Lost In The Stereo Sound

Natalie's POV:
My sobs eventually subsided and I stood up from where I was slumped on the ground. I rubbed my eyes and looked at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were puffy and smeared with black makeup. With a sigh, I turned on the faucet and splashed water over my face in an attempt to reduce the swelling underneath my eyes.

"Nat?" Alex asked through the door.

"Yeah?" I said grabbing the hand towel from the rack to dry my face.

"Are you alright?" he asked attempting to turn the locked doorknob. "Natalie, why did you lock the door?"

"Calm down," I said growing irritated as I placed the towel back on its rack. I stepped over to the door and opened it. I didn't even bring my eyes to his face as I brushed past him.

"What's your problem?" he asked noticing the tone in my voice.

"Nothing," I said looking for a hairband to put my hair up.

"Are you sure? Because you seem either angry or upset and I don't know why," he said crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm just tired," I explained with a sigh.

"Alright," he said slowly. By the look on his face, I could tell he knew I was lying, but he let it go with a shake of his head. "I should probably go," he said after realizing that I wasn't going to say anything further about the subject.

"Okay," I responded while picking up various pieces of clothing that was strewn around my room.

"I'll see you at graduation," he said walking over to where I was standing.

"Sounds good," I said noticing a stain on one of my dresses.

"I love you," he said grabbing my arm and turning me so that I was facing him. I looked up into his brown eyes and fought the urge to start sobbing all over again. "So much," he added. I stayed silent. Alex kissed my forehead and squeezed my hand. Our eyes locked as he turned to walk out of my room and down the stairs. It was as if he understood what I had been thinking and knew that I didn't want to talk about it just yet. It was too real.

Alex's POV:
I knew something was wrong the second she woke up and not a hint of a smile was on her face. She seemed so far away despite the fact that she was inches away from me. After she'd gotten up from bed, she walked into her bathroom. I heard the lock click and a thud. Curious, I followed her and pressed my ear to the door. What I heard nearly broke my heart: muffled sobs. I fought every urge in my body to break down the door and hold her in my arms. I wanted to kiss her and tell her that everything would be fine. After what seemed like forever, she sobs stopped and the water began to run. I waited a minute or so before knocking on the door.

"Nat?" I asked cautiously.

"Yeah?" she replied dully.

"Are you alright? Natalie, why did you lock the door?" I asked frantically trying to open to door. I wanted to ask so much more, but I stopped myself.

"Calm down," she said clearly annoyed at my questions. A moment later, she opened the door and brushed past me avoiding eye contact.

"What's your problem?" I asked not understanding why she wasn't her usual self.

"Nothing," she said curtly. She walked over to her vanity and searched around on the surface. Eventually, she found what she was looking for and tied her hair up.

"Are you sure? Because you seem either angry or upset and I don't know why," I said trying to get her to talk about what was bothering her.

"I'm just tired," she sighed looking at the floor.

"Alright," I conceded. I knew she was lying and it killed me that there was something that upset her that she couldn't tell me. She seemed to busy herself in searching for clothes from her floor. "I should probable go," I said after a minute or two of silence.

"Okay," she said not taking her eyes off various pieces of clothing that scattered her floor.

"I'll see you at graduation," I said walking over to where she stood.

"Sounds good," she said looking everywhere but my face.

"I love you," I said in an attempt to catch her attention. I grabbed her arm and raised her chin so that she would have to look at me. Her eyes were blank and void of emotion. "So much," I continued. Her face stayed the same expression and I knew instantly what was wrong. With a kiss on her forehead and a squeeze of her hand, I turned to walk out of her room. I turned back to make sure she was alright. Her eyes gave her away.

As I drove home, I thought about what I had said just before she left. I mentioned graduation. To her, it clearly meant the beginning of the end. I should have known.

Natalie's POV:
I knew I'd been unfair to Alex by not telling him what was bothering me. I just didn't want him to see me like that. It wasn't who I was. I was strong, not weak or vulnerable.

With a sigh, I put all my doubts and emotions behind me and plastered a smile on my face. It was nearing noon and I was to be ready at school in an hour. I quickly jumped in the shower. I had no time to do my hair so I put a small amount of mousse in my hair and let it wave naturally. I opted to wear some eyeliner and mascara seeing that it was my high school graduation and all. I flipped through dressed in my closet and settled on a beige sleeveless chiffon dress I'd gotten from Urban Outfitters. I found some strappy brown heels that went with it slipped them on in a hurry. Just then, my phone started to vibrate on my dresser.

"Hello?" I said not bothering to check the caller ID.

"Hey," Alex said, "um, can you pick me up? My car won't start."

"Yeah, of course," I said grabbing my keys and wallet from my nightstand. "I'm leaving a two minutes, alright?"

"Alright," he said. "You sound better."

"I told you nothing was wrong," I said with a laugh.

"See you soon, Nat," he said as he ended the call. I could hear a smile in his voice.

"Mom!" I yelled as I walked down the stairs.

"Yeah?" she called from the kitchen.

"I'm leaving now!" I yelled back. "I'll see you there, ok?"

"Bye, honey," she said as I walked out the front door. Grabbing my graduation gown, hat, and honors tassel, I rushed out to my car. I threw everything in the back as I sped off to Alex's house.

When I pulled up, he was waiting outside with Jack. Both donned the gowns and hats.

"NATTY!" Jack yelled running to my car. "You look mighty pretty," he said getting in the backseat.

"Thanks, Jack," I said flashing him a smile.

"Stop trying to hit on my girlfriend in front of me," Alex said with a wink as he climbed into the front seat. "I mean, at least wait until I'm passed out drunk tonight."

"My bad," Jack corrected himself.

"Are you boys excited or what?" I asked as I backed out of Alex's driveway.

"No more fucking school!" Jack yelled putting his hands up like a teenage girl in California.

"What a relief," Alex agreed.

"I'm just excited to tour," Jack said nodding. "I want to travel the world!"

"Easy, Jack," I said with a laugh.

"Dude, I'm not that easy," Jack said pretending to be mad.

"Yeah, okay," Alex scoffed with a smirk.

"The many, many girls I plan to fuck on tour will be, though," he said wrinkling his forehead in thought.

"Good to know," I said shaking my head.

We pulled up to the bustling school five minutes later.

"You look beautiful," Alex said as I stepped out of my car. His eyes were huge as he looked me up and down.

"You're raping her with your eyes, Alex," Jack observed. He raised his eyebrows a few times and pretended to slap ass.

"Ignore him," Alex said pushing his friend toward the school.

"I can tell when I'm not wanted!" Jack said pretending to be hurt. "See ya later, fuckers!"

"Isn't he lovely?" I asked shaking my head after him.

"And polite," Alex said continuing the joke.

We entered the school and found our places in line. The ceremony itself took far too long. I was on the verge of death when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

I would prefer laying in bed with you all day.

I looked up and saw that Alex was staring at me. He winked and I blushed.

Naked, of course. he added a second later. He raised his eyebrows at me and I just laughed. The girl sitting to my right glared at me.

"And now, we will announce the valedictorian," our principle announced. "But before we do that, I have an honorable mention to speak of. This person was ineligible for valedictorian due to the fact that they transferred in the middle of the year. However, this person's GPA was an astonishing 3.93. Had this person been eligible, they would have won the title. Natalie Laurent, would you please stand up?"

Alex turned to face me with wide eyes and put his thumbs up.

"Yeah, Natty!" Jack yelled from the first few rows.

Slowly, I stood up and looked at the principle.

"I would like you all to join in on congratulating her on her outstanding achievement," he said as he started to clap his hands. Everyone followed suit and it was safe to say that I was thoroughly embarrassed. Eventually, the clapping died and I sat down.

Amazing in bed and smart?! I picked a winner ;)

Alex was sending a smirk my way as I read his text message.

I miss you. I typed back.

I miss you too. I wish this damn ceremony was over so we could fuck already. Alex sent. I giggled and put my phone back in my pocket.

It seemed like ages, but finally, all the names were called and the ceremony was over. Alex grabbed my hand as we rushed out of the auditorium toward the parking lot.

"Nat!" a familiar voice called from behind me. I turned around to see who it was.

"Dad?" I said surprised. "Dad!" I yelled running toward him. He engulfed me in a hug and swung me around in a circle.

"I'm so proud of you!" he said beaming. "You're the real valedictorian in my book."

"Thanks, Dad," I said smiling up at him. His eyes traveled over to Alex who stood a few feet away from me. "Oh, this is Alex. Alex, this is my dad."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Laurent," Alex said putting his hand out to shake.

"You too, son," he said smiling. My father had never liked any boys who I dated so this was a vast improvement. "My daughter has grown quite fond of you."

"Well that's probably a good thing seeing that I did as well," Alex said with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear that," my father said with a nod. "I will meet you back at the house for dinner. Your mother has been cooking all day. You're welcome to join us, Alex."

"Sounds good," Alex said.

"See you two later," my dad said walking towards the parking lot.

"He loves you," I said as soon as my dad was out of earshot.

"Really?" Alex said not buying it.

"You should have seen him around any other guy I dated," I said. "He wouldn't even smile."

"Well, that's good, I guess," Alex said with a nod.

"Of course it is," I explained. "Want to get out of here?"

"More than you could possibly know," Alex said putting his arm around my shoulder as we began to walk back to my car.

"I love you," I said as I sat down in my car.

"I love you, too, Nat," Alex said grabbing my face toward him. He planted a soft kiss on my lips. "Now let's get the fuck out of here."

We drove back to my house with the top down seeing that it was a gorgeous seventy degrees. As the wind blew through my hair with the music blaring, I felt infinite. Alex grabbed my hand and kissed it as we sped off. I was where I wanted to be forever.