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[indent][indent][color=gray][color=#CCC6EA]"April, Santiago. You two look good tonight."[/color]

[color=ec008c] “Lookin’ pretty damn slick yourself Carter.”[/color] she playfully waggled her eyebrows at him before letting out a laugh, looking between him and Stella. Now that the two were next to each other, April could see them as a couple immediately. Even if nothing had been official between the two before, and even if this was the first time April had seen the two this close to each other, there was a certain...wholesomeness and innocence that the pair shared between each other. It was rather adorable in fact, almost jealousy inducing.

But not quite enough to tear her away from the love of her life to which she was still pressed against, her head against his chest. And from her limited view, she saw the phenomenal dancing that was the confusing duet of Julie and Ryland; one of her best friends paired with a guy she had no reason to like, and yet couldn’t bring herself to dislike now.

[color=D11717]“You gotta give it to him, though: it takes balls to go after Julie like that. God knows how many guys tried before him and ended up humiliating themselves...”[/color] April laughed before continuing to watch the theatrics before them, her face briefly giving a ‘not bad’ look reminiscent of the old Obama meme. 

[color=D11717]“Holy shit, he really fucking did it! Damn, man. Mad respect right there.”[/color]

[color=ec008c]“I mean, had you opened with something like that way back when we first got back together, I would probably have been [i]all over you[/i] compared to the bumbling mess that I was.”[/color] she quipped, giving him a playful grin. While it was certainly true that April was a fan of romantic gestures and grand theatrics, all of what she’d said was in good heart and more of a joke than anything. After all they’d been through in this final year, April was proud of Santiago and herself for sticking through it all and working it out like (mostly) mature adults. With their next test on the horizon, there was no better time than now to enjoy themselves while they could. Post-highschool was going to be one hell of a roller-coaster ride and they both knew it.

[color=D11717]“So, uh, Coach Kinsley and Sergeant Mullins called me again this afternoon…”[/color]

April froze up a bit, the sudden switch to the subject of the real, cruel world pulled her focus from the music and dancing. Her eyes looked up to meet his once more, as if trying to read what he might say next before the words left his mouth. April let out a long sigh as she waited for him to continue. She’d tried to push the thoughts of post-secondary from her head for the last month with little progress and now Santiago had just brought them all back in one sentence. 

[color=ec008c] “Well, what’d they say?”[/color]

[color=D11717]“I have 30 days to get back to Kinsley about the scholarship, and Sarge says that I have pretty much until then too to sign the contract and be shipped off to Basic with the group that leaves the first week of June, right after graduation.”[/color]

[color=ec008c]“Th-that was fast...I guess you can’t really pass either of those up. It’s a great opportunity to take on for sure.”[/color] April paused for a moment. It was evident on her face that the reality of their future life was hitting her hard right now, knowing that the next little while would mean seeing a lot less of Santiago until he finished basic training and got stationed somewhere. April knew it was what he’d wanted for a while now, but even knowing that didn’t make it any easier to accept. [color=ec008c]“Well, I know it's what you want...I’m happy for you, I really am.”[/color] she smiled at him, her eyes a mixture of happiness and sadness simultaneously. [color=ec008c]“Just don’t go and get yourself deployed...I need you here Santi..”[/color]

[color=ec008c]“While we're on the subject... I was thinking that I’d probably wait a year to apply for university so I could spend my time with Camila and you. From what I’ve read, the early time is crucial to get right...and I don’t want to mess this up. I know the fight’s not exactly in our favor here given the circumstances surrounding all of this...but we can do it. I know we can.”[/color]

April’s face was an evident mix of emotions as the music blared in the background, sounding completely the opposite of what she was feeling right now.

But they had done this to themselves. It was time to face reality head on.[/color][/indent][/indent]