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"So, Jenna," Matt began, still staring at their intertwined fingers, as they walked along their street, "what brought all of this on?"
"You mean, suddenly realising how absolutely unworthy of my attention the Six Chicks and Chris Grandy and the rest of them are?" she asked, turning her dazzling smile on him. "Or..."
She trailed off, also glancing down at their hands, and questioningly brought up her fingers to her lips.
"Everything," he said. He wouldn't go as far as to say that Jenna had become a different person, but her axis had certainly tilted. She seemed more determined and definitely a lot happier. Not to mention the fact that she now returned his feelings. When had that happened? Either way, Jenna looked more beautiful than ever, and it was him that had the honour of holding her hand.
"Well, Matty, you'll never believe me, if I tell you everything that happened, really," she said absently, swinging their hands between them.
"You can try," he pointed out. "I promise I'll try to follow along as best as I can."
"Well," she began with a breath, "while I was waiting in the closet, thinking that Chris Grandy would come inside and welcome me with open arms, I dreamed a strange dream. It started off with you coming in instead of him, and me getting angry, thinking that Chris was someone I needed, and that you had ruined everything."
"Like, the way I came into the closet to find you today, but without kissing me?" he teased.
"Yeah," she said, smiling back. "I had read a phrase in Poise earlier that day: 'thirty, flirty, and thriving'. I pushed you out of the closet and repeated it over and over to myself, wanting my teenage years to go away. Soon enough, I woke up seventeen years later. I was thirty."
"You were thirty in your dream?" he asked in surprise. "What was that like?"
"It was wonderful, at first," she admitted. "It was like seeing the future of my life. I saw what it would be like, if I continued on the path that I was currently on. But soon enough, I realised that I didn't like it as much as I thought."
Jenna told Matt everything: about how she had apparently been Prom Queen, become one of the Six Chicks, became friends with Tom-Tom, ended up working for Poise. She even told him, with obvious reluctance, about his engagement and marriage to another woman, and how that had made her realise her feelings for him. How realising what a bad person she was in the future made her rethink her choices.
"So I have to chalk all of this up to your dream, huh?" he asked, holding up their intertwined hands in front of them.
"I don't even know, if it were a dream," she admitted quietly. "Maybe it actually happened. Either way, I don't want to go back to the future. The worst thing was knowing that I lost my best friend. And I never, ever want to lose my best friend."
Matt wrapped his arms around her gently. She returned the hug enthusiastically.
"Don't worry, Jenna," he whispered. "You won't lose me. Actually, you might have to worry how to get rid of me."
"I won't ever want to get rid of you, Mattie," Jenna promised.
~
"Remember when you were twelve, and you told me about all of your plans to be Prom Queen your junior and senior years?" Matt asked, holding Jenna close to his body, as they swayed to the slow music. "I don't think you can get that, going with a guy like me."
"A guy like you?" she asked angrily, looking up at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, I'm not exactly popular," he admitted. "Even though I do take all of the yearbook's photos, no one knows my name in the hallways."
"No one knows mine, either," she said with satisfaction. It was a strange thing to be proud of. "I don't want to become popular by becoming the school's most feared, most backstabbing girl. Mattie, I'm so much happier being here with you than with anyone else."
Matt looked at her, wearing a light green gown, which he thought matched her springlike personality perfectly. He himself was wearing a suit with a matching green tie and flower, with which Jenna played idly. She looked up at him then, flashing a brilliant smile. She had become so beautiful in the past four years, more than he ever thought was possible. He could look at her forever, and he would always find something new and intriguing.
"What?" she asked with a smile, noticing him staring.
"Nothing," he said, shrugging. "Just thinking about how lucky I am to have you."
"I'm even luckier to have you, Matt," Jenna responded, leaning her head on his chest. "Even if you don't try, you’ll always remind me of what's most important."
"Will I?" he asked, running his fingers through her hair, trying not to ruin it.
"Of course!" she said, looking up at him. "Do you wanna know a secret?"
"What?" he asked, an inevitable grin spreading on his face.
"You're the sweetest guy I've ever met," she boasted, leaning in to kiss him. He kissed her back, deepening the kiss for a few moments, before pulling back and burying his grin in the crown of her head.
Jenna always made him feel proud of himself. He'd lose his modesty soon enough. But that was okay, as long as she was there to share his bubble of happiness.
~
"Mattie, Mattie, Mattie!" Jenna shouted to his left, running towards where he was waiting for her on the park bench. "Poise reached one million copies today! It's all thanks to your beautiful photos."
"But I always do your photo shoots," he argued, catching her, as she jumped into his arms, spinning her around. "It's thanks to your ideas, Jenna. You're the great magazine editor, not me."
"Well, you've helped me out so much these past five years," Jenna persisted. She had worked at Poise since she was twenty five, using him as her main photographer from the very start. Her boss had been reluctant at first, but he had eventually agreed with Jenna's plan to bring life back into the magazine. Before she came along, it was as if it had disappeared completely.
"Are you happy with your life, Jenna?" Matt asked suddenly, as they began walking along, hand in hand.
"Am I happy with my life?" she asked, puzzled. "I am, Mattie, of course I am. I guess I'm not as famous as I once hoped to be, but I'm completely fine with that. Meeting Madonna, going to evening parties, dating a famous hockey player all seem like wonderful experiences, but not when you have your own life to live, at the end of the day. Our life together, even when it's small, is what makes me happy."
"It makes me happy, too, Jenna," Matt said, swallowing nervously. "But dating for seventeen years - don't you think that's long enough?"
Jenna stopped walking, turning to face him abruptly. She didn't say anything, but there was obvious pain in her eyes. Matt rushed to comfort her, but she interrupted him.
"You're breaking up with me, Matt?" she croaked out. "After all this time, you don't want to be with me any-"
"No, Jenna," he assured her, getting down on one knee, and taking out a small, velvet box from his pocket. "I'm asking you to marry me instead. Please?"
Jenna stood dumbfounded once again, blinking away a sudden rush of tears. She nodded vigorously, pulling Matt up to his feet and kissing him with an energy and passion that screamed 'forever'.
"I've always loved you, Jenna," he whispered, as they pulled away. "I would never simply break up with you like that. I never want to be apart from you, ever."
"I don't either," she assured him, kissing his nose, his forehead, his cheeks, his eyelids, and his lips. "And I'm crying, because I'm happy. Truly, this time. I'm so, so happy that we'll have our dream house this time, Mattie. Being with you made it possible."