made it to the best college in the country but took different paths when they got there.

Heather became engrossed in her law studies. She felt the need to question everyone like we were on trial. I missed one of her calls and when I called her back she interrogated me as if I was out doing something criminal instead of answering my phone.

Tony became more laid back as he pursued a degree in kinesiology. He wanted to be an athletic trainer, mainly for football teams. As of now he's working for an NFL team and living his dream.

Tony and Heather may have started frosh year of college together but by Christmas break it was difficult to find time for each other. Tony had to spend most of his time working out and practicing on his football scholarship. Heather spent every hour of her time studying and enriching her interrogation skills.

They ended on good terms though. They sat down, talked about what they wanted out of life, where their paths were headed, and how their relationship had ran its course.

When they returned from break, seeing each other around campus was a little uncomfortable but they settled the awkwardness inside a Starbucks one day. Heather was struggling with a hypothetical case assigned for homework. As luck would have it, Tony was just the person she needed to talk to since the case concerned a hurt basketball player.

They bonded over that case and easily became friends. Heather still calls him for help on cases that have anything to do with sports or injuries.

Lilly and Gavin split as well. They fell apart sooner.

Lilly offered a break before they headed to college. She figured there would be a whole new pool of people to meet and it would be best if they didn't tie themselves down. Not even two weeks into the break Gavin had met someone.

Sure, it was to be expected that they'd find someone new but not that quickly. Lilly was a mess for about a week. She regretted ever thinking about taking a break.

Then one day she came back from one of her classes, ranting and babbling on about some guy she met at the gym. I think every day for the next month she went to the gym at the exact same time to see him until they finally went on a date.

Lilly and Will have been together ever since then. They got married right after college. I, being the great wedding planner I am, was the maid of honor and planned the entire wedding. It was lovely except for when Will's brother got too drunk and tried to hit on me.

Cam thought it was funny and wasn't jealous in the slightest as I tried to fend off Liam. He finally stopped laughing long enough to introduce Liam to another girl.

That was the second wedding I planned. Jack and Annie got back together and got married during my sophomore year of college, being my first wedding planning job. My mom let me do most of the work for their wedding.

I forgot about a few things but my mom made sure to pick up the slack. It was another wild wedding with Jack's family. I think Pam and Max laughed the hardest, thankful that the wedding was just as crazy as theirs.

Lilly and Will have two kids and another on the way. Lilly is a great mom and Heather is the gifting god mother. I'm the god mom that takes them to parks and watches them while Lilly and Will run errands or have a night out.

Cam and I got married a year after Lilly and Will but we don't have any kids. Trust me, we've tried. It just hasn't happened yet.

Our table was one away from Christian's. I hadn't spoken to him since about a month before graduation. I've heard rumors that he was going into the military or that he went to rehab during college.

He looked good, very healthy and had a content smile on his face as a woman sat by his side. He looked up and we caught glances. He smiled and stood as I took my seat and scooted in while Cam sat beside me.

"Wow, Cam, Emily, it's been awhile. How are you guys?" Christian tried to make conversation as he loomed over our table.

"Oh geez, it's been ten years and we're going to act like nothing has changed," Heather complained.

Lilly elbowed her and smiled at Christian. "It's nice to see you," Lilly stated nicely.

Christian sat down at the empty seat beside me, looking a little guilty. "No, I totally understand Heather and I apologize for what happened in the past. I've had many years to think about that horrible bet and I wanted to say I'm completely sorry but I thank you for being so strong.

"I was in a low place in high school. I used girls easily and probably would still be doing that if it weren't for you putting me in my place. So thank you, Emily. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have a family of my own," Christian claimed.

I looked over at the woman that he left at his table. She was visibly pregnant and talking freely and happily with the others seated at the table.

"I'm proud of you, Christian. So what are you doing now?" I asked, genuinely interested. I couldn't believe any of the rumors I heard. I needed to hear things from him and from what he just told me, most of those rumors couldn't be true.

"I'm a movie producer. I'm actually working on a film currently and I think the three of you would be perfect for a catty gala scene. Say you'll at least think about it," Christian pleaded as he looked at Lilly, Heather, and I.

I looked at my two best friends and checked their reactions. "Like an actual acting gig?" Heather questioned with slight excitement.

"When do we shoot because I do not want to be pregnant in my acting debut?" Lilly asked.

Christian laughed. "We're still in the rumor stage. We just have the main idea. We still have much to write in the script but I think you guys will be great for one of the scenes we have written down.

"I'll do it," I offered.

"Yea, I want to get my face out there. Maybe I'll get more clients," Heather announced.

"As long as I'm not known for being the fat chick at the elegant ball then I'm up for it," Lilly said.

"Great, here's my card. You can call or email me so I'll have your information and then I'll let you know when we start shooting," Christian said as he passed out his information. "It was great seeing you guys again."

He walked back to his seat and gave the woman a kiss before he sat down fully. They looked so happy, genuinely happy. I never thought Christian could change his ways but I'm glad he did.

As the night progressed, I realized that many of us have changed. The popular kids are mostly fat and haven't done much with their lives. The complete geeks have won honors and basically live off of grant money for research.

The theater kids have mostly seemed to make it to Broadway and a few have been in Christian's movies. There are a few choir kids with record deals.

A lot of people have changed. One goth girl has that "American Dream" family look. She and her husband dressed as if they came straight out of the 50s.

One of the cheerleaders happen to be a lawyer. There was another that worked at a PR firm. Sadly there was another that seemed to be a proud escort.

If all these people changed, why was it so hard to believe Christian could?

Funny thing is I'm happy for him. Now that he has his life together I wish him the best.

Seeing him again reminded me of the years I spent pining over him. It also reminded me of how much of a jerk he was. Lastly, it reminded me of how I fell for Cam.

Over all those years so many things have changed but my feelings for Cam remain the same.

"Your dad must be a terrorist," Cam whispered to me.

I freaked out and looked around the room to see if my dad was here or if anyone looked even remotely suspicious.

"Because you're the bomb," Cam finished and started laughing.

I sighed with relief and then hit him playfully. After all these years, he still managed to make me smile with those cheesy jokes.

~The End~
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Thank you for those who have read the whole thing. I know I flaked out after the first few chapters but thanks for reading through my month long breaks.

I finally finished this story. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Hopefully my next story will have some more humor to it.