Six months later…

My face was about to fall off from smiling into the camera my mom was holding when Yusei saved my butt and convinced her that we had to leave or we'd be late.

"Okay, okay. No more pictures for mom. I get it." She winked at the two of us and laughed. I fixed Yusei's tie, the blue one I had convinced him to wear that matched my dress and his eyes. The corsage he got me was pinned to the strap of my dress and my heels clicked down the walkway as we hurried to his car.

I slid in the front seat, a seat I had personally claimed whenever there were multiple people in Yusei's car. I remember one time Crow suggested that we have a race to see who gets dibs on each car. I "accidentally" may have tripped him when he took off, resulting in my permanent claim of shotgun.

I couldn't help but think about how far I had come. Half a year ago, I never would have dreamed that I would be going to prom with the best guy in the whole world, much less someone so popular that actually cares about me.

We pull up to the venue and hand them our money. I roll my eyes at Yusei, annoyed that we have to pay so much to go to prom, and he laughs, leaving the administrator collecting money in a brief state of confusion.

The dance floor looked amazing. Streamers in black and silver shimmered from the ceilings. Banners of school competitions that we've won, trying to instigate school pride like a pep rally, hung on the side. Tables with big, buttery soft tablecloths, like they were made out of felt instead of that usual plastic, were placed in spiral from the center. Not the most ideal choice for tablecloths, I mused, unless they're reusable.

Overall, they did a nice job with the place. A steady, thumping beat ran through my veins as we jumped right into the party. As we danced with our friends, I noticed there was a stage with instruments. I smiled to myself, know that Yusei had a surprise for the school. He had recently put together his EP and sent it to a record company. They had gotten back to him this afternoon, saying that his music was incredible and that he should fly to their headquarters sometime during the week to get an interview and sign the record deal.

He had decided to name the EP Sapphire's Ember. I had wondered about the title, and asked him what it meant.

"Well, it's actually about us." he had explained. "I used our eye colors to show the relationship we have." He smiled.

"Why eye color?"

"Have you ever heard that the eyes are the gateway to the soul?"

I was a little skeptical, but then again, I had never really been a deep person, or at least not as much as I would have like to have been, before I met him.

It was like all sound was sucked away from me when he let go of my hands to ascend the stage, grabbed the mic and asked if everyone was having a good time. He was greeted with screams of approval, then said that he had a special performance for everyone, and hoped that they all liked it.

And as I heard his voice pierce through my soul again, sing the words he had written- Something I can't see/ what could I do?/ keep myself in a glass case/ but really I fall right through- it made me believe, with all my soul, that we had saved each other. It was like all I needed was to see him, see the person that he really was, not the way I wanted to see him. I needed to see him as the loving, brave young man he was, instead of the selfish asshole that he's labeled as.

I had ignored the look Sayer gave me when I accidentally bumped into him, mumbling an apology in his general direction.

He looked away and ran outside, apparently having not wanted to see me at all. I decided to go after him.

I found him crying in the parking lot, apparently waiting in the rain that had started to fall for someone to come and pick him up. Even though the rain soaked my hair and dress, I walked over to him anyway. He halfheartedly glared at me from behind his glasses, then looked away.

"Sayer."

He shook a little and I said his name again. "Sayer, look at me." He shook for a few more moments, standing in awkward silence with the soft patter of the rain all around us. His will eventually broke and he turned to look at me, trying to keep his face void of emotion.

"Sayer, I'm so sorry."

It broke in him, and he looked at me like he would never forgive me, and he said it.

"I understand that you're mad, Sayer. I get it. But what you need to understand is that I decided to be with the person that made me feel good, made me smile, and made me realize who I really was meant to be. And that person is Yusei."

Sayer looked away again.

"Haven't you ever noticed that he's nice to everyone? He's nice to you, and you know it! You just want someone to blame for your own insecurities, because in reality, you worry about how the world sees you. You needed a vessel for that pain, a person to hate, and you chose the last person on Earth who deserves your hate."

I heard a loud cheer from inside, and Sayer turned around to face me, mouth open in protest, but I cut him off.

"That man in there, the one you wanted so much in your heart to hate so much, is the person that could change your life. And I know he would! He's tried before, all the times he's helped you up after someone knocked you down."

Sayer was breathing hard, almost like he was angry. Then he slid down to his knees and cried silently, taking in the honesty of my words.

Now, any other person would have been seething with rage for talking about their boyfriend that way, they would have left Sayer to cry alone in the rain. But something in me had changed from being a part of the normalcy, and instead I tugged on his hand and pulled him up to look me in the eyes.

"He'll help you overcome the pain you feel, Sayer. You just have to let him."

I led him back inside. Yusei, Jack, Sherry and everyone else was waiting for me. I pulled Sayer into the group and introduced him. There was a silence for a moment, but all that went away when Yusei reached out and grasped his hand, a sincere smile on his lips.

Sayer smiled back at him and I was overcome with happiness all over again, like this is what they journey of my life really meant.

When Yusei and I slow danced in each other's arms, I sang to him the whole time.

The End

Author's Note: Not my original intent for how the story would end, but I started writing the scene between Akiza and Sayer in the parking lot and then I. Just. Couldn't. Stop. I hope everyone enjoyed the story!