Chapter 50

                                    

                                          
Time lapse...
                          
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"Dais, what are you going to wear?" I asked Daisy as she continuously walked in and out of her walk-in closet. I laid on her bed, still in a t-shirt and shorts with my bag packed next to me. Graduation began in an hour and a half and neither of us were even close to ready.
                          
	I was often tormented with the idea of having to watch Harry completely graduate from adolescence. I would no longer see him on campus, meet him for lunch in the cafeteria, or wait by his car until he was out of class. Harry was now completely free and would be working all day long every single day, and the time I was able to spend with him was cut down to nearly a quarter. I knew that my last year of college would be spent thinking about how much I missed Harry instead of studying, but I just hoped that we would stay strong throughout the next year no matter what. Harry's apartment was still close to campus and he and I agreed that I would be spending almost every night there.
                          
	"How's this look?" Daisy asked me when she emerged again from the closet, wearing a plain, strapless black romper and a hot pink statement necklace. I gave her a thumbs up from the bed and she continued to get ready, straightening her hair and doing her make up, applying lipstick the same color as her necklace.
                          
	I had done my make up and hair at home so all I needed to do when I got to Daisy's was change. When she was finished with her appearance and reentered her closet, emerging with a pair of black wedges in one hand and a black floppy hat in the other, I took that as my cue to change.
                          
	I pulled my outfit from my bag and put it on. I wore a white, cap-sleeved dress with a high neckline that was decorated with pink and blue-grey watercolor flowers and reached the middle of my thighs, and a pair of white, single-strap heels. My hair was tied into a neat bun on the top of my head and I wore only a small amount of blush and mascara on my face.
                          
	Once we were both finished with our appearances, we climbed into Daisy's white Range Rover and began our journey to UPitt graduation. Daisy lived about twenty minutes from campus, but the traffic in downtown Pittsburgh would probably hold us back at least another fifteen.
                          
	And it sure as hell did.
                          
	When we finally arrived at the ceremony, it was just about to start. Halfway through the dean's speech, Aaron sat down next to me and kissed my cheek hello. Aaron and I had become pretty close since we had met him and Harry in Mexico, and - just like Harry - he was much different than the man he seemed to be in Cancun. Aaron was respectful, extremely friendly, and insanely smart and often I believed that he enjoyed having me at the apartment more than Harry did.
                          
	"How ya doing, Ray?" He whispered as he sat down next to me. "Have they started announcing names yet?"
                          
	"I'm well, how are you?" I replied. "And no, they haven't, but I think they're going to start to soon."
                          
	Aaron nodded at me in understanding before leaning forward slightly so he could talk over me. "Daisy, it's nice to see you. How have you been?"
                          
	"I've been fine, thanks." Daisy shot him a small, forced smile which caused him to chuckle lightly.
                          
	We quieted our conversation for the rest of the ceremony, with the exception of when Harry's name was called, in which all three of us cheered obnoxiously. Harry looked so adorable in his graduation garb, curls peaking out sporadically from underneath his cap and his gown only reaching his knees because of his height. He smiled brightly when we cheered for him, dimples noticeable even from afar.
                          
	I watched with admiration as he shook some hands and received his diploma.
                          
~~~
                          
	Once the ceremony was finally over, which seemed like days later, we somehow found Harry in the crowd of thousands of students. His gown was unzipped and his cap was tucked beneath his arm. He smiled when he saw us and I was the first to approach him.